Wheetsin

We're in about the same place. My EGD was yesterday (hence the twilight sleep/talk with surgeon). I must have some major swelling because it feels just like it did when my band was too tight, thought I have no fill. I was up all night with the horrible, constant reflux (my primary symptom when my band slipped), which I haven't had since my complete unfill kicked in. I'm still gurgling & getting referred pains over a sip of Water I took around 7 this morning. And I'm now having occasional spasms/stabbing pains where my band is. Yeouch. Can't take anything to help, it wouldn't get down. I really underestimated how much swelling the EGD would cause. Had a message from one of the surg nurses wanting to know how I was doing... left a message telling her I wasn't going to be able to stay hydrated if this didn't change soon.

Some revision surgeons (mine included, I just learned yesterday) require a recovery period between procedures. I know someone on here had a surgeon who did them 2 weeks apart, and my surgeon does them 2 months apart. I had about 15 seconds to ask him why yesterday and he basically said it lets the swelling go down (helps prevent leaks from going undetected), and he said something about adhesions. I was on my way into twilight sleep so I didn't catch everything. I'm assuming he repairs the adhesions at removal, and then can focus on the sleeve procedure the second time around. My grandfather died of a septic infection. He was taking predisone, it basically ulcerated through his stomach, and he developed a slow leak. By the time he showed any signs, they couldn't do much for him. I was with him until his last breath and it was not a pleasant death... so the risk of a leak hits very close to home. I plan to question my surgeon about it pretty extensively. Not just the numbers, because it only takes "that one"... but procedure. E.g. how would he fix a leak, and can he just do that from the start (e.g. if you'd fix me by using blanket stiches and some mesh, can you just put blanket stitches in to start with? I'll glady pay you the add'l cost, here, just take this blank check!) What types of leak tests, and with what substances? When? What does he consider the risk period? Etc...

DIfferent people approach WLS with different perspectives. I've been "around" for about 7 years and here are the 3 main ones I've seen over & over: 1. I'm going to go all out and follow <diet> so I can maximize my weightloss. (<Diet> is typically low carb) 2. I'm going to eat like I always did, and just change the portions - I want to eat "normal" and "normal" means unhealthy foods too. 3. I'm going to do #1 until I reach goal, and then #2 after. WIth any restrictive procedure, you can eat around it do a degree. You may have to work at it, and it may take some to learn what you can do to eat around it, but it can almost always be done. Some people go that route. Most do not. It is definitely easier to eat healthier while you're actively losing weight. I once "stalled" for about a year, and found it much more challenging to eat healthy. But I wasn't seeing it holisitically enough. I was focused on Why eat this thing that I don't want as much, when I'm not losing weight anyway instead of Even if I'm not losing weight, I can still eat good. My food tastes did change a bit. I developed an almost obsessive love for edamama and lima Beans, neither of which I could stand before. And I developed a love of Cookies, which I didn't care for pre-op. I gave up red meat and pork completely. Red meat because I found that no matter how well I chewed, I could never "chew to goo". And pork because I was never much of a pork eater anyway, so why not... After my AGB most sweets had the same appeal, eventually. It took a while (3 - 4 years, really). When you've been very fat, and experienced the things that come with it, there's an odd sense of pride in leaving your meal 3/4 untouched, or having your shopping cart full of fresh produce and lean meats. If I could go back and change one thing, I never would have "tried" that first piece of bread. When I learned I could tolerate breads/flour-based carbs, I ate them. If I hadn't, I may have met goal (I respond well to low carb diets). And knowing I could tolerate breads lead to me trying other processed carbs. I still did well, still lost weight, but always wondered if I'd have been at goal if....

Anesthesia/surgery, and more generically body trauma frequently cause your hair to fall out. With my lap-band surgery it started about 3 months post-op. A year later I had my gallbladder out and it started about 6 weeks out. I have thick hair so maybe I didn't notice as much, but it only seemed really bad for a week or two. I never thinned noticeably, but there were some mornings where I was completely shocked at how much hair was on my hands after shampooing.

BTW, I reliably gain 11# with my period. It comes on 4 - 6 days before it starts, and is generally gone about a week after.

