CamaroGal

I had my surgery on 2/22/11. I was 295 lbs on Jan. 1, 2011. I was 264 lbs on date of surgery. I'm about 195 lbs now. I went through the Kane Center in Hoffman Estates. My surgeon was Dr. Guske. Surgery was fine. I like Guske to a point. I think the exterior staff (receptionists, nurses, insurance coordinators, etc) are over worked and thus make mistakes. It was very hard for me to get in to see Guske when I had some vomiting issues a couple of months ago. I finally just went through my PCP...which was a good thing because I now need to see a neurologist so I can say my recent medical problems have not been due to the surgery.

About two months after my VSG I fell into a deep depression (mainly due to over 6 months of stress at work, but the stress of surgery did not help). I am bipolar, had been very consistant with my meds. I ended up in an outpatient program to treat the depression. I started having vomiting episodes every once in a while. As my bipolar meds were being adjusted, it was just attributed to them. Then when the meds were stabilized, I continued to have the episodes. Then they became more frequent and then became several times a day. I first went back to my bariatric surgeon just to make sure it wasn't something with my vsg. They gave me an H. pylori test. It came back positive. This is the bacteria that causes ulcers. I also went for an upper gi to confirm there was no blockage. I was prescribed Helidac. The upper gi was negative for blockages or ulcers. It only showed some reflux, but I have been dealing with that even pre-vsg. I continued to have the vomiting. Sometimes after the meds, sometimes after I ate. There has been no pattern. I went back to my surgeon a week later. He prescribed me something to help with the nausea (so he said). I continued to vomit. I then went to my PCP. He said the anti-nausea med I was prescribed was actually an anti spasm med. He took me off of that and put me on Zofran which I have had before when I used to have nausea with migranes (migranes gone after being put on cpap). He stated he had to calm my stomach before trying a different route. I have felt much better as the vomiting has stopped the last 5 days. I go back to my pcp on Tuesday for the next course of action and just wonder if any one else has suffered with this post-op. My biggest concern is that I haven't been able to keep my bipolar meds regular and the work I've done to get out of my depression the last 3 months will suffer.

My shocking comment had nothing to do with telling people about the surgery. I'm 4 months out and have lost 65 lbs since surgery and a total of 85 lbs due to pre-op diet (and stomach flu, ha!) I started this journey at 285. I'm 5'2". I had strangers at my front door twice this past week. One was Comcast trying to get me back as a customer and the other was an insurance guy who had the wrong address. Both times I answered the door I was asked "Is your mom home?" Please note: I'm 36 years old!

Hungry Girl on Cooking channel made a chicken pizza. Instead of pizza dough, used a chicken as the base. I modified.. I cut the chicken breast in half, after I baked it, I put on the bit of pizza sauce and miny pepperoni and for me a bit of goat cheese. I got the taste but not the bread/crust which I have a hard time handling and I'm 4 months post op.

Bilka, Come stai? Sorry.... don't know much more Italian than that and Sono Americana and Mi chiamo. Thank you for your post. It has been a number of years since I was in Torino for work, but I'm do for another trip. At least this way I can be prepared if my colleagues want to attend such a place for dinner. If I were you, I would just eat the best that you can. I have no shame in pulling apart a sandwich and only eating the interior and not the bread. Also, are you doing this on a nightly basis? Probably not, so don't be too rough on yourself.

Here's my story. Was always a somewhat hefty kid. In junior high (7th grade) came home to an empty house and was lonely. food became my friend. It didn't help that even at that age I had a regular menstral cycle and a 32C bra size! When I graduated college I was about 185. A few years later, I saw the scale reach 195 and I told myself I was not going to be over 200. My now ex husband had me walk 5 miles a night and I had a can of Chunky Soup for lunch and a can for dinner. I dropped down to 140 lbs. I was then diagnosed with major depressive disorder. A couple of years later got pregnant with my daughter and gained back the 60 lbs I had lost. By the way, I'm only 5'3". A few years later, at the time of my divorce, I made a suicide attempt. The years following my divorce I continued to gain and gain weight. I only went through my primary care doctor for anti-depressants from time to time. In April 2010 I went to a psycharitrist, I was diagnosed as bipolar. I was informed that depressed people lose weight, but when a bipolar (manic depressive) gets depressed, they gain weight. I was also told that when people have depression that it tends to stay flat... or at one level. Bipolar individuals are the ones who attempt or do commit suicide. After having mania you crash and the more often this happens the lower point to which you crash. I share this only because if you feel this way, please get help. Once you are on the right mood stablizers, you will feel your life be very different. The problem with 99% of the bipolar meds is they make you gain weight. Even when I did my psych eval with a dr other than my own, when he heard I had been on Seroquel, he said "You can eat a piece of lettuce and gain 5 lbs on Seroquel." Ain't that the truth!!!! Along with my 1200 mg of Lithium, I am on 40 mg of Omeprazole and 50 mg of Atenonol. I also have sleep apnea. I attended a seminar in Dec. 2010 upon the suggestion of by Gynecologist. I had one D&C due to 3 months of bleeding and was looking at needing a second if I didn't get my weight off quick. I also was having a hard time fitting in an airplane seat and I do have to travel for work. Embarassingly, I also could no longer clean myself properly after a bowel movement. I decided on the Sleeve as it would be the least invasive with my bipolar meds. I don't make a lot of money but our company makes up for it with excellent insurance. I paid $100 to my surgeon. For my pre-op testing I paid $400. I know I am very very lucky. I know on Jan. 1 I was 295 according to my scale at home. I started all the pre-op testing Jan. 14 and I had my surgery on Feb. 22, 2011. I almost didn't have time to do the two week pre-op shake diet! On the date of surgery I was 264. I'm now at 246. I am struggling with my bipolar. I'm sure my medication will need to be adjusted but I have never been on any one med combination for more than 5 months. Also my anxiety has become worse but I think the stress of trying to remember to eat (I have had no appetite) and just the recent added stress from work has caused this. If you have bipolar and are struggling with your mood stablization, I would love to hear from you. I really don't know if it is the surgery or just me. My biggest problem is the side effects from the various meds. I was on Abilify for about 2 weeks but I had to move constantly or I would have severe pain in my legs. I was on Stavzor (similar to Depakote) but my liver levels were raised. I was on Seroquel but my sugar levels were raised. I was on Wellbutrion but did not help. The lithium I am on now may cause issues with my thyroid (I have that blood test on saturday) and causes me nausea. My lorezapan for my anxiety has been my only constant. I do see my psych next week but I like hearing what others are experiencing. That's why I've come to the VSG forum.

