TennJenn

The worst thing about my flights home was my motion sickness (which I had even before VSG). I wasn't too uncomfortable from the surgery & really had no pain by the time I flew home...most of the gas was gone thankfully! My dh went with me, so he took care of our luggage. (Even with the two of us, we managed only one carry on & a laptop, so it wasn't that hard to deal with.) The hardest for me was walking at the airport from one place to another...the Houston airport was rather large & we had to go from one building to another. But we had time so we took it easy. I made sure to buy some apple juice after getting through security. That is what I drank while on the plane. I know many don't drink it b/c of the sugar & calories, but I believe the calories & sugars helped me since that & Water was the only thing I was getting (I didn't bring any Protein with me...it was all left at home). For my motion sickness, Dr. Campos prescribed Dramammine for me. If you are prone to motion sickness, it might be worth asking for something to help with it. It did help me, but it wore off during my first flight & I felt just awful after we hit some major turbulence. Good luck!

Welcome, Suzy! I initially wanted LapBand but I am so thankful I discovered & chose VSG instead!

Congrats on your upcoming surgery date! I know you are both excited & nervous as we all were pre-op. If I remember correctly, the pharmacy is directly across the street from the hospital. My dh went with me so he is the one that did the errand running. It was extremely hot when I was there (July) so I didn't walk outside much for fear of dehydration. You could get your Nexium after your pre-op tests. I'm sure Ernesto would be willing to wait on you long enough for that. I suggest bringing a laptop...as others have mentioned, there aren't many US tv channels there so your choice is limited. I also suggest bringing shoes to walk the halls (with non-skid soles), chap stick, your normal toilitries, and clothes to wear at the hospital if you don't want to wear the gown the entire time (I wore the gown the first day & then wore some of my pj's the rest of the time, it made me feel better ) Be sure to leave room in your suitcase for the paperwork & x-rays that you will be coming home with. They won't take up much space, but the x-rays are rather large. That's all I can remember for now. Good luck!:thumbup:

It is hard to decide if you should tell & who you should tell. It's wonderful that your friends are being supportive. But I wouldn't feel guilty about not telling them from the beginning. I mean WLS is a very personal thing. I don't know about you, but I don't share every personal detail of my life with just anyone. For me, I told my in-laws because they were going to keep the kids for the week DH and I were gone. I told my Dad & step-mom because they were going to help out as well. I didn't tell anyone else because I didn't want to listen to all the BS that could(& probably would) have come...no one else in my family has weight issues & they wouldn't have approved of Mexico.

I ended up getting an epidural. I don't know why I got that instead of the spinal, but it worked great for me. I woke up with a syringe of medication taped to my chest! They administered some of the medication the first night & the rest the second night...then it came out. Whatever was in it helped me sleep (that along with the sleeping pill they give).

What you are going through right now is very typical. Many VSG'ers hit a stall around 3-4 weeks. Sometimes it can last just a few days or it could last several weeks. The important thing to do is to continue to do what you know you are supposed to. Make good food choices, get your H2O in, concentrate on your Protein...you will see the stall break. You aren't failing! It's normal for your body to adjust & for you to hit a stall. But it will end & you will start to lose again.

Cool! More 20-somethings! :sad0:

I'm concerned after reading a post on another forum about eating popcorn post-op. I'm 6.5 weeks out & I've had popcorn on several occassions (including yesterday). I honestly never thought about it not being good for me or possibly getting stuck in my staple line. Should I be concerned at this point? Would I be having trouble if something was wrong. Now I'm worrying about it!

My dh and I worked all weekend around the house, mainly outside. We weeded the landscaping, planted new flowers, put in all new mulch, cut & swept the grass, cleaned off the porches, & cleaned the pool. Not to mention we had a football game on Saturday & I cleaned a little & did some laundry. I am exhausted today. My whole body is sore. I'm pretty sure I didn't drink or eat enough while we were working. Since I don't feel hungry that often anymore, I sometimes forget to eat if I'm busy. I didn't drink my entire Protein shake each morning like I should have & I didn't drink enough Water throughout the day. I had to stop working yesterday afternoon because I became very dizzy. DH bought me some G2 Gatorade & that made me feel a bit better as did eating a little. I think I'd feel much better if we were almost done, but we're not. Our garage is so full of junk I can't get my van in there anymore. Our upstairs is still cluttered & need cleaned out. We still have some painting to do. UGH! I don't want to think about it anymore! :sad0: The good news is that the realtor is coming by today to get our file & get our house listed on the market. I am praying it sells relatively quickly & close to our asking price.

I wouldn't stress over it much. If your new tummy handled the trail mix, that's great. Dont' stress over the calories right now...just learn for the future.

