Malaika

Welcome Lisa - I never had the band; however, from what I have read/heard, you'll be much better off with the sleeve. I'm very happy with mine. The surgery was very easy and the recovery was minimal as well. I was back to work within a week. You'll be tired for a while due to lack of protein, and the fact that you've had major surgery; however the energy level improves once you're able to get in all your protein.

I was up and walking about 3 hours after surgery and made sure to get up and walk often. Also, not all doctors use a catheter--mine didn't!

Congrats Cajun. Glad everything went well (we knew it would) and the fun begins in about 3 weeks when you get to eat mushies and you see the scale moving down on a regular basis.

Hard to have much of a "bowel" movement when all you're putting into your body is liquid - my doc says "liquids in, liquids out" and that it's not unusual at all not to have regular movements even on mushies as you're not putting enough into your system to "push" things through. I am 3 months out and still don't go regularly - and have never had any "constipated" feelings at all .. so I quit worrying about it - when I go, I go.

Finally it is going down - the past few months it's been about the same because we've been experimenting so much - and the last time we went, Bearded bought all kinds of meat - so now we have LOTS of food in the freezer and from what I can tell, we won't need to go to the grocery, except for coffee creamer, coffee and stuff like that -- as far as frozen veggies, meat, etc. we've got enough for quite some time -- so now I expect the grocery budget to decrease immensely.

No, not everyone has a catheter. Dr. Aceves' doesn't use them (thank God) ... I did have to have my urine measured each time I went to be sure the output was good, but I'd rather that than a catheter.

So yesterday we went to a 4th of July BBQ and I had my first true encounter with head hunger. This is a group we belong to and the rules are bring a dish to share and your own meat to grill. There is always SO MUCH food to choose from and yesterday was no exception. And my head took over -- everything looked and smelled so good and after having just moved to mushies you can imagine how good it looked. And so I decided I could eat some of all the good things -- and I was wrong. I over did, even though I only took tiny bits to try ... I took too many tiny bits and they all added up to too much for my little stomach. I was MISERABLE and had to fight the urge not to get sick. It's amazing how that can totally zap your energy. Anyway, it was my first battle with head hunger since the surgery and I hope that I have learned a lesson from it - that even little bits of everything is too much and in the future, at the next party, I will have to be much more selective in my choices and not let the head hunger win out over my knowledge that too much is not a good thing. Hope others had better luck at their BBQ then I did at mine... there's always next time!

I agree with Susan -- I didn't worry about getting in all the Protein, only the fluids and even then I wasn't able to get in the amount my doctor wanted me to - on top of that, I was dealing with esophogeal spasming, which made it even harder to drink any substantial amount at one time - so I lived on ice cubes (let them melt in your mouth and the Water trickle down your throat) and SF popsicles. Try to set a goal of 2 oz. every 20 minutes and see if that helps. I am now 3+ months out from surgery and I still have trouble drinking really cold drinks - so I stay with warm drinks until about lunch time and then try moving to something cold - sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't - the trouble is, I really don't like room temp. water. Just keep experimenting and you'll eventually figure out what your body can tolerate and then stick with it! Hang in there, it does get better -- promise!

Welcome Henner - sorry you will have to wait for so long - and hope that it happens sooner than 3 years - that seems like eternity to you, I am sure. If you are able to afford to pay for it yourself, you may want to check that out in the states or in Mexico - it's very reasonable in Mexico. Lots of us here can give your our experiences with our surgeons if it's an option for you.

That's AWESOME news Hayley and you most definitely deserve it after all you've been through!

I've been dealing with that later and think it's from my BP ... when I was at the doctor on Monday for my ears, the nurse took my BP it was 88/45. She took it again, same thing, then she tried my right arm - it was 95/45. She made a note in the chart; however, the doctor didn't comment on it, and I was more concerned about my ears and forgot to say something to him. Yesterday was the worst, I was standing at the printer at work and nearly passed out. I didn't think it would be related to blood sugar - I was just going to stop taking my BP medication for a few days an dsee if that made a difference (and call my doctor about it too).

We were talking about this at work today and someone said "If your dog is fat, YOU'RE not getting enough exercise" :001_smile:

You won't get warm blankets or massages in Mexicali. You will get instant response if you push your call button and clean rooms. Lots of checking on by Dr. Aceves and/or Dr. Campos and his staff. The most comforting thing for me was Bearded being there with me and Ruthi & Eyfura being there to share the same experience with me at the same time.

Welcome Mr. Sister - glad you found us - we're GREAT (and modest too) ... don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have and I hope you are able to find a surgeon that has the experience to do your VSG.

WOW that's a lot to deal with. Sounds like you're doing well though, and I am sure that you will continue to progress nicely and that before long you'll be back to your normal self, only with a smaller stomach :001_smile:

Linda - CONGRATULATIONS... I hope to be there soon; but fear at I'm at another stall ... we'll see what Monday brings.

Congratulations TravelChick ... I know what you mean -- I'm 3 months out and down 47 lbs! It's so cool!

I never tried Unjury - heard it smelled awful. I couldn't tolerate Isopure (aka Isopuke) at all. In fact, I never found a prtein shake I could tolerate - although every now and again, I give them a try -- they're either way too sweet, way to thick or they taste like ****! Thanks goodness I'm on solids now and can get my protein in other forms.

Both sound good (except the blended part)

Lan2K - was your surgery open? I am wondering why you were sent home with a drain and have homehealth nurses? If it was open surgery, why?

Welcome to the VST family Thinoneday. Ask any and all questions you may have; read all the threads/posts and you will have many answers. January is not that far away and will be here before you know it - by then you will have the answers to all your questions and be ready for your surgery armed with all your knowledge!

That's great- you're one of the lucky ones - heck yes if you've got great insurance and they'll cover WLS then most definitely I'd let them! :thumbup: I wasn't so lucky.:001_tt2:

I was back to work in a week, could have gone sooner and some did - so I would think you should be able to do so too -- I too work in front of a PC most of the day.

If you are self-pay, you might want to consider Dr. Aceves in Mexicali - not sure what his prices are these days - were $9500 for everything - pre-op tests, stay in a resort for one night, surgery, anesthesia, 3 days in the hospital and post-op testing. Not sure what airfare would be from Boston to San Diego; however, if you're a self pay even with airfare the cost will be less in Mexicali than in the US.

That's wonderful attitude - thanks for letting us know - will look forward to your posts and hearing your successes!