thesuse2000

I watched that show too. I may have missed something, but I didn't take away that the psych denied that woman because she cried. My take away was that the psych was concerned that she wasn't emotionally ready for the challenge. She (patient) wasn't following the pre-op diet and had an attitude of complete helplessness. I could see the the psych's perspective - this was not a woman who anyone could possibly believe could follow the post-op requirements for a safe surgery. And if she did make it through that, there was no indication whatsoever that she was ready to make a mental committment to making better food choices. It was very sad for sure, but she was just not in a good state for surgery.

Yes - I would too!

Do you have a PCP? I've got a lump in my breast that I've been having monitored with ultrasounds every 6 months for the past couple years. It doesn't look serious, but they want to keep their eye on it. Hope yours is similar and not serious.

I told a few core people at work and beyond that I decided that if someone asked me how I lost the weight I would just tell them. I'm slightly surprised that I'm down 45 pounds and only two people have commented. One of them asked "how" so I told her - asking her to please not discuss it with others. You may be surprised that it takes a while for people to notice. And by the time they do, they may not make the connection to the surgery. BTW - I have gotten multiple comments that my skin looks good though! That kind of cracks me up. The reduction in sugar and fat probably has improved my complexion a little, but mostly I think it looks good because there's not as much fat under it! I think people are registering some change/improvement, but not sure what it is

Congrats! Oh yes, there are a decent number of us band-to-sleevers - there's section just for us too: http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/394-band-to-gastric-sleeve-revisions/ I did have success initially with the band, but then it all went to hell after a slip. We can succeed with the sleeve, but unfortunately the success rates are lower. I've been (and still am) very scared of failing again too. I'm trying to be as vigilant as I can about avoiding sweets and fatty foods and establishing healthy habits to help ensure my ongoing success. This has been an effort, but really not that hard. The sleeve makes it all so much easier, but you do have to stay vigilant. You also need to work at unlearning the behaviors that you needed with a tight band - like avoiding veggies and dense meats. With the sleeve you won't have the same problems, and these are the foods that will help you feel full and stay on track. I wish you the best!

Congrats on your date! My favorite Protein shakes are from Sytntrax matrix. Tastes vary. Other brands I've seen mentioned that people like are: premiere protein, chike, and unjury. If you only need to do it for three days, maybe just get something that's convenient. I also like the gold standard mix you can get at GNC. Also have used glucerna hunger smart - you can buy those at most drugstores.

It totally makes sense to me that people who post here are high achievers. Just coming to a site like this is a sign of committment to the process.

Everyone's post-op plan is a little different, so you should check that. For me I was still on mushies at 5 weeks. And most people can't drink in the first few months post-op. Does that mean you can't go? I'd say it depends on how important it is to you. You could buy a thermos and/or container that keeps food/drink cold or hot and bring your own food for the day. Or just eat before and hope for the best that there will be a little bit of food you can eat. If it was me I'd only go to a wedding at that stage if it was someone really important to me. If that was the case I'd make it work, but it would require some planning I think.

219. After gaining three pounds this week I'm back down to the same as last week. Alas, hormones.

My instructions were to stop alcohol for the 2-week pre-op diet. My post-op instructions do not say one word about alcohol though! It does advise generally against empty calories, but that's it. I see people on here scolding people for drinking alcohol, but for me, per my surgeon's instructions it is not forbidden. That said, I've had a glass of wine twice and both times it made my stomach feel irritated and also made me crave sweets, so I am avoiding it. I'm also not a big drinker generally. For those for whom alcohol has played a role in their weight struggles they might consider putting it off limits.

I was prescribed a drug to help with spasms - I didn't have any, but I took as prescribed and it may have prevented them. It's called Levsin-SL, 0.125 mg tablets that I took every 4 hours the first week. Just throwing it out there - maybe you can get a local doctor to prescribe that or something similar to help. Was also given Zofran for nausea and Reglan (can't remember what that was for) - and prilosec.

That sounds like far from enough fluids. Where was her surgery? Does she have a doctor nearby she can talk to? Dehydration can be dangerous. If your description is literal, that sounds like less than a cup of Water a day, that's very low. Please contact a doctor. She may need to go in and get IV fluids if her stomach is too swollen to hold enough. She should be getting 6-8 cups of Fluid a day. I know some struggle with that the first week, but it sounds like she's drastically below that. Agree with above - warm liquids can be better. Some also have an easier time getting water with crystal light rather than plain. Good job coming on here to ask for tips! I wish your mom the best.

Yes! You are an outlier - probably in the top 10% or so. And I hope to be on that end myself! Indeed the level of commitment each person brings to the equation is, I believe, a huge contributor to where on the spectrum of results we all fall. But it's also nice to see averages to gauge by, especially when we're feeling like we should have done better than we are.

Here you go: https://www.realize.com/do-i-qualify/potential-results You have to enter your info to get the page with potential results.

