ObesityHelp

Honey I am 10 days out and I had HUGE buyers remorse for the first few days IT WILL GET BETTER!!!...I am not 100 percent yet but I am feeling much better now....I even took my children apple picking a couple of days ago.....hang in there....been there and know how you feel. 


Tanya

HI Lizzy,
I had Dr. Alvarez (he's sooooo cute, btw...lol) and he doesn't use a drain or a catheter.  He also doesn't use staples for the incisions.  Or sutures either.  He tapes them and they heal on their own.  They are so small that I don't know why they would be necessary.  I had staples for my c-sections but that sucker is like 6 inches long!  He does use the most awful iodine stuff to clean your belly before hand though and man does that stuff stain!  It's been a month and I'm still trying to scrub that stuff off!

 I'm only 6 days out and I find by trying not to take the pain med, I have a harder time getting my liquids in.  And since we need to keep from getting dehydrated, the liquids are the most important.  I'm taking smaller doses of the Loritab, but might try liquid tylenol tomorrow.  I haven't yet gotten in 64 ounces if fluid in a day.  The most I can get is 45 or so.  

thank u so much for the great advise!  im gonna try that for sure!

Most likely yes. Out of pocket is separate from deductibles. My deductible had been met and had about $100 out of pocket met. So the rest I had to pay. I knew ahead of time though and was able to plan so wasn't shocked when the registration person told me the amount and asked how I wanted to pay.

I had buyer's remose before I left the hospital.  The gas pain was horrible the first few days.  I thought I was having a heart attack it hurt so bad.  I couldn't sleep well the first week at all.  I was up every hour or so at night trying to walk and sip on water.  I was trying anything to get rid of the gas pain.  My dr told me to take chewable extra strength Gas -X.  That helped a bit.  I just had a hard time getting anything down.  Even my pain meds.  I stopped my pain meds about 4 or 5 days after I was home.  I hated taking them.  I had to crush them and it tasted horrible.  I was uncomfortable the first few days home but the pain wasn't all that bad. 

I'm just a month out but what a difference a month makes.  I still don't feel 100%.  I'm not at the point that I can say "I LOVE MY SLEEVE" yet...I can finally say I like it.  lol  But with time I know it will get better - and it will get better for you too.  Good luck!

thank u.  i really need to try to get my fluids in better  im only averaging about probably 40oz a day.  right now im on pureed/soft foods.  pretty boring.  i hope if i do stall that its not long.  dont think i can handle that.  i will try to focus my fluids more than the protein like u said.  thank u for ur reply, its nice to knoe im not alone.

I went to Vitamin world (they let you taste them) and bought an adult chewable multi. It says the flavor is pineapple but it tastes more like orange to me.

I also got B-12 (sublingual) there that tastes like berry and is really yummy!

Calcium: I use the chocolate calcium chews, Viactiv.

Thank you all so much! I just needed reminders. I think that is my problem, I skipped my last dose of pain meds because I didn't want to sleep all day.

Oh hang in there!! I woke up in the hospital with buyers remorse big time! I think that is all I said for the first two days "What in the hell was I thinking!" and "Why in the world did I do this to myself?!"

By day 5 you will be feeling so much better. The first 3 days are the worst so just work on keeping your self comfy and rested. You will wake up on day 5 and start to think .."Ok I'm gonna be okay"

By the end of the first week I was no long in buyers remorse stage. Tomorrow is 5 weeks for me and I AM SO GLAD I made the choice to get a sleeve! I now feel as though I have some control and I can eat WITHOUT guilt!!! You are going to do great!! Just take it 1 hour at a time. That is what I had to do. Every hour I made sure I got in 8oz of fluids and that I walked around the house a few times. Before I knew it the 3 days were over and I was starting to feel better. Oh and SLEEP all you feel you need to. Your body needs the time to heal. Stay ahead of the pain and take that pain med every 6 hours (or whatever yours is).

YOU CAN DO THIS. YOU ALREADY MADE THE HARDEST DECISION WHICH WAS TO HAVE THE SURGERY IN THE FIRST PLACE.

My Doc says he uses a 32 French with lots of staples and oversews

Ah, thanks for the reminder.  I'll re-read all my paperwork tonight.  There's a ton and it's been a little while since I looked it over.  
Have you started your liquid diet yet?  I'm on day 10.

You are doing fine. Fabulously actually if you ask me!
I stalled during my 3rd week. Was on that stall for about 1.5-2 weeks. Now as far as getting in liquids and proteins ... here is my advice from my personal experience. I learned that I couldn't get protein shakes down and I could only get about 2 oz of fluids in at a time in the first couple of weeks. Basically since you can only fit so much in at a time you need the most bang for your buck. So I went out in search of a protein that was clear, non milky, and small amount(oz). After much taste testing and talking with a dietician friend of mine who works at a hospital (in charge of patient food services) I found
http://www.healthy-shot.com/healthy-shot_high_protein_drink.html
Peach flavor is the best according to my dietitian friend. She said that the hospital ordered all the flavors and taste tested them personally. They now stock this at the hospital for patients. I have a case in my fridge and during the first two weeks I drank two a day to get in my protein. I now drink at least 1 a day to make sure I'm hitting my goal.

