Scribbler
I'm no special or different from anybody else here. I've been fat since childhood and fought with it my whole life. Whole family's that way. I'm not as big as many of my relatives, but it could go that way if I really let it. I'm determined to not become so obese and unhealthy that I feel like a prisoner in my own body.
I lost around 45 lb. first, without any surgery, doing the low carb, grain free thing - but I stalled for about 2 years and decided to ditch the diet roller coaster. I opted for VSG after originally asking for the DS. I hope I made the right choice.
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HISTORY
INSURANCE DENIED in 2005, after a 6 month weight loss program in which I lost a grand total of like 2 pounds and worked with some clownshoe of a psychologist who told me I needed Jesus (not kidding).
INSURANCE APPROVAL 12/31/2013
PRE-OP DIET 01/2014 - Lost total 15 or 20 pounds (depending on which scale you use). Passed a gallstone. Zero stars, would not do again.
PRE-OP TESTING 01/20/2014 - Abnormal EKG, additional stress test needed, all other tests normal. No diabetes.
SURGEON CONSULT 01/27/2014 - Got my prescriptions all ready and my pain meds. In other words, had surgery on my wallet. Surgery was successful, Big Pharma got its money that day.
STRESS TEST 01/29/2014 - Cardiologist was actually impressed with results, says I did remarkably well. Green light for surgery.
EGD 01/31/2014 - Surgeon ordered this diagnostic due to belly pain from gallstone. Was not fully anesthetized for the procedure. Very painful. Zero stars, would not do again.
SURGERY 02/04/2014 - 1 hour in surgery. VSG successful. Surgeon also fixed a hiatal hernia. Spent 30 minutes in recovery room. Slight shortness of breath upon waking subsided within 5 minutes (probably from anesthesia).
DISCHARGED FROM HOSPITAL 02/05/2014 - I had GERD upon discharge - may have been caused by (a) swelling, or (b) intolerance to the dairy (milk) I was being given in hospital. Stopped all dairy products and am on 40mg Omeprazole daily. Since then, have only experienced GERD at odd intervals - most likely swelling/overeating related.
UPDATE ON GERD: Measuring portions more carefully and under-eating the sleeve by half to one-third seems to have resolved the GERD. Welp. Lesson learned! Thanks Frisco!
COMPLICATIONS/ISSUES/STUFF PEOPLE MIGHT WORRY ABOUT:
POST-OP PAIN - Mine was super minor and manageable. I had a little bit of pain of course, but it wasn't ever above a 4 on the pain scale. In hospital, I got pain meds whenever I needed them; at home, my surgeon gave me every medication you can imagine to keep the pain down! I felt very well taken care of, and my surgeon takes pain management very seriously.
GERD - Undereating the sleeve and eating on a schedule seems to help this issue greatly, as well as not eating too much dairy (milk doesn't work for me - yogurt and cheeses seem OK). Eggs don't sit as easy as something like yogurt, but I do eat them - I just eat them carefully.
NAUSEA/VOMITING - I had a little bit of nausea the first few days I was home after surgery, but not any vomiting. Whenever I felt a little queasy, I pushed hot unsweetened herbal tea, and swear by it. It might have been the anesthesia and the medicines I was given in the hospital; I don't know. It went away, though.
FEELING HUNGRY - I haven't felt hungry since the surgery. I hope that keeps up. It makes it so much easier to stick to my eating plan.
MUSCLE SPASM - Ow. It happens. I get weird cramps in the general vicinity of one of my incisions. It seems to be getting better slowly.
WEIGHT LOSS - Weight loss is going to vary by individual. I know my own body, and I don't lose as fast as some people do, but I've lost very well for what is normal for my body. I'm happy with the weight loss so far. I have hit a little bit of a stall (I'm 3 weeks out at the time I write this) but I'm not sweating it by any means.
LACTOSE INTOLERANCE - Hopefully this is temporary, but I've been told it can happen with VSG. You literally wake up lactose intolerant when you get out of surgery. Mine is pretty gross/violent with milk and whey protein shakes. I'm going to try and re-introduce them slowly after some time.
DIZZINESS/FAINTING - This is a new one. I'm seeing my PCP and talking about my blood pressure medications and how to get weaned off them, because I think at this point the medications are making this problem really bad. I took one of my pills and blacked out something like 3 times 2 hours later. Last time my blood pressure was measured last week, it was low. It might be time to come off them already.
