Tiffykins

For me, my issues, and my goals, I had to change some behaviors. It's a nice thought process that eating small amounts throughout the day will work forever, but your stomach capacity will change. I can easily consume way more calories today than I could say at 2-5 months. Actually, I can and do consume triple the amounts of calories I ate during my losing stage. Mainly, it's because of the pregnancy, but I can eat way more than I could early out. It happens. Most people who are 2-4 years out report the same issues. We can eat more, but that doesn't mean we should. I can tell you that snacking and grazing is dangerous especially in maintenance. Losing was easy, keeping it off, staying in maintenance is not as easy as just eating small portions. If that were the case, none of us would have had to have 85% of our stomachs removed. Certain foods that just didn't work early out, essentially just slide right on through my stomach and allow me to eat way more than I should be eating. So, for me, I stuck with what my surgeon prescribed for me during my losing stage and then tweaked my maintenance intake to ensure that I was able to keep the weight off without dieting. I promise I do not diet nor deprive myself of any foods in maintenance, but I sure do not need or want to pick up the bad habits that helped me reach my surgery day weight. I ate 4 meals a day (each meal consisted of 15gr of Protein per meal and this gave me the necessary protein grams per day, it isn't "that" hard to eat enough protein), no Snacks, didn't use protein drinks/shakes, and it worked for me. I continue the same program in maintenance for the most part. As for the pregnancy stuff, I have to snack to eat 1700-1800 calories a day. I have horrific head hunger and cravings that I never dealt with when I had a set meal plan and schedule. There are plenty of sleeve patients out here who report a real gain of 40-60lbs because of habits/behaviors were never addressed, and life takes over, and BAM here they are back to real dieting trying to get back to their goal weight all while battling the mental/emotional aspect of weight regain and trying to lose it again. Those stories are what made me realize it "just winging it" wasn't going to work for me until I changed some behaviors with food. We all have issues with food, and no 2 patients will be the exact same, but I do know what I was trying to do before surgery didn't work, and I wasn't willing to just "do it my way" to see if it would work. That didn't work in the past. I wasn't naive enough to believe it work now. Plus, I never really felt like I was dieting in my losing stage. I just didn't have much room for anything else other than protein. I was satisfied on my small meals, and that kept me on track. So, getting out of "diet mode" is again nice in theory, but long term, we still have to be mindful of what/how much we eat for the rest of our lives. I surely do not know one single 30something year old naturally skinny woman that can just eat whatever and how much of those foods that she wants without seeing some weight gain. All of my naturally skinny girlfriends are not constantly dieting, but they do not have issues with food, and quantity. It's a fine line between not dieting and intuitive eating. I've had a true gain, it was scary, but I know what caused it and resolved the issues. I agree that it's confusing, and you have to do what works best for you, but realize that if you are not getting the results you want from your way of doing it, don't be afraid to change it up and go on the prescribed post-op losing plan from your surgeon.

I counted everything that went in my mouth. My daily regimen/program was: 600-800 calories 60+gr of Protein No more than 30-40gr of carbs (that is ALL carbs, healthy or not, it got counted, and I even counted the carbs in my multi-vitamin) Most of my carbs came from the dairy I consumed. I did not eat anything white (flour sugar) during my losing stage. And, didn't (and still do not) eat fruit. I wasn't a big fruit eater pre-op, and that hasn't changed. 640z+ clear fluids I didn't exercise for the first 4 months due to an extensive recovery with my revision complications. When I did start working out, I had already dropped around 80lbs, and focused on isolated weight training (different parts of my body: back/shoulders/chest, hams/quads/butt, abs/core and then extremities) and one day of cardio via Hip Hop Abs. I ate 4 meals per day. Each meal consisted of 15gr of protein at a minimum. No Snacks, no Protein drinks, just those 4 meals, and drinking fluids in between.

