I had the sleeve 3 years ago and lost all of my weight. My brother, best friend, and uncle also had it and lost most of their weight.

But my poor mom had it over a year and a half ago and has only lost 20 pounds. (She has about 80 to go.)

She eats small portions, doesn't make terrible choices, etc. I don't understand.

Her doctor doesn't seem to care. He just said to get some blood work done (it was all normal). I get the feeling that it's just a mystery to him and he's more interested in getting more patients sleeved than in figuring out what's wrong with my mom.

She got her thyroid tested and it's on the low/normal side - but nothing that would explain this.

I haven't found anyone else with this issue on any of the forums.

If anyone has an idea about what to do, what to research, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know.

It's heartbreaking.

If anyone has a doctor to recommend that would be able to figure this out, she's located in Austin, Texas. Her doctor was in Dallas. I honestly wish she had gone to my doctor (Aceves in Mexico) because I know he would never rest until he knew what was wrong with her.

I would agree that she needs to have a complete work up. It must be so frustrating for her.

I live in Austin and would be happy to talk with your mom about my dr. Of course, I haven't had the surgery yet, but I believe him to be very good at what he does. You can contact me by e-mail if you like.

I am really concerned this may be the case. Do you happen to remember where you found those studies that reference the failure cases?

She doesn't really get hungry - about the same as me.

Thanks for the reply!

I found one for you here in the Research and Statistics forum under the topic "5 year study." It's an abstract of a small study of 26 patients and 3 needed gastric bypass after the sleeve due to failure to lose weight. I have read other studies where the failure rate is lower (11% is much higher than we even see reported here on VSTfrom individuals). I also read a couple on Obesity Help and at the public library, which had access to MedLine and all the surgical journals.

Maybe a malabsorption component would help your mom?

One more thing. I believe a "multiple prong approach" is what's going to get her the answer and in my opinion a therapist should be one of those components. We can be with someone for extended periods of time, but not 24 hours. She stops losing at around 30 pounds every time and that is something worth looking into physically and mentally. I wish you and your mom the best. Please keep us updated !!

One more thing. I believe a "multiple prong approach" is what's going to get her the answer and in my opinion a therapist should be one of those components. We can be with someone for extended periods of time, but not 24 hours. She stops losing at around 30 pounds every time and that is something worth looking into physically and mentally. I wish you and your mom the best. Please keep us updated !!

I was thinking the same thing. If it was a metabolic issue due to thyroid or something, she wouldn't have been able to lose the 30 lbs now or on previous diets. There is something else going on here and since it is your mother, it may be more difficult to see.

Maybe she can get an ink swallow with xrays here and send them to Dr Aceves and see what he thinks.

I would respectfully contact your mother's surgeon and ask for him to take this more seriously and that something is not right. Let him know that if he does not care enough about his patients or his reputation to explore this, you will take it to the Hospital board. A surgeons reputation is very important and you would think he would take it more seriously. If that does not get a response from him or the board does not do anything to help in the matter, I would post his name and the situation on every forum I could find. I would let him and the board know this. It is not to threaten them or to hurt their reputation, it is to get them to do their job and care for their patient like they should do in the first place.

I am not blaming the surgeon for this issue becuase we do not know the cause, just blaming them for not exploring the problem.

I agree with the earlier posts, the sleeve is a restriction tool but math is math. If you burn more calories than you take in, you will lose weight. It is possible that the surgeon did not create enough of a restriction and your mother is able to eat more than 4 oz of food. Like another poster said, if you eat bad things, you will not lose the weight. Keep us posted, I hope you find the answers.

my surgery was may/2012 pre op diet I lost 12 pounds, surgery day weight was 155 and current weight is 153......very frustrating, I follow my diet plan, eat my protein, exercise and I am not loosing......not gaining either tho thankfully. I am hungry all the time, and have alot of heartburn which I never had before. I too did all the blood work and physical with my primary care physician and there is nothing wrong with any of my levels including thyroid panel. I still follow the phases of my diet but see no results. I still wear the same size clothing and my measurements havent changed. My surgery was in Mexico too and I dont have insurance to do studies or follow up procedures........right now I feel as if I went through alot of pain and lost alot of money and hope because my sleeve isnt working at all

Your surgery weight was 155? What is your goal weight? I'm surprised that someone of your size with (probably) 20 excess lbs would subject themselves to such life altering surgery. dang !

