Parker's Dad

Hello, First I would like to say hi to all and hope all is well. I have been checking out this forum for several days and decided to post and check things out even farther. I would like to introduce myself. My name is Dave and I am very intently cosidering the sleeve but to be honest I am very comprehensive and excited at the same time. Just some basic info about myself. I am 31 years old and have always been overweight. I have always been active and pretty healthy overall but always overweight. A few years ago I weighed myself and when I saw 375 ish, I said enough is enough. I became more aware of what I was eating, when, etc.... I was able to get down to about 315ish. At that time I was eating very healthy and walking/jogging 9-15 miles per week. Even with doing that for most of that summer I was unable to drop another pound below 315. My body loved that weight and would not budge no matter what I did. That fact makes me very very nervous about even doing this surgery as I am apprehensive of not being able to lose enough to justify the cost and the risk. I don't have diabetes, htn, or sleep apnea. I have had blood work checked for high cholesterol and thyroid disorder and all is absolutely perfect. The doctor and nurse actually gave me a weird look when they looked at the numbers and said that it could not be better!! Weird but hey it is what it is, right?? Anyway, I have a lot of questions that I would like to ask of you guys as to learn from the experience... I have looked over many many pages here and still have some questions that I didn't see. I look forward to any and all info that you guys are willing to share!! Thanks again, Dave.

Hey guys/girls, I am still doing a lot of research and soul searching before making a decision on this as I know that once it's done, there is no turning back. I have read and read and read more on this forum in the last few weeks than I have on anything in my life. I have read a lot of great information and got some great responses. I see a lot of women posting about their stalls and some of their slow losses. I understand that women have different programming and typically lose slower than men. With that said, I would like to know how much the guys are typically losing and over how long it is taking. I know a lot of it has to do with diet and exercise but lets do an average here. To any of you guys that have had your sleeves for a while, long enough to hit maintenence weights, how has that went??? Much regain and was it pretty easy to maintain??? Just looking for more info. Thanks a bunch guys!

UMMM yeah. Definitely more hair. I have not even been sleeved but have been losing some weight. I can tell an increase in both the testosterone and hair levels. LOL but not kidding. At this rate I may be mistaken for a Sasquatch if I go thru with the sleeve! Seriously though it's not like long and gross or anything just more of it. TMI??

Hey guys/girls, I have been contemplating getting the sleeve for a bit and have really been doing a lot research both here and other places online. I found a lot of good info but I still have one thing that I can not seem to find. I have a pretty bad history of kidney stones. It took a couple rounds of different medicines and testing before we found something that helped. I have to take potassium citrate and HCTZ daily or I get to live kidney stone hell. Now here is the thing. The HCTZ is a diuretic. Problem number one. I understand you have to drink so slowly and get in your 60 oz of Water a day. That may be even more difficult to maintain a good hydration. Secondly, without getting into too much detail, the potassium citrate pills are decent size and don't disolve. Anyone here have a history with stones and/or take these medications?? How did you deal with it with the sleeve?? Need to know information for me for sure. I absolutely hate with the fire of 10,000 suns dealing with kidney stones!!! Thanks.

A couple concerns that come into play as well.... Working in a hospital I don't get any regular breaks for meals and have days that I rarely sit down so... 1. How do you stay hydrated?? 2. Do you find that you absolutely "must" keep a regular eating schedule?? 3. How do you guys handle having pain control post op?? 4. With the different NUT and MD diet restrictions, how do you go about that?? I have seen a bunch of different ones noted here with different guidelines. 5. How long did you have to take before you could go back to work and have the energy?? 6. How long was it before you actually felt "normal" again??

Rootman, My thoughts go out to you man. It is very hard to lose your little four legged buddies. I have lost a couple over the years and it is very very difficult for sure. They love you, they listen when noone else will, and they never ever judge you. They just love you. When you have a bad day they can be the only thing that you can sit down and make you feel better. You loved them and you wanted the best for them man. You would not want to see them suffer beyond anything that you could reasonably do for them. You had to love them and respect them as much in death as you did in life. It takes a lot of pain of heart to be able to let them go respectfully and with dignity instead of us using our selfish human heads to let their pain linger. As hard as it was, it was probably the best decision you could have made for THEM. I am sorry for your loss bud. I am sure the wife was hurting just as badly and that trip that she made was one of the longest drives she has ever made man. You have her to talk to and to love. Forgive her, talk about the good times, and know in your hearts that you guys did what was right for your loved ones. Don't dwell on the negative the way we sometimes do and let that negativity live in you and eat at you.... it's not worth it. It's like a cancer that can make you very ill. Very sorry about the situation. And this too shall pass.

How were you able to get thru the process so quickly if you don't mind me asking????

I am gonna ask a question that I know is very subjective and is not set in stone but it's relevant to me. How much weight on average do you lose with this sleeve??? A friend of mine has had it and dropped over a bill! He was very vigilant with it for quite a while then got a little laxed and is still losing. This may sound stupid, but I don't want to be skin and bones. I have always been bigger and would really like to hang between 225-250. I know that sounds stupid but I figure it's better to have a little "reserve" lol. I guess what I am saying is that I would hope that you could get a decent weight and actually be able to maintain there and not be able to stop if needed. This kinda goes back to my earlier posts with concerns about needing your stomach to work for you. Stupid things maybe but legitimate concerns in my brain at this point. You guys have been great with sharing your stories and experiences. I really appreciate it and am still on the fence about what to do. There is a seminar on Saturday that I am considering attending to check things out even more. Just confused as to my best options right now.

