WASaBubbleButt

Congrats! You will LOVE LOVE LOVE being sleeved. Having control of your weight is a feeling better than anything. Good job for taking control and doing something about the problem we all share.

The yummy one??? ;o)

Some female hormones are stored in fat cells and when you start burning fat, guess what happens? ;o) Some have more PMSy kinds of symptoms, some have less. I'm in the lucky group. Heh...

I have my own version of the 5DPT. The original version says to do liquids such as cream Soups, etc. for two days, soft Proteins x2 days and solid Protein x1 day. I do Protein shakes x2d, soft carb free protiens x2 days and hard proteins x1 day. It gets me off carbs and I can go back to my usual. WLS is hard, there are no solid rules. Each person has to find what works for them and go for it. But the key is finding out how a LOT of others do it and take what works and let the rest go.

You have every reason not to get bypass. You will malabsorb iron and you have to take NSAIDs. You are already short on iron anyway. The problem is that many ins co's say that if you can't deal with bypass than they will pay for a band. Some docs say no to NSAIDs with a band but most say it's fine. They used to believe NSAIDs caused erosion, now they know it is not true so it's hard getting beyond that one with ins co's. My prediction is going to be that they will understand why bypass is not possible so they will approve a band. Appeal appeal appeal!

Studies are showing more and more (as well as posters posting right here) that after about 2 years banded folks start experiencing reflux. It's the positioning of the band. I had it too. :smile2:(

Bypass is something I would never get. If I had to go the route of malabsorption it would be DS. I don't want DS enough to keep me on track with a sleeve. ;o) One in five bypass fail, but then one in four bands fail. Bands and bypass were yesterday's surgeries, sleeves and DS are tomorrow. I think I need to go visit my treadmill so I can think about how much I do not want DS. Heh...

I think insurance companies are finally seeing the value in sleeves. Bands and bypass have so much aftercare and complications. They are a life long investment and the dollars will be spent forever. No so with the sleeve. So hopefully ins co's will change their tune soon. If you have to take NSAIDs that is a contraindication for bypass, that might help with the appeal process.

We are thinking of you, Ruthi! Keep us updated as things progress!

I agree that processed foods are not great and we eat too much of them. I also agree that people do not know good carbs from bad. There was a post a few weeks ago on the band board by a person writing that she wanted to increase her carb intake so she was eating saltines. Saltines? Where is the nutritional value in that? But, they were carbs and she thought she needed them. No wonder most of the US population is either overweight or obese. Now, with all that said I do believe the reason our country is fat is processed carbs. We didn't get fat from eating vegetables, we got fat from eating white carbs. There isn't a thing in white carbs that we need. We eat them because they taste good, nothing in the world to do with nutrition.

I took it to mean that her last 7# was surgically removed.

I am with you on RNY. I didn't want it either. What about a sleeve?

You are right, you are in the early days of being sleeved. This is a great thing! Your stomach is as small as it is every going to be. Take full advantage of this time and really push the low white carb and tons of exercise. Right now weight loss will be as easy as it will ever be. Take advantage and lose well!

