sarsar

Congratulations! That is a good NSV! Just remember to throw out the wrapper from the string cheese when you are done!

My children are ages 20, 11 and 8. I told my 20 year old about my surgery right away after I decided to go. I told the 2 younger ones that I was going on a trip with grandma (my mom came with me while my husband stayed home to take care of the kids and work). I didn't want to tell them I was having surgery bf I left bc I knew they would worry, especially my 8 year old. He is just that way and I couldn't be concerned about that while I was gone having surgery. It was already hard enough to leave them without the stress of knowing they would be worried about me. Mine are a little older but they did fine. They missed me but my husband kept them busy. I explained to them a little about my surgery when I got back.

Your kids are young enough that they probably won't even understand what being gone for 5 days means. I know it is hard but they will be ok. Just remember that you are doing something that is going to make your relationship with them everything you have been wanting it to be for so long! You are going to be healthy and those 5 days will go so fast, both for you and for them!

Thanks, Mama Sleeve....great advice as usual. You are the best!

I would like to add a little something to those who are thinking about surgery, it goes along with number 11...exercise. Start exercising as soon as you start thinking about surgery. I am convinced that this will help with recovering after surgery. I had been working out with a trainer for 3 years bf surgery (on my own for even longer). Like most of us, I would lose weight and then gain it all back over and over again. Still, I continued to work out. I had a very, very easy recovery, my lungs were strong and so was my body even though there was extra fat on it! It was easy to get up and move right away after surgery. Even more exciting for me is that as I am losing weight, I am seeing all of those muscles that I developed underneath the fat. I developed those from the 3 years of strength training that I did! I am down 2 pants (not dress, but pants!) sizes and in a couple of weeks that will be 3 pants sizes as the ones I am wearing now are starting to get way too big!

I was one of the lucky ones that didn't get the gas pains at all, you may end up that way, too! You would probably have it already if you were going to get it but everyone is different.

Enjoy your stay, I met some great people while I was there!

Exciting! You dream will come true in the place where all dreams come true! Good luck to you!

I am sorry you are going through so much. In the beginning it's hard to figure out what will work for you and you have the added pressure of complications.

Try some greek yogurt and thin it out with apple juice, see if that will go down. Also try some chicken broth and mix it with plain greek yogurt, that will add extra Protein. I loved potato Soup in the blender with some chicken broth and greek yogurt.

Just keep trying things to see what will work for you. Hang in there and keep us posted.

I go to my PCP for all of my after care. I have had a very easy recovery other than becoming dehydrated. I knew I was and went to her and she sent me over to the hospital to have an IV and 2 bags of Fluid. (She doesn't do it in the office.) She sent an order over and they didn't ask me anything about my surgery. My insurance covered it without question.

My PCP is very supportive of me having the surgery and was behind all the way with going to Mexico. It may not be what she would decide to do but she understood why I did it and has not judged me at all, she has only been supportive.

I am going next week for blood work and she is keeping an eye on me to make sure my recovery continues to go so well.

The after care was a concern for me, too bc it is major surgery so there is, of course, a possibility of complications. I had to let it go bc I could not live in fear of wondering what if something goes wrong. The way I look at it is that I have more of a possibility that I will have complications from being obese than I would with having surgery!

For me, in the past when I have lost weight my dose always went down. Then when I gained the weight back it went back up. I am getting my levels checked next week and I think my dose will need to be lowered. I am pretty in tune with my body and I am feeling my heart race sometimes and I have been itchy. That is usually the sign that the dose needs to be lowered. When I start to lose my hair and eye brows I need a higher dose.

Yeah, I was thinking about the dining aspect of it. It's going to pain me to $30 ish per person for me to eat when I know I'll only be having a few bites at each meal. I wonder if there's anyway around that like say when we go to Ohana and places like that when you pay per person and are not just ordering off of a menu.

Thank you to those of you who have replied to my question, I appreciate it!

I was just thinking about this yesterday as Ohana is one of our favorite places to eat! I am going to call to make reservations and ask if I can be charged for the kids meal instead of adult meal. I know that some doctors give out cards to show restaurants that allow you to eat from the kids menu instead of the adult menu. I am going to ask my PCP about this. Disney is usually very accommodating so I have a feeling they will work with us on this!

I was told to start walking right away. I have also been doing a lot of stretching but did notice that I had to be careful with that so I didn't pull my stomach muscles too much. I am cleared to start my regular exercise routine tomorrow, I will be 6 weeks out. I have an appointment with my personal trainer for tomorrow and I am very excited. Of course, I will be taking it slow and listening to what my body tells me. If it's too much I will slow down.

