IowaAndy

I guess that I was never given a time limit as to eating a meal. I just ate slowly, chewed well and when I felt full I stopped. I did keep eating a few times and regreted it a great deal as I was miserable for sometime after eating. I did not vomit but did not like that feeling at all. I think that you will find a great deal of difference in people when they are eating, what they eat and how much as each persons sleeve is different.

Had my surgery with Dr F Garcia in Tijuana and I did not have a catheter nor did anyone that had surgery while I was there. I would ask you doctor about it.

It is true that Dr Kelly had a death but that can happen to any doctor. I did not go with Dr Kelly but choose Dr F Garcia. I was more than impressed with Dr Garcia, his entire surgical staff and Hospital Mi. I have nothing against any of the other doctors. I guess that it come down to a comfort factor for most. I gues you can chat with those who have surgeries with several different doctors. I have not heard of any other deaths but who knows how much information is really released. As for the coordinators I have no idea but I was comfortable with my coordinator Linda. I guess that it is a personal choice all around. Wishing you all the best on your surgeon choice and your surgery.

I look in the mirror all the time and especially after getting out of the shower......lets just say the view is not that pretty but it is much better than it was months ago.

Hardest thing......trying to work with insurance and waiting for the surgery date to arrive. Best thing....my new life

I had previously had a lapband but I lost around 90 pounds and then everything stopped. I still had 100 pounds to lose and my insurance would not pay for the removal of the lapband or to have the sleeve done. They too were into lapband and bypass. I hated my band as all I ever did was vomit. I am so glad that it is gone. I went to Tijuana and had the sleeve removed and the sleeve done in a single procedure which was a little more expensive than just having the sleeve. I paid out of pocket around $6000. If I would have had it done here in Iowa it would have cost me around $40,000 and I would have had to have 2 seperate surgeries. The doctor that did my band dropped me after I went to Mexico to have the sleeve but that tells you a lot about US docs.....money,,,,,money

I was self pay also and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Glad you will be able to go home and glad that you have spoken to your PCP back home. I hope that you feel better each day and that your trip back home is restful and you arrive safely.

If you are only eating protein you are going to get discouraged and tired of eating the same thing meal after meal. You are at a point where you should be able to have some mashed potato, eggs, yogart, jello just to mention a few things. The cookies are no big deal but I think that they are a way of your body telling you that you need something more than a protein shake. I think you need to expand your foods to include some more choices or things that you should be capable of eating at this point after your surgery. Do not let those little cookies dictate your life. I have also had a few small cookies and I do not feel a bit guilty. It is not that you will never be able to eat a cookies again but you can not just sit down and eat an entire package or Oreo's. Just like I used to sit down and eat a package of chips with dip or a pizza. I have not had any chips or pizza as of yet and I had my surgery on Dec 11, 2011 but that does not say that I do not crave some of my old "comfort foods". Hang in there and you will be making progress soon. Did you get a diet plan from your doctor or NUT when you were released after surgery?

Food has been one of the main things in our society for many, many years. When people used to go visit they would take a desert or some dish. No matter when you went to visit they always had to get you something to eat. I guess the way I look at it is that most if not all things revolve around food and alcohol. If I am going to a party or out to dinner I try and plan on what I will be having or take something with me for the party that I know that I can have and not abuse my intake for the evening. When going out I always try and look at the menu online to see what I can order in advance. All of my friends know that buffet meals are out for me as I can not eat that much food and I am not paying the cost for a piece of meat, a veggie and a little potato. You need to get involved in different clubs such as a running club, kntting group. scrapbooking or something where you can keep your hands busy with something other than shoveling food from a plate to your mouth. I know that when I sit and watch TV and see all of the food commercials I try to have something to do with my hands like a crossword or putting photos into an album or emailing etc.

Did they give you any indication as to what caused this lung problem? Have you ever had a history of any type of respiratory problems in the past? I would think that with the breathing treatments and with the antibiotics that you should come around fairly quickly. I am assuming that you did not have a major collapse of your lung. You might also want to give you primary care doctor a call and let him know what is going on with you and have the 2 doctors speak as you may need continued treatment after you get back home to Chicago. I certainly hope that you feel better soon. Do you have a plastic device that they have you blowing into that has the balls that go up depending on how much and fast you blow>

If you have not been taking deep breaths since your surgery and laying in bed a lot it is easy for fluid to collect in your lungs and you can get an infection or a small pneumonia. This is common after surgery and that is why they want you up walking around. After some surgeries they give you a spirometer to breath into as they want your lungs to expand. You might not be taking deep breaths in hopes that you do not have any pain. I know that after surgery that if you take a deep breath or cough or sneeze this can cause you some discomfort. I am glad that they did a chest xray but since you are supposed to be heading home I would ask for a repeat of the leak test. Not sure if you are able to stay in the area for another day or 2. I know that i would not want to travel that far away from where I had the surgery if I was not feeling good. Keep at them until they do the test and if it is clear then maybe you just have a tough of chest congestion. And running a low grade fever after any surgery is not uncommon.

Are you having the band removed and a sleeve performed or just the band fixed??????

Did you not get a food plan from your doctor or the NUT when you had your surgery. If not I would be calling the NUT to meet with her and to get a diet plan that you should be following.

