CeeBelize

Mednar has a very good point. Several months after I had the surgery and started feeling normal again, I too stopped logging in as well. I have my one year appointment next month. My surgery was mid February 2012. I started at 254 and I'm 200 now so 54 lbs lost in the first year. My weight loss and slowed to almost nothing now. I havent lost anything in the last couple months and trying all sorts of different things to get it going again. I can say I never had a month of gaining so that's good. I eat more than I'm comfortable with although I havent completely reverted back to my old ways. There is a little bit of restriction still there. The doctor says the stomach is a muscle and you can stretch it back out if you're not careful so I try to be conscious of that.

Hi again Ana. I also have had problems with constipation recently. I had big problems the week after my surgery and I couldnt remember what the nurse told me to fix it. I just had my 6 month followup last week and told my them about my problems with constipation again. She recommended that I take more fiber... so I bought a container of Metamucil and I'm telling you it works perfectly. Even all the little pangs I had in my side went away.

Lmom can you tell us what complications you had to have fixed for $8K? Where did you have your surgery done?

Thank you Ana ..were cool (: By the way I wanted to clarify the situation regarding the Dr. in Ohio. I'm not trying to imply that just because my doctor explained to me what happened that I somehow feel the Ohio Dr. wasnt at fault. I had read about this patient in my research somewhere on the internet. So when I had my consult, I asked my Dr. if he knew anything about this case. He explained that it was an "unusual situation". Perhaps the patients plication was too tight. He explained that the stomach is very pliable and doesnt contain many blood vessels (if I remember that correctly) and that's why it can be folded with little complication. In this case, somehow the blood was not flowing-some kind of clot (insert fancy medical term here) causing the patient to nearly die. They were hospitalized for several months and most of their stomach had to be removed. From my understanding the Dr. was so traumatized by the event he will not do plications anymore. It wouldnt have mattered to me what Dr. wheter it be mine or Dr. Ortiz, who explained this story, again it's just about having more infomation about the risks of plication. My Dr. was very objective and just explained the facts. It also made me feel more comfortable that my Dr. actually knew about this case first hand and had consulted with this Dr. directly. Cause like you said, sometimes everything you read on the internet is not true.

Ana, I agree that there are probably many other factors involved in Josettes results and I'm not trying to start any internet rumors or even disparage Doctors in Mexico. I guess what I am trying to say is Plication is a fairly new procedure and there isn’t a lot of information out there about it. I did say I personally felt uncomfortable going to Mexico for surgery but quite frankly, that goes for any foreign country for that matter. Also because of the lack of information, this forum has been a useful tool. If someone sees posts from several people who've had complications all from the same place, you would naturally want to consider that information before making a decision. Also Josette clearly says several other people have contacted her to confirm what were my own personal observations. I'm not disupting the fact that you and your friends have had a successful experience but I dont think you can dismiss those who havent. I also heard about the Dr. in Ohio. In fact I asked my surgeon about that case during my initial consultation and he told me he personally spoke to that surgeon himself and explained the whole situation to me. It was not my intent to claim that I have all the answers and I did say in my post that I'm no expert and not to scare anyone but I do think that this forum is a place where people should be able to freely share information and post their concerns so that everyone who is thinking about making this important decision has as much information they can get..that includes the good and the bad. Everyone can draw their own conclusions.

JG- you have had other people email you about the OCC? Wow! I'm glad you posted that. This is really something other plicaters should know about. I really hope the revision gives you the results you want and that your recovery goes better than the last. Good luck to you and keep us posted!

I dont think any weight loss surgery prevents hunger. After all if it did, people wouldnt overeat after surgery and gain the weight back. This is like every other surgery, it's a mind and habit thing. You have to change how and what you eat. I could still eat all day whether from hunger or habit but what stops me is the really uncomfortable feeling I get when I do over eat (because the capacity is not there) and the fact that I am trying the change how I think about food. I also dont want to be a complete failure at this. Plication is only a tool.

