Thanks a lot. I had it on Monday afternoon. Today is Friday morning. I had a terrible cough, too - probably due to the intubation, since it was done in general anesthesia. I also had a little nose bleeding that stopped after ~1-2 hours - probably due to nasotracheal intubation (they inserted the tube through my nose, rather than my mouth).
I was vomiting for about 48 hours, about 6 times (not that bad), and everything came out. I got infusion 2 x 500 ml on two different days while in the hospital (I was released on Tuesday at around 8:30 AM), then I got cab to the train station, and took the train (1 hour) and walked home (30 min). I was very week. Both infusions contained 10 mg Controloc and 10 mg Cerucal (in spite of this I vomited).
On Wednesday I had to travel to another country (by bus, then by train, then by car) totaling 10 hours. I had two luggages and when I saw the 42-step staircase at the railway station (upward, of course), I almost cried. Thankfully, a very nice railway worker carried up my luggage.
I did not dare to eat or drink anything on Wednesday while in the car (had 3 more people, and did not want to share my story). Enough to say it was rough. When I arrived on Wednesday evening to the hotel, I drank apple juice, and tried to sleep. My balloon (and my stomach) is moving up and down (or at least feels like).
I took my 10 mg Cerucal pill yesterday and today. I am nauseous, have cramping, and feeling very week. But I think I am so far better than most of the ballooners on this site, so I am thankful.
Yesterday I went out to buy some fluid in the local grocery (had ~400 ml pomegranate juice yesterday), and was amazed the selection of fine milk chocolate (I am in Germany right now). I saw two excellent Chinese restaurants, lost of great German bakery goods, so I am mentally suffering. Stayed in the hotel whole day, was on Skype, Viber and Facebook, emailed with colleagues back in the US, and talked on the phone with family and friend. And watched the terrible news from Cologne :-(
Anyway, today is Friday, and I have a job interview, which I know (as it turned out yesterday) that it will not go anywhere... so I wasted money ($600) to come here, rent a hotel room, transportation, etc., but at least my good old friend whom I did not see since college (almost 20 years) is coming to visit me tomorrow (he is unaware of the balloon).
Btw, I am starting a blog, where I give everything (prices broken down, too), but at this point I would not like to share which country I had my balloon inserted. If you are interested, I will try to give keywords, how to find it.
I talked to a friend, who is a pathologist, and she also gave me good advices (she does research on gastrointestinal illnesses).
I have so far a few things to say, which probably has been told before on this site:
1. Try to take off two weeks after the insertion and stay at home, get adjusted.
2. I focus on two things: 1. blood sugar, and 2. blood pressure. For the first, I take grape sugar pills that can be purchased in local groceries. It melts in your mouth, pretty much homogenous, and keeps the soul in my body
)) (I am originally from Eastern Europe, but not from the Czech Republic, so my balloon was not inserted there, but you can buy these sugar pills in every grocery - I am also NOT diabetic). For the second, I try to drink. They told me every hour. Yeah, right. I use straw, and it helps a lot.
3. Control the vomiting! My pathologist friend warned me about esophagus perforation (Boerhaave syndrome) that may be caused by numerous and/or vomiting. I have not found it grounded yet, after going through carefully on English-written scientific articles on PubMed.
4. About burping: I have not had it yet. But! I am trying to follow the gastric bypass diet (someone wrote about it on this site), so try to do only fluid for the first 1-2 weeks. Let's see if I can do it. From week 3-4, I will be on yogurt and fluid. And from week 5, I will introduce solid food into my diet. Do NOT depend on my words. Please Google the gastric bypass or gastric band diet and you will find a much better described. I am trying to simplify for myself, so it is easier to remember.
And finally, I get no support whatsoever from the practice where they inserted the balloon. They prescribed the medications I have requested, and I told them I will e-mail when I will have any problem. The gastroenterologist told me that his wife got a balloon, too. Unfortunately, there were other patients in the room, and I did not dare to ask how much she lost. I asked for travel certificate for my balloon (which I wrote for myself, since they don't speak English), and this is when he told me that they went for vacation to Dubai and the airport machine did not show the balloon. Which might not be the case in the US.........
Back to the sore throat: I had three procedures in the US that required intubation, because it was done during general anesthesia. None of them had sore throat at all. Back at home (an Eastern European country), this was my very first procedure under intubation where I was left with sore throat (I would say for about a day). So, I know that if it is done well, there is no sore throat...
About my weight: I don't have a scale unfortunately (and one that can be trustworthy), but I estimate that it was about 270 lbs (or abut 122 kg). I am 168 cm (which is about 5'7"). No medical conditions (no diabetes, no hypertension), but I have a herniated disc that prevents me bending a lot. I also had two mastectomies (on one side), where they removed a part of my major pectoral muscle, so even if I am bending, it cramps. Btw, it was not breast cancer, but something else that required surgery. I decided to have it done, because I learned in the US that if you are not perfect on the outside, no one care about you and degrees, because look is what counts (unless you are truly a genius). I also had this procedure done, because my hip joints were painful lately, so I need to lose weight for sure. I am single, so I will not have support when I go back to the US in mid-January, and this is why I am going to blog. In my blog, I am trying to give a somewhat scientific approach (I am a PhD candidate and my work was related to clinical research), so it might be somewhat boring for you. At one point I also would like to remarry (uhm, then I am divorced, not single
)) and have at least a kid (whereas the probability is steeply decreasing by my age being soon 45).
Anyway, feel free to ask, I am here to answer.
Again, as I wrote before, I decline to say which country and where it was done (and anyway, they don't speak a single English word), plus I need to obtain the gastroenterologist's permission to do that (I am sure that he would be happy if I send there some patients...).
And finally for those who will say that an educated woman why is not asking for a dietitian's advice instead of getting a balloon (because I always get it):
When I was younger, and needed to lose 5-10 kilos (11-22 lbs), I ran or 4-8 weeks, 3-4 times a week for 30-60 minutes (I love to run), and with no diet restrictions, the weight came off.
Now that I am older, it is not that easy. I would not have liked surgery, plus I am not qualified, and anyway, in the US it is very difficult to get bariatric surgery sponsored by the insurance. I might be 270 lbs, but I am well-proportioned with no medical conditions. Well, my family practitioner tells me that if your waist is more than 33 inches (I think it is 33), then you have metabolic syndrome. OK, so I have metabolic syndrome. But my fasting blood sugar and cholesterol are in the very normal range, so is my blood pressure. HDL is less than normal, and no matter how much I exercise or how many fish oil capsules I eat, it will not change, LDL is OK, triglicerides, too. I don't have H. pylori (was confirmed by breath test and stomach biopsy). I eat lots of chili and curry. Unfortunately, I eat chili with pizza
)))) So, I have some gastritis...
My balloon will be left in for 7 months, it is filled between 450 and 500 ml (so not overfilled, as some of you talked about 6-700, but my doctor told me it depends on the size of the stomach, too), and I am planning to post weekly updates, or whenever something new comes up. I expect about 1-1.5 kg/week weight loss, so for 28 weeks it is 28 to 42 kilos, and I will work harder on it, than ever (remember, I paid cash for this balloon
))).
Good luck to all ballooners. I will be back to check on new posts.
