Olypie

I went to the ER a few days ago due to abdominal pain. They did a CT scan and said I had an enlarged Spleen and my blood work showed high liver function readings. They called my Bariatric doc and he told them he was aware of the spleen being enlarged because it was when he did my sleeve back in February!!! So a few questions. 1. Shouldn’t the surgeon have told me about it after surgery? I had no clue. 2. Has anyone else had this happen? The ER dr was very concerned and not even 10 minutes after calling my bari dr she was discharging me! He told her it was not related to anything bariatric but was probably a “female” issue. How the hell does a “female” issue cause an enlarged Spleen and high liver function tests?! Plus I had just seen my gyno a few months ago. Needless to say I think my surgeon is a prick now. And it worries me that I’ve had an enlarged spleen for 9 months and am just now showing signs of it with pain and tenderness. I can’t see my pcp until Tuesday but refuse to go back to the ER. The dr didn’t even come back in to tell me what he said, it was the discharge nurse that did. So I don’t think too highly of this dr either. And they gave no instructions except to see my pcp . Just so frustrated and angry at my Bariatric surgeon and ER dr as well. Has anyone else had to deal with this after surgery? Or know why my surgeon would not have told me about it?

Thanks. He said the spleen had not gotten bigger since February and that some people have a genetic tendency to ha e larger spleens. He said the way I described the pain it could be scar tissue from the surgery trying to move over or around itself. This does make sense as I scar badly as does most of my family. So I can only imagine what our insides look like. He was not overly concerned with the blood tests and said it could be from the fatty liver stuff too and we’d keep an eye on it as it should go to normal as I continue to lose weight. Just like Sherry said above. He did agree the surgeon should have told me about it.

I haven’t gone yet. It’s at 3:00 this afternoon.

My liver tests except for the alkp are usually normal. That’s why this sort of confuses me too. I’ve lost almost 110 pounds and while I still have a lot more to lose I’d think that would have helped at least some. [emoji17]

I have an appointment to see my pcp on Tuesday and plan on getting some answers. I feel my surgeon should have at least told me about it back in February when he noticed it during my surgery. I know people can live without their spleen and I don’t think it’s quite that serious lol. Just worried is all And my alkaline phosphatase levels have been high every time blood work has been done the past two years. Each time they say they’re watching it. Well after two years I want answers to that too!

A friend of mine is thinking about getting the Sleeve, but she has to take ibuprofen on a regular basis. I know nsaids are a no no for us so was wondering if anyone else had this problem and how did you manage it? Also are gastric bypass patients also not allowed nsaids? She really wants to have the surgery but ibuprofen is the only thing that helps her pain and now she’s discouraged.

Thanks everyone. She is still in the deciding stage and trying to find a surgeon for a consult. She had asked me about it so I said I’d ask in some groups I’m in. Also told her to talk to her doctor and surgeon when she finds one. Just hate seeing her disappointed.

I’m 8 months out from surgery and am down almost 100 pounds. Last month I started having a lot of pain in my hips. My left one has actually dislocated. My knees do that and I’m used to it but never had that problem with my hips before. It’s to the point of starting to limp when just walking around the house and store. I had an MRI of both hips and they said it shows arthritis. Didn’t say how bad or anything and gave me a referral to an orthopedic doctor, who I see on the 18th. I always thought you were supposed to feel better after losing weight but am finding just the opposite is true for me. Has anyone else had this happen? How was it treated? I know we can’t take nsaids so not sure how it’s going to be treated. Kinda nervous right now.

Yes. You can get really creative or basic and write words of encouragement, like “You’ve got this!” Or the like. Or just paint a pretty rock and maybe add some glitter. Then use something like Rustoleum to seal it so when you hide it outside the rain won’t make the paint bleed. You hide them in plain sight in places like local parks, outside businesses or walking trails. If you are in a rock painting group for your local area on Facebook they usually have you tag the back of your rock with the group name so when someone finds it they can go to the group and post a pic of it and say they’ve found and are either keeping it or hiding it again. Just a neat way to make someone smile. You can get really into it or just play around with it. I’m in between because I can’t draw a line to save my life LOL. But I’m trying my hand at dotting. If you google mandala rocks you’ll see what I’m trying to do. I’d check Facebook as I’m sure there is a group close to you. And YouTube has tons of videos on the different ways to paint them as does Pinterest.

I’m currently in a stall at 8 months out. There is a lady on YouTube named Clusie l. She lost 190 pounds in two years with the Sleeve and said she was in a stall for five months. Everyone is different and some stalls can last longer than others. Hang in there!

