ShoppGirl

I was told the same thing that revision surgeries do not tend to yield as much weight loss as virgin surgeries. Sleep to bypass is the more common one, but ask your doctor about a sleeve to SADI revision. My surgeon had actually just started doing them but was straight forward about that and told me that he would not change the size of my sleeve so he did some tests to look at mine and it still looked good so we went with that option. I totally trusted this surgeon to not attempt it if he was not confident he could handle it but I was warned that if I had a complication he would stabilize me and I may have to be moved to another hospital where a surgeon who was more experienced with the surgery could help. I was okay with that so long as I knew we had a plan. T)3 Sleeve to SADI does statistically yield a greater loss and a longer lasting loss than sleeve to Bypass BUT not all surgeons do them and it is somewhat new so there may be issues that they find that just haven’t happened enough yet for them to notice. Also, I have yet to find a single physician, family, gynocology, cardiology, nephrology, oncology, hospitalist, etc who has heard of it so it could present some obstacles in them not knowing how the surgery may relate to other medical issues. Basically I have to do my own research ahead and call my surgeons office quite a bit. I tell them what’s going on and ask could this have anything to do with the SADI and what does the specialist need to know. When I had colonoscopy and endoscopy the surgeon called the gastro doc and explained my surgery. I always just tell the doctors it’s a modified duodenal switch and it has one anastomosis (or connection) instead of two. If they still look confused I say it’s sort of a combination of the sleeve and bypass because my stomach is sleeved but they also changed up the intestine. If they are doing anything going in there, like my gastro doc, I ask the surgeons office to make sure they understand. (Not sure all surgeons will do this though on your request. The other doc may have to reach out to get the answer). I was actively treating for cancer though, so they knew I couldn’t have any setbacks. I was neutropenic any even stepping into a hospital was risky for me, so they got why I was scared to have them do something to cause even a minor infection. Anyhow, some doctors who have done the SADI for a while will even resleeve your stomach giving you that same restriction again. My surgeon said he didn’t feel that the risks that involved were worth it for the minimal additional loss and that he did not feel comfortable doing it. We did a barium swallow, gastro emptying and upper endoscopy to get a real good idea of what shape my pouch was in and it was okay. I can eat a small normal portion but not a whole serving. Like I can eat 4 inches of a sub but nothing else. I actually feel like it was good to not be reliant on the restriction to make me lose because that goes away and I feel like that’a part of where I regained last time. I didn’t change what I ate as much as I should have because I was losing anyways by just eating less. Then restriction let up and I was still used to eating junk too often and could now eat larger quantities of said junk. Okay, this is getting pretty long. The short answer is yes your psych was correct that your expectations need to be reeled in a bit. Some people lose more and some less than average but the sleeve to bypass had an expected range that is less than a virgin bypass. If you are not thrilled about the average result, ask about that SADI. It may be an appropriate option for you.

My surgeon asked if I eat a lot of sweets to help decide between sleeve and Bypass. He says Bypass works better for patients who crave and eat a lot of sweets. Ironically I did not until AFTER my sleeve. Don’t let this scare you though. My entire experience with the sleeve was not typical. I am much happier with my revision to SADI. I think the sleeve is perfectly fine for a small majority but many of us need more metabolic changes than what the sleeve produces. Any surgery that messes with the intestines is more aggressive and comes with more risks but it also gave me a better shot at real weight loss. Just be sure you are mentally ready to make yourself a priority to be successful with this because after bypass it’s harder to do a revision for weight gain. Not all surgeons do them and risks go up. I mention this because you are going overseas. In the states they do a psyc eval and try to make sure we are prepared but I’m not sure if they do so overseas. That being said my psyc eval was just about worthless 🤦‍♀️

Well I was driving my car on 95 and realized I needed to move the seat up AGAIN!! I couldn’t reach the steering wheel comfortably and didn’t realize it until I drove a little distance since I usually don’t drive far. I had to grab my towel from yoga bag and put behind me to push me forward until I could pull off and figure out how to adjust the seat again.

Ooh. You could also consider online courses this semester since there should be more Alex ability. I had to turn in assignments by the end of the week instead of MWF or TTH. also do consider that it may impact your GPA a tad so if you need a certain GPA for grad school or something and you don’t have much wiggle room maybe it’s not worth risking it.

All of the programs are a little different but you should be done or close to it other than the pre op labs, your family Dr Signing off and your pre op appt with the surgeon. If you have any issues come up in the labs or the physical they may send you to a specialist but if you have been going to the doctor regularly it’s not super likely anything new will pop up. If it were me and I thought I could handle it I would do both. You don’t want to lose momentum with school if you don’t have to. You should only be down a couple of weeks and after a week or so I would think you will be well enough to study and with online options I bet the professor could work with you if they wanted to for another week. Honestly if you are younger and relatively healthy since your body just tends to bounce back from stuff a little quicker you may be good right away. I was fine with my sleeve but not my revision. I wouldn’t have been doing much studying for about 5 days after the revision, but with the sleeve my husband had to remind me I couldn’t play horse when he was shooting hoops and I gestured for him to pass me the ball the next day!! If you are the later, or even worse off, you should be able to apply for an incomplete and finish the courses during the break between semesters or a little at a time throughout the next semester. I believe the difference for the most part comes down to gas and swelling. The gas pains are awful and it just depends on what it gets stuck behind. Once I passed a few toots I felt better and better with each one. I would call the college and see where their rules are for incomplete if you have to do it and ask the doctor. I’m sure they can appreciate that you want to try and juggle both of anyone can since they went for so long they surely had something they had to multitask with during their schooling. Just don’t forget to ask the college how it could affect any scholarships, grants or other aid if you are getting any.

