Wheetsin

Sounds like a normal reaction. Pretty soon post-op I had to lift DD off a countertop (sigh). I had felt good before that, but it set me back a few days for sure. If you must carry things up stairs, try using a backpack or rucksack. It will keep things close to your center of gravity so that your body doesn't have to strain a particular area for the added weight.

Bad breath and/or cotton mouth are fairly gold sandard indicators that your body is in ketosis -- actively burning fat.

I'd suggst having a moderator move this to the TX and/or OK area. It's such a specific question, you might get better results. In the mean time you might want to earch the board for TX/OK surgeons, and start calling them an asking. That might be quicker way to get results.

3 weeks post-op I stalled for about 11 or 12 weeks. Tht was averaging about 500 calris a day, 20 - 25gm carb, 60+ gm potein. With my band, I plateaued for about 18 month, then -whoosh- stated dropping again.

I'ma major "pear". I easily wear 2 sizes smaller on top. As my surgeon's PSYCHOLOGIST (of all people) put it: If you don't mind me saying, you're quite nice and trim in through your neck, shoulders and upper body, and then kind of go all over the place in your hips. Thanks, Doc! My tummy actually (with the sleeve, so far) has been one of the first things to go. I'm a lot droopier now. I know this because my bellybutton has gone from a slight frowny face to an upside-down V. My upper butt tends to be the last thing to go, and so far that's true this time as well. I still have my "butt shelf" and if pants fit me tightly, that's where it's going to be. Last weekend my mom pointed to my right saddlebag (I have those too, I'm so lucky) and told me, "That's alonst gone now!" I guess the left one is still there. So I tend to lose: face/upperchest/clavicle (my boobs stay the same, which is small - no changes there so far) first. Then I'd say tummy, followed by the weird places like my hands and knees. Back fat is starting to subside too. Then hips, then butt. In about 40 more lbs I should start to see some proportion, but I think I will always be "hippy". I guess my short-form answer is no. I've gone from big pear to little pear. Or big pear to sock full of quarters. But no apple. Fortunately my hip:waist ratio has always remained in my favor.

1. We may "play" women on the internet, but you never really know. 2. Most women are un-figure out-able. Because most women think like women. Even women who don't think like other women cannot "get" women. (I've been told I think like a guy - that's probably true because I sure as heck don't "get" women.) 3. It is healthy to have friendships with the opposite gender. It is not healthy to misunderstand the difference between friendships and other -ips. My "BFF" is a married guy currently trying to nurse his mid-life crisis with a new Mercedes convertible and a few Kid Rock albums. 4. We are always intrigued by that we cannot understand, or cannot have. 5. I talk to guys on this board as frequently as I talk to women, I think. Honeslty, I don't really pay attention to someone's gender and "goosey15978" doesn't tell me much. I don't care if someone is a male or female, if I can help them I will try. 6. Something is not a problem unless it's hurts you, or hurts someone else. I think I took your message with more of a facetious note than some of the others who have responded. Perhaps that was in error considering the type of advice you're getting. If you meant it in even slight jest, then - hoorah.

No, but I was a revision after 6 years so chewing habits were pretty much rock solid. They took about 3 weeks to solidify in the beginning. In the first few days, I QUICKLY learned how little I chewed before. I disagree with the idea of "30 chews." I talked to my NUT and got her to change her advice on this. IMO it should be about a consistency, not a number. So I'd say something like "chew to goo." Some things won't be ready after 30 chews: a big bite, or a tough food (i.e. jerky), etc. There's just no way you're going to chew a bite of mashed potatoes 30 times, but what you can do is chew it enough that it sort of goes down without you even really swallowing. I can just see people freaking out because mashed potatoes went down after only 24 chews...

