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Well, I'm recovering from major surgery, so yes I have fatigue.
And I would imagine that I will have some fatigue here and there as my recovery continues during the period that I'm still very limited in the amount of food I can consume.
And no, I'm not concerned about it in the least, because while--like you--I don't have time for fatigue, I can say that I DEFINITELY don't have the time or energy to drag around 200 pounds of extra weight for the rest of my life. So, fatigue? Bring it on. It'll just be something I'll deal with temporarily on my way to a healthier and more energetic life.

Well, I'm recovering from major surgery, so yes I have fatigue.
And I would imagine that I will have some fatigue here and there as my recovery continues during the period that I'm still very limited in the amount of food I can consume.
And no, I'm not concerned about it in the least, because while--like you--I don't have time for fatigue, I can say that I DEFINITELY don't have the time or energy to drag around 200 pounds of extra weight for the rest of my life. So, fatigue? Bring it on. It'll just be something I'll deal with temporarily on my way to a healthier and more energetic life.

Yep, botox will take care of it. I'm like you. I don't have any wrinkles around my eyes, everything else is nice and smooth...and I have "the elevens" between my eyes.
And yes, I'll be getting botox on them one of these days. Right now, I'm sporting bangs, so it doesn't bother me as much.
Makeup won't do anything, and don't waste any money on miracle "cremes" that say they'll do it either; they really don't work.

From a medical perspective: double your use of the incentive spirometer. If its really stressing ya, take liquid Tylenol. But most doctors (I don't want to say don't care... But) don't care unless it's over 101. It's common- no worries, love

Well, I am home from the hospital after a successful band to sleeve revision.
I had to be at the hospital by 6:45 am, and I was taken back to the pre-op area in about 30 minutes. After having a brief convo with my surgeon and anesthesiologist, I was put into my hospital smock and off I went to the ER. They moved me onto the table and that's pretty much all I remember.
I woke up in the recovery room. I remember having a hard time keeping my eyelids open. Anyway, my blood pressure was really high, so I ended up staying in the recovery room for about three hours. My mother was going crazy, etc. My surgery itself was only an hour and a half.
After my BP came down somewhat, they took me up to my hospital room/suite. It was really nice. Private, with a recliner and sofa that your loved ones could sleep on if they want to. I was fixed with a pain pump, and I slept a lot that first night. I was, however, up and ambulating down the halls within four hours of hitting the room.
Overall my pain was well-controlled and I only felt pain when I had to get myself out of bed, etc.
The worst part was not being able to have any type of Water. My throat was soooooo dry. The next morning I had a barium swallow to check for leaks and I was fine.
That night I began running a low-grade fever (99.6), but my doctor nor my nurses were concerned about that. I was told it was due to the gunk in my lungs due to being put under. My temp was down later on my second day, and I do have a small low-grade fever now, but we'll see how it goes.
My catheter was removed in the middle of Day 2 because I was getting up out of bed really well.
This morning I was told I could go home. I have a stack of prescriptions and I"ve managed to get down one Protein shake. I still don't know how to drink those (how fast?), but I'm figuring it out. I'm a wee more sore today, but I'm sure it'll get better.

Well, I am home from the hospital after a successful band to sleeve revision.
I had to be at the hospital by 6:45 am, and I was taken back to the pre-op area in about 30 minutes. After having a brief convo with my surgeon and anesthesiologist, I was put into my hospital smock and off I went to the ER. They moved me onto the table and that's pretty much all I remember.
I woke up in the recovery room. I remember having a hard time keeping my eyelids open. Anyway, my blood pressure was really high, so I ended up staying in the recovery room for about three hours. My mother was going crazy, etc. My surgery itself was only an hour and a half.
After my BP came down somewhat, they took me up to my hospital room/suite. It was really nice. Private, with a recliner and sofa that your loved ones could sleep on if they want to. I was fixed with a pain pump, and I slept a lot that first night. I was, however, up and ambulating down the halls within four hours of hitting the room.
Overall my pain was well-controlled and I only felt pain when I had to get myself out of bed, etc.
The worst part was not being able to have any type of Water. My throat was soooooo dry. The next morning I had a barium swallow to check for leaks and I was fine.
That night I began running a low-grade fever (99.6), but my doctor nor my nurses were concerned about that. I was told it was due to the gunk in my lungs due to being put under. My temp was down later on my second day, and I do have a small low-grade fever now, but we'll see how it goes.
My catheter was removed in the middle of Day 2 because I was getting up out of bed really well.
This morning I was told I could go home. I have a stack of prescriptions and I"ve managed to get down one Protein shake. I still don't know how to drink those (how fast?), but I'm figuring it out. I'm a wee more sore today, but I'm sure it'll get better.

