disco stu

@Strivingforbetter . My heart goes out. Keep up your spirit. I piece of me is scared to do the closet thing.... a little sketch to throw away all those so-hard-to-come-by fat clothes that I've hoarded over the years. Suppose I just got to go for it.

Update: It's been about 9 weeks. This morning, I fit into a size 36 jeans for the first time since I got married 25 years ago. Woot! I was so excited I forgot to get on scale, but I figure I'm down around 20 since surgery. The gastrointestinal issues are still there, but they don't seem to be as "explosive" and I'm getting better and better at managing them. Interesting note: I seem to be able to cheat at carbs much better in the AM. I've had a breakfast sandwich or burger - including bun - a few time and got away with it. If I try the same thing in the evening... fart city. I just started back up in the gym, which feels great. Shocking how much strength I've lost since stoping before surgery, but I expect that to come back pretty fast. This has been a difficult decision for me because the "great stall" I experienced after my VSG correlates to the time I started hitting the gym really hard. Basically, I stalled for a few months, then all the weight started to come back. I'm worried the same thing is going to happen a second time. I attribute it to a few things: The most obvious answer is "muscle weighs more than fat", but I think that's an overstatement. I think what really happened was, after working out, my appetite goes through the roof. I start eating like a horse, and it's exaggerated because a little voice in my mind says, "It's okay. You can have that double cheeseburger! You just worked out!" So I'm starting weights again tentatively, and if I start having appetite swings, I'm going to stop. I like being a muscular guy, but "abs are built in the kitchen." I might be better off just losing all the lbs without the weight training, then re-introducing once I'm in maintenance mode. Dunno.

Sorry to hear that. I'm having slow but steady results with the SIPS.

I don't know anything about the RNY, so can't help you there. Band is a complete waste of time (and messes up your life in the bargain). VSG works for some, but your best result is probably 60% of excess weight. ....and a high chance of it coming back. DS, the typical result is 90% loss of excess weight, and it stays off. My surgeon said he's never had a SIPs patient lose less than 100 lbs, and his practice is huge (there were forty people in my pre-op class. There are 3 surgeons doing 5-8 procedures a day, 4 days a week) If you're single and looking to mingle, I'd think losing the weight would be job #1. As pretty much everyone on this board is saying, you can manage the gas; It just takes discipline. And lets be clear, even when things are bad, it's not like I'm spontaneous exploding. It's not incontinence, where things are just shooting out when I least expect it. I'm still 100% in control. If you are dating and motivated to impress some hot stud (or Studette), you will be able to manage this...at least until you have your hooks in 'em. Just stay the hell away from the bread basket!

Same for me. I have yet to have an embarrassing smell incident in public or at work. About the worst so far is that things in the public restroom can be a bit...how do I say.... explosive, sound wise, and that can feel a little weird if there's someone in the stall next to me. "Courtesy flushing" is key. The Evil seems to only come out at night, especially in bed. My poor wife.... Its 90% my fault; I often "cheat" while watching TV by munching chips or popcorn. A few hours later and we're hitting the sack.... here comes The Evil. I chose the mini-DS because I had already had two other failed procedures - Band then a VSG - (all paid for out-of-pocket!). I wanted the one with the highest success rate, that would take the weight off and keep it off. My surgeon said "In the arsenal of tools we have to fight obesity, SIPS is the biggest gun; It's the Bazooka."

CORRECTION: popcorn is moving to the naughty list. Last night I ate a whole bag, and didn't get bloated or crazy gassy, but the few toots that made it out could have choked a elephant. A whole herd. Not. Of. This. Earth.

Agree on the Chinese. I was hurting bad after soup dumplings. All my favorite Asian noddle dishes are now a no no. No more Ramen. No more Pho . I seem ok with rice and quinoa, but I try to only each small portions. Broccoli, yes. Potato chips, yes. Corn chips, yes. Cheetos, yes. Air popped popcorn, yes. French Fries, yes. Yogurt, yes. Beans....not sure. Salmon Nigiri (sushi), yes. Ice cream....too scared to try.

It's slightly more complicated than just skipping flour. For instance, many people report gas issues with onions (this was heartbreaking to me, because I'm a onion fiend!) Some people go lactose intolerant. i think I saw avocado on one list. Fried foods. Some people say any and all carbs will do it, but I seem to be able to tolerate corn and potatoes. I've even drank a full sugar can of Coke. Bottom line, there are certain common trigger foods that you see mentioned again and again on these boards, but we're individuals, so I'm using these lists as guidelines, and basically playing guinea pig. The one thing I go ham on is meat. Meat meat meat. And I don't worry about fat, so rib eyes and bacon are good to go. In fact, full DS's actually are supposed in purposely eat more fat that a normal person. The jury is still out on if this advice applies to SIPS, but so far so good.

