steve-o

I was on Prevacid before and after surgery. (In fact, since the mid-nineties.) While he was digging around in my innards, my surgeon repaired my "small" hiatal hernia. Regardless, I had a couple of TERRIBLE days of heartburn a month or so after surgery. But generally, the PPI did the trick both before and after surgery. Here's the news: a week ago (I'm 3.5 months post op) I had a tiring day and went to bed early... forgetting to take my Prevacid. I felt fine the next day, so I decided to skip it again. Well, I have gone the whole week now, and have only taken the Prevacid once. This gives me hope that at some point I may move past my reflux problem, even if it is not yet time!

I know I'm weird (in oh so many ways), but it drives me nuts when people ask how much I've lost. Is anyone else this way? I'm sure most people have good intentions, but I've always felt like my body is my own business. Giving them a number makes it too easy for them to pass it around... and they do... because I've seen it travel. I just want some privacy. Lately, instead of giving them a number when they ask for one, I say "not enough yet", or "quite a bit", but some are quite insistent.

My doc's instructions are to reach 70 grams of protein per day, and to use supplements until I can achieve that via regular food.

We're going to fly to Mexico in a couple of weeks. I will be about 6 weeks post-op. Unless things change quickly, I will not be able to get my required Protein by food alone. What's the most compact way to carry protein to another country, realizing that there might be a lot of trouble getting it back into the USA? Those shot things can have a lot of protein, but they sure are nasty. I'm thinking of just taking a half bag of Meal Replacement powder. What do you think?

Just my opinion: Yes, it is perfectly reasonable to be as nervous as you need to be. And, yes, second-guessing yourself is perfectly reasonable as well. I remember a part of me saying "I must be nuts" to want to trade in my perfectly good stomach for a mostly amputated one. It's only natural to have an internal debate about such a decision. Somebody on here gave advice from her mother, roughly like this: Picture yourself without it (the good and the bad)... then picture yourself with it (the good and the bad)... and see what you think.

Inconsistencies among what the doctor, his handout instructions, his staff, and the nut said drove me crazy, too. I decided to listen to the doctor most, and take everything with a pinch of salt.

I agree with Lee. It all depends on the food. My bougie was 36f. Since day 14, I've been able to eat an entire 6oz container of yogurt, and I have no trouble drinking a big ol' mug of soup. But give me a little Protein, like 2 oz of fish or a scrambled egg, and I come to a dead stop. It just says to me that it's still all about making the right choices. I think that getting sleeved has left me in a much better position to make the right choices.

I do remember my surgeon saying that blood sugar can soar for a few days post-surgery, as a natural reaction to what the body has just been through. In fact, mine did go up quite a bit for several days, and then, within a week or so, hit new lows. So, if it is blood sugar, it might not be a long-term thing.

Not yet. The last one was 2 days after my surgery, and I completely forgot. I'd like to go check one out this coming Saturday.

I've had GERD for 15 years. PPI's worked for me: Nexium was wonderful, but my crappy insurance company refused to keep paying for any of it, so I eventually was moved to twice the normal dose of generic Prevacid, which worked pretty well. (I know that there are some long-term risks to using PPI's, but in my mind they were outweighed by the potential damage caused by reflux, by the need to stop the torture, and by the fear I was left with after waking up choking on stomach acid a few times.) With my sleeve surgery, my surgeon repaired a small hiatal hernia, and I was really hopeful that GERD would be behind me. I had read that WLS often greatly improved GERD. Maybe I read that about the bypass, and just assumed that it would be true for the sleeve, because I've seen a lot of posts here about people having reflux problems. (I've been on just the normal dose of Prevacid since surgery. I've had two days within the last week, postop week 4, where the reflux has been terrible, and one time waking up choking on aspirated stomach acid, but otherwise no big reflux issues.) My question is this: For those of you whose doctors put you on PPI's after surgery for reflux, were you ever able to get off the PPI's and still not have terrible reflux?

LOL at "dirt road", Mr. Redneck. Brings back the memory of my post-surgery hours when I could hardly speak due to my dry tongue. Those first sips of Crystal Light and of ice Water the next day were so delicious! And my first "meal" of beef broth was like fine dining. Like you appear to be, I was lucky in that I never had a problem with liquids (although I always went slow). I was afraid the first time I swallowed a pill... not knowing what would happen... but it was a non-event. For me, the story about it getting better every day was absolutely true. By a week after surgery, I even went by work for a couple of hours. I could have come back full-time then, but decided to baby myself.

