Questions....

[makemyownluck 785]

Also what if i go thru it for nothing??? Again i know someone who had gastric bypass and is the size i am now. She lost a bunch and then gained it all back as het stomach streched....that is scary. I dnt have my gallbladdrr. Im in michigan if ne one else is id be glad to hear of surgeons??

These are normal concerns for any surgery. If you stick to the plan your surgeon sets for you, then you should be successful.

Gastric bypass patients (and sleeve patients) can regain weight. Bypass patients still have their full stomach and the pouch can stretch or reconnect with the remaining part of the stomach, which will allow them to eat more and gain weight. Sleeve patients stay more restricted longer, but don't have the dumping side effect like RNY patients do, so it's easier to start eating things that aren't good for you. All the WLS types have their pros/cons.

Yes, you will probably be on Vitamin supplements for life. Why? Well, with bypass, it's because your intestines are altered, and the portion of the intestine that absorbs nutrients from your food is removed. This is also the part that absorbs fat and calories, so it creates malabsorption for the purpose of weight loss and it is a permanent change to that part of your anatomy. So even if you identify through bloodwork that you have a deficiency and start taking a Multivitamin (or rx) correct it, your body is still set up NOT to absorb those nutrients, which makes it that much more difficult to stay in control of that post-op.

The difference with a sleever is that you're potentially deficient on Vitamins because even if you were on the most perfect, ideal diet plan, you simply can't eat enough of ANYTHING to get enough of those Vitamins in your system. But if you find out you're deficient and start taking vitamins, then your body will still be able to absorb those vitamins in your intestines and you can control it more easily.

With bypass and with sleeve, eventually the time comes where you can tolerate eating more food. So your Vitamin levels can be maintained with diet alone, once you reach a point where you can tolerate a well-balanced diet. But you may still require those vitamins for the long haul. It's not quite as bad as with the bypass, though, as far as the number of vitamins you need - depending on whether or not you are deficient in those vitamins now.

Bottom line is that when you choose WLS, you are committing to long term medical care for your obesity. So you'll need regular bloodwork to make sure everything is where it should be, and you'll have to be in control of what you put in your mouth post-op. These surgeries (none of them) are the "easy way out" or the "quick fix". You have to be committed to doing what your surgeon tells you to do, and committed to sticking with the plan.

Having 80% of your stomach taken out will dramatically reduce the amount you can eat, and should reduce if not eliminate your hunger/cravings. This journey is what you make of it! I totally understand being scared that it won't work or that you'll regain - I have those same thoughts - however I think the best you can do is take the advice of your surgeon/dietitian and stay in control of what you eat. I'm sure your friend who had the bypass and regained did something to cause it. No one just gains weight for no reason. Maybe your friend doesn't want to disclose what they did to gain the weight - but I sincerely doubt they stuck to their plan 100% and still regained. This journey is only your own - I'm actually glad I don't know anyone who has had WLS, because you could drive yourself crazy doubting yourself when you see someone else's failure.

I wish you good luck! Educate yourself as much as you can to make sure this is the option you want to take!

[stefanie 0]

Thank you so much!!! Im reserching now...and i cant spell lol! Thats y im here. Ive seen web sites that say there is dumping with sleeve and there is not.....i dont know. All i know for sure is im sick of my knees feet hips and back aching all the time. Im sick of being treated different because im fat. Im sick of eating and in a half hour being hungry again.

How long does it take one to get back to being able to eating normal? And can you have carbonation? Im leaning tward the sleeve.

[LindaS 316]

I am 16 months out from surgery and down 80 pounds. I have never had any vomiting, and I haven't had the dumping symptoms either.

That doesn't mean I am completely in the clear. If I eat too much or too fast, my chest feels horrible. This is only happened to me twice.

I have severe degenerative arthritis in my ankle, and before surgery, I was in pain almost every day and regularly took medicine to control it. Since surgery, I am primarily pain free although there have been times that I've needed to still take medicine (usually when I was very very active). It seems to be getting better as I lose more and exercise more.

I don't eat normal, but I can eat pretty normally.

How much I can eat of something depends on what it is I'm eating. I eat less of things that are high in Protein.

There hasn't been anything I can't eat, but there are things I don't eat because they don't feel good when I eat them. Breads and potatoes were my two favorite things before being sleeved and now I rarely eat them. They fill me up too much. I can have a bite or two of them, but I usually prefer not to.

My diet has changed permanently. I eat Protein first. I can eat portion sizes now that won't make too many people question my eating habits, but I don't do that all of the time. There are days, even 16 months out, where a meal or two is a Protein Shake.

I can drink carbonated pop, but I rarely do. I didn't drink it very much before surgery either.

If someone is having a birthday or another type of celebration, I can eat some cake or pie or whatever it is. I am usually pretty satisfied with just a bite or two. I don't eat donuts (same reason as breads and potatoes).

Most things that are bad for me are usually things I don't want to eat anyway. My biggest exception to that? popcorn. I also still like Frito Lay Wavy chips WAY more than I should. I like salty more than sweet, so your experience may differ.

[LindaS 316]

BTW, I'm in Michigan too, and I had my surgery done in Alma. The same surgeons also work out of Midland.

[elyod59 4]

I don't know if i just stumbled into Michigan people or if this directs me to people in my area. I just had sleeve on Tuesday in Alma hospital and found this app today. Looking for information and support. Any suggestions?

[stefanie 0]

thank you Linda S! :-) also, Linda S and elyod59 how did you like it there? would you reccomend the surgeon/care you recieved?? how long of a stay was it for you, and how much time off from work did you have to take??

[elyod59 4]

My surgeon was Pilkington who works in Mt Pleasant and Alma. He was great. His nurse had the surgery and she recommended Alma to us. She works in Mt Pleasant but said Alma is better and I was very impressed with them. Very friendly and lots of one-on-one attention. I'm planning 2 weeks off of work but I'm a truck driver with very physical demands

[stefanie 0]

Did you have any complications? What was your experience there?

[elyod59 4]

I didn't really have complications with the surgery but my body was slow to process the gas they inflate the belly with. This caused me a great deal of discomfort and some severe pain but the nurses said this was not typical.

[LindaS 316]

I was very happy with alma and my surgeon. I stayed two nights and three days, which is normal. The practice is on the conservative side when it comes to care, which I didn't mind at all. This means it will be about 12 weeks after surgery before all diet restrictions are cleared (it progresses, but much slower than most people on this discussion board).

I was off work for two weeks. When I did return back to work, I was tired at the end of the day. I'd fall asleep around 8 p.m., which is unusual for me. That lasted a week or two, but it wasn't horrible.