gabbykittyvsg

I had the sleeve done 8 years ago. Highest weight of 272 and currently 164.

I know I'm writing this after you've had your surgery but I wanted to add my experience. After my bypass I had a lidocaine IV drip which is a medication similar to what's in the On-Q. I had very little pain after surgery. My mom just had a knee joint replacement surgery 3 days ago and has an On-Q device. She's only taken 4 small doses of any narcotic since the day of surgery.

March 1st marked 1 year since my revision due to damage caused by acid reflux. I lost an additional 30 pounds which was a big bonus and put me into the healthier weight range. The damage caused by the reflux to my esophagus has healed.

Medications given during anesthesia can give issues with memory for a while.

I'm thinking it has to do with acid. The acidity can worsen reflux which sleeves are prone to.

oh, count yourself as very lucky that you don't dump. It's been physically painful and emotionally exhausting.

There is NOTHING good about dumping, zip, zilch, zero, nada.... NOTHING. What I experienced has bee physically very painful and emotionally exhausting. I already know what I need to do to keep myself on track and had been doing so very successfully since my original sleeve 8 years ago. Some of the foods that helped me keep the weight off are no longer safe. I developed pre-cancerous changes in my esophagus due to reflux an converting to bypass was needed to prevent that from occurring.

I thought I was dealing with reactive hypoglycemia and so did my surgeon's NP. However, my rockstar dietitian took a chunk of time with me to really tease things apart. She wasn't 100% convinced it was hypoglycemia and agreed with my purchase of a cheap glucose meter. Her guess was that it was dumping syndrome, but delayed because I was going to bed after eating the triggering food and waking up due to the symptoms. 2 nights ago I purposefully ate a triggering food without eating any protein. Sure enough I woke up drenched in sweat and feeling horrible.... blood sugar was 100 so not hypoglycemia. So yeah, dumping syndrome.... Then last night I wasn't thinking and ate some high fat and high carb food right before I headed into work and oh my...... Work was difficult last night and had to sit down quite a bit (I do after hours janitorial work). I'm thinking the symptoms I thought was hypoglycemia is really due to low blood pressure. The pain of the muscle cramps is very real and wore me out. It's 12 hours later and I'm still sore. I really need to change my diet, AGAIN. uggggg..... On a much more positive note, the reason I had the revision has been fully resolved, no more dangerous reflux and no more esophageal spasms due to the reflux. The reflux was so bad it was starting to create pre-cancerous changes in my esophagus. I'll be having another endoscopy in a month or two to confirm how much healing has taken place. My team and I are absolutely thrilled with the additional 30 pounds of weight loss. If I loose more, great, but I'm 100% happy with where I'm at right now. I'm probably the healthiest I've been in my whole life. It's been close to 30 years since I've been in the low 160s (and I'm only 44). I'm comfortably in size 8 pants and M shirts, my dream sizes when I started this whole journey 8+ years ago.

I'm now 3.5 weeks post op and am feeling great! I can do soft foods in tiny amounts. 2 ounces of deli meat leaves me satisfied, any more than that and I'm absolutely miserable

3.5 weeks post op revision to bypass for severe GERD, down 14 pounds, which I'm super thrilled about! In the past couple of days I've started to feel fairly normal physically. The biggest mind trip is getting full on 2 oz of deli meat. If I eat any more than that I feel miserable. No problems getting my fluids in. I went back to work last week and felt good but this week I can tell I'm back to full strength. I even started walking on the track at the adults only community center I joined (and health insurance pays for). The Y has a track too but it's always sooooo loud and busy.

I had my revision to bypass 3 weeks ago. I've been cleared to eat soft foods but can eat only very small amounts at a time and things like ground beef and tuna are not agreeing with me at all. I did discover last night that about 2 oz of deli meat agrees with me as long as I don't try to eat or drink anything else for about an hour after. My favorite thing so far has been refried beans with taco sauce and a bit of melted shredded cheese. I'm getting most of my protein from drinking Fairlife skim milk. I'm down almost 14 pounds which blows my mind because it took me almost 2 months to lose that when I had my sleeve 7 years ago. I didn't do this for weight loss but it's been a welcomed bonus. No more heart burn or reflux either.

The walks and water will help make recovery go faster! Keep up the good work.

My surgery was on the 1st. I returned to work (part time light janitorial) this past Monday and feel great! The complication I had ended up being just a small bump in the road to recovery. I've lost about 10 pounds so far. In a few days I get to start soft foods that have more texture to them, so stuff like a soft taco with ground beef and cheese. I'll be on that phase for 6 weeks.

Lots of walking

I almost called the on call surgeon again a couple days ago because I hadn't pooped since the hospital despite 2 times a day colace and a couple doses of milk of magnesia. BUT it's like there was a plug that got unplugged then BAM the poop damn was broken and I lost 5+ pounds. Since then my gut has been making all kinds of fun sounds (a good thing). I read through the ER and CT scan reports. Uh, yeah, scary stuff, my gut was seriously messed up!! My surgeon did say that the long term damage of the acid on my esophagus is going to take 6+ months to heal. Right now it either spasms or doesn't contract at all. I see my surgery team Tuesday afternoon and then my dietitian Wednesday. I had a small serving of mashed potatoes tonight and YUMMMMMMM. I feel comfortably full. Wednesday morning I have some follow up testing for another medical issue discovered around 6 months ago. I had an abnormal mammogram and some abnormal lymph nodes. The CT scan I had showed multiple enlarged lymph nodes but nothing that looks worrisome. My surgeon took out a funny looking lymph node during surgery that was enlarged but benign. My primary doc thinks enlarged lymph nodes may just be my normal. Lord knows I don't need more crud to deal with.

I converted from sleeve to bypass almost 2 weeks ago due to severe GERD. My recovery has not been typical. My small intestine swelled almost completely shut at one of the newly created junctions so I had to go back in the hospital for a few days for a lovely tube down my nose and into my stomach, more steroids and forced rest in the form of nothing to eat or drink. I'm fine now, fluids are moving through and my digestive system is fully back on line. The swelling wasn't a big surprise since my sleeve swelled quite a bit when I first had it done 7 years ago. Considering the severity of your GERD, absolutely get the conversion to bypass. The GI doc who did my first endoscopy was worried enough about the results of my second endoscopy (done by a different doc) that he called me to make sure I understood the severity of what could happen if it wasn't surgically corrected. For what it's worth, I've not had any reflux since surgery.

BMI of 29.something I had a conversion of sleeve to bypass due to severe GERD. My insurance process was super easy, the nurse reviewer took one look at the documentation and then called my team with approval.

My post op diet book says: Protein drinks and clear liquids: 400-500 Blended foods: 600-700 Soft foods:700-900

March 1st here. After the surgery and readmission I didn't sleep much that first week. I've been sleeping 12+ hours since I got home, making up for the sleep a person doesn't get in the hospital. The incision itchies are almost gone and my abdomen is looking better every day. Adhesive reactions are a pain! I have a follow up with my surgeons nurse practitioner on Tuesday and the dietitian on Wednesday. I've lost about 9 pounds so far which is a major surprise considering all the IV fluids and steroids I had. Saturday the poop damn broke loose and that's where I've lost most of the weight. Fluids have been no problem and I'm now able to start thickening up some liquids. I've totally blended soups and they tasted sooooooooo good. I'm totally over the taste of protein drinks so I've been doing a fair amount of Fairlife skim milk, yummy! I go back to work tomorrow evening. I do some light janitorial work and tomorrow night's account only takes about 1-1.5 hours.

Hello my peeps, I'm finally back home with my kitties. I had a small bowel obstruction, which thankfully didn't require another surgery. When my surgeon and her NP walked into my room Tuesday morning I said "I want to go home" they agreed and I left a few hours later. Having a NG tube placed sucks!!! Having that tube stay in place for 2 days sucks. Not being able to eat or drink anything except meds sucks too. After 2 days of that, jello never tasted so good. Everyone at the hospital was sooooo good to me with my initial surgery and readmission. I got to be on the same wing both times. My belly looks horrible but it's healing nicely. I'm in the itchy phase of healing.

Good news, this morning I got the tube out. Then I got to have clear liquids and oh man did they taste and feel so darn good! This evening I had a bowel movement, which was a very welcomed surprise.

The swelling that caused an obstruction is opening up thanks to the hospital treatments. I got the horrible NG tube out this morning. I also had a bowel movement this evening. It's looking like I'll go home to my kitties tomorrow.

I'm still at the hospital. This blasted NG tube is kinked and may have to come out and a new one put in. I'm having another fancy swallow test in a few hours. I can tell the obstruction is still there.

I had my revision surgery March 1st, went home on the 3rd and went back on the 5th thanks to a bowel obstruction. I'm one of the rare people who experience a bad reaction. We're hoping steroids and time will take away the swelling that's causing the obstruction. Pay attention to the warning signs they tell you. My surgeon gave me a big magnet with instructions of what to do. I did just that and called the on call surgeon, who sent me to the ER and ordered a CT scan. On the plus side, no more GERD!

Yesterday I started having some pain but didn't think much of it. 2 am hit and I knew something was wrong. I tried everything I could think of but nothing made it better, walking and changing positions made it worse. So I finally called the on call surgeon and he said to head to the ER. They did labs, EKG since my heart rate was high, and a CT scan with 2 types of contrast. Turns out the site where my small intestine is hooked up to my stomach is swollen shut. There's some other concerning thing that showed up on the scan also that will need to be addressed. So I'm back in the hospital, on the same wing I was in earlier. I have a lovely NG tube from my nose to stomach. This thing sucks!!!! Literally and figuratively. Every time I move it moves too. I can't eat or drink anything. I have the same night nurses I had one night right after surgery. They rock so it's good! The ER nurse was awesome as well. She told me that lately they've been having to ship people out due to lack of beds. Part of the reason for bed shortage is they converted all rooms into single occupancy. The surgeon I saw in the ER was the one who placed the NG tube, he was nice about it but man it was horrible!!! The ER doc and on call surgeon both talked toy surgeon and she agreed with their plan. I'll probably see her Monday. I have no idea how long I'll be here.