chowchows

Thank you all for all the well wishes. I am hanging in there...some days are better than others...evenings are much worse. I have an endoscopy scheduled for early Oct. That is the soonest they would get me in as the hospital facilities are booked up until then. If my pain gets bad again, I have my doc's direct number though and am supposed to call him, day or night. They want to rule out 100% any other problems with my reflux or other issues, as I have had stomach pain too that they don't think I should be having with the pancreatitis/gallbladder. That being said, my docs did not realize that the hospital never checked my pancreatic enzymes again after I started eating, so at this point we do not know if my enzymes went all the way down to normal. Blood work should be in by Monday to tell them what everything looks like. Once we figure out if there are any other problems, gallbladder is definitely coming out and they will do anything else they might need to do at the same time. New GI doc says nissen wrap pretty much unnecessary as there are so many other ways to treat if reflux is still my big issue (which I'm not sure it is). As for the gallbladder, GP wrote in my chart that based on the look of the gallbladder he thinks this has been going on for some time and is unrelated to surgery, and more likely related to yo-yo dieting in the past along with obesity in general. All of my personal docs (minus one jerk female GI doc on call in the hospital) have been super positive about my surgery and weight loss. GI doc told me that I looked great and he thought it was a positive move for my health and well being. When I get sick I get very down and fatalistic...I haven't been on the boards in the last few days because I was in pain and didn't want to sound negative. Feeling much better today...I pray that it stays that way. My baby Chow girl (the one I used to have as my avatar) has to go in for two major surgeries, the first one Monday. She got sick during the middle of all of my issues, so that didn't help. My Chows are my kiddos, so I have been stressed about her, big time! I cannot tell you all how much I appreciate the concern and support. It has helped so much! I will keep you guys posted when I have more details. Best wishes, good health, and fast weight loss to you all!

Two times post surgery I felt really sick after drinking a chocolate Boost. It was just way too sweet for me! I thought the first time was a fluke, but when it happened again I knew. That being said, Mednar is right, if you continue to have strange issues ask your doc. I assumed something was normal for awhile and I am now regretting not getting checked out sooner. It wasn't really surgery related, but still, sooner rather than later would have been better.

I honestly wasn't tempted at all in the early days post surgery...a couple of months down the road is when my cravings started returning, although not as strong as before.

Thanks-may have to try this!

I hear what you are saying, and I didn't always feel this way (as you saw from some of my posts this summer). It has taken me several months to get used to the new rhythm of my body and a lot of self psychoanalysis to realize what I truly wanted out of wls. I have realized that as much as it sometimes is frustrating, I am actually enjoying the path to a slimmer me. I enjoy the victories of stepping on the scale and seeing it down from the last time. I'm ok with it going slow because I am trying to take the time to relish this and to rebuild healthier eating habits overall (even my current little bit of sweets and increased carbs is a million times healthier from the way I ate before...I'm not going to kid myself about how bad I was pre wls) so that maintenance isn't so hard. Maybe I am overconfident, but I feel that I will be able to maintain this time, and that was what I was having trouble doing before. With so many of the other surgeries, success lies in them working extremely well in the short run, but then they don't work so well in the long run and the weight is regained. We plicators have never had it as 'easy' in the short run, but I think in the long run that will benefit us. Maybe everyone doesn't feel that way, but I am getting to know myself better through this journey, and I certainly do feel this way. I hope everyone else can find something like this that they can take from the ups and downs of plication. My plication truly is more of a tool, and since I didn't just rely blindly on my wls to lose weight, I am learning through the downward journey. It is however a very useful tool because it does give me exactly what I need to limit calories/cravings and provide the extra willpower/satiety that I could not find before. Not every day is easy, but I feel that this surgery is one I can live with long term and that will be successful in the long term.

I am still happy with my plication though. I do NOT want what the sleeve has to offer, including the super fast weight loss. I know most wls people will be shocked at that, but I don't want to drop the weight super fast...I want to lost weight healthily and disrupt my life as little as possible. Sure, when the scale doesn't go down I get upset from time to time, but I also realize that I get to enjoy some times and food that other wls participants will never again be able to eat. My skin is not terrible..I have seen pictures on some of these sites that make me cringe. I eat too many carbs/sweets and my weight loss is slow, but I am still losing and I enjoy my little treats and keep my overall calories within limits. Yes, I still watch calories, and yes I have cravings (just not as bad as before). Sleevers crave too..they can talk about not being hungry all day long with the lack of hormones, but I have seen post after post where they talk about head hunger and cravings...they too much still diet to some degree. I am just over 4 months out and I can just barely eat a 6 inch sub...I honestly am not unhappy with that. I really cannot tell you where I was at 3 months because I just ate Subway for the first time post surgery this last week. I don't want to be able to eat more, but I don't think that is a bad place to be. If someone is wanting 10lb plus weight loss a month, then the plication is probably not for them. I would say on average we are going to be more like 5-6 after the first couple of months, but then again that's 5-6 lbs a month that I wasn't losing before. In fact I was going the other way. For some, the sleeve is the perfect answer and that is exactly what they should have done. For me, even knowing about the slow weight loss and the trials that can come with plication, plication is a better option than the sleeve.

hey Mednar, I'm at home, so that's always good in my book, but thinking I may need to go back soon as pain is getting worse. It was almost gone when I got out of the hospital. If my story is still confusing I certainly don't mind clarifying...last week was kind of a blur so maybe I didn't tell the story in a way that makes sense to someone who wasn't there, lol. Feel free to PM me.

