Creekimp13

Wow. That's pretty rough. I had a hiatal hernia repair and sleeve, came home the next evening . Never had bad pain, Was sent home with narcotics that I took exactly one dose of.....and did great on regular Tylenol, instead. Takes all kinds to make a world, I guess. Hope you feel better. Best wishes moving forward:)

Lookin good, Mike! Congrats!

Had an interesting talk about fat and genetics over the holidays with a cluster of veterinarians in my family. Of three veterinarians polled....all three support the idea that different breeds of dogs are more or less susceptible to obesity. I thought this was pretty fascinating! You rarely see fat sight hound breeds...whippets, afghans, wolfhounds, etc. Fat working dogs are uncommon, too. Huskies, border collies, herding dogs.... When vets do see a fat individual in these breeds, they're cued to check for hypothyroidism and are often correct in predicting it. Many of these breeds can self-regulate a free feeding situation and maintain a healthy weight with little human intervention. Other breeds...labs, dachshunds, bassets, etc.. generally need to be routinely restricted on food portions, or will become very obese because they will severely overeat. Obviously, these are generalizations and individuals vary.......but the prevalence of obesity in some breeds and not others is worth paying attention to. It certainly does support the idea of a strong genetic component in both the way calories are utilized and obese eating behaviors.

At my hospital, hubby was with me in pre-surg. Daughter was at college doing finals....but was calling for updates every couple of hours. After they took me to surgery, they gave him a pager and a there was a special surgical waiting room with a board that was updated with my progress (based on a number assigned to me...so info is private) The surgical waiting room nurse also took his cell phone number and said he could check with her for updates, and they could page him if he was needed. Yes, it's a waste of a day.....but keep in mind....this is a major surgery. They're poking around right next to your spleen and some very serious blood vessels. If you have a hiatal hernia....you're talking about fixing the hole in your diaphragm. I don't want to be alarmist...cause risk is minimal....but it really is a pretty big deal. Also, family and friends will be calling and wanting updates, etc. With the pager, your hubby and daughter can move freely around the hospital....go for a walk, go have a bite to eat, visit the gift shop, etc. if they're bored, wander around outside if weather allows....and still feel like they're there supporting you. They can bring board games, laptops, cards, books. They likely won't be invited to hang out with you in recovery....but you'll move through recovery and get into a room and they can join you there. Once they know you're doing well....they might be able to relax and enjoy some attractions while checking in on you by phone. My hubby damned near spent the night with me. The nurses were about to bring him a cot, but I convinced him to go home and let the dog out. LOL:) They worry. They're allowed.

Wow! Nice!

I got hungry...REALLY hungry... a couple of days after surgery. Maybe because I never had nausea, and had little pain. Maybe because I continued to walk 5-7 miles a day. But I was hungry. Tummy wasn't growling, but I felt that kinda foggy low blood sugar feeling and like I was uncomfortable, needing fuel. Craved food. Healthy food. But it was pretty clear my gas tank was empty. I still get hungry. But now, I eat half a thing of yogurt, or a half a cup of something nutrious, a little handful of nuts or cheese cubes...and I feel pretty content for 3-4 hours. I do get my 1000 calories in each day, but sometimes that means drinking a lot of decaf with a ton of protein drink in it. LOL. I do eat complex carbs with my proteins, and fruits without skins.

There are different kinds of stones. Phosphate stones can be helped by urine acidifiers like vinegar or lemon juice...or even Vitamin C tabs. However, Calcium Oxalate stones (very common) can form in acid urine...and it won't help them. it seems contraindicated and weird....but TAKING YOUR CALCIUM actually HELPS prevent Calcium Oxalate stones from forming in your kidneys because Calcium binds oxalate in the intestines. Vitamin C is high in oxalate...so it would be contraindicated for Oxalate stones (even though it's ok for phosphate stones..lol) Best things you can do: 1. stay hydrated! The more fluid the better. 2. Take vitamins as prescribed 3. If you have a stone, try to catch it so it can be analysed and you know what you're dealing with. 4. If you have Oxalate stones....avoid foods on the oxalate food list. 5. See your doc, and listen to him/her. They honestly don't go to school for a decade to give you bad advice:)

It's normal, but it should improve rapidly. Try drinking clear fluids...one ounce per 15 minutes for an hour. (you get 4 ounces in this way) If you can drink each little ounce in 10 sips...it will go down easy. Then switch to protein drink.....one ounce per 15 minutes for an hour. (you get 4 ounces in this way) Again...10 little teenie sips per ounce. At day four....I was doing this routine about 14 hours per day. So I got 28 ounces of clear fluids and 28 ounces of protein drink in each day. 54 ounces of fluid total. Kept my hydration up and my energy was good. I know it will feel like ALL YOU DO EACH DAY...is sip, sip, sip, teenie, little sips. Watch the clock. Sip, sip, sip. Walk a little. Sip, sip, sip. Best wishes:) Hang in there...it'll go fast.

If you have type 2 diabetes currently, you might find a surgeon willing to do surgery. What are your specific current comorbidities? Have you done your research and thoroughly weighed the benefits -vs- risks of permanently altering your anatomy? Has a bariatric surgeon agreed to do sleeve surgery for you? There is nothing "easy" about weight loss. With the sleeve, or without it.

Been there. I survived it a day at a time:) I tell people it's the hardest part of the whole thing. Surgery was easy in comparison in my mind. The pre-surg diet was hard, and the post-surg diet is hard, too. BUT....at least when you're post-surg, it's all down hill. You know you're coasting toward a healthy diet again, and you get to add things. Hang tough...you'll make it.

