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Hi, I am so sorry to hear about your struggle. We have a lot of great members here, and I am sure someone will have some really excellent advice and things for you to consider. Did you only have the lap-band? I had a sleeve done on July 17th, but never had the lap band done. I also am hypothyroid and have some menopausal issues that are making my weight loss difficult & tricky despite my recent surgery. Have you met with or considered a naturopath or alternative health practitioner? Liver function is not something to mess with, or a history of Lyme's disease. Sometimes the 'outside the box' doctors will have more effective & creative strategies for complicated health situations. I know that Lyme's can affect the thyroid. Is your healthcare provider looking at things like reverse T3 and thyroid antibodies? https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/reverse-t3/ Here is another site I really like: https://selfhacked.com/blog/all-about-chronic-lyme-potential-treatments/ Where in the US are you located? Maybe one of our members could recommend a naturopath or other kind of doctor that you could visit with that is near you. Have you discussed with a WLS doctor possibilities to convert to a roux-n-y? Perhaps if it were possible to have the lap band removed you could eventually tolerate meats and vegetables easier? Protein is incredibly important for health & weight loss/maintenance, as I am sure you know. Owing to my own metabolic issues, I actually broke down & decided to add in some stimulants (phentermine) after my sleeve surgery, as my body would not drop weight, no matter how little or how much I ate, or how much I was exercising each day. Phen is an ugly drug which is very hard on the heart, but it is documented to help stimulate lypolysis -- and I know this as well from personal experience. I definitely would not recommend phen to someone with liver function issues or Lyme's disease, but I don't know enough about those conditions to say what would be a good strategy for you. Have you had hormone panels done? For middle aged ladies like me, estrogen & testosterone deficits can also contribute to stubborn weight issues. I personally recently had testosterone pellets implanted, and take DHEA & pregnenolone each day, along with T3 & T4. For liver support, I know that glutathione & milk thistle are very helpful and have personally taken them without issue. Good luck & all the best to you. I'll be waiting to see what some of our other members have to say.

That's such a great idea, thank you for sharing

I feel all your frustration. I am eating about 500-600 cal/day, and I have lost 1.5 pounds in 10 days. Today is 28 days since my surgery. I didn't know it was physically possible for the human body to not catabolize its tissue in what is essentially starvation. How does it do it? It goes against the laws of physiology. I religiously track every morsel that goes in my mouth, and try to add more calories, but my sleeve revolts and up it comes. I can't eat pureed chicken, tuna, eggs, and if I eat more than a few ounces of greek yogurt that makes its way up as well. I've vomited every day for the past 4 days, and sometimes several times a day. Literally the only thing that goes down easy are protein shakes, thin sugar free pudding or creamy soft cheeses, in small amounts. I'm so ready to start working out again, and started doing physical therapy for my back this week, but I'm so exhausted from the lack of calories that I can't keep up with even wimpy exercise now. So sorry for the venting here, I'm also getting insanely depressed about all this. Again, I apologize for unloading on you guys but there is no one I can talk to about this. Thanks for listening

Ok; I think it's Murphy's Law, or some way of the Universe telling you to slow the heck down😈 🛑 😈, but the day I posted my progress here, I hit my first stall, barely two weeks after surgery. The scale hasn't budged in 5 days now, even though I've been eating 500-800 calories per day 😫 nooooo!!!!!! 😖 I can't even exercise intensely yet, so I'm not sure what to do. I'm taking thyroid hormones, so I know that's not it, and I'm taking some hormone supplements to minimize muscle loss & try to support metabolism (test & DHEA). It may be water retention from the testosterone, but I know that a lot of people go through this around the 3rd week. Guess I was just early 👎 I'm going to try the elliptical if I can get the energy today, and also add in some l-carnitine & try to drink more water 🤷‍♀️

I had my surgery on July 17, and was 178 day of surgery, and am 165 today; 13 pounds in 16 days woot woot!! fingers crossed I can keep it up, but I know it will slow down soon as I am a lower BMI. For folks who are having trouble losing weight after surgery, you may want to look into thryoid function & hormone issues with an MD or naturopath. I have hashimoto's & take thyroid meds, which I think may be helping with my weight loss, and also am using a testosterone cream to help with muscle preservation & metabolic rate during this very low calorie phase. good luck to all!!