Wishing you all the best from your band to the sleeve. I wish I would have skipped the band alltogether and just had the band and not wasted 3 years of my life. You go!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have worked in the medical field and in the ER and of all the patients that came in for emergency situations I can not really think of much that would have made any difference if we would have know that the patient had WLS. The only situation this may affect would be a drug overdose where they might put an NG tube down into the stomach. Otherwise with cardiac, car accident, stroke, seizure, smoke inhalation, respiratory distress, diabetic reaction just to name a few would have no direct affect of the treatment that you would be given that is any different from a person that has had WLS to someone who has. Also if you did come in with a heart attack and they did give you a single aspirin I highly doubt that this one aspirin would cause you any problems with your stomach but it could save your life. They usually use more sophisticated medications that are IV if they suspect that you have had a major heart attack and you would probably be going to the cath lab or the ICU. I will try and think of any other situations that your WLS might be a major issue.

I was at the same weight for 2 1/2 weeks. Do not get down on yourself just because you did not lose any weight in 1 week. It is commonly called a stall and we all seem to hit points along our weight loss journey that our bodies say.....you are starving me to death and just shut down and do not allow us to lose anything. Once you body adjusts the weight starts to melt away again. Maybe give yourself a little more wiggle room on what you eat. Unless you are eating carbs, fats and sugars on a regular basis they will not hurt you and some will be good for you. As for the candy bar you have to splurge a little. I have not done the entire candy bar but I have had a few chocholate chips from the bag. Keep you head held hight and tomorrow that scale will reward you with what you are looking for,

I am 10 weeks out and I have vomited once since I had my sleeve. This was entirely my fault as I was pusing the envelope and decided that I wanted more when my stomach said no. I ate the rest and was in such misery that I went to the bathroom and actually stuck my finger down my throat and gagged until I made myself vomit. Granted this took me about an hour to make this decision as I was sure that if I put this pressure on my stomach I was going to pop a suture and end up with a leak and back in the hospital. Since that time I have learned when my stomach says "enough", that I stop eating and walk away from the table. On the other hand when I had my sleeve I did not have to make myself vomit. It just happened as I would just get sick and I would start to salivate until I was wretching and over the stool.

Sorry for all of your disappointment but hopefully this will all be taken care of and soon. Please do not let them talk you into having bypass or the lapband. I had a lapband and it was nothing but troulble....Fills and then taking fluid out.....non stop vomiting. I was never so glad as to when I had it removed and had the sleeve. I love my sleeve and wish it had been an option for me when I had the band several years ago. I would have this done again anytime. Keep up the fight and file that appeal. Never give up.

" Too bad they do not have a surgery to fix stupidity"............if they have the nerve to question my decisions then they have not idea how much hurt and pain most of us who have been overweight for most or all of our lives have suffered from people in society. I do not have any problem giving a little back. If this person was a friend then they would not be for long. Surround yourself with people who support you and not all those who are constantly negative.

Have no idea what a DS is but I went from the band and a loss of 90 pounds to the sleeve and have not started to lose the 2nd 100 pounds. I would not go back to the lapband again and the sleeve is the most amazing thing that I have ever done.

I have a great weight watchers receipe that uses some ground turkey, tomato, garlic, spices and some mozzarella cheese on top. It was delicious and it is like eating pasta without all the carbs. If you are interested let me know and I will post to you.

This guy is a jerk and you do not need his or anyone else approval for the choices you make for your life. This is you chance to live your life and you are the only one that can make the choices. Do not be down on yourself as peer pressure has taken most of us to places that we never wanted to go. This is a problem with our society as everyone else thinks that they know what is best for us and how we should live our lives. Just tell them to F*** off. This is your life or should I say your "NEW LIFE" and you are the captain. Do not let anyone tell you how to live it. If they do not like it then you are far better off without them in your life. Surround yourself with those who care about you, support you and have your best interest in their hearts......to H*** with the rest. Tomorrow is another day and no you will not sit and eat the half gallon of ice cream. I for one have faith in you............

Congratulation on your success.....knew that you could do it. Keep up that exercise and the weight will melt off..........

I too had the band and lost around 80 pounds and then I hit a stall......but this stall last for over a year. I did not gain and I did not lose. The only problem was eating and the constant vomiting which scared me as I was sure that this was going to cause the band to slip. I went to the doctor that did my band and told me that I should have probably had the sleeve.....thanks but a little late. I tried to go through my insurance again since I was still having sleep apnea and also hypertension. They denied the surgery. I still had around 100 pounds to lose so I started to check into surgery in Mexico. My brother had a friend in California who had recently been to Tijuana and had the surgery. I spoke to her on the phone several times and did some research. I decided to go ahead with the surgery and I had some time off from work. I booked my surgery with Dr Garcia and had surgery Dec 11, 2011. All of my friends that that I had lost my mind since I was having surgery just before Christmas.....what about eating all that good food and cookies. Well it was not about the food but my health that pushed me onward. I had my band removed and the sleeve procedure done at the same time so I did not have the opportunity to gain all the weight back that I lost with the band. I do not regret my decicion one single day and hope that by this summer I will be to where I would like to be and feel more like living again.........I say go for it.