Hiraeth

I had my sleeve on August 4th. I've lost 25 pounds since then. Things are going well! Well, everything is finished except preop class and payment. Submitted all paperwork on Monday and was approved yesterday morning! I'm shooting for December 14th! SO excited! How about y'all???Congrats! I'm now trying to get my mom and aunt to do this. Yayyy Hiraeth! I'm so happy for you! Keep up the good work! Sent from my XT1080 using the BariatricPal App Thank you so much! I had my sleeve on August 4th. I've lost 25 pounds since then. Things are going well! Well, everything is finished except preop class and payment. Submitted all paperwork on Monday and was approved yesterday morning! I'm shooting for December 14th! SO excited! How about y'all???Congrats! I'm now trying to get my mom and aunt to do this. Yayyy Hiraeth! I'm so happy for you! Keep up the good work! Sent from my XT1080 using the BariatricPal App Thank you so much!

Thanks so much, girl! I called Bridgette yesterday and she wouldn't give me an exact reason why they wouldn't operate. So, I assumed he's just not comfortable doing it, which is understandable. Thanks so much! I'm writing all of these on a list to tell my friend. First, she has to contact her Fundoplication surgeon to get the approval.

I had my sleeve on August 4th. I've lost 25 pounds since then. Things are going well! Well, everything is finished except preop class and payment. Submitted all paperwork on Monday and was approved yesterday morning! I'm shooting for December 14th! SO excited! How about y'all??? Congrats! I'm now trying to get my mom and aunt to do this.

I am so sorry to hear about this. You have been through so much. It makes me feel guilty for complaining about my bad day. I've had 3 kidney stones before, and I felt severe pain in the middle of my back. It was the worst pain I'd ever felt. Unfortunately, I just had my gastric sleeve surgery August 4th, and I'm in debt with medical bills. I just got my pay stub today and it said $0, since I took leave without pay. So, I won't be able to donate for another 4 weeks. I will try my best to make a donation once I get a paycheck again. Until then, you will be in my prayers.

I need a list of good surgeons around Birmingham, AL, besides Dr. Miles and Schmitt. The reason is because they will not perform WLS surgery on my friend because she had the Fundoplication surgery years ago. So, if you know of any reliable surgeons from the area, who are usually very easy to deal with, please let me know! Thanks!

Unfortunately, my surgeon does not operate on patients who have had previous Fundoplication surgery.

Thank you so much for your thorough reply! This is great news! I'm sure my friend will be very pleased to hear this! I'll also call my surgeon tomorrow to see what he thinks. But it's still so great to hear what people, who have had it, think. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I am asking this for a friend. She is overweight (only 35 BMI) but she is having no luck with losing weight. She keeps yo-yo dieting and gaining back more than she lost. She is up to 219 pounds and has fatty liver cells in her blood. I'm worried about her. She had the Fundoplication surgery about 3 or more years ago and is wondering if there is any kind of WLS that is technically safe to have. I know it's been done before, but I'm wondering if anyone here has, or knows someone who has had Fundoplication BEFORE their WLS. Thank you.

I wish I liked water. Crystal light and proteins shakes are all I drink. You lucky people, you!

That's 2 hours away. Dang... Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Anyone from the Birmingham, AL area? I don't live in B'ham, but I work in this city and visit often. Anyone live in Alabaster, Pelham, Helena, Montevallo, Hoover, etc? I'm having a hard time finding a work-out buddy. I'm not a member of the gym yet, but it would be nice to at least have a walking buddy, and even better, a walking group! I think it would be cool to have meet-ups to motivate each other.

I can't wait to be where you are! I remember in high school I was able to run miles without feeling exhausted. Now I can't even run 10 feet without feeling winded. Proud of you! Keep it up!

That's not completely true. The sleeve and the DS both have the same chances of gaining the weight back. It all depends on how dedicated you are. I know of 3 people who had the DS and gained all their weight back. But these people were making themselves sick by shoving food into their mouths because that's how much they love to eat. The reason some doctors suggest the DS over the VSG is because the DS helps you lose weight more quickly. They usually suggest it if you're morbidly obese (like 400+ pounds).

