BlackBerryJuice

Dissolvable. I don't think it's uncommon for the very ends that are right at the top of the skin to not dissolve. One of my cats had abdominal surgery and I had to pull out about half an inch out of her tummy a few weeks later, as well.

I totally had 5 weeks of food funerals before the surgery. This was exacerbated by the fact that I was on a free cafeteria meal plan, so I didn't have to worry about the cost of food, so that couldn't deter me from getting ice cream or brownies to go with my meal. Not the best thing to do, but I REALLY got it out of my system. I actually had some Kit Kat bars in the house a few days before the surgery and I wouldn't touch them, because I had had so many sweets in the preceding few weeks! I put on 8 lbs, which were gone within a week of surgery, lol. Yeah, I'd probably be sitting at 175 instead of 182 if not for that free-for-all, but then I wouldn't remember the pleasure of splitting a sushi "loveboat" with my boyfriend during one of our outings, followed by 2 bottles of delicious boozy pear cider, and then a Marble Slab green tea ice cream with almonds and coconut for dessert.:thumbup::lol0:

Not for me...but just like with any tattoo, I would wonder how these things look 20-30 years down the road when the skin starts to sag and roll onto itself. Or do they eventually fade away if you don't do the upkeep?

I went alone. My boyfriend really wanted to go with me, but couldn't due to some other commitments, so he even offered to pay for a friend's flight just to have someone come with me. I refused, of course. Everything went fine. There were 2 other women who had VSG on the same day. We'd all go for walks and socialize amongst ourselves and with patients from the day before and the day after several times a day. The nurses check on you quite regularly and the nurse's desk is close by, so all your needs are met. There's wireless and TV at the hospital, so I spent most of my day surfing this board, playing computer games, and talking to friends on Skype or MSN. I also brought books and magazines with me. I started getting quite bored around day 3, but that's about it. Unless you are really scared and there's someone who wouldn't mind ponying up the cash for the trip, I really don't feel that you need anyone there.

How long can you not drive for after the surgery? - I drove half an hour on day 4, the day I was back from the hospital. How long were you on pain medication for? - I stopped taking pain pills during the day after day 4; stopped taking pain pills at night after day 5. How long did you stay in the hospital? - 3 days Any advice on what Protein drinks are worth getting for after surgery? - I really like PVL whey Gourmet for the full liquids stage. I had some protein coolers for the clear stage, but they were all pretty gross, so while I could tolerate them for a few days, I'm not touching them now. Was your stomach swollen, if so for how long? - not really....maybe a tiny bit, but not so much that it jumped out at me I've read that many did not eat due to pain during the first week? - wasn't a problem. I was on liquids, and didn't have any stomach pain with them.

So it hasn't bothered me too much since I posted, but I was taking a bath just now, and the scab fell off and a tiny bit of pus came out...next thing you know, I pulled out the culprit - half an inch of suture. Hopefully that's it for that one.

I haven't owned a TV for over 5 years, it's the best thing ever. When my boyfriend moves in, he's bringing his with him, but I've forbidden him from using it for anything other than watching movies on DVD and doing exercise videos. I remember watching the Biggest Loser shortly before I got rid of my last TV set, and missing the gym because I was too busy watching the show....the irony didn't go unnoticed.

I've missed diet coke since the surgery, but I'm staying away from it for as long as possible. There's really nothing good about pop. If it's non-diet, you are just putting a bunch of sugar and chemicals in your body - you're better off having juice, at least it has Vitamins and antioxidants. If it's diet - you've probably heard about the study that exhibited kidney damage in women who had 2 or more cans a day. Both types are high in acid and cause tooth enamel erosion - I started having dental pain weeks after developing a 2-3 cans a day Diet Coke habit during my work for the ambulance. So it's not good for you even if you have a normal stomach, and then you add all the sleeve-related issues like distention, burping, etc, and there's a lot to gain (pun intended) from avoiding the stuff.

I am not sure if you've gone to your doctor since your hospitalization or transfusion, but it's definitely time to see him or her again, ASAP. I would even go to the ER, if I were you. Acute renal failure (ARF) often clears up on its own, but up to 50% of people may need short-term dialysis until their kidneys heal - which could take up to a month. You may be in that category. I'm not sure what you mean by "my kidneys are acting up." Did you get bad urine/blood tests back that showed that your kidneys are not functioning properly, or are you just having symptoms like poor urine output? Your nausea/vomiting may be related to your kidney failure; you may be unable to clear out toxins from your body, and they could be building up in your body and making you feel nauseous and dizzy. You could also have an electrolyte imbalance both due to kidney issues and difficulty staying hydrated. Bottom line: this has the potential to be something serious, and considering your experience with kidney failure, you definitely need to be seen ASAP. If you can't see your doc the same day, I'd go to the ER. I'd also ensure you have someone checking up on you if you are at home and live alone, or to accompany you to the ER, because if this is one of the ARF complications, e.g. uremic syndrome, things could get worse and you might even collapse, which would be very dangerous if there's no one around to call the ambulance or notify the triage personnel at the ER.

