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I’m in the process of having a gastric sleeve surgery. I’m probably 130 lbs overweight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, BMI of 44-45 and some sleep issues and occasional low pack pain. However the main reason I’m having the surgery is due to two compressed nerves in the area of my waist. Meralgia Paresthetica is the term I’ve been diagnosed with for one of the compressed nerves. I’m a big guy and I’ve allowed my pants to ride lower and lower over the years without going to a larger size. They are no longer riding in the area of my true waist/hips and are compressing these nerves. All the doctors I’ve seen tell me that if I lose weight the problem should correct itself. The condition causes numbness and pain in my leg. Has anyone else had bariatric surgery partially due to a similar compressed nerve in the waist are?

This month marks 6 months since my sleeve surgery. I’ve been pretty quiet on the forum lately as I’ve been very busy. I just wanted to let everyone know things are going very well. My decision to have the surgery is probably one of the best decisions I ever made. Certainly there have been many adjustments over the past months, but those adjustments are my new normal and I’ve accepted them as if they’ve been with me my whole life. I’m closing in on 80lbs lost. My energy level is incredible. I recently took my two sons, both who are in their mid 20’s, on a birthday trip to Boston to sightsee and attend a couple Red Socks games. They commented that they weren’t able to keep up with me. I’ve been riding my bicycle to work 3 days a week. I walk a 4 mile route every day during my lunch hour. The weight loss has slowed as expected, but I’ll reach my goal over time. All is well!

I’m nearly 15 weeks out and things couldn’t be better, but……..I have a bowel movement question. Yeah I know the topic is disgusting, so for those with a squeamish stomach, read no further. I am neither constipated nor have diarrhea. Instead my stools are very sticky, pasty and messy. They always leave “crayola marks” in the toilet. This is my only complaint following my sleeve. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do or is anyone experiencing the same issue.

I think I need to bulk up (harden) the stools. Wouldn't fiber make them looser (softer)?

My surgeon told me that he routinely used them for male and females. I FLAT OUT told him I did not want one. He paused for a moment and then said OK, but if I didn't urinate on my own within 3 hours of the surgery, he would have one put in. Luckiy I was able to use the restroom, but it required the "running warm over my hand" trick. The anesthesia just puts everything to sleep, including the bladder. I would definately ask your doctor.

I was sleeved on March 7th. I rode my bike from Omaha to KC on the March 22nd for my two week follow up. It wasn't a bad ride, but the last hour or so on the way back was a little uncomfortable. I think the largest incision was getting a little tender.

I waited two weeks before eating spicy food. I didn't have any issues with spicy food at all. You may want to start out slowly until you can gauge how your sleeve tolerates the food. I would stay away from fried foods as much as possible. This is the type of food that got us in trouble to begin with. I wouldn't say you could NEVER eat heavy fried foods, but eat them in very limited quantities. I'm 9 weeks out today and have eaten fried foods twice. Once was a fried chicken (leg and wing) and the other time was pork schnitzel. My sleeve didn't have any problems digesting this food, but it made me lethargic afterwards. If you intend to have a heavier type of meal, I would suggest your other meals be lighter in calories to balance out you daily caloric intake.

6 oz of yogurt was right at my limit following surgery. If I'd eaten another spoonful I would have felt the discomfort. The swelling has since gone down and I can take in more than 6 oz, but for quite a while this was a great nutritional choice for a sweet tooth.

I take the Walmart brand of multi vitamin in the morning along with a Biotin (for hair) supplement. Before bed is take another multi vitamin, Biotin and Zinc.

I'm currently using the vanilla flavored mix that Walmart sells. I've used up a chocolate and strawberry flavor. Walmart sells these for about $15 a container. I was looking at the nutritional label this morning and noticed something I hadn't before. Each serving of the stuff has about 25% of daily cholesterol intake. If you mix it with skim milk, like I do, this adds more cholesterol. I thought whey Protein was a byproduct from plants. Of course this didn't make sense since it has cholesterol in it. I did some checking and discovered that whey protein is a byproduct from cheese manufacturing. This is where it gets the cholesterol.

I used to enjoy sodas before my surgery. To be honest I really don't get that much satisfaction out of them today. I still have 2-3 diet soda's a week, but mostly to have something different to drink besides Water, coffee or drink mixes. It's very important to stay hydrated. If this requires someone to drink a little soda or coffee (things most NUTS tell us to say away from) to hit our daily intake of Fluid, so be it. If your sleeve is comfortable with a little soda that's wonderful. None of us could possibly down an entire can of soda like we did pre-op. Our sleeve is too small. The most we can/should drink is a few swallows at a time. Then give your sleeve a few seconds to let out a little burp before the next series of swallows. It important that we don't overfill out sleeves with ANYTHING! That includes food, liquids or even CO2 gasses from the soda. I wouldn't recommend carbonated beverages for those just coming out of surgery.

I don’t understand all the worry about plateau’s and stalls. It can be frustrating to not lose weight at times, but haven’t we got the rest of our lives? We are always going to have a stomach that’s 15% of what it used to be. How can we not lose our weight over time? Please don’t get me wrong! I empathize with everyone when it comes to weight loss expectations. I just think that getting on the scale all the time is like when you were a kid and you watched the clock and waited for the final bell at the end of the school day. The more you watch the clock, or scale, the slower the time seems to move or weight loss happens. Sleevers will then tend to get discouraged because it’s not happening fast enough. Remember, the up side to slower weight loss is less saggy skin. I know I’m probably the “odd duck” because I rarely get on the scale, except to perhaps update my ticker. I feel a whole lot better and more successful when I see my clothes get looser and my old “skinny” clothes come back out of the closet. That is success to me, not some number on the scale. Am I looking at this wrong?

