Thank you to everyone for their support.

I took a 6 hour flight to CA on 3/31 and arrived in San Diego at 11:30 "their time". The driver, Ernesto, was waiting for me at the baggage area and put my luggage in the van and drove me, and another passenger, to Mexacali. This drive was about 2 hours long.

I was taken directly to the hospital where they were waiting for me and had blood work, urinalysis, EKG, chest x-ray, and then an esophagram to evaluate and completely unfil my band. The last stop was meeting with the coordinator to get pre and post-op instructions and to pay the balance for the surgery.

I was told I could have anything I wanted to eat (was on a 30 gram/day carb diet for the week prior to surgery) and driven to the Lucerna Resort which is beautiful. As I worked the night before, I elected to have the sandwich and protein bar I brought with me, showered, and fell asleep. I took the antibiotic they gave me before I went to sleep but did not take the ativan.

At 7 AM on 4/1, I was picked up and taken to my room in the hospital. I was seen by a medical internist who reviewed my tests (all good), an assistant surgeon (who was sleeved the day after me), an anesthesiologist, and finally, by the surgeon, Dr. Aceves. All questions were answered and I was the second sleeve of the day.

I got dramamine and versed to take 30 minutes prior to the OR and that knocked me out. LOL. My IV was inserted in the OR and I had spinal and general anesthesia. The spinal dramatically decreases the amount of general needed. Since I don't do well with general (severe nausea), I elected for the spinal too and had NO problems in the recovery room.

All I remember about the recovery room was being asked if I had pain... nope, and being told I was going back to my room. I got some IV pain medication at @ 4 AM and then had sublingual (under the tongue) toradol @ 1 PM. For me, this surgery was a lot less painful than the band.

At noon, I had to drink small sips of water. An hour after that I drank apple juice with a blue dye in it. This is the second test (first done in OR) for leaks. I have a drain near where the port was and the hope is that no blue color comes through to the bag. I passed. After that, I was brought hot tea, tang OJ, and apple juice. My IV was taken out this evening.

Tomorrow morning, I go for the last leak test and will have to drink a radiograffin substance. If I pass that test (and I have no doubt I will), the drain gets removed at noon. I will leave the hospital at 5:45 AM on Saturday to make my flight in San Diego for home. I have nothing but positive things to say about this experience. As a registered nurse I was very watchful and am impressed with the care, cleanliness, and professionalism I observed.

I just seem to hiccup but it's LOUD. LOL. Also, my nose starts to run and I think some people with the band experience this too.

Hi again

Those are the soft signs I was told about when I got banded. It is a nerve response to tell you that you are full. I think it is located at the top of the stomach near the esophogus. I had them with the band. The hiccup thing is suppose to be some reaction to the diaphram being irritated when the stomach is full. This is what my band surgeon told me.

Ruthi

Hi again

Those are the soft signs I was told about when I got banded. It is a nerve response to tell you that you are full. I think it is located at the top of the stomach near the esophogus. I had them with the band. The hiccup thing is suppose to be some reaction to the diaphram being irritated when the stomach is full. This is what my band surgeon told me.

Ruthi

Thanks, Ruthi. The band was a complete failure for me so this is whole new experience for me. I definitely feel full when the hiccups start and put the folk down. LOL.

Vegas Angel, does the protein powder you bought at Albertsons change the taste of what you put it in. I am worried about my friend that is getting sleeved tomorrow.

She is really a picky eater.

another question- does it smell weird or gross. She said

food tastes bad if the smell isn't right.

Vegas Angel, does the protein powder you bought at Albertsons change the taste of what you put it in. I am worried about my friend that is getting sleeved tomorrow.

She is really a picky eater.

another question- does it smell weird or gross. She said

food tastes bad if the smell isn't right.

Hi Daisy -

I've never noticed it making my smoothie taste different --- I just went in and mixed it with water so I could tell you ... I put about 8 oz. of water and 1 scoop of protein powder and 4 pkgs. of splenda -- blended it in the blender and poured it over ice. I think it tastes good-- the flavor of the powder is Natural Vanilla Flavor. It definitely doesn't smell weird or gross ...it definitely tastes better mixed with fruit than just water; however, I don't find it intolerable or gaggy. The smell reminds me of a vanilla scented candle in the smell, but not as strong.

The brand is Wild Harvest. It is a Soy Protein Powder - No Carbs, 1 g fat, 0 sugars, 110 calories; 200 with 8 oz. skim milk. Total Fat is 1g, saturated Fat is 0, cholesterol is 0; sodium 250 mg.; potassium 28 mg; and Protein 24 g. It's a 16 oz container -- so not HUGE like some of them - with 16 servings and I believe I paid about $11 or $12.

Hope this helps and if you have any other questions, let me know.

Good luck to your friend -- and who knows, maybe with the surgery, her tastes will change ... seems to be the trend from what I am reading.

Hope you're doing well -- glad to hear you're not STARVING any longer. :thumbup:

Edited May 7, 200917 yr by Vegasangel1958

Thank you. I will try to convince her to try it. She is convinced all protein powders are going to taste yucky.

Thank you. I will try to convince her to try it. She is convinced all protein powders are going to taste yucky.