Hi everybody! I am confirmed for gastric sleeve with Dr. Jalil Illan at Hospital BC on July 17, 2020 and plan to report my progress here to you guys to provide moral support for anyone considering such a dramatic and life-changing decision. I am terrified about having surgery outside the US, and worried about complications during or after the surgery, but have read a lot of great things about Dr. Illan. His staff have been really wonderful through my whole pre-op process so far. I had a fever last week out of the blue, but am feeling better today, and tested negative for Covid. I was worried it was a false negative, so I am scheduled to take another test tomorrow to confirm results. I asked Dr. Illan if I should reschedule due to the fever I had, and he responded that we will stay on schedule for now. I didn't have any respiratory or throat issues with my fever, so I think that may have played a hand in the decision to not reschedule yet. I am almost 50, and have battled my weight all my life. I am looking forward to having this tool to support me in life-long weight management. Wish me luck! I plan to check back in periodically to let you guys know how the surgery and recovery went, and what my new life is like. Please feel free to reach out to me here if you have any questions and I will try to respond to you as soon as I can get back to you. Good luck to everyone here on their journey to find better health and happiness!!

Hi everyone! I sincerely apologize that I didn't update you sooner, but I wanted to take a little more time for healing before I came here to share how things went, and my outcome. My surgery in Mexico went very well, and Dr. Illan & his staff are truly amazing. I can tell you 100% that the experience in terms of surgical skill, and post-op care, was as good as, or if not better than what I have experienced in the US. They are true healers and I am so blessed for having found them. I was literally terrified, even going over my account numbers and password with my son before being wheeled off into surgery, and redoing my will & ensuring all financial directives were in order before heading to Mexico, in case something terrible happened. But I can report to you that my experience during the immediate postop, and since then, in the almost two weeks since I got home on July 20th, has been uneventful in a wonderful way. The day after surgery was the most painful day, and I did vomit a little bit of blood. I also experienced a low grade fever and high blood pressure for the first 4-5 days after surgery, as well as the continual gas pains from the CO2 that you are blown up with during surgery, and overall dizziness and exhaustion. But those are all normal reactions to a major surgery. Dr. Illan told me that he used a 36 french bougie on me, rather than the 34, maybe due to my low BMI (?), and dissected my antrum 3-4 cm from the pylorus to help negate after-surgery GERD, and was careful to remove all my fundus & tightly oversew the staple line; but my son said that the photo he took of my stomach was surprisingly small, although I never saw that photo. I will see after time how large my stomach is, and hope it remains tiny enough to restrict food and hunger for a long time. My 4 incisions are healing well, and the worst gas pain which occurs right under my sternum and radiates to my left shoulder, is almost gone at day 13. That type of pain can be a late leak, so I watched it carefully, but it has abated, so I think all is well. I never experienced the dehydration I was afraid of, because I have carefully drank electrolyte enhanced beverages sip by sip as soon as I was out of the hospital. I also surprisingly did not have the expected migraines except for the first few days after surgery, because I have been a nazi about liquid intake. I graduated to smooth soups and low fat greek yogurt a few days ago, and even tried some pureed hamburger today, and was able to get that down after burning it to a crisp in the microwave. My diet staples have been sugar free pedialite popsicles, 0 calorie vitamin water, chicken broth and several brands of pre-mixed and self-mixed protein powder. I was dizzy and exhausted into the second week, and on day 7 added in liquid vitamins, as well as half of an iron tablet chewable, because my hematocrit and hemoglobin was low & I felt I was becoming anemic. Within a day or so, my energy came back strongly. I am always careful to take some protein drink or greek yogurt with my liquid vitamins, and take the acid reflux meds away from the vitamins so they can be absorbed. At almost two weeks, I feel like the swelling in my stomach has gone way down, because I can drink liquids quite easily again. I have lost about 17 pounds including the pre-diet, but I was not a super-high BMI to begin with, so I expected a slower weight loss. I have to say that it has been surprising that many days I lose 1/2 pound or less when I am eating 300-500 calories per day. I have had no sense of hunger since the day of my surgery, and pray to God that continues. The head hunger has not been an issue while I am awake, but only during sleep, when I have strange dreams involving food, wherein I obsessively dream about food, chowing down on thousands and calories, and then awake in fear I have destroyed my new sleeve, before quickly realizing it was all a bad dream. Those dreams have subsided somewhat over the past couple of days, and were the most intense on the night of surgery and first week of post-op. My unconscious mind was coming around to the realization that something had happened to my body, and was trying to process the loss of food as a comfort tool. I am struggling now with lots of fatigue, and alternating between feeling so much better that I want to get out and exercise again, and having no motivation to do anything. I am attributing this to the low calorie diet, and hormonal or neurochemical changes that happen after extreme dieting imposed by a surgery like this. My period came a few days early due to the surgery, and was extremely painful with cramps, etc, which I learned through research is attributable to "hormone dumping" which happens when estrogen stored in fat cells is released quickly into the blood stream after quick fat loss. I've been tracking my blood ketones with a meter and I am solidly in ketosis each day, which I expected with a low carb, high protein & low calorie diet. I wish I could exercise again, to try and improve my energy levels, and improve my mental fog, but am afraid of causing a leak, as I have read stories about people who opened their incisions, or developed an abdominal leak from exercising soon after surgery. I am walking every day, and did some heavy yard work yesterday, but look forward to getting back into a sustained and vigorous exercise routine, if for nothing else my state of mind, as it feels odd to have days of exhaustion and no motivation to do anything. I'm sure that's serotonin/diet related, and surgical healing related as well, as the body works very hard to repair itself after a surgery like this. That's about all I can think of to report on right now, please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about Dr. Illan, my experience in Mexico, or my healing from the surgery. take care!