I had the revision from VSG to SIPs a month and a half ago. You can read some of my play-by-play here: The gas and diarrhea are the real deal....to the point where more than once I worried I had made worse mistake of my life. But I've started to learn how to 'manage' it better, mostly by not eating certain foods, white flour being #1. The good news is that most of the gas issues I get are in the evening, so doesn't effect me too much at work. Some vets say the gas gets better after a year, but most folks on this board have had the full DS, not SIPs. I asked my surgeon a similar question about tightening my pouch and he responded that "We've learned in the last few years that re-sleeving doesn't work. It would be a waste of time." The malabsorption does work, I'm about 20 lbs down so far. The SIPS also - somewhat strangely - has lowered my appetite more than the sleeve did. Then again, I'm only a month and a half into this, so lots could change.

How careful are you with the fat content of your protein intake. i.e. Are you eating skinless chicken breast or can you go crazy on extra crispy KCF? Do you avoid sauces and cheese, or it's anything goes as long as the base is protein?

Woot! Thanks for the advice. Crossing fingers.

Thought I'd post an update for anyone still interested in this thread: I'm a about 5 weeks out and down 11 lbs, which when I step back, isn't bad at all. On the other hand, it *feels* like the last 5 weeks have been more like 5 months. I've had number of really low moments, sitting on the toilet at 3am cramped up and pooping my brains out with a blown out o-ring, and thinking "Holy sh*t! What have I done? This will be for the rest of my life?" ...and that was after being banished to sleeping on the couch by my wife because I was carpet gassing the entire bedroom with deadly nerve toxin. I was really starting to think I had made the worst mistake of my life.... and it was irreversible. I had no idea this part of it would be so bad. "My" nutritionist was a group class that focused almost exclusively on VSG patients. She must have forgotten to mention the gas or the cramps or the bloating or the hemorrhoids or the explosive diarrhea... Luckily, I started paying more attention to posts on this forum, and the last week or so feel like I'm starting to get a handle on things. What seems to be working for me: Staying the hell away from Gluten. Man-o-man what a difference. I love love love bread and pizza and pasta and ramen and steamed dumplings, but the reaction is so hard and so gross and so painful that I'm starting to be repelled by the very thought of those foods (which is probably a good thing for my weight loss goals anyway.) Surprisingly, I seem to be ok with other carbs, including corn chips and potatoes. I binged an entire bag of Cheetos the other night with no ill effects. Staying away from lactose. This one is a still a little speculation at this point, because I've been scared to really put it to an acid test, but based on the night I had a single piece of cheese pizza, i'm in no hurry to find out. "Metamucil" mixed in water. I hate choking this stuff down, but it does seem to help smooth things out. "Prisolec" Greek Yogurt. Never been a huge fan, but I'm finding those little containers to be a great "cravings buster" right around 3:00. Or I'll eat one a half hour or so before dinner, and it helps prevent me from going full Ham at the table Things that don't seem to work for me: Gas-ex. I went through half a bottle in a the course of a week, and it didn't do jack. pro-biotics (may be helping a little, but no magic bullet) Fiber pills ("Fiber Choice" brand) Hope my experience helps others. If anyone has any additional tips or suggestions, send me a shout.

Mea Culpa: I'm a month out from SIPS procedure, and I've been lazy with my vitamin program. No particular reason. I have chewables which taste fine and I don't mind taking. I just keep forgetting. One solution might be the patches, which I need to look into... Regardless, as far as I can tell, I'm not experiencing any ill effects. But I assume with the malabsorption that comes with the mini-DS, vitamin deficiency is much more serious and is eventually going to catch up to me (it's only been a month). My question is - apart from my teeth falling out -how will I know whether I'm getting enough supplements (or even too much?) I'm scheduled to get regular blood work done by my PCP. The report I get back has all kinds of stuff in it, but it reads like greek to me. Would vitamin deficiency show up there? or do I need to request some specific test? THanks

Point taken. So will the labs I've been getting catch this stuff, or do I need to request something special? See list below: ALANINE AMINOTRANSFERASE (ALT) ELECTROLYTES (SODIUM, POTASSIUM, CHLORIDE, CARBON DIOXIDE) CREATININE HEMOGLOBIN A1C CBC (COMPLETE BLOOD COUNT) WITH DIFFERENTIAL LIPID PANEL ASPARTATE AMINOTRANSFERASE (AST) THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE (TSH) FASTING GLUCOSE

