Tiffykins

You've done amazing, and your smile speaks volumes ! ! ! Many congrats on your success.

Yeppers, I am literally half the size I used to be. Those are a pair of slacks from a store called Cato. Size 24W, I am standing in one leg, both of my legs are in one pant leg of those pants. My kiddo couldn't quit laughing when he took the pic cause he said that he couldn't remember me that big. That's why the pic is a bit blurry, he was moving a little when he snapped the pic LOL LOL.

Many congrats on passing the leak test. I know you must be feeling a lot better. Take care of yourself, and please keep us posted.

I am so sorry you are experiencing all of this. I hope you feel better soon, and the vomiting stops. I hate Carafate with a passion, and think it hurt me more than it helped when I took it a few years ago. Getting dehydrated can cause nausea and pain, so monitor your hydration closely, and go to the ER if you continue to have issues.

Many congrats Jack. Glad to hear you are home and recovering nicely ! ! !

I agree with DeeDee. I learn something new every week, if not every day. I don't make the best choices, but it's not hard to get back on track. You're doing great, and I know how you feel right before TOM. I go on a junk food rampage, and I feel like crap because of it. Stay positive, and remember you're doing great.

Rob, I'm super stoked for you. Enjoy your enchiladas, and know we're all cheering for you ! ! !

Hi Brian, Here is some information on the band from the band manufacturer. 1 in 4 band patients will need another surgery due to complications such as a slip, erosion, or mechanical failure. The band has the slowest and lowest weight loss. You will not have restriction until you get enough fills to hit the "sweet spot" which is sometimes never hit. Many fills and unfills are typically needed to give you restriction and to ensure you are not too tight which causes an entire slew of other problems by being too tight. The band has a lot of food restrictions. Band info from lapband manufacturer Here are some research links on the sleeve that you may find interesting LapSf Study that I swiped from MacMadame's profile LapSF Educational presentation to FACS - includes some 2 year results LapSF Two Year Study LapSF Five Year Study - abstract only LapSF Five Year Study - presentation (requires Windows to play) Literature review on the sleeve - requires $$ to get the full text unfortunately Sleeve best for over 50 crowd Video of a sleeve with lots of education discussion Video of a sleeve that is more about the operation Ghrelin levels after RnY and sleeve Ghrelin levels after band and sleeve Diabetes resolution in RnY vs. Sleeve Comparison of band to sleeve - literature review Updated statement from the ASMBS on the sleeve with some study results. http://www.asmbs.org/Newsite07/resources/Updated_Position_Statement_on_Sleeve_Gastrectomy.pdf Now onto why the sleeve is better than the sleeve: No food or medication restriction You retain a normal functioning stomach unlike the band that gives you a pouch. The sleeve gives most patients removal of hunger by removing the large portion(fundus) of the stomach where the hunger hormone Ghrelin is produced. Now, Ghrelin is produced in the pancreas as well, but Ghrelin is greatly reduced by having the sleeve. I'm 11 months out and I still have never experience true hunger, or stomach growling. I still have to remember to eat. No maintenance with the sleeve. No fills, or unfills. Immediate restriction. The long term complications of the sleeve are pretty non-existent with the band as you can see from the above information can be pretty extensive. The band is the "safest" operation for procedural purposes. But, the complications that are found with the band within the first few years outweigh it being the safest operation. The highest risk with the sleeve is a staple line leak. An experienced surgeon, and your compliance with the post-op diet prescribed by your surgeon decreases your risk substantially. Some people think having 75-85% of our stomachs removed is scary, or unthinkable. But, believe me, I don't miss that huge part of my stomach. I eat anything and everything I want, I enjoy a healthy, balanced diet, and do not feel like I'm dieting like I did with the band. The band did not reduce my hunger, yes I got full when I ate, then the food would slip through, and I'd be hungry again. Once the restriction was gone, I was hungry all the time again. The band is not reversible in my opinion. It can be removed, replaced, or you can revise to another surgery. But, once that band is around your stomach, your anatomy is forever changed. I hope this helps, and if you have any other specific questions, feel free to ask or shoot me a message.

I had a flipped port from very early out of my band surgery. It eventually became inaccessible, and encased in scar tissue. It actually migrated a little in my abdomen before the scar tissue grabbed it. I had pain from 6-8 daily, couldn't bend over my washer, could barely bend at the waist. It was causing the tubing to tug on my actual band that was wrapped around my stomach. Hence all the complications I had with the band and my revision. It could be a number of things, but in my experience when I would have major discomfort or pain, it was from the scar tissue being pulled, or stretched. Best wishes on your revision. I love the sleeve, and am so glad to be rid of the band.

