Sleeved&Hopeful

Wish you the best! You are in good hands it sounds like and you can do this!

Honestly, the duodenal switch is dangerous BUT it is also very effective. They have a higher percentage of excess weight loss overall than the sleeve and the gastric bypass. They keep weight off longer than any other surgery. HOWEVER--you have to be extremely diligent in getting blood work and taking lots of vitamins. If you are bad at remembering to take vitamins--don't have the money or the insurance to cover the hundreds of dollars in vitamins required monthly for the surgery--don't have the money or insurance for frequent doctor's visits--then you should NOT get the duodenal switch. I know a lady who lost her job and insurance after having duodenal switch and she could no longer afford her vitamins and doctor's visits. She got ExTREMELY sick, and I am not exaggerating. She begged for help and a charity organization is helping her get the supplements and doctor's visits she requires. Basically if you get this surgery--you have to be prepared for a lot of diligence in taking pills and going to the doctor. The pay off is that you lose a lot of weight and it is usually kept off for a long time.

This is an excellent topic! I hope more long-timers chime in! I wonder how much the bougie size really affects the ultimate size it ends up being? And I agree in variances. If I don't eat much of a breakfast, I seem to be able to eat a bit more at lunch then in a normal sitting. If I eat a breakfast and then a lunch, it seems to be about the same each time. I am not able to eat much at all still at 6 months post op but definitely quite a bit more than I could at say 2-3 months post op. I would say about 2-3 ounces of protein and that's about it. Slider foods are way easier to eat already at 6 months post op and there is very little restriction in those! Especially Wheat Thin crackers, my evil nemesis! I have to only buy a tiny box because if I buy the full size box----I'm afraid of what I would do to it!

I am 6 1/2 months out and I feel full just like before the sleeve as well. I do get the hiccups now when I get full and I have occasionally (maybe 4 or 5 times) had the salivation issue too. Nothing ever feels stuck or like I have to force it down like I've heard with the band. As far as throwing up--I have only had that happen once. I ate eggs about 2 months after surgery and they just didn't agree. I tried them again a month later and ever since I've been able to eat them fine.

Girl you can get it under control. I agree with maybe going for a walk or drinking a glass of green tea when you are stressed. I've seen some people graze on mushrooms or broccoli when they are feeling stressed instead of candy or something. One lady said she grazes on a large cucumber when she's feeling the "snack bug" and she can't even finish it all and there are only 34 calories in a large cucumber :-). I personally eat some beef jerky for a snack because it's high protein-low carb AND low fat and doesn't have a lot of calories. As far as your boyfriend--that is a tough situation. He seriously needs to figure that out because he is insecure. I hope you guys can work through it.

You might not "feel" different because you are still on liquids. I didn't really feel restriction until I began eating mushies and dense Proteins. All of a sudden I could barely eat anything! lol :-) I am pretty sure you will feel very different when you can eat dense proteins like meat, chicken, fish and things like that. As far as re-sleeves--yes they have happened. A few people got re-sleeved because their original surgeon used a huge bougie and one lady I know got re-sleeved because she found out the surgeon didn't create a proper sleeve and left a lot of the fundus (which is supposed to be removed during sleeve surgery).

I have seen a few people post about significant regains on the Obesityhelp Revision Forum. I have also seen some posted on an Aussie sleeve forum where they have been doing vertical sleeves longer than in the U.S. A few of the ladies had significant regains after pregnancies which we all know could happen because pregnancy can obviously make people gain weight (although I know one lady who is about to have her 2nd post op baby and has remained slim throughout!!). Some of the people had simply not lost enough weight to get out of the obese or morbidly obese BMI range. And yes, some people had gone back to eating crap and gained weight back. Unfortunately it can happen with any surgery if you revert back to snacking on high carb foods especially like cookies or ice cream on a very regular basis. A couple of people experienced regains after going on a medication for an illness that causes weight gain. A few of them had been sleeved back when the stomachs were made quite a bit bigger than they are now and didn't remove all of the fundus like most surgeons do now. We always have to remain forever vigilant and learn the good habits after surgery. Not eating and drinking at the same time---protein first--things like that are big rules for a reason. Good luck everybody!

Hey there! It's going to be all right. I don't know how many times I see people saying they didn't reach their goal by 1 year post op and I remember that the sleeve studies out there show people hit their best excess weight loss at 18-24 months post op. A LOT of sleevers take that long to hit goal and the statistics prove it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that! As long as the weight comes off---that is what matters! Don't be discouraged. It's not a magic pill--it's a work in progress.

I am very curious! I read that with the gastric sleeve surgery the portion of the stomach that contains the hunger hormone grehlin is taken out and that hunger is greatly reduced. However, with the plication surgery, the stomach is stapled and folded over and the grehlin hormone is still intact. So my curiousity is----- does the plication actually have a hunger effect? Do you feel less hungry or the same? Thanks for your answers!

Hi Sue! I was wondering how tall you are? You have got to be getting pretty close. And you still might be able hit your goal. Most sleeve studies show best excess weight loss at 18-24 months post op. And after about 3-5 years the % of excess weight lost from gastric bypass and the sleeve look to be about the same. I wish you all of the best. I know it's disheartening and yes bypass people lose faster but they don't necessarily keep it off longer since the weight loss evens out.