The very short & sweet version (I've typed this out in more detail, so if you want it you can probably find it): When you first change some major thing about the way you eat, your body freaks out and released a bunch of stuff it has been reserving for an emergency, to try and make sure it has the energy it needs. The initial "whooshy" weightloss people see 1 & 2 weeks into a diet -- usually, at least half of that weight is this bunch of stuff (reserves). The other half or so is usually fat & muscle loss. As soon as that initial stuff is released, your body says "Ok, no more..." and tries to hold on to what it can get. It wants those reserves replaced, and wants to preserve everything it has. The "stall" people see 3 & 4 weeks into a diet is that - your body's reaction to having to give up its reserves. Usually by weeks 6 - 8 things have evened out a bit and you are more reliably losing greater percentages of fat and/or muscle than reserved Fluid components. Heads up, around week 10, and then around month 2 or 3, are also frequent "stall" periods (most experts won't consider something a stall unless there has been 6 weeks or longer without loss of either fat or inches, a stall is not a week or two of the scale not changing). HTH

I would think rubbing on the good stuff is a good thing... Pant cuts are different. You also have less fat in your upper pelvic area = smaller upper pelvic area = less coverage. Look at a porn with skinny women. Their "good stuff" is clearly visible when they just stand there.

The best advice is to not freak out, and understand that body weight fluctuates. It is SUPPOSED to fluctuate. If you are constantly the same weight, something is not working properly. 3 weeks post-op it's pretty much impossible to gain 2 lbs of fat, unless you have a melted butter IV. And if you're gtaining something other than fat (water & the things your body makes with water) then who cares, right? Chill. Don't weigh yourself every day. Even better, don't weigh yourself period.

I can't promise this, but generally (99% of the time) speaking... Approval is based on your weight at the time that you apply for approval. Weight histories are to prove that you have a "problem" - a history of being overweight, instead of just being in a funk and you'll drop the weight shortly. sleep apnea will help if your insurance company requires comorbidities. Mine did not. If comorbidities are required, sleep apnea counts.

BTW, things "weren't so bad" with my unfill. My only real symptom of my slip - reflux (all night long, aspirating it, etc.) - stopped a few days after my unfill (fills/unfills took a bit to kick in for me). Without the reflux, things were pretty normal. I still had enough restriction, I never had the symptom of getting sick, I could tolerate all foods/liquids on most days (just not all times of the day), etc. Wow, that EGD must've swollen me up really good! The reflux was back lastnight after I tried to drink some apple juice around 11 am, that sat with me all day long. (My slip is weird in that way - I will eat something, get a winky slip feeling, and even if I can down a gallon of liquid after, I will still reflux all night unless the wonky feeling is gone. I'd like to know what's happening there, since logic says that if you can down liquids just fine, things should be clear/flushed out). Having that reflux again reminds me how over this I am...

Hi Heather, I had my band in early 2006 and was diagnosed with a slip last month, although I'm pretty sure I've had it since 2008. My slip was diagnosed via xray and I was called to confirm it about 3 days later, so no terribly long wait for me. I had an EGD yesterday which also confirmed the slip. From the exterior, they had classified it as a "profound" slip because the angle of palcement was close to the opposite of what it should be. However, the EGD showed it was only a partial slip (not a complete prolapse). However, the surgeon confirmed with me yesterday that he still does not advise re-banding, because of the crappy( (ier) rates of re-banding complications. The EGD was required by my ins co for removal. I also found out yesterday my surgeon requires about 2 months between procedures. I have not heard anything yet on when I will be able to get the band out. Waiting game...

Hi Charlene, I am in the revision process. My band is still in place. I actually just had the EGD done yesterday - insurance co requires one for removal. My surgeon told me yesterday that he requires 6 - 8 weeks between procedures. I'm very glad to hear he requires time between, but kinda wish it wasn't to slong of a time.

