LVikingFan

Love the hiccup story. I had them too, the worst pain of the entire journey. Lasted almost 24 hours. Thankfully I can also say they were the only complication of my whole journey so far, And it is only 2 days to my 1 year surgiversary.

My one year Surgiversary is coming up on July 22. I initally lost about 65 pounds in the first 3 months, then lost weight very slowly over the next 8 months for another 25 pounds. I was really kind of bummed and decided that I had lost all I thought I would until about 2 weeks ago when I just started losing again. I have lost almost 10 pounds in 2 weeks. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Not that I am complaining, because I would really like to lose another 20 pounds. But all that being said I can't believe how much better life has been. I have to say I don't like to think that I am thin, just that I am now normal.

Let me weigh in for the men here. I am 5'7" and weighed officially 295 when I had my surgery 6months ago. I wore size 48 pants (but I had a really comfy pair of 50 jeans). Today I am 216 and wear size 40 pants, but my wife suggested I get 38's next time because these are pretty baggy. I wear size large shirts down from a 2X. And I am so much happier!

My doc says no drinking 30 minutes before, during the 30 minutes you are eating, and none 30 minutes after. When I was first sleeved it made it kinda hard to get enough liquids in. Now that I am 6 months out I can drink quite a lot, and I do. Iced tea all day long!

I am a strong believer in Isopure. At first I would sip one bottle slowly for most of the afternoon. Now I just drink it down, I like it cold. I also have the shake mixes and I have a home delivery service that now has a high protein nutritional drink that I get. I just mix them all up and try to have something different each day. I also have some of the protein bars that I use when traveling. I am almost 6 months out now, and I am able to get most of my protein from my diet, but I still want to make sure I have enough.

I was glued too. It must be very popular, my Grandson is having cleft lip surgery at the end of the month and they were told that his lip would be glued too. I am sure that there will be internal stitches, but it sure will help keep the scarring down. I only can even see the biggest incision that they actually removed my stomach through. All the others have faded away to nothing!

I went to three different doctors seminars. One of those was at the hospital my wife works at and if I had chosen him I would have had zero copay.I just did not feel comfortable with him, and when I went in for my first pre-op exam he was so rude that I walked out. The doctor I eventually went with shares the office with my PCP. I had hours of consultations pre-op to explain every single question my wife or I might have had. He offers free support group follow up and insists that you come for regular check ups for 5 years. I liked him because it didn't seem he did the surgery and then forgets about you. I have also never met a person at support group who has one bad thing to say about him. My wife is getting sleeved by him this summer.

I was really tired for about 3-4 months. I had no complications, but NO ENERGY! The only thing abnormal about my bloodwork has been a really low Vitamin D. I am now taking Vitamin D and trying to go outside more often and catch some sun. I am fortunate that I am retired and don't have to get up and go to work, because I really don't think I could have. Don't give up, the first few months are hard, after all this isn't a "miracle cure". I am now almost 6 months out, down 80 pounds and have accepted the sleeve way of life as my new normal. At first it seemed like that was all I thought about, but now I am living life and food is not my #1 thought. The B12 and Iron would probably give you a little boost. I just take a sublingual B12 and chew up a childrens vitamin with iron each day.

My doctor explained that the digestive tract is one big long tube. When you fill it up it empties. Pre-op we had to have it empty. Now the amount of food we are putting in takes a lot longer to fill it up, so it will need to be emptied less often. But be careful, I don't mean to be indelicate, but as others have posted here, never trust a fart!

Hi. My husband was sleeved back in July and has really learned a lot from you guys. Now I am considering surgery too. I have lost about 50 pounds just following the diet he eats, (but admittedly eating a little more). I am going to start my 6month diet as required by our insurance company this month. I am wondering, if I continue to lose weight on my own will they turn me down for the surgery? I am still diabetic and have high blood pressure. I need to lose about 100 more pounds to be healthy. I know that I can't continue eating just the little bits without some sort of help, like a sleeve.

You look great, even at your heaviest. Exercise is the key to keep things tightening. Your age will be in your favor. I was told years ago that drinking milk helps the skin stay tighter. I don't know if it is true or not. Good luck in your journey.

