Strivingforbetter

@mjctexas When is your surgery? I'll be following your progress and wishing you the best.

@KennyM I'm just barely one year post-op and curious about weight regain. Have you experienced it? One of the reasons I chose the DS is to avoid this. I know our intestine absorbs more food over time, but I wondered what this led to in the long term. Perhaps in changing our eating habits regain doesn't have to be an issue.

10 hours ago, Drea1007 said:

I am 3 weeks post op and I’m still sore. My body has changed so much and feels so different, I’m in a whirlwind of emotions. I have a constant gurgle in my stomach that drives me crazy. I just really want to sleep on my stomach already. I have a hard time falling asleep....any tips?

The constant gurgle will go away with time. I'm a side sleeper, so I'm not sure how long it will be until you can sleep on your stomach. The best advice I can give you is to be patient. All of these frustrations will pass, and if you hit a stall (most people hit one at 3 weeks), just know that it's part of the process. Your body is still healing and adjusting. It will find its groove.

I only stayed one night in the hospital. I didn't have very much pain, so I was ok to go home. It was hard to get Water down the first few days, but you have to keep at it. I never developed any intolerance to dairy and ate cheese and yogurt all of the time. I was never put on a pre-op diet. You're going to be amazed at how fast your body changes.

@Diva302 I was revised from a lapband after two miserable years of blaming myself for the band's failure (I gained 20 pounds). Expect a stall three weeks post-op. It happens to the best of us. Everyone's journey is different, but I know it's hard not compare your loss with someone else's. I know I did. I was a slow loser. By the end of the first month, I had lost 14.5 pounds. I know most patients lose that in the first week. By 15 weeks, I had lost 40 pounds, and by 25 weeks I had lost 53 pounds. At one year, I'm 77 pounds lighter and wear a size 8-10 pants and a medium top. I rode my bike a lot last summer, but that's the extent of my exercise. Ninety-percent of my weight loss has been what has gone into my mouth and from drinking Water. I had a few weeks when my body didn't want to let go of the weight, but then "whoosh," it would drop 3 pounds in a week. Let you body have those moments to sigh and take a breath without freaking out. Trust your surgery. The first three months are the hardest. You'll have cravings but also days when nothing tastes like it used to. That will pass. And so will the gas....oh, my. Be prepared for that adventure.

@Diva302 You're going to do great! I had my DS on June 9, 2017, so it's been one year now.

Disco Stu: I've been having a lot of gastrointestinal distress lately, too. My one year surgiversary was on Saturday, and on Sunday, the day after my one- year milestone, I had my very first feeling of regret over the surgery due to the gas issue. Some people experience those feelings in the hospital or their first week home, but for me realizing that I was going to have the worst smelling gas known to man for the rest of my life hit me after I hit my milestone. Some weeks are better than others and last week wasn't a good week for me. Every single day I struggled with what you call "fart city." It was like the fourth of July going off in your intestines.

The good news is that the doc said my blood work looked fantastic, so my Vitamins are doing what they need to do and I don't have any deficits. I'm happy about that because I only take two ADEK, two chewable Calcium, and one Vitamin B12 a day. I've heard of some DS patients taking handfuls of vitamins and, honestly, that was almost made me change my mind about getting the DS. My blood pressure is amazing and so is my cholesterol. Now if we could just get rid of the gas.....

Today has been much, much better so it must have been nerves. I'm in the process of organizing my closet and weeding out more clothes I am either no longer interested in wearing, despite that they can finally fit again, or clothes I should have eliminated months ago. Yes, it feels good to look in the mirror and see a healthy person. No better feeling. I'm getting ready to start up exercising again, just like you stated you were, so I hope I don't see a gain on the scale.

You might try popcorn again in another month and your stomach might tolerate it. That's what I found with most food. Yesterday, i was stressed out and there was no reason to have another one of my "gas episodes," but man I did. I was so uncomfortable and bloated. I just had to wait until it passed and apologize to my family.

