keepingmysecrets

I am still maintaining - I am 66 years old, and currently weigh 150 pounds, down from 424 lbs when I begin in October 2013. It is a DAILY battle and I do not regret beginning this journey - some days I still regret having had my sleeve but over all life at 150 pounds has no resemblance to how I lived (or rather didn't really live) when I was 424 pounds. I am hoping that I will be a long term success but I have to be hyper-vigilant otherwise, it is too easy to go back to the pattern of overeating and eating the wrong foods that got me to that super obese weight in the first place.

Not only did I lose my boobs but if they get any longer and lower, they will be introducing themselves to my navel. I, too, will be saving for a breast lift and implants.

PS, Four ounces of Protein three times a day is not enough protein for a sleeve patient. My doctor recommends 70-80 grams a day. Eat more protein and that might solve your issue. Unless your doctor told you to eat the amounts of veggies and fruits you are eating a day, you are eating too little. Try to get 70-80 grams of protein a day, 20-30 grams of fat, and 50 grams of carbs a day and see if that helps (that is if your doctor clears you for those amounts).

Those fiber gummies can be a great help however, they can also cause loose BM, they have sugar alcohols in them (not to be confused as sugar). They also cause GAS so they might be your problem or at least part of it. They say on the box itself that they can cause gas and not to exceed one serving a day which is generally two gummies equal to 5 grams of fiber. They will not bind you, on the contrary, they will have the opposite effect. If you are eating fruit, try one that can be binding such as banannas. Also, you might want to see your doctor to have a test to see what could be going on in your intestinal tract. Change up the veggies you are eating and see if that helps. Also, perhaps you need more Protein in the form of meat, seafood or other non-fiber forms - some protein sources such as Protein shakes and other processed protein foods for bariatric patients contact fiber and/or sugar alcohols. Good luck.

I am nine months out and I STILL have days when I regret having been sleeved. But most days, I just deal with it. Overall, As long as I can use it to help me achieve my weight goal and keep it off, it is worth having it. But if you read my past posts, I have really been upset about it more than not. Most people eventually get over the regret period and that will likely be your own experience - just hang in there.

Constipation was the worst part of my experience getting the sleeve. Now, I am about 9 months out, and never seem to ave this problem on any regular basis. Once you are able to eat cooked veggies, try a can of spinach a day. The brand I use has 12 grams of carbs and ALL of them are Fiber so they pass through. I know, I know, canned spinach tastes awful - think of it as medicine, and just eat it, it will work fairly fast. I also take into account any fiber I eat and try to get at least 20-25 grams a day from all my sources. I find that as time goes on, I can find more and more foods that give me that fiber without compromising my dietary restrictions. Take every opportunity to add a higher fiber food over a lower fiber one. Of course, during your recovery immediately after surgery and during the first few months, the best way is either milk of magnesia or miralax. MOM works faster than miralax for me.

Why is Lux required or expected to return to this forum? No one is obligated to log in and continue any discussion even if he or she began with getting help from others. Help should be given without any expectation of obligation. It should be free of that. Maybe it is considered good form to continue to post updates but that is a completely different thing from being criticized for not coming back. Only those that that seem to live for this forum or spend a good amount of time here would think that everyone should be like them. Posting here is VOLUNTARY and OPTIONAL. As to my own dietary needs, that is no one's business either. I am still under the care of my bariatric surgeon who has told me to continue with the original program which gave me my first 170 pound loss. The difference is that my smaller stomach. This surgery is NOT for everyone and it does FREQUENTLY cause secondary issues. People considering this surgery should read every single thing that they can, ask every question under the sun and read the complications thread and other postings by people who had complications. Even if I and Lux both eventually are fine, there was (is) a time when we were not. And neither of us is responsible to come back here to tell the forum posters that things resolved. The only reason some of the posters here resent Lux not coming back is that they want him to validate THEIR view that this type of surgery is the answer to every overweight or obese person's problems. Like I said before, everyone, surgery or not MUST make a lifelong change in their eating habits or they will gain the weight back. The surgery is just another way, and a pretty temporary one at that, to assist in fast weight loss. If a person learns to change how they eat to a healthy lifestyle way, they will lose the weight and keep it off, surgery or no surgery. It is amazing how many people go through the pain and permanancy of this surgery only to gain the weight back in a year or two because they did not change how they eat and what they eat. In the end, the only way to lose weight permanently and KEEP IT OFF is a healthy diet low in carbs, fat and calories. I am happy that Lux got help and compassion from others but he is not obligated to anyone here for that "gift" to him.

You make the assumption that Lux is feeling better; how would you know? Maybe, like me, when he initially posted, all he got was an onslaught of sleevers who did not acknowledge that some people do not get a good result or a relatively easy recovery so he did not bother to return. I certainly do not know if he recovered fully and is now happy, or if the opposite occurred. However, I do know from my own experience here in this forum, that there are certain posters whose primary life is to live on these boards, defending the operation as the be all and end all for everyone. They feel that others should make a lifetime commitment to bring forth all their issues from day one onward. This same group tends to "gang up" on any poster who challenges their own experiences with a different experience especially if that person posted a problem occurred. I read new posts, but I seldom post here. My own suggestion that I made in the past, that those considering bariatric surgery read all the threads, including the complications thread, was challenged by such a poster who agreed with another poster that reading the complications thread should not be done by anyone about to have the surgery. Knowledge is power, and going into the surgery knowing BOTH the good outcomes and the bad, is important. My own sleeve operation, done on September 29th of 2014, was full of complications over two months and not the least bit easy. Although I can now eat almost any food without a serious problem, if I had to do it over again, I would never have had my surgery. And I have not come back to post an update because I feel no different now about this surgery than I did when I first had it. I had managed to lose 170 pounds without the the surgery during the first year beforehand, and since then, due to complications during recovery, my weight loss is slower than ever. I have only lost an additional 35 pounds and have had many stalls that never occurred pre-surgically when I could fill up on salads without feeling hungry soon after. Now my sleeve empties so fast that I am constantly feeling unsatisfied with my food, although I am on the exact same diet guidelines and calories as before my surgery. I should have trusted my gut and just stayed on track with what I had been doing very successfully. The key to permanent weight loss is really about lifestyle change, and many people gain weight back after surgery because they do not make the changes necessary to stay on track. If you cannot stick to a healthy diet BEFORE surgery, surgery is not going to become a miracle fix it up for you or guaranteed solution to obesity. So do not assume that Lux is not here because he finally feels good, maybe, like myself, he knows that any complaints he makes, or challenges to the status quo or other comments not to the liking of a certain group of posters, makes him a target. I can take or leave what others have to say because I know what my own experience was, and always knew that there is no way that everybody has a great result with this surgery. But perhaps some people feel the need to return over and over again, when those types of posters confront their own experiences, to defend themselves or what happened to them and find that to be exhausting. This forum can be a fabulous source of support, information, and help but due to a small minority of posters who think that they have all the answers for everyone, it can also become a source of contention and a form of stress. Maybe that was Lux's feelings after he posted here. My suggestion is still to stick to the dietary guidelines, make it a permanent change for your lifelong happiness and expect that you may have a bad experience with the surgery. Also learn everything you can about it beforehand. If you can stick to a diet and exercise program for the remainder of your life, the surgery is not as necessary as you would think and if you cannot, the surgery is not going to provide long term and permanent weight loss on its own.

I rarely come here precisely because of the type of responses I have gotten in the past when I posted my point of view. Most of the negative comments come from some who live on this board, and have no other life outside of it, and believe that they know everything about everything and only their opinions are valid. I don't scare off easily but I pick my battles and what strangers have to say of a negative value, is not important to me. I was sleeved on 9/29. As I feared and predicted, there were many complications that I had never expected in spite of researching this procedure for over a year while losing weight steadily. It is not for everybody, some do extremely well, others not so well. If I had to do it over again, I would not. I find that I am constantly constipated in spite of using every possible medication to assist with that. Before my surgery, I would eat a big salad regularly, but now with a small pouch, that is not possible. I simply cannot take in enough Fiber throughout the day and within my dietary allowanc3es, to keep my system running properly. I have lost about 200 pounds, of which only about 25 are post surgically. I am still supposed to have further surgeries, (not related to weight loss) and find myself not wanting to do anything that will make my constipation worse. My advice is to ignore nasty people. Trust your gut, it is usually correct. And BTW, I agree with your original comments; they should not have generated the responses you got. Your opinion is every bit as valuable as anyone else's and don't assume just because you were challenged on it that you are the one that was out of line.

I am 64.5 years old. I lost 170 pounds BEFORE being sleeved on September 29, 2014. Since then I have dropped another 30 pounds. While it is true that our metabolisms slow down as we age (assuming we do not compensate by increasing exercise, lowering calorie intake and so on), it is possible to lose a significant amount of weight even past age 50. I am pretty sure that the closer we all get to our goal weight, the harder it will become, but that does not mean that it is not possible to achieve.

Perhaps those who believe that pork rinds are always bad for you should do a little research. The fat content in pork rinds varies greatly. The brand I use is microwaveable, no added sodium, and 2, yes TWO grams of fat in a 1/2 cup serving. No carbs, and 9 grams of protein in a 1/2 cup serving. The bagged type can have anywhere from 5-9 grams of fat per serving because they are FRIED. Stick to the type you microwave and you get a healthy high protein, low fat snack, much better for you than many other snacks that have more fat and less protein or are loaded with carbs.

