leebick

Yesterday was the 5th anniversary of my sleeve surgery. I am so glad I did this, and wish I'd done it years ago! It hasn't been without struggles, and I had hiatal hernia surgery in June 2021 because my sleeve had "slipped" up into my chest cavity. Still... all is good, I am SO MUCH BETTER since having the hernia repair, and I have kept all my weight off. I am just happy, and want to say to those with doubts... YOU CAN DO THIS!!

I finally accepted that the "mindful eating" I'd practiced before and immediately after surgery wasn't just to be practiced then, but a whole new lifestyle. I guess I thought that the endless chewing, the limits on drinking around meal times, the "eat the protein first" were just caveats to help you get through the shock of surgery. However it's really how I eat all the time. I have learned to pay attention when I am eating- no TV, no computer, no reading- so that I pay attention to what I am eating and how much of it. I have a 20 minute eating window; when it's been 20 mins, the plate goes back to the kitchen. If not, I'll pick at supper over the next hour or two and eat the plateful, when in reality I was already full and didn't need to graze for the evening. I don't eat much carb- rice is hell for me, it swells inside and that's painful. Same with pizza crust, and most breads, so I just avoid them. I still do a protein shake for breakfast (Syntrax nectars with either water or unsweetened almond milk). Lunch is harder- sometimes cheese and crackers, sometimes soup. I'm not usually hungry during the day, but I will sag and drag after 3pm if I haven't had something to eat. Supper is usually some form of protein and maybe some veg. I also have dessert a couple of times a week, usually about a 1/4c of ice cream. I'll also have the occasional adult beverage, but I can't hold a lot of volume, so it's not too often and not too much- but a girl's gotta live! I think mostly what has worked best for me is mindful eating, small portions, choosing what to eat instead of just eating some of everything at a meal. Tonight we are having pizza and salad for supper (daughter got married on Saturday and we have quite a few leftover pizzas). I had the cheese and toppings from two pieces and ate them carefully. Can't do salad- it fills me up quickly and makes me feel gaggy, so although I love it I limit it to about 2 bites- just enough to satisfy the urge. Who knew I'd ever say the words "I miss salad?" but I DO!

Still doing OK, in fact, better than OK. No more vomiting, and as long as I follow mindful eating, no more pain. Having the HH repair, instead of revision, has been amazing! I lost the 7 pounds I gained (and a few more) due to covid and am right back where I was, weight-wise, following my original surgery (FIVE years ago). I cannot imagine having had revision surgery, with the loss of the pyloric valve and risk of dumping. I am good.

Hi! I just thought about checking this thread yesterday, to see how everyone's doing. I am doing GREAT! It is SO NICE to be able to eat without vomiting, lie down/sleep without being awash in stomach acid, and to basically live like a normal person again. My daughter (she's almost 28) and I took a quick trip to Disney before she started grad school and it was wonderful! I could eat and drink in all our favorite places and not be sick! I'm eating less than I had been and slowly losing weight, too. I guess the surgery was enough of a change to my insides that it was like a "reset" or something- but I have that obvious "full" feeling again and am doing better with my weight management. NOW I have to get back into the gym regularly, something that ended when Covid hit and I just haven't re-established the habit yet. Hope you all are doing well!

Hi, thanks for checking in. Yes, it is getting easier, better. I just have to be mindful when eating- chew a lot, eat slowly, pay attention. Yesterday we went with friends to celebrate my birthday (I'm 65 today) and I was able to slowly sip a beer and carefully eat some nachos- it was GREAT, and makes me feel like finally I am going to get back to life! (5 weeks post-surgery, if anyone's keeping score!)