I can drink a full sugar soda too. It does give me diarrhea, but I have a horrible emotional addiction to it, so I put up with occasional loose stools. I can also eat potato chips and onions, but I stay away from fried Chinese food, etc. Not good. Rice gives me gas. So does Pasta and Beans (no brainer there). My tummy loves meat and veggies. I eat lots of broccoli, chicken, and fish.

And I hate it that I had a typo in my post. It should have read, "...everything in your CLOSET will be too big.."

9 hours ago, HisRed said:

I'm having SIPS on June 1st. Watching the stats for weight lost and recovery made it a no brainier for me. My Dr had me try the Vitamins he wanted me on post surgery. They are delicious and I only need two a day.

The stats on the long-term weight loss helped me make my decision, too. I go in for my blood work tomorrow for my first year check-up, and I'm looking forward to seeing how well my Vitamin routine has worked for me. I also take only take two multi-vitamins a day, two vitamin B12s and two calcium chews a day.

I'm so excited for you both! Your life will definitely change as you move into a different body. It will be easier to tie your shoes, pick up things off the ground, go up and down stairs, and your joints will thank you immensely. Also be prepared for a new wardrobe because everything in your close will be too big before you know it. It still floors me how much my older shirts drown me. Some of them look like a dress on me now. Lots of positive changes are in store for you both.

I don't avoid cheese or butter at all. DS patients need the fat due to the malabsorption component. I stay away from fried food or I get the trots. I use Ranch dressing on my salads too. I eat a lot of chicken, fish, and hamburger. I've never liked steak. Yes, I can eat more now that I'm 11 months out post-op. I've gone from eating only half a chicken breast to eating most of it and a side dish. I'm still way under what I used to eat before I had my surgery. It does worry me a little, but the malabsorption is still working and I'm still losing.

I'm sorry you're having complications. I've never heard of this one before. Hope things go smoother for you.

Your body will get better at processing carbs the further you get out. I was still having a lot of difficulty with bread at 5 months out, but now I can tolerate it at 11 months. I try to keep my intake of it to a minimum, however. Too much sugar also gives me diarrhea. I haven't had "an episode" (horrible smelling gas that just builds and builds and kills all earth life) for a few months. Your digestive system will continue to change and adapt as time goes on. Even though I occasionally have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, the DS was still the best thing I could have done for my health.

I had my DS on June 9, 2017. I can't believe it's almost been one year. I remember being nervous but excited. I have no regrets. it was the best decision for my health.

I personally still weigh every day, even though I'm 11 months out. I have to know where my body is at. Just like you mentioned, I'm either very encouraged by what I'm seeing (today I was down another pound!), or I stay the same. I've never had a gain so far. This helps me see a pattern with my weight loss and I feel more in tune with it. I know at this stage post-op that my body will do a "whoosh" after maintaining for two weeks. I freak out a little before the "whoosh" because I'm worried I'm not losing, but then I drop 2-3 pounds. So, for me, the daily weighing has a purpose, not just to torture myself. I can't imagine only weighing once a month. Not for me.

Yes, I can relate. I had a lot on my plate when I got my DS--I was also in graduate school, but honestly you'll be so happy when you start seeing the changes. It's doable. I also have two of my kids still living at home (not a one year old though. That would be hard). Keep moving forward with your eye on the ball: your health. Prioritize your to-do list, and plan your meals on the weekend. The first few months are the hardest. It gets easier.

8 hours ago, disco stu said:

Not sure to what degree I stretched out my sleeve. I definitely can't eat as much as I used to pre-VSG all in one sitting, but at the same time, I can drink beer or other carb beverages without any problem which isn't supposed to be the case.

What's interesting is that I asked my surgeon pre-op if he was going to tighten my sleeve while he was in there adding the DS, and he said, "No, it's been proven that revising an old sleeve doesn't work."

Things are just really strange right now. I feel better. Things are looking better in the mirror. I'm getting compliments about losing weight. I know for a hard fact that my appetite is way down (in part because I feel nauseous pretty much all the time). I'm in the restroom 6 to 10 times a day and have yet to have a single solid BM (which tells me the DS is working.) But the scale is stuck again. Hasn't moved in the last 4 days. Sigh.