WOW I think I really screwed up.... I was almost completely convinced that this sleeve was gonna be the way to go then.... I watched a Youtube video of the surgery. Now I am not so sure. I am not squeamish about things at all but that literally turned my stomach!! WOW

Emily, That was sort of the conclusion that I had came to about the dumping thing as well lol! I have not been to any seminars or any of that at this point. I have just been doing a lot, I mean a lot of research, and talking to anyone that I can about it that has personal experience with it. A lady at work just had it this week and I am anxious to speak with her. She had it at the same hospital that I would be going to so I am very interested to see how it went. Another friend of mine had it done at the same hospital as well. He had a couple complications, but I have always said that he is "special" anyway so I wasn't surprised. He ended up with pneumonia and an infection BUT he was a smoker and I am not sure which one incurred first that may have lead to the other. Kinda of a six of one, half a dozen of another type situation I think. I am still gathering info and working it over in my head at this point....

Thanks Rick. I was seeing some mixed things on the NSAIDS, that makes sense, especially not to use them very early. The sleeve is the only procedure that I am looking at seriously. The DS and RNY are completely out of the question for me and I can say that I would just deal with what I have before I would use that. I know some people that have had the RNY and had absolutely nothing but problems, and serious problems at that. The fact that the stomach is the only thing affected and no other replumbing makes the sleeve seem like the best choice of all the procedures I have looked at. Thanks again. Now regarding dumping syndrome.... I get mixed opinions on this as well. I understand that a lot of this relies on what people are eating but is it as bad as the others??? Like I said, a lot of questions that I would like to hear from real people with real world results, not from a hospital salesperson just trying to get patients in the door. I work in a hospital so I know how things sometimes seem to be. I am thinking about making an appt for next week to consult. Keep the info rolling guys. You don't know how much I appreciate it!!!

LOL!! That is great. Considering the sleeve at this point in time. I hope that one day I can be in that same situation. It kinda sucks not wearing anything smaller than a 2-3X shirt. That is one of those things that would just make you turn around, smile, and walk away! Congrats!

Hey guys. New to this site and have been looking around a lot and found this one! WOW! LOL! If the "wood" gets any worse than it is now, not sure what I would do with it. I could probably drive nails with it as it is and I have not even had the sleeve yet!! Lots of good info here and some laughs to help out too. Still debating the sleeve!

Hey Dooter, Thanks for the post. I also take the glucosamine pills as well and those suckers are frickin huge! I have a pretty ragged left knee due to an old injury back in high school. It's not bad enough (pain wise) to have it cut on yet so I have put off and put off having it repaired. It occasionally flares pretty good but a little advil and tylenol goes a long way. I also know that if I have it cut now, that I will probably have to have it done again years down the road..... not looking forward to that the first time much less twice. Regarding medications...... Are there things that you guys find that you can no longer take??? I have read a few posts that say Drs have discouraged the use of NSAIDS. I am sure there is a reason for that??? As far as the potassium citrate I have to take for the kidney stones, it is an absolute MUST. No way around that one, without it, I live in kidney stone hell!! I guess that is one of the questions that I am gonna have to ask at consult. Sorry about all the long posts guys but lots of questions and fear of the unknown right now... I am one of those people that does not scare easily and I do not jump into anything without knowing exactly what I am getting into. I am just a little perplexed at the thoughts of doing this.

Hey guys thanks for the responses. To address a couple things in specific.... Bean, it sounds rather similar to me as well. I lost about 60 lbs or so down to the 315. I got a little laxed and got back to about 340-345 and stayed there for a looooong time with no effort to lose but as the same time had no problem staying at that weight. Back in February, I had to get a new Dr as I had moved to a new town and in the process got to talking to him about options. That was the first time that he checked my numbers and all was great. We basically at the same moment thought adipex. I started it and used about 3-4 months and decided to break on that for a bit. I went back today and am down about 25 lbs from February. I am glad to hear that you have been able to eat basically whatever you want. That is one of my concerns as I am some what of a picky eater, not overly so, but would consider myself a meat and potato kink of guy. I just never acquired a taste for broccoli or celery type foods. In the same breath I can also say that I am not a sweets addict at all and never binge ate just because. I just always preferred real food and would eat the sweets if I wanted a little depending on what it was. You sound a lot like my friend that had this done last year. He says that he has not found anything yet that he has not been able to eat. That is somewhat of a concern in all honesty. With my luck, I won't be able to eat anything that I could before. Not kidding, I can always pull the skunk out of the hat instead of the rabbit!! Emily. In regards to your post..... I am 5'10" and currently range from 327-330 lbs. To be completely honest, I would be happy to hit 250 and stay there. I am not looking to get into the modeling industry or anything so a super skinny me isn't really what I am after lol. I just know that I am only capable of losing a few more pounds on my own before I hit the stall of all stalls that will not give. When I got there before I tried diet pills, high protein/low carb, carb cycling.... you name it and not another ounce. Given these facts, I know I can't get there on my own therefore I know it's time to look into my options while I am still young enough and in good enough health to do what I need to do to get where I need to be. A few concerns besides the food not agreeing anymore are.... I am concerned that I won't have my stomach if I need it. I know it sounds like a stupid thought but if a person were to get deathly ill (cancer, accident, etc) I wouldn't have it. That just really sticks in my mind when mulling this thing over. Another thing I worry about, which may not even be relevant is meds for my kidney stones. I have to take potassium citrate every day. Two concerns about these pills are that A) they are sort of acidic and not very little pills at that, so I am not sure how they would work with a sleeve and they do not "dissolve" like regular pills. Your body just kind of absords what it needs from them and they well, they just kinda pass on and I'll leave that at that. Sorry about that detail! Thanks again for the responses guys.... Keep the info coming. I need it all right now.