Leslie - that's interesting. My surgeon's recommendation for me was the sleeve. He said he does not recommend it for ALL band-to-something revisions, but thinks it will work well for me (as my problems were not around non-compliance, and I'm also assuming because I did not have an erosion or other serious damage complication.) I've not heard of any failure rates. Is that a failure to be able to perform the procedure (as in, too much scar tissue or too many adhesions), or a failure to work, or something else? I'm having a hard time imagining the cause for failure, but I'd love to know more if you have any additional information. (I"m sitting here poring over the possibilities and really can't come up with any -- at least not any that will still allow a RNY to be done). RNY would have to be an absolute last chance for me. I know several people who have had it for a while (7 - 10 years) and they are all miserable. Not that everyone will be by any means, but seeing what they're going through, and hearing what they are saying -- I think I would have to try everything else first, and if I went malabsorptive I would probably go DS but I don't know - haven't really given it any thought. I too am just sharing info -- but really would love to know anything more about the failure rates that you know (I've heard 4x greater risk, but not that procedures couldn't be done.) I 'll have an EGD done later this week - it's required by insurance for band removals - and hopefully I can meet with the surgeon shortly after. I'll definitely ask him about this. Thanks and best wishes!

When I had my band in 2006, I knew someone who was part of the original FDA trials. SHe has since lost her band (to be honest, she was having problems when I had mine and hers shouldhave been taken out long ago.) She is the most senior lap-band patient I know. Second would be a lady I met locally, who was 7 years out about 3 years ago. I don't know if she still has her band. I've tried to get back in touch with her but I haven't been able to. She doesn't use this board, but does use another -- I just can't remember which... I still very much appreciate what my band could help me do. I would still do it again, all things being the same. I just don't know that I could advocate it for others seeing what the complication rates have become. I've read articles in the last few weeks placing them anywhere from 33% - 87%. If there's anything consistent, it's the inconsistency.

Addressing a few things, HTH... It may help you feel better to look into the specifics of that 0.1% rate. Is that a rate specific to laparoscopic VSG? Most mortality rates are lumped into the type of bariatric procedure, rather than the type of surgical procedure. Open surgeries are far more dangerous, and complication/mortality rates reported for bariatric procedures often include rates for open procedures. It's also important to remember that any surgery for an obese patient is riskier than the same person at a healthy weight. There is a greater anesthetic risk, a higher degree of diffiulty for the surgery, much higher rate of post-operative complication (e.g. pulmonary embolism). So there's a very large element of risk because "obese person has surgery" and not specifically "obese person has VSG." Also, the obesity surgery (generic) mortality rate is usually reported between 0.1% and 0.3%. 0.1% for just a sleeve procedure, and specifically a laparoscopic sleeve, seems a little high. I'm not debating your stats, but relatively they seem a bit elevated. Also, at least in purposes of medical study/reporting, "surgical mortality" includes deaths within 30 days of surgery. There are things that happen in those 30 days that are not attributable to the procedure, directly nor indirectly. It also depends on what country (and sometimes even what practice) you're looking at numbers for, and when. In India, since 2007, obesity surgery rates run about 0.3%. In Scandinavia, they had zero reportable deaths in the same period. So if you're looking at averages you're at a much lower number than averages for India. So make sure your stats are relevant to where you're having surgery (and even more specifically -- the facility/surgeon). Also, since this is often not used as an independent procedure, and may be recommended as a preliminary surgery for super obese patients, mortality rates will be higher since they include numbers from extremely high risk patients. I know this is a bit apples to oranges, but statistics are statistics: Your chances of dying from bariatric surgery, assuming your .1% rate, is about the same as your chances of dying from smoke inhalation, but most of us still willingly walk into buildings that contain fire sources. Over eating is a bit of a hot button in the psychology world. While probably not able to be classified as an addiction, overeating has been proven to produce the same effects one can get from satiating an addiction. Addiction: Physiological dependence characterized by tolerance and physiological manifestations of withdrawl. When an overeater does not overeat, they do not vomit, hallucinate, pass out, etc. The tolerance may be there - it may take 20 cheeseburgers isntead of 10 to reach a sense of satiety, arguaby, but I've yet to meet an obese person who will actually become physically incapacitated if they have to eat a regular sized meal, or skip a meal. However: That is still not describing what I would consider an addiction, but it is a physiological compulsion to eat. --------------- Your posts confuse me a little. If I can ask in a generic sense, not specific to this thread, succinctly, what is it you are here to gain? I'm not asking that in a catty "why are you here..." kind of way, but honestly - what is it you're after? Facts? Opinions? General information? Anecdotal evidence? The first post I remember - from what I remember - from you read like 3 pages of, "I do not need WLS, my eating is under control and my size doesn't bother me" and a paragraph or two of "I might need WLS because I'm afraid others will discriminate against me." I see messages like: "I've just learned to love less of it, to listen to my body." "I rarely binge or even eat to the point where I feel overly full." "...I've learned to see food as something that is a tool, but also something fun that doesn't have to control me..." If those are true, why are you fat? I'm assuming you're fat, since you're here researching. Maybe you've already shared this (admittedly, I don't read every post), or maybe you don't want to share, and that's fine. It's not a question that requires an answer, so much as rhetorical. Do YOU understand the reasons for your obesity (assuming you're obese), and are they reasons that a medical procedure which restricts food intake can help? If you already don't overeat, or only do so rarely, but still think you might need some type of WLS, then maybe a restrictive procedure isn't going to be your best option. If portion isn't your weakness, then maybe it's type of food - in which case a restrictive procedure may only help so much (e.g. most people with a restrictrive procedure, given the will, can down a milkshake...) Again, I hope you take that last question as its meant. I'm just not the best at asking questions in the most gentle way.