Great topic. I think I am lucky that everyone knows I can’t handle the heat so it’s just the hubby and I at home and he eats relatively healthy all the time (as in he actually prefers the taste of the healthy stuff over tho the stuff with taste. I swear he should be studied). Anyways, it’s kind of relaxing to have a whole day just hanging out and I have a lot less temptation at home for sure. So we started the day off right with skinny omelettes. It’s just two egg whites and one whole egg since the yolk color makes it taste better somehow 😂, Cabot half fat cheese and our favorite veggies. Lunch was chef salad with avocado and a little 5 ingredient yogurt ranch. The plan for dinner is surf and turf with baked potato and cucumber salad. Off plan will be the butter on the potato and for dipping the seafood plus whatever lite Italian actually soaked into the cucumber salad because I strain it anyways so I don’t get my food mixed (yes I’m one of those people who can’t have their food touching). Leftovers will be added to salads this week because we couldn’t decide between snow crab and lobster so we basically have three main courses planned for two people. Desert will be a fruit and yogurt smoothie later on. Probably strawberry, mango and pineapple with almond milk and Greek yogurt of course to keep me full through the night 😋 I don’t count any fruit or veggies as off plan anymore regardless of calories or carbs. Those carbs don’t make me crave more carbs and I have reached my goal so I am technically in maintenance although I confess I wouldn’t mind losing a bit more. I’m at the point that if it happens great and if not that’s okay too. I just try to avoid added sugars and heavy fats without much nutritional value and I’m working hard to get back to my pre chemo activity level but I’m still on immunotherapy and in PT to regain my strength and full range of motion in my arms so that’s just going to take some time. For now I’m just trying to eat well. Not really for “weight loss” but I am still trying to choose foods that are as clean and nutritious as I can. That plan seems to be working to maintain my 100 pound loss and I figure when my activity picks back up I will lose a bit more and have some wiggle room if I choose to splurge a little here and there. I guess I will reassess if something changes. I am feeling quite comfortable in my skin at this size I am now, though, I am still managing to stay the course fairly well even with alot of other stuff going on so I already consider the surgery to be a success. I mean if this all happened pre surgery I would have started eating at the first sign of upset and used it as an excuse to never let up. I am prioritizing my nutrition and activity now in spite of other stress and that’s 100% a win in my book. Everything else is just bonus.

Oh yes. Culturally “Difesrive” probiotic says right on the box that it helps reduce occasional gas and diarrhea. I just started that at the doctors suggestion because of other meds I’m on. Wonder if it contributed to my recent issue with constipation 🤷‍♀️.

I would make certain your new insurance will cover the surgery though. If not I would totally take the first available date that you are well enough to handle.

I am not a teacher but if it were me and I could Have I may couple the surgery using a few sick/vacation days and then the school break if possible giving yourself a little more time to recover and get into your groove to set yourself up for the greatest success. You will be operating on limited calories afterwards and while some have more energy right off the bat, some people experience a little fatigue from that and I know that being a teacher can be pretty demanding depending on the age. This surgery is life changing and it will be worth it to prioritize your health. You deserve it!!!

I’ve only known of one person who got implants and she is still struggling and I know it has to have been at least a year if not more. She can barely eat and has lost too much weight. She said she doesn’t know what she regrets more the decision because they aren’t right or the expense and she still has to pay when she isn’t even happy. Coincidentally I know someone else who is in the process of dentures. It’s been a few weeks and she is not in any pain with it them, but So far the permanent top fits correctly but the bottom isn’t quite right. She is allergic to one of the materials though so they have to send off to some special place for hers I’m sure that isn’t helping. I think she said they come in again this week and that will be about a month assuming they fit correctly. I’m sure that some have great experience with implants and some have horror stories with dentures but that’s my limited hearsay knowledge. I hope it helps.

You have such a wonderful journey in store for you. It’s not really even about the number on that scale. It’s the little things, and the big accomplishments. You will see it will be one non scale victory after another and you will find yourself doing things you may have never been able to try or didn’t think you would ever do again. Just stay the course my friend. You will not be sorry.