Highest band surgery day weight -270lbs (Oct 2008) Revision to VSG surgery day weight -263lbs(June 2009) Goal weight - 150lbs achieved in 6.5 months post VSG Maintenance weight 125-130lbs ( achieved at 10.5 months) Maintained my loss for about a year until pregnancy weight crept in and at 8 months pregnant, I've gained 23-25lbs. Total loss with 140-145lbs (I allow a 5lb bounce in maintenance) I'm 5'2" tall. I never experienced a true stall. I lost every week. Some weeks, I'd only lose 1lb and other weeks I'd lose 7lbs. The closest I got to a true stall (stall= no loss on the scale or loss of inches for a minimum of 14 days) was when I was in a few pounds close of hitting my goal weight, and I think I went 10 days with zero loss on the scale then dropped several pounds to get me to goal.

I would recommend you checking out the recent complications that have been found with this procedure. There are 2 major complications posted here, and a year ago when it first started gaining popularity, there were several stories on obesityhelp referring to slower/lower weight loss, hunger remaining, and complications from the pleating/folding of the tissue. Also, one of the main surgeons posted a few months back that he was going to stop performing the surgery because of the poor results and increase in complications. Personally, I had a band. The scarring was intense with just small portion of my stomach effected. But, with the plication a large portion of the stomach is altered and the results have been less than stellar. I would not have ever considered the plication for myself. I would recommend doing a search for TiajuanaPlication (member here) who is looking to revise to the sleeve, and then through the plication forum that is on the main forum page. I know one of the main Mexico surgeon that was heavily advertised it as the "super sleeve" and "sleeve killer" is now recommended it to only super low BMI patients because it just doesn't give the results as were first promised. The reversible procedures might be reversible, but as I learned (the very hard way with extensive damage to my stomach, and a leak with my revision, loss of more stomach tissue), reversible does NOT mean the damage can be repaired. Best wishes in your research.

Is LGCP the plication surgery???

The best advice I can give is to stop buying the foods that are going to impede your weight loss. I know it's tough, I'm an impulsive buyer, an "oh that looks yummy" kind of person. BUT, having it readily available makes it far too easy for me to eat. As for the hunger, even though fruit is super nutrient dense, it's not going to keep you satisfied, and the natural sugar is going to be used for energy and your liver will burn that first instead of your fat stores. A carb is a carb, your body (like mine) might be carb sensitive, and no matter the source of that carb, your body might use it before anything else. Packing in the Protein will keep you full longer, and will get your body into fat burning mode. I'm not saying don't ever eat fruit, but if you want to see results, and you want to make those changes, you'll have to really cut out the foods that are working against your body.

I had been researching for about 2 years before I met and married my husband. When we married, discussed conceiving and bringing another human into this world, I simply refused to get pregnant at my pre-op weight. I find utterly selfish, ignorant, and dangerous to conceive as a morbidly obese woman. I was obese with my first pregnancy(unplanned), and was NOT going to do it again. I don't care if other women get knocked up while they're fat, but for me, my personal convictions, I simply refused to endure a pregnancy, or put my unborn children at higher risk just so I could have a child with my husband. I want to add that I was not miserable, nor did I suffer from any co-morbidities. My #1 driving force behind having WLS was to pursue a healthy pregnancy and delivery. My #2 driving force was pure vanity, I just damn tired of being fat.

For those not on my Facebook, I just had to share ! ! ! We closed on our first home today. It was a very exhaustive, emotional time for us, but we did it ! ! ! When we first married, I weighed around 270lbs, more than 100lbs heavier than my lovely husband. Today, he officially carried me over the threshold. He has carried me around the house several times, body slammed me while wrestling since VSG, but today, he actually carried me over OUR threshold. AND, I'm 7.5 months pregnant, weighing about 23-24lbs heavier than my maintenance weight (all gained in the pregnancy) even though apparently you can't tell from this picture, I'm super pregnant ha ha ha! ! ! This was such an amazing day. If anyone would have told me 2 years ago that we'd be here today, I would call them a liar. I was still in recovery mode from my horrible complications after my band to VSG revision, my husband was deployed to the shithole, most call, Afghanistan, and I really wasn't sure how we'd make it through the rest of the year. Today, 2 years later, I'm thriving in a pregnancy, STILL WEIGH LESS than him, and just purchased our first home! ! ! That's all pretty phenomenal if I do say so myself! AND, NO, he didn't pop a hernia, he was trying to make sure he didn't whack me into the door, and his foot slipped on the tile (plus he had been moving boxes for about 4 hours at this point) ! ! !

