BitterSweet*

You should celebrate. That is a huge accomplishment. Congratulations!

@@bobbyswife is correct. The most important thing to figure out is why this happened, what precipitated it, how bad was it (from their medical perspective), and how aggressively they had to treat you to correct the problem. This is not a common occurrence and the underlying answers are the key to this. Good luck and please keep us posted about what you and your doctors decide to do.

No, that is not normal. Please notify your doctor this morning and let us know what happens. Good luck to you.

I wouldn't leave the hospital without having that EGD done; you have suffered enough and they need to figure out why. I hope things go well with your wife. Good luck to you both!

I second what the others have said. Be diligent in the pre and post instructions and you'll be fine.

I think people are just really confused and just don't know any better. I am also surprised by how many people are afraid of pressing weights. I used to run my @ss off trying to tone up my legs and it did not help the way I thought it would. All it did was make my thighs smaller in circumference, but they still looked awful. Two months of squatting with heavy weights and the lumps and bumps began dissapearing. It is impressive. All I think about is the wasted money on creams and cellulite devices and all I needed were good old fashioned weights.

If not gaining weight is one of your requirements, then your weight gain will affect your approval. If I were you, I'd follow that diet to a T and kick up the exercise tremendously. If a VSG is really what you want, you can lose that weight before your weigh in. Good luck and keep us posted after your appointment.

Ikr! LMAO!!

I think G2 is awesome. It tastes great and really helps me to keep my fluid intake up. I dilute it with water as well, and the electrolytes help with dehydration.

I've had breast surgery and as sensitive as breasts are, I had zero pain in them after surgery. Comparing breast surgery to something else may not be a good way to measure. But if you had a hysterectomy and had no pain, your threshold is very high. Whatever pain you end up with will probably not amount to much to you!

I agree with @@psymom, but I think big girls can be easy targets for men. I think that sometimes when a man sees a big woman and hits on her he's wondering if she cooks with gas or electric and what she can do for him. I think many (not all) assume big girls have low self esteem and will just accept whomever, whenever. I simply adore any woman who acts like a lady and carries herself as such, no matter her size.

I'm a very visual person and I think vision boards are great. Mine has pictures of my dream home, my dream thighs, pics of my two children and granny, and pics of what I look like now and where I live now. It shows me where I am, where I want to be, and what inspires me. I've tried to put a pic of my fat, cellulite-ridden @ss on my fridge to stay focused, but somehow that didn't go over very well.

No need to feel bad about it, but what @@VSGAnn2014 said is correct. We can't fix anybody. A year and 6 months ago, no one could fix you either, and if someone had tried to stage an intervention of sorts, it may not have even been received well. Anger, denial, and not being ready and wanting change are very powerful things. Sad, but powerful. We have to walk our own paths in life. She was right though. The fashion this year is shit....in all departments and in all sizes. For God's sake who decided to bring cowl neck tunic sweaters back in fashion? #hideous

I ike the bubbles too and as much as I may dislike it at first, I know I'll be much healthier without my coke zeros. My kidneys will also be grateful.

@@lisa'sHope, I'm so sorry to hear about your husband. Sending prayers your way.

Awesomeness! I'm so jealous of your pending move! I never made it to England or Greece but I pretty much went everywhere else. It was fantastic! Enjoy and stay in touch!

Hey Lindsey, sorry if my post brought out terror vibes! That was certainly not my intent. I've watched videos of how a VSG is done and it really is not that difficult of a surgery. The stapling device is just genius so it seems like any surgeon could do a VSG. My personal concern is that I have a hiatal hernia which will also have to be repaired, so that's really 2 surgeries in the same operation. Also, I have noticed that complications are glossed over too much. My surgeon said the same thing. It's a 3 day hospital stay and a drain is left in place until discharge, and that leaks are repaired with stents. Fixing a leak by placing a stent sounds as simple as getting an IV started, but it really isn't. I purposely read the complications board on this forum. "Gastric Sleeve Complications Support Group". That is where you can find out what a leak or infection truly means and how immensely difficult they are to correct. Again, I do not wish to frighten you or anyone, but complications do happen. Some people are just unlucky, some people violate their post-op instructions and cause their own problems, and sometimes it's the surgeon. I have the upmost respect and regard for military surgeons; I truly do, but these bariatric programs are new, which means their experience with performing these surgeries is also new and limited. My surgeon reported his leak rate between 1-2%, which apparently is about the national average; however, 1% for a surgeon that has done 10,000 sugeries is much different than a surgeon like mine who has done less than 200. That 2% looks mighty different in that frame of reference. Btw, I lived in Mannheim for 3 years and I miss living in and touring Europe. Please stay in touch if you don't mind. Good luck in whatever you decide to do!

@@dinosaurateme, what's the update about the problem you were having? I hope everything is fine with you. Please keep us posted.

Do you still have a gallbladder? All of those lab results you mentioned, which are liver function tests (LFTs), can be elevated with gall disease, even if no stones are present. Also, malnutrition can cause abnormal LFTs. Hope things work out for you. Let us know what your surgeon says about everything.

@@tammygRN, there's really nothing I can say. I just feel so bad that you keep going through so much.

My understanding about giving it up on the pre-op diet is only to break the habit of drinking soda pop (and caffeine dependency), since it is a no-no after surgery.

It's very common. The treatment is usually 2 different antibotics for 10 days, as well as a daily PPI to reduce acid and irritation while you're on antibiotics. Untreated H. Pylori can be problematic when undiagnosed or untreated properly. You'll do fine.

Exactly!

Change and increase the intensity of your exercise regime' and analyze your caloric and water intake. If it's too low, carb and sodium laden, and too low in fat, those things alone can account for slowed weight loss.

Thank you for that update. I hope they can resolve this quickly and you can begin to heal and recover from this complication. Praying for you...