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Amazing transformation!!! Congrats!!!

Just wondering what everyones experience was like. How much & what did you drink? Did you feel more inebriated than you would have before surgery? How long after surgery did you have your first drink? I'm only 13days post op but I'd really like to have some wine at a wedding in september....I haven't asked my doc how long I have to wait before drinking yet.

I had the VSG on June 29th. So far my experience has been pretty rotten. I passed out on 6/30 while sitting on the side of the bed. The nurse caught me and called for a rapid response. My BP dropped to the 70/40 range. I became tachycardic with a HR of 180. The response team put a pad on my chest to shock it into rhythm but thankfully it was just rapid not out of sync Later that day they did an upper GI with barium swallow that showed I was leak free. The next morning on 7/1 my blood tests showed I had internal bleeding as my hemoglobin was 7.9 The surgeon did the wait and see game and started me on IV fluids at a bolus rate. The next day on 7/2 my hemoglobin was at 8.1. On 7/3 my hemoglobin was at 8.2. The surgeon said that the bleeding had stopped and that I was able to go home. While preparing to go home I was moving around a lot more and noticed that my right calf hurt. I asked the nurse about it and she offered me a heating pad. I also asked if there was anything the doc could give me for the cramps in my right thigh. She didn't seem to be concerned about any of the questions I was asking so I dismissed my symptoms as sore muscles. I was at home from the evening of 7/3 till the morning of 7/7. On 7/7 I woke up at 5 am with pain in my right chest area and a fever of 101. I knew something was wrong and had someone take me to the ER. They ran through a series of tests starting with an x-ray, a CAT scan, and an ultrasound of my legs. I was eventually diagnosed with a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in my right leg, multiple Pulmonary Embolisms in my right lung, and a Pleural Effusion in my right chest cavity. They started me on blood thinners and pain medicine. I will only briefly tell you about the pain of the PEs. I have never experienced so much pain before in my life. I was screaming for help as loud as I could and clutching my chest with both hands. I called for a priest and was prayed over because I thought I was on my way out. I spent the next day 7/8 getting drugged up with Dilaudid every 3 hours to keep the pain in check. On 7/9 I had a Thoracentesis to drain 600ml of red colored fluid from my chest cavity. It is now 7/10 and I've been up all night dealing with pain and insomnia. I am supposed to go home today on blood thinners and pain management. My plan is to apply for 2 weeks of FMLA and short term disability to go with the 2 weeks of vacation I've already taken. I plan to take the additional time to recuperate because my body is a wreck.. I walked into this a pretty healthy 41 year old male 5' 11" at 295 lbs who exercised every day for 45 minutes but just had a monster appetite. I will be leaving the hospital today feeling like a weakened old man traumatized from the whole experience. I am not ready to make a judgement call on whether it was worth it or not. It is way to soon. I realize I'm in the early stages of the process and have many positive milestones to look forward too. I have hope that in a year, the memories of pain and trauma will fade and I will look back and judge that it has been with it.

I too am sorry this happened to you. Hospitals do take extreme care to ward off complications, but they do happen. It will get better. I was working out a lot before surgery and now feel like a weak slug. I have an incision that is taking it's sweet time to heal so I'm being very careful that it doesn't get infected. I've had my fair share of surgeries, open heart took 12 weeks. This is a moment in time, it will get better. Take the time you need to get healthy.

Nope nothing at all....I really thought they didn't take it out lol

What you’ve achieved in your first year has been amazing, Jake. You look so good! As you said, is a lifestyle change. If you don’t make the changes & just keep going on the same way you always did you can’t expect to be successful as you have been. The hard work doesn’t end once you hit goal. It takes effort every day. 😁

I had 2... both were in my car. The first lady gave me these instructions: You can either hold on to the steering wheel or sit on your hands... I chose to sit on my hands... Then she said turn to me and tilt your head back and keep looking at the roof. No matter what you do, DON'T GRAB MY HAND. I was so glad i chose to sit on my hands because my first instinct was to grab her hand... hehe.... she took this (what looked like 12") qtip and put it up one side of my nose. It felt like she was coming out my a$$ , then did the other side.... uhgggggg.... Second time in the car also, different medical office, she only did one side and i found much more gentle. Both test were negative. the first test was because my husband tested positive... so my work required i have one. then another at the end of 2 weeks so i could come back to work.

I just want to say, I am sorry you on going through this and prayerfully things will get better for you.

I wish I would have been told about: (1) the post-op nausea and constipation, (2) how sore my throat and esophagus would be, (3) how I would not progress to pureed foods as soon as others, (4) how my liquid intake should be 4 ounces, slipped remarkably slowly, (5) how I could not possibly down 64 ounces of water and protein right away, even when sipping at 4 ounce increments throughout the day, and (5) how I should have initially purchased liquid vitamins and patches rather than chewable ones, because I could not swallow them.

@MNgirl1234 I experienced the same thing years ago. We were married for 26 years. The last 5-6 were hell. When we first got together i was about 100#.... (5'2") So i was very tiny. I started gaining in my 30ies and put on 132#. In my mind the reason we stopped having sex was my weight. I now know that it was not. I thought if i only lost weight he would find me attractive again and want to be with me.... NOPE. If anything it got worse. He would say the most horrible things after i lost 89#. I was too thin, my face wasn't pretty anymore because you could see some wrinkles, I looked like a "bag of bones"..... and of course i was losing weight to "find another man".... I could stand naked in front of him and he would look around me or tell me to move. It was devastating...... I started getting attention from other men/woman and it became intoxicating.... I was finally getting the praise and reassurance... but not from the ONE person i wanted it from..... We only had sex maybe 1-2 times a year. I was starved for affection, as i am a very touchy person.... I craved attention from him in every way. The last few years i strayed from my marriage. I told him that i needed him, needed attention, needed affection, and yes..... NEEDED SEX. Honestly, i was "self-satisfying" every day. He didn't care..... so i told him, if he didn't i would find someone who would.... and i did. Not saying it was the right thing to do..... but what's done is done and i own up to it. We tried counseling, but honestly, it was too late... I had shut down and checked out. We divorced...... I dated..... I found the love of my life. Happier than i have ever been. I think i was around 47-48ish when i decided i was not going to live the next half of my life like that.... so i "got off the pot" so to speak.... so glad i did.