Fluffnomore

Make sure you ask for the anti-nausea meds before, during and after. I always tell them (now) that I have issues with nausea after general anesthesia, and they put stuff right into the IV so I didn't have it. Lots of docs will order it as a matter of course, but when they're talking to you ahead of time just tell them that you have a history of nausea.

Labor pain is worse.

Typically you will go down to radiology where you will have to stand in front of a machine and drink a small amount of contrast dye, while the radiologist is looking at your esophagus/stomach/etc. This is so they can see if there are any leaks among the staple line. Typically there are not, and you are released back to your room and get your first 2 oz of water! You will woo hoo over that water.

I've had 3 surgeries in the last 5 years, so I'm happy to jump in here. Here's what is likely to happen: you will report to the hospital at the time they give you, and they will take you into pre-op holding, ask you to change into a gown and pack up your belongings. Don't wear any jewelry or make-up, not a wedding ring…not anything. Then they will probably give you a urine test to make sure you're not pregnant, unless you are documented as having a hysterectomy or something. The nurse will sit you down and go over your entire medical history with you. She will also start your IV, most likely. Take your vitals, etc. Eventually someone will come for you to be transported to talk with the anesthesiologist. This usually is in the sterile part of the pre-op holding, so you will get to put on your festive OR bonnet. You will be asked for your entire medical history again, possibly. Oh, and you will be asked to confirm your name and birthdate multiple times. This is the time that they will ask about your experience, etc, and try to get a feel for anything that might be unusual (do you have any broken or loose teeth, do you have experience with anesthesia, etc.) Depending on your anesthesiologist's and doctor's preference, they may start a medication in your IV here, or they might wheel you into the OR before doing so. I remember in my last surgeries scooting onto the operating table. Then you get an oxygen mask, and sometimes they ask you to count backwards from 100. I have never gotten past 97. Then you will wake up in recovery. I'm charming; I moan a great deal until they take the oxygen mask off of me. You might feel a bit of pain here, but not much…and they'll start your post op pain meds as soon as they see you're awake. Don't be embarrassed; everyone wakes up differently. Some people talk nonsense, some are combative. They've seen everything and they are prepared. When you are able to talk they will wheel you up to your room. Then it will be a few minutes while they get you settled, get the IVs and monitors all set. You might get another jolt of pain meds here. They'll put your leg compression things on, give you or your companion your stuff back, and then the fun begins. I will be honest, I had no trouble and really reasonable pain with my surgery. One of my best friends also had the surgery in June and had a reaction to the morphine and so had a really rough time in the hospital. I was up and walking around within an hour or so; it took her about 6 hours. You just don't know. But if you feel pain, if you feel nausea, be on it. Ask for pain and nausea meds. Be proactive. I'm kind of soft spoken, and I learned the hard way during my first surgery that if I wasn't crying or screaming, they didn't take me as seriously. In fact, I made sure that during this stay I got pain meds just as soon as I could every time, so that I could sleep and not worry about it. I was off painkillers by midnight after I got home, so I think that nipping it in the bud helped. Don't expect to get a lot of sleep in the hospital. Nurses and doctors come in at least every 4 hours to check your vitals, give you meds, etc. Oh, and finally, the worst part of this surgery is not drinking any Water until the leak test is complete. Hope this helps. I know you'll be fine.

I had bad reflux before, and nothing now (so far; it's only been 10 days.) My surgeon also did a hiatal hernia repair. Originally he was not in favor of the sleeve for me because it's contraindicated for reflux, but after I researched the lap band I didn't think it would work as well for me. I'm happy with the choice.

Sleeved 10/24 HW 238 Pre-op (10/18) 234 SW unknown CW 215 GW 150? (Will see!)

Sleeved Oct 24 and felt myself sliding into this kind of thinking a couple of days ago. Even went so far as to puree a chicken broth based soup that had other stuff in it. Beans, chicken, etc. After I did it, I really had to sit down with myself and wonder what the heck I was thinking. YES, others are not on as strict a post-op diet. YES, it is boring as hell. NO, it's not eating a cheeseburger. Long story short, I think that deciding I am special and I can handle something different from the instructions is part of what put the weight on in the first place. So, because I'm cleared for full liquids later this week I can wait another few days. Chicken broth, beef broth (some strained off of soups, but others just plain), G2 gatorade, sf popsicles and jellos, and Protein shakes until Thursday. I'll live. My post op is two weeks clears, two weeks fulls, two weeks purees, two weeks soft…and then we decide what else to add and how. It does seem like a long freaking time right now, but I've done a lot of reading that the more conservative this phase is, the better the outcome for the healing. And isn't that what we ultimately want and need? Good luck, hon. I am right there with you.

I have one "normal sized" and one chubby child. Initially I didn't explain fully what the surgery was about (talked more about the hiatal hernia part) because I wanted to be thoughtful about the way I spoke about it with my younger one, the obese one. Well, my husband outed me the day after I got home from the hospital when he was out on a field trip with both of them and explained the surgery to them. Not that I would never tell, I just wanted to say the right thing. I told the story on my blog (losingitoverhere.wordpress.com) but basically, the next day my son asked "Why did you do it?" and I told him that my doctor and I had discussed it, and based on my family history and current health decided that although I was not yet sick, it was inevitable that if I continued along this path I would be looking at diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure within the next couple of years. That the dieting I had done on and off for 20+ years had messed with my metabolism. And additionally that the surgeries I'd already had in the last 5 years had at least an indirect correlation to my weight. I told him that I wanted to fix this now while I still have time to enjoy being relatively young. And that I wanted to kick his asteroid in CrossFit (something we do together.) He digested all of this and said, "Will I have those conditions too?" And I told him, "The difference between you and me is that you are young, you have not yet gone through puberty, and you have time to turn this thing around. But yes, if you continue the way you have been, it's a good possibility. Same genes, buddy." I hope it's given him the right information without scaring the pants off of him. Because my husband is hoping to be sleeved in December, I really do hope the entire family benefits from the changes in the household. Right now he is their big enabler in the easily-droppable eating habits--the donut run, let's go out for quesadillas stuff. At 10 days post-op, my changes aren't affecting them whatsoever. Yet. Well, except for the time the little rodents ate all of my sf Jello the first week I was home. They heard about that, LOL.

