MichiganChic

Oh, yeah, that was on my iist of worries, probably near the top. So far, I've found the sleeve allows ME to be in control. I always had willpower, but my body had more power to make me eat than my brain had to stop it. Now, I feel like I have some balance. If you learn new habits and follow the rules, the weight does come off. Before surgery I suffered if I ate below 1500 calories a day. Now I eat about 600-700 and I'm fine. And, it's not a ridiculous worry - it's very valid, based on our years of experience. Best of luck to you!

Has anyone tried chocolate PB2? I LOVE it! Great to add to chocolate shakes.

Hi, I'm a nurse with a desk job, and I went back in about 4 weeks. I was too fatigued to go back sooner. If I was a floor nurse, I would have needed 6 weeks. This is a major surgery, and I find it kind of astounding that most docs send people back in 2 weeks!

You have a very good list of reasons to have and not to have the surgery. Only you know your risk tolerance. While the risk is low, the outcome to that 1% of the population who gets the complication is devastating. I'm not saying this to scare you, but to encourage you to listen to your inner self. I think that in all of your post, you identified the issue. You are afraid, and it is related to your comfort level with your surgeon. Whether his approach is right or wrong is not the point - it really boils down to how YOU feel about him. You said he will have your life in his hands, and I agree, meeting him is a good idea. Also, it's been proven that the more a surgeon/hospital performs any procedure, the better the outcomes. So, having said all that, I'm out 7 weeks and I'm happy I did it. I went in confident that I was making the right decision, and that gave me the resolve I needed to get though the first few weeks, which I found were difficult. I also know people my surgeon operated on with good outcomes, he is very forthcoming with his statistics, including patients who had serious compications, and I met him twice before surgery. I even got a post op infection which is still not fully healed, but I beleive I'd still do it again (ask me in 2 years). Our stats are the same, BTW! But I'm way older Good luck and let us know what you decide.

NORCALRN, just checking in to see how it's going. A couple days closer to your j-tube placement, I know you are counting the days! I don't think I would be as good as you....when I got back to my room in the hospital I sat up and took the 02, pulse ox, BP cuff off and threw them like a 2 year old because they were aggravating me (I'm glad I wasn't my nurse at that minute, lol). I was in PACU 5 hours for pain management issues so I was sick of it...so my tolerance is pretty low I was very glad to hear that you have a positive prognosis and that you are feeling it, too! It's funny how we just know, sometimes, isn't it? How is everything else clearing up for you? Keep us posted. Sending well wishes your way!

Stats in my signature line. Gradually recovering, getting stronger and better at managing my diet. Still dealing with post-op infection, though that's looking better too. Working out (walking, ski machine, weight lifting) 5-6 days a week. In general, feeling better every day!

Its a personal decision. So far, I'm 7 weeks out and happy with my personal decision to move forward. It was worth the risk to me because my BMI was very high, and I have not been able to lose weight for the long term. I was starting to have other weight related health issues that I wanted to avoid. However, if I didn't have so much to lose, I would not have done this, because the risk would not be worth it to me. There is always the potential for life threatening complications as well as life altering complications. Even with no complications, it is permanent, irreversible, and life changing. There is a reason insurance companies don't cover it for lower BMIs. You might want to go to the complication forum and read some of those posts to get an idea of what a real life outcome could be. Good luck with your decision!

My Vit D levels were low too...only 17. They put me on megadoses of vit d before surgery, 50,000 i,u twice weekly. However, my calcium levels were fine, which means my body was pulling calcium from my bones and teeth. So, now it's normal at 75, and I am taking 1500 mg calcium citrate a day. I've been using the Calcet creamy bites. It's hard getting all that in....can't take the prenatal vitamin with the calcium because it decreases the iron absorption, can't take the iron anytime near having coffeee, have to take the calcium in three divided doses throughout the day, not within 30 minutes of a meal.....it's a challenge just for the timing of it all!

Best of luck! Safe "travels"!

I use calcet creamy bites. They calcium citrate and really a nice treat - soft and like candy.

Well.....I LOVE coffee. I was told no coffee for 4 months, but I didn't make it. I started drinking it again at about 5 weeks. I am super compliant with almost everything else, but that was just not something I wanted to give up. I felt worn out and tired every day until the day I started drinking coffee again. Only one cup a day, and far away from the time I start taking all the vitamins. It interferes with caffiene absorption, can be a diuretic, and is possibly an irritant to the stomach. I always advise people to follow their physician's instructions, but I didn't in this case.

It was about 2-3 weeks for me.

