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mich

Gastric Sleeve Patients
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Everything posted by mich

  1. I have Head Hunger Hattie that lives in my brain. Do you remember the evil step sister from Ella Enchanted. Hattie with that awful voice. She is always nagging me to eat more. But I don't have a name for my tummy. I'll have to think on that.
  2. There was certainly a good amount of faith on my part. But I felt like I was in good hands, he has mountains of experience, is chief of bariatrics and is a great surgeon. There is just not a lot of call for revisions in my area. I'm three months out now, I feel great, no problems, losing weight, and loving all the foods I can eat now that the wretched band is gone! I love my sleeve, it's just a bit unique, like me!
  3. My catch word is "avoid". I avoid flour and conventional sweets/sugar. I did the whole OA thing for years and abstaining to the point of forbidden is so hard. But now I constantly look for ways to avoid the flour. And sweets should be all natural. I swear they must put so kind of super addicting chemical in mass produced sweets. But a few pieces of dark chocolate chips are great come PMS.
  4. mich

    Taking Medicine

    I started taking my vitamins at 1 month post op. Most are chewable but I take 2 fish oil pills that are a decent size. They don't give me any problems. I did ask about Advil type products pre op. I sometimes get bad headaches/ migraines and Tylenol does not help them. I was told Advil in over the counter strength was ok with the sleeve. But I know every surgeon is different.
  5. Fish oil is what I would try. It always seems to help my skin. I did have a spot once that was really itchy and would not go away. My doctor gave me a cream and it went away and never came back.
  6. Sorry you are having troubles. I have a funky shaped sleeve too. I was a band revision. My surgeon asked me to do a swallow test post op in hospital so they could document my sleeve shape. He said they want more documentation on new procedures, I think I was his 5th band to sleeve. Anyway, pre op I had been reading about maintaining the pyloric antrum, and possible reduction in long term heartburn post sleeve. I understand that how much of the Antrum is left is not a standard practice. My surgeon said that yes they maintain the Antrum. So I imaging my sleeve has a wider area at the bottom. And because of all the tissue damage from the band a funky area at the top also. No banana shape for me. Hopefully they can dilate your narrowing and you will feel better!
  7. mich

    X-Ray There And Back!

    Forgive my typos, I can't figure out how to edit. I hate learning new programs! When I hit edit the whole tread pops up with no way to edit it. Am I suppose to copy and paste my whole post in that empty box? Whatever...
  8. mich

    X-Ray There And Back!

