SKCUNNINGHAM

Chunk - here is some information I put in a previous topic - that you may find interesting. If you go to www.surgery.com, it will tell you the following (I got this from typing "deaths from sleeve gastrectomy" into my search engine) The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery lists the complication rate in vertical sleeve gastrectomy to be relatively low, even among patients considered to be at high risk. Cumulatively the overall mortality (death) from vertical sleeve gastrectomy is 0.39 percent—lower than with traditional bariatric surgeries. (last updated 11/24/2009) From an article on www.gastricbypassfacts.com, here is a extract from "How Does the Sleeve Gastrectomy Work?" The risks and complications of the sleeve gastrectomy:As with all forms of weight loss surgery, the vertical gastrectomy does carry risk and these will clearly vary from one patient to the next and must be discussed with your physician. Complications might include: Gastric leakage and fistula 1.0% Deep vein thrombosis 0.5% Non-fatal pulmonary embolus 0.5% Post-operative bleeding 0.5% Splenectomy 0.5% Acute respiratory distress 0.25% Pneumonia 0.2% Death 0.25% http://healthengine.com.au/article/sleeve-gastrectomy.html This article quotes " The mortality rate in gastric sleeve is 1:500 and it lies between the gastric band, which is the safest, and the laparoscopic gastric bypass, which carries the highest risk." So the first source says 3.9 patients out of 1000, the second source says 2.5 patients out of 1000 and the third says 2 out of 1000. So I would feel comfortable (based on these 3 sources) saying the death rate is somewhere between 2 and 4 per 1000. To contrast that - imagine 1000 people walking around that are your height and weight - with your exact health problems. How many of them would die in the next year from their health problems? From something I was reading this week on another forum - surgeons who perform 100 or more sleeves per year have lower risk rates. Hospitals that perform over 150 sleeves per year have lower risk rates. If you are considering a surgeon, ask how many procedures he/she has performed in a year, and how many he/she has performed in total. Then ask the same two questions about how many of his patients died. This will give you an idea where your surgeon is versus the norms. Also ask about the hospital you will have the surgery performed in - how many procedures do they do a year? Any surgery is scary and has risks. You can't go through life avoiding all risks. For me - the risk of dying of heart problems from NOT DOING this surgery and staying obese was much higher than the risks from the surgery. This surgery was the right decision for me. I wish you good luck on making your decision.

Do you do the dish where you take squash (yellow or green) and cook it with bell pepper, onion and tomatoe? You can either do it on top of the stove or bake it in a casserole dish. Of course I USED to put a ton of cheese in it - now I use a whisper of cheese with the veggies. It could be cooked to the point it was a mushie, too. Great way to use up an abundance of fresh produce.

My thoughts go out to you on this sad anniversary. What a wonderful NSV you experienced. A permanent memory to be with you always.

I have lost 91 pounds since my 1st appointment with the surgeon (January 2011), and 100 pounds since my top weight - this time last year. This is the best thing I ever did for myself. I have ZERO regrets. I was in the hospital one night and took 3 weeks off from work to recuperate (I have to make a long drive or it would have been two weeks). No major complications. Any early nausea was bearable, the early acid problem was easily controlled by meds, and I am now tapering off of them. My hair is thin - but if I end up temporarily wearing a wig (worse case and I'm not anywhere near needing one) so be it.I would rather be a thin woman in a wig that a fat woman with my own hair. I spent a long time doing research - I realized this was my best chance at a healthier, longer life. The risk/reward equation for me was heavily weighted to the rewards side. Good luck to you and your journey.

A 1/2 cup of pinto beans cooked (with salt) has 122 calories, 8 grams of protein, 22 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fat. If you are on a carb free diet for the last two weeks, I don't see how it could include beans of any kind. Sorry about that!

SeattleSue - you are so right! I am a carb addict. They were my comfort food - big time. It is best if I just don't indulge in white carbs (bread, Pasta, potatoes, rice, most crackers) and absolutely no junk carbs (chips of any kind). It is like asking an alcoholic to drink reasonably. I am still recording every thing I eat. It took a long time before I was ready to take the training wheels off the bicycle when I was a little girl, it's going to take a long time before I feel in control enough to quit writing down everything that goes into my mouth. Good luck to you ASBGirl - both with your sleeve and your horse endeavors!

