Will2014

Excellent! I'm happy that you're better able to get in your fluids, and that you've chosen to embark on a career in nursing. You won't regret either decision! Man alive woman, you're just changing your life for the better in all kinds of ways aren't ya?! Good for you.

Tshine01 I'm just curious where you are at now. Has a date been set yet for your surgery? Are you still going strong with your pre surgery plan? Talk to us lady! I hope and pray all is well with you. Don't you dare lose your resolve during this long wait! My conspiracy theorist part of me can't help but wonder if insurance companies torture bariatric patients with this long wait hoping they'll give up the dream of normal weight. Don'tcha dare do it!

Wowsa iammomof3!! That is truly spectacular weight loss...especially for a woman! Clearly you are exactly on course and doing great! I'm so glad you weren't offended by my taking a risk to query you on your eating habits. I just think we in the bariatric surgery community owe it to each other to tell the truth, at all times, because there's a lot of BS and spin out there. This is serious business, and folks like yourself are heroes and role models to potentially thousands of other people who are suffering like we were under the morbidly obese nightmare. Sooo happy for you lady!!

I know that at this point all you think about is losing the most weight, in the fastest amount of time. I get that. But you will probably lose your weight in the 1st 12-18 months, and then have the rest of your life to live on this planet. Again, remember that I've been there and had a BMI of over 54. I would never try to coerce you into taking a larger CC-it's a deeply personal decision that ONLY YOU will have to live with. But I would grill that doctor on exactly what weight loss he would expect for you with a 150cm CC ( 2yrs , 5yrs , and 10yrs out), what benefits he sees for you going with the larger size, and then what ACTUAL RESULTS can he/she point to from patients who have already had a 150cm channel. This is a HUGE decision and you deserve all of the facts available to you!

I had my DS procedure on May 8th of 2014 and it was at 100cm length. But honestly, I'm thinking that 150 might not be a bad idea. I'm losing weight by the ton....down 173 lbs in 8 months now, but I have had some major bowel events which could have been disastrous had I been at work. I'm talking on one occasion not making it to the toilet and the most horrific mess imaginable to clean up. The bottom line is 50 cm is only 19.65 inches of additional absorption. I had a doctor scheduled who told me at the last second he was going to give me a 195 cm CC, and I switched docs over it. But 150 cm is the high end of Dr. Hess's system, and I think it might be something that will allow for good weight loss, but with less hassles for you with Vitamin levels, bowel issues ,etc. It's a personal choice, but I almost wish I could go back in time and take a larger cc. You will still lose weight, trust me. A lot also depends on your age, comorbidities if any, etc. I'd try to find as many folks with a 150 cc as possible and see how they've done. G'luck to you in your decision.

Thank you so much for posting those pics and being open to answering questions for us. I'm still losing, 173 lbs so far and another 50 or so to go yet. But I had my DS surgery in Mexico and hope to have skin reduction there as well. I appreciate your taking the time to help the rest of us!

I'm only 8 months out from my DS surgery so I can't speak for stalls at over 2yrs post op. But we do know that at approx 12-18 months post op our stomachs will stretch to approx 75% that of a "normal" person. Your stomach at 2 yrs is likely as big as it's going to get, and no longer the lil 25% size it was. That just means you need to work harder at weight loss nowadays, as compared to the early days when you had zero appetite. You CAN lost those last 30 lbs if you want to badly enough. Do you? That's the question you need to answer. I've lost 173 lbs so far and WILL ACHIEVE my target weight before my surgical anniversary on May 8th. The rule I have for whether something is possible or not, is the suit case rule. Simply put, if I had a suit case here with $1 million dollars in it and you'd get it if you lost those 30 lbs...would you do it? I suspect the answer is yes. If I asked you to lift a truck over your head, no matter what money was offered, you couldn't do it. Lose those 30 lbs and be able to know you achieved your goal! Pay the price and claim your reward. You've come too damn far to wimp out now.

Man alive did I leak! I'm talking massive amounts of fluids, I was shocked and I'm an RN of 32 yrs. My big leaker was my right lower side, and I think around day 9 it really started dumping to the point I was concerned. But then the next day or two it just stopped and healed up. I was asymptomatic-no fever, odor from wound,etc. Just had a bunch of surgical fluids that needed to come out. Don't worry a bit. Now....how is your fluid intake going?! At this point in your recovery dehydration should be guarded against at all cost. DRINK, DRINK, DRINK!!!

I'm just a few days shy of 8 months post op DS and I've lost 173 lbs. But remember, I'm a guy and we lost weight MUCH faster than you ladies. Also, I had significantly more to lose than you I suspect. I weighed 412 at my heaviest, and I think 390 or so on surgery day. I think you are fine...but I wonder if you might be working as hard as you can at losing weight at this time. The reason I ask, and please don't be offended, is because I knew a woman I work with that developed a secret bad habit that greatly inhibited her weight loss at around 4 months post op. She started drinking semi melted vanilla ice cream. Sounds benign enough, but she admitted she did it 10 or more times daily! It was so refreshing and delicious that she fell into an old pattern so common to many of us obese folks and over indulged. It's human nature to feel deprived and want to enjoy what we used to. And so I'm just gently asking, is it possible the "old you" is rearing it's ugly head in some ways that is reducing your potential weight loss? If so, deal with it in a serious way and get things rolling again. Remember, I have no way of knowing what you are doing and certainly have no reason to want to accuse you of wrong doing. Just evaluate your eating patterns and be sure weight loss is still your primary goal. You have a window of approx 12- 18 months to lose your weight. After that it gets harder and weight regain becomes more possible. Take advantage of your restrictive stomach while it's still small! You'll be glad you did. Best of luck, and remember I'm on your side and am in no way accusing you of anything. But the fact that YOU are concerned about your weight loss progress makes me concerned about your weight loss progress. Capiche?