How cool you were in my area Disney. My potassium level was up to 3.4. After 3 bags of potassium it DROPPED to 3.1. I'm so upset. I don't understand this.

Oh no, I am so sorry you are going through this. Hang in there. I just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you.:hug:

We are going to Disney in October also! I will a little over 4 months out by then. I feel good now at almost 6 weeks so I am sure I will be fine by then. I think you will be ok. Pack Protein powder to make drinks, I will be doing the same. As far as energy goes, I am sure you will have a lot more of it than you have now! I can't wait to go to Disney this time and not be fat!

I am happy you were able to talk to him and be at peace with your decision! The most important thing is that you feel comfortable with whatever decision you make. Best of luck to you!

Yippeeee! Congratulations!:clap2:

My main reason for going with Dr. Aceves was bc I wanted to recover in a hospital. It was in a safe area of Mexico, that was also important to me. Also, all of the reviews I read of him where great.

It is true that Dr. C did have the sleeve surgery and so did Ernesto, the driver, who will pick you up.They both look great. Ernesto has a before pic of him in his glove box, ask him to show it to you! They will both answer any questions you may have.

I don't know much about Dr. Kelly but I do know that a lot of people speak highly of him and have had a great experience with him. Just remember that death can happen with any surgery. It is just one of the very, very slim risks. Any surgeon can have a death and it is sad and scary but it is true. This could happen with even the best surgeon out there.

Best of luck to you in your decision! Let us know what you decide.

Wow, Sarah! Great job! I am also Sarah!

Even though we are all at different weights on this board each one of us can understand why you want to have this surgery! You will do great with the sleeve, you have already proven that by losing so much weight. The sleeve will be a tool to help you finish your weight loss.

Keep us posted!

Wow! You look great! You look so much younger! Thanks for sharing the pics!!!!

If you fly Southwest and you are checking in a bag is does NOT cost extra. If you go with another airline they will charge you per bag that you check in so keep that in mind when you are booking your flight. Southwest may be a little higher but when you factor in the baggage fee that you have to pay with the other airlines I have still found that Southwest is cheaper.

Thanks everyone! Can we have sugar free pudding as well?

Yes! If it's too thick for you just add some milk to thin it out. I love to add a scoop of Protein powder to the sugar free pudding, it tastes so good!

When I was at that stage my favorite thing to eat was pureed potato Soup. I put it in the blender with some chicken broth, cheese and plain greek yogurt (for extra protein). It was so creamy and good!

It sounds like you got on it fast. But just one more thing, be aware of any smell. During the window of the hole healing where my drain was they told me a change in smell also indicates trouble. That might only be because it was a large opening that was healing, but it's just something else to be aware of just in case.

I will watch for this, thanks. It's not my drain incision that I am having trouble with, it's a tiny one on the other side!

I was actually surprised myself! It seemed to be healed already, all of the other incisions are fine. I check them daily and didn't notice anything until last night when I scratched it!

I was a huge Water drinker before surgery and was nervous about the drinking part as well. The first couple days you take tiny sips. You learn quickly how to sip bc if you gulp you get air and it doesn't feel good. After a week or so you can start drinking more at a time, at least that is what was true for me. Now that I am almost 5 weeks out I daily get in my 64 ounces and usually more. Liquids go down easy for me. I don't gulp them down but I can take a few sips at a time instead of one at a time.

The hardest part for me is not being able to drink while I eat! I hate it. I am so thirsty while I am eating that I don't even feel like taking more than a couple of bites of food. I just want to be done eating so that I can wait 1/2 hour to drink. I have tried to drink a little while I eat but it just didn't feel good when I tried.

I also had a great experience with Dr. Aceves.

As everyone says, you have to do your research and decide what you feel is best for you!

I am a little over a month post-op and I noticed today that one of my incisions seems to be infected. Last night my stomach was itching where my incision was. I didn't even think about it and I scratched it, I then realized I scratched the scab off of the incision. It didn't hurt or anything and I didn't think much of it. Today it was a little tender so I looked at it and there was some puss that came out of it (sorry, it's gross). I immediately washed it and put some antibiotic cream on it and covered it with gauze. It is a little red but not puffy and it is tender if I touch it. All of my other incisions are completely healed.

Has this happened to anyone else? Any ideas as to what to do? I was thinking I would keep the ointment on it over the next couple of days and if it gets worse by Monday I will go and see my doctor. Of course, if I get a fever or anything like that I will go to the ER.