NurseGrace

Also I wanted to add that my current doctor was surprised at my lapband scars, saying they were quite large for a laparoscopic procedure and seemed to allude to the fact that they were on the sloppy side, which I already knew because I am a nurse, but wasn't going to say lol.

Since there is interest I will go into it but I wanted to preface this with saying that I was is patient for YEARS so my picture of how things go at KC Bariatric is a pretty broad one, but I will ALSO tell you that I have not been back there for about 18 months so you have to take what I am saying in light of my experience but also the time frame. Things may or may not be different now, I suspect they are not different but I just want to have that out there so everyone knows. Everything was FANTASTIC at first (I had a band from him - not my sleeve - I would not let him touch me after the band fiasco) my appointments went smoothly, surgery went pretty smooth although at the time their pain control left something to be desired. Since the band is an outpatient procedure I was pushed out the door fairly quickly even though I let it be known that my pain WAS NOT under control - whatever though, I am a nurse, I know how it goes but that did set me up for a very rough few days. Also I might add that I had warned them that I was allergic to acetaminophen ahead of time and would be needing something other than the usual lortab post op. They refused to deal with that ahead of time stating "it wouldnt be a problem" and of course - IT WAS. They ended up giving me cough medicine for the pain. That might have been OK but like I said - I wasn't even really under control when I left the hospital so it was a huge problem. I went almost all of that day without anything for the pain and then when I did get something thats what it was. I recovered from that and everything was OK for a little while. The band though - was a problem. From the very begining I was having trouble with it. This is where I want to point out that IT WAS NOT DR HOEHNS FAULT I WAS STRUGGLING Some people just do not tolerate a band well and I was one of those people. To this day I do not believe that it was anything to do with his surgical skill. He is more than likely a fine surgeon. The problems became clear in the aftercare though. I was having very unusual problems and looking back they were classic signs of a slip of a bad placement but no one would listen to me. The after care was terrible. You never see the surgeon again after you have surgery, you always see his PA, and his PA is sweet, but I would be lying if I told you that he helped me, because he didn't. For years they gave me the run around telling me that I was "too tight" or whatever when I was telling them that I could eat like I never had sugery. It was a farce. Long story short, I ended up in the emergency room and had to have the band removed. There was evidence that it had been in a bad position for a long time, but the office never even ordered as much as an xray or a barium study to see what was going on with me. I am very dissatisfied with the care I received although I do not blame the doctor specifically for everything although I do think that if he is going to deligate his aftercare he needs to make sure the people proving that care are doing what they need to do for the patients. I will not go so far as to say that you are in bad hands or anything like that, but what I want you to understand about that office is that you need to be your own advocate for your own safety. If something doesn't feel right and you KNOW its not right like I did, PLEASE DEMAND medical attention, because you might not get it otherwise.

I did it last night. I made two. One got put back in the fridge and I ate it this morning so I didn't waste it but it was a silly thing to try to do.

I am a former patient of Hoehn's and if anyone would like the "skinny" so to speak on why I left I would be happy to talk to you a little bit about why I think you should consider going elsewhere. I don't have a ton of drama to dish and NO he didn't nearly kill me or anything exciting like that but I did several eye opening experiences that really woke me up.

well, the dailymail is like getting your medical information from Perez Hilton. There is even a song about it!

yyyyeeeahhh this type of thing sort of depends who you talk too. The yolk has fat but it also contains a lot of nutrients that need fat to absorb. The egg is natures little Protein pack... perfect the way it is. Just have one a day, don't go crazy.

YES. One. Just one. Your eyes are larger than your stomach right now.

looks like its all been said but I will throw in my two cents You can only eat that much because its so soft. If you scrambled an egg or something you would be shocked. Also, why are you eating 8oz of food? You shouldn't even be putting that much in front of yourself.

I just mix a little low fat mayo in with it and throw in a spoonful or so of pickle relish and mustard if I am really getting crazy. no exact measurements. the mustard might be too much for some but I actually do not care for salmon, I just eat it because its healthy so anything to cover the taste is good in my book.

YEP I am knew with the sleeve but unfortunately not to weight loss surgery as a whole. I was one that had a lapband thinking it was going to help me a hell of a lot more than it really did so none of this is new, and I'm also older now and have seen some **** lol. I wish people slowed down a little more and considered this. I wonder how many people would still have the sleeve if they knew that they might not be losing any more than say 3 pounds a week? I bet it would be a lot less, but even then, my doctor tells me that is what I should expect and anything more than that is gravy. Expectations are too high and people underestimate how much they will give up for those three pounds.

I would say there isn't NECESSARILY anything wrong with having a personal goal that is a little heavier than what your surgeon has in mind but he/she is probably basing their numbers off a BMI. Generally in the healthcare community we are going to tell you to try your hardest to bring your BMI to a point that you are no longer considered obese or overweight because it shows that your weight loss surgery was successful and it also has an effect on things like insurance and whatnot. You will pay more weighing 180 than you would if you weighed 160, you see where I am going with this? It's something you can discuss and they can tell you a little more why they set you at what they did.

