cscake

Looking for opinions on Houston area surgeons. My daughter lives in Katy.

My son had vertical sleeve two weeks ago. He is having difficulty with Protein. He is lactose intolerant. He is not having cramps in his stomach but intestinal. He is taking lactaid now and has gone from mixed protein (shakes, etc) to clear protein. It is everytime he drinks it. Any suggestions? Thanks

I am six months out and two days ago started having some discomfort in my left upper quadrant, right under my ribs. Felt a litttle like side stitches when you run. Then today I leaned over and it hurt and felt like something rolled. Could it be gas or adhesions? I have had other surgery so they are a possibility. Dr Office said I was too far out for it to be from my surgery. Any ideas?

Another question. I am six months out and the last two days I have had some soreness Where my stomach is as well as some pain like "stitches" feel when you run and you get them in your side. this is right under my ribs. Any ideas?

I am a little confused. You aren't interested in church/social groups, either one of which is a good place to find some friends, as is a support group. Then there is the family thing. Ahhhhh family, now I could write a book about that. Family is a little like a biological or adoptive parent. To me, what makes a parent or a family is love, kindness, helpfulness acceptance. Not biology. You may love your family but you may not like them. So, why stress over them. first, learn to like and love you, then find others (support group, church, whatever) that you have something in common with. I think you may find that your life and outlook is going to change dramatically. So maybe think of this time as an adjustment period for you and them. As you feel differently about yourself you will find that others will also. Oh gosh, sorry about sounding like a mother. Good luck on your journey .

My husband and I both had sleeve surgery. He lost 100 pounds in abt 6 months. I have lost 44 in six months. We both found that men and women can lose differently and that it seems to depend on how much you need to lose as to how fast it comes off. He started at 267. And I started at 200. It was much easier for me to eat a variety of food than it was for him. Our go to snack is sugar free pop cycles. Our nutritionist told us they were a free type food. Believe me. We eat the $@&$ out of them. Ithey are also considered a liquid. Now, if we can just keep the grand kids out of them. Lol I seem to lose when my body is ready regardless of what I eat. Had not lost anything for abt a month and this week have lost four lbs. but they are right abt inches. Even whe I am not losing lbs I will notice I am losing inches. Best of luck

I love the chocolate fudge EAS. I am six months out and I still drink it every morning. I found the best place to get it was to order it online from GNC. They have specials all the time. They have other favors also.

My husband is 8 months out and has lost 100 pounds. His starting weight was 267 and he now weights around 166 to 170. He is 5'6 1/2" tall. Here is my issue. He does not like any type of warm food. If I cook something he just does not care for it, with maybe the exception of chicken after it is cold, or shrimp. He has a very limited diet and craves cheddar cheese, wheat thins and sugar free popcicles and chocolate. I have had him start drinking liquid Protein again. He will eat grits or oatmeal for breatfast occasionally. I find that I have no real "taste" for food now either. It is just something to keep the grumblings of my stomach quiet. However, I do make myself eat protein, vegetables and occasionally fruit. Not every day but several times each week. I still drink 17 to 20 grams of protein daily. Since surgery (mine was four months ago) I just find cooking distasteful. Maybe this will all pass. I have lost 40 pounds and I am down to 160. I even thought about having him eat some icecream or something to get more calories in. Anyone have this experience? Thanks

My husband is 8 months post op and I am 4 months out. We both loved eggs pre surgery. Now, do not like them at all. Not only do they not "sit" well but we just don't even like the thought of them. Some things change and some things remain the same. lol

I was sleeved in January and was told 60 grams per day. I drink EAS Protein that is premixed. I love the fudge chocolate one. It is the one I found that I would consistently drink. It comes in 17 grams, 20 grams and 42 grams. Just don't drink it too fast. I found it took me about 5 hours to drink the 42 grams. Now that I am three plus months out I still drink 17 grams every morning. I find that I do not lose any weight if I don't get the protein in.

