karen091866

Thanks to everyone that replied above--and gave the reassurance I was looking for and needing. Sorry I wasn't totally savvy in doing a site-wide search for topics/ threads... VERY glad to know that there are "loads of other threads" related to crying jags and emotional upheavals..At least I know I'm on course with recovery

OMG! My soul sister! I have found you! I just posted a new thread, "What is WRONG with me?" I've been crying like I did when I was pregnant....(28 and 25 years ago) So glad to read that I'm not a total anomaly... Heaven's to Betsy, I hope it levels off soon, though...returning to work will be super-difficult if this continues....LOLOL...(not funny, though....)

One of your lap-incisions on the left side is where the large piece of excised stomach was pulled out from. This is why one incision on the left side is so much more tender.

So sorry that you're having to deal with insurance ordeals - Most insurances require a BMI of >40...or 1 or more comorbid conditions (diabetes, COPD, etc) ---A BMI of >50 is really restricitve criteria to a lot of people that could/ should be able to have the surgery of their choice to get their health back on track, but aren't in that BMI range. hope things resolve quickly for you!

Everyone is different...My surgeon told me "up to 3 hours"---I was in & out in 1.5 hours....and was walking 4 hours post-op.

So sorry about the heaviness of the news you had thrust upon you. I will keep you, your son and family in my prayers - that he gets the very best of care while you all navigate such foreign territory.

Deep breath! Yes...the Oxycodone definitely helps. I'll be 2 weeks post-op tomorrow...and have managed primarily with liquid Tylenol and liquid Ibuprofen. Immediately post-op, do yourself a HUGE favor and "splint your abdomen" by hugging a pillow each time you have to get up out of bed...This will save you lots of pain and unnecessary stress on your belly muscles. Remember, one of your incisions on the left side of your tummy will be the one where your surgeon has to pluck out the 80-85% of your old stomach...so you're going to have some sore spots. I had 6 lap-incisions...but the only 1 that hurt was the one where my excised stomach was pulled out through. Make sure to faithfully do your incentive spirometry (metered inhalations, to help decrease any risk of post-op pneumonia)...and get up and WALK ASAP... You'll be fine, hon! Keep us posted as you recover!

To wwboy - I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Bariatric Advantage offers a nice variety of flavors...and Unjury is available unflavored...so it can be added to literally, anything you decide to eat or drink =)

Hope you're doing well! I had my procedure Thursday, 11/19/15...so we're in the same ballpark of recovery! Again, hope everything is moving along smooth for you! =)

I had my surgery 11/19/15 -- My surgeon initially told me 2.5-3 hours....but I was out in 1.5 hours. The surgeon has provide a wide time range, to account for any variables encountered while you're in surgery.

Wow---your story resonated with my own initial experience! My primary care provider referred me to "a facility which shall not be named"--and I started navigating the required hoops way back in January of 2015...I paid my required co-pay each visit...and then, oddly enough (RED FLAG ALERT), unpaid bills started arriving in the mail. I called the surgeon's office, and they assured me that "nothing was wrong"...I called my insurance, and ...let's just say, PLENTY was wrong. The insurance was not paying because this surgeon had let his credentialing w/ United Healthcare lapse...he was listed on a old/ outdated list of providers...but was technically "out of network"...AND...they had let their Center Of Excellence certification lapse...Which is a BIG deal. "Center of Excellence" isn't just some title slapped on a certificate to make the place look wonderful...it is a status/ standing that is awarded-- by insurance carriers--- to facilities who have an exceptionally low post-op complication rate. This particular facility LOST their Center of Excellence rating---> due to post-op infections, post-op ordeals of too many kinds to list...and United Healthcare refused to grant it back, until a pre-determined time of extremely LOW complications and stringent criteria had been met....and this place just couldn't swing making that happen. Long story short, my insurance quickly redirected me to a top-notch surgeon and a hospital that exceeded 'Center of Excellence" criteria & I had my procedure done Thursday, 11/19/2015. Trust me...don't be upset over this...be GRATEFUL...Grateful that you won't become a post-op statistic for some provider that doesn't care enough to maintain credentialing and go above and beyond for their patients. This is an elective procedure...not emergency surgery made while you're fighting for your life on a gurney in an ER...Take the time to research your surgeon, the facility...all of it. We are in control of this...WE decide who to entrust our bodies to for this life-changing surgery---Don't settle...your insurance is protecting you! It sounds like your particular surgeon likey "once had this certification"...otherwise, you'd have never been referred to them in the first place...and if they lost certification (and it sounds like they DID)...they definitely aren't going to go announcing it from the rooftops, because that means lost revenue---fewer patients. The sham of a surgical center I initally dealt with actually thought I would pay out of pocket to remain under their care...and had hoped I'd just circumvent my insurance, and pay them cash for my surgery, disregarding their lack of stellar certifications. Hmmm...How about NOT. I ran like the wind after finding that they knew ALL ALONG that they failed to meet the criteria...so every appointment was filled with lies...Why trust a place like that with your body? With your health and well-being?

