makemyownluck

I had a sleeve done in 2012. I just revised to bypass in September. I had a high start weight and never made it to goal with my sleeve. About 14 months post op sleeve, I got pregnant, gained weight, had the baby, continued to gain... I got the sleeve due to some other medical issues/complications I was having, not for weight loss. I have lost weight, but it's not as easy as it was with the sleeve. I had a pretty great sleeve recovery and bypass recovery has been rough. Food intolerance, hard to digest lots of things, very fickle and sensitive stomach. I am losing weight but the recovery has been completely and unexpectedly different. I'm 2 1/2 months post op now and I still have days where I can't keep anything down. I didn't revise for weight loss and since it has helped other issues I was having, I have no regrets. If anything, I regret my sleeve. I wish I was still "in tact" and have started to worry more about my future health and risk factors since I did/do have a complication now. It's much more real, that possibility of problems, since I've had them. It's a tough choice to have elective surgery. I wish you luck in finding the right solution for you!

I had my rny 9/11 but also a myotomy and hernia repair. All laparoscopic. I do still take pain meds at night to sleep better. I have a lot of soreness in my left side where the biggest incision was made. It hurts to bend, and reach for stuff. I can get around ok tho, walking for a long while wears me out. Pain is tolerable during the day, but it’s hard to get good sleep without some meds.

I realize that my current weight is higher than some people’s start weight - but today, I broke the 200s. A lifetime of being obese, this is monumental for me! I converted my sleeve to bypass on 9/11, was 314 on surgery day. My high weight was 460. This journey is long and winding, take pleasure in every step of the way!

For women, we store estrogen in our fat. So as we lose weight, we are flooded with hormones. Yes, you will get your libido back, in spades.

Agree that it could be reflux. I would definitely mention this to your doctor and don't delay or ignore it. Reflux can cause damage left untreated and is fairly easy to diagnose and treat. Good luck! In the meantime, is there a way to space your meals out so you're eating the same amount, but in smaller quantities throughout the day?

/Hi! I had gastric bypass on 9/11, it was a revision from a sleeve, combined with a myotomy for an esophageal issue, and a hiatal hernia repair. I was discharged from the hospital with a drain, which I've been emptying regularly. The output from the drain has been fairly steady, about 10-30 ccs every few hours. More output with more activitiy. I was only told to monitor for changes in color and odor, told that it should get lighter as time goes on. As of today, the color has remained the same, there is no odor. It doesn't seem to be getting lighter in color as they said it would, and the output has been steady (not slowing down, not increasing). I may be overthinking or over-worrying (I tend to do this), but do you think I should be concerned that it's not slowing down? I don't have my post op til Thursday (21st) because my surgery was originally scheduled 9/13 and was bumped up at the last minute. I asked, but they said I didn't need to reschedule my post op visit for sooner since it was just a couple of days. Anyway, does this warrant a call to my doc? I have no other issues, pain is controlled and mild, I'm moving around fine, and I'm getting my fluids and protein in. If you have any info about surgical drains, please help! I'm guessing that I have continual output because I had so much done at once, but I've never had a drain before so I don't have much experience...

I know exactly how you feel, and I think it's common for anyone who is obese or who used to be obese. It's a combination of our actual thoughts and societal standards making us feel guilty for not being perfect. I feel deflated, and I still have 100lbs to lose! I do plan to (somehow) have plastics, I need a total overhaul - arms, tummy tuck, thigh lift, breast lift and augmentation.... which just sounds miserable to actually DO. And to go through all of that, I already know, I will find something not to life. An asymmetrical scar or something insignificant and I fear going into the rabbit hole of plastics because I already know I'll always be able to pick myself apart and find something else that needs to be "fixed". I can't tell you how to end thoughts like that, but I would echo what others have said and say focus on what you CAN do now that you've lost this weight, and also talk to your doc about getting on an anti-depressant. I take Zoloft and it really does calm the voice in my head and allow me to enjoy the journey. I also try to remind myself that my body is AMAZING. It has bounced back from all I've put it through, and I want to take better care of it so it can continue to amaze me as I get older. Just know, you aren't alone thinking this way.