I have this issue, but not to the extent that you have it. I take two stool softeners every day and have started drinking the Smooth Move tea. So far that hasn’t helped at all. Any time I bring up a problem like this to my surgeon he says it’s all in my head. Yeah he’s a bit of a prick at times.

I donated blood at my 6 month mark. I talked to the people at the Red Cross and they told me it was fine. I’ve not had any side effects from it and will be donating again in November.

I donated blood at my 6 month mark. I talked to the people at the Red Cross and they told me it was fine. I’ve not had any side effects from it and will be donating again in November.

This isn’t a active/physical type of hobby but I am into painting rocks. It’s an offshoot of the Kindness Rocks project. I paint rocks, then hide them around town. I’ve yet to find my first one, but find that painting them is relaxing and a lot of fun. And it keeps my mind off food.

My nutritionist told me 800-900 calories for the first year and less than 80 carbs per day. There are days I can eat more than that and days I don’t even come close.

I'm kinda bad about it too. What I take daily are: Biotin 5,000 iu D3 10,000 iu. (I'm very low on vit D) Calcium Citrate 600 OTC Iron pill every other day 2 Flintstones Complete vitamins (these are what I hate. Any chewables really). I was sleeved 2/8/17.

Thank you all for your words of encouragement. They mean a lot!

I had my 6 month check in today and they are happy with my progress. I'm down 84 pounds from my highest weight. But somehow still feel like I'm failing. I'm 266 and would personally like to reach 150. So that will have to be 200 pounds total loss. My surgeon thinks I'll only reach 180. I know not much difference but it just smarts I guess. My nut says I should still only be eating 1/2 cup food total per meal. But I can eat more than that and have mainly been eating til comfortably full. Is this truly what I should be eating per meal? My surgeon was surprised I was still feeling any restriction with my sleeve this far out and that really confused me. I thought restriction was supposed to last much much longer, like years. He also said that at 6 months the body's metabolism catches back up and weightloss becomes more difficult and that by the 1 year mark whatever you've lost is pretty much it. Now I know I should be doing more physically like walking even if it's hot outside etc. So I only have myself to blame for that, but is all this stuff true? Is the first year basically it for losing weight? I just feel so overwhelmed because I thought I was doing great yet it seems just the opposite. Would love to hear from others and what you've been told or experienced this far and further out.

Well the first 48 hours I did nothing but vomit pretty much. Not everyone does, but I was one of the unlucky ones lol. I was sore for a few months but really didn't have much of a problem with recovery. But I've also had a few surgeries so I kinda knew what to expect.

For me getting my wisdom teeth pulled was so much more painful than the surgery. But the dentist did not give very good pain management.

I've had Fibro for about10 years. I'm 6 months post Sleeve and for the most part I feel better. Not near as many flares, though they do still happen. It's easier to move and that helps a lot.

I'm 6 months out as well and have stalled. From what I've heard it's not that uncommon as our bodies are still adjusting. I follow a lady named Clusie L on YouTube and when she was losing weight (she's in management now) that she hit a 5 month stall. It's depressing for sure to hit the stalls, but she has lost 190 lbs in two years. I try to stay off the scale everyday as well. As that can depress the hell out of you when the weight bounces around. I would suggest talking with your nutritionist, but also keep in mind it's normal and the closer you are to goal the harder it will be to drop the weight.

I second guessed myself through most of the process. It boiled down to being afraid to succeed and losing the weight means breaking down some walls I had put up. I would say it's normal to question such a major surgery and everything it entails. But I would say when making your choice to think of whether it was hard or easy to lose the weight. If you can keep the same discipline up for the rest of your life then maybe you don't need the surgery. The surgery isn't a quick fix but it is a great tool to help those of us who have yo-yo dieted and lost and regained weight. For me it helped in that I knew the majority of my stomach would be removed and I would not be able to physically eat as much as before so it would make me stick with it as I wouldn't have a choice. It also helped knowing that the hormone that causes hunger, ghrelin would be greatly reduced thus helping with the weight loss as well. So for me the surgery was the right choice.

I have Illinois Medicaid and had to do a 6 month doctor supervised weight loss program. Basically showing I was trying to lose weight. Also had to have more than 100 pounds to lose and at least two comorbidities. After the 6 months I had to have a psych consult, labs, meet with nutritionist, an ekg and upper GI. After all that was finished, about 9 months it took about a month to get approval and a date set. Hope that helps. I'm sure some of what I had to do was from my surgeon rather than Medicaid so it might be a bit different for you. Good luck on your journey!

Thank you. Glad it finally settled down for you.