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I am so sorry your surgery had complications. I had a sleeve to bypass revision for GERD on 6/29. I was unable to stand up to begin walking without becoming tachycardic and dizzy on 7/1. My hemoglobin was 7.1 and I got 2 units of packed red cells. I felt much better afterward. My drain was left in for 10 days as I continued to produce a lot of blood from the chest. My surgeon suspects I bled from several areas as I had more than one procedure done. I feel much better now. I hope you feel better soon, you have been through a lot.

Have you tried nutramen protein drink. They are pretty good. And they will help you gain a bit of weight. This is what my daughter had to go on for 1 month prior to her major operation. She needed to gain at least ten lbs. She didnt gain the 10 but she gained 8 Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

I had the VSG on June 29th. So far my experience has been pretty rotten. I passed out on 6/30 while sitting on the side of the bed. The nurse caught me and called for a rapid response. My BP dropped to the 70/40 range. I became tachycardic with a HR of 180. The response team put a pad on my chest to shock it into rhythm but thankfully it was just rapid not out of sync Later that day they did an upper GI with barium swallow that showed I was leak free. The next morning on 7/1 my blood tests showed I had internal bleeding as my hemoglobin was 7.9 The surgeon did the wait and see game and started me on IV fluids at a bolus rate. The next day on 7/2 my hemoglobin was at 8.1. On 7/3 my hemoglobin was at 8.2. The surgeon said that the bleeding had stopped and that I was able to go home. While preparing to go home I was moving around a lot more and noticed that my right calf hurt. I asked the nurse about it and she offered me a heating pad. I also asked if there was anything the doc could give me for the cramps in my right thigh. She didn't seem to be concerned about any of the questions I was asking so I dismissed my symptoms as sore muscles. I was at home from the evening of 7/3 till the morning of 7/7. On 7/7 I woke up at 5 am with pain in my right chest area and a fever of 101. I knew something was wrong and had someone take me to the ER. They ran through a series of tests starting with an x-ray, a CAT scan, and an ultrasound of my legs. I was eventually diagnosed with a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in my right leg, multiple Pulmonary Embolisms in my right lung, and a Pleural Effusion in my right chest cavity. They started me on blood thinners and pain medicine. I will only briefly tell you about the pain of the PEs. I have never experienced so much pain before in my life. I was screaming for help as loud as I could and clutching my chest with both hands. I called for a priest and was prayed over because I thought I was on my way out. I spent the next day 7/8 getting drugged up with Dilaudid every 3 hours to keep the pain in check. On 7/9 I had a Thoracentesis to drain 600ml of red colored fluid from my chest cavity. It is now 7/10 and I've been up all night dealing with pain and insomnia. I am supposed to go home today on blood thinners and pain management. My plan is to apply for 2 weeks of FMLA and short term disability to go with the 2 weeks of vacation I've already taken. I plan to take the additional time to recuperate because my body is a wreck.. I walked into this a pretty healthy 41 year old male 5' 11" at 295 lbs who exercised every day for 45 minutes but just had a monster appetite. I will be leaving the hospital today feeling like a weakened old man traumatized from the whole experience. I am not ready to make a judgement call on whether it was worth it or not. It is way to soon. I realize I'm in the early stages of the process and have many positive milestones to look forward too. I have hope that in a year, the memories of pain and trauma will fade and I will look back and judge that it has been with it.

I doubt they will make you do everything again, so long as certain examinations are done within a specific time period. For example, with my insurance, my psycheval could not be older than 6 months. However, due to Covid they were ok with it being at almost the one year mark. I was approved in 2 days. I switched insurance in January 2020, began the process in June/July 2019.

Hi All, I am new to this group. I had lap band surgery in 2009, I was lucky and had the realize band. When I started this journey I was up to 280. I had got to 240 on my own and then I had surgery, well it didn't go as planned my port was up high and got infected and I had to have the port removed then put back in several months later. When I finally started getting fills I was 208 and did well for a while. I got down to my lowest 140 but after starting to run was about 165. Now I am dealing with Menopause and having a hard time. In October they decided to drain my fluid due to vomiting and not keeping food down. I had a upper GI no issues so they slowly and I mean slowly started to fill my band. Well COVID hit and I only had 1.5 cc in my band and I was not able to go in for a fill for 5 months. I went in earlier this week and I qualify for revision to a sleeve due to my BMI. The thing is I can't lose 5 lbs or I will no longer be considered. I started doing more protein this week and now I have lost 5lbs. I am kind of scared they wont approve me now. I am excited to be doing this. Honestly I am sick of being poked by people who hardly do this anymore. Anyone else have the band to sleeve after 10 years? Was it successful? I would love to hear your story.