Liquids ... the only way I got those in was giving myself small goals. For example, I would get a water bottle and mix my favorite crystal light flavor (orange in the morning to simulate OJ ... stuff like that). I would give myself 2 hours (8 oz per hour) to get the entire bottle down. That way I had goals to reach and was super proud of myself when I reached them. I still do this!

I would also count clear liquids towards my 64 oz. I do not count anything towards my liquids that is not clear. So if I have something milky I don't count that...The way I see it is that the doctor intends for me to get 64oz of water into my diet and if I start counting everything that is technically a liquid then I am doing my body a dis-service. It is personal preference. You'll have to decide what is best and what works for you and your sleeve. I have a very different mind set than most sleevers out there when it comes to diet/liquids as I'm sure you can see

Oh and one more tid bit ... my doctor started me on small goals. Week one I was to get 40g protein and 40 oz fluids. Week 2 50/50 ... week 3 and up 60/60. Working up to it made me feel more successful and less like a failure.

Hope some of this might be helpful to you.

Mine is also coming out with the sleeve next week

Sending my blessings, i am also next week

I had a drain in for 9 days and a catheter was put in during the just before the surgery and was kept in til the next day.  I have 5 incisions and staples in the incisions.  They didn't hurt at all coming out - neither did the drain.  The only thing that was a bit uncomfortable was the staples in my bellybutton.  I had about 3-4 in there and that hurt a little bit coming out but it wasn't too bad.

Other than the positons that have to do with advertising or paperwork, I think most of these sound good ideas. I also would have loved to have a visit with someone who already had the VSG. It sounds to me like they are trying to set up a support network, but they need to hire a clerical assistant to do the paperwork, hanging flyers and posting on Facebook.

I didn't see anything that looked like a volunteer nurse position...

sending prayers and good wishes your way! i am next week!!!!!!

 I have not had my surgery, yet.  So, I cannot give you any words of wisdom, but I am rooting for you.  You're gonna love your sleeve soon enough.  ((HUGS)) to you.

Chelley

hi, i recently had my surgery done at puget sound surgical as well!  my surgeon was dr. billing.  i havent received any weird letters yet, but im only 2 weeks out.  thats weird.  cool to see someone from the same center though!

I recently got a bunch of chewable vitamin sample from Bariatric Advantage, Celebrate & Building Blocks. They make really nice chewables, if you're into chewables. Easily break down in your mouth and they have so many flavors & combos.

Re: carbs, I don't worry about the carb or calorie content in my vitamins.

 There are many threads on this topic.  I am sure that if you post the same question on the RNY board, you'll get a thousand reasons why RNY is better.

OldMedic summed it up well, though.

I really feel great since this surgery.  I eat what I want. What I want has changed, but I don't miss anything.

Today, I ate at a casino buffet.  i had crab legs WITH butter.  I allow myself things like butter because I eat so little, it doesn't make much difference.  VERY different than any diet.  I eat until I am full. It just happens alot sooner than it used to.  I ate two sets of crab legs, or maybe 9 legs total.  About 3 or 4 ounces of meat.  Crab sits well on my tummy so I can eat alot more of that than I can or any other sort of meat.  Then, I ate a little bit of chocolate mousse.  Full fat, full sugar.  I had about 4 small bites and it was plenty.  I don't do that every day, but it's ok when I do.  I feel like a NORMAL person when I eat.

i chose VSG because it's less complex than having my intestines rerouted.  I simply lost my hunger.  I don't like the idea of having surgery so that I can eat without absorbing calories.  I really, really don't like the idea that that feature of the surgery goes away after a couple of years.  Add in the fact that I can still take any meds and that my stomach functions normally, just smaller and it seemed like a no-brainer decision to me.

i had zero complications and seriously, ZERO pain.  Search this forum and you will find testimonial after testimonial about how happy people are with this surgery.

I can't tell you what it is like to have RNY, but i went to several support groups before I had my surgery and more than one RNY patient lamented the fact that the VSG was not available when they had their surgery because their lives are more restrictive than that of VSG patients.

Best of luck with your research and your decision.

I have not taken Actigall and have had no issues (that I know of) after a year +.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a chewable adult vitamin?  I can not take large pills now & know that after surgery it will not be any better.   I want to try to avoid the "gummy" types due to the carbs. 

 Whoo Hoo!!!!  Way to Go!!!!  Keep it up!!

Chelley