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Hello and welcome! Going on 5 years post sleeve and I am thankful everyday that I had the opportunity to do this! It hasn't always been easy but it has been oh, so worth it! In fact, it has completely changed my life! I went into it believing it was my last hope for long-term success, having lost and regained over 100 pounds 2 times (plus smaller amounts multiple times) already through diet and exercise. I believed (and thankfully was correct!) that this could be the tool that helped me lose and then keep it off long term. You have the advantage of doing this a couple of decades sooner than I did so you'll get to reap the benefits much longer! In the U.S. there are so many people "doing" weird diets that no one really pays all that much attention when you start eating differently, except that when they see it working they all want to know "what plan" you're on, or what pill you're taking. Everyone wants the quick fix, but as we know that does not exist. There is no easy way out and those that claim that's what surgery is don't have a clue and their opinion doesn't count. As to which surgery, you and your surgeon are really the only opinions that count. Most people are thrilled with whichever surgery they had. There are a few situations to be aware of, which of course your surgeon will know. If you have GERD, likely they will not go for a sleeve, which can make that issue worse. Diabetics go into remission nearly immediately with bypass, and more slowly with sleeve. Vitamins and meds are not absorbed as efficiently with bypass so that may a consideration for you as well. People sometimes are afraid of sleeve because it's not reversible, they actually remove most of your stomach. I said great, I don't want it reversed, ever. No going back. And, in reality it's not that easy to reverse bypass either so I'm not sure that really should be *the* determining factor. What I liked about the sleeve was that the normal function remained intact. I believe that I would have been just fine and equally successful with either surgery, and I do have to take meds for heartburn. Although to be fair, I discovered I have developed a hiatal hernia that was not present at the time of my sleeve surgery so that's likely at least contributing to that issue. Don't agonize too much over which surgery to have. Just get ready to move on to your new gloriously healthy life!
- Today
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Turns out sleeves are routinely done and paid for here too. So the choice isn't obvious! I'm going to need the surgeons help to figure out what is the best choice for me. I thankfully don't have diabetes. It's still tempting to lean towards bypass simply to maximize weight loss. But I also realize I'm pretty desperate to get the weight off, so I might overlook advantages of the sleeve simply because of that. Why did you choose sleeve?
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So I'm At My Goal Weight, Now What? Maintenance 101
Res Ipsa replied to Res Ipsa's topic in Maintenance
As usual, @BurgundyBoy has provided a very thoughtful and helpful response that I totally agree with. However, I am also of the opinion that there is no scientific way to exactly calculate what is a person's right goal weight. We all have unique bodies and thus some of us find that our proper goal weights are somewhat higher or lower than the mathematically calculated goal weight based on height, gender, age, DEXA scans, etc. Thus, I believe that it is a good idea to plan to adjust your final goal weight when you are near the end of your weight loss and can determine what weight looks and feels "right." For example, my goal weight if I went by BMI would be much lower than the weight that I (as well as my spouse and my doctor) feel is healthiest for me. On the other hand, other people here at TTF have found that their goal weight by BMI is too high and lose 10 pounds or so more in order to reach what they believe is a proper goal weight. -
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Sleeves are about 90% as effective as bypass when it comes to weight loss. When scientists look at large groups of people who have had surgery, this small but real difference consistently comes through. When it comes to remediating diabetes, bypasses are hands-down much superior to a sleeve gastrectomy. I had a sleeve, but if I had had diabetes I would have had a bypass.
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Yes, but with far fewer complications....
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Wow, he really did spectacular! I like his comment about cursing at the scales, I believe I've done that on occasion! What a transformation!
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Wow! A family habit! More seriously, may Papa Trish have as much success as you have had!
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So I'm At My Goal Weight, Now What? Maintenance 101
BurgundyBoy replied to Res Ipsa's topic in Maintenance
@KarenBos You have hit the nail on the head. You are quite right. DEXA scans are the way to go. The scales that calculate bio-impedence can give you relative measurements or relative changes over time are not that accurate. BIA uses a 2-compartment model - fat containing tissues, and non-fat tissues, which each conduct the tiny amount of current that the BIA devices run through you. DEXA scanning uses a 4-compartment model, and calculates your body volume and measures your skeletal mass too. @Rob_VSG recently posted on this... he lives in Texas ... he posted saying that a DEXA scan cost $150 where he lives, so the $175 you mention here (Boston area) may be reasonable. For what it is worth, my surgeon told me that the average person has about 6 pounds of excess skin after bariatric surgery. Am sure the actual amount varies by person and by how much they lost... others have posted that they have been told that their excess skin is 2 BMI points, which seems too much... for me that would be close to 15.5 pounds! and that number is not closely similar to the 6 lbs. my surgeon quoted. -
For more on @Michael_A and his amazing weight loss surgery success see this posting by him (complete with before and after photos):
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Mine is fortunately not damaged (yet). I had it checked just in case and there's no sign of anything other than the fat that's to be expected. So that's good. Sounds like there's a good chance I won't have to become a legend too. Fingers crossed! Did I read somewhere that you're in the medical field?
