Sleeved&Hopeful

Congratulations!! Excellent!

Oh man that is a tough call. Some people get cured of reflux after sleeve. Some people suddenly have reflux after the sleeve that have never had it before. Of course the RNY is known not to have reflux issues. So that is so tough! I will admit I never had reflux before the sleeve and I have it now. It's not as bad as yours though. If I take Prilosec, it stays away. However, if I forget to take it even one day, it's back. I'm not a revision though..I had never had a weight loss surgery before. Hopefully more former bandsters will chime in :-)

this post is amazing! THANK you!! Look at all your hard work and dedication and it has paid off! People please look at all of the sleeve studies. The most excess weight loss occurs by 18-24 months post op. Not everyone reaches goal in 6 months! If you look at the vertical sleeve gastrectomy studies all over the web--you will see what I'm talking about. Persistence and patience is key. It's a lifestyle change with the sleeve as a tool--so if it takes a little longer to come off, that's ok! Supersweetums, I applaud you! You stuck it out and never gave up. We can all learn a lot from you!!

You and your Dad sound awesome! Yes, your Dad took a risk but you know what? We all did! Perhaps he should have gone to a more experienced surgeon but your Dad for some reason trusted his surgeon. Looks like that was a good thing. Some surgeons act like a complication is not their fault and walk away but this surgeon did something about it!! Almost any surgeon doing sleeves is bound to eventually have a leak. I think you choosing this surgeon after what happened to your Dad was a strong show of faith. I guess seeing him take good care of your Dad was a testament. All surgeons have to be newbies just like we have to be forum newbies. Someone has to let them operate to learn. Someone had to be every doctor's first or tenth or twentieth patient. And I'm really glad those people were there! Otherwise we wouldn't have bariatric surgeons out there gaining experience and getting better! Having faith in your surgeon is important. I'm glad you had enough. And I'm SOOOOO glad your Dad is ok!

I saw a lady on gastricsleeve.com post about going to him. She said everything went fine.

Oh yeah I agree with the other posters. I felt like I was the same until I hit solid foods. I quickly realized I couldn't eat barely anything when it came to solids! You will feel the restriction very soon and you will definitely feel the difference--I promise! And I think that eating and drinking at the same time is one of the worst things you can do. There was a video posted recently talking about why you shouldn't drink and eat at the same time. He had applesauce in a funnel and showed how much faster the food processes through with some liquid. You will feel full much longer if you don't drink and eat at the same time.

When I can stop at a tiny amount. I'm almost 6 months post op and I am still amazed by the small amount I can eat. I used to eat an entire restaurant meal with no problem plus a good bit of the appetizer. Now, I will order one knowing I will take a ton of leftovers home. I can't even eat 1/3 of my food before feeling full or satisfied. Seriously, I can still only eat about 2.5 ounces of protein and not much more regular food either. I can eat a bit more cottage cheese than I used to be able to but still only about 1/2 to 3/4 cup. I am pleased with my capacity.

UTGal99 taller people seem to have bigger stomachs than shorter people. I have also heard that some people just have bigger tummies than others. Perhaps it is genetic? I have no idea. As far as an endoscope for sleeve surgery, I don't know if it's any better or worse than a bougie. I DO KNOW that MOST sleeve surgeons use a bougie. So perhaps that means the bougie is superior? I don't know. I would assume that but who knows? I think perhaps discussing this with your surgeon would be good.

Very interesting! Survey completed!

*Sigh* This thread seems to me a lot about strict sleevers vs. moderate sleevers. Flat diet coke in moderation is on most surgeon's post op sheets. It is a personal philosophy and choice on food and drink more than it is on anything else. Some people choose to go all-natural or organic or vegan or vegetarian after the sleeve--and some do not. Some choose to cut out processed foods and drinks with chemicals and sweeteners. Some do not. It's so individual. I fault no one whether they choose one way or another. It comes off a bit arrogant and as though one is throwing around a superior air to tout that they won't touch those "chemicals". Alas, opinions are like boobs everyone has them. Including men :-) Ya I said it. To LT: I just want to say congratulations on your wife's pregnancy! I think thats an amazing thing and don't worry--soon enough you will feel better and will be able to help your sweety out. Just a tip: You can massage her feet while sitting on the couch or bed :-) I know what it's like to be pregnant and a foot massage was so nice :-). Its going to get better soon and life will carry on. Big hugs going your way!

Oh and I have to add I love your style!! Your outfits look awesome!!

You look great! You look healthy and fit. Congratulations!

And just want to let you know a lady I know who got to goal took a full 17 months. She actually went 10 lbs below her goal but was still within a healthy BMI. It can be done

Hey, I agree with the other poster about how some people just lose slow. Please look at some of the excess weight loss stats of the sleeve that are available on the web. MANY of them show the best excess weight loss occurs at around 18 months post op! I think quite a few of them showed around 50-60% at 12 months and around 70-80% at 18 months! Some people went all the way to 100% excess weight loss at 12 months. Not everyone hits goal at 6 months. Sure, there are a lot of them who do and they post on the forums. Some of them hit goal at 10-12 months. But a LOT of sleevers hit their personal goal or close to it at 18 months post op and the studies show it. Not everyone wants to hit 100% excess weight loss. Some people shoot for goal to be the higher end of the healthy BMI range. Your BMI is already down to 31%. That is pretty darn good at 5 months op if you think of it that way! I think shooting for a goal under 25% is good. If you can get 22-23-24 % that is even better. Most women don't get below 20% although some do.I was reading the average body fat % for a woman is between 18-22%.So you are getting really close! So while somer sleevers do hit goal earlier than a year out, many do not. Don't lose hope.

