Thought I would follow up now that I am ten days post-implant. I am slowly trying to figure out what and how to eat so as not to suffer GERD. It seems to be helpful to chew everything to mush and eat very slowly. So far apples don't seem to sit well, nor does eating quickly. I must be a food inhaler so I am doing my best to slow it down.
I am on a 1600 calorie goal and so far haven't come close to eating that many calories a day. Just not that hungry. Study staff would like me to drink 64 oz a day and that seems a task as well. In order to get all my calories in, I am going to have to pace myself and eat every couple of hours. I will ask at my next appointment if I should eat the 1600 calories or eat as my hunger dictates, which to date, would be less.
So far the biggest annoyance is the discomfort I have in sleeping. I just can't seem to find the position that doesn't hurt. Back sleeping isn't my thing. Sometimes I find myself a bit sore in the morning.
I know for some of you the trip back and forth to the study site will be an inconvenience. For me, it is walking distance from work, about a mile.
Hope all of you are doing well and what works best for you!
Cheers,
Citizen
yeah, finding a comfortable sleeping position post op is pretty tough. I've always been a stomach and side sleeper, but have somehow managed to sleep on my back the last couple of weeks.
Thanks for the update. How did your first post op visit go? Did it take long? Did you have GERD or reflux before the implant? I don't think it would be too hard for me to drink 64 oz a day, since I fill a 24 oz water bottle and drain it several times a day at work. How was your first day after the implant? I am trying to decide if I can handle going to Thanksgiving with my family the day after my surgery.
Thanks for putting up with my questions,
Veronica
wow, strange that they would really schedule anyone for this the day before Thanksgiving. I didn't have a whole lot of pain the following day, but not very comfortable moving around. I stayed in bed most of the day. No way would I have been in the mood for entertaining family. Good luck!
Hi everyone! Thank you to chubbyhubby (my favorite Ben&Jerry's flavor!) and citizen for the thorough information on what to expect during and after the surgery. I appreciate everyone's questions, comments and support of one another .... what a positive place.
Well, I made it through all the hoops and got my surgery date (11/15). I meet with the surgeon on Monday, so I am looking forward to hearing what he has to say. I am in Portland, Oregon. I heard there have been about 5 or so devices implanted so far here, and they all went well.
For those in the early stages of the process, I have to tell you that it took what seemed like a long time (45 days or so) to get the ball actually rolling. But, once things started to move, it went fast. Within a 2.5 week span of time, I had my meeting with the doctor and medical team, the barium swallow and the psych evaluation (apparently, I am just **slightly** crazy).
I am appropriately nervous and excited. I am not expecting a miracle, but I am really hoping for a really good tool. I am 265# and tired of being tired.
Looking forward to hearing everyone's experiences. Good luck!
Lori
Hi Lori,
Welcome to the club! Yeah, once things start going, they go really quickly. Glad to hear our limited experience gave you some help. I think I'm in the same boat as you as far as the **slightly crazy** club
Let us know how it goes
As expected, I got turned down. It all surrounds around the fact that I can no longer walk for 15 minutes. That is not due to my weight. It is strictly due to the fact that I have A Fib because of those blasted (the word I wanted to use starts with a "d") Icy Hot Patches.
I did tell her about how I learned what I did. You may have someone named Joan in here following you. She's the coordinator for the Stanford study.
Did you know that the people in the previous study have to wear the belt 9 hrs per day? It charges when they sleep. You are lucky in that you only wear it for a half hour a couple of times per week.
I will be here cheering you on. I will be with you in spirit and if you need a cyber hand to hold at any time, grab mine.
sorry to hear you were turned down mare. I hope you can find another solution that works for you! Let us know how things go.
Let me put on my 'moderator' hat to ask you a couple of Qs.
First of all - we're glad you're here - and this won't be a post about where you should be posting and what you should be saying.
Nope. but please let me know a couple of things -
would you like this stickied at the top of the page? as of now, because you're all posting regularly, the thread stays on the top of the list. And that's fine with me, with you, and with everyone. But, if you think you'd like it to be stickied at the top of the page, just let me know.
and the other thing is - there's a 500-post limit for individual threads, so we're going to have to discuss at some point how long you want the threads to be. Remember - longer threads are much harder for anyone - especially newbies - to navigate.
My suggestion - and I'm open to others - is to let this thread run for oh, about 8-10 pages, then close it and start a new one. OR you can start a new thread every month, or even every week.
Just let me know what you'd like, and we'll make it happen!
I'm good with a sticky. I think 20-25 pages is easy to digest (sorry for the pun)
thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jiffypop
Hi Folks!!
Let me put on my 'moderator' hat to ask you a couple of Qs.
First of all - we're glad you're here - and this won't be a post about where you should be posting and what you should be saying.
Nope. but please let me know a couple of things -
would you like this stickied at the top of the page? as of now, because you're all posting regularly, the thread stays on the top of the list. And that's fine with me, with you, and with everyone. But, if you think you'd like it to be stickied at the top of the page, just let me know.
and the other thing is - there's a 500-post limit for individual threads, so we're going to have to discuss at some point how long you want the threads to be. Remember - longer threads are much harder for anyone - especially newbies - to navigate.