I discussed Ibuprophen with my surgeon at 8 weeks out. I have alot of sciatic nerve pain down my legs at times. The only thing that has even helped was 800 mg of ibuprophen. He asked me to try tylenol but if that did not work to use the Advil Gel tabs as they dissolved faster and were a liquid so would disburse faster and not sit in one place. I started with two (400 mg) and it seems to work. I always take it with food and nexium. I have a history of ulcers so I need to be careful but being down to 400 mg seems to work. Good luck

ABsolutely ! I started at 198 and have lost 30 pounds. I had been overweight for about 20 years (I am 62) so I could remember how it was to be a normal weight for my height. I did it more for health reason but have found that the benefits of looking and feeling better are so worth it. My husband had it and has lost 100 pounds. It has completely changed his life. Good luck on your decision.

Same with me. But, I was distressed because after my husband had the surgery he was not hungry at all, from day one. Me, I was hungry and my stomach felt hungry. I found that I needed two antiacids each day, I was quite a little acid producer. I have also found that the longer away from my surgery date the less hungry I feel. It is two months out now and I feel hungry about twice a day but it takes very little to fill me up. I also think it has something to do with your stomach healing. You will be fine. Everybody goes through the feeling that it will not work for them. It will.

So glad you went back. If this doctor is not your surgery you might want to touch base with the surgeon also. Right after my surgery I started on nexium twice each day. Our family, on my side, has a history of ulcers so it was to be really carefull. Thanks also for your comments. We are all fine. We have been blessed over and over since then and our daughter is just fine now, she is in Heaven.

Bedhead, well yes and no,. Because there was a portion of her stomach that was left in (as it is when you have gastric bypass) and she evidently was an acid maker, she developed an ulcer (probably more than one) She did not go back to her surgeon. We had been wondering about why the boys said she was sleeping so much during the day, it was because she was anemic because the ulcer was bleeding. All of her pain symtoms were mimicing gall bladder disease. So, after several trips to the ER they took it out. Long story short, she came home on a Thursday after surgery and died that Saturday when the ulcer perforated. It is my opinion that this was a needless death. She should have gone back to her surgeon who should have recognized the symptoms, she should have listened to her body about how sick she was (but she hated sickness and tried to ignore it) We saw a change in her appearance, hair, skin tone, etc but could not get her to go. The physician who did the gall bladder surgery also does bariatric surgery so he should have recognized the possibility instead of just doing the surgery without any additional workup. That is one reason that my husband and I (who have both had sleeve surgery, no stomach left in) went to a surgeon who does nothing but bariatric surgery. Anyway, bad things happen all of the time for all sorts of reasons to all types of people. As for her boys, it has been almost four years and they are doing really well. The youngest does have some issues, but did before she died (he is a little bit on the spectrum and a little ocd) They have the most amazing step mother who lost her Mother the year before our daughter died so she understands that type of loss. We feel very blessed that our son in law had the wisdom to marry such a wonderful person.

Dear thinoneday About pictures. Please, please take them, for your family and with your family and when you do put on a great big smile. Here is why, although my daughter had had bypass surgery she was still not camera friendly, especially once she started gaining a little back and having a problem with the ulcers she did not know she had. I told her one day that she should stop being afraid of the camera, that if (God forbid) something were to happen to her, her kids would not have any photos of her with them or doing things with the family. That was about November, she actually listened and we have some of the best photos of her with the biggest smiles ever from that day on. She died the following January. We treasure those photos, regardless of her size or what she had on or anything. Her youngest son (who was 7 when she died) loves to go through them and talk about them and his mom. So, please reconsider and stand proudly and lovingly in from of that camera and smile ! Great job on the weight loss !

Although I did not gain weight right after surgery I did find that at about five weeks i started retaining some Fluid (that was a big problem for me prior to the surgery). So, I thought I had not lost any weight in about two weeks. Well, since my blood pressure was a little too close to the upper limit I took one of my fluid pills that I had prior to surgery. I lost three pounds. So, I know that regardless of what I eat or how little I have to be very careful about salt. Evidently I still have a retention issue, at least right now. Not everyone has this problem but it kind of shows how all of our bodies react sooo differently to the sudden drop in calorie intake. With my BMI being lower to start with mine tried to hold on to everything like I am starving. lol. But, then it makes an adjustment and my weight drops. I also seem to have built alot of muscle (this is strange for a girl that could not walk and chew gum) and that will mask fat loss as far as the scale is concerned. But the inches show. Good luck, re read your post in about another month.

