Pigluva

How many people here have had or are having bariatric surgery to help with chronic pain? I have 3 bulging discs in my back and severe sciatica. I have been to several surgeons and they said there is nothing they can do about it. Also my knees are shot (at least it feels like it) My GP has been talking to me about this surgery for the past couple of years because of my pain. I have very little quality of life right now. I can't stand more than a minute or 2 or walk 15 or 20 steps without being in horrible pain. I use a walker sometimes but when you are shopping it just gets in the way. i shop almost exclusively at stores that have scooters to ride in and sometimes if my best friend is with me she will push me in a wheelchair. There are a lot of things that i love to do that i haven't been able to do for over a couple of years now. My GP said that she has had several patients that were completely (or almost) wheelchair bound and a couple that were actually addicted to pain killers. They had the surgery and they are up and about now. If you've had the surgery for this purpose, has it helped? I'm praying that it will help me.

my surgery is on the 5th and it will be done by a DaVinci robot.

9/5 - i'm so excited!

It's from losing the weight so fast. Years ago I was going through a divorce and could'nt afford to eat so all I ate was tomato soup and lost 100 pounds in like 4 months. That's when mine started acting up but they could not figure out for awhile what it was. It is so painful - I always felt like if I ate something I would feel better but it just made it worse. Stay away from greasy foods - that's what seemed to bother me the most but I also had a stone nearly the size of a golf ball and it had torn up my gall bladder so badly they had no choice but to remove it which I'm glad that they did so it would'nt happen again. If you still have your appendix have them take that out while they are in there - one less thing to worry about. Don't look at this as a complication - it's just part of life.

It will get worse and worse and closer and closer until you can't stand it any more. You can also die from it. You need to just bite the bullet and get it taken out. 1 incision and it's outpatient surgery. My nutritionist was back to work in 2 days. You will be so glad that you did it.

I'm having my surgery on 5 September, 2017. I am so excited. Hopefully it will be a full DS but that depends on how much scar tissue there is from previous surgeries. They won't know until they get in there. Anybody else having their surgery on that day? I need a buddy to get through this.

I;m on week 2 of my liquid pre op diet. I lost 21 pounds last week. But I'm lucky - i get one meal a day - my choice and i choose dinner so i can eat with my husband. I can also have cheese sticks and fruit for snacks if i want. It's not as hard as i thought it was going to be but it's not that great either.

At the least I will have a gastric bypass but am hoping for a DS. It just depends what the adhesions from prior surgerys look like when they get in there. Cross your fingers and pray for me that they can do the whole thing.

I'm in the middle of my liquid diet and I have to say it's not as bad as I had feared. I get a hunger pain here and there but i drink a little and it hides it. My sugar has only dropped once so hopefully it won't do it anymore as my body gets used to it. i had my orientation at the hospital yesterday and it was great! the Bariatric Manager took me on a tour of everything, showed me where to show up the morning of surgery, what not to bring, what to bring, gave me the cutest teddy bear cough pillow. i had a really good time. She was so nice - someone that i think i could be friends with aside from this. I learned so much from her. The wildest 2 things i learned: all of the sheets, blankets, wash clothes, gowns, etc. have copper infused in them to help prevent infection. But the wildest thing is they have this thing that looks like a ball with these 2 long wires coming out of it. When your surgery is done they run the 2 wires into one of your incisions. The ball is filled with morphine and it provides pain relief from the inside along with the IV. The ball lasts 5 to 6 days and then you just pull the wires out. is'nt that wild? I'll be thinking about you when you go to surgery. Mine is on the 5th. I'm very excited. Becky

Finally got my surgery date - 5 September. I'm so excited!

I'm still a couple of months out from surgery. My surgeon required a 2 week liquid pre op diet. I just had a tooth pulled earlier this week and had to be on liquids for at least 1 day afterwards. I wear an insulin pump and am wondering how this is going to work during the 2 week liquid diet. I was only on liquids for 1 day and yesterday my sugar dropped so low it really scared me. I haven't crashed like that in a long time and don't want to be going through this everyday during preop. It kind of defeats the purpose because i always take in more carbs than i need to when this happens beause you just want it to start. Anyone go through anything like this during the all liquid phase? Any suggestions/observations/comments would be greatly appreciated. Becky

maybe we could split them.

i would be interested, too.

johnnycakes, Where do you live in Virginia and who is your surgeon. I live in Triangle right next to Quantico Marine Base. I have one more wellness class, approval from the insurance company and then can finally get my surgery scheduled. i am having ds gastric bypass.

I'm hoping to have mine in either August or September. I have 2 more nutrition classes to finish and then it will go to my insurance company for approval and then for a surgery date. I'm very excited but also worried that I won't be able to do this. I'm sure once I see the weight start coming off and feeling better that I will be fine. I guess I'm just a little nervous.

Triangle, VA, right outside of Washington, D.C.

i had a nurse tell me to take liquid magnesium citrate

I'm with you cbikidci. I should have partnership in equal by now. Glad to know that it's ok to use. i've tried stevia before and it just wasn't as good as equal to me. Thanks

Since eating any sugar makes you sick, does sugar substitute affect you? I use it in my tea and i know it's in a lot of other stuff. Just want to know what to watch out for.

I had to see my dr this morning to get a prescription for steroids because my sciatica is so bad i'm almost laid up with it. i know i can't take them all the time but she said that with my surgery so close - 3 to 4 months out - that it wouldn't hurt me. so i can't wait to get to the pharmacy after work to pick them up. i'm so hoping that this surgery does all it says it will so i can have a life again. i'm glad that it has helped you ladies out. it's very encouraging. thanks for responding. your experience with a decrease in pain is very encouraging.

Is the feeling of regret immediate after surgery? Do you think it could be related to the pain you are feeling? I have not had my surgery yet but have read that there is a period of depression kind of like post partum. Is the regret that you cannot eat the food that you are craving? Just want to know what all to expect after the surgery so I can try to be prepared for it. Thanks, Becky

I am so excited for you. Can't wait to be in your shoes. I have 3 - 4 months left to wait. Finished all my tests but still have 3 wellness classes to finish. I am so excited!!! Just met the surgeon that will be assisting my surgeon for the surgery last week as he did my endoscopy. Fell in love with him - just a super nice guy. Please let us know how you are doing when you feel like it after the surgery. Good luck.

Is your surgery scheduled yet? i just had my last test last Thursday. Now it's just working on keeping my sugars down and 3 more wellness classes to go. I'm looking at August or September. It can't get here quickly enough for me.

i'm on an insulin pump also and when I started using one seems to be when i started gaining weight. I started using one about the same time i hurt my knee then as the pounds crept on (pretty quickly, actually) then the back problems started. I am pretty much not able to move a whole lot and can't wait to have the surgery so i can eleviate this pain. The insulin does make it so hard to lose weight. You figure we are getting insulin 24/7 plus extra jolts every time we eat. I'm looking forward to losing this pump, too.

I've never had laprascopic surgery before. How painful was it after surgery and for how long?