I understand completely. It's funny because I'm usually that way with most things. Thank goodness I'm not that way with weight loss. I'm off to a great start with my weight loss, but I know I'll get where I need to be eventually.

I love to hear stories from other sleevers. Have any of you had any scary moments post surgery? My post-op has been just remarkable. It’s like I never had a surgery. I’ve experienced no pain, used no pain meds, no vomiting and no issues with any kinds of foods. I did have one scary moment on day 8. It was the evening following my staple removal. I woke up at 11:30 pm and discovered the incision above my naval had opened up and was bleeding quite a bit. I stood there for a minute or two wondering what I was going to do. I was a self payer and was worried about infection or a trip to the doctor for stitches. After I stood there staring at the incision, I began to feel nauseas. I made my way to the edge of the bed and sat there for a moment. Then the lights grew dim and the noises in the room (a fan we use as ambient noise) went away. My wife had gotten up when I did and asked me if I was OK. I could not get any words out and could not breathe. She was ready to take me to the ER. I motioned for her to wait a minute. After a few minutes my eyesight and hearing returned, as did my breathing. I’m still not sure what happened. Did I get up out of bed too quickly? Was it a combination of meds and a weeks worth of blood thinners? Perhaps it was a panic attack. It happened just this once. That’s the only issue I’ve had. What about anyone else?

This might seem a bit off topic and I’m not really sure what forum this belongs in. It is a serious topic for sure and would almost border on being political. I wonder how everyone else feels about this subject. We have all kinds of protected classes within our society, such as gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, etc. Do you think obesity should be the next protected class? I’m sure we have all felt as though we were treated differently due to our weight. This might include not getting a job or promotion. Perhaps you’ve been given the cold shoulder by sales people when they’ve chosen to wait on someone else. How about a dirty look when you sit next to someone on a plane. Have you overhear comments by others when you enter a restaurant? Did someone refuse to let you sit next to them on the bus? Does anyone have any such stories they would like to share? I’m a pretty thick skinned individual and most things bounce right off me. However, my wife is a “plus size” girl and I would be very upset if someone were to make a comment or similar about her. I had a pastor many years ago make a comment about overweight women. Needless to say we no longer go to that church and he is no longer a pastor there. I was in Germany on a business trip with a co-worker about 10 years ago. My co-worker, who was much bigger than I, sat down on a chair at an outdoor restaurant. When he did so the chair collapsed. The entire restaurant burst into laughter. I felt so bad for him. What seemed to make things worse was the fact that nearly everyone in Europe is thin and he really stuck out from the crowd. So what does everyone think? Are there enough protected classes already and it would be silly to have another? Does the ever expanding waistline of America warrant protection from discrimination? We all know that being overweight does not mean we are lazy. I think we work even harder than other people to break this stereotype. Many of us are on the way to a slimmer waistline, but that does not mean we are no longer sympathetic to the humiliation that other go through every day.

I'm 6 weeks out and target 900-1100 calories or (3) 300 calorie meals and perhaps a snack. My energy level is good with this amount of calories as long as I maintain 60 grams of daily protein. If I don't hit the 60 grams I feel it.

I think it depends on your doctor and nutritionist. Mine are pretty open about the post sleeve diet. The pretty much told me that I will learn which foods work through trial and error. They were more concerned about what I ate the 1st 8 days out.

I would wait a few days and give it a try again. I'm a morning only coffee drinker and try to limit myself to 2-3 cups. I tolerate coffee just fine and the 20-30 oz of coffee really help me to get my daily fluids in. I wouldn't give up on it just yet.

Popcorn isn't that bad. We wouldn't want to make a steady diet of it, but to have it as a snack from time to time I think is OK. I had popcorn last week when I saw Titanic. I added no butter or additional salt to the bag. My wife and I shared a sugar free lemonade. -Popcorn is a whole grain that contains 40 or more nutrients. -The germ in the popcorn kernel contains all of the B complex Vitamins, plus Vitamin E, Riboflavin and Thiamine. -Popcorn has more Protein than any other Cereal grain -Popcorn has more Iron than eggs, peanuts, spinach, or roast beef! -The hull and outer layers are rich in iron, phosphorous and protein. -Popcorn has more phosphorous and Fiber than potato chips, ice cream cones, or pretzels -Popcorn is a calorie counter's delight! Unbuttered popcorn only has between 25 and 55 calories per cup. I'm 6 weeks out and my sleeve will tolerate anything. I would try a small amount the first time to see if it agrees with you. Ask your doctor or nutritionist how they feel about popcorn.

Good story! I see both sides of the issue. Nobody wants to see more laws. I’m included in this group. At the same time the "health police" out there trying to pressure McDonalds to stop selling Happy Meals. A school recently would not allow a student to eat the "brown bag" lunch that his mother made for him because it didn't meet the schools standards of nutrition. It's getting crazy out there and overweight people might want to be prepared for what's coming down the pike some day.

I really need to update my ticker. I'm not a friend of the scale and haven't been on it for a few weeks, but at last check I was down about 40lbs. Thanks for asking.

I'm 6 weeks post-op.

Well said everyone. I love a topic that is different and sometimes controversial. I appreciate your thoughts.

I guess that's my point. It would not change how people THINK about obese individuals, but it would prevent them from being TREATED any differently than anyone else. Veterans are not handicapped. Being female or male doesn't make someone handicapped. You are not handicapped if your original country of origin is Yemen. None of these groups are handicapped, but they are afforded the luxury of being treated as though they are just like everyone else.