catwoman7

those last 20 lbs or so are a BEAR to lose! The last few months I was only losing about 2 lb a month, so it took FOREVER to get them off. But even for people who've never had weight loss surgery, losing 10 or 20 or even 30 lbs when you're close to a normal BMI is SUPER hard. Before I had surgery, I used to listen to women at Weight Watchers who were like 10 or 20 lbs overweight b***ch and scream and complain about how hard it was to lose 10 or 20 lbs. I used to roll my eyes whenever I heard them. Yea...right...try losing 100+ lbs. But now I totally get it... It can be done, but it's tough. Just keep working at it (that is, if you want to - like Creekimp said, if you're happy where you're at and it's comfortable maintaining your weight at that level (because the lower you go, the harder it is to maintain it), then there's nothing wrong with staying where you're at, either...)

if you have issues with acid reflux, they usually recommend you go with bypass. Sleeve makes that worse (or can cause it) in about 30% of patients. Otherwise, it's personal preference. I had GERD prior to surgery, so it was a no brainer for me. 30% isn't everyone, but it was enough of a risk for me that I didn't want to take the chance. GERD is awful. RNY "dumping" is also a 30% risk. I've never dumped and know lots of others who never have, but it does happen to about 30% of RNY patients. But it can be controlled by limiting or avoiding sugar. Some dumpers can eat SOME sugar without setting it off - others have to avoid it altogether. there's a better chance of putting diabetes into remission with bypass, although it can go into remission with sleeve as well - but the percentage isn't as high. also, statistically people lose a little more weight with bypass because of the malabsorption, but that's just a statistic. Your success is really more dependent on your level of commitment and following the rules rather than which surgery you go with. You'll find lots of examples on here of people who've been very successful regardless of which surgery they had. P.S. I've been super happy with my bypass and would choose it again if I had to make that decision today.

check the blog "the World According to Eggface". She's a long time vet and loves to cook - she has lots of recipes for all stages

it's likely mostly excess skin. If there's fat under there, they can always lipo it out. But I bet it's mostly skin. Mine was...

I started out heavier than you, but I'd lost about 70 lbs before I...and others...could tell the difference. I did have my husband take pictures of me from all four sides once a month on my surgery date until the day I hit maintenance. Although I couldn't always tell a difference from month to month, if I compared photos to ones he took three or four months earlier - yep, definitely a difference. Plus I like the fact I have my whole journey documented.

people don't lose fat evenly - they'll notice less fat in some places long before they'll notice it in others. I'd give it more time..

I can't confirm or deny that you can eat more when you're early out with VSG vs RNY - I honestly don't know. But that microscopic amount is only when you're very early out. Once you're a few weeks out and the swelling is gone, you can eat more than that. And once you're a few MONTHS out, you can eat A LOT more than that. At six years out, I still could never eat half a large pizza at one sitting like I could before surgery, but I have no problem eating 1-2 pieces at one sitting. I probably eat as much as most of my "light eating" women friends who've never been obese do, so no one would be able tell that I've had surgery.

yes - I'd also suggest you post on the duodenal switch forums, since SADI is a version of that. Even traditional DS is a pretty uncommon surgery, so I don't know if you'll find many people on the general threads who'll know how to respond to that. Sorry this is happening to you - this sounds miserable! P.S. you may want to post over at Obesity Help, too - I think there are more DS'ers over there (that site in general is much less active than this one, but they do have more DS people over there, from what I can tell. Also, you may want to check out some of the DS groups on Facebook. In general I can't recommend FB groups for bariatric patients because so many of them have bad info that never gets corrected, but then again, the DS community is pretty small, so you may find people on them who can address your issue)

^^^^ I completely agree with this. Programs are different, people are different. Follow your medical team's instructions. I wouldn't do any "tweaking" unless they say to do it.

I don't think there's a difference between the amount of food sleeve patients can eat vs. bypass patients. I have no problem with dinners out. The first few months you're not taking in very much food regardless of which surgery you have - but after that, your volume becomes more "normal". I eat about the same amount as my "light eating" never-been-obese women friends do - no one would be able to tell I had surgery at this point (and wouldn't have been able to tell for a long time - after the first few months, anyway). I've eaten dinners out hundreds of time since surgery. Also, you need to take supplements with VSG, too. Our clinic has both types of patients on the exact same vitamin regimen. Some clinics have the VSG patients taking fewer vitamins, but they still have to take them.

there are more complications with RNY than with VSG, but honestly, complications really aren't that common with either one of them. And most complications are minor and easily "fixed". about 30% of RNY patients dump. I never have and know lots of others who have never dumped, either. If you're one of the 30% who dump, it's easily controlled by limiting sugar (and for some people, fat - a minority of dumpers dump on fat instead of - or in addition to - sugar). Some dumpers can eat SOME sugar without a problem -- it's when they eat a lot of it at one time that they dump - but a few really can't tolerate sugar at all. Regardless, if it turns out you're one of the minority who dump, you can control it by limiting your sugar (or fat) intake. Recovery for me was easy. The diets are pretty much the same. My clinic has the RNY and the VSG patients on the exact same diet.

it's a known issue, but it seems to be pretty uncommon. My dentist had read about it in the professional (dental) literature, but he'd never actually seen it in any of his patients who've had WLS. But no, since I personally haven't had issues with it, I've never mentioned it to my bariatric surgeon or dietitian. But i'm sure they know it happens to some people.

22 lbs in five weeks is very normal. Most people lose about 15-25 lbs during the first month (of course, you'll always find some who lose more or less than that, but most of us are somewhere in that range) - so you're fine. I think I was at 700-800 calories a day from about months 2-8, so your calories should be fine. There are a few surgeons who like their patients at a higher calorie level, but it seems most of us are somewhere in the 600-800 range for the first few months (after we get to the solid food stage, that is - which for most of us is around six weeks out). Also, not all programs are ultra-low carb, but if yours is, I'd follow that. Basically, there's quite a bit of variation among programs. The two things that most if not all programs stress, though, is getting at least 60 grams of protein and at least 64 oz of fluid. I think most of us were told to focus on getting in our protein (at least 60 grams) and fluids (at least 64 oz) during those first few months, though, and not worry so much about calories.

check the blog "The World According to Eggface" - she's got recipes on there for every stage. I used to use her blog a lot when I was early out.

I wouldn't do the lapband at all, and I'm surprised your surgeon still does them. Few surgeons do those anymore and lots of people have had theirs removed because of complications. if you have GERD, just know that it gets worse for about 30% of sleeve patients. You may be OK with that amount of risk - I was not, so I went with bypass. Bypass usually (but not always) improves if not outright cures GERD. Having GERD won't prohibit you from getting the sleeve, though - but just know your risk if you do have it and you decide to proceed with the sleeve. Sometimes it can be medically managed, but we do see a fair amount of revisions to bypass on here if the GERD gets really severe (and again, that doesn't happen to most people - but it does happen to some..) P.S. Malabsorption issues aren't common with bypass AS LONG AS people are consistent about taking their vitamins. There are some people who can't absorb iron very well from oral supplements, so they need to go in for occasional infusions, but most of us absorb iron from pills just fine. As far as other nutrients, again, as long as you keep on top of your vitamin regimen, problems are rare.

I started walking pretty quickly afterward. I was told to wait four weeks for most other exercises except for weights - I had to wait eight weeks on those. Check with your clinic - they may have different recommendations - and/or it may be different for you depending on how well you heal.

I see your surgeon is with SSM in Madison. Are you in the area? I am. Let me know if you want an in=person pep talk!

if you stick to your program, which it sounds like you are, the stall WILL break. I promise. I was there many, many times throughout my journey.

if it's a stricture, you'll need to get it taken care of. At some point (if it's a stricture, that is) you won't be able to eat food at all, and after that, you won't even be able to drink fluids (and if you get to that point, you need to get in right away. You can live for a few days without food, but not without fluids). If it gets any worse, I'd for sure go in for the endoscopy. A stricture is a super easy fix. I had two. They just stretch it out during the endoscopy. You're knocked out so you don't feel a thing. And you'll feel 100% better afterward.

I've always taken Centrum Silver (or the generic equivalent). I used the chewable version for about the first year, then switched over to the regular tablets. if you go with a standard multivitamin, you have to take two a day to meet the requirements. Also, you may have to take extra of some vitamins as some multis don't contain enough of certain vitamins for us. I had RNY, so my requirements are probably higher than yours. In addition to my multis, I take vitamin D, iron (with C if my iron tablets don't contain any C), B1, and B12. I don't think most sleevers need that many extras, but you'd know that better than I would.

check out this blog. She's a long-time vet and has been really active in the bariatric community for the last several years. She's is (or was) on the board of the Obesity Action Coalition, for one -- was also very active on internet forums at one time (may have been on BP at one time, too - I can't remember other than she used to post on forums a lot back when I had my surgery). She also loves cooking and has recipes on here for every stage: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/

flowers biking in the early morning and hearing the birds chirping being outside without coats and heavy sweaters on having most plans be tentative because of weather (although hasn't been a problem this winter since most everything has been on Zoom - even doctor's appts) kayaking sitting by lakes outdoor dining/coffee

RNYers are more prone to ulcers because they appear on/near the stoma (opening) they make when they move your small intestine up to your pouch. Sleevers don't have that - their digestive system is more "normal" than ours is (granted, removing 80% of your stomach isn't exactly "normal", but most of their system is more intact than ours). sure people die of sepsis. I think I've heard around 50% of people who get sepsis do. That is, if you even get sepsis from gastric bypass surgery. I've personally never heard of anyone who's gotten sepsis from it, and I live and breathe this stuff and have for the last six years. I suppose there have been cases out there, but that's got to be exceedingly rare. Most ulcers aren't anywhere near that serious and can be treated medically.

yea - some people do experience "stair step" weight loss (which sounds like you're experiencing). Luckily I only had stalls every two or three months, because I know they're aggravating. At 1000 calories/day, I wouldn't worry about it. You'll start losing again. Maybe just try weighing yourself once or twice a week? (I know that's hard for a lot of people, though...)

high protein diets can cause constipation - and so can too low a fiber intake. Ta da! You're doing both on that pre-op diet. Check with your clinic to see if you can take Miralax or a stool softener to help with that. There's probably not much in there since you aren't eating solid food, but if the constipation is uncomfortable, then...