CowgirlJane

Okay, so my circumstances were perhaps a little different because I had band removal surgery in late sept and then sleeve done 12/12. Doctors orders was to wait 6 weeks before riding after the sleeve. This was because of heavy lifting (saddle) and perhaps more importantly risk of injury from a fall. To be honest, i didn't feel much like riding until I was probably 4 weeks out anyway. I was so tired! Even at 6 weeks, I feel like I had lost strength and was tired after an hour in the arena - doing some posting etc. Before the surgeries I rode usually 4-5 days a week, a typical ride was maybe 2 hours, but I would haul out for much longer rides on the weekend. I took alot of time off from riding between the two surgeries so it maybe took me longer to build back up. Also, I am 47, so I am thinking a younger person is going to bounce back a little faster. And finally, I had gained so much weight in 2011 and all - I was feeling in much worse shape then normal. I personally would feel like it would have been too much for me to spend 5 hours in the saddle, chairing a show just 5 weeks post op. I don't think you would be risking your health because things are pretty well healed up 3-4 weeks post op, but you should see what your surgeon says. Dr Aceves is very experienced and I would trust his judgement on this.

For whatever reason, I was expecting the worse (death...lol) and so even though I was pretty miserable the first 3-4 weeks I felt happy about it. Your level of pain sounds really high, but everything else you describe sounds pretty familiar. I was dog tired until probably 5-6 weeks post op. It was kind of depressing to be that tired. I felt strange combinations of not wanting to eat, being hungry, being worried about being hungry, everything tasting funny and just generally feeling weird and totally not myself. I went back to work after 3 weeks and even though I have a desk job, I was so fatigued I couldn't work a full day. All I can say is that things even out. Stalls come and go, but, all in all, the weight just keeps coming off and I don't get stressed over the little ups and downs. BTW, it seems impossible since you are eating so little, but nearly everyone hits a big ole stall 2-3 weeks out from surgery. It made me question what the heck I had done, but it passed and weight loss continues. Here is an easy to read explanation of it: http://www.dsfacts.c...or-plateau.html My doc also had me taking prosilec from the beginning. He prescribed the capsule, which I opened and had the little pellets inside on apple sauce or somethign liquidy like. He views that as a good preventive measure and I think you may want to look to getting on an acid med sooner then later. The only words of encouragement I can give you is that now that I am months out from surgery, this is my experience: -losing weight and clothing sizes so fast that I can barely keep up -working out at the gym 3-4 days a week, feel like I am finally back to strength -riding my horse, working around my yard and property with full energy -no big hunger problems. sometimes I do "want" to eat, but I am getting better at distinguishing the mental desire to eat from the physical hunger. -my tastes are still "off" but it is getting better. I most regret that my favorite beverage - Water - still tastes funky to me but that seems a small price to pay for the weight loss -the thing I hate the most - all the Vitamins I have to take. I know it is for my LONG TERM health, so I am doing it, but I hate it. I feel like this surgery has "freed" me from that near constant hunger. People (well therapists anyway) always seem to say that food drive is in your head but my experience is that it is a physical drive to eat. That overwhelming drive is just gone - and I hope stays away! You do make a great point that surgery doesn't eliminate the emotional comfort people get from food. It doesn't really solve anything in life except help you to eat less.

I am thrilled with my results, I think that people can get discouraged from time to time, or perhaps hope that the rapid wieght loss will continue, but it always slows down. I have gone from 26W pants/3X tops to now buying 18W/20W pants and 1X some smaller2X tops. I have a long way to go, but it has made such a huge difference to lose even this much! Clothes look better, it is easier to do activities, I just feel more "normal."

I wish you great success! I had the band for 10 years. I lost 70# the first year, but honestly, it was by dieting. I of course eventually regained everything after having to have the Fluid removed. I do not feel that the band works that well for most people but I do think I learned some things from the experience. I do not have any of that pain from eating like I remember from the band, and I guess that is partly due to knowing to chew carefully etc. The sleeve has been a much much better experience for me so far.

You have had happen what is everybody's worst fear. i am so sorry you have gone through this! I hope you can find some confort in knowing that you WILL get better and down the road when you are thin and healthy, this will just be a really bad distant memory. {{{{Hugs}}}}

You'll be fine - best wishes for a quick recovery!

Therapy might be a good idea. I have to say that I have noticed my desire to eat for emotional reasons has decreased considerably. I wonder if it is because food just isn't htat pleasurable now so it doesn't have the "benefit" it used to give me?? I don't consider myself a serious emotional eater but I know i have definately done it - comfort eating. Maybe the therapy combined with the physical changes of the sleeve is the best combination?

I had the band for 10 years, revised to a sleeve in Dec 2011. I am happy with the decision - I don't have trouble eating - actually it has been easier for me to manage then the band ever was. When I have had enough food, i feel full rather then feeling pain. What a relief. I did mine in two surgeries, but the doc would do it in one. The theory behind the two surgeries is that it may decrease the risk of a leak. I am not actually sure there is research to back that up, but it is the rationale and I wanted a risk reduction strategy. For me, it was beneficial to be split into two surgeries because although the band sucked, it apparently interfered with hunger. When I had the band removed my appetite went through the roof - it reall convinced me i needed the surgery and removed all doubts.

