Tiffykins

The risk for a leak with RNY is actually higher because it's a more difficult staple line. If your surgeon has done more RNY bypass staple lines, he may not be comfortable doing sleeves if he doesn't have the experience. Technique gets better with experience, and if he doesn't have a lot of sleeves under his belt then his sleeve patients may not do as well as his bypass patients. RNY immediate complications are practically double vs. VSG. It's been well documented. I've lost just as much if not more that some RNY patients that started out with similar pre-op stats. If I were to consider a malabsorptive procedure, I would not waste my time, money on RNY. I'd go full Duodenal Switch. Grant it, neither of the malabsorptive procedures were an option for me. I didn't entertain either of them, but the DS is by far superior over RNY with long term results. There are some 5 year results out for VSG that show that VSG results are extremely close to what the weight loss that is seen with RNY. You do have a choice, and I firmly believe that no one, even a doctor, should not try to convince someone of a different surgery. I had it happen to me. The first time it was my band surgeon trying to convince me to get RNY, and during my revision, the assisting surgeon tried to tell me to do bypass instead of the sleeve. The one place you can look for more information on RNY is on obesityhelp.com If you're looking at both, check out the Revision forum, the RNY forum, the Failed Weight loss surgery, and the hunger and food issue forum over there. You'll see that out of all the surgeries, RNY patients are seeking the most revisions along with band patients, and that RNY patients have long term complications with food, hunger, weight regain. Here are some of the reasons I chose VSG over RNY for my revision from the band. 1) RNY only gives you 2 years of calorie malabsorption of calories, but a lifetime of Vitamin malabsorption which can lead to later complications and deficiencies. 2) I had a pouch with my band, it is not natural, and the RNY gives the same pouch. My body hated the band pouch, and the RNY was not going to be any different. 3) I did not want a blind stomach that could not be easily scoped, but could still develop ulcers and cancer. 4) I wanted no medication or food restrictions. 5) Only 30% of RNY patients dump on sugar, it's not really a guarantee. If I want to eat a cookie, I don't want to suffer negative, self-induced consequences if I happen to be in that 30%. 6) I know several people in real life that have had major regain with RNY. Also, the complications that come 3-8 years later are just scary in my opinion. 7) I like the fact that my stomach is a normal stomach with function, just smaller in size. I hope this helps.

I averaged 20lbs a months the first 4 months, and honestly my skin isn't that bad. I have it, but I don't think it's any worse than the huge fat rolls I had pre-op. I do have saggy arms, wrinkly skin on my stomach, inner thighs, the boobs are gone, but it isn't like I have flaps of skin everywhere. I lost 113lbs in 6.5 months and a total of 141-143lbs in around 11 months. Every month my skin looks better. I moisturize every day, I exfoliate weekly with a homemade sugar/salt scrub, and I do not wear shapers, girdles, or anything of the sorts. My arms are pretty wrinkly, and I hate them, but I hated them when I was fat. I also hate armpits so even if my arms weren't saggy/wrinkly, you wouldn't catch me wearing sleeveless. My neighbor had RNY 6 years ago, lost 170ish pounds, and her arms look normal. She didn't do a lot of arm working out, the skin just rebounded. Of course, working out, and building muscle will help fill out the extra skin, but it's something that we trade in for the positives of weight loss. I think my extra/wrinkly skin is kind of like stretchmarks from childbirth, or a scar from a childhood injury. It's just a little reminder of where we've been, and how we've come. Genetics, how long we've been obese, and our own personal bodies will determine how our skin rebounds. I was obese for over a decade so I really don't have much hope for all of my skin.

YAY YAY I'm so happy for you. I hope all is going well for you, and keep walking, sipping and resting.

