catwoman7

^^ what he (she?) said. And yes - a sleeve-to-DS conversion is easy, since you already have a sleeved stomach (DS'ers have a sleeved stomach plus an intestinal bypass). It's a pretty straightforward conversion - they just add the intestinal part since you've already had the VSG part. An RNY-to-DS conversion is much more complicated.

people with acid reflux usually revise to RNY. It usually improves - if not outright cures - reflux.

you might be what they call "spitting a suture". If that's what it is, you get these red painful bumps and then a suture pops out - they usually look like nylon fishing line. If it's not full of pus and not hot to the touch and the red isn't spreading, it's probably not infected - but you could contact a doctor just in case (for peace of mind, if nothing else). I didn't have those with my weight loss surgery, but I did with plastic surgery. My surgeon had to pull a couple of them out because they were irritating me so much. Those internal sutures eventually dissolve - but it can take awhile.

it's such an individual thing which so many things factor into - age, gender, starting BMI, metabolic rate, whether or not you lost weight prior to surgery, etc. One of things you'll constantly hear is that it is pointless to compare yourself to other people, since the only thing you have control over is whether or not you stick to your surgeon's plan. that said, and this is just from hanging out on this and other boards for the last five years, I would say most of us lose in the 15-25 lb range the first month. Of course you will find people who lose more or less than that, but the majority of us are somewhere in that range.

I wouldn't think it would be as common since DS'ers have a sleeved stomach - so they'd still have a pyloric valve. Sugar wouldn't hit the small intestine nearly as fast as it would with an RNY'er. But then, I'm not a medical person, so take that with a grain of salt.

oh =- I should have added that if you're not going to be having muscle tightening or liposuction as part of your panniculectomy, your recovery is likely to be easier. Those two things can be pretty painful (I had both)

not keeping down food is one thing - people can go without food for a few days (although even then, I'd contact a medical professional). Not being able to keep down fluids is quite another. I'd go to the ER, too.

some people just go to their PCP after the first year or so. Most of them have enough understanding of bariatric surgery these days that they can help with this.

I'm retired, so that really didn't apply to me. However, after my LBL, I was out & about and driving about 10-12 days after the surgery, I think - so you may be OK with taking two weeks off. Granted, I still had a lot of discomfort, but at least I could drive and get out by then..

yes - you want someone who has done a truckload of these things. Body contouring surgery on massive weight loss patients is a complicated subspecialty, so you want someone who does this all the time - preferably someone who specializes in this area - or barring that, at least someone who does A LOT of them (like maybe half their case load). Check realself.com for ideas. It's a site where people rate their doctors and discuss their experiences. It's all kinds of doctors, not just plastic surgeons -- although the majority of the reviews seem to be on plastic surgeons.

I had a lower body lift 14 months ago (which is the whole lower body - not just a panniculectomy). Recovery from that was much tougher than it was from gastric bypass. I had hardly any pain at all from bypass surgery. The first week of LBL recovery was pretty painful. After that, it was more discomfort than pain. But it was all worth it in the end. I'd do it again.

the only thing I've heard is you should wait at least two hours between calcium doses (because your body can only absorb around 500 mg at a time) and at least two hours between taking calcium and iron. I take calcium throughout the day and then take my iron before i go to bed so it doesn't interfere with anything.

probably the food factor (we're talking a cruise, right?). That would be a tough minefield to navigate - at least for me!!

I was wondering that myself at one point - but I think I remember reading that it's not really an issue unless you already have kidney issues. I think kidney pain is in your back - just under your rib cage.

lettuce and tomatoes can be hard at first - raw vegetables in general are hard (I think they're just difficult to digest, but eventually your new stomach will be able to handle it). Tomatoes have a lot of acid, which can also be irritating when you're early post-op (in fact, I still have trouble with acidic foods sometimes, at four years out). You may just have to stay on blander, easier-to-digest foods for awhile. There are still times when I have to do this because my stomach seems easily irritated some days - but early out it was *a lot* of days...

not at all. Plus then you'd know how much of your "excess" weight is fat and how much is just loose skin. I had a ton of loose skin on my abdomen (I've since had it removed) and thought I had at least 10 more lbs to go to get rid of all that "fat". But it turned out it wasn't fat, since my fat composition was 22% - which is considered lean for women. So all that excess "fat" was actually loose skin.

you may not need one, then. I got one when I got into the 140s because I wanted to know how much more weight I should aim to lose (my normal BMI range is 114-154). I figured I had another 10 lbs to go. Nope - at 146, I was already down to 22% body fat, so I..and the scan technician....and my PCP whom I shared the results with - all said it was time to stop. I was already AT my goal weight. It sounds like between having a scale that measures body composition (like you said, probably not super accurate, but at least in the ballpark), and being really in tune with your body due to lifting, you may not feel you need this information. In which case, save your money...

I've always been able to eat eggs (including scrambled), but some people have a hard time with them the first few months post-surgery. Most can eventually eat them again at some point, though.

I'm betting Movicol is the same as Miralax. It's safe to take every day, according to my doctor. Lots of us have a capful of it every day to keep things moving... P.S. I just googled Movicol vs Miralax. Yes - they are one and the same.

a lot of people have had that done. Insurance policies vary, but I seem to recall that many of them do cover it if it's for medical reasons (as opposed to the person wants to lose more weight). GERD would be a medical reason.

that's what I was going to say. Seeds. We weren't supposed to have anything with seeds the first few months post-surgery

my surgeon kept me on PPI's for a year - but that was before all the bad press came out about them. I assume he's having them do it for six months nowadays - that seems to be the standard. that said, I had no reflux for at least two or three years after surgery. It started to come back during year three, but it's not nearly as bad as it was pre-surgery. In fact, I'm not sure you could even call it GERD - it's more a gassy, acidy, gurgly feeling after I eat sometimes. It's not like the burning-throat-in-the-middle-of-the-night thing.

you don't want the doctor kind (the kind insurance would cover). That only measures bone density. You want one of the commercial ones - or sports ones. That covers bone density AND body composition. Body composition is the one that tells you the percentage breakdown of fat, muscle, and bone. THAT is what you want. Unless you're just interested in bone density (e.g., to see if you have osteoporosis). Either type will tell you that. it's done the same way - but the doctor ones don't measure body composition. I'm sure they COULD measure body composition, but doctors aren't interested in that part, so it's not included.

some people can only maintain on very few calories - I'm so glad I'm not one of them, and I'm so sorry you are!! I was maintaining well by averaging 1700 calories a day, which was do-able. But I seem to be struggling lately, so I may need to drop down a bit (maybe 1500-1600). Crap!! It is SO HARD to cut back on calories once you're used to eating more!!!!

I try to remember to chew my food more. Your stomach can't churn as much as it did pre-surgery, so you have to help it by chewing your food to applesauce consistency. I don't always remember to do this, though. Whoops. But yes - the size of my bites and my swallowing are like they were pre-surgery.