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O.T.R. sleever

Gastric Sleeve Patients
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Posts posted by O.T.R. sleever


  1. I ate a 8 oz hamburger patty my wife made about a week ago for dinner. Afterwards' date=' I was wondering how did I just do that... my comment to her was please make them 3-5 oz for me. Usually I can only eat max 4 oz dense meat and will stop eating because full. Not this time though. It might have been because hamburger meat is not so dense.[/quote']

    Was 8oz precooked weight? Hamburger loses a lot of weight in the cooking process.


  2. I really think I must have stretched my stomach because I really can eat a lot. After reading stories pre op I am rather shocked at what I can pack away. The first few months post op I paid less attention to self control as I figure the limitations from the surgery would replace self control. Now I am finding I can eat as much again (maybe not as quickly) as I could pre op. I do wonder if the doctor didn't cut out as much as other patients since I wasn't super fat. I had to gain 15 lbs to get big enough to have insurance to help pay for it. Doctor said he took 50 to 60% off my stomach and have heard other people say it is size of an ink pen which can't be the case for me.

    You might be right. If your surgeon only removed about 1/2 of your stomach then a considerable amount of fundus had to be left behind. I would be highly upset if this were the case. IMO leaving fundus behind is bad practice because it is easily stretched. This is what is so great about the sleeve, when done correctly, it is nearly impossible to stretch.


  3. I am in the process of ridding my closet of all shirts that are bigger than a large(I wear medium now), and all pants & shorts that are over 34"(currently 32").

    She is upset because she use to "borrow" my big clothes saying she really liked big cloths because the were all loose & comfy.

    I'm not going back, so I don't even want them around.


  4. I'm sorry to admit that this operation was indeed a big mistake for me. I don't wish to expand on it for fear of daunting others hopes.

    Please do expand upon it, I can appreciate not wanting to kick other people's sand castles, but the thread was started to get responses from people that are unsatisfied after 6 months or more. Besides, when you do not tell your story, nobody wins, people who read your post are left to assume what they will, and you don't get a real opportunity to express yourself.


  5. Is it possible? Yes.

    Keep in mind that initially weight loss is very rapid and pretty easy. As you get closer to a normal BMI it takes more effort. What would your BMI be if you lost 170lbs? My experience is that it's pretty easy to get to about 30-33 BMI. After that you have to be willing to really work at it, or be willing to accept much slower loss.

    VSG is a tool, the more you properly use the tool, the more beneficial it is.

    Plateaus(stalls) just happen, just as they happen, they end. The best way to deal with them is to continue doing what you know is best for you and wait them out. The good thing about plateaus is when they end you usually lose several lbs very quickly.


  6. Ok, let's look at the difference between VSG & RNY.

    VSG: basically removes the soft stretchy tissue (fondus) from your stomach, leaving you with a stomach that is about 15-20% it's original size, & is very unlikely to stretch.

    RNY: is performed by cutting your stomach away from your esophagus & intestine. Then a pouch is fashioned from the fondus (the stretchy part). Then the pyloric valve ( this is what controls the movement of food from the stomach to the intestine) and several feet of the intestine are removed, this is what creates the malabsorption component of RNY. Then the pouch is reattached to the esophagus and intestine.

    There is nothing in either procedure that will actually burn fat. And knowing that you already have malabsorption issues really tells me that if I were in your shoes, there is no way in hell I'd consider a procedure that would add additional malabsorption. I'd fear that it would make proper nourishment nearly impossible.

    To be honest, I am genuinely concerned for you, first of all eating on e a day is a really bad habit. This can in itself put your body into "starvation mode". But in reality you say that you consume between 700-1200 calories a day. If this is truly accurate, then I would not recommend any WLS till such a time as you know why you aren't already losing weight. Your Base Metabolic Rate is over 1200 calories. This means if you did nothing but exist your body would burn more than 1200 calories a day hence losing weight.


  7. Could it be possible I eat too fast and not breaking down food enough. I cut out cheese and stuff that would cause Constipation but still have it really bad. All the stool softeners don't work' date=' even tried a lot of mineral oil, no results.

    Anyone experience this problem with results?[/quote']

    How far out are you? 3-5weeks? Constipation is something we have all dealt with. It is caused by your diet, lots of Protein with very little or even no Fiber. The best thing you can do is stay hydrated, and when you get to 6 weeks start adding chia seed to your shakes. If it gets unbearable between now & then the best solutions are a suppository stool softener or even a fleet enema.


  8. Hi T & T, welcome.

    First of all lets be very clear, this is a sleeve forum, and most of us are partial to the sleeve. That being said, the sleeve is quickly increasing in popularity, and is slowly overtaking RNY as the "gold standard" of WLS.

