LindafromFlorida

Rose, my husband has been diabetic over 30 years and was sleeved 12/2/13. I simply cannot believe you were taken off insulin. I think you have a nut for an Endocrinologist and I sure would find another one fast. My husband's insulin dosage has been lowered by his Internist, following the sleeve. You must be proactive when it comes to your diabetes, and I have read many posts here where diabetics discuss they are still on insulin following their surgery. I had been on Metformin a year, and following surgery I was taken off the Metformin. But insulin is a different matter. I cannot imagine this doctor thinking you would not need insulin, and sounds like you had a doctor who did not know what she was doing. We asked many questions prior to surgery, and we had our answers. One of the nurses who ran our program said 5 years after the sleeve she is still on insulin and will never come off. So we have the knowledge that my husband may be on insulin the rest of his life, but the good part is that he no longer has to eat carbs at bedtime to keep him conscious through the night. You are very lucky to be alive, in my humble opinion. Let this be a lesson in life for you that doctors are not perfect and you are in charge. I cannot believe all this happened to you and I hope everything gets under control. God Bless you!

I am not sure how you know it is spasms from the hernia. My husband and I were both sleeved and had hiatal hernias repaired and no pain. Please call your surgeon's office and tell them your symptoms. There might be a medicine you should be on to stop the pain and spasms. I am so sorry you are feeling bad, but better to be safe about it. We pay these doctors lots of money. Call please. Feel better soon!

When I like a post like yours, I know there will be a lot of dissenters, so I have learned to go straight to posting because I want to let you know I totally agree with you. I am happiest to see my 6'2" 320 lb. husband go to 220, from 3X to XL. He loves smoked salmon and beef Jerky (jerky was his dinner last night). If we never lose another pound this ride has been incredible.

You can so do this! We will be your support! I am 68 in August, my husband 67 in June. Retired in December 2012 after 47 years of working, and barely moved from my chair for many months. Weight added, felt 90 years old. My husband was in terrible shape with so many health problems. Take care of yourself by not giving up living - Get the surgery for yourself!!!!!! It is the best thing ever!!!!!

You can so do this! We will be your support! I am 68 in August, my husband 67 in June. Retired in December 2012 after 47 years of working, and barely moved from my chair for many months. Weight added, felt 90 years old. My husband was in terrible shape with so many health problems. Take care of yourself by not giving up living - Get the surgery for yourself!!!!!! It is the best thing ever!!!!!

Sleeved at 67 and loving life, me and my babe! I can sit in his lap again!

My husband and I are 67. Sleeved about 5 months ago. Now a distant memory lol! One night in the hospital, one dose of pain med at home, and took it easy a few days. Went to a mall and walked a few hours, about 5 days after surgery. Felt absolutely wonderful. I have gone from a 1X-2X, size 16-18 pants, to size 12 new shorts yesterday. I am off Metformin for diabetes, we are both off one HBP med, I have no more neuropathy pain in my feet for some reason, and I am not gasping for breath when I come home from the grocery store because of my asthma. I never went shopping before surgery, now I am a shopaholic, loving the new clothes and shoes. I cannot say we were that bored with the shakes after surgery, it was something we HAD to do so why complain. I changed them up by adding Crystal Light powders, SF pudding powders, SF Torani syrups. I buy no bread, Pasta, oil, Little Debbie cakes, fruit or diet sodas, anymore. My husband no longer has to eat massive mounts of fruit or 2 sweet cakes to keep his blood sugar from bottoming out during the night. Life is sweeter than we could have ever dreamed. Best gift we ever gave ourselves. Good luck to you, recovering from the surgery was 10 times easier than we expected it to be.

I am saying prayers for you. We all dread hearing something like this but it sounds as if they caught it quickly which is a positive thing. God Bless you, keep the faith, and be strong. Linda

Haha, yes about damn time. Everything is a distant memory, the shakes, the headache for a few days (?dehydration), and 8 months out my husband has lost 100 lbs and me, 60 lbs, with little effort and no exercise. Wish we could exercise. My lifesaver is my sweet wig. 5-8 months my thin and fine blonde hair is pitiful. Best advice I can give you is be prepared. You can always donate it to Hospice if you don't need it. I cleaned closets and drawers to occupy my mind pre-surgery! God Bless!

Wow, Max, proud of you. That is great not having to use the electric cart. My husband has to use the cart and he is not on oxygen, he just cannot walk due to pain and instability. Being able to walk for you is major, and at least you are moving. The weight does not magically fall away Max, you are doing great. I am so glad for you. I will bet you come off that oxygen!

