hermione53

Hello everyone, I'm five months out after 17 years of banding. I am SO GLAD I made the switch. I won't bore you with my band and band revision journey. I will focus on how amazing having a sleeve is. It's the surgery I hoped I was getting 17 years ago! With the sleeve, I can drink my protein in the morning. No waiting hours for the mucus cap to dissolve. I can actually drink a good bit of water. I do not throw up. I only did once and that's because I ate too fast. Like it was said above, I don't feel like I'm being choked with food sitting at my esophagus. I am able to eat healthy foods (meat, salad, veggies). My head is in a better place because I had a wonderful two months or so of having NO interest in food. It gave me a great start/ restart. To answer some questions from above, I had my band removed first and then was sleeved 7 weeks later. I did gain weight in that time, but it wasn't a ton- five pounds? I thought it would be more, but I hadn't been feeling much restriction for years so... At first I was upset about the two procedures and thought about going with RNY because my surgeon would have done that it one. But, I found the waiting time fine and I'm glad I didn't do so much at once. I have no pain in the port area. The band removal surgery was very easy. I was in and out of the hospital in four hours with very little pain. If you have questions, just ask!

I forgot to mention that I wish I'd known how helpful tracking on My Fitness Pal would be. I've tracked with a vengeance. I'm on a 141 day streak and I think it's made all the difference from my previous bariatric surgeries. :-)

I have no GERD or dumping. No hair loss either (YET). My experience has been great so far. I do agree that the recovery was harder than I expected. Some people seem to bounce back quickly, but I really didn't start feeling like myself again until almost four weeks out. The pain was more than I expected so I stayed on Oxycontin longer than I would have liked and Oxycontin kept me awake, which only slowed down the healing, in my opinion. I was a zombie. I wish I: would have known that I'd have a drain. I wasn't told until right before the sugery and had it for ten days. It was fine but weird and unexpected. had bought large Tegaderm film online to bandage said drain. The surgeon gave me three to take home and i needed more in three days and had a hell of a time finding it. I walked from pharmacy to pharmacy when I felt like crap. had taken photos of myself in tight clothing and taken my measurements. had asked more people to visit. had done a lap-band to sleeve conversion years ago. I love the sleeve! Good luck to you!

I took Ambien for a long time but had to stop due to night eating that suddenly developed several years in. I actually woke up and DROVE to buy ice cream and had very little memory of it. Fast forward and I've been on just about everything for sleep because, like you, insomnia is a demon for me. When I had my sleeve surgery I was on Quetiapine (Seroquel) and Clonazepam (Klonipin) for sleep. I was advised to get off the Seroquel stat because it causes so many people to gain weight. So, I was on a pretty high dose of Klonipin for the first two months. The problem was that I then started eating at night. About 45 minutes after I took it, I'd be up scrouging for something even when there was nothing appealing to be found and even though I was clearly not hungry. I ate my roommate's jar of almond butter in about a week. I ate oatmeal. I ate two packs of oatmeal... So, I asked my psychiatrist to change the meds. He resisted for a while, but now I'm back on an earlier post-Ambien combo, which is Zaleplon (Sonata) and Trazodone. I don't become disinhibited on this combo so I'm better able to stay in control. Unfortunately, the pattern kind of stuck so I'm still having some trouble with night eating when I'm not hungry. My NUT recommended that I save up calories from earlier in the day and have a little packet of peanut butter (2 Tbs. or 32 grams) at night. I go for Justin's or Probar. She said the individual portions are key so I leave the packets at work and bring one home each evening. I kind of have to work at getting it out of the packet so it slows me down and so far that seems to help a lot. Good luck to you!

I, too, have had some skin issues since surgery five months ago. I had bruising on my upper legs for a little while. Then I felt crazy itchy, mostly at my arms, calves, and back. My PCP advised that I take Zyrtec and that stopped the itching. My surgeon said it is likely the hormones. I tend to think it's more that than anything because I've been very irregular and I have more blemishes on my face (one not-quite pimple on my cheek that's been there for about four months). I can also be awfully moody. Good luck!

You look great in both pictures. You've done an amazing job and don't look gaunt at all. It's probably taking people a while to get used to the new you. Shrug it off and keep throwing your arms up in triumph!

I applied about six weeks ago. They called to confirm my information but they told me they don't have a contract in my state (Massachusetts). I asked why they were confirming my information and was told that they might have a contact in a month or so. Not holding my breath...

Are you getting in high protein dairy like Greek yogurt and small curd cottage cheese? I ate little cups of Muuna cottage cheese for a while because it was a small amount that packed 15 g and tasted very good with various fruit flavors in addition to plain. My NUT also recommended adding powdered milk to soups to up the protein. I'm lucky in that I didn't have issues with eggs. I sometimes eat a boiled egg chopped up very fine and mixed with avocado and a bit of mayo. You could also try adding in very finely chopped deli ham. It's pretty yummy. Good luck!