I never lost hair with either of my surgeries but I did with chemo. Before I was ready to shave it I cut it shorter and shorter and used eyebrow stamp powder to fill in the little bald spots. It really helps to cover the ghostly white scalp. If it’s thinning a really great deal you honestly may as well just cut it. The rest has to catch up to it eventually anyways. Or at least that’s how i looked at it. I knew that with the drug I was gettin that mine would all fall out eventually though so there was no point to fight with it too long. But another option would be to just rock it for everyday and on special occasions to go with an updo and add a hair piece to add volume. Any pulling or added weight will definitely make it fall out faster if there is a lot more to follow so I would do the special occasion hair sparingly. Hope this helps. Ooh that eyebrow stamp they sell everywhere. I paid like $10 at Walmart online. It’s kind of like eyeshadow powder in a little dabber that reminds me of the bingo things. It comes with a variety of stencils to stamp on your eyebrows which I lost them too so I needed it and I just figure what the heck I would try it in the front where it looked like I was receding because I was already a tad thinner there and it was falling out and it worked like a charm.

Just slow down and take a breath. This is not a race it’s a journey. You don’t have to go pedal to the metal because you aren’t going to “get there” anytime soon. Even after you reach your goal you willl be in maintenance for life. Try to remember this is not a Diet, it’s a new lifestyle and that’s why it works. If your in the habit of walking for X amount of time and you dress out and go somewhere to do it as if you were going to the gym or whatever your preferred activity routine will be that’s the biggest part of the battle. Carving out the time and making it a habit to GET THERE, beyond that you can change up the activity and the intensity as much as you wish later but you have already put your health as a priority and made a habit of it. That’s really want this is all about. You’ve got this.

Your date is creeping up, good luck with everything.

You are my surgiversary twin. I had my surgery one year before you. Hope all is going well.

Also keep in mind that for many people once you detox from the carbs it’s much easier to not have them. For me, I can have any kind of vegetable or fruit and I’m fine but once I start having a lot of added sugars, suddenly starving.

Thanks. 😊

Ooh that Reese’s type banana sounds divine and you must share the measurements for the bagels. They sound easy enough I may actually make them more than once.

They really should warn people about this issue. Doctors Are so afraid to Prescribe pain meds that they will just make you suffer through things that they usually would recommend alieve for and honestly I sort of get it because Tylenol based pain meds don’t really help too much if the problem is inflammation anyways. They do have steroid shots that I’ve had doctors suggest saying they should be okay. Maybe ask bariatric surgeon about that.

For sure I am worried about it now. My immunotherapy I’m on for cancer causes inflammation which means pretty significant joint pain and I got a glimpse into what the future most likely holds and it isn’t going to be fun. My NP suggested Tumeric for inflammation. Not sure how will it works because I didn’t get to run it by oncologist yet but I’m on steroids now so I feel great until I’m back off of them I’m sure

Steroids may be a no no also. My surgeon wants me to avoid them and I can’t because I had a kidney issue so they are getting me off of them asap and I am taking a large dose of protonix. Also I take them with food.

Sounds yummy 😋

Keep doing your diary to hopefully pinpoint the issue but in the meantime try a gastro Dr. They have other meds besides immodium that can help with diarrhea. I had it really bad with my chemo. Like 6 immodium a day and I was still going 8-9 times some days. They thought I had colitis for sure but I didn’t. Disclaimer The max for immodium for a normal person is far less but to keep you in the chemo chair some things they have different limits for and just deal with the fallout later. Anyways, I tried two different meds that didn’t help for me BUT one of them is what they also gave my mom for her IBS and it works really well for her.

Okay so I now just buy the big container of plain Greek yogurt because it can be mixed into smoothies and blended with fruit to make different flavors but I also have two super simple recipes to use plain yogurt that are super good. First one is a peanut butter dip that I enjoy with apple slices. It’s just Greek yogurt, Peanut Butter powder and Splenda. I didn’t measure at all but used about 3 or 4 heaping spoonfuls of yogurt and mixed in two heaping spoonfuls of PB Fit and a package of Splenda which is optional but I prefer it sweet. I’m sure it’s good with any sweetener you prefer. Second is ranch dip that is so amazing and can be made into dressing by adding water by the teaspoon to desired consistency (I make the dip and just take out some and mix the dressing as I need it so I don’t thin it all out) this way I have dip for veggies or a mayo substitute of sorts for other things. It’s just Greek yogurt, a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, fresh dill, chives and minced garlic. I bet you could use dried but it would take more. Ooh and Salt and Pepper to taste. I used loads of seasoning but start light and keep adding until you find your perfect combo. I absolutely love the PB dip and the Ranch is a really good sub. Better than the ones you buy in the bottle and bonus you can mix up as little or as much as you will actually use. For the drinkable yogurt smoothies, I just use yogurt, fruit, and a bit of almond milk (I suppose you can use any milk) and then mix it in a nutra bullet or blender. If you don’t have a blender or dread dragging out your blender like I did I strongly recommend this. It’s pretty compact and easy to clean if you rinse it right away and if you don’t mind it not being fancy you can drink right out of the blender cup. I make fruit smoothies, drinkable yogurt smoothies and add healthy fruits and other flavors to my yogurt using this thing. It’s great. I’m certainly no chef so if you are don’t judge the simplicity of these recipes. I personally love how simple they are to whip up because I will actually do it.

Do you have a link to this recipe. I recently discovered that I like feta and I’m excited because I Always assumed since I’m not a fan of blue cheese I would not like it.