Erin92

Totally normal, you are taking in more liquid than solids (if any) so, liquid in, liquid out. Once you are on solids again, things will start to get "normal" again.

i have had the occasional beer, just drink it slowly and you will be ok.

Hello back at yah. You will hit stalls throughout this journey and 3 weeks was when i hit my first one. It will not last so do not fear! I also had my surgery from Almanza. Good luck to you and thanks for posting, nice to know there are people close.

Hi fellow Edmontonians!!! Well, i'm from St.Albert, but close enough! I'm 3 weeks out from Surgery. Got it done by dr.almanza. I'm currently at a stall...and it's making me very unhappy. Anyway, glad to see other fell Edmontonians here! I wish everyone the best of luck and much health in their weight loss!

Woohoo! Go Edmonton.

I do not have any regrets, even though I had a rocky recovery, I would do it again because I am going to live a long and healthy life!

from edmonton, alberta here, went through dr almanza and had an uneventful surgery...had some challenges after, but it had nothing to do with who did the surgery and where. just thought i would put my two cents in with forever 30

Just wanted to say hello as a fellow sleever and edmontonian.

Dr Sharma is very very knowledgeable. I have subscribed to his blog even as a self pay patient. If I had been heavier I might have qualified to have the surgery with Weight Wise but as my BMI was 37, the likelihood was very low they would have done it for me with no "real" co-morbidities.

If you haven't yet, get your doctor to refer you to the program. The modules are very interesting and helpful. I've attended 3 so far ... post-op!

I have these feelings at times too. I had my surgery back in January. I am 36. I suffered with anxiety and depression prior to the wls but what I have experienced since then is totally different. What you have thought about, scared I won't succeed, scared you are too young or that you will have side effects. I got past all of these feelings by believing, really believing that I would. You need to remember that you did all of this not only for yourself, but also for your family. So that you will be around to see your kids grow up etc. The diseases that you would very likely have gotten from being obese would certainly have taken you away from them. You will succeed, you are not going to rupture your suture line and you are going to feel great soon! It took me a while, and I had some extenuating circumstances related to the surgery crop up and I got past them and feel better all the time. I have my moments of anxiety, but then I think them through and take some deep breathes and these moments pass too. I don't know how far out from surgery you are, but just follow the diet you have been given, and live your life. Enjoy your life because you did a great thing for yourself. I truly believe it takes people with serious guts to get wls. It is laughable that people think we are taking the easy way out considering the mental aspects that many of us have to deal with.

Good luck to you and remember we are hear to listen and help you get through this. :bigear:

I'm having more of an anxiety response. I'm scared. Scared I ruined my body. Scared I wont succeed. Scared I am too young to have done this. Scared that down the road there are going to be horrible side effects that will kill me and my family will be alone. Scared my suture line will rupture and I will die

Pretty much all around scared.....

Ok,Update time, AGAIN!

I will explain my week from the start which goes from this past Friday when I went BACK to the ER for the 3rd and final time

I finally ended up getting moved up to a Ward with potassium burning into my veins. (very painful). This ward was a bit of a gong show, the nurses did not seem very knowledgable so I didn't ask many questions. My roomie was an older lady who was pretty quiet and we were able to just do our own thing. I didn't see a doctor after being in the ER until Saturday when I was told I would be getting ANOTHER scope by a different doctor. So, I was hopeful that this would provide answers, sadly, it only left me with more questions. She felt that there really wasn't really an L shape in my stomach, that she was able to get the scope through and that I may have to live like this forever or learn to live like this AND she wondered if my vagus nerve (not sure what it is exactly) might have been affected. She also kinda dissed the surgery in general so I was defentitely feeling like I was getting nowhere again. I sat with my mouth gaped open, totally speechless. I asked, did I just totally ruin my life here??!?!?! She was nice and said no but did not give me the answers I was looking for, or any solutions for that matter.

