mednar

Lmom, How did your 5k go? I contemplated this for a bit, then actually had my first day yesterday. I'd read about it on here and on other websites. I found an app for my iPod that paces you while you listen to your music. I think out of 30 minutes yesterday, I ran about 8. Was kinda surprised, but I actually could do it. I have been walking an hour at day at least five days a week since a month out. I also do an exercise class three mornings a week. I'm going to have to rotate out the walking though. My feet were killing me last night, and I only did the 30 minute interval of walking/running. They were already uncomfortable from the walking, but not sure they can stand this at this point. Any advice you guys have on how to deal with the aching feet, or just in generalwould be great. It took me 15 minutes to walk normally this morning.

Mary - A lot of it depends on the type of food for me. If I eat something like a chicken breast, I can't eat as much as something like Soup. I made homemade soup this weekend (lots of veggies with ground turkey and beef for protein). I can eat more of that than I can just straight Protein. For me it seems to be a food consistency issue. My doctor advised to eat protein first, or mostly first, then veggies, etc. If I follow that advice I do seem to feel full faster. I also have days when I feel full on a smaller amount of protein than I do on others. That I can't explain. I'm almost five months out and on days when I don't have a treat, I usually average around 900-1200 calories, more toward the higher end. That hasn't changed all that much since one month out for me. I think I could probably push myself to eat more if I tried, but I also got sick several times from eating more than I should early on. I try to stop when I first feel like I'm full. Take care.

Not experienced a site specific pain before Mary. I had significant issues sleeping on my stomach in the first month or two after surgery, but that went away with time. Doubt it's the same thing. Mine was just a general sort of discomfort and feeling nauseous whenever I was on my stomach before falling asleep. Don't remember waking up with discomfort. Hope you're well.

Hi Maddy. I wonder what you consider junk food? If by junk you mean fast food type food, having surgery in June of this year and changing my eating habits afterwards, I don't crave that any longer. I used to survive on that stuff several nights a week. Munchies to me usually means I crave salty, crunchy things. I had to retrain my brain away from wanting chips and that type of junk food (or at least try to retrain it). Instead of buying chips, I buy things like good pickles that satisfy that taste and texture sensation I want without setting myself up for failure. I don't often crave sweets, but I keep low calorie popsicles in the freezer so that I can have one and not stress if I want one. I still want chips and that type of stuff, but I'm also really more aware of how much longer I'm pushing back my success. All that said, I have to avoid the chip aisle at the grocery store or I still sometimes cave. I am a stress eater to some degree. A few weeks back, I was really tired and stressed with work. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home one night, and in a moment of psychosis bought a large bag of chips. I managed to eat a good portion of that bag over the next several hours. I also used to get the munchies out of boredom, usually at night. It was when I made a lot of bad choices. It's better now, but there are still nights when I get that urge to eat even though I'm not hungry. I can usually tell myself that I spent a boatload of money on surgery and have worked pretty hard since then to be successful through exercise and diet changes. I can usually change whatever I'm doing then and avoid a snack disaster. There have still been times when I've made the "wrong" decision, but I look at the percentage of "right" to "wrong" decisions I make now and just move on. Take care.

I'm glad you posted. I checked on here earlier today and was worried that you hadn't posted in a while. I hope you continue to feel better as you recover.

I'm fairly sure that I remember being able to drink normally soon after the plication (with water). I was on clear liquids and Popsicles the week after surgery. Clear liquids for me were basically "clear" Crystal Light type drinks, Water, and fruit juice diluted 1:1 with water. I wasn't chugging any of that, but sipping and drinking fairly normally soon after surgery. Hope you're doing well.

Mary, Perhaps some of the other female plication patients can speak up here. I can only speak for myself as a male. I lost 9.5 lbs before surgery (not sure what your doctor recommended). Less than what I (and my doctor) had hoped, but I had great weight loss for two months after surgery, and I've had typical results since then (4-8lbs per month). Follow your Doctor's dietary guidelines before and after surgery. Get your exercise in, drink your water, eat your protein. I'm less than four months out. There aren't a lot of other males who post here. I did exceptionally well the first two months, then dropped to a typical weight loss for WLS patients. Disappointing, but also understandable that those results weren't sustainable long term. There are a couple of people who post here frequently who are also female that might be able to give you more advice as to what expect. I'm sure they'd be happy to share/point you to their posts that describe their experiences. I still have second thoughts every time that payment comes from my paycheck each month. I would like to think it's normal to second guess ourselves. Even though I still wonder what my body's doing sometimes, this seems to have been the best choice for me. Wish you the best.

