Medical professionals sleeved

[Lidreaux 15]

I spoke to all of my doctors and they all agreed that VSG was the way to go. It is the safest of all the weight loss surgeries with the best permanent results & the least side effects.

[Dobeigh 69]

How long did you stay out of work? I am a nurses assistant. I need to know how much time I need to take to heal. How was your first day of work when you came back. I work all over the hospital that I work in so I can't predict the amount of lifting/ moving/extending I would have to do everyday. I typicall work 64 hours every 2 weeks.

I was off for 5 weeks. I was a nursing assistant at a hospital and a nursing student when I had my sleeve done. I, actually, did not tell my nursing school that I had surgery because they wouldn't let me do clinicals if I told them. So I had surgery and 2 weeks later I went back to nursing school. I was really sore too. I didn't go back to work for 5 weeks though. I think 4-6 weeks is a good amount of time to be off from work if you have to be a nursing assistant. At 2 weeks post op, I bathed a patient by myself (total care). I just made sure to be very careful and keep my abdominal muscles tight. You will be good to go at 4-6 weeks though.

[AuriP 420]

Thanks all. I meet with the dietician tomorrow and will probably go over some of this then. I will most likely meet with a surgeon in the next week or two. I am so discouraged despite my trying to work with the lap band. I did not want to be a failure. I get so depressed around eating and anxious wondering if I'm going to vomit or have something stuck there for a while. I am more focused on food now then I was before surgery in the first place. Life shouldn't have to be this way.

[Lidreaux 15]

Don't ever feel like a failure. You are not the only one that has had issues with the band. I've had 2 cousins that didn't lose. They figured out how to cheat with the band & one of them ended up with a herniated stomach. Be thankful you are removing it & look forward to a positive future.

I never thought it would be possible for me to lose the weight that I have lost but it keeps falling off & I am so sure that I will reach my goal in less than a year. I am sooooo stoked! I was afraid at first, but I am elated that I got sleeved & I don't regret it at all. My doctor told me that he has never had anyone ask for their stomach back. LOL

The only thing that I've had to come to terms with is my relationship with food because for so many years, I've eaten what I wanted, when I wanted. food is such a big part of our lives. We have to have food to survive & a lot of us have used it as a crutch for a long time and probably didn't even realize it. We just have to adjust our mindset. It's sometimes almost a grieving process because for me, I miss not being able to eat to the point of comfort. It's a different kind of full feeling with the sleeve. I just try to stay positive & keep telling myself that I wouldn't have been able to get healthy and slim without this and it forces me to eat smaller portions. I just have to eat slow and chew, chew, chew. I also stay away from the liquid carbs and calories & the things that are easy for me to eat that can be high in carbs or calories. Focus on Protein & Water.

I investigated all the weight loss surgeries before deciding that the VSG was the right choice & all my doctor's agreed that it was the safest. The band is the least invasive but can cause problems down the road. Many people have had issues with not losing all their weight or gaining it back. If you get the sleeve, it will give you the tool to lose the weight and keep it off. Do your research. Don't depend on a doctor or nurse to tell you what you need to know. The sleeve will work...You just need to stay away from liquid calories, bad carbs, & sugar. If you are a sweet fanatic, try the tropical sugar-free popsicles from Wal Mart (yellow box) They only have 4 carbs and they saved me. "Focus on your Protein, Water, & Vitamins." opurity Vitamins are the best I've found. They are made especially for sleeve patients. I added Krill oil, B-12, & Calcium Citrate to my regimen. When I switched to an over the counter Vitamin, my hair started falling out. Within 3 days of getting back on Opurity, my hair stopped falling out.

I will try to add a link that has amazing info about VSG. If you can't open it, let me know & I will email it to you. I have it downloaded on my computer. It has tons of good info.

Good Luck to you!!!

• 
  www.muhealth.org/documents/bariatric/bariatric%20booklet%20vsg.pdf
  

[da1stladie 63]

I took off 6 weeks off. I'm a Cat scan (xray) tech Supervisor. Fast paced and lifting heavy bodies off of tables. Glad I was told 6 weeks cause trying to plan what I was going to eat, when to drink, supplements and so on was overwhelming at first. Plus you need to recooperate from surgery and heal properly.

