Swiftflow

As a man, I wanted raw data and facts not just internet forums and chat--it was raw data from my seminar with my surgeon and medical studies that sold me on this procedure over any other. check out this link to a great post by Tiffykins below with medical data and try to get him to look at the science side of it. If you have any other co-morbidities or health issues from obesity then he is more likely to lose you early than in this procedure. My mom is an RN and freaked out when I first told her I wanted WLS--when she got the data she was at ease and is even helping me fund it now--Knowledge is power! http://verticalsleevetalk.com/pre-operation-vertical-sleeve-surgery-vsg-questions-answers/4886-best-sources-information-research.html#post42692

I don't think I would want a drain in that long--do both keep the drain in that far out?

Lol! Check this out--so much easier to use: [nomedia=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88RUnc8AQFc]YouTube- Nasaline - Nasal Irrigator[/nomedia] Then you can get it on amazon for 11 bucks.

This is going to sound weird to you, but it sounds like you need to eat more calories! Your stall could be due to to lack of proper amount of nutrition--I say this because you also say you exercise. If you burn 300 calories exercising and additional calories over the day because of the exercise toll on your body then you have to fuel the machine! Your body is likely in starvation mode and trying hold onto everything it can and to rebuild your deplentished glycogen stores. As this happens they body will try to hold onto Water as well. If you are burning allot of calories exercising then get up to 1200-1500 calories with 60% from protein. Edit: if you are just exersizing a little then lower that number and then adjust to what feels right for you from there. One option is to shock your metabolism some--go two days on great pure food get up to 2000 calories. Pure whole foods and shake supplements to get you there and not junk. This may be what you need to jump start the burning process. Another important fact is that certain nutrients help our bodies metabolize fat--if you are missing them then you will always loose slower. Just one example: Medical studies showed that a lack of Vitamin D will slow weight loss dramatically. You also need healthy fat intake to help with fat metabolism healthy fats that give Omega 3 etc. Of course there are medical conditions that can also hinder weight loss like Thyroid issues. All of this is to say make sure you have a Doc or nutritionist checking your blood for nutrician levels. Recommended article Weight Loss Stall or Plateau Edit: Just to add 2 more things 1. Stress can slow your weight loss down 2. Lack of proper sleep will also slow it down. I know this is allot of info coming from a fat guy pre-sleeve here. But I am an expert at loosing weight --just have not been able to keep it off long term. As a software support engineer I always get the technical details and troubleshoot problems and have learned what works and what doesn't through the years. Don't know whats worse though being uniformed and fat or completely knowledgeable and fat --Like a Mechanic with a broken car! I am so ready to rock this sleeve and keep the weight off too (the one part I always failed at)

Thank you for posting this update. It is great to see how you have progressed since I have been reading here! Congrats on the success and keep the updates coming!

I recommend you watch this technical Presentation from SSAT 48th annual meeting discussing a good comparison of the medical study percentages. The first studies they did on the sleeve, they used larger boughie sizes (the guide they use for stomach size) and higher bmi patients. What they have learned-- then changed by moving into the smaller Boughie size and having lower bmi patients being studied in the last 3 years. I think this is the way to go now for long term results and lack of long term complications like slippage and erosion. http://www.ssat.com/video/2008/SSAT%2049th%20Annual%20Meeting(3)-Cirangle.htm One cool thing you see in this is this: Breakdown of %Excess Weight loss by BMI 35-45 BMI – 82.2% 45-55 BMI – 73.4% 55+ BMI – 52.1% It actually states the lower BMI patients had the best loss in excess weight.

Couple of things: 1. Water weight and time of day make a huge impact. I can vary 3-4 lbs in one day depending on the time I weigh in. IF you need to weigh in daily then do it first thing after you wake up as the most consistent status. If you weigh in at night the amount of sodium types of meals etc will affect you a couple of pounds. 2. Please read Weight Loss Stall or Plateau Fluctuation in glycogen will affect the amount of water in your body at any time. The article shows how you can actualy loose fat and still gain weight for glycogen reproduction and corresponding water weight. 3. If possible Weigh in less often and use measurements to judge your progress. And yes 30 lbs is actually much better than some, your body is probably recouping a bit from the quick loss and you will start loosing again soon if you stick with it.

