educationrulz

I'm tolerating spicy foods just fine overall. I've never been one to eat anything with the words "nuclear" or "suicide" in the name but I do like a little kick now and then. I regularly eat medium hot buffalo wings and sometimes put hot sauce on stuff. I found a great spicy chicken enchillada Soup at a local restaurant and get that every couple of weeks. The only catch for me is that postop I tend to notice it more in my stomach as opposed to in my mouth, the way it was preop. Sometimes it hits a little heavy and burns in the stomach after eating something spicy. I'm not sure if it's because I'm having more acid issues postop than I ever had or if my stomach is still adjusting.

The B12s are tiny so you'll be able to swallow it just fine fairly early on if you decide to add this supplement to your regimen.

I had one food that I didn't tolerate well earlier on (a cheesy, potato dish - I know, bad me!), but I had it again this past week and no problems. Take note that when I say I had this dish, it amounts to about 2 teaspoons max - after I start with my Protein. I haven't had anything that really bothers me. I do indulge in a treat here and there because I don't do well with feeling forbidden from certain foods - it makes me rebellious after a certain point. At three months out, I still have quite a bit of restriction so a few bites of a cookie or piece of cake really doesn't do any damage. I tend to not want any more after that. I'm trying more things every day now that I'm in the normal diet phase. Even though I'm still losing, I want to be able to eat normally out in public (as much as that's possible with my stomach). So, I try different things every now and then at home to know how I will tolerate them in social settings. I tried a piece of cupcake at home so that if I was at a birthday function at work, I would know if it would be ok for me to have a few bites of cake without falling out in cold sweats or running to the bathroom. I'm just starting to try foods with nuts in them here and there and no problems with those either. I just knew they would ball up into a knot in my stomach and send me to the ER. NOPE!!! I've also broken down and experimented with diet soda this past two weeks after reading several stories here on the boards about sleevers having no problems with carbonation. I bought a diet mountain dew 20 oz bottle. The first time, I poured a little in a glass and stirred alot of the bubbles out with a metal spoon. I took a few slow sips with no problem and then poured out the rest in the glass. A few days later, I decided to be brave and sip a little straight out of the bottle. After two sips I felt fine and left it alone so I didn't push my luck. Same thing a few days later. There's still over half a bottle left in my fridge and that overwhelming urge I had to drink some soda is fading away. I'll probably continue to drink a few sips here and there, but don't plan on making it a habit. I just want to be sure I can do it safely in public if the situation calls for it. I'm still curious to know if anyone tried soda and ended up doubled over in pain or feel as if it has stretched their stomach. I have yet to hear of this from anyone despite the dire warnings we get from some doctors. Still haven't tried alcohol or salad...

I asked at my preop appt at the hospital and was told that the acrylics were fine as long as the polish was clear or light enough to see through. So, I just changed my polish to a see through color before surgery. I agree with someone that technology has changed quite a bit and they can work around stuff like this. When I had my first surgery about 15 years ago, I was told absolutely no nail or toenail polish and certainly no false nails or overlays. The last couple of surgeries in the past few years, it didn't seem to be such an issue. Just ask someone in time to take them off if required, but I doubt you'll have to.