Two other items - my favorite easy Protein drink is Isopure PLUS. I ordered it from Amazon.com. 8 ounces, 15 grams of protein. Tastes like crystal lite - punch flavor and a grape frost flavor. My NUT told me that anything over 20-25 grams of protein at once was a waste of money, cause my body couldn't absorb that much protein at once and just excreted the rest. The other thing - for nauseau - try fresh ginger. Get a piece of ginger root from the grocery's produce section. When feeling nauseus, cut a small piece of ginger from the large root and smell the cut section of ginger. Sounds wierd, but it works the same way that ginger ale settles your stomach.

There are two good reasons you want to sleep all the time after getting home from surgery - the first is your body is still getting over the effects of the anasthesia. Different people take different amounts of time to get totally over the drugs they use. I spent one night in the hospital, but it took me a minimum of two weeks to get free of the effects of anasthesia - I kept falling asleep with little or no warning. This has happened each time after I had surgery. Back in the day when you recuperated from surgery in the hospital, rather than at home - it was less noticeable. The other reason you want to sleep is your body isn't getting the fluids and Protein it needs. I agree with everyone else - sip continually while you are awake. I even keep a bottle of Water next to the bed so when I wake up in the night to go pee, I drink then. Also - everyone is depressed to some degree after surgery and after getting off the pain pills. The reality of what you have done hits you - and the enormity of the journey ahead of you. Right now - you don't see any rewards - just the pain / discomfort and the realization that your good buddy food isn't your good buddy any more. Hang tough and take it a day at a time. Practice the behaviors you need to learn to be successfull with your sleeve - sipping throughout the day, getting in as much protein as possible and walking as much as possible. Be sure and take pictures and take your measurements now, so you will have things to compare to as the weight starts rapidly falling off. The rewards of your decision will come soon. Me - I am not a patient person - I was not into "delayed gratification" - which is why food was my good buddy for so many years. I have had to learn that some things really are worth waiting and working for. The sleeve was a great choice for me - I couldn't be happier with my decision. I still have close to 30 pounds to go, and those are going to be harder than the first 90 - but I have the skills built that will get me there. You can do this, too. Good luck. If you want to ask me anything during your sleeve journey - feel free to PM me.

Everytime I have had surgery and had a body part removed (gallbladder, hysterectomy, now the sleeve) I tell the surgeon - "I don't care if you find the Hope Diamond's twin inside me, don't show it to me." I am squeamish and didn't want to see my innards.

Once you have a clear understanding with your insurance about what is covered and what isn't, and a list of approved surgeons - set up visits with a couple of the surgeons and negotiate what you could get for the amount of coverage your insurance would pay. In other words, negotiate! It might seem odd - to negotiate for something like surgery - but WLS is a competitive market right now. I wouldn't consider doing this with surgeons I didn't think were top-notch - don't go to a newbie who is learning the procedure - hoping for a good deal. You will never know if you could have gotten a better deal for your surgery unless you ask. (I am one of those sick folks who actually enjoy negotiating when I buy cars). Good luck!

Yes, it makes sense. For guys - the body fat % for athletes is 6-13%. The body fat % for fitness (as opposed to athletes) is 14-17%. So if you have 240 pounds of muscle mass, your body fat % would be: at 15 pounds of fat (255 pounds total weight) you would have 6% body fat at 20 pounds of fat (260 pounds total weight) you would have 7.6% body fat at 40 pounds of fat (280 pounds total weight) you would have 14% body fat. It is going to depend on how much you want to exercise during your weight loss process and for the rest of your life what your ultimate ratio of lean body mass to fat is. Don't let it overly concern you at this point. Just be in as good of shape as possible (exercise wise) when you go through surgery, and start walking as soon as possible after surgery. Follow your surgeon's rules for when you can start exercising. After six months of weight loss, have another evaluation of lean muscle mass / body fat % and set your final weight loss goal then.

I spent a year doing research - so I knew what to expect. And I knew a lot about what food to eat afterwards. But, I wish I would have had all my clothes organized by size - so as I shrank rapidly - I would know what I had and have them at hand. I would also have thought through what I might need to suplement for the gaps in my wardrobe. I have had a relatively easy six months. I found Protein drinks I could tolerate and enjoy early on. I only use them now for convenience occasionally. Good luck.

There is an entertaining thread in the MAN ROOM sub forum on this topic. I thought it was the only topic there for a long time - it seemed to always be the one last responded to. I think the responses range from a few days to a few weeks. Depends on how long you were in the hospital, any side effects - but primarily how soon you feel well enough for the fun and games. The only concern is you don't want to tear anything or pop stiches.

