Tiffykins

Awwwww Lynn, that sucks, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that the process goes faster this time. I'm sitting here shaking my head in disbelief.

It was set up for RNY patients that got off track, that possibly saw a regain, or needed to rid their bodies of the carb monster. Here's the plan: Surgical Weight Loss 5 Day Pouch Test I have found that if I see any gain, all I have to do is cut my carbs by half. Which is still about 50-60 grams per day. I'm in maintenance so it's a little different than the losing stage, but I have not seen more than a 5lb regain. My body bounces between 121-124 on any given day. Right before my period, I crave junk food, and I retain Water like the Hoover dam, so I might hit 125 for a couple of days.

I love your posts, and your determination. You've done fabulous, and you will continue to find victories with this new lifestyle. You're inspirational, and I hope you know that you touch a lot of people's lives.

Best wishes for an uneventful surgery, and smooth recovery.

I used a good quality probiotic during that time. Also, once I got on Prilosec a lot of that "unsettled" icky stomach stuff resolved. Some people find that soy milk helps tremendously, but I could not develop a taste for it at all. I hated milk pre-op, and it only got worse post-op. Good luck ! ! ! Congrats on your loss thus far, you've done amazingly well.

Chili, chicken/tuna/egg salad flavored with mayo/miracle whip/greek yogurt with a little ranch dip packet sprinkled in, refried Beans, steamed/cooked broccoli/cauliflower with cheese sauce. Green Giant makes these "Just for one" microwavable servings, and they are perfect sized. I love buy and eat the broccoli and cauliflower with cheese. Ricotta cheese can be baked in the oven then add some marinara, or you can microwave it also. Look on here under the Recipe section, maybe there are some ideas in there as well. On mushies, essentially that I could blend or pulse in the food processor was game. I could have super soft meats on mushies as well. I would say 90% of wls patients experience a stall between the 2-6 week post-op time frame. Just keep following your program, drink your fluids, get in your Protein, and give your body some time to adjust to this enormous change.

I honestly have never heard, met, talked to, read about anyone having a remotely bad experience with Dr. Aceves. Nothing negative pops into my head about Dr. Alvarez either. I can share my opinion with you. I was a revision patient, I have some medical issues that can cause complications outside of the actual surgery, I researched Mexico and US surgeons, and at the end of the day, Dr. Aceves would have been my surgeon if insurance would not have come through on my revision, and if I needed to travel outside the US. It was a comfort level thing for me. All the research led me to him, his staff, the facilities he operates out of, the sheer number of successful revisions he'd performed, plus additional years of surgical experience that he has under his belt, all contributed to my choice. I had some stateside surgeons picked out as well that are located in Texas because that is where my family lives. The aftercare that is available to you with Dr. Aceves via email and phone was big contributing factor to making him my choice for MX surgeons. Plus, the 3 months f/u labs and upper gi that he offers and recommends gave me another level of comfort with him. I mean seriously, how many MX surgeons offer aftercare at all? Not many. Just my 2cents.

Can you find out which military base/post he came from? If you can find out that information, I can do some snooping and call my surgeon to see if he has heard anything.

Is this is the first milk experience? A lot of VSG patients develop lactose intolerance. It took 2-3 weeks for mine to kick in, but it lasted for several months.

I had lovenox injections given in my upper thighs because they didn't want the anticoagulant being injected near the abdomen. . . I'm not familiar with that particular drug, but Lovenox and Heparin both burn. Don't apply a lot of pressure at your injection site, don't rub it if it hurts, it'll make the bruising worse. I have a clotting disorder, have to be given a drug to help with clotting then an anticoagulant to prevent DVTs. It's all confusing, but it hasn't failed me LOL.

I had my gb out in February. I had some discomfort, but I was also scoped, and had additional scar tissues/adhesions taken down from various parts of my abdomen. I was up and walking within a couple of hours of waking up from VSG revision. I wake up super slow, and need a lot of time. The quicker you're up and walking the better you'll feel. You'll do great ! ! !

I use myfitnesspal app on my Iphone, I hear it works on the droid, and blackberries as well. It's a free app, and is fabulous.