Also me...ughh I won't miss this. I live in black stretchy pants. also me too....ughh I won't miss being winded and constantly sweating.

I won't miss needing to turn the lights off in the bedroom because I am so disgustingly fat, or strategically trying to hide my rolls in bed with sheets or pillows; or having to drink 3/4 of bottle of wine to feel comfortable about my body in bed, and then waking up sick & hungover the next day. I won't miss having to buy new clothes every few weeks or months because none of my clothes fit again. I won't miss having multiple size wardrobes depending for what stage of fat I am. I look forward to wearing one size for the rest of my life, I won't miss having to wear two underwire bras at all times, because my breasts are so enormous and heavy. I won't miss the backaches, neckaches and shoulderaches that go with enormous, fat breasts. I won't miss not being able to wear cute, attractive clothes, and having to wear tents when I am in public. I won't miss pretending to be sick and not going to events or parties, because I am afraid that people will see how fat I got. I will not miss the disapproving looks of my husband's family when they see my weight gain, when we fly home to see them. I won't miss people saying that they did not recognize me (because I got so fat again - my weight fluctuates by around 100+ pounds) I won't miss the acid reflux that was part of being fat (and hope that my sleeve does not cause it to return!) I won't miss peeing every time I laugh/sneeze/cough. Stress incontinence is 1,000% worse for me when I am obese. I won't miss developing herniated discs & sciatica because of the pressure of the weight on my back (I had disc surgery right before my sleeve, and hope that the weight loss helps me not reherniate) I won't miss being exhausted all the time, and not having the energy to work out, or not being able to physically handle working out. I won't miss not being able to do active, fun things like hike, mountain bike, swim, snorkle and ski. I won't miss getting winded after two or three stairs and having to catch my breath. I won't miss ducking out of photos, because I don't want there to be a record of how fat I am. I won't miss seeing my HA1C going up every time I get blood work, along with lipids, etc, and knowing I am developing diabetes and heart disease. I won't miss my joints hurting when I walk, and waddling down the road as my thighs painfully rub together. I know there are more thing's I won't miss about being fat, but can't think of them now!

I would definitelt ask the surgeon - I also have sciatica, and know that epidurals or courses of methylprednisone definitely affect the immune system, which could be a concern for a major surgery. good luck, I know that is very painful!

thank you, @Cheeseburgh! Great job maintaining your weight loss! My BMR is like yours, in the lower range. At age 48, I really have to keep an eye on intake too.