184.5

Yesterday I watched Bariatric surgeon Dr. Vuong's video explaining his advice that people not exercise for six months after surgery. His reasons were not very clear from a physiological perspective. From an emotional perspective, he thinks that we aren't really ready and will just see it as a chore and beat ourselves up when we don't do it. He suggested working with a therapist to fix emotional eating issues, getting the nutrition straightened out, and waiting until you can afford a personal trainer first. People were asking good questions like what about exercise that you really like and what do you do at six months and beyond. He didn't answer the questions because he didn't appear to see them pop up. He seemed like a really dynamic and caring guy, but he also seemed kind of like a snake oil salesman. I've looked him up on Bariatric Pal and there's not much here except reference to a lawsuit and one time he introduced himself and hawked his books/ program and got negative feedback for it. Does anybody know of a physical reason not to exercise? He said something about it inducing cravings and screwing up your efforts. I've been exercising regularly since week three (I'm now in month five). It seems to lift my mood quite a bit. I've stalled and been fighting cravings, though. Last week I was pretty exhausted and didn't exercise much (two days got to 10-11,000 steps). I also dropped my calories back to 1,000 and am eating keto. I lost eight pounds in a week and the cravings aren't as bad. I'm contributing this to keto, reduced calories, and coming off of a stall. But I'm curious about this exercise bit. Should I stop for a while to see what happens? Or is Dr. V a quack? I have recently hired a personal trainer, but I hate it. I don't yet have the nutrition thing all figured out, but I've been in therapy for a long time with great results in all but emotional eating. Do any of you have a response to this video? Are any of you losing rapidly without exercise? Anybody a patient of Dr. V or gone through his programs or read his books? Here's the video:

@OutsideMatchInside Thanks for the replies and the videos. I'm not sure why I thought Dr. V might be a quack. I guess it's his informal presentation and the fear that being told not to exercise is too good to be true. I saw his video again and caught more this time. The first time was on Facebook live and there were tons of messages popping up and likes/ hearts floating across the screen so it was a bit distracting. I decided to cut my exercise down to walking (I was trying to pick up a wee bit of running). I thought I saw all of Dr. Weiner's videos right after surgery, but I didn't remember the exercise one. I must have been hopped up on the Oxy because all that sounded familiar was his recommendation to do yoga. I wish I'd paid more attention because I did injury my knee in the first two months and am starting physical therapy soon. It's hilarious that Dr. V is your new surgeon love. He is pretty adorable! As always, thanks for your thoughtful replies! You're generous to stick around and advise people :-)

Damn, you look great and seem to be in great spirits. And I really admire your generosity in keeping everybody motivated with the weight loss challenges. Thanks!

I like this point of view as well. Don't get the axe lady image, though.

I was maintaining a good weight loss with my first lap band but also had a lot of trouble getting down healthy foods. The reflux was very bad due to slippage and I was maintaining the loss because I couldn't get much down. When I had a replacement band installed, I felt very little restriction even with a max fill. By that point I was used to slider foods so I rapidly gained weight. I should have made a point of going back to meats and vegetables, but I was so freaked out by the lack of restriction that I gave up. The sleeve feels so much healthier to me.

I had a drain for ten days. It seemed like everything hurt during that time. The drain site/ hole was tender and hurt some, especially when it would kind of slip out an inch or so (mine was stitched onto my skin a little bit - I guess to keep it in place). I don't think you need to worry about pain there unless it's really hot and inflamed. Also, it's important to monitor what's coming out of it into the bulb. I got concerned when the liquid became cloudy with some sort of white stringy stuff. I called the surgeon's office and was told that it was fine because I didn't have a fever (sign of infection). Are you taking all of your pain meds?

I told my boss and four direct colleagues. I've lost about 45 pounds and it's interesting that they never mention it. Don't compliment me or ask questions. I don't think they're talking about me behind my back. I think they just have good boundaries. I work in HR and have over 200 employees that I work with. I haven't told any of them bc that seems like TMI.

187.8

That's great. I'm glad you're getting good support! I hope you've had a good week 🤞

I got a sleep study to increase chances of being approved for the surgery. I didn't really think I had sleep apnea. It winds up that I have a mild case and I was advised to get a CPAP. I didn't think I would, but I talked to my surgeon and she also advised that I get one (thankfully most is covered by insurance). The surgeon said that patients often stop using their CPAP machines prematurely. So, I'm being fitted for one next week. My brother, who is not obese, has very bad sleep apnea and had to pay out of pocket. I get why you don't want to fork out the money for it. I likely wouldn't get one if it weren't covered by insurance.

I didn't take my Wellbutrin the day of surgery or the next day. I took them day three forward with no problems. Same with my insomnia meds. No crushing needed. Good luck!

Your experience of homelessness and real starvation adds an extra layer of complexity to the struggle. I am so sorry you experienced that. I would consider those months traumatizing. Do you see a therapist? I'm in a trauma group for different reasons and it's good to have the support. Be kind to and patient with yourself. You deserve it.

189.2

I was on mine and had a catheter. I think you get a catheter if you might have a longer surgery. I'm not sure, though. They didn't remove it until day two so dealing with a pad and the disposable undies was awkward.

I'm still pissed off about a three month post op visit I had with mine. I'm thinking of asking to be reassigned to her colleague because I felt judged and unsupported. What's your experience been like?

Thanks for your support, Joann454! 🌹