I just wanted to say Congrats on getting your date! :sad0: Dr. Aceves is great!

No regrets here either. I am just 2 months post op though. ladiesassie- Have you considered revising to the DS? I know sometimes the DS is performed in two procedures, the sleeve being the first part.

I had quite a bit of acid issues before VSG. I had a hernia repaired during my VSG (I didn't know I had one). I know for me, I had some acid issues for the first 2 or so weeks post-op, but now it's completely gone. I do take Nexium every day as directed by my surgeon. I plan to go off the Nexium at 3 months & see how it goes.

Do you guys eat it plain or do you add it to things? I've never had it before.

I was fortunate enough to not have to do the pre-op diet. I just wanted to wish you luck with your surgery! Dr. Aceves is great!

Looking great! Keep up the good work!

The meeting with the realtor went good. They both thought we have a great house with not much needed to be done. Of course we need to touch up some paint & a few other minor things, but nothing major. The only concern they had was with our wood floors. They noticed they are kind of "cupped". DH and I had noticed it before but bever gave it any thought. So, I'm hoping that isn't going to be a big issue. The realtor said that the price range we are in is hard to predict DOM...it could be on the market for a year or more or it could sell in a few weeks. In our area, this price range is considered a "specialty" market. Most people are looking for smaller, first time homes. Anyway, we are going to get the outside cleaned up & add a few flowers to our landscaping & get it listed early next week. Then we'll work on the inside de-cluttering, touching up paint & staging for the virtual tour pictures. I hope to have all of the pictures & the virtual tour done within 1-2 weeks. That way I can breath a bit until they call for a showing. :tongue_smilie: Dh and I are praying for a quick sale but we are bracing for the long haul! Many larger houses here have been on the market a year or more. :thumbup1: Those are priced over $100 per square foot. We are hoping that our lower price ($92 per sqare foot) will allow us to sell more quickly. Y'all keep your fingers crossed for us!

Since your BMI is quite high, I would recommend you at least take a look at the DS as a WLS option. I love my sleeve & wouldn't want DS due to the malabsorption, but my BMI was 34 when I had surgery. Had it been >45, I would have looked at other options as well. Not saying that I would have chosen something different, but I would have at least considered it. Now, if you are okay with getting the sleeve & then re-evaluating your WL later, the two step DS could work for you....and you could possibly not even need the second step. Just research all options & chose what's best for you.

We got a market analysis from the realtor this morning. We will be in a price range that is okay with us. It's not the best, but considering the current economic & housing situation it's great. Fortunately, our area wasn't hit hard by the declining home values & it appears that sales have picked up here. The realtor is coming by this afternoon to walk through & give us a better price. So, the kids & I are cleaning today. We have a lot to do!

We have a Wii & love it. The kids enjoy the games & dh and I do, too. Wii Active is on my wishlist, but unfortunately it's not in our budget right now. I'm glad to hear you like it, though.

I've been on solids for a little over a week now (I'm 6 weeks post op). Almost every time I eat I get the stuck feeling...unless I'm eating something mushie, then I do okay. Last night I had my first episode of throwing up. :confused1: I tried to eat a bite of a chicken finger (I peeled the outside breading off) and a bit of a potato wedge. Well, it didn't go down well & I was in the bathroom getting rid of it. I know I'm now chewing as well as I should be & I'm eating too fast. I feel like this is my biggest problem, not simply eating too much. The thing is, I keep doing it! I am scared that I'm going to cause a leak. After I threw up last night, that's all I could think about...what if I just caused a leak? :scared0: I know I need to do better. I think I will try to go back to more mushie foods, butI don't think that will help me learn how to chew. Am I the only one that has done this? I feel so stupid!

I've heard many who have had a stall last several weeks to a month, then one day the scale starts moving again. While I know it's frustrating, continue doing the right things & the scale will once again move...probably with a large loss.

Glad to hear you are doing well. I hope you are released to come home soon. BTW, are they giving you something for the nausea? I don't remember expereincing that much but I was always given something if needed.

Sorry to hear you are having such a hard time. I've read too many times about people's bands giving them trouble. It makes me wonder why it's still a WLS option. :lol0: Anyway, I had a hietal hernia that I didn't even know about that Dr. Aceves repaired while doing my VSG (free of charge :lol0:). It would be good if you could have yours repaired at the same time of your revision. Good luck!

I don't have experience with this, but in my research I have come across many self pay banded patients who end up having to self pay for band removal. You might get your insurance company to cover it, but I feel the odds are stacked against you. Have you contacted them to ask if there are certian medical situations in which they would pay to have your band removed? Another thing is if they didn't cover your band, I doubt they would cover a revision. Why did you end up being self pay for the band?