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Thanks for the replies.. I was pretty confident that it would be okay because I was pre-approved medical wise, but I'm so siked for this now after months of thinking about it I don't want any brick walls. Its good to hear that some of the symptoms go away.. Being constipated is horrifying for me after going the other way for so long,, stool softeners are a must... TMI huh?? lol, there isn't much you don't discuss openly when it comes to this huh? I don't think I have ever shared my weight with people as much as I have in the past month.. I even braved adding a ticker,, now hopefully it will start moving huh? I have been on a salad bender for about two months, now eating lots of yogurt and fruit trying to prepare myself for the new eating habits.. I haven't had IBS symptoms since I started, and the reflux is getting better also, and I have been sleeping better too!! I hope my motivation continues and the hunger or urge to eat goes away!

I had mine today! It was quick and painless. I had an upset tummy the rest of the day, but I kept drinking water and tea and it finally got all the barium out. Don't be surprised if you have a few loose stools after. I know TMI, but its true! Good luck, just remember it is all part of the journey. kelli

What's a TMI post you (might) be asking. It's a post about those things I'm finding a part of VSG life that people don't talk about in polite company or usually admit to in any company, but that I really wanted to know about before getting myself into this! (Don't worry, still no regrets). So if you are polite company or do not want to hear about blood, bodily functions, and the vagaries of animal existence, you might want to skip this one. To those of you who are still with me, this edition will cover Underwear woes, scabs, itches, surgical leftovers, bowel movements, vomiting, periods, and a special surprise guest appearance by Yeast. Underwear woes: Your surgeon will tell you not to bother buying new clothes, because you'll only wear them a couple of times before they no longer fit. Your surgeon will not warn you that your boobs will soon be falling out of the bottom of your bra, and your oversized underwear will twist in new and exciting ways on your body. As a woman, I can honestly say I have never needed to "adjust myself" so many times in a day as I have since surgery. I started out wearing size 10/Torrid size 1/2 underwear that were all either snug (the 10s) or fit perfectly (Torrid, of course). Now, they're all a nightmare of chafing, twisting, falling down, and creeping up my butt. I would seriously recommend considering the purchase of an inexpensive package of underwear every few weeks or so. Scabs, itches, and surgical leftovers: Let's put all of the skin stuff together. We'll start with itching, since it has been a constant since surgery. There are two types of itching, though. There's a deep, crazy, going-insane itch that happens inside with the healing tissues. I hate that one. That seems to have faded around week 3. The other itch has been ongoing and is stopped only by Eucerin for eczema lotion. It's a combination of healing and difficulty fully hydrating. When I came home from the hospital, all of my incisions were covered in purple surgical glue with the instruction to shower carefully and avoid getting "much" water on them for "long." I followed this to the letter, and when I saw Dr. Zane again for the 10 day follow up, he was surprised the glue was all there, and he said go ahead and peel it off. This is where the blood comes in. The incision above my belly button had glue that had lifted by a good centimeter, so I figured I'd go with his advice. I got half way across when, blood! I stopped there, and was seeping blood for the next 12-16 hours, and now, two and a half weeks later, that incision is a bit deeper and more tender than the others. That also happens to be the incision with a stitch in it. The stitch is still there almost a month later, and it is black with blood I can't get out of the knot. I may just be slow to dissolve the last part, though a week ago, a 1" piece of filament poked out of my skin next to it and slid out when I scratched at it. No pain for that one, just "weird." As tempting as it is to peel after approval, go slow, and if there's any tenderness, maybe wait. The others that I peeled the last of the glue off of were no longer tender and looked sealed underneath, and that's what I found. The only raised scar I seem to be developing is the bigger scar where my stomach was pulled out to the left of the belly button. That one is raised on the edges where it was (I assume) stretched during removal. Other surgical leftovers not to stress over: I came home with iodine on my sides, no big deal, but a bit itchy. It looks like they washed the area where surgery actually happened (good to know!). I found serious gunk in my belly button once everything was un-swollen and de-tenderized enough for a thorough wash in there. I can only describe it as goo. I do not know what it was, but it didn't do me any harm, and I assume it was from the surgery, since I've never seen anything like that in there before. There was a lot of it, though! I also had a big bruise on my tailbone along with a painful abraded area about 2" long and 1" wide. Silly me, I put an antibiotic ointment on the rash. DO NOT DO THIS. I woke up the next morning to pustules all along the abraded area. The doctor I saw for that diagnosed it as a reaction to the ointment, and said to just use petroleum jelly or a steroid cream because (something something - sorry) antibiotic ointments can cause reactions after all those IV antibiotics of another type. Following those instructions, the area cleared up within a week after shedding the entire top layer of skin. I found out from my surgeon's office that the bruising is because they sit you up during surgery. Mystery solved. Bowel movements: I had to gird myself for this one, since I'm not really the type who usually talks about bathroom habits in public, but if this helps one person not feel so weird or at least feel better knowing what to potentially expect, it's worth it. Bowel movements since surgery have been consistently weird. The first was about three days after surgery (which they say is good), and very very little actually came out of me in a thin, strangely orange, stream. In spite of how little there was, I still felt the same cue from my body as I did pre-surgery that it's time to find solitude and a toilet. Since then, BMs have been increasing slowly in bulk, but they remain orange, soft-to-runny, and low-velocity enough that as soon as I feel that cue, I'm also planning a shower. Aside from week 3, in which velocity was so slow, I spent all day close to the house, it hasn't been awful. It's not fun, but it's also not often. Once a week or so at a month out from surgery. I should also mention that it's one of the things that can cause that "my heart is racing" feeling, because there's an enormous blood vessel that runs right next to your sphincter. I may only notice it so much because BMs are no longer a daily occurrence. As far as I understand it, the phenomenon is harmless; drink more water. I'll also add that urinating is fairly normal, though for the first week after surgery (or longer if you're slow to clear anaesthesia) prepare for some stop/start and give yourself a little more time. Vomiting: There has been more vomiting than I'm accustomed to after surgery, and I've pinpointed a few things that tend to cause it and others that don't. Triggers: Vitamins, unless buffered with a lot of food, are coming right back up. Even the ones I don't need in chewable form. I'm looking into the vitamin patches for this reason. Even before surgery, my stomach has been iffy with multis and B vitamins. Juice without water. Even a tiny sip. Too cold water on an empty stomach Water without additive (I had a serious case of water nausea which is starting to resolve just this week) Stress (I had to ask my family to please not talk about anything remotely stressful around meal times) Not a trigger: Fat Protein Carbohydrates Fruit Dairy Physical activity I do find that sometimes I need to lie down after a meal or taking medicine until the nausea goes away. Lying on my side seems to help. Periods: Depending on your rate of recovery and when it falls, prepare to be more exhausted than ever on your period. That hit me hard. Otherwise, totally normal. Yeast: I found out at my 10 day checkup that I had a mighty yeast overgrowth on my tongue from the IV antibiotics. I was first prescribed the slimiest mouthwash in the world (which belongs on my vomiting triggers list, probably), then 5x/day tablets to suck on which left my tongue raw and painful but tasted like nothing at all, and finally a single pill, take it once and you're done oral treatment. (Why not that one first? I don't get it!) It's almost gone now at 4 weeks out, but while it was active, the entire back 2/3 of my tongue were slimy and thick, and a lot of foods tasted very strange. So, keep an eye out for that. This concludes the first month TMI post. I expect any future posts to be shorter. My top recommendations really are to watch out for yeast and make sure you always carry Eucerin (or similar thick lotion for SUPER dry skin that works for you).