Brighteyes, how soon did you go back? When was your surgery? And what specifically did you start with when you went back?

I was talking to a "naturally" skinny friend about this. (I find myself wondering now a lot about her "natural" habits, but that's another topic.) Anyway, she told me she always looks in the mirror and sees a fat girl. But that recently she saw a photo of herself and thought, "That woman is really bony" before realizing it was her. I've been in denial about my weight for a long time. When I look at full length pictures of myself I can't believe it's me. In my head, I'm the same person I was before I gained all this weight. I don't know if that's going to be harder or easier as I start to lose. But I think dysmorphia goes both ways. I think because I have a job where a lot of the time I'm out in front of people, I haven't focused on it. I just do my thing and forget about it. On the other hand sometimes I kick myself because I think I don't present enough of an executive image, as an overweight person.

Love this. Lots of similarities. Although I wasn't obese until my 30s, I was a benchwarmer for a number of sports. Ran a marathon in 5 hours in my 20s. And that's it. Also a musician (and so is my pre-sleeve husband.) I am so glad to hear this! It gives me hope. :-)

Thanks, Fiddleman! I will be fine with burpees when I can DO them. In high school I was pretty good at their precursor, squat thrusts (insert juvenile joke here.) I'm an Irish fireplug; ultimately there's plenty of strength in my legs. Our box has daily sessions, so you pick a time and go. Small group of people, dedicated coaches. There are usually at least 2 and sometimes up to 4 coaches there. So I'm fortunate, they took me as I was and worked to scale everything. And I have never been much of an athlete. Strong, maybe but slow. I always have done the WOD when I'm there, sometimes even one of the girls (named WODs, in case someone else is reading and thinks I'm being creepy.) Have never RXd. I know that the head coach was hoping I'd find everything in CF and abandon the idea of WLS. Another coach watched his mother and sister fail at lap bands and so was also skeptical. But I think the end result will be that I am able to do more with the weight gone, will eat much closer to Paleo and be better able to try all the things he wants me to explore. So I am anxious to get back but more anxious not to get hurt. I'm going to pace myself. Even though I am not crazy about the time off, I will say that I feel so fortunate for having a few months under my belt. I feel like that kind of conditioning, even at the rate I was going, really made a difference in my surgical experience. (Just having some ab muscles the first week was great.) I know that is a longwinded response and you didn't ask for my story. :-) I am fascinated that you can run so fast…were you athletic prior to doing CF?

Thanks to both of you. Listen, I'm no tough guy. I was the one in the back doing the knee push ups and ring rows and lifting about half of everyone else. I look like I'm having a seizure when doing burpees, and as for jumping and running, let's just say I could…but I would limp for a couple of days. I'm looking forward to attempting those things again with less weight pounding on my poor joints (only hope that the weight loss will reverse some damage.) Laners, why no swimming for so long? Was it too hard on your core? I confess I have been wondering if I'll even be able to do sit-ups at 6 weeks. How far out from surgery are you now? CBJ, I echo what Laners says. I am finding a great deal of inspiration from the vets who post. I want to do this correctly and with as few complications and injuries as possible. My surgery was smooth as could be and other than being tired I feel pretty good now, so I do not want to jeopardize that.

One of the reasons I have found GG's posts so interesting is that she is going through this with her husband. I don't feel like I have deep-seated behavior issues around food although I am SURE I am going to find out whether that's really true. One of the reasons I didn't jump right in the pool and post was that I was also a little freaked out when lurking during my pre-op, when people would post about ignoring the instructions completely or saying it was too hard. Like, not…"I took a few bites of dinner" but "I went to the drive through and ordered a 20 piece McNugget" ignoring it. Yeah, it's hard and it's a pain. I'm still on Clear liquids and I feel like I have strained every broth I can. I wondered if I could find or offer support when I was being all judgy on my own. My heart goes out to the people who get so triggered by food. But I know I'm not far enough along to mess with the program. Maybe I'll think some of the "dirty secrets" stuff is funny down the line, I don't know. I kind of doubt it.

Hi, I'm new here although I have been lurking a while. I think this is a fascinating thread. My husband and I have had this discussion a number of times. I was recently sleeved, and he is finishing up the process and hopes to have his done in December. Like Joe, above, we have had multiple discussions about food in the house. I do all of the shopping and cooking for the family and over our 18 years together have learned to be very careful about what I buy. (For example, no tubs of ice cream in our house! If I buy them, they get eaten late at night by my husband.) And he regularly asks me to hide certain foods from him, which I hate. While there isn't a lot of junk in our house at all, he will also eat multiple yogurts if they are in the refrigerator (for example.) He's working with a specific therapist for these issues before the surgery, of course…but I will be very curious to see how we do as a couple with our sleeves. The one thing I've noticed even though I'm very early on is that my compliance to this program is all on me, and if i get upset about what other people are eating or give me access to, I'm going to be a very lonely girl. Anyway, thanks for starting the thread.