Hi Flamenco-red and welcome to the forum
I live on the Central Coast and had my surgery at Kogarah. I had the sleeve and a hiatus hernia repair at the same time.
My doc chose to keep me in for an extra day, just to make sure everything was okay before I went home.
So I had my op on the Monday and drove home on the Friday. Well, I didn't drive, but we went in the car.
It was a tad uncomfortable, but not painful.
Not sure about flying so soon after surgery, though.
Chris

Hi,

I'm a newbie, booked in to see Ken Woi in Sydney next Monday and then find a surgery date.

A question- I live in Canberra but will have surgery done in Sydney as there isn't an experienced sleeve surgeon here.

Has anyone had to travel after surgery? How long was it before you were able to travel? It's a 3 hour drive or a 45 minute flight.

And a second question- I've created one of those fabulous ticker factory weight charts but I can't get it to show up here- anyone got instructions?!?

Thanks,

flamenco-red

I asked if I had to take my rings off and they said no and put tape over them.

steph

Hi

Although you probably could tape your rings during surgery (they taped my diamond studs, cause hard to get out as well), I know my hand and arm got absolutely huge with fluid after surgery, so if you have to tape over your rings as there is no way to get them off other than cutting (and I am sure you don't really want to do that anyway and spoil them), make sure you get the drip in the other arm just in case you swell. :[img]http://sm

kalgirl - My little sister broke her fingers a few years ago and I'm sure they cut her ring off in the hospital then gave it back to her.

From Nicole's response though, it looks like you may be fine. :)

I don't know about anyone else but my hands got really swollen from being on the drip in hospital. You may want to find out if anyone else had the same problem. Especially if you're saying the rings are already tight and sore. (I'm sorry this probably isn't helping!)

Kaili.

kalgirl,
They just put surgical tape over them....i refused to take my wedding rings off and thats what my hospital did

kalgirl - Worse case scenario, you could have them cut off...

hehee Shanna,
yes, your Jello= our Jelly.
Your Jelly= our Jam- that we spread on our toast. Yum.
LOL.

Never paid too much attention till now- couldn't understand the whole jelly thing- I thought that was like the preserves one spreads on fruit till someone mentioned gelatine. OHHHH- you mean no Jello - now I have got it - Another continental mistake averted.

i didn't want anything constricting for a good while after the surgery - so underwire would have been a nono for me. i went for the softest and easiest stuff to get on and pull of that would irritate the wounds. i don't know if it was physical or psychological but just needed soft comfort all around me for at least a few days after being discharged.

I didn't wear a bra while in hospital but was able to wear my normal underwire bra's when a left ..... no problems.

steph

Thanks apple.

I was a bit confused about the whole thing.

I had to go into my back surgery completely naked (except for the gown) and stay that way for at least 3 days after so that kind of thing really doesn't bother me. :)

Kali if you can comfotably lie around in bra's with under wire then it will not be a problem. You will not be allowed to wear a bra at all under your gown for surgery. After that it is what makes your comfortable.

applesauce

Does it HAVE to be wire free? :)

Kaili.

twin pack of sports bra if you do not have them from Big W they where about $15 for the pair. I had no problems wearing them :) OH but I had none on for the first 48 hours as I was in a hospital gown.

applesauce

i was in a hospital gown for the most part of my stay and i did not wear a bra either.....but i did feel a bit funny without one. Im guessing that a sports bra or a bra with no wire is more for comfort than anything else. Although one of my little scars is at the top of my tummy not far from the bottom of my bra.

Nicole

Sorry, Kaili, don't know - I didn't wear a bra in hospital or going home, that's for sure!
Chris

This one's a silly questions for the girls...

I was going through the list of items to take to hospital and most of them I understood, but I'm a bit confused by:

Sports top/bra or bra with no wire

Um, why? :)

Thanks!