Since returning home from getting banded and being on liquids, my urine hasn't been a yellow, but more of an orange color. Is this due to the weight loss? Anyone know?

Hi! I am posting this hoping you won't be offended, and am only saying these things because you asked for opinions. I would absolutely wait to have a baby. Your profile says you are 30 years old. Waiting a year to a year and a half is not unthinkable, even though I KNOW it seems like it is. I don't know how much you weigh, but I do know that in order to be approved for weight loss surgery, people have to be pretty overweight. You AND you baby will be healthier if you wait. On a non-weight note, it might also be better to be a couple a bit longer as well. More time is NEVER a bad idea. It may suck to wait, but it can really help you out in the long run. Again, not knowing much about you, I can tell you I felt very similar to how you feel right now pre-band. I can only speak from my experience. I am now 32 years old. I will be 33 when I have my baby (I am 24 weeks pregnant). I got banded September, 2007. Before I got banded, I had been with my now-husband for 7 years and married for over a year. We had been planning for a baby for ALL that time. We wanted to wait until we had a house, degrees, teaching credentials, jobs, etc. In short, we waited for security...and got it. Before my surgery, my periods were sporadic. Knowing I wanted to get pregnant about a year after our marriage, I had been tracking my periods/ovulation for that entire time. I knew it would be difficult because my periods were hit and miss. Also, on a completely superficial note, I knew I was going to just look "fatter", not pregnant. I was also afraid of pregnancy complications due to weight. I am 5'6". My starting weight was 290 pounds. I was busting out of my size 26s. One of my biggest fears of being pregnant (another superficial one) was finding maternity clothes. Then I saw and ad on TV for the lap-band surgery. I researched it, and saw that doctors recommended waiting at least a year to get pregnant. Again, like you, I REALLY thought about it. I had been wanting a baby for SOOO long! But, I had to put my family first. I knew that waiting was only going to be beneficial. So, I put my own feelings aside and had the sugery. Last June, I weighed 204 pounds. I had lost 86 pounds in 9 months. And I had decided that I had waited long enough. I KNOW the doctors say to wait a year, but I made the conscious decision to not listen to them (not that I'm advocating that!). Since I lost all that weight, my periods had become regular for the first time in my life. I was able to chart my ovulation with great accuracy. We got pregnant on the first try. And (WARNING: TMI coming up!), we were trying for a boy, so we only had sex ONCE on the day of my ovulation. It wasn't all that likely that we were going to get pregnant. I am absolutely convinced that, had I not lost the weight, we would STILL be trying. I KNOW this is an incredibly long reply, but I just want to make sure you see the benefits of waiting. I KNOW how hard it is. I WAS THERE! And I'm telling you with all the certainty God gave me that you should wait. Good luck and let us know what you decide!

Okay all of this may be TMI but I need answers!!! I'm a month post op and have been kind of spotting dark brown every day since surgery. It stops right after shower for most of the day but comes back again and the odor is horrible. What is going on?! Another question, my boyfriend and I have tried to have sex and I can't get wet. That's never been a problem. We have to use lube now. That's no fun. I'm getting depressed. Please tell me I'm not alone and that I can fix all of this somehow

I hope this isn't too much information, but I'd like to know if anyone else has been experiencing this... so here goes... I am on my pre-op diet now (tomorrow will be my 6th month) and I've been really trying to change my habits the last two months. However, within the last two weeks I keep getting these intense stomach cramps and diarrhea at night only. It's weird I know. I was "googling" it to see what it could be and some sites it stated this can happen from a larger in-take of Water and change in eating habits. I have almost quadrupled the amount of water I drink, but wanted to know if anyone else has experienced this. Ugh... I feel so bad at night 3-4/week. Just curious...TMI?? :thumbup: Thanks!

sleeved the 19th around 10:30am. The first day wasn't bad but as general anesthesia wore off, the IV pain meds were NOT my friend. SO nauseous. powered through it (after puking some yellow bile) and got up and walked laps probably 4x that afternoon/evening. Dry mouth was horrendous... even with the swabs. thankfully I went for leak test around 8:30am so I was allowed to sip Water starting around 9:30am. finally around the 2pm shift change, nurse figured out it was IV pain meds causing the super nausea (since I kept begging for more anti-nausea and acid reducer, thinking that was the problem). switched to liquid hydrocodone and problem solved (although it did conk me out). Discharged 2nd day around 6pm, hubby stopped and got Rx filled while I walked around. got a bag of sonic ice and unsweet peach tea and headed home. haven't really taken pain meds since day #4 (even then, was to sleep) so feeling really blessed of easy recovery. also very lucky (TMI) to have 1st BM on Sunday evening. BUT then tonight, have had watery diarrhea 2x anyone else suffering with this? Is Imodium safe to take? all I have is pill form but I could chew it up. I know I'll definitely be adding a bit of sugar-free Fiber to water tonight and all liquids tomorrow but also dont want to be running (literally) to toilet all night . Also very worried b/c supposed to start back at work in a couple days.... definitely don't want this problem at work! (I have another 8 days of full liquids before purees..... sigh) reassurance/advice/suggestions appreciated! hope everyone else's recovery is moving along smoothly....

Definitely too much sugar. I tried a mango smoothie (Mango Lasi) and I was glued in the restroom for 30 mins (excuse the TMI). The sugar can make you dump. I've surely learned my lesson. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Very Little.... I wore the same outfit home that I wore to the hospital, just make sure it's loose and comfy. I bought clean undies and didn't put the bra on (incision is right at my bra line LOL Also: Chapstick Biotine (?) mouth spray A loose light robe (to cover the gown when walking) Slip on slippers for walking if you don't like those socks they give you, and I wore them home Your meds Toothbrush Hairbrush Book That was basically it. You aren't there long and the first day you're pretty drugged. I didn't even read much. TMI -- I had started my period that morning (and I'm told surgery brings it on for some ladies) and they gave me mesh undies and a bunch of pads. I hated the itchy mesh undies so had hubby bring several pair because I kept freaking leaking out the pads. They don't allow tampons. Stupid.

