DownInSocal

Oh god do I feel your pain. There are some answers here: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vsg-complications-support-group/1650-fluids-fiber-tmi-story-but-important.html I take a stool softener now. I am trying every 4th day. I get the ones that is only a stool softener, no laxitive or stimulant. Also I take fiber now. Things are better but not great. Feel free to pm me if needed.

Are you sure we are not sisters already? You sound exactly like I was right before surgery. My emotions and thoughts were all over the map. Somedays I was in denial like the day would never come. Other days it was right around the corner. I tried not to dwell on what could go wrong during surgery but would go wrong if I did not have surgery! I had it easier than many on the board because my psychiatrist gave me Ativan for the last days before surgery. The day before I was taking full doses every 4 hours. I have to admit I have PTSD and have tendancy to be shall we say "excitable". I am leaps and bounds where I was years ago. I have some work to go though. I also got two doses of Ativan in the hospital because of panic attacks. One brought on by difficulty breathing because of the position I was in and one who knows why. My point to all that was ask for help if you feel your anxiety is interfearing with your life. Some doctors will give it, some won't. There is no reason to live in a constant state of anxiety. You used the term "Waves" this is actually quite telling because those waves can be the start of panic attacks. "Waves" is a trigger word in the physcology world that anxiety is escalating. Everything is going to be fine. You know when it became fine? My husband and I did my pre op pictures the morning of surgery. I took a look at them on the camera and said "If those won't get me into surgery nothing will, lets go. I am ready now." We then marched out the door. I don't think you can prepare yourself for this surgery fully because it is unlike anything you have been through. If I can do this in my half fragile state most of the time, I know you can do it! You are so well organized already! You are leaps ahead of where I was. I can't wait to see your updates. Oh and yes I did feel like I was in suspended state of reality, but it might have been chemical who knows. Come here as much as you need to. Get reassurance, whine, cry. Anything you need we are here!

JoAnne I am so sorry this is happenign to you. I just wanted to lend my support. I don't know anything about appeals. I know some here do and the other board has a lot of threads about appeals.

Welcome Dancer. Being a nurse do you have to do a lot of patient rolls, moves, etc? You won't be able to do that right after you get back to work. Better talk to your doctor about what nursing moves you can do and what you can't. My mom is a nurse and I know she gets pooped just from moving patients around all night. I work a desk job so going back was no problem. Just a little tired and sore.

Pffffffffft

Oh that is terrible. Thank you for sharing this. You could help someone in the future. You have been through so much. Stay strong.

WOW linda that is so awesome.

Yikes. I had not thought of a hernia. I wonder if it can develop after surgery. Ok, I just read about hernias. I don't think it is one. I don't feel anything under the sutures like something is protruding there. Edit again. You have given me something to think about. I am going to start a log of when and how it hurts for my appt on Thursday. Thanks!

My understanding is when food backs up into your esophagus from your stomach. This can also make your saliva glands overactive in anticipation of throwing up so you are producing so much saliva you feel like you are foaming at the mouth. I have had something back up into my esophagus but not all the way to my mouth or had the extra saliva. But then again I am missing one saliva gland so I don't have much to start with.

Trust your doctor. I trust my doctor. He went to school forever to do this. They care about helping people or they would not be doing this. Everything is going to be fine.

Yeah that little incident cured me carne asada for a long time. Yesterday I pulled another dumb move, this time though I should have known what the outcome was going to be. Why? Because it has happened before. :sneaky2: 10/11 Breakfast: Starbucks again. I am almost ashamed to admit it. I was out. It was there. Anyway I had a pumpkin spice frap, forgot to have them make it light but did get 1/2 shot only of decaff, no whip and Protein powder added. 18 grams protein and 250 cals. Late Lunch: Here is where things went south again. I ate half a California thin crust personal pizza. I chewed well but it cramped my stomach. It was the crust. I know better. Bread and I do not mix anymore. Some people are lactose intolerant. I am bread intolerant. I would rather be bread intolerant though by far. I don't crave bread like I used to which is wonderful. I just need to stop trying to eat it because it does NOT work. Why can't I understand this? :cursing: Late Dinner: My stomach was so angry at me I just purreed some chicken. About 3 oz.

Stalls SUCK. I have just finished a 3 week stall I *think*. It is so upsetting to eat so little and your body rebels. Your attitude is great. Don't let it get you down. It is ok to cry and whine about it I think. I have shed a few tears over it.

I have never heard this. I have not thrown up or slimed into my mouth yet. I can say though I can't use my Sonicare toothbrush right now. The minute I start brushing with it my stomach gets upset. Dunno. I am just using a regular toothbrush right now. What the stomach wants the stomach gets........

mb20mom: Your menu looks good to me! You can tell you are dedicated. Be sure to let us know when you get a date and put it on the calendar.

