ouroborous

I highly recommend generic omeprazole. It's fairly inexpensive in bulk at Costco.

Hiatal hernia repair usually happens during the sleeve surgery. It's not a big deal, just a little more discomfort during the recovery. It's good to get it fixed.

It's quite normal to be able to eat a bit more after the surgery heals; remember that right after surgery your stomach will likely be very swollen (and thus even more constricted than normal).

Do what you should have been doing all along: LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTORS! We can give you advice and support, but ultimately if you want to get healthy and succeed at weight loss, you have to do what your doctors tell you, including getting surgery if you need it, eating what you're supposed to, and following up with your doctors on a regular basis.

From what I understand, oral melatonin is basically an expensive placebo; the body metabolizes it into inert compounds before it can get anywhere near your sleep regulation systems. I've had lifelong problems getting to sleep and staying asleep. I've tried every substance known to man, from Ambien to alcohol, and honestly the most reliable sleep aid I can find is -- healthy habits! From getting as much exercise as possible to turning out the lights early, those little things REALLY make a difference. On the nights when I'm still having troubles, good old Tylenol PM usually kicks me over the edge. If it's worse than that, then nothing that's not a narcotic is going to help!

Honestly, I'd prefer to lose the weight slower... I'm impatient, but I know it's MUCH easier on the body to have a slow and steady weight loss compared to a stampede. That being said, I'll take it any way I can get it!

Edit: sorry this post looks so bizarre. I was responding to a post that was either edited or removed, so now my post looks weird. In that post someone had said that they would lose "60% of their total weight." If I lost 60% of my total weight, I'd be a skeleton (330 pounds *0.4 == 132 pounds on a 6'1", broad-shouldered, barrel-chested man). I think that the 60% figure is "EWL" or "excess weight lost." In other words, if you calculate what your "ideal" weight is (for me, it's around 185 per the height/weight charts), subtract that from your current weight (for me, 330-185 == 145 pounds) to get your "excess weight," and then multiply that number times 60% (145 * 0.6 == 87), you get the expected weight lost. Now, a few things complicate this. First, every single case will vary. Period. Second, this "EWL" figure is a mean, or average among a number of cases -- this means that some people will lose a lot more, some a lot less, but most will cluster around this number. Finally, if I recall correctly, this 60% figure is the mean from an earlier procedure (which didn't involve resecting, or removing, a portion of the stomach -- just stapling it). Resecting the stomach removes ghrelin secretion, which apparently is another vector for weight loss -- so the "real" VSG produces more significant (and more importantly, more durable long-term) weight loss. My surgeon told me that the figure they're seeing for the "real" VSG is closer to 80% of EWL, with some people approaching 100% EWL. For me, 80% of EWL is 116 lbs!

I've actually been keeping those in mind if someday (some happy day) I hit my "goal" weight and want a few extra calories (to build some muscle mass, or something). What a wonderful problem to have!

As long as the things I find out are GOOD...

From what I remember, the cortisol that stress releases causes the body to do a little more "fight or flight" stuff. One of the fight or flight reactions is a shift in metabolism away from fat storage towards calorie burning; the rationale that I remember is that during times of stress we were more likely to need the energy boost RIGHT NOW than to save it for later. Of course, the interesting thing is that PROLONGED stress can lead to weight gain. I don't think that researchers fully understand that yet; it may be a homeostatic mechanism. Regardless of the physiological causes, it's very normal. Do some meditation or deep breathing exercises to lower your stress level, make sure you're treating your body right (good Vitamins, nutrition, hydration), and it should normalize.

Well, that's good to hear! One more bonus of weight loss, for us XY folks!

Congratulations, brother!

Indeed. I sometimes hesitate to call myself an atheist for the same reasons that someone who believes in equality for women might hesitate to call themselves a feminist: the actions of an outspoken, militant portion of the population have really cast all of us in a bad light. I don't believe in God and never have, but I also have no real desire to "preach the gospel" of non-belief to anyone (because, what good would that do?) As I said, I just tend to live and let live and don't usually bring the subject up (because that always leads into long, pointless "why don't you believe in God? Are you angry at him? What's wrong with you?!" discussions). Of course, this subforum is FOR us, so we can be ourselves here

Bingo. I think that a relative telling you they're worried about you when you lose a lot of weight is literally hard-wired in. In normal individuals (whose stomach had not been cut and stabled down to the size of a banana), losing weight as rapidly as we sleevers do would be an indication of SERIOUS illness. In us, conversely, it's often a sign of a return to health. We can't help feeling alarmed by weight loss in others because it's hard-wired into our brains; our evolution hasn't even caught up with our eating patterns (which is why we're all so obese -- modern life provides an abundance of calorie dense foods and little daily opportunity for movement). It's unlikely that we'll be able to have a more "evolved" reaction to weight loss surgery any time in the next, say, ten thousand years. Tiffykins, you look great, to reiterate what all the others have said. Your pictures show you looking slim and happy, your eyes are not sunken nor your complexion sallow. Your mood seems very positive (depression is often an overlooked sign of illness), and your lab work indicates general health. I would just thank folks for their concern and assure them that you're as healthy as you've ever been (if not healthier).