Turkey pepperoni chips! I have gotten so many of my non-WLS friends hooked these. Once I gradauted to "foods as tolerated" my absolute must-have was Hormel turkey pepperoni. I lay them out on about 4 paper towels (25 - 30 of them will fit), and microwave them until they start to darken and most of the oils have cooked out. In my microwave, this is right around 1 m 30 s. As soon as you pull them out, blot them (hard) dry with another wad of paper towels, and then let them cool. They will be very crunchy, and very flavorful. They make a great low/no carb "chip". I like using them as scoops for cottage cheese or "garden vegetable" cream cheese. I pack them into ziplocs for on-the-go meals, and for when I travel. Note: I have a lap-band, not a sleeve. The spices in the pepperoni may react differently to your pouches, since our stomachs are still intact.

I make tofu quite often. It has a bit of a nondescript taste on its own, but most importantly, will absorb the flavor of whatever you marinate it in. Here are my tips. You want tofu as dry as you can get it. Do NOT buy "silken" tofu unless you want to cream it up, or have it be mushy. And I mean mushy, like pudding.If you want something you can chew, buy regular (won't have "silken" on the package) tofu, and get extra firm. Better yet, dry it out a bit when you get home. Not necessary, but it helps. To do this, sandwich it between hand towels, or a lot of paper towels, put a cookie sheet or small tray on the top layer of towel, and then add a can or two to weight it down. Let it sit for about an hour. THis will give you tofu that's still soft, but has some meatiness. My favorite way to prepare it is "thai" style. I don't have a recipe for this, I just kinda throw it together, but here's a starting point: Microwave a tbl or 2 of honey so it's soft. Stir in: A cup or two of OJ (you can use reduced sugar/acid, if you like) 2 tbl sesame oil 2 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp fish sauce 1/4 C (or more) peanut sauce 1/4 C light brown sugar squirt of Sriracha Slice the tofu into "steaks" and marinate them at least 4 hours. To cook, heat a frying pan with sesame oil. Cook the tofu until browned. I then add in the leftover marinate and cook it until it carmelizes.

I just ran RDU - SAN from 7/19 - 7/21 and found several options, all of them ranging $480 - $500 for round trip airfare. They weren't non-stop flights, but cheap flights usually won't be.

Check sites like Kayak, Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotwire, etc. Call the airline and ask them for their best price. They will often give you a price lower than what's on their site. Fly out of, and to, a secondary airport. I used to fly to Chicago for work about twice a month. Flying into Midway vs. O'Hare was tons cheaper.

I honestly haven't experienced people thinking I'm stupid/incompetent. At least not that I know of. Who knows what's said when I leave the room. For me, it's maybe the opposite - I've been told I intimidate people, and "talk fancy" - and I'm very matter of fact, which sometimes translates into "know it all" or "snob" -- which really isn't me at all. I've been told by friends that before they knew me, I intimidated them -- but they can never pinpoint why. I think it has to do at least partially with my height. I've also been told, "You don't carry yourself like a fat person, and you don't act like a fat person." What does that mean, exactly?!? A lady I worked with years ago told me I didn't walk llike a fat person. I have had people assume I'm poor. I have had people assume I don't understand the basics of nutrition, and assume that I live mostly off of pre-packaged foods (sooo not the case, I'm a total foodie). I have had people assume I work in an unskilled profession. I have had people assume that something must be wrong with my husband (relatively fit, relatively attractive, professional) for being married to me - or have assumed he is in it for selfish reasons (as in - I must be loaded and he is mooching off me). I've had people assume I have poor fashion taste. Since they're thin, they don't understand that what you wear when you're really obese is a function of what fits, not what I want to wear.