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone could please provide their feedback whether they feel it is easier to maintain their weight loss post-sleeve, or if it is just as difficult? In reading the posts from many different members, it is difficult to tell what to expect in terms of hunger and restriction 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5+ years out. Are you able to eat the same amount as before your sleeve? Do you experience the same level of ravenous hunger as before your sleeve? I would primarily be getting the sleeve as a tool to help me stay on a diet of 1000-1300 calories per day for the rest of my life, and just want to get clarity about this. Are my expectations reasonable, if I was really disciplined about sticking to foods that are high protein/low carb/low fat? Thanks for all of your informative and helpful responses and feedback, I appreciate it so much!!

thank you, @Arabesque! 🤗

thank you, @catwoman7!! That is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping to hear! I expect that I will be like you in my post-op nutrition, and for the most part religiously adhere to low carb/high protein/low fat diet around 1200 cal per day with occasional slip-ups at holidays; but the problem is that in the past, I could manage to do that for maybe a few days, and then suddenly I wanted to eat my arm off!!! LOL! In the past, restriction always wound up causing me enormous hunger, because my body was freaking out about the lack of calories - even though my BMR is low and my daily caloric needs are in that 1200 calorie range. If I can keep the restriction in the future, I am hopeful that I would be good to go forever! thanks again for your feedback, and congratulations on your lasting weight loss and new health! That is amazing!! 😍🤩

I am struggling with all the same thoughts & fears, and wondering if I really need to do something so drastic to my body in order to heal my relationship with food. And after I go through this soul searching, I know that after struggling with food addiction for nearly 5 decades, and knowing myself and my shortcomings, I need to forcefully disrupt the broken feedback loop between my stomach, heart and head. I am hopeful that this surgery will provide an initial strong restriction, and later a gentle reminder as my new stomach relaxes & heals; to always approach food mindfully and not mindlessly. I agree with everyone that being "left out" of social gatherings centered around food may make us feel hollow at first, but I think we have to recognize that our culture elevates food in an unhealthy way. I personally think we need to stop using food as a tool for shared social bonding and means to achieve emotional connection with others. I know food sharing in the context of creating social bonds is central in every culture likely back to our ancestral neanderthals, but that doesn't make it right. Maybe it was appropriate when we were hunter/gatherers and food was scarce, but we don't live in that world anymore - and maybe this psychological truth is central to understanding the epidemic of obesity. For me; these deep, tacit, perverted definitions of what food represents are at the core of why my experience of food evolved into an unfillable, aching, longing hole in me to begin with. I need to get comfortable with my body being empty, and not filled with food, get comfortable with all the difficult feelings I have been using food to erase and bury; and at this point in my life; for me, this surgery makes sense. My stomach is literally a part of me that isn't serving me any more, hasn't served me since I was a kid. I need it to survive, and that's it. I want to give it what it needs to survive, and that's it. I don't want a part of my body destroying the rest of my body. And this is a complicated subject, because we know that our mind is intimately involved in this process. There are drives for sustenance & survival rooted in our hypothalamus, ventral tegmental area, vagus nerve, brainstem, etc. that we cannot overcome and should not overcome; but when they are not working properly we need to retrain them. And where I am in my journey is that it seems this retraining cannot be accomplished through any other means, after having tried them all. I sincerely hope I am correct; it would be a terrible thing for us to be wrong about. Good luck to us all as we undertake this incomprehensibly difficult and infinitely meaningful, literal remodeling of our bodies in an effort to finally achieve a lasting remodeling of our minds. Hope that all that rambling made sense! LOL! 🤣 PS: this site edits posts to create the weirdest hyperlinks. Obviously this post was not intended to link to the bariatric store. I can't edit out the automatic link above - LOL

