Rootman

Well the REAL truth is that we here in the western hemisphere have the most expensive urine in the world. Because that's where a majority of the Vitamins and supplements we take end up going. The typical first world diet - if a proper well rounded diet is observed - has more than enough vitamins and etc to keep you healthy. Now that being said, since we sleevers eat so little, especially at first it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you take at least a multi Vitamin, perhaps an Iron tablet and perhaps a calcium citrate supplement (BTW: iron and calcium should not be taken together, spread them out over a few hours time). If indeed you DO have a vitamin deficiency it is much harder to treat the resultant disease or disorder from the deficiency once it has manifested itself than it is to PREVENT it by simply taking vitamins. In truth is that they are just insurance that you get all that you need. They are cheap and easy to take so why not? Just don't go overboard. A good "store brand" is probably just as good as the "premiere" ones in the end, so save your money and get the inexpensive ones. The doc can check your levels and make specific recommendations.

A BIG WooT WooT!

yep, ANYONE can dump - it is simply improperly stomach processed food dumping into the intestine, and it does NOT like that sort of thing! With an RNY you WILL dump, with anything else like a sleeve you are slightly more prone to it becasue of the restriction and even with a full stomach almost EVERYONE has done it once in a while. I know I did. Eating too much, too fast and it being just the right texture or richness to mysteriously allow it.

Yes, I too have come to the same realization. I've even dropped out of a motorcycle organization I belong to because of it. They met monthly at a restaurant for the monthly gathering, all rides revolved around a destination, almost always another restaurant. All parties were around a restaurant or someones house and involved just food. While I enjoy the company of the club I just could not be around food that much ALL the time. We, especially here in the USA, have become a victim of our own prosperity. We have created this massive infrastructure that makes nearly ANY food cheap and easy to get. We've demanded more and more for our money so portions are larger than ever. And we eat it all and come back for more. As Pogo said decades ago, "I have met the enemy, and he is us".

WARNING TMI: I'm out 14 months and last Friday night we went for hamburgers at Red Robin. I had a turkey burger and ate less than 1/2 the bun and fixin's and all the turkey patty, I also had maybe 6 steak fries and two small bites of my wifes dessert and was in distress almost immediately. I hocked up two big mouths of phlemmy nasty stuff before giving up to it and finally barfing up ONE mouthful of vomit. Instant and total relief. So what would of been a light snack a few years ago was TOO much today. So at 14 months the restriction is still good for me. I picture the stomach as a kind of a saggy balloon, not the smallish kids balloon but a larger maybe latex, it's got TWO opening though, the output opening has a valve to keep it normally sealed. It's hung from the top opening and the other opning is more to the side on a slant from the top. It has a tougher band running across the top edge that doesn't stretch much and is there to hang the whole thing on, the bottom can stretch a LOT. During the VSG a majority of the bottom stretchy part is removed and you are left with more of a tube than a saggy balloon. The bottom cut is sealed with staples and heals with a thick ridge of scar tissue - which if you have any scars you know it does NOT stretch. The part between the bottom scar and the thick upper part DOES stretch - SOME. Remember it's limited somewhat by being so close to the thick upper part and the new scar. So YES it does stretch but not NEAR the amount the old stomach could, and even then they BOTH spring back to the original shape pretty fast and never stayed stretched. Of MORE concern is developing bad habits post sleeve and starting to snack all the time, therefore never hitting the restriction and eating too many calories over the course of the day.

Prilosec takes up to a week or more to fully become effective, did you give it that long? My wife was on TWO Omeprazole a day at one point and still had issues - she didn't have a sleeve just a lot of acid.

I've had a couple and they would not even do the procedure unless someone was there to take me home - NO DRIVING.

I went to Almanza 14+ months ago. My considered opinion is that "you get what you pay for", that is a cut rate "experience" for a cut rate price. It worked out marvelously for me, I have lost about 175 pounds and look and feel wonderful. My only issues were: a noisy environment, staff and patients are packed in like sardines and the place was terribly noisy. Language barrier, if you don't know spanish you may be at a disadvantage. My stay at the recovery house was very crowded but pleasant. I had a LOT of nausea (I just do after ANY surgery) and the staff got a little huffy with me when they had to keep giving me anti nausea drugs, but then again I've had the same " 'tude" here in the states as well by surgical staff so I don't put much into this. I would do it again but perhaps at a different place. However, and that's a BIG however. Since then there was an armed robbery at the recovery house and an issue with the sites owner brow beating a few patients and some claiming they spotted ants in the surgical area. This has caused me to withdraw my endorsement of the center. Many came after me and have had a great experience with no problems, so you will have to come to your own conclusion. IANAD, IANAL, YMMV

Pre sleeve, I was ALWAYS hungry and got to the point that my stomach would growl, I'd get that real "hollow" feeling and my sugar would plummet. I ate, the ate some more and then topped it off with dessert hence I was massively obese at 375 pounds. The pre-op diet which I stretched to 3 weeks voluntarily was sheer torture. I nearly caved a few times and only really cheated once. On the second day I ate a piece of pumpkin pie. 14+ months ago I got sleeved and I can honestly say I have NOT felt that way since. I get what I describe with an old fashioned word - peckish. Just a tad hungry and if I get busy I even forget that. I've lost ~175 pounds and feel and look great. Many, including me take a PPI (omeprazole, which is generic Prilosec) to keep stomach acid down and avoid what the brain "thinks" is hunger. I am now taking it only every 3 days and doing just fine. I may try and come off it completely and see how I do. The biggest thing for me is boredom, those few occasions when it is so easy to slip back into the bad habit of snacking when there is nothing much else that interests me. I try and stay busy and keep exercising to keep active and burn those calories. This has been my experience. Of course YMMV, IANAD, IANAL. We all wish you the best of luck as you start your adventure.