8 months post-VSG Had lost about 125-130lbs My symptoms started around the 6 month post-op mark as I was trying to get into maintenance, and I was adding in different and new foods to get my losing to stop. I chalked up my symptoms, cramping/diarrhea, after eating certain foods to the fact I had cut out a lot of stuff during my losing stage. Also, had referred shoulder pain that I thought was from just laying weird, or my body adjusting to my new weight. By 8 months out, I was having severe abdominal pain when eating and drinking. The shoulder pain was pretty chronic and nothing helped. I also refused to take the Actigall that is commonly prescribed to help prevent gallstones during the rapid weight loss phase. There are some liver contraindications with that drug, and due to my own medical needs/thoughts, I declined to take it. Plus, there is zero guarantee, that after the 6 month dosing, you won't develop GB issues.

I was on 3 HUGE antibiotics following a 2nd hospitalization post-revision. Cipro, Metronidazole and another that I can't remember off the top of my head, but NONE of them gave me issues except for a little "sterile" gut. My surgeon's recommendation for any type of antibiotic therapy is to ensure you are eating yogurt, or additional Probiotics to help prevent sterile gut. The antibiotics can screw with the "good bacteria' of the gi tract which in turn can cause diarrhea and/or nausea. Anytime my kiddo has been prescribed antibiotics, his peds doc suggests the same thing.

Used Mederma - No change at all. Grant it, I'm pasty white and my scars little pink/rosey color so I doubt anything would work. My son who can and does tan extremely easy used it on a scar on his forehead, and unfortunately, he had zero results with the Mederma as well.

This is just my 2cents and you can take it for what it is worth. The sleeve long term success is directly tied to 1) patient compliance 2) surgeons technique and follow up/aftercare program. I've seen some pretty dramatic regain, and a few patients seeking revisions because they went to inexperienced surgeons who just did NOT have the technique down. Sleeves are not created equally. The bougie size only plays a small role in the sleeve size. How far or close he/she dissects away from the esophagus and pylorus play a huge role in sleeve capacity especially after 18-24 months post-op. I had a similar dilemma when it came to my revision. My surgeon had tons of VSG experience, band to RNY experience, but was somewhat limited on band to VSG surgeries. HOWEVER, he had the sleeve technique down, and I was confident with his experience. Given this seems like the only 2 choices you have; I'd go with the surgeon who has performed sleeves. One thing I would do long before you agree on him being your surgeon is make sure he knows how to repair leaks, strictures and other surgical complications that can arise due to his lack in experience. Especially since the other surgeon in the practice has more years of experience with no sleeve experience, he won't have the experience to repair the leak/stricture either for a VSG patient. Having a leak is no fun. I had one, and mine was directly related to the damage that happened to my stomach tissue from the band.

Measure your food by volume with measuring cups. Your stomach is not going to recognize weighted foods right now. It's going to fill up based on space available and not the actual weight of the food.