I'm the camp of "If I'm gonna have a carb, let it be sugar and not a sugar alcohol that will make me feel like I'm going to expel an alien out of my rectum." I looked at buying Oh Yeahs on Ebay, but they have a pretty unimpressive nutritional profile. 210 calories, 13 g fat, and only 14 g Protein. Zone bars are a better choice, they have half the fat for the same amount of calories/protein. But I'm afraid to buy them as they were one of my binge foods pre-surgery. I tried some called "Protein 32." They have 32 g protein and something like 280-320 calories (took out the garbage with the wrappers already). When I had half the bar, it was fine. The 2nd time I had an entire bar over the course of an hour, I thought I was going to die. They must expand in your stomach or something, because I felt extremely full about half an hour after I had the last bite. The taste was fine, though - not as good as some of the lower-protein bars, but I'm not expecting a bar with 32 grams protein to taste like a Snickers, anyway. I liked the fudge kind, if anyone wants to give it a try.

I don't think I have an abscess, per all the pertinent negatives I listed above, which is why I'm opting to wait it out to see if it comes back. If I do notice any masses, hardness, or other issues, I'm definitely going to the clinic. I'm overdue for a "Shouldn't have done your surgery in Mexico" lecture, anyway, it's been almost 2 weeks!:001_tt2: That story is disgusting, mp8btpc. To be fair, I made my super-squeamish boyfriend watch me drain pus out of there, so I really shouldn't be talking.:laugh0:

Thanks, guys. My greatgrandmother had an >80% gastrectomy for stomach cancer, and has been fine for 20 years now, so I'm not worried. I put a lot of research into this, so obviously it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision, so it's just water off my back. I am not surprised to hear people ask if I'm worried, etc - it's a normal reaction if you don't know very much about the surgery. It's just the rudeness that she voiced it with. I thought everyone knew not to say those types of things, but I guess some of us are still lacking in basic social skills at the age of 50+....lol. Plus I had met her once before and she was lots of fun, so I don't know what bit her last night.

I got sleeved there on Aug. 9, 2010. I had a good surgery experience. My only complaint was pre-surgery with the coordinator originally assigned to me, Renee. I had major issues getting in touch with her. After about 5 incidents where she'd say she didn't get my voicemail or my e-mail (how's that possible, especially so many times?), I e-mailed Nina and asked her if she could be my coordinator. I didn't know about Monica or Gaby at the time. I was happy with Nina's guidance pre-op. Otherwise, every other aspect of the experience has been good. After that issue with Renee, I was really worried that they'd ignore my calls and e-mail if I had problems post-op. However, like mentioned above, this hasn't been the issue at all. I forgot to send my 3-week update, and a day after my 3-week mark, I got a call from Dr. Campos (who I think is a total babe, by the way) to make sure I was ok.

Just so you know, I contacted my surgeon about that medication (can't remember the name off the top of my head, sorry), and he said "You can start taking it after 6 months as it is hard on the stomach." Well, 6 months out I should be at my goal weight, so I don't think I have to worry about gallstones from rapid weightloss at that point!:tongue_smilie: I just try to eat a reasonable amount of calories (1,000) and hope that it will help slow down my weight loss to a healthier amount and also spare some more muscle mass until I can work out again.

Not everyone gets a drain, but most do. My surgeon keeps it til day 3. I've read that some people here had one for as long as a week. I'm not sure what the reasoning is behind keeping it that long. I had a fair bit of Fluid come out of my drain over the 3 days (probably 300 ml?), so I like the idea of it coming out rather than swishing around in my abdominal cavity somewhere. It also helps with the first leak test - they make you drink colored juice and then look for colorant in your drain bag. I attached a pic of my drain for you, hope it works, never tried to attach anything before.

I agree re: stevia and agave nectar. I do find that both are a tad bitter, though, so don't add too much. I wouldn't bake with them, for example. Don't forget that honey is also an option. Regarding no veggies and fruits on the first stage - you can still have fresh-squeezed or organic juices. For the clear phase, apple or white grape juice works, and then afterwards any kind would be ok. When I was on to soft foods, I started having canned vegetable puree (mostly eggplant - you can find these in ethnic stores, it's quite good). You can also have bananas, baby food with fruit or veggies, etc. I also try to avoid aspartame and the like, but it's very hard with Protein supplements. Most supplements will have sorbitol or something like that. Some Protein Bars don't have sorbitol, but then it's a battle to find one that has a reasonable amount of protein without a ton of fat and calories. I went shopping for protein bars yesterday, and saw a couple that had 320-380 calories and 22 grams of fat! :thumbup: If you are really against that, you can give it a shot and browse bodybuilding.com for a bar or shake without artificial sweeteners. Alternatively, add pasteurized liquid egg whites to your drinks, they are a good source of protein. You can find them in any big grocery store. They have a slight scent, but seemed to be tasteless in a 1:2 dilution with juice or warm broth (not hot, obviously).

I haven't found anything that I used to like that I vehemently dislike, but I have noticed that I'm a lot more indifferent to sweets. Before the surgery, I was all about milk chocolate, ice cream, and other extremely sweet things. But these days, I prefer the kind of sweetness you'd find in a fruit yogurt or fruit-flavored licorice. I had a teaspoon of halva (a tahini-based Mediterranean sweet) and it was just too much, so I put it away and had some yogurt instead. I remember once before the surgery, I made chocolate-dipped strawberries (more like, chocolate garnished with an occasional strawberry :001_tongue:), and my boyfriend wouldn't eat them because they were too sweet. Now I understand where he's coming from!

Delicious....that's what kind.:001_tongue:

There's a lot of other factors beyond the amount of calories you take in and pounds you lose. People are more likely to lose hair after WLS because of the potential for malnutrition, but it's common to lose hair after any surgery. People lose hair from C-sections, having their gallbladder out, etc, even though their weight and calorie intake are unaffected.