Foxbins

Until it scabs over it might leak a bit. I put a big square gauze bandaid over mine and changed it each day.

I have lost band sizes only. I think it also depends on how old you are. I am 56 and my breasts turned to fatty tissue about 5 years ago (according to my mammographer). I lost fullness on the tops of my breasts but they still are a D cup.

I can cover up the sagging body with clothes but everyone sees my face. Face/necklift on Wednesday!

This is all normal. Take smaller sips (I mean tiny) and wait longer between sips and see if that helps the pressure feeling. Your stomach is swollen and raw. Liquids in, liquids out, too--again, normal. You are doing fine. Keep sipping, walking, and resting.

You will drive yourself nuts if you worry about weight loss every day. Keep to your plan no matter what the scale says. You were probably given lots of IV fluids during surgery and your body is holding on to them--don't you feel swollen? Your body will adapt and the scale will fall...many many times until you reach goal. After the initial, dramatic loss of the first month (which you are waiting for) most of us lose in stairsteps--a loss, then a few days of no losses, then another loss. Don't worry--it will come off.

I do not regret one second of my decision. I was medicated for pain extremely well, recovered quickly, and had no complications. I followed my surgeon's post-op plan and reached my goal in 10 months. If you are not using food as a tranquilizer or an emotional crutch and if you realize that having this surgery is not going to fix all the problems in your life other than obesity then you should be okay.

I burped after every sip for about the first month, then things got better. However, I still burp more frequently post-sleeve than I did before. There's just no room for air in the sleeve and I'd rather it came up than go down, if you know what I mean...

I know that when I was newly sleeved I confused the "growling" with hunger, too, but it turned out that I was not really hungry, my stomach was just making noises that I associated with being hungry. It does it now, too, almost a year out. I agree, try Prilosec or Pepcid to see if that calms the growling down a little but it probably won't make it totally go away. I didn't have a BM until 6 days post-op so I wouldn't worry just yet. You haven't had much to eat the past few days and it's unlikely there's much in there. If you are taking your Lortab regularly probably you should take a stool softener like docusate sodium just to counteract the narcotics and the fact that you aren't drinking much or getting much liquid from your food. Oh, and I burped everytime I took a sip of liquid for nearly a month. The kids next door thought I was a riot!

I low-carbed all the way to goal and beyond. I also tracked all my food intake. However, if you have been doing this and are losing better eating differently, I'd say continue what you are doing but track your intake. Maybe you are eating fewer calories than you think--

Yes, my doc was supportive about the sleeve, too, but freaked out about the Mexico part. However, I have lost all my weight and more with no complications or issues and she is pleased that all my labs look great. Yours will probably react the same.

No way could I have eaten that much at 2 weeks post-op. I barely managed 2 T of cereal, soup, or yogurt at a time. Also, do not worry about waiting before and after "meals" for your water or you will never get it in. You are eating and drinking liquids so just keep drinking all day long. I would start spacing your water when you start soft foods. You might be able to get in 1/4 cup of these full liquids by the end of your first month. Personally, I'd drink more of your protein shakes than the sf pudding or cream of wheat--there's no protein in those and you need protein to heal.

You know what to do--journal your food, eat protein first, don't drink your calories, get regular exercise, take your vitamins and supplements, drink your water, cut out crap food, don't ignore the scale or how your clothes fit. Get back on track!

Well, I am pretty baggy and saggy now and at age 56, can't really expect things to snap back the way they were when I was 30. I am having a facelift because that's what people see and my lower face and neck lost a lot of volume and fullness. My body looks fine in clothes. In a bathing suit...well, let's just say no one is going to think I'm a supermodel. If the loose skin gets infections in the folds, sometimes insurance will pay to have it removed. You can also start saving for plastic surgery now. I have seen some great results with lower body and breast lifts. Surgeons can also fix arms, thighs, and butts.

Gatorade's full of sodium, it's an electrolyte replacement drink. It's water weight. How about trying Crystal Light?

Bread feels like it balls up inside and swells--it hurts so I don't eat it anymore. Pasta also feels bad. Chicken is usually too dry for me now but I can pretty much eat any other meat, including steak. I have lost my sweet tooth. In the early days "dumping" is usually from your poor gut being deprived of solids for a while and usually goes away as your tummy adapts again to food, but beware the first time you try something new post-op.

My loss by month- Jan 2011-17 lbs Feb-8 lbs Mar-9 lbs Apr-8.5 lbs May-4 lbs Jun-9 lbs Jul-6 lbs Aug-8 lbs Sep-3.5 lbs-normal BMI of 25 Oct-6.5 lbs Nov-6.5 lbs Dec-2 lbs Still losing and trying to stabilize. I low-carbed the whole time until normal BMI, then added in some fruit and dairy in small amounts. Don't worry about whether you are faster or slower than other people, just keep plugging along!