Congratulations! You must be walking on air with happiness!

Sounds like there is alot of different info out there about leaks. My understanding is that they THINK all leaks happen in the first several weeks, before 4-6 weeks. I was told that they think leaks found after that were there earlier, but were small enough or otherwise were not detectable. I have also heard that they can't always detect them with those leak tests immediately post op because there is so much swelling post op that it can mask the existance of a leak. I would be interested to find out more about leaks that are created after the first couple of months.

I agree that your feelings are very normal. I had many fears going into the surgery, including the long term one you mention. As far as i could tell, the primary long term risk is of acid reflux. That still concerns me, especially since just the last few days an acidy feeling has shown up..... The flip side is that while I am still mobidly obese, I look and feel so much better. it is amazing what a difference even losing 40% or so of my excess weight! I am finding myself returning to enjoy physical activity again- I can move!!! I can't begin to express how much easier day to day life is, and I am still early on this journey. In the end, it comes down to a risk/benefit trade off and I think you have come to the conclusion that the benefit IS worth the risk. I think taking something to help with the anxiety can make a big difference because you are ready to do this, but just feel anxious. I felt the same way you do.

I am having some acidy feeling in my stomach, and i have not been able to associate it with a particular food or situation. Before the acidy feeling, I had noticed some nasueau feeling (not severe, but noticable). I will see the doc next week, but curious if others have had the acid/heartburn show up 3+ months out from surgery? I have been drinking a cup of coffee a day since 8 weeks, so am eliminating that (not that i associate the acid with coffee, but i figure I should try eliminating anything questionable). Any other ideas of what to try? I have been taking one proselec every morning since my surgery... no change there. I have felt very happy with my results, no big complications, happy with my weight loss... so this is discouraging... like I am experiencing a complication when I had thought i was "out of the woods."

So glad you are doing better. Thank you for sharing your story as it is important for people to know the risks! I have been told that risk of leakage is higher for band to sleeve revisions. It was one of the things I was most scared of as statistically it is a much higher rate then 1% for us revisions.

Another thought is that after many years of watching losses and gains... my hubby has just gone neutral on the whole topic. He has been helpful to me, but does not mention my weight loss, does not make comment if i say anything. He is not overweight and I think he is just skeptical considering that I lost and regained weight with the lapband, i can kinda see why he is a bit reserved on this Not sure if this applies to your situation, but i get zero "atta girl" from the home front. Fortunately, I am internally motivated so I am okay with it.

My experience is there is no comparison. i too experienced the "stuck but still feel hungry" sensation with the band. So far, I feel the sleeve is totally different. What I am describing is my personal experience, after the initial healing period... With the sleeve, I feel like my stomach is pretty normal. I get hungry when it is has been awhile since eating. I am satiated after eating small amounts. I NEVER have that "full pouch, but still hungry" sensation that I associate with the band. I think it is because the sleeve isnt a pouch, just a much smaller stomach. I have had a few episodes of "head hunger" or bad habits or whatever rearing its ugly head. I notice that in general, food doesn't taste as good anymore. So, I give in to temptation and then it is like "uh, that isn't so great." It is like that sensation of eating something delicious just doesn't thrill me like it used to. Weird, huh? I have read that over time, some of the benefif of the sleeve decreases, but for now, it is about 1,000 better then the band ever was for me.

Interesting observation. I think we are coming to similiar conclusions - that this watching/judging obese people has more to with working through our own issues then it really is about the other person. I think that the world is full of people doing stuff that may not be the best for them (shopping too much, smoking, drinking, hanging out with people who aren't the best etc) but we only focus on the eating/weight because that is what obese (and formerly obese) people loath in themselves. Last time I was at Wendys restaurant, there was a very large person there - perhaps in the 400# range, and i don't care if people think they are discretely watching - I noticed several people watching his every move and what he was eating. I found myself more intrigued by the "starers" then I was by the obese person - just really asking myself the question of what makes this such an obsession? of all things to think about other people - their character, their clothing, whatever - why is it weight that seems to draw this kind of ... negativity.

That is really mean and I am sorry you have had those experiences! it is unkind and unhelpful to say the least! One word of encouragement is that as you age a bit... this kinda crap is less and less of an issue. In fact, I would say that college was the last time I remember dealing with this kind of ignorance - I wasn't obese, but it had more to do with judging female body and making public remarks about your attributes, or lack thereof.

