emilygrace

Yes to hiccups, also when I have eaten enough! I am 10 months postop and actually I consider I have overeaten once I start hiccuping. I prefer to stop before they arrive. Your sweating is possibly related to vagus nerve stimulation.

Maybe next time a semi stranger says "Gee, how much weight have you lost!?", I might try saying "Gee, how many manners have you lost?". I also find it uncouth, ill mannered and rude to comment on people's weight unless they bring it up.

I would watch the whole "giving the bag to coworker" thing. you say you're disappointed to be craving things 3 months postop. They didn't operate on your brain. You can't physically "crave" a chip. It's purely mental. Like any mental craving, you choose to resist it, or to give in to it. I find it helpful to try and work out what I actually am wanting when I have a food "craving" - generally I am avoiding something. I don't mean to sound preachy - god knows, I am greatly struggling with my own food issues... but I do think the sleeve is a chance to correct my issues, rather than just finding ways to manage them.

Oh I see, I guess it's only an "open forum" where we can post what we think if you agree with everyone else. Otherwise, it's just fine to be as rude as you like. As clearly stated, I said *I* didn't understand that thought - I did not criticize anyone else for their thoughts or actions but merely asked a question.

Glad you're okay. I don't think it's that drug in particular, I'm sure most people would be fine, things just affect us all differently. PS: If you ever have something severe wrong with you (lots of blood after surgery, chest pain, breathing problems), call 911 or whatever your local number is and don't take yourself. It's much safer going with EMS. Just a general warning, I don't know how much blood this person had!

Yes I just got 2 MRIs last week and was waiting for my stomach to get sucked out, but didn't happen obviously

I would be so pissed and discouraged if I went through the surgery and didn't have restriction. What I don't understand is what your surgeon has to say about this. I mean, his or her job was to make your stomach small enough that you have restriction. If they didn't do that, I would be beating down the door demanding a revision. The issue of metabolism post band is one thing (and not something I'm that familiar with as I never had a band), but regardless you should not be able to eat 5 or 6 oz of anything at 5 weeks postop as far as I can tell.

I did have a massive bruise on my shoulder and gas pains in my shoulder, no idea what happened re the bruise but that was the only pain I had. Heat pack helped, I took those ones that stick on your skin into hospital and they were great. I did have nausea and feel BLAH, just not right, on postop day 1-2. Day 3 I was good. The worst thing of the whole experience was the nasogastric tube I had to have in for 5 days. Ick ick ick. Worst thing ever. I have a new empathy for my patients as I never knew how uncomfortable they are!

Glad to hear you are back on track. I have to say, I do NOT understand how people can go through the preop process, the op, and the postop period, and decide to just ignore the instructions they are given. Seriously, why bother getting the surgery if you plan to not do what you're told (which you're being told because that is the safest, best thing to do)? I don't mean to be rude, I just really do not understand. If nothing else, the risk of a leak would scare the crap outta me that soon postop. I mean, that can KILL you...

Were you ever tested for hypercoagulability problems via blood tests? Just talk to your docs - there are measures they can take for higher risk patients eg. TED hose, SCDs (sequential compression devices that squeeze your legs while in bed), heparin shots etc.

I've seen patients have it, it's a nuclear medicine test where you eat something radioactive and then they image it going through. Do you have medical issues like diabetes? Sometimes they do it to check for gastroparesis. I haven't heard of people having to get it done before WLS.

I am 9.5 months out and can eat more, but as everyone says, it depends on the food. If you eat a piece of chicken breast, you should be able to tell if your sleeve truly has stretched, or if you're just eating crappy foods that disintegrate and slide down. I could eat 10 cookies in a row with no problems, but couldn't eat more than 3 or 4 oz of chicken. So I can't eat cookies, because I choose to keep losing and be full.

Same reasons as everyone else - just as much weight loss as bypass, more than band, but less complications. Was an easy choice for me. I didn't take it lightly, because it is still fairly major surgery with perioperative risk, but I knew if I made it through surgery and the postop period, I would have a low chance of complications. I will say though that if I felt I needed malabsorption (which some people definitely do, and only you and your surgeon can decide which is the best option for you) I would go for the duodenal switch over the RNY.

Can't wait to hear how it went - I am fairly young but have never had a nice neck/jawline and post weightloss, I have a turkey gobble that dangles, I absolutely HATE it! Haven't investigated plastics yet but would love to get that and my droopy upper eyelids fixed!

Just wanted to update - my EGD showed normal biopsy, with mild-mod reflux of esophagus. I switched myself from Prilosec to Prevacid and have had NO MORE REFLUX since! Go figure. The point of the story: try different meds, even of the same class of drugs, and see which works best for you.

No worries, I know how frustrating it was having to jump through preop hoops, let alone adding in this issue. Hope it gets sorted out for you soon.

Ok, I just asked, no need to jump all over me! It didn't make sense to me because they get more money reimbursed for the revision, so I didn't see why they wouldn't bill for it. I guess the answer is that they want you to make up the difference. There is no CPT code for a laparoscopic revision from vbg to vsg.

I am certainly did not have major surgery to "fit into my old jeans" either. I had it for health reasons and obviously the evidence (which I certainly based my decision to have surgery on, how else would you know the surgery works?) shows that being a healthy BMI reduces your health complications.

What do people that are operated on in Mexico do about follow up in the US if they have any problems?

Is it going to be laparoscopic or open? 43848 Revision, open, of gastric restrictive procedure for morbid obesity, other than adjustable gastric band With all due respect, why are you policing what CPT code they bill? It's obviously in the ins co.'s interests, but how does it affect you financially?

I am a daily weigher - there is evidence in the literature that people who weigh daily are more successful keeping the weight off longer term. People who are "more vigilant".

I can say with certainty that "when hell freezes over" is when I will wear a bikini!! I wouldn't subject anyone to that sight!

If ppl weren't close enough to me to tell me I was getting porky, then they aren't close enough for me to discuss my medical issues with either. It's frankly noone's business but mine. I told my family, and my close girlfriends, and that is it. I have found relative strangers at work have no trouble asking, loudly, in front of a whole room, how on EARTH I lost so much weight.. and when I say eating less and exercising more, they really grill me - weight watchers? nutrisystem? what plan? I say high Protein, modified south beach diet, which is also true.. but I find it mortifying to discuss in a professional setting. Same when people ask HOW MUCH WEIGHT HAVE YOU LOST!? Um.. how about.. none of your business? I don't really feel the need to advertise that info. I have found the best way to answer that is to look shocked and kind of stammer out "Um, gee, that's a personal question!!".. and people back off. If not, I say "a lot" and leave it at that. PS: I love how people say "Emily! You've lost so much weight!"... did they think it fell off and I didn't notice? heh

If I eat too much, I start hiccuping and feel ick. There's no way I could keep eating. Early postop, I would just get slimy and throw up if I ate too much. Now, pain in the tummy and I worry my stomach will burst - there's no way I could keep eating as I feel it coming back up my throat.

Have you talked to your surgeon? Are you hungry or just eating because you can? Are you on reflux medication? At a month out, there's no way in hell I could eat anything like that much - even small amounts of certain foods I was craving (eg. oatmeal) would go down, expand in my stomach, and come right back up!