    A few things to consider here is that weight loss from RNY & VSG have proven to be very comparable. However unlike RNY your stomach (pouch) is nearly impossible to stretch. Many people who have RNY end up regaining their weight mostly due to not addressing the underlying emotional issues. Another thing to consider is with the removal of a considerable amount of your intestine, and your pyloric valve(RNY), not only will your recovery be harder, it created lifelong intolerances to certain medications & foods, and even medications that you wouldn't have an intolerance to would have to be more closely monitored, due to the fact that your body will not be able to absorb them as efficiently.

    My personal belief is that VSG is the best option for anybody that is going to undergo WLS. It is less invasive than RNY, & if needed in the future, a duodenal switch could be added to the VSG to add the malabsorption part(the vast majority of people will never come close to needing DS). And to be honest, the band is a temporary solution, and not a reliable one at that.

    You did bring up the issue of GERD, and esophogeal damage. I would highly recomend being examined, and get a professional determinationas to whether the damage you have precludes you from getting the surgery. I will say though with what I understand of the procedures I cannot imagine anybody being a good candidate for RNY being unfit for VSG.

    Another thing I really want you to consider, is counseling. Please don't take this wrong, I am NOT calling you crazy, we all have underlying issues that have brought us to where we are at, for some of us, it's simply growing up in an American society where food is so prevolant, overheating is just normal, and we need to reset our minds as to what a "normal" portion is. For others we are emotional eaters, when we are happy, we eat birthday cake, eat huge steaks, and chicken dripping with barbecue sauce with potato salad & chips. When we are hurt, Ben & Jerry come to the rescue. Hell, I've been known to wolf down a few chili dogs & frito pies just out of boredom, God forbid, don't let my wife make cheesecake (she makes cheesecake factory look like Sara Lee) I just can't seem to leave it alone.

    As for the 12 hour drive, I'd say, save a bit more and plan on staying in Mexico 2-4 extra days, it'll make a world of difference. Then plan on making the return trip a 2 day event. This is all being said assuming that you insist on driving. My better option would be to fly in, I'm guessing you are concerned about the cost of flying, round trip tickets can usually be had for under 500 per person, and if it's a size problem, and you are concerned about being required to purchace extra seats(I don't really think you'll have this happen), the fact that you are flying together would mean that if you sat together 1 extra seat would provide ample space. I'll apologies now, for the whole flying thing sounding insensitive, but I really believe you should consider it. 12 hours of driving tells me that you are about 800 miles away, that's a long trek just a few daydream post op, and the 3-4 extra hotel nights , and other road costs would likely bring the cost to nearly the same.

    The fact that you eat 1200 cal/day and still have ended up here really concerns me. There simply has to be more to this. Unless you have some other medical issues it's nearly impossible to gain weight at 1200 calories a day. Are you sure you sure you are calculating your caloric intake correctly? Some common mistakes are misjudging portion size, for example a portion size of chicken is 3oz, if you eat 1 breast you are usually consuming 2-3portions, not including Condiments, breading are also calories that are often not included. When you order a salad at Wendy's their calorie count does not include croutons, or dressing. And there was my demon, are you counting the calories you drink? I was drinking 1500+ calories a day. Orange juice, Gatorade, sweet teas, and Dr. Pepper were my biggest unidentified problems.

    As for returning to class or work, I would plan on 3 weeks, unless your job requires lifting then 6 weeks. I personally felt I could have returned to work after less than a week, but I took 3 off anyhow.

    I hope this helps you in your decision, let me know if I missed anything.


  9. I have had the lap bad for just over a year now an i have exactly the same problems that you have written about. Do you know if insurance will cover a revision?

    All policies vary, however, most either do not cover revision will only cover it in the case of a failed band (failed meaning a situation that would require removal of the band, like erosion or a leaking band).


  10. Thank you all so much for the input & advice. I am noticing a trend' date=' seem like most sleeve pt have tried the band and converted to the sleeve. This is one of the biggest decisions of my life and I just want to be healthy so I can enjoy more activities with my family. I am curios is to the amount of recovery time? The sleeve seems like a greater invasive surgery.[/quote']

    Recovery from surgery goes in stages.

    Initial recovery, meaning the amount of time till you feel reasonably healthy and comfortably live your daily life. Anywhere from 3days to 2weeks. I personally felt fine immediately.

    Stomach fully healed, this is about the 6week mark. This is usually when all exercise restrictions are lifted. There will still be a fairly dramatically reduced capacity at this time due to some lingering internal swelling.

    Complete recovery, you'll reach your max stomach capacity somewhere between 6-12 months.

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