MyGastricSleeveLife

NSAIDs, especially ibuprofen, can cause bleeding issues & stomach ulcers if used on a regular basis for an extended period of time. Some surgeons do not have a rule against them, but mine does so I have it on my bracelet. I specifically asked my surgeon about it & he said there are some that aren't as harsh as ibuprofen that could be prescribed if needed, but he still suggested not using any NSAIDs if they could be avoided. If you click the link I posted above on my other post that is from my blog, I have some good articles I shared in that post that explain the reasoning behind some of the guidelines. Again, every doctor is different & some see no need for a bracelet, but it gives me peace of mind to wear it!

I'm a big advocate for medic alert bracelets. I ordered one that had "Gastric Sleeve VSG, No Blind NG Tubes, No NSAIDs" on it, but then I had a friend tell me about how they witnessed an accident where the lady's purse was thrown away from her & they couldn't find contact info, so then I bought another one that had contact info on it. I wrote about it on my blog, which also notes some other good articles about it that explains what the things mean too - http://mygastricsleevelife.blogspot.com/2012/06/importance-of-medical-alert-id-bracelet.html - I love my new Road ID one & wear it all the time! Even if the emergency response people wouldn't insert an NG tube, an ID bracelet helps in the hospital too. I pray I will never have to really need it, but I love the peace of mind I have wearing it just in case it is ever needed.

Everyone is different, but I haven't had a problem with it after surgery. I just don't keep my water bottle or anything near me to drink when I'm eating. It is harder if we go out to eat, but again I just don't keep a drink near me & then I don't have to worry about it.

Every surgeon is different. Mine says 800-1000 calories for the whole "losing phase" but when I was on puréeds I was at more like 600-800. It will usually take time to work up to the 800+ calories.

You're consuming too few calories. At 3 weeks, I was getting 600-800 a day. My surgeon says to aim for 800-1000 calories a day during the whole "losing phase" & I normally average between 750-950 most days now that I'm almost 9 weeks out. If you're getting too few calories, your body will hang on to everything it has & you won't lose much. Everyone is different & sometimes we have to do things to trick our bodies into continuing to lose. As far as grazing goes, my surgeon says to only have 3 meals a day, no Snacks, & to only have Protein shakes or Water between meals. Every doctor is different though. Some say snacks are fine, but you really don't want to get into the grazing habit. At 3 weeks out, I was on full liquids & could easily get more calories by using cream of wheat or grits and creamy Soups. At that point, I didn't have to limit my meal times or not drink around a meal since everything was liquid. When I moved to puréeds, my surgeon said to stop drinking 30 minutes before & after a meal & to limit to only 1/2 cup of food for a meal. It really depends on what stage you're at though.

It depends on your doctor. Mine only wants 3 meals & no snacks, but I can have protein drinks or water in between meals. I'm supposed to be between 800-1100 calories a day.

Honestly - nothing. I was too worried about a leak to cheat!

BCBS has so many different plans - that even have the same names - so you need to just call & ask. My husband works for a tiny company & we have BCBS Texas (not Health Select though) & they told us there is a bariatric surgery rider that the company could add on to the policy, but his company didn't choose it, so I was self-pay. Again, there are tons of different plans even through BCBS & different companies even if someone else has Health Select, so it's best to just call them. Some plans that do cover bariatric surgery only cover the lapband or bypass & not the sleeve too, so it's best to call & see what they say is covered & what hoops you have to jump through to get approval if they do cover it.

I think you are very realistic. My surgeon has a goal that is for me to lose 67% of my excess weight because that is the average of weight loss surgery patients. However, he even told me "but you don't have to stop there" - that weight would meet his statistic, but I've seen countless people lose all their excess weight & I want to do the same! I'm not stopping at that 67% number because that's not where I want to personally be. They just have to have a number, but that doesn't mean your number has to match theirs!!

Yes, it's normal. Everyone is very different. I had no issues getting in all my fluids right after surgery except that I had to mix in crystal light because I regular water didn't sit great right away. I'm 8 weeks out now & have never had a problem with getting all my fluid in.

http://mygastricsleevelife.blogspot.com/2012/07/control-and-commitment.html

I would ask your surgeon about it. I just bought over-the-counter omeprazole and they told me it was okay to take even though it was a little bit bigger. However, it wasn't what I would consider "huge" like you described, so you might have one that is bigger than what I had. You're right, most of them aren't supposed to be crushed though. Just ask your surgeon to be sure it's okay though. If it's too big, maybe they can exchange it for something smaller.

Everyone is so different & loses at different rates. Most people I've seen on here based on their signatures, lose anywhere from 10 - 30 lbs the first month depending on how much they have to lose & such. People who are more overweight generally lose more than those who have less to lose, but even that isn't always true. There are too many factors that go into each of us losing. It's important not to compare yourself to others & also to take measurements & not just weight. Sometimes the scale won't move, but the inches will. It's important to rejoice in your own journey and not focus on comparing to others though. Personally, I lost 12.6 lbs in my 2-week pre-op diet and 18 lbs my first month after surgery. I'm 5'8.5" & started with about 130 lbs to lose. Again, we're all so different though that even if two people are the same height and weight, they'll lose at different rates.

