What Did You Wish You Knew Before Surgery

[kiki19 16]

Is that something everyone has to do... give themselves shots to prevent blood clots?

Have all of you had to do that?

I do Lovenox injections once a day. It is recommended with an abdominal surgery. It helps prevent blood clots from forming. I just take them once a day. The needle is small. They are easy to give. I started mine in pre-op at the hospital, got one before I left, and then had a prescription for 14 days post-op...only six more to go.

[RMS 64]

I received a shot every 12 hours when I was in the hospital. They didn't give me anything for a home.

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[christin 54]

I had no shots... had something massaging my feet in the hospital that helps prevent blood clots I think.

As for the original question... very much agree with Cheri. I wish I would have known that patience was going to be so important for me. Even though you know the surgery is not the easy way out, I think we all secretly hope it will be! We hope we will just wake up every day and see the scale go down, down, down, down effortlessly. That just doesn't happen for most of us. Our bodies release weight at the pace they want and all we can work on is following our plan, making the right choices, and doing the mental and emotional work that will take us to and keep us at goal.

I am learning to look for the small and steady changes and exercise my patience muscle. With every passing day I become more confident that this is really working and less fearful that I will be the one person who fails to lose the weight.

[BeautyVGSJourney 99]

Christin they most likely gave you those drugs in IV along with pain meds and other staff. I agree with you!

[andkel30 57]

Interesting responses! I'd say the biggest thing that I see posted about over and over and over again is the speed of your weight loss.

Meaning: you won't lose every time you step on the scale. Don't expect to get to goal in nine months. You will sometimes step on the scale and see the same number for days on end. Sometimes you'll also drop large amounts even when nothing in your diet or exercise has changed. Sometimes you'll be doing everything right and stall out for weeks on end. Sometimes your weight will jump up a few pounds' date=' just to mix things up.

It's okay. It's normal. It's part of the process.

Relax, do the right things and you will reach your goal weight. That's what I wish I had known. It's what I wish every new sleever knew, because I see the same posts over and over again with people driving themselves absolutely crazy because they can't control how they lose the weight!

~Cheri[/quote']

That's me!!!!!!!!

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[CaliKat 153]

If you are really concerned with blood clots talk to your surgeon if getting a blood clot filter would be an option for you. Its a filter (yes...a filter) that they inject into your artery (femeral usually) a few days before the surgery and then take out via the corrited artery (neck) anytime between 1 week to a year after surgery.

I believeit is done outpatient by a cardiologist.

That was one of my bigest fears-clots- and when i got my ekg, the cardiologist explained the benefits and risks.

I ended up not getting one- i walked my butt off the week before and after my surgery to keep the blood going!

[Lissa 2,631]

I had the filter installed before surgery and removed afterward because I had a blood clot 3 months before surgery. IMO, the filter surgeries were worse than the VSG, mostly because they use conscious sedation (Versed). I really wish they had knocked me out for those surgeries, although I got to go home right after. I took Lovenox injections for 7 days before the filter install and 7 days after, twice a day. Luckilly, my pulmonary doc took me off Coumadin about a week before the filter was removed, but I ended up back on the Coumadin until 10 days ago because the filter actually caught two clots. It saved my life, so that filter was worth it.

Walking is absolutely the best thing you can do to help prevent post-operative clots. I try to get in 30 minutes of some kind of aerobic/cardio activity daily to help prevent problems. This means that sometimes I end up walking around parking lots (like yesterday) and getting weird looks from people. LOL I also make sure that I stop and walk for a minute or two anytime I'm driving more than 30 minutes at a time...and I do a LOT of driving for my job.

[NJsharon 119]

Lissa, any tips for me as I will be doing about a 7hr flight 3 days after surgery? I am going to MX for surgery & flying from San Diego to Newark NJ right after.

I am thinking to get up & walk the length of the airplane a couple of times, or should I do it more often?

Anything else I can do to prevent blood clots? They really worry me!

[Lissa 2,631]

Sharon, I'll just pass along my doc's advice when I took a 3,000 mile driving trip about 2 months post-op... Fidget constantly to keep the blood moving and get up at least every hour and walk, even if it's just the length of the plane. You might even want ot make it every half hour since you'll be in a high pressure environment.

Walking and cardio are the two things my doc recommends, and I'm speaking of my pulmonologist, not my WLS surgeon here. At least half an hour of cardio or aerobic activity every day is the goal he wants me to reach. I also try not to sit for more than half an hour at a time without moving around. Whether it's at the computer or watching tv, I get up every half hour and walk into another room. I just bought myself a new puppy, and that makes me move around more, too.

FYI, greens and most dark green veggies have some anti-clotting properties, as do sweet potato and cabbage. One of the reasons I try to get some broccoli and greens into my diet is for those anti-clotting properties. Some days I may only get a few bites of one of those veggies into me, but I try to make sure that my veggies do double duty.

Obesity is it's own risk factor for clots, but there are lots of ways to help prevent them.

[Swimmer 199]

Is that something everyone has to do... give themselves shots to prevent blood clots?

Have all of you had to do that?

I was given these shots in the hospital the entire time I was there, and they give them in the stomach but it isn't that bad. I have never given myself shots.

