thesuse2000

that's normal - it will soften and go away in time. I'm about a month out and I can feel a little denseness under my biggest incision, but it's almost gone - and it felt like a big hard lump right after surgery.

Oh - good to know about the oils - thanks!

Congrats! So nice to read such a joyous post. I look forward to hearing more updates from you.

I wish you a perfect surgery and a smooth recovery! It's a wonderful journey after all that.

I don't have any new suggestions, but happy to come commiserate! I just started using progesterone cream a few months ago, and I actually stopped after my surgery a month ago just because I was rubbing it on my stomach mostly and didn't want to do that with my incisions. I wasn't sure it was really helping anyway, but now that I read this post I'm thinking that I've maybe been especially bitchy this past week with PMS and maybe it was helping... Will be glad to see if anyone else has any good ideas. I think I'll start up with the cream again!

Hmmm... I'm 4 1/2 weeks out. Overall my journey hasn't been hard at all, but if I had to pick something I'd say the period before surgery. I was told that my surgery risks were a little higher as a band-to-sleeve revision, and so I worried about dying... My husband is disabled and dependent on me, and I didn't get life insurance before deciding to do the surgery and when I tried later I was denied due to the planned surgery, and that just ate at me. I was worried that I'd die and abandon my husband... ugh - so very glad it's all over and I'm on the positive side of this journey!

Yes, to follow on above comment, I was told to call the office if I had a fever over 101.

Good morning. Today: 229.5.

Day three I felt SO much better than the previous days, so I was kind of thrilled, but then I kind of hit a plateau and felt the same for the next week or so, and was less thrilled about it. I'm a month out now and overall I've had a great recovery, but I still get so tired. Everyone is different. Just hang in there and it will continue to get better. Use the pain meds when you need them - that's why you have them. You will slowly wean off.

I would vote for RNY. If your insurance is picky about what procedures they cover it makes me think they may not cover a revision down the road should you need to revise from band to something else. I had the band, followed the rules (I'll use the same 95% stat as above) and still had a slip and complications that weren't even resolved with revision surgery - and I know I am one of many. I'm so thankful that my insurance paid for my revision to sleeve. If you may only have one shot at this, I'd go for RNY for the best chance of longterm success. That said - and I'm sure this was mentioned above, with RNY you need to make a lifetime commitment to taking your Vitamins and getting regular check-ups and blood testing to stay on top of any issues stemming from the malabsorption. I attend two different support groups and have heard many stories from veteran RNYers about issues down the road if they didn't stay vigilant on these things. But none of them (that I've spoken to) regret the surgery. I wish you the best in your journey!

I had the band, lost about 70 pounds, then slipped, had a revision, but could never tolerate enough tightness to control my hunger/eating. I would have constant night choking issues with any fill. So I gained back all the 70 pounds plus a few more over the last five years. I was just sleeved a month ago and am thrilled with my progress and the overall experience. I was terrified beforehand too. Thought about it for about a year (back and forth) before deciding to do it. Then spent a few months planning and getting my head into the game - preparing to change my eating permanently from the point of surgery, and building my confidence up after my band failure to believe again that I can succeed. One of the nice things about the sleeve is the removal of the part of the stomach that makes ghrelin, a hunger stimulating hormone. I eat 4 small meals a day and feel very satisfied with about 800 cals a day. As far as reflux goes, I was concerned that I might end up with a permanent night reflux like I had with the band when tight. My surgeon said that wouldn't be an issue with the sleeve. I hoped that she was right (my husband was super concerned about that too) - and she was! I used to always have a discomfort issue with the (tightened) band when lying down in the 2 hours after eating, but I never have any of that with the sleeve, it feels pretty much normal to me. And no feeling of something stuck in my throat etc. I wish you well in your decision and journey!

Putting the fork/spoon down between bites helps me a lot. And don't pick up another forkful until you're done chewing the last bite. It just takes time and mindful practice

Welcome! I'll be a month out on Monday and I'm so thrilled with my progress so far. I know this isn't true for everyone but I've had a great experience overall and am so very glad I did this! Feeling excited for my future. I wish you a smooth surgery and recovery!

Two night for me, but my surgery was late - about 5pm. Didn't wake up until about 8:30pm. I feel like I may have been able to go home the 2nd day if my surgery was earlier. I also had band removal, sleeve and hernia repair. Good luck!

When you're seeing someone everyday it can be harder to notice the slow changes. Congrats on your success!

I'm almost a month out and the hardness under my largest incision is definitely softening up. Agree with infinite on stalls, just be patient when it happens and know that the sce will move again. I had a bit of a stall my third week - only lost about a pound all week, but then dropped 3 pounds already thus week.

I was told I could swallow pills that are no larger than an m&m. Not sure how big yours is. When I've had to crush pills I poured the powder right onto the back of my tongue and quickly drank water. Mixing with food I think would make it worse. Hope you find something that works!

When I did one they saw an area with redness and biopsied to confirm H pylori. I hope it's nothing serious.

Thank you cowgirl!! That was really helpful, especially the bit about eating till satisfied, not full. I know that I may not achieve the same success as you, but I want to aim for that, and if I seem to settle at a higher weight while I'm doing as much as I can comfortably maintain, I think I'll be able to happily accept that.

Cowgirl - what advice did your nutritionist give on how to beat the averages? Would love to be as successful as you! Thx

A lot of people seem to like Miralax too

I don't have a full length mirror at home, so I took a couple pics in the bathroom at work before starting my pre-op diet. I realized today that I was wearing the same shirt from that day, so I took a progress pic and was a little amazed and delighted at the difference. No one has commented that I look thinner yet, but this shows me that I am indeed changing. Down 31 pounds total from my highest in Feb, 25 since starting pre-op. Happy!

Good for you cirvin21! That's great that you're off to such a strong start before surgery!

popsicles (sugar free), pureed soups (with unflavored protein added in ideally)... nothing else I can think of. But hang in there! You'll get through it.

Hmmm... every study I've seen does demonstrates that the band is safer than the sleeve. It is less effective however and more likely to lead to minor complications that may require additional surgery. But definitely fewer deaths - at least in the short term (longterm, more bandsters may die of obesity-related conditions than sleevers due to lower effectiveness). Just did a quick search and came across this sample data: http://asmbs.org/resources/studies-weigh-in-on-safety-and-effectiveness-of-newer-bariatric-and-metabolic-surgery-procedure From this article: In one study, Stanford University researchers analyzed safety data from nearly 270,000 metabolic and bariatric surgeries performed between 2007 and 2010. Nearly 16,000 of the procedures were sleeve gastrectomies, which had a 30-day serious complication rate of less than one percent (0.96%), compared to a rate of 1.25 percent for gastric bypass and one-quarter of one percent (0.25%) for gastric banding. The 30-day mortality rate for sleeve gastrectomy was 0.08 percent, while the rate for gastric bypass was 0.14 percent and 0.03 percent for gastric banding. These mortality and complication rates are lower than those typically associated with gallbladder or hip replacement surgery.