You are doing great! Can't wait to start counting post-op days myself soon. I wanted to take a moment to say how awesome it is that you are very active supporting everyone here on the boards whether they are beginning thier journey or have been on it a long time and just need support. You are a great inspiration!

Also look into Omega 3 for Nails, hair, and skin. I have used it on lowfat diets in the past and noticed my hair and nails grow and skin does not get dried out. I get it through fish oil product. The best tasting one is one called Omega Swirl which tastes like an orange smoothie almost (not bad at all). This is the only way I found to take fish oil and not have any issues with it--I use a tablespoon to take each morning. Other fish oil brands like the capsules make you burp fishy and this liquid does not. I would get really dry skin and brittle hair on low fat diets and I read it in a book that I should suppliment this "good fat" during lowfat diets. After trying it I am definately going to use it with my sleeve as well. The alternative of corse is to get allot of fish in your diet, and I just don't enjoy fish that much--the occational Salmon and I skip the suppliment on the days I eat Salmon.

Also does your doctor pull labs to check nutrition levels, thyroid levels etc? If there are thyroid issues your weight loss could be slowed, Also studies show lack of certain vitamins like vitamin D can slow the metabolism of fat. So you may want to just check these things if you have not already.

Wow! you mentioned some massive co-morbidities there. Up until a couple of years ago I was totally opposed to WLS of any kind. It was knowing people who had it that changed my mind. I am doing it to prevent those issues. just a couple of years ago, I watched my father in law wither away early in his life with type 2 diabetes. I remeber going on one of my better diet runs back then, only to fall down again. Obeisity is a disease, and I used to be one of those close minded people that just told my self I needed to work harder. only 5% of those who loose through diet and exersize will keep it off long term--I like my odds much better with the sleeve as a tool.

I work in the software industry and find technical data more compelling than just marketing web-sites type of data. These are some links that I enjoyed in choosing this procedure. Good source of technical data from a physician associations annual meeting discussing long term results etc. http://www.ssat.com/video/2008/SSAT%2049th%20Annual%20Meeting(3)-Cirangle.htm Watch a video complete procedure Medline Plus Now to the opinion part of this post-- I feel like this is the best procedure out there--that is why I chose it. I am scheduled for 4/28 so take this as my opinion based on my bias and research and then do some of your own research. It is important to research all of the available procedures out there so that you make an informed decision. I started my journey thinking I will go with the lap band. Looking at the whole picture there, it seemed there could be issues with slips, erosions, Port fills, etc. looking at all of these possibilities and considering having to have fills etc the lap band was out of the running for me pretty quick. I am one of those few that would not be able to handle a Port under my skin. I know a few people that have had the RnY bypass and I also did allot of research there as my insurance covers it. I know one lady at the office that has eaten herself right through the Bypass and is almost back to where she started a few years ago. That's just one person--so that was not all I considered. My main reasons against it where the lack of the lower pyloric valve (leading to dumping), The ability to stretch it out (much more than you can with a sleeve). The fact that the sleeve is so close now in results based on medical research the extra risk was not worth the 1-2% difference. The sleeve as you may know is part one of the Duodenal switch procedure--a much more effective bypass long term although a more difficult procedure to perform. If you were at a point where the malabsorbion was needed to aid your weight loss then I would consider this as the best proven procedure. However, I think I would only go this route if I had an extremely high BMI. The sleeve procedure would be preferred as a first step even still-- just so you could determine if you needed part 2 after some time with the sleeve. My insurance has refused to pay for the sleeve, but I am paying 10,950 out of my pocket because I believe in it over the other procedures to meet my needs. The biggest draws to me are the following: both stomach valves are kept in tact once your stomach heals after the surgery there are no food type restrictions Decreased Ghrelin production in the stomach Once you are fully healed there should not be any long term issues like with the band or bypass with the new lower bougie sizes they have been using the last couple of years, there is a maximum limit your stomach can possibly stretch to. the muscular part of the stomach is not very elastic and has limited stretchability (Think of stretching leather) All surgeries have risk and the risk of a leak is probably the biggest one for this procedure--this is where choosing the right surgeon and location to have your surgery can mitigate that risk somewhat. Example, if one surgeon sutures over your staple line and another does not--I would say the extra suture could help prevent leaks. Then there is your part--if you follow the post-op guidelines etc. So thats my opinion and why I am paying for a procedure out of my pocket. Again, this is my biased opinion. Thanks! best of luck in your research. Edit: Looks like Tiffykins posted some great links while I was writing my novel to!