Well, I have had such a busy week this past week getting prepared for surgery. I'm mentally and physically exhausted, but excited about having everything out of the way. Now, I just have to continue my pre-op diet and make a few last preparations before my surgery on the 22nd. I thought it might be a good idea to post what I went through with pre-op appointments in case anyone out there is wondering about this aspect of things. I actually scheduled all of my own preop clearances. (The surgeon's office scheduled the preop appt I had with them and the hospital.) The surgeon's office has specific doctors they work with for the clearances and I went with those instead of trying to do something closer to home. I didn't want any delays with the results getting to my surgeon. This actually ended up being for the best because the surgeon's office and all of the doctors they use for clearances are tied into the hospital's computer network. They are all able to view most of the same info, reports, data, etc. about patients using the hospital's doctors. This should help prevent any delays if a piece of paper gets lost along the way. I actually had my first preop clearance last week, which was pulmonary. This appointment was quick and to the point and a total breeze. I guess that's because I don't have any pulmonary isses, but it felt somewhat like a waste of time. I wish I had scheduled this one on the same day as one of the other appointments and that would have been one less day of driving 45 minutes each way to the hospital offices. This past week, I had the Upper GI, cardiac clearance, phone intake with the hospital admissions department, pre-op appointment at the surgeon's office, and pre-op intake at the hospital. This was all done over 3 days. Wednesday morning I went in for my Upper GI. This required that I have nothing by mouth after midnight. I was allowed to take my meds that A.M. with a sip of water. As others have said, this test is not pleasant. It's not the one where they put you to sleep and put the camera down your throat. This is the one where you drink a ton of nasty stuff and roll around on a table like a beached whale while the GI doc looks at live action xrays of your stomach handling all the nasty stuff you drink. I got a quick look at my GI system in action at one point during the test. It was pretty cool to see the liquid running through my system on the screen as I drank, but I was too queasy to stare at it much. I managed to drink everything they threw at me, but I was SOOO sick to my stomach afterward. I had planned to run and eat immediately after, but I didn't feel like it. My stomach was full of chalky stuff! But, I decided that instead of walking around without any sustenance in my body, I would make myself eat something. I went and got a meat omelet from IHOP and immediately felt better. Lesson for me, go ahead and eat after the Upper GI even if you don't feel like it. The stuff seemed to move through my system fairly quickly after I ate. I learned a couple of days later that the results from this test were that I have significant GERD. Go figure. That explains all the recent burping - which I never did up until about 3 or 4 months ago. I did my phone intake with hospital admissions after the GI appointment. This was basic info gathering, a review of my current medications, and somewhat of a test of my understanding of what I was about to do to myself. Later that afternoon was my appointment for cardiac clearance. When I got to the back, I was given an EKG. Then, the cardiologist came in and reveiwed the EKG and my history information. He said that the EKG was normal and that I seemed to be in good health for my weight. He then said he wanted me to do the treadmill test. Now, I had thought this was automatically part of the cardiology clearance, but apparently it's not because they had not scheduled me for one. They couldn't fit me in that afternoon, so I had to come back the next day. GREAT! :cursing: But, I didn't balk because I am too determined to have this surgery to let an extra appointment get in the way. For the treadmill test the next day (which was Thursday), I had to have nothing to eat or drink - except small sips of water - 4 hours before the test. I was instructed to wear or bring something comfortable to wear during the test. Since I had to go in to work that morning, I took a gym bag with me. I changed in the private exam area and the tech swabbed off my chest area with alcohol and hooked me up to an EKG machine. I was allowed to keep on my bra, a hospital gown, and my bottoms and tennis shoes. She took my vitals and then had me get on the treadmill. I started off at a moderate paced walk and then the speed picked up. I never had to actually run but I did get sweaty and exhausted toward the end. The point was to assess how much exertion it took to increase my heart rate and how my body responded during the phase with a high heart rate. I was able to do this at a fast walk. I think the whole thing took about 30 minutes from the time I entered the room. The actual treadmill time was about 5 to 8 minutes. The next morning, Friday, I had my appointment with the surgeon. This went really well because my diligence with my preop diet paid off and I came in 1 pound under weight from my initial consultation.:thumbup1: Lord I was so worried about that because my weight had been up and down (mostly up) since that initial consult appointment and your surgery can be cancelled if you gain weight. I think I"m in the clear now because I don't expect to gain any weight on this low carb preop diet. I turned in all of my surgical clearance forms to the insurance coordinator and she put together the packet for me to take to my hospital appointment later that am. She had to get the GI clearance from the computer network through the hospital because they hadn't given me anything after my GI appointment like the other two had. I then spent some time with the nurse reviewing my preop and postop instructions and the progression of the diet. This was really interesting because my surgeon has changed his bariatric diet progression recently and it's much more liberal than it used to be. I plan to post it in another blog, but I'm thrilled to only have 2 days of clear liquids post op!! Yay!!! :thumbup: By day 7/8 postop, I'll be on pureed/soft foods. I'm really excited about that. After talking quite a while with the nurse (she also took some measurements for reference points), I got to meet with the doctor. I think I surprised him with my list of about 20 questions, but he took a seat and answered every one of them. I'm going to try to post that as a separate blog also for anyone who needs ideas of questions to ask. I thought of a couple more as we talked, so it was very informative. I'm very comfortable with getting the procedure done after our Q&A session. After that, I went over to the hospital and completed my preop admission. I met with the intake rep and handed over my ID and insurance card (for the umpteenth time) :scared0: and got a nice little armband for the remainder of my preop. Then, I went to the testing area to meet with the preop folks. First, I talked to the anesthesia nurse practitioner about my anesthesia history. Nothing significant there. Then, I met with the bariatric nurse specialist to review everything I would go through on the day of surgery, immediately post op, and long term post op issues. This aspect of the preop visit was unexpected and very helpful. I learned about the bariatric wing of the floor I would be on postop, some things to remember for the morning of testing (like to request an antinausea patch before surgery), got to review aspects of the diet progression, and got some tips and tricks for eating postop. The bariatric nurse specialist will be visiting me throughout my stay in the hospital and checking on me post op for quite awhile. It will be nice to have another point of contact when I have questions. The last leg of my hospital preop appointment was the general surgical nurse. She took some vitals and reviewed my chart and history briefly. She made sure that all clearances were in order and on file and made sure that my chart was complete. She then took a few vials of blood and took that hospital bracelet off my arm. I was so glad of that because I once had to wear that thing around for almost a week before a surgery because "that" hospital had to know that I was the same person who had given the blood during the preop - STUPID. The nurse reviewed the procedures for the morning of surgery with me and that was it. Anyway, I hope this "book" I just wrote about my preop tesitng helps someone get a better idea of what they might be in store for in the days before surgery. I'm sure it's done differently in many places, but I guess the overall point is the same - to make sure we're healthy and sane enough to go under the knife. If I had any advice, it would be to plan your appointments strategically and be clear about what's expected at each appointment. I'm not sure that I could have cut down on my driving any because there was so much to get done, but I might have been able to cut out at least one or two days of the back and forth with better planning. Now that I'm done with that, it's on to week 2 of my preop diet and just trying to keep my head on straight until surgery day. I'm still getting a case of the nerves here and there, but I'm going to see it through. :thumbup:

Glad to hear it's getting better. I noticed the thing with my breath too, but that seems to have gone away - except when I drink a creamy Protein drink. Whew! I feel like sticky dragon mouth every day after I have my Protein shake. I've always kept a toothbrush at work for after lunch, but for awhile recently I was brushing after the Protein Drink. Since that's impractical and makes me look wierd, I put some Mentos gum in my desk drawer and chew a piece for a while after my shake. I'm not supposed to be chewing gum at work but if anyone says anything I'll give them a taste of the old dragon breath one day and see if they have any further complaints about my gum chewing! :laugh0: My real problem lately has been my armpits - to put it delicately. I've been smelling them ALOT in the last few weeks and it's driving me crazy. I'm not doing anything at work to be getting musty and my Secret deodorant has worked like a pro for 20+ years. I remember someone saying in another thread that body odors can be more pronounced post op with the hormonal changes, so I decided that was the problem. I switched to Degree deodorant a few days ago. It seemed to vanish the odor for a day or two, but it's back today. I think it's just me that can smell it but I'm not sure. My nose is somewhat defective so I"m thinking if I can smell it, it must be bad. I work with a couple of people with world class noses who can smell stuff a mile away and identify the most obscure smells. I think I'm going to have to break down and ask a friend at work if it stinks. I'll be totally embarrassed to have been walking around like this for week but at least I'll know where I stand. Anyone have suggestions for a deodorant other than Secret and Degree that might take care of this? Do I need to try one of the clinical strength brands? Or is it something I'm going to have to wait out like the breath thing? I don't mind trying different deodorants but I don't want to waste my time and money if it won't make a difference.

This was a BIG concern to me preop also. I was the type of person who never sat down to a meal or snack without something to drink - the sweeter the better. I tried to practice preop, but I couldn't give it up. I did give up the high calorie drinks and switch to diet preop. But, I had pretty much accepted after my research that I would not be able to eat and drink at the same time. It was actually way easier to stop this habit than I thought it would be. I think it was easier for me because I had so much difficulty drinking early on that it wasn't something I enjoyed doing. By the time I started solids, I didn't want to do anything to add to my discomfort so I didn't even attempt to sip with my meals. Now, at almost three months out, I'm in the habit of not fixing a drink with my meals. I don't even keep any liquids near me while eating because I know it would be easy to unconsciously reach for the drink. I also don't order a drink with my meals when I go out. (I could always order one later if I'm there long enough.) I have found that this is the best way to break the habit. I don't fix a drink for myself until my 30 minutes have passed. I focus on chewing my food well and have no problems swallowing - not even with chicken.

