gaijingal

The charge nurse asked me if I'd lost weight the other day, and I shook my head sadly and said "Only from my boobs." She laughed, end of discussion. (Sadly, sometimes I feel like that's true.... . Why don't we get to pick where the weight comes off of? I've got bingo wings to spare!)

AND, that behaviour is behaviour I've had in the past, and I can tell you that without the sleeve to stop me, I would have gone on a days-long binge, perhaps derailing my diet entirely. Today, I have been a model sleever, and even perfected my shake recipe, to ensure I get my Protein in from now on.

Feel I should clarify. That long rant of mine was to say, for a few hours yesterday, I got a little spun out about the whole thing. That's a few hours, in six weeks. Maybe 2% of the time. The rest of the time, I'm very happy with my decision!

Not a clot. You tend to find those on the back of the leg, and at that size, it's so painful, it's hard to walk.

Good advice! Thanks!

Oh! And OP, I wanted to say, have hope for your doc to be understanding, people are coming around to all of this. The worse response from a doc I've had is total indifference, and the best was a doctor that shook my hand and congratulated me for taking the initiative to do something proactive about my weight -- a busy ER doc, he sat down and picked my brain about why and how I made my decision, and did it all in front of a med student, who now has learned to respect people who've had WLS. And, he was well informed about Mexico, and didn't judge me for getting it done there! (Unfortunately, I think I'll be working with the med student in the future, and now he's seen me naked AND knows my deepest, darkest secret. Funny, he was handsome, so this bothers me, while the doctor was old and gristled, and it doesn't....weird how that works,lol.)

OP, I wouldn't worry about the vasovagal thing. That's a nerve in your abdomen getting triggered. It's not likely to happen during surgery. And if it does, well, surgical staff know how to deal with a dropped BP. Actually, the treatment is to lie the patient down...which you already will be! While I recognize that vasovagalling is uncomfortable and distressing to you, it's not actually that medically significant (unless you fall and hit your head!), and is easily and quickly resolved. Anesthesia shouldn't affect it, and it certainly won't cause the anesthesia to last longer, or keep you from coming out of it. Don't worry! (I see people vasovagal every day in my job, and honestly, we yawn when it happens. Again, I recognize it's awful for you, but it's not actually dangerous, and it fixes itself!)

Let me echo what a lot of people have said, and say getting the VSG first is probably a good idea. My father just got out of hospital after having his 3 TKR in 5 years (and 4th surgery) on the same knee, so I'm feeling like a bit of an expert on this topic. His surgeon is the chief of surgery at the hospital, and doctors come from all over the world to study under him, so I think I can safely call him an expert, and he and I have had many conversations about why my dad is having so many problems. And weight is a big part of it. Also, poor blood glucose control. My dad isn't diabetic (yet), but eats too many carbs, and the doctor is 100% convinced that is why Dad's had two spontaneous infections. The sugar in the blood is a party for bacteria! If you get your weight and blood sugar under control, you will have a much better result from the prosthetic knee. And getting your weight and blood pressure under control will result in a much lower risk anesthesia, with better post-op outcomes.

Oh! I never thought of that. That's what keeps me from the unjury shakes...they taste ok, but the smell kills me. Thanks for the tip!

Had a horrible day yesterday. Went "mental" on my diet....by which I mean I had a kid's dipped DQ cone and a McD's cheeseburger (which took me an hour to eat). Considering what I used to eat when I had a freak-out, I had to take a step back and stop punishing myself for that, though. The part that upsets me was getting that wild "I have to eat now!" feeling. I haven't had that since before the surgery, and I guess I was hoping it was gone for good! And I was literally eating up to my discomfort point, and topping up every few minutes to get the most in, actively challenging the sleeve. All I kept thinking was "What am i going to do if I let them remove my stomach, can never enjoy food again, and I still manage to make myself fat?" Serious buyer's remorse, but much better now that I've taken a deep breath and realized it was a momentary blip. (I think the behaviour was brought on by having my first big episode of people noticing my weightloss yesterday. One nurse hadn't seen me for months, and actually did a double take and stated "Oh my God, you look BEAUTIFUL!", and a very attractive but sort of creepy porter who's never had the time of day for me before gave me the up and down, and "How YOU doin'?" treatment. I get used to being invisible. I know to the POUND at what point I stop being invisible to men. People start holding doors for you, making more eye contact, etc., and that has always been disconcerting when I've lost weight before. Now I'm well below that point for the first time in five years, and I'm getting double-takes and flirting, and it's VERY unnerving. I honestly assumed that I was so old now, that even if I lost weight, I wouldn't get that response. Getting too much attention has always caused me to panic and regain weight. Plus, it makes me a little angry. I'm the same person I was before I went to Mexico, and I'm flipping fabulous and fun! Why didn't you realize that before???) Anyhow, I had the remorse in a moment of panic, but I'm better now. And I resolve to have more Protein shakes today.

I just got those too! For the same reasons.

My surgeon sent me home on an NSAID. A strong one, too. So I'd ask your doc. Tylenol will do roughly zero for cramps.

If they use lidocaine in the line before the propofol, you don't get the burn...but then you usually taste the lidocaine.