You can use full liquids if your body isn't ready for mushy foods. Don't force it or you'll feel worse. I wasn't allowed Snacks. 4 meals a day consisting of 15 grams of Protein per meal per day. I couldn't get my protein in until I hit mushies, but the 4 meal thing works.

Perfectly normal, and it will last for a couple of weeks while your body is adjusting to burning fat instead of the glucose from the carbs our bodies are used to getting. Listerine breath strips and a tongue scraper help. Once you get past the surgery, and onto full liquids when you can get in some creamy Soups, milk, it will ease up.

Awww "out of the mouth of babes" ! ! ! This one made me giggle, and kind get nostalgic. I remember all the cute things kid say, and they always have a way to bring us up when we really need it. Congrats ! ! !

Rose, I hope you hear something soon. The Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy procedure (also called Sleeve Gastrectomy, Vertical Gastrectomy, Greater Curvature Gastrectomy, Parietal Gastrectomy, Gastric Reduction, Logitudinal Gastrectomy and even Vertical Gastroplasty) are all the same surgery. Keep us posted, and let us know if we can help in any possible way.

You could be getting into the beginning of ketosis. Is it kind of a metallic taste in your mouth? Once you get into ketosis, your breath, urine odor and even body odor can worsen, or become different.

Yeppers, all of them are describing the same exact procedure.

Here are some links of appeal letters and stories to help guide you in getting your appeal letter together. One common thing that a lot of appeals are won on is the fact that we can take NSAIDS. RNY patients can not due to the ulcer issue. These appeal letters already have all the research links and articles cited within them. So you may have to copy and paste, change the wording around to fit your specific needs, but these are some pretty awesome letters. Some of these patients have won some of them have not been able to. The Diary of a Fat Woman: Deny Deny Deny! http://verticalsleevetalk.com/pre-operation-vertical-sleeve-surgery-vsg-questions-answers/1751-unapproved-sleeve-ready-cry-2.html#post17480 vsgappeal: Appeal Letter http://verticalsleevetalk.com/insurance-financing/1496-my-appeal-draft-w-references.html#post14133 ObesityHelp.com - Insurance trouble Here is the most recent updated statement from the ASMBS on the VSG. http://www.asmbs.org/Newsite07/resources/Updated_Position_Statement_on_Sleeve_Gastrectomy.pdf Page 5 has some amazing articles for further research to help you with your appeal letter. I personally did not have to deal with this, but I try to give people dealing with appeals the information I've gathered over the last year or so.

My surgeon does not play into the entire "soda stretches our stomachs". The portion of the stomach that is left behind is extremely muscular. That is as long as the surgeon dissects the fundus completely, and has good technique. His explanation went something like this ' okay, any liquid goes in, hits the pyloric valve and goes through. It isn't like it's in there sitting around bubbly, if you decide to have some, you're going to drink, burp, it's over." Also, 80-85% of absorption of calories/nutrients occurs in the intestines. So, liquid goes through pretty quickly to get to the intestines. My program and many others do not require patients to stop drinking 30 minutes before eating because of the same reasons. liquids don't sit in our stomachs. We do need to not drink for at least 30 minutes after eating because it can liquefy the food, or there isn't room for the liquid once we get to solid foods. My surgeon specifically told me that sodas, and alcohol are wasted, empty calories so to avoid them until I was close to goal. I did just that, and now I drink soda weekly and have been for about 4-5 months. I was scoped early February, and my sleeve looks amazing, and is not stretched, or damaged due to my soda drinking. Not saying that it's "okay" just because I do it. I believe in following your own surgeon's guidelines, but it's one of the little tidbits that many surgeons disagree on, and there's not any published studies that can back up the assumption that soda will/can stretch our stomachs.

That is awesome you got another sleep study. Definitely keep us posted. I hate that insurance companies only "recognize" certain co-morbidities. I want to scream "Hey, a$$wipes, all of them can kill us, why be picky about the ones we're allowed to have." Sorry, it's one of my pet peeves. I've my fingers and toes crossed for you ! ! !

