chowchows

I just read an article that I have never seen before. The article basically states that after 4 years of plication all the sutures disappear and our stomach returns to a somewhat normal state. Here is the article. Anyone else ever heard this from their docs? It also discusses the average volume plicators can take in at different points in time post surgery. Very interesting and somewhat shocking, at least for me. I have not heard most of this before.

Saw this article and thought it was interesting. Most of it was the usual info we see, but some of it was new to me. "5 Things you Don't Know About Gastric Plication •Gastric Plication is a new option in the Bariatric surgery segment and there is a very keen interest of self paying weight loss surgery patients to consider this new option. Here are few important facts that might help you in better understanding.•It is now clinically proved that Gastric sleeve Plication is a better option than any other weight loss surgery. Researchers from Brazil conducted a clinical trail on 66 bariatric patients. Initial clinical reports demonstrate satisfactory weight loss up to three years with the lowest early complication rates among all bariatric procedures. No major complications were reported among all the 66 patients. The researchers also found that the greater curvature folds get smaller with time. Please refer the initial research report published in Bariatric Times(link mentioned in the resource box) •The process in said to be 'Minimally invasive'. Minimally invasive does not indicate being safer and easier. It means that the process is less invasive than the open surgeries. The dangers of opening of sutures and internal bleeding etc though less but are still there. •It may be a better option for adolescents as Gastric Sleeve Plication surgery doesn't causes mal-absorption of eaten food. Therefore if the operated adolescent is on a balanced diet, nutritional problems might not appear. •Though Gastric Plication is clinically proved to be a better option, it is always advisable to consult the doctor and find out about the best surgery that suits you. Medical Tourism Corporation advises its patients not to take any decision without consulting the doctors. Gastric Sleeve Plication might not be suitable for you because of the co-morbid conditions you have. The doctor can help you in identifying the surgery according to your health condition. •This procedure is still in its experimental phase. The long term effects of this procedure are still unknown. The clinical trials and surgeries performed till date however haven't demonstrated any such harmful effects. The benefits in all cases overcome the complications of obesity. The clinical trail report mentioned in the body was published in Bariatric Times."

So what made you decide to do it...was it gradual or did you have a eureka moment? For me it was something I had joked with my husband about for our entire marriage (almost 20 years), never really thinking it would ever be a reality. This winter was really hard on me, lots of aches and pains that didn't go away. I put back on 30 of the 50 lbs I lost in 2009-2010 and felt like giving up. I finally started researching surgery in Mexico and just made up my mind. Less than two months later I had surgery.

I'm just curious how everyone feels about their plication. Feel free to elaborate via post.

I have been fairly open about having the surgery, however, there are a few people that I encounter in my life that I do NOT want to know. How do you deal with a social situation where people are eating, when you know you have to watch what/how much you eat, and cannot drink while eating? I'm afraid that situation may come up soon, and I'm not sure what to say/do at this point.

I officially have just under 100 lbs to go (98 to be exact), but I wanted to post here because "officially" I fall into this category now, and it made me feel good to think that I am no longer in the 100+ category. Just seeing the "50+" makes me feel good, lol. Gotta encourage my brain any way I can!

I started out about a 40 bmi. I've lost about 55 lbs and am 11 months out. I do feel some small amount of restriction and that is all that is keeping me where I am these days. My cravings are through the roof. I'm trying to get back on some kind of plan, but I feel rather lost right now.

Struggling myself these days guys...haven't lost any in over a month. I'm trying to stay positive though and you guys are a help. I haven't been on this board in awhile, but I realize maybe I need to to inspire me. :-)

Just curious if anyone on here has had gallbladder surgery? If so, did it totally get rid of the pain right away, or did it still take awhile for everything to settle down?

Congrats to you both!!!

I was just coming on this forum to ask you what they planned to do LMom. I'm glad you were able to get surgery so soon. Hang in there! My plication was easy, but my GB surgery hit me like a ton of bricks. I have heard that it takes a year to recover from a surgery...so when we have two in a year or so, I'm sure it adds up. Take care of yourself and try to keep a positive attitude! (I know, it's hard)

Hope all goes well..keep us posted!

Enjoy this time of not having hunger and try to maximize it by doing exactly what your doc said about getting in protein and fluids. Your weight loss is fastest right at the beginning, so the less hunger you have now the better in my opinion.

amen!

Very well said MauiJax...it's a journey, not a destination!

Do you mean keeping it secret from your doc also? That might be hard, but from everyone else it is definitely possible! Everyone I have told has been surprised. They expect someone with wls to lose like 30 lbs a month and with plication it is more gradual and you will be able to eat like a pretty normal person. I didn't tell my doc for several months, but after I developed gall bladder issues I had to come clean because they could see it on the ultrasound.