I firmly believe that God guides my life. I looked into the sleeve about 18 months or so ago & we prayed about it and it just didn't seem right at the time. I tried other things in the meantime and then this April the sleeve came up again and we started praying about it again. This time it just felt right and everything fell into place immediately for financing. Now that I've had the surgery and am down 45 lbs from my high weight before my pre-op diet, I have no doubt that it was the right thing at this time in my life and that it all fell into place because it was right and with Heavenly Father's help!

I went to a local doctor, so my experience is different, but I just wanted to say that I agree with the others - you should be able to just go to your primary care doctor for followups & only to Cooperstown once every 3-6 months or if there are more serious issues that your primary care can't handle. My followups are every 6 weeks for the first year, but not all doctors do that. There are tons of people who go to Mexico or even other states for surgery & then just see a local doctor if they need anything. I would talk to the doctor in Cooperstown and explain the distance issue and see if they're fine with you following up by phone or less often & go from there.

Have you already lost some weight, Patrick? I've lost about 43 lbs from my high weight so far & last week I had to go to my pulmonologist and have them decrease the pressure on my CPAP. Once the pressure was reduced, I haven't had any problems with mouth leaks/breathing.

http://mygastricsleevelife.blogspot.com/2012/07/week-8-weight-pictures-and-measurements.html

There's also http://www.bariatriceating.com/

Personally I think it would add extra stress to your recovery that you don't need. If you want a new puppy, wait until you're a month or two out from surgery & are feeling better & can keep up with a puppy.

I don't really have any advice on HOW to start putting yourself first except - JUST DO IT. My kids are 12 & 8. They have never experienced me thin. They've seen my wedding pictures & pictures of me growing up where I was thin, but they've never actually experienced me thin since I started gaining weight with my first pregnancy. I need to put myself first because I want them to see me thin and happy. You can't feel guilty for taking time for yourself. Recovery is hard and you need to pay attention to your body and its needs. Now that I've lost some weight & inches, my kids are even more encouraging for me to exercise and do more for myself. They are my biggest motivators. I see you're from Lehi, Utah. Are you LDS? I am. I wrote a blog post last month about "Learning to Love Myself Again" - http://mygastricsleevelife.blogspot.com/2012/06/learning-to-love-myself-again.html - where I mention the importance of being able to love myself and seeing the Light of Christ in my eyes again. Taking time for myself is part of that journey. By taking time for yourself, you're not saying that you'll never pay attention to them. You're just taking time for you too in addition to spending time for them.

I want to go roller skating this year! I looked into it before & loved roller skating as a child, but wouldn't do it other years b/c of my weight. Now that I've lost some of my excess weight & inches, I'd love to do it this year. I know that no matter what I do, from now on I don't want to go out to eat for my birthday. I don't want my birthday to be related to food anymore. Depending on what we do, we might eat while we are out somewhere, but I don't want the actual focus to be food. I want it to be how great I feel for getting my life back & being more active!

http://mygastricsleevelife.blogspot.com/2012/07/remembering-where-to-focus.html

I think the problem early on is that we stress over getting in the Protein instead of having a "balanced" meal. I'm 7 weeks out now & was just allowed to have soft veggies last week. However, most of the time I have 2-4 ounces of meat & I'm full so I don't have veggies. I remember on my dietitian's guidelines she had a thing that said that once I was 12 weeks out & back on completely "regular" food, a sample meal should be 2-3 ounces of meat, 2 broccoli florets, a tablespoon of rice (if room for it). I would eventually like to get in veggies & do things a little more balanced, but right now I've been focusing on the Proteins.

Everyone is different, so you have to find what works for you. What works for me is to have a plastic Water bottle without a straw (since my surgeon says no straws for 3-4 months). I sip from it every few minutes throughout the day & keep it full with water or a Protein drink diluted with water. The one I use is 28 ounces, so I make sure I have at least 2 of them a day & usually have 3 of them now that I'm getting more active. I just carry it with me wherever I go throughout the house & out of the house. Now that I'm on soft foods & can't drink around meals, I make sure my water bottle is in the fridge and not near me while I eat, but I get it out again as soon as I can & drink out of it until it's time to eat again. A guy in my surgeon's support group says he tried that once, but always forgot how many times he filled it, so now he uses the 20 ounce bottles of water & just counts how many he uses each day. He said his wife makes sure he recycles since he does it that way!

I had mine. I was just given the disposable mesh underwear like when I had a baby & a pad for them. I did have a catheter, so it was kinda a pain to deal with, but it was okay.