monty

Hi All, Having a revision from the sleeve to by-pass on an emergency basis on Monday due to GERD. I live several hours from the hospital so my surgeon wants me to stay for couple of days in a hotel. Started packing for the hospital and have been so preoccupied that it suddenly occurred to me I will need to bring food. Not Snacks this time LOL! I will have a fridge but not a freezer and also a microwave. Can anyone here suggest what to take/buy that will help with me those first few days. I will have to bring a cooler to keep things cold on the day of surgery. Thanks for your help.

Thanks so much to all of you who took the time to answer. I had a lot of help on here on this cite when I had the sleeve surgery and I see there are a lot of people on here that care about each other. I am trying to work thru all of this. I never even heard of GERD before now so it was never discussed and may only have been found out after my surgery. I have great confidence in my surgeon but I have been thru so much that I keep coaxing my body to go one more day, one more step-that was the only way I could get thru all of the testing. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Hi everyone, Was on here in the past under gastric sleeve but in trouble now and asking for your help. I had the gastric sleeve 4 years ago at age 68 and lost 90 lbs and kept it off. In the last two months I have lost another 22 lbs and regurgitate after 6 bites of food and have major acid reflux. After extensive testing they found the stomach outlet is too small and the esophagus ballooned out like a blocked funnel. Now at age 72 I have to have a by-pass in 9 days. They would do it sooner but I am too malnourished and have to drink Protein shakes to build up. No one told me about GERD or acid reflux. Even got hospitalized with aspirated pneumonia. Now I am so scared as I know nothing about by-pass and am researching as fast as I can. Can anyone give me some info/advice? Thanks for your concern and help.

Hi Everyone, I was sleeved in Oct, 2011 and have maintained a 93 lb loss and have had good health. However, even though I am on 40mg daily omeprazole, I have had aspirated pneumonia 4x. I try to avoid eating within 3 hours of going to bed and sleep with my head elevated. When I get it, my throat is on fire. It hurts to cough to clear the airway, the acid is so caustic. My heart starts racing and it's hard to get my breath. Then when that passes which takes some time, the lungs begin to "sing and make noise" with each exhale. Then it messes with my mind like I should never have ruined myself. I have had to go to the hospital 2x but dealt with it the last 2x. Has anyone else experienced this and has a Dr given you any insight as to how to prevent it or how to handle it? Thanks so much if you reply

Yes, I was tested for sleep apnea and when it came time to don the mask I could not handle it. Thankfully the surgery seems to have resolved that problem. I hope I can resolve the reflux because I am now paranoid about it happening. Thanks for your concern and God Bless!

Thank you so much for your reply. I had to have an endoscopy of the esophagus last May due to another health problem and everything was unremarkable except for a Hiatal hernia In the stomach. Shortly before that I saw my bariatric surgeon and he too said I may have to convert to a gastric by pass. Since I had never heard of such a problem Iwas surprised. I had my sleeve at age 68, pretty much on the end of the spectrum and just can not see myself going to the Gastric bypass. As it is I have digestive problems and only see more problems with further surgery. I did not know you could take Zantac and Nexium together. Also the apple cider. Bragg was my maiden name LOL. So I thank you for that and will try that as well as not eating any later than 3 hours before bed time and raising my head. Once again I am on a Zpack because of the instant pneumonia. The reflux burn is soooo scary!

Hi, Haven't posted in a while because everything was great until about one month ago. Had my sleeve just before my 68th birthday. So now I have these episodes where I begin to feel nauseated, clammy and heart beating fast. Then I push to move my bowels and saliva starts flowing involuntarily. Feel like I will die. I think a nerve must be pressed when I push down. Now I am getting anxious just thinking about having a bowel movement. I have started taking miralax to move things along but don't want to be dependent on that. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Please give me any thoughts you might have. Thanks.

I agree with all of you smart people. I am seeing my doctor tomorrow. When I mentioned dumping to my surgeon he said it was highly unlikely that I had dumping syndrome since I had the sleeve. Early on I had the exact symptoms described for dumping but didn't want to disagree with him. Those symptoms, however, would come on almost immediately after I ate and not later when I went to the bathroom. I soon learned to avoid those trigger foods. I have wondered, however, if it could be gluten related. Thanks for your input. It always helps to have the support and other ideas.

Thanks, I am planning to do that.

Hi, Haven't posted in a while because everything was great until about one month ago. Had my sleeve just before my 68th birthday. So now I have these episodes where I begin to feel nauseated, clammy and heart beating fast. Then I push to move my bowels and saliva starts flowing involuntarily. Feel like I will die. I think a nerve must be pressed when I push down. Now I am getting anxious just thinking about having a bowel movement. I have started taking miralax to move things along but don't want to be dependent on that. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Please give me any thoughts you might have. Thanks.

Never too late! I had my surgery on Oct 3,2012 just 11 days shy of my 68th birthday. I just had my one year visit with my surgeon last Thur, the day after my 69th birthday. Bloodwork is perfect and weight loss is 92 lbs. Best gift I could ever give myself. Feel like the 60's are the new 40's now. Live on...