But all of that being said in my previous comment, I think they tell people that to get their asses into gear. I think what they are trying to do is create a sort of "now or never" mentality in hopes that it will shock people into action. Because I do think that if you cannot make some significant headway while the surgery is still fresh and new, the thinking is that you never will. If your stalling at 4 months out, throwing the rules to the wind and frequenting the local fast food joints and have not made any significant headway or have completely hit the brakes on weight loss, chances are you probably will never get with the program again. Its a sad but true assessment of bariatric patients. Of course that does not apply to everyone and its obviously a generalizations but where there is smoke there is fire and there is a reason why its a general assumption.... GENERALLY it's true.

I don't even really seem to be experiencing this "honeymoon period" because honestly, besides the huge drop right before sugery that was basically induced by more or less fasting, I am now about two weeks out and am losing at a rate of about 3-6 pounds a week. Now I do realize that being only two weeks out its a little soon to start declaring that I am losing "too slowly" or whatever and frankly, I am not overly concerned. If it dropped below 2 pounds a week I would be a little concerned that my math was bad or something but I think people buy into these grandiose picture perfect success stories of people losing 30 pounds a month for 6 months or whatever and BAM! they are cured of their weight problems FOR-EV-ER. That's just NOT how it happens for most people, but I think its what people secretly wish for. I understand it I suppose but here is what I know from my medical training - you can only metabolize so much fat per week, you did not a medically significant amount of weight every single month of your life and you are not going to lose it like that more than likely unless you are some kind of rule-following superstar. I am constantly telling myself and reminding myself that my expectations need to be in line with reality. I don't need to be frantic about my weight loss, what I need is to be focused. Every choice needs to be deliberate, not frantic. The two things are very different and produce vastly different results.

I have a lot of thoughts about sharing EXACTLY what I eat on a daily basis here on this site because there are SO MANY different points of view about what is appropriate, when its appropriate, and so on. My basic feelings are this - I keep my calories where they are supposed to be, and I keep my protein and carbs as close to on point as I can. For me, HOW I make that happen isn't really anyone's business. I do not have a lot of sympathy for a person moaning on about how they can't lose weight when they fess up to eating McDonalds with total disregard for calories and carbohydrate limits. Even the SMALLEST Frappe from McDonald clocks in at 74 grams of carbohydrate and 66 grams of sugar. That is the type of thing that no matter what you do, if you make that choice you are MAKING the choice to fail that day. 66 grams of sugar does not fit into a weight loss program no matter which way you slice it. There are "bad" foods that you can make work - FOR EXAMPLE - Today I had a Crab Rangoon Not two, not four not a whole order, ONE. I ate ONE with about quarter cup of tomato soup. I know what you may be thinking "omg Grace, you are only 12 days post op" Don't worry, I have been cleared to progress my diet with certain limitations so long as I am tolerating it well. That's beside the point but I felt the need to say it anyway. Standard Crab Rangoon has about 70-80 calories each, and that is REALLY rounding UP. I prefer to round up that way if I am wrong I still have myself covered. They have about 3-6 grams of carbohydrates each, and about a gram of protein. I understand that it is empty calories, but if I have met my nutritional guidelines for the day, I have nothing to feel bad about. I am SO OVER being shamed about anything food related. Now, that doesn't mean I won't take advice from people who know better because I always have and I always will but I guess the whole point of this is to say that you can still be normal, and follow the damn rules. I am so tired of reading post after post where people seem to feel that they need to be some kind of raw food vegan to follow the rules or that they can be normal and blow them out of the water. The guidelines are designed to accommodate a NORMAL lifestyle. The problem is that for so many of us, our NORMAL is some kind of sick twisted sugar binge of epic proportions.

IF you experience hair loss, its unlikely that it will be noticeable to anyone but you

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You know, its hard to say because so many things are dependant on what YOU do. How much activity are you capabile of? How much activity will you ACTUALLY do, how closely will you follow your guidelines? All of these types of things matter. I think that its easy to sort of seek out the storys of people who lose 30 pounds a month but its important to realize that is pretty extraordinary and that sort of normal expected weight loss for a sleever seems to be IN REALITY more around 3 to 6 pounds a week.

If you need to go back and receive fluids intravenously you should. When I got home I had VERY good luck with hot tea. Anything hot, I even warmed up juice.

Yes. This is very important. I have not lost as much weight in my first week or so as some people (I'm about 11 days post op) but I have to sit back and realize - I've lost about 22 pounds right before surgery and I need to bring my expectations into line with reality and appreciate my work this far.

this is very interesting, thank you for the links.

Olathe!

Oh man, are they telling you to take anything for the reflux? Honestly, that is better than dealing with a leak but its still unpleasent I'm sure. I do really well with hot tea too. If you get tired of whatever you have you could pick up some Bigalow green tea with peach. It's amazing.

Today, at day 10 I would say today is the first day that I feel zero incisional pain. I am still having shoulder problems but when I had a lapband that lasted weeks, which I do not think is typical.

I was sleeved on the same day. I was advised to go backwards in the diet if I start feeling like that, so I think you are smart to do the same.