THanks! Good advice. Yes, I do focus on protein. Also been drinking a ton of water (for some reason, I found that I like the taste of distilled water best, which is great because it's cheap!) I weighted in this AM and am down a pound, so I guess I'm just being impatient. But this brings up an interesting question: Daily weigh-ins? Yes or No? I've read differing opinions on the board. Here are my thoughts: Why not to daily weigh in: If I've "been a good boy" the day before, worked really hard to avoid temptation and cravings, and then see the scale not move the next morning - or worse, bump up a pound or two, It is TRAUMATIC. Screws my whole day. Why to do daily weigh-ins: Even though these WTF? moments are traumatizing, in a sick way, they are motivating. For instance, yesterday I was so pissed off at the scale, that I ate even less than I had the day before.... and now the scale finally moved. So even though it's emotionally devastating to get on the scale every day, I guess it's worth it? The medicine tastes horrible but leads to the cure? Thoughts? or... The DS is so powerful, I'm gonna lost weight no matter what, so might as well just chill out and let it do it's thing, and only check in on the scale every month or so...

Not sure to what degree I stretched out my sleeve. I definitely can't eat as much as I used to pre-VSG all in one sitting, but at the same time, I can drink beer or other carb beverages without any problem which isn't supposed to be the case. What's interesting is that I asked my surgeon pre-op if he was going to tighten my sleeve while he was in there adding the DS, and he said, "No, it's been proven that revising an old sleeve doesn't work." Things are just really strange right now. I feel better. Things are looking better in the mirror. I'm getting compliments about losing weight. I know for a hard fact that my appetite is way down (in part because I feel nauseous pretty much all the time). I'm in the restroom 6 to 10 times a day and have yet to have a single solid BM (which tells me the DS is working.) But the scale is stuck again. Hasn't moved in the last 4 days. Sigh. Take yesterday: I'm a dude and I ate probably around 1000 - 1500 calories tops... and it wasn't even hard. One of the people we were at brunch with even said "You eat like a chick." Nothing to eat past 5:00. Got on scale this AM.... nada. No change.

Totally makes sense. I was supposed to do the same thing (although single anastomosis), but my lap band was stuck to my liver, and the surgeon ran out of time to do the full procedure. Ended up with just a VSG. I ask, because you had what looks to me to be pretty rapid weight loss, which is expected with DS. I'm trying to figure out what to expect speed-wise in the case of revision from VSG.

UPDATE: Happy to report for the last 4 days, I've lost a pound each day, so looks like the "three week stall" is a real thing, and I was a victim <grin>. Not expecting to maintain this pace forever, but glad to go along as long as it does.

Were you a sleeve revision, or did you go from lap band to full SIPS in one shot? In other words, how many surgeries? I've had three: Lap band, VSG, then mini DS.

Thought I'd add a couple other observations specific to Sleeve to SIPS revision: Compared to my VSG, the surgery and recovery for SIPS revision was a breeze. I was literally walking around a few hours after surgery and didn't feel the need to take a single pain or nausea pill afterward. Felt great the next day too. Back when I had the VSG, I slept for 3 days and was miserable. Stomach was fully bloated and entire lower portion turned an ugly black and blue a few days latter which lasted a week or so. I'm a little swollen after SIPS, but not as bad and no discoloration. Bottom line, the VSG procedure seems to be much more traumatic than the DS procedure. Given that my stomach wasn't touched, I was able to go to solid foods way faster. To be honest, I probably pushed it, but at the same time, I have yet to eat anything that's really pushed back at me (except for the need for a quick trip to the restroom). This was not the case with VSG Your milage may vary.

Finally dropped 1 more pound after 6 days stuck at the exact same weight (which is in itself, kinda weird. Normally I bump around 1-2 lbs day-to-day) . I still don't understand why it's this slow, given that my eating is significantly curbed, and I hit the bathroom at least 5-6 times a day with frothy orange diarrhea; I haven't had a solid BM yet. I assume this is the new normal, and is the DS doing it's malabsorption thing Also, since posting, I spent some time reading through a ton of older posts, and it looks like sleeve to SIPS revisions is more common on this board than I would have thought (Is this a clue to anyone considering sleeve vs SIPS that Sleeve alone has high failure rate?) Seems like the results of SIPS revision are generally positive, but more Tortoise then Hair. It's feels a little frustrating compared to how fast I remember the lbs dropping initially with the sleeve, but then again, those came back after 6 months. So if the DS lbs come off and stay off.... totally worth it. Something to note: My BMI was under 40 when I got this latest revision, which is unusual. As a result, the Dr gave me a longer channel than he would have if I was in the 50's. Also, a couple of people have noted that speed of weight loss is slower the closer you started to goal weight, so I'm probably in that boat. Just gotta be patient i suppose.

Curious if there's any update on your progress? Did you break through the stall? I'm in the exact same spot and freaking out. Two weeks out and stuck for the last 6 days, despite eating 90% clean.