JoanieW

Lena, thanks for sharing your story. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. Did they redo the plication or leave your stomach as it was before the surgery?

Thanks for the info, Dr. Watkins.

I chose Dr. Watkins and am glad I did. He does the surgery in a surgical center on the hospital campus, so I was very comfortable with that. The first thing he does when you are under, is uses an endoscope to look at your stomach. He looks for hiatal hernias and fixes those, so no more reflux. If there are any problems in your stomach, he won't do the surgery. It has been six months, and his office is still checking in on me. I think he's very thorough and really wants you to be successful. I had a lot of scar tissue from previous surgeries that he took out also. He spent a lot more time on me than the time he allotted for the surgery. I'm very happy with my decision.

Hi Tracy, I am down 42 pounds since August with 18 more to go. I have never thrown up. Joanie

Hi Olivia. I have no regrets. See my post from today to KarenKaren under the topic Hungry Too Soon. I think we've all been where you are and most of us are very happy with our decision. Joanie

Hi Karen, I had my surgery in August and still get hungry every three hours as well. That's the only part about the plication I don't like. Other than that, I'm very happy I did this. The hunger is nothing like before. I'm down 42 pounds with 18 to go. It's been slow going for me because of the hunger, but it's a lot easier than without this tool. I can have something small, like a cheese stick, and it helps in between meals. I never had any vomiting, pain, or slimes and have been able to eat whatever I want. I'm happy to say that this was the answer for me. Dr. Watkins' office still checks in on me to see how I'm doing. They really want us to be successful. Joanie

You're very welcome. Do keep me posted on your progress and good luck on Monday.

Hey Sheila. Glad you are on the mend. I didn't know that the vomiting and dry heaves was caused by the anesthesia. It will get better. You're right, Dr. Watkins and his staff are top notch.

Hi Karen. My understanding is that you do recover faster with the plication, but I'm not sure about going back to work that soon. I probably could have, because I had a fairly easy time. I was just tired for a week or so. However, my sister-in-law has had a rough time from the anesthesia and swelling in her stomach, and I don't think she could have gone back to work in five days. I chose the plication because I was afraid of leaks with the sleeve.

Hi Sarah. Have you spoken with your doctor? A medium pizza seems like an awful lot to put in that size stomach. I know I can put a lot more high calorie foods in my stomach than regular food, but I couldn't do a whole pizza.

Hi Sue. I've been doing very well. Thanks for asking. I'm down 37 pounds. It's been slow going these last two months, but it's my fault. I have pretty much been eating what I want, just less of it. I don't eat red meat, fish, or pork, so my protein sources are limited. I'm still doing the Protein drinks along with my regular meals, and that adds a lot of calories. Plus, I haven't been exercising. With all that said, I'm happy with my weight loss. I bought two new pairs of jeans the other day, size 12, and I'm off my blood pressure meds and CPAP. I have 23 more pounds to lose, if that, and I'm happy with 1-2 pounds a week. It's funny how I can sit down for a meal and only eat a little bit, but if I wanted to eat high-calorie food like ice cream, chips, nuts, Peanut Butter and crackers, etc., I can eat a lot of that, so I have to be very careful still.

Hi Sheila. Good to see you on here.

Ken, thanks for posting this. Amy, I am so sorry you have to wait. But thank God Dr. Watkins endoscoped you before doing the surgery. Please keep us posted as to your progress.

It really depends on your surgeon. With Dr. Watkins, for the first week after surgery, I was on liquids which he considers is anything you can sip through a straw. So anything I could put in a blender and sip, like creamed or vegetable Soup, (no meat), juices including V-8 juice, milk with Carnation instant Breakfast, etc., I was able to have. I could also have pudding on this phase. I didn't have anything spicy or with a lot of fat. The second and third week after surgery, I went to mushies which is anything that's...well, mushy. I had mashed potatoes, baked potato, cottage cheese, pudding, yogurt, oatmeal, etc. I tried mac and cheese but that didn't sit well. Probably because there was too much fat. After those three weeks, I was able to eat regular food, and I haven't had any problems with that.

Congratulations, Karrie. Losing 46 pounds in eight weeks is incredible! Keep up the good work.

Ck, that is amazing! Congratulations! I've finallly made it into the 170s (ok 179). :-)

Sorry Deb, but I've never been slimed. Did you have the plication or the sleeve? I don't think that happens with the plication, but I'm not really sure. When did you have your surgery?

This is just horrible! I am so sorry. You will all be in my prayers. Please keep us posted as to how she is doing. Joanie

Good luck, lguidry. Keep us posted as to how you're doing. Joanie

Sarah, so sorry to hear that you've hit a stall. Are you writing down everything you eat. I'm finding that I can get a lot of calories in my little stomach. Everyday, I write down my calories, Protein, and fluids. It makes a big difference. Also, it seems like you lost an awful lot of weight in a short amount of time. Maybe you're just catching up. It's been eight weeks for me, and I've only lost 29 pounds in comparison to your 33 pounds in 11 weeks. I don't think this is your final result.

Glad to help in any way I can. I'm also glad you're off your diabetes meds. Keep up the good work.:wink0:

JG, how are you?

The biggest reason for having the VSP instead of the VSG was because I was afraid of leaks. I've heard some horror stories about that, and it just scared me. The other reason is because of the fact the VSP is reversisble. I had a lot of what ifs. Most people don't worry about these things at all, but it was a big deal for me. One thing you might want to try is to make your decision for either one and then see if you can live with that decision. Try it out for a few days. If you choose the VSG, ask yourself if you can live with the risks. If it's the VSP, just ask youself about whatever concerns you may have about going this route.

Hi 4My, I have had the hunger feeling two hours after I eat also. It feels like my stomach is growling. So annoying. What I started to do was make myself belch. When I do that, the feeling goes away. I felt the same way you did, but mine turned out to be gas after all. Try that and see if it helps. I'm eight weeks out, down 27 pounds, and coming off my blood pressure meds. My growling was almost constant at first and I was regretting the surgery, but now I'm fine.

I've lost 27 pounds in eight weeks. I am slowing down as well but am very happy with my weight loss so far. I am coming off my blood pressure meds, and that's a great feeling! Only 33 pounds to go!