Tiffykins

Hmmmmmmmmmm, I've never heard that tidbit from anyone. I imagine that it would be a good thing since one of the things my surgeon always checks out is my gall bladder since I still have it. He's always freaked out that I'm going to have issues with it since I've lost so much, so fast.

I agree. But, I wanted to throw out there that now I'm 6 months out, and most pastas work great for me. Lasagna is really good, and while I don't eat much Pasta, but it does give a nice change to the daily menu.

First off, I'm sorry to hear about your son's cancer, but very glad to hear that it was successfully removed. Slips are horrible from what I hear, and once you have one, you're risks for another triple. As for the sleeve vs. RNY, I can't tell you what to choose, but do not allow a surgeon to bully you into a surgical decision that you do not want to have. I chose the sleeve revision instead of RNY for many reasons. I did not want to deal with malabsorption, or nutritional/vitamin deficiencies. Plus, if you check out obesityhelp.com, on the revision board and RNY board, you will find soooooooooooooo many RNY patients seeking a revision because of regain, stricture, and/or other complications. Malabsorption doesn't last forever, our bodies adjust to it, and then the weight loss slows significantly, and most regain because pouches and stomas stretch. The sleeve and band are like night and day. There is no maintenance with the sleeve, you have instant restriction. No malabsorption, and can eat anything and everything you want just in smaller portions. I'm 6 months out from my band to sleeve revision, and have lost over 100 pounds in that time period. I'm 8 pounds away from my initial goal weight of 150 pounds. If I needed a malabsorptive procedure to be successful, I would go with the DS instead of RNY. The sleeve is the first stage of DS, and I knew a restrictive procedure would work for me.

Glad to hear everything went very well for you. Those first few sips are the toughest, but it does get better. Keep us posted on your progress, and I'll keep you in my thoughts.

11lbs in 2 weeks is fabulous results ! ! ! You may not see pounds drop immediately, so take your measurements. Upper thigh, calf, upper arm, waist, hips, and chest, and you'll see a difference there as well. I didn't take measurements pre-op, and now I'm kicking myself in the hiney for not doing it. If people are commenting on your loss, it may not be pounds that are melting off, but inches. Remember fat is bulky, and bumpy, once it starts melting off we appear leaner. As for the ketosis thing, during the post-op diet you'll be in ketosis for the majority of the time. Once you can start incorporating carbs the ketosis will slack off. Ketosis is to blame for food tasting funky, and that nasty film in my mouth had for a couple of months. Some people don't eat carbs, but I have to eat them in some of my meals.

I know it's frustrating sometimes, but any of the WLS can be "eaten" around. chocolate is a slider food with zero consequence for most people with the sleeve. I agree with Rene, that you can't beat yourself up for having chocolate. You didn't have this surgery to deprive yourself for the rest of your life. Think back pre-op, how many of those mini-chocolates would you have eaten? I know I could have eaten an entire package of miniatures pre-op, but now I'm satisfied with 1-2 little pieces. In my humble opinion, that's a fabulous victory in itself. Look at your success thus far, 36 pounds in 5 weeks is fabulous. 3 mini chocolates aren't going to set you back fully. Start tomorrow off on the right foot, Protein first, then the other stuff.

I completely understand the issue you mentioned with dry food and the band. Anytime I ate any type of meat, it was paired with a condiment of some sort. Ketchup, gravy, mayo, and Ranch dressing were huge staples in my fridge. I do not experience the ill effects of meat anymore either with the sleeve. It's really nice to be able to eat roasted chicken without it being covered in some sort of condiment to ensure it went down. I don't understand the difference, but I do know that I love it. I carried the condiment habit over with me when I first started solid foods, but now it's not absolutely necessary. As for the upset stomach after exploring caves, have you tried modifying your diet the day before? Can you take a probiotic or eat yogurt the day you explore caves or once you return home? I know Probiotics and/or yogurt always cure my stomach issues.

Pre-op/post-op diet regimen? Leak stats? Mortality stats? Size of boughie used as measuring tool to make the sleeve? Anesthesia protocol used (general, spinal,epidural)? How many leak tests are performed? How many days/nights in hospital? Does his program or hospital offer a support group for post-op support? If I think of any others, I'll come back and post again.

If you want to send anyone a PM (private message), click on their name, and their profile will pull up. You will have the option from there to send them a private message or post something on their page in the form of a "visitor message". You can click on my name when I post something, and send a private message from the hyperlink that will pop down. You can also start a blog by going to the top tool bar, click on Blogs, and on the left hand column, it will give you a link on where to start a blog. As for posting picture, click on photo album, and you can create an album from there. You'll simply upload photos from your PC. If you want to customize your profile, how you font appears in threads and so forth, go to the User CP (user control panel) on the top tool bar. From there you can uplaod an avatar which is the picture that will display when you post a reply on the forum. A profile picture is what is seen when someone clicks on your user name is directed to your profile. If you have any other specific questions, feel free to ask. I'll try to help you navigate through the forum as best as I can.

I'll be in chat for a bit. . .

Congrats on your getting your date ! ! !

It does get better. Keep sipping, and try different temperature levels. I found room temperature to luke warm liquids to be the best option for me early on.

My heart absolutely breaks for you. I really hope you get some answers from those who performed the surgery, or at least set it up for you. You are in my prayers, and I wish for a speedy recovery. Please keep us posted as you progress, and take care of yourself. I know it's difficult to not stress, but your body needs to recover. Stress will only slow the process down. I had a pic line in my arm. I was super scared about changing my lines, but it was super easy. Please keep us posted.

Hi and Welcome to VST. Congrats on getting control back, you'll love the sleeve. Keep us posted on your progress, and I look forward to hearing of your success during your journey ! ! !

I do experience dry mouth, but for me it's tolerable and resolved quickly with a swig of Water in the morning. I take 1 Prilosec 20mg once daily. It's necessary to take any PPI at least 1 hour before eating from my research. I haven't had any acid issues lately, but did early on. I can technically start weaning myself off of them, but I probably won't until after the new year. I will start by taking 1 capsule every other day instead of daily and go from there. Most PPI, will prevent acid from forming. Most of the over-the-counter acid reducers, Tums, Rolaids, Pepcid, and Zantac start working once acid is already formed and causing issues. I have zero experience with Protonix and/or Nexium.

Congrats Chandra ! ! !

I try to give you the footnote version of my complications. I am a band to sleeve revision. On June 3rd, I had my revision surgery. On June 5th, a leak was detected on my final leak test. I was rushed to surgery for the leak repair. It was successful, but I could not eat or drink anything until the 25th of June. I had a problem with recovery, and was in ICU for 4 days. The TPN was a liquid form of nutrients, 1800 calories a day fed to me via a central line in my left arm. I had drains due to the leak repair. I recovered slowly, but have since recovered. My leak was attributed to the extensive damage the band did to my stomach. Complications with a virgin stomach are very minimal. Leak stats for any surgeon should be = or < 1%. Other complications can occur with any surgery like Shanda mentioned. If you have done your research on your surgeon, and feel confident in his skill then be certain that you'll do fine. We're all here to support you, and help you through this process. It's okay to be nervous. It's a life changing surgery, and you have to be confident in your surgeon choice. I knew that I would die an early death from co-morbidities. So, the fear of being fat outweighed the fear of surgery. Even with my complications, I would still have the surgery in a heartbeat without a second thought.

OregonDaisy that is? I haven't seen her replying to many threads these last couple of days, and she hasn't been in chat either ! ! ! Anyone heard from her, did I miss a thread somewhere?

I had extensive complications with my revision from the band to the sleeve. I would do it all again in a heartbeat, and without a second thought. I've posted all my complications in threads and in my blog. I think most of them are posted in my blog on here. If you click at the top of the page where it says BLOG, you can find mine, and read back through my complications.

Your plan for tomorrow looks really great. Keep up the good work. I can't wait to see you on the 26th ! ! !

I can't understand the no fat diet. meat, cheese, almost everything we eat has some sort of fat in it. It's my understanding that no fat, or reduced fat diets are just as lousy as the others. For my pre-op, I had to do low carb (less than 30grams per day) and high Protein foods. It boggles my mind to see the variation in surgeon's pre-op and post-op diets.

I had my revision from band to sleeve on June 3rd, 2009. I haven't seen a lot of patients on here that are more than 2 years. There are several long term sleevesters on OH.

I'm so very sorry to hear that you are having to go through all of this mess. Where did you have your surgery? Have they given you an idea on when you will be released? I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. I know how draining complications can be. Stay strong, and keep us posted.