macadamia

@TX4everLinds IIRC, the flavors were the Green Tea and the Black Tea.

So, here is my first personal update in a few weeks. I apologize for the delay in the update, but I've not been feeling very well. Disclaimer: before anyone freaks out about what I am about to talk about here, please remember that I am still pre-op and my situation is far from your situation. Unless you have a history of what I am talking about, you are very unlikely to have one in your pre-op phase... I had what I thought was a stall in my pre-op phase. I had cheated a bit over the past few weeks, but not enough to gain 8 pounds. I had been feeling sick to my stomach and had abdominal pain for a few weeks, but last Wednesday it got really bad. I went to work but ended up leaving early. I sat at home and hoped the pain would go away but it only got worse. I ended up in the emergency room about 4am on Thursday morning. I was given an IV, Fentanyl for the pain, and Zofran for the nausea. I was sent for a CT scan and they found that I had a small bowel obstruction. I was admitted, had a N-G tube placed (a naso-gastro tube stuck up my nose and down into my stomach - yes, it is as nasty as it sounds), and was given more pain meds. The surgeon came to talk to me and he said that he did not believe that I needed surgery and that we would wait to see if it clears on its own. (This was my 14th small bowel obstruction since 1995 and I have only had to have surgery because of the one in May 2017 and August 2017.) The surgeon also changed my pain med to Dilaudid, which is a much stronger med and actually helps when I have a blockage. So, after not eating for a couple of days and having the contents of my stomach vacuumed out, the blockage finally released and I was allowed to eat again. Since the blockage has released, I've lost almost 10 pounds (eight of which was stuck) and after my official weigh-in at work on Tuesday, I'll be updating my progress.

I rarely use the app because, frankly, I do not know how to use it. And something is wrong with the website right now, because I cannot quote anything. @TX4everLinds Make sure you read the labels on the Isopure drinks. The teas both have caffeine in them. I found that information on their website. I'm pretty sure that the other flavors do not have any caffeine in them. I looked it up because I am not allowed to have caffeine until about six months after surgery.

Awesome! And I'm sorry that your entire pre-op phase is clear liquids only. Blech! Congrats on your weight loss so far. I'm down over 32 pounds since June 29, 2018, but have had a stall lately that I will elaborate on later tonight. It appears that I am back on track.

Thanks but I’m not on FB! My comment had nothing to do with FB, as I am also not part of that group. I was merely saying that it was nice that you could get things changed when you asked to have them changed. Someone else mentioned a FB group. I believe you quoted the wrong post, accidentally... no worries!

Welcome! It seems the first week in September is very popular this year! Good luck on your pre-op phase and I look forward to hearing more about you and your progress. You are starting your journey just a few pounds less than I started, although you are a few inches taller as well. My goal is 200 pounds, but it would be nice to be less than 200 if I can get there. Good luck!

Welcome! This a great site for information and for links to additional information. I've learned so much in my short time here - I joined in July of this year. Your appointments will fly past and you will have a date very soon. Good luck!

Welcome and good luck with your pre-op phase! If you are still within the window to maintain your scheduled move, I recommend you do it before you have your surgery. I was planning to move to one of the two new buildings that my apartment complex just constructed, but the one that is ready is already completely full and the second building has had a setback for the move-in dates. I was supposed to be able to move in by the beginning of August, but now it looks like October before the second building will be ready to occupy. I think this is a blessing in disguise for me - I've decided not to move within the complex. If I move it will be to a new complex completely.

Another sleever on September 6th! Awesome and welcome! Good luck with your pre-op phase.

That's awesome that you have your date! Good luck!

I think it is awesome that you are looking forward to a healthier life. Asking people's opinions here is a great way to start thinking about which way to go. However, the best resource is your bariatric team. There are many factors that make one procedure better than the other. Some of these factors can only be found by tests and the experience of the surgeon. For me, I was told by two different bariatric surgeons that the only procedure that would even be recommended was the sleeve. I have had multiple abdominal surgeries and these preclude having the bypass. By discussing everything with my current surgeon and along with my upper endoscopy and a follow-up CT scan, the best option for me is the sleeve. Good luck with your journey.

Yes, this is one of the September 2018 groups. I created this one specifically for sleeve gastrectomy patients, but everyone is welcome! There are a couple of others. Welcome and good luck with your journey. Only eight days for pre-op? You are very lucky! I've been struggling with my pre-op diet now for almost a month, and I have two weeks left! We'll get through this and be better off after, to be sure! Which surgery are you having?