Well, I think this was a success. Although it would have been great if you had been able to walk away, at least you were able to eat less than a full strip. That's less than 130 calories. How many strips would you have eaten if you hadn't had the sleeve?
So, you take the lesson and try to do better next time.

I was self-pay. I had my initial visit with the surgeon in March and I will be sleeved on May 22nd.
It was about a month until I could get in for my psych eval (who knew psychologists were so busy...lol). A week after that I was able to pay and get my surgery date. Then I had all my other pre-op tests, etc. in this last month. Now I'm a week out.

I'm checking in! Only 6 weeks late.......lol. FIrst off, even though my picture has changed, my family has always called me Kitten Katie but I'm very much a dog lover. Haha.
Anyway, I will be 4 months post-op tomorrow and I am 6 pounds away from having lost 100 pounds. UNREAL! No severe issues, got some weird numbness in my legs and by my own fault I'm a little dehydrated and low on Protein but I'm working on that. The loss has been incredible but I still have a ways to go. I'm super happy for everyone here! Are we rock stars or what?!

I was self-pay. I had my initial visit with the surgeon in March and I will be sleeved on May 22nd.
It was about a month until I could get in for my psych eval (who knew psychologists were so busy...lol). A week after that I was able to pay and get my surgery date. Then I had all my other pre-op tests, etc. in this last month. Now I'm a week out.

I don't know what I'm going to tolerate after surgery, so I have a variety of stuff.
I have...
nectar chocolate (tub) (using this now)
nectar sample packs (14)
Premier Protein shakes (two cases...I'm drinking these now as well)
Protein Jello
Protein pudding
Protein hot chocolate (sugar-free)
broth (low-sodium chicken)
some Protein Shots
Crystal light (a variety)
sugar-free popcicles
sugar-free Jello
babyfood applesauce (I can't swallow a pill, so this is to mix with my pill powder)
gatorade (sugar free)
propel (sugar free)
Decaf tea bags
canned Soups (for the second phase)
and...
Gas-X strips
liquid Tylenol
anti-bacterial shower gel

A 30% complication rate on procedures done together? Yikes.
Thanks for the info. I'm glad to hear the recovery was no big deal. I guess I'll take what comes and be happy my surgeon will do what's best for me.

I hope that they are able to do it in one surgery with no complications. I know that dealing with two surgeries would be stressful AND very expensive. Hopefully the damage won't be very extensive. As for the recovery after the band removal, I don't know. I have known only a couple of people that had their bands out without getting a revision, but they didn't really talk about anything special as far as the diet. I'm sorry that I couldn't help with that part. Good luck and many prayers for you with your surgery.

When I had my band removed it was a pretty easy recovery. The surgery was done outpatient. As far as diet I was on Clear Liquids the day of the surgery and then after that was able to move to a regular diet as tolerated. I had my surgery on a Wednesday and was back at work on Monday.