Hi ladies! I'm feeling pretty good. I did come home with a surgical drain, which my surgeon said is because it was a revision. They also ended up needing to repair a hiatal hernia we didn't know about prior to surgery, and I had a myotomy, so because of the multiple surgeries, the drain was necessary. When I had my sleeve, I didn't need one. In the hospital, I was pretty out of it the following day. It was a combo of needing to rest and heal and the strong pain meds they were giving me. My surgery wasn't until 1pm and took about 3 hours, so I didn't do much that evening after surgery but get settled in to sleep. Slept most of the next day, but in the evening I was up and walking and trying to get fluids in. I did end up staying two nights just because I didn't get close to my fluid intake goals the day after surgery because I slept so much. So, here I am, 4 days PO. I am wearing an abdominal binder, partially to keep the drain from swinging around, but also it helps not pull on the incisions when I move. I only have one real painful incision, on my left side. They said it was the biggest, the one the camera went in, and it's the only one that has a stitch in it, which pulls a bit when I stand up or sit down. It's not terrible pain, but I have zero pain from the other incisions, so it's noticeable. I'm having to remind myself to drink my protein drinks because I'm not hungry at all, as expected. But when I do remind myself to get it in, I'm not having any issues with digesting it, or nausea, etc. I didn't experience that after my sleeve, either, so I might just be lucky with that, I know it can be bad for some people. (I also never had morning sickness, apparently my stomach can handle anything, lol) I'm moving around well, I really just have trouble bending over. I can crouch to pick something up quickly, but I can't bend for a long time to like, wipe up the floor, or something like that. I have been fortunate enough to have help with my 2 year old so I can rest during the day. Normally I'm a stay at home mom, so it's been weird to be without my son all day, but I know I couldn't keep up with him all day alone. He is very much a mamas boy who wants to crawl on me and snuggle and I am just paranoid he's going to unintentionally hurt me. I haven't had any nausea or vomiting or lightheadedness. It's really been a smooth recovery so far, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the scale move down. I've decided to weigh myself no more than once a week, I weighed myself before I went home and was up 5lbs from swelling and water retention from the IV fluids. I knew the scale would go up, but I was curious how much it had. I'm happy to share anything else if you have specific questions, but just know, the worst of it is the day of and day after surgery, but you will be medicated to handle it. Don't hesitate to ask for help from nurses for anything and focus on being rested just as much as you focus on fluids and walking around. You have to have a balance and you will only recover when you rest! It gets better every day, and it's all worth it in the end. I had my sleeve and lost 150lbs in a little over a year. (I was high starting weight, so even with that loss, I still have about 100lbs to go) I'm really curious to see how much more I can lose and if it will come off as quickly since it's a revision.

Hi guys! My surgery actually got bumped up to Monday 9/11 because of a scheduling issue with my surgeron. So I'm 3 days PO now, and feeling ok! How's everyone else doing?

I am 4 years post op sleeve and still have this problem... try Biotene dry mouth spray. That stuff is amazing.

You should build up the muscle a bit, I would do some reps of light weight exercises, so as to not add bulk and to be gentle on your arthritic knee. I would also add in adequate stretching, look up modified yoga poses for plus size and you'll get a good idea how to make sure you stretch and lengthen yourself as much as you can.

It wouldn't hurt to quit, but afterward you will definitely want to take a break. You don't want to risk a coughing fit, and you need to build up your lung strength as well. It helps to let your lungs get as clear as possible pre-op. There are other factors about cigarette smoking specifically that impair your ability to heal your best that I don't think apply to marijuana, but the coughing post-op is no joke. (btdt)

Thank you so much, James. I've seen your posts elsewhere here and appreciate you taking the time to offer me advice! I will definitely be taking a before picture! I don't have a good picture of me at my highest weight, but I can see a major difference when I look at old pictures. I do wish I had a good, full body before, just so I could see how far I've really come. I hadn't cut out coffee yet, but you are right. I need to do that ASAP! How long do you have to wait post op for coffee?

In one week, I'm having surgery. I have a sleeve, currently, and need to treat a rare condition called achalasia. So, to reduce complications from a myotomy, I am revising my sleeve to a modified gastric bypass. I'm getting a second chance at losing all the weight that I needed to lose from my sleeve. I was originally over 460 lbs (not by much, but that's as high as my doctors scale went at the time). I had my sleeve, lost about 150lbs and then got pregnant. I gained back, in total, about 70lbs in a year and a half of being pregnant and post partum. Then I got back on track. I was heading in the right direction until this achalasia started about a year ago. The condition has made it very difficult for me to eat, so in the past year since being sick, I've lost another 40ish lbs... so little because about the only thing I CAN consume comfortably are carbs. (Which I really don't appreciate at all post op WLS!) Currently, I'm about 320. I'm really trying to be optimistic about losing weight and fixing my issues with eating due to the medical condition - but being a previous WLS patient and knowing the realities of post op life, I'm having a hard time NOT focusing on how loose my skin will be, what I'll look like, how I'll afford clothes - something that didn't consume me so much before because I was single and childless and made decent money... but now I'm a mom, I have an SO (and he assures me that he loves me no matter what my body looks like), money is tight... it's all just so stressful. I have body issues to work on and don't know how to change my mindset of being so critical of myself. That's definitely part of it. But there is a part of me that was okay with not "being skinny". I lost enough weight to feel better about myself, look better, but still look like ME. I need to appreciate the change, I suppose. I just feel like I can't talk about all these things to anyone in my real life. They just don't understand. They can't relate! Can anyone here relate? How do you deal with your unshare-able thoughts?

I'm having my surgery on September 13th, one week to go! Who else is having surgery that day? How are you doing? What's on your mind as you prepare for the big day?