Well it's not the best I've had, that's for sure, but it's also not the worse. According to everything I've been reading on

"theworldaccordingtoeggface" on OH Max Protein Chocolate is supposed to be just awesome. And if you go to her site, you can get 20% off your order.

I'm going to take the advice I was given and wait until after my surgery since my tastes may change ... hopefully your friend won't be quite so picky or her tastes will change too. Good luck.

I just wanted to let everyone know that on Wednesday I had my fluroscope of my band and that my band went back into place, so apparently it was a dilation of the stomach and not a true slip. At first I was a little disappointed because I had decided that the VSG really is the way to go. You all have really convinced me and I have appreciated this forum so much! The doc put 3.5 cc back into my band and I can feel some restriction. Since having the band re-filled my nausea is back, it has awakened me in the middle of the night and is there in the mornings but seems to get better by midday. Today, I was in the car for an hour and got very car sick. I hope that this resolves soon, because I am very tired of problems with the band. I have a feeling that I am not out of the woods yet, but I am going to proceed as if I am. I have learned a lot this last 6 weeks, not only about the benefits of the VSG, but also about myself. I have a lot more issues with food than I thought I did. I really felt that I had developed good habits, and I have, but without some restriction, I really do over eat and for some reason, my sweet tooth came back with a vengenance. I think that I am going to get some counseling. It's time to deal with some of this stuff. Anyway, I think that you are all very intelligent woman and I'm glad I know who to pm should I have more problems with my band! I know that you all read each others threads, so I just chose Elizabeth's thread for a take over. I really wish you all the best!

Edited May 10, 200917 yr by kareyquilts
typos

I just wanted to let everyone know that on Wednesday I had my fluroscope of my band and that my band went back into place, so apparently it was a dilation of the stomach and not a true slip. At first I was a little disappointed because I had decided that the VSG really is the way to go. You all have really convinced me and I have appreciated this forum so much! The doc put 3.5 cc back into my band and I can feel some restriction. Since having the band re-filled my nausea is back, it has awakened me in the middle of the night and is there in the mornings but seems to get better by midday. Today, I was in the car for an hour and got very car sick. I hope that this resolves soon, because I am very tired of problems with the band. I have a feeling that I am not out of the woods yet, but I am going to proceed as if I am. I have learned a lot this last 6 weeks, not only about the benefits of the VSG, but also about myself. I have a lot more issues with food than I thought I did. I really felt that I had developed good habits, and I have, but without some restriction, I really do over eat and for some reason, my sweet tooth came back with a vengenance. I think that I am going to get some counseling. It's time to deal with some of this stuff. Anyway, I think that you are all very intelligent woman and I'm glad I know who to pm should I have more problems with my band! I know that you all read each others threads, so I just chose Elizabeth's thread for a take over. I really wish you all the best!

What you are experiencing is NOT normal and you should call your surgeon. It sounds like you have band intolerance. Waking up in the middle of the night with nausea and not having it go away for hours is a problem that is not your fault.

Counseling is an individual decision but you should not base going to counseling on your inability to keep the band from causing problems. I did everything right with the band and followed all the rules. Having the PA's tell me I need to do A or try B was based on their belief that the band was perfect and I was not.

Please keep us posted on what you decide and how you progress.

Elizabeth, what can I have on full liquids? I know I can have thicker protein shakes. Is yogurt a mushie or a full liquid? Also can you recommend some low calorie soups or recommend anything I haven't mentioned here? thank you.

I have a lot more issues with food than I thought I did. I really felt that I had developed good habits, and I have, but without some restriction, I really do over eat and for some reason, my sweet tooth came back with a vengenance.

None of that sounds mental to me. WLS works because it provides hunger control. If you have no restriction, it's like not having WLS at all. So you are in the same place as someone who hasn't been banded and can't stick to a diet. IOW, you are in the same place you were before you got your band.

Elizabeth, what can I have on full liquids? I know I can have thicker protein shakes. Is yogurt a mushie or a full liquid? Also can you recommend some low calorie soups or recommend anything I haven't mentioned here? thank you.

You can have yogurt, pudding, tomato soup or any soup that is creamy without additive such as chunks of chicken. I think the rule is anything you could suck through a straw. I liked the sugar free italian ices and frozen yogurt bars.

I ate some cream of potato soup and spit out the potatoes.Whatever they made the cream of part out of, I had a really bad reaction. It must be the lactose intolerance people have been talking about. I have been full of gas, and sorry if it's TMI,

I have been in the bathroom for hours. I finally remembered to take an anti diarrhea pill. HOnestly, I don't ever remember being this sick.

It might have been food poisoning. Hours of GI problems after a bowl of soup sounds like more than dairy problems. I didn't go out to eat anywhere until the end of the soft phase of the diet.

I did well with tomato soup that I added half a can of skim milk to and half a can of water to. The potato soup was probably made with cream. You can have oatmeal cereal for breakfast. Since I was born allergic to milk, I have to be careful with the amount of dairy I consume. Cheese is not as bad for me as milk.

I hope you're feeling better.

I did not know that oatmeal was a full liquid. I thought it was a mushie. I used weight control oatmeal and made it very watery by adding milk to it but now I am afraid of milk.

I love that soy slender you recommended. I am glad I have Susan and you to guide me through these post op food phases.

Thank You!