1. Dr. Michael Michel, he is a Major in the USAF, and stationed at and operates out of Eglin AFB. I've sent 2 of my close friends to him within the last month (he just returned from 7.5 month long deployment) and an "ex" friend of mine had her surgery performed by Dr. M last September. My secondary surgeon Dr. Riley, out of the same military facility, is amazing as well. Dr. R took over my care when Dr. M deployed. He's performed surgery on 2 of my friends within the last 4 months. 2. Insurance company first, PCP next, supporting letter from PCP and any other specialty physicians you may see. 3. I would imagine natural childbirth would be worse. I had a c-section (was awake for it), and the VSG was nowhere near as painful. I had a completely different recovery, and I'm not the norm therefore I can't comment on this one. I was a revision patient. Had the band first, then VSG. 4. Same as above 5. I've dropped 155lbs as of today in around a year. I started at 270 today I'm weighing in around 118lbs. My skin is wrinkly, but not sagging or flapping over. It's recovering nicely. Saw my surgeon last week, he looked at my skin, and said " considering how much you've lost, your age, and how fast you've dropped it, your skin looks amazing, I've had patients lose less, that are younger that have to have plastics. Don't do any other surgery for a minimum of 12-18 months". I moisturize like crazy. I exfoliate with a homemade sugar/salt scrub, I massage my skin. I do not wear shapers, girdles, or anything of the sort. I live in Florida, it's 99% humidity, and wearing spandex under clothes is self-induced torture. 6. Take Biotin or another hair/nail/skin supplement now, and continue taking it once you're released for meds/supplements post-op. It'll help with the regrowth. Nothing stops the shedding. I'm vain, I lost half of my hair, I chopped it off, and it's grown 4 inches in length since January. We measured the other day to find out how much growth I was actually seeing. I have new growth that is about 7" long that started coming in before the shedding stopped. For me, it last 3.5 months. It's temporary, it'll grow back. I used Folicure shampoo every other day when I started losing, and never took Biotin or other supplements on a regular basis. Interesting article: Telogen Effluvium: eMedicine Dermatology 7. I was released for alcohol at 3.5 months out. Was told to avoid wine. My surgeon doesn't forbid soda. He doesn't believe it causes sleeve stretching. It is empty calories/carbs, and if it's caffeinated, it doesn't count as a clear Fluid. I drink soda. No harm, no foul, no regain,no sleeve stretching. I'm not a beer drinker, but I drink rum/cokes and various shots on a fairly social basis. 8. Perfectly normal. Today, my 12 yr old son and I shared an order of beef fajitas with black Beans and rice at Chili's. Sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa, 8-10 tortilla chips, 3oz of fajita skirt steak cooked medium, and a huge amount of sauteed onions. I ate about 6 small bites of the rice, I skipped the beans, they put stupid pico de gallo in them, no flour tortillas. I ate about 2ounces of shredded cheese mixed with the beef, sour cream and salsa. I drank strawberry lemonade before my meal. We were in and out of the restaurant within 1 hour. We talked, laughed, and just hung out. I waited about 15 minutes after eating to take a few swigs of my lemonade because Mexican food tends to be salty. I needed to wet my whistle. I felt normal, and have for months. 9. Only puked a couple times and that was super early out. Nauseated only happened when on heavy antibiotics. Slightly dehydrated only once, but didn't require hospitalization/iv fluids. 10. Stick to your surgeon/nutritionist's post-op diet, don't reinvent the wheel, don't cheat, it's just not worth it regardless of other people's experiences, if you absolutely need to progress your diet call the medical professional that you trusted to staple off and excise 80% of your stomach and ask if there is a safe option that may get you through a horrible day, don't be negative nelly, your body needs you to be positive and encouraging it will have just took a major blow for you, be nice to it. Realize that some days might suck, you might be sore, you might not feel like doing much of anything, but the good ends up outweighing the bad 100 fold. Remember they operate on our stomachs not our heads. Our minds will beat us up if we allow it. Emotions will run high, you might be mad, angry, or feel like you're on a permanent PMS trip from hell, prepare your husband/family for this, it does get better, but it doesn't make it suck any less. Other than that, know that you are embarking on an amazing journey. You'll experience so much that it's hard to really wrap your head around all of it. Look for support when you need it, and know that whatever hurdle you may find in your path, there is probably someone else out here that's gone through or going through the same thing, don't be afraid to ask questions, have faith in yourself, your surgeon. Sorry for the ramble, run on and fragment sentences. Best wishes and keep us updated.

