Tink22-sleeve

I'd love to be honest about it. The weight loss is nice...but I still have to be VERY DISCICPLINED in what I eat or I REGAIN weight. Also, I woke up from surgery with horrid GERD that has not gone away and HUNGRY. I still get hungry (famished) just like before the surgery. Long term GERD and PPI use have significant health issues associated with them. I have moderate anemia now (10 years post op), and can't seem to absorb enough through food. I may have to have Iron infusions. I have to have an endoscopy to check on things next month. I may have to have a revision to bypass. I hope it's not more serious than needing a revision (Please God, no Barrett's esophagus, or {gulp} cancer).
Most times, I am OK and have come to acceptance for the most part...but other times I seriously regret having 85% of my stomach removed (I really didn't have any co-morbidities) and I get a little freaked out about what I have done to myself and what might happen as a result of this serious surgery (no going back).
I was so desperate I was to lose weight. I gotta tell you... the biggest problem was a selfish, unloving, critical, abusive husband and my own lack of self-esteem. I was glad to get rid of all 180 pounds of HIM! Now that was the best and healthiest weight loss of all. I wish I had gotten rid of him first, because after he was gone, I started working out, lifting weights and got in shape. That was a game changer.
I would encourage everyone to do their own research. Look up the rate of weight regain after the sleeve. Look up the risk of GERD associated with the sleeve. Look up the rate of hunger after surgery. Weigh the pros and cons. This is not a benign surgery.
At least that is how I feel about it today

Hi PM2022,
What kind of surgery did you have? I had a sleeve 10 years ago. Yes, with a sleeve I am able to physically drink coffee. I love my coffee, but it sometimes make my GERD worse.
And , yes, I can drink beer too, but the carbonation is irritating to the stomach many times.
But here's the deal. I can eat and drink anything I want (smaller portions)... I have also proven to myself that I can regain 30 pounds indulging on calorie-rich food and alcohol. (That doesn't feel good, trust me.)
I would encourage you to hang tough Enjoy your new tummy and the restriction (even though it may be temperamental for awhile), follow the diet, log your foods , and enjoy the weight loss. "Nothing tastes as good as feeling thin feels." It will be worth the effort. Hang tough!

I do not agree with this at all. Exercise to me is critical to getting the weight loss to continue. If I take a few days off I notice it slows down and I get into a stall. Not to mention, you have to exercise for health as well. Finally, by exercising, you are also trimming your body down and losing inches in the right places. I think you Doctor would agree with exercise and no Doctor would say not to exercise...atleast walking.

What better way to ensure a calorie deficit than to exercise a little bit.

Hi PM2022,
What kind of surgery did you have? I had a sleeve 10 years ago. Yes, with a sleeve I am able to physically drink coffee. I love my coffee, but it sometimes make my GERD worse.
And , yes, I can drink beer too, but the carbonation is irritating to the stomach many times.
But here's the deal. I can eat and drink anything I want (smaller portions)... I have also proven to myself that I can regain 30 pounds indulging on calorie-rich food and alcohol. (That doesn't feel good, trust me.)
I would encourage you to hang tough Enjoy your new tummy and the restriction (even though it may be temperamental for awhile), follow the diet, log your foods , and enjoy the weight loss. "Nothing tastes as good as feeling thin feels." It will be worth the effort. Hang tough!

Thank you all so much for sharing this wonderful info with me. All very helpful. Thanks for the food list, and suggestions regarding heme and Vitamin C. Very appreciated.

carbonyl Iron and heme iron are usually well-tolerated (although there are other versions of iron that people tolerate pretty well). There are a few companies that make both of those versions I mentioned. I've been taking carbonyl iron for the last 6+ years. Feosol is a common brand that has it (although Feosol makes other types of iron, too, so you have to check the bottle to see what type of iron it is). Vitron-C is another common brand of carbonyl iron. I usually use the latter or just get the generic version at CVS.
however, there are some people just don't absorb iron well from tablets and need to have occasional iron infusions
I don't know about iron Patches specifically, but as far as vitamin patches in general, they seem to work for some but not for others. I never tried them as I figure I'll be one of the people for whom they don't work.

I take Slow-FE, which is time released, so not hard on stomach or Constipation. I've had Gastric Bypass and concerned about time-released, which on other meds has been a problem, but I apparently absorb enough to deal with my anemia issues. Available everywhere.
Good luck,
Tek

I'm also Iron deficient, and I got these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KJZF6YC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1

It turns out that most meats have almost as much Iron as beef, so eat whatever meat/seafood you want.
Veggies may have good amounts of iron, but it's usually non-heme iron, which is harder for your body to absorb.
It's hard to get enough iron from food unless you are eating enriched/fortified foods, and most of those are not that healthy (think sugar-laden cereals and bread and pasta). Be a label sleuth and figure out some good options. I'm not sure if the iron added to enriched foods is heme or non-heme iron.

