Jump to content
×
Are you looking for the BariatricPal Store? Go now!

Wheetsin

LAP-BAND Patients
  • Content Count

    15,298
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    4

Everything posted by Wheetsin

  1. Wheetsin

    Bougie Or Endoscope?

    My surgeon uses both. The bougie is kind of just a guideline, not a true "pattern." My surgeon places the bougie, verifies with the endoscope, does the deed then double checks with another endoscope.
  2. Wheetsin

    Disappointed And A Little Sad

    Let me do the math rq. You were 330 at surgery and you're now 275.9. We have really similar stats. I started at 348, am currently 260, and am about 5 months out. I still feel (and AM) fat, but I'm getting to a place where I can feel pretty again. I'm not "a looker" by any means (Looker, not Hooker, though I'm not that either), so maybe ANY feeling pretty is misplaced, but I'll take it. I'm starting to feel a little more normal. "Normal" fat instead of "Crazy" fat. I'll feel a lot better around the 210 mark. Feel good about yourself, feel accepted, feel pretty -- I can't tell you that. I HOPE you can. And if you find that you cannot, I hope you can take a long, hard look at yourself and figure out why. Everyone has worth, regardless anything "This isn't what I wanted it to do for me." I think the surgery is doing exactly what it's supposed to. Are you eating less than before? That's about all it can give us. The rest is on us. Maybe you had unrealistic expectations? What did you expect? Let us know, we might be able to help level set or troubleshoot.
  3. My truthful regrets: That I didn't do this back in 2006 instead of getting my band. Ok, it wasn't really known back then, but still. How much would I be rocking goal weight by now if it had? I'm not entirely sure how to word this as a regret. It is, and it isn't. I regret going into this knowing it was all going to have to be "wait and see" but also having deep-down expectations that my weightloss would be as fast, if not faster, than my band weightloss was. Boy did I have it wrong. My story is a little different. I knew what to expect from WLS (not the sleeve in particular, but WLS). I had a good idea what the pain would be like. I had already made most of the behavioral (chewing, small bites, different meal times, etc.) changes - and a large number of the psychological ones too. I knew my hair was going to fall out and that by bowels were going to hell in a handbasket and that "didn't agree with me" is most likely an overly positive euphamism for "OWWW MFer!!! OMFG!!!" I knew my body would get ridiculously saggy again. I knew that sometimes I'd stall, and sometimes the weight would fly off. Anything fairly universal across WLS I knew... ...so I never had the buyer's remorse, but I did have periods of extreme frustration. This was almost a chronological opposite from what I was used to. With the band you start off able to eat anything, and then that tapers off as you reach restriction. With this, you start off very slowly, then build back up as tolerated. Although I'd been through the band thing for about 6 years, I still had to relearn so much, and it was tough. I went from something I had more or less mastered, to being a noob again. Especially during my first 3 - 5 weeks when I was still having to make decisions like, "Eat my Vitamin, or drink some Water, because I can't do both..." or having to decide, "Is today a hydration day, or a food day, or a Protein day?" because I really could only pick one.
  4. Wheetsin

    Healthy Snacks

    The easiest thing at that stage is RTD or your own pre-made Protein drinks. Boiled eggs, soft fruit, cottage cheese (Breakstone has very nice, small serving packs), deli meats... I'm assuming these are all a part of your soft foods. Purees - any soup without chunks is a puree, hummus, etc. If you're strapped for time and space, there are some fairly healthy baby foods out there. You can't get much more portable/convenient than that.
  5. Wheetsin

    Does It Really Help?