I understand that my weight is not that high, but I had the lap band prior to the sleeve which I had to have removed because of an abscess, there was nothing wrong with the band but to keep it from causing problems my Dallas Tx surgeon deemed it necessary to be removed. I started out at over 200 pounds, I instantly started regaining after the removal. I am barely 5 feet tall. I am also 63 yrs old and was banded in 08, was at my goal weight of 115 pounds.

Wow, I would be so happy to be 150!

I know, but when you are at 115 and jump to 155 you would understand that I feel as big as I did at 200..........

ahh.... that makes sense now. You're 63? Drop dead gorgeous too! I guess what I would do is make sure you are following the high protein/low carb diet, not drinking with meals, tracking everything that goes into your mouth, and exercising (yeah, I talk a good talk but I should follow my own advice). With such a low BMI it is going to take you longer. Congrats on getting the sleeve and for the weightloss you've already accomplished !

You may just be in a stall. It can happen immediately post-op. I was about 3 weeks post-op when mine struck, and it lasted about 11 weeks. You'll know my now that not everyone has the same weight loss, and you'll also know that bnad-sleeve experiences are different. It seems like a lot of revisions have much slower loss the 2nd time around. I know I do.

I'll put more in blue below. I just wanted to point out that being fairly recelty post-op doesn't mean you aren't subject to stalls.

my surgery was may/2012 pre op diet I lost 12 pounds, surgery day weight was 155 and current weight is 153......very frustrating, I follow my diet plan, eat my Protein, exercise and I am not loosing......not gaining either tho thankfully. Sounds like you're only tracking weight. You might want to track measurements too. A lot of people who "stall" in pounds continue losing inches. This is the product of our body's Fluid levels. My stall was a "true" stall in that I lost neither inches nor pounds, so it can happen, and it can last a long time. I am hungry all the time, and have alot of heartburn which I never had before. What kind of protein do you eat? That makes a BIG difference inhunger levels. Are you taking a PPI? How often, and what dose? WHen do you experience the heartburn? (e.g. time of day, after meals, when laying down, etc.) That's one of the known side effects to this procedure, but it should be managed. I too did all the blood work and physical with my primary care physician and there is nothing wrong with any of my levels including thyroid panel. I still follow the phases of my diet but see no results. Sounds like a stall to me. I still wear the same size clothing and my measurements havent changed. There can be a lot of things going on with this and they're almost too many to get in to. Our bodies work in weird ways. I think I had to lose about 40% of my excess weight before my sizes changed (with the band). Probably a combination of my clothes having been stretched out, and the fact that initial large losses just aren't fat losses, and fat is the thing that's going to change the fit of our clothes. My surgery was in Mexico too and I dont have insurance to do studies or follow up procedures........right now I feel as if I went through alot of pain and lost alot of money and hope because my sleeve isnt working at all I still haven't read anything that indicates to me that your sleeve isn't working. But here's the best way to tell. Post your menu for the past 3 days, including portions. Then we'll know if your sleeve is working.

That's a bit of a misnomer. There really isn't any "work" for it to do or not do. It's just smaller. So by "work" I mean you are satiated with smaller quantities of food. Smaller will vary depending on your sleeve's capacity - we're all different there, too.

So share your menus, and we can help you from there. Include workout details. If you have it, also share the calorie/carb/protein/fat breakouts. We can fogure them for you if you don't have them, it's just a little quicker if you happen to.

thank you splatters! congrats to you too, looks like youre doing good!

I know my clothes arent stretched out.....lol........nothing I have fits anymore, I gave all my larger clothes away so I have to buy new ones!! I went from size 3/4 to a 12.......

I drink protein drinks and eat chicken for my daily protein (allergic to fish) and sometimes low fat yoguart, Drinks are crystal lite, water, goal is 64 oz most days I do make it.... I work nights so its harder because then Im up and down all day and dont get enough sleep. I eat unsweet jello and occassional unsweet popcicles, occasional salad with lowfat dressing or none,and low sodium soups. I can only eat small amounts which is expected, but then Im hungry.....catch 22. I dont over eat, never been nauseated or vomited.

Heartburn is when Im hungry, and sometimes after I eat, never when lying down tho.

Im a nurse so I do alot of walking, but, I also walk a mile daily at 3.5mph extra.

My tape measure doesnt show any changes nor does the scale.

Maybe its just my slow metabolizm, age, and smaller size, but I would expect something in 2 months. Im just so frustrated.