My Sleeve Story

[vonaljo1 0]

For the last 15 years I have battled my overweight. While I was younger I could take the weight without too many direct health issues from it. However, after the last major diet (HCG) I lost around 80 lbs and felt great. I got back into a regular workout and running scheme and was sure that I would never go back on the weight. However, after a year during summer vaction I slipped and let it go with the result that I did not only add back the 80lbs but added another 50 on top resulting in a total weight of around 360lbs. Now the misery started. I found myself with a lot of resulting health problems such as high blood pressure, swollen feet, ankle pain, sleep apnoe, etc. Then my doctor recommended to check if weight loss surgery was an option and I went to the nutrition center of the Clarasital in Basel Switzerland. There I was told that a surgery was possible and that due to the high BMI the insurance company would pay for it. But I was not ready and we decided to give it another 6 months. During that time I met two old friends who had weight loss surgery and this helped me to come to the decision to go for it. I went through all the preperatory meetings and test including a discussion with Dr. Kern, the surgeon, who recommended the Vertical Sleeve procedure due to my history of kittney stones. The surgery was performed on Oct 17, 2012 at the Claraspital. The first two days were very difficult with pain in my upper chest despite all the pain killers. During that time I did have regrets that I have decided for this surgery but as of the 3rd day and beyond it became rapidly better. The leak test was OK and after 6 days in the hospital I went home. Now I am at home for 1 1/2 weeks and battle to find the right rythem, type of food and how to eat it without getting sick or throwing up. Unfortunatly the last thing already happend a couple of times when I ate too fast and too much apparently of solid foods. Now I came across this website and I hope to share and learn more about how to live a good life with the SLEEVE. My biggest issue so far is that when I eat solid food it feels like air is trapped in my stomach and can not get out. This is painful and either I throw up or I can get the air out with burbing but this is oftern not possible. Anyone has any similar experiences and how to deal with it?

[IweightNoMore 92]

For the last 15 years I have battled my overweight. While I was younger I could take the weight without too many direct health issues from it. However' date=' after the last major diet (HCG) I lost around 80 lbs and felt great. I got back into a regular workout and running scheme and was sure that I would never go back on the weight. However, after a year during summer vaction I slipped and let it go with the result that I did not only add back the 80lbs but added another 50 on top resulting in a total weight of around 360lbs. Now the misery started. I found myself with a lot of resulting health problems such as high blood pressure, swollen feet, ankle pain, sleep apnoe, etc. Then my doctor recommended to check if weight loss surgery was an option and I went to the nutrition center of the Clarasital in Basel Switzerland. There I was told that a surgery was possible and that due to the high BMI the insurance company would pay for it. But I was not ready and we decided to give it another 6 months. During that time I met two old friends who had weight loss surgery and this helped me to come to the decision to go for it. I went through all the preperatory meetings and test including a discussion with Dr. Kern, the surgeon, who recommended the Vertical Sleeve procedure due to my history of kittney stones. The surgery was performed on Oct 17, 2012 at the Claraspital. The first two days were very difficult with pain in my upper chest despite all the pain killers. During that time I did have regrets that I have decided for this surgery but as of the 3rd day and beyond it became rapidly better. The leak test was OK and after 6 days in the hospital I went home. Now I am at home for 1 1/2 weeks and battle to find the right rythem, type of food and how to eat it without getting sick or throwing up. Unfortunatly the last thing already happend a couple of times when I ate too fast and too much apparently of solid foods. Now I came across this website and I hope to share and learn more about how to live a good life with the SLEEVE. My biggest issue so far is that when I eat solid food it feels like air is trapped in my stomach and can not get out. This is painful and either I throw up or I can get the air out with burbing but this is oftern not possible. Anyone has any similar experiences and how to deal with it?[/quote']

Yes I use the Gasx strips for the trapped air. Apparently I swallow a lot of air when I eat and it helps get rid of if!! Good luck!

[Webchickadee 716]

The early diet is very different from surgeon to surgeon. Many patients are placed on a liquid-only diet for several weeks to allow maximum healing of the stomach, Then slowly we are introduced to "mushies" (food that is pureed in a blender or easily broken and mashed with a spoon or fork).

After a couple of weeks of "mushies" patients then move onto more solids food, very slowly, introducing individual choices one at a time to see how your stomach and body will tolerate them.

I might suggest you "go back a step" in your food plan and see if you tolerate the easier foods a bit better at this early stage. By my caculation, you are only 2 weeks post-op, so you might do better with all liquids or very thin "mushies" for a couple of weeks. I was told it takes several MONTHS for our stomach to completely heal, so solid food too early will certainly be uncomfortable, may make you vomit and will slow down the healing process.

There are MANY people here who are extremely knowledgeable, friendly and supportive. Feel free to ask questions, and take advantage of the SEARCH field (top right hand corner of the website). It's very likely the question you want to ask has been asked and answered many times before!

Good luck to you and let us know how you are doing!

P.S. My husband and I visited Bern and Basel on our honeymoon 2 years ago. We have friends who live in Bern. I LOVED Switzerland, and I'm looking forward to going back for a visit again in the future!

[vonaljo1 0]

Thanks for your answer. I certainly feel more comfortable with liquid likr food. For example I can eat 180g Joghurt easily without any pain. Will keep it more liquid and buy stuff in the baby section as it offers also cooked vegetable in mushed form. We enjoy living in Switzerland very much. Hoelstein is about 30 minutes from Basel. The weather could be nicer but all in all we often feel like living in paradise. We used to live in North Carolina and Virginia for 7 years all together.

[Sharitte 0]

Hello. On oct 30 I got my sleeve surgery. Everything went well. But since day one I had soo much pain in the stomach, I think maybe it is gas. But stomach pain remain. I am today 4 day post op. It feels like a cramp, but more intense.SSo often it feels like something is squeezing my stomach really tight, I get a sharp pain, and then it goes away. This happend every 20 or 30 minutes or so. Could it be gas? When I press on my stomach, it hurts the most at the top, under the sternum of my ribs. It hurts soo bad. I am only on liquid. Is there any person who felt the same.

[Webchickadee 716]

I had quite a bit of "cramping" pain the first 10 days or so. Usually it was when I was drinking. If I took a sip that was slightly bigger (and I was being quite careful), it felt like my stomach was spasming and jabbing at me. It did get better after 10 days though.

My surgeon reassured me by letting me know that the discomfort was due to the trauma my stomach had been through and it was normal for it to be extra sensitive during the early stages of my recovery. Afterall, it was cut open, most of it taken out, stapled back together and then sewn. So obviously there was alot of damaged tissue in there, trying to heal. And here I was sending liquid down quite often during the day, irritating it (not to mention my stomach acid also eating away at the wounds).

If the pain is too intense, constant and not linked to something explainable (like a "normal" early-stage reaction to eating/drinking), it is important that you consult your physician. In fact if you feel like anything is wrong, don't hesitate to seek medical advice. If they check you out and find that everything is fine, all you've done is use up a bit of time. Worth it to reassure yourself. If on the other hand there is something "off", it's best to catch it early and get it treated!

[Sharitte 0]

Thank you, for your feedback.