    See below in blue.
  6. On the most fundamental level - you KNOW it's not fat gain, right? Which means it's something else. And my bet is on Fluid. If it's fluid weight, it doesn't matter. I'm not saying any of these are the case, but consider things like: You probably got more in IV fluids than what you would normally drink. And you have fluid retention - swelling, if nothing else. Is TOM anywhere close? (don't answer that) I can gain about 13 lbs with TOM. Have you pooped? Poop has weight. If you're on your own with fluids now, there's probably been a marked decrease. Especially over the IV fluids. When your body stops getting fluids - even temporarily, it reacts by turning into a hoarder. Just plain Water weighs about 8 lbs per gallon. Step away from the scale! Do you know you could have weighed yourself 3 hours earlier and been 6 or 7 pounds lighter? Our weights fluctuate so much, especially in your place of being in a fat burning mode.
  7. I appreciate the FYI but it's moot. I don't even know what "gelatein 20" is. Never heard of it. (Actually I guess I have now that I've read your post - which I hadn't before - whilst trying to figure out why you were telling me this.) It could be the best stuff on the planet. What I was "talking" to her about was Gelatin Protein. That's not a brand, it's a mistake that a lot of new-to-WLS people make. And something I've tried to inform MANY new people about when proteins/protein drinks come up. Things like gelatin shots and collagen solutions seem to be the perfect solution to new people struggling to hit their 60gm with about a 50cc capacity, and don't realize the harm they might be doing.
  8. Wheetsin

    Marriage & Vsg...

    Divorce rates to go up with WLS marriages. Sometimes it's the insecurity that does things in. Sometimes the WLS partner can't cope with the new attention (that they've maybe never had) and does things they probably shouldn't do. Sometimes it just brings to light much, much deeper rooted issues. Who knows the reason. Point is - no one can refute that in a lot of cases, it adds distress to a relationship. I'm not saying this is you so pelase don't take it that way, but generically a lot of women have been overweight their entire lives. A lot of them marry the first person to show them any interest because, who knows? Maybe they think it's their only chance. Maybe they don't want to look a gifhorse in the mouth, or whatever. Maybe they think it's "real and perfect" because there's no frame of reference. At the end of the day, obesity does change you, mentally. And losing the obesity changes you also. All relationships grow. You can grow together like this | | or you can grow apart like this \ / but either way, you're growing. I'm not gonna judge you for who you're with. Everyone, even battered women, are in the relationship because they get something out of it. Only you know what that something is, and/or what it's worth. There's very little anyone else can or should say that will make any difference at all. You will either reach a place where you enjoy the relationship, accept it, tolerate it, or leave it. Whatever your path is, good luck on the process of getting there. When I met my husband I was what he called "the total package" (I'll debate that until the day I die). He has always felt like he didn't deserve me, but he has never worried that I would leave him. He was slim when we met (as was I) and has put on about 60 lbs (but he's 6'4 so 60 lbs gives him a poochy belly and moobs, and that's about it). If he trimmed up, losing him would not even come to mind. Whenever I hear "so and so is afraid I will lose them if I lose weight" two things come immediately to mind: If they truly fear you will leave them if you're thin, do they also feel you're just staying because you're fat, and by virtue of that, what -- have no other choice? That's a fairly irrational (or maybe I should say extreme) reaction to occur in a devoted, loving relationship. If a spouse's initial reaction to anything other than divorce papers is "OMG you will leave me" then there's something else going on. If you can figure out what his something else is, then you'll be that much farther ahead. (It sounds like he hasn't been the best partner, and surely he's aware of that - it sounds like #1 might apply). Are you currently pregnant? (Not sure what "rushed surgery to give him children" means.) Might want to get yourselves in a better personal, partner, & financial situation before kids. They really are not magical glue that holds everything together regardless of how many cracks are there. They're more like fault magnifying glasses. But again - not my place to judge - just giving you my two cents.
  9. I assume you mean post-op? No, I haven't. Haven't wanted any. Sleeved or not, they're pretty gross. I'm about 5 months out. Truly not to tease you for the typo, but I'm seriously sitting here with "Maw-cho maw-cho cheeeeeese" (to the tune of the Village People) stuck in my head. Thanks, because that's so awesome.
  10. "3 week stall" (which really isn't a stall) is almost something we need to expect... but no one tells us about. Honestly, don't try to break it. It's not really a stall, it's your body trying to adjust. You're seeing what goes in to your body, but you aren't seeing what's happening on the inside. Your body's kind of freaking out right now, trying to survive this famine. Your body doesn't know it's supposed to be eating less, your body just knows how to survive. To it, there's not much food, so it must be starving. Reserve energy "troops" are being mobilized out of bunkers like your liver and into your bloodstream. Your metabolism may have been given the order to lay low and avoid enemy fire. Your body is pulling resources like Fluid away from more well-fed troops and giving it to the ones who aren't doing so hot. All of this fluctuation is behind most things we call "stalls" (it's also behind most unexplainable or quick weight losses/gains). Your body is doing exactly what it should do. Don't have a knee jerk reaction and try to "fix" something, because there's nothing wrong and nothing to fix. If you try to fix, you're just going to throw things off even more. After about 5 or 6 weeks of this, then you can start looking at what you're doing and what you night be able to change, but even then you can do everything right and see no results. It's just a fact of being alive.
  11. Wheetsin

