BlackBerryJuice

Ok, I'm starting to get sick (ha!) of this...it seems I have this mild nausea and discomfort in my stomach probably 3/4 of my waking hours. It's not bad enough to prevent me from, say, going to school, but it's almost always there. Eating is a chore, as well - a lot of times I feel nausea and discomfort when food goes down. Had a tiny bite of salmon and mashed potatoes yesterday and was doubled over with pain and nausea for 5 mins. I'm getting an Upper GI in 2 weeks, but until then I just have to deal with it, so I was wondering if anyone has experienced the same problems and has an idea of what it might be.

Hmmm, interesting. I thought it was usually associated with diarrhea and stuff. I find that this has no rhyme or reason...like I said, yesterday I had a really bad experience with a tiny bit of salmon and mashed potatoes, but today I had 1 piece of sushi and 2.5 pieces of fish from sushi AND some Soup (with a bit of boiled chicken in it) for dinner and felt completely fine. :confused1: EDIT: I don't know, I don't have a lot of the symptoms that are mentioned. And it's not necessarily linked to food, either. Some of the stuff fits, but more stuff doesn't....

I've been having the same problem in the last week or so, see my newest thread in this subforum.

OMG, *vent alert* So I had 4 episodes of major nausea and dry-heaving last night. I called Dr. Aceves and while he thought it was most likely major acid reflux, he wanted to rule out a diverticulum and asked that I get an upper GI X-ray. I went to our university health services (where I go for all my PCP needs) to ask the doctor to request the study. I saw this doc I had never seen before. I gave her the backstory, and as soon as I mentioned having my surgery in Mexico, she had this condescending sneer on her face. I felt the need to defend my choice, so I explained I wasn't about to wait 5 years here til I got to 300 lbs and developed multiple comorbidities and didn't have 20+ grand to get it done here privately. She made some comment about how "I'm not saying the procedure is a bad idea, but going abroad for it was." Well, guess what, 1) I've already done it, so no one cares if you think it was a bad decision 2) I'm not coming here to ask for your opinions on my procedure, I'm here to get a fluoro requisition. Anyway, then I mentioned my weekend trip to the ER and commented about how I got NO imaging done, while someone else I know (someone from the forum here) had fluro done when she went back to Mexicali for some complications. She made some comment about how "They overimage everything in the US." First off, it's not the US, it's Mexico; second, you don't know ANYTHING about the procedure and what the follow-up and the potential complications are, while my surgeon specializes it. So please order the damn fluoroscopy and STFU.:biggrin0: I left FUMING. Called my boyfriend, he encouraged me to file a complaint, and I did just that. SO MAD!:scared0:

I like drinking a yummy tea (like the Arizona Honey & Ginseng or Chai) with milk and splenda or agave nectar - depending on what my calories for the day are.

I haven't lost anything in a week - but normally, it would've taken me 2 months (if not more) to drop 18 lbs, so I'm not complaining. Plus my only exercise is swimming 400-500 m about twice a week; before, I would've had to spend like 5-7 hours a week working out. When I think about it, my weightloss was always in spurts before the surgery, as well. I'd drop a few pounds quite quickly, then nothing would happen for 2-3 weeks, then I'd suddenly drop several pounds in 2-3 days. So it's about the same, except for I'm not nearly as frustrated as I would be before the surgery, when I'd be hungry and exhausted all the time from not eating enough and working out like a maniac. It will happen, next thing you know, you'll lose like 8 pounds next week.

BTW, this reminded me of a story my surgeon's coordinator told me. They had a patient who decided to head to the mall before he was discharged. I think she told me it was the next day after the surgery, but I'm not sure - my surgeon discharges after 3 days, so it was sometime between 1 and 3 days post-surgery. When at the mall, he indulged in a hamburger (!). Not surprisingly, his stomach actually burst and everything leaked into his peritoneum, necessitating emergency surgery, or else he would have died from peritonitis and then sepsis probably within 24 hours.