I hate posting this but want some feedback. I have been on a south beach style pre-op diet and doing shakes and notice my stools are looser. And I am going more. Has this happened to anyone else?

Hi, it's nice to meet you. I feel like I need a cleanse, TMI but I've become so constipated that I'm taking stool softer once a week. Did you experience any thing like this?

Hi all, Anyone have any ideas to rescue a libido that's been killed off by anti-depressants? This is a problem I've been dealing with for quite a long time, but I thought I'd bring it up to my new "cyber friends" (I was banded 11/2/07 and doing well with that). A little history: I have been playing musical medications for depression for about 7 years, and being sexually dysfunctional the vast majority of that time. The combination of drugs I am on right now (Lexapro, Seroquel, Wellbutrin) has the depression largely at bay, but the complete lack of sex drive is so pronounced that I wouldn't care if I ever had sex again. I love my husband with all my heart and we don't have marital problems. I feel so badly for him that I could cry. He's pretty good about it most of the time, but I know it bothers him a great deal - and who could blame him? He's only 35 (I'm 37) and in a very low-sex marriage. I try to "take care of him" as often as I can, but don't feel like doing that either. But I DO try to make the effort. It's like I can be turned on in my head, but the connection between my brain and my "privates" is disconnected. Hopefully this was not TMI for anyone. If anyone has suggestions or (God willing) SOLUTIONS, I would love to hear them. Thanks in advance, Robin

I really thought I had this timed perfectly when I set my surgery date. I'm usually like a swiss watch but I have heavy periods and it was the last thing I wanted to be thinking about when I flew to Mexico. So usually it shows up a couple days after the full moon, the 20th or 21st. Perfect: surgery date on the 29th. All over, no problems and no dealing with that right after surgery. Except it's not coming. Dammit I have even been* talking* to my uterus all day yesterday and today -- " Come ON already...Please. For once do what I expect you to. " But alas. I did just quit smoking and caffeine and SUGAR and I am deeply freaked out about getting on that plane on Monday so I guess I shouldn't be so surprised. Sigh. So I was wondering who all took Aunt Flo into surgery with them and if it was a problem.

Hey great question! I had lost 17lbs since i came home but today I have gained 3 lbs! Its so discouraging but I think if I could have a good BM (tmi i know but im among friends:) Actually yesterday I had gains 1 then today 2 more so thats 2 days in a row with gain did anybody else do this?

Hello All, Just a quick update. A lot of the issues I was experiencing were due to the fact that my chest was so heavy (from the gas) and I was too weak to truly blow my nose (TMI, I know). This caused the feelings of suffocation I was having. Guess the snowstorm that was going on didn't help. As soon as I was strong enough to blow, I started feeling much better. Thankfully, once I had my drain tube taken out, much of the pain and discomfort I was experiencing was gone too! I just wanted to share this with others because it was so VERY unexpected and caused me such distress and nobody knew what was wrong. Knowing is half the battle! Merry Christmas and a VERY Happy New "You" Year to all!!!!

Until my 3rd fill this past Wed, I had no idea what sliming was - and then it happened to me on Fri nite and tonite also. It was like vomiting mucous (sorry if that's tmi). Where exactly does the slime come from? Thinking back to my anatomy and physioloy classes many yrs ago, I can;t think of a scientific reason for so much to come up. Just curious! Marci

TMI!!! But also LOL! Good for you! We should all be so blessed after 36 years! I am also blushing however, and if you know me, that takes a LOT!

This may be tmi - but every time I eat for about 30 minutes after I am just burping all the time. Beginning to get on my nerves as well as my husbands. Have tried slowing down and smaller bites but still the same. I am a month post-op and on normal food - albeit small amounts. Think the sleeve is fab - have lost 30lbs since my consult date in March, 23 of those since the surgery. Just want to know if the burping issue passes? Lyn x