Totally normal. Baby powder, Lysol and Oust spray sent me into dry heaving fits. Foods just smelled disgusting. . . It gets better.

I never experience hunger. I mean literally never. I can go 16 hours without eating, and then think "Holy crap, I need to eat". Smelling foods don't even trigger real hunger. It's weird and difficult to explain, but I love it and won't complain. If I'm active, running errands, mall shopping, bowling, swimming stuff like that, I have to eat something because my body tell kind of tells me. I can't explain it, I don't get woozy, or weak, or gross feeling, just kind of empty and needing fuel. I'll echo what Chancie mentions about sweets. I haven't seen a regain, but Heath and Snicker's miniatures slide right down, and give zero feelings of true satiety. Grant it, I only eat 2-3 of those little boogers instead of 10-15. It's still about choices, and it's more difficult today to make the "best" choice than it was 6 months ago.

Cajun, thin, chancie, and katt, thank you all so very much. I love ya too thin, you've been right beside from the beginning, along with cajun and chancie. It's been a crazy year, but we're all doing it, and doing it BIG ! ! ! lillita, don't let my leak worry you. I was a revision, had tons and tons of scar tissue from the band slowly destroying my stomach tissue. I knew going in my risks were way higher. If you have faith in your surgeon, and he has positive stats for complications, please know you are doing something fabulous not only for yourself, but your family. My son(12 yrs old) has admitted that he loves that I'm not fat anymore. He loves that we go, go, go, go and I'm not sleeping all the time, hurting, and not being able to do certain things because I was too fat. Kids love us, but our obesity and inability to participate in certain activities affects them tremendously. Thank you for the sweet compliments. Leaks are very rare. My surgeon is extremely skilled, and truly an amazing surgeon not only in the bariatric world, but as a combat surgeon as well. I mean, he puts troops back together overseas. I do not blame him for my leak. I knew that I was more likely to have complications. I wasn't shocked when I had a leak, honestly when I passed the first 2 leak tests, I was amazed. It was that stinkin' final leak test that got me LOL. Go in positive, if you believe in a higher power, pray, talk to him/her, and ask for grace, peace, and for them to guide your surgeon. You'll love the life that the sleeve affords you.

As long as you don't suck down 3000 calorie milkshakes and continue to feed your body properly, you'll keep the weight off. Sadly, it's true of any weight loss surgery. There's only so much the surgery will do, the rest, and long term success solely depends on our commitment to change, and stay the course for the rest of our lives.

I'm not going to play the "I had it worse" game, but I want you to know that I can completely empathize with you. I had a picc line in my arm that "fed" me for over 2.5 weeks with my leak, I was confined to my house other than 1 trip to Wal-Mart, and 4 doctor appointments for about a month. My son was in Texas, my husband in Afghanistan, and the only other human I saw was my home healthcare nurse came by every other day to change my dressing, and draw labs. I was literally isolated, and alone for what seemed like forever. So, when I say that the members here were literally my life line, I'm not exaggerating. If it wasn't for VegasAngel, OregonDaisy, *susan*, DeeDee and a few others that rarely frequent the site any longer, I would have literally gone crazy, and given up. I was swollen, I couldn't walk much, I wasn't losing because I was being "fed" 1800 liquid calories via the huge catheter in an artery kind of like a central line. I slept in my recliner for weeks. I had huge jp drains that I lugged around for weeks. I was tired constantly, and I was so jealous of others that had surgery around the same time were up, out of the house, exercising, and not having to empty disgusting Fluid out of drains, change out a nutrient bag daily, and more than anything I was super jealous and honestly angry that people could eat and drink. I couldn't do either for 22 days. I lost my job, I was restricted to only minimal walking, and was not released for regular activity until I was 3.5 months post op. The reason I'm sharing this is because I want you to know it was all worth it. There is not one single regret, and I would honestly do it all over again, with every complication, every hurdle, every depressing day that I overcame, to be living the life I have today. It's not even so much about the weight loss. It's the freedom that I have with food, I am not dieting, I'm not hiding behind that mask of the "funny fat friend", I walk proudly and never wonder if I'll fit into a booth seat. It's the little things that mean the most. I walk the mall for hours, literally 3-4 hours, browsing, and my feet don't hurt, I'm not out of breath after the first 30 minutes, my knees no longer ache. Plus, I walk around in 3 wedges or heels 90% of the time. That's worth it to me. The way I am in control of what goes in my mouth, and that I no longer look for comfort in food, or eat out of sheer boredom. I'm living, I'm not scared to do anything, well except bungee jumping, that's still too risky for me. What I'm trying to say is that right now everything looks bleak, I know it does. You can't see even a tiny glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. You probably feel like it's never going to get better, or you'll never feel "normal". Maddie, please believe me when I tell you that you will. Try to stay positive, and know that you will having many victories coming your way in a few weeks. Just give your body, mind, and heart some time to heal after everything you've been through. Lean on us, vent, cry, scream, but do not give up. If you ever need to talk, scream, vent and you want to do it privately, shoot me a message. I'll listen, and you can just let it all out. I've done it more times than I care to count with Vegas and Oregon, and I owe them my sanity. You'll get there, Maddie. I promise, hang in there, and keep us updated.