The reflux might resolve after you heal since your horrible reflux could be a symptom of the hiatal hernia. As for going with RNY to avoid reflux, personally, I'll take Nexium or Prilosec for the rest of my life to avoid the complications of RNY. Oh and NSAIDS with RNY are a total no go. I wouldn't ever risk the chances of an ulcer on the stoma. And, to this very day, I am so grateful that I chose VSG. Since the pregnancy, I have been diagnosed with a clotting disorder directed related to my platelets, and a clumping caused by a lack of a Protein factor. The ONLY treatment is an 81mg Aspirin every day for the rest of my life. My high risk ob was elated to find out that I did not have RNY because this treatment would not be possible. Here's my reasons for VSG over RNY as my revision: The VSG was my 2nd, and final WLS. I could have easily had RNY, but I fought to have VSG as my revision from the band. Some factors I considered in deciding on VSG. The pouch that RNY offers is similar to the pouch with the band. Least to say, a pouch sucks, I love having a normal tummy, just less capacity and still fully functioning. 1) No blind stomach left behind that can be difficult to scope yet can still get ulcers and cancer. 2) 2 years max on calorie/carb/sugar malabsorption, but a lifetime of vitamin/nutrient malabsorption. This process is called adaptation, and it happens with intestinal bypass surgeries. 3) I had a pouch with the band, and it sucked. I'm pretty fond of my pyloric valve and the sleeve let me keep it. I love having a normal functioning stomach, just smaller in capacity. 4) Regain stats and #of RNY patients seeking revision truly scared the poop out of me 5) I have too many friends in real life that struggle with Vitamin deficiencies post-RNY, and most of them either never got to goal, or have gained back a significant amount of their weight. 6) The long term complications with RNY were too numerous for my comfort level. Pouch or stoma dilation, strictures, vitamin/nutrient deficiencies, ulcers, 7) I researched gastrectomies that had been performed for stomach cancer and ulcer patients, and found comfort in the long term results and minimal complications of patients that had lost most or all of their stomachs had dealt with over several years. 8) I was a volume eater, and knew a restrictive only procedure would work for me. That was my thought process when I got the band, and I thought I could beat the odds on complications. Sadly, the band only lasted 8 months before I had to revise. 9) I did not want to have food or medication restrictions. I chose WLS to have a "normal" life, and I think it's normal to eat a couple of Cookies. With RNY, I wasn't willing to go through the possibility of dumping if I wanted to have a couple of cookies, or a slice of cake on occasion. Nor was I EVER willing to have medication restrictions. I lost all my weight in my ticker with the exception of 7lbs with the sleeve, and I did it in 10.5 months. The 115lbs fell off the first 6.5 months, and then the rest I lost as I was getting into maintenance over another 4 months.. It's been a fabulous journey, and I'm easily maintaining with zero issues for nearly a year at this point. I want to add that every WLS regardless of your choice will require discipline. Only a percentage of RNY patients dump on sugar/fat, pouches and stomas stretch, then you have the medication restrictions. I'm not trying to convince you, but these were my concerns when I knew I had to revise from the band. I started at 263 the day of my revision and today I weigh 127lbs. I bounce on the scale 125-130lbs any given week, and I couldn't be more ecstatic! Best wishes in your research!

Do you have calorie/protein/carb guidelines? Measured portions, specifically 2-4oz should be your target meal size. That's by volume for the most part, you could do probably 6oz yogurt and other super soft/liquidy type foods. Personally, I would not be eating hashbrowns or any type of white carb during the losing stage, but that's just how I chose to lose weight. You might not get a full signal until it's too late, then you'll be puking or hurting. I didn't get a "full signal" for months post-op so measuring was my key to not overeating. I was prescribed 600-800 calories, 60+gr of Protein and no more than 30-40gr of carbs per day. Measuring foods gives you a few things; 1) Staying within a set dietary guideline 2) Won't leave you hurting or puking 3) Will teach you to undereat your sleeve Eating until full or stuffed helped get me fat. I was specifically told to undereat my sleeve, to measure, and to stop looking for that full signal because if you constantly overeat it is not changing any of the habits that led to us having surgery.

You'll do great chickee ! ! ! The only reason I realized I could eat this amount is because one day(about a month ago) I was having a pregnancy craving for crackers and 1000 Island dressing (weird huh?), and as I sat there snacking over about a 45 minute time frame, I realized I had put away about half of the sleeve of crackers and Lord only knows how many tablespoons of dressing. There's a few of us that can eat bready stuff and it be sliders. You're going to hear other people chime in and say "well I could NEVER eat that much, or I could never eat a bagel". Well, that's their body, and their tolerances. I still can't eat fricken pork chops or scrambled eggs without discomfort and I'm over 2 years out. I puked up some well-chewed, moist pork chops a few days after not trying them in over 8 months after my last episode. I promise you aren't a freak. And, just my 2cents on the negative self-talk; it's a self-sabotage tactic. I seriously never doubted myself or my sleeve because I knew if I started with negatives, all that would do is breed negativity and then what would I have to hang on to. I wrote a couple of little affirmations on my bathroom mirror in bright pink lipstick just as a reminder..