Has anyone gotten their hands on the September issue of "Allure" yet? I just got it in the mail yesterday and was reading an article in there titled "Model Weight." It's about this woman who, at the age of 47, claims to have lost 130 lbs in UNDER 4 months with diet and exercise. I am EXTREMELY SKEPTICAL. If anyone else has seen this article, what's your opinion? Do you believe that a middle-aged individual who's been overweight and then obese for decades can lose more than 30 lbs a month consistently for 4 months to get down to a sample size - with just diet and exercise? Especially someone who confesses to multiple failed attempts to lose weight before?

Yikes! I'd stick to the diet for as long as you can. If you are viciously hungry, see if your surgeon OKs you for pureed/soft foods. I'd also stay away from unhealthy stuff, if you can. You don't have very much room in your stomach and you should maximize it to eat stuff that will help you heal. I don't know if fish sticks are fried, but deep-fried foods can sit in your stomach for an entire day, stressing it out. One way I thought about it was by looking at my incisions and imagining the same thing around my staple line. Of course, I wouldn't "test" my incisions by having someone punch me in the stomach or poke the scab with scissors or something, and similarly, I wouldn't test the internal wounds on my stomach with coarse foods.

I had surgery on a Monday, as well, and my first BM was Friday morning. Stay put, lol. P.S. Word of warning - while my first BM was mostly solid (remnants of my "last supper" pre-surgery), several of the subsequent ones were VERY liquid and VERY sudden. We're talking, I was glad I live in a small apartment and not a 2-story house...

So, pre-op I considered myself to be a major emotional eater. I'm now 3.5 weeks out and *knock on wood* have had zero desire to overeat in reaction to any sort of emotional stimuli. Before the surgery, overeating or binging was my normal response to being either happy or upset. I even signed up for counselling for my emotional eating after the surgery, and when I went for my 2nd appointment on Monday, I had nothing to talk about when it came to food. Which makes me wonder, how much of this "emotional eating" is actually based in your physiology? Maybe it's just that the yo-yo dieting made me extremely hungry and the severe hunger was just harder to resist under emotional stress, which led me to binge? It's just bizarre, I was so worried that I'd binge post-surgery and hurt my stomach, but it's like I was cured with a magic wand (again, *knock on wood*). Can anyone else share their experience with emotional eating before vs. after surgery? I'm looking to gather some individual experiences and, based on the anecdotal findings, maybe relay this information to our local obesity expert and an eating disorder specialist I know to see if either of them wants to conduct an actual medical study about this issue. Maybe therapy is NOT the way to deal with this at all.

Are you a binge eater? I used to binge before the surgery, and my counselor recommended "Overcoming Binge Eating" by Christopher Fairburn. It's an older book, but it's very scientifically based and is considered to be the gold standard.

I agree. My father loves it. I don't think I've ever even tried it, because I find the look and texture of it repulsive, as well as the thought of cold congealed beef fat. I do enjoy beef or lamb bone marrow, but it has to be hot. It's insanely bad for you, so I only have it a few times a year.

I don't see why you can't walk on the treadmill, just take it easy, don't start at 3.5 mph right away. But why do it indoors, try to enjoy the weather while you can! My surgeon said you can also start swimming around 2 weeks post-op, once the scabs have all fallen off and the wounds are closed. I find that I don't have the endurance I used to, and I need to bring something to drink with calories in it (juice or Protein shake) in between laps, otherwise my blood sugar drops after like 10-15 minutes. Otherwise, I enjoy swimming 300-400 meters at this point. I think we get cleared for strenuous exercise at 6 weeks, which works well for me, as I signed up for 2 dance classes to start just then. I think I'll start with some easy stuff, like stretching and yoga, next week, once I'm 4 weeks out, but no weightlifting til 6.

LOL, what are you gonna do with it? Keep it in your freezer then throw away when it's covered in freezer burn? I originally wanted to see it after the surgery, but forgot to ask for it in the whirlwind before the operation (I went first and they literally took me into the OR minutes after Dr. Aceves gave us a talk about our post-op lifestyle). In reality, they'll put it in formaldehyde or whatever other Fluid they use for preservation and send it to pathology, where it will be dissected and inspected microscopically. The best you'll get is probably a bunch of weird brown chunks.

