Rootman

I simply did not want my digestive tract rerouted, the malabsorbtion and dumping that TJP mentions above were the chief reasons besides just the fear of having my esophagus and small bowel completely severed and reattached elsewhere. It also bothered me that the stomach is no longer accessible via a scope down the esophagus and you would have to use a specialist and have the scope passed down into the bowels and back up into the stomach - you'd have to consult a chart to see the new routing of the tract to visualize this. I've had stomach problems in the past, an ulcer and have a family history of stomach cancer. My sister had a bypass and was just in the hospital last week for anemia and was finally scoped the long was around after they had a specialist come in to do it they found that she had a severe bleeding ulcer. This was not diagnosed for days because it could not be easily examined With a sleeve the stomach is still there and the digestive tract is all intact. EDIT: Sorry, I didn't notice that you specified a DS bypass rather than the more common RNY. With the DS the stomach is left in line and reduced in size like the sleeve (although seemingly not as restricted). Please take the above mentions about stomach being not in line with the fact that this is an RNY procedure. The sleeve is super simple, fast and effective and as TJP mentions above can be revised to a full bypass if it doesn't have the results you need. I weighed 375 pounds last December, had the sleeve and now weigh 237 by the next June, in 6 months I've lost more than 60+ percent of my excess weight. I went from a TIGHT 52" waist to a comfortable 38" (close to fitting in a 36"), a 3X top that was bugging in the arm pits to a size LARGE top that fits nicely. It can and DOES work for most. Go with what you want and feel safe with, no one can make the decision for you.

Depends on what you mean by "adverse" effects. Nearly everyone feels pretty crappy after the surgery with some pain and lethargy. Part of this can be chalked up to having surgery in general as it is pretty traumatic on the body. The rest can be because of the effects of the sleeve. You can get temperature sensitivity, nausea, bad taste in the mouth, and bad breath along with a host of other minor complains, most pass within a few weeks to a few months.

Had it done at Jerusalem Hospital in TJ MX last December. It went fine. The place was small and didn't do the blood work or imaging on site so we had to go out to other places to have them done. Jerusalem Clinic is in a strip mall and pretty cramped and has no outside windows to speak of in any of the rooms, it was very clean but a bit noisy most of the time. The staff is courteous and professional and I experience NO problems at all. They don't put on a lot of the "dog and pony show" that you might be used to with USA medical sites, it is what it is, a simple medical clinic designed and staffed to do bariatric surgeries and cosmetic procedures onle. Also, you would have to put your trust in the extended Mexican medical community if any complications arise during your stay. One issue that may crop up is would your medical insurance (if you have any) would cover any complications that may arise later once you return home. You would also have little to NO recourse in regards to malpractice if something should arise as the MX laws are nowhere near as patient oriented as the US laws are. I would hazard a guess that 1/3 to 1/2 of what you pay in the US goes towards malpractice insurance coverage. The staff is also paid considerably less too, so that lowers cost, they still make a good living because the cost of living is so much lower in MX than the US. I have insurance but did not want to get a bypass - which is what my insurance pushes you to get. I also did not want to wait 4-6 months to get the surgery, I was having dreadful health issues and feeling pretty crappy because of them. I also feared I would get discouraged or pissed off jumping through all the hoops that my insurance makes you go through. I wanted to do something NOW. I came across the Jerusalem clinic doing online research. I looked at a few US sites that had prices as low as $15,000 and a few MX sites with a low of the Jerusalem clinic for $5000. I had cash left to me when my mother passed away a few years ago so I used it. I contacted them mid November and had the surgery Dec 6th 2010. It is relatively safe, although ANYONE and EVERY site has it's issues and there are people that have problems and I would image there has been some horror stories. Go with your gut and what you feel you can trust. We all wish you well.

Mine was mostly nausea and a general feeling of malaise, not much pain though. I was constipated and my stomach made a lot of weird noises nearly all the time. I was fatigued and could barely choke down a thing and could not drink much at all. I nearly threw up just once or twice be thankfully never did. Parts of it could be blamed on the anesthesia, the other on the surgery itself as the body directs most of it's energies to healing the recent "wound", you also might start to get into what is called ketosis ( read more here ). This leaves a funny taste in your mouth and perhaps an odd smell. You will probably feel like crap and wish you hadn't done it. It passes in a few weeks or a month and you get to feel better.