Have more appts with the docs next week and will be asking a lot of questions. Did a barium swallow study yesterday and finally got to see what my new stomach looks like..I was not expecting it to look like that. It isn't as small as I thought it would be (guess there's the slow weight loss some of us see) but they didn't see any problems with it. Doc said it was open enough that he thought I could even have an endo with it, and I know some of the plicators cannot get an endo. I had pain back in June and have been having it the last couple of days also and wondered if it might be that I am not chewing as much as I need to. I am really bad about not chewing well. Been trying to over chew my food and pain has pretty much gone away. On a high note, doc that did the study didn't notice that much reflux, so it looks like the wrap may not be in my future! woo-hoo! I need to get the gb out...I can feel it now and am having most of the classic signs that I didn't have before my hospitalization. I feel exhausted and know that it's probably the result of both the recent hospitalization and the ongoing gb issues, but I am having to take a couple of naps a day. I meet with the surgeon again soon, so will probably go ahead and schedule this one. I was holding out for the second opinion on the wrap (so they could do it all at one time), but after the other doc told me the results of the barium study I am 99% sure that I am not doing the wrap at this point. Having pain low in my back today, that's new....still able to eat and drink with no vomiting, just nauseous and nothing sounds really great. Just trying to get through at this point, and praying I don't have another attack. That was some of the worst pain I've ever experienced in my life!

They hate and judge because they are jealous-kudos to you!

Working fine for me now...was absolutely crazy yesterday.

Way to go!

Anyone else having issues with the Ticker Factory tickers today? It will not let me update. When I put in my password to update it starts making a brand new ticker, just curious if I am the only one?

Thank you, that means a lot! When I was getting out of the hospital I was just so happy to go home that I thought,"yeah, I can do all of that". Now I am feeling depressed, wondering if this may be an on-going thing even if get the gallbladder out and also thinking that I may not do the nissen wrap. The potential complications are scary. I don't want to deal with Barrett's esophagus/cancer in the future (and it might not ever be an issue...I've been dealing with this for almost 20 years and esophagus is fine I just feel pain and have feeling of constant post nasal drip) but I also don't want to have trouble swallowing, maybe not be able to eat, not be able to burp/throw up, maybe not have it fix the problem. I am so confused right now. I have even considered un-doing the plication. Doc says it probably didn't come from surgery, but I read on some threads where a lot of bypass people have on-going pancreatitis (and then some people with on-going pancreatitis get bypass to treat it...is this crazy or what?!) and now I am thinking I might have made a mistake. I like my plication, but I don't want issues like this....not sure what to do..and then what if I make that choice and find out it really WASN'T anything to do with plication and still have pain?

I have bad reflux from the fact that my lower esophageal sphincture (sp?) doesn't close properly. I have had it for a long time, many years before weight loss surgery. I was officially diagnosed about a year before my surgery. I was hoping that the weight loss and hernia repair would make it so that the lazy LES didn't affect me as much...it has helped, but not much. I get constant reflux into my throat, even with a high dose of PPI. I was scared to have the surgery last year because this terrible GI doc told me I would stay in the hospital for days and they would have to open me up because I was so fat (she harped on my weight obsessively...everyone else just loves her, but she treated me like dirt and I think it was because of my weight). The surgeon I met with (and love) who is going to take out the gb told me that they can do it laprascopically (or even through an endo, but I didn't qualify for that anymore because of scar tissue from the hernia repair and plication...wish other stupid doc had told me about this last yr before plication, but she was too busy telling me what a huge, gross fatty I was! ). They normally take the top of the stomach and wrap it around the lower part of the esophagus. It reinforces the LES and cuts out reflux. For me, they will need to undo two stitches on the plication to enable the surgeon to stretch that part of the stomach and wrap it around the esophagus. I asked him if that would mean I would lose my restriction and he said I would have at least as much, if not more, restriction than I do now. That might be good because I have felt like I have lost a little restriction since the original days shortly after my surgery. Our plication surgery was actually developed from the nissen fundoplication. I have heard that on some of the really tight wraps they noticed that patients could not eat as much and lost weight, and that led to the development of plication as a weight loss surgery. I am scared, but hopeful. I haven't wanted to admit that the reflux was getting worse again, and haven't wanted to fully acknowledge the pain I have had for awhile that was probably my gb. Thank you all for all the concerns and well wishes! If one 'going under' can solve this, then I am willing to try it. Here is a little more info on the nissen fundoplication.