From campbellskitchen.com, my additions are listed at the bottom. This makes a huge amount. I didn't realize how much this would make. My layers were way thicker than pictured below. I had enough for John to take leftovers for lunch and at least another 1.5 servings for later this week. Cheesy Enchilada Stack This hearty, one-dish meal features layers of ground beef, tortillas,enchilada sauce, refried Beans, green chiles and shredded Cheddar cheese...it's a wonderfully satisfying dish. 1 pound ground beef 2 cups prepared enchilada sauce Vegetable cooking spray 6 flour tortillas (10-inch) 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese (about 2 cups) 1 can (about 16 ounces) refried beans 2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chiles, drained Chopped green onion Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often to break up the meat. Pour off any fat. Stir 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce in the skillet. Spray a baking sheet with the cooking spray. Place 1 tortilla onto the baking sheet. Top with 1/3 of the beef mixture and 1/4 cup cheese. Top with 1 tortilla, 1/2 of the refried beans, 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, 1 can chiles and 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat the layers. Top with 1 tortilla, remaining beef mixture and 1/4 cup cheese. Top with the remaining tortilla. Cover the stack with aluminum foil. Bake at 400?F. for 40 minutes or until the filling is hot. Uncover the stack. Top with the remaining enchilada sauce, cheese and onions. Bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Cut the stack into 8 wedges. I crisped up the flour tortillas in a small skillet with cooking spray flipping them until they were a little crunchy on both sides. I also only had 5 tortillas on hand, and they were the 8inch. I also added an entire can of mild Old El Paso Enchilada sauce to the meat mixture. Then used 1/2 of another can to pour over the top. I added red, green, yellow peppers, some cumin, chili powder, minced garlic, black and white pepper to the meat mixture. I sauteed the veggies and spices in the skillet before browning the meat. I did not add the green chiles to the stack by themself. I stirred them into the refried beans before layering. I added some chunks of Velveeta Cheese to the top during the last 10 minutes of baking because shredded cheese tends to get lost in the enchilada sauce. I layered in this order: tortilla meat mixture, sprinkle with cheese tortilla bean and chile mixture, sprinkle with cheese tortilla meat mixture sprinkle of cheese tortilla I did not add the remaining enchilada sauce until the last 10 minutes of baking because I thought it make it all a soggy mess. I just poured it over the top of the stack then added those chunks of Velveeta cheese. The bottom and top tortilla remained a bit crispy, and the middle layered were like soft enchilada tortillas. You can easily scale this recipe down, and personalize it.

You don't need to do the 5 day pouch test this early out. Your body is still trying to adjust to the trauma of the surgery. Increase your Water, increase your exercise, and make sure you are hitting your calorie, and Protein guidelines. Google the "5 day pouch test", there is an entire website dedicated to it. It was established for RNY patients that got off track with carbs, and needed to go back to the basics. Stick with your guidelines, and don't stress. It'll only add to your stall. Hang in there, and be positive.

Your nerves have been cut so you might not feel a full signal. It is not uncommon. Grant it, most people don't get a full signal because they're on super thin liquids, or mushies. If you chewed it to a mush, and ate slowly, maybe you could get in that much. I know that I'm a year out, and I can barely get in 5 ounces of steak. Are you drinking with your meals? On the dumping with VSG, I have never "dumped" on anything. I ate a huge amount of cake icing a few days ago, I eat candy on a fairly regular basis, and I have ice cream now and then. A very, very small percentage of VSG patients experience any form of dumping. Only 30% of RNY patients experience, and from all my time on the boards, I would have to say that the percentage of VSG patients that dump is closer to 5- maybe a big maybe 10%. My advice, measure your food, and when we know better, we should do better. Stick to small portions, and use caution when eating certain foods. Your incision line is not healed 100%, and your risk for a leak is still higher than what it would be at 6 weeks out. Even though the sleeve will give you restriction once your nerves come back, you'll still have to change your eating habits and food choices. I can eat an enormous piece of cake without issue, but I choose to not do it. Just because I can, doesn't mean I should do it. The sleeve will only do so much, the majority of our success depends on us, nothing more.

I'm so glad to see an update from you. Congrats on your amazing success, I knew you'd do fabulous ! ! ! Keep in touch hooker.

Your stomach has not stretched. You're eating slider foods so more is going to go in there. The denser the food the less you'll be able to consume. Your stomach has relaxed, all of the swelling has pretty much subsided and if you're 6 months out, you'll be able to eat more than you could at 2-3 months out. I can still only eat 4-5oz of meats, but can at an entire cup/8oz of mushy slider foods. Fruits, veggies especially lettuce are all sliders. If you'll eat meat, or a Protein dense food source before the other stuff, you'll notice that you can not eat as much. Breads, rice, Pasta, potatoes, veggies, and fruits are all sliders for me, and that maybe the case with you as well. It doesn't sound like your eating too much, maybe too many sliders, but quantity wise it's not too much. If you're in your losing stage still, I would go back to the basics, and stick with the protein first rule.