I woke up at 6 am today and was in a lot of pain, the first thing that went through my mind was a sleeve leak, then perhaps an abdominal aneurysm. It came and went and then returned worse then ever. I decided it was time to head to the ER. The pain seemed to let up as I set there in the waiting room (of course!) and I had the sudden urge to urinate and it felt really weird in my bladder. I went and sat on the toilet rather then stood and felt a lot of stinging when I urinated. I had to really push to get a few squirts out and gave up. I went back to the waiting room and sat a while, Again I had to urinate and went to the restroom again, this time I stood to go and noticed how pink my urine was - there was blood in my urine. It then hit me that I had a kidney stone! They took a urine sample and confirmed the blood. An X-ray and CT scan later they found a small stone still lodged in my left kidney. I had evidently passed another small stone earlier. I was VERY fortunate that I only had two very small ones and that the first passed in just a few hours. Other's I've talked to that had multiple and large stones say that it is excruciatingly painful. They sometimes have to be pulverized with an ultrasonic pulse or even removed by an operation. CHIEF CAUSE? Not drinking enough fluids to keep my kidneys flushed. The high Protein diet may also have contributed. So DRINK YOUR Water GUYS and GALS! Don't end up like me! SIP SIP SIP!

Well I'm going to come out and say it's OK. There is no way a kernel will get caught in a "seam" after a few weeks this seam is just as closed as the incisions are on your belly. If you're on solid foods then it's OK in moderation, be careful to not over do it though as you can eat a whole lot of popcorn, it really slides on through without much resistance. If it doesn't agree for some reason then wait a week or two and start again.

I did the same thing, but I used Pedialyte for no more reason than Gatorade always tasted nasty to me. I used to NOT be even be able to lie on my left side because by stomach would make all sorts of non stop blurping and growling noises, it was comical at first then got to be annoying. It let up eventually.

Boy this seems to be overkill IMHO. It seems you should be relatively clean of most bulk by now with the liquid diet. I was told to take a couple of laxatives the day before. The issue with surgery is that a LOT of things have a tendency to shut down for a while after anesthesia, that and with sitting around pretty much motionless for days afterwards tends to clog the pipes. It's painful to be constipated, being constipated after surgery just adds insult to injury. I'd go ahead and do it at the later time the doc suggested and be ready to feel pretty miserable (I almost said crappy but that was too much of a pun). When this stuff works you get explosive diarrhea and it feels like your insides are going to turn inside out and exit your bung hole. Don't forget to sip a LOT of Water after surgery too, you need to keep hydrated and need to flush the remnants of the anesthetic out with the urine.

I have had NO restriction on spicy foods, I love them too. In fact my tastes have changed pretty radically and most things taste super bland to me and I often choose spicier alternatives just to get SOME taste. Of course YMMV

I feel for ya' Brian, I'm having the same "troubles" Reminds me of an old Larry the Cable Guy bit, he buys his clothes at WalMart, because there he is a medium, every where else he is a XXXL.

Boy the arm rests don't cut into my sides either!

The wife and I most often order ONE entree and split it, even then we sometimes have stuff to bring home, portions are THAT much out of control. I'm unfamiliar with the restaurant you reference, is it a buffet? Buffets are pretty much a waste on me but surprisingly the cost of the meal is on par with what a decent meal at another restaurant is so I'm not out any more cash that we would be if we both bought separate entrées., I just don't get me monies worth and can't take anything home. Perhaps call ahead, ask their policy. Some docs issue a card stating you've had WLS surgery asking if they will allow you to order children's or seniors portions. If all else fails then look around for another restaurant. We no longer frequent a few of our old favorites, it's just impractical or just not worth it. Congrats on the anniversary.

Yes, the liquid stage sucks as your tummy still wants food and every craving you ever had will come back to haunt you. But the real answer is the it is NEVER too early to start in some form or another. Try a liquid diet for a while then if it gets to be too much start eating one whole meal a day and see if that works. Since you are seeking WLS then it is safe to assume you have adequate body fat to sustain yourself safely through the liquid stage and will only give yourself a jump start on the loss. We wish you the best!

Yahoo for you! I too have had the same NSV, not only do I fit but the wifey can snuggle up to me on the same side too with room to spare! Dontcha-love it?