I agree that the kids menu options are usually not healthy choices. I tend to order from the appetizer menu and even then I find I bring home leftovers. If we are going out and taking the grandkids, which is usually the case, I order a regular meal, split it with my 4 year old granddaughter and then bring the leftovers home for lunch the next day.

Congratulations. What a beautiful story!

My surgery was July 22, 2011 and so far I have lost 81 pounds.

Unexplained pain is the worst. Thank God I haven't had any with my sleeve, but went through it with something else a few years ago. It just runs you down. Hopefully it is something simple like gas or a tight stitch, but don't let the doctors just blow you off. Don't be afraid to ask for pain meds to hold you over until they can figure it out. {{Hugs}} that they figure it all out soon.

WALK! It will help to break up the gas. Believe it or not it is gas in your next and shoulder from all the gas they pumped into your tummy. I know your knee hurts but try to get up and move around. I had trouble sleeping too, I was afraid I would move in my sleep and I was sure moving would hurt worse. Actually I found it didn't. I had my surgery late on a Friday and on Monday my wife and I went to the Mall shopping. I was tired when I got home, but I felt much better as lots of the crampy pains went away with the walking. I also had the best sleep since the day before surgery that night. You will feel pretty yucky for most of this week, but by Christmas I bet you will be feeling MUCH better!

You sound like you are feeling a little better now Rosy. I agree the first month is HARD. I don't think you will find a single person on this board that will say they never at least thought "Why the H**L did I do this"? during the first month. My doc is like yours and is really strict. Heck I am almost 5 months out and I am not even allowed to swallow a pill, everything must be crushed and this is forever! But I have followed the rules, and I have to say I have not had one complication. Not even any nausea. Just hang in there and vent as much as you need to us. We are all in the same boat and at least one person here has exactly what you are experiencing at any time. Just take a deep breath and remind yourself how great you are going to look and feel in just a few months.

My experience was pretty good. I was to have my surgery at noon so we arrived at a little before 11 as instructed. After an hour wait in the waiting room (and my wife having a total meltdown and not wanting me to do it) we finally inquired and they said they were just getting ready to call us. They took me back to get my designer gown and IV started. After half an hour or so they let my wife come back. She had realized she had forgotten her phone at home and asked if she would have time to run home to get it. The nurse laughingly told her she could get the phone, lunch and a nap. My case was going to be delayed at least 3 hours. It actually turned out to be 6 hours and it wasn't until after 6 that I went to the OR. I was pretty anxious by then but it went pretty quickly and I don't remember until I was in my room finally at about midnight. It didn't really hurt, but I was afraid if I did move it would hurt so I just laid still. My wife was able to spend the night with me, so we both slept until about 3 am when the nurse came in and said that I needed to get up and walk. My wife helped me and I made it once around the unit, and then I really wanted to go back to bed. They had taken out my catheter when I was in the recovery room and I didn't even know it. I got some pain meds in the IV when I went back from my walk and I slept until about 7:30 when I needed to use the bathroom. My wife helped me out of bed and I walked to the bathroom and noticed that I really didn't feel too bad. We went for another stroll and they told me that it was time to go and have my leak test. That whole process took about an hour and then back to my room again. The nurse came and told me I did fine and I could drink. That little sip of water tasted SO GOOD! I got my first liquid meal of 2tbls of crystal light, 2 tbls of broth and 2 tbls of jello. Something about that caused me to get hiccups, and that was the most painful thing of the whole experience. They lasted almost 4 hours. They said there was nothing to do for it. Right after I got over them they said I could go home. About 20 hours after surgery. The nurse did give me a dose of pain meds so I would be more comfortable for the ride home. I don't think that was the best idea, since I got really nauseated on the way home. Soon after I got home I got another attack of hiccups that lasted almost 12 hours and that were very painful. The wife called the doctor and he said to just take the Lortab and try to relax. The drugs knocked me out and a slept and hiccced all night. They finally went away the next morning. Kind of sat around the house the next day. They day after that I went and walked in the Mall with my wife. It has been all uphill from there. Moral of the story, the first couple of days are the worst and from there on you do feel better.