Did you have the same screen name on LBT? I was there for several years (since 2005 IIRC). We have similar stats and somewhat similar stories, though my slip occured during my pregnnacy (I'm 99% sure). I'm still a fan of the band, just not it's long-term implications. As a temporary tool, I think it's great. Bands do leak. Allergan (manufactures the Lap-Band brand) knows they leak. I know too many people who've had "disappeared" fill, it's ridiculous. It shouldn't be able to leak, but it can. Osmosis maybe, who knows! I know it's frustrating and financially stressful, but two surgeries Healthwise is a good thing (I guess that's the silver lining?). The complication rate when there's a minimum two month wait between procedures goes down ridiculously. I don't remember the exact numbers, but as of about a year ago it was something like 20% - 30% initially, and a bit more each subsequent month. A lot of surgeon's will refuse two-in-one procedures now, because of the high complication rates. Because of an insurance snafu I went 7 months between band removal and sleeve revision. I did great maintenance wise for about 2 or 3 months, then hit a hard downward spiral. In the first two-ish months I gained about 10 lbs, most of which was Fluid (I was so dehydrated from not being able to comfortably pass fluids regularly). But by the date of my revision, I was up about 60 lbs in 7 months. That's insane. Be glad the band is coming out now. The reflux can lead to some bad things. I was given the option of keeping my slipped band in because all in all, I was tolerating it OK (at first - it got a lot worse fairly quickly). I told them it wasn't an option, too much risk for something else to pop up. I think you'll like the sleeve. It's familiar, yet night-and-day opposite -- all in good ways. Revisioners tend to lose weight more slowly with the sleeve (I don't know if it's "with the sleeve" so much as "this time around"), but quality of life is so much better, it's worth it. I've said before, I'm not anti-band, it's just unable to do what made it successful to begin with. I am still surprise it's being marketed so hard and we aren't seeing more surgeons drop it. I guess it has too high of a profit margin. Having had both, if I knew then what I know now and it had been readily available, I'd have gone with the sleeve to start with. Especially if I was self pay (I wasn't, neither time). If I'd self-paid for my band, I would be pissed and some of the folks I know at Allergan would be hearing from me daily.

It's ok to fall off the wagon, just don't do it all the time, or for long periods. I had a package of DD's "fruit snacks" a few mins ago. More carbs than I needed? Yeah - at about 20g I'd say so! But it was also a craving I was having and I'm not a fan of trying to "ignore" cravings. I indulge them in moderation, as long as they're reasonable. And I ate my egg, turkey bacon, strawberries, and almonds first. And I will be carb wary the rest of the day. Just MHO - I think that's a more stable way of going at it. It's moderation. I'm learning to have things I enjoy, as long as I'm willing to make adjustments to still stay on track and within my "actively losing" phase. That's what just about every "healthy" person I know does. "I thought I'd be down more" is a dangerous pitfall. Trust me - it's a daily battle not to get there myself. With my band I sloughed off weight. This time around, that's not the case. I "thought" I'd be around 250 by July 4th, yet here I am at 270 a couple weeks past.

It was in a little over one day. Put in after surgery, removed before discharge the next day. I expected it to hurt a lot when it was removed. In actuality I felt virtually nothing. It fely maybe like a cotton ball dropped on me.

Teas contain acids & tannins that are thought to have the potential to be irritants to the suture line. And they're diuretics. And usually caffeinated. I'm not yet sure what drinking caffeine has to do with wightloss. I know lots of non-WLS people who drink caffeinated drinks with no problems. My NUT said no tea, ever. That just makes no sense. I have no problems with caffeine or blood pressure. I don't drink coffee or soda. I drink Water, tea, and low sugar fruit juices (or fresh made with my juicer) pretty exclusively. I've followed her advice to the letter as much as I can, but that's just one I don't get. We're talking tea, not a double fat milkshake with triple caramel syrup. Tea, unsweetened. Tea. I generally have an 8oz cup of fresh brewed tea over ice once daily, about 4x a week. Surprise, everyone but "the" NUT (my program has 4) is fine with this, as long as I remember it is a diuretic.

You might also want to look into known/suspected side effects of long term PPI use. I've posted a few research articles on it, and it's been talked about many times. Just run a few searches and you'll be reading for hours.

Generally "...do no use for more than X days..." are qualified with, "...unless directed by a medical professional." The idea is that if you're taking it truly OTC without a Dr. recommendation, you're self-treating something that could need medical supervision. If you need to take an OTC medication for longer than the timeframe on the bottle, what they're saying is, "Look, if you still need this, you probably need to go to a Dr. and get checked up because if it was just an acute thing, you'd probably be better by now." Same with things like sensitive tooth toothpaste. If you have something acute like sinus inflammation and it's bugging your teeth, use us for a few days, we might help. But if you're now on your 3rd tube and still needing it, you might wanna go see the dentist... Look a few posts up - #2. "As effective" is hard to define because each is very effective at what it does, but they do completely different things. So are they equal? No. Does each have a situation for which it is best? Yes. Is each therefore "as effective"? Yes - for its intended purpose.