Hrm. I had not read that information in the link before or seen that post. I'm going to call and check for sure now. I'm hoping I'm wrong about the type of stitch material or that Dr. Ponce can explain why he chooses to use that material. Not that there's anything to be done about it now, but it would just be nice to know.

Congrats!

The biggest concern I had going into this procedure was the idea that at some point down the road the stitches would disappear or pop out over time. I had my three month follow up early in Sept. I didn't realize it that I wasn't meeting with Dr. Ponce at that point, but I did have this conversation again with the nutritionist who did my three month follow up conversation. She was able to look in the medical file and tell me that he had used Prolene brand non-absorbable sutures for my procedure (I'm about 80 percent sure I'm remembering that brand name correctly. I did a search for the name and they actually exist. I'm not sure how that name would be in my head otherwise). As far as them popping, she seemed to indicate that even if an individual stitch popped at some point, they weren't connected to the others. She also mentioned the idea of the stomach scar tissue helping to hold its shape in that event. There's another post on this board somewhere that mentions the idea of the type of stitching procedure being important. I've wondered as I've read the posts from others if the interplay of that variable, along with Dr. experience, the size of the tube they use to wrap your stomach around, diet, exervise etc. is somehow responsible for some of the slow weight loss that some have experienced. As this is a relatively new procedure, I wonder if there's a standardized way to do it? If not, I wonder if that lack of a standardized way to do it might be at the root of the problem. Based on the lack of information I found, it doesn't seem like there is. I've done a lot of talking there that isn't based on a lot of factual information, and I'm not a medical professional. It's just what was going through my head before 6 am today.

I've never had issues with my gallbladder or gallstones, and it was never brought up by the bariatric doctor. I've had issues with kidney stone formation since being a teenager. I'm hoping the long term changes to diet I've made because of this surgery help me produce less of them, though I've already had to have one blasted post surgery.

Mary, I only realized in the last minute or two that you'd been posing in a blog. Sorry about not catching that. I hope that you'll do well. Holler if you need us

Bekrudz, As far as pain meds, my doctor gave me hydrocodone in liquid form for pain (I had none). There was also an anti-nausea drug (ondansetron) that I put under my tongue and it dissolved there (that was helpful). I used that frequently for about a week after surgery. He also prescribed an anti-spasmodic drug (hyoscyamine) that helped with my feelings of "something weird is going on with my stomach" while it was adjusting to its new shape. I think the last two were far more helpful to me in adjusting to nausea and the new shape of my stomach during that time. I was also given an anti-nausea patch behind my ear the day of surgery. It was supposed to last 3 days, but fell off the day after. My doctor also gave me this bracelet that required me to apply a gel between the bracelet and my skin. The bracelet basically sent an electrical pulse to my wrist every few seconds. I'm not sure how/why that was supposed to help. It was somewhat uncomfortable, but I felt like it helped to a degree. The battery in it lasted a couple of days. Different doctors say different things about what you can have post-surgery it seems. I was on a clear liquid diet the first week after having surgery. I think I had most clear juice diluted with Water and sugar free popsicles that week. The popsicles were the best part of that week. I loved being able to have something cold. I liked broth then as contrast in flavor, but I think my stomach had issues with the salt content of "regular" broth. After one mishap, I avoided it entirely. This whole process has made me more aware of the salt content in food (a good thing for me). Hopefully your doctor has a nutritionist that will have a consultation with you to review what the doctor recommends. Mine gave me a printed copy of what kinds of food I should eat in the first month after surgery. Wish you the best in your journey.

When I read your post, I wonder if this wasn't a reaction to the sugar content in the sundae. I was about at your point post surgery (I think) when I got a sugary drink from Starbucks and felt like I'd be sick, but it ultimately passed. I felt cold, my heart raced, I sweated, and felt like I could vomit, but never actually did. You had your surgery with Dr. Ponce like I did. I was so afraid of not following instructions about sweets, but I finally had to have something I remembered being a pleasure to drink. Then I got sick. I've not gone back for one of those again. I wonder if that wasn't just your body's response to the sugar? I've not had the same reaction since. Maybe I eat too much sugar and my body has readjusted what it reacts to. If there's something you don't feel is right or it continues, check it out with your primary doctor and/or Dr. Ponce. You know your body the best. Hope all is well.