Hi fellow sleevers. I have not posted in awhile but come back to this life-saving forum and read often. I had my surgery on Oct 3, 2011 just 3 weeks shy of my 68th birthday (best gift ever to myself). I have lost 90 lbs and my health reports are great now, but I still fall in the BMI of 35 (still obese, started at 48). Even though I watch carbs, sugar, get protein and water and exercise in, I vary betwen 212 and 216. I was hoping to have lost 100 lbs by the one year date. My question is has anyone here continued to lose after the one year mark and do you have any suggestions as to how I might kick start my loss? I so apreciate all of your suport and in put.

Izuri, Thank you for the info and reminders. It is slow going but I am trying to stay the course. Good luck to yo on your journey as well.

Thank you for those kind words. Sometimes a pat on the back like that helps you see things more clearly and motivates you to keep trying. I use "my fitness pal" to track my food, exercise, nutrient count etc. But you are right I probably have not been as diligent as in the first 5 months. I have dropped a couple of sizes but nothing like some of the 5+ sizes I have read about here. The general theory of one size loss for every 10 down just does not work for me. One Dr said my bones were probably 1/2 of my weight. LOL. I will keep checking back here to see if there is anything else I might pay attention to. I know you will have equal or better success! Enjoy the journey!

Hi Guys, Haven't posted for a while but read often and love this board! I was wondering if some of you who are over a year out can tell me if the first year is the honeymoon for weight loss and then it stops. Did you continue to lose and if so how much and did you have to ramp up or continue what you had been doing? So apreciate all of you who take the time to share your experiences!

Hi everyone. Haven't posted in a while but I am having a problem and don't know if anyone else is experiencing this or if it is even an issue related to the surgery. I am well past menopause (age 68) but in the past month I have started to experience hot flashes unrelated to the weather. My doctor had told me my hormones would be raging because because fat cells start releasing hormones as they are sloughed off by the body. But I am almost 9 months out and have just started to get them. My husband says it's because I am one hot mamma LOL! But they are annoying and keeping me up at night just like menopause. Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks as always, Monty

Thanks for that pat on the back. I try to think and act the same as you suggest but still have some ways to go. I just hope I will continue to lose at least for the first year. Happy Fourth to you and all who post here!

Wow! Congrats on your success! Any tips would be greatly appreciated My weight loss has really slowed down. Thanks also for sharing the fact that you get those darn hot flashed too. My concern is that they are back when I've been done with them for over 10 years! Yuk!

Does anyone know or have experience with dumping with causes other than sugar? I am 8 months out I know I had one because of accidentally eating yougurt with 27g of sugar. But I have had 3 since and don't know the cause. This has me in a panic that it will happen when I am away from home. I don't know if it is something that I ate earlier in the day or just before it happens, when I suddenly feel very ill, have to move my bowels and can't, get clammy, heart racing etc. I feel stuck, not able to move out of it. I know most people don't have this with the sleeve and may even be one of the reasons they choes the sleeve, but this has me scared! As always appreciate any help/suggestions.

Thanks everyone for your help. I am relieved to know that you have also had dumping, as I needed your advice, but sorry you had to experience it.

Hi Everyone. Haven't been on in a while, but I am so discouraged decided to ask you experts. I had lost about 82 lbs but it has slowed so much. Even though I am exercising and watching portions and carbs, I only lost 1 lb in month 6. Now that I am starting the 7th month, I gained a pound yesterday and got on the scale today (which I wouldn't usually do so I don't obsess) but had gained another lb! I am soooo down and wonder if the weight loss stops at 7 months for most people or if I have just hit a stall. If so it;s one H___ of a stall! Just hoping you guys can pick my spirits up a little and give me some adivce, Thanks, as always!

Wow M2G. You are an inspiration! I only hope I can do as well. Being 68, my metabolism wants to hold on to everything! It is in a big snit that after all these years I did this but it doesn't seem to get the reasons- helping it be healthy and to stick around longer! Congrats and good luck to you!

Wow! I can only hope for such success! If I am reading correctly you have lost a total of 101 lbs, 65 of which was by month 6. How much had you lost within the first year and did you ever gain during that time? Thanks for taking the time to answer!

Make that starting my 8th month, with the one lb loss in April. Seems even worse!!!

I am very down! I had my six month checkup and thought I had done very well. I am 68, could not walk from the bed to the bathroom without struggling. Now I am up to walking at a brisk pace for 30 min without stopping, 5x a week. I was pre-diabetic and now my latest blood tests show glucose at 92 and the rest are all within normal range. Problem is my Dr. took me down because I have only lost 79 lbs. I started at 305. I have had both knees replaced and multiple surgeries (heart stint being one of them)I came home and my old demons said to eat everything in site to deal with this emotional let down (I didn't) I went to bed and slept 12 hours straight, which for me is rare. I get 6-7hrs and don't take a nap. I am still down but back up on my horse today. I am wondering if anyone else is this slow a loser! I know he is prodding me to use this time to lose the most weight but I don't know what else to do. I say "no" to myself constantly! His mantra is eat protein, protein, protein!!! As always, thanks for listeningI