HI! My surgeon is a GREAT bariatric surgeon, as far as doing the surgery, but she isn't on top of much regarding the nutritional aspects of the program. I finally called one of the nutritionists associated with the bariatric program. She said it's not uncommon for people to have more issues eating after the HH surgery than after the initial VGS surgery. She said that she thinks it's because when having VGS, there is that long internal suture line from forming the sleeve, but it's not connected or stitched to anything. With the HH repair, I've had my sleeve "tacked" to something internally, as well as mesh stitched into my diaphragm. Every time I breathe or swallow something, that all gets "pulled on" and that's what she thinks the pain is from, and also that the mesh repair narrows the opening in the diaphragm through which the esophagus passes. I don't know... I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV, hahaha, but it seems kind-of a reasonable explanation! It's still a guessing game regarding eating. I eat soup for dinner at least half the time; not so much fun in the middle of summer, but it's food. I make sure the veggies in it are really soft and I can mash them up. Sometimes I can tolerate crackers in the soup, also. No pasta unless it's well mashed in sauce, but even then it's questionable. I mash up the macaroni in macaroni and cheese and it's OK, but when we had stuffed shells I only ate the filling and the cheese from the topping. No rice, no breads, even with a lot of butter. I had cereal recently (Lucky Charms) but had to wait for it to get soft in the milk. Eggs are OK, as is tuna salad and egg salad, but chicken salad today was disastrous. It's a different kind of pain than from the HH, more like a line of pain across the top of my chest. Salad is a no-no, has been all along, but right now I still struggle with ground meats (burger, turkey burger, etc). I do OK with corn on the cob, though, which is a gift as it's one of my favorite summer treats! I honestly never know what's going to sit well, although anything that is smooshed up in a gravy or sauce is usually OK, or meat that is fatty. I still have to take small bites and chew, chew, chew, but once it goes down, it STAYS down, which is a plus, and still NO GERD! Also no PPI, no tums, etc. I'm still not sure how any of this is supposed to go, but I am glad I had the HH repaired. I was tired of drowning in acid every evening and of vomiting up food daily.

I totally agree, it's the shape/size of the sleeve that allows it to slip up through the opening in the diaphragm. My surgeon said more than half of my sleeve had slipped up into the thoracic cavity. No wonder I could hardly eat, had pain when I did, and would vomit more times than not! I had my HH repaired a month ago, and it's been slow going since then. I am still trying to find foods that are comfortable when I eat. Mostly I'm still on full soft foods, as it just plain hurts when I try to eat meats, fresh fruit/veggies, etc. I saw the surgeon last week and she said to keep working at it, keep up with the mindful eating, and to add a 2nd protein shake to my daily intake. I was surprised to find that recovery from the HH surgery is VERY much like it was post-sleeve, eating-wise, and maybe even more challenging. I've lost 8 pounds in the month since the HH surgery. I am pleased about that, but it's due to not being able to eat much at once. I really don't care about eating, going out to dinner, etc., at all anymore. Probably good, maybe I'll hit that VGS goal weight after all!

Hi- My doctor did use mesh to repair the hernia opening, but didn't say how many stitches. I am not taking any PPIs, only took Tums once since the surgery (so almost 3 weeks). There is nothing in the surgical note about her having done any kind of touch-up on the sleeve. It's like the first few weeks when the sleeve was new in that I was on full liquids, finally worked up to a soft diet, but I can only eat a little bit before I get the "too much" signal from the sleeve. I have no GERD, no vomiting, no acid fumes, no block-like feeling in my chest, nothing. It's amazing. I have to pay close attention when I eat, take tiny bites, chew a LOT, and eat slowly. I can eat 3 bites of something and then on the 4th bite I am TOO FULL and it hurts; I definitely can feel the restriction from my sleeve again, which was something I was worried about. I was just out of town for a week at a family gathering (wedding and a memorial service, both postponed from originally scheduled due to covid) and I was able to eat much of the food being served. We were in New Orleans, so that is saying something! I just followed the rules for the soft diet and for mindful eating and it was OK, most of the time. Biggest challenge right now is staying hydrated, but that's always been an issue for me (even before having the sleeve surgery). I'm kind-of in awe how easy and life-changing this has been. All week I'd eat something and think WOW, I'm not throwing this up, it's staying down where it belongs!

I'm getting there. I'm a little over 2 weeks post-op, no GERD or vomiting at all. I am back to eating tiny portions, most all soft foods. I need to monitor my liquid closely- I know I'm not getting enough fluid- but I get full so easily! It's kinda like the first few weeks after the sleeve surgery.

Thanks for the support!! I'm not eating a whole lot- pudding, soup, protein shakes, cottage cheese, but not much else. Today I made chicken salad and pureed it. Gross... but it helps to have something different to eat, and so far I've had no acid issues. The weather isn't my friend right now. I live in north-central Maine, about a 4+ hour drive north of Boston, and we are having a heat wave! It's 92F outside with a heat index of 102F. The thermometer on my family room wall says 88F. Of course we don't have a/c in our home- hardly anyone does up here. I'm sitting with the fan blowing directly on me but it's so freaking hot!! I'm making my protein shakes with water and pouring them over ice so I get my fluids in. It's so hot I don't really want to eat much anyhow- although popsicles or fudgsicles sound pretty good right about now!