New sleeve sensations (didn't have with the band at all): If I eat a bit too much, or too quickly, I get a sort of stabbing burn in my throat. Not reflux, feels muscular. This is in addition to the pressure in the esophagus area (what I described above as being stuck before it would hurt -- mine alwas sort of progressed in stages from pressure to pretty bad pain). I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to drink if I'm thirsty, or take a pill if I have a headache, regardless of how my stomach feels. With a slipped band, that "stuck" feeling may last days and it was big trouble if I tried to eat or drink during. Eating before 1pm or so never agreed with me. Breakfast and regular lunch time became a thing of the past. Ever have to answer, "I don't know if I can eat today" when someone asked what sounded good for dinner? That's pretty much over with. No worries if you have to take a large pill, or several pills at a time. I'd say the pain/vomiting is a thing of the past, but people still do it. I've just been fortunate enough not to have had any problems. Discomfort, yes. Reflux, yes. But nothing has ever had to come back up. The behavioral changes you made with your band, especially around chewing, bite size, how quickly you eat, etc. will definitely help you out.

You may have some of those same feelings, but you may not. The beginning "stuck" stages (before it started to really hurt, when there was still a chance it might clear) is similar to being a tad bit overfull with the sleeve. Main difference is you really just have to wait it out with the sleeve (most bandsters learned some ways to beat stuck foods, which of course may or may not work). The sliming can still happen. That one's not specific to WLS. Vomiting can still happen too, but I suspect it's different. With the band we didn't really vomit, if you think about it. What usually came up? Saliva (in various forms) and/or a few bits of food. No stomach acid, no regurgitation. I've yet to "vomit" (or whatever) with the sleeve. I suspect acid may come up. I also suspect if it's a matter of having packed the sleeve too much it may be more similar to the band "vomit". I lost a lot of weight with my band, I jut wish it had proven to hae more longevity. Knowing what I know now, had the sleeve been readily available when I had my band, I would have had the sleeve instead. From 385 - 215 with the band. Up to 275 with pregnancy. Down to 250 with slipped band (dehydration/intolerance), then up to 285 (discovered that what liked to go down was not exactly health food). Up to 354 the day I had my sleeve. Currently around 270.

I have literally set reminders on my calendar at work to "go eat". If I didn't have those, and didn't have any distractions of people around me eating, I could easily work through the day without eating anything. When we go out for the day, especially with company that doesn't know about my "odd" eating habits, they always have to remind me that they get hungry, or I will just go & go with no thought about stopping for Snacks or lunch. Like I said, this isn't really a sleeve thing for me. It mayb e related to the location of my scar tissue from banding & slip.

Don't worry about Protein 1 week post-op. Focus on hydration. The best clear protein I've found is Nature's Best Isopure in "grape frost". I add some SF grape drink mix (I get it at Target, it's their house brand) and it pretty much tastes like grape koolaid that leaves my mouth feeling a little dry. I'm over 3 mos out and it's the only Protein Drink I can really tolerate. Sleeve-wise, not preference-wise. Standard Protein drinks are just too thick. Any time I drink something more viscuous than Water, I feel it in a major way.

"If I can't even drink the Water, why would I have surgery there?" I'm guessing your parents are referring to the news that the Zeta cartel has been making since... probably last fall. There was a blow-up, but things have gotten a lot more low key. But AFAIK the major conflicts with the Zeta cartel are not in the same area as the hospitals. I'm pretty sure those routes aren't highly prized drug trafficking venues. ^ just best guess from a midwesterner who hasn't crossed the Mex border in a solid 5 years.

If you use myfitnesspal.com, share a few of your daily menus. If you don't, recreate them here as best as you can. It isn't going to be 100% menu - but it's a place to start. My loss with the sleeve is definitely slower & WAY more irregular than with my band. Believe it or not, I was kind of in your shoes. II lost more than 6 pounds initially, way more, but most if it was in 2 weeks (i.e. fluid). Then about a week after that, I hit a stall that lasted... 10 - 11 weeks. So had my initial weightloss been less, which it would've been if I'd had a "real" pre-op diet (I only had 2 days of SF liquids), I could've said the same thing you're saying now. Considering that, my best advice is to hang in there. I think in your heart of hearts you know it has to work, and that something's gotta give. If you can sustain no weightloss with a sleeve long term, you're going to be doing some shopping because that $1.5M prize money that comes with winning the Nobel peace prize for curing world hunger will be in the mail. I really thought loss would be at least comparable, if not faster. I mean, I could easily splurge with the band as long as all the planets were aligned, which is not the case now. It's a bot of a head scratcher. Lots of popular theories. As a former hare who has turned into a relative tortoise - bah!