That's awesome. You're an inspiration!

Bandedplicateddue - I didn't have the band/plication procedure, only the plication. I don't think Dr. Ponce offers it, and he's the only physician in town that has a lot of experience with weight loss surgery. He is looking for a group of 50 patients to undergo the plication locally in a clinical trial to collect "long term" data to submit toward hopefully collecting enough data toward helping make this a more acceptable procedure for insurance coverage here in the US (if it works long-term). My procedure was about 6K cheaper than than the VSG locally, which is why it was affordable for me. I'd researched the band and the VSG procedures a few years back. Stories about issues with the band were just starting to appear, and I couldn't afford the VSG procedure then or now. My monthly totals are: Gastric Plication June 6, 2011 with Dr. Jaime Ponce at Gastric Band Institute (link) Pre-op loss: 9.5 lbs Month 1 - 17 lbs Month 2 - 16.5 Month 3 - 6.6 Lena - I can't imagine the frustration you've been trough as a single person. Having a partner who also has to endure what you've experienced must be even harder. Take care.

Sept. 6 was three months out from my surgery date. I lost 6.6 lbs in August, which was disappointing to a degree from the two previous months. Going back to work presented me with problems with eating well consistently and maintaining a consistent exercise schedule. Now that school's underway, I think I can get back on track with both, but they both require a lot of planning ahead. Even though the weight loss was lower, I can definitely feel the results in how my cloths fit. I've officially retired my "biggest" pants and shirts. I'm down three waists sizes in pants and a size in shirts. I could probably squeeze myself down another size in both, but I don't like feeling like I'm stuffed into a sausage casing. Almost everyone has been overwhelmingly positive if I've told them what I've done. I typically say I've changed what I eat, exercise more, and had WLS over the summer if they ask. I did have person imply that I was cheating by having it done, but whatever gets her through the day is fine by me. Oddly, she could stand to lose a few pounds herself. Overall, I'm still pleased with the results and my decision to have the plication. I just have to push myself a bit harder. I'd like to still be closer to 10 lbs a month lost, but this is better than anything I've manged before. Hope you're all well.

Lmom - Thanks for responding with honesty. I hope that it came across that I was concerned because I feel like that "being on a diet" stage again is where I've felt like I'm headed this past month. I just hate the idea that I could eat that much in another three months. I know the amount you can eat gets larger over time, I was just hoping the max was smaller. I've also struggled with my carb/protein ratio this past month and don't like where I seem to be headed with carb intake either. My caloric intake is around 1200 calories per day, but that ratio lately has been shifting towards carbs, and my body seems to have responded negatively. It's frustrating. I'm just worried to some degree that I'm going to end up eating like I used to, which is kinda scary after spending 10 grand on this after it seemed so promising the first two months. I know that I'm probably overreacting, but after reading about everyone's experiences and complications on here, it has me concerned that I may have made the wrong decision. Being a more "normal" eater was something I was after also. CC - I feel the same way in general, but going from 16-17 lbs the first two months to six this past month felt kinda like a letdown to myself of some sort. I'm happy with 6 lbs, it just makes the effort you put in seem like its a lot less productive maybe? This was my first slowdown overall, and it's frustrating. I think I was probably overly confident that I could/would maintain that rate for longer. Maybe somehow, I was the exception? But it seems like my sweet tooth has kicked into overdrive this past month, and I'm where everyone else is. Overall, I'm just trying to make sense of the change I've seen and how it relates to everyone's experience. Wish this were easier .