Congrats! Good luck with your pre-op appointment and your pre-op diet! Your surgery will be here before you know it! Good luck

You've got this! Good luck and keep us informed!

Same as me! That's awesome! and good luck with the pre-op phase too! I've been having a few setbacks so far, but overall, I'm doing pretty well. Just over two weeks out!

Awesome! Good luck with your pre-op phase!

That's awesome! It's amazing what can be done when it is necessary to have something changed. Sweet!

I will be having a sleeve done on September 6th. I take the Walgreen's version of the Flintstone's vitamins. The dosage for children is 1/2, and one daily for adults. I did not know the dosage for the Flintstone's. Thanks!

Four per day? I'm supposed to take two after surgery and that seems like a lot to me. I know every surgeon is different in their requirements...

Yeah, thanks Obama! but I digress... Medical bills suck and without insurance, I'd probably be dead. It sucks that you are paying so much for those things. When I first got my C-Pap machine a couple of years ago I had not met my deductible, so I had to pay for the entire machine. Luckily, I also take advantage of the flexible spending account, so I paid for it with that money.

Oh, and one other thing: my bariatric surgeon is going to "try" to do my sleeve surgery laparoscopically, but will be prepping me for an open procedure too because of the previous abdominal surgeries and the presence of scar tissue. He said he would place the first trocar (the port for the instruments in laparoscopic surgeries) and check if he can access everything. If not, he'll remove the trocar and open me up. One thing I forgot to mention above is the "open" incision for bariatric surgery will be higher than the incisions I mention in my post above. My surgeon said if he has to open me up, it will be from just below my sternum to just below my belly button. Everything else I said above applies for this area as well. Good luck!

While I have not yet had my bariatric surgery, I have had three open abdominal procedures for other reasons. All three went through the same area, from just above my belly button to just below my belt line (below my muffin top) in my upper groin. The first one was not bad, since my skin was just skin and not scar tissue like it is now. The first one was in 1995 and they sewed it internally and stapled the outside closed. The second and the third were last year, in May 2017 and in August 2017. The one in May was mostly healed when the surgeon had to open me back up again through the same place. The one from August 2017 took over four months to heal. As for pain, the first one hurt the most of the three (but it was still tolerable with pain medicine) because it was on virgin skin. The second and third did not really hurt much because scar tissue usually does not have as many nerve endings in it. You will likely have what is called a "wound vac" installed over the incision dressing after they close you in the operating room. This is a dressing covered with sponge material and adhesive-backed plastic wrap with a tube going from the dressing to the wound vac. It looks like Saran wrap, sort of, but it is a bit thicker. What this device does is keep a constant negative pressure on the wound to draw out any fluid and blood, which if left to pool within the wound could cause an infection. The wound vac does not hurt at all and really speeds up the healing process. When I had my surgery back in 1995, wound vacs were not widely used and I did not have one. Both surgeries last year used them. The wound nurses will change the dressings every couple of days and depending on how long you stay in the hospital, you may be sent home with a portable version of the wound vac. My surgery in August last year did just that. I had to carry the wound vac with me everywhere I went, but it was small and rechargeable and not very intrusive. After a while, I forgot it was even there. I had to come to the hospital wound care clinic every three days to get my dressings changed and I had the portable vac for two months. I was in the hospital for over three weeks so overall, I had the wound vac for almost three months. It sounds much worse than it is, believe me. I did not have the choice for any my surgeries either.

Just for clarification - you can press the button on the pain pump as many times and as often as you want / need to. It will only administer the pain medicine at the interval set by the doctor writing the order and the nurse programming the pump. For example, if the pump is set at 10 minutes, you can push and push the button but it will only give you medicine every 10 minutes (or when you push it if it has been longer than 10 minutes since you last pushed it). The amount you receive is much much less than you would get every four hours by IV. By giving smaller doses much more often, the pain can be controlled. I've had both morphine and fentanyl pain pumps over the years and they all work the same. Most of the time it is set at 10 minutes but one time I had it set at 8 minutes. You can also ask your doctor (or ask the nurse to ask the doctor) to change the amount administered per push or decrease the time between doses. Everything can be adjusted to meet your needs.

I actually take the Walgreen's version of the children's chewable vitamins + iron. They are exactly the same as the Flintstone's vitamins but much less expensive. And, I had to bring all my vitamins to my NUT for approval and they were approved. I'm taking one a day right now and after surgery, I'll be taking two a day. They taste good too.