I'm so glad that you don't have to deal with the severe cramping; it's the worst part of PCOS, in my opinion. It feels as if someone is squeezing your ovaries as hard as they can, while sticking a knife in them. I just can't imagine how anyone is able to deal with this kind of pain for longer than 2 days. LOL that day, I really did stay in the tub for 2 hours. It was awful. Then I got the shower head, and yeah... You know where I'm going with this. It looked like 4-5 red beta fish fell out of me (good lord that's nasty). What's weird about PCOS is that you don't always have to have cysts on your ovaries. They come and go, but they happen more often than the normal amount. I was given an ultrasound once, and they didn't see any. I always thought that was weird, but it's very possible. The rapid weight gain, testosterone, and irregular periods tells me you definitely have PCOS. I hope this surgery helps us lessen and even completely cure it. >_<

I think you'll be able to lose the 10 pounds. I lost 9 pounds in just 7 days. Just be sure to follow the instructions exactly as they are.

It wasn't so bad for me, but I probably got lucky. Just stay away from food as much as you can. If your family is eating dinner, go to another room. Smelling good food makes it extremely hard when you're on a diet. The only pain you'll probably have is gas pains in your neck or shoulder. Walk as much as you can when you feel these pains. It really does help. When night time comes around, and you want to sleep, make sure you request Dilaudid if the Hydrocodone doesn't take the edge off. On the 2nd day, you may feel sore all over, like you've been working out. But it will go away. Once it passes, you'll realize that this surgery was easier than you expected. Thank you!! That made me feel so much more at ease. I really am excited!! I just wish these next two weeks would go by faster! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App You are so welcome! I love to help people feel at ease. I'm so excited for you! And yes, I know that feeling of wanting things to just hurry up. It will get here sooner than you think. You will probably feel the most nervous the night before and the morning as you walk into the hospital. But don't worry! They will give you a shot of medicine called Versed. That shot will make all your worries disappear. A doctor could tell you that he's pushing you out of an airplane and you'd be fine with it, lmao! If you get worried or are having a hard time with the pre-op diet, feel free to message me. You have no idea how much it helps to just vent. Good luck! <3

It wasn't so bad for me, but I probably got lucky. Just stay away from food as much as you can. If your family is eating dinner, go to another room. Smelling good food makes it extremely hard when you're on a diet. The only pain you'll probably have is gas pains in your neck or shoulder. Walk as much as you can when you feel these pains. It really does help. When night time comes around, and you want to sleep, make sure you request Dilaudid if the Hydrocodone doesn't take the edge off. On the 2nd day, you may feel sore all over, like you've been working out. But it will go away. Once it passes, you'll realize that this surgery was easier than you expected.

Congratulations on the beginning of your journey! May I ask what you're nervous about? I know you're nervous about the surgery in general, but maybe I can give you advice on specific things.

So glad it went well! What did your surgeon say?

While it is true that acid reflux can get worse with WLS, you should also know that MOST of the time, it lessens it, and sometimes, cures it. Some people finally decide to get the weight loss surgery because they want to cure the acid reflux. Do you have a hiatal hernia? If you don't know, there's a good chance you have one. My mom has one and her acid reflux is severe. If she goes one day without her Nexium, she's suffering. She drank orange juice one time and choked on it for a good 20 minutes. It was a scary ordeal. Nexium and Prilosec are great for acid reflux, but they're also horrible on your bones. My mom already has bone degeneration in her spine, and she's only 54. So, she's getting this surgery in hopes that her acid reflux will get better. A lot of people with acid reflux have a hiatal hernia. When they go in to do the gastric sleeve, if they find a hernia, they fix it. I had one and I had no idea. I barely ever had acid reflux. The only time I had it is when I ate certain spicy foods, and even then it wasn't that bad.

The best, in my opinion, is Premier Protein. PP is low in carbs and calories and has 30g of protein in each 11 fl oz drink. Muscle Milk is my 2nd favorite. It's a lot like PP but only has 20-25g of protein in each drink. I had tomato soup, too. It's not very high in protein, but it did help with cravings. I ate tomato soup at lunch and had a protein shake with it. Everything you have sounds great! Good luck!

