makemyownluck

Thank you! I think I'll be okay, I'm off work to recuperate so that should help too.

I haven't tried them, but patches in general don't work well on overweight people. I'd be curious to read the info that comes in the package to see if a weight limit is suggested. I remember being put on the birth control patch years ago, and 3 months in reading the package insert in detail (was stuck in the bathroom without a phone LOL) and read that it wasn't recommended for anyone over 225lbs. Well, I was A LOT over that and started to panic that I was accidentally pregnant! How did my doctor let me use that???? (I don't use that doc anymore!)

There are vegan options for shakes, but I haven't tried them. I found this list on google, from PETA https://www.peta.org/living/food/pump-workouts-vegan-protein-powder/ It looks like it could be helpful. I think your biggest challenge if vegan is the immediate post op stage where most people rely on shakes, cottage cheese, yogurt, jello, etc to get through the healing part, so you may have to be just vegetarian and allow the dairy in your diet to make it through. Once you're over that, you should be able to choose a diet you want with more veggies as your food source, but use tofu and non-dairy protein shakes to meet your protein goals. Most post op people are on a keto diet because, well, it works! And aside from the high fat intake (which isn't necessary for post-op bariatric patients because it's function is to aid in satiety in non-surgical folks, and is a LIMIT, not a GOAL), the protein and carb requirements are in line with what we need anyway. So it helps to follow keto in the sense that the keto community offers great meal ideas that keep the carbs in check and don't use added sugars.

You're young so you really have a better shot at tightening up after weight loss. I'm fairly certain my skin has been stretched out way too long to snap back, as I can see from what I have lost so far.

After my sleeve, my nails did this too. It was about 3 months out when it happened... and then about 3 months after that (6 mo post op) my hair started to thin out as well. I started taking a higher dose of biotin and idk if that helped or if it was just a short term issue, but another few months after that, my hair and nails were back to normal. I still get splitting nails about twice a year, usually in the beginning of winter and in the beginning of summer. I just cut them down and leave them alone to grow back and they are okay.

I hear you. I had my sleeve and lost 150 and am still overweight (I was 460 to start with) and I already have sagginess going on. REALLY not looking forward to what my body will look like as more weight comes off, but I'm hoping to at least get my insurance to pay for a panniculectomy or tummy tuck. Then, maybe, if I save all my pennies, one day I can get my arms done too. And thighs. And everything LOL

You've made the choice to have surgery to stop yourself from yo-yoing and to give you a lifelong tool to success. There is absolutely no shame in that. I had feelings of sadness when I had my surgery. Mainly that I had waited so long to do it - and I was 32 at the time! I had a sleeve and I'm having an extremely rare complication now so I'm revising to gastric bypass. I lost 150 lbs with my sleeve and was still obese because I was so heavy to start with. Now, I'm just looking forward to feeling healthy again (it's been a long, rough year of sickness and diagnosing my complication) and losing all the weight I intended to lose when I had my sleeve. We all struggle. Even "skinny" people struggle. Being overweight is due to so many factors, none of which can be changed at this point. Did I contribute to my own obesity? Sure, but now I'm working on resolving it. Being sad does nothing but keep you feeling bad about yourself, and you are a strong person to take all the steps needed to get to your surgery date. I congratulate you on the hard work you've put in so far and wish you a fast recovery and great success in the future. You haven't failed a thing! You're still alive to keep fighting! <3

I regained a year and a half out because I got pregnant. I have been unable to get back to pre-pregnancy weight and that wasn't even near my goal weight yet! So I understand your frustration. I definitely recommend going back to protein shakes. It has helped me tremendously. You don't necessarily have to do it long term, but if you find that you're binging on sweets, a chocolate shake (even half of a shake) might nip that craving and help you get through the hardest part of restarting a diet.

Hi! When I had my sleeve done, it took a while to be able to tolerate eggs. That was one of the foods suggested to eat in the soft foods phase and I couldn't take it at all. Even now, 4 years post op, scrambled eggs sit heavy in my stomach. I can eat over easy or poached, etc and have no problem, but scrambled is still very filling to me, after just a few bites I will get a very uncomfortable feeling in my chest/stomach. Sometimes, when I go out to breakfast I'll get an omelet, bring home the leftovers, and it is about 3-4 meals for me depending on how mega sized the omelet is! Being this far out, there's very little I can't tolerate anymore, but I'd say scrambled eggs and rice are very hard for me. I don't eat much rice anyway because of the empty carbs, but when my sister in law has a party there's always delicious puerto rican rice and I get the tiniest spoonful on my plate because more than two bites will leave me feeling icky.

