SIPS Patient 4 weeks Post Op. Need to talk to people who have been in the same boat. HELP!

[TheeThee82882 2]

HI Everyone-

I had SIPS surgery with a removal of my Lap Band about a month ago.

In the last week I have been experiencing a lot of vomiting which I was told wouldn't happen as frequently as my LAP Band.

I am wondering if its simply a diet adjustment. Maybe I am eating too fast? Maybe I can't tell when I am full? Maybe I advanced my diet too quickly?

I would love to talk to some people who have had SIPS so I can hear some experiences. Please!

[Postop 413]

Sorry to hear what's been going on.

Have you thought about going to the support group meeting at Lenox Hill? There's often a SIPS patient or two there. Maybe they could help you out.

.

[TheeThee82882 2]

I definitely will go to the support group but I unfortunately can't join tonight because of a work event that is mandatory. Next month for sure!

[Postop 413]

They meet on a Mon. & Thur.

Have you called Sharon?

[TheeThee82882 2]

When is the Monday support group?

I only knew of a Thursday group. I met with Sharon a few weeks back. I think its better now. I took much smaller bites and this weekend I didn't have much of an issue. I think I need to re-adjust to eating more slowly. Thanks!

[Postop 413]

Glad to hear it's a bit better. Here's the support group link.

[TheeThee82882 2]

This is so helpful. Thank you so much!

[Postop 413]

You're welcome. Maybe I'll see you there sometime.

[Mojo56 88]

Hi, I had a sips 13 months ago. I did have a period of throwing up sometimes if I over ate or ate to fast. I still eat small quantities but many times a day. Basically snacking all day. dinner is the least I eat. If I can help at all let me know. Good luck.....it's an awesome surgery.

[TheeThee82882 2]

Thanks Mojo56. It is good to " meet" another SIPS patient. Not that many I can find right now. I may pick your brain as things progress. So far I am down 27 lbs in the first month post Op. Which I consider pretty good! Another 60 or so to go before I reach my goal.

Definitely having a challenge knowing when I am full vs feeling sick. Trying to adjust to the eating slower (and taking smaller sips of liquid) than I ever did with my Lap Band. Sometimes are easier than others but I am sure its all part of the adjustment phase.

[Mojo56 88]

Keep up the good work, lots of stages to get thru

[SIPSGrammy 27]

This is normal if you are eating too much and too quickly, especially if you are not eating the right kinds of foods. I'm 6 months out.

[DingyDeb 7]

I just had sips Dec 18th, revision from sleeve I got in 2008. I didn't have any issues when I got the sleeve but noticed if I eat hamburger it sits like a rock in my stomach. They didn't do anything to my stomach so guessing it could be still a little swelling or something at the connection below my stomach. I am mostly eating soft things like I should though, but had to have a bite of a meatball one night. I am more worried that i'm not going to lose. I was supposed to get the DS and I woke up with the sips instead and no idea they were doing that surgery at that hospital. Now that I had my rant with the surgeon i'm just moving on. I'll be happy to get under 200 or even to 180, only lost 70lbs with the sleeve. I'm 264 right now, 274 surgery day. But consider that from eating liquid diet. Keeping fingers crossed and glad I found a place with sips people.

[Peggy D 124]

The last time I lost a significant amount of weight was on the Adkin's diet when I was 23. I went from 201 down to 163, a loss of 38 pounds, & actually kept it off for a couple of years. Over the years I gradually gained until I hit my high of 314 after I quit smoking 4+ years ago. I gained about 10-11 pounds over 6 months & then lost that over the next 6 months without even trying. Then I was back to about 303-304 pounds where I had stabilized for several years. I had gone back on the Adkin's diet many times over the years. I had also tried the liquid "pre-digested protein" back in the early 1980s & Nutri-System in 1990-91. At the most I would lose 10 pounds & then stall.