Day 5 Post-op... I am still doing OK. I overdid it a bit yesterday (I did NOT move furniture, my husband did, but I helped by supporting on occasion and it was too much) so took 5mg oxy before bed and I'm so glad I did. I could feel my body relax and the pain dissipate. Today I am feeling better. I spent a good part of the day sorting out papers and such from our bookcase and desk. I am frustrated with eating. I am on a soft diet but am struggling to eat much more than pudding without chest pain (diaphragm pain, actually). It's too hot for soup. I'm sip, sip, sipping my drinks so I don't have to worry about dehydration. I guess I hadn't realized what my post-surgical diet would be like, so I didn't stock up on anything. Tomorrow I'll go to the grocery store and see what I can find. Who knew I'd wish for cottage cheese! I am doing my breathing exercises but progress is slow. I can inhale 1500mL without coughing, but when I do to 1750mL it makes me cough. Tonight my chest/diaphragm is sore... not sure if it's from "working" today (seriously, all I did was sort papers out of the desk drawers) or just post-surgical pain. It's hot and I want to eat something and my chest hurts and it doesn't help watching my husband have a sliced chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomato on a lovely roll, with chips, for his supper. Grrr... I must be getting better as I'm getting cranky! I'm going to give it another hour to see if I feel any better and can relax, and if not I might take another 2.5mg oxy to help me sleep. I seem to be OK during the day but start to really run down around 8pm. Oh well... I still feel like I am making progress and am SO GLAD my surgeon did this hernia repair instead of revision to a full bypass.

I am almost 5 years post-sleeve surgery, and last fall, in a Covid-Cleaning frenzy, I threw out all my old, post-surgery information. As usual, as soon as one pitches something, they need it. I have just had hiatal hernia surgery and am on a full liquid diet, but on Wednesday I can move up to the post-surgery soft diet- except I don't have my food lists anymore! Can someone list what's on a soft food diet, or describe what types of foods I can or cannot have (probably easier)? I've looked this up online but didn't find any soft-food diet that seems to be specific to bariatric weight loss patients, and I'm not sure our soft food diet would be the same as what is prescribed for the general public. TIA!

I know what else I'd do; I'd talk to the office manager or whomever is in charge and let them know that this nut is not attentive and has recommended you do things that could have serious consequences for your health. You're lactose intolerant and she's recommending you eat things with lactose in them? What's her problem? I mean, I know that eating lactose won't kill you, but what if you had a nut allergy and, because she's inattentive, she recommended swapping to almond milk? OR what if you had a milk allergy, actually allergic to milk protein and not lactose? Her recommendations could make you pretty sick. Sure... if someone has a food allergy you'd hope they'd know better than to follow poor suggestions, but it's easy to assume a medical "expert" knows what they are talking about and therefore choose to take their advice, KWIM? Also, I know you mentioned that cheese can be constipating for you, but cheeses such as cheddar, Edam, Swiss, mozzarella, brie and feta contain no lactose. Due to the way they are fermented and aged, the lactose is in the whey, not the curd- and these cheeses are low in whey content.

So many things: The towel fits. I can fit into chairs, airplane seats, folding seats at different venues (concerts, sports, etc). I can cross my legs. I can stand on tip-toe. I can reach down and lift the lever that opens the gas tank door. I used to have to get out and reach in, or at least put my left foot out on the ground. Now I just reach down and voila! The door opens and DH can pump the gas!

I don't really think the surgeons/doctors know what it's like- they aren't there. The ones who know what it's like are the floor nurses, the ones who were at my bedside, administering my meds, taking my vitals. I saw my surgeon for 10 mins on the morning of surgery and then for 10 mins on the day she discharged me. Her basic question was, "do you think your pain is managed well enough for you to go home?" I did... just didn't realize that I was being given more pain support meds in the hospital that would be prescribed for me to take at home. As I was leaving my hospital room, the CNA who'd been taking care of me said "Don't hesitate to call the floor nurses' station if you need anything." I wonder if she knew more about my pain management at the time than I did!