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I love 'em ! ! ! I'm so happy your pleased with them, and I can't wait to get mine. I'm hoping I can get just the implants without any reconstruction/lifting scars ! ! !

There's nothing wrong with the surgery. It's the food choices, and you can't continue to feel horrible about those choices. You did it, you know the facts that those foods are sliders, nutrient and Protein lacking and will impede weight loss if you continue on that path. Your sleeve is fine. Everyone has different sliders. I can eat huge, I mean huge amounts of chips, pretzels, crackers without restriction. Seriously, I could easily eat an entire sleeve of saltine crackers and never feel like I ate anything. Bagels still don't work for me, but regular bread/rolls/french bread all slide right down for me. There really are very few foods that I can't physically eat. It just boils down to the process of "just because I can, doesn't mean I should!"

Paul, you've had an amazing journey, and I can only imagine how your wife feels. I don't have any great advice, or words to really help. But, I want you to know that "living in the catch 22" isn't good for either of you. Maybe some counseling sessions individually and together would help work through these emotions. I know that I would probably feel the same as your wife is we (my husband and I) were in the same situation. I always hated that he could eat whatever, in whatever portion, and never gain an ounce. He was always encouraging in my "diet" attempts, tried to get me to work out with him, but then I would get so discouraged because he could do it so much "better" and never struggled.

It's great in theory to have that high count of "natural sugar" if we weren't fat, and needed to burn fat. Getting into ketosis by low carb/low sugar is the quickest way to do this, and that is why so many programs suggest low sugar/low carb. I wouldn't touch a Protein drink/shake (before I developed an intolerance to them) if the protein count wasn't 4-5 times the carb count.

The question should be "are you happy with your loss?". The weight loss happens so differently for everyone. I don't know how much you have to lose to get to goal so there's no way to calculate percentage of weight lost to give you that number. Pounds lost are so random. I started out heavier so I lost more pounds than you, but we could have the same percentage of weight lost. As for clothes sizes, I didn't drop sizes until I had lost about 50-60lbs.

Personally, I never suffered with IBS. BUT, my very close friend here who had surgery with the same surgeon had horrific IBS symptoms pre-sleeve. Once she really got into eating the high protein, low carb diet suggested, all of her symptoms resolved completely. After a decade+ of her living with those symptoms, she is still living IBS symptom free. She just passed her 1 year mark post-op, made goal, and is doing really great. She was so excited because it's one of those things they just weren't sure how everything would work out in the end. She just knew she didn't want RNY, or the band, so the VSG gave her the best possible chance to find some resolution. I'm not sure if it's all dietary related. We're both so far out that we rarely talk about our VSG stuff anymore. But, she loves not having to deal with those episodes, not worrying about having attacks while out and about, especially on vacation.

I can't believe you're able to get that much food down this early. But, no it's not normal to throw up. If 1/2 cup is coming back up, stop eating that much. You're stressing the healing staple line by puking. Cut back to 2-3oz, eat slower and see how you feel.

The only time I experience this is when I'm stressed or emotionally upset. This happened pre-op with my huge stomach so I wasn't surprised when this happened post-VSG. It is my body's reaction to stress. My husband and I can have a "tizzy" of an argument, and BAM my stomach shuts down. The next day it's fine. Well, and then there's the allergy/sinus attacks. This actually happens only because of nasty sinus drainage filling up and irritating my stomach. I have read on here when people do the 5 day pouch test, the sleeve gets a little more restrictive by day 3 when they reintroduce solids, and then by day 5 their restriction is normal. I remember with the band when humidity hit an all time, my restriction would change. I'm not sure if it was the band tightening, or if it was stomach tissue reaction. Other bandsters experience it as well, and some experience it in higher altitudes. Again, I'm not sure if it's really the band tightening mysteriously or if it's a reaction of the stomach tissue.

I would have hugged the poop out of my doctor back then if he would have been supportive and had some positive personal experience with WLS ! ! !