7/10 was my surgery date. So i took these pictures on 7/9/2019. The after pictures are from 7/9/2020. The sleeve was by far the best thing i have ever done. I used it for what it was, and that was a tool to kick starting a healthy life style. I had a plan in mind and i stuck to it. Ive become addicted to working out. Which is much better than being addicted to food like i was. Food has come fuel for me. Its a necessity and i treat it as such. But ive learned what, good quality foods to eat, and to help my everyday performance. For me this wasnt about being on a diet and then going back to how i was, and just eating less. I took this opportunity to learn and to build a new lifestyle for myself. I never told people i was on a a diet, I would simply say im trying a new way of life. Because i know i have to stay on this course to maintain what ive earned. I think a lot of people believe the sleeve is a quick fix and will just lose the weight for you. ANd it will at first. But that only last so long. I think a lot of people dont necessarily get that going into surgery. Overall, ive never been happier. This page has been a huge help and ive met some pretty awesome people on here. I love my new way of life and i wouldnt change it for anything. Cheers.

My surgery is booked for 15th July! I'm on day 10 of pre op diet! It's been up and down and haven't done too well on the pre op diet. Feeling nervous as it gets closer. Has anyone else struggled or struggling through pre op ?

This is a history of my ferritin levels while taking iron supplements: OCT 2018: 8 (out of range low) NOV 2018: Received Infusion (Injectafer 1000 mg) DEC 2018: 101 (normal range) MAR 2019: 56 (normal range) APR 2019: 48 (normal range) FEB 2020: 20 (out of range low) Red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, etc, were all normal for all of the above tests. For menstruating women this is a more common condition, obviously because of blood loss. However, I am man with no sign of blood 'leakage'. I've had endoscopies, colonoscopies, MRIs, etc. You mention other conditions that can cause HWA -- could you name some?

breast lift, arm lift, and lower body lift. He also extended the arm lift most of the way down my sides (longer than he does with most people) to get rid of "side boobs" and some of the excess skin high on my chest that he couldn't get to with the LBL (the other option would have been a fleur-de-lis cut, but he decided to do this extended flank instead for a couple of reasons - as in it also took excess skin off my back & sides that the fleur-de-lis would not have). actually, now that I think of it, I don't think the breast lift was all that painful - the least painful of the three for sure. It was the LBL that was really bad - but that's not uncommon. But I love the result and I'd do it again! I had my LBL done in August of 2018 and the arm and breast lift done in March 2019.

I'd wait for a couple of reasons - 1) you don't know how much weight you're going to end up losing, or how long it's going to take 2) most people have a 10-20 lb bounce back in weight in year 2 or 3. many plastic surgeons want you to be at a stable weight for 6-12 months before having plastic surgery because of the common weight fluctuations the first couple of years (and because of the bounce back phenomenon). Also, some will tell you not to gain or lose more than 10 lbs after having plastic surgery or your results may be affected. I gained eight lbs after my PS (I spent a month in Asia last fall - and then, the holidays), and my plastic surgeon told me (at one of my follow-up appts this past January) to NOT gain any more weight and reminded me of the 10 lbs +/- deal. you definitely could start doing consultations, though. I went on three consultations (in Chicago) and also did an email consultation with a surgeon in Mexico. I learned a lot from those meetings - and I discovered different surgeons have different ideas on what to do. It was a pretty educational experience. I guess if you go ahead and decide to book regardless, make sure you can reschedule it without penalty. And they'll probably want you to reschedule it well in advance so they can stick someone else in the slot...

Hi all, My one year surgery anniversary is 7/31. Since surgery I've lost 84 lbs. Quarantine has not been helpful, I am working from home full time now and not getting much exercise. My doctor says I'm doing great in spite of everything. I'm in a size 10 pants size now. I'm pleased with my progress and I will keep going! Hope everyone is doing well, happy 1-year to all of my July siblings!! 5'4" HW 297 VSG 7/31/19 SW 266 CW 182 1st GW 170 2nd GW 135 "With God all things are possible" Matthew 19:26

My sleeve didn’t cause my GERD, the tearing of a new hiatal hernia did. I had one repaired when I had my sleeve done in December 2019 (264lbs) I ended up developing a new hiatal hernia mid March (232lbs). My surgeon sent me for a barium swallow. So along with the GERD to mid esophagus and the hiatal hernia I also have esophagitis from it. I'm just waiting on insurance approval for my revision. I honestly loved my sleeve but since the hernia happened I have only lost 10lbs in the last 4 months and am currently sitting at 222lbs. Some days I find it hard to eat because I feel so nauseous all the time and developed intractable hiccups because of the GERD. If I could do it again, I’d still have a sleeve.

Thank you! I will be sure to do that. I don't have to do the 10-day pre-op diet, so I am thankful for that, but I have begun to be more mindful of my food choices and have been practicing chewing things into mush. I have recruited a friend to help me with meal prepping some homemade broths and soups for post-op. I know it will not be an easy journey, but I am trying to start off on the right foot and involving my friends and family as much as possible so they understand that tempting me with food fave's will NOT be funny. 😒

I asked about covid-19 testing before surgery and was told it's not done in VA, unless you suspect you've been exposed. I've been social distancing, and wearing a mask, so I have no reason think I've got it, but still was disappointed.

All depends on you and how your stomach handles it. When i had the band, i went nearly 8 years without rice because i threw up everytime i tried.... With the sleeve i think over the last 10 months i have maybe had a total of 1/4 cup..... i try to stay away... not worth the feeling of blahhhhh.

He's posted some new content on there over the past year or so, but I think the bariatric basics were mostly covered in his initial set of videos. Wish he'd do more updates, though his books seem to have taken up where the Youtube videos left off. When I was looking for a nutritionist who specialised in plant-based nutrition for bariathletes, his clinic was extremely helpful and didn't even charge me. You can also attend their WLS support group without charge even if you had surgery somewhere else (in-person support group on hold right now because of covid-19).

The surgeon himself called today & scheduled me for the 21st! I'm excited, nervous & dreading the 10 day liquid diet, although I did feel better when he said I could cheat occasionally with lean chicken, fish, beef or cheese. Now I pray I don't hear my husband complaining the entire time about taking me to Chicago. Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences, it really has helped me a lot!

Kindness and warm-hearted encouragement toward strangers is a rare and special gift. Thank you for your thoughtful words, and for sharing these beautiful images with me, Sophie; the honour is truly mine. It's always a joy to see a new post from you, and I very much appreciate the support and generosity you extend toward everyone here 😊 I also hear you on the ways covid-19 is truly wreaking havoc in society and in our lives, and on the difficulties it presents in terms of quality, structure, and function. There's only more uncertainty on the horizon, and in some ways, the longer it goes on, the more it feels like a pandemic of widespread social pain and discomfort... The current news out of Florida is extremely alarming, and I hope you and your family are staying safe in lockdown at home. From all of the activities you're planning and engaging in, you clearly have the adaptability and flexibility to remain creative and vibrant in every situation! I, too, have been using this time to develop new skills and build on existing ones, and am grateful for the opportunity to spend more time with my kids, exercise more, read and write more, paint more... and become more comfortable with being uncomfortable 😉 Please take great care. x

28 months out and this is the best advice! Protein is king so get your protein and if you can then some vegetables. I lost most of my weight very fast and have been mostly stable except for COVID-19 quarantine. (I gained 3 lbs) but I am still under my goal weight. After all this time I still never get what I call hungry, but I do eat as I need to get my protein. The only problem I have is that even though I do not get hungry food still tastes really good. So if I overeat even a little bit I pay for it in pain or dumping. Just be careful what you eat and how much! I had 3oz of sea bass tonight and later had a small apple sliced and now I am suffering. Someday I will learn...My DR says you will figure it out on your own. I agree everyone has their own journey in finding out what they can and cannot eat and how much.

I’m 19 days post op. I was on clear liquids plus protein shakes for 14 days. Then full liquids for another 5 days.

Studies do show you are over 10 times more likely to have dumping syndrome with bypass than sleeve, although it's still fairly infrequent for both. In LSG group (Group A), only 4 patients (1.49%) reported episodes of DS at M1 and 3 (1.12%) at M6. In Group B (LRYGB with mechanical gastrojejunoanal anastomosis), 41 patients (17.90%) reported episodes of DS at M1 and 43 (18.78%) at M6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875983/

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I’m doing great! Down 115.. eating a little more since I’m exercising.. biking 8-10 miles and Zumba! Down from 20 to an 8... healthy eating

I hit my one year anniversary at the end of the month and have lost 95 lbs—more than I ever expected to, tbh. Quarantine and not being able to get out to the gym definitely moved my weight loss into low gear in March— only 10 lbs in the four months since—but frankly, I am grateful to have lost anything rather than gained over the past few months, like most of the world. I'm now about 5 lbs from my most recent goal but I'm thinking I will set that goal about 10 lbs lower, since I still have a lot of extra pudge. (It's funny how I don't feel like my shape is stunningly different even though I'm 9 sizes smaller.) I definitely feel like a deflated beach ball, skin-wise, but I also do feel like things have tightened up a smidgen over the past months, so maybe that will continue. With the pandemic, and being inside most of the time, nothing much has changed in terms of lifestyle or social stuff. It's still a rather solitary experience. It will be interesting to see how things are when things finally return to normal.

I had my on June 19, 2020. I sent you an email. Contact me if you want to compare experiences.