    Another Rant About Husbands/spouses

    No, the real question is who actually says "titties"?! My pannus is there, but not like a sailcloth. It ends ABOVE my err... girl area. But it's also not completely deflated yet. I don't get lesions there, honestly, because I swipe it with deodorant. If I didn't, I would. My bellybutton is causing me major problems. I can seriously take a qtip, stick the whole thing into my bellybutton, and never touch the end. It's like a freaking bottomless pit. Lately it's been prone to irritation and I'm guessing some kind of yeast infection or something because - "TMI" - if a freaking qtip can't get to the end of it, how the heck can I keep it completely clean? A turkey baster?! I'd love to have plastics. I have the means to have plastics. But it's scary. Kudos to anyone with the cajones to go through with it. The other angle... I'd probably have a tattoo by now, except every bit of line that was crooked or not exactly what I envisioned would bother me. Honestly, lots of people who have plastics are so freaking lopsided or indented or whatever. Granted, I look like a damn used rubber full of quarters. But I'm proportionately & evenly gross. I don't know how I'd react to something like one hip being higher than the other, and some weird indentation on my thigh, etc. And really, I just don't like pain very much.
  12. I have a direct communication style (just as much in real life as anywhere else) so I'm glad you were able to see the message for what it was. As I wrote it I did quite a bit of editing to try and make sure it wasn't 1) harsh or 2) preachy, but to the point. I'm just "that girl" who kind of lacks "that filter"! And actually I shouldn't even say justification so much as "cognitive distortion" (using fancy terms like that makes me feel like all the $$$ I spent on a psychology education was worth it! ). That little voice in our head that says, "Well you just blew your diet with this slice of pie, so you might as well take the rest of the day off from it too" and makes all the other things "ok" that are actually working against us. EAS strawberry creme is one of my favorite RTDs, but it has to be COLD. Their vanilla is ok too, but not as enjoyable as the strawberry. You can also blend in (I assume) sugar free syrups (DaVInci/Torani become our best friends), maybe a little PB2 (dry Peanut Butter that's a fraction of the fat, but tastes amazingly like the real deal when mixed into something). There's a brand called Syntrax that has a line of "Nectar" Proteins. The most tolerable (IMO) flavor is Roadside Lemonade - you can get sample packs of it. If you add in some sugar free lemonade mix, it sort of has a "lemon creme" flavor. If allowed, you can also try powders with milk instead of Water (if you haven't already). The extra Protein & stuff in the milk should give you a better sense of satiety. There's also a brand of RTDs called "Premiere Protein" - I know Sam's and costco carry them. Their chocolate is a favorite of a LOT of bariatric patients. I think it's ok, it's not my favorite. The other day I bought a case of their vanilla and don't care for it much at all, even "doctored up" with syrups, BUT they are 30gm protein per 11 0z and that's seriously hard to beat. Gelatin proteins have their place, but they're really not the best protein for us. If you can, whey isolate is one of the better ones. (I'd rank it #2). I don't think your unprepared for surgery in any way because of it. It's sort of a junk protein for our needs. I've posted the nutrition/scientific reasoning before (as have others), you might want to search for "gelatin protein" or "incomplete protein" and do some reading up before you make any purchases. I'm sure you'll do great. You're here getting help, for one. That puts you in the top 10th percentile already.
  13. Wheetsin