[AuriP 420]

Thanks for the responses and positive words of encouragement. I talked with the dietician. She said I am doing a lot of things right I'm just not getting enough Protein in for my needs. She said one of the doctors are going to remove the lapband from their sugery list and place removals on it since that is what they are starting to see. I have to up my Vitamin intake as well. She said that she is seeing people have poor weight loss with the Lap band and I would probably do really well with the sleeve or RNY. Now I just have to wait until my records go to the office I will be getting the removal in and I can see the surgeon. I havent even chosen a surgeon yet. I am so ready to not feel tired, discouraged, and like a failure anymore.

[Megabuck886 62]

I'm a PICU nurse and plan on taking 6 weeks off as it is a very physical job and they won't do "light duty"... Have been having a rough go at it though, so we shall see if I need longer... I hope I don't as I'm pretty bored at home, but still having a difficult time with fluids, Proteins, and pain

[AuriP 420]

I'm sorry you're having a hard time. I understand being bored. I was bored out of my mind the first time around with my band. It made it that much harder to not focus on how flippin hungry I was then. I would like to say that it will get better soon but I don't know how you handle pain. Besides the fact that everyone says this.

[Megabuck886 62]

I'm sorry you're having a hard time. I understand being bored. I was bored out of my mind the first time around with my band. It made it that much harder to not focus on how flippin hungry I was then. I would like to say that it will get better soon but I don't know how you handle pain. Besides the fact that everyone says this.

Thanks for your sympathies- at least I don't have the hunger problem' date=' complete opposite actually- I am so full all the time and NEVER hungry! That's what makes it tough to get Protein and fluids down. Pain wasn't a problem until today... All of a sudden I've been having terrible pain on my left upper abdomen, not sure why, but the WLS nurse says it happens when the stitches are tight... Why I felt fine until now is beyond me...

[hiddis 12]

I will be back to work a week after surgery, but I get to work from home. Everything I do is on the computer or over the phone. So blessed to have a great employer.

[da1stladie 63]

I'm a PICU nurse and plan on taking 6 weeks off as it is a very physical job and they won't do "light duty"... Have been having a rough go at it though' date=' so we shall see if I need longer... I hope I don't as I'm pretty bored at home, but still having a difficult time with fluids, Proteins, and pain

Hello, I'm not sure how far out you are but, the eating, drinking, & getting your Protein in takes time. My bariatric nurse coordinator stated it takes 21 days to become protien deficient. So sip sip and sip some more. I know it's hard to do because I've been there. Now 6 months out things are much better. You can do this. Take care of yourself.

[Megabuck886 62]

Hello' date=' I'm not sure how far out you are but, the eating, drinking, & getting your Protein in takes time. My bariatric nurse coordinator stated it takes 21 days to become protien deficient. So sip sip and sip some more. I know it's hard to do because I've been there. Now 6 months out things are much better. You can do this. Take care of yourself.[/quote']

Thank you for your very kind words! I will be 3 weeks out on Tuesday, at first the time appeared to crawl but now it's moving faster and faster! I've been having good days and bad days, but it's definitely getting better-- I've learned to set a timer every 5 minutes when drinking my Protein drinks, making me take a sip each time it rings, and that has certainly helped!

Thanks again for the encouragement

[TallGirl71 2]

How long did you stay out of work? I am a nurses assistant. I need to know how much time I need to take to heal. How was your first day of work when you came back. I work all over the hospital that I work in so I can't predict the amount of lifting/ moving/extending I would have to do everyday. I typicall work 64 hours every 2 weeks.

I'm a OR nurse and I took 2 weeks off after my sleeve. I went back to work with no restrictions and was fine. I also had a very easy recovery with no pain or need for pain meds. I felt like I could have gone back sooner...I felt so good!

Good luck. You"ll be so happy you did this for yourself.

[SeaGirl 193]

I am a nurse informaticist and analyst. I do contract work and started looking for a new contract 2 weeks post op. My contract started at 5 weeks post op. For the type of work I do, I could have gone back 3 wks post op. If I were still doing med surg nursing, I would have had to wait another week or two. Best wishes to you!

[AmyJo__ 8]

I'm an ER Tech and in Nursing school as well. I had my surgery on Thursday and back at clinicals on Monday. As far as being back for work. I took a week off. I'm just back with restrictions of not lifting anything over 25lbs. I have amazing co-workers so that's not been an issue for me.