Elisabethsew

You forgot to add... no more sleeping in a chair! With the heart burn and acid reflux ALL GONE, I sleep flat on my back on one thin pillow... ahhhhhhhhhhhh, heaven! Yes, Dr. Aceves is the best and I have no regrets. Well, actually I do have a regret and that's that I didn't get rid of the band and do the VSG sooner.

I hear you! After coffee and pills/vitamins in the AM, I'm too full to eat breakfast. Yesterday, I took a small sweet potato, slit an "x" in the top, and tossed it in the oven (convection at 450 degrees for 45 min). The skin came right off and I mashed up the super soft filling, added a little salt, and had that for lunch... took me 30 min to eat it and tasted great. I worked through dinner and "forgot" that I only had the potato. I had some soup at 3 AM. LOL. Like you, I have not experienced hunger since having surgery and I want it to stay that way forever.

Have a safe trip. I'm sure all will go well and we look forward to following your progress. Good luck!

I think it speaks volumes that Dr. C. elected to have the VSG surgery and that, on the same day, so did their driver.

Now that 5 year studies of being with the band are coming out, we're learning that the band is NOT living up to all the hype. Does it work for some people? Of course, we have many people on this board to testify to that. However, for MANY people, it doesn't work. Out of that population, there are a lot for whom the band is what I describe as toxic. It cause more problems and decreases the quality of life. It's hard to relate to this unless you've lived it.

You'll get general and spinal anesthesia. They have to give you general because of the pressure the CO2 exerts on the diaphragm. The spinal limits the amount of general you get. Best of luck to you.

Susan, Are you feeling any better?

In this section of lapbandtalk, there are a lot of us you had the band, followed the rules, and had to revise to another weight loss surgery; VSG. We KNOW how that woman feels. Wasa read that post and then mentioned here because we can relate to what the lady is going through as well as relate to the insensitive comments that follow her post.

I would add misinformed and naive in describing the poster in question. The person who started the thread clearly explained that she was doing all the right things and had a successful weight loss. To get a response that it was all her fault for not following the rules was rude and insensitive.

I'm sure everything will be fine and your surgery will go off as planned. Best of luck to you!

For me, the band was evil. With the VSG, I think I found my friend!

Congratulations and best of luck on your surgery.

Welcome! I can totally relate to the esophagitis and the night time choking. I was on double doses of Nexium and sucked down tagamet and tums like it was candy. I hope your insurance will pay for a revision and look forward to hearing more from you.

I think transitioning to solids will take quite some time for me. Most of the people who had the band achieved restriction so they were experienced with restriction. That was never the case for me so this is a real learning curve. NOT cleaning the plate has become the norm for me... and it's a small plate. LOL. Not craving sweets and junk food is sweet (pun intended). LOL.

Congratulations on your upcoming revision. I know WASA sent you the pre-op diet but I think it only applies if your BMI is greater than 40. If you're having specific problems with the band (like Susan did) you might be placed on a liquid diet instead of the 30g carb/day diet.

I think a lot of the surgeons drum into their patients' head that they are in control of their bands and it's up to them to make them work correctly. The post you referred to sounds like a person who took that to heart and can only believe the person harmed the band by doing something wrong. She's probably scared to death to accept that you can do everything right and still have complications... something many of us know from experience.

Please don't think that you caused the slip. Obviously, you were doing everything right since you lost a significant amount of weight. The fact is, slips and erosions do occur for no reason and the band simply is not for everyone. I lived in misery with mine for 3 years and just revised to the VSG on 4/1. I suffered from constant heart burn, acid reflux, and could no longer sleep in bed despite not eating or drinking a thing for 6 hours or more before going to bed. I followed the rules and tried the acid blocking drugs and could no longer deal with the quality of life the band afforded me. Sometimes, the band fails the person... not the other way around. I hope you feel better soon and keep us updated on your outcomes.

I honestly believe that the bad promotes unhealthy eating. When I ate fresh fruits, I had immediate heart burn. The symptoms govern what foods you eat and that's not healthy. I'm enjoying the soft phase of the diet but am truly amazed at the fact that I don't ever feel hungry and that, when I do eat, just a small amount fills me. THIS is what I expected from the band and never got. It's also a pleasure not to have to worry about heart burn and acid reflux. It's all about choosing whatever healthy food I can have on the soft diet, enjoying it, and stopping when the full feeling hits.

I brought my Synthroid with me and took the dose that I was supposed to take the day of surgery at 10 PM with the antibiotic you're given to take. You also get Ativan for sleep but I did not take that because I was awake for over 36 hours by the time I finally went to bed and did not need it. The day of surgery you get nothing to eat or drink. The day after surgery I drank the apple juice with the blue dye and took the synthroid. Until I was able to take a full Fluid diet, I only ate the chewable Multivitamins (one in AM and one in PM), took the synthroid, and dissolved the nexium mups as directed. Since being on full fluids, I take all the vitamins and Rx medications that I took prior to surgery. Maybe you could talk with your MD about which meds you need to take and see if him/her could substitute different meds? Remember to pack essential medications to take with you. The staff will crush whatever you ask them to.

WOW! I am really shocked at your response. I'm an RN and I've been through 2 weight loss surgeries and I was expressing REAL concern over your question. The fact is, Wasa is correct, you CAN lose your life if you cheat on the VSG post-op diet and it's not an easy one to adhere to. The answer you want is, "heck, it's no big deal, a Greek salad (feta cheese, olives, dressing, etc) and a half of a peanut butter sandwich will bypass your liver" but I mistakenly thought you wanted more than validation for breaking the diet. Your were told to do a post-op diet for 3-5 days. Now you have Sat and Sun... 2 days. I truly do wish you success during and after your surgery. I will refrain from responding to your posts in the future.

I'm now 24 days post-op, went back to work (RN) in a week, started working with a personal trainer this week, and have no side-effects.

Congratulations to the soon to be sleeved ladies. You'll do great and I look forward to hearing your progress. I can't imagine eating even a small bag of french fries. I go to a regular diet on May 2 but am still working on getting soft foods down. Tuna (2.5 oz) mixed with 2 teaspoons of mayo is becoming a favorite. I get in some decent protein and can nurse the portion slowly until I get to the end. I know that candy and chocolate and icecream go down real easy so I have not brought any of that stuff into the house. I seem to crave healthy foods... a trend I hope never ends. LOL.

I'd be a bit concerned that you cheated on a pre-op diet that was only required 3-5 days pre-op. That's a very short period of time and I wonder if you'll be able to adhere to the post-op diet or give into cheating. The pre-op diet serves to limit carbs for the purpose of shrinking your liver. This makes doing the surgical procedure easier for the surgeon and the recovery easier for you. If you're going to have the sleeve, the post-op diet MUST be adhered to or you risk causing a leak to the suture line. This can be a serious complication. Depending on your current weight and fat distribution, you might want to contact the coordinator and let her know what you ate. You should also discuss any concerns you might have about sticking to a pre-op diet.

I agree, there is no way I would risk NOT going to a real hospital. Having surgery and recovering in a clinic is not safe... here or abroad.

I don't think VSG converts you to being lactose intolerant. If you're having problems with your gallbladder, it's more likely that the fat in milk products is causing the problem.