Good luck. I had STITCHES! lol. I thought they were going to hurt badly but they ended up not hurting at all. A minor annoyance. I'm betting the staples aren't much worse. I've heard of your Doctor and he's done a lot of sleeves. I am sure you're in good hands. Best wishes!

I don't get the big deal about drinking flat diet coke in moderation. If that is the worst thing he has to worry about post op, then I'm sure he's going to be fine. Most surgeons say it's fine to drink flat diet coke. Sure, there are chemicals but there are chemicals in a LOT of things. If you can avoid all of them, then more power to you. One of my favorite sleevers in the world is 4 years post op and drinks flat pop a few times a week and has maintained her weight beautifully. She also eats very well so I'm sure that is the major success. As long as LT conquers his food demons, a little flat diet coke is definitely not going to really hurt anything. The carbonation is the main problem with stretching the sleeve. As long as it's flat and in moderation-imho--no harm no foul.

Oh goodness. I do know one lady who had a stricture. She had hers stretched as well. Unfortunately, it came back at 5 months post op. She had to have it stretched again. It sucks. I think hers was rare. I'm pretty sure most of the time it works the first time. She said she had to eat very tiny amounts and I know she was on protein shakes a lot. I hope yours gets fixed right away.

Hey sleevenoob, the posters here are tame and easy going compared to the VSG posters on Obesityhelp LOL. They would have been way worse. I do love obesityhelp though and don't mind the hardcore mindset, but I do think sometimes they are a little too rough on the newbies LOL. I just can't be that way personally because it's just not the way I am.

I am just really glad you are okay. I hope all goes well for you on the 30th. Big hugs! Please update us all after you feel up to it after your surgery.

Loved your video! Your husband is cool and you are great. You have an awesome personality. As far as the drinking when eating--i know it's weird--but you will get used to it. I am almost six months post op and it is a habit I've formed without even thinking about it now! I don't even worry about it. The only time I've been tempted to drink when i eat is when I have been out in the 100 degree Texas heat all afternoon and try to eat. I will be all thirsty and hungry at the same time. I still wait to drink after I eat but it's a little harder because i'm literally parched. Most of the time though--I don't even think about drinking and eating at the same time. It is a part of my life now :-)

Most of the time, I feel like people are okay to go back to work in a week or two. I know some people have harder recoveries than others or complications.I was back doing work and college a week later. But the catch is I'm not on my feet all day. If your job isn't labor-intensive, I bet you can come back with no problem. But it is so individual. I am sure they would work it out for you since they value you as an employee. I mean they liked you enough to make you a permanent team member after being temporary :-). I think it's smart of you to talk to your HR. I am sure you will be fine but it's smart to check out your options. I hope you hear good news!

I think a 40 FR bougie is going to be okay for keeping the weight off :-). I think the studies where I saw the bougie affected long term weight loss was like a 48FR. It was one of Dr. Cirangle's studies. Since you are short, I agree with Lissa that your natural tummy is going to be smaller than someone who is 5'10". I am only 5'4" so I guess my tummy was a little smaller too but who knows? I got a 32FR but that is the standard for my doc. I really don't think a 40 is big enough to make a difference in all honesty. And some of the surgeons do an "oversew" technique that makes your tummy even smaller so you may have an even smaller tummy than you think :-) No matter what the case, I think you can do it! Mind over matter! Fill your tummy up with Protein and you should be all good! I wish you the best in your sleeve journey! We are all in this together and want it to work!

Honestly I only ate 2 miniscule bites of the wheat bread. The 2/3 of the chicken breast really filled me up and there was only about a tiny bit of lettuce. I think I probably shouldn't have had the two bites of wheat bread but I was so hungry after having walked about 5 miles on the strip in 100 plus degrees and I hadn't eaten any breakfast. I think I was just really hungry, which is rare since being sleeved. If I had eaten breakfast like I normally do, I probably wouldn't have eaten half of the chicken breast :-). I ate some chicken breast tonight and was only able to eat 2 ounces. If i would have tried to eat the chicken breast WITH bread I probably would have only managed 3-4 bites. That bread is HUGE. My sleeve restriction is still really good and I'm happy with it. :-) I was eating about the same amount you were at 10 weeks.

The one thing we have to remember is no one is going to be perfect 100% of the time. The main thing is balance. Eating small portions of unhealthy food will work for a while but once the capacity of the sleeve increases that means the food will too! So the small portions turn into bigger portions and you will experience some weight regain. It's just the plain truth. I honestly believe in the whole "bounce back" pounds. If you go more than 5 or 10 pounds over your healthiest weight since being sleeved, then you need to scale back and re-asses your diet choices. If you don't pay attention, it can quickly turn into 20-30-40 lbs! I think the protein first rule is genius. Fill yourself up on protein and you probably won't even crave the bad foods because you will be satisfied :-).

I had my first Subway sandwich in Vegas this week on vacation. I went across to the Casino Royale because I didn't want to spend 29.99 for the buffet at the Mirage when I knew I wouldn't eat enough to justify that price lol. I ordered a 6 inch grilled chicken breast with mayo and lettuce. I was able to eat 2/3 of the chicken breast and some of the lettuce. I ate a little tiny bit of the bottom of the wheat bread ( about 1/3 and none of the top of the bread). It filled me up. I don't think I will order Subway very often because their bread is yummy and tempting. Maybe every once in a while.... So I am 5 1/2 months post op and that is about what I can eat.