So, this isn't serious enough for me to bother the doctor with (yet), but I was wondering if any other sleevers have this same experience. For the most part, during the day, I feel fine. In the past few days I've had a few bouts where I feel flushed, and my BM's (sorry, TMI) have been very loose -- bordering on diarrhea. But I only go once a day, so I dunno if that's it. Edit: I should mention that the nut. had me taking Colace (a stool softener) for a while due to hard constipation right after surgery. Obviously I've been off that for a few days now. I've been trying really hard to stick to all the nutritionist and surgeon guidelines. For the most part I'm eating 800 calories a day. There was a day when I ate 950, there was a day when I ate 650, but mostly I'm right around 800 calories. I'm getting >60g of Protein per day, maybe closer to 80-100. I'm taking my recommended bariatric Multivitamins. Most of the time, during the day, I feel fine. At times, I feel better than fine -- when I'm exercising I feel like I'm king of the world. The problem is when I lay down to sleep, I generally feel icky -- shaky, a little queasy (not enough to throw up, just a little... off), and generally like something's "not right." I know I tend to get anxious over little things, but this is disrupting my sleep a little -- just when the reflux calmed down, this popped up. I've been brainstorming for solutions, and here are a few that I thought up. I'd like input. Due to the loose stools, I'm losing Water. When I'm drinking 80 oz of water a day, I may be losing enough so that I'm mildly dehydrated by the end of the day. It's a challenge to drink too much more, because it tends to flare up the reflux. "No more than 80 oz" was what the nut. recommended to avoid reflux, but maybe I can tweak that. I'm not getting enough of some nutrient. But for the life of me, I can't think of what. I THINK I may be a little low-carb since almost everything I eat is protein, but MyPlate (my food tracker) says I'm actually over on carbs 80-90g/day. If I'm malnourished, I can't think of what. Again though, the loose stools could be causing me to lose out on nutrients, too. I'm undernourished. I may be eating the recommended calories (800), but according to LiveStrong, I'm also burning 250-400 calories per day in exercise. I wonder if I'm just running low on fuel? I'd really like to nip this in the bud before I have to see the doctor/nutritionist, but I will definitely talk to the nut. about it on my next appointment (on Wednesday). I'm just curious if anyone has gone through this -- feeling mostly fine during the day, but then feeling run-down, shaky, and a little nauseous at night.

To everyone that posted a response to my whining, I love you for it!! To reach out to others and have them respond is such a comfort. Only others that have gone through or are going through this understand. My husband does his best, but he's not much at 4 am when the pain the worst. I appreciate the encouragment and love from all of you!! I will pay it forward as I continue to heal. I am thankful that I am not nausea, because of the way the band was put on due to the hernia repair my band sits different than regular ones, my dr. said to avoid vomitting at all cost. (probably TMI, but hey that's what we are here for) :thumbup: I will continue to pray for my bandster friends out there in cyber space. Thank you...

I was told by my surgeon that I could have sex as soon as I was ready and comfortable...I made it about a week maybe a week and a half, it was a little uncomfortable in the area where my port is, but that's solved easily by a position change...lol (tmi I know). Just take it slow and comunicate Also the sqeeky wheel gets the grease....call call call...bug the crap out of them until you get the answers you want...make an appointment with the surgeon to talk to him/her...

I think it is probably very normal to have port pain and even gas pain especially after increasing workout. I did a 5K race followed by a 6.25 mile walk/run today and my port HURTS tonight. I was about double over in the grocery store tonight. My guess is (and this is not a medical opinion) that the muscle that the port is stiched to is not one that we used much as fat, non exercising poeple. So now we use it and it gets sore and the fact that it has something stiched to it make the irritation worse. My feels like a REALLY bad toothache. As for the gas, you are still relatively early after surgery. A few pockets of gas may have been trapped somewhere that they were not causing pain. Now you have been moving around more and exercising and they moved. Is it this type of gas or "tooty" gas (you know the TMI kind!). They are different. If it is tooty gas it could be a change in your diet. Or it could be milk. Have you ever been lactose intolerant? I never was before, but after surgery I can only do cheese and yogurt...and in very moderate amounts. I can't do milk and I can't do ice cream (not that I need it). If you are noticing that you are having problems after eating dairy try to eliminate it and see if that helps. Hope some of these suggestions find a good home!

I had a revision from vsg to rny last august for gerd. It didn't take long to lose a lot of weight and hit and pass goal. I actually lost faster on the revision than the with the sleeve. My workout is less than when I had the sleeve due to much lower calorie intake after the revision. I had quite a bit of side effects with the sleeve (gerd, TMI stuff... Etc.) but none so far with the rny. Everything was resolved. I'm at the 10th month mark. Like you, I was concerned about whether I could lose more weight and the surgeon remarked "Oh, you WILL lose weight. Your pouch will be the size of an egg." He was correct. You'll definitely lose weight after the revision.

Well,TMI alert, it's because of a previous case of hemorrhoids that are acting up and he just wants to do a more thorough check. I guess it could wait, but I am in an enormous amount of pain every day. I have a call in to Dr. Aceves and want to hear his opinion on it. I truly am dreading it.