ouroborous

Bingo. I think that a relative telling you they're worried about you when you lose a lot of weight is literally hard-wired in. In normal individuals (whose stomach had not been cut and stabled down to the size of a banana), losing weight as rapidly as we sleevers do would be an indication of SERIOUS illness. In us, conversely, it's often a sign of a return to health. We can't help feeling alarmed by weight loss in others because it's hard-wired into our brains; our evolution hasn't even caught up with our eating patterns (which is why we're all so obese -- modern life provides an abundance of calorie dense foods and little daily opportunity for movement). It's unlikely that we'll be able to have a more "evolved" reaction to weight loss surgery any time in the next, say, ten thousand years. Tiffykins, you look great, to reiterate what all the others have said. Your pictures show you looking slim and happy, your eyes are not sunken nor your complexion sallow. Your mood seems very positive (depression is often an overlooked sign of illness), and your lab work indicates general health. I would just thank folks for their concern and assure them that you're as healthy as you've ever been (if not healthier).

I'm not a lady, but I'm looking forward to not crushing my girlfriend once I've dropped the weight. Also, since guys tend to be the more... uh, ACTIVE ones during sex, I'm looking forward to not feeling like I'm going to have a heart attack mid-coitus. That's a bit of a buzz kill...

Well, I meet with the surgeon and nutritionist on Tuesday (the 20th) for my final appointment and my nutrition counseling for my 2 week pre-op diet. That's also when I cough up the money (I'm a self-pay). So... it's all starting to become REAL. I'm getting a serious case of cold feet. I'm still going to do it. I HAVE to do it. But I'm starting to get nervous...

From what I understand, higher BMI's tend to lose faster than lower BMI's (more to lose). Also, men tend to lose faster than women (I know, it's not fair). I've seen a pretty consistent trend for men of 40-50 pounds in about six weeks. Of course, your mileage almost certainly will vary. As one of the Y-chromosome challenged set, you may lose a little slower, but I still wouldn't be surprised if you were able to drop 20-40 pounds in a month.

Okay, thanks for that. I know I worry too much! But I try to soothe my anxiety with information. I'm going to see Dr. Landerholm on the 20th for my final appointment pre-op (and to get my nutrition info for the pre-op diet). I'll ask him about leak tests, since I'm curious. I think he mentioned that he does something with the staples that makes leaks less likely (more lines of bigger staples?).

Yeah, I'm planning on having to use my head to judge my food needs after surgery. As in, I'll have to set alarms and schedules to make sure I eat enough and drink enough. That was what I was expecting and signed up for. I just got nervous seeing a bunch of people saying they were always hungry. That sounded (to me) like my experience with dieting, and pretty much a recipe for noncompliance.

So wait, how common is this "hungry all the time" feeling? One of the things that really sold me on the sleeve was all the people saying "you're never hungry!" And yet it's sounding like a portion of patients have the opposite: they're hungry ALL the time. That does NOT sound like such an ideal situation to me. Anyone know?

Does anyone know why a surgeon would/wouldn't emplace a drain as part of a lap sleeve surgery? Just curious. As far as I know, my Dr. (Dr. Robert Landerholm, Edmonds, WA) doesn't. I want to make sure this isn't something to worry about. Thanks in advance :wink0:

So, I shouldn't give up hope of getting off the CPAP machine, but I shouldn't count on it. Sounds about like what I was expecting. Thanks, all!

Congratulations, brother. I am yet to be sleeved, so I don't know the rules on Peanut Butter. I seem to recall my girlfriend (who is also sleeved) eating it (in small amounts, of course), but I'm not sure. Of course, I'd take the advice of your doctor over some yahoo on the internet, any day!

Anyone know how common it is for sleep apnea to resolve (IE, be "cured") after WLS? I've heard WILDLY varying statistics, from "it never goes away, it just gets better" to "80% of patients who get the sleeve don't need the CPAP anymore." I'm guessing that the real answer is somewhere in between the two, but I don't want to just get my hopes up based on wishful thinking. Anyone know any hard numbers?

Yeah, that's the tactic I'm taking also. Of course, anxiety isn't rational, so even after "talking myself down" it can pop back up later, but it helps when I need it. I'm hoping that as my health improves post-surgery, my mood will improve as well!

I'm not the doctor, but I'll chime in: leak rate and infection rate. Overall complication rate (complications happen, but a good surgeon should have a lower complication rate).

