PdxMan

Yeah, I went to costco and grabbed a 50# bag of rice and got about 20 feet before I had to put it down. And to think I walked around with two of those on me. Gotta love it.

I knew there was a good post with images to hopefully settle everything down related to the whole sleeve stretching epidemic: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/202400-sleeve-size-after-surgery-and-4-years-later/

That is awesome! Go to the grocery store and pick up two hand baskets. Go over to the baking section and put a 10# bag of sugar in each one. Walk around the store for 10 minutes like this returning the bags to their shelf. Walk out of the store with a huge smile on your face knowing you never have to carry those around again.

My surgeon told me my sleeve is like a leather wallet. When you first get it and stuff it full of cards and money, it is tight, but over time, it relaxes and you are able to fit more in, but it is not going to stretch back anywhere near its original size. I am almost 3 years out and I have found this to be true. I have been at the same level of restriction for the past 2 years.

I originally was going to have the band as the thought of having 85% of my stomach permanently removed just seemed like too drastic of a step. But as I continued my research I began to reflect. Why do I need my entire stomach when I see so many folks getting along just fine living the sleeved life? For me, it came down to realizing that if I went with band, it gave me the option to once again to have 100% of my stomach back so I could abuse food in the same manner to which I was accustomed. I found myself rationalizing, "I know, I'll just get it unfilled around the holidays and then filled back up after." That thought actually went through my head. It told me I had issues with my relationship with food and I needed a permanent change. I had to protect myself from myself and the sleeve would give me the power to do that. You will read things from anti-sleevers saying, "But what if I need 100% of my stomach? What if I get stomach cancer or something?" This was a question I asked my surgeon and he laughed. His response was, "You have a better chance of being killed walking across the street than you do of getting stomach cancer. And if you were to get stomach cancer, what makes you think have 100% of your stomach will be any better? Chances are you would end up with the same solution anyway, so ..." It was the best decision I have made in recent memory, for sure.

If you do a search for the member, ButterTheBean, you will find a bevy of threads relating to his plastics. He doesn't visit here often as he has moved on, but you can read all about him.

My FIL is a big Goonies fan. Has gone to some of the events they occasionally have. I'm on the Beaverton/Portland border. I'm going to be organizing the BariatricPal local meetings for the Portland Metro, so hopefully you can join us. I have yet to nail down a location, but I will let you know when I do.

With the sleeve you will still need Vitamins the rest of your life. YES! With either surgery you need vitamins for the rest of your life otherwise you will feel crappy and get sick!! So ... I just gotta throw my two cents in here ... I am a sleeve patient, so I cannot speak to the other bariatric procedures. It is possible to get all of your nutritional needs in through eating balanced meals and not have to take vitamins the rest of your life. Some folks who get WLS do begin a route of being very conscience of nutrition. They understand what they are putting in their bodies and feed their bodies what it needs. I am a work in progress and at this point am only doing the Vitamin B12 shots. I was doing a sublingual, but my blood tests revealed I could not get my levels up even taking them daily. But I had B12 issues even before my surgery, so ... I guess the bottom line is we are all different in our approach. Early out, it is impossible to meet your body's nutritional needs and vitamin supplementation will be required. But once you are able to eat the "normal" sleeve life and have the desire to not be on vitamins, you can get what you need through a good, balanced diet. Some folks get the sleeve just so they can lose a bunch of weight and get the restriction it offers. Eat the same way they did pre-op occasionally consuming nutritionally irrelevant foods, just less of them. Which is totally fine, but these folks would most likely need vitamin supplementation. So, for all the noobs and researchers reading this, your program will determine your need for vitamin supplementation, not the sleeve procedure.

Hmmm ... I have seen many folks on here who, like myself, were given the same restrictions as your relatives ... 6 weeks. I don't understand why there would be a rush and why your Dr said you should have already been working out. Also, at what level are you doing your cardio? Don't suppose you are a bit overly zealous to get going and perhaps over doing it a bit? It is hard not to when you get this new, wonderful tool which you know is going to help you lose weight. But, be patient. It will all happen, but you must let your stomach heal first. As I understand it, your suture line take approximately 6 weeks to scar over and heal. Your body is working very hard at recovery. Having to also recover from a workout may be taxing yourself a bit. My advice would be to wait the 6 weeks. I can't see where any good can come from starting earlier. Also, I just want to throw a note out to the fine ladies out there. I know it is difficult to get in the habit of checking what forum you are in when posting a reply and some threads seem gender neutral, but the OP has posted in that forum for a reason, otherwise, they would post in a more general one. Thanks!

I also feel hair loss is unavoidable. I exceeded my protein goals, got all my liquids, Biotin, Probiotics and Vitamins in. I was running 30 miles a week and getting 8 hours of sleep a day, yet, at month 6, I started losing my hair. I shaved it down to nothing and just let it all grow back naturally, which it did over the next 3 months. You could never tell today looking at me that I had ever lost any hair. Also just wanted to throw a reminder out there to the ladies that this is the Guy's Room. Please drop by to take a look, but just like in the powder Room, responses are requested from men only: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/250199-attention-ladies-the-man-room-is-for-men-only/ I know it is difficult to get in the habit of checking what forum you are in when posting a reply and some threads seem gender neutral, but the OP has posted in that forum for a reason, otherwise, they would post in a more general one. Thanks!