I'm not secretly wishing for it, I am wishing for it right out loud, lol!! But I think "graniose" was the key word here

Great topic. I agree with clk, and I think there is a lot at play with the honeymoon period, the least of which is statistics. My doc presents stats that show a 25% loss of excess weight at 1 month. However, this includes his RNY patients, and I believe they are rolling pre-op losses into that number too. And again, the STATISTIC is showing an average, not necessarily a median or even a mode. The average is all the percentages divided by the number of people, as opposed to a mode, which would be the percentage most people acheive by a certain time frame. Cheri's point about losing faster with more to lose directly influences this, as well. I also wonder if physicians/offices are used to the first 6 months being critical with RNY, and just transfer that teaching accross the board. I spoke to my NUT last week, and she said most people consume 400-800 calories the first 6 months, and then 800-1000 after 6 months, then around 1200 for maintenace. So, that would also contribute to the statistical rates of loss, and slowing down at 6 months. I do think there is value in the honeymoon period, though. Not in believing you are failing if you don't meet those statistics, but in using it to establish better habits. Its the time to evaluate how we eat and exercise, and see a direct correlation between that and the scale. Having a realistic expectation is paramount to success. I track my calories and exercise, and as little as I'm eating, my fitbit dashboard shows my weekly deficit, and guess what? It shows about a caloric deficit that translates into about 3 pounds per week - pretty spot on at this point. As I lose more weight, that number will naturally decrease because I'll have less to lose and my basic caloric requirements will decrease. The thing I love about the sleeve is that it gives my will power the support it needed. I always had it, but had physiologic things working against me, such as increased capacity and hunger. Now that those things are gone, I can optimize MY influence on my body. Also, the restriction reminds me every day that I can't just give up like I used to....and that I don't want to.

I think it's an outdated notion that eggs cause your cholesterol to go up, too much fat, etc. That was a big thing back in the 80s. Current medical knowledge is you can eat an egg or two every day and be fine. Having said that, eggs sit like a rock in my stomach now.

I do not suffer from anxiety, I also have this worry. I think on one hand it's not warranted, but then you read about people who had them as much as a year later, and then you start think maybe it isn't that far fetched. Also, I have an infected incision (the one they took my stomach out through). It started out as an abcess 5 days post-op, and the skin was already healed so it had to be cut open to drain. The skin healed again before the infection was gone at about 3 weeks, and it broke open again at five weeks. The surgeon opened it further, and it drained quite a lot, then the skin healed again. The surgeon had to open it a third time and now there is a drain in it keeping it open. It seems to be healing, but in the back of my mind, I worry that it's really very small leak causing it, rather than a post op infection. However, I remind myself that overall, even with this infection, I'm doing very well, and surely any symptoms of a leak would likely present itself in a way that wouldn't leave us wondering! Leaks happen in about 1% of the population, and most of them happen pretty early out. The odds are in our favor, and we should both probably not worry so much

Congratulations! That must feel great!

Not for me. I was told no nuts, seeds, berries till 4 months. Only ripe peeled fruit, too.

Wow, you look great! And happy Congrats!

NorcalRN, so sorry to hear about all this difficulty you are having. The things that can happen are just so surprising sometimes...even when you have seen it all and know how it goes. I've also been an RN 30 years, and I'm still surprised when I see posts like yours. I'm so impressed with your upbeat attitude. What type of recovery process/prognosis have they given you? Mad props to you for tolerating that NJ tube!!

Apparently it's more common than we knew...a quick Google turned up this: http://journals.lww.com/neurotodayonline/Fulltext/2003/06000/Neuropathy_Is_A_Common_Complication_of_Bariatric.3.aspx

I have not had this, but I recall seeing a post by someone saying they had some neuropathy, and that this is a little known potential complication from WLS. Sorry, I can't remember who the poster was or more detail. Also, can't say that there is (or is not) validity to the post, but you might search and find it. Hope you feel better!

I like charts and graphs, lol. I created some in excel, and love to look at the trend line. I also track on fitbit, which I can see on phone at any time

I am shocked too, at what I read on these threads sometimes about what people say they eat. I'm not convinced it always has to do with the waiting period though. I did not have to wait 6 months. It was the one time I was happy my BMI was so high because my insurance waives the supervised diet/waiting for BMI over 50! I think post-op diet has to do with committment and dedication. Also, I do wonder how much education and reinforement of that people get. I had to take a test!

Great thread! I agree with it all! For me, I won't miss: Constant worry and fear of seating for any and every event the occurs outside my home. Going to a friends house-will their chairs hold me? Going to the theater - will the seats be big enough, will it be too crowded that I'll have to sit right next to someone? Going on a flight - have to figure out a reason to take my kids or get out of traveling to avoid the embarrasment. Going to a new restaraunt - is the seating substantial and without arms? Can't go to outside seating places, they usually have flimsy lawn chairs with arms. Going to a cookout - have to avoid that all together, can't fit in lawn chairs. I could go on and on. Honestly, I knew it was a problem, but writing it down really makes it obvious how my weight has negatively impacted my life! Also won't miss: plus size stores (though I have been grateful for them) old lady clothes aches and pains being treated as less than by people who are afraid of/hate fat people when things don't go my way, wondering if I would be more successful if I were thin, or is it just me? being the biggest person in the room tiring too easily