[[[[ hugs ]]]] ---I am 1 week post-op today...and nothing bothered me to this point---until my family inisisted that I carve the darned Thanksgiving turkey! Seriously? Am I the only one that can take a knife and fork to a roasted bird? It smelled soooooooo good...I did take a bite...the size of a nickle...which was chewed like 50 times. Personally, I think that today, being a 'food-focused holiday', was a sensory overload for all of us new post-ops. Protein shakes aren't the same as fruit salad....Jello isn't the same as sweet potatoes I'm back on track after my miniscule kibble of turkey and hope everyone else fared well today.

Hmm...Interesting that you should ask this...I was told from the very beginning that rice was a "forever No-No"...and my nutritionist strongly advised the we implement "ricing cauliflower" in a food processor in lieu of any recipes we enjoyed that called for rice. Amazingly enough, it is WONDERFUL. I'm barely a week post-op, so I'm in the full-liquid diet phase of recovery; however, I tried the riced cauliflower before my surgery--and I'll be fine with the substitution for the long haul. I'd check with your nutritionist...to make absolutely sure.

I'm 6 days post-op today, & my only source of discomfort has been the laproscopic site where the excised stomach was pulled out after my sleeve was created. I have 6 small incisions & immediately wondered why only 1 was painful & I hardly felt the others at all. My surgeon confirmed that the tender one was, indeed, the one where the "old stomach" was pulled out, likely tearing some muscle fibers a bit along the way. My abdomen was only aggravated when getting up out of bed...when those accessory muscles were needed. My suggestion--use a pillow to "splint your abdomen" (tightly "hug" the pillow, for extra support) ...This will sure help you minimize this discomfort. -- Post-operatively, I had a PCA pump with Hydromorphone, but barely needed it. I was taking Tylenol and Ibuprofen only barely 24 hours post-op. Best of luck to you with your surgery!

My hospital stay was also pre-determined by insurance.They wanted to make CERTAIN that I had progressed past the Clear liquids on to full liquids before considering dismissal. (I truly appreciate that, seeing how as I "could've been sent home too early", only to have something go wrong, requiring me to return) Looking back, I'm glad that the 2 day stay was required--I came home confident in regards to fluids & was "reading my body's signals" pretty well when discharged. Best of luck to you!

Hon--the Carafate is supposed to be dissolved in water---No one TOLD you that? You make what is known as a "slurry" with it...Place it in like 2-3 Tablespoons of Water...it'll dissolve---THEN take it. I started crushing all of my meds 1 weeek pre-surgery..to get used to the taste (I knew it would be bad...so I mix them all in a bite of pudding) Regarding the post-op gas pains, walking-walking-walking gets rid of it...and I agree...it can be painful. I hope it gets better for you...I'm a new post-op, as well..Just had my surgery Thursday, 11/19/15. Happy Thanksgiving to you! [[[[[hugs ]]]]]

Good to se that I'm not alone...It has become such that I cannot / DO NOT trust any form of flatulence...because I know what is ahead with every rumbling of the belly. I have been using Bariatric Advantage and unflavored unjury Protein powders..From reading this thread, perhaps that is part ofthe problem. The first 2 days, I thought that it might be related to the pain meds I was given while in the hospital--but those are long since out of my system, being 5 days post-op. I will scale back on the protein for the next 24 hours and seeif I can regain the trust of my GI tract Hoping that everyone else feels better SOON, too!

