Any Ithaca/syracuse Sleevers?

[mwrarr 244]

Hi All! :}

I'm in the Ithaca area & going through Cayuga Med with Dr. Bollo. Just curious if there's any others out there!

[abbybeep 53]

Hello! I'm up in Syracuse! I don't think there are very many of us from the CNY area on here. Are you scheduled yet?

[mwrarr 244]

Hellooooooo! :} I don't have a date yet... Aiming for early Dec. Still have EGD & cardiology clearance to go but I'll be done w/those 10/22! Do you have a date yet?

347*294/285/135 (*347HW/294SSW)

[abbybeep 53]

I had surgery on 8/6. It's been a very long road these past two months, and I'm still having trouble keeping food down daily. I've lost 50lbs though! Everyone says that one day I'll be better and I will love my sleeve, so hopefully that is true. I'm thinking the worst is behind me. I know it might seem far away, since you don't have a date yet and aren't finished with all the tests and stuff, but it will happen before you know it!! If I can be of any help to you- questions you have or anything- please don't hesitate! My recovery isn't the typical, but I still might have some answers for you

[max206 4]

Abby who did your sleeve. I am in Utica

[abbybeep 53]

Dr. DeSimone at Crouse here in Syracuse

[mwrarr 244]

Abby...idk how I missed your reply, sorry! :} I'm glad things seem to be going better. It seems from what I'm reading all over (not just this site) is that when (post-op) it's good it's awesome & when it's bad it's awful. I'm getting so nervous. Trying not to talk myself out of it.

I'm glad there's more of us!! Even if still just considering it... :} I haven't found another person in real life who's had it done, & even my dr seemed to be trying to talk me into RNY.

347*294/285/135 (*347HW/294SSW)

[abbybeep 53]

I go back and forth on being happy about doing this and totally regretting it. If you look at any of my other posts, it'll look like I'm really negative about the whole experience, I would bet. I guess it is just because of all of the problems I have had since the surgery with not being able to eat anything without vomiting. My surgeon and I talked about converting me to a RNY last week when I saw him. Only thing is, we aren't sure if I would just hear the same way I did this time (which is causing all the problems).

Anyway, I would say that just be sure this is really what you need & want. I knew it would be change, and I was ready to make the changes I needed to with eating, but I was not prepared for the difficulties I have been through the past 11 weeks. I thought it would be smooth sailing because I'm young and I had my gallbladder out a few years ago and I was completely fine with that! I guess you just never know what's going to happen...

I wish I were able to tell you "Go for it! It'll be the best thing you've ever done!" but more and more I think "how could I have done this to myself?!" After all, it was my choice to have it done. Could I have lost the weight another way? I don't know.

[Mommymook 16]

I live in Owego but am going to upstate medical in syracuse with dr Simon.

[abbybeep 53]

I live in Owego but am going to upstate medical in syracuse with dr Simon.

Good luck! I've heard good things about Dr. Simon

[mwrarr 244]

I live in Owego but am going to upstate medical in syracuse with dr Simon.

Helloooo! Another Tioga county alum! :} (i lived in Waverly for 10+ years) Can I ask what made you decide on Upstate? Just curious. I'm only going through Cayuga Med bc that's my "home base" & I figured it'd make it more concise & less travel' date=' etc.

347*294/285/135 (*347HW/294SSW)

[mwrarr 244]

Abby...can I ask what kind of complications you had?

I try to tell myself that I haven't done enough and that I'm just taking to cowards way out, but then I really do know that I'm not. I need some sort of permanent help. I'm not unhealthy cardiovascularly or any other internal system-wise... (though less wt would make those things even better). it's solely physical--my frame is being destroyed by this amount of mass I'm carrying around... *LeSigh* I wish I'd been born an ectomorph...

