CrazyCatLady

I'd like to second this. The first time I went through pre-op dieting, my surgeon's office and NUT didn't realize I was diabetic, and I felt TERRIBLE. After the third day, I called them in tears and explained that I just wasn't cut out for surgery if I couldn't handle this. After listening to my symptoms, the doc switched me to a more balanced Protein Shake and let me have an extra one a day, and it made all the difference. Give your doc a call, be honest, see what they say. Good luck!

HOLY GUACAMOLE, that's a lot of weight - congrats! My question...I'm dying for a foot tat...did it hurt??

I admit, I was feeling pretty good about my self and my weight loss...until I logged on to Facebook (grrrrr....I should know better!) and saw that an old coworker of mine, who is the same height I am, and started at the same weight (plus 7lbs)...had gastric sleeve surgery 4 weeks ago. And has lost **52lbs SINCE SURGERY!!!** I almost choked on my glass of ice water. WTF!?! I had my surgery 7 weeks ago (as of tomorrow), and I've lost....38lbs since surgery. Almost twice her time, and less weight. I've lost 40lbs in two months before by low-carb dieting...so this is not an exciting moment for me. Why is it we spend our precious time comparing ourselves to others? I was reading one of those "after your surgery" books....and came across the statement that the honeymoon period for weightloss surgery was the first 3 months....3 months?!? I'm more than halfway through that! ....there's that comparing again. Grrrrrrr..... Sometimes, I wish I lived on an island, with no one to compare to. Even my dear, darling husband made the comment, "After my RNY, I never stalled - I just lost weight the whole way down". I wanted to crush his manbits with a sledgehammer...and I was perfectly rational at the time that I told him as much. Yes, I had complications. Yes, I know that it affects me....but that base human part of me somehow feels inferior, simply because I can't become less-fat just as fast as someone else. WTF.

I'm always so glad to see people that are several months, years, etc, out from surgery come back and talk to the rest of us...helps us get a realistic picture of what to expect. Thank you! Best of luck as you recover from surgery and move forward with your life

While we may not experience "dumping" in the same way that RNY/DS patients do, we do still have a definite connection between consumed foods being rejected by our GI system. The bariatric surgeon I worked with previously explained it as such: The theory is - when that 80%+ of our stomachs were removed, we lost lots of enzyme/hormone production capacity. These enzymes and hormones normally help us process particular items - added sugars, lactose, gluten, different amino acids, etc - hence why a significant portion of post-sleeve patients become lactose intolerant, some for the rest of their lives. Now here's the beauty of the body - we have redundancies built in! Some of these same enzymes are produced in the small intestine (which, when Bypassed in an RNY and coupled with no pyloric sphincter, produce the RNY version of dumping). Over time, the production facilities that are left often DO ramp up production, which is why those episodes become further and farther in between as our sleeved time increases. Some do not - see the lactose intolerant example above. Additionally, gastric dumping syndrome can be caused simply by our body's attempt at self preservation: we put too much food (or an undesirable food) in our sleeve. Body says "WTF! Move this stuff out before it does damage!" and shunts it into the small intestine before it's had adequate time to be mixed with gastric juices, brought to the proper pH, etc. Our poor duodenum gets overloaded....and nastiness results. Without becoming overly technical: yes, sleeve patients DO dump. Let's observe the symptoms.... "Early dumping begins concurrently or immediately succeeding a meal. Symptoms of early dumping include nausea, vomiting, bloating, cramping, diarrhea, dizziness and fatigue. "Late" dumping happens 1 to 3 hours after eating. Symptoms of late dumping include weakness, sweating, and dizziness. Many people have both types." Note that the National Digestive Diseases Clearinghouse, a branch of the National Institutes of Health DOES deem vomiting in this context as a symptom of gastric dumping. I can tell you that I personally had that experience today, over 3 bites of beef bologna. Within 10 minutes of consuming my bologna, I became pale, shaking, severe nausea, cold/clammy sweats...followed within 30 minutes by OH DEAR GOD diarrhea time with the great white porceline god in the washroom. It was not pretty. As with most things...your mileage may vary.

Yes, it's true....we nurses get excited about some VERY strange things. I will admit to clapping for a patient when he FINALLY passed gas after waiting in recovery almost 4 hours after his colonoscopy - I'm sure he thought I was a freak

I had surgery over a month ago....we were at Costco today, and I purchased a slice of pizza for my daughter from their little food-court thing (we rarely have junk at home, and she's had a real yen for pizza the last several weeks)...and this skinny broad in line behind me starts making these very obviously loud comments to the woman next to her about how terrible it is that PEOPLE can't rein themselves in and how last she knew, Costco sells SALADS, etc. People are cruel no matter what. Surgery changes nothing. They have no idea that I've lost almost 50lbs, or that I can barely get down 400 calories on a good day - all they know is that I am FAT, and therefore an out-of-control JABBA THE HUT clone who deserves to be publicly humiliated. My daughter came home one day and said she was invited over to a friend's house, but was warned that they won't have junk food at home, like we OBVIOUSLY have at our home. Which made me laugh...prior to surgery, I was hypertensive type 2 diabetic, I had to monitor my diet very closely. We had a bag of chips that sat on top of the fridge until they turned stale. I should mention that even when you do get surgery and you do start losing weight, there's the inevitable comments about how you took the "easy way out", to further invalidate your efforts at health. Bottom line: haters gonna hate, whether they be kids or adults. If you knew how little people thought of you, you'd think little of them too. We here are very proud of you for soldiering on and doing what you need to do to take care of yourself. Don't let ignorant comments lodge in your brain

Yes, I said it...I hate food. All of it. It's 2:30p, and I haven't had anything to eat today - because the thought of putting anything in my mouth is totally repugnant. I have no interest. I tried eating a piece of chicken this morning: chewed it up and then spit it out, because I knew if I tried to swallow it, I'd gag on it. I can't believe the change from 2 months ago, where I ate all day long. It is mindblowing. I suppose it doesn't help that my weight loss is somewhere between a "crawl" and "non-existent" these last handful of days. Logically I know I have to eat - I just have no desire. None. Wonder when/if this will change.

If you have Trader Joe's, they have Hemp Protein, that has no whey or dairy derivatives in it. You have to watch some of the soy Proteins...sometimes they sneak in whey or dairy for 'enrichment'.

I have had this issue ever since surgery...and I don't even consume Protein shakes of any kind due to my new-since-surgery lactose intolerance. Farts can NEVER be trusted. I've talked to a couple docs, and they keep assuring me that this will go away in time (one of them said, "Once you hit solids, diarrhea and "productive flatulence" will be a thing of the past"...but I've been on solids for almost 3 weeks and still have several liquid stools daily). I finally gave up sleeping with the nice sheets or wearing good clothes. I've had to learn to carry a whole change of clothes (from the waist down) with me any time I leave the house. Wish I had suggestions how to stop it, but no luck so far.

I realize that I am very, very depressed. I have become so deconditioned and in enough pain, that I rarely leave my house any more. A lot of that has to do with no longer being able to eat anywhere but at home. So I started the new job this week, and Wednesday night I was supposed to orient on graveyard shift. I packed myself a couple of pieces of rolled deli turkey for food (my usual standby) and went to work. I don't know if it was the swapping onto night shift or what, but I spent almost the entire night with either heaving or with bright yellow loose stools (again! Why can't I kick this damn stuff!) in proximity to eating the turkey. I feel like I'm a prisoner to my body. It's like...just when I start feeling ok (I say ok, because I haven't felt GOOD since April, before surgery.), my body says, "There you go getting all uppity...let's knock you down a peg!" I'm so sick of it. I wish I had spent more time reading threads on complications prior to surgery. Instead, I chose to believe these people who said they were out mowing their lawns with push-mowers at 3 days post op. Hell, I've been off work for 7 weeks and I couldn't survive one shift...which was substantially less hours than what I normally worked! I feel like such a failure. I guess what I'm struggling with is feeling like a failure. I'm an intensely private person, so I haven't shared what's going through my head with many people. But I keep getting the "just wait, it will get better" or...the thinly veiled implication that I'm doing something wrong and they don't want me crapping in their Wheaties. Well, I'm sorry to piss on your rainbow! I wish I COULD be that woman who was eating a whole Chalupa at 3 weeks post op, but I'm not. I've had to be in the hospital 3 times since surgery (albeit two of those were for IV rehydration and were ER only visits). I've had 3 separate consulting surgeons tell me that my sleeve is ridiculously tight and that I need surgical correction, or I'll end up malnourished and chronically dehydrated. I feel like this surgery was possibly the worst decision of my life...and being I've been married 3 times, that's saying a lot! I'm just getting to the point where I don't want to talk to anyone about this at all, because I just can't take the negative right now. I don't have health insurance, so no councelling in the near future for me. I just can't wait for this all to end.

That is correct - and I have had major surgery before WITHOUT these particular results. I apologize - I thought OP was looking for a variety of feedback. I know that prior to my own surgery, all I saw was glowing reports of people mowing their lawns with push-mowers at 3 days post op, running in charity runs at 4 weeks post-op, eating a whole Chalupa from Taco Bell at 3 weeks post-op. I felt it was a reasonable expectation to be somewhat "normal" functioning at the one month mark. I wish I would have known and had the opportunity to speak with people who had a less-than-super experience, so that I fully knew what the possible outcomes were. Even though I am a nurse and have some clinical knowledge of what can happen post-surgically, nothing takes the place of talking to someone who has actually been there - it helps you make a more accurate decision.

I guess I have to be the one to say...I regret having the sleeve done. I do. I'm 6 weeks post op, and am still miserable. I went from being able to pull a 16 hour shift at work with no problem, to not being able to handle a short trip to the grocery store. I have become totally lactose and wheat intolerant post-surgical. I developed a large blood clot post surgery and had to spend an additional week in the hospital. I can't get life insurance through my previous company now...because of this surgery (it's an auto-exclusion). I can't eat with other people any more...because I have no idea if what I'm putting in my mouth will give me near-instant heaves and diarrhea, even if I've had that food before with no issues. Sure, I've lost weight - but I'm still wearing the same clothes as pre op. I wish I would have tried to diet more earnestly instead of this. Consider well before you continue, because you can't go back. Pre-op, I was so convinced that I would be like "everyone" else - happy, motivated. I was not prepared to be one of the few who will be lucky to survive this ordeal mentally and physically in one piece.

Wow, I'm 6 weeks out and still haven't been able to tolerate ANY fruits or veggies. At all. I get a tiny bite and then the stomach starts roiling....followed by a run to the bathroom within the next 30 minutes. I'm still stuck with soft proteins and it sucks >.< It's nice to know that eventually, some day....my anatomy may be less volatile.

I'm working graveyard shift today, but my body doesn't want to cooperate with sleep...so here I am, awake when I should be asleep. But it's ok. Since my breakdown on Monday, I've been making a concerted effort to really question my motivations for anything that comes in or out of my mouth. I hadn't realized it, but I have been buying into the pity that has been coming from aquaintances: "If I could only eat a few bites, I would DIE!" "Aren't you going to end up like Carnie Wilson? You know, she had that surgery and gained it all back." "Wow, you're going to be so sick...I had a (insert friend or relative here) who had that surgery, and he/she was so malnourished that she had to live in the hospital for (insert long period of time), they had to feed her through a tube and he/she almost died!" "We're all going out drinking....you coming CatLady? Oh, that's right...no fun for you anymore!" etc, etc, etc. I'm not sure why I took so many of these to heart, but I have. It comes down to feeling....abnormal. It's a feeling I've struggled with almost my entire life. I just want to fit in - and since surgery, it feels like I stick out even more. For some reason, I chose to remedy this in a fashion that was really no remedy at all. It just made me feel like more of a screw up. So my goal this week has been to listen only to myself, not what I -THINK- others may think or say about me. It has been challenging, but doable. The big realization is that I *AM* normal. THIS is my new normal. and I've got to go with the flow. Took my daughter to Panda Express (her favorite place) to celebrate the last day of school, and was perfectly content picking at 1/4 of a side's worth of Mushroom Chicken. Enjoyed talking to her and being inside in the air conditioning. And felt ok. Just have to lock this feeling away and remember it.

I finally hit my breaking point. Today was first day of orientation at new job. I'm already not happy about this - it is a pay cut ($2 an hour, but still) AND a cut in hours (32 a week...need I say more?) Being it was corporate orientation, they ordered Pizza Hut pizza for all of us - all of THEM, I should say. So I sat and watched them eat pizza, breadsticks, soda...cinnasticks....while I ate my 2 low-fat, gluten/dairy free turkey meatballs. At the end of the day, I had just been wrung through the wringer. Bone tired, mentally tired. I snapped. I stopped at the store and bought 2 bags of chips - one of Cheetos Puffcorn, one of Poore Brother's Sweet Maui Onion. I opened them up and proceeded to drive from one end of town to the other, stuffing my mouth with chips. I pulled over in a parking lot off of Grant and Alvernon to throw up. And again in the parking lot of the Pima Downtown Campus. But just kept shoving in chips. Finally got terrible diarrhea, so pulled into In N Out off of I-10. Used bathroom, threw up again, had total liquid stool for about 10 minutes. Exited bathroom, ordered chocolate milkshake. Got back in car. Had to roll down window and throw up down side of vehicle at 70mph cause I couldn't get off the road fast enough. Threw remaining bags of chips out the window when I hit the Eastbound Kolb Rd exit. Had another incident of gut-ripping diarrhea, but couldn't control it and ended up soiling myself...all the way down to the tan plush seats of my 2011 Camry. Had to drive the remaining 15 minutes home in crappy scrub pants, had nothing in car to clean up with or change into. What the hell is wrong with me???

I was all prepared for a stall...but not for this. For the last 4 days, I have consistently gained 3/4 to half a pound....EVERY STINKING DAY. I'm not close to my period, so that's not it. I don't have any new or unusual edema, so that's not it. My bowels move twice every day (damn those loose stools), so that's not it. This is driving me insane! I am still having difficulty getting in fluids. I barely hit 40oz yesterday, and I really really had to screw with my day to get in that much. I'm back to sliming when I attempt to consume plain water, so I've been drinking water with a little lemon in it, or decaf iced tea. Ocassional Crystal Lite, but it just tastes way way too sweet these days. Yesterday's intake: 2oz low-salt turkey breast, 1.5oz rotisserie chicken breast, 3 all-beef gluten/dairy free meatballs. That's about my capacity. I miss veggies terribly. My blood clotting factor keeps dropping, even with the Warfarin, so the hematologist's office kicked me off my vitamins until they can stabilize how thin my blood is...since not throwing a clot is the top priority right now. I'm just so damn frustrated right now. I mean, there should be no way that I am gaining weight on such a small amount of calories. Logically, I know there can be a myriad of reasons for scale gain...but the fact that I'm not losing many inches is just the cherry on top. /endrant

Something that's been nagging at me since surgery.... I miss being able to chug water. Badly. I'm almost 5 weeks out from surgery, and still can barely hit 40oz of fluid intake a day. That being said - that amount is double my intake from the week before, when I discovered how wonderful straws truly are. I thought all liquids gave me the burps; instead, I can drink pretty much everything now burp-free, provided it's through a straw. I had pre-employment paperwork today for a new job, and while I was filling out the mountain of legal stuff, the woman casually asks for me to give a urine sample for drug tox testing....and I secretly panicked! I had been sip sip sipping along on my water all morning, but I was no where near prepared to give 50ml of urine on the spot! Heck, I'm lucky to pass 200ml total on any given day! Yes, I'm chronically dehydrated since surgery, and it sucks. In the past, this would not have been an issue. I was notorious for being able to chug a full liter of water in under 30 seconds as a pre-op. Now it takes me the better part of 6 hours to get down one of those 16.9oz bottles. WTF. After 3 hours of drinking as much as I possibly could, I was only able to produce 20ml of urine...they sent the test bottle off anyways, but I have that sneaking suspicion that I'll be required to retest. See, little things like this nag at me as a post-op. I was prepared to possibly not be able to eat red meat/steak again, so I spent quality pre-op time eating a TON of beef, and I was ok with that going away. I had no idea I'd end up lactose intollerant...to the point where I wake up at night, covered in sweat and dreaming of cheese, to the point where I can taste it in my mouth!! The social aspects of food are hitting me hardest. I suppose that this is normal for everyone. I've been lucky in that I have been somewhat isolated from other people for the last month, but food advertising is everywhere, and it makes me want to strangle people. If I have to see one of those Pizza Hut ads for that damn CHEESY BITE PIZZA one more time, I swear I'll go postal!!!! Bread and cheese! I'd rather have it than sex! ....at least, I think I would. Truth be told, I'm not even sure if I would really enjoy it anymore. And that's what it comes down to....food hold absolutely no enjoyment for me any more. I can't think of anything in my food choices that tastes GOOD right now. Some things are more tolerable than others, but there is nothing that I truly savor, and it makes me sad. I'm sure the fact that I'm "stalled" does not help matters. I chose to consume a small amount of something I shouldn't, and gained 4 lbs of fluid overnight...which has stubbornly clung on for the last 3 days. And now I am terrified to eat pretty much anything. Worried that I went in debt and nearly died from complications...all for 42lbs of weight loss, which may or may not stay off. Ugh, frustrated. I'm at that point where I'm not far enough to see positives (no, I haven't lost any clothing sizes or had any NSVs yet), but buried in negatives, and it's hard to see when things will improve.

Just found out I have to try to do the urine tox screen again...not enough sample. And my urine output was only 50ml yesterday....total. This is bad news. I may need some IV hydration at this point.

My sleeve named himself during those first few days post-op: Cthulu Jr. Don't know who (or what) Cthulu is? In short....elder god...who drives you insane...and then eats you. Or kills you...by eating you. Among other things. Those first 72 hours post op, my newly sleeved stomach was VERY vocal - as in, you could hear rumbling across the room. Once I was able to consume liquids, if it was something CJ (as he's known) didn't like, he would conspire with his squiggly neighbors to the south to construct a quick, agonizing departure. For the first 5 weeks of my new sleeve life, CJ has ruled my world with an Iron fist...and driven me insane! Oddly, my husband is an almost 3 year RNY post-op, and his pouch has a name: Grignak (as in, Grignak the Barbarian!). Grignak likes to pretend he's all civilized and docile, but watch out! - he's just waiting for the right chance to RAGE!! After my surgery, we could sit on the sofa next to eachother and listen our respectively modified stomachs gargle and yell at each other. Odd, but entertaining! On a side note: there is actual clinical research and backup behind why we name things that we feel are foreign - it is much easier to deal with a named entity than a nameless object. If it has a name, it must have intelligence or a persona, and thus be open to reason and logic. We use this strategy all the time in clinical practice to help patients who are having a difficult time adjusting to a new ostomy or appliance (like a Vacuum Assisted Wound Closure device). It's much easier, psychologically, to say, "Oscar's acting up again!", than "my colostomy is having issues".

Surgery was April 16th, and I'm down 42lbs....but no one can tell! Gah, I feel like a real Fatty McFatterson right now!

I always thought I would be very private about my surgery - but I've found myself discussing it with the most random people. Example: I just got offered a new job, which requires drug screening prior to employment. I was aware of this fact - but not aware that they would want a sample TODAY, when I was making a quick stop by for pre-employment paperwork. I found myself having to explain why I couldn't just chug a 16oz bottle of Water and present the requisite urine a short time later. Being in healthcare sometimes has it's downsides - I'm rarely able to get away with a "how" without attaching a "why". So far, reactions have been mostly positive. Pretty much the only time I explain the mechanics of my surgery are a) when people broach the subject on their own, or if I need to explain some mechanical limitation of my new sleeve (i.e: "Yes, nosy coworker, I -DID- enter the pudding eating contest last year ...and I am the reigning champion! But I will not be keeping that title this year because...xyz"). I did tell my family in advance of my surgery, but even then with some trepidation, as it is looked upon as a willpower issue. Oddly, I never disagreed it was a willpower issue for me...but was I going to let it kill me? or was I going to attempt to do something about it? Coupled with the fact I went out of country for surgery, it seemed logical to let the family know where I was going and why....just in case the worst happened, they wouldn't get surprised by a call from my husband telling them I had died in an OR in Mexico. Harsh, but reality. As far as weight lost, let me paraphrase from the Good Book - "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone". But, as my sister says - "Haters gonna hate". Many years ago, I lost a significant amount of weight through ...well, basically, starvation. LOTS of coffee and no carbs. I worked with this cheeky CNA who used to say to me every night at work, "You know, all that weight's going to come back and then some." I took those words to heart, and regained. It really doesn't matter HOW you lose your weight, surgery or otherwise - sometimes, some miserable people are going to try to make your life also miserable, because of jealousy or whatever. I guess what I am trying to say is: It matters less who you tell, in what you believe and expect the sharing of that information to result in. If you feel that negative criticism will negatively impact your results or your self-image, then feel free to keep information about your surgery to yourself. If you don't give a flying monkey's rear what people think...feel free to share with whoever you wish. Or don't. In the end, only you can decide who you want to invite into a private corner of your life.

Not to echo what others will most likely say - but have you considered a switch to Dexilant (if you're not already on it?). I've seen quite a few posts here on VST, as well as patients in clinical practice, who were able to achieve much better control of the VOLCANO once switching off of Prilosec or Nexium. Just a thought. Please don't shoot - just trying to be helpful *ducks*

I was self-pay for my procedure, as my employer had negotiated a total exclusion with UHC for our contract - had my procedure in Mexico with a well-respected surgeon. It always amazes me that I, as a nurse - who spends my life caring for people, can't get the heathcare coverage I need from my employers...but that's another rant. Unknown to me (but known to my ancestors, those cheeky critters!), I had an undiagnosed hereditary blood clotting disorder, and landed back in the hospital at 10 days post op with a HUGE portal vein clot. As far as I know, UHC has covered the one week hospital bill that I incured at that point, with no issues...other than that pesky $2k deductible.