gaijingal

I'm sure I read a post recently from someone with MS, but I can't remember who, sorry. So, I'm not that helpfu. I did, however, work on a neurology ward for several years, and my best advice would be to listen to the neurologist, as long as s/he isn't just being passive-aggressive and trying to prevent the surgery because they don't believe in it. There's a lot of stuff that can go wrong with MS, and the smallest thing can set off an exacerbation, let alone something as traumatic as a gastrectomy. Your friend will want to have her neurologist 100% behind this decision, as her road is likely to be a bit more bumpy than yours or mine. I'm thinking your friend is possibly having an exacerbation right now, and that's why the neuro wants her to wait?? If the doctors are open to it, it might be helpful to put her neuro and her surgeon in touch with each other. Some of the meds they use in an exacerbation will impede healing, and some need to be taken with a lot of food, so coordinated docs would be the ideal. Personally, I had the experience of having the surgery with an active neurological condition, which made it a bit more terrifying, so I'm certainly not one to say someone shouldn't have the surgery just because they're sick. If nothing else, her MS will be easier to manage when there's less of her to lug around, and she'll reduce her risk of pressure sores and things like that in the long run. I just recommend proceeding with caution. (Sorry if I was being one of those windbags who insist on replying, even though they don't know the answer...I just know how challenging things can be for neuro patients, and how hard it is to get answers.)

I think it's the hormonal changes. The same thing happened when I started on thyroid medication. The kind of coffee I liked changed (and it's never tasted as good as it did before), and carbonated beverages tasted less sweet. There were some other changes, but they're not as marked as they were before. So I'm thinking the lack of ghrelin is what creates a different experience of food.

I flew 3 days after. My only complication was that I had shifted any of the "air" in my belly yet. Like, none of it. Worst gas pains ever, it felt like someone was stabbing me, because the gas expands as the airplane climbs. Thankfully I knew what it was, and was expecting (dreading) it. Otherwise I would have been in hysterics, thinking something was wrong.

I'm only two weeks out, so not drinking yet, but I had to take pain medication, and found that a lower dose had a stronger effect on me, and more quickly, than previously. That might have been because I was still on clear fluids at the time. But I can see why they're worried about increased addictions after WLS.

Well! I had to go back to Emerg, and this time went to a different hospital. However, the healthcare world is so small, I still ran into people I knew, but they were very respectful and didn't get involved in my care. The doctor who saw me took care of me, made sure my concerns were resolved and then SHOOK MY HAND for being so brave as to do something proactive about my weight and my health, and told me that he really admired me. He has a family member who is thinking about WSL, and asked for my advice, and sat down and talked to me for ages about sleeving. What was really wonderful about this was that he had a med student with him, who saw all the respect he showed for me and my struggles with my weight, and gave me an opportunity to show this budding doctor what an overweight person goes through, and that we're not just dummies who don't know not to shovel burgers in our mouths all the time. I've been really impressed with my healthcare team here. The people I thought were going to be most judgemental have been the most supportive, and the worst response I've gotten has been disinterest. I'm still not telling my friends though! (And, I got offered a job at that Emerg! Yay! Who wouldn't want to work with such a svelte, competent nurse?)

I made the decision not to tell, mostly because I didn't want to talk about it all the time, and it's nobody's business but mine. I even had my line ready -- if anybody asked I was going to say I was using "The 19th Century Lifestyle Method -- cocaine and tapeworms." I figured that would stop too much inquisition. Unfortunately, I work in the ER, and had a medical crisis when I went back to work, and was bleeding internally. I thought my sleeve had ruptured, and so did the doc, but it turned out to be an unrelated medical problem. The doc worked her hardest to keep it secret, even coding her notes, but we'll see if it comes out. It was very hard not to tell my friends who where taking care of me, but it takes one person who doesn't think it's a big deal to tell a gossip hound, and then everybody's talking about it.

DON'T get hydrocortisone in/on the actual wounds. It makes for a thicker scar. If you're still taking narcotics, it could be that, and will resolve fairly quickly after you stop taking them. (Yes, I did have itching, and it was from the morphine.) There's oral benadryl and benadryl cream, but you're right to avoid creams over the dermabond -- it WILL break it down. (I'm a nurse, I'm not just making this stuff up.) Hope this is helpful.

Hi! There's a theater just up the hill behind the Marriot, in the same mall as the Wal-mart (everyone will tell you about the Wal-mart). It's maybe a 10 minute walk pre-sleeve, considerably longer when you're feeling rough after surgery! All the movies are in English, with Spanish subtitles. Be careful when you're choosing times. In the same theatre there's a VIP and a regular cineplex. I went to the VIP one, because I hadn't noticed that's what it was when I was checking times. It was about $10, which was ok, as the VIP theatres have cushy recliners and are pretty swanky. It was nice post-op to be able to recline out. I think if you go to a regular movie, it's about $6. Enjoy your movie!