SOOOO, on Monday when my Aunt who works in the hospital for the Director for Critical Care came in we talked and then another GI doc. He came in and was explaining that the doctor that did my scope the day before didn't feel there was anything to be done. My aunt and I said we did not agree and that we wanted to talk to the origianl doctor I was scoped by who was a bariatric surgeon. This Dr. said that he would send in another GI doc who had more experience with my situation first and then we could go from there. We decided to go with this dude and if that didn't work out we were going to make a complaint and my aunt was going to talk to the Chief of Medicine whom we ran into and I told my story to including the issues with different answers from different doctors. He said I absolutely had a right to get answers and solutions no matter what. So, yesterday I was admitted to the GI ward where I was placed on a freakin ER stretcher to sleep (because I wasn't as sick as others and they didn't have enough beds). Whatev. So this Dr. comes in and I call my aunt to be in with me as my advocate. She comes in and we had a whole list of questions that we didn't even have to ask. He said that he understood my concerns, knew that I knew something wasn't right and that he was going in to do another scope make his own decisions and balloon it, period. He also said he would take a biopsy cause he was in there and check out the surgery in general. He said that it would be around 2 or 3. Well, 11:45 am they came to get me! I was waiting for a while down in endoscopy and was a bit nervous too! So, I told him before he konked me out that he should just balloon the whole damned thing! He kinda chuckled and said he would do what he could. I woke up with a bit of a sore throat and tummy (just to the touch) but otherwise no worse off than before. At least it told me he did something in there. I was taken back upstairs and fell asleep for a couple of hours as I had a terrible sleep on the cot the night before. I then got up and asked for a cup of tea for my raw throat. I drank an ENTIRE little styrofoam cup of tea! Total victory right there. He told me not to get my hopes up too high that it wouldn't be a miracle solution and we would still have to work with it, together, but I still took it as a good sign. My sister came and saw me (my first visitor as I didn't want to see anyone and my parents are in Mexico) and it was a good day for her to come, I was in much more positive spirits for sure.

Now it's Wednesday morning and I got awoken at 5 am for my nausea meds and then dozed off an on while my 4 other roomies began to get up. Then my new Dr comes in 15 minutes earlier than thought and than I told Derek (hubby) to be there. Anyway, I had some questions ready and he was just awesome to talk to again. He said that he used the largest balloon they have to dialate the top (entrance) and bottom (exit) of the stomach, the middle part didn't require it as it does stretch naturally. He said that is wasn't grossly narrowed, but that the stomach is an odd organ and could look ok one moment and not the next. No harm done to just do it. He also said that my surgery looked great. Nothing wrong with how it was done at all. Now it would be up to me for the next 4 weeks or so to see how it all holds. I follow up with him in 4 weeks and if I feel good, I will just meet him in his office, unless I still have concerns, in that case we will schedule another scope to be sure everything is still a-o-k. He said I should remain off of work for the next 2 to 4 weeks, I got a note for only 2 and have an appt with my Family Dr on June 1st to follow up with blook work etc as he will be sending her all of my information to keep an eye on me too. I just feel 2 weeks will be plenty to get me back on my feet, and if I feel I can go back sooner, I just have to call my Dr. to get an ok to go back to work. We will see, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself just yet.

My diet is starting back a bit, I am on soft liquids like Soups etc for this week and then next week I can start with eggs etc and add one extra food at a time and see how it goes. I got some boost juice not milky drinks that I am going to use to supplement my diet as well.

I prayed so much for an answer and for someone to help me and really feel optimistic that this Dr. really has by best interest at heart and he is truly my hero. He said we would get it figured out one step at a time, if this didn't work, we wouldn't stop until we found something. Just a super person.

As I am sure you can tell, I feel better mentally big time. Physically, I am still weak, but Derek and I walked together and I am just going to persist with what the nutritionists/dieticians suggest and make my life the best it can be. I feel like I have my life back again, just have to drink a lot and keep on eating, which I feel is doable now.

I have told my family that it will take time again, but now we just need to be thankful things are going in the right direction now and I can soon begin to enjoy my new life.

Thanks again for all the encouragement and support. Hopefully it's all uphill from here on out!

erin :amen:

Hello All,

well, I got back home on Tuesday late afternoon after being discharged and going to the in-house nutritionist for a plan on how to get me through the next 5 weeks until my next scope.

I was treated for dehydration and malnutrition. They gave me potassium which felt like fire going into my veins and magnesium which was ok, but also fluids with other essential nutrients in them. Did that make me feel better physically, kind of.

I am still scared to death though. I saw another GI doctor who finally explained what the scope that I had done actually meant which helped me to understand what is going on a little better. I do NOT have a stricture like I thought. My stomach has healed in the L shape rather than the banana shape. The reason they are waiting for the scope is that they would prefer that I am 6 months out from surgery before attemtping anything like a stint or whatever method they decide to use to try to help me. In the meantime, I HAVE to try to eat and drink and get my Protein in.