10/10 Breakfast: Starbucks Viviano made with non fat milk. I know I said I was getting out of the habit but I forgot my shake on the way out the door to run errands. I had no choice! Lunch: 3 oz lowfat cottage cheese. I buy the little individual go packs that are 4 oz but I only wanted 3 oz. Dinner: pureed chicken breast with one slice swiss and 1 tsp blue cheese dressing. 1 tbls leftover mac and cheese.

No gum is good advice. My surgeon told me the exact same thing about chewing gum. It increases acid production in the stomach which can lead to increased hunger and higher risks of uclers.

Chest X ray Tons of blood work Urine test for nicotine and to see if I was preggers. I got this test like 3 times before surgery. EKG Take home EKG pack that tracked my heart rate for 24 hours Echocardiogram sleep apnea test Tests on my lung function, peak flow and such. Barium swallow Psych Consult Nutrition Consult Oh almost forgot the ultrasound. They looked at everything in my abdomen. Found a cyst on my liver, no big deal but having them poke at it hurt like a.......nevermind. I also had to go to two classes, one about surgery and one about nutrition. I would have needed a pap smear but mine was 3 weeks before my consult so I was good to go. Every single test was worth it. I would do it all over again ten times if needed.

See now this would annoy me for several reasons. Again I you did not have a bypass. I am sure you have been over this with her before. Second she is going to tell you about vitamins after surgery? What? How would she know what you need when she has not had the surgery? For me it would be kind of like "I am fat not stupid."

That is a good question. It bothers me because as others have said you take the time to explain the surgery and it is still called "bypass". It is irritating that a show like Big Medicine would get it wrong. They should know better. My husband pointed out that it might irritate me because fat people are always lumped together. We are all lazy, we all smell, we all gorge everyday on 10 million calories, etc. I am tired of being lumped. :biggrin: I admit it some of it could be that I feel the VSG is superior to the bypass in many ways. I am proud I made such a good decision. I am always nice and explain the difference. I was more irritated that a family member still can't get it right.

I am sorry you had so much discomfort! The first days were bad, things only get better from here.

The first thing I and everyone else noticed was my butt went goodbye. I have had mixed feelings about this. It is not the flat weird shaped butt now. It looks like it did in my early twenties so I should be happy but I kinda wanted to keep my super curves just have a flat stomach. It is just frusterating to be able to fit in a 16 pant except for my stomach. The butt in a 16 pant is loose but the tummy is a little too tight. Ugh. It will balance out I am sure. I also lost weight in my limbs right away, my upper arms, hands, face, and neck. My girls are a little smaller but my cup size is the same. The whole thing is kind of strange when I think about it but I am happy with the way I look. I like to be able to sit on the couch and put one leg up with my foot flat if that makes sense. I can bend over and tie my shoes without having to hold my breath. I can see my hoo hoo!

10/9 Breakfast: Starbucks Vivano, made with non fat, drank all of it over 2 hours so I got all 18 grams Protein. I gotta get out of this Starbucks habit. It is expensive. lunch 1: Side of Pinto's and cheese from Taco Bell. No red sauce (had bad time with before, stomach not ready for spices) and extra cheese. 12 grams of protein if you add extra cheese! Lunch2: Hummus snack pack and deli 2 slices Swiss. Dinner: 3 costco meatballs (They are small, smaller than a ping pong ball I would say), 1.4 cup pizza sauce, 3 tabls course graded parma. Took Fiber sprinkles, effexor, Vitamins, etc. Forgot to drink my daily prune juice though.

I am glad you got a date! That is the most exciting thing I think in the pre op journey. Reading your post I felt like I was reading one of those posters you used to do in school with the candy. Where you would say I love you more than Babe Ruth but you would put the candy bar Babe Ruth in instead of the word. Anyway cute post!

Okay, new weekend, new questions: 1) Weekend plans? My house needs to be cleaned. I also need to play some Sims 3 2) Beatles: Overrated or Musical Geniuses? They were way before my time. I like some of their stuff. I remember my dad crying when Lennon was killed. Both my parents were hippes and "Imagine" was played a lot in the house. 3) Name something positive that happened to you this week. Err. Uhhh. I might have to come back to this one. I honestly can't think of anything positive. 4) Do you like your job? For the most part. Honestly I deserve to make more money for the responsibilty I have and amount of work I have. I don't want to change jobs right now though. Feels risky.

I might venture to try the crunch bars in another month. I can't think of putting a chewy bar thing in my stomach yet. Spasm city.