[Swimmer 199]

I wish I hadn't been so excited to tell people. Now I feel the pressure when the process slows to a halt for weeks as happens to me. Now that I'm through the toughest part I realize I should have kept it to myself.

It's a slow emotional process. I now have a very different relationship with food. That was my main goal, but it doesn't happen overnight.

I also didn't realize how sensitive I would become about watching people eating huge portions. It literally makes me a little sick to see portions at restaurants.

It's a great journey and I have been enjoying the process.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Sharon, I'll just pass along my doc's advice when I took a 3,000 mile driving trip about 2 months post-op... Fidget constantly to keep the blood moving and get up at least every hour and walk, even if it's just the length of the plane. You might even want ot make it every half hour since you'll be in a high pressure environment.

Walking and cardio are the two things my doc recommends, and I'm speaking of my pulmonologist, not my WLS surgeon here. At least half an hour of cardio or aerobic activity every day is the goal he wants me to reach. I also try not to sit for more than half an hour at a time without moving around. Whether it's at the computer or watching tv, I get up every half hour and walk into another room. I just bought myself a new puppy, and that makes me move around more, too.

FYI, greens and most dark green veggies have some anti-clotting properties, as do sweet potato and cabbage. One of the reasons I try to get some broccoli and greens into my diet is for those anti-clotting properties. Some days I may only get a few bites of one of those veggies into me, but I try to make sure that my veggies do double duty.

Obesity is it's own risk factor for clots, but there are lots of ways to help prevent them.

Im pretty sure that the Vitamin K in green veggies (like Kale and spinach) support clotting, not blood thinning....

...In the body, Vitamin K plays a major role in blood clotting. So it is used to reverse the effects of “blood thinning” medications when too much is given; to prevent clotting problems in newborns who don’t have enough vitamin K; and to treat bleeding caused by medications including salicylates, sulfonamides, quinine, quinidine, or antibiotics. ....

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/983.html

I eat it because it it high in Omega 3s... but worry a little about the clotting thing. When you take Coumadin, greens are counter indicated, unless you eat exactly the same amount every day and that is figured into your medicine dose.

[suzcomptime 17]

Im pretty sure that the Vitamin K in green veggies (like Kale and spinach) support clotting, not blood thinning....

...In the body, Vitamin K plays a major role in blood clotting. So it is used to reverse the effects of “blood thinning” medications when too much is given; to prevent clotting problems in newborns who don’t have enough vitamin K; and to treat bleeding caused by medications including salicylates, sulfonamides, quinine, quinidine, or antibiotics. ....

http://www.nlm.nih.g...atural/983.html

I eat it because it it high in Omega 3s... but worry a little about the clotting thing. When you take Coumadin, greens are counter indicated, unless you eat exactly the same amount every day and that is figured into your medicine dose.

Do we have to worry about blood clots caused by the sleeve forever or only until we are healed?

[Mews 37]

There are a few things I wish I had known...

The first is the risk of blood clots. I DIDN'T take my shots afterwards (stupid me but I'll explain why) and I developed a blood clot in my left leg. I've had one before. When I noticed the pain in my calf it was very similar to the pain I had with the earlier clot. Once I realized that I started up on my Lovenox again. Good thing I did because, as the ultrasound tech commented, it was an "extensive" one. Any type of surgery can increase the risk of clots. If your doctor prescribes them, make sure you take them or at the very least have someone remind you constantly to take them.

The second thing was the complete lack of energy that I had for the first month post-op. Nobody warned me about how bad it was going to be. My doctor told me to take two weeks off but I was only able to take a week and a half off because of my job situation. I ended up taking about six additional sick days over the next three weeks as I couldn't make it through the day without feeling like I was going to collapse. Even now as I'm five weeks post-op my energy levels are still no where near what they were before surgery even though I'm getting in the required Protein and Water. I even upped my carbs per my NUT's recommendation. While I'm better than I was last week, it's only a small improvement.

Third, the hell that is the clear liquid diet. I was on it for two weeks and let me tell you, it was not fun. I felt like death and I was so sick of Gatorade, broth, and Jello by the end of it all. I was also constantly dizzy and feeling very disconnected (almost "stoned" if you like). This is why I didn't take my shots as I completely forgot to. My mind just wasn't in the right place for those first couple of weeks after the surgery.

While I've been lucky and have avoided the pain and soreness I definitely would have done things differently. Besides taking my shots, I would've taken a longer period of time off of work. A least a month to get myself back on my feet. I just wish someone (like the surgeon or my NUT) would have warned me about how bad it was during the initial post-op phase.

[Lissa 2,631]

FeedYourEye, You may be right. I was told to continue eating the same amount of dark green leafy veggies all through my coumadin treatment, but I thought it was to increase the amount of thinning, not increase clotting. Either way, the rule of thumb is to be consistent with the veggies while on coumadin therapy in order not to affect the dosing. I did NOT mean to give bad information, so I advise everyone to check with their own doctor about this issue. The nurse would ask if I ate extra collard greens that week whenever my dose had to be lowered, which is why I thought the greens increased the effect of the coumadin.