Looks like you have a handle on it already. I eat pretty much the same type of stuff. I might have a hard boiled egg for Breakfast or one sausage patty, a few saltines for a snack (low cal and settles my tummy), 1/2 cup soup, or some small amount of a prepared meal for lunch, maybe a SF pudding cup or yogurt for lunch. A few crackers for a snack (I'm not a big snacker). Supper is more of the same as for lunch. Portions are small and I rarely exceed 1100 calories a day for intake. I am unlike many others and don't fret the carbs, they are relatively low due to small amount of chow I eat a day, I personally think it's the over all calorie intake that really matters. I find that journaling my intake is helpful and keeps me from indulging too much, I guess it forces me to be accountable to myself. I use MyFittnessPal.com, there are DOZENS of other free one online and may have smart phone apps as well.

I simply did not want a piece of plastic floating around in my abdomen so I chose the sleeve. I also did not want a full bypass with the resulting lifelong malabsorbtion issues. I didn't want he hassle with insurance that I've heard others in my company fight with over WLS so I elected self pay and went ti Tijuana MX and paid $5K and was done with it in less than a month. The sleeve is minimally invasive, introduces nothing artificial into your digestive tract and bypasses nothing, it's simply a permanent restriction. MOST people have good results, a lot have excellent results and a few like me have EXTRAORDINARY results. I've lost over 135 pound in little more than 6 months. For ONCE in my life something has worked out way above and beyond what I expected. There are SOME people who have issues, a few that seem to still be ravenous even after the sleeve, a few with life changing complications and fewer still that completely failed, lost nothing or lost and regained. Nothings perfect especially something like this that not only effects the complicated digestive tract but the human psyche as well. I did it, lost weight, eliminated a whole host of medical issues and feel a WHOLE lot better. I exercise now and actually enjoy most of it. At least I'm not wheezing like an old broken down steam engine hating every second of it. I can do things I couldn't do even just this last fall. I can have sex with my wife and it is SOOO much better, no pendulous gut hanging in the way and it requires less effort just to move. Regardless of WHAT you do I'd recommend you do SOMETHING even if it's JUST diet and exercise.

Man, we all feel for you and will remember your Mom in our prayers and thoughts. That is why I didn't want a plastic gizmo in my gut, I would constantly be afraid of something like this happening. We wish you the best for both you and your Mom - it's tough seeing Mom suffering like that, I'm 50 and lost my Mom a few years back to heart disease and didn't realize what a momma's boy I was - I still miss her.

I too had EXACTLY what you describe for years, possibly decades, I lost track.My doctor never seemed to know what it was but thought that it was due to either or both of my esophageal issues, I had a hiatal hernia or from the schatzki's ring I had (probably still do). The ring was a fibrous band that actually narrowed my esophagus, it would actually make me gag and "vomit" up food, although the food never made it to my stomach. Whatever it is it's no issue now, either the surgery fixed it or the small amount of food I eat makes it less obvious, the "lump" is gone. Hope yours works out the same as well.

Congrats! I look forward to joining you in the months to come.

Chronic constipation sufferer here, use Mirilax Daily.Mine are very dark, very heavy sinkers that smell really foul. I always leave "marks" on the sides of the bowl. I go maybe every three days or so.

I've lost over 100 pounds since last Thanksgiving. Today it occurred to me that someone out there must of divined how many calories there are in a pound of fat. When Googling it the answer I keep coming up with is 3500. https://encrypted.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=how+many+calories+in+a+pound+of+fat&aq=f&aqi=g2&aql=&oq= There are many days that I've lost a pound a day while eating a little less than 1000 calories a day. There is no way that I am running up a deficit of 3500 calories per day. I wasn't even exercising and the fat was melting off. How can 3500 be right? What am I not seeing in this "formula"

Kewl! Way to go girl.

I sometimes quickly respond "I've had stomach surgery and can't eat or drink much, thanks anyway", it usually shuts them up and they leave me alone..

Yep, what Foxbins said. For some screwy reason a scheduled MRI was delayed because the provider refused to do an MRI on my till after 12 weeks post op, this was a brain MRI and not even of the abdomen. No one including my PCP understood why. So be sure your MRI place knows in case they have a screwy policy like mine did.

YES, it can be that simple. Many here over analyze stuff and worry about carbs. Just cut the calories and concentrate on protein and the rest will handle itself. Protein is necessary because it's the stuff that you need to maintain lean muscle mass and is basically long lasting "high test" form of calories instead of easily burnable carbs. Get in your protein and you have little room for much else.