Congrats and I hope you pass gas soon! Most doctors and hospitals won't let you go home till you fart... Ha! I had to stay an extra day cause I couldn't. I got my sleeve on Feb. 22 and doing fine. Time passes quick... and so do those first pounds!

I have a CPAP (Actually a BiPAP as I need two different pressures as I sleep). I got mine in August 2010, long before I thought about VSG. I had the sleep test done in 08 and was told I didn't have sleep apnea but disruptive snoring. The dental device was going to cost me about $500. That was $500 I didn't have. When I went back in '10, I had gained about 50 pounds thanks to my mental meds. My sleep doctor said he has NEVER seen such a severe difference between two sleep studys. I have the ResMed Nasal Pillows. I am a stomach/side sleeper. It did take several weeks to get used to the mask, but waking up rested really helped. No matter how bad it seems.... the alternative is much worse! There was an auditor that worked with our company that died in his sleep due to undiagnosed apnea. I wear mine every night and for every nap! I'll take the annoyance to wake up!

Thanks Luanne. Before the bipolar diagnosis, I was using a beer or two a night just to shut off my brain. When I was first on the Abilify and then the Stavzor/Seroquel combination, I was in such a mental fog that I almost said enough of this and went back to drinking! I couldn't believe that it took 3 months to get out of the hazy bubble. I think my doc thought I was "crazy". Have you had any side effects with the Pristique? Energy is one of the things I struggled with before the surgery. Right now the energy level seems better but I'm always worried about the lack of energy coming back.

Double check with your insurance. My insurance did not require a 6 month diet plan. I did have on record my weight loss attempts with my GP.

I didn't even have the chance (tubes are tied) but just because I'm the right age, I had to do a test before anyway. I also had a D&C done by my gyn right after I had my sleeve. Got to love surgeons who will work together so you only have to be put under once!

I'm about 6 weeks out now and can just barely tolerate cool items. I try to avoid ice like it's the plague. Cold causes me pain/nausea.

It took me about 3 weeks before I could sleep on my stomach again. As far as food, I did buy baby food. I did add a bit of salt since most baby food has no salt. I also would take mashed potatoes and add the baby food meats together. It was almost like eating mashed potatoes and gravy. It also helped me to get my protein.

I too am bipolar. I did clear the psyc exam. My suggestion is your psych dr. monitor you very closely. Mine is having me do extra blood tests to check my medicication (lithium) levels. As you may know, even a few pounds can change how the meds stabilize your mood. I've recently had some issues with increased anxiety and depression but I think it is because I'm very stressed about my eating (I had surgery on 2/22/11) and I've had a lot of stress at work.

My surgeon was also Dr. Guske. I also went to St. Alexius. Wonderful surgeon. Great facility. I've had several surgeries there. The Kane Center is also a Bariatric Center of Excellence. For BC/BS of IL they are a fast track center.

Bryn, I too am bipolar. I was on Stavzor (Valporic Acid like your depakote) and on Seroquel. My psych had me on Abilify but I couldn't handle the side effects. When the Stavzor raised my liver levels and the Seroquel raised my sugars... and knowing I was going to have the surgery... my doctor switched me to NON-TIME RELEASE lithium. The problem with the time release is your stomach is too small to have the meds sit there. I now take 600 mg twice a day. As my meds are capsules, and after checking with the pharmacist, I had to open the capsules for the first month after surgery. Now that I've lost about 55 lbs, I'm going for another blood test to check the lithium levels. Plus lithium screws with your thyroid so they have to check that too. I'd ask your regular psych doctor about what should be done about your meds now. This way, if they need to make a change everything will be settled then you won't have the problems post-op.