kczar

So sorry you had this complication, surgery twin! I'm glad it was caught in time and pray for your quick recovery. Keep us posted!

I actually haven't felt any hunger pains yet. I'm really on a schedule to make sure I'm getting my protein in. In a way, it's very freeing to not obsess about what I'm going to eat. (But I can't wait to get to the soft food stage next week so I can taste something other than chocolate, soup and fruit-flavored drinks!)

I was sleeved 8/20 and can relate. I'm taking Pepcid AC twice a day. I also take one or two Tums whenever I get the feeling of foam at the back of my throat. It really takes care of that. The bariatric coordinator at my hospital recommended holding off on calcium for the first week or two because it can make you nauseous. I personally haven't had any real hunger feelings at all. I'm just sick of Protein shakes, fruit flavored drinks and plain Water. Can't wait for next week when I can have a bit of soft foods. I plan on getting my protein in from real food ASAP. Good luck!

I was sleeved there on Monday! They really have a great system there. Sandy, the bariatric coordinator, was very helpful. Hope you're doing well. I met my liquid goal yesterday and I'm 15gms away from hitting protein. Yay!

IMSKINNY, it didn't really hurt, it felt more like pushing on a bruise. It took me about five or six pulls to get the whole thing out. The last little section really just glides out. Make sure that the end has a black tip. Otherwise, you'll need to call your surgeon. I'm just glad I don't have to clip that thing to my nightgown any more! For four days, I felt like I had one ********. (I'm a girl, lol.) ETA to say that apparently, you can't type t e s t i c l e on the board

Since I was just sleeved on Monday, my thing is related to immediately post-op. I wish my surgeon had told me that he was going to use the On-Q pain medicine delivery system and that I would have to remove it myself. I got it done today, but it was extremely freaky watching this catheter come out of my body!

My cousin lost about 80 pounds on it but she's struggling a bit with maintenance. It definitely works for a lot of people, but you're always going to need to stay on their program if you want to maintain the loss. Plus it does nothing to decrease appetite. You just need to determine which option you think will give you the long term results you want. Good luck!

Day after surgery and I'm feeling pretty darn good! Obviously, my side isn't happy and stomache has growled a few times, but overall its been great. Hope to be dischargeed after lunch. Best of luck to those going in this week. I hope you sleeve goes as well as mine.

My surgery went great! Zero complications and most of the pain is gone. How are you doing?

Soccermom is right. Being nervous is normal. Spend this time preparing for post op. Stop drinking during meals, learn to tak small sips abd chew food throughly. Go through the pre and post op threads for inspiration. Believe me, the time goes quickly I am one day post and had zero complicatins and on pain at the incision. You can do this!

I'm in a gown and going in at 7:30. Will update later. Good luck to everyone else getting sleeved today.

My surgery was delayed two hours and spent quite a bit of in recovery because my oxygen was low.But got in a room around 4:30, had a few sips of Water and broth and walked around about half the floor. No real pain now (got something called a pain ball that gives a constant flow of pain killers) just sore on my left side from the big incisions. I've already urinated so I'm pretty much on track. Do hate the breathing treatment I have to do. The nurse said I'm the best sleeve patient they've seen. /brag?/ Thank you all for your good wishes and best of every luck who went in today and the remainder of the week!

So here it is, the day before my sleeve surgery. I've been up since 5:00, went to the store, cleaned the litter box and taken out the trash. My mind is racing, trying to think of anything I've forgotten to do. For the moment, all I think I have left is to do laundry and pack my bag. 6:00 can't come soon enough! A bit of background about me - I'm a 51 year old single mom. Even though my children are all adult (at least technically, I feel mom is my most important identity. However, I got a bad case of empty next syndrome last year and decided I need to find something to occupy my time. Otherwise, I would sit in front of the tv more than I already did and gain even more weight. So I started back to college. When I graduated high school, college seemed important only if you were going into a specialized profession (doctor, psychiatrist, lawyer, etc.) So I went to work instead. I got married young (22), had three children and then decided at the age of 30 that I couldn't live the rest of my life in a bad relationship. So I left with my 1, 6 and 7 year old. Those were some tough years but so much better for all of us. I know have a married 28 yo son, my 26 yo son is in the Air Force and my 22 yo daughter is in college. Taking classes again (I went to school part time in my 30's) has been so much fun. I've always enjoyed learning new things and although I started out interested in digital forensics, I think I'm switching to multimedia web design. It ties more closely to my current job and besides, it's more fun! Anyway, in bettering myself via education, I also started getting serious about my health. My daughter was diagnosed with MS two years ago and although she's doing pretty well, MS is a disease that can change on a dime. I know that I need to be as healthy as possible and stick around a long time in case she needs me. So after finally obtaining health insurance after going without for 10 years (thank you, President Obama and the ACA!), I had a physical at the beginning of the year. My doctor asked if I had considered weight loss surgery, and when I said yes, he really perked up. I originally thought about getting the band because it was reversible and seemed the least invasive (lol). My doc was the first one that mentioned the vertical sleeve. He had it done last year and said it was the best thing he's ever done in his life. In fact, his wife had it done as well. My family has been going to this guy for close to 20 years, so this made a real impact on me. I went to an information session, still thinking about the band. Then I heard about the success and complications rates. In contrast, the sleeve sounded like the most eloquent and effective option. So I started my six month diet plan, ran through the battery of tests and got my approval in July. In the meantime, I had my gallbladder removed (the main reason for getting insurance in the first place) and surgery to repair my deviated septum. I also did a sleep study, was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea (my only co-morbidity) and issued a CPAP. So at this point, all my out of pocket expenses have been met (or billed at least) and my sleeve tomorrow should be "on the house." Throughout the last eight months, I haven't been as strict on my diets as I should. My highest weight a couple of years ago was 305. At the beginning of the year, my weight was 294. This morning, I weigh in at 266. I have lost a total of 12.5 inches since I started tracking it in April. I have two weight goals. The conservative one I set with my surgeon is 190. This is the lowest weight I remember being as an adult and I felt really good and thought I looked pretty good (I was 5'8-1/2" at the time, I've shrunk an inch since then!) Checking the BMI calculators, 165 would be the highest weight I could have to be considered in the normal range. I do have a large bone structure (I know, everyone says that) so I don't know if it's attainable or not. I think I will be happy with anything between that range, frankly. Anyway, this hasn't been too funny of a post, but it's my first one. I have to give some background and endear me to your hearts before I release the snark. And don't worry, it's there. I've just got it chained up for the moment. If you're just starting out in your journey to sleeve surgery, hang in there. Read a bunch of stuff, get educated and ask questions. Make sure you are mentally prepared to make this life changing decision. If you focus your will and effort on it, you will be successful!