Now, I've been under "conscious sedation" before (which is NOT what they will be doing for this surgery, so no one freak out that the following will happen to them. IT WILL NOT). I've partially woken up during that, and found it overall a pleasant, if odd, experience. The dentist used ketamine and propofol, I think. Maybe ketamine and Versed. Either way, the amnesic drug wore off faster, so I was left mainly under the effect of ketamine. I could hear the dentist talking (and beating on my giant molars with a mallet like they stole her wallet), but I couldn't feel anything except a lovely floating feeling, and all I could see was a lovely yellow swirly landscape, like an I Dream of Jeanie dream sequence. Old hippies love it when that happens in the ER. When they wake up, you can't talk to them about how the procedure went, they just want to talk about the swirls and sparkles and their lovely high, LOL. It's worth noting, whatever induction agent they give you tends to have anxiolytic properties, so if you do remember anything, it tends to be pleasant and non-stressful. Better living through chemistry!

Yeah, they give you "milk of amnesia", and you don't remember anything. In my job, I administer "light" anesthesia, so I was wanting to experience things, and thought I'd at least notice the burn in the IV when they initially put me under, but nope. I don't know who administered it, because I was helping the anesthetist position my arm (the arm piece wouldn't snap into the table), and then I was waking up in my room. Perhaps you lose the last few minutes before the med, because memories don't chemically get made? Not really a VSG question, but I think I'll ask an anesthetist the next time I get a chance!

I was worried about this too, as my sister's wedding was shortly after my surgery. My whole family was going to be around, watching me not eat. "Luckily" I had an unrelated abdominal issue shortly after surgery, for which I had to visit the ER a few times. Even though everyone knew my problem had nothing to do with my GI system, they all happily accepted that I was only eating Soup and Protein Shakes because it "upset my stomach" to eat. I don't know if guys will get away with this so easily, but women definitely will, as I have experienced. No one wants to probe too much, and end up hearing the gory details of your plumbing problems!

Ah, well, you can't start breaking the rules until you graduate!

In my experience, nurses are the WORST patients, LOL.

Shoot, of all the problems I thought of, this was not one. And I know how often people get NG/OGs. I recently had an abdo x-ray, and the girl used way more radiation than necessary because she was so concerned that the left flexure looked weird...I guess in the absence of my stomach, the colon has shifted? This might also be interesting to an Emerg doc, but an awful lot to put on the back of a bracelet.

No, if it was a leak, your white blood cells would be up, and there'd be other signs. And I'm not just making this up to reassure you, I'm an ER nurse. If they said it was dehydration, it's probably dehydration. Drink more, and make sure you're getting a bit of salt with your fluids, it helps you hang on to the hydration. Ketosis happens anytime you have reduced carbs, and/or reduced calories, OR with dehydration. I've done lots of medically supervised diets where ketosis is the goal, so don't let the ER guys scare you. In the ER, ketosis is bad, because they're seeing diabetics who yes, could die from what's going on. They forget that other things cause ketones in the urine. 7 days post-op, I would think ketosis was expected, and you are getting ketones in your urine from breaking down FAT, which is what you want. Your body is burning all that ugly old fat and using it up, just like you want it to!!! Drink more fluids (have some broth), and be happy. You've taken a brave step, and this little bump in the road will just serve as a reminder to you to drink your fluids! (Oh, and if they gave you IV fluids, your weight may go up. But DON'T WORRY, and don't get discouraged. It takes a few days to shift it, but shift it you will, along with all that burned up fat you're getting rid of!)

What a great doctor, to take the time to do that, and to overcome the awkwardness to confront you on your weight. And what a great patient, to take the guidance to heart like you did!

For me it was a perfect storm of things: 1. My sister's wedding was coming up, and instead of being happy for her, I was dreading the pictures, and having to find a dress. 2. My dad was scheduled for his 4th knee surgery in 5 years, with his weight being 50% of the problem. 3. Watching my mother suffer from knee pain, foot pain, incontinence, diabetes, sleep disturbances and a complete inability to find shoes. 4. A second wedding in August where I will see a lot of people I haven't seen for a while, and who witnessed my life crash and burn a few years back (living well is the best revenge, right?). 5. And months of yo-yoing 10 lbs up and down...I was just so tired of food always being an issue. I finally thought, "ENOUGH! This is my life, and I'm taking it back!"

I got the Opurity from the unjury site, and it makes me vomit violently just minutes after taking it. It has at least twice the recommended dose for almost all the Vitamins, and I think it's one of the B-vitamins that does it. Perhaps yours are a little too potent as well. I'm a little annoyed, because they were EXPENSIVE.

OMG! OP, thank you so much for posting this. The thought of a post-apocolyptic era was one of the things that put me off the surgery. I was worried about Vitamins, especially B12, and yes, not being able to eat enough to sustain me when I don't have reliable sources of calories. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thought of this....too much scifi in my youth, I guess.

My surgeon didn't say anything about my stomach, but my physiotherapist told me some people's stomachs are so long, they extend all the way down into the pelvis...so you have more ghrelin, and you NEVER get full enough to trigger the receptors at the top of the stomach that make you feel full. Those people don't stand much of a chance of dying skinny. Sometimes I feel guilty about getting sleeved, and briefly buy into that "you took the easy way out" thing. But stuff like this reminds me that all our bodies are so different, some of us are bound to have got the short end of the stick. As a nurse, daily I observe the diverse relationships people have with food. Unfortunately, the way I react to food made me overweight. But if technology can assist me in being more like a "normal" person, why wouldn't I take advantage of that? It's like someone nearsighted saying "Buying glasses is taking the easy way out. I'll just do it the natural way and bump into stuff for the rest of my life." To me, getting sleeved is like getting glasses, and having a whole new outlook on life!