Husband and I are 67 and 5 months sleeved. Wonderful experience. I am off Metformin. I no longer need the asthma inhalers. He is being weaned off the cpap. We are both off 1 BP med each. I am not gasping for breath when I come in from the grocery store. I have had more life in me the past five months than I did the last five years. This is the best thing we could have ever done for ourselves because we were destined to die in the recliners at the rate we were going. God Bless!

I was sleeved November 18, 2013 and the gout attack hit me December 30 like a freight train. Back and forth, both big toe joints. Went to the ER at New Years, called my surgeon's office (was told the Indomethacin will EAT your sleeve, but gout was not their problem or specialty). Raw cherries and juice did not help. My primary doctor put me on Indomethacin and Colcrys anyway which scared me to death. Then I was given Allpurinol, 100 mg. then 300 mg. when that did not help. Through it all I suffered. In March I was out of town and ended up in the hospital after vomiting 8 hours from the meds Indomethacin and Colcrys. I was so dehydrated I was admitted 24 hours. Horrible. There is HOPE. I found a compound pharmacist who put me on a regimen the past 40 days and I am finally pain free for 38 days following this regimen of herbal items purchases from his pharmacy (or online at vitacost, or healthfood store):<br />Solaray Triple Strength Tart Cherry capsules (2 in the am, 2 in the pm)<br />Curamin capsules (1 am, 1 pm)(for pain)<br />Omega 3 fish oil, 1000 mg (2 capsules, 3 times a day) (inflammation fighter)<br />Celery Seed capsules 505 mg capsules (1 capsule 4 times a day)<br />Tumeric spice (sprinkle on food, salads, etc. - he said use this like pepper/salt)<br />Celery - eat as much fresh celery as possible a day. Put in ice Water in fridge for freshness.<br />Eat fruits and veggies for 2 weeks during a flare up.<br /><br />I am a BELIEVER. I used a cane to get to the compound pharmacist after I picked up a 2nd round of steroids (which I did not use). I left the next day for a road trip from Florida to Kansas, and in less than 2 days I was completely pain free and still am today, June 18. I went back to the pharmacist when I returned, and he told me I could cut down the dosage of the supplements. I cut the dose in half now but I will not stop them as I never want to experience gout again.<br /><br />I will never take Indomethacin or Colcrys again. I don't drink alcohol, I never ate the foods they say cause gout. It has to be the protein/weight loss that caused it.<br /><br />All these supplements are herbal. Best Wishes. I feel your pain. Linda<br />

Aidells caramelized onion meatballs (frozen section) are awesome too! Made with chicken.

Dear Chris, How brave you are!!! I am 67. I no longer SIT. I am absolutely delighted at the change in my life. If not for the sleeve, my husband and I would be on the downhill side of life, now we are motivated and trying to climb uphill lol. When you get older, your one vice is food, our appetite never decreased, which meant we would never lose weight, and cannot exercise. I feel 10 years younger and I am thinking some plastic surgery on my face. What a difference a sleeve makes! I wish you the very best!!!

I feel so sorry for you. Was he like this before surgery? Honestly I cannot imagine someone acting this way. My husband and I were both sleeved. We are 67. I was shopping at the mall 4-5 days after surgery. My husband had a problem and was kept in the hospital 4 days after surgery, and came home with a catheter. He managed. He has several comorbidities, diabetes, heart stent, HBP, and has a problem walking. I have asthma, diabetes, HBP, knee replacement, yet we have been up walking and happy as can be since being sleeved. We took one dose of pain medicine when we got home. In my uneducated humble opinion, I think you need some counseling just to deal with this, since he sounds as if he would refuse to go. I think you need to keep yourself busy and gone from your home to a mall or a movie, and not be waiting on him hand and foot, or maybe doing yard work out of reach of his voice, so he would be forced to get up and take care of himself. God bless you. I am glad you found this site so that you can have some emotional support. Hugs, Linda

I feel so sorry for you. Was he like this before surgery? Honestly I cannot imagine someone acting this way. My husband and I were both sleeved. We are 67. I was shopping at the mall 4-5 days after surgery. My husband had a problem and was kept in the hospital 4 days after surgery, and came home with a catheter. He managed. He has several comorbidities, diabetes, heart stent, HBP, and has a problem walking. I have asthma, diabetes, HBP, knee replacement, yet we have been up walking and happy as can be since being sleeved. We took one dose of pain medicine when we got home. In my uneducated humble opinion, I think you need some counseling just to deal with this, since he sounds as if he would refuse to go. I think you need to keep yourself busy and gone from your home to a mall or a movie, and not be waiting on him hand and foot, or maybe doing yard work out of reach of his voice, so he would be forced to get up and take care of himself. God bless you. I am glad you found this site so that you can have some emotional support. Hugs, Linda

