COsleeveDude

Go, better safe than sorry. Here's some info I found by doing a quick Google search: Stomach Leak This is potentially a life threatening complication. Fortunately, leak after Gastric Sleeve is rare, occurring in 1 out of 100 patients. It occurs when a hole or gap develops somewhere along the staple line closure allowing stomach juice to escape into the abdominal cavity. A severe infection develops that can lead to sepsis (adverse symptoms involving all body systems) or septic shock (low blood pressure with injury to all body systems). Multiple Organ Failure can occur which is basically a shut down of many organ systems. With time this can lead to death. Symptoms of stomach leak include: rapid heart rate, dizziness, shortness of breath, fever, worsening abdominal pain, left chest or shoulder pain, abdominal distention, the appearance of illness and a general feeling that something is very wrong. Unfortunately, many of the symptoms may be absent or could be from something else (e.g. bleeding). Diagnosing a leak is further complicated by the fact that there is no single, reliable test to definitely diagnose a leak. The diagnosis of a leak must be clinical, that is, the surgeon must consider all symptoms in relation to the timing after surgery. The diagnosis can never be 100% sure before treatment. If a leak is suspected the patient must go back to the operating room for an OPEN SURGERY to close the hole and clean up the leak. Usually, the patient will need to spend some time in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and rarely may require mechanical ventilation, temporary dialysis, and/or medications to support the blood pressure. Clearly, the key factor with a bowel leak is an early return to the operating room, even if the diagnosis is not assured. http://www.doctormarvin.com/post-operative-problems-gastric-sleeve.html

Obviously ask your doctor and/or the pharmacist, but from what I've been told with the sleeve there are no restrictions or changes on most medications, Vitamins, etc. The stomach still digests it the same way. Just make sure to tell them what else you're taking so they know. The only thing that seems to happen is some people have problems with larger pills, and they recommend you stay away from things like aspirin and ibuprofen (Advil) because they can irritate the stomach.

The nice thing is eggs are filling, plenty of Protein, and you wont take a huge calorie hit if you use the egg substitute. If you can handle any carbs go with a wheat tortilla instead and do a Breakfast burrito with fake sausage, turkey, chicken, low fat cheese, salsa, etc.

Life is filled with a lot of "what ifs." This is one of those rare times when you can take a chance on a major change where the odds are in your favor. I moved 1,000 miles away from where I had always lived in summer 2011. Sure, I was moving to make more money, but leaving everything else behind: friends, family, familiarity. But, besides the obvious incentive, the money, I decided I had to do it because if I didn't I would regret the what ifs forever. This is a similar situation. You will get results. Will it be painless and effortless? No. But the odds are in your favor. Good luck.

My advice would be to do all of the things you wish you would've done when you were younger and unattached. Sex, drugs, rock 'n roll...or just learning how to flirt and date again. Try internet dating, but take it with a grain of salt. It's probably slightly better than meeting people at the bar or being set up, but not much better, unfortunately.

Sleep apnea will kill you, and isn't even necessarily caused by obesity. Try and relax and finish the test so you can get a CPAP machine if you need one. You'll feel better in the morning. Better than having a heart attack or stroke. Good luck.

What I find most interesting about this thread is how many have this idea that lying is a black and white issue: that lying is somehow bad and telling the truth is somehow good. If someone asks how you lost the weight and you don't admit to the surgery, are you lying? Yes. You chose to answer with a lie. If I won the lottery and someone asked how I got rich, and I said hard work and investing...you get the point. But so what? Own your lie. Be proud of it, lying is a skill that everyone should practice. Our whole culture is predicated on dishonesty as a tool for good. Marketing drives the whole economy. Sell the pros, only admit to the cons if you're required by law. People who ask personal questions deserve whatever answer you choose to give them. It would be like if someone asks your age, or salary, or your sexual orientation, or YOUR WEIGHT. It's none of their business, but you're trapped into pleading the fizifth OR defending yourself with a lie of omission. Go ahead, youre not under oath. No one is sending you to hell or bed without supper. That's the point I feel a few of people were trying to make earlier. Don't lie to yourself about the fact that youre lying. But don't feel bad about lying, it's your right as an American.

If you haven't been approved by insurance you shouldn't drop below 40 BMI until you weigh in over 40 BMI and they give you the go ahead to drop pre-surgery weight. After approval just make sure to ask the surgeon if they will still do the surgery if you lose weight and go below 40 before the surgery. I haven't heard of any ever saying no, but I would ask just to be safe, as I don't know how crazy some insurance companies may get.

My theory is that they tell you to avoid carbonation because so many carbonated drinks have tons of calories and/or stimulate appetite with artificial sweeteners, and can obviously also cause gas. And carbonated drinks can help leech Calcium from bones. There really isn't any evidence of carbonation causing stretching. All that having been said, it's probably a good idea to avoid carbonation except for occasionally. I doubt a couple of beers a week is going to kill anyone, just keep 'em small and light.

