RellaBelle

Not sure if anyone pays any attention to this forum but on the off chance someone does.. I was wondering if anyone has tried Phentermine as a weight loss tool and what their experiences with it were? I have a friend that has said if she knew about Phentermine before she had her VSG should wouldn't have had the procedure and just took her time using that product to lsoe the weight. I've read of the possible side effects and they are pretty unnerving.. though no more unnerving than the unknown of having surgery.

I recently came across someone on Instagram who had the VSG 4 weeks ago and they were STILL on oxygen. I asked why and what happened but hadn't received a response yet. Has anyone heard of someone or had their own experience of needing to be on oxygen for longer than usual after the surgery?? What was the reason behind it and were there pre-existing breathing/lung issues beforehand?

Hey y'all! So I'm scheduled for vsg March 14th and went in for blood work on Monday to make sure all my levels were ok. The results came back saying my cholesterol was a little bit high and my thyroid levels were low. The nurse then called me back to say the Dr told her to tell me that I may have hyperthyroidism... which is od because I thought low levels meant your thyroid was under active and hyper meant it was over active, yes? I'm assuming she just got it backwards and meant to say I may have hypothyroidism. ANYWAY! The Doctor wants me to come back in 6 weeks for more blood work... why he wants to wait 6 weeks is beyond me, I guess to see if the levels change and maybe it was just a one time thing? I don't know. Either way, for those who have either hypo or hyperthyroidism... how has it affected [effected? lol] your journey? Did you find you lost slower than others? Thanks in advance! TLDR: How has hyper or hypothyroidism impacted your vsg journey?

See, now I'm on the other side of this. I've been natural for 6 years, hair is past my bra strap when flat ironed. My hair loss started right at 3 months, I'm 5 months out now and still experiencing it. I'm talking literal handfuls of hair. That being said I wash my hair like every 3 weeks so it may not be as bad as it seems. My hair is still really thick and I've retained all my pre op length. I was curious about making the transition to locs but wasn't sure how they would hold up with all the shedding. I didn't know if the locs would make the shedding worse or if it would even make a difference at all.

This is obviously a TMI post so I apologize in advance. I have not experienced the first week diarrhea that many people say they get. All I'm doing is passing gas. I even took a stool softener and nothing happened. I just started full liquids today [suppose to start tomorrow but I was really low on energy so started a day early] and had a protein shake... they sit well but I think they make me bloated so I may not be able to drink those. Anyway, yeah... 9 days post op and nothing in BM department. Only passing gas. How long was it for everyone before they had movement?

@@WL WARRIOR - I didn't think about that. I just figured there would be some sort of waste.... but I guess not. There isn't much to what I've been drinking these past 9 days. @@melyssafaye - You made me feel so much better. I hadn't noticed the no smell to my gas but you're right, there is no smell. I haven't had any troubles with my tummy yet and I don't want to upset her with hard medicine. I officially start full liquids today so I'll give it some more time. Thank y'all!

@@kaciii - No pain meds. Didn't need any. And no constipation related pain... it's just... nothing but gas. I don't know. @@animallover1247 - I took stool softeners earlier this week and they did nothing. I guess I'll some magnesium citrate or something. I find it odd that I'm not even having the urge for a BM. That's why I asked. I didn't want to put myself in a miserable situation with being backed up.

Had my surgery 3/29 as well. My surgeon has me on clear liquids for 10 days, full liquids would start tomorrow [Fri 7th] but I started today. I had to have something else. I woke up this morning and was just dragging my feet, like it actually took effort for me to pick my feet up as I walked instead of shuffle around. Full liquids is 10 days, soft/blended is minimum of 10 days and once I tolerate everything well in that phase then I can move on to the next. I haven't had any problems getting liquids down. Even managed about 100 oz on two separate days [no joke]. I tried an Atkin's shake today w/ 1/2 tablespoon Genepro added to up the protein from 15g to 30g and it went down smooth... and stayed there. I will say I can only have 2 oz of the protein shake before I'm done, I may even decrease it to one ounce because I get full. So I've definitely had a harder time getting my water in with the protein shake today. I plan on putting myself on a schedule to help. I'll see how it goes.

So I'm scheduled for March 14th and am steadily getting all of my Pre op and post op needs together. I'm concerned about the vitamins I've chosen. They're ALL gummy vitamins except biotin. I'm just concerned that the carbs and sugar content will throw my progress off. I was planning on switching to pills if I could once all the gummies were gone. I just want this to be successful. I'd prefer to not be held back because I chose the wrong vitamins.

I'm having the gastric sleeve. I'm definitely concerned about whether or not I'll be able to tolerate them. That's quite a bit of money wasted, at least for me anyway. I added it up this morning and it's 16g carbs and 13g sugar from the gummies alone.