I had my DS surgery almost 8 months ago now. I've lost 173 lbs and am fully expecting to reach my target goal of 185 (from 412) by my anniversary date. Pain post op is minimal and handled by taking Toradol in most hospitals. It's not a narcotic but like Ultram has some qualities similiar to one. The REAL pain for you is going to be from trying to drink and eat. Your tastes will change in sometimes unpredictable ways after your surgery. Be prepared to just roll with it. Find a drink you can easily consume and stick with it. Hydration is your most important need post op. Your stomach will be in shock. It's just had 75% of itself cut out and thrown away, and it's not amused at all! Drink VERY slowly and space out your efforts so that your stomach never gets too full. Experiment with different temperatures, sweetness, sour,etc. to find the concotion that appeals to you. Now, I'm an RN of 22 yrs and I know they will try to get you to remove your IV shortly after surgery to encourage you to take fluids orally. RESIST THIS! Keep that damn IV going as long as possible, because you WILL have a very hard time getting in your fluids and you WILL become very dehydrated. Simply ask your doctor to let you keep the IV until discharge, though reassure him/her you will try hard to drink fluids as well. You will be encouraged to walk after surgery....immediately after surgery. You can drag an IV pole on wheels around with you easily enough. As for the DS vs. just a sleeve, I'd say you made the right decision. I too was in the "super obese" category with a BMI of 54 when I started. Folks like us need the malabsorbtive element the DS provides to reach our goal and assist in keeping the weight off. The sleeve is a fantastic option for those with a BMI of under 45 or so, IMO, but we require more assistance. The studies show at 1,2,5,10 yrs DS patients lose more and are able to keep more weight off. Obviously, this is achieved because we only absorb about 20% of our fat intake. Best of luck to you! Your new you is just waiting to shine through. Remember what I told you about fluids...and the IV. You need to stay as hydrated as possible in the hospital, so when you get home you're not already dehydrated. Every day you'll get a tad better, but it's going to take some major time until you can eat and drink comfortably. Your most important struggle is against dehydration. You can go weeks with little or no food intake, but only 4-5 days without water. Plan accordingly.

Leobutterfly trust me when I say I know exactly what you're going through. What made my situation even worse is that I'm an RN and knew I should be drinking more fluids...but I just couldn't! I drank bottled water by the dozens each week before surgery, but afterwards I changed and couldn't drink it anymore without getting sick. Trust me, keep looking for the drink that will work for you because it IS out there. Also, if you get severely dehydrated look for a clinic near you where you can get IV fluids. I needed to do it once because I feared going into renal failure because I went days with almost no intake. You will survive this difficult time I promise you. Hang in there!

Hi guys! Gratz on your decision to change your life for the better. Soooo many folks think of doing something about their obesity. They dwell, ponder, ruminate...but never actually do something real. You are all exceptions to this rule of human nature, you are people of action and should be commended! I had my DS surgery on May 8th of 2014. I weighed 412 lbs at my highest, and I think 390 or so on date of surgery. I've since lost 173 lbs and believe I will reach my goal weight of 185 lbs by my anniversary date of May 8th for a total loss of 227 lbs. The most important advice I could give you newer post surgery folks is to find a liquid you can consume easily and drink it. For my 1st 2 months I did VERY poorly with Fluid intake...and food intake was even worse! Do NOT be discouraged because your body is in shock and will remain on a war footing for several months . For me a HUGE help was to switch from Water...which I had always loved before surgery...to simply lemonade. It's a fresh squeezed lemons drink sold in most super markets and it was suggested to me by a veteran DS guy. It may well have saved my life! I was peeing dark amber or even brown urine and was nauseous all the time. I just couldn't drink water and it made me sick when I tried. There's something about the flavor of the lemonade that worked for me. I don't care what it is, if it's in liquid form and it tastes good to you....drink it! Maybe a juice, maybe a sugared drink you'd normally not want to drink. Just trust me when I say hydration is critical to your healing and you need to keep looking for the beverage you can actually drink. Koolaid, chocolate milk...whatever! As for Vitamins, I'd say worry about that after a couple of months at least. I do recomment B12 injections monthly because they're cheap (mine is $4 per month at my local super market and my Dr. gave me a 2 yr prescription). You don't need to eat them...so why not get it starting immediately. But wolfing down a ton of pills daily is not feasable for new post op folks...though if you can tolerate it I say go for it. Focus on liquids early on. Expect to have thoughts that you may never be able to eat again. Trust me you will...but it's going to take 6-7 months. In the mean time just roll with it, because this is where the weight loss magic occurs. Keep in mind that you have about 18 months of super charged weight loss after this procedure, and after this your stomach will stretch to about 75% of a "normal persons". That means weight gain is possible, and certainly weight loss is less possible, than when your stomach was 25% normal size. So while you suffer trying desperately to get in your liquids and Proteins, your weight will be falling off like magic! Your suffering will NOT be in vain guys. I promise you your reward is just beyond the horizon. Now...drink something...anything!

Very sad. Don't forget we also lost Chris Farley + John Belushi as well. Great comedians all.

Glad all went well Maltese Gal! I'm from Florida but will be heading to Mexico for my surgery in several weeks. I'm on my high protein low carb diet for the next 2 weeks, then a full liquid for the final few weeks. I have no doubt my liver is the size of a small rhino's, so I gotta work hard to shrink that bad boy down! Best of luck to you also Jess + honeybunz!