I eat broccoli all the time as a small followup to my protein. Haven't had a problem yet. Still a little nervous about trying the salad though but I guess I'm far enough out to give it a go when the opportunity presents itself.

This is so simple I'm almost embarrassed to post it, but it was a big help to me during my low carb preop diet. I plan to try it again soon now that I can tolerate more foods in my postop diet. All you need is the boxed "Steak Um" frozen beef slices (in the frozen meats sections) and some string cheese. I used the pepperjack cheese. You can use any cut of cheese but the string slices seemed to just fit right in. Fry one serving of the steak um patty in a pan. They cook really fast so stand there with it while it cooks. You can season the meat as it cooks. I used Lawry's seasoned salt and pepper. Turn it over when it browns on one side. When the second side is done browning, remove the pan from the heat and take the cheese slice and place it toward the end of the steak um patty. (Steak Ums are rectangular shaped.) Then, roll the steak um around the cheese until it looks like a little wrap. The heat from the meat will melt the cheese and make it nice and gooey. You can bite right into it. Yummy! Some people may prefer to pat some of the grease off the meat before rolling your cheese into it. Also, if the cheese was real cold, I would lay it in the pan for a quick minute before rolling it into the meat just to get the melting process started. Hope someone is able to enjoy this.

Thanks for the info Carrie. I have heard of Seasonique and figured they were related in some way. I'm definitely going to ask about Seasonique when I go for my followup in a few months. I was a little nervous to start with that since I haven't taken BC pills in 6 or 7 years. I also have noticed a change in my cycle post WLS, so I'll be interested to see what happens when I go back on the pill I used to take years ago. There's no telling what's going to happen. My PMS and cramping has increased significantly after this surgery. I hope it works well enough to keep my cycle regular. That's what I really want. I'm tired of counting weeks and keeping up with when it will start. I figure the few extra pounds it used to keep on me won't matter now that I've had WLS. :thumbup:

I personally don't think malabsorption procedures are appropriate for people who are not going to be compliant with supplements - even if they might "need" the dumping to keep them straight. Someone who won't take their supplements, despite the obvious signs of malnutrition, probably won't be deterred by dumping. They'll find a way to work around it - like only eating ice cream in a comfortable setting so they can run straight to the bathroom. I think your mother-in-law and others like her would be better candidates for the VSG, plication, or (yikes!) even the band. Better for her to stall out with weight loss from overeating than to be totally malnurished.

Hey Lis. Congratulations on making it through a year relatively unscathed. Everything is relative, huh? :thumbup: Whoever said this is the easy way to lose weight is off their rocker. But, we all have our reasons for doing it so I guess we have to trust that once we make this difficult decision it's the best path for us. I hope that things continue to improve for you and that you are happy with your results. Best wishes, Mary

I agree. The C-section was worse! And I don't think my C-section was totally awful. But having that much muscle tissue cut does not mix well with getting up, sitting down, standing, walking, rolling over, moving, etc....:laugh0: The VSG surgery was only painful to me because of the hiatal hernia repair. That aspect alone was as bad as the C-section (for me anyway). But the other aspects of the sleeve surgery were minor in term of pain. Now, if anyone else here has had fibroids removed, you know that that's the mother of painful abdominal surgery. OMG! That trumps the C-section any day! I was miserable after that one. Not sure I would do that again...

Anyone have experience with Seasonale? I mean in general, not necessarily related to WLS. I'm about to start back on a low dose pill, but I'm intrigued by the idea of 4 periods a year. I would love to hear from someone who's been on it for a year or so. How are your periods? Is there alot of breakthrough bleeding and how bad is it? Did it cause you to gain weight or slow your weightloss?

I didn't pay much attention to the insurance info given to me by my surgeon's office. I figured out at the patient seminar that some of the info they gave differed from what I had been told by the nurse case manager. From then on, I only followed the guidelines of the insurance company. I did have to do the six month supervised diet, psych eval and 6 months of counseling. But once that was all verified, I was approved in about a week. UHC gives some of the quickest approvals from what I've been reading on the message boards.