Do I feel better knowing all of this, yes, but I am scared to death. My fear is that the stint won't be something viable and they may want to do a complete by-pass. They said that is the last resort, but it is still scary. At the same time, I just want to feel better and start to live a normal life again. My family is literally sick with worry about me, my husband is a mess and frankly so am I.

I have really pulled myself away from everyone as much as I can and I know that is not healthy. I have been off of work for the past 2 weeks and am nervous about the work load I will have when I go back on Monday and how I will be able to manage a full day and eating and drinking all day. So overwhelming.

I did call the GI doctor to ask if they are just going in to look at things again or if they are actually going to treat me when I go for this scope and she said if there is something they want to do or think will work, they will do it right then and there, I felt reassured by that for sure. I have to say, I should not be surprised. I have many friends on here who have had surgery since I did and have had a pretty great recovery, so glad for all of them. But I have always had bad luck and should have known that if something was going to go amiss, it would have been with me.

Anyway, I really am trying to get past the whoa is me period but I think it will take a bit more time. I am on strong anti-nausea meds, but am still heaving about once a day, don't know why but sadly, I am getting used to it. Just trying to think that there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel.

Thanks again for all your comments and support. I will keep you all posted.

Erin

Hey All,

I just wanted to get some opinions about my situation here. I was admitted to the hospital on Sunday when I went to the ER with difficulty with nausea, heaving and general weakness and lethargy. I was put on IV and given a ton of blood tests, a barium swallow and a scope.

The doctor who did my scope said there was a stricture (my wording) near the bottom of my stomach and that a GI doc would be seeing me in 3 weeks and to go home. It's now Saturday and I can almost feel myself fading hour by hour. I was told to drink a half a cup of fluids for each hour I am awake and be on a liquid diet. I have done ok with the fluids, but it also makes it difficult to eat when I have to not drink a half hour before and after. Anyway, I saw my family today and my father says that I look like I am getting dehydrated again, a gaunt look to my face. I am also very weak, on Thursday night I was going down our wooden basement stairs, slipped and wasn't able to catch myself so I skidded down a bit on my shin and bonked the back of my head. Nothing serious, but indeed painful. I feel like I have to psych myself up to stand for an entire shower even. I am supposed to go back to work on Monday, I don't know how I would make it through an entire day.

To top it all off, I called the GI docs office to make an appt for 3 weeks from now and he revised my surgeon's request and put me in for 6 weeks from now, June 17th. I really don't think that I have the ability to make it this long. I no longer have nausea as I am on heavy duty nausea meds, but eating is still tough and I am tired after not long at all.

My family believes that I should go back into the ER in order for them to see me right away. (Also, I had high blood pressure, never had it before, it went down while I was in the hospital, and it is back up to 150/107). Although I don't feel like I am on deaths door just yet, I wonder if my family is right and I really should go back in.

Any feedback from fellow sleevers would be greatly appreciated.

erin

:thumbs_up: Awesome and inspiring --- great job!

Thank you for all of your replies and prayers, keep them coming.

I will start by saying that I have not taken any comments in any way but in an effort to help, comfort and encourage me, so no worries there.

Next, I will tell you what has been going on with me. After feeling very weak, terrible and what not my parents said they wanted me to go to the ER. I kind of ignored it. Then on Sunday, I was feeling my usual nausea in the morning and wanted to avoid it, so I jumped into the shower, when I got out, I got really dizzy as if I were about to faint, so I sat down and from there began to heave. After I was done, I went into the bedroom where my husband said that it was now time for me to go to the hospital to make the doctors do something for me before I crash. Finally, I agreed.

I went to the ER here that has a bariatric dept. (I had my surgery out of country remember) in hopes that someone would see me there. After a long time waiting and having an IV for hydration I was admited to the hospital. That is where I stayed until today when I was released. While I was there, I had another barium swallow, an ultrasound and a scope and LOTS of blood work. While there, I was on IV for hydration and given anti-nausea meds and acid reducer. The result of my tests, my liver enzymes are elevated, my bile ducts are enlarged, and my stomach has a narrowing at the bottom where the doctor stapled too small. The bariatric doctor told me there was nothing he could do about the stricture (doc did not use this wording) but that I would have to wait to see the GI doctor in 3 weeks, then follow up with the head bariatric surgeon at my hospital.

So this is where I stand, I am scared and praying that they can "fix" me. I am also hoping that I can make it through these next few weeks. Stay hydrated and try to do as the dietician asks.

Thank you again for all of your support and thoughts. It means a lot to me. I hope that someday I can say that I feel good and look forward to the rest of my days as a person at a healthy weight, who is truly healthy.