Get a massage, even if it's just 15 minutes, do it. You'll be amazed with how much better you feel. I hated going because I was overweight. I would go to the massage therapist at the local chiropractor's office, and he would massage just my back and shoulders. I kept my bottom clothing on, and it was fabulous. Also, take a hot bath, if you can play soft music while you actually bathe, light a few candles, I prefer lavender or sandalwood if I need to unwind. I am doing the bath thing when I stay up late at night, and I want to smoke. It distracts me, and I can usually drift off to sleep soon thereafter.

I'm usually in there between 9 and 10 pm on Central Standard time.

I only started eating every 2-3 hours once I hit maintenance. During my losing stage, I was advised to eat 4 meals per day consisting of a minimum of 15grs of Protein, and no Snacks. I stuck to that, and was able to hit my protein and calorie goals every day. Between trying to get in my required liquids, and other goals, there is no way I could eat every 2 hours when I was early out. If you are tracking your food, and staying within your guidelines then it shouldn't be an issue as long as your nut/surgeon doesn't discourage grazing. It's a tough thing to beat once you get to maintenance if you're grazing throughout the day. A lot of "empty"/hidden calories and carbs can pop in there and sometimes we don't even realize it. I use myfitnesspal.com to monitor my intake. I only got this funky, empty twinge an hour after I ate before I started taking Prilosec once daily. I didn't know what it was, but talked to some long termers, and they advised it could be acid. I got on Prilosec, and low and behold, that went away, and I never felt it again.

The only issue I have waking up from anesthesia is that I am claustrophobic when it comes to things around my face. Like the oxygen masks, peoples hands, other's faces, anything near my face freaks me out, and I definitely can not have stuff strapped to my face. So, anytime I have surgery, I advised the anesthesiologist of this issue. I am always given nasal cannulas instead of the masks, and when I'm being anesthetized I make sure they do not put the mask anywhere near my face until they give me the IV medication to relax me. I never have nausea or vomiting in recovery. It does take me longer to wake up, but that is because of my own specific medical issues and certain medications I have to be given to have surgery. Go in positive, and don't get too anxious. If you are overly stressed, and worried, I truly believes this can affect the way you wake up. If you need something to take the edge off, ask for it. Do not hesitate or be worried about bothering anyone. You need to do what is best for you, and if you need something to help calm you down, talk to the nurse, anesthesiologist, or your surgeon. I always get a little valium cocktail before being wheeled back. It helps tremendously.

I eat like any other normal person does, and have for months. I no longer take tiny bites. I eat the same amounts that I've been eating for the last few months. The only difference is that I have to eat more meals per day to maintain my weight. If I were to stick to the sleeve rules, I'd continue to lose. I've tested this theory a couple of times by eating my 4 meals with no more than 1000 calories, no more than 40gr of carbs, and I always lose 2-4 pounds. My steak is cut up into normal bites, and I chew them regularly, no longer to mush. I do still eat slowly, but that's because I feel like I don't eat much, and I still love food. I'm not hungry, but food still tastes amazing. That feeling you're explaining is your full signal pretty much. I don't know how fast you are eating, but try stretching your meal out over 20 minutes even if it means waiting 2-4 minutes in between bites this will help avoid that gassy, pressure. Also, early out I realized if I ate and talked a lot during my meal, I had that uncomfortable feeling. I really didn't have the problem of over-serving myself. The reason I didn't experience that is because I measured my portions. It happens occasionally now, but I can eyeball my portions and be pretty dead on with what I can and can't eat in one sitting. Everything you are experiencing is normal, and it gets better every month. By my 6th month post-op, life was fairly normal. I still had some trial and error, but for the most part, I think things have been pretty smooth sailing for the last few months.

The fundus would not be dissected properly if they just removed that portion of the stomach. The bougie is just a guide.

It's been so long that it's difficult to remember what I tried first, but I stuck to pretty basic stuff. I can remember one of the first things I was excited to try was beef broccoli from the local chinese place. I was able to eat an entire 2 pieces of the beef, and I sip down a bunch of the sauce. It was heaven. I stayed on mushed/pureed/soft solids for a long time because that stuff just worked better for a couple of months. I was still able to get in all of my Protein, but I struggled with solid, dense protein for awhile. My recommendation is when you introduce a new food only do it one food at a time. You may find some things just don't work. If you try too many different things at once and don't tolerate something, it may prove difficult to identify what caused the sleeve to be upset. I only tried one new food type per day. Don't get too discouraged if something doesn't settle. Just put it on the list to try later. Some things I tried early out didn't work for a couple of month, and then I would try them again with success. Good luck, take it slow, and enjoy.

