POSTED UNDER Gastric Sleeve Surgery REVIEWS
Best Decision Ever. 107 pounds down in 10 months!
ORIGINAL POST
I was always kind of on the chunky side as a kid...
WORTH IT
I was always kind of on the chunky side as a kid and teenager, but as a young adult, I went into the military and got myself in shape. But two years after I went in, my metabolism inexplicably slowed to a crawl. Neither my doctors, nor the dietitian and personal trainer assigned to me by the Air Force could explain it. I was doing everything right, and the weight kept piling on. I went from a Normal BMI to Obese in less than 1 year. By April of 2015, I was pushing towards morbidly obese. This drastic change in weight caused me to develop idiopathic intracranial hypertension putting me at risk for blindness and giving me excruciating crushing headaches. So, my medical team recommended vertical sleeve gastrectomy. What a life changer it's been so far! I'm one day shy of three months out as of today and I've lost 53 pounds already! I was 249 the day before surgery and I'm 196 today. I was told originally I could expect to lose about 60% of my excess weight which was estimated to be 100 pounds and that weight loss would occur over 12-18 months. I've lost 53 of those 60 pounds already in three months and at my last follow-up, my surgeon said based on my success, there's no reason I can't lose as much as I want to lose. My goal weight is now 150, but if I lose a little more than that, I'd be okay with that, too. ;) On the downside: my headaches aren't any better yet (fingers still crossed), I've developed terrible acid reflux (GERD) that I didn't have before, and since surgery, I've also developed a hiatal hernia that's giving me no end of trouble and discomfort. So, it's not all sunshine and roses having one of these procedures. I've lost a huge amount of weight, yes, but given myself two more health problems I didn't have before while not resolving the one thing I really needed the surgery for.
jahacopo2221's provider
UPDATED FROM jahacopo2221
3 months post
Waiting sucks when you can't eat
Still having difficulties eating and drinking what I'm supposed to, due to the hiatal hernia I've developed. Earliest appointment I could get with my doctor is July 14, and that's just to discuss what's going on. Who knows when something will be done about the problem? Since I'm not eating or drinking much, my body has gone into self-defense conservation mode and weight loss has almost stalled. Down only 1 more pound since I last posted. C'est la vie, I suppose. I'll update again after my appointment. It's important, I think, that I share the potential complications of this procedure and the outcomes of those complications.
UPDATED FROM jahacopo2221
3 months post
Drum Roll, please!!!
As of today, I'm no longer obese on the BMI charts!!! Three months and ten days ago, I was a mere 6 pounds from being morbidly obese, but now, I'm merely overweight! 58 pounds lost since my sleeve gastrectomy. Today, I bought a couple clothing items in size MEDIUM! This is huge for me. I was wearing XL and XXL just a couple months ago! I finally had to break down and buy new shorts because all of my capris and pants were falling off of me. (I didn't want to buy new stuff until my weight had stabilized more--I was content to go through summer in my baggy clothes like a hobo, until it became a matter of public indecency, hahaha.) I'm looking forward to my appointment Tuesday with my surgeon to show off my progress and hopefully get some answers about this darn hiatal hernia I've developed.
Replies (12)
July 12, 2015
Good job! I hope the appointment with your doctor helps with your hernia problem. You look great! I have my first surgeon appointment on Thursday, I'm hoping he'll agree with doing the sleeve for me. The gold standard here is the bypass. Good luck!
July 13, 2015
Good luck at your appointment! I'm so glad I had the sleeve done. It was definitely the best option for me.
July 12, 2015
Wow! You look amazing! How has your skin fared through this loss?
July 13, 2015
Quite well, actually! It's a tiny bit loose around my abdomen, but I imagine that I could easily tone that up (it's that minute) if/when I want to. I think it's helped me that my weight was all carried in one area of my body, and that as I've lost weight, it's also been spread out, though I've lost noticeably more in my upper half than my lower half. So far, I've escaped the loose skin effect, which is excellent for me because my coverage through the VA wouldn't cover removal of excess skin.
July 13, 2015
^correction: it's helped that my weight *wasn't* carried in one area of my body.
July 13, 2015
I love this! I went over the BMI chart to see what weight was not obese and then what was JUST overweight! I am going to be thrilled to dress like a hobo. I need to Google hiatal hernia. I hear about it but don't really know the true definition.
July 13, 2015
Basically, my stomach now slides up into the opening in the diaphragm that's supposed to be for just the esophagus. Then the diaphragm contracts around my stomach, pinching off my already tiny stomach, and causing acid to back up into my esophagus. It's terribly uncomfortable, and has really restricted how much I can eat and drink. I just tried to eat some apple slices with peanut butter, and I couldn't eat even half of the apple. Once my stomach slides back down (after my diaphragm releases its death grip, lol), I feel so much better. It was funny during the upper GI exam I had a few weeks ago, the radiologist said he could see exactly when I would get relief. I'm hoping the surgeon has answers for me tomorrow morning!
July 13, 2015
I go to get my endoscopy next week to check on my acid going into my throat. I hear the GERD is worse after surgery. Your hernia sounds very familiar to my GERD.
I need a magic wand!!
I need a magic wand!!
July 14, 2015
I am glad I had the sleeve too. I am a little newer but I like the idea that the anatomy wasn't redirected. I have also heard of a few people having the sleeve and later going for gastric bypass. If your surgeon doesn't offer it you could find one that does. Good luck. Look forward to hearing about your visit.
April 2, 2016
Does it cut off hunger because that's my problem...I eat a lot and seem to crave sweets abnormal. You look and sound rejuvenated. Is there certain limitations? Like do you have to take after care forever? Thanks for posting..so helpful. Oh would this stop u from having kids?
April 2, 2016
For me, within a few days after the surgery, I totally didn't get hungry at all. I had to force myself to eat and drink. It probably wasn't until the past few months that I've noticed hunger returning, but by that point, I had retrained myself into healthier eating habits. And even when I am hungry, it doesn't take very much to fill me up. It absolutely doesn't stop you from having kids, though most surgeons want you to wait awhile after having the surgery before you try. My surgeon said to wait 2 years. After care isn't much--just multivitamins and maybe a supplement or two if you need more iron and/or calcium. No tests that I'm aware of. I'll have my next follow-up appointment in a couple months, I think. At most, they'll run blood work to make sure I don't have malnutrition. As for sweets---after going so long without having any desire to eat them, I've lost quite a bit of my taste for sweet things. A lot of it tastes sickeningly sweet now. I find it very easy to limit my intake of candy and other sugary things. I tried some Pepsi about 6 months after my surgery and the sugar left such an aftertaste in my mouth that I haven't been even tempted to try having any soda again.
Replies (14)