    Pissed

    Just Friday, for the first time since my surgery, someone who didn't know I had the procedure commented on my weightloss. I've lost about 90 lbs. She trold me she had "kind of seen it before, but it just became really, really noticeable." No one else has said a word. Well, no one who doesn't know about surgery (I sort of dismiss comments from people who know, they feel more obligated!) Keep in mind the reasons people might not say anything. Jealousy/not wanting to acknowledge it Afraid of embarrassing you or them (if you replied "No, I haven't lost weight" how awkward would that be?) Not sure how to say it Not sure if they're seeing things right, or just caught you at a flattering angle etc Don't be pissed. I mean, if no one says anything, why does it matter? You know you're losing weight.
  14. Wheetsin

    I'm In Tears :(

    What insurance do you have? (If you don't mind sharing, or you can PM if you don't want it public.) I was under 40 BMI when my insurance was submitted. My first request was denied, but not because of BMI. My appeal was approved, but long story short I'd changed providers by then. Still under 40 when we submitted to the 2nd company, and I was approved first time around. My father was approved for his WLS revision with a BMI around 30! (He'd been through some serious misery with food intolerance and gastroparesis, and was ridiculously thin). Can you share your insurance company's requirements? I can't promise that I'll be able to help, but I can try to give you some suggestions.
  15. Cheating on a pre-op diet won't kill you. You know you shouldn't, chose to, and it's in the past. So let it go, and just do what you need to do going forward. I say this from a good place, not waggling my finger at you. I do notice you're taking a lot of time to qualify/justify your "cheats" (I don't even like to call them that). That speaks to your regret, but don't regret. Just work toward change. I'm talking about the additions like: it was grilled, there wasn't a Protein option, no sugar added, etc. You might want to bring up the "cheats" with your surgeon, but it's your choice. Some do, most do not. It is what it is. Of anything, your "justification" concerns me the most. Only because it's truly one of the hardest shifts for us to make post-op (possibly the hardest, collectively speaking). Our brains are really good at getting what they want. When they want this "bad" thing, they will give us whatever we need to make us feel like it was "ok" or "not that bad" or "had no choice" or whatever. I've been there sooo many times I can't even count them, and I probably only win over bad brain about 60% of the time. The closer you can get pre-op, the easier it will be post-op. Best of luck!
  16. Wheetsin

    The Stuff They Don't Tell You

    I never threw up. I never had nausea in the hospital. I did once feel like I might chuck (the first time I tried something thick & sticky - cream cheese, of all things), because it didn't want to go down. It wasn't really a stomach thing, it was an esophagus thing. I was a revision from a band so my issues were a bit different. They had to do magic with my scar tissue. And this caused some swelling in areas that don't really swell. So yeah - you can assume the worst, but it's actually very very common for people to not have any problems (way more common than I thought it was when I went in). You guys not pooping - unfortunately it happens. I'd say (not a Dr.) that as long as you aren't in discomfort, it's OK-ish. I mean, it's never great, but it's not horrible either. I pooped once or twice after surgery, then went either just under, or just over 2 weeks without pooping. Without having any urge to poop. Soluble Fiber + Miralax + as many fluids as you can manage. (You REALLY don't want to take additive fiber without increasing your fluids). And when I did poop, it wasn't nice. I felt like I pooped a sandpaper brick. Actually it felt like a pooped a huge sandpaper brick. And in reality, it was like a walnut. Yes, I looked. I wanted to see what 2 week old poop looked like, I guess. Or how alien the thing I just birthed really was. I was like "OMG - no... that's SO SMALL!" How our butts distort things like that, I have no idea, but they do. Wait until you have to poop, and it comes halfway out and gets stuck. Tell me what you do then.
  17. Not picking on the post below, just using it as an example. Really - very few things are consistent. Protein generally comes first but there are exceptions (mostly with foreign surgeons) - and look at how much protein requirements vary. I've seen 40, 50 and 60 as "bare minimum". I've seen 90 as a bare minimum. It's crazy. The graduated eating - that varies widely too. My surgeon and several others move through the phases much more quickly. For example, I was on fluids for 2 days inclduing the day of surgery. Basically my first day home I could have full liquids. I was well into soft/mushy foods by the end of my first week. That's why it's so hard to answer some of the questions here. You can tell your own experience, or your own requirements, but in the end it may or may not be anything remotely close to what the person asking is "supposed" to be doing. Sometimes, "My plan was... but check and see what yours requires" is the only answer you can give.
  18. Wheetsin

