SleevePlicationTalk Contest & Newsletter 05/16/2012

Hey, Sleevesters! Another couple of weeks have passed, and it’s time for another update from SleevePlicationTalk.com. This is the newsletter that keeps you current on the latest happenings around the forums and gives you the extra motivation to participate in the discussions and stay on track with your healthy lifestyle.

Our first newsletter was a great success, and our second newsletter is just as exciting. Here’s a taste of what’s to come in this newsletter:

• Official start of our iPod Giveaway contest to celebrate the recent launch of the SleevePlicationTalk apps (and how you can improve your chances of winning).

• A few tricks to finding what you need in the forums.

• An article from Bariatric Times that suggests that sleeve plication may be the way to go!

• Description of our new feature to be a regular part of future newsletters: SleevePlicationTalk Member Spotlight.

• And the first SleevePlicationTalk News Challenge. Don’t worry – it’s not too hard, and you’ll be so glad you took the Challenge!

Please send along your feedback and comments on the SleevePlicationTalk.com News and anything else SleevePlicationTalk.com. It is always such a pleasure to hear from you! Take care of yourselves and each other.

Sincerely,

Alex Brecher

Founder and President

WLSBoards.com

The iPod Touch Contest is On!

SleevePlicationTalk.com Apps

You never have to be without SleevePlicationTalk.com again if you have the SleevePlicationTalk iPhone, iPad and iPod app. These free apps are fully functional, so you can do everything you love to do on the forums. Be notified when your favorite threads are updated, PM your friends and post to your heart’s content. And speaking of posting more…increase your chances of winning the free iPod Touch with more posts! Keep reading…

Contest Summary

To celebrate the launch of our new apps, a lucky winner will win a free iPod Touch! The contest officially started on May 2. For the next 30 days, through May 31, you can improve your chances of winning by participating more in SleevePlicationTalk.com. The more points you earn during the contest, the better your chances of winning. You can find out the details of the contest in the first SleevePlicationTalk.com newsletter, and here’s a quick review of the point structure.

• 1 to 2 points for each forum post

• 5 points for joining a group

• 10 Points for uploading photos or completing My Surgery, My Surgeon or My Roux-en-Y Story

• 20 points for each friend referral to the forum – we want more members around!

• 40 points for having a complete patient profile

Remember, to be entered in the contest, you must:

• make at least one post on any forum on SleevevPlicationTalk.com before May 31

• have a completed patient profile

Get Your Questions Answered!

With thousands of members and counting, SleevePlicationTalk.com has a lot of information for you. Your fellow SleevePlicationTalk members are here to support you and offer their advice when you need it. These are a few ways to get answers to your questions.

• Sometimes you have such a basic question that you’re sure everyone must have the same question – but you just don’t know the answer! Try the Pre-Surgery Questions and Post-Surgery Questions forums for common questions about preparing for and recovering from surgery, and what to expect.

• Use keywords to search the forums from the box in the upper right-hand corner of any page of SleevePlicationTalk.com. An advanced search lets you enter search terms and narrow by forum topic, date and poster. You can get to an advanced search from this link or from the wheel to the right of the regular search page.

• If you don’t see the question and answer you need, start your own thread. Please follow the community rules and guidelines. They’re pretty simple, and they help keep threads polite, friendly, supportive and helpful. Remember to use a descriptive title so others will know what the thread is about. You can sign up to receive updates on the thread by clicking on the orange box at the top right of the first post. That way, you’ll always know when someone’s answering your question.

SleevePlication is Still New, and It’s Looking Promising

SleevePlication: How is It Doing?

Gastric Sleeve Plication, or Gastroplication, is pretty new. It’s only been around for about 10 years. Bariatric Times, the journal dedicated to bringing you the latest research on weight loss surgeries, published an article on gastroplication. Researchers followed the weight loss journeys of 62 patients who had a laparoscopic greater curvature plication surgery. Here’s how it went:

• All surgeries were laparoscopic, and the average surgery time was less than an hour.

• No serious complications occurred. In fact, gastroplication is among the safest weight loss procedures.

• Side effects, such as nausea, vomiting and steatorrhea, occurred in less than one-third of patients, and lasted for less than two weeks.

And what you really want to know…how much weight did they lose on average?

• 20% of excess body weight at one month

• 32% of excess body weight at three months

• 48% of excess body weight at six months

• 60% of excess body weight at 12 months

• 61 percent of excess body weight lost after two years.

Gastroplication can help reduce heartburn from acid reflux. The procedure reduces your body’s production of ghrelin, which is a hormone that increases your hunger. And, sleeve plication is usually laparoscopic, so it is safer and recovery is easier than invasive surgery. A healthy diet, regular exercise program and frequent participation in SleevePlicationTalk.com for can help you achieve the same results as the patients in the Bariatric Times study.

Coming Soon: Member Spotlights!

Keep your eyes peeled for member spotlights. Each SleevePlicationTalk.com newsletter that comes out from now on will feature a different member. You’ll get to read about our honorees’ Sleeve Plication journeys, their personal interests, their struggles and triumphs and their advice for you.

Who will be our highlighted members?

Nominate Yourself or a Friend

If you want to be highlighted, nominate yourself in the feedback forum. Also let us know in the feedback forum if you know someone that you would like to nominate for the spotlight. We also welcome your suggestions on general types of people you’d like to see highlighted, such as women, fathers, Latino Sleevesters or people from your region. Let us know!

Or, Hope to be Discovered!

Occasionally, we’ll choose a SleevePlicationTalk.com member to be highlighted. This may be someone who’s been especially inspirational to others or who has gone above and beyond the call of duty in being a pillar of support in the forums. We hope that you let us know if you see someone like this who deserves the recognition!

First SleevePlicationTalk.com Newsletter Challenge!

What is the SleevePlicationTalk.com Newsletter Challenge?

The Sleevester Challenge is just what it sounds like. We suggest a challenge for you to do over the next couple of weeks. Pretty much anything is fair play as long as it helps you or someone else get healthier. We may ask you to try a new food, change up your exercise routine or lend someone a helping hand. There’s no pass-fail on this, and we encourage you to try again and again until you are confident that you’ve met the challenge.

This Newsletter’s Challenge

As promised, here’s the first challenge. Within the next two weeks, your challenge is to try a new recipe that you have never tried before. It needs to be healthy, of course, and fit into your meal plan. A good way to start is to look online for recipes, try a new ingredient or use a different combination of spices. Good luck, and tell us how it goes in the Sleevester Challenge Forum! The forum is a good place to help out anyone else who needs ideas for a new recipe.

A Few Reminders

• In case you missed it or want to reread it, the first edition of SleevePlicationTalk.com News is here.

• Celebrate an upcoming surgery or surgery anniversary with other members!

• Help distribute our ready-to-print fliers throughout your surgeon’s clinic so that your surgeon and other patients can join SleevePlicationTalk.com.

• Use our surgeon database to find a surgeon near you and read reviews of surgeons in your region.

Well, that’s about it for this week. Thanks to everyone for your participation in SleevePlicationTalk.com. Always feel free to let me know what you’re thinking. See you on the boards!

Sincerely,

Alex