Estella

My surgery was 9 days ago. I heard it can be done by a nurse, but I don't know when to have the stitches removed, what's the standard time? What happens if I linger and don't remove them fast enough? Thanks.

The time I started doing the required errands for the op, I was really in the mood to try and change my life. I was dieting (without external guidance, which proved ineffective before anyway) and managed to lose a few kilos. But it took me 9 months to enter the operation room, as the queue was very long. During those months I wasn't restricted yet to the low-carb diet, so I broke my diet and ate too many last meals. I regret that. If you gained weight it might have a bad effect on your liver. In extreme cases, some surgeons refuse to operate on people who gained significant amount of weight, as it is highly possible that they suffer from a fatty liver.

Such posts really encourage me to hold on, I'm only a week post-op and still in pain + digestive distress, and sometimes I wonder if it was worth it at all. You give me hope.

Thanks for the lovely recipe! Is it really okay to eat PB and a banana a week after the surgery though?

Before the surgery I did the low-carb diet, and the dietician allowed me to drink 0% fat white yogurt instead of the protein shake. Is it okay if I drink this yogurt instead of the protein shake? I read that protein shakes taste like hell, and they are quite costly too.

It is too late to turn back time and untell what you told, but on the bright side, it appears that all the naysayers haven't managed to talk you out of it and I'm glad to hear you're getting closer to the goal. You'll prove them wrong eventually.

Totally understandable. I am prone to panic attacks too. On the day of my operation, I shivered down my spine in the waiting room all day long. I was even scared when they drew blood from me before the op. Fear isn't necessarily rational, and while I believe it is important to express and not necessarily suppress negative thoughts, it is also important to keep in mind several points: 1. The doctor who operates on you is not a newbie and essentially has the expertise to do his job. He's done dozens and hundreds of sleeves and he knows his job, so as much as exciting and scary it is to you, it is a routine for him. He is surrounded by medical staff to aid him too. 2. I looked up several researches about the mortality rate among sleevers. One researched mentioned 4 out of 1,000 people and another 6 out of 1,000 people. A Greek research mentioned 0 casualties. Those who passed away were extreme cases and often died from other unrelated issues that manifested post-op. 3. It is much more likely to die from obesity related diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart diseases. You'd be taking a greater risk by not dealing with your weight issue. I really loathe the while "be optimistic" thing. I prefer cold, scientific, non-disprovable facts to convince me that everything will be alright, regardless of my thoughts and fears. I hope this convinces you too.

Either the sugar or the acid, yep. The sugar itself can cause "dumping", a syndrome common among bariatric surgery patients. It occurs when one consumes highly sugared foods at once, and causes nausea, weakness, dizziness et cetera. Yet another good reason to avoid refined sugars in large quantities. Personally I think a good glass of lemonade tastes just fine with only 1 teaspoon of sugar, preferably brown sugar (less harmful), hand-squeezed lemon juice, cold water and ice cubes. The acid could be the reason too. I was ordered to take Omeprazole 20mg for 3 months post-op, to lower my stomach's acidity level and induce quicker, easier recovery. One would imagine that lemon might have an adverse effect, not sure though.

Hey there. I was allowed to trade the Protein shakes for non-fat (0% fat) yogurt. The white kind, without any fruit, chunks, sugar or artificial sweetener. Consult your dietician and ask whether it is a suitable replacement for you too.

Thanks for the tips. The problem was solved without any chemical aid or special effort. I was worried for nothing. I hope it wasn't TMI.

I'm 4-days post-op. Is there anything I can take to make me less constipated? Most bowel-movement inducing meds and yogurts and such are not sold in liquid form. When is constipation considered really severe? Is 4 days without a bowel movement a risk to one's health in any way? Thanks.

I was operated 2 days ago by Dr. Hadar Spivak, not in the US though. It cost me roughly 108 NIS (28 USD), because my country has universal health care and everyone is entitled for medical treatments they require, regardless of their income. The operation went fine, though it's difficult to measure its effectiveness after such a short amount of time. There were no complications, if that helps anyone inquiring about him.

This could be related to consumption of carbs. The problem with carbs is that they increase the secretion of insulin, and when there's a lot of insulin in on'e blood, it often signals the brain that one's hungry and needs more food. It's a vicious circle. I don't know if it can beat the sleeve's limit, but that is the mechanism that caused most of us to gain weight (also known as "the metabolic syndrome").