Just want to react to above comment... Just because a surgeon loses a patient does not mean they are guilty of malpractice. As you say, there are sometimes undetectable patient health issues, and there are just the inherent risks of surgery. If a malpractice suit is won that means the surgeon's negligence or bad decision was found to have led to the bad outcome. Can good doctors make mistakes? Sure. Would i personally rather get operated by one who has not made a mistake that killed someone? Hell yes! Your mileage may vary.

I agree with VSGAnn - you've had such amazing success!! Stalls happen, but you're clearly doing the right things to have had such tremendous success. I imagine if you keep up the same way you will start losing again soon enough. But if not, tracking calories and revising up or down depending on where you are would be good. In the meantime Celebrate your success and keep your eye on the longterm goal. Congrats!

Some people have diarrhea until on more solid food. I can't remember my doctor's instructions on this, but I would just recommend that you check your instructions - and see when to call your doctor if diarrhea continues. You don't want to get dehydrated. Hang in there - it gets better!

I am not a doctor, so this is just speculation, but I would think that if inflammation due to the band was the key problem, that after a year it should have settled down enough to safely do the sleeve. For most people who go band to sleeve it's just an issue of whether to do it one surgery or two, as your surgeon recommended. I haven't seen stories of people who could never get the sleeve after band removal, but again, not a doctor and don't have all your info. If it were me I would remain cautiously optimistic. And in terms of success, yes I've seen that us band-to-sleevers have lower average success rates, but each of us can decide to be the exception to that trend! If you are careful to avoid slider foods and snacking and other bad band habits, you can absolutely make a fresh and successful start with the sleeve. I wish you the best.

To answer the original poster's question - I have no regrets at this point for the sleeve. The band wasn't working for me for years, was unfilled and I had gained back all that I'd lost. I do wish in hindsight that I'd done the sleeve first, but based on the info available at the time the band looked like the best choice - safer than the sleeve and pretty effective. Since then the rate of complications have come to light. For those who had a tight band for years and learned to avoid healthier options like chicken and veggies, some can have a hard time learning to be successful with the sleeve. People really have to choose the things that they learned to avoid with the band in order to keep full and satisfied with the sleeve. It hasn't been a problem for me because my band was unfilled for so long - I love that I can eat dense foods without any problem. My surgeon told me that she used a larger bougie to make my sleeve - so it's slightly larger than a virgin sleeve, so that may be part of the reason why I haven't had any issues with any foods and can eat anything, and have never thrown up since being sleeved or felt a painful fullness or anything. I sometimes worry that in a year I'll be able to eat too much, but I will just focus on eating the right foods - including veggies - and that should allow me to have continued success. I wish all of the band-to-sleevers success! It's harder the 2nd time around and I do think we need to work a little harder to be successful, but it's worth the rewards!

Lovely mama - for what reasons did your surgeon say you won't lose much weight? Is it because your sleeve is larger due to scarring from the band? Or is it because he thinks you're eating slider foods, a habit that started with the band? Or something else? I hope it's the slider foods reason since that's something you can work on. Are you counting your calories? If so - are your calories too high to lose? And if so - are you eating more calories due to hunger - or perhaps due to making the wrong choices? I would hope that if you focus on Protein and veggies that should fill you up and allow you to keep your calories low to lose weight. And of course avoid drinking with meals and snacking. I hope you can find a way to make the most of your sleeve and find success despite your surgeon's low expectations!

My cycle got weird after surgery too. Soon after my last period ended I had days of spotting. I went to the gyno to check things out and she thought that most likely I didn't ovulate last month, causing the irregularity. There are various reasons why I may not have ovulated - the stress of the surgery being one, my age (46) being another. She ran some labs and checked my thyroid levels - I have hypothyroidism and take replacement therapy every day. My labs just came in yesterday and were WAY off - right now I'm hyPERthyroid - meaning way too much thyroid hormone. So that may have played a role too. And good I found out so I can adjust my meds as needed. I searched on this site about the bleeding and found a lot of threads on this - so you are not alone. But I think it's always good to check things out - as I mentioned that's how I found out about my thyroid levels. I asked my surgeon and PCP if I should get my thyroid levels checked soon and they both said no - well, they were wrong.

Your surgeon gets paid to do surgery, so if he thought there was a way to get it done I can't see why he wouldn't try. But - perhaps he just doesn't know how to make it work. You'd need to have documented health problems due to the band to have a chance. As suggested, perhaps another surgeon can help. I wish you luck!

Ugh - it doesn't look so good! I hope you can find someone else...

Hi there - I'm really not familiar with the community you speak of, but it sounds like a tough situation. I really hope that he proves to love you for more than just your curves! I admire your strength in moving forward with the changes you want for yourself, and that are likely to improve your overall health. Make the most of the relationships you have with people who do support you - and come post here! One way or another things will work out if you follow your own heart's desires.

Just make sure to throw away the other half and resolve not to eat that treat again for at least a week. (That's my rule anyway). You can't expect to be perfect all the time. Don't let one little slip bring you down. You didn't do much damage at all. Just get back on that horse! Sounds like you're doing great.