Sue Magoo

Hi: I had my gallbladder out 9 months after being banded and after a lot of weight loss. You can go to General Surgeon, but ask your sleeve surgeon if he'll do it first if you're more comfortable with him/her. One thing that will help is to get a spanx type of garment to wear after the gallbladder surgery because that will help from jiggling too much. I was most uncomfortable from the "jiggling effect" after losing a lot of weight, but once someone else who'd had the surgery told me to put on something very tight fitting on abdomen it made all the difference in the world. Best wishes to you for a pain-free recovery. Sue

Domika: I hope to be sleeved soon and I am inspired by your post below. I was banded several years ago and I followed the rules because I wanted the best outcome and didn't want to screw up anything. Thank you for your inspirational posting. Sue

Congrats! You look great.

Rensterness: Sounds like you've got the right attitude to get through this with a positive outcome. Best wishes to you next week. Please let us know how you're doing. Sue

Was such a disappointing appointment today. He said he'd only do a bypass, no sleeve. He said it's lower risk than sleeve because of previous erosion. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do. Having more discussions with my lapband surgeon who is doing sleeves now too. He's the kindest doctor in the world - Dr. Adam Glasgow. I'm not saying who I saw at Lahey, but he wasn't very personable. At one point, he went to get the book with pictures about bypass, and he said "I don't usually do the education part of this, my nurses do". Made me feel like I was putting him out. Like his time was too valuable to discuss the bypass with me. Lahey Clinic is too big of a hospital for me. I felt like I was at a cattle call and I was just another one of the cows. Anyway, just wanted to update for how it went today, but I still don't know what's going to happen. I'm very disappointed right now and wanted to cry all the way back from the hospital. Thanks for the good wishes. Sue

Hi Jaime: If you're constipated try a teaspoon of mineral oil once a day. It helped me when I had that problem. I guess this is problem is better than the opposite reaction. Good luck! Sue

Hi: Sorry to hear about your troubles. I hope that your revision works out well. You've been so successful so far. I'm sure you'll continue to do well because you've come so far and done so well already. I've never heard of a sleeve revision. What do they revise? Please educate this community by sharing what you know and how you proceed through this revision. Thank you. Sue

OuNewt: Best wishes to you for removal and success afterwards. I didn't update after my initial surgery. I got a postop infection ten days after surgery and was back in the hospital on high doses of intravenous antibiotics for four more days. I woke up with a temperature of 104 on day ten, so I called my surgeon. He had me go to emergency room. They did a ct scan and found that I had infection inside. My kind surgeon was on vacation, but he came to see me twice in the hospital, driving down from Maine to MA each time. He felt badly about the infection. Not sure how it came, but probably from that gross band that had been accumulating food and germs in my stomach. The band actually looked black in the EGD pictures - gross! So, here I am 8 months later with a lot of weight gained. I'm pursuing the sleeve now. Will have to wait and see. I hope that all goes well for you. Please keep us posted, as I'm one of those crazy, caring people that will be worrying about you and wondering how you're doing. Take care and be well. Sue

Hello: I had an EGD a couple of weeks ago and the doctor recommended a gastric emptying study because even though I hadn't eaten for more than 12 hours there was some food in my stomach. So, yesterday I had the gastric emptying study. The EGD also showed mild gastritis, mild esophagitis, and small hiatal hernia. I've had GERD for 20+ years. Has anybody else had this study done? Does anyone know if this study showed slow moving food out of my stomach will that squash my hopes of being sleeved? I appreciate anything you can share on this subject. Thanks. Sue

Searching: If I don't hear from the Gastro tomorrow I'll call on Tuesday. I just had the Gastric Emptying Study on Saturday. She may not even get the results until Tuesday or afterwards. Once I hear from her I'll contact the surgeon that did my two bands. He might be doing my sleeve too, not sure yet. I have an appointment at Lahey Clinic for a second opinion on a week from Thursday. I'm sure that my band surgeon will let me know if the signs are showing that I shouldn't be sleeved. He told me already in December that I'm a bit higher risk because of the two previous bands and band erosion. I may chose the surgeon at Lahey because he's done a lot more sleeves than my band surgeon has. My band surgeon recommended that I see the surgeon at Lahey Clinic to get his opinion before proceeding and to see if he thinks I should go to a more experienced surgeon. They know each other. Anybody else have a Gastric Emptying Study done? What did the results mean as it relates to Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy? Please let me know if have any of you reading this thread have any experience with this. Thanks. Sue

Cang: You should probably give your doctor a call and ask him if you should be seen. Please keep us posted. I hope all is fine. Sue

Be strong and compliant. It will make your surgery safer. I hope to be in your position in about a month or so. Best wishes to you. Sue

Very inspirational! Thanks for sharing. You look fantastic!