I don't think any plastic surgeon worth their salt would do a reduction on someone in the middle of drastic weight loss from surgery. Why risk needing to go back and have something else done after you finish losing? My unprofessional opinion is that even if your breasts don't lose an inch, the rest of your body will be totally different proportionally after you reach goal and the placement of the breasts is dependent on your body. Believe when I say I know the pain you're going through. I made the decision to have a breast reduction back in 2004 when my neck and shoulders were hurting so bad (for the millionth time) that I couldn't turn my head or hold a phone to my ear. I scheduled a consult that day and never looked back. Now, I'm waiting to see how the girls are going to hold up post WLS. So far, they seem to be holding up well. I suspect this is because I shelled out the extra bucks to add a lift to my reduction procedure. But, time will tell. If they look REALLY bad after I reach goal, I would consider going back for another lift or implants. Crazy...I know. :thumbup: Despite how great it is to finally be losing weight for good, I still say the breast reduction was the best gift I ever gave myself. As for Medicaid, I think I've heard that they cover reductions. You could probably find this out pretty easily with a basic web search or call to a patient rep. Hopefully you'll start getting some relief as your weight loss progress.

I didn't have a drain with my sleeve surgery. I didn't notice any side effects that might have resulted from not having a drain - other than maybe a little extra abdominal swelling that went away on its own. I did have a drain with my breast reduction years ago. I didn't realize it until the drain was taken out, but it seemed to sap my strength while it was in. I suspect this was because it was pulling some of the blood from my body along with the Fluid drainage, but it wasn't that big of a deal. I just felt the need to drink more when I had it in. I think you'll find that it's the least of your worries post op. :thumbup: Stay hydrated!

Please tell us EXACTLY what kind of support you want since what's been said so far isn't adequate. Then, maybe only those people willing to provide that type of support will respond. Ultimately, we are here to support each other as best we can.

I went to Wal-Mart today to get something for my daughter, and on a whim tried on a pair of the size 18 pants in Misses. They fit! OMG! I was so excited. I've been fitting into 18Ws, but this is my first time fitting an 18 Misses. My daughter looked at me like I was nuts when I started shaking my moneymaker in the mirror - but she was laughing too.:thumbup: This may not be as big a deal to some people who can recall fitting these sizes. I have been so overweight for so long that I pretty much skipped misses clothes in my adult life. I guess I was in them in high school but of course my choices were limited because of my age. By the time I went off to college with the freedom to make my own clothing choices, I was shopping in the Women's section. This variety of clothing options that I will soon have is even more exciting because I know it will last. I won't have to go back to Women's sizes after I fall off the "diet" wagon like I did 6 years ago when I briefly made it to 18. I can't quite fathom right now that I'll be as small as a size 10 or less. I'd be happy with a 14 right now. Now I'm planning to buy my first ever sexy little black dress when I get down to size 16. :scared0:

WOW!!! That's great. Congratulations!

I took a list. Here's what I asked. http://verticalsleevetalk.com/blogs/educationrulz/702-questions-asked-surgeon-preop-appointment.html

I wish I had known how painful the hernia repair can be. I woke up from surgery feeling like there was a hot poker in my esophogus. Don't mean to scare anyone, but it's the truth. I would of course still have it done in hindsight. I mean, who wants to get a whole new tiny stomach and still have it deformed because of a hernia? But, had I known to expect the pain, I would have been more mentally prepared. This was a total bummer on my mood early on. In all my research, I knew to expect the gas pain and nausea, but I missed the painful hernia part. Luckily, it went away after a few weeks and I'm glad it was fixed. On a lighter note:wink0: I wish I had known how great it feels to be satisfied with such a small amount of food. I still have occasional moments of just wanting to "chow down", but for the most part it's very liberating.

Hang in there Susie! :thumbup: I remember feeling exactly like you :scared0:. Unfortunately for me, it took me almost 4 weeks to start feeling normal again. But, I did get there. I hope you'll be one of the 2 weekers. I'm now eating totally normal foods (except nuts - I can start those at 3 months out). I'm getting around great, buying clothes in the Misses section (YEAH!!!), and enjoying the changes in myself. I'm still figuring some things out, but it's all good. You'll be there in no time!