Make sure you take a Vitamin C pill on top of your Multivitamin. I'm also quite anemic, and I found out I have a problem with absorbing Iron. Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron, so I take a multivitamin, eat iron rich foods, and take a vit c supplement and I've managed to keep my iron at the low positive levels (used to be extremely low and had to have iron infusions).

Anemia is becoming more common these days. I know several women who are anaemic & have regular transfusions. Rarely heard of it 10 years ago.
Are you still eating a high Protein diet? Have they looked for a possible cause of your anaemia? Infection, auto immune issue, absorption issue, etc.
Make sure you’re consuming Iron rich foods including:
Red meat, pork and poultry Seafood Beans Dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach Dried fruit, such as raisins and apricots Iron-fortified cereals, breads and pastas Peas Increase your Vitamin C as it aids iron absorption. As well as citrus fruits try:
Broccoli Grapefruit Kiwi Leafy greens Melons Oranges Peppers Strawberries Tangerines Tomatoes Do you still have your dietician’s details? Maybe you can contact them for some advice.

Thanks so much everyone! I will look up upper body exercise on YouTube. That should be easy to do in my living room.

I take a Multivitamin with 45 mg of Iron included by ProCare Health. Not sure if that is enough for you though if you are deficient but Those do not cause me any issues.

Wow, this is really a wake up call to many of us, liveaboard15!
I am an RN and a nursing instructor. Women really do experience heart attacks differently than men.
Please check out this 3 minute video called "Just a little heart attack." A true story.
Glad you are OK!
Tink22

Hi GinSunFLoweres. I never had GERD until AFTER I had the sleeve. Thinking of converting to bypass.

I had GERD and a hiatal hernia pre op which is precisely why I choose the bypass over the sleeve (I did not want it to remain the same or get worse). My hiatal hernia was fixed during surgery and although I am only 2 weeks post op, I have had no GERD.

Thanks to my fellow WLS pals for responding. I have been getting more prepared for surgery (in FIVE DAYS!) and have what I need for the first several weeks at home and ready to go. I am not as afraid of post-surgery pain as I am about having a pretty big surgery at 55 y/o. I know that's not crazy old but it's not 20's or 30's anymore either. I am praying to put it all in God's Hands and Trust in Him.

My original RNY was done in December 2000, and it was very successful, I lost 12 stone and life was good! I started to regain around 10 years post op nothing too drastic, but I had awful GERD and I was still vomiting sometimes which I thought was odd. Anyway fast forward to 2022 and I went to see about a revision, turns out after a gastroscopy I had a rare complication called candy cane syndrome and a fistula from the pouch to the old stomach! I went in for what should have been keyhole to end up having a full open operation as the surgeon could not find where one of the limbs from my previous surgery was connected to and my intestines were twisted (apparently called an intestinal hernias). Great it was not!
I am now almost 5 weeks tomorrow post operation and getting back on my feet. I have been surprised at the weight loss 24lbs currently, which I guess will slow down as I only have 70lbs to loose now. I am also really shocked at the level of aftercare you get now!
I'm at the soft food stage, and yesterday I found out I cannot eat fish pie yet! Two hours of pain then eventually throwing it all up. I had truly forgotten how horrible that is, my chest hurt and my throat was still sore this morning. Hoping it is not too soon after the surgery to be ill after eating, but pleased it's done and I can move on with it now.

7 years in early April. Yes up 15 from low but that is ok too. - I have been in n unhealthy mode much of my life so this has been a shift in life since 2015. Life is easier somehow at 135 lbs. Still keeping it low carb… mostly.

Was just checking in and updating some of my photos, I'm 12 years out from my first surgery and 4 years out from my revision.

Thanks so much for your comments...they are so appreciated. I have made an appointment to be seen by a Bariatric Doc here in Vancouver, WA. I have to wait a month to be seen, but that doesn't seem to long away. I will need to wrap my brain around possible surgery. Ugh.

I'd sure love to know the answer to that myself. The sleeve was laparoscopic, so I had a LOT of referred shoulder pain. Is the RNY laparoscopic with a few small incisions, or is a larger incision than the sleeve incision(s)?

Wow, this is really a wake up call to many of us, liveaboard15!
I am an RN and a nursing instructor. Women really do experience heart attacks differently than men.
Please check out this 3 minute video called "Just a little heart attack." A true story.
Glad you are OK!
Tink22

Thank you Greentealael and Tuffla for you responses. I so appreciate it. I have been trying to tolerate the discomfort after eating anything and the GERD for years now. I didn't have insurance for quite awhile, but now that I do I will make an appointment with a bariatric surgeon this afternoon to get checked out.
Thank you again!