There's a big study just out. I disagree with their conclusion that leaks "occur" after discharge, I think they are detected after discharge. I also think that a 40Fr bougie is pretty big. Research is still coming in on the relationship between bougie size and weight loss, both initial and after some years. Here's the abstract: Surg Endosc. 2011 Dec 17. [Epub ahead of print] Sleeve gastrectomy and the risk of leak: a systematic analysis of 4,888 patients. Aurora AR, Khaitan L, Saber AA. SourceDepartment of Surgery, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Lakeside 7, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, 44106, USA, aaurora@uchs.org. INTRODUCTION:Sleeve gastrectomy has become a popular stand-alone bariatric procedure with comparable weight loss and resolution of comorbidities to that of laparoscopic gastric bypass. The simplicity of the procedure and the decreased long-term risk profile make this surgery more appealing. Nonetheless, the ever present risk of a staple-line leak is still of great concern and needs further investigation. METHODS:An electronic literature search of MEDLINE database plus manual reference checks of articles published on laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy for morbid obesity and its complications was completed. Keywords used in the search were "sleeve gastrectomy" OR "gastric sleeve" AND "leak." We analyzed 29 publications, including 4,888 patients. We analyzed the frequency of leak after sleeve gastrectomy and its associated risks of causation. RESULTS:The risk of leak after sleeve gastrectomy in all comers was 2.4%. This risk was 2.9% in the super-obese [body mass index (BMI)> 50 kg/m(2)] and 2.2% for BMI > 40. Staple height and use of buttressing material did not affect leak rate. The use of a size 40-Fr or greater was associated with a leak rate of 0.6% compared with those who used smaller sizes whose leak rate was 2.8%. Leaks were found at the proximal third of the stomach in 89% of the cases. Most leaks were diagnosed after discharge. Endoscopic management is a viable options for leaks and was documented in 11% of cases as successful. CONCLUSIONS: Sleeve gastrectomy has become an important surgical option for the treatment of the ever growing morbidly obese population. The risk of leak is low at 2.4%. Attention to detail specifically at the esophagogastric juncture cannot be stressed enough. Careful patient selection (BMI 50kg/m(2) and adopting the use of a 40-Fr or larger bougie may decrease the risk of leak. Vigilant follow-up during the first 30 days is critical to avoid catastrophe, because most leaks will occur after patient discharge. ___________________________

From what I have read, it appears to me that there are two events that can be quite widely separated in time--there is having a leak and there is detecting a leak. The leaks probably are there from surgery on (there is debate among surgeons, some of whom say all leaks are due to surgical error and some say that some are due to surgical error and some are due to poor healing or poor patient compliance with prescribed diet limitations) but swelling can seal them for a time until it reduces and the leak is apparent. Also, some patients have symptoms for weeks before their surgeons consider the possiblity of a leak and order the proper tests. Most people with leaks heal up fine, it just takes them longer. And remember, the possibility of a leak is really quite small if your BMI is under 50 and if you have an experienced surgeon.

I am sure you will do well with the sleeve. I was 56 last January when I had my surgery and had an easy recovery. I hit my weight loss goal and then some in just 9.5 months. Good luck!

It's like any other cut--scar tissue grows over the cut edges and over and around the staples and sutures. Leaks usually occur in the tricky curvature of the stomach to the esophagus at the top and in band-to-sleeve revisions, where oftentimes the stomach tissue has been damaged by the band.

Today, I am baking Cookies to take to a friend's house for Christmas. Yesterday I baked a pecan pie. My one-year anniversary of my surgery is in 3 weeks, and I am marveling at how I have changed. I reached goal in early November, having low-carbed the whole time. I don't know whether it was not eating carbs or the surgery but I no longer crave sweet things, and I used to be a dessert fiend. My cookie recipe makes 6 dozen and I will eat one to see if they are good to bring. Before surgery I would have eaten at least a dozen the first day myself, and another three or four at each meal until they were gone. It is a miracle--now when I am hungry, I eat a slice of deli ham, or half a hard-boiled egg. I haven't had a french fry in over a year and yet I don't feel like I'm missing anything. I told myself before surgery that I would eat what I liked only in small portions--but what I like now is meat, fish, and seafood--without a sugar chaser! I am so grateful and happy I had surgery. If you are pre-op, my wish for you is that your recovery and weight loss be as easy as mine. If you are post-op, I hope you find a way of eating that makes you happy but gets you to whatever your goal may be. Happy Holidays, everyone!

Well, the 1 year anniversary of my surgery is in 3 weeks. I reached goal at 8 months and have been maintaining since. I have not gained any weight, I kept losing after "goal" but things have steadied a bit over the past month. The research suggests that most WLS patients regain some percentage of their lost weight (usually tracked at 3, 5, or 10 years post-op). However, if you are diligent about undereating your sleeve, eating Protein and green veggies first, exercising, and monitoring your weight by the scale or how your clothes fit, you can be in the minority of those who do not gain. I should note that most research has been done on bypass patients (there is not very much 10 year data on the sleeve, not enough people had it done 10 years ago to make a large enough sample size and sleeves were bigger in those days). It is up to you whether you succeed no matter what other people do. I do not find it hard to maintain as I tried very hard to change my bad eating and exercise habits over the past year. I like being thin better than cake now!

Nothing will happen to you, it's fine. It's just that sugar is a high-calorie, non-nutritive food and with limited room in your stomach there are better choices than a sugary liquid. However, at 5 days post-op, the calories won't hurt you since you aren't getting in many anyway.

Some people do need to take a PPI twice a day to control the acid, you may be one of them. If I were you, I'd pick whatever worked best for you in the past and try it again at twice the dose.

Yes, take something. Acid washing up your esophagus can damage it. Have you tried H2 blockers like Pepcid or Tagamet? They work a little differently than PPIs. What PPIs have you tried?