sickofrollercoaster

There is a Dairy Queen just down the road from the hotel and I think a KFC maybe, I did not eat at either one, we did not find them until after supper. There is a huge cantina/bar/restaurant within walking distance of the hospital, glad Mom did not discover that before leaving! Mom had the guacamole from the cafeteria, said it was great. She said the chicken salad was not anywhere close to what we are used to.

Ok, my surgery is May 10th. I have never been one to take Vitamins. Even when I was pregnant, I could not stomach the prenatals. I have tried to take a multi-Vitamin before and they make me sick. So... Pre Op, should I take a children's vitamin to get my body in better shape? Post Op, what would be a good option on vitamins? Chewable? What all should I take? A multi-vitamin plus Iron, Calcium, etc? Any input here would be great! Trying to take some wonderful advice of getting my foods and vitamins prior to surgery so that it will take minimal effort in that area. Thanks!!!:wink1:

Well, just a little update, was supposed to leave BWI at 5:10 and the left engine would not turn over so about 1.5 hours later, they got it fixed and we are on our way, love having wifi on the plane! Mom is at the hotel near DFW, we will leave tomorrow morning for San Diego and then on to Mexicali! I took my daughter's pillow, has cute little hearts all over it (already had a few looks from other passengers...). This is my oldest and she has the worst time with me leaving so I gave her my pillow and took hers, I hope this helps her get through the next 5 days. I will update as I can and also give Mom a tutorial on VSGtalk so she can update if I am unable to after surgery. Take care! If anyone is on Chat right now, you got my undivided attention for the next 3 hours! Long flight!

Feeling under the weather this afternoon. Feel a sore throat coming on and getting weaker, I hope I have not come down with something. Our weather has been weird lately, in the 80s this past weekend and no in the low 50s and rainy.

Good question Janet! I know that I have back pain when I am on my feet alot so it might just be exagerrated by the fact that I am so tired. I will ask though, thanks for pointing that out. Also, I actually had an epidural, they left it in until Wednesday, not sure why, I would like to know case the other patients did not have that!

I was until today! My girls had recital pictures all day so I am beat! But they are in bed and I am chillin' now! It was really hard today getting in enough Fluid, felt like I was playing catch up this evening. Overall, I feel great. I do have a little pain, Dr. A did one of my incisions in my belly button which is a great idea, it will be hidden but I feel a little pull when I stretch so worried about that. Have not gotten on the scale and will not until the 24th so I can't say on that front how I am doing but I know it is crystal light, sf popsicles, broth, Protein drinks and sf Jello going in, that is it, oh and V8 veggie juice so can't imagine that I will not lose any weight by then! Thank you so much for checking!

Found this drink at Target today, all fruit, all natural with whey Protein concentrate and soy protein isolate. Anyone hear of these? They have 30 grams of protein for 15 oz. I know I will drink this over the next few days but the carb content does bother me, 68 grams of carbs for the entire bottle...

Thanks Faith! I will look for some coupons, that will definitely help! I have one I bought yesterday and I am still working on it so no way will I get two in one day! You look like you have done so well too! Congrats!

Thanks so much! Just tried the protein powder from GNC (cookies and cream), gross!!! I have Isopure RTD (like gatorade, sorta) and that is hard to stomach so if I can do these, I will pay the $3 a bottle! I do worry about carbs, I think that is truly what keeps me fat!!!

Well, I'll post just 6 days post-op... I do NOT have the urge to go buy a scale and am TOTALLY fine waiting to weigh myself when I feel the need! This tool is giving me the ability to control what goes in my body and as long as I know i am getting the right things, no need to jump the scale 3X a day! Haha, here is a funny one, I have stopped biting my nails... Go figure!

WOW Tiff! Amazing, something to be really proud of! And tonight is the Military Ball right? Have a wonderful time!!!!

I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!! IT IS TRUE RIGHT, NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS SKINNY FEELS? Congrats!!! Really happy for you!!!

Well, I made it to my bed at 4am this morning! Have you ever been so tired that you are not? Well that was me... But I tried to sneak in bed without waking my husband who stayed at my house to watch kids. He immediately got an attitude with me for not saying hello (again, tried not to wake him) so after him trying to start an argument, I asked him to leave. This journey will be challenging enough without having an insensitive, self absorbed person taking my energy and quite frankly I don't have any energy to hand out right now. This may be more of a beginning for me than I realized. I took the kids to school which was extremely scary and swear I will never do that again on no sleep and came home and got 6 hours of sleep so I feel better. I took my Nexium (anyone know a better way to take these without dissolving and taking the chalk down?) and am sipping on beef broth now getting ready to tackly an Isopure Protein drink. There were Hershey's Kisses on the counter when I got home (leftover from my last minute eat anything you want stage) and I tossed them in the trash. Did I want one, yes, is it worth it anymore, absolutely not!!! Thank you Will Power, thank you Sleeve! Talk to everyone soon and thank you!!!