I know there are several vegetarian/vegans on this board. Do a search on those words and you'll find a slew of posts about being successful. I'd also recommend friending some of your fellow veggie lovers. The ones I've seen here are really great and supportive (I'm not one personally, but I respect your conviction.)

Are you talking about the period before right before surgery (7-14 days) in order to shrink your liver or just in general to prepare for our post-op life? My seven day pre-op diet (I'm getting sleeved tomorrow!) was five low carb shakes a day, low sodium broth, sugar free popsicles and all the sugar free, noncarbinated, caffeine-free drinks I wanted. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be, although I'd love to chew on something for just a minute! If it's just a general getting ready for the journey plan, I increased my lean Proteins, getting in at least 60-80 grams, lowered my carbs significantly, cut out soft drinks and minimized caffeine (it irritates the stomach). I also practiced taking small bites, chewing thoroughly and not drinking during meals. When is your surgery? Remember that it's extremely important to cut your carbs down to the bone at least a week before in order to shrink your liver. They have to move it aside during the procedure and this minimizes the risk of them nicking it. The shakes my surgeon's office recommended (besides Protein powder mixed in Water - yuck!) was Premiere, Atkins Advantage and Slim Fast low carb. They have about 3-6 carbs per serving so I wind up getting about 20-30 carbs a day. Good luck! Edited to fix my mix up on the carbs - The drinks have between 3 and 6 grams.

I'm having mine on the same day as well. I'm a bit nervous but mainly excited. I can't wait to get off the preop diet because I move straight to full liquids. Good luck, you'll do great!

Definitely check with your doctor, but mine told me Tylenol was okay. Do not use Ibuprofin because it can hurt the stomach. The headache is probably from caffeine withdrawals. Good luck!

Yay, you've been working on this for a long time. Congratulations!

I'm on day three of a seven day liquid diet. Not too bad so far, though I've been going to the bathroom every two hours because of it!

It's day three for me. Although I'm hungry, it's not too bad. I do miss freaking chewing something. It's the 20th for me, so it's getting close for both of us!

Well, had a day of firsts yesterday. I started my seven day liquid diet. It hasn't been too bad so far. I got really hungry a couple of times but just drank water and got through it. Even took my daughter to Taco Bueno and wasn't tempted to sneak a bite of anything! Also went to my first support group meeting. And I also had my first night using a CPAP. I didn't do too badly, but I did have to take an Ambien around 11:00 to actually go to sleep. I'm a bit woozy from it this morning so hopefully I'll only need to use it for a couple of more days. I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but the Obesity Action Coalition is having its inaugural convention in Dallas this October. It might be a great place for people to meet up. Here's a link to the site: http://www.obesityaction.org/oac-annual-convention. Six more days!

I went to the surgeon's office and the hospital yesterday to do all my pre-op testing. So far, everything looks great. I only have to do a one week liquid diet (yay!) I'll get five shakes a day plus broth and unlimited sugar-free drinks. I can't believe I'm so close! The 20th will be here before I know it.

Had a follow up appointment with the surgeon's PA and got my test results. Everything looks great except the X-ray showed a hiatal hernia, which was missed on my endoscopy. So that will be repaired when they do the sleeve. He uses a 34 bougie, which the PA said is the standard in Europe. They do the leak test during the surgery so I don't have to do the swallow test afterward. I'm due at the hospital at 5:30 so I should be the first one in line on that day. All in all, everything looks good and I can't wait for the 20th to get here!

You already have your CPAP? I'm getting royally screwed over by the sleep center on this. I had a consult on 6/19, first sleep study on 7/2, follow up appointment 7/24, second sleep study 8/1, follow up 8/7 and now they're ordering the machine! I was diagnosed with severe OSA (I stop breathing an average of every 50 seconds) and it's taking two months to get a machine. Very unhappy! You might ask for a prescription for sleeping pills. They gave me an Ambien during the second sleep study because she said I was fighting the CPAP. That might help you through the adjustment phase. From what I've seen, it usually takes a week or so to get used to it. Good luck!

I just had my second sleep study Wednesday. Initially, I wanted the nose pillows but I absolutely hated the feeling of air being forced up my nose. Didn't like the nose mask either because of that feeling of air rushing out of your mouth. It felt horrible! Surprisingly, I felt best with the full mask since I could breathe through both my nose and mouth. Still had to take a sleeping pill to fall asleep, but I don't remember waking up for at least six hours. Get my CPAP next Tuesday and hopefully I'll be able to adapt to it. Getting sleeved on the 20th so hopefully this is a short term solution.