Yes, we are very similar to the ladies in this respect. There really isn't too much you can do to avoid it, so I just shaved my head down and then let it all grow back, which usually isn't an option for them. You can see my pictures in my gallery.

The problem is, the the web browser, the threads show up unqualified as to which sub forum they come from. Some folk are not checking which forum they are posting to before hitting the "reply" button. What's funny is, there was such brew ha-ha a couple years ago over the men posting in the powder Room and now ... I will send reminders asking to check the sub forum before replying.

I believe that was the point I made in my initial post. If the Dr determines there is a medical need, most insurance companies should cover it. There are times when the excess skin is causing other issues. Again, medical need, not cosmetic.

Ah, yes, I see your Dr was Emma Patterson. I went to her WLS seminar 3 years ago. Yesterday was incredible ... too bad it isn't going to last. I was a chronic bronchitis suffer. Actually haven't had it since sleeve surgery. Perhaps just being healthier overall. Well, yogurt, amoxicillin, then Water. Just keep trying to get it all in. Since your name is Goonie, are you in the Astoria area?

Wow, that seems crazy. What if you are in a car accident and your Dr determines a need for some form of reconstructive surgery? Sometimes I just have to shake my head at what is defined as "insurance". Know what I mean?

Have you ever been prescribed this before? Does the prescribing physician know you were just sleeved? I am assuming they do. I wouldn't worry so much about the cramping as I would about a generally known side effect of amoxicillin in women and that would be yeast infections as it does throw off the bacteria balance in your body. It is often recommended that women eat yogurt when taking amoxicillin, so, that may need to be your intake for the next week. Water and yogurt. Otherwise, taking amoxicillin post sleeve should be fine. I was 1 month post before having it prescribed after having another (unrelated) procedure.

Yes, if there is a medical necessity. They will not pay for cosmetic work, but most will pay if the Dr determines there is a medical necessity.

Have you been properly fitted for shoes to match your degree of pronation/supination? Walking around casually, the shoes are probably fine, but if you are walking 5 miles at a good pace, you may need something more supportive for you gait. I always suggest going to a local running store for a free analysis. Of course, a trip to the podiatrist would be more complete. Could be a plantar wart (sometimes you can't even see them) or something else going on, but a good, fitted pair of shoes are always a good thing to have.

Your weight is going to fluctuate. If you were to chart your weight over time, were your expectations to have that be a straight line sloping down? I hope not, because that is just not the way this works. Also, since you are using a scale, know that it only measures weight, not fat. What are you looking to lose weight or fat? Remember, it is generally accepted if you consume 3,500 more calories than you burn, you will gain a pound. Burn 3,500 calories more than you consume, you lose a pound. So, assuming your resting metabolic rate is 2,000 calories a day, let's do the math: 7 days in a week 2,000 calorie BMR 3,500 calories for 1 pound 7 (Days) x 2,000 (BMR) = 14,000 calories burned in a week sitting on your couch doing nothing 3,500 (calories in a pound) x 1.8 (amount of weight gained) = 6,300 calories (14,000 + 6,300) (number of calories to gain 1.8 pounds) / 7 (days in a week) = 2,900 calories per day. So then, if you think you have been consuming 2,900 calories a day, then you might have something to worry about as you are putting on fat. But if you are consuming less than that, then it is most likely Water weight. How's the hormones been lately?

I started with iceberg lettuce at about 5 months slowly adding romain, then added spinach, then kale. It was at about the 6 month mark that I was able to eat any leafy veggies. Salads, especially spinach and kale, are VERY fibrous and difficult to digest. Of course, iceberg holds no nutritional value, so IMO, it's only purposes serves as a transitional lettuce until your stomach can handle relevant ones. Just take it slow and listen to your stomach. It will tell you when you have pushed things too far.

.

Sliming does happen with the sleeve, but most often the cause is usually the same. Eating too large of a bite, taking the next bite too soon or not chewing well enough are the common factors. I believe this is true for the other WLS options, too, but correct me if I am mistaken. It is one of those things I only had to experience once before I adopted permanent changes of chewing very well and putting my utensil down in between bites. I have heard of those further along still having issues with sliming, but I believe there are other issues going on. LipstickLady just made a post saying she has a small stricture, so it does still happen, but only as an exception.

I am two weeks shy of a year out and I still slime and vomit from time to time. I don't track it, but maybe once or twice a week I have a bad day and a meal that goes down easily comes right back up. I don't feel bad about it, it's just what happens. Uh ... I'm with CowGirlJane on this. This far out, you should not be sliming and/or vomiting around eating. Of course, I am assuming y'all are not scarfing down food, chewing twice, then swallowing or taking huge bites ... right? It may be prudent to get scoped and see what is going on.

Two months post op ...? You'll be fine. As you said, plan ahead, be prepared (good advice for ANY camping). Physically, you will be fine setting up tents, chopping wood, hiking ...

Irene, I have also heard that sleeve is not a good choice for those with reflux issues, but I do not understand the reasoning behind it. Like myself, Curvy also says the sleeve cured her reflux issues. Do you know the medical reasons why Drs do not recommend sleeve for reflux folk? Perhaps if the root cause is something other than a hiatal hernia?