JennyBeth

Does anyone have any experience or had surgery with Dr. Bipan Chand at Loyola? I am still in the approval process for insurance (I have H M O insurance thru BCBS so I had to start with my PCP before I could even get the referral to see the surgeon) and I am scheduled to attend his seminar on Jan. 5th, but I'm trying to get some feedback from others who have used him for surgery. I couldn't find too much about him on this site. My PCP said I would be referred to either Loyola or UIC (my choice) but I do not know too much about either bariatric program and Loyola would be closer (I live in Mundelein, IL) and I thought that would be easier for appointments, attending support groups, etc. I appreciate any feedback I can get!

I had the same experience. It didn't help that I had some complications from the surgery and had a PICC line in my arm and was so pale and pasty looking from dehydration/malnutrition! I think everyone I saw regularly thought I was suffering from some terminal illness, but only a few actually were brave enough to ask! They really thought I was nuts when I told them I had weight loss surgery. I had people actually say to me, "you CHOSE to do this to yourself?" or "I bet if you could do it all over again you'd have made a different choice, huh?" Now that I've gotten over my rough patch, can eat again and have lost 80 pounds people's negative comments have become much less frequent! Some people are just ignorant and have no filter on what is appropriate to say to someone. Don't let it get you down!

I also couldn't handle the protein drinks. I've told my surgeon I'm done even trying and just always try to eat protein. My surgeon said he'd rather you get protein from food vs. shakes anyways. My protein is lower than what it should be each day, but I'm losing weight pretty steadily. I'm not too worried about it and my surgeon doesn't seem to be either.

I went through this but my stricture was at the end of my stomach. My surgeon did the dilation, but 2 days later it twisted closed again. So after that he put a metal stent in and that stayed in for almost 7 weeks which was awful. Even with the stent I couldn't get anything down and survived on plain water until I finally had a PICC line inserted in order to get IV nutrition at night. I finally had the stent removed on 7-1 and after 10 long weeks of no food I can eat again and have started to feel human again. I didn't believe it when people told me I'd get better and move past the regret I was filled with during my long ordeal, but I did. I love the sleeve now. I hope you're better soon. I wouldn't wish what you're going through on anyone! Take care!

I also get achy pains in my hips. I assume it's my body adjusting to not carrying around as much weight.

The stent was just very uncomfortable from day one. I had a lot of pressure in my chest and it radiated down my back. I thought it would help with being able to eat/drink, but it really didn't and I still threw up all the time. I also suffered really bad nausea all the time and always had a bloody-tingy taste in my mouth. The surgeon said the main purpose of the stent was to hold the stomach open long enough that the scar tissue heals around it and once the stent is removed it can remain open. He said most patients can last 2-6 weeks before they can't take it any longer. Although I couldn't wait to get it out my surgeon wanted me to make it to the 6 weeks so he was sure it would correct the stricture. It ended up being almost 7 long weeks, and I felt like it would never end, but thankfully it did the trick! They don't cut you open they put the stent in and take it out by endoscopy. You just have a sore throat for a few days. It was rough having it in, but well worth it since it fixed the issue.

My stent was just removed on 7-1-13 so it has just been within the last week or two that I started to feel better and not be so scared to try eating. (The vomiting was extremely painful!) But up until then I felt the same way you do. I was filled with regret, sadness and depression. Again, it will get better!!

What finally did the trick for me was when they placed a metal stent in my stomach. It was awful and I couldn't wait to get it removed from the minute it was put in. I still continued to vomit EVERY time I ate something! That's when they did the PICC line and I started doing IV nutrition. But after 7 VERY LONG weeks I was finally able to get the stent removed and that worked! My stomach remained open!! Very slowly I was able to eat again and although I'm still eating very small amounts-I AM eating again! (Going for 10 weeks not eating really messes with your head!) I understand the frustration you are going through and the feelings of regret. I felt the same way and felt like I would've been better off remaining fat but able to eat! Maybe your insurance would cover the stent. My dilation closed back up after only 2 days so my surgeon didn't even waste the time to try it a second time. I've heard that some people need multiple dilations so try to not be too discouraged. I will tell you that now that I can eat again I am realizing just how sick/malnourished I really was. Doing the IVs wasn't enjoyable at all and I was nauseous all the time from the stent in my stomach, but now that it is (hopefully) all behind me I will tell you that it gets better once you get well. I'm 4 months out from my surgery (3-20-13) and I don't have feelings of regret and constant sadness all of the time. My energy is still somewhat low because I've just been able to eat for a few weeks and my meals are still quite small, however after living off just some sips of Water I will take whatever I can get! I hope your husband gets better soon and you both start to enjoy the benefits of the sleeve! It DOES get better!

Sounds like a stricture to me. I had one and that's how mine progressed. Get it checked out ASAP! Good luck!

I had same thing. It's an allergic reaction to the skin glue. My doctor said the same as everyone else-hydrocortisone cream and Benadryl every 6 hours. They make Benadryl in liquid form, but the pills are very small and I had no issues swallowing them. I applied the cream and took the Benadryl for about 4-5 days and it completely cleared up. It felt like my skin was on fire!!

I'm very excited that after not eating for 10 weeks I am slowly starting to tolerate some food. My stent was removed on Monday 7/1 and I'm praying my stomach fully cooperates! Hopefully when I see my surgeon on Tuesday he will remove this annoying PICC line from my arm! I still feel a little pressure in my chest, but I'm hoping it's from swelling from the stent removal.

This may be a strange question, but if anyone suffered from restless leg syndrome Pre-op did it get worse post-op? It has gotten bad for me and it makes it almost impossible to sleep!

Thanks. I see my surgeon on Tuesday and will ask him about this!

Ask your doctor for a prescription of Gabapentin. It is specifically for nerve pain. It really helped me.

So tomorrow I'm having surgery to remove the metal stent in my stomach. It's been in for almost 7 weeks and I've wanted it removed since week 2! It has been extremely uncomfortable and I'm praying that when it is removed my stomach cooperates and I can eat again! (I haven't had anything of real substance in over 10 weeks!) This has been a really challenging and difficult process. I just want to reach the point where I can say this was hard, but it was all worth it and I love my sleeve. Don't get me wrong, the 60 pound weight loss in 3 months is great, but I never thought I would have to do this by literally eating NOTHING! To those of you struggling on the liquid diet portion of the process, consider yourself lucky. I've only been able to take in water orally and get all my calories from my IVs that I do nightly through my PICC line in my arm. I can't wait to be able to get in any form of calories by mouth-even if it's liquids. However the thought of chewing something sounds heavenly!! Has anyone had a stent removed? How was the recovery? I'm really nervous because I woke up in such pain and suffered really bad nausea when they put it in. I'm hoping removal will feel so much better!

I'm sorry, but don't listen to everyone telling you to stick it out and that it's normal. You shouldn't be constantly vomiting your fluids. It will get much worse if you wait. Trust me I spent 2 one week stays in the hospital due to severe dehydration and malnourishment while I had things done to fix the stricture. I really wish I hadn't waited the week and a half that I waited before contacting my surgeon. Call your surgeon!!

If you have that "stuck" feeling constantly then you need to contact your surgeon. It could be a stricture. Between 3-6 weeks is typically when you start experiencing the symptoms of a stricture. I thought mine was normal part of the sleeve healing process, too and it was in fact a stricture. Better to have it checked out ASAP instead of waiting for it to get worse.

I'm one of the ones the dilation did not work on. It improved immediately after, but closed back up 2 days later. The next week they put a metal stent in my stomach. After almost 7 weeks I'm finally getting it removed on Monday! I hope the dilation works for you!

Are you taking B12? It is supposed to help with energy.

Muscle milk claims to be milk and lactose free on the front of their package, however the whey protein that muscle milk is made from comes from milk protein which if you are lactose intolerant you can not digest! I am lactose intolerant and made the huge mistake of believing when it said contains no milk and is lactose free without reading the actual label. I drank a whole bottle of it and was violently ill the next day from it! Do NOT drink this if you are lactose intolerant!

OMG! I am going through the exact same scenario as you! I also am doing TPN nutrition through a PICC line for 2 weeks now. I also had a stricture and they ballooned it and it closed back up 2 days later so they put a temporary metal stent in. I haven't eaten anything of substance in almost 7 weeks without vomiting! Please keep me updated with your progress. It's nice to find someone going through something similar because I feel so alone. Everyone else on this site seems to have such great results from the sleeve and I'm not sure why it's been so hard for me. Best of luck to you!

So I was sleeved on 3-20 and have had issues ever since I was 5 weeks out. Started with a stricture and Dr. tried a dialation but that failed after only 2 days. Then I had 2 one week stays in the hospital due to severe dehydration. I had a metal stent put in during one of the hospital stays then I had a PICC line put in during my second hospital stay so I can get PTN nutrition every night. No one can give me specific reasons as to why this is happening or how long it will take until I can eat/drink without vomiting. When I was talking to my surgeon's nurse the other day I asked if they ever had any patients that had similar issues and she said a few. Then she told me with one patient her sleeve had to be converted to the bypass which completely eliminated the issue. She said obviously that was a last resort, but now I'm worried. It's frustrating because you don't hear much about complications and it seems like everyone on here has positive experiences.

I take both Ambien and an over the counter sleep aid and both were okayed by my doctor. You'll be fine.