Bye for now.

erin

So when you stuck to the mushies, what made you decide you were ready to move on to normal foods? What do you think eased your restriction?

I have had labs done and am good on all levels surprisingly. I am taking multi-Vitamins but not the B12, my doc said that if i wasn't deficient then i needn't take them. I feel like I am on the rollercoaster from hell. If it isn't one thing that is wrong with me then something else crops up! Should I be asking for an endoscope?

I had reflux before surgery but it has gotten a bit worse since the surgery, I assume due to the size of my stomach. I may have to ask for a change over, but it seems to be mostly under control.

I just feel so alone, my husband is frustrated with me feeling like crap for the past 3 months and my father is worried sick. I don't have any answers to give them and quite frankly, being selfish, I want answers/resolutions more than anyone.

I want to start living my new life and I am not convinced I will ever feel good again and that scares me to death.

Yes, I have contacted the coordinator and she wanted me to come back down there and possibly have them go in again, I think that is a little drastic when I have heard that they can often do an edoscope with a balloon to stretch the sleeve if necessary. i also cannot afford to go back down there right now. If I can get in to see a bariatric doctor where I live, there will be no cost to me. As for Vitamins, yes, I do take them. I should also mention that I do have acid reflux and that I take pariet twice a day for it. It helps, but it has yet to be a cure.

you are right, i do not eat much at all. I cannot physically handle Protein Shakes, so those aren't an option and I can only eat about 1,5 oz of meat per serving. As for liquids, I think I have been doing pretty well, but have noticed that I am dry in the a.m. so that could be related to my morning nausea. It does almost seem like a viscious cycle, but I don't know what to do because when i eat or drink, i feel terrible.

Yep, I said it, my life sucks. I had my surgery January 24th, 2011 and the surgery itself was uneventful, the few weeks after, uneventful as far as I can tell. The rest has been DOWNHILL.

In a nutshell, I feel like crap, I wanna cry, I have no energy, my sense of taste is disgusting, and I am feeling serious regrets right about now. Yes, I have lost 59 pounds, but if it's at the price of not feeling well and healthy, I really don't know that this was all worth it. I have been to see my general doctor as I had my surgery out of the country, and she has tried to do as much for me as she can. I had a barium swallow and it showed that everything is passing through my system as it should, but also that my stomach is VERY small. I am at the end of my rope as is my doctor so I have been referred to a local bariatric surgeon who deals with people who have had surgery out of country. Sadly, it has only been a week, so I have not heard anything from them. In the meantime, I am now nauseated when I wake up in the morning. Instead of feeling better, I almost feel like things are getting worse.

I had a point where I was angry, now I am just heartbroken and just do not know what to do anymore. I pray every night that this will pass because this is no way to live I can tell you that.

If there are veteran sleevers who have walked in my shoes, please feel free to respond cause I could use all of the kinship I can handle right now.

BTW, I am depressed, I am on meds and this is not depression caused. I wake up each day hoping it will be better than the last, and occassionally it has been a better day, but for the most part, I have not been so lucky.

Being that this is irreversable I need answers, being that I have a full-time job, a husband that is having trouble with how I am feeling and a family that is worried sick about me - these issues need to be resolved sooner rather than later.

Thanks for listening

e

me too!

Keep us updated on how you do Dream, I was sleeved in TJ by the same doc. and am in Edmonton too.

GAS-X STRIPS and WALK WALK WALK. It sounds exactly like how I felt from the gas. The two things I suggested were all that would help me. Get better soon!

Ok, I really didn't think that I would ever have to post on here. Who was I kidding? I am going to be going into my 11th week post-op and I feel. Well, I guess I feel ok. My problem, I think that I can relate somewhat to how anorexics feel and I will explain of course. For some reason, when I eat, the little that I do, it feels heavy in my little stomach and I feel uncomfortable for anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. I cannot drink Protein shakes, they are nasty and no longer agree with me. Nothing I eat seems to go down well at first anyway. I no longer want to eat. It's just easier to avoid it altogether, at least until I start to feel the actual hunger kick in. Then I eat something, but it's always difficult to even think of something palatable (sp?).

