My surgeon stated "it would be a good idea" to identify myself as having had a gastric sleeve with a bracelet or necklace post surgery. Not unlike someone would wears identification that suffers from seizures, allergies, or a heart condition.

Have any of you heard of that?

What are your thoughts?

Pros?

Cons?

You should take your Dr's advice but I wasn't told this was needed.

gastric sleeve with a bracelet or necklace

@@Unbridled

IMO, a bracelet/necklace is unnecessary

if you want to identify as WLS person

worried about perspective problem

maybe have the label "NO NSADS" engraved on bracelet/necklace

good luck with upcoming sleeve surgery

speedy, uneventful recovery

kathy

I had one. I wore it for the first six months or so post op. Thankfully I never had a situation where I needed it. Mine said something like VSG, no NSAIDs no blind NG and had my surgeon's number on it.

@@Unbridled

-- "What are your thoughts? Pros? Cons?"

As a woman-person, it's a dismal thought, a "con" all the way. Who wants ugly adornments or wants to go all out to have a pretty piece made glum?

The" pro," though, is precaution, not so different from always wearing clean, intact underwear in case of an ER visit.

I wondered long ago about wearing an identifying item because of my lapband. Instead, I made up an index card with the info and other medical info that would be important, put it in a plastic sleeve and placed it in my wallet. When I go out for an evening without a bag, I put the necessities in my pockets -- keys, cash, credit card, lipstick, the medical info card, insurance card and maybe one or two others.

http://www.google.com/search?q=blind+ng+tube+gastric+sleeve&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

This link is to what came up when I googled blind ng tube gastric sleeve to be sure I understood @@erp's "blind NG" correctly. Some of the links within refer to bypass, too.

Edited July 24, 201610 yr by WLSResources/ClothingExch

My program recommends them. They say no NSAIDs and no blind NG

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Thank you all for your input.

• @WLSResources/ClothingExch thank you for the link and the giggles! You ain't right, as they say here in the south.

I have to wear a medic alert for other reasons so I'll just have it added. If it was the only thing I probably wouldn't bother. I have worked as a paramedic and an ER nurse, and a card in the wallet should be sufficient. The only time we don't look for ID immediately in someone unconscious is if we're immediately fighting to keep them alive in which case we're not giving NSAIDs or doing a blind NG. They do have some very pretty medic alerts if you prefer or need to get one.

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I had one. I wore it for the first six months or so post op. Thankfully I never had a situation where I needed it. Mine said something like VSG, no NSAIDs no blind NG and had my surgeon's number on it.

I hadn't heard about this issue - what is blind NG, and why can't you have NSAIDS and other things?

The nurses at the hospital told me it would be a good idea. I haven't gotten one yet. However I like some of those shown in the link. I really liked the cuff one as it looked like a regular piece of jewelry.

I had one. I wore it for the first six months or so post op. Thankfully I never had a situation where I needed it. Mine said something like VSG, no NSAIDs no blind NG and had my surgeon's number on it.

I hadn't heard about this issue - what is blind NG, and why can't you have NSAIDS and other things?

A tube that goes thru ur nose into ur stomach for tube feedings or meds.

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I had one. I wore it for the first six months or so post op. Thankfully I never had a situation where I needed it. Mine said something like VSG, no NSAIDs no blind NG and had my surgeon's number on it.

I hadn't heard about this issue - what is blind NG, and why can't you have NSAIDS and other things?

A tube that goes thru ur nose into ur stomach for tube feedings or meds.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I had one. I wore it for the first six months or so post op. Thankfully I never had a situation where I needed it. Mine said something like VSG, no NSAIDs no blind NG and had my surgeon's number on it.

I hadn't heard about this issue - what is blind NG, and why can't you have NSAIDS and other things?

An naso-gastric (NG) tube (or oral-gastric, OG) is a tube put down into the stomach for various reasons - pump out the stomach, put in nutrition, deflate, etc. In an emergency, if you need to be intubated (breathing tube into the lungs) they often put in an NG tube at the same time. The procedure is "blind" because a scope isn't used, the tube is just pushed through the nose or the mouth and into the stomach.

NSAIDs are prohibited by most surgeons for lap-band and bypass patients, and most surgeons don't want VSG patients taking NSAIDs because the action on prostaglandin in the body increases the risk of ulcers.

And to be clearer related to my earlier post, it's never a bad idea to wear a bracelet or necklace with medical information (or a medic alert number to get the info), but if you don't want to wear something, a card in your wallet with your drivers' license will likely get the info to the people who need it fast enough, since the hospital staff will want to get ID in the computer system ASAP if you're in an emergency and can't speak for whatever reason.

We can't take NSAIDs?

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We can't take NSAIDs?

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Your instructions will depend on your surgeon. For me, since I have auto immune arthritis, it's a risk my surgeon and I deem acceptable for NSAIDs as well as steroids. The sleeve is the best surgery for me because of that. Some surgeons say no, but it's not a complete contraindication like for the bypass or the band. But there is an increased risk of ulcer that has to be considered.

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