JG- I've seen some of your posts on the forum and I while I understand your frustration, have you ever considered the fact that you had serious complications after the surgery and that might be why you arent losing like you think you should be. While there are some people who wish they would lose more at a faster pace, I dont have the same impression that many people are dissapointed in plication. I'm no expert but it seems like those who had smooth plications, fared pretty well. I had virtually no problem at all. I had surgery on a Friday and was at work by Tuesday. I think having fewer problems creates better results. Did you have your surgery with Dr. Ortiz at the OCC? If so, you should read the post from "manwithkids" called "Complication". His wife suffered major complications recently and almost died. They also had their surgery at the OCC. I'm not trying to scare you or anything but I'm putting some of the pieces together and it sound like the OCC isnt having a very good success rate. Maybe its not the surgery but the facility who is perfoming the procedure. Quite honestly that was my biggest fear about having it done in Mexico so I paid a little extra to have it done in the U.S. It's a shame your family isnt being more supportive and maybe 5 months is too early to tell whether plication has been a complete failure for you but I hope you figure out what will work best. (:

I also didnt tell anyone. Only my parents and one friend and I wouldnt have even told them except for the fact I needed an emergency contact in case I died on the table (: My parents werent very supportive about getting the surgery so I didnt need their judgement. I also like my privacy and I think it's worked out well for me. The weight loss is slow so most people wont really notice right away. Like others have said, you stil have to work out consistently to lose weight so they just think it's from hitting the gym hard and I just go along with it. My pysch eval was like those pre-employment tests you take when applying for a job. It's really nothing to worry about.

So sorry to hear about your wife and we all wish her a quick recovery. I think we all have experienced pains and discomfort here and there since the surgery and never know if it is something to be concerned about or not. It's even more difficult if you live far away from the place where you had surgery. I had mine done in Tennessee which is out of state for me and wonder why during my follow up visits the Dr. never does any X-rays or scans just to make sure everything is ok in there. It sounds like even after they did a CT scan on your wife, they still didnt notice anything. Very scary. I'm going to ask my Dr. about that during my next visit. Thank you for sharing your experience with us and all the best to your wife and family.

What other experienced plicaters have said in this post is very true. PATIENCE. Forget the rapid weight loss, it's not gonna happen. Once you make peace with that, you can move on. (: Afterall, remember we did not opt to have gastric bypass. This is gonna be slow going. I had my surgery in February and I'm down about 40 lbs. I sometimes complain to myself it's the slowest weight loss ever and then I remember that before the surgery I never lost any weight at all. I'm down about 2 dress sizes and wearing clothes in the back of the closet I never thought I'd wear again. Just got back from a trip to Europe where I walked, yes walked up the stairs to the Eiffel tower. (One of the elevators was broken so our option was to wait in a 3 hour line for the elevator or take the stairs which was no wait) My friend and workout partner reminded me this is what we've been training for all these months of working out together and we were able to do it. Cant say that I could have accomplished that being 40 lbs heavier. So the minute I start whining about my slow weight loss, I put it in perspective. Be happy with just a couple lbs a month because losing is losing and we will all end up smaller than we were before the surgery!

Can someone tell me when it was safe or comfortable enough to eat bread or potato chips after plication? Food is starting to go down pretty easily but after my doc told me about a patient to ate potato chips a week after surgery and ended up in the hospital for several days, those are the two foods I'm scared to try.

Butterfly, I had my surgery done by Dr. Ponce, Chattanooga TN- Gastric Band Institute. I started at 252 and hoping to reach the 160-170 range. Seven weeks out I still do feel restriction and trying hard to keep it that way. I dont want my stomach to stretch so I eat very small portions throughout the day.