Lmom, I wondered about a few things when I read your post. You've lost an average of 8.5 lbs per month post WLS. That's what's "average" based on WLS, disregarding whatever variable this procedure is. Those number are based on what I remember being told about WLS before the plication. Not purporting to be a scientific authority here. I'm a bit over three months out. If I ordered a 6" sub from Subway, there's no way I could eat a whole one. I'd be in the bathroom throwing up. I do well to eat half of those English muffin Breakfast sandwiches they make. I can push it and eat nearly a whole one over time, but I feel bloated and at the "almost vomit" stage at that point. There were a couple of posts that I read recently (maybe from you, if I recall correctly) about different types of stitching procedures that DRs use. I never knew about different types of stitching procedures prior to having this done. I'll do my best to call my doctor and find out next week. All the posts I read are jumbled in my head at this point. When I last met with my nutritionist, I was more worried about the longevity of the material the stitches were made with than the type of stitching procedure. Basically, I never knew to ask about types of stitches or the how they were placed. This could also be an important difference. I also wonder what you're carb to Protein intake is. I felt like I was more successful in the first two months than the third. I reintroduced more carbs in my third month, and I lost a lot less weight. I went to more bread and fruit in general, and it seems to have slowed my weight loss down. I can't specifically attribute my lower weight loss to that. t was what I changed, along with a decent drop in walking daily because school started up again. I've tried a lot more this week to walk regularly again since it seems to be something my body responded to well before. 8.5 lbs per month is still an accomplishment of which you should be proud of attaining. I hope what you've achieved continues. I hope all this comes across as my being curious and undersanding. I was so disappointed with my weight loss numbers during the third month. Even though they were average, in all other aspects of my life that hasn't been acceptable. A big part of this process for me is that my body seems to have a mind of its own. Take care, Mednar

Thanks Lena and ChowChows. I think I've spent the last hour trying to read (and reread, and reread again) the posts from ChowChows about her recent difficulties. I've just not been able to digest everything so that it makes sense to me yet as far as ChowChows situation goes. Whatever the case is, I hope you're well (and soon). Lena (and I may have missed this), what do you foresee? I read the posts on here, but if I don't respond soon after, it's hit or miss for me. Are you willing to try again? If you do, would you choose a surgeon outside of the US? Or was that doctor specific to the first attempt at a weight loss procedure? It's so discouraging that you've have to have the procedure reversed and then be left again at a starting point. I think I might just reach a breaking point with that doctor. I was a self-pay patient with a four year loan against my car for this procedure (with a low APR. thanks for something credit rating). I can't imagine the prospect of this turning out to be a disappointment as far as results go. Actually, I can. I think I'd be reluctant to try again. (Sorry if I'm asking things you've already answered in other threads. Some of this feels familiar. Point me in the right direction if so.) Hoping for the best for you both.

ChowChows, Sorry about not responding (Hurricane/Tropcal Depression Lee left me without power at home for a few days. I check the board at school, but don't always have time to respond during the day). Trying to follow this thread and keep up with things has left me not understanding a big part of what has developed with you recently (at least this hour). I need to reread this several times. Whatever the case may be, I hope you're doing ok, and that the outcome of this new development reinforces what you've achieved so far. Let us know when you can. All my best.

I investigated weight loss procedures two-three years ago (age 33-34). All the stories I was beginning to see with long-term band patients made me cautious. The complications made the cost outlay seem similar to VSG if a person had to have a second procedure, if not much more costly to have revisions. If I'd had the money available to me then, I would have went with the VSG. (I have the health insurance with a 4K out of pocket expense before it picks up anything, plus all the bariatric exclusions then). I waited and tried yet another time to exercise and eat properly. Yet again, I wasn't able to control the eating part of the equation. I'm not even sure I realized you could add age info when I signed up back in May of this year. I was really more interested in the experience others were having before I committed to this procedure. I was on here a lot. I even got a message from Alex the moderator to stop lurking and post something.

Really glad you went to the ER and found out. So glad Lena told you to also. I feel bad for posting in your last thread about dumping syndrome and not having enough information because I didn't understand what you were posting about. It can be hard to realize sometimes what is normal behavior associated with a relatively unknown procedure, and what's truly out of the ordinary. With this procedure, it seems like we're on our own (and maybe the doctors) trying to recognize what's happening because of the weight loss procedure and what's happening otherwise. I hope the procedure to remove your gallbladder goes well and you recover quickly. Let us know.

Jenn - Way to go! You continue to be an inspiration to me. I hope you continue to let us know how you're doing. It means a lot.

Huh. It does sound like dumping syndrome. I don't think I had a good idea of what it was when I posted.