Be steady, stay consistent, try not to be scale obsessed. Record your food. And eat. Work up to 1000-1200 calories by 6 weeks out. Record your fluids. Record your protein. Record your exercise. Record your blood pressure. Don't worry about your weight so much right now. Lotta water redistributing, hormones, all sorts of weirdness. If you keep steady on your diet and exercise....it'll happen. Be patient and try really hard to quit the emotional obsession with the scale. The constant highs "look, I lost two pounds!!!" and lows.."OMG, why did I just gain a pound???" are upsetting and counterproductive. Slow and steady wins the race:)

I'm glad I have a dog that loves eating what's left over....cause my eyes are way bigger than my tummy on most plates I make. Really new experience and I kinda dig it:)

if you use a BMI calculator to find out whether Arnold Schwarzenegger is at a healthy weight, you might be surprised to learn that the BMI chart considers the former Mr. Universe as obese - not only now, but when he was in the prime of his body-building career. At just over six feet tall and about 235 pounds, the younger Schwarzenegger's BMI was over 31. So yep, Arnold himself....could get turned away by insurance companies and have his premium hiked....for his "obesity" based on an arbitrary number that has nothing to do with the reality of how much lean mass your body carries compared to fat mass. Would it horrify you to know that the most commonly used tool to determine obesity was created by a Belgium astronomer in 1830? And that even though we have really good metabolic testing devices that can accurately measure our fat and lean stores and give a much more accurate measure of our health....we still routinely use this archaic formula? To be fair....most of us can be fairly accurately represented with the oldschool BMI chart. But a few of us are badly misrepresented by it. See Arnold above. I've been a victim of the BMI chart most of my life. At 180 pounds, I was in athletic shape in my 20's. Had a washboard stomach and was doing huntseat trials (jumping horses in patterns) competitively. I'm 5' 6" and have extremely muscular legs, buttocks and arms and very broad shoulders. My husband says I'm "an amazon warrior...not a delicate beauty". LOL. Which is a nice way of saying I'm a sturdy Czech woman. One of the things that impressed me early on about my bariatric group was that they use a metabolic analyzer to determine our fat/lean composition and set a realistic and healthy goal weight. According to my metabolic analysis, I would have zero percent body fat at 145 pounds...the weight that would be recommended to me by a doctor using only a BMI chart. Most women my age do best with about 25% body fat....so my goal weight was set at about 170 pounds by my group using metabolic analysis. (I'm older now, so my lean mass is a bit less than my horse-flying days) I strongly recommend metabolic analysis for figuring out goal weight, calorie goals, etc. Human bodies are not standardized. Accuracy in measuring factual composition can be huge in developing the appropriate diet protocol for the individual.

Not so far:) Surgery was super easy for me. Worst part was liquid diet on either side of surgery...was so hungry!!! Even if I'm not a huge loser......getting off my BP meds and diuretic, and not having edema in my legs....is so darned cool! I feel really good, tons of energy. I doubt I'll get to my goal weight, (hoping to, but trying to be realistic)....but if I can just spend the rest of my life under 200....I'll be a seriously happy camper. Been VERY happy so far!

My group uses MedGem Metabolism Analysis.

What beautiful skin! Lookin good, girl! Hard work is paying off:)

Also... Woman Within is a clothing catalog retailer...with some really cute stuff, all geared to inexpensive plus sized clothes that are comfortable and flattering. Be careful...their sizes run a bit big:) http://www.womanwithin.com/

My current plan is to do a lot of leggings, long sweaters and boots. Leggings are awesome cause they're so stretchy, you'll get several sizes out of them. A long cardigan will look nice for several sizes, too:) Ebay, Goodwill....great choices. Consignment stores are great....buy it, wear it a couple of months, and sell it back to keep funding the new wardrobe. Clothes are starting to get kinda fun for me again...but I'm forcing myself not to spend any real money till 180 or so.

Excellent! My mom was scared to death at first....she's my biggest cheerleader now:) (with the possible exception of my long suffering hubby and adult daughter....might be a three way tie) So glad you're getting the support you deserve:)

"The patient is a 39 year-old woman who initially underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in 2001. A revision was then performed in 2003 for suboptimal weight loss, where the gastric pouch was revised and a Silastic band was placed to the distal gastric pouch. She then underwent revision to a distal gastric bypass. She developed symptoms of reflux and also had weight recidivism. Endoscopy demonstrated stenosis of the distal gastric pouch at the location of the Silastic band. She was taken to the operating room for conversion sleeve gastrectomy, removal of the Silastic band, and hiatal hernia repair. " None of this applies to the OP. Again...No. To remedy severe complications experienced with other weight loss surgeries...it's a rare possible option. For simple lack of weight loss, it is accurate to say that there is no surgeon alive who would convert RNY to sleeve. So again, No. Just No.

Glad you're doing well:)

BEST WISHES ON A HEALTHY EFFECTIVE OUTCOME!!

Wouldn't it be cool if there was one solid answer about the cause of obesity, and one surefire absolute fix that worked for everyone? Someday...

Obesity is complex. I don't think anyone can argue with that. There are so many factors. Diet, exercise, genetics, hormones, gut flora, sleep, metabolism...etc. Kids are more sedentary than they were in the 50's, much of their recreation is passive and screen based. Kids are more stressed and sleep less....which can also be attributed, in part, to the prevalence of screen based socialization and recreation. We know why a lot of kids are getting fatter. Extra calories add up. Sedentary lifestyle breeds metabolic illness. A more interesting question might be.....why do some kids stay thin under the same conditions with the same bad diet exposure, stresses and sedentary habits? Those kids might hold some interesting answers for the others. And it's not as simple as....those kids are health food/exercize gurus...cause they're not. Sometimes they're in the same families with the same habits.

No. (concise, but accurate)