Ok so I typed up a big long response, then hit some keyboard combo and there it all went bye-bye. I'll try again, a little shorter.
To answer your question re: removal, it was a piece of cake. The worst part of it for me was the sore throat from the tubation & such... easily a few times worse than strep. And it lasted like 4 days. But that's not the surgery, that's ancillary. As for the surgery itself, a little sore where the port had been put in (they really want to make sure those things don't move around), but I expected that. I also ended up with an infected incision - but again, that's ancillary. Overall I would rate it just slightly more painful than having the band put in, which was EASY.
There were no specific dietary requirements after that. My restriction stuck around for about 2 weeks, but only in terms of not feeling hungry & getting full quickly. Starting the day of, I could eat what I wanted when I wanted. And after a few years of living with a slipped band, I can't begin to describe how awesome it was to be able to drink in the morning if I was thirsty.
As for 1 vs. 2 surgeries, my thoughts/experiences below. I'm not factoring in $ since I was covered under insurance, and the $ is all you. Just my thoughts...
The risk of complication for a well-healed stomach going into a sleeve is just slightly higher than a "virgin" stomach. The risk of complication for a back-to-back procedure sky rockets to about 30%. I have the exact stats at home, but it's right around there. My surgeon requires 2 months between procedures. That's the timeframe at which he thinks there's the best blanace between risk mitigation and more negative things like weight gain. By "well healed" above, I mean 2 months between.
Most leaks that aren't detected at the time of surgery are "hidden" by swelling. The swelling can artificially close gaps that wouldn't otherwise be closed. So as the swelling goes down, a leak can occur. The less swollen you are, the better. You're going to be swollen either way, but you're going to be more swolen if you've just had your band removed a few minutes ago. So it is directly tied to risks.
Scar tissue cen truly be a factor. In back-to-back procedures, I'd think there always has to be give & take between scar tissue/adhesions, and sleeve. My sleeve was my 4th abdominal lap and I knew I had pretty major scar tissue. For one, I could see/feel it from the outside. For two, it actally caused be discomfort if I put pressure on my abdomen in the wrong way (like when I would read a book in bed and try to rest it on my stomach). My surgeon removed a _lot_ of tissue, and spent a little more than double his average surgery time doing it.
All in all, I'm now glad I had to wait. My 2 months turned into more like 7 because of insurance. But although I initially wanted a back to back procedure, after reading up on the risk rates, seeing what I was like with scar tissue, etc. I'm truly very glad I had some down time in between. I had my band for about 6 years. The length of time you and I have had our bands (yours way longer than mine, but we're both well above the average band lifespan) plays a roll too. The longer it's in, the more adhesions, etc. can form. It makes sense that your surgeon is now indicating a 2nd procedure might be a good idea.
All that said, there are lots of people here who had back to back procedures, and are doing just fine.

I'm on my way to the hospital right now!! I'm nervous and excited! Good luck to all you other May sleevers!

Muscle does weigh more than fat. Of course, a pound of muscle and a pound of fat weight the same (ha!), but a CUP of muscle would weigh more than a cup of fat, or any such measurement you choose.
And I agree on the "gained three pounds" of muscle thing overnight doesn't make sense. However, hard workouts that tax muscles do result in weight gain for some people because they retain Water while the muscle is healing, and then the Water is released, usually within 24 hours.

I don't think NSAIDs are as big of a deal as far as MedicAlert bracelets go. In an emergency, they're not going to be giving you NSAIDs. By the time you're taking anything by mouth, you should be conscious and able to say, "I can't have NSAIDs".
It's the NG Tube thing that I'm worried about. If unconscious, I would want to let them know that they can't do a blind NG Tube.

I think you're smart to start walking now. I really need to do the same thing.
My knees and back, though...ugh. BUT, it's not like they're going to miraculously improve the day after surgery when I have to be walking, so I should get it started now. A good reminder.

It's certainly a personal decision, but I've decided to be totally open about it.
Basically, when I thought about it, it occurred to me that this surgery isn't something to feel ashamed about, so I'm going to treat it the same way I would treat getting shots in my knees or going to my yearly physical...pretty matter of factly.

I sincerely doubt this, since there is minimal "malnutrition" problems with the sleeve. My guess is he treats RNY patients who do have malabsorption issues years out. The fact that he seems unable to differentiate the two is concerning.
Well, it's up to you. You certainly can take his advice and try alternative methods of losing weight. Or, if you're set on WLS it looks like you'll need a new PCP.

I think the issue is that our sleeves hold such a limited amount of food that most doctors feel it is imperative that we get in Protein first, then vegetables, then fruit...then if any room is left, carbs.
It's all about high-quality nutrition. I personally plan on following a low-carb diet when I'm done, but I'm sure I'll have days when I have treats or eat whatever I want.

Well, you've lost 92 pounds, so that's nothing to sneeze at!
Have you considered getting some therapy/assistance with your food issues? If you feel you're eating when you're stressed or similar times, now is probably the perfect time to get some new tools to help you deal with the stress in a better way.