Perhaps there are further exams to throw? I know some health care providers ask their doctors not to order PET scans, because they are substantially more expensive than other tests. I'm no doctor and cannot say if it's required in this case, but try to make sure the doctor you is unbiased.

"TRY to develop a tolerance for the "stupid" music?" - perhaps a lobotomy would help? Seriously, this isn't going to happen. I rather weigh 500 lbs than having to listen to pop music. It's not just that this music is bad, it represents the exact opposite of what I stand for. "Get some videos to do at home" - are there any exercise videos that use alternative or rock music? The gym I linked is the only one I know of. Do you know of any video like that?

Pics look awesome, you've really come a long way!

There are many things I dislike about exercise, but what I hate most is the music in gyms. Aerobics classes, kickboxing, zoomba, everything involves music for the dull-minded masses. It's usually extremely stupid pop or dance tunes, and I simply cannot stand this torture. I listen to alternative and rock music on iPod, and the mere thought of performing various dance moves to the sound of Britney, Shakira, Rhianna or whatever it is they force-feed to yours ears - sounds like a nightmare. I wish we had gyms like http://punkrockaerobics.com/ in my country. But unfortunately we don't. Any suggestions? Here are the sports I've already tried and grew bored of: 1. Speed-walking with my iPod. If I do it 4 times a week like the doctors prescribe, it turns very, very tedious. 2. Swimming. Got a music player that works underwater. Boring as hell. Any thoughts, suggestions?

To the OP: I totally know how you feel. It's just that society treats fat people as lazy, dumb and weak, not to mention a burden on the health system, so that people who lost weight the 'traditional way' are considered rehabilitated and no longer indolent. Most of the people I talked to still view the surgery as a 'shortcut', which sustains the presumption that they still see us as lazy and of weak-character. Thinner but lazy. The truth is that the 'traditional way', that involves diet support groups and/or plans, utter self control and a lot of exercise, is mostly a myth. Statistically speaking, a research conducted in Berkley proved that only 5% of the people who wanted to lose weight have managed to maintain the loss after 5 years. 95% of the test subjects returned to their original weight, or gained extra. This demonstrates that in most cases, the body is stronger than the mind. Starve it and it'll demand more food. People expect us to do the (almost) impossible, and when we fail repeatedly, it's because something is wrong with our minds. I hate hearing "why don't you just diet instead" from everyone around me, including my GP (!). I've grown tired of telling people that I've tried dieticians, weight watchers and various plans. I used to exercise every day for 2 years in a row before I'd grown tired. All those plans made me hungrier. I'm choosing to lie on the operation table because I don't want to be so hungry anymore. My only advise to you is to keep it to yourself. Don't tell anyone if it's not necessary or beneficial to you. I plan to pretend that I was skinny since the day I was born and act as if the fat chapter in my life never existed. They judged me enough, they don't need to know.

May I say, you look pretty hot.

Is this a medical or an aesthetic issue? As for the aesthetic aspect, I can say - as a woman - that this is the last thing we care about. You could have them touching your feet and I wouldn't mind!

I told mine and ended up regretting it. It's your body and the decision what to do with it and what to tell others is YOURS and no one else's. You have every right to maintain this subject as private till you see fit. Good luck.

I feel the same. Been dieting since I remember myself. No more. I hate it when they say "you have to pull the switch in your head" or something, as if my mind is to blame for my failure. It's time to pull the switch in the stomach.

I decided not to tell a lot of people. My body is mine and I don't want to invite the world into my stomach. However I had to tell my mother, mostly because I still live with her and there's no way to hide it. I didn't want to tell her. She's been meddling with my eating and staring at my plates since I was a little girl, counting every bite and making nasty fat jokes. But I told her and begged her to keep it quiet. She told EVERYONE. My high school teachers, my aunt, my cousin. How I regret sharing it with her.

One of the reasons I decided to go with the sleeve rather than the band is that there's no vomiting. I hate vomiting. In fact, I've been vomit-free since 2003 (it rhymes!). I read that sleeved people do no puke as often, and only once or twice before they learn their stomach's limits. Is it true? How many times did you vomit, all in all? Thanks.

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