Beadingnurse

Don't pull that drain out yourself!!! You and I are both nurses but it is sutured in place and is probably 20-24 inches long. Don't want to play doctor here but the shoulder pain is likely from the carbon dioxide they pump us up with during surgery. For some weird reason the pain is often referred to the left shoulder area and it IS very painful. The body just has to reabsorb that gas so time is your best friend but walking as much as you can will help increase the absorption. I also found a heating pad and as many back/shoulder rubs as I could plead for also helped! I'd love to be able to eat yogurt as I love it but it isn't on my eating plan until week 3. Good luck and feel better soon.

I went to a baby shower once where the game was to identify by taste or smell a dozen jars of baby food whose labels were covered. I literally gagged just smelling a couple & couldn't imagine tasting any of the foul things! Poor babies having to eat this crap!

Kids05...OMG I can't even imagine the hiccups! I was a drama queen if I to blow my nose or cough...that must have been so painful! I wore my oldest stretchiest pajamas home from the hospital as I knew I would likely be swollen. Hope you didn't have to go far in the car! YES....my abdomen was very lumpy, swollen and not symmetrical at all. It has reduced some and evened out a little since surgery but girlie magazines are not knocking down my doors yet to get good photos! Sorry you didn't have the benefit of nutritional counseling...did your doctor give a diet to follow at all?? You should contact them pronto for instructions but mine said I should be on Clear liquids for a few days and he wasn't worried at all about me getting in protein during this time as my job was just to stay hydrated. I am just now trying to even think about Protein drinks. I do hear a lot of gurgly sounds when I SIP fluids... I try to take a sip or two...let it go down for a minute or two or even a few minutes before taking another. Sometimes I get up and walk around in the interim to get stuff to move down. Your body is still swollen from surgery and things may be very slow for days or even weeks. THAT IS OK and normal. I watched when they did my leak test in the hospital and saw that fluids kind of back up in my esophagus a bit because of the swelling and trickled slowly through my new tummy. You won't die from a protein deficiency quickly! so don't worry as much about getting your numbers up with that. You have some time to get used to eating (basically drinking) for now. That said, when you CAN take some protein drinks...do so because that will help you get your strength back more quickly. Here is what I have been drinking since surgery...plain Water, Vitamin water (Propel), green tea from a bottle (Lipton) at room temp, green tea steeped and warm, miso Soup broth, unjury chicken broth Protein Drink, Atkins chocolate Royale shakes. I've tried a couple of cream Soups from the grocery with poor success. One promising one yesterday was an expensive wild mushroom bottled soup that tasted okay but was like eating gravy...way to rich tasting. I tried a red pepper soup that was tasty and a "fall harvest" one that wasn't. I am only having 4 or 5 tablespoons top but it is enough to feel like you have "eaten" something. It takes me at least an hour to eat my bit of soup though. Next week will basically me more of the same for me...fluids, creamed and pureed foods. Feel free to private message me if you have more questions but good luck on this weight loss journey! These are the hardest days and they will all be a dim memory soon! Take care

GoofySpice...my husband is a surgeon and he tells me stories occasionally (without names of course!) of how people behave when they have lighter anesthesia and are semi awake during procedures. Some of the most prim and proper old ladies in the world can get quite risque and bawdy...nothing like having a little chemical dis-inhibition!! Fortunately folks who work in those environments are professionals and never let the person know they did anything potentially embarrassing. Thank goodness we have general anesthesia for the VSG so I only got to embarrass myself in the PACU instead of in front of the whole surgical team.

Okay....dumb question alert....skip this one if you can't tolerate idiotic questions. Hey...I had surgery on Tuesday so my thinking is fogged by powerful drugs and pain.... How do you count days since your surgery? Today I told my hubby that I felt like I was doing pretty good considering this was Day 4 for me. He pointed out that it is actually day 5. I told him I was counting post op days. Surgery was on Tuesday so Wed is Day 1, Thur is Day 2, Fri is Day 3 and today is Day 4. Duh....but it now occurs to me that other people may do this different. NOT that it matters a bit but if one is navel gazing the amount of trivial nonsense one can be obsessed with is truly astounding! I know it will matter less to me as time goes on and I start calculating the time from surgery in weeks and months but now every darned hour seems monumentally important. :blah: Does anyone start day 1 with the surgery day like my husband would?