This is interesting. I have food "stick" or "feel heavy" sometimes, and usually that feeling lasts way longer than the time it should take to be passed through my stomach. The sensation is also related to reflux. Have it when I fall asleep - reflux. Don't - no reflux. I had a similar sensation with my band. with the same reflux/no reflux result I've never brought anything up with the sleeve though. Food, vomit, or otherwise. I've been suspecting esophageal dysmotility, but my interest is piqued by your story. Please keep us updated.

That's really flawed logic. In all procedures other than AGB, something is removed. So replace "stomach" with excised anatomy of choice, or naturally occuring tissue connection of choice, and every single permanent WLS out there would be created equal (in terms of not getting rid of X because you might need X some day). No, this surgery cannot be reversed. But is I said above, AGB is the only truly reversible procedure that I'm aware of (using my own definition of reversal anyway, i.e. return you to your original state), and even it isn't completely reversible: you're always going to have adhesions and/or scar tissue, at the very least. It's a pretty common pre-op fear though. Something like, "What if I get cancer, and they'd be able to fix it IF I still had that part of my stomach that they could use to..." It's a comittment, for sure. And it's smart to question any comittment. The chances of needing the rexcised portion of the stomach down the road are... well, I dont' know the odds, but I'm reasonably confident they are N/A. I guess we'll see. RNY retains the stomach, but honestly - my severed stomach just sorta pinned over into my abdominal cavity, and sealed shut, creeps me out WAY more than "what if I need something in that 80% of my stomach some day..." RNY "reversals" (not per my definition, but per a functional definition) are possible, but success is never guaranteed. The stomach may or may not be viable. There's going to be a TON of scar tissue and stuff to deal with. It would probably be pretty hard to find a surgeon who would be willing to do it, and I imagine it would require a significant complication/reason.

I was never hungry after surgery. Though to be fair, I was rarely hungry before (I lost the majority of my hunger sensation with my band - in 6 years I felt true hunger maybe 5 or 6 times, and it just never seemed to come back after removal). Unfortunately, hunger has nothing to do with it.

See my responses below in blue. HTH

Bursitis can be really, really weird. I got it as a teenager in my elbow. It would only hurt at certain times of the day, so no one thought it was bursitis at first and they kept thinking I was making it up. When it didn't hurt, it was 100% normal and when it did, it was nearly unusable and truly agonizing. Then later the same day, I'd feel fine. It took about 3 weeks for mine to resolve. If you felt fine at night or when not using it, they may not be 100% on the diagnosis but it is possible (as I can attest). The ear thing - near & dear to my heart. A few things can cause it. Do you flush/irrigate your ears? If you don't, you might want to. Wax can build up and basically close things up from the outside. I get this a lot, and have had to regularly flush my ears since I was about 9. Usually if my hearing comes and goes either during the night, or randomly (with no other symptoms like a clicking/popping sound), it's wax. Have you had a cold lately, significant congestion, or a "tickling" in your ears (or other signs of drainage)? Fall of last year, following a long string of pretty bad illnesses, I ended up losing my hearing for about 7 weeks. Then over the course of about 4 more weeks it gradually came back. (I'll save the long story of what was wrong and gory details). Really had to just wait it out. If it is related to allergies, see if you can get an Rx for a nasal steroid inhaler (Nasonex, Flonase, etc.) They can help your eustachean tubes keep the pressure in your ear regulated. I SCUBA and have a hard time with ear pressure (my ears aren't quite normally developed) problems. Equalizing is a lot of work for me. When I was actively diving I'd start Nasonex about 2 days before a dive trip, through it, and for about 2 days after and it significantly recuded problems. Regular OTC decongestants can help too (though the really good ones aren't around any longer, damn meth labs taking away all the good drugs!), as can NSAIDS. HTH

Gurgling may never go away. I gurgled all 6 years with my band, and so far still gurgle all 3.5 mos of my sleeve, especially when I eat something very dense like Jerky. I also hiccup a lot when I eat (not a soft stop, it comes after I stop eating). Painful - could be a lot of things at this point. Eating too fast, or too much, or too much at once, etc. will all cause pain. Though for me, they're different pains. Something running through you in 5 mins is not typical. Gas might be. Your stomach "prepares" to start working before food hits it, and there are some things in that preparation that could cause gas. Diarrhea would be typical (as said above, liquid inand liquid out - our bodies are not good at taking a Fluid and turning it into a solid).