cajun

Charity, It is so much safer to have it as elective surgery, instead of waiting until you get all inflamed and in pain, with abnormal lab values and possibly pancreatitis. I'd schedule it asap if I were you, and get it done while you are stable.

THINONEDAY: A pulse under 48 with the kind of symptoms you are having, when your normal is in the 70's, is an emergency situation and you should seek medical attention immediately. SOMEONE ELSE SHOULD DRIVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL...YOU COULD PASS OUT. Please let us know how you are doing.

Nikki: YOU GO GIRL!!!! AWESOME JOB! YOU WILL BE SKINNY IN NO TIME FLAT!

Youknowit: Hooray for you!!! Welcome to the loser's bench! Keep on sipping and walking and burping...things will just get better and better.

Tiff, be sure they've checked out your pancreas too. Pancreatitis can result from gb inflammation and it causes more left sided abd and left shoulder pain. GB pain is predominately central or to the right. A P-amylase test is what you need to evaluate the pancreas.

Great news, Tiff. You have already proven that you are a Wonder Woman. I'm sure you'll do great. All will be well.

"give me art and no one gets hurt"...???are you an artist? I oil paint some...love it!!!!!

It is good to have different people share their varied experiences, thanks for sharing yours. I sure did not have that kind of pain, and am sorry that you did. I was a little sore, about a 4 /10 on the pain scale, but was given epidural pain meds regularly. Maybe that masked the pain and it would have been worse without it. I just love toradol. No narcotic side effects and better pain relief than demerol in my personal experience. I did get really tired about day 3 in the hospital, and when it was time for the next pain med dose, got all teary and had a sort of "melt down" with the combination of fatigue and discomfort...but got "juiced up" fast and recovered. As you say, it was all worth it, especially as you see the pounds melt away!:laugh0::scared0:

I bought a small food scale at walmart prior to surgery. I still use it at times. I use small saucers to eat off of and tiny appetizer forks. Especially at first, this helps keep the bites small. I already had a mortar and pestle to grind up my pills. I still use it daily for my calcium horse pill. I had a regular sized blender and use that for my shakes...decided I don't need to buy a single serving blender since my regular blender works fine. It's helpful to have a lot of the small plastic gladware containers for storing food/lunches. They hold about 3 ounces, perfect for a meal. Make good use of the freezer or you'll be throwing away a lot of food!

I did not have a lot of bruising. Just 5 small suture lines on my abdomen. They healed fast. Nothing to worry about in my book.

Great article on how to take calcium. Thanks Tiff!

Prunes are also very high in iron, and unless you are insulin resistant/diabetic, a great choice to keep things moving along in the colon department.

Susan: Definitely not pg, at my age and with no "oven". No respiratory symptoms. My PCP punts on my case due to the diverticulum which is out of her league, and she's smart to do so. Thanks for responding>

Itstime, I'm not sure if it is the divertic, could be. Maybe a little food gets stuck in there for a while, from time to time. My GB is long gone. Referred pain from the esophagus and the stomach both can go to the area where I hurt. One person answered she has it from eating too fast. That is a possibility too, sometimes I don't take my time, especially at work. It sure is aggravating. Thanks for responding.

Hi Tiff, I've been there done that too, and felt sore for a week or so after the surgery, but not too bad. I could go for a 1 mile walk by the third day and 2 miles by the end of the week. You've been through the mill though so be careful and rest well afterwards. We are all keeping you in our prayers especially tomorrow!

contact your surgeon's office and ask what he recommends. It varies from surgeon to surgeon.

Good luck to all of you, see you on the loser's bench...we are scooting over to make room for you. It's great to have more sleeve sisters.

205 this morning. 5 lbs to onederland....drum roll.........

oh happy day...whoo hooo! Way to go, dee dee!

I've never heard of anybody who gained all the weight back and I've been reading this forum for 6 months.

AWESOME job Norma! Love your pics.

I'll do some venting for you. This is a lot of CRAP. Do they treat people with gallstones, or appendicitis like this, before they allow them surgery? Morbid obesity can be just as life threatening even though it is a more chronic threat. This just burns me up. It's one reason I was glad my insurance did not cover my VSG, so I just paid for it myself, as soon as I decided that's what I wanted. People complain and moan and groan that a new health plan in this country will end up allowing the insurance companies to control what procedures doctors can order for their patients...well folks, we are already there and have been for quite some time!!! AND IT IS KILLING PEOPLE. THERE YOU ARE. I AM TICKED OFF FOR YOU!!!! So come here and rant and rave all you want, anytime!

Daisy, see PM.

I read a lot of research on this kind of surgery before even selecting the sleeve, and the epidural is recommended in the research literature, especially for bariatric patients. It enables the anesthesiologist to use less general anesthesia, so there are less complications. Obese persons tend to sequester general anesthesia in our fat, so it takes longer for us to excrete it and wake up. So the epidural reduces that problem. My epidural line was left in for almost the entire time I was there, and I received pain medication through it. It was so easy and very effective. I assure you, I walked around most of the time throughout the days, and never had any numbness. It is not a "spinal", it is in a different "compartment than a spinal". I would do it again. Trust Dr Aceves. He knows what he is doing. You will be so happy that you chose his program.

Gary, Glad you are home safe and sound in your own bed, after that horrific travel experience. What an ordeal! Rest, walk, sip, burp, repeat! The pounds are getting ready to jump off of you!:thumbup: