makemyownluck

I had my first visit with Dr. Luu today. I'm sooo much happier with him than with the prior surgeon. He ordered my pre-op tests and now I just have to schedule those. Once they are done, I do a second visit with him and we schedule my surgery. I'm also happy to report that I've lost more weight - down 39lbs since November 2012. I can actually go buy a scale at the store now! Another happy milestone, I've already started shrinking out of my clothes. I bought 2 pairs of pants on sale through a catalog and bought them 2 sizes smaller than what I had. I figured if they were too snug, they'd fit soon enough. BUT THEY WERE TOO BIG! I can't believe I'm actually losing weight. Pre-op weight loss, and I swear I'm not even trying that hard! Anyway, the doctor was really nice and their staff was much better than the last place I went, so I'm really happy with my 2nd opinion. Now comes the fun part of testing and getting final insurance approval. For the first time since I got the idea to have this surgery in July 2012, I actually feel like I'm GETTING THERE. Can't want to get this over with and get skinny! Quick question - For pre-op, I have to do an upper GI. Is that a barium swallow xray or an endoscopy? Anyone know?

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 was thinking about my "goal weight" and I really have more of a "goal size" in my mind. I tried to research what a typical weight range would be for my height and potential goal weight and found a forum of body builders who gave their stats. It was really interesting to read through, but due to the nature of the site, there wasn't much plus size response! I realize that sizing fluctuates, and the same ht/wt people can be differing sizes, but I thought it would be interesting to see what other people's clothing sizes are. I'll start! I'm currently 5'10" 330. I wear a size 24 or 26 pants and 3x top. My lowest weight was 310 and I was a size 22 or 24 pant and 1x/2x top.

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!

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.

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'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?

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?

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 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?

I'm getting my revision to the bypass on the 13th.

pain is temporary, quitting is forever.

Keep yourself occupied! Clean up around the house, finish any projects that require lifting, etc. You won't feel up for doing much housework after surgery, so take advantage now! Keeping busy distracts you from being hungry.

If I may ask - what repair to your esophagus did you have? I was diagnosed with achalasia and am revising my sleeve to a bypass as well as having a myotomy. Just curious what it was that you were treating. As far as recovery for my sleeve, I work a desk job and took 2 weeks. I was fine, physically, at about a week, but was still very tired all the time due to nutritional intake (or lack thereof) and being tired as my body healed.

I have heartburn about once or twice a week. But it's different from "regular" heartburn - tums don't help at all, nor pepto, mylanta, etc. It's not actually reflux of stomach acid, it's more esophageal irritation from something I ate that hasn't cleared. My doc is confident that it will stop after surgery. He says he has been quite successful with Heller Myotomy and he is a leading bariatric surgeon so I think he will handle my revision well also. I'm very much caught in my own head about what recovery will be like, and frankly it seems like this procedure has a rather large margin for issues post op. I'll just have to take them as they come, stop stressing the unknown, and hope for the best possible outcome, knowing that an IMPROVEMENT might be all I get, as "back to normal" doesn't seem to be an option with this condition. It's a lot to wrap your mind around! Also, I can RELATE to it being impossible to tell what will go down from one day to the next. Even plain water is difficult at times. It's very frustrating, and more than anything, I'm sick of being SICK all the time.

I'm weirdly excited to have someone else to talk to about this too! I had my sleeve with no complications back in 2013. At the time, I was morbidly obese and had a new dx of high blood pressure, but was otherwise healthy and had no health issues to speak of. The sleeve recovery was fine and I lost about 150lbs. Then... I got pregnant. Pregnancy was good, baby and I were healthy, my son was born and life was great. Except that I had allowed about 50lbs to creep back on. So last spring/summer, I decided to kick start my weight loss and went on a keto diet. Shortly after, I started having symptoms of achalasia, which I didn't know what it was at the time, and just attributed my indigestion and vomiting to eating too dense of protein too often with my sleeve. I wasn't seeing my bariatric doc anymore due to insurance changes and just thought I needed to be more careful about what I was eating. In January, I experienced sudden onset of chest pain on my right side, that was so intense I would've thought I was having a heart attack if it were happening on the left side of my chest. I went to the ER, was checked for a pulmonary embolism (which it wasn't) and had a CT of my chest. I had empyema and pneumonia. I was admitted, the next day I had 2 liters aspirated from my lung, and it wasn't enough. I had to have surgery (thoracotomy), and during that surgery I aspirated. I ended up being put on a ventilator, sedated until they could stabilize me and operate again. I had my second surgery which was successful, but left me in so much pain! After that, I ended up with sepsis in my blood, my kidneys failed and I needed dialysis - all while I was too drugged up to know what was happening. I was referred to a university hospital in Chicago by the GI that saw me in the hospital. I had all the testing and confirmed I had achalasia - which now that I know what it is and have read up on it, I realize that my symptoms were all pretty spot on for this condition. My new bariatric surgeon says that the sleeve will cause reflux if he does the myotomy without converting to bypass, so that's what we're doing. I totally understand what you mean that some days are better than others. There are days I can eat just about anything with no problem, if I try to eat the same things the next day, it's a disaster and I'm miserable all day. Unfortunately, the easiest thing to get down most days are CARBS. If I continue to have swallowing problems after the myotomy/bypass, I have no idea what I'll eat! I also have problems with protein shakes, water, yogurt... stuff you would *think* goes down easily, doesn't. I'm quite nervous about what comes after this and why I developed this in the first place. Knowing that it's an auto-immune disease has me worried I may develop others, as you did. I'm sorry for us both suffering from this awful condition! Losing 50lbs in 4 months is fantastic, especially given the disadvantage of eating problems. I hope for similar results - I figure if getting this condition is what prompted me to do something about the remaining weight that I never lost with my sleeve, then it's not all bad. If you have any links of resources for this condition, please share. I've done my own research, but then I see other people referencing having "atypical achalasia" or "type 2 achalasia" and I have no idea what that means!

Hi neon, how are you feeling now? How is your achalasia? I have a sleeve and developed achalasia last year. I'm having a Heller Myotomy and revision to gastric bypass on 9/13. My surgeon said I would likely have really horrible and uncontrollable reflux if I didn't revise to a bypass, and I still have about 100lbs to lose from my initial surgery (I was over 400# to begin with). Curious to know more about your achalasia diagnosis and if you're able to eat better now that you've been healing for a few months.

I'm having surgery on September 13, and have a wedding reception for my best friend to attend on September 29. I don't suspect that I'll feel much like dancing, and she already knows that I'm having surgery and can't eat or drink, but I definitely want to be there and celebrate this amazing part of her life. Can some of you share how you were feeling that far out? I have had several surgeries before and have a fairly high pain tolerance. This is a revision from a sleeve to the bypass, I just can't recall from when I had the sleeve how I was feeling after 2 weeks... I did go back to work after two weeks with my last surgery, so I'm guessing I'll be okay to go to a reception at 2 1/2 weeks? thoughts?