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That is an understatement. @Michael_A 's dedication is a legend here. Thankfully most people don't need such a long period to address their enlarged livers. There have been people who posted here who already had damaged livers, which complicated their path to surgery...
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4 weeks out ? Is this normal?
BurgundyBoy replied to lisa18's topic in Post-Op Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy
Lisa, can't comment intelligently on feeling yucky - - - but not having any appetite is normal at this stage. One of the ways this surgery works is by decreasing appetite (and this is only partly understood). This decrease is most pronounced right after surgery. Your sense of nausea should pass! Your post makes me think about nausea and hunger ... I used to mix up physiological hunger, e.g. the hunger driven by your body's needs, and head or hedonistic hunger, the pleasure-seeking hunger driven by the pleasure of well presented, tasty, food that speaks to our emotional needs... Now these two are very clear to me. I still get hungry, but the amount of food I have to eat to address the hunger is much less than what I used to eat. When your after-surgery smaller stomach (or pouch) is full then the stretched-out wall of your (much smaller) stomach turns off the hunger response. There are times when I do eat from an hedonistic desire, but usually it is just a bite that I need to know what something tastes like - My recollection is that I did not have much nausea after the surgery, but I did have nausea when I tried to eat portions that were too big. It takes a while to figure out what your new portion size should be; the guidelines we get from our medical providers and nutritionists are helpful but I found myself still serving myself too much for some time. Just thinking about your post now - I used to eat 3 hot dogs at lunch with buns and all the condiments. Today I had one, my hunger was gone, and I was full. Eating more would have led to a sense of discomfort, which I experience as lower chest pain, and then (had I continued to eat) nausea. Are you drinking high-protein drinks or something else to keep your protein intake high enough? And, a lot of people who are eating a lot of protein become ketotic - and have little hunger! - seems that high carbohydrate diets lead to a lot of hunger... -
Phew, 6 months on liquids! That is a marathon! At least he then shows that it's possible to get the surgery eventually, even if you have a lot of fat on your liver. But it must have required enormous dedication in a case like his!
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My understanding is that the major reason for this relative contraindication is that it is more likely that the surgeons will accidentally nick (damage) the liver during surgery if it is big.... and a fatty liver is bigger than a non-fatty liver. @Michael_A 's surgeon measured his liver via ultrasound and he had to go on a liquid diet for some time, I think close to 6 months, to get his liver shrunk down to the size she set before she would do his surgery.... but I think his was an extreme case. Most people do not have to spend so much time getting their livers smaller. Having a fatty liver is really common if you are obese, would bet that **all of us** with obesity had a fatty liver. It's just a matter of the degree... the risk of this condition is that having a fatty liver (a reversible condition) can increase your risk of developing cirrhosis (which is not reversible).
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I am now feeling sure that I want to pursue the surgery. Everybody here are so happy they had it done, and I really need it! So now that I'm done worrying about whether I want it or not I've moved on to worry about if I'll be approved for getting it. Guess I'm a worry'er when it comes to this I imagine my boyfriend will also worry about complications and side effects. Unfortunately neither of us know a bariatric surgeon, but I imagine he'd get to speak to my doctor or surgeon when the time (hopefully) comes. There is also a lot of knowledge on the internet of course. So he'll hopefully know I'll be safe. And I'll tell him to have a look around this forum. He also thinks it would be wonderful if I lost weight. I've read that it's a contraindication to have fatty liver. I have some fat on my liver (no scarring or anything yet). I hope that won't be an issue! I carry a lot of my weight on my stomach, behind the muscles, around my organs (which also makes it extra scary health wise). They don't seem to recommend a liquid diet pre op, but that's a way to temporarily shrink the liver for surgery right? It would be a big problem if I can't have the surgery because I have extra dangerous fat distribution!! Jeez, so many questions!
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@cindynels Sounds like the loss of your Dad was a big blow and am sorry for your loss. So often the strength of our foundation is dependent on a couple of keystones. Those critical relationships provide strength, but if they are lost we can lose our way. Would like to echo @Jen581791's idea of getting ahead of the game now - am sure you will be successful with your clear-eyed analysis of why you regained. This is such a head game! Am fond of saying that the surgery changes your intestinal plumbing but it does not change what goes on in your head. You are so very smart to be in therapy and to go into the surgery with the inner strength that will help provide. Would be sure to line up your social support - the people who will have your back when the motivation / will power is needed. Am sure that real, living, breathing people are better than the internet, but would just say that reading and posting here on the Thinner Times Forum has been very helpful to me. It has helped me to stay honest about my bad habits and failures, of which I have many. The other things (besides social support) that I have found helpful is to try to get exercise every day, which combats depression and anxiety as well as keeping me physically healthy, and to keep the cocaine-quality carbohydrates out of the house. That means potato chips, New England-style blueberry muffins, and the like. You deserve much admiration for your persistence, your honest look at why your first try at this did not succeed, and your willingness to have surgery again and not give up on yourself. We are rooting for you!
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I'm currently almost 4 years out, and have recently regained 35 of my initial 100 lbs lost. I have an appt with surgeon to go over options, as I know my stoma has stretched out, as Acid Reflux runs like the Nile at night. I don't know what all is entailed to see if it has or not, and dreading the whole soft food phase again, but I, too, fell back to bread. No soda's, but I can eat my current weight in chocolate! I would love to hear from members who had regain and successfully lost it without the revision surgery.
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@LadyDay My wife was initially opposed to my having surgery. she was concerned about side effects and surgical complications. She had to independently speak with a bariatric surgeon that she knew socially to come to terms with the surgery. The complication rate was once fairly high for bypass / roux-en-Y surgery and it is now lower than the elective gallbladder removal rate. Now my wife is delighted and tells me how glad she is that I lost all this weight.
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You are very welcome ❤️ This is what we are here for!! Helping people through rough times and difficult decisions, especially the big one as to whether to have surgery or not...and all the stuff that comes after that! If there’s one thing you’ll find here, that’s a LOT of people that have been through this surgery and have lots of advice and help in all stages of your journey Reach out anytime!!!
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Hi everybody. My name is Christina, I'm 32 years old and I live in Denmark. I've recently come to the point of realization that I want, need and am ready for WLS. I am lucky to not yet have major comorbidities of my weight, but at a BMI of 41, and with blood samples showing things starting to move in the wrong direction, I am much at risk of developing them sooner rather than later. I'd rather do something about my weight now, than wait until I have major illness. My weight also effects me a lot psychologically, I'm getting fatty liver and it hurts my back and calves to walk more than 5 minutes. All in all, it's time. I am talking to my GP on Monday and hopefully that will get me started on the journey of my life. A journey towards health and longevity. Besides all that I'm an artist and I love my aquarium and genealogy. I am on early retirement due to severe, treatment-resistant depression and anxiety. So that's not fun, but I am in a good place, having dealt well with it and taken care of myself. I hope to soon be able to tell you that I've been approved for WLS, but there is unfortunately no guarantee at all. Denmark has free health care, but that has the side effect that for financial reasons they don't offer the surgery to everybody who could use it. Thank you for welcoming me, even while I'm at the stage before even getting started. It's valuable to be able to ask questions and get help with worries. I hope to get to know you all.
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Deep joined the community
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Diet is different in Denmark and I worry a lot...
LadyDay replied to LadyDay's topic in General Questions
@BurgundyBoy Thank you so much for such a long, thorough answer. It's good to know that I can still lose my excess weight on the Danish plan. Of course I am terribly eager to lose the weight as fast as possible, I've been plagued by this weight too long, but the important thing is that I do lose weight, if it takes a little longer that's fine. I've been fat for a lot of years, so whether I lose it in half a year or a year is not crucial! What is on my mind is that it's supposedly important to lose as much weight as possible within this honeymoon period. You have calmed me down a lot. I am glad not to be weirdly special in this case! It will definitely work I will make sure to get exercise! Getting this surgery will be a great gift and I need to put in my utmost effort to get the most out of it! And it will be so wonderful to feel my body gradually moving about easier, getting in less pain and with less strain on everything! Not losing a bunch of hair is definitely a plus too! I have very thick hair, but bald patches would still suck! And most importantly, I think you are right that it's a sign the body is missing something. I imagine in general it's easier to avoid nutritional deficiencies when restricting caloric intake less. (I of course need to discuss it with the doctors, but from the research I've done so far I imagine I'll pick the bypass, which should mean a higher risk of deficiencies than the sleeve, so I need to be careful about that) Thanks again. -
Thank you so much! It's such a big help to have people who's been through the surgery for support and advice, even before having the surgery. It's been a big help in me deciding that I want, and am ready for, this journey! You are very sweet! You guys are lovely! <3 It is so true! This is life saving surgery! People need to understand that!
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Yes! When people have cancer, they have chemotherapy, radiation and/or surgery - why? Because these are the effective medical treatments for cancer. When people have an infection, they have antibiotics - why? Because it is the effective medical treatment. No one questions anyone who does either of these. And yet, when an obese person needs to lose their massive amounts of extra weight to avoid a heart attack, a stroke, diabetes or crippling knee problems, some people refuse to accept that person’s decision to use the treatment with (by far) the highest success rate - weight loss surgery.
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I pray to God that you get the support you desperately need and deserve! But you still need to do what is best for your health, my friend ❤️ We are always here for you, no matter what!!!
- Yesterday
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I am on my 4th week. Is it normal to feel so yucky & with no appetite? Just looking at food makes me nauseous. I cant get no protein down or anything, all I can handle is water. Will this pass any time soon ?