347*294/285/135 (*347HW/294SSW)

[abbybeep 53]

My problems started right after surgery. When they were having me drink Clear liquids in the hospital, I was throwing pretty much everything up, no matter what. I had to stay and extra day (went in on Mon, out on Thurs). I was keeping a small amount of liquid down, so they sent me home. By Friday I really knew there was a problem because I would sip sip sip Water or Protein and then an hour later I would throw everything up, pretty much 4oz each time, which was supposed to be about the size of my stomach, meaning nothing was getting through. Monday morning I was hospitalized for dehydration and stayed an entire week. During this time they did an upper GI and determined I had a stricture in my stomach (narrowing). So on Saturday they went in and stretched it out. Monday morning I was released from the hospital.

At first I felt better. I was able to keep most liquids down. Within a week, I needed a second dilitation (stretching), because I was unable to keep liquid down again. I felt better after the second, but sadly, about a month later I had to have another one...

During that month I would still throw up every day. Sometimes I would eat a little something and it would come up 5 minutes later, other times it would be hours after. I never "cheated" by eating mushy food before I was allowed or anything. Although my sleeve was picky about liquid, I was able to drink enough to keep myself out of the hospital, but not Protein. For some reason it would make me throw up foam (so does my Calcium supplement and miralax).

After the third stretching, nothing changed at all. Sometimes I would randomly keep down food, mostly first thing in the morning. Since I had so many stretches, the gastroenterologist was (and still is) beginning to think that I have a kink in my stomach. They tell me it looks like a kink in a hose. At some point, towards the bottom half of my sleeve, it folds over on itself, making it difficult for food to travel through. Right before my third stretch I saw my surgeon and he thought we should stretch again and wait and see what would happen, even though it was the toward the end of Sept and I had surgery August 6th and had been without any significant nutrition since surgery. I was getting maybe 150 calories a day, max. And almost none was protein. I could eat oyster crackers (only a few) and I started drinking low sugar apple juice and full calorie Gatorade just to give me some calories. I was exhausted all the time.

Just last week we decided to do one more stretch. It's scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. I saw my surgeon last Friday and we talked about some options for the future. He seems unsure of what to do. We could do bypass, but who knows if my body will heal strangely again. We could stitch my stomach to other organs to "hold it up" and keep it from holding. But there is no telling what will happen once I stand up. Also, I'm worried about potentially damaging those "other organs." We could put a stent in, but it may slip, and I had a gastroenterologist say he was pretty sure it would slip if we did one.

So, I'm lost.

However, I'm buying some time because (it's a serious miracle), starting a week ago tomorrow, things started changing. Every day I have been able to eat more than the day before (in terms of calories, not of quantity at a time). I eat over 300 calories a day now! That's a HUGE change (and it made me gain 5lbs!). I am still having the stretch tomorrow, just because I'd like them to go in and see if they can see any difference and I did throw up some Water a bit ago for seemingly no reason... haha.

I know this is really long. I think I wish I would have considered the possibility of having complications. I kind of dismissed the idea, to make myself feel better about the whole thing. I did this because I want to be a mom more than anything, and I knew at 250lbs and having PCOS it would probably be hard for me to have a baby and I wouldn't be the mom I wanted to be (playing and running around with my future children). I only had high cholesterol in addition to my weight. Now that I've lost 50lbs, I do feel better than I did before (I can put my shoes on without a struggle!), but it came at a HUGE cost. For 2 months I wished I had died during surgery instead of living in this hell. Sure, I think it's a great life-changing tool for many, many people (many more do well than have complications). I'm sure you will do just fine. Just make sure to have someone around to support you just in case things don't go the way they are supposed to. That saved me, for sure.

[mwrarr 244]

I don't mind the long story...I thoroughly appreciate it. That sounds like about the most horrible thing I can imagine, next to a pleural drain tube... I'm glad you are keeping more down...but also glad they're still gonna take another look. Definitely keep me posted! I'll be sending bright lights! :}

347*294/285/135 (*347HW/294SSW)

[Mommymook 16]

Insurance and me wanting the sleeve. I have nys medicaid to start and was just made to switch to fidelis and its been a smooth transition with upstate. There aren't a lot if any drs down this way that will take my ins and do the sleeve.