My surgery is coming up on March 14th and I'm getting all my supplies together. I've seen some people say that they get constipated post op and now have to take probiotics or fiber supplements. If you are one of those people... what brand do you buy? What makes a good fiber or probiotic gummy?

I'm buying my ticket today [AAHH!] and I need some advice. Did anyone find that their particular seat made their flight easier or more difficult? I don't know whether or not to reserve an aisle seat or a window seat. I'd think an aisle would be preferred in case we need to use the restroom but then I think we can only take tiny sips so I probably won't be doing a lot of peeing. But then I also feel like I'd want a window seat just to be out of the way. Where did y'all sit and did it make your trip comfortable/uncomfortable? Did you actually get up and walk around? The first leg of my return flight is 1h 16 mins with a 1hr layover in Phoenix [which is fine because that means I can take my time getting to the next terminal] and then a 2 1/2 hour flight to Houston.

Thanks y'all. @@JamieLogical, I ended up getting an aisle seat. I thought about it more and it definitely seems like the better choice. How often should I get up and walk? @@lauraellen80, I usually get motion sick if Im reading or playing on my phone while riding in a car, I really hope that doesn't happen on the plane!

I'm scheduled for March 14th but I won't be able to buy my plane ticket until maybe March 1st. Yeah, that's cutting it really close but I don't have any other option [unless I win the powerball]. What was the latest any of you have bought your plane ticket? Was the price higher or lower than when you first started looking at flights?

Ok, awesome. Thanks y'all. I appreciate it.

I'm flying out of Houston. I'll start checking through the actual airline companies as well instead of just relying on google flights and places like that. Just in case there are more options. I'm even willing to stay overnight in San Diego at a hotel before and after if necessary. Husband won't be thrilled about that idea but I'll make it work.

@@kemepling, @@VSGAnn2014 and @JenniferP1... thank you! That definitely makes me feel better.

I don't know much about FSA's but I have an HSA account through Health Equity and called them with this exact question this morning. The agent I talked to said I could use it for wls and I could use it in Mexico. Like Sharon said, the guidelines only mention prescriptions from other countries. I also know a woman who used her HSA [again, HSA... not FSA] to pay for her vsg in mexico. But again, I'm talking about an HSA... it may be best to do like the others said and call the company you use for clarification.

@@César Faz, thanks so much for the quick reply. Unstable wifi isn't a big deal when my husband will really only be there to sleep at night. Very good to know. Thank you

Has anyone had someone accompany them that can vouch for the quality of the recommended hotel, City Express?

Hey ladies and gents! I'm going to be a self paying VSG patient hopefully no later than summer '16, the date keeps getting pushed back because life and stuff. Every time it gets pushed back I keep doubting myself and second guessing my desire to get the VSG. It's one of those "Have I really tried.. I mean really tried", "What if it still doesn't help?", "Why do I even think it would work for me!?" kind of thing. That last question led me back to the wonderful people of this forum and my question for y'all is [if you haven't guessed it already] why do you feel the VSG was a success for you? Was it simply because it didn't allow you to eat so much? Was it because you can no longer tolerate the things you use to love and you just can't have them anymore? I need some words of wisdom from the people who have been there/done that because I'm really second guessing my decision even though I know it's what I really want and I feel like it will give me a fighting chance.

The place I plan on going through only has a 2 night stay and you head home on the 3rd afternoon. A flight from Houston to San Diego is about 3 hours both ways but the only flights that I can find have a one hour layover in Phoenix. One hour from San Diego to Phoenix and then the last two from Phoenix to Houston. I did a search and saw that people recommended moving your legs and feet, getting up to walk and buying compression socks. Does anyone else have any other tips? The thought of blood clots makes me extremely nervous and I haven't really seen many people talk about the flight back home. Edit: Also, did anyone let their flight know ahead of time that they were going to be a surgery patient coming back so they could board earlier and get situated easier?

@@Tonileigh, when I talked to the coordinator he mentioned that Dr. Arellano worked alongside Dr. Aceves for some years before he passed away and learned his technique from him. If you do a search in the forums for Dr. Aceves, you will see that a lot of people loved him and said he was the best so I'm confident in thinking that Dr Arellano is very competent. I actually came across a girl on YouTube that just went through LongTerm VSG, she only has 3 videos right now and they are relatively short but she does share her experience, her videos are here. I've only seen a handful of reviews for Dr M but everything I've seen has been positive. I'll definitely be going through them.

@@AvaFern, thanks for responding! That's what I figured but I thought I would ask anyway just in case I had missed something.