You know Swizzly...I was thinking the same thing! No one should have to lie to get medical treatment and if you are VERY knowledgeable about your rights you might be able to get them to back down...but who wants to do that when they are hurting, scared or feel like crap. :angry_smile: If you felt up to doing battle with them, would you BE in the ER? I don't think so. :censored: I had my surgery done where I live so it won't affect me but anyone facing this might think about saying something like you suggested...out of state...wanted to be closer to mother, brother, dog...whatever. If questioned further insist you are too ill to go into details :crutch: but will have your family bring in full surgical history soon (right!)

It is absolutely illegal for them to refuse to treat you. I'd get a copy of my ER report, write down the name of the nurses & docs who were involved in your care. If you can't decipher their names from signatures (likely) call the ER Director & or ER Charge nurse and ask for the correct spelling of names. If they refuse, call back & ask to speak to someone in Risk Management...go through human resources if you have to but get the names. It is perfectly fine to tell whoever you talk to that you need to report an "incident" to the licensing boards for the doctors and nurses involved. Honestly, I wouldn't even get into a discussion of what happened and what your grievance is. Then, make a call to Board of Nurses and Board of physicians and make a complaint. It won't take you long at all. THEN....call the Joint Commision for Accreditation in Health Care and report the Hospital. Trust me, there will be investigations done and care policies will likely change because take the time to this! Investigations and enforcement of licensing violations is what I do for a living and I am so sorry you had to go through this but you can make the path easier for those who follow. I am happy to locate the phone numbers for you if you want....just private msg me. I also don't think anything YOU did caused your infection. Good luck!

Hi y'all. I don't know all of the ins and outs of this website but I was wondering if any of you know how to keep track of each other (all us April Sleevers that is)! Do we add each other as a friend? Not sure but I'd like to do it somehow. I think we can offer particular support since we are all going through the same things within days or weeks of each other. Anyone have any idea if that is possible or if anyone is interested? My surgical date is set for April 12 in Austin, Texas.

Thanks for the update...I wondered what had happened and how you were!

I think you will absolutely wear and probably have to give it back to Goodwill b/c it is too big!! :) I had the same thought about skirts being more forgiving & I work where I have to dress up so I went to a couple of Goodwills over 2 weekends and bought 9 skirts spread out over 3 sizes! I also have set up the guest room closet with clothes that are currently too small for me....most were things I already owned plus my "new" skirts! Can't wait to start losing weight & trying them on. I think it is fabulous to have a "goal" outfit!

Mouth sprays are are typically in the dental care area of your grocery but you can probably find it in Target/Walmart type places too. Ask if you don't see it because people who have health issues that result in a dry mouth use it all the time.

Hubby bought Biotene moisturing mouth spray for me to take to the hospital and it was amazing. You have a long time after surgery when you can't drink and this kept my mouth tolerable. I alternated between rinsing with water and using the spray and it helped a lot.

HEATHER!!! You had surgery on Tuesday too! How are you? Did it go okay for you? Did you end up with all of your colleagues attending as you yelled obscene things at them in the PACU? (oh wait, that was me...sorry) :embaressed_smile: I know you were worried about all of your new co-workers taking care of you after surgery and I so get that now. I was blessedly unknown at the hospital where I had my surgery but I can only imagine the extra burden of trying not to be a prima donna or a whiner with your colleagues. You have enough on your mind just having your surgery without also trying to remain professional. And yes....I distinctly recall saying to the PACU nurse.."*%#!*, I KNOW you have better drugs than this". (I am truly embarrassed and sent her an apology.)