I for one value what TijuanaPlication has to say. I wish I had seen more of the truth (good and bad) before I had surgery. When I had surgery there was such a scarce amount of information out there. I would have probably still had plication, but it would have been nice to have more info. I think most people are going to take all the posts, both positive and negative, and weigh them against their own situation and personality and then make their own decision. TP isn't bullying anyone, and she isn't saying she is giving medical advice (far from it, her signature implies just the opposite). On the other hand, when you say you are a medical professional, that lends some weight...however, unless you are a gastric doctor, and have specifically treated a patient in particular, I don't think your advice is any more weighted in my mind than that of TP. I don't mean to be mean...just to say that we are all in a similar boat here. We are all either post plication or are thinking about having it, and ALL information is valuable. I wouldn't want to censor anyone, just because they critique something that I like or something that worked for me. I want to hear what everyone has to say...it's all been very helpful, and I don't want to see ANYONE bullied on these boards for their opinion. I'm not looking for drama..in fact just the opposite..let's all be supportive of the active exchange of information and encouragement. Despite the fact that TP's plication didn't work for her, she has been a big cheerleader of each and every one of our successes along the way-that takes some character, I think it would be hard for me to be happy for other's weight loss if I had stalled out!

I actually had a bad night this week..lots of pain in gallbladder/liver area and lots of acid. Overall though (95%) of the time I feel fabulous and my acid is much less and I have no issues with GB or anything I eat. I thought I had an ulcer too, but they said no. Hang in there and please let us know what the GI says! Have you had an endocscopy?

The pains on the right side were pretty intense the first month or so. If I eat a lot of fat nowadays, I get pains over there sometimes, but not always. That's really the only side effect I still have these days. Glad you're feeling better!

Sorry for the delay in writing, I don't come on this board much anymore. I felt kind of bad for a month, then just ok for another month, then I felt normal again after that. How did the actual surgery go? I would definitely give yourself time to heal. I felt immensely better post surgery, but compared to where I was that wasn't saying much. I look back now and realize that it is still a healing journey for a couple of months after surgery. Did they tell you how your plication looked while they were in there? Hope you get to feeling better fast!

Now that I am am past the gallbladder issues I can eat anything I want without any issues. It might not be the sugar, it might be the fat affecting your gallbladder. That's what was going on with me, and at first it only happened with sugary items...as it progressed it was almost anything I ate that bothered me. Hope you get it figured out and that it ISN'T GB issues!

Well, I knew it was coming, but I wasn't planning on it to happen like this. After I got out of the hospital last time all the docs kept telling me that I shouldn't still be in pain and "just don't eat high fat and you'll be ok". They all told me I needed my gallbladder removed, but their offices and schedules were booked through the end of October so that is the time period we were looking at for everything to happen. In the mean time I have been having an average of one attack a week, and if anyone has ever had a gallbladder attack/stone you know that this is absolute misery. I was eating zero fat somedays and still had attacks on those days. I've never had kids, but others have equated it to being in continuous labor, with no contraction breaks, and no pain meds. Last week another attack came on and just continued to get worse and worse into the wee hours of the morning. I finally decided to take the hydrocodone the GI doc prescribed when I last saw him, totally expecting it to knock me out and make me nauseous and dizzy as all pain killers do, and it did NOTHING! That's when I got scared. I got so weak from the sweating and constant spasms for hours that I couldn't even get up by myself. I called me husband into the bedroom (he was up and expecting the trip to the ER) and asked him to help me put on a loose t-shirt and shorts (I couldn't even do that by myself) and take me to the ER. At the ER they shot me full of the strongest thing they had and it made the pain manageable. (I think I have a fairly high pain tolerance..I used zero pain killers after my hyst years ago and felt like I could have left the hospital hours after the surgery) They re-did the ultrasound and CT and told me that my GB was totally full of tiny stones and now my pancreas AND my liver enzymes were up and they were worried. I was admitted in the wee hours of the morning and spent two days waiting for the enzyme levels to come down. Finally on the third day they were down enough and within 30 minutes of the blood test I was being wheeled into surgery. The surgeon told me that it was so inflamed that the GB was stuck to everything and very enlarged, as was the cystic duct. Luckily they were still able to do it laprascopically. I woke up with four new holes on my stomach and one less GB. I was up and talking to everyone 5 minutes into recovery, but the pain is still pretty severe even now, several days later. I stayed another day and a half in the hospital. My back still aches somewhat and deep breathes are painful, but it is so much better than where I have been for the last month. In addition, I have now come to realize that the pain I thought was reflux, and even the pains I was having for a few days in July, were all GB related. The GB not working was causing me not to digest my food properly, which in combination with a new smaller stomach was causing me immense pain in my stomach/bowels. The surgeon did also tell me that he looked at my stomach while in there and it looked suprizingly good , but that there really wasn't a whole lot of restriction to it. . Oh well, it has been a helpful tool..I did find out while in the hospital the first time that my cholesterol is now normal (down 83 points) and my blood pressure is normal to low. I'm still losing, and I'm not totally unhappy where I am, so while the plication hasn't turned out to be exactly what I was anticipating, I'm still overall happy. My doc told me that stones take at least six months to form...so that means I had the stones pre-surgery. For all the lurkers that are thinking about wls, my advice is to get your gallbladder checked prior to your surgery and possibly save yourself some pain, time, and expense by taking care of it with just one surgery! Hopefully now I can focus on healing and get back to my life...I really feel like I missed out on the whole month of September!

I totally get where you're coming from on pretty much all you said. Congratulations on the 70 lbs!

Glad everything went well!

That is awesome news on the weight loss! Good luck on the surgery!