I'm not a lady, but I'm looking forward to not crushing my girlfriend once I've dropped the weight. Also, since guys tend to be the more... uh, ACTIVE ones during sex, I'm looking forward to not feeling like I'm going to have a heart attack mid-coitus. That's a bit of a buzz kill...

Well, I meet with the surgeon and nutritionist on Tuesday (the 20th) for my final appointment and my nutrition counseling for my 2 week pre-op diet. That's also when I cough up the money (I'm a self-pay). So... it's all starting to become REAL. I'm getting a serious case of cold feet. I'm still going to do it. I HAVE to do it. But I'm starting to get nervous...

From what I understand, higher BMI's tend to lose faster than lower BMI's (more to lose). Also, men tend to lose faster than women (I know, it's not fair). I've seen a pretty consistent trend for men of 40-50 pounds in about six weeks. Of course, your mileage almost certainly will vary. As one of the Y-chromosome challenged set, you may lose a little slower, but I still wouldn't be surprised if you were able to drop 20-40 pounds in a month.

Okay, thanks for that. I know I worry too much! But I try to soothe my anxiety with information. I'm going to see Dr. Landerholm on the 20th for my final appointment pre-op (and to get my nutrition info for the pre-op diet). I'll ask him about leak tests, since I'm curious. I think he mentioned that he does something with the staples that makes leaks less likely (more lines of bigger staples?).

Does anyone know why a surgeon would/wouldn't emplace a drain as part of a lap sleeve surgery? Just curious. As far as I know, my Dr. (Dr. Robert Landerholm, Edmonds, WA) doesn't. I want to make sure this isn't something to worry about. Thanks in advance :wink0:

Yeah, I'm planning on having to use my head to judge my food needs after surgery. As in, I'll have to set alarms and schedules to make sure I eat enough and drink enough. That was what I was expecting and signed up for. I just got nervous seeing a bunch of people saying they were always hungry. That sounded (to me) like my experience with dieting, and pretty much a recipe for noncompliance.

So wait, how common is this "hungry all the time" feeling? One of the things that really sold me on the sleeve was all the people saying "you're never hungry!" And yet it's sounding like a portion of patients have the opposite: they're hungry ALL the time. That does NOT sound like such an ideal situation to me. Anyone know?

So, I shouldn't give up hope of getting off the CPAP machine, but I shouldn't count on it. Sounds about like what I was expecting. Thanks, all!

Congratulations, brother. I am yet to be sleeved, so I don't know the rules on Peanut Butter. I seem to recall my girlfriend (who is also sleeved) eating it (in small amounts, of course), but I'm not sure. Of course, I'd take the advice of your doctor over some yahoo on the internet, any day!

Yeah, that's the tactic I'm taking also. Of course, anxiety isn't rational, so even after "talking myself down" it can pop back up later, but it helps when I need it. I'm hoping that as my health improves post-surgery, my mood will improve as well!

So, I'm a little over three weeks out from my surgery (5/6/2010), and a week out from my two week pre-op diet. I know I have fatty liver (diagnosed) and I'm going to be super rigorous following the pre-op diet since I don't want to risk injury to my liver during the surgery! It will be hard, however, since I love, love, love carbs -- the breadier and doughier the better. I'm already trying to prep myself somewhat for the surgery by weaning off of carbonated beverages (it will be hard to say goodbye to my beloved Diet Cokes, but in return for being a more "normal" weight... okay!) and cutting back on carbs when possible. My girlfriend had the lap sleeve in November of last year, and her tremendous success (going on 60 lbs lost with very little work on her part, and almost no cravings) has been my inspiration. Plus, it's very comforting to have someone around who "knows the ropes" and can reassure me that what I'm experiencing is normal. I'm a worrier, you see -- I comfort myself with facts and figures. I know that leak rates are less than 2%, I know that mortality in this surgery is around a tenth of a percent, and I know all of those things mean that, statistically speaking, the bad things almost certainly won't happen to me. I know that at 39 (which isn't a kid, but is still fairly young), with no diabetes, heart disease, or other comorbidities, and with a very uncomplicated surgery (no hiatal hernia, no gall bladder issues, "virgin" stomach -- not a revision), I'm very safe. But still, I worry. I'm somewhat concerned about my mental state following surgery. I'm predisposed to depression and anxiety. Much of that has to do with my poor sleep (I've strongly tied my depression to lack of sleep) and the amount of caffeine I use to function despite being so tired. But still, I have to admit that I'm nervous about my mindstate after surgery, considering how common post-surgical depression is, and how I'm predisposed. I'm guessing that the first week post-op, where I'm scheduled to be back to work but "working from home" (so, no coworkers to distract me and lighten my mood, etc.) will be the hardest, as I'll have time to dwell and wonder "what have I done?" and mourn all the things I can't have anymore. I'm not a religious person, so I don't have faith to strengthen me, but I have friends and families and the wonderful community here. I figure that I can survive a week or two of anything, and the payoff should be SO worth it. So that, in a nutshell, is where I am today.