I always thought of WLS as a bit bizarre until I heard some lectures on obesity in medical school and the expert (physician, not surgeon) who lectured to us told us that only 2% of obese people can lose the excess weight and keep it off for 5 years. He also told us that he believed WLS to be the ONLY treatment for obesity for the remaining 98%. After doing more research into the physiology of obesity, it suddenly made sense that surgical treatment was the way to go. Of course, surgery is a big thing, it's irreversible, and I really wish we could just pop a pill instead, but it's not an option now. Maybe one day there'll be a pill to suppress ghrelin, but probably not until we reach retirement age.

Hey, thanks! I can't get my imaging til 2.5 weeks from now. Dr. Aceves foolishly thought I could get it done the same day...welcome to Canada, lol. I'd definitely just go to Mexico if I were closer.

Thanks....the most frustrating thing for me was that I felt that she didn't give a rip about the fact that I wasn't feeling well. I felt no concern coming from her whatsoever. I shared this with a friend who said she also saw her for something a while ago and got this really uncalled-for 20-min contraception lecture after she told the doctor she needed birth control pills to control her PCOS - even though she emphatically said it was not for birth control purposes. Sounds like this doctor exhibits a certain pattern of behaviour, so I'm glad I filed a complaint about her.

I only brought $60 with me for food, tips, etc. The cost of the hotel is included. You will only have one meal, we went all out (appetizer, entree, one drink, and dessert), and I think it cost us each about $25 at this Mexican restaurant that Ernesto recommended. I wasn't buying medications there, though, as I have a drug plan here. Plus after I bought them here, the price difference was not very significant (on the order of 15% or so). So unless you plan to buy meds, there's no reason for you to bring more than $100.

I'm sorry you're feeling upset. It's definitely not a light decision to have this surgery. The OR staff should've definitely stopped as soon as you told them to stop - it's not an emergency surgery and you were sentient at the moment, so they should've obeyed your instructions. I guess there's no way to go back now, though, so you just have to focus on the positives. I'm not having the cleanest recovery (several episodes of severe nausea, dizziness, etc that led to a trip to the ER and the like), but I just don't dwell on the negative stuff. I remember how I felt BEFORE the surgery - completely out of control with my eating and powerless - and realize things are better now, even though there are a few bumps in the road to recovery. The allergy will clear up soon enough, don't worry about it. It's too bad that the staff was disrespectful of your desires and didn't use an alternative to betadine.

Where are the needle marks? You can expect the gown to come off, as your body will covered in sterile draping to protect the area that will be disinfected and cut into. http://img.medscape.com/fullsize/migrated/558/014/aos558014.fig1.gif

That's true...my boyfriend would always pay for both of our meals when we went out. Now I've told him to put away $20 every time I don't order anything and $10 every time I order an appetizer and put it towards our vacation in Europe next summer. I expect a free trip, lol.

OK, my skin's been out of control since about 1 week post-op - my face is constantly covered in red, itchy, dry blotches and no cream/scrub seems to make it better. I keep waking up at night scratching my face. :bored0:There doesn't seem to be any link to what I'm eating, so I wonder if this has something to do with quick weightloss. Anyone else having skin problems post-surgery?

Check out my thread about taking pills post-surgery: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/post-operation-vertical-sleeve-gastric-surgery-vsg-questions-answers/8167-pills-all-day-sick-already.html There really isn't any reason for you to grind your pills for 6 months, unless they are giant horsepills like those Calcium ones. You should be able to have whole pills once you can have solid foods.

Just an update, my surgeon said it's very unlikely that this is some sort of delayed reaction to anesthesia or a side effect of speedy weightloss. I did lots of sleuthing on MD Consult and Dynamed, where I proceeded to diagnose myself with eczema rather than hives. I then did some more research and discovered that the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine I received 2 weeks ago has been linked to hundreds of cases of severe eczema.:scared0: Treatment is just topical steroids (10-12 days), and I have some steroid skin cream at home, so I've just been slathering that on since last night. The itchiness is gone and I have tons of skin flaking off, but the redness is still there. When I first put the cream on, I had pus dripping out of my pores within half an hour, it was the sickest thing ever! I went to this social event today and everyone was STARING - I had to preface every conversation with "This isn't contagious, just so you know..." LOL. I hope this goes away soon...I couldn't find any info on the timeline for this stuff.