Good luck, @NurseJaci13! We head down to TJ early Friday morning from LA, I am super nervous to have such an invasive elective surgery, but all the research I am doing reflects that Dr. Illan seems to be a really talented surgeon. Fingers crossed that all goes well, and I have an uneventful & speedy recovery. I'm not interested in losing weight super fast, but I am hopeful that this tool simply helps me manage my weight around a healthy BMI for the rest of my life. It's not 100% clear to me how durable the loss of plasma ghrelin is from the removal of the fundus, and whether physical hunger returns with the same intensity as pre-surgery at some point in the future. Additionally, I am hopeful that the new stomach does not relax or stretch into a pre-surgery size, which seems unlikely, based on my research. As long as I can manage to break my emotional attachment to food, and reprogram my perception of food from anti-depressant/comfort source to a dispassionate source of fuel during the initial 12-24 months or so of tightest restriction, I should be successful over the long term. I will be watching out for your posts, too, and am so happy to meet another of Dr. Illan's patients here. I will update everyone on my experience with him & surgical outcome over the coming weeks. take care ❤️

holy cow, @colormehappy. I wonder if they knicked something while they were doing the sleeve...so glad you are ok, and they caught it in time. 😟 thanks for letting us know what to look out for...hope you are getting better now 🤗

@Tamwell, how are you doing? How did surgery with Dr. Illan go? I am leaving for TJ in less than a week to Hospital BC....when you are able to, please let us know how things went, and how you are doing now. 🤗

Yikes @Foxbins!! You have really been through it. I am having a small hiatal hernia repaired with my VSG too. Can I ask if they had to go back in to place the drain, or if it was placed during the initial operation? These kind of complications scare me! 😰 thank you for sharing what happened

Hi @1AnnieOkie, have you tried a "reset diet" yet for your sleeve, or focusing on high protein foods? Diet pills like phentermine to curb hunger are likely very off-limits for you if you just had pneumonia. I am hopeful that someone more knowledgeable chimes in with their experience, as I have not had the surgery yet. In the past, steroids caused a lot of water weight gain for me, which I was able to lose after a while. At least you are catching it early, and not letting this get out of hand. Although I don't have VSG experience yet, I would say stay positive right now and don't assume the worst about your metabolism being permanently damaged by the medication. Your body has been through a lot recently, and may need some time to heal. Good luck to you

Oh my God, I am so very sorry to hear these horrible stories. I will keep everyone here in my prayers. @myspeakgeek, hang in there, you will get better soon - we are all pulling for you!! You are young and healthy, and on your way to a happy and fulfilling new chapter in your life! @colormehappy, did you have a leak? Do you know what caused the bleeding, and how did they find it? Was your surgery in the US or Mexico? @Foxbins, did you have an additional surgery for the GERD, like some kind of fix for the hiatal hernia? Do you know what caused your issues? @rene50, thank you for your input and thoughts about this. I am scheduled for surgery in Mexico in less than a week. I wonder if they would be as thorough if they found these issues during my recovery, and if they could provide the support that was needed. Dr. Illan's office says that they have only had one leak of the thousands they have done, and their patients don't have complications. I'm not sure what to make of that, but most of the stories I hear are positive coming from Mexico. it sounds like you have heard positive stories too. Thank you to everyone for their input here, because it is important that we know what symptoms to look out for, and what those symptoms may mean, so that we can advocate for our care.

Hi everyone! I hope that everyone who had their surgery is feeling better & doing well! I wanted to chime in that I am scheduled for a July 17th surgery, and am worried about pain & dehydration afterwards. thanks for everybody's help in knowing what to expect, and how to manage the process. good luck to all!!

Hi Daniela! Thanks for reaching out. No, I did not speak with him personally yet, I have only spoken with his staff - Michelle, Bill, Stacy and Frida. Good luck to you too! I will keep in touch with you about my results. Are you on his facebook group? I am posting there, too, but using my real name. I posted recently that I am having surgery on July 17th, and also about hydration questions. Please feel free to send me a friend request there, or here, & we can exchange contact info if you would like to do that. It helps to know someone else who has personally gone through the same experience, in case you have questions about what you are getting yourself into!! LOL! Also, my fever has been gone now since Tuesday (3 days). I still don't have results from my second COVID test, but think it is negative based on how quickly I got better. Just wanted to put that out there for anyone wondering. Feeling a lot better, but nervous about the upcoming surgery! Fingers crossed & prayers sent up for very successful outcomes for all of us!!