I swear I am a true Diet coke Addict. I can sometimes drink 1.5 to 2 liters per day. 48 oz cups when I stop for gas, free cans at the office, oh my! Anyway I have moved over to other drinks Water, tea, crystal lite starting today. I have stopped before and always feel crappy a couple of days getting past the caffine headaches and general desire for that fizz and taste. Therefore, I thought I should get past that before surgery so I don't have additional headaches. I swear they lace that crap with something --search Diet Coke and addiction on the web its out of control! :scared0:

Awesome thanks for the encouragement!

Sorry for the confusion there--I never mentioned a surgeon just a hypothetic example that someone would want to know about. my post was to help us build this bridge not burn it down--read it again with no bias and consider the logic that is all I was doing. If someone went to my surgeon a week after me and had a horible experience should I discount that experience just because I went there. I want only people with real experience to post and you misread my whole post as an attack on some surgeon I have not even researched any of the Mexico surgeons --I was making a hypothetical post to prove the point that people want to know. The sarcasm may have not translated there--but the "not killing everyone" was 100% sarcasm and a joke (bad one at that) of corse no one is reporting a death I was hoping the emoticon showed the sarcasm. So I blame the emoticon for the bad joke. :sad0::scared0::scared0::blushing: Sorry that you took this as an attack on you--please re-read it as hypothetical and tell me if the logic is flawed:thumbup1: I edited the post to clarify the Hypothetical nature and again I apologize that my poor writing lead to your misinterpretation. Best of luck to everyone--I am so looking forward to supporting everyone here and being supported--this is a great board dispite some of the politics.

I wanted to see if there was a veteran Sleever who could give their opinion on this article--the article sounds good, but I like to hear the veteran point of view.

One thing we all have to realize is that there are people who have gone to some HYPOTHETICAL "controversial" clinic and have had no issues or even great experiences and they are here on the board for the same reasons everyone else is. I can see why they may take it as a personal attack. I think the main point is that if you have a situation in which a higher percentage of people have complications at one place then another, then there is that slight higher risk. If a HYPOTHETICAL location has 1% with complications and another HYPOTHETICAL location has 5% which one would you pick? Well does saving X number of dollars or whatever it is worth the additional risk??--maybe for some they feel its worth the savings. For me Its worth 10950 total to stay here local at a place that is 5 mins from my house then to go to a place out of the country--but I don't fault my neighbor for going to a great doc in "Any other hypothetical location" and saving 2000. Provided we are dealing with two great doctors and not one that is known with a higher rate of problems--in that case all we can do is share that risk experience freely--thats the purpose of these boards and I hope people with bad experiences can have the openness to share. Also don't be one to cry wolf every time someone mentions a bad experience even though you may have been one that was lucky enough to have a great experience. And please dont assume I am talking about any specific surgeon here--we just want the freedom on the boards for everyone to share thier experiences without it being removed or them having fear.

Found this article doing some internet searching and found it very informative on why there are stalls in which you will loose inches but not weight. Weight Loss Stall or Plateau Also I got my sleeve date for 4/28! Looking forward to joining you all on the looser's bench!

With previous low fat diets I have been able to prevent hair loss with fish oil supplements and good vitamins--I would think Vitamin D would be important part of this also. By far the best fish oil supplement I have had is Barlean's Omega Swirl it tastes just fine and I never have fishy burps like with capsules. When I was taking it regularly I had awesome hair and nail growth. I am referring mainly to hair loss related to low calorie/low fat diets --if there is some other cause in your case then nutrition may not help. My current plan for my upcoming sleeve is to supplement with the following chewable Multivitamin Fish oil Vitamin D (my levels were low) Getting the required Protein in We will see over time how this works out :crying:

Very nice find. Just my option to follow here so take with a grain of salt--Based on this information and other facts on the bypass, the Duodenal seems to be a more effective bypass than the RnY -- but only for those who need malabsorbtion to achieve thier weight loss goals. With the DS you keep both stomach valves and get a sleeve as well--then the added bypass function. The good news for sleeve patients is you are completing step 1 of the DS proceedure--so if you need additional weight loss you can add the DS part 2 later. Some of the DS surgeons do this anyway for the extreemly obese patients to loose enough weight before safely being able to complete part 2. Of course the DS proceedure has additional risk, so I would think starting with the sleeve would be a smart choice. Here is alink comparing the two types of bypass DS vs. RNY

It depends on the type of bird "eating like a bird" can mean eating 20-80% of your bodyweight for some birds! :scared0: Seriously though, if you are maintaining a good balance of calories, good Protein etc. maintenance should not be that complex. Granted I am still pre-sleeve, but I can look back at every yo-yo diet failure and it has always been my choices that caused the failure. It is very important to look at the sleeve as a tool. Granted the sleeve may not be the best solution for everyone--some may need the malabsorbsion component of a bypass to be successful based on eating habits. I feel the sleeve will work best for me because my problem is that I have a bottomless pit of a stomach and overeat even when eating decent foods. In another thread someone mentioned making the right choices 95% of the time and allowing the 5% indulgence and that seems pretty wise. ---- Sleeve date set! April 28th!

Once your stomach is healed it is just a smaller stomach. As with any surgery you have to take precautions during healing, but once fully healed you should be able to participate in normal physical activity. Outside of that healing period there is nothing to make your gut more fragile--granted if your doctor says no heavy exercise for 6 weeks you still probably don't want to go full force the day after that--but there is no long term affect on how you could take a blow to the gut post sleeve.

Dr Stewart is AWESOME. I am going to have my sleeve with him hopefully next month. He has a profile over at obeisity help. He is one of the very few texas surgeons that does the Laproscopic Duodenal Switch surgery and there is a reason why most docs don't do it--it requires extreemly good suturing skills and carries a much higher risk and you have to be very skilled to perform this proceedure. This proceedure starts with the sleeve and then has a bypass--so technically he has done many sleeves if you consider he does one with every Doudenal switch. Dr Stewart staples and sutures as well on the sleeve for extra safety. I live very close to the area and have met people who had bypass's with him. Also people come from all over the state to have him do the DS proceedure because of his reputation in that specialty. Many doctors recommend Dr. Stewart for the DS proceedure ( I met some at his seminar who had been recommended to come to him by their Doctor.)

I have personal friends who have had experience with both Dr Stewart in Denton and Dr. Jayaseelan in Dallas. Both are great surgeons that have done various types of bariatric surgeries for several years. They have profiles over at the obiesityhelp forumns you can read comments on. I personally will be looking to go with Dr Stewart because the hospital and office are just 5 mins from me. My wife had an appendectomy surgery out of the Denton hospital and we really like the facilities there. The price of 10,950 for vsg is very reasonable for self pay patients -- both doctors charge the same. There are less expensive options through Mexico, but it is worth the piece of mind to stay state-side if you already live in this area. I have not found anything less expensive inside the USA yet and these are some great expeienced surgeons.

Having read through many of these posts now on various weight loss forumns, I had to take the time to register and post about my personal experience. I am still in the process of scheduling the vsg myself, but I am not new to the extreem low fat diets. I have had hair and skin issues on extreem low fat diets in the past until I read somewhere about the benifits of good fats to your system. I have been able to have great results for skin, hair, and nails using fish oil suppliments. I tried some of the cheap fish oil pills and they usually are terrible giving gas and fishy burps, but the best results have been from the more expensive liquid fish oil suppliment that have the orange flavor--Im not here to advertise a brand so I will leave that up to you, Just get the good stuff from health food stores and research which ones have the best taste. Again this may not be the issue for the main poster as there are other causes of hair loss--but in my personal experience lack of the needed fats like Omega 3 affected ME in this way. It may be at least worth buying a bottle and trying it. There is allot on the web suggecting the same thing--search the web for "Why Fish Oil Helps Reduce Hair Loss" Also don't fear the effects of supplimenting "fat" to your diet. These are needed fats you likely wont get unless you eat Salmon or other fish allot. They also actually aid in so many body functions and aid you in loosing body fat.