deeno

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Hi all

Just a quick follow-up on my procedure.  I definately without a dobut feel restriction, and I'm still retraining my brain to know when to stop eating.  It feels just like many people described their original RNY--can't eat, don't want to eat, don't look forward to eating, certain foods are OK while others are a "no go".  I have to carefully chew everything, and I have to really think about my food choices.  Funny, they told me all of that at the doctor's office, but it really didn't start hitting me until about a week ago.

I went camping over the weekend, so my food choices were limited--not necessarily a good thing.  I went out for breakfast and got a Denver omlete with hash browns and toast.  I could only eat 6 bites of the omlete, and that was pushing it.  I was sharing the breakfast with my 16 month old, too.  We had leftovers of the same breakfast the next day, and I was able to tolerate more of it then, but not much.  I tried to eat the toast later that afternoon, but it came back up.  I unfortuneately found that Pringles potato crisps stayed down just fine....but I could only eat a small amount (thank goodness for that!).  And, truth be told, oreo cookies went down easy, too.  I will not be buying those again as they were way too easy.  I did make some smart choices, too.  I did eat a slim fast bar with 8 grams of protein in it, and I plan on getting more of those.  I've always gagged on protein bars and drinks.  Speaking of drinks, I am drinking only non carbonated SF drinks (iced tea, water, crystal light), and I must sip sip sip all day long--no gulping.  I'm not "follwing the rules because THEY told me.  I'm following the rules because my stomach won't let me do anything else!".  Yeah, I'd say the sclero is doing what it is supposed to be doing.

I don't really feel full, but I do feel significant discomfort at times, and that's all I need to feel to stop eating.  Maybe that is what full feels like.  This is just what I had expected to feel.  My husband (5 years post RNY) is finding a lot of humor in my new experiences.  He still has a small stoma and probably needs to relieve the food pressure by vomiting at least 2-5 times a week.  I have spoken to him many times about overeating and poor choices, and his response has always been "well, at least my tool still works".  Now he jokes with me that my tool is finally working.  I even heard him tell a friend of his that it is as if I just had bariatric