Attention all weight wisers(and other vsgers)...

Hello all~     Just a few questions, mainly directed toward the vsgers. Tell me all about your experience. Good, bad, ugly. I don't think I have heard anything too terrible about them, just want to fully hear from real live folks that have gone through the surgery. I want to be sleeved and really thinking about their center for the surgery. How many requirements did you have before the surgery (testing, diet, etc....)? What is your diet like after surgery? What are their recommendations for long term changes(food types, amts of exercise, etc..)? How long was your recovery? Weight lifting limitations after surg (I have about a 25lb 1yr old)? About how many appts do you have before surg and how often after(I live 2hrs away)? I've already talked to my mom and hubby about my decision and my mom plans on flying down to stay with me as long as I need her. Just trying to do some research and know any good sleeve websites? Thanks a bunch, Joni

joni:  here is a link to some information that will be helpful as well: http://www.weightwise.com/p/10298/Default.aspx 

here is some additional information on pre-op testing:

What are the routine tests before surgery?

Certain basic tests are done prior to surgery: a complete blood count (CBC), urinalysis and a chemistry panel, which gives a readout of about 20 blood chemistry values. Often a glucose tolerance test is done to evaluate for diabetes, which is very common in overweight persons. All patients get a chest X-ray and an electrocardiogram. Women may have a vaginal ultrasound to look for abnormalities of the ovaries or uterus. Many surgeons ask for a gallbladder ultrasound to look for gallstones. Other tests, such as pulmonary function testing, echocardiogram, sleep studies, GI evaluation, cardiology evaluation or psychiatric evaluation, may be requested when indicated. from WW Website

Look at you, you are such a doll. Still holding my hand even after all the information you gave me in my other message! If you are an example of the dedication of the ww staff, I can't wait. Thanks again and the video was helpful. I think I am going to send this link to my mom so she can be comforted too.

My surgery is this Friday!  I have had a very positive expericence with the Weight Wise staff and doctors.  They will try to clump your appointments together so you don't have to make too many trips to OKC.  Your age, current health, and weight will determine what pre-op tests you have to have.  If you haven't had a sleep study you will need one.  Because of my age I had to have a cardiac stress test.  The pre-op diet is hard at first.  I will warn you it makes weigh****chers look like a feast.  However, it really gets your head and body ready for the major lifestyle changes of the surgery.  I was a total carb junkie 2 months ago.  Doesn't bother me now to go without most carbs.  You must avoid carbs after surgery except for frutis and veggies.  And, no sodas either.  Really, I think the hardest thing I have given up at this point is real coffee which I get back about 4 weeks after surgery.  You will have to talk about lifting restrictions with your doctor. Good luck!  Come back and ask questions any time.

 

Denise

First of all, CONGRATS on your very soon surgery. I wish mine could be right around the corner. I hear from many that preop diet is definately worse than any physical boot camp!lol It's comforting to hear that you can happily forget about the major food no no's. I love carbs too. I'm also glad to hear that they will try to clump some of those appts. together. I do have a grandparent that lives in yukon, but I don't want them to know anything about my surgery so that probably rules out staying with them overnight or anything. OH WELL. Thanks again for the helpful info.

Joni, In my opinion, you couldn't make a better choice than WeightWise - and the VSG.  I am almost two weeks out from surgery, and although I"m a little tired of the liquid diet that comes after surgery for two weeks, I really couldn't be more pleased. I have a 5 year old with disabilities, and was really worried about how long after surgery I would be able to lift him (~40 pounds) and his wheelchair (~65 pounds).  This was actually a major deciding factor for me in scheduling my surgery.  According to the paperwork they gave me when I checked out of the hospital the day after surgery, there are no physical limitations if they have completed the surgery laparoscopically.  I waited 6 days to start lifting him again, and then on day 7 - Monday after my surgery on Monday, I put him in the car and took him to daycare and went to work.  I have worked all week this week - but did cut a couple of days about an hour short, just due to fatigue and mental fog....

Anyhow - I have posted along the way about the pre-op stuff on my profile if you want to check it out.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask.  Also, you may want to check out www.vsgfaq.com it was put together by some of the folks on the VSG board, and has lots of good answers.

Good luck in making your choice and following your journey.

John

Hi Joni - tomorrow will be three months that I had the VSG surgery at WeightWise - my experience from day one has been absolutely wonderful. The surgery itself was a breeze, I had a little soreness and some gas pain, and both went away within a couple of days. I lost 50 lbs on the pre-op diet, and even though it was the boot camp of all diets, today, as a post-op, I think it was a blessing. On average I believe they require that you lose 10% of our weight, but my original choice of surgery was the RNY, and my BMI was 69 on the day of my consultation. Dr. Broussard wanted my BMI @ 60 and so began the pre-op diet. I changed my mind and decided on the sleeve because based on my eating problems, I realized that the main issue I was having with food was quantity - I just wanted something that woud help me eat less. This has done that and more. It has changed my views of food and I truly use food as fuel these days, my focus each day is on the water intake (I drink 96 oz each day of plain water) rather than food, actually, eating is sort of an inconvenience at times....who would have thought!!! On the pre-op testing I had to do my initial blood work, in addition I had to do a sleep study test. I also had to see a cardiologist, but this was because I had used phen-fen some years ago and Dr. Broussard required that I see the cardiologist. On the exercise - I exercise on average two to three hours each day (Mon-Fri), week-ends vary. I do a combination of walking, Tan & Tone, threadmill and jazzercise. I am pretty sure it is not required to do all that, the reason I do is that I have a lot of energy and I think the focus I put on food in the past has taken another direction - I just don't know what to do with myself - I used to get home from work and just plop on the couch and ate - now I can't do that so I move....I never thought in a million years I would move that much!!! Overall this has been amazing, I do well with all foods I eat, but I suddenly became very picky about what I eat. I am very happy I did this, Dr. Broussard and Dr. Walton are great, I know you would have a great experience with them. The VSG forum has a lot of info about the procedure and it is a good place to learn about people's experience with this particular surgery; however, keep in mind that all surgeons have different post-op diet plans.....I hope this helps a little - If you have any questions, feel free to ask - Good luck - Anna

I'm not a VSG, but I'm a true blue Dr. Walton and Dr. B fan. I love Weight Wise. They are all dedicated caring people. Our Cricket_1 AKA Rita, is a Weight Wise staffer. You get excellent care..Welcome aboard!

I have had a wonderful experience with WW.  I had the sleeve about 3 1/2 weeks ago and am doing great.  As far as pre-op testing, I had to have lab work done and an EKG.  Also the appointments are not an inconvenience since they book them pretty much all in one afternoon.  I didn't have to deal with the pre-op diet; Dr. B didn't require that I lose any weight prior to surgery, but I sure couldn't gain any either!  Recovery was a breeze - no issues there.  If you think of any other questions, please feel free to ask! Robyn