I feel so sorry for you. Was he like this before surgery? Honestly I cannot imagine someone acting this way. My husband and I were both sleeved. We are 67. I was shopping at the mall 4-5 days after surgery. My husband had a problem and was kept in the hospital 4 days after surgery, and came home with a catheter. He managed. He has several comorbidities, diabetes, heart stent, HBP, and has a problem walking. I have asthma, diabetes, HBP, knee replacement, yet we have been up walking and happy as can be since being sleeved. We took one dose of pain medicine when we got home. In my uneducated humble opinion, I think you need some counseling just to deal with this, since he sounds as if he would refuse to go. I think you need to keep yourself busy and gone from your home to a mall or a movie, and not be waiting on him hand and foot, or maybe doing yard work out of reach of his voice, so he would be forced to get up and take care of himself. God bless you. I am glad you found this site so that you can have some emotional support. Hugs, Linda

Fantastic. Many people are hesitant to call. As I have aged I demand more from them and do not settle for less that good medical care. Please post here and let us know what the doctor says. Your experience may help someone else.

Call your surgeon.

I don't think the ER has much patience with us gastric surgery patients (or anyone else sometimes, from my expert opinion). I suggest you go and see your surgeon if you are truly sick. Insist on coming in. Only you know your body and you should trust your gut instinct. I recently was hospitalized overnight following 8 hours of vomiting and was severely dehydrated. Good luck, because this is not the norm.

Crab cakes. I use 1 container (17 grams Protein, 0 carbs) of the refrigerated claw meat, add one egg, squeeze of lemon juice, tsp. worcester sauce, finely diced celery and onion, salt & pepper, tsp. of Old Bay seasoning, tsp. of hot sauce. Just stir ingredients and make small patties. Take i tsp. olive oil and spread in teflon skillet and lightly brown on each side. So simple and easy.
Meatloaf. Use ground turkey or 90% lean ground beef. I would say for 1 lb. ground meat, add about as much (about 3/4 cup) chunky Salsa (the more the better). You have to keep adding Salsa until you can still form a meatloaf. This is the only meatloaf I have ever liked. You can make mini meatloaves in muffin pans. Cook them and freeze for a quick thaw meal later.
Rotisserie chicken - for chicken salad. I add chicken, boiled egg, lowfat mayo, ground nutmeg, salt & pepper, diced celery, and about 1/4 cup canned crushed pineapple (in juice). Nutmeg is the key to a great taste.
Have fun!

OMG you shoulda slapped him!

Husband and I are 67 and 5 months sleeved. Wonderful experience. I am off Metformin. I no longer need the asthma inhalers. He is being weaned off the cpap. We are both off 1 BP med each. I am not gasping for breath when I come in from the grocery store. I have had more life in me the past five months than I did the last five years. This is the best thing we could have ever done for ourselves because we were destined to die in the recliners at the rate we were going. God Bless!

Angi, my husband has gone from 320 to 250 since approximately October, 2013. He was sleeved Dec. 2. Definitely the diabetes has not hindered his weight loss. My husband is off Metformin from the day of the sleeve, and he dropped from 100 units to 35 units of long acting insulin (and no short acting anymore) in the evening. His A1C went from 12 to 6.7 (excellent). We were absolutely terrified for my husband to even have the WLS because of his health problems, and had been attending seminars about 10 years. He dieted his entire life and has always been overweight. He is so much healthier, and I know in my heart he will never regain this weight. He usually eats about one meal a day, and barely ever any carbs or fruit any more. That is his choice. The greatest thing is he said he has always been hungry his whole life, and he does not have the cravings he once had. I could not find much on diabetes and the sleeve prior to surgery, just a few things word of mouth. When my husband had a heart blockage 10 years ago, his blood sugar was 500, so I can only imagine how sick you were. I am just very thankful we had the courage (I led my husband through it because of my fear I would lose him) and today he is glad he did it. Every day prior to surgery it seemed as if we were going downhill, but no more! What can I do to help you? We are 67. We are feeling fabulous. What will your health be like if you do not have the sleeve? This was our dilemma, after spending the past year of my retirement in recliners and deciding we were not ready to give up. Hugs, Linda

Every person is different. I have rejuvenated by this surgery and never felt tired. I got out of my recliner 2 days after surgery and have not slowed down. I started shopping and having more lunches with friends. Hopefully sunny weather will life your spirits and make you feel better. Winter dries our skin out. At 5 months out my hair began coming out. I am hoping that stops soon. I was told at 3 months out I was eating too much Protein. We all have to find the right balance. My husband and I were told to eat healthy, do not eat 3 meals a day, eat only when hungry. It has worked for us.