My nutritionist told me almost any Protein drink is fine if it uses protein isolate as the form of protein. Not sure why that is important but the brands that I have bought all seem to trot out that fact like they are very proud of it so it must mean something. I looked at the link that you attached and I didn't see where it mentions the type of protein used. You might want to research it further to see if you can identify that or even email the company for more complete nutritional information. The nutritionist also told me that the body can only absorb about 30 gms of protein at one time so a product that has more than gms of protein is a waste of money (according to him). Once you have established that your protein power is made from "protein isolate" then I think the most important factor is if you can tolerate it or even like it! I bought some stuff that made me gag and I would have preferred to eat powdered dirt than that product and others I could drink even if I didn't love them and others I really love. I find it is truly a matter of your individual taste though and the only way to find out is to buy samples or small containers and try it. One person's powdered dirt is another person's yummy delight. Many companies have sample packages you buy that give you an assortment of products and I invested about $80.00 in buying samples before surgery and just tried stuff. You don't need to have 20 that you like...4 or 5 would be more than enough. If you do a search on this site for "protein samples" you will find links to some of the companies. One final comment...Unjury's starter kit is less than $20.00 and it has a very nice shaker that I use a lot and a food thermometer in addition to the protein samples. http://www.unjury.co...arter-pack.html Good luck!

Glad to hear you got through surgery Starygirl!! They gave me Propel vitamin water and chicken broth to drink in the hospital after I passed my leak test on Wednesday. (Surg on Tues) I was discharged that afternoon and if my fuzzy narcotic influenced memory is correct...I drank only water at home. Thursday I drank plain water, had a popsicle and drank some of the unjury chicken soup. Friday I had an Atkins chocolate Royale shake, a few ounces of creamed red pepper soup which I re-blended in the VitaMix to get any bits out, diet green tea and of course...more water! Today I am in the process of slowing having another Atkins shake and I drank more vitamin water when I took a walk this morning. I don't love the vitamin water but hubby says I need the electrolytes so I my goals is to drink 12 oz of it over the whole day. Barley tea doesn't seem like much to have at your stage of the game but I am also assuming that you still have an IV so you are not going to get dehydrated. Keep us posted! :thumbs_up: And YEA to the other glitter peeing (that makes me smile every time I see it) Starry here for her fabulous success!! Way to go! :cheer2:

I was sleeved on Tues & my doc said not to think about anything except staying hydrated for several days. Add in the broth and shakes as you tolerate them. You won't die from a protein deficiency for a few days! Slow and steady wins the race!

I will consider it to be the NSV ever when my jeans hit the ground!!! :Banane02:

What?!!! Something better than Greek yogurt with Torani syrup? I can't wait to try it.... Thanks for posting the tip!

Thanks guys! I am feeling even better today and I am so optimistic that this surgery is going to be just what I needed!

Hi Surgery TWIN!! I had mine on the 12th too! Post when you can and let us know how you are. I am in awe of these folks who post from the hospital or even the day of the surgery. My brain was NOT thinking clearly enough for that. It has really taken me until Day 3 to want to rejoin the world!

OGM...I cannot believe you have made such progress in just 7 months! It is amazing to see how your face has changed and you look so beautiful. :rose: Thanks so much for posting these pictures. It is hard to understand how important visuals like this were to me when I would wake up and have the 2 AM doubts and question my sanity. I'd log onto VSG Talk and find some lovely pictures like this, calm down and go back to bed reassured that I am on the right path! Congratulations on your success and I honestly can't imagine how you are going to look even better in the future because you look so great now!

Here are a few of the things that I am most looking forward to: Wearing jeans with my shirt tucked in! I want to buy a fancy belt to wear with the jeans with the tucked in shirt. (I AM from Texas...a fancy belt is practically required) I am looking forward to painting my own toe nails! Shopping in the regular size clothes departments and stores! Anyone else have fond hopes other watching the numbers on the scale drop of course?

Call your doc & see what they recommend. I am 3 days out & taking liquid Tylenol & liquid hydrocodone. Dropping the hydrocodone this AM & using just liquid Tylenol after this. A cold is miserable especially after new surgery so I would check with your doctor. Feel better soon!