My surgeon did say he thought the duodenal switch would give me the best results for my type 2 diabetes but I said I didn’t want anything to do with malabsorption & he was fine with that. I did have the gastric sleeve done on 8-22-2013. My weight the day before surgery was 259, a loss of 44 pounds in 4 months pre-op. Over the next 5 months or so I lost about 33 pounds & then I stalled. Nothing would break the stall. I did lose another 5 pounds over the next 10 months. On 12-8-2014 I had a panniculectomy where my surgeon removed 15 pounds (!) of excess skin & fat. This was covered by insurance since I had documentation of recurring severe rashes under the "apron."

I did hit a low of 201 pounds about two months after the panniculectomy but that was very briefly & I gradually regained to 219. My BMI was still just over 35 & I still have the co-morbidities, although markedly improved, that I did when I started. I can’t say the sleeve didn’t work. After all, I was down 84 pounds from my starting weight & 95 pounds from my highest weight. When they say patients lose an average of 65% of their excess weight, there are many on both sides of that average. I’m just one of the lower percentage people. My age & length of time I've had type 2 diabetes are probably the main reasons I hadn't lost as much weight as I had hoped.

So, after much consideration I have decided to have the duodenal switch as my surgeon originally suggested. The major malabsorption of the classic duodenal switch still scares me so I had decided to ask Dr Srikanth if he would do a longer common channel when I learned of the single anastomosis duodenal switch which has an even longer common channel. He & I have agreed on a 300 cm common channel which is an amount of malabsorption I am comfortable with.

The pre-op testing revealed that the upper portion of my sleeve has dilated so he re-sleeved that at the same time as the switch. I asked about the sleeve dilating &, apparently, that is normal. It's what our stomachs are made to do. It's the upper portion of the sleeve that will dilate. A gastric sleeve procedure removes a lot, maybe most, of that stretchable portion, but there is still some.

It was a lot of work, getting all of the testing & an updated psych evaluation done, but I got them done in a week & got insurance approval a week after that. So I was able to get my surgery done before the end of the year, on December 29. I was even able to lose 10 pounds in the three weeks before surgery, most on the dreaded Clear liquids. I had a revision of the sleeve, the single-anastomosis duodenal switch & repair of a hiatal hernia. Recovery has not been as smooth as it was for the original sleeve but I'm making progress, probably faster than a lot of patients undergoing the same procedure. I think the hiatal hernia repair has cause the most discomfort. I had a lot of gas pains under my diaphragm & spasms of pain running across my diaphragm every time I swallowed. But that is better & I rarely take even acetaminophen for pain, just walking & drinking my liquids warm helps the most. Of course, I put on 10 pounds in the hospital & by six days after surgery I was back to "day of surgery" weight.

My surgeon is very strict on the post-op diet & I was to start 5 Protein shakes a day on day 8. It has been a challenge, much more so than the first sleeve, to get all of my fluids in, but I have gotten the minimum 80 oz in every day, & over 100 oz the last two days. My shakes are supposed to be made with just 3-4 oz of Water. But trying to get even that much down is a struggle. I switched to unflavored Protein powder after my first sleeve because the flavored ones just "sat like a rock" in my stomach. Now I'm having the same reaction only more so to the unflavored. It does go best mixed with my homemade broth, but still it makes me gag. I’m now trying different brands I got from GNC & Super supplements. Instead of stressing over how much I’m getting in (& keeping down), I’m just doing my best. The huge number of Vitamin & mineral supplements as well as the regular prescription meds I take is very hard to do.

[Peggy D 124]

Update on my revision from VSG to SA-DS/SIPS/loop DS (pick your choice of names - I like loop DS), three weeks post-op

Recovery has been rocky to say the least. I spent the afternoon & evening in the ER on Saturday getting IV fluids & a CT scan (to check my new stomach staple line). Yesterday I had an endoscopy & had two strictures in my stomach dilated with a balloon. The strictures were causing a functional obstruction. It wasn't a complete obstruction but certainly more than enough to make it extremely difficult to drink all of my fluids & get my Protein shakes down. It also led to increasing vomiting. Today, I am much better & have been able to get fluids & Protein down & they stay down.