Trying to stay hydrated but realizing that stress would normally have me eating and drinking like crazy! Sure won't gain any weight on this flight! Drinking some blue berry juice cocktail, really gotta start some protein at home tomorrow!

We had some setbacks on our travel, diverted to Austin due to bad weather at DFW and now back at DFW waiting for plane to Baltimore, I will not be home until about 4am! So tired!!

Almost to San Diego Airport, headed home today!

Ok, everyone, had the barium swallow test this morning... YUCK! That was the nastiest taste ever. But the good news is that my tummy is MUCHO Paquito! They also did a swallow study on Mom and her 17 year old pouch looks great as well! I got the drain out this morning so I am free from all things medical. I am having some heartburn/acid reflux feelings so they gave me some chalky white liquid to drink. Waiting to see if that helps. Anyone else experience that so early after surgery? Also, what about some pain right in the center of your back? Is this an indication to stop drinking? I had a few swallows of chicken broth this morning and that was really good, waiting to see if I get more soon. We leave tomorrow morning and I am ready to be home but I will miss the wonderful folks I have met here. They all truly care about the patients and do their best to make you comfortable.

Got to take a shower and change my clothes, that was nice! Got a fresh bed too. Word of caution, if any of you are left with the spinal block line in, do not try to bend over from the waist, OUCH!!! They are going to give me one more dose of morphine tonight in it and then remove it. Tomorrow they will be doing the swallow study and then removing the drain. We leave Thursday morning at 7am as far as I know. Can't believe I am almost 48 hours since I "ate" and not hungry at all. Not even a little bit. When do I start the Nexium? They gave me a tiny little pill to take earlier for pain and it took me about 5 or 6 small swallows to get it down, wow. At this point, I do not see how I will be able to go back to work next week so I am anticipating either working from home a little or putting in for leave. Not sure how I did this but on Friday when I weighed myself at work I was at 180. After my weekend of eating whatever I wanted, I step on the scale at the hospital Monday morning before surgery and I weigh 177. I will not buy a scale for the house just yet... Thanks again for all of the well wishes!

Hey everyone. I had the blue dye test earlier and all was well. My vein in my hand blew so they took out my IV. I still have the spinal line in. Very sore and can't really get rid of any gas right now but I have apple juice, gatoride, tea and Water to sip on. I was getting naeseous earlier so I took it easy. Mom went out walking with a lady who is here with her friend who is having the surgery as well. They just brought me some ice, yeah! I think I get to take a shower tonight and change my jammies, I'm excited! Well, maybe I am a big baby but to be honest, I would not have wanted to do this without my Mom, I really needed her here... Thanks for all the well wishes, I have some crushed ice calling my name!!!

Good morning, Angie has been up several times during the night walking to try to get rid of the gas. They have been giving her pain meds through the spinal tap line but it wasn't helping with the gas. The nurse came in earlier to empty the drain tube bag and said the bag was also full of gas. After that Angie has gone off to sleep and hasn't seemed to be in as much pain as before. I hope the gas thing is over with. I think she is really missing the kids. But she is getting some much needed rest Thanks for all the comments and concerns. These forums were not around when I did this. It's been like she has a group of best friends out there rooting her on. Angies's Mom Tracy

It's 7pm in Mexicali. Angie is doing great. She's been up walking twice. She's peed and now having some gas pains. Most of her upper torso is pink because of the antibactiral they poured on her. I expect she will be feeling a lot better in the morning. She has never been a big complainer but I know she is in pain. The hospital is the cleanest I've ever seen. The staff you meet with upon arrival speak fluent english. The nurses, however, don't. When you arrive they give a sheet of paper with common phrases in spanish that a nurse would ask you and it tells you how you can answer so that is helpful. If you can't say it you can point to it and they can read it. Dr. Aceves is wonderful. He came in this morning before surgery and talked with us about what would happen during the surgery. Also about how this is the easy part. It's up to you now to make healthy choices. I'm really impressed with hilllm. I had what is kinda the lap band 17 years ago. The material was made out of the stuff they use for heart bypass. Dr. Aceves was aware of the Dr. and the surgery. The doctor that performed the surgery in Houston passed away sometime ago. He asked me if I have any issues with my pouch this evening after he looked in on Angie. I told him that I'v e had some issues for about a year. After we spoke he said "I tell you what on Wednesday when Angie does her swallow test we will have you do one too? DO WHAT??? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. When Angie woke up I told her what he said and she said "Mom, that's awesome". It really is. I think he's a caring, compassionate person not just a doctor. If I hadn't had the surgery I wouldn't hesitate one minute using him. He's a real Champion for the cause. Maybe Angie will feel like posting in the morning. She told me to tell everyone thanks for the prayers and well wishes. Now if she would just poot. Bye for now, Tracy Angie's Mom

angie just left for surgery. will update as I know. It's mother's day in Mexico. Angies Mom Tracy

Anna, don't worry about it! I would not have known either but thought I read somewhere that somebody had done that. We are getting ready to leave, Ernesto will be here in about 30 minutes!