My suggestion - and I'm open to others - is to let this thread run for oh, about 8-10 pages, then close it and start a new one. OR you can start a new thread every month, or even every week.
Just let me know what you'd like, and we'll make it happen!
OK. moderator's hat is off. thanks!
Last edited by chubbyhubby; 11-17-2011 at 12:18 AM.
Hey everyone. How's everything with you guys? Things are going well with my vbloc therapy. I see some gradual weight loss. about 6-8 lbs. it varies all the time, but I'm happy with the results. I have noticed that I don't feel hungry much like I used to and that's a good thing, and I seem to feel full after a much smaller amount of food. I'm a little more active too. I went for a 4 mile walk today for the first time and feel great.
citizen, how are you doing with yours? keep us up to date so we can compare.
Veronica and Lori, getting closer for you huh? Getting anxious?
Last edited by chubbyhubby; 11-17-2011 at 12:16 AM.
I find that things are settling down a bit. Eating too quickly and not chewing enough continue to be problematic for me. I find I must really attend to eating and paying attention to chewing. Digestion begins in the mouth after all!
So far I have lost eight pounds which is pretty good. I try to get out and walk a few times a weeks, but find I must set goals for myself or it doesn't happen.
Sleep is a bit better, but still find myself in a bit of pain when rolling over or moving "funny". That seems to be from the actual device rather than the pain of healing from the incision site. Do you find that to be true as well Chubbyhubby?
I too find myself eating smaller meals and being fairly satisfied after a meal. All in all, things are going well.
I'm glad I started this thread, however, IA it should be changed. It certainly could be a sticky at the top. It is up to you. This is now your thread. Also, you can do a monthly one much like those in the exercise section.
I wish you all well. Wish I could have been 1 of you.
Chubbyhubby -- Thanks for your blog update as well. You are a great writer! I tried to post a comment on the blog, but I couldn't (quickly) figure out how to log in. Thanks for the advice on the iphone app. I've been using Lose It, but I'll upload yours and give it a try.
Have a good evening.
Thanks Lori. Sorry, I had it locked down to keep the spammers away, but I guess I over did it. It's fixed now, please feel free to leave a comment whenever you like!
Let us know how the surgery went and what your experiences were like.
Hi everyone. I had my last preop meeting at the hospital today and am ready for surgery on Nov. 30. This will be my last post on this subject tho, and I will not be setting up my blog like I had planned. My nurse informed me today that we are not allowed to blog or write about this stuff because it could jeopardize FDA approval. Enteromedics takes this risk seriously and will kick us out of the study if they find we are blogging. They said the FDA could say the study is skewed if we share too much information at this stage of the study. I want to thank those who have shared, because the information has been valuable to me. But chubbyhubby and others, I would recommend thinking about taking your blog down or at least modifying it so you are not revealing anything that could be suspect for skewing the results.
Thanks again eveyone, and I still plan to meet up with citizen at some point if possible.
Veronica
That is quite interesting. It makes sense. When I went to my meeting and mentioned this thread (didn't say where it was to the entire group) nothing was mentioned about not doing it. Perhaps the others can shed some light as well.
I really hope they don't squelch all conversations for 5 years!
I agree that it would be a shame if nothing could be said for five years. But I think the information I received is credible - I am in Minneapolis; and so is Enteromedics. I was told we are not even supposed to talk amongst ourselves about whether or not we have active or dormant devices. I have made a personal decision to do my best on this because I want VBLOC to be successful. But I am keeping a journal for my own records of this whole process.
Veronica
I completely and totally understand. I was so looking forward to hearing about our results. You could always come back in and say that you live in Eastern Armpit Mongolia and your name is whatever you want and tell us. LOL.
Well, surgery was Tuesday and it went well. 9:00 check in. 10:30 surgery. Out of surgery by 12:00, home by 3:30. Not too bad! I've been sore, but no more than I would have expected. Day 2 and 3 were the roughest, but I was able to be by myself, no problem. Today, just tired and sore. I'll be able to work on Monday.
I have a 3" incision under my right rib cage and 3 very small incisions around my belly. All incisions were closed with the glue (which is kind of itchy now).
I have my follow up appointment to get the hardware and meet the nutritionists on Tuesday. I asked the surgeon about updating on the boards, and he said he didn't know anything about it. I'll check with the program director on Tuesday.
Glad to hear it went well. So you went home the same day; I sure hope I can do that. I was told in the informational meetings that we would need to stay overnight. Thanks for checking up on updating on the boards and forums. Hopefully we can do that as long as we don't speculate about who has an active device and who has a dormant one.
Veronica
It is my understanding that you won't know which you have.
We were told that most people go home same day. I guess it has to do with each person.
I have my follow up appointment to get the hardware and meet the nutritionists on Tuesday. I asked the surgeon about updating on the boards, and he said he didn't know anything about it. I'll check with the program director on Tuesday.
Happy weekend!
What do you mean "get the hardware"? I thought that was what they did during the surgery.