I agree with other posts, that it is normal to be scared..Largely, because this procedure is irreversible...it is permanent... But that is exactly what I wanted and needed....I was tired of temporary results, and successes that were short lived...I wanted the COMPLETE control and ownership that the VSG gives people...THIS is my tool...this is MY change...and the results are going to be amazing. See? It is all a matter of perspective...

Mayflower...call your surgeon and ask for Zofran/ Ondansetron. Or a scopolamine patch.

Kadie777...yes, i did! My surgeon said I rocked it...my pain ( discomfort) was never unbearable. I've been on Clear liquids today, no more PCA pump....was up walking yesterday, like 5 hours post-op and am on track to go home tomorrow afternoon. I am amazed at myself, actually. I've got this

Cilepepp4...your weight along the way doesn't penalize you. You meet all of the criteria initially. That is what they go by for your surgery. If you lose weight during those 6 months, you still qualify. ....***btw, this is my 1st post-op posting! I'm in bed, barely 16 hours post- op--- my surgery went great. I was up walking last night & overall, pain has never gotten past a 5 on a 0-10 scale. Deep breath.. UHC will take care of you. Post OP posting. Lol

Over on the Pacific Coast ... Monroe,WA

Hello, everyone! My name is Karen..I'm a Native Texan, living out on the Pacific NW Coast in Monroe,WA.. I've been a nurse since 1993 - I have 2 adult sons, ages 28 and 25. My husband, Kevin & I have been married since 2000. Like the majority of those sharing here on this thread, I have yo-yo dieted most of my life...I've taken Meridia, Wellbutrin, Phen-Phen...Xenical...the endless list of diets that offered temporary successes. I've got a closet filled with clothes ranging from size 8 to 2XL right now. For several years, I would refuse to weigh in @ medical appointments, telling the person checking me in, "I already know...I already know" -- Which is not completely true, but close. I knew that I could no longer wear my favorite Rockie Mountain jeans...I knew that I wouldn't DARE wear the crocheted halter top that I loved anymore (surely not looking like I did NOW, anyways)---and I knew that every single nightgown I owned was a size XL...and that I had my own selection of colorful beach towels to dry off with after showering...because they were extra large...and I could cover everything in the event that someone should ever accidentally open the door when I was getting dressed after showering. I finally took the most courageous step of my life back in January of 2015...while awaiting for my MD to enter the room for an appointment, I sneaked up onto the scale--and definitely was made aware that I "definitely DIDN'T know" just how out of control my struggle with my weight had gotten. The first words I spoke when my provider entered the room were, "I think it's time for a referral to a bariatric specialist" - and he made the referral without hesitation. - Things had arrived at a point I was not willing to live with..and medical issues such as menopuase and hypothyroidism (and the medications that come along with them) certainly weren't helping matters---So it was time for ME to reclaim ME!! Like many of you, I was required to navigate 6 consecutive months of supervised Nutritional / Dietician visits, and of course, have the psychiatric evaluation before being approved for surgery. I think that the psychiatric eval was likely the most 'eye-opening piece' of the journey towards surgery, in that the psychologist made me identify the origins of my dysfunctional relationship with food--which when I was forced to, I openly admitted, began at age 11 - when my parents were separated. Throughout school, I wasn't one of the kids that ever got picked for sports teams first - no need to go into why. I haven't worn a two piece bathing suit since I was probably 4 years old (and only remember that because of family pictures) - I've been taunted..as an adult, being called such things as "Double Trouble" by people that I wouldn't give the time of day to...which makes the cruelty of their comments sting even more...knowing that I have literally NOTHING to say to them---but that is what they choose to yell out to me when given the opportunity. Well-- NO MORE! I have DONE my 6 months of Nutritionist visits! I have DONE my psych eval! I have RECEIVED my letter of approval! I have completed my presurgical liquid diet! I have chugged my bottle of Mag Citrate....and my Sugery date is TOMORROW, 11/19/15... and from this point moving forward, I have RECLAIMED my life & there is no stopping me now! Thank you all for being a source of pre-op support....I hope to be posting frequent updates on other threads and MASTERING the SLEEVE! -- I've got this!

Broth! I will be 7 days post-op on Thanksgiving...and will be so grateful for the heathy days that are ahead of me <3