I must admit I faced Thanksgiving with a little trepidation. I think knowing I had an appt with my doc this week made me think a little more. I have found the smaller plate trick REALLY helps. I also made a decision to sit next to my wife, and my diabetic brother who eats very small portions. Then I took just one small spoonful of the things I really liked and no more. I tried to talk more and eat very slowly. I wasn't forced to look at someone elses plate piled high and it didn't make me feel deprived. I even had a tiny bit of pecan pie. And I was really happy to say that I did not gain an ounce. It also helped that we ate at my Mom's so we didn't have a lot of leftovers to stare at. Christmas will be a challenge since it will be at our house, but I am changing our traditional menu so there won't be as much temptation.

I am 4 months out and just went to my doctor yesterday. I have only lost 4 pounds in the last month, haven't cheated, but I haven't been able to exercise due to a strange pain in my back. The doctor told me that the wait loss slows up dramatically at the three month mark, but will continue to come off slowly. I had hoped to make it to 100 pounds less by Christmas but I suppose 70 pounds is not too bad. He did say that the back pain could be from a very low Vitamin D level. I don't know why it is low, I eat yogurt and drink milk and take tons of Vitamins, but will increase the Vitamin D and see how it goes. As far as your period goes, I can't comment on that, as I am a guy, but I remember when my wife was on Atkins and losing weight hers really was messed up. I am sure that rapid weight loss will affect your hormones, that could also account for your mood being a little different. Good luck to you.

I used to have a very sensitive outie that has become a nice innie. I guess there is less in me to push outie!

My doctor told me that the actual instruments that they use in the surgery are not able to effectively hold the liver out of the way during the procedure if the liver is too heavy. If they can't hold it up and out of the way they need to open you up and do an open procedure with a big nasty scar and a much longer healing time. I went to him 12 days before my surgery and he started me on the liquid diet that day. (I never had a chance for my "last" meal....something that you aren't supposed to do anyway) He had me come back the day before the surgery to weigh in, if I hadn't lost 10 pounds he would cancel my surgery. Imagine my surprise when I weighed in and found I had lost 23 pounds!

I chose the sleeve because it seems more natural. Now I know it isn't "natural" to only have 1/5 of your stomach, but your digestion works just the same. There isn't a band to slip or erode my stomach and if I chose to have something with sugar I am not going to have to run for the nearest bathroom with dumping syndrome. The sleeve is relatively new, and side-effects might show up later, but for now, this is the best thing I have ever done. I won't lie, it isn't a picnic, the first couple of months are really hard while you get used to the smaller stomach and while the swelling in the part that is left goes down. After the first couple of months you still need to work at it, exercise and being faithful to your protein and fluid intake. But that all being said, I think 98% of those of us here would do it again in a heartbeat.

I think any one of us on this board could have made this post. Everybody feels pretty crummy the first couple of weeks. It seems like sometime in the third week it hits you,"Oh wow, I feel better, my energy is coming back" This truly is major surgery, it takes time for your body to recover from the anesthesia and from the trauma to your body. Just take everything slow and in little pieces. At first my goal was 4 ounces in an hour. I filled up a 4 ounce glass with room temperature water and just sipped and sipped and sipped. It was really an effort to finish that tiny glass, that I used to finish in one gulp. I had trouble with anything hot or cold, it had to be room temperature or just a tiny bit warm. Sugar-free jello was a good thing too. I cold only eat about 2 teaspoons full but it wasn't hard to get down. If you aren't on an acid-reducer I would ask your doctor for one. It really seems to help with the queasyness and once the swelling goes down in the stomach it helps with the hungry feeling. Hang in there, it is going to get better day by day. Take a nice slow walk and sip your water and before long you will forget how miserable you were in the beginnng. My wife said to tell you it is like when you have a baby. Once you hold the baby you hardly remember how awful labor was!

By four or five months out your new diet will seem like second nature. I agree with everyone else to pack some protein bars just to make sure you are getting enough. It might be hard in Thailand to find out the protein content of what you are eating. The worst thing that I have had happen since my surgery is a day that I was really into what I was doing and forgot to drink. I am telling you by the end of that day I was miserable. I can see how that might happen while traveling. Just remember to drink and take in enough protein and you will be fine. Of course don't forget to take lots of pictures and have a lot of fun and don't forget your friends back here. We want to hear all about it when you get home!