AnitaLou, I was sleeved June 3 by Dr. Weiss at Central Baptist. He has a very low complication rate. He told me that he personally has not lost a patient, even after several thousand weight loss surgeries, which as you know is much better than the standard morbidity rate of 1 every few hundred. He's only done 50-something sleeves, but, in my opinion, he really knows what he's doing, and I have always been extremely comfortable with him as my surgeon. However, this is not the low cost approach.

Mi-Mi, Dr. Weiss sleeved me on June 3. It's gone really well so far, and I'm convinced that he really knows what he's doing, even though he's only done 50-something sleeves. Let me know if I can help you in any way.

Sandyb, I don't know the answer to your question, and it's a good one to ask. I suggest that you start a new thread so that your question will get noticed. Go to this page: QandA and click on the orange "New Thread" button.

I'd also suggest DailyBurn.com. I just started using it, but the thing I like is that in addition to accessing it via the internet, I can also access it via an app on my new iphone.

Good luck, Leo!

Way to go, SORC!

Yeah, my first symptom of diabetes was fuzzy vision, so I second the checking of your blood sugar. Kind of odd that it would coincide with your surgery though.

OD, what's the connection between calcium citrate and acid reflux? Thanks!

I've been on PPI's since the late 90's. We all have choices to make. The reflux was torture for me, and waking up a few times choking on stomach acid and unable to get air for a minute or more will scare the bejeebers out of you. Thank God for PPI's! I don't know how people with acid reflux in centuries or even decades past lived with it. (You KNOW there were some! Maybe they all died young and skinny.)

Katt hit the nail on the head as far as I'm concerned. My information is that once you are big enough, 95% of all of us are NOT going to be able to maintain a large weight loss for 5 years, without surgery. Discipline, smlishaplin. We may be big, but we're not weak-minded. The numbers for WLS are much better, so I went with the odds. BTW, my starting weight was considerably lower than yours. I chose the surgery because it works, for most of us it sticks, and because I needed to get past some serious co-morbidities.

You didn't ask me, but here's my answer anyway for a typical day. :thumbup1: - 1 Bariactrics Advantage Meal Replacement shake (27g). That's Breakfast for me. - 1 Kroger carb control yogurt (12g). - 1 ready-to-drink Protein supplement (EAS AdvantEDGE carb control) (17g). - 1 real food something small, like an egg or some cottage cheese. (7g) - Half a 20oz Isopure Plus Zero Carb drink. (20g for 10oz) It's actually OK after a walk in the heat. I'm still in the mushies stage. Given how little real food I can take (like 1 scrambled egg or a fourth of a cup of refried beans), it would be difficult for me to get to 70g or 80g of protein without supplements. On the other hand, I can drink liquid forever, so the supplements are no problem.

Delawaregal, what iphone app are you using?

Thanks everyone, for your great support! I'm happy to report that I am one of the lucky ones so far. The only thing close to bad was the shoulder pain. I really can't say that the misery meter was ever worse than a 2 otherwise. I do believe that it helped that I listened to advice here. Walk, walk, walk; sip, sip, sip, from the beginning. (My mouth was bone dry after surgery, and I can't tell you how good those first sips of something cold and wet were.) I had to stay 2 nights in the hospital (nobody's perfect), but continued walking at home right away. Within a couple of days at home, I was up to about a mile. Went to work for a couple of hours a week after surgery. Full time today (11 days after surgery), with no problems. Another thing I really appreciated was sleeping in my own bed. What a pleasure it was to get out of that hospital bed and not have two things hanging out of me and 2 other things hanging on me! Anyway, I know I'm one of the lucky ones, but the more I read, the more I know that the odds are with you with the sleeve (as compared to the other choices) when it comes to avoiding misery. Not 100% of course, but good odds. I've lost about 11 pounds in 11 days. I know it won't keep up, but if I can lose 3 pounds a week on average for several months, I will be mighty pleased. "Curing" my diabetes was my #1 motivator; I've already stopped taking insulin, and reduced by Metformin by half.

I get sleeved tomorrow, June 3. It's just so weird, trying to comprehend what's about to happen. In a flash, I'll think I'm nuts, but a moment later I'll remind myself about why I'm doing this. I'm not having second thoughts. It's just oddly emotional having reality catch up with what has been on my mind for so many weeks. Or maybe it's just the lack of food (Clear liquids today). :wink0: By the way, I told a friend the other day that I would have the stomach of a squirrel... or maybe a groundhog. She said "REALLY???" She thought there was going to be a transplant. Anyway, short-term pain for long-term gain. Here goes.