drinks to help pay for health care reform while dissuading people from overconsuming sweetened beverages. (Another proposal would raise federal taxes on alcoholic drinks). Of course, the mere fact that a tax is effective in reducing consumption doesn't by itself mean it should be enacted. Indeed, the same argument can be made against imposing taxes. Reducing consumption reduces sales, which hurts business, which could hit workers and stockholders. And soda pop ain't cigarettes. Any amount of smoking is bad for you, but as the otherwise-disingenuous beverage industry correctly points out, it's possible to consume sugary drinks in moderation without seriously degrading your health. Still, given the alarming rates of obesity and diabetes in the United States, and given the dire need to finance health care reform, such a tax may do a lot of good. I say "may" because the effectiveness of the proposal is far from clear, as is the impact it might have on the beverage industry, which is already struggling with declining sales. I don't really have a strong position on the issue (despite what happened the last time I wrote about this, when a particularly insistent young anti-tax zealot repeatedly e-mailed me to complain, as if I were trying to take money out of his bank account to give it to the Socialist Workers Party). It's also far from clear that such a tax will pass. A similar effort in New York recently failed miserably, perhaps because the rate was way too high?18 percent. The Associated Press reported that while there has been plenty of lobbying activity on both sides of the federal proposal, it has been relatively "quiet." The beverage industry and allies such as the corn lobby have not wanted to appear too zealous in opposing schemes to finance health care reform, it said. But if you look hard enough, you'll find plenty of strong language coming from the sweetener lobby. Like this gem from Neil Trautwein of the National Retail Federation: "Are they going to hit couch manufacturers? School districts that have canceled physical education?" The AP characterized his questions as jokes, but given the similarly bombastic language from other tax opponents, I'm not so sure. Last week, the New York Times editorial page came out in favor of the tax. While the Times did put some of the onus for health on consumers themselves?where it surely belongs?it also recognized the obesity epidemic for what it is: a public-health problem.

No, it is a PPI, a proton pump inhibitor. Your stomach produces stomach acid, sometimes with a smaller stomach it is still producing enough acid for a whole stomach and we get a bit of reflux. A PPI prevents the over-production of acid. A lot of doctors keep their patients on it for 1-6 months following a sleeve. There are several PPIs on the market. Nexium, Nexium mups (dissolves in water/juice), Protonix, Prilosec, and Previcid. Sleeve surgeons seem to favor Nexium.

Ahhh, that makes sense then why it was not removed. Do they have any reason to believe it will grow larger or do they think it will probably just stay the same?

Yes, it would be nice to see you posting about any topics relating to the sleeve. Advice to noobs, something, anything regarding the forum topic. I'm glad to see you post something about your journey under your latest ID.

I can't tell you how great WLS can be. You get your life back in more ways than you can imagine. You get your health back, your sanity, your self esteem, everything. You just have no idea how great it is! Welcome to the forum, we look forward to getting to know you!

I think for most people weight loss is very fast in the very beginning and it slows down with solids. We also get a little more comfortable with food as time goes by. Your weight loss is great! What kind of exercise are you doing? Cardio? Weight training?

WOW! Your weight loss is amazing! I am very impressed! You've lost around 200# in 10 months. That's just fantastic. Feels good, eh? Congrats on doing it without malabsorption! You really are an inspiration for others unsure if WLS works! ;o)

Welcome to the forum! Have you considered the 5DPT? I use it when I need to get off carbs, it just gets me back on track. After the 5DPT I slowly add in good carbs but limit ALL white carbs to 20gms daily. (Protein shakes have 2gms carbs, etc.) Do you know what your trigger carb is? Flour? Sugar? Potatoes? After the 5DPT just don't start on that food again. For me if I start eating flour I can't stop. It's all or none for me. Are you getting you protein in? I once had a friend that was about 600#, he lost over 100# but amazingly, very few inches. He swears that when he bumped up his protein he started losing inches like crazy. Not quite sure how that worked but he swears by it.

Welcome to the forum! Congrats on your weight loss. Are your back problems improved at all since you lost so much weight? I know what you mean about missing your stomach at specific occasions. For me it isn't special times but instead, restaurants. There are times I would like to try a bit of each course but I know it's not going to happen. I misjudge how much I can eat of each course and then by the time the main entree gets there I'm stuffed! I know you wanted to lose 100# by the one year mark but 75# sure isn't shabby! Especially since we do not malabsorb.

This was all an interesting read. The mass they found, was it in your intestine or on the outside? Could it obstruct at some point? Welcome to the forum!

There really isn't a way to suck out the gas, what they do is when they turn off and remove the equipment most of it comes out on its own. There really isn't a way to suck it out.

Liveinphx, do you have *anything* to say about sleeves, surgery, support for newbies, anything other than your doctor and your hostility issues?