The notes from the upper GI series says they detected a "moderately large" hernia. Actual surgical notes on the repair say "Given that the patient has already had a sleeve gastrectomy and is not a candidate for any form of wrap, I choose to place a bio A absorbable Gore mesh to reinforce the diaphragmatic repair. Once positioned appropriately the mesh is secured in all 4 corners with Ethibond suture. The apex of the sleeve is secured to the diaphragm medially and laterally with single interrupted Ethibond suture." I'm doing... ok, I guess. I found the hernia surgery harder to tolerate than my sleeve surgery was. My hernia surgery was on Tuesday morning and they discharged me on Thursday afternoon after they "achieved appropriate pain management," making me 3 days post-op. I thought they were only giving me Tylenol via IV, and oxycodone on request. Turns out this was true, but they were also giving me gabapentin and the oxycodone in addition to the Tylenol; I could have had additional oxy if requested, as well as dilaudid. I won't lie; it's been rough being home. I have five oxycontin pills to get me through, as well as Tylenol, of course. I have had enough pain that I'm calling this afternoon to get more oxy; my pain this morning was easily a 7 on a scale of 1-10. I haven't had any acid issues, but I haven't had any real food yet. I'm allowed a soft diet but I know I'm not ready. I've stayed on full liquid (which is where I was in the hospital) with a few bites of yogurt or pudding with not great results. It just hurts right now, feels like I have a giant block in my chest and a huge lump in my throat. I am SO GLAD I took 2 weeks off from work for this!

I am 5 years post-op from my sleeve surgery and 3 days post-op from my hernia repair. All my surgeon did was hernia repair with a dissolving mesh. The surgery notes said that >50% of my sleeve was residing in my esophagus, so I don't think it was a trivial repair- and she was able to do it laparoscopically, so win-win!!

When I was in the early stages (I'm almost 5 years out), my nutritionist had been clear; meals, whatever you are eating, should last for 20 minutes. Didn't matter if you hadn't finished whatever you were eating, you were done in 20 mins. I think the idea behind this is to encourage mindful eating, stretching a meal out over 20 mins so one doesn't eat too much by eating too quickly, as well as to break old, bad habits of having to finish what's on your plate, to delineate meal times instead of a long period of grazing/snacking, etc. I never had nausea or vomiting post-surgery, but sometimes drinking a full shake in 20 mins was more than I could handle; I'd just be full.

I've had wicked reflux and vomiting over the past few months, down 13 pounds which I think is from vomiting dinner almost every night. Anyhow, I had my endoscopy today and it's as the bariatric surgeon suspected. I have a hiatal hernia (6cm, not sure what that means in relation to the hernia) and they stretched my esophagus starting with a 10mm balloon, up to a 16.5mm balloon. Endo-doc says the pylorus is definitely narrowed but he could get the scope in there. SO... I am scheduled for the hernia repair and "anchoring" my sleeve in place on 6/22/21 and then... I don't know. My surgeon said if the pyloric opening was too narrow I might need a revision but I don't know if she'll do that on Tuesday or not. If she does, I have no idea of what a post-op recovery period or diet would be like (and we have summer vacations planned). I guess it's wait-and-see. I am just SO looking forward to being released from the horrors of the hernia, waking in the middle of the night with my throat and mouth filled with acid, and keeping my food INSIDE me, where it belongs!

My 5 year surgery date is September 2021. I had an unremarkable recovery from my sleeve surgery. I lost 110 pounds but have put about 15 back on (or had... I have lost 9 of those). The biggest "issue" I had post-surgery was either hiccuping or sneezing when I was full. About a year ago, I started having acid issues. They've progressed to the point of significant GERD. I had been taking a PPI but it stopped working at all... seriously, I wake up at night coughing and gagging because there is stomach acid pretty much in my back teeth! Anyhow, for the last year I've been taking the PPI until it stops working, go off of it for about a month, take it again and it helps a bit but then stops working... wash, rinse, repeat. Four or five months ago I started having horrible pain with eating on occasion and would sometimes throw up. The vomiting has become almost a daily occurrence although not with every meal, and with no predictability. SO I called my surgeon, she listened to my complaints, and sent me for an upper GI swallow. The films show that I have a hiatal hernia and a narrowing of my esophagus. They could tell this because the 12mm barium coated sizing-pill that they had me swallow, to track it through my system, wouldn't go through the esophageal opening into my stomach. There is also narrowing of the pylorus, at the bottom of my pouch, but they can't tell how narrow because the stupid sizing pill was stuck in my esophagus! When I talked to my surgeon after she saw the films, she had me scheduled for an endoscopy (on 6/18) and surgery (on 6/22) to put my pouch back where it belongs, close the enlarged opening in my diaphragm, and to open up my esophagus. She also said- rather offhand- that depending on what she sees in the endoscopy/surgery that I might need a revision. I believe this was in referral to the pyloric narrowing, but I'm not sure. I'm not sure I really know what a revision is. My surgeon is a leader in robotic bariatric surgery, but she's not much for communication and "bedside manner." Anyhow... I don't know what to expect from all of this, what post-op requirements would be, etc. Surgeon scheduled the surgery as she said it clearly needs to be done, just wants the endoscopy done so there are "no surprises" once she gets in there. She also said to expect to be in the hospital for a couple of nights. I really don't know what to expect and have called her office for clarification but so far, no response. I guess I am sharing here to see if anyone has had anything like this happen this far out from surgery, has any advice or guesses, experience with this to share, etc.