Some people don't know what PCOS is, but it occurs a lot in overweight women. It is the number one reason for infertility. It is a set of symptoms due to elevated androgens (male hormones) in women. Symptoms: - Irregular periods - Heavy periods - Painful periods (usually excruciating pain that can occur in the lower abdomen, lower back, and down the legs) - Excess body hair (usually above the upper lip and chin) - Acne - Patches of thick, dark skin (usually on the back of the neck) - Infertility (hard time getting pregnant) My symptoms are: Irregular periods (sometimes I skip a month, and sometimes I can bleed for up to 2 weeks), heavy periods (the heaviness usually only lasts for 2-3 days, so it's not major unless I take a blood thinner), bloody clots in the toilet (gross), very painful cramping that reaches it's peak on the 2nd day (The pain is so bad that I've begged for death. I wish I were joking. I usually handle pain very well, so that will give you an idea of how horrible this pain is. I've broken my tailbone, and it was no where near this extent of PCOS pain.), excess body hair (blonde hair on my upper lip and chin, and once I even had dark hair on my upper back, but it's completely gone... Weird...), dark line on the back of my neck (I always thought it was my normal tan color that I was supposed to be [since I'm part Native American] and that I was just extremely pale). I was even pre-diabetic a few years ago. I lost about 30 pounds and it went away. I have since gained all the weight back, but my blood sugar is still perfect. My doctor told me that every year you let yourself remain overweight with PCOS, you have a 10% chance of becoming a diabetic. That 10% increases to an extra 10% each year. I do get acne sometimes, but my skin is very clear 90% of the time, thank God. I do not yet know if I'm infertile, since I have not tried to have a baby yet. I started my period on Wednesday after being 5 weeks late for my period. My ovaries were VERY unhappy about that. I could feel them vibrating (having spasms) and at times, it even felt as if I had rocks in my ovaries. It was an uncomfortable experience. But I finally had my period 4 days ago. Most people dread their period, but I was so glad to finally start. I think I probably had a cyst rupture because the bleeding that occurred was horrendous. I think the Xarelto my doctors gave me after the surgery helped me shed all the clots and even helped me pass a cyst. When I say the bleeding was horrendous, I mean it. There was blood all in my bed, all over my back, all over my legs, and all in my pants. There was blood all in my bathroom floor, all in my bathtub, and probably about half a pint in my toilet. I had to stop taking the Xarelto for 2 days because the bleeding was out of control. Thankfully, the cramping I experienced was manageable. I think the Xarelto helped in that aspect. Anyone else have crazy symptoms with PCOS?

Oh, that makes sense! I was not eating a lot of sodium, but I think I was holding a lot of water because of my period. I was 5 weeks late for my period because I have PCOS and I stopped taking my birth control. I shouldn't have stopped it, but I'm worried that it makes me gain weight. I actually had to stop taking my Xarelto (given to me after surgery) for 2 days because I was bleeding PROFUSELY. I felt weak and there was blood all in my bed, all in my floor, all in my bathtub and probably half a pint in the toilet. It was awful. It looked like a murder scene. Sorry for the TMI, lol.

So, I hit my 3-week stall on Wednesday, and now it's Sunday. My stall has already vanished and I've lost an extra FOUR pounds since yesterday. Is this even normal? Yesterday, I did eat a TON of Protein. I mean, I ate so much that I thought I screwed up my diet. I ate like 5 pieces of beef tataki and 5 pieces of crab sticks. This is a lot to me considering it made me feel extremely full. I'm hoping my scale isn't wrong. I got on it 3 times and it keeps saying the same thing (229), and yesterday I weighed 232. It's my 4th day of PMSing so maybe the Water I was retaining has shed off of me, and I also had my first bowel movement yesterday since 3 days ago, (sorry TMI). Am I getting my hopes up? Or is this even possible?

Oh, I'm so sorry. Well, a PT will definitely help you. I want one to challenge me because I've had one in the past, and it was awesome. Good luck with yours! You'll love it.