Finding out I had type 2 diabetes at 35 years old ! Talk about scary!

Thank you Suzanne for showing that you can lose AND maintain with the right habits in place. You are a success story on how the sleeve should and can work for you if you work with it. Great job!

I realize my posts were on the negative confessions. Although I think I still look somewhat fat, I know that I am just having issues seeing the obvious thinner self in the mirror. This stems from being obese and seeing it for so long. I realize that I am much smaller and eventually my mind will catch up with my body. This will probably happen by the time I'm a year out lol. POSITIVE confessions 1. I confess that I love being able to slip into a size 8 jeans 2. I confess that I am 5'4, 141 lbs at 6 months post op and likely going to reach goal--even though negative nelly is whispering in my ear that I won't. 3. I confess that VSG is the best thing I've ever done! And my mind WILL catch up with my body one day. I'm only 6 months post op and the mind work takes a little longer!

Dr. Cirangle's patients have some of the best excess weight loss stats I've ever seen. I have met some of the most successful sleevers that were sleeved by Dr. Cirangle and follow his diet plan. You are definitely in very competent hands :-)

Getting confidence is a very welcome side effect of the sleeve surgery. Congratulations on being confident--that is a feat in and of itself for most of us. You deserve to be happy and a little cocky! Cheers to you with my protein shake raised!

I confess that I am still not really seeing the new "thinner me" in the mirror. I know I've lost a lot of weight--but I still feel fat. I confess that I worry that I won't get to my goal weight and I am done losing I confess that I eat wheat thin crackers more than I should sometimes even though I consciously know I shouldn't I confess I forget to take my Vitamins sometimes I confess that I still worry that I'm too fat to be confident in social situations, so I avoid them still I confess that I worry about my 17 year old daughter who is over 50 lbs overweight and headed to obesity. I secretly wish I could get her sleeved but she will ultimately have to make her own choices since she is almost grown. I have tried to help her but I don't want to force her into dieting because I know that leads to eating disorders. So I'm just going to love her and if she decides she wants help--I will help her in any way I can. And in the meantime--I will love her no matter what. I confess that I worry about my boobs losing their bouncy fun for my husband :-) And I confess that I do sometimes drink caffeinated coffee and love it.

The sleeve naturally heals and relaxes at around 6-9 months I believe. I have talked to some people who are all between 2-4 years post op and most of them can eat around 4-6 ounces of dense protein and some veggies. Now soft foods or easy to chew foods are more like 6-8 ounces so gotta be careful with that! So honestly it doesn't stretch much at all! However, what you can eat at 1-2 months post op will be less than you can eat at 6-8 months post op obviously. However I always like the expression some of the sleevers say "Just because you can doesn't mean you SHOULD". If you just eat until you are satisfied, and not until you are stuffed, you should be good to go and not worry about stretching.

Great job! Be proud of yourself!

Great post! I am very curious though. Since you were already sleeved and obviously had a very small stomach, and they had to remove MORE stomach, how much stomach do you have left? Are you able to eat only very little--even in comparison with someone who has a standard VSG surgery? Sorry if I seem nosy I have just never heard of this before. :-)

I promise you the difference is night and day between liquids and foods with texture or dense proteins. I remember the first time I ate dense proteins after surgery--I was shocked at how limited it was. I could barely eat a few bites and felt full already. Of course now at 6 months out it takes more because my stomach is pretty much done healing. I eat around 2.5-3 ounces of dense protein and maybe 1/2 ounce of veggies if I haven't eaten for a while. If I am eating regularly, I can usually only finish the protein. Now sliders are entirely different. The restriction on cottage cheese or slider foods is quite a bit less than on protein alone. I couldn't even eat 1/4 cup of cottage cheese at first and now I can eat 1/2-3/4 cup with absolutely no problem at all. Have to be careful on those sliders the further out you get!

Ah yes--Facebook. I had a personal account that i was using but didn't like bitchy old high school friends looking me up and making judgements on my life lol. I just got sick and tired of it and really didn't see much benefit in it. If I want to talk to a friend, I'll text them or call them or email them. Facebook is way too involved for my liking. I do have an incognito FB account that I log into where I only add friends who play Cafe World with me lol. No personal involvement and I like it like that. It's just not my cup of tea. I am a private person so I just really felt like it wasn't "for me" in that way for friends and family. I am just that way

Congratulations on your weight loss so far! -From another February 2012 sleever!

Wow, God bless you for having the strength and courage to go through all of that. Your positive attitude is very inspiring and goes to show that with the right frame of mind, you really can overcome anything. Thank you so much for posting this!! I am so glad you are okay!

I am very happy I went ahead with it. I knew I needed something to help me out with controlling my appetite and binge eating. I've had to address my food issues a lot by not being able to physically binge eat! I have gotten better at learning when I'm full and not trying to stuff myself needlessly. I am enjoying healthy foods more. I am one of those people whose taste buds haven't changed. I still like all of the same stuff-my taste buds haven't changed a bit. I am just much more satisfied on smaller amounts of food now. I still get hungry but it's a whisper compared to the ravenous pre-surgery hunger. I was eating healthier for quite a while prior to surgery and I feel that it helped me a lot transitioning over to eating healthy after surgery.

Congrats Tanisha!!