Stacy160

That sounds wonderful!!

I never had a c-section so I can't compare it, but for me there was relatively little pain. The first few days it was pretty uncomfortable to go from lying down to sitting up, and sitting to standing, partly because of the pulling at the main incision (a little sharper pain, maybe 5/10 on the pain scale and decreasing by a point daily), and partly because of abdominal soreness (which I've likened to doing a thousand situps and then having someone whale on you with a baseball bat LOL... maybe 4/10 and decreasing daily). By about day 6, all of that was gone. My surgeon basically told me that as far as exercise goes, whatever I was comfortable with. That could be because he knows I work in physical therapy and have a pretty good idea what's OK and what's not, at what point... me may give more detailed instructions to other patients. His self-pay price is $11,200. That includes a $200 initial consultation fee (my insurance covered that), $5,000 for him, $5,500 for the hospital (the one that he's got the deal with--he works from three others also) and $500 for anesthesia. That includes pre-admission testing and two years of follow-up care. You're doing the right thing, research research research and ask ask ask!! I think it's fair to say that most of us could talk about this all day, every day. :blushing:

I would NOT have wanted to go home the day of surgery. I stayed overnight and was fine with going home the next day, and had no problems with it.

HW - 258 SW - 246.4 LW - 232 (same as week before) TW - 230 Only two pounds over the last two weeks, but at least my mini-stall has broken. :001_tongue:

I have the Isoflex vanilla (which I love in tea), chocolate, and chocolate Peanut Butter. The Vanilla and Chocolate are ~eh~ with milk, but mix up very well in a smoothie with some frozen fruit, although that with the milk is more calories and carbs than I like to have from a drink. By far, my favorite has been nectar. It mixes with Water, goes down very well, and tastes good! I love the Fuzzy Navel and strawberry Kiwi flavors. If I make them with 10-12 oz of water instead of 8, they're not so sweet (plus I get more water :001_tongue: ).

Morning: one sublingual B12, one chewable multi and one calcium citrate chewable from Bariatric Advantage. Mid-Day: Another multi and calcium. Evening: Another calcium and B12. I also take the Pearls Probiotics, but they don't do a dang thing for me (bm-wise) so when this box is gone I won't get them again.

OK then, my own opinion: Lap Band: Should be banned in the United States. If you've done your research, you know the amazingly high complication and failure rates (not to mention permanent structural damage to the stomach). VSG: Absolutely wonderful!!! All of MacMadame's answers above pretty much summarize my feelings. It's just amazing how NORMAL I feel getting full on so little food, and not feeling like I'm missing anything.

No catheter for me (that would have freaked me out too). I don't know what a Levine tube is, but I'm assuming it goes through the skin into the area? I did have a drainage tube in for a week post-op. Most people will tell you that having that tube removed is a weird feeling, but not painful. For me, I felt literally nothing at all... no weirdness, no sensation of it coming out through the hole. I didn't even realize the doc had pulled it out until I saw it in his hand. So don't worry about that part! And as I said, I personally didn't have a catheter, but I know that lots of people did, and I've never read anyone complaining about any pain with it being removed. Seems like that alone would make you want to pee like mad though LOL!

Before surgery, for the last 20+ years, I could never figure out why I had a weight problem, when I'd look at skinny people who were eating just like I was and didn't have a problem. Later, when I was eating horribly, I could never figure out why I ate so much and so often, and ate when I wasn't hungry at all... never figured out anything mental or emotional--I ate out of want, not need. I also never felt like I had a "full button" ... "full" to me meant stuffed to capacity and unable to stuff anything more in there. Through all my reading and research, I've come to think of my "old" stomach as defective. I'm not placing ALL the blame on it, because God knows I consistently made HORRIBLE food choices, especially these last few years when I've given up hope so many times and resigned myself to living life as a fat person (so why bother trying, you know what I'm saying?). But that damn ghrelin...I'm convinced that most of us over-produce it and THAT'S what makes it almost impossible for us to lose weight and keep it off. My old, super-stretchy, ghrelin-producing stomach gladly helped me get fat, which caused problems with heartburn, reflux, back pain, knee, hip, and foot pain, and apparently the beginnings of high blood pressure, which I'd never had a problem with before going through my pre-op testing (that was a nice surprise). Looking at the family history, at what I'd most likely be facing down the road if I didn't have this surgery... well, I knew what I had to do. With that "defective" thing gone, I actually physicallyl feel normal already, at one month out. Well, except for the fat itself. I feel like I have a nice, healthy stomach now. My joint pain is gone already and I've had no heartburn or reflux at ALL. Think of this as repairing your old, problem-causing stomach and starting fresh... 'cause that's what you're doing. :001_tongue:

You're both very welcome... enjoy! :thumbup1:

Plain Greek Yogurt--tastes like sour cream!

My surgeon uses a 32, but he did say that he doesn't snug the stapler up as tightly to it as he used to... he still goes right up to it, but doesn't want to get it so tight that it increases the risk of stricture. I'm not even a month out yet so my results aren't really very relevant, but I can drink normally, and eat couple ounces of mushies (refried beans, ricotta cheese), and a 1/4 cup of canned chicken mixed with a little cheese soup (rather than mayo), very slowly.

Oh yeah....Duh, I forgot that I won't be able to eat a plate of them!! :001_smile:

I bet you'll have 50 lbs. gone by October! How wonderful that you're taking this step so early in your life and that it's an available option for you. I hope you become a bariatric surgeon. :frown1:

As your write the letters and copy them to various people, you should also make an extra copy for whatever institution it is that deems someplace a "Center of Excellence," and send it all to them too, with a cover letter summarizing everything. And copy THAT letter to the surgeon's office as well, so they know... 'cause that place sure as hell is not "excellent," and they need a SERIOUS reality check.

Oh, I luuuuve me some pork rind nachos. Used to make them every time I tried Atkins... now you've got me thinking about them, I want them! Now that calories matter, I'll throw on some cheese, a little ground turkey, tomatoes, olives, taco sauce, and some Greek yogurt... oh, I can't wait! :thumbup1:

Excellent!!!

My clinic didn't try to sell them, but they used what the had as examples (and let us sample them all) and had them available if we wanted them. Their prices weren't any higher than online prices so they weren't doing it for profit. I'd have gotten my multi and calcium there, but they were out of both at the time.

WOW!! Holy cow, that averages to almost 8 lbs. a WEEK! How awesome is that!?!! NIIIIICE!!!

But you DO love you... that's why you're doing this!

Ohhhhh... that is SO on my list for when I get to full solids!!

That is awesome...you've got a good one! I'd say go for it too...won't be much different than a protein shake, just without as much protein. But you know.... don't have that much LOL.

What she said! You'll be fine, and if there is nausea, they've got stuff for that. Four more days for you, how exciting!

I haven't watched a VSG with band removal, but I've watched a couple of straight VSG surgeries. I have a copy of my own surgery on a zip drive, but haven't watched it yet (only because I want to watch it on the new flat-screen TV that I don't understand, so I need my hubby to figure out how to play off the USB ports!).

That is one of the things I was DYING for during my liquids-only stage. The other night my hubby decided he wanted Taco Bell and I said "YAY!!" and had him get me a pintos & cheese. Could only eat half of it but it was SO good!