emilygrace

My BMI was 41 preop and my surgeon uses a tight 36 bougie that he then oversews. He expects us to be very restricted in the first several weeks. I am at postop day 17 and just tolerating some purees.

Wow that initial post was hard to read. I did have trapped gas in my left shoulder tip, actually felt like it was a big lump in there that was bruised. Went away after a few days with the use of heat packs. If I get wind pains now at all I take DeGas or GasX.

Don't worry, everyone I came across heard about how badly I wanted it out!! One of the silly nurses told me if the tape got wet in the shower it might fall off.. I said "oh, that would be terrible..." and I was VERY tempted to pull it out "accidentally"!!

Ruth, hi. I'm in Melbourne right now and got my sleeve done here, although I live in the US. You should check out gastricsleevesupport.com, great site based in Australia with lots of sleevers who have state-based meetups etc. I am only about 2 weeks postop, so I can't help on the stomach stretching, but I don't think so - it's just not physically possible to jam that much food in, I don't think. The scarline is very rigid too, so that wouldn't be able to stretch.

Look online. You can get it at lots of drugstore type places or online.

Rate of loss doesn't directly correlate to the amount or severity of loose skin. As mentioned, various factors go into it and unfortunately, you have to just wait and see how you go.

An abdominal binder is just a wide elastic belt that gives some support to your abdomen. Some people might find it helpful, but my wounds just aren't sore now that I'm 12 days out.

I am 11 days out and finally sleeping comfortably on my side now. Until a day or two ago, I was sleeping fairly upright on 2 triangle pillows and 2 flat pillows to make a kind of "nest". My biggest problem wasn't the wounds but the reflux when I lay down flat. Now I'm on Nexium that seems to be improving.

Just a thought, where i'm from, careful surgeons won't do band-to-sleeve in the same operation. They remove the band then wait about 3 months for the stomach tissue to heal before they will attempt the sleeve. I guess they find that reduces the complication rate. I do know a lot of surgeons elsewhere do the both in one surgery - i guess they have to weigh the risks of a leak against the risks of 2 anesthetics.

I'm only 10 days out but mine are looking good already. One of the drain ports was a little bit ooky so I've been putting Medihoney on it. Looks better already.

July Bride, I had an NG tube for 3 days postop too - I can't believe how horrible it was!! I couldn't hardly move my head because it would move in the back of my throat and make me gag. I felt like a new woman with it out also!

I am taking a 22hr trip about 3 wks postop. I intend to eat aspirin like it's going out of business. Doc said she would write me up for lovenox shots if I want to self inject, but doesn't think it's necessary. I do have the TED hose.

You can get clip in hair extensions, they work pretty well to up the volume without damaging your own hair.

Regardless of protein/vitamin/mineral intake, the shock to the body of any surgery, along with losing massive amounts of weight in short amounts of time, will lead to hair loss. It's generally temporary, can start around the 3 month mark, and on the improve by 6 months postop.

Don't worry honey, it's very easy to get potassium up in a few doses, you have a couple of weeks. You'll be fine.

Honestly I drank some of the milky protein supplements they give you in hospital, and they went straight through me so I didn't have this problem!

I got my sleeve on the same day :001_smile: but no other procedures. Found the IV morphine did the job, only needed it for a day and a half then tylenol only.

Sometimes that happens, and then one day you lose one more pound and suddenly everyone notices! Just keep doing what you're doing... they'll notice eventually.

Wow that was quick! I think my surgeon makes me stay 4 nights! Hope you have a smooth recovery.

Is your blood sugar controlled? I didn't think you'd have that ongoing bad thirst if it was. I am also very nervous as I haven't had a major operation before, but I have to focus on the end result. I need to do this.

Wow, that takes guts. Good for you!

Another RN :001_tongue: I work in ICU, cardiac stuff. I'm 35 (just typed 33, must still be in denial!!) and live in Pittsburgh. Sleeve scheduled for 7/28.

Hah awesome !!! Someone told me about this thing and I immediately thought "Man, that would be handy with the magic shave powder!": Hair removal, Hygiene Protection, Feminine Vaginal Protection, VAJ-J Visor

OMG, read this thread that I found on another forum. Pain Free hair Removal: The Secret Low-Cost, Effective Alternative to Waxing - Purse Forum SO funny and informative as well for those that aren't into shaving or waxing. I might try this MSP stuff when I can find it - no more ingrown hairs/stubble sounds good!

My understanding from your post was that you were requesting a small dose of a sedative to relieve your anxiety, not a big dose to take you out for surgery. In that situation, it's very difficult to give a small dose like 1mg over several minutes. Nice idea, but difficult in practice due to the small volume to be injected. I work in ICU and OR and use this drug very, very, often. Can you ask for your records? Talk to the head of the anesthesia dept about your suspicion that you were administered a paralytic rather than sedative? It is very important to know - you don't want to never be able to have midazolam again (and alert bracelet etc) if it wasn't even that drug.