Thanks for sharing! Just curious, but what was your weight at surgery? I'm so curious how much I'll lose in the first 3-6 months!

Hi everyone! I used to be much more active on this board about 5-6 years ago when I had my sleeve. I am returning in hopes for the same support, insight and information I got back then relating to my current circumstances. I have a sleeve, it was done in May 2013. At that time, my high weight was 460, I lost about 150, getting to my "low" of 310 in about a year. Things were going well, and then I unexpectedly got pregnant in September in 2014. During my pregnancy and post partum time, I gained back about 60 lbs. I did a reset diet and started losing weight - from August of last year to January, I lost about 40 of the 60 lbs I gained. I felt like I was in control again, after feeling so out of control since I was pregnant! Then, the unexpected happened. In January, I went to the ER with severe chest pains. It was intense and I had a hard time breathing - the pain was on my right side, otherwise I would have thought I was having a heart attack. I was admitted, and after lots of testing, I was determined to have pneumonia, and another infection in the lining of my right lung. I had a bedside aspiration that took 2 LITERS of fluid from my lungs. It was not enough. I was prepped for surgery, a thoracotomy (which, if you don't know, is one of the most painful surgeries you can have!). During the surgery, I aspirated, surgery had to abruptly end before treating me. I was on a ventilator, in ICU, for several days. A second surgery was needed, I had a chest tube, two tubes coming out of my right ribs. I went into septic shock. My kidneys shut down and I had dialysis. I had terrible dreams while being sedated, that I was dying and would never see my son again... it was the worst time in my life. I'm grateful to have survived it. The underlying cause of this episode is achalasia. My esophagus is not swallowing correctly, the sphincter at the bottom of my esophagus into my stomach is closed tight and doesn't open correctly to empty food into my stomach. I likely aspirated food and/or fluid into my lungs, which lead to the nearly fatal infection I suffered in January. This condition is rare, and the causes are not known. There is a thought that there is an underlying autoimmune issue that causes it. The treatment is to open that sphincter with a Heller myotomy. Normally, people have this myotomy (or a similar procedure with a pneumatic balloon) and are fine. However, my sleeve puts me at great risk for terrible reflux since the sleeve creates high pressure and this myotomy will essentially keep my sphincter open all the time. Therefore, it is recommended that I convert my sleeve to a bypass. Bypass creates a low pressure GI tract and will greatly reduce the possibility of reflux. The added benefit is that I will lose more weight, hopefully getting closer to my original goal. I'm currently 330, and I'm so curious how much I will lose after my bypass. My questions for a knowledgable bypass patient are: What is your post op life like at a year post op? What are you able to eat? Vitamins: Do you have to space your vitamin intake out throughout the day? What do you take and when? Dumping syndrome: is it only caused by sugar, or are there other triggers? What do I need to know about malabsorption as it applies to taking medications? How is an oral antidepressant affected by having a bypass? And if there are any people who started around the 330 mark, how much did you lose in 6 months? or a year? Did you make your goal? How long did it take?

When I was at my lowest weight, I used to LOVE laying down and feeling my hips and rib bones, lol. Right now, I'm only about 20 lbs heavier than my lowest weight, it's amazing how that 20lbs makes it harder to feel those bones! Looking forward to those NSVs again after my revision.

LOVE THIS! Thank you!! Still interested in others' responses! DON'T BE SHY!

I have always been most "turned off" to bypass because of dumping, but I was reading another thread here yesterday that discussed that dumping doesn't even happen to everyone! Some people have it, some don't, sometimes it's terrible, sometimes it's just uncomfortable. Those who did experience it also said that as time goes on, it gets better. It's not a "forever" condition in most cases. I'm hoping to make it to 220 with surgery as a goal weight. With my weight loss already I know that I will have a lot of excess skin so if I can get down to 220, I think that will be when I start thinking about a tummy tuck! But.. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself.

