Hi all!

I can't sleep and have been reading your posts the last few days and figured I should say hi ! Hopefully I can get this done and over with today, I was originally suppose to get it done November 4th, but due to a scheduling issue (I was told to be there at 10:45am and my surgery was scheduled for 8am, so was that disappointing lol).

This has been a whirlwind of a journey, I am getting sleeved through Kaiser and am lucky the hospital is only 10 miles from me. A little about my journey:

Maybe I've been in denial but I've never really thought of surgery as a realistic option, because like many of you, the expense wasn't realistic. I only started thinking it was a possibility when my sister inquired about getting it done her self, however she's not considered heavy enough to receive coverage, but when we looked into it with my health insurance, I qualified! We're twins but for some reason as time has gone on I've gained about 90lbs more than her.

I inquired with my PCP on May 5th about getting the surgery, she referred me to Kaiser's "Options" program, which is a 12 week educational course you need to take in order to be referred to for surgery.

Info session and sign up was June 6th, class actually started on July 7th, ended on Oct 3 (it was extended a week due to the Labor Day holiday) and am finally getting sleeved today! I originally wanted to lap band but Kaiser doesn't offer that as an option anymore.

I am so nervous about the recovery and the breathing tube, but excited to start this journey!

Wish me luck! I hope to interact with you in the months to come!

-Francine

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The start of your new life, so exciting!

Make sure you come back and let us know how everything went.

Congrats

Kate

Congrats and just keep having positive thoughts!!!!!

Congratulations

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Congratulations! And good luck. Prayers for you and your surgical team. Keep us posted

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I had my surgery on 11/17 everything went well no pain or nausea and Dr managed everything well the med was great now I'm 14 days of post op and I'm ready to jump to stage 4 I'm in stage 3 now I can swallow anything good...

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Good luck in ur surgery god will be with u all the way u will be fine just relax be happy n positive..

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Good luck Moon Princess!!!!

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Hi all!

I can't sleep and have been reading your posts the last few days and figured I should say hi ! Hopefully I can get this done and over with today, I was originally suppose to get it done November 4th, but due to a scheduling issue (I was told to be there at 10:45am and my surgery was scheduled for 8am, so was that disappointing lol).

This has been a whirlwind of a journey, I am getting sleeved through Kaiser and am lucky the hospital is only 10 miles from me. A little about my journey:

Maybe I've been in denial but I've never really thought of surgery as a realistic option, because like many of you, the expense wasn't realistic. I only started thinking it was a possibility when my sister inquired about getting it done her self, however she's not considered heavy enough to receive coverage, but when we looked into it with my health insurance, I qualified! We're twins but for some reason as time has gone on I've gained about 90lbs more than her.

I inquired with my PCP on May 5th about getting the surgery, she referred me to Kaiser's "Options" program, which is a 12 week educational course you need to take in order to be referred to for surgery.

Info session and sign up was June 6th, class actually started on July 7th, ended on Oct 3 (it was extended a week due to the Labor Day holiday) and am finally getting sleeved today! I originally wanted to lap band but Kaiser doesn't offer that as an option anymore.

I am so nervous about the recovery and the breathing tube, but excited to start this journey!

Wish me luck! I hope to interact with you in the months to come!

-Francine

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Francine, Good luck today and prayers for a speedy recovery. Let us know how it went

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Congratulations! Save room for me on the loser's bench! Sending prayers your way!

Hi all, just a little update! I have been sleeved and am officially home to heal! The process was quite quick, my hospital has it down so it was a super easy process. I checked in at 9:45am, they called me in at 10 and had me changed into my gown and hairnet, shortly after I took a pregnancy test and they weighed me. For those ladies on your period, they give you sterile underwear and a pad, so no worries there! From there I was sent to preop area room "F" where my pre-op bed was there waiting for me. They quickly prepped me, asked me a million questions we've all been asked before (do you drink, smoke? Have had surgery before? Etc.) about 20 mins into the process, the nurse started prepping me with my IV and some of the necessary drugs, but I didn't get the happy stuff till about 10 mins before my surgery (which was maybe an hour after I got there). In a very brief time, the anesthesiologist, and the surgeon came and had a brief chat with me and explained their process. Literally after our chat I met the woman who was going to be with me post op then I was wheeled into the or. There was a super thin table waiting for me and the room was really bright. They had me scoot on to the table myself and they secured me on with a strap, from the the surgeon confirmed my name and the procedure I was going to get done. They soon placed an oxygen mask on me and told me to take deep breaths, I don't remember anything after that till waking up in recovery, where I will not lie, I was in pain, not from the surgical sites but from GAS, it felt like my stomach was going to explode. I didn't cry but I began beating on my chest area between my ribcage, they soon gave me some pain medication which helped relieve it somewhat. I slept a good chunk of the day only waking up when someone came in to ask me some questions or needed to take my blood pressure. I didn't get up about about 6pm, which was a hassle. But the nurses helped me as I had to pee really bad. The moment I sat up I felt instantly nauseous, and threw up two large mouthfuls of mucous-y blood. It hurt expel them but felt so good when they were out. I peed like 5 times last night due to the IV drip, so it was a little annoying and painful to get out of bed each time. I threw up blood two more times (only happened when I sat up, completely normal). My nurses were the best and always made sure I was comfortable, always gave me something for nausea and pain when I requested it.

There are two things I cannot stress enough to have with you: Gas X strips and Biotene mouth wash. My surgery ended about noon and I took my first gasx strip about nine, let me tell you, I was a burping demon, it felt SO GOOD to get that pressure out of my stomach. I took another one about midnight, each time I sat up to use the bathroom, I would belch (gross, but the best feeling in the world too lol) and mouth wash helps lubricate your mouth and throat. I swished it and gargled it periodically through out the evening and it made me feel human again. Getting sleep last night was hard because people kept coming in through out the night to check in on me, coupled with all my bathroom breaks, it was a tough night for rest. I slept on and off till about 8:30 when I started getting visits from anesthesiology, my surgeon came in to check on me, and finally the nurse came in with six 1oz cups of Water and told me I needed to get through that in order to get discharged. I started at 9:10am and finished my 6th around 12:30, not going to lie, it was difficult and I struggled to get through them all, but I did it LOL. I didn't get discharged till about 1:50, where I was wheeled down to my car in a wheel chair (I've never been in a wheel chair before, I thought it was a little exciting lol) I got home around 2:30pm. I've been sleeping off and on since and my stomach has been growling non stop, I've been burping a lot as well. Currently sleeping on my couch because I can stack the cushions to sleep a little more upright and can use the back of the couch to get up. I don't have any bloating, but I'm burping a lot and my right side is hurting from where they removed me stomach. Because their pain meds have started to wear off, in feeling a bit sore all over, particularly in the legs, stomach, and throat.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope it helps someone. I'm probably going to try and sleep again, let my body do some more healing lol.

Good night all!

Edited December 2, 20169 yr by Moon Princess