I am 7 weeks out and I have lost 20 lbs. I'm with Julie, it is a day to day battle. For anyone who thinks plication is a quick and easy fix, it isnt. With the exception of the 1st week after surgery where I lost 7 lbs, I'm only losing about 1-3 lbs a week since then. I was exercising by the 2nd week just to keep the weight loss going. But I cant complain-although I feel like I have to fight for every pound, losing is losing. Before surgery I would work out like a crazy person and see no results so to finally see a 20 lbs weight loss is slow but good progress. And quite frankly, since no one but family and close friends know that I've had the surgery, people at work and other aquaintences are none the wiser.

I've been reading posts on this site for months now and now I'm one of the plicated. Yea!! So this is a summary of my experience: I was plicated on Feb 17th in Dalton, GA so now it's been one week. I never experienced any nausea. They go through great lenghts to make sure you dont with a patch behind my ear, a bracelet that sends pulses to my fingers and anti-nausea pills. I was able to stop the pills and take everything off by day 4 since I never experienced any nausea. What you need to know is about the painful gas that builds up in your body from them blowing air into your body to expand the stomach so the doctor can see and work around in that area. When I woke up the pain wasn't in my stomach but in my chest and shoulders like an elephant was sitting on it. No one told me about that beforehand and it was the most painful thing! You have to get up and walk around every couple hours to break up the gases trapped in your body and get it moving around even though you won't feel like it but it actually works. Also a very sore throat for several days because of the tube down my throat. Wasn't able to get much liquid down though, only about 24 oz for the first 5 days but surprisingly never hungry. I had surgery on Friday and was able to fly home and walk through a big airport by Sunday. Monday was a holiday and I was at work on Tuesday with no problem...desk job. I didn't tell anyone at work and they were none the wiser. I even flew back on Thursday for my 1 week followup. The only difficulty I had was stabbing pain in my left side by day 5. When I saw the Doc I was told since I hadn't moved my bowels since the day before surgery that was probably the problem and yep...it sure was. After I took care of that, the pain went away. I'm off all my meds, I don't even need any priolsec or heartburn stuff -at least not yet. I started creamy yesterday and boy you can really feel the liquid as it passes through your stomach...very strange. You really have to take it slow otherwise if you take too big a swallow or too many swallows back to back, it wont feel good, but it's a good way to slow down and really take your time when you eat. I'm one of those people that never loses weight no matter what. I didnt lose a thing even during the 2 week pre-op diet which I see most people lose like 10-20 lbs. Well I finally lost 7 freaking pounds in the first week so I'm more than happy! I just hope it doesnt stop....maybe I'll stay on Clear liquids a little while longer. (:

I'm not sure what you guys are eating and drinking but may I recommend staying away from all dairy, and protein shakes in order to avoid getting diareaha. I was lactose intolerant before the surgery but I could stomach a little milk now and then and ice cream without any problems. After the plication, I was craving something sweet and decided to have a couple sips of a vanilla shake (it was only week 2). I had the worst explosive diareaha ever! Even ice cream makes me queasy now. I wont touch milk or ice cream anymore...cheese has been fine and I havent had any problems with my bowels since. I take gummi calcium pills instead.

Thanks for your encouragement Meeshv21. I reached 2 weeks yesterday and only a 3 lbs weightloss for the week. That is a little discouraging but it's good to know I should just keep pushing. I will start working out this week to keep the weightloss going no matter how little it is. By the way, what is TRX?

You are not a dork...liquid vitamins were hard to find! I found a bottle at Walgreens...I couldnt find any at Walmart or Target.

I'm having my surgery in a week and my doctor put me on a 2 week liver diet that only consists of protein shakes, broth and jello. Since I know I'm going to be deficient in vitamins for weeks before and after the surgery, I'm taking as many as possible. A Multivitamin, calcium and B vitamins (for extra protein). I also purchased vitamins in liquid form to take during those few weeks post-surgery since you can only consume clear or creamy foods.

Hi Lap, I am getting the surgery in a week and I am also going to try and go back to work on day 4. I have a pretty sedentary job. Can you tell me why you were having problems staying at work the whole day? I'm worried about that too...not to mention I have to turn around and fly back for my one week check up. I have a feeling this will be tough.