Put simply: if your metabolism has shut down, you are dead. You cannot live without metabolizing. Your metabolism is also elastic. You can slow it down by reducing calories and being sedentary, but you can also speed it up. The two best ways to raise your metabolism (and they're related - even better) are exercise, and adding lean muscle mass. Aerobic exercise, specifically. Frequent small meals (although I understand not usually advocated post-op), making sure not to skip a morning meal, etc. all help too. Medically speaking, starvation mode may or may not exist. It's heavily debated, and more people disbelieve than believe. Or they use it colloquially (just like we use the term "socialist country" even though I doubt there's really a completely/truly socials country out there). E.g.:

If you want a kick start, I would suggest doing something similar to the induction phase of Atkins, and then following through with a reduced carb diet. I know a lot of people follow strict diets, and I know a lot try to eat "normal," just less of it. I would NOT advocate exceptionally low carb meals as a long term weightloss strategy, but for "kick starting" loss and something maintainable while you're slowly adapting to a new eating lifestyle (lower carb) it is generally effective. More so with males (if you're a HS FB Coach I'm making the assumption - perhaps with a bit of sexism - that you're a male). For whatever reason, guys just rock low carb diets. A lot of people who have had WLS and need to reach those final pounds find it's almost impossible to do unless they follow some type of diet other than portion. Low carb seems to be among the more effective. The induction phase of Atkins looks something like 20gm carbs a day, no more. Limited amounts of a few lower carb veggies. meats, cheeses, etc. as long as they fit within the 20gm guideline. About 2tbl of cream cheese or heavy whipping cream allowed. Adding in healthy fats like olive oil whenever possible - e.g. stir some into tuna salad, use it as salad dressing, etc. In fact, on induction, the more fat you eat then typically the more weight you lose.

I would say -- let's gently lay the concept of pounds on the ground, and turn the other way. Are you seeing any difference in how your clothes fit? Have you been taking body measurements, by any chance? A stall around the 2 - 3 month mark is almost a guarantee with WLS. I don't know why, but I've seen a LOT of people go through it (A LOT as in almost everyone who has shared with me). If it helps, if the information you've given is accurate (calories, types of foods, etc.) there's really no way you're going to go for a long time without losing some body fat. It may not be detectable on the scale, and it may not be constant. Keep it up and you will see a change.

Did you tell her that you could not comofortably hold that much food? If she understands the volume is the hard part, she should be able to make adjustments for you. Unfortunately lots of the "affiliates" of WLS (everyone who is not the patient, really) don't understand how individualized all of this can be, and tend to give out generic instructions. WHen I had my lap-band put in, the nutritionist gave me an instruction sheet for drinking. Following her isntructions, it would have been physically impossible to drink the amount of Water she was telling me to drink. Not because I couldn't hold it, but because the guidelines were something like "2oz an hour, sipping, no fewer than 64 oz a day." Well even if I stayed up all night to drink, I couldn't get in 64oz at only 2oz per hour. So I called and she treated me like I was stupid, very "Well duh, those are just guidelines..." so I told her that maybe she shouldn't have titled the page with RULES...

With my AGB I got to within about 30 lbs of a normal BMI and still felt huge. I would see myself in a picture and think I looked ok, but my mental model of myself never changed. To be fair, it never changed on the way up, either. I was only ever able to "see" myself as a certain level of fat. Anything over that fat didn't register mentally, nor did anything under. I COULD, though, pick up a normal sized shirt and tell from looking at it that it would fit me (I hate to try on clothes and would rather just eyeball them, hold them up, and bring them back if they don't work). So I did have a concept of my size, at least relative to other items. I COULD NOT see someone on the street, and determine whether I was a similar size to them. So that concept of size seemed not to apply to other people. My husband must've been so sick and tired of me saying, "Am I her size? Am I bigger than her? Am I smaller than her?" But it was just me trying to understand what I really looked like.