    Want Sushi

    If it weren't for sashimi and/or poke salad, I'd have a hard time getting my protein in. They're life savers for me. I added sashimi (maguro and salmon) around week 4.
  19. Look up "gurgles" or "gurgling." Or even "nurps" (my own term). This comes up pretty frequently. It's very common. It may or may not go away. I had it the full 6 years I was banded, lost it when the band came out, and the day I was sleeved it came back. It's really nothing to worry about in and of itself. We just made strange noises.
  20. Regardless of any other advice, the primary message here should be "follow your surgeon's instructions."
  21. Wheetsin

    Tall Sleevers? 6'?

    I'm somewhere between 5'10 and 5'11. Tall, but not a 6'+er. My highest weight was about 380 - 400 and I was a 30/32 in most cases. Sometimes they didn't fit. My lowest (with the lapband) was about 215 and I was a... 16/18 I'm wanting to say. I'm currently about 255/260 and wearing a mix of 22 and 24. My surgeon's goal for me is 210. I want something under 200, I really don't care what. My healthy BMI will kick in around 175. Around 175, IIRC (it's been a looong time since I was last there), I'm a 12ish. To wear something like a 4 or 6, I think I'd have to be truly underweight. I'm not petite by any means. I really do have a large frame. Not to mention all my flab. That's going to take at least one size. I have some body pics at MFP labeled with the weight, if any of you guys re over there.
  22. In the case of the lap-band (IMO, but I did have one for about 6 years) a slider food was something that could get through the stoma without triggering the "full" sensation. Sometimes it was a particular food, sometimes it was anything eaten at a certain time of day, sometimes it was anything, period. Sometimes if something got "stuck" - you could resolve it, and then eat like no one's business. That was one of the weaknesses of the band. Since the full stomach isintact, it can/will hold anything that can get through the stoma, which is a lot of cases would end up being - anything, and in any quantity. That's part of why sliders with the sleeve don't really equate, and I tend to think of it is 'eat more of similar volume' than 'don't feel restriction'.
  23. Oh - no. It's absorbed all right. Our procedure is maybe a super tiny bit malabsorptive in some cases, but all in all it's a restrictive procedure. We're still responsible for what we eat. It just runs the risk of hitting the small intestine before it's really ready to. Here's something I've posted previously that might help.
  24. Wheetsin

    Anyone Experience Reflux?

    Just about anything happening in the area of our esophagus can cause a pain in the back - particularly between the shoulderblades, but it can also be a referred pain that radiates up/down the spine. I had a lapband for several years. Everything with the band happens where the band creates the stoma - basically right around the lower esophagus/upper stomach. When food couldn't pass through the stoma, it HURT. It would initially hurt right in the area of the esophagus, but would radiate through to my back and eventually even refer down to my hips and bellybutton area. Anything messes with your upper GI and back pain is a reasonably common side effect.
  25. Wheetsin

    I Dont Need Your Help..thanks

    I've gotten that before - shopping for a friend who's a perfect size 2. As if I didn't know I was too fat to wear the clothes where I was (Anne Taylor). I've also bought for myself for future sizes - if something is cute enough I'll want to keep wearing it, I'll buy it in a few sizes down. I've had some comments about that, too. I've been dressed down in an upscale store before (I had to make an unplanned trip while I was actually just out to buy more stain since I'd taken the day off to stain my deck, so had all sorts of grime all over me), been looking for the item I was asked to pick up, and be redirected to the clearance area where things are "more affordable" and "deeply discounted, so more likely to be in your price range." I get catty and/or confrontational when I'm offended. (Un)fortunately, I've never been great at just "taking it," especially when it's personal. B***h please, go make your minimum wage over there, away from me. Shoo. I'm here to spend a lot of money, not be insulted by you.

PatchAid Vitamin Patches

×