I have an idiopathic clotting disorder. I bruised easy pre-op, and now it is 100 times worse. I'm not deficient on anything, and my labs are pulled with additional red blood cell, and platelet panels pulled for additional testing to ensure that the Proteins in my blood are not dropping any lower. My Iron level is perfect, and my last CBC with additional tests were within normal ranges with the exception of the one lacking Protein that causes my blood to clot much slower than others. And, well, it was "normal" for my body. It hasn't gotten any lower than it was pre-op. I'm not sure why it happens other than the fact that we literally lose the fat that our veins have to supply, and those veins are closer to surface of the skin. I rarely wear skirts because my shins look like I've been beat with a baseball bat. It sucks, but my PCP and surgeon have a not one single solution or medical explanation. They did tell me to watch my Vitamin E intake to ensure I wasn't consuming too much. I also had to scale back my Omega3 dose. If you haven't had labs pulled recently, start there, and then get discuss some options with your doc.

You're not doing anything wrong. 12 days ago, you're body endured something traumatic, your system is in shock, and is confused. It's more than likely water weight, and I promise if you stick to your program, drink your fluids, walk, and get your protein in, you'll lose again. Your hormones are all over the map right now. Estrogen is shooting through you like torpedoes and your body is just pissed off. Breathe, now breathe a little deeper. Don't get down, and you didn't invest in something that is going to fail you. In maintenance currently, I bounce up and down 2-4 pounds on a daily basis. If it was a 10lb gain, you could freak out. 3lbs is a couple days of urinating and sweating some when you walk. I was obsessed with the scale. It's what worked for me. It kept me accountable, but I never hit a true stall (no loss for 14 days straight) so I can not empathize on those feelings. I hit a bit of a stall close to goal, but it didn't last 2 weeks. If you think it'll help, put the scale away. If you need to keep on getting on it daily, do it. You have to do what is right for you, and the mental part of the journey.

YAY YAY Mary, I'm glad to hear surgery went well, and hope things improve soon. Stay positive, and keep us updated.

YAY YAY for the scale moving ! ! !

I also developed lactose intolerance post-op. I couldn't handle milk or whey products. I could eat yogurts, and reduced fat cheese without issue. I don't remember when I realized that milk didn't bother me anymore because I never liked milk. But, if I had to guess I'd say around 4-5 months out I could drink milk without any negative side effects. At this point, I can drink milk.

Oh that is icky. I refused to do the upper gi test when I was having gallbladder problems. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that mess. I have resorted to telling people that I've had a gastrectomy, and essentially I've lost 80% of my stomach. If they have specific questions, I answer them, but hearing that I have a little tummy usually pacifies their curiosities. Maybe you could get a copy of the films, and send them to your surgeon?

It's wasn't an issue with absorption of the bc pills, it's the crazy hormonal issues we experience during the rapid weight loss stage. I just wanted to clarify what I posted earlier has nothing to do with absorption or malabsorption of bc pills with the sleeve. They're still absorbed, but I've read about it, and seen it firsthand happen with hormonal bc methods.