You're lookin' good. Congrats on your success so far. S.

Hi: A little background first. Small band placed July 2007. Slipped band and revised to larger band July 2010. Then, erosion, and band removed July 2013. I know I've gained a lot of weight without the band, and even with the larger band. But, I feel like I'm officially a failure now that I noticed that my Lap Band surgeon took me off of his website. I'm not going to let it get to me. I'm in the beginning stages of trying to get sleeved. Now my goal is get be successful enough to get back on his website, and I hope to do it before the end of this year! Sue

Hi: Had mine last week and because of the drugs they use to make you more comfortable you can't do anything that takes full attention for the rest of the day. When I got home I had some lunch and then laid down to take a nap. It was more than a nap. I slept soundly for 4 hours! Best sleep I've had in years! Good luck! Sue

Hi: Very soon you're going to have a few days of peeing like crazy and the scale will show a reward for all of your efforts. I can remember I gained 9 pounds after my first lapband, then one night I peed like crazy and the scale went down 5 pounds in one day. I think that was my biggest daily loss ever, even though it was just fluids. Easy to say be patient, but "Be patient!". Best wishes to you Sue

Hi Nate: I was originally banded in July 2007. I saw my surgeon first time in April 2007. The day I walked out of his office I decided that surgery would be safer if I lost some weight before the surgery. I weighed 324 that day. I lost 38 pounds before my July surgery. I did a sort of "modified weight watchers diet". I had to do a ten day liquid diet prior to surgery. That was the hardest part, but as long as I remembered that I was making my surgery safer it helped me get through it. I also found sugar free popsicles and sugar free diet Snapple peach tea were my saviors. Unfortunately, I lost my band last July. I've gained a lot of weight, so I'm in the process of trying to get approved for Gastric Sleeve surgery this year. Best wishes to you. Sue

You were beautiful before, and you are stunning after. Congratulations! Sue

Hello: I was curious about this too, but from a different viewpoint. I have medical insurance that doesn't have any exclusions for WLS. However, I was curious if I would have coverage if I had complications and had to go on short term or long term disability. I sent an email to our benefits folks for work and got it in writing that if I did have a disability caused from complications of this elective surgery I will be covered. You should probably call the phone number that's on the back of your insurance card. Or, if possible, email them. If the answer is yes, make sure you get it acknowledged in writing. Good luck!

A little background first. Small band placed 2007. Lost 150 pounds with first band. Small band slipped and revised to larger band 2010. Erosion and band removal 2013. I've gained back about half that I lost with band between 2009 and 2013. Now considering gastric sleeve. Had discussion with surgeon in December. He recommended that I have an EGD. He also recommended that I see another surgeon with more sleeve experience because I may have scarring due to the band issues that I had previously. So, today had first test. Had my first pre-op test today - an upper GI (EGD). The doctor said I have mild gastritis, small hiatal hernia, and my stomach still had food in it though I hadn't eaten for more than 10 hours. She said she wants me to have a gastric emptying test, so I will. Does anybody know if any of these findings will mean I won't be able to get the sleeve? Please share what you know about these circumstances. Thanks. Sue

Why don't you ask your doctor if he/she saw the results from the upper GI that you already had? Perhaps they didn't get a copy of the report. That might make one less doctor to see. You should ask your doctor why she/he wants you to see these two specialists. Ask her if there are specific tests he/she wants results from? Perhaps he/she is just checking to see if you are serious about this. Good luck!

Hello Awaldo: Don't be sad. Be glad because it's probably due to your significant weight loss. I had lost almost 100 pounds after banding when I had to get my gallbladder out. It's not a bad surgery. Just wanted to mention that you'll be a lot more comfortable after the gallbladder surgery if you wear something that fits tightly so that your jiggle doesn't wiggle. If you have good insurance, ask your surgeon for a binder while you're in the hospital. If not, try getting a spanx type of garment. It really made a big difference for me. Good luck. Get lots of rest after your surgery. Take care. Sue

Hi: A teaspoon of mineral oil daily helps too, and it's way cheaper than Miralax and Probiotics. Hope this problem resolves soon. Sue

Hello: Because you're just a week out, if you had been nearly without pain and then are starting to have severe pain you should call your surgeon. Could be a warning! Please let us know how you're doing. Take care. Sue