    We flew in October and it looked like every person in line had to go threw the X-ray. Is that the weird glass room? People went in, turned sideways and held their hands up over their heads, and something rotated around them. Is that the X-ray? We flew from Boston to Albquequere, and even when we flew out of the little Albquequere airport it was the same thing. Both times we were pulled aside to go through the regular medal detector because we were traveling with kids. But the whole line was headed for the fancy thing. We fly at least once a year, but this seemed very different from what I remember.
  9. I get heartburn from any kind of breads or grains. You mentioned a sandwich at bedtime? Maybe try just PB and banana. Even popcorn can cause it for me. Eating yogart everyday helps a lot. When I slack on my organic yogurt, I notice more heartburn. I don't know why. Sorry you are in pain, no fun!
  10. If he says no, maybe get the opinion of a surgeon that does revisions. My surgeon had to dig the band out of my stomach. It was encapsulated in stomach and scar tissue. But he had no problem doing the sleeve at the same time. It's not like a virgin sleeve. But it is working great for me. I'm sorry for your bad news appointment. Sounds awful. But it's probably just another bump in the road put there to test us!
  11. I was banded since 2008, we have made a few trips to Disney World since then. My husband and I usually take turns picking a meal, and then share. Hubby also will finish what the kids don't eat. Sometimes the 4 of us will share 2 meals. It sure is cheaper that way. I love traveling with the sleeve. Before the band and sleeve I was always worried about getting enough to eat, constantly thinking about food. We were away for a week last month, and it was wonderful to be able to carry a small snack and Water and know I'm all set. Love it! The band was much harder, never knowing what will cause vomiting. But my sleeve is so easy! It has tamed the Beast. Maybe I'll name it Belle?
  12. I am a kid a heart and love everything Disney. We do an annual trip with the kids to Disney World. I look forward to trying a cruise someday. Congrats on your trip, I'm glad it went so well for you.
  13. Old habits die hard. I had the band for 5 years and ate sliders a lot. Revised to sleeve on 8/19. I'm 7 weeks out today and as soon as I was 6 weeks out and given the all clear for foods I slipped right back into bad band habits. My high was 255, I was 202 on revision day and dropped down to 187 at 4 weeks out. Yesterday I weighed 191, I'm only 5'2", that is still obese. Yesterday's number was at home (first time in years) on an old scale in the attic that my mother calls the devil because it's always wrong. But I got on it because I feel like I have gained. I feel that way because I ate a lot of junk this past week. All week I just kept thinking, this is just a fluke, a pendulum swing from the 3 weeks liquid and 3 weeks soft. But now I want to knock it off and make better choices. But it's easier said than done. I want to lose more weight. And I know what I should be doing. Protein. Water. Walk. But that voice in my head keeps saying, "You have always been a terrible dieter". "Don't bother". If the lowest I could get with the band was 202, and now (after surgery recovery) I can eat the same as I did with the band. Will I be able to lose and maintain at a lower weight? Now that I am able to eat better foods, protein and veggies, I'm still choosing sliders! Any other band to sleevers struggling with this? Am I overreacting? It's only week 7, but I need to change this! It's been 20 years since I saw this number on a scale and I don't want to lose it!
  14. mich

    4 weeks leak ?

    My hospital has a late leaker it's treating, sorry I don't know how far out they are. My doctor said they don't know what caused it. No risk factors with the patient. No over eating, no over use of Advil type products. The patient was being treated for pneumonia that would not clear up, then they realized it was a leak effecting the lungs. It is possible it was a perforated ulcer, but they don't know. Scary stuff.
  15. I feel it too. Your post made me smile. Someone else knows how I feel! I'm just over 2 months out from band to sleeve. I wonder what my new normal will be, and when it will arrive? One year, two years, three years? How long until I am at peace with these changes? One moment I am imagining my lovely, healthy, smaller, happy new stomach. The next I feel so bad for butchering, damaging, hurting my body and imaging a lifetime of regrets. But I keep going, one day at a time. Reminding myself to be grateful for all I have. I am blessed. All will be well. And then I am back to imagining that wonderful future I wish for myself.
  16. I'm in the same boat. I am over two months out from revision, and down 19 lbs from surgery day. 202 down to 183. But I must say that I notice so much with that 19 pounds lost. Bones I have not seen in decades. I was 18 years old the last time I was in the 180's (I'm 40 now). Also many people have commented on my shrinking, and every time my husband hugs me he says "You are so skinny!" Gotta love that. When I went from 255 down to 215, 40 pounds, no one really noticed. When I hit 205, a few people asked and were shocked I had lost 50 lbs. It was like, really?? Then looking me up and down to see where. But now, losing this 19, I am getting comments like "wow you have lost a lot of weight". We all just have to hang in there! Esmeralda, it's been a month since you posted this thread, how is it going?
  17. mich

    who drinks soda occasionally?

    I had a little last week. I was 8 weeks post op. We were flying for a trip, I was having anxiety and my stomach was all upset. In the past crackers in my carry on and a Coke purchased after security was always how I handled it. I had my husband drink half, then shook out some bubbles. It went down fine, and I have not craved it or had any since. It's funny that I was given Coke for anxious stomach and Ginger ale for vomiting as a child. The scary part is I still seem to need it as an adult. And even worse, we have carried on the tradition with our kids.
  18. mich

    Pouch on top of sleeve ?