Kaili.

ooooooops i said week when I meant month my bad :)

applesauce

basic hospital that will cover this op is about $60 a month.12month wait for this op

Sorry I just noticed you are in Melbourne, stupid me. From what I understand there is currently no public health system for sleeves and the wait for bands is many many years in excess of 3. The best person to actually talk to about the public system there is actually Pyretta on the yahoo bandits msg board. I am so not chasing you away from here, you are more than welcome. I just know that it is very hard going though the public system over there and that she has jumped though all the hoops to do it so best getting the best info you can. The only way around this is to take out private health cover for a year at what I said around $50 per week then pay the gap for the surgery which in melbourne is around $5,000. Melbourne people will have a more correct price for you. You can apply to yours or your partners superanuation for that gap so you end up with no immediate out of pocket expenses beyond the $600 you have paid for health cover.
Now the info I have given you here is just bits I have been told for 100% acurate figures you will as I said have to speak to somebody who is in Melbourne itself.

applesauce

If you mean can you have surgery as a public patient, it depends on where you live to how long you will have to wait. It can be many many many years on the east coast. Here in Perth it might be as fast as 1 year, BUT that is no guarantee it could be a lot longer. Bunbury is the only one with a wait less than 6 months and you must live in a very strict postcode to get on their wait list.
We do tho have an option here in Perth of a sugeon who charges no gap so you can take out single health cover and be covered in 12 months time at about $50 per month. so around $600.

You can also access yours or partners superanuation and pay for it if you have sufficent funds the cost is around $15,000 and have no wait.

Pregnancy after any weight loss surgery is not advised for at least 1 year. not because it would be harmful to your or a baby but because it would dramaticly interfer in your weight loss. Depending on the surgeon and how much weight you have to lose he may recomend you wait 18 months to 2 years if it is a really large amount of weight you have to lose.

any more questions ask away, as it is a bit difficult to answer the questions on cost and public patient treatment not knowing where you are.


applesauce

you won't be able to eat lot of food with the lapband too and you have to eat a small portion really rapidly for being full. But it's not defenitive way.

Here, in Canada, we have to wait for a sleeve but it's free. For having a baby, it's a good thing, because you lose weight so it,s easier to fall pregnant but you may have to take vitamins.

Good luck with your Lapband, many have a good succes with this. Each surgery depends on what we want. If you are affraid of not eating to much, you have to respect what you think. I think whit what i heard before that we are not hungry after this surgery but we all know that with obesity, being hungry is sometime psychological.

Have a nice day! :sunny:

I had decided to get Lap Band however then I found out about the sleeve which IMO sounds so much better. I hated the thought of not being able to eat a lot of foods and worried that I would be vomitting all of the time. I just have a couple of qestions though if anyone would be able to answer them for me.

1) Can you get the sleeve without private health insurence and any idea of the costs involved?

2) Is there a waiting period?

3) I would like to have another baby in the nearish future, would this be a problem?

Thanks in advance

I tend to chew gum most days - I feel that I have bad breath, but my husband is notoriously bad at noticing odours! LOL I know, he's weird!
When I was first done at the hospital, however, I asked if I could chew gum and they said to wait and ask the doc - which I forgot to do, so didn't have it until I got home.
Chris :afro:

Can you chew sugar free gum to help with the bad breath and furry tongue. I have issues with my teeth anyway, but don't want to have even worse breath.

Lynette

Hi
I have a sleeve also but would have a mini bypass, thats where only 12" of small intestine is removed along with the 3/4 of your stomach . Vitamins will be a part of your life either way..bypass, mini bypass or sleeve. A by pass or the roux is drastic ,the mini I feel is not so drastic. it works almost the same as by pass but some nutrients are absorbed , you have the same size stomach as in the sleeve op.
I hope this has been some help

Hi enfinsusie
I agree with bigbugger.
I had my sleeve 4 weeks ago, so it's only early days, but I'm still happy with the decision I made.
Also, the sleeve can easily be converted into the bypass at a later stage, if you choose. This may be an option for you (for me it wasn't - could only afford the one attempt).
Do your research, listen to what others have to say, read up on the forum, and ask questions. Take your time and make your decision, and if you have trouble with the language, don't be afraid to ask those questions too.
Good luck!
Chris :afro:

Hello enfinsusie
The reason why I chose a sleeve gastrectomy is because with a lap bad there are to many long term possible complications. I didnt want to have a bypass because it seemed too drastic, it was the vitamins for life, hair loss, and the after effects of eating something sweet, i think they call it dumping. All of this put me in favour of the sleeve. Reading this forum has made me even more convinced that I am making the right decision, my operation is saturday! I am looking forward to eating properly and not over eating, enjoying my food and not being the person at a table who most resembles a hoover! As I have not had the op now, my reasons may be wrong! But after listening to people and particularly the doctor, I know this is the right decision. The Doc also told me that the results people he has operated on have from the bypass are as good as with the sleeve. So I am all for the sleeve!
hope you find your decision easy to make

:star:

I hesitate betweem the bypass and the sleeve vertical gastrectomy. I would like that people who had this surgery tolkd me if they lose thein overweight and what to do for the succes of the intervention. I was supoosed to have my surgery july11 but they postposned and i am so deceive. I don't have a new date, i just know that i am first on list.
I don't speak english very well, i try to improve my english but i understand almost everything.
I would appeciate your support.

I stayed 3 nights , should of stayed longer or been given pain meds to take home with me.
3 nights will be ok if there are no problems , I am not trying to scare you but they sometimes happen

On the west coast they tend to be more cautious than the east. I had 5 nights in the male of the species 4 nights in, but seriously I was ready to come home day 3 he was ready day 2 with no problems at all. If youhave somebody to wait on you and a comfortable bed I can see no problem coming home after 3 nights . Just see how you go :)

applesauce

Hi Cinni,
I was in hospital for only two nights - they sent me home after that because I "looked too healthy to be in hospital" - that's what the ward doctor said anyway :lol:
It really will depend on how the surgery goes and how well you bounce back after it.
Pam

oh thanks apple.........it least its for a good reason :lol!:

Nicole :sunny:

hi cinni,

I was in for 4 nights....but i would of been able to come out after 3 i think.......but had private cover so i thought what the heck

nicole :sunny:

Hi Cinni, it really depends on how you come out of the surgery although I had the hiatus hernia repair and sleeve and had a few complications but I was still only in 3 nights. My surgeon asked me if I was sure I wanted to go home when I did and was happy for me to stay another night but I wasn't able to get a lift home next day and besides I couldn't wait to get back to my own bed.

steph

How many days were you in hospital?
It will cost me $850 or so a night and the surgeon is quoting for a three night stay. (In my Apra application) Is this about right or should I qet a quote for four nights?

Cinni

bad breath is probably ketosis, so as yucky as it is it means the kg's are coming off :)


under 600 calories a day from the top of my head but I might be off


applesauce

My teeth still get that furry feeling throughout the day, i wonder if its because we are not chewing on anything hard...Bit like a dog hey :lol!: they need bones to keep their teeth clean :lol!: :lol!:

I also had really bad breath whenever i had optifast, it seemed to leave a vulgar taste in my mouth after.

Nicole :sunny:

Jacqui, I also had that "everything tastes horrible" in the first week thing too. Actually I don't think I had a furry tongue but I definitely had an awful taste in my mouth all the time which cleaning my teeth made no difference to. Glad that's past now.

steph :flower:

it probably wasn't the broth so much, everything tasted awful those first few days - and the furry tongue and teeth thing was awful. i was brushing my teeth so often to no avail *sigh*

ps thanks for the welcome. i just put my story down in the diary section (mainly for my own benefit but if anyone is curious about me hehehe)

Hi Jacque & welcome,

Actually I have to say I quite liked the broth they served up in hospital. I suppose that makes me weird...... except for the time they forgot my tea and I asked and they brought me jelly which I couldn't have so the nurse went down to the kitchen and got me some broth. I left it for 15 minutes before trying it and even then it was so boiling that I burnt my mouth and ended up with blisters on my tongue. Didn't swallow thank goodness. Then I had to call them and ask for ice chips. That actually put me off the broth and I couldn't drink any more after that.

steph :flower:

Hi jacquilove77 and welcome!
So, a newbie - says I, who has only been done for 4 weeks next Monday! :)
Sounds like you're doing really well, but don't be too hasty - some of us have had problems trying new foods a little early.
Bye for now
Chris :afro: