rhw94123

I had surgery with him nearly 3 years ago. I took a loved one to MX to have surgery with him about 4 months after that. Both of us were (and are) very happy. One tricky thing with his name: it is spelled I L L A N (only one "L" ). Best to you as you research your choices!

My liver enzymes (which include ALT) were high-ish the day I had surgery. I was in heavy ketosis from the liquid diet and pretty dehydrated because my surgery was at 5pm and I'd been fasting since 11pm the night before (unnecessarily long in my opinion). At my first post-surgery blood draw (and all since then) my liver numbers have been just fine. I do find now that I'm sleeved if I eat too much Protein, almost no carbs and not enough fat, then I get itchy (which is a sign that I'm throwing liver enzymes again). If I keep my macros to high fat, low carb, moderate protein, I feel the best. BEST WISHES a you get this sorted out!

I had an excellent experience nearly 3 years ago.

I noticed we have the same surgeon. You look FANTASTIC -- I envy you the plastics but I know you were amazingly diligent getting ready for them. Thanks for updating!

I know it is counterintuitive, but I started eating in the highly ketogenic range (see FlexibleKetogenicDOTcom) and I finally got to my goal weight range in the last couple of months. I had lost a lot by going very low-carb in the past, but in these late stages (right before sleeve and since being sleeved), my "broken metabolism" was not responding to low-carb like it had in the past. Taking my macros to moderate Protein, high fat and low carb (as per the calculator) finally caused my body to respond the way it had to mere low carb in the past and the pounds started melting off again. I've come to understand that certain strugglers from the long time yo-yo dieting trenches finally start losing on this wacky approach and I am one of them. (I am at my lowest since being a mom and can feel hip bones for the first time in MANY years myself (FWIW).) Very best to all- it is crazy making indeed to find the approach that might just work for our particular situations.

@@banksdea I don't want to minimize what you are feeling-- it is so hard (and lonely) to be down on something that everyone else is gushing about:/. I will encourage you to have faith that it will get better /way less severe, though. If you do a search on here for "sleeve expired at one year," etc. , I think you will get a lot of reassurance that this "tight" tiny-meals era is finite for most people (although most people seem to be bummed about it since it's often accompanied by some troubling regain:/).

Sounds like you are doing well! The couple of cases of revising from sleeve to bypass that I have been aware of were inspire by lack of weight loss (or troubling re-gain), so your journey will be interesting to watch since you're not trying to lose a great deal. Truly hope this is the beginning of a great new era for you – you have sure been through a lot!

@@banksdea Sorry you are going through this! My view of your profile (that shows up with your posts) only says that you have had LAP-BAND and joined May 2012 (?). In reading others' responses, though, I'm taking it that you are very recently sleeved. At the risk of repeating others' advice, you WILL be able to eat a lot more as the internal swelling goes down... the metabolic advantage (re-set) you get from being sleeved will also fade (i.e., the changes in your gut biology, hormones, etc.). I can eat pretty normally now and often wish I couldn't Anyway, sending you good thoughts and I AFFIRM that people like you (who are not feeling on Cloud 9 about being sleeved) need to speak up!

I think there is a dedicated section for sleeve to bypass revisions-- hope you connect with those knowledgeable folks! The most recently-active person with sleeve to bypass that I'm aware of is Band07. Best wishes & kudos for your tenacity in dealing with all that!

I think the accommodations you're talking about are linked to a specific surgery coordination company, not florence Hospital itself. Florence does have the policy of letting a loved one stay with you in your room in a second bed, but I don't think that's what you're talking about. Last, there are some corporate type apartments within a block or two that are pretty nice. I have been there as a patient and again as a support person staying in the room, so I'm reasonably experienced :-). One helpful aspect of Florence is that there is --ironically-- A brand-new Walmart 1.5 blocks away (it made it way less stressful for me to pack the second time, because I knew I could run across the street and purchase virtually anything I had forgotten.)

I'm also glad to hear things have improved a bit! I was going to suggest that you take (and log) your pulse and blood pressure several times a day so that you can show that to whomever is seeing you or treating you (I've gone in for runaway anxiety twice in the last 10 years and the time that I calmly produced a log of my (troubling) blood pressure and pulse I was taken WAY more seriously than when I just verbally told them that I felt like my heart was going to break out of my chest it was beating so fast :/.). Best to you!

Thanks for these ideas! I know many people could not eat all of it, but I like a lettuce-wrapped Carls Jr "Famous Star" burger for an on the go splurge .

I know the cycle: you get nervous about getting nervous and it can feed on itself. I am thinking of you . Please let us know if your caregivers don't take you seriously- I have ideas!

No, but I have loved ones near there and will be eager to hear about your experience ! Best wishes !

I loved reading this update! So very happy that you and your PCP found a tangible hitch and then worked it out together. This made my day!

Sounds like you are staying focused @@katesuccess ! Very smart to make those meals ahead of time . (That reminds me that I need to bake up a bunch of boneless/skinless chicken breasts -- my bed time treat is to have about 1.5 oz with a few drops of sweet Thai Chili sauce (doesn't seem to throw my out of ketosis, but it makes me feel like I'm eating fun leftover restaurant food ). One thing that I forgot to mention: Now that I'm only losing 3-4 pounds per month, I am weighing at the health stations (with blood pressure, etc.) in Walmart and Savon rather than at home. This has me recording way higher weights (on my ticker) than when I was using my home scale with no clothes on in the morning, but I get a bigger mood-boost when I sit down fully-clothed in the middle of the day at Sav-on a couple of times a month (when I find that I've lost a pound, that is ). I have made accounts on a couple of those machines and then I have an email/web record of my descending weights... I weigh exactly 10 lbs less than when I started visiting those stations a couple of months ago-- I'm able to get in touch with my gratitude when I look at their little graph of my progress (more than just keeping it on MFP on my phone, for some reason?). Good thoughts for an on-track weekend, Kate and all.

Sounds like you've done great! Is there a recommended % body fat before tummy tuck or is it just your personal goal for yourself? I am in my early 50's and am now a healthy BMI, but I am 28-29% body fat (depending on what time of day it is, i.e., how hydrated I am). I don't have an "apron" of droopy skin, but there has been a little lip of droop (and puff) ever since I had twins at 40 and then a little bit more after I lost 55 lb after being sleeved in 2013. Even with a waist-slimming garment, I sometimes have to buy 12's to accommodate my waist (while everything else is calling for a 10).

The free health station at my local Savon pharmacy (where you sit down and take your own blood pressure, etc.) gives the option to get your BMI (weight) and body fat percentage, too. My scale at home takes it as well--it is said to work best if you rub a little Water over the bottom of your feet first, but I don't notice a difference with that. My home scale matches Sav-on pretty wel. The one difference I DO notice is that my BFP reads 2% higher first thing in the morning than it does at about 4-5pm. This is because we awaken in our most dehydrated state each morning. When you are well-hydrated towards the end of the day, the BFP reading is most favorable (unfortunately, the scale is NOT always most favorable at that time of day, LOL). LAST - there are formulas (many from the military) online wherein you enter your age, gender, etc. and then some very specific body measurements (wrist, forearm, etc.). The results of these formulas virtually always match my home Body Fat scale read-out, too. VERRRY LAST - You can also google "images of 30% body fat" or similar. Charts that show 6-8 different 25-30 year old women in swim suits come up and each is labeled with a percentage of body fat. Find the one that looks the most similar to you and this will be in your range, too.

Quick update from my phone: I inched by and-- by taking a fast day yesterday-- I made it down to my Dietbet goal weight today (so rather than lose the money I bet, I'm bringing in an additional $45). If I can stick to my program, I should (could) lose another 3-4 lbs in the next month. (We'll see!) one thing is certain-- the honeymoon phase is long over and losing a pound a week is about the best I can do these days!

I had this around the time of surgery (after being in ketosis from pre-op). I was also alarmed, but it went down by my first follow up a couple of months later. It happened again when I went super Low CAL, low fat and low carb (to get holiday weight off a few months ago). (Or at least I assume my enzymes were elevated because I was incredibly itchy and a little red in the face... Which I believe are signs that one's liver is throwing enzymes). That recent time, the itching and redness resolved after I upped my daily calories from about 500 to 900 and I increased my fat intake a little bit (still keeping carbs low). Hopefully someone who understands the precise chemistry of all this will weigh in with something a little more scientific-- I just wanted to speak up so that you would know you are not alone!

@@katesuccess, @@MissMac, @@Success2013, @@loseitsoon, @@longtimecoming7, @@CowgirlJane , @[humanmerelybeing"], & everyone else (cuz I know I haven't remembered everyone:/!): Good thoughts & congrats to all on getting on track/ recommitment / whatever you choose to call it. I am the 18- month veteran who gained a scary 14 pounds in December and January. I need to lose 1.5 more pounds and then I will have it off and will also be where I need to be to win the Dietbet ( dietbet.com) that I'm currently entered in (& need to weigh out of by 5/11). I have been working to get this off for 2 1/2 months. In essence, I have not had anything fun to eat in that whole 2 1/2 months – yikes! It was really hard the first couple of weeks, but once I was detoxed from carbs and eating sensibly (with steady-but-minor weekly weight loss) I was so encouraged that I would eventually make it back to my lowest weight (and that I thankfully hadn't ruined my sleeve results permanently!) that I got very inspired & committed to give myself that do-over /re-set (no matter WHAT it took!). The elements of my success this round have been two 2- mile walks each day, eating few carbs to try to remain in very light key ketosis, taking gummy Fiber and lots of Water daily. I've also been taking three or four coconut oil tablets each day along with cinnamon and chromium (in a Quest for balanced blood sugar & craving control). If I can keep losing 2-3 lbs/month with this no-recreational-eating-whatsoever approach, I MIGHT just get down to that elusive 150/loose size 10 after all! (PS - Longtime, I sent you a private message thru this site last week, but I don't think you opened it?)

Sleever here, but good wishes for great losing in 2015!!

Hello, Longtime and All - glad everyone seems to be doing reasonably well! I'm so impressed at all these people doing circuit training & cross fit! I try to get 11,000 steps most days, but I know I need to do some strength training, too. Longtme, I know what you mean about being afraid to get on the scale... along the opposite lines, it is so heartening to see a couple of pounds of Water (or whatever) go away quickly... makes me want to "keep going" and "not ruin it" by eating off plan. I am 51 now and MAN -- between that and my sleeve being nearly 18 months old-- I just don't lose in a fun, gratifying way the way I used to (if I had eaten this virtuously 15 years ago, the pounds would be MELTING off me :/!).I have 10-11 days uintil I have to weigh in on my DietBet (from DietBet.com) -- I'll need to get 3 to 3.5 pounds off by then, so the pressure is definitely on to NOT mess up . Even though the scale is merely INCHING down, I do see a WAY less pronounced muffin top hanging around when I force myself to wear tight-waisted pants (not MOM jeans, lol, but rather pants with no stretch or "give" at the waist). Last, I am low-carbing (trying to stay in mild ketosis) and my vice/downfall seems to be Atkins Peanutbutter chocolate "meal" bars. I've learned not to have them in the house because I will decide they are a good option for a late night snack here and there, which is absolutely NOT true since they have carbs from sugar alcohol and it's debatable whether or not they knock me out of ketosis. Best to all! xo RHW

Two months after my surgery, I took a loved one to Mexico to get sleeved by the same surgeon. She had/has Sjogren's (and of course she disclosed it, etc.), but I don't recall it being a big issue. She has done well since the surgery and hasn't talked about needing to adjust her meds or anything. She doesn't really come to these boards, but I will circle back to this thread and give you some of her feedback in the next week or 10 days . Best wishes!

I just read back what a I wrote on my phone yesterday and I see that I made what I was alluding to seem like a big, high-intrigue deal, lol (sorry about that!). What I wanted to warn about (if you are not telling anyone about your surgery) is to resist the remarks about "you're getting TOO thin" as you approach a healthy BMI of 24-25 ... I had made my new habits of Protein first, few carbs, etc,etc. second nature, but I started getting those remarks from a few female friends (whom I hadn't told) when I hit about 24.5 BMI ... I let someone convince me that I should stop being SO intense about dieting and I ended up switching to just eating less of "whatever." This worked until about 8-9 months post op (I maintained at 24.5 BMI for four months after making that change), but then I started gaining about a pound a month from months 9-13 and I put on 9 or 10 lbs in month #14 (related to taking steroids, but still). I got rid of those 9lbs from the steroid month, but the last few pounds down to a 24 BMI again are STUBBORN indeed (I won't give up). What I want to suggest is that you plan to reduce down to a LITTLE bit below your "I'd-be-fine-with-that" goal weight DURING your honeymoon (preferably the first 6-7 months of being sleeved). Then you'll have an acceptable range to bounce up in to when the honeymoon is over and your body stops being able to shed pounds for you INSTANTLY the moment you eat virtuously/on program (many veteran sleevers are finding the change to their metabolism is not permanent and they need to REALLY work it during the honeymoon). I think this is way easier to do if you've told everyone about your surgery because they will know you have a new tool and are not just newly anorexic. If you haven't told, some folks will find your rigidity troubling and will do gentle (or not-so-gentle) interventions on you. ( I always intended to reduce to 150 when I got my sleeve, but I slowed down after 4-5 months at 154-57 when the remarks started happening. I wish to HECK now that I'd just kept my head down and gotten there because losing is a WAY slower process now. Hope that makes sense and best wishes to all as you gear up for all the exciting changes to come!