You're awesome chickee ! ! ! They haven't given any info on the beaches down here for the oil crisis long term. They have put out a bunch of fiberglass boon things that are supposed to soak up the oil. It's kind of scary. I missed the local news last night because we were at a little league baseball game. I'm super proud of you and all your success ! ! !

I hated the mushy stage as well. But, I had to stay on it longer because I couldn't tolerate a lot of dense Protein. I wouldn't say you're cheating anything, but there maybe some better options for you. For me, I think the post-op diet gave me the necessary "tools" to beat the food demons I had. If I would have cheated during that time, I honestly feel like I would have set myself up for bigger cheats once I got to the normal food stage, and would have not been able to stay on track. I wouldn't have been able to beat the cycle of snacking. I had to change the way I thought about food, and had to make sure I got in all my protein and wanted to be as diligent as possible to give me the best results. I hope that makes sense. I love crunchy, salty. I ate a lot of chicken salad during the mushy/soft food stage. I even went so far to grill a chicken breast, and then shred it up to make the chicken salad. The little crispy pieces of the chicken did have to be chewed more, but it gave me some texture. Really, we have to get creative. Once I was able to add in more carbs to my diet, I would have reduced fat wheat things or triscuits. I would scoop the chicken/tuna/egg salad on them, and I could only eat a couple, but it gave me the crunch that I mentally needed to feel satisfied. If you like cheese, I have this great little recipe, it really helps with the crunch. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (ovens vary so watch these carefully, it will only take 5-6 minutes) Ingredients: 1-2 cups of fresh grated hard parmesan, asiago, or romano cheese. Grate it yourself, don't buy the pre-grated stuff, it's not as fresh. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and spray very lightly with non-stick cooking spray(I use the Pam olive oil spray). Pile 1 to 4 Tablespoons of cheese (depending on the size you want) on the baking sheet. Flatten the tops so they are in more or less an even pile. There should be at least two inches between smaller mounds, 4 inches between larger ones. Bake 5 to 6 minutes until they are a light golden brown (they will be a little darker at the edges). It happens fast, so watch carefully. You can add any spices that you enjoy. I have added garlic powder (about 1-2tsp per cup of cheese used), I also like the lemon pepper seasoning, creole seasoning, and even cinnamon with Asiago cheese and then eating them with a little whipped cream cheese. The cheese will be crispy, but you can pretty much get it to get a mush in your mouth. You can use any cheese, but hard cheese work the best. Soft cheeses will melt, but will not crisp up even half as much as the hard varieties. Cheddar, mozzarella and colby kind of get greasy, and mushy so try to stick with the hard cheese varieties. Gruyere, Smoked Gouda, and Swiss are nice hard cheeses, but I have not tried them with this recipe. Of course, not everyone is as strict with their carbs, and aren't really concerned with long term changes. For me, I had to make changes that I could live with for the rest of my life. I had to relearn food choices. It takes some time so don't beat yourself over the poptart. Just stock up on better choices to get you through the times when you need something.

I'll dig up some of my favorite recipes and shoot a message to you. Give me a couple days, and I'll gather all of them up with my substitutions to make it more sleeve friendly. You're doing really fabulous, and I think changing up some things in your diet will get you out of the obsessing stage. Also, do you have a crock pot and a George Foreman grill. I use my crock pot and George Foreman at least 5-6 nights a week. I rarely use a skillet anymore, and if I do it's to saute veggies, or aromatics for a casserole, or quick dish. I occasionally use the skillet when I am pressed for time, and I pan sear some veggies and a Protein, but I like quick, easy, throw together stuff that doesn't have me in the kitchen for me than 30 minutes for prep time. So, that's a plus to have the GFG and crock pot. I have quit buying boxed meals and that keeps me on my toes to come up with something that is appealing, and quick. I've thought about starting a blog on blogspot, but I'm just not sure. I think it would be fun, and a creative outlet for me. Plus, I can share stuff I find here and there for all aspects of life.

Dickson, I couldn't agree more with you. While I didn't have to go through a pathway because I was a revision patient, I found the support, and constant education vital in my recover and found it very comforting that I had so many resources at my fingertips to support me through this process. I absolutely love that we have the nut and psych and constant access to support groups, and major aftercare through the military hospitals. I know some people don't need or want it, but, in my opinion, we have a huge advantage in our journey due to the resources provided to us.

Kind of swim trunks for girls that are super comfy ! ! ! They make them in different lengths.