    I had asked my surgeon pre-op how he would sleeve the tissue where the band was. He does band to sleeve in one surgery. He said the band is up very high and they don't sleeve that part. This confused me a bit, and I asked a few more questions. In the end I understood it to mean I would have what you describe. I do keep in mind that there is probably some stretchy stomach up there at the top where my band was. And to keep an eye on my portion sizes. So far so good. My sleeve is SO much better than the band. I feel very satisfied on 3-3.5 oz of food. (9 weeks out) I have only had nausea once to twice ( I think I over ate), zero vomiting, and I'm not having the heartburn I was having with the band. I was asked to do a swallow study (not standard post -op, barium X-ray) so they could have a record of my anatomy. The reason being I was a revision, and my sleeve is not the same as a virgin sleeve.
  19. I just went through something similar. When I was told at 6 weeks I could a eat a larger range of foods, I quickly fell back into the slider foods I had been eating with my band. One tip that had helped me a lot the last two weeks was to drink 12-16oz between each meal/snack. So now I get my food or snack, wait until I want a drink after eating, at that point I check the clock and add 30 minuets. So usually it's an hour after I have eaten that I start drinking. Then I have to get down the 16 oz water bottle before I eat again. This has really cut down on the number of times I am eating. And I am really amazed that I seem to be craving less treats, and having less head hunger.
  20. He must be a tall guy, he doesn't look 227! Congrats, great job!
  21. mich

    Back to sliders

    I finally tried an apple, with skin! It was delicious, and eating it was just like the old days pre band, just less of it. Fixxerupper, that is very interesting what your doctor said. I do feel like I'm fighting myself. Reaching for that apple was hard. I was afraid to eat it. My body telling me to stay away, pain, vomiting if I try. It's a light bulb moment for me!
  22. mich

    Back to sliders

    I have been doing better the last few days. Bringing poor choices into the house is something I really need to improve. Over the years my husband has taken over the shopping many times at my request. But he is so busy, it often slips back to me. I was planning that this revision was going to be a new start for my whole family. My husband and boys are all thin. But we still should not be having so much ( or any! ) chips and Cookies in the house. Lots of work to do here! Why is it so hard for me to keep it out of the house? It's like I need it here. Security.
  23. mich

    Enabling addictions

    Really good topic. I spent a lot of years reading about food addiction. I do meet all the requirements to qualify as an addict. But I still find myself unsure of where I fit in. After spending years trying to learn from 12 step programs, I am sure they are not for me. I think the biggest reason people talk about mistakes, cheating, binges is to get out of the shame. And when someone tells them it's ok, mostly they are trying to break the guilt/shame/repeat cycle. I have a chorus of voices in my head that are constantly trying to get me to eat. When I listen to them it makes them stronger. But total abstinence never worked for me either. I am healthiest when I can make good choices most of the time, and spent no time agonizing over the not so great choices. I spent the last week eating way to much of the wrong stuff, and agonizing over it. I never went over 1300 calories. And my beautiful brain kept telling me that was just fine! I wanted to change that, I posted, a few people responded with helpful supportive posts, and I am doing and feeling much better. I think we all want people to just feel better. When you feel better, you do better.
  24. Yikes! If my surgeon had said there was a 20% chance of a leak, I would not have done it. I spent the first few weeks post op revision surgery terrified of a leak. It was horrible and I am still struggling with fears about my altered stomach. I'm 7 weeks out. My surgeons leak rate was 0.5% , he said it would be slightly higher with a revision. He did not have a lot of experience with revisions because the hospital just started doing them. I think I was his third band to sleeve. But he is head of bariatric surgery in a 5 star center of excellence, and everyone I spoke to said he is incredibly talented. He has an overwhelming amount of surgery experience, even if it's not in band to sleeve, I trusted that. Good luck

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