Kewl! I loved it for me too, used to brush by belly to plain out crease me in small booths, I hated it. Now I can fit with room to spare. Me and the wife often sit on the same side.

Yeah, while I am extremely fortunate to not have a massive amount of lose skin and sag I still feel it when I change directions quickly. Also when I lay down my wife says I look like a flat tire. I just sort of melt into the bed now.

I've been lucky. in 14 months this has only happened 3 times, by far the worst was last Friday night. We went to our favorite burger barn and I ate 1/2 a burger, that is 1/2 the bun and fixin's and the entire turkey meat burger. I also had maybe 6-10 steak fries and two, count 'em TWO small bites of a chocolate sundae the wife got. I was sufferin'. We went hoe and I immediate headed to the john. I stood there with saliva ROLLING out of my mouth and the pressure wanting to bust me open. Twice I urpped up, as you say a snot like moucososy saliva, it had the consistency of KY jelly. I felt SOME relief from this but after a few hours I just gave up and stopped fighting the urge to barf and more or less COUGHED up a small mouthful of well processed vomit. Instant and TOTAL relief. I AGAIN was taught ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and by ENOUGH I mean STOP it NOW, not ONE bite more. I firmly believe I could of handled it without the last two small bites of dessert. IT pushed me over the edge.

Some do some don't. I did. It came out on the second day post op.

We all wish you the best! I only wish I had the where-with-all to do it as early as you are doing it. I could of avoided DECADES of health issues and troubles. Good luck!

i too did not tell anyone but my wife. I was self pay in MX so I didn't even tell my doctor. I was tired of being fat and felt as though I would not make it another 6 months to a year waiting for insurance to clear me so I paid myself. To be honest I feel as if I seem to be of little value to anyone unless they want something or insist on having an opinion of something I am doing or something about me. All my friends and family have little to do with me until then, and then they typically unload with both barrels. I hate it so I elected to keep it a secret till after it was done. I didn't even tell my closest co-worker or employer. Most "let me have it" afterwards when I fessed up. But hey, IT'S NOT ABOUT THEM. It was MY decision and MY life I was destroying by being obese. I am now thinner, healthier and more muscular than anyone who "voiced their concern". It worked for me- no thanks to their (non) support.

As others have stated it CAN be a normal response. Normally, at least in the USA, when a patient is put under general anesthesia they are NOT released until they can urinate and / or defecate -at least at MOST sites. You should have enough body fluid to be able to urinate, especially if they have you on IV fluids. Be sure to report the problem BEFORE you leave. Your kidneys can get backed up and cause a lot of troubles - including infection.

Sleeve. I did not want my entire digestive tract severed TWICE and rearranged. You can get a bypass after a sleeve, it is highly unlikely that you can get a sleeve after a bypass.

3 days and NO it was not enough even for my desk job. I'd advise a minimum of 2 to 3 weeks if you can swing it.

Have you been examined to make sure that you have correct restriction in the sleeve? Was it made too big or for some odd reason stretched a lot? If all is OK physically I'd suggest that you do an in depth study of your actual caloric intake and exercise routine, perhaps use a site like myfitnesspal.com. We all have a tendency to underestimate our caloric intake. If all is OK there either see a nutritionist and a physician to make sure there are no glandular issues. We wish you the best!

And seemingly we must keep learning it over and over. I'm 14+ months out. Last Friday I picked the wife up after work and went to a burger joint - something we often do. Instead of splitting an entree I decided I wanted a whole burger. So I ordered a turkey burger and fries. 1/2 way though the burger and maybe 6 steak fries my tummy said "ENOUGH", but did I listen? NOOOO. I pulled the remaining 1/2 meat patty out and scarfed it down, left the other 1/2 bun and fixin's. The wife ordered a dessert and I ate a few bites of it too. I knew I was in trouble when we got up to leave. I sat at home in misery for nearly 2 hours spitting up mucous and nearly heaving. Eventually I just gave up and barfed a small mouthful and was instantly relieved. It goes to show how easy it is to return to bad habits. And while what I ate was probably not all that much - certainly LESS than what "most" people would eat - it was too much for me and the sleeve. It's a life long constant process and we all slip up. Press on, get back on the horse, get back in the battle. You can do it and pick up right where you left off.

Yes, what Lissa said, wait till the scabs fall off and you have no possibility of any nasty things entering your wounds, 4 to 6 weeks? Then take it easy and don't do too much.

Whoa! 175 / 30 = 8.8+ 4 = 12.8. And here I thought a foot long was a type of hotdog!

Congrats! I know it's tough, I did about 3 weeks liquid as was drooling over pizza the night before syurgery. You can do it!

It's like passing an accident on the road, you don't want to see it but you just can't turn your eyes away.

Rick, you put a thought in my head. XXX now means something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than just our former clothes size!