Maybe because I am still obese, but I can't realy relate to judging other heavy people. I appreciate somebody admitting it, because I notice alot of posts that sort of brush by the issue but certainly imply "disgust" with people who are still obese. I personally feel that we can be our own worst enemies. I wonder if some of the self loathing that many obese people have get shifted to others as they lose their weight? i don't know if that is the case or not, but I find that MOST thin people accept obese people and I hope once I am "formerly fat" that I don't become judgemental. (You know, how ex-smokers are often pretty obnoxious about smoking, for example) As to the original post, I kinda think that the experience for women (5'5" in my case) being overweight doesn't equate to people being intimidated. I think it more equates more to being ignored/and considered very unattractive. For women, looks is a big part of our identity in this culture, and at least in my corner of the world, being thin is critical to those "looks", so being so outside the range of normal kinda takes away some of your participation in being considered a "woman". I am not really finding the right words, but I feel that obesity sometimes makes women appear as invisible, non-sexual beings to the outside world. I say all that, but I also believe that the obese person contributes to this by behaving in a low confidence/ I am trying to be invisible way. I am a naturally outgoing person, and as I get thinner I notice myself engaging in a lot more pleasantries with complete strangers, but i think that is mostly because MY attitude is changing, I am feeling better physically and just feel more comfortable in my own skin. I was not embarrased to be seen when I was 300+ pounds, but I was physically uncomfortable and felt like an overstuffed sausage kinda thing and I am sure that uncomfortableness was visibible. That attitude shift shows up to the outside world, and i think people respond to that unconscious message.

I had a lapband implanted in 2001 and it removed in 2010. I would not recommend it, I don't think it works for most people in the long run. I took at least a year before I was ready to pursue the sleeve. I started down the path of revising to gastric bypass, and one day, it just hit me that I would rather stay obese. It isn't even a logical decision, it is how I feel. When I started getting serious about the sleeve, it triggered alot of fear and anxiety. One reason I picked the lapband was that it was "reversible" and this is not. I think what helped me was doing 2 last major efforts at a diet on my own in 2011. I lost weight on medifast, but discovered that all the soy in those products was really messing iwth my tummy and digestive tract. Of course I regained everything once I went off medifast. Then, I lost like 3 pounds on my last attempt and was very unhappy with the super low carb eating program to boot. It hit me that dieting just wasn't working at all anymore. I encourage you to take your time in thinking through this though. The sleeve doesn't make you instant skinny. It is still alot like dieting, takes planning and focus to eat right and exercise. I have lost nearly 60# since my preop diet start of 11/30 (surgery 12/12/11) but I am still obese. While I am excited about my progress, I wouldn't want to somehow make anyone think that this is easy or even super fast. For me, dieting just wasn't working and so far this is, so i am very happy I did it but I think you really do need to know that it isn't a perfect solution that cures all of your eating/activity level challenges.

My energy level hasn't been great considering I have lost alot of weight and should be feeling GREAT. For the amount I have lost, it in the past took more like a year to acheive this much weight loss and I remember feeling so energized at the weight I am now. I guess I am getting older, but probably the big deal is that it is hard on the body to go through the surgery and rapid weight loss - makes sense that it will take awhile before I feel that extra energy boost. What did help though was upping the exercise. I went back to things that have energized me in the past - Water aerobics, elliptical trainer and a bit of weight lifting.

I think it is motivating to get closer and closer to fitting something! The only warning I would have is that people might just skip over a size! i started this journey wearing a 26W/3X. I seemed to have skipped right over a 24W and am wearing 22W (non stretch) pants. I went shopping recently, and in some styles, the 1X fit me better then the 2x and some 22W are too baggy so I went with the 20W even though it is snug still..

I havent eaten out too much since surgery, but on a recent business trip had alot of restuarant meals. You know what struck me is that the food just didn't taste very good. I was disappointed in every single meal. I think my taste buds are not on track yet - food will smell good to me but then just taste not so great. Restaurant food seems to be more of an issue like that.

Over the past 6-7 weeks, I had been losing 2-4 pounds per week. I have been really happy with that given that I am now 3 months out, it was good steady progress. I just got back from a week long business trip and had my first gain. I felt like I did "ok" while traveling, but let's face it, at home I hardly eat at restaurants, and for a week I had 100% restaurant meals. I ate alot of salads with chicken on them, and didn't get Desserts or any junk food.... but it is definately higher calorie then my normal eating day. I did work out at the hotel, but i had business related events so couldn't do it everyday so my activity level was definately lower. I am not too discouraged, but it was an "eye opener" that it doesn't take much - a fine line between losing weight and making great progress to nada. I am back to going to the gym now. I feel that the change in the eating pattern has made me a bit hungrier... so working to get back into my better eating patterns.

I put my weight and age and I do check the heart rate often. I stay in the cardio zone.

I use myfitnesspal.com for food tracking, but when i enter my workout info, it seems to calculate ridiculously high calorie burn numbers. Yesterday I did a 35 minute session on the elliptical. The machine told me around 350 calories, but my fitnesspal is saying something like 600 calories. In addition, the weight training just seems to much of a pain. Yesterday I did about 15 minutes of upper body and ab strength training and I don't want to type in each machine. I love this app for food tracking, not crazy about it for exercise, just wondering what is working for the rest of you - especially the strength training.