I was thinking I would have my arms and boobs done (surprisingly, my stomach has come back nicely even though it was my problem area while I was at my highest weight), but I think at this point I'm a little afraid to have any more elective surgeries. Maybe sometime in the future. I am proud/envious for you though, just too chicken to go back through more elective things at this point..my recent hospital stay and one of the stories I read over on the Thinner Times board has made me want to avoid elective surgeries for awhile. I do want to hear how it goes with you though...I want to vicariously share the experience if you don't mind...because I might get over this and I don't know anyone else who has personally had these things done. You can be our plastics guru/guinea pig on this board. Please share your stories, experiences and success-I'm rooting for you!

Mednar, please don't feel this way...it was all good info and I wanted everyone's input. I am just a little doctor adverse, and more than willing to hear something that will keep me from going to the doc. If it had only happened once, I think it would have been safe to assume that it was dumping syndrome (all the symptoms fit pretty much) and go on. When it happened a second time, nowhere near my last meal, I knew it had to be something more...plus this time the pain just lessened but never went away, even several hours later. Gallbladder issues was my other suspected issue, besides dumping syndrome, but I knew nothing about pancreatitis. Once I knew what it was, and knew the symptoms, it fit perfectly. The pain started in the back and radiated to the front, which they say is classic pancreatitis. The gallbladder issues seem to go hand in hand though, so it's hard to say where one symptom ends and one begins. I was more than willing to leave it at dumping syndrome, but Lena (rightfully so) encouraged me to get checked out. So when it hit a second time her words were heavy in my mind and I knew I needed to get checked out. I am not dissing anything shared on this (or any other online source), but I am saying that if it continues it's time to stop playing online doctor and get it checked for yourself...and I say that knowing that I am the biggest hypocrite! I am also going to make history according to my surgeon (not sure I like that). They are going to take down the top of my plication, and make a nissen wrap with it. He says it hasn't been done before as far as he can tell, but he suspects they are going to be seeing more issues like mine since plication is becoming more popular. He used to be a bariatric surgeon, now just GI surgeon, and he thinks that plication is a good way to go and said he wondered why it didn't catch on quicker. Anyway, wish me luck...I will have to be in the hospital again since they are doing the two ops at once...I will keep you guys posted. Thanks for all the support...I have to admit that I was scared this time!

Well, I guess my body didn't want to wait for my appt with the new GI doc. I had another attack just like the one here and decided to suck it up and go to the ER. Good thing I did because my pancreas was going insane. Normal pancreatic enzyme levels are apparently 100, mine were almost 15,000. They admitted me immediately with acute pancreatitis. I ended up having a CT Scan, MRI, ultrasound, and am scheduled to have a barium swallow xray. I spent several days in the hospital to get things settled down. Gallbladder is coming out in a couple of weeks as they think a small stone may have been lodged in my pancreas, causing the pain all along, and I passed it but they don't want it to happen again. Doc says it's probably unrelated to the plication., but at least now everyone knows about the plication and I don't have to worry about seeking medical care in the future. To be honest, all of the docs were very positive (including my old GP ) about me having the surgery...they were more curious as to the whys and hows more than anything and were impressed with my weight loss. So moral of the story, while these boards are great for moral support or general advice, if you are in pain get to the ER! (thanks Lena , you were right!)

That's good to hear-take care!

Congrats!

I'm right there with H21..in age and why I waited to do it until now.

I hope you get your deposit back, but as you said, it might be a lesson actually cheaply learned. If they act this way beforehand, how will it be after you pay them the full amount? I hope your husband gets better soon!

Thanks for the tips-I will check them out!

I have an appt with a brand new gastro (per Lena's great advice), but not till early Oct because he is supposed to be 'that good' and he is booked until then. I have always heard marvelous things about him, but didn't want to wait that long when I went the gastro doc last year for my hernia and LES. Lets hope he's worth the wait, lol!

Hope he's ok...that's concerning!

It does sound like this. Like him, I was in so much pain I felt like I couldn't find the right words for things. I was just under the impression, until now, that we didn't get dumping; therefore I was so scared because I didn't really have a clue what was going on. I was going to go to the ER with my friend, the only thing that kept me from going is that the hospital nearby is absolutely worthless. I was going to have DH take me to a hospital 30 minutes away that has a bariatric dept (in case it was something going wrong), but by the time he arrived I was getting a little relief and decided to wait and see if it would continue to get better. For a brief second I even thought about dialing 911-boy wouldn't I have felt like a fool! It was scary and probably the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life! Now that I know what it is, if it happens again I think it will be a little less intense because I know what to expect-the key is to do the things I need to do though to avoid it!