At my highest weight - I wore a 46D. Those bras were tight in the band (probably needed a bigger band size) and not too full in the cup. So I wasn't well endowed considering I was ~120 lbs overweight. Now that I have lost 89 pounds, I am wearing a 42B. The 42C's I have are too big in the cup. I have another ~30 pounds to lose, and I expect I will end up a 36 or 38 A or B. I'm hoping I don't go back to the double/A training bras of my early teens! And perky is not a valid descriptor - droopy is much more accurate. I am going to start doing a bunch of chest / upper body exercises, to build up the underlying musculature - but that will leave me with a toned torso with flat saggy boobs on the front. At that point I will evaluate my surgical options. But now I'm a size 14 with droopy boobies rather than a fat size 24!

You are gorgeous!

For the first six weeks I probably was getting around 300-400 calories and maybe 40 grams of protein. Then I started eating around 60 grams of protein and 500 calories. Between 5 and 6 months I started eating maybe 600 calories and maybe 65 -70 grams of protein. Now, post 6 months, I eat between 65-80 grams of protein and maybe 800 calories. Some weekend days I may go above the 80 / 800 mark. I do not want to go over 1000.

Wow! What a great compliment! I will have a hard time not hugging a person that ever asks me that question.

I take my measurements monthly - on the first of the month. I kind of make it a pampering kind of thing - take either a long hot shower or soak in a tub - get rid of the hair on my legs and underarms, cream my entire body - then mesure and record on my tracking spreadsheet. Once that is all done and I am dressed with makeup on - I take a picture for my records. Occasionally - if between measuring times - I notice some body part seems to have shrunk - I might take an interim measurement - but I don't record it.

You have a great attitude - your sense of humour will serve you well as you go through this sleeve journey. Try drinking as much fluids as possible - it helps stave off the hunger. Good Luck!

If you enjoy scallops and like to grill - try this recipe 1/2 pound paper-thin slices prosciutto 1 pounds medium scallops (about 40) Olive oil, for drizzling 1 lemons Sprigs of fresh rosemary Freshly ground pepper Directions Preheat grill to high. Halve 1 slice prosciutto lengthwise. Fold in half lengthwise, and wrap around sides of 1 scallop, overlapping prosciutto ends. Repeat with remaining prosciutto and scallops. Thread several scallops on each skewer. Drizzle scallops lightly with oil, squeeze lemon over skewers Strip rosemary fronds from sprigs. EIther crumble it in your hand or mash it in a mortar. Sprinkle rosemary and pepper over skewers of scallops. Grill scallops, turning once, until just opaque, about 3 minutes per side. 2.8 ouunces of scallops (approximately 3) with the prosicutto wrapped around them are: 88 calories 15 g of Protein 1.5 g of carbs 2.5 g of fat

Three things that cummulatively added up to the epiphany: 1) I had my internist tell me thta it wsn't a matter of IF I was going to have a heart attack but WHEN I would have one. 2) I was the same age as my father when he dropped dead of a massive heart attack. 3) Last September I was climbing up a steep hill in a park to go to a balloon festival with my two sisters and my 85 year old mom. My chest started hurting so badly, I thought I was going to die right there. I thought that would be an awful thing to die right in front of my mom. After I got back from the vacation with Mom and my sisters, I got serious about getting the weight off.

I take calcium in the morning with my multi-vitamin, B12, and D. I take iron in the evening with C (helps the iron absorb better) and another multi. I also take my PPI in the evening.

What a wonderful accomplishment! Congratulations!

Even if you have made a mistake (which I believe you haven't), staying in your house and worrying yourself sick isn't going to turn back time. You had the surgery, you are doing OK - now you need to focus on learning to live with it and to THRIVE and be healthy. If you need something to help you be less anxious for a little while, ask your doc. Read the threads on this forum - many people have very few side effects from the surgery and live wonderful healthy lives. I don't believe the surgery shortens our life - but it definately improves the quality. What is that saying - "it's not about how many breathes you take - it's about the moments that take your breath away." Now, I am going to live to retirement (most probably) and hopefully to watch my grandchildren grow up. I can take them to Disney World and not cramp their style by being so obese I couldn't go with them. In summary - try not to borrow trouble! Good luck!