Hi everyone! I had sleeve surgery in May 2013. Initially I lost about 140lbs, but then about a year and half post op I got pregnant. I gained some weight during and after pregnancy, and then lost some weight as well, and now I'm having a complication of some esophageal issues where I'm not able to swallow correctly. I have an appointment with a really great surgeon at an exceptional hospital in the Chicago area. I will have my first visit with them in April. I was hospitalized in January for Fluid build up and severe infection of my right lung. This was caused by aspirating food and fluid due to my esophageal problem. They did an esophogram and upper GI while I was in the hospital, and the gastroenterologist who was treating me in the hospital informed me that my sleeve had stretched, my stomach was nearly the size of a normal stomach. Additionally, the lower part of my esophagus where it connects to the stomach is dilated, as if my lower esophagus has been acting as a food pouch for quite some time. I was really shocked by this, as I had no issues post op from my sleeve and only stopped losing weight when I became pregnant, which I figured was to be expected. But since I had my baby in May 2015, I have struggled to lose anything. I was doing a keto diet at the end of last year and that was working, until I got sick in January. Now that my esophageal issues have been diagnosed, I have trouble eating anything solid. My weight has maintained since I was admitted in January but I haven't had any significant loss since then. Long story short, my primary focus is to get my esophagus issues figured out and fixed, but they referred me to two different docs - one that specializes in swallowing disorders, and the other is a GI/bariatric surgeon to address my stretched pouch. Since I'll likely need surgery to fix my esophagus, it would make sense to do any revision to my sleeve at the same time. I feel like I have 2 options (maybe 3) to discuss with regard to fixing the sleeve. Either re-sleeve, DS, or revise to gastric bypass. I should note that my highest weight was around 460, so even when I was at my lowest weight before getting pregnant, I was still at 306ish. I'm currently around 340-345 putting my BMI around 48. When I first started thinking of going the surgical route for WLS, something about the gastric bypass didn't appeal to me. So now I am struggling with if I should re-sleeve or go for the DS. I'm thinking since I still have so much to lose, the DS might be a better choice, but I honestly don't know enough about it to make a decision. I've read the limited info I could find about DS, I realize it's not a particularly popular surgical choice, but I want to hear from people who've had it, possibly people who had it after having a sleeve. I'd love to hear your stories and thoughts on the DS!

I was just evaluated because my esophagus is dilated and about twice the size it should be. There is a stricture where my stomach meets the esophagus, causing some major issues for me. I wanted to go from sleeve to DS, but the surgeon said because I will likely need surgery to my upper stomach area, it would be more like a modified gastric bypass. I have Medicaid currently (I had different insurance when I was initially sleeved), so I'm really curious how long it will take to get approval, or if they will even approve it.

Hi! I am also 5'11, my high weight was 460. I lost about 50 pre-op, and almost another 100 post op. But I plateaued and then started to regain. I had my surgery in 2012. I'm also having some complications now, I go see a surgeon tomorrow and may be revising to DS. The sleeve was an amazing tool and it really is my fault that I didn't continue to lose with it. I fell wayyyy off post-op diet and then got pregnant. I'm currently still well below where I started at 460, but I want to lose more and since my complication will likely require surgery, I may go for DS as well so I can get back on the losing track! I opted for sleeve initially because I felt it was the best of my options and I knew there was the option to revise to DS if needed. Personally, I would recommend starting with a sleeve as post-op DS is a bit more intense because of the malapsorptive effect it has.

I'm going to Loyola. The GI that I saw when I was in my local hospital didn't have much info, he wanted me to see the specialist at Loyola for the swallowing issue and when my records were reviewed, they scheduled me with 2 different docs at the same visit. Unfortunately, they couldn't see me til April 20th, which is three months after my discharge. I'm really hoping I haven't accumulated any fluid or continued to aspirate as they gave me nothing to treat this issue in the meantime. :\ My original surgery was at Rush University Hospital in Chicago, Dr. Luu. I lost my insurance about a year and a half after having surgery and haven't followed up with him since a little over a year post op. I did continue to see my PCP and get bloodwork, but I bounced around insurances for a bit and never got the referral to go back to Dr. Luu again... not a valid excuse, but that is the reason I didn't continue my post op follow up to a T. Very curious to see what these docs say about my condition now. The little research I was able to do on the doc at Loyola, it looks like they do offer DS, I don't even know what questions to ask about this. I feel like I was SO PREPARED when I wanted the sleeve, and I know nothing about DS and haven't been able to find much other than the actual surgery and not a lot about post op life with that option.