I have suffered from depression for years and thankfully have not felt the same since surgery. Now that I am experiencing these issues, I am going through an entirely different kind of depression that I have never felt before. I just want to be normal, feel normal. I don't care if I cannot eat the quanitity of food that I used to, I really don't, but I do want to feel good after I do eat my smaller portions. Not sluggish and heavy. I have gone to my doctor (gp as I was self-pay in Mexico) and she is really trying to work with me to figure things out. I think I may be driving her crazy. I go for a barium swallow probably next week to see if there is a spot in my stomach that is too narrow to allow food through properly. My fear is that they will find nothing and I will not know what to do from there. I feel better having lost weight for sure, but this is not living I will tell you that much. I am not religious, but I pray every night for this to get resolved. That I did this for a good reason, to get healthy and live my life fully. I am more of a recluse than ever now. I don't want to go to my family's for dinner because it is just a struggle and I stay home from anything social wherever I can. If I didn't have to work, I wouldn't leave then either! I have posted on the boards and been told that this can be normal and talked to my patient liason who also said it was normal and could last up to 6 months. I just recently asked her to talk directly to the doctor and ask when I am actually supposed become concerned if this doesn't resolve itself. She is to get back to me tomorrow or Tuesday. People just have no idea what a struggle this is, both physically and mentally.

I am sick and tired of feeling sick and tired but felt I needed to get this out in writing.

Thanks for listening.

e

I know this is an old post, but I am from Alberta.

Hi everyone, I am in Alberta and am planning to get sleeved in the 2nd week of August with Dr. Aceves - haven't booked a date yet, but will do so in the next 2 days. Anyone thinking of heading there in the 2nd week of August? Anyone from Alberta on this board?

I would contact the surgeon who did my wls. That's that best advice I can give. Take care and keep us updated.

Hello Sleevers,

I have a question for you all. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I am having issues eating. Protein sits like a rock in my stomach and often, the idea of eating makes me want to vomit. I wrote to my patient liason and she said, along with many of you veteran sleevers, that this can in fact be normal and to be patient.

My questions now are:

- how do I know this isn't a bigger issue (one of my sleeve buddy's spoke to her surgeon who suggested I may need an endoscopy) - should I check into this or am I jumping the gun?

- if I should wait it out a bit longer ~ how long can I expect this crap to last?

I do not want to seem like I whiner, I really don't, but I almost dread getting out of bed in the morning because I have to begin this struggle all over again, trying to eat and find something that doesn't sit so heavy.

chicken and eggs are a no go for me, so HEAVY! Protein shakes truly make me want to throw up.

Yesterday for supper I had 2 mini quiches with spinach and egg and ham in them and a small cucumber (1" diameter and 5" long) and didn't feel too bad after that actually. First time since I can remember so that was a mini victory.

Am I overreacting?

Again, any advice is welcome and appreciated.

You really are a wealth of knowledge, you are much appreciated, in case you didn't already know that Tiffykins.

It's temporary and it grows back. Here's a few topics on hair loss with others experiences.

http://www.verticals...h&fromMainBar=1

I personally lost half of my hair by volume. I too had thick, very coarse hair pre-op. I chopped it off, added hoards of layers to give the illusion of volume once the shedding stopped. Mine lasted a solid 3 months, but I had new growth coming in before the shedding stopped. Biotin helps with regrowth, I don't know about growing hair in other places because I never took it. My hair is almost back to it's pre-op volume, and it's extremely healthy. Stressing over it is only going to make it worse.

You are so not alone, I couldn't have described how I feel better than you in your fourth paragraph. Hope you/we feel better soon! And yes, an appetite without feeling like crap after eating would be a great thing.

Why is the number one rule no drinking? Isn't that so your stomach won't empty out and make you want to eat again sooner? food sits in my stomach for a long time and I am trying to get more food in as I know I'm not getting enough Protein. As I said in my orginal post, I'm taking my Vitamins and getting in as much Protein as I can. I even nibble on a Protein Bar when I can't (due to working) stop to eat anything else.

I don't need criticism, I need ideas. I gave up tracking my protein intake, it was not helping. I'm not eating any empty calories. My focus is protein, protein, protein. My problem is I have NO appetite so it's hard to force food down. Yes, I have a light complection, but when my face looks almost gray, that's not normal. I don't think sun will help that.

I've been pretty tired. Even getting off of two of my bp meds hasn't helped alot. Is there anything that can stimulate my appetite? I think it would help my metabolism if I could eat more. I don't even crave sweets. I looked at boxes of filled sticks at work and it almost made me nausated to watch my coworker eating one.

For some losing your appetite is a good thing, but when you continually have to force yourself to eat and drink it can be a bad thing. Eating is now a chore, not the enjoyable thing I used to look forward to. Am I the only one with this problem?