The end of the drain tube started to stab my damn liver or something the last couple of days, so I know how you feel. I would still suggest taking some pain meds (if you need them) and getting out, even if it's just for a walk to the corner store to grab a Water or a video or a lotto ticket. Take a bus or cab to the mall or a movie or whatever you can tolerate. It shouldn't stop you from getting out. Even just walking around the mall and having a small decaf coffee made me feel more normal in the first week or two after surgery.

I took three weeks off including the surgery week, and surgery was on a Tuesday. Some people go back in one or two weeks. I would recommend a minimum of two, but three was perfect for me. That way you are probably back into eating soft and moist foods before you go back to work, which is nice because that's when you start to get some energy back and feel human again. Good luck.

Worth doing some research to understand why one might be denied: http://www.springerlink.com/content/b735m070p3510g76/ Psychological tests are very accurate if you're honest. They want to make sure you have the coping skills to deal with post-surgery issues. I agree that different mental health professionals may have different opinions, but the tests don't lie. It would make more sense to delay the surgery and make sure you are set with counseling and meds before having a surgery that you can only do once in your life. If your mental health issues derail the surgery then you'll be right back where you were with no other options. Good luck.

I started using Scarguard once the scabs fell off: http://www.scarguard.com/scarguard.html. It's pricey, but I think the bottle will last for awhile. You apply twice per day, pretty simple. Until then I don't think you need to put anything on them, just wash them and dress them if they are still oozing at all.

McDonald's doesn't tempt me at all, but everyone knows their potential weaknesses. The way I look at it, I can buy or get crap food that I can immediately jam in my mouth anywhere: fast food, grocery store, Target, Walgreens, gas station, vending machines at work, pot lucks, work lunches, morning donuts, on and on. Gotta get used to having access and not partaking. I went out to eat the other night and had a nice, lean cut of bison. Finished about half of it, the sides and other things on the menu didn't even tempt me. Maybe that will be different down the road, but facing those situations is important to change your habits and give you confidence that you can live a "normal" life (e.g. going out to eat) while making better choices. So, if I ever have to stop at McDonald's with someone in the future, I'm not worried about it. Maybe I would even have a chicken breast or a small salad or something if I had no other options. Point being because it's there and I'm there doesn't mean I have to eat a Big Mac or two. Maybe I will want to in the future, but I don't have to. That's the difference between pre and post-surgery, to me.

If you know of another way to rent new release HD movies for USD1.50-ish I'd love to hear about it.

What he said. Anywhere with a Redbox is fine, just walk to and from there to pick up and/or drop off your movie.

No, although women generally don't need as much as men. You should consume more the more lean body mass and the more you workout. Typically you can shoot for 0.5 gram per pound of lean body mass. If you are working out a lot, especially weight training and you want to gain lean mass, you can go up to 1.0+ gram per pound of lean body mass.

I love milk. I could probably drink a half-gallon per day. So, even if you drink skim, which is what I like, that can add up to a lot of calories. It is tempting for me to have liquid milk sitting in the fridge. My solution? I started buying powdered milk. That way I can add some spoons to Protein shakes, sugar free hot cocoa, coffee, tea, etc. This solves my problem because I won't make a pitcher of powdered milk, I think it tastes terrible. Too watery. But, mixed into other things or used for cooking, it works well. It makes things a little creamier and more tolerable. I like it as a coffee creamer, especially because regular creamer, real or fake, it suppose to be terrible for you.

Try and get some counseling. Like most of us a lot of the problem is in your head. There are resources for people with financial challenges, do some Googling and other research to locate options in your area. Good luck

My program had no requirement. However, if you managed to lose on your own you were more likely (but not guaranteed) to be on a pre-op 3-day liquid diet vs. a 14-day liver shrinking diet. I lost 30ish on my own, and another 10ish on the pre-op.

Just watch out for red, hot, increasing pain, pus, fever, nausea, etc. If you don't have any of those along with it some soreness is normal.

I think he is doing his best to educate while entertaining. This isn't PBS or NPR, the demographic is soccer moms.

LuckyVitamin.com online has the best prices, hands down for the Ready-To-Drink (RTD). It's good product also, not expired: http://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-232400-natures-best-isopure-zero-carb-rtd-variety-pack-12-bottles?redirect=1 Buy the variety pack so you can try all of the flavors and see what you like. I agree that it does not always taste the best, but it is far from the worst. Cut it with Water, sugar-free sports drink or Crystal Light to improve the taste. I haven't tried the powder. I will in the future, as the RTDs are too expensive to keep drinking forever, but I heard the powder is pretty bad. We shall see.

They don't remove it automatically because most people don't need it removed and won't need it removed. If I remember correctly the surgeon said 10%, and they're not in the business of taking 9 of 10 that won't need to be removed.

You'll be fine as long as you chewed it up real well. Surgeon told me the stomach is fully healed after four weeks, I think they just err on the side of caution when phasing you back into solid foods. Also, the longer you are on the liquid/soft stuff the more weight you will lose up front, which to me seems like a motivating factor in showing significant progress right away.