I was sleeved on January 16th and my scale says 21 lbs. However, when I went to the dietition and got on the "magic scale" it said that I had gained 8 pounds of muscle and lost 25 lbs. No quite sure what that is all about but I think that because my BMI is lower I am building muscle pretty fast. I do feel hungry alot and usually eat cheese or something when I feel that uncomfortable feeling. I am ramping up my walking and Water hoping that it will drop a little quicker. I did not have trouble eating anything except beef, ground beef. Have not tried any other type of beef and really don't want to. I do find that I am having more trouble eating now than I did. I wonder if my stomach is healing now and tightening down a bit or maybe I just feel it more now. Still having a little trouble with my blood pressure and my medicine slows down my metabolism so I am going to talk to my doctor about that. My husband who also had the surgery had alot of trouble with vomiting the first month or two. He is six months out now and is not having that trouble anymore. Good luck and I hope you feel better.

I seem to crave salty foods and that includes popcorn. Is that an OK snack? Non buttered. Thanks

I am 5' 51.2" and weighed 198 to 204. All most all of my weight was from my behind to my shoulders. Very large belly, just like my Mother. My high blood pressure, Fluid retention and family history were the reasons that I chose to have surgery. My cardiologist even agreed with it. So, for those people who do not understand why I had the surgery I say talk to my doctors. Until they have an MD behind their name and know all of your medical and family history they have no basis for their looks or opinions. Just don't worry about it. Your decision is between you and your physician. Good Luck

I was Clear Liquids three days, full liquids 10 days, and I am now on soft foods which include chicken, fish, ground beef (which I have not done) I have eaten on the same chicken breast for three days. I have had no trouble moving up in my diet. My husband, however, did have some trouble moving up in his diet. He would just go back or stick with what he could tolerate. As long as he got his Protein and Water he was fine. Everybody tolerates it a little differently. Good luck

I did too. For about three or four days. Everyone encouraged me to keep on that my body was healing. I then lost a couple of more pounds. So, keep doing what you are supposed to. It will work. AND, as one person on this site told me "Darlin, throw that scale away" . She sounded just like my Mama. I did not throw it away but I did quit weighing everyday. Good luck to you !

Neither my husband nor I had any pre-op diet other than liquids from 10:00 am on the day prior to surgery. I am kind of glad. I am one day away from being off full liquids and I am sick of Soup and Jello, etc. If I had started before surgery it would have been harder for me. Every surgeon is different. If he/she had wanted you to change your diet prior to surgery he/she would have told you. Good luck.

OK, I know I have read not to worry about stalls but I am a little frustrated. First, I have to say that I know I can't compare myself to my husband who lost about 40 lbs per month (jerk), however, I will be sleeved two weeks Jan 30, Monday. The first week I lost 11lbs. I have not lost one pound since then. I walk, I drink my Protein, I take my Vitamins, the only thing I probably have not gotten enough of is Water, but I do drink at least 16 oz per day and I eat sugar free popcicles, about 4 each day. I eat (or drink) Campbell's ready to eat Cream of Broccoli Soup or Cream of chicken. That is about it. I feel pretty good, good enough to do some light housekeeping, no sweeping. I am now driving and out and about. Having had two C sections I know you can't just lay around. My husband has been wonderful, I guess this is the one thing he has had before me so he does understand. Before when I dieted I never, never lost more than 10 to 15 lbs. I am hypothyroid and it was suggested by the dietition that I had metabolic syndrome. So.............any help out there? Or should I just stay off the scales and quit worrying? Thanks !

Thanks to everyone for their input. A special little thanks to LilMissDiva who told me to throw away the scales like my mama would have! Done deal