Madam Reverie

Thank you, love. I think I'm still in a bit of shock! Nice shock though! Roll on Christmas. I'm going to dress like a proverbial lady of the night!

Purse your lips together lady and blow! All together now.. t'wit.. t'woooooo!

How about a 't'woo'?!

t'wit - t'woo!

Dear All, Having been sleeved a whole 17 days, I have noticed a very nasty side effect to this surgery - Reflux. I have been given the PPI, avoid fatty/surgery foods, limit caffeine and chew like the proverbial cow chewing the cud. None of this seems to help things. If I'm gonna get taken out with it, I'm being taken out. On academic research, I have learnt that VSG increases the likelihood of GERD due to, in short and without doing the 'science bit', the Lower Esophageal Sphincter being weakened. Subsequently, all your gastric juices - PPI or not - jump above that valve and languish in your esophagus causing general discomfort, pain and misery. Consequently, what I'd like to ask all you good people, is a) have you had this (before or after surgery) b ) how did your surgeons/doctors deal with it c) have your symptoms improved with the surgery, weight loss, or just got worse over time? Any opinions, particularly from the long-term sufferers, are very much appreciated. x

I found that I can stomach mashed up blueberries in plain natural yoghurt with a bit of honey to aid digestion.. That's all the Vitamin C and roughage you could ever want and it's easy on the stomach. Sorry for your troubles

Maybe, as it appears to be a trend that people who transition from full liquids to pureed and from pureed to real food get smacked in the chest with GERD.. some advice and recipe ideas that are a little easier on the gastric function/intestinal motility whilst having some flavour and hit the protein requirements? That would be very cool indeed!

That you will NEVER be able to gorge yourself on your favourite morsels ever again and you need to be prepared for that. It feels like grief - like you've lost a dear friend. Again, this is the mental aspect, but it is very tangible for me. Ridiculous, of course - because you can eat your favourite morsels.. There's just a sadness that sometimes descends on me, when I realise I'm going to be maxed-out after 5-6 bites... Oh, how I'd love to be able to eat a normal sized piece of home-made lasagne, mixed salad dressed with balsamic vinaigrette and a piece of garlic focaccia... all washed down with a glass of spicy pinot noir... This, is what gets me most....

Oh, I'm still having it in the evening! There is NO WAY I'd go without it. I'm too fearful of drowning in my own bile!

cheese.. oh how I miss thee..... I hope I am on the mend. I think I'd be devastated if GERD was what I had to look forward to as a consequence of this surgery...

See! This is all part of my master plan... Invade an American site, drop my lingo frequently enough for it to become common parlance and whilst I'm at it, neurologically program you all into thinking that Oreo's are the devils work! Seems that Ohio is ahead of the game. Well done Ohio! Shall we run a sweepstake as to which State will be slowest on the uptake? My guess is California

I am feeling pretty fantastic today, as it happens and thank you for asking.. I managed to eat two chicken drumsticks over the period of, ooh, 2 hours. Took it very slowly and didn't even drink whilst munching. I consider that a bit of a success! Now, if only cheese wasn't like the kiss of death for me... (although it's probably a good thing it is...) So far (and fingers crossed) no bad reflux/indigestion for a few days.. I even (shock horror) went without a PPI this morning... I hope I'm not counting my chickens before they're hatched.. But I think if I limit the things which are 'iffy', I may stand a chance of beating this b'stard. Yeah!

LOL That's hilarious. Its immaterial as to how much you protest - they always have been and always will be..... rank.... There's your next one to look up

Oreos ming.. fact

Take it as a back-handed compliment? (Despite it being mortifying, I'm sure)

I posted this a while back. Hope it helps. "I posted this on another forum and felt it might be useful for other people to have a read of, if like me, you like your scientific facts. Maybe the below will provide a bit of clarity as to the 'nuts and bolts' of some of the bariatric procedures and their long-term (within the limitations of the data) efficacy. This first academic journal quoted was published in May 2013. So, it doesn't get more 'up to date' with regards to evaluating the comparative effectiveness in the three biggest weight loss procedures. I have only reproduced the abstract and have quoted the source below as the abstract covers the salient information we'd be interested in. The second section is all about the metrics, with a snapshot of all the procedures being evaluated in a tabulated form (the table was removed from the cutting and pasting process, so read left to right) and the risks associated with the operations. The primary and secondary sources are also cited. Better to make decisions based on rigorous scientific research, than hearsay and charasmatic sales pitches, I feel... Hope it helps. Article 1: Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the comparative effectiveness of sleeve gastrectomy (SG), laparoscopic gastric bypass (RYGB), and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) procedures. Background: Citing limitations of published studies, payers have been reluctant to provide routine coverage for SG for the treatment of morbid obesity. Methods: Using data from an externally audited, statewide clinical registry, we matched 2949 SG patients with equal numbers of RYGB and LAGB patients on 23 baseline characteristics. Outcomes assessed included complications occurring within 30 days, and weight loss, quality of life, and comorbidity remission at 1, 2, and 3 years after bariatric surgery. Results: Matching resulted in cohorts of SG, RYGB, and LAGB patients that were well balanced on baseline characteristics. Overall complication rates among patients undergoing SG (6.3%) were significantly lower than for RYGB (10.0%, P < 0.0001) but higher than for LAGB (2.4%, P < 0.0001). Serious complication rates were similar for SG (2.4%) and RYGB (2.5%, P = 0.736) but higher than for LAGB (1.0%, P < 0.0001). Excess body weight loss at 1 year was 13% lower for SG (60%) than for RYGB (69%, P < 0.0001), but was 77% higher for SG than for LAGB (34%, P < 0.0001). SG was similarly closer to RYGB than LAGB with regard to remission of obesity-related comorbidities. Conclusions: With better weight loss than LAGB and lower complication rates than RYGB, SG is a reasonable choice for the treatment of morbid obesity and should be covered by both public and private payers. SOURCE: Carlin A, Zeni T, Birkmeyer N, et al. The comparative effectiveness of sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, and adjustable gastric banding procedures for the treatment of morbid obesity. Annals Of Surgery [serial online]. May 2013;257(5):791-797. Available from: MEDLINE with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Article 2: September 2012: Morbidity and mortality associated with LRYGB, LSG, and LAGB from the ACS-BSCN dataset LRYGB LSG LAGB 30-d mortality (%) 0.14 0.11 0.05 1-y mortality (%) 0.34 0.21 0.08 30-d morbidity (%) 5.91 5.61 1.44 30-d readmission (%) 6.47 5.40 1.71 30-d reoperation/intervention(%) 5.02 2.97 0.92 SOURCE: Data from Hutter MM, Schirmer BD, Jones DB, et al. First report from the American College of Surgeons Bariatric Surgery Center Network: laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy has morbidity and effectiveness positioned between the band and the bypass. Ann Surg 2011;254(3):410–20 [discussion: 420–2], in: Timothy D. J, Matthew M. H. Morbidity and Effectiveness of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy, Adjustable Gastric Band, and Gastric Bypass for Morbid Obesity. Advances In Surgery [serial online]. n.d.;46(Advances in Surgery):255-268. Available from: ScienceDirect, Ipswich, MA"

I was on it for PCOS. As soon as I decided to go ahead with the surgery, I stopped taking it. I wanted to see what my body would do naturally. So, about 2 months before I went from 1700mg a day to nothing. As it transpires and despite being on a contraceptive pill which prevents periods (mine were horrendous), I am 3 weeks out and spontaneously had a period -despite the pill! Although I've only* lost 20lbs since surgery (3.5 weeks), I can already identify a difference. Maybe it's the pill, maybe it isn't. Either way.. There is a definite improvement! *I expected an improvement when I'd lost more weight - not at such an early stage! My energy levels are a bit low though.. That, I put down to the limited nutrition though...

Something a bit more natural and a bit alternative? Pure essential oils dripped on your pillow or placed in a Water burner: Lavender and the heavy hitter Clary Sage. Or, alternatively; nice hot bath, drip some of those in and you'll feel like you've taken a shot of opium! Well, I do!

Would I be a social outcast if I admitted that I think Oreo Cookies are absolutely disgusting? Now, Scottish all-butter shortbread.. That is a different matter entirely!

That, is significantly noticeable! Look how slim your legs are?!!! They're like a quarter of the size! I want legs and a stomach like that! Congratulations!

When you move from a food addiction - because you just can't ram it down your gullet like you used to - to other addictions like alcohol, drugs - anything that gives you a serotonin hit...

Ab-so-bloody-lutely... I shall give it another month by which time, I shall be on full foods. If I take a turn for the worse, I will start firing off crunchy emails and will use the responses accordingly to secure effective treatment - even if it means demanding a fee-free referral to a gastroenterologist and any subsequent treatments until the problem is resolved. I hate having to get 'crunchy'. Feels too much like being at work! <sigh>

Well, I went, I saw, I was left.. moderately unimpressed. He was more concerned about whether I was vomiting up undigested food than the reflux. Even when we did get onto the subject, he segued into an overview of a rat experiment which identified that sleeved rats make healthier choices as a consequence of their surgery, because their minds adapt to what the sleeve can and can't handle.... <cue slight impatience> I expressed my concerns about bowel/intestinal motility being a factor, bile over-production and having a weak LES. His suggestion was to keep doing what I was doing, keep taking the PPI, don't eat late at night, and that he'd write a letter to my GP to get some special medicine which speeded up the motility of my intestines. Because, clearly, the bile was pooling in my stomach for my to have been 'flooded' like that. So.. Did I learn anything that I didn't already read in an academic journal? No. Did I feel a little cheated that I told him I suspected it was the motility of my intestines/bowels - which is then something he jumped on as a diagnostic? Yes. Do I suspect he was more concerned as to whether I was developing a stricture? Yes. Do I think this is partially because he's only interested in issues which might require surgical intervention? Yes. Am I going to have to just suck it up and see if time heals everything? Yes. Nowt more that can be said really! Happy days!

Janet, that sounds awful! I suspect that I, too, won't be offered Dexilant... Primarily, because we're so behind the times in the UK, it probably hasn't even hit the market yet! As it stands, I take 20mg of Omeprazole once in the morning and once in the evening. If I feel things are a bit 'weird' when I lay down on my mountain of pillows, I might have a glug of Gaviscon liquid. I think there's a lot to be said for nil by mouth for a couple of hours before bed time... Again, I'll just have to see what my surgeon says this afternoon. What scares me most, is that I'll have to rule out all the foods I like (tomatoes/onions/tea) and live off baby-food, when they finally force me to go off the PPI....

Thanks, guys. Got my appointment with the surgeon this afternoon, so I'll see what he has to say. As it stands; by implementing some of the 'rules' identified on this thread, I have not had another night time attack (thank God!). Had a bit of a lump in my throat during the day and a weird burning sensation in my sinuses on a couple of occasions, but I think I'm good.... Famous last words! x