On smoking, I'm happy to say that I've never smoked and never will. This isn't a self-righteous thing -- it's self-preservation. My sister has smoked since I was very young, and I've watched her try -- and fail -- to quit again and again, for our entire lives. Now that we're both grown up (well, pushing middle age, really) I can really tell that she's a smoker -- instead of her actual age, 6 years older than me, she looks about 20 years older than me. And she's struggling with emphysema and early heart disease. And she's YOUNG (46). As to sex, well... if I had a sex life, that would be a fun habit. Who knows, maybe if I lose the weight the libido will kick in (as a man, it's no fun to be libido-less... women just assume that all men are horn-dogs all the time, and the ten thousandth time you have to explain that "it's not you, it's me" really stops being fun). I'm HOPING that my new addiction will be exercise and treating my newly-sleeved body with the respect and care that I've denied it for 39 years.

Well I'm probably going to try to walk it, but I'm also going to try to stack the deck and get a temporary disabled permit like MINI-me suggested.

You should consider allergy shots if your allergies are that bad. The shots are apparently not too fun, but they WORK.

I have GERD and my surgeon has scheduled me for surgery on May 6th. So, no, it's not a limiter. I am lucky in that I had no damage from the GERD -- your mileage may vary; if in doubt, your doctor should schedule an EGD.

That's a REALLY good idea. If my surgeon is willing to write that letter, do you know where I go for the actual handicapped tags? The DMV/DOL?

Counting calories is not as useful as counting carbs. Carbs (simple carbs) do things that REALLY mess with our blood chemistry. I've had a couple of doctors and at least one nutritionist tell me that "simple refined carbs are the downfall of western civilization," and I think I believe them! As to weight loss "plateaus," from what I understand they are normal and usually temporary. You have to trust the process and just keep doing what you should, and supposedly you'll get to losing again in no time. Women in particular can have hormonal shifts that can offset weight loss with Water weight to the tune of several pounds. The moral of the story: do what you're supposed to do (eat modest portions, eat your Protein first, stay hydrated, exercise) and don't obsess over the scale. You WILL lose the weight.

Thanks, Faith! I think I'll give it a try. Better to start with the attitude that I "might" be able to do it than I "can't" do it, right? Worst case scenario is it takes me a lot longer!

Yeah, I've got the pale white skin too, sadly. On the positive side, I have never smoked (which, from what I hear, is just devastating to skin health) and I'm careful to avoid too much sun exposure. I'm hoping that that MIGHT see me through... Well, we'll see. I'm not even sleeved yet, so it's probably way too early for me to worry about this!

Anyone on here have any problems with dermatitis? I've been diagnosed with sebhorreic dermatitis. Basically, there are a few specific Patches of my skin that get REALLY dry and flaky once in a while (the top of my ear where it attaches to my head, the skin at the top of my eye sockets, and a couple other little tiny patches). It's not dry skin, according to my doctor, it's really an auto-immune situation where my body attacks my own skin. Right now, fortunately, it's not disfiguring (I'm not scarred or anything) and is still just confined to a few areas. From what I can tell, my skin is good when my body is happy, well fed and well rested (in fact, I can almost predict when I'll have good skin by when I have rough nights with my sleep apnea). One thing I'm hoping is that as I lose weight and get healthier, my dermatitis (which is embarrassing and unsightly) will calm down and not be such a problem. However, I know that surgery is a major stress on the body (hence the hair loss; fortunately I shave my head so that may not be as much of a problem!). I was wondering if anyone else deals with this issue, and what your experiences were post-surgery. Should I expect a MAJOR flare-up of itchy, dry, flaky skin? I can deal with it if it happens, but I'm hoping I won't have to...

I was thinking about my post-op recovery this morning, and I realized something. I am scheduled for surgery on a Thursday. I'm off work that day and the next, and then I have the weekend. So for that time, I have nothing I'm supposed to be doing except my immediate recovery. For the next week, I'm working from home (as a programmer, I'm lucky enough to be able to do that occasionally). However, the week after that, I'm back to work. From what I understand, I should be pretty much mentally back in the game within a few days, it will just be physically challenging for me. Thinking back on my girlfriend's recovery from lap sleeve (she was sleeved last November), she was REALLY tired and unable to walk long distances for quite a while... nearly a month. Where I park is about a half mile -- up a steep hill -- from where I work. Am I going to have a problem hoofing it up this steep hill a week and a half after my surgery? Will I have enough stamina for this? I'm brainstorming alternatives if it's a problem. I'm not sure if my boss will let me extend my "work from home" duration, so if the hill climb is too much, maybe I can carpool or something. I was just curious what your experiences of your stamina were about a week to a week and a half after surgery. Am I setting myself up for failure?

Does anyone know how this gas "gets out?" I've been wondering about this for a while... since it's in your abdominal cavity (not in your digestive tract), I have been wondering where it "goes"...

I use Flonase (generic) every day. Aside from the smell (which, up your nose, is pretty strong!) it's great. It REALLY helps with my allergies; that plus Claritin and I can pretty much ignore allergy season (when before it used to just kill me). Even so, I'm considering getting allergy shots. I'd love to be done with allergies!