Yeppers, I actually 2 of them through the course of the night. I danced, jammed out, enjoyed the entire night. Alcohol doesn't really hit me hard anymore. If I just kind of nurse the drinks, I end up feeling just a little buzzed. Those pitchers were not full to the top, they were half full, and had a lot of ice. It literally took me 7 hours to drink 2 of them. I rarely get drunk off a few drinks. Plus, I ate before I left, and once I was there, I had some Snacks in my pockets LOL. I always carry some sort of snack with me, it helps keep things on an even kilter, and keeps my energy up. Carolyn - you should be so proud of yourself. . . I think you look fabulous ! ! !

I'm not in my 50's, but my wrinkles are more pronounced with my loss. I will be getting botox in the near future, and have found a good product for the neck. The Garnier Gravity Defying moisturizer really does work. I've been using it for 2 months, and have seen a lot of tightening for the neck area. My turkey neck wasn't bad, but it bothered me. I always had forehead wrinkles, but my crows feet and fine lines around my eyes are definitely more noticeable. I'm extremely vain, and will have the wrinkles fixed. I'll wait until I'm older to have a face lift, but I'm a nip/tuck advocate.

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Last year sometime, I read an article stating that 60-70% of the contestants gain back more than 80% of the weight lost while participating in the competition. For me, it's not realistic for me to be in the gym for 6-8 hours a day, everyday. Consuming 3-5K calories to compensate for the burning of calories, it's just not realistic.

I've had both, and can tell you that the sleeve is far superior over the band. You're right about the fills and unfills, they're expensive, inconvenient, and overall just a pain in the butt. Here's some information for you on the most recent statistics that have been published directly from the band manufacturer. In a nutshell, 1 in 4 band patients will have another surgery to repair, replace, remove or revise with the band. The band has the lowest and slowest weight loss of any of the surgeries. At the very bottom, you will find some links on VSG. There is one of the 5 yr studies with very promising results. Also, remember the VSG has been done for a long time as part of the duodenal switch procedure. It is the first stage, and some patients never had to go back for the 2nd procedure due to remarkable weight loss with VSG alone. I lost 141 pounds with VSG alone in less a year. I have zero food intolerances, food doesn't get stuck, no pain from the port, overall, the sleeve is just effortless. I just passed my 1 yr post op mark, and I can tell you that I am living fabulous life. You're also correct that the sleeve is straight forward, and the long term complications are minimal. Best wishes in your research, and if you have any specific questions, feel free to contact me.

Whew, what a journey. It was hard for me to wrap my head around the idea of eating "normal" foods since the band was so finicky and I had to keep certain things out of my mouth or pay the price. I'm a year out with the sleeve now, and I eat regular bread, it doesn't even have to be toasted. I eat flour tortillas, it's a tiny bite here and there, but finally tortillas don't get stuck or give me issues. I can eat salads and raw veggies, and with the band it was pretty much impossible to eat a balanced, healthy diet. Over time, food is just easier, and there is no more obsessing over "holy crap, is this food going to go down and stay down?" As far as how you will lose, it'll be sketchy at first. At least that's my experience, I hit goal at 6.5 months out. I continued to lose to 28lbs below goal, but in a healthy weight for my height. I'm finally maintaining at this point, and it seems my body is comfortable around 121-125lbs. I have purposely tried to gain by eating more carbs and calories, but my body just doesn't gaining. I was happy at 150, today at 122lbs, apparently my body is happy and really doesn't care that I want to be 135ish. My best friend for about 4 months was my nutritionist. I called her frequently because I just couldn't get the maintenance thing figured out. Use those resources if they are available to you. I found my nut to be a lifeline for me, and I know I'd be lost without some of the other vets that have already been through this part of the journey. Best wishes, and if you need anything feel free to post away. We'll be here for you.

Angie, I just wanna make you smile so here's a little story. You've already received great advice. Smile, your kids love you. The kids that know better are the ones that typically have parents with the same behavior patterns.