thebionicbroad

Hopeful, I live in Wildomar, and had to travel all the way to Kaiser South Bay in Long Beach/Torrance for my surgery (last December). Now, Kaiser is doing it locally. Since I was an emergency lap-band revision, I only had to wait 2 weeks, and didn't have to go through the Options classes. What I did find out is that Kaiser is big on compliance. Do what they tell you to the letter, and things will go a lot smoother for you. Especially when they want you to lose weight pre-op to shrink your liver. They don't listen to excuses. Good luck, and keep us posted.

Strudel, There's not a lot that you can do, since it's hormonal. Fat cells soak up the hormones. When that fat is burned, it re-releases the hormones back into the blood stream. Plus, the weight loss upsets hormonal processes. This is why women lose hair after childbirth. It settles down around month 7 or so. Keeping up the Protein, Vitamins, and Biotin will help the new growth.

Thrilled, thrilled, thrilled. Saw the post-op bariatrics team last Wednesday. Kaiser defines a sucessful bariatrics patient as one who has lost 50% of the excess weight within one year following surgery. I have lost 81% in 7 months. This forum is a wonderful resource, with many people who are very successful with the sleeve in the long-run. I want to add my experiences to the pool of information. I plan on being one of the long-runs. To keep losing weight, I have to eat fewer than 50 grams of carb a day, and stay under 1200 calories. No, I usually don't get all my Water in. I also drink coffee, with 2% milk. This is the source of most of my carb. Eating too much is as bad as eating too little. Doing either one can make my weight loss stall. I can't snack anymore. The surgeon told me that, after 6 months, it's three meals a day, period. He's right. I still use baby bowls, a baby spoon, and 5-inch plates. I plan to use the small plates forever. I like my baby spoons, and the bowls are still portion-perfect. Too much Protein triggers insulin, and I gain weight. At my weight, 166.6, I only need 65 grams of protein a day, according to my NUT. If I don't eat enough fat, my weight stalls. Fruit = stall. I cannot lose without low-intensity exercise. 3 - 5 sessions a week, 30 minutes, on a treadmill that keeps me at a pulse rate of 107 (based on age) is the key. I also lift heavy weights twice a week. Throwing a 20-pound weight around does nothing for me. I use as much weight as I can lift for 5 slow reps. I am almost to the point of being able to do a real pull-up. I have loose skin. I am a shar-pei. But I am a proud, getting-healthy shar-pei. It doesn't bother my Best Half. Why should I care? I wore a bathing suit in Hawaii, and no one reported me to the Skin Police. Yes, I lost hair, starting at 3 months and it has slowed almost to normal. I ate my protein, took my Vitamins, and I still lost hair. It's based on hormonal changes, just like after childbirth. I still look like a girl. If you are scared to have a sleeve because of the potential hair loss, you aren't a good candidate for the surgery. You don't want to lose weight badly enough to be successful. I did not have a "food funeral" before my surgery, and I followed my surgeon's pre-op diet to the letter. I've spent years eating crap. Two weeks crap-less wasn't going to kill me. I don't miss any foodstuff. I don't cry over crap not eaten. I pull my vintage sized 14 Liz Claiborne clothes out of the closet and rejoice that I no longer wear a size 26, like I did back in 2000. If I really, really want it, I eat one small bite. Most sweets that I used to crave now taste terrible. One sweet potato fry satisfies as well as a bag of gingersnaps used to. Soda tastes like chemical-salts-bilge water. Yuk. I goof. I screw up. I eat too much. I still emotionally eat. That doesn't make me a bad person. There's always the next opportunity to make a much better choice. Veterans, please feel free to add on. I'd love to know what is down the sleeved road!

Sannah, I am 7 months post-op (December 13th), live in SoCal, spent 6 years in the St. Johns area of north Portland, and am available if you have questions. I'm a Mom, a school counselor, and a happy sleever. :-) Pat

Salads aren't worth my time, as lettuce has no nutritional value. I do make vegetable salads, like diced chicken, beets, dill, a bit of mayo, and pepitas. Yes, I now crave beets. Go figure.