DS = Duodenal Switch. It is sometimes used as a 2 part after getting a sleeve for patients with a higher starting weight who don't meet or come close to their goal weight from the sleeve alone. I am very anxious to get my esophagus problem sorted - it's a daily issues as any time I eat I have discomfort and only about a 50/50 shot of food staying down at all. It's not fun! I don't know if my original surgery was the problem. I honestly think it was because I got pregnant too soon after surgery. Being pregnant shifts all of your organs around to make room for baby. I wouldn't change having my son for the world! But before being pregnant, my post op life was a BREEZE - ever since being pregnant, I have felt 'off'. Had reflux issues that I didn't have before, had some food sensitivities... As far as my esophagus, they definitely will have to operate. I was hospitalized in January for 2 weeks and needed a thoracotomy to drain and clean my lung. I was in ICU for a week, on a ventilator for 5 days... I developed sepsis in my blood and my kidneys shut down - so the worst DID happen (and scarier still is that I had NO symptoms leading up to the problem!) and I am constantly fearing that it will happen again because of how long the wait time for an appointment has been! Thank you for your concern and reply, I definitely hope to get some answers when I see these docs in April. This is not the same hospital/doc that did my sleeve, so I'm hoping that they will be able to tell me more about why my sleeve stretched the way that it did.

Not sure if anyone on here has bcbsil HMO that can answer this - but the medical policy has THIS tucked into it toward the end, and I'm wondering if anyone else also interprets this to mean that there is no longer a requirement for medically supervised diet? 2011 Update Patient Selection Criteria for Coverage A requirement that a candidate for bariatric surgery complete a formal, medically supervised weight loss programs of specified duration has been a fixture of HCSC bariatric surgery medical policy for some time. The rationale for this requirement was founded on review and interpretation of available evidence in the scientific medical literature, primarily national consensus guidelines. However, HCSC has decided to modify this requirement based on a current review of the bariatric surgery scientific literature related to required pre-surgery weight loss programs, and including consideration of input from bariatric surgeons and their professional societies. The HCSC policy will no longer require documentation that a morbidly obese member must have completed a pre-surgery weight loss program of specified duration as one of the criteria for benefit coverage of bariatric surgery. This change does not mean, however, that HCSC no longer believes that successful bariatric surgery requires multi-disciplinary support from the member's bariatric surgery program and a life-long commitment to life-style changes. Anybody know about this? I called them today and the girl I talked to was clueless - she referred me to talk to my PCP and I already have an appointment with him for Monday. Any help would be appreciated

Nope, I was not on birth control. I always assumed I couldn't conceive after years of trying when I was younger. But as they say, weight loss can jump start fertility! We weren't trying, but we were using the pull out method as prevention, which OBVIOUSLY isn't reliable. BUt because I thought I couldn't get pregnant, I didn't think it was a big deal. But lo and behold, I CAN GET PREGNANT! I have an IUD now, to be safe.

I think I'll always be fat. I'm actually okay with that. I was near 500lbs when I started this journey. My physical ability was nearly non-existent. Had I not had my sleeve, I would probably need motorized cars at stores at this point. I've lost over 150lbs. My lowest weight was 317 at 2 years post op, and then.... I got pregnant! See, life changed completely after my sleeve. Read my blog entry in it's entirety here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/blog/8722/entry-35067-i-think-ill-always-be-fat/

I've regained. I was so on track the first year or so, lost a lot but never made it to goal. Now, of the 150 I lost, I've regained about 90. I'm not happy. My unhappiness makes me want to eat more. I bought my Protein shakes but I swear I still eat as much when I drink them. It's hard... I keep planning to go all liquid for a week or two but have no willpower. Yes, I need to see a therapist. But, I don't have the time or the insurance coverage to handle that. So, I will do my best with what I already know to do and hope that I can get back on track. I know what you mean tho. I'm 4 years out from surgery now and I feel like I can pretty much eat anything and as much as pre-surgery. That awesome appetite-free feeling post op DOES NOT LAST!

I know the feeling... I've regained a lot of weight since my post-op low weight, due to pregnancy and backsliding on my diet. I'm not yet to the point where I don't fit in some chairs or booths, but I'm getting close. My lowest I was a size 24 (on my 5'10" body, it was quite slim, especially compared to where I started) and I really miss being that "skinny". I haven't fit into my jeans since about 3 month mark of my pregnancy. My baby is 10 months old now. I'm determined to get there, and beyond!

I lost 160 lbs at my lowest but have since gained 70 back. I had surgery almost 3 years ago. I am still better off than where I started. I was able to get pregnant and have a child, which accounts for some of my gain, but I was slowly gaining prior to that because I stopped following the diet and exercise program. Now that my baby is a little older, I'm getting back to the gym and hope to lose all I gained back, and then some.