I am 4 years 9 months post-sleeve surgery. It's been a very successful journey for me, for the most part. However, about a year ago I started having some serious GERD and over the past 3-5 months have been having a lot of pain when eating some things, followed by vomiting. Saw my surgeon and had an upper GI on Monday. The doc doing the study was cool, showed me everything and explained what she was seeing. I have a hiatal hernia, and the openings at both the top and bottom of my stomach are narrowed (I swallowed a 12mm barium pill that they should have been able to trace as it went through my system, but it never went any further than the top of my stomach). I have a consult with my surgeon on Friday, but she'd already said that if the results of the GI were anything but normal, the next step would be an endoscopy and colonoscopy. I've already had several colonoscopies so I know what to expect, but I've never had an endoscopy. The whole thought of it makes me want to run away! I can't imagine what it must be like to have someone shoving a camera/tube down your throat (swallow, swallow, keep swallowing)! HOW do you do this without heaving up your toenails? How much does it hurt, swallowing a TUBE? Can someone who's had an endoscopy tell me what to expect, in general?

It's so weird, everyone is SO different. I LOVE pizza and can't eat it. When we have pizza, I'll eat the topping off of one slice and then maybe 2 bites of the crust, and I am DONE. I have a lot of issue with carbs: No rice, no pasta, almost no bread. I can eat crackers, and cheese and crackers has become almost a stand-by meal; I can eat 6 ritz crackers with two Bonne Bell cheeses sliced up on them (so each BB cheese is cut into 3 slices). Popcorn? No problem, except for the quantity (it is SO easy to eat handful after handful while watching TV!). Can't eat ground beef at all, it comes back up. I do best with fish, although I can also eat about 2/3 of a chicken thigh or fattier cuts of pork. Chicken breast is not so good, it's too dry. Sometimes I can eat 2 or 3 pieces of chicken wings, sometimes not. Eggs are also good for me. And salad... I SO MISS SALAD- and nobody can believe I'd ever have said that. I can eat about 4 bites of salad and I'm done. GONE are the days at Olive Garden when my daughter and I would eat 2 or 3 bowls of salad along with several breadsticks and two bowls of soup... each...

I had my surgery almost 5 years ago. The "before" picture was taken about 6 weeks before surgery. The "after" was taken about 5 days ago.

How severe is your GERD and what is involved with a revision? I am having horrifying reflux almost every evening and throw up probably 3 days a week. I am over 4 years post surgery and didn't anticipate any of this happening!

I had my sleeve surgery 4.5 years ago and did well, all things considered. I lost weight as expected, and have been quite happy about my decision- until recently. About 6 month ago, I started having overwhelming acid indigestion after eating. It's hard to describe; it's like I would breathe out acid fumes, it was so bad. It also didn't happen immediately after eating- but about an hour later, it was awful. I also started waking up at night with my throat full of acid. I mean, this was HOURS after I'd finished dinner. I can't pinpoint what causes it; it happens irregularly, no matter what I've eaten. Heck, it'll happen when I drink water sometimes. Now, in addition to this, I am having post-eating pain. Hours after dinner I will still have pain in my upper chest and lower throat. It feels like whatever I ate is still just sitting there in the top of my sleeve- a hard, burning pain. It's been going on for 3 hours tonight. If I sit or stand up VERY straight and stretched, the pain lessens but the hard fullness at the base of my throat is still there. I don't know what is going on, my insurance has changed and won't cover a visit back to my surgical practice, and in the Time of COvid they aren't seeing many patients (at least those who aren't immediately prior or post-op). I'm measuring my food, stopping when full, following the "no drinking when eating" rule, avoiding carbs and foods I know will "swell" inside, etc. I don't know what this is, but I am pretty miserable a lot of the time, to the point where I'd just rather not eat than to go through what I know is coming.