I did mine in one surgery. The surgeon told me that I had a ton of scar tissue from 6 years of being banded, but he was surprised at how good a condition my stomach tissue was in. I am 6 months out and have not had any issues. No leak, no acid reflux, no pain. I'm thankful, because this was my 6th abdominal surgery. Enough is enough.

I would do it all again. Twice.

Wheat affects our blood sugar worse than table sugar, and triggers the release of insulin, which makes us store fat. Think very carefully about what you put into your mouth. We don't want to recreate the issues that made us fat in the first place.

:)Lissa, what an amazing transformation! You're beautiful.

Lord have mercy, no. The next time you cut or scrape yourself, grind some popped popcorn into the wound. Now, just imagine a staple line with stomach acid. Ummm, yummy.

Well, I figured it out. Post-op, I was on 40 mg. of Famotadine (Pepcid) a day. Now, I'm off of it, and Junior is a bit more tetchy when it comes to cayenne pepper. Now I know.

Much of my depression was based on a pervasive sense of self-hatred for being so fat. (I was an obese low-carber.) Even after trying everything, including a Lap-band, I was getting fatter every year. My blood pressure was creeping up. Fasting blood glucose readings were creeping up, too. My ankles were swelling. My liver enzymes were not so great, and my kidney function was affected by stone formation. My left knee was going, and my hips were constantly sore. I was clumsy, and was always getting bruises. I needed physical therapy for my left shoulder. Felt 85, not 55. Insurance covered my revision, but based on results over the last 5 months, I would self-pay with no hesitation. The sleeve gave me my life and sanity back. Even if doctors found out that the sleeve resulted in growing a second nose on the side of the face, I would buy extra Kleenex and move on with my life. I weigh less than I have weighed since I was 18, and I feel 20 years younger. Come what may, I made the right decision for me.

I've always dreaded flying because of the seat size in comparison to my size. When I flew back in March to see family, I had an aisle seat. The man in the middle seat was complaining, because he hated not having any room. He looked at me and said, "But at least you're not a large person." I was speechless for a moment before I could thank him. Amazing.

Junior.

I am flummoxed. When I moved to solid food, spicy stuff didn't bother me at all. Now, five months out, chili and curry make me horribly nauseous. It would have been better if I could have vomited, but I can't seem to. It's not a case of eating too much, either, and it isn't reflux. Any ideas?

I avoid carbs (except for non-starchy veg and a few fruits) like the plague that they are. If I want something sweet, I use Quest protein bars, or maybe an Atkins product if I'm out of Quest bars. Calories don't pack on the pounds, insulin does, and that's triggered by eating carbohydrate. Thanks, but no thanks.

*sigh* I wish that I had taken Lissa's path, but I drink half-caf every day. I waited until I was about 4 months out.

20 pounds from goal, and I: 1. Have a hard time sitting for long periods of time, since my butt is bonier. 2. Can't sleep on my side easily, since my knee-bones rub together. 3. Years ago, I broke a collar bone, and never noticed that it's more recessed than the other one. Never used to show.

Thank you for sharing this.

There are quite a few of us here.

Normal-weight people fluctuate, too. During the weight-loss phase, weigh once a week. During the maintenance phase, weigh daily. Don't get the two reversed.

It's a constant battle because our "trigger" foods light up parts of the brain, much like cocaine. For many of us, certain foods are addicting. The more you eat of them, the less they satisfy. So we eat more and more of them to give us the same pleasure. Terrible cycle.

Please don't get a lap-band. Please, please, please no. I'm down on my knees begging. I could go into a gazillion reasons why the band is never a good idea, and if you'd like to message me, I will. For now, please do your research. I had one for five years before my revision to the sleeve. Please don't get the band.

Cupping? I didn't know that there was a name for it. Many moons ago, when I was trying to get my weight down to join the military, I went one full year with zero carb. I can remember making, chewing, and spitting out an entire batch of chocolate chip cookies. I haven't done this with the sleeve, though. There's nothing that I really crave or miss. Sweets don't even look good anymore, since there's zero nutritional value in them. After having a malfunctioning crap-band for five years, I'm having too much fun eating things that would never go through the band. Splenda, fruit, and Atkins bars keep me happy.

Shorty, congratulations! What a glorious ride the sleeve is. Looking forward to hearing from you.