OP, ME, TOO! I will be three weeks post op on Monday (48 hours away) and I am miserable. I wake up nauseous, I have severe constipation and blockage, the very thought of taking in Protein in any form makes me want to vomit, and in the last two days I have in total only taken in about 35 grams of protein. My doctor is aware, called in a RX to unblock me, now I have diarrhea but still feel "blocked" due to the nausea and not wishing to eat. I have managed to stay hydrated, although today will have to make a better effort due to the diarrhea. At this stage I wish I had NEVER DONE IT. Maybe eventually I will not regret it but if someone were to ask me today, I would also tell them not to do it.

I also would like to know at what stage of food can pork rinds be added. I have some microwaveable ones that have only 2 grams of fat and 9 grams of Protein in a 14 gram (1/2 cup) serving. I know that I am not yet at the food stage for them but wonder where they fit in and I can enjoy them again.

I am still in the "What was I thinking" stage. Still on a liquid diet, tired all the time, and the constipation is simply AWFUL despite using Amitiza, colace, miralax and milk of magnesia (one or even all every single day). I wake up with nausea, and go to bed full to the neck and just barely making my minimums. Semisolid food should begin on Monday or Tuesday and in a way I am dreading it and what it will do to add to my constipation. I have no pain or discomfort anywhere in my surgery sites, or inside. But I cannot imagine at this point that I made the right decision although my doctor's PA insists life as I somewhat knew it will return eventually. If I had to do this over again, I am NOT so sure that I would do it and that is the honest truth. But give me a couple of months and perhaps I will feel a complete turnaround.

At the hospital my surgeon used milk of magnesia, as well as colace, and miralax. He said any of those three would be OK. Not one has worked yet. I may be expecting too much, too soon. Right now the constant burping and mild nausea is more an issue for me. I am passing some gas now from the bottom. As to the walking. A lot of us cannot walk well. I do what I can but need bi-lateral knee replacements, and since I cannot take my Celebrex for another 90 days, I am in a lot of arthritic pain and have a great deal of difficulty walking 30 feet, much less three city blocks. Not all of us are young, and not all of us have an unlimited ability to move.

I was just operated on by Dr. Barry Greene whose office is in Rockville, MD and the hospital he uses is Shady Grove (Adventist). I can honestly say that this doctor is top of the line and the hospital staff were the best staff out of five different local hospitals where I have been to for surgery or as an inpatient. This doctor misses nothing in the prep work for the procedure. However, I have the most awful case of burping now no matter how little I drink or how slow. It could be related as well to my hiatal hernia repair he did on Monday at the same time.

Yes, both were given to me in the hospital with zero results. I am having a great deal of difficulty putting in one ounce every 15 minutes because anything I drink feels like it is stuck in my esophagus or right above my breast bone. I am not passing much gas on the down low, only burping constantly. And, like most of you already know, I have no interest in eating or drinking anything so I am struggling to keep motivated.

I am soooo regretting this now. I had to beg to be discharged from the hospital today, have not been able to have a BM since Saturday, and I cannot keep taking in fluids because everything is backed up to my chest. I am also burping and belching constantly with no relief. If I do not "GO" soon, I fear either dehydration or an explosion somewhere along my surgical route.

I was sleeved on 9/29, Still in the hospital due to not being able to do the minimum amount of fluidsfor discharge. Hoping to get out tomorrow, STILL not sure I made the correct decision but there is no turning back now. BTW, have gained 11 lbs due to the fluids they are pumping into me.

JCP, THANK YOU! I am about to leave in 1/2 hour for the hospital, both frightened to the point of nausea and hoping to have the same outcome as you. I am happy for you. And your words of encouragement mean a lot to me. I am not sure if I can post from the hospital, but I will check in with BP as soon as I return.

Sorry, wrong thread, I guess, by about 24 hours : (

Well, tomorrow is my day - will be in surgery for my sleeve at noon. To say that I am still having second thoughts is an understatement but no matter how often I review the list of plus and minuses, the POSSIBILITY of my well controlled diabetes becoming almost no diabetes still tilts the scale to having the surgery, not to mention my sleep apnea and HBP. Of course none of those things going away is guaranteed but I have a shot at it happening as well as the surgery helping me go the rest of the way to my weight loss. I am tired of fighting the obesity battle, and this type will arm myself with every tool I can. I know that I will be back here tomorrow or the next day asking you all, WHY DID I DO THIS?. I am counting on you all to remind me of what I said right here tonight.

Hi Glamblondie. I, too am scheduled for Monday September 29th. Scared to death but I am going through with it. Good luck to you on that day!

Good Luck to you! Mine is on Monday. I am still scared to death but recognize that the decision to add a "tool" to my battle with fat and diabetes is a great opportunity, especially considering my advanced age to go under anesthesia for 3-4 hours at age 64.5. I hope all goes well for you.

I am still scheduled for Monday, September 29. On my liquid diet now and STILL wondering if I made the right choice. I guess I will be doing that right until the moment the anesthesiologist puts me out.