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.

The smell thing is why we tell you not to stock up on Protein powders pre-op. :cool2: They won't smell the same so they won't taste the same.

I think this time is hard. But I found going to regular food harder because I expected stuff to go back to normal and it didn't.

The smell thing is why we tell you not to stock up on Protein powders pre-op. :cool2: They won't smell the same so they won't taste the same.

I think this time is hard. But I found going to regular food harder because I expected stuff to go back to normal and it didn't.

I buy things in very limited qualities; #1, because I can only eat a few bites and I don't want it to go bad on me, and, #2 because of the "smell/taste" thing. MAC - do you know what causes this? (the smell/taste thing), I'm just curious. Enquiring minds want to know.

I don't have a sense of smell. I wonder if that will make things different for me. People say things must taste different to me than most people because taste is related to smell.

Thankfully, tomato soup tasted the same. I made a can and used water instead of milk and took my time eating it. I was stuffed 3/4 of the way through but it was delicious. I'm wondering if cutting out part of the stomach is the causative factor in the altered taste/smell sensations?

do you know what causes this? (the smell/taste thing), I'm just curious. Enquiring minds want to know. :thumbdown:

I don't know why either. It seems to happen to almost everyone even if they aren't on a high Protein diet.

Mac: You said that going to regular food was harder, because you expected things to be normal and they weren't. How were they different? Are they back to normal yet?

At first you can't eat a lot. I found that very frustrating. But around 12 weeks out, everything opened up a bit more and I got to a point that I could eat enough to be mentally satisfied.

At first you can't eat a lot. I found that very frustrating. But around 12 weeks out, everything opened up a bit more and I got to a point that I could eat enough to be mentally satisfied.

I think the mental part is the hardest. I grabbed a 4 oz diet pudding and my instinct was to dive in and make it gone in a flash like pre-surgery. Instead, I had to consciously only put a small amount on a spoon and "test" how a little went down.

Head hunger is another issue. When I have dinner and see another person eating a "normal" meal and I'm about to start in on my Soup, I "think" I am starving. I didn't feel that way before I saw the food. When I can't make it through the can of soup because I'm full, I recognize head hunger from physical hunger. Since I never achieved real restriction with the band, this is all new to me.

I think the mental part is the hardest. I grabbed a 4 oz diet pudding and my instinct was to dive in and make it gone in a flash like pre-surgery. Instead, I had to consciously only put a small amount on a spoon and "test" how a little went down.

Head hunger is another issue. When I have dinner and see another person eating a "normal" meal and I'm about to start in on my soup, I "think" I am starving. I didn't feel that way before I saw the food. When I can't make it through the can of soup because I'm full, I recognize head hunger from physical hunger. Since I never achieved real restriction with the band, this is all new to me.

Wait until you start on solids, you'll be in for the shock of your life. The band was nothing, it did nothing for me regarding restriction. I was always one extreme or the other. I could eat anything or nothing. For me, with the sleeve... WOW! First time I ever experienced true restriction.

Head hunger is a very interesting phenemnon. Emotional eating is also another issues. What have you all found to replace food, when you feel upset? I think it would be a wonderful miracle to feel full on a small amount of food. Getting my mind to also be satisfied is going to be a skill that I will really need to develop and work on. I have always been a volume eater, probably why I did pretty good with the lapband (120 pounds lost). But I still have many many food issues. It really is tiring some times to deal with. Glad to know that at some point everyone feels more normal with there eating. Not sure why all of this is pysching me out so much! Anyway, glad for your openess and willingness to share.

Wait until you start on solids, you'll be in for the shock of your life. The band was nothing, it did nothing for me regarding restriction. I was always one extreme or the other. I could eat anything or nothing. For me, with the sleeve... WOW! First time I ever experienced true restriction.

I can only imagine what that will be like. LOL. I was out all day today and had to have some fasting blood work done so Breakfast was out. Since it was a nice day, I went shopping with a friend to look for some new tops. At 12:45, she was hungry so we went to a diner. That was fun. I scanned the 7 pages of the menu and came up with 2 choices; soup or a milkshake. I opted for a cup of coffee and matza ball soup minus the ball. LOL.

My friend asked if I would be OK if she ordered "real" food which I was fine with. I don't eat beef so the burger didn't bother me but those 2 onion rings and fries did smell wonderful. I ate my soup and was not hungry but it was hard watching all that food come out to a crowded diner. Once I was out of there, we went back to shopping and I never felt hungry. I'm now home and not physically hungry at all.

Head hunger is a very interesting phenemnon. Emotional eating is also another issues. What have you all found to replace food, when you feel upset? I think it would be a wonderful miracle to feel full on a small amount of food. Getting my mind to also be satisfied is going to be a skill that I will really need to develop and work on. I have always been a volume eater, probably why I did pretty good with the lapband (120 pounds lost). But I still have many many food issues. It really is tiring some times to deal with. Glad to know that at some point everyone feels more normal with there eating. Not sure why all of this is pysching me out so much! Anyway, glad for your openess and willingness to share.

I think it's important to remember that obesity is a disease and that weight loss surgery helps to control the disease but does not cure it. There are genetic, physical, emotional, and social aspects to obesity. Genetics you can't do anything about but that still leaves you all the others to work on.

Before I was banded, I went on a healthy diet and got myself down from 440 pounds to 195 pounds. When a series of events and the death of my father ensued, I fell back to "old" but "comforting" patterns of eating. The focus was off me and on caring for others. When I could not get back to healthy habits, I decided the band was what I needed to help me. Unfortunately, I was one of those whom never achieved restriction.

The major advantage I see to VSG over the band is that I can eat healthy again. Because of the awful heart burn and acid reflux, I began to eat foods that produced the least amount of acid. With the VSG, I will eventually be able to eat anything... just smaller amounts.

Somewhere on this forum Mac said that the more healthy things she eats, the more her body repels the crap foods (I am NOT using her works - LOL). I agree with that because it's exactly what happened to me when I was able to lose over 200 pounds. Once you feel better, your body wants to move more. I think we'll always need to ask, "Is this REAL hunger or I am looking to eat because X"? The "X" is what each of us deals with and varies.

Elisabeth: You are so right. It reminds that even though I am very near goal, stuff happens and I do think that I need a tool and it seems that my band is not going to work for me any more. I'll know for sure May 6th. I do think that I'm going to get the sleeve. I don't think it's wrong to recognize that I need the help. Maybe, I should look it as I'm strong enough to know what I can and can't do. You're doing great. Thanks for the thoughtful feedback.

Elisabeth: You are so right. It reminds that even though I am very near goal, stuff happens and I do think that I need a tool and it seems that my band is not going to work for me any more. I'll know for sure May 6th. I do think that I'm going to get the sleeve. I don't think it's wrong to recognize that I need the help. Maybe, I should look it as I'm strong enough to know what I can and can't do. You're doing great. Thanks for the thoughtful feedback.

What happens on May 6? I really do see it as a strength that you recognize you need a tool to keep you at a healthy weight. Obesity is a disease just like diabetes is a disease. Without the aide of insulin, many would die. It's so sad that because obese people wear their disease for all to see we're seen as lazy or worse.

May 6th is when I get another fluro to see if my band moved back into position. I'm not holding out a lot of hope, but if it has, I will probably mess with it a little longer.