Take yesterday: I'm a dude and I ate probably around 1000 - 1500 calories tops... and it wasn't even hard. One of the people we were at brunch with even said "You eat like a chick." Nothing to eat past 5:00. Got on scale this AM.... nada. No change.

Sometimes your body needs time to think. It's wondering what's going on with all of the new changes, so give it time. I remember weeks when I didn't see a change on the scale until day 6 of the week, and then it would always drop. I didn't hit a stall until I was 7 months out. Are you tracking your Protein levels? With the DS, protein is very important and key to losing weight. How much Water are you drinking? That's also important. If you're doing well in both of these areas, then it's only a matter of time. The DS does work. The malabsorption component is very effective. Oh, and another thing, I've been dropping sizes but my scale says I've only lost 4 pounds this month. How does a person lose two sizes with that little weight loss? At this point, I haven't been exercising, so it's not that I'm toning up. It's bizarre. I'm wondering if that's also happening in your case. Get out your tape measure and start keeping track.

5 hours ago, RayM1 said:

Thank you still have a lot of work to do

I say the same thing when someone compliments me on my appearance. Not sure why we focus on what we still need to do, but I'm trying to say thank you and enjoy the compliment next time someone says good job.

On 4/28/2018 at 8:16 AM, disco stu said:

Totally makes sense. I was supposed to do the same thing (although single anastomosis), but my lap band was stuck to my liver, and the surgeon ran out of time to do the full procedure. Ended up with just a VSG.

I ask, because you had what looks to me to be pretty rapid weight loss, which is expected with DS. I'm trying to figure out what to expect speed-wise in the case of revision from VSG.

I've always felt my weight loss has been slow, so thiank you. Right now, I'm lucky if I lose 3 pounds in a month. I don't know about the amount of weight a person loses with a revision, but the DS is the mac daddy of weight loss surgery so I would think it would be just as powerful as a revision unless you've stretched out your sleeve. I still have pretty good restriction.

On 4/21/2018 at 10:54 PM, Jmuldune said:

4 years out from SIPS, lost 100% of excess weight, it's still off and I can eat anything I want. My only issue is gas if I eat too many of the wrong carbs. Vitamins are minimal and help prevent me from getting basic illnesses such as colds in the winter. I pretty much never get sick and the small amount of daily Vitamins I think helps make that happen.

I had my DS 11 months ago, and this is my exact same experience. I'm completely fine with most foods, but too many carbs makes me bloated and gassy. Ever have one of those carb gas episodes on a plane? So uncomfortable and what do you do? You have to suffer (especially if there is turbulence and the seat belt light is on) or make everyone else suffer.

On 4/25/2018 at 12:30 PM, disco stu said:

Were you a sleeve revision, or did you go from lap band to full SIPS in one shot? In other words, how many surgeries? I've had three: Lap band, VSG, then mini DS.

I went straight from a lap band to the traditional duodenal switch. They don't call it SIPS unless it's a single anastomosis. So, two surgeries for me. This one had to work. I couldn't afford a third one.

1 hour ago, Mattymatt said:

My walk of shame was the phen/phen diet.

Me too. It was nice while the weight was off, but man a person didn't sleep at night.

1 hour ago, Frustr8 said:

Well I didn't actually buy it, my mama did. She's been dead 15 years so it doesn't hurt to rat her out. Back in the late 50s-60s there was an item called Ayds. It was a caramel type diet candy. You chewed 1 up, after 20 minutes you drank a cup of warmish, almost hot Water, no tea, no coffee, just warm bland water.After 30 more minutes you could eat a meal. The theory was the candy expanded in your stomach and you wouldn't eat as much. She spent,$10 of Daddy's hard earned money on this, a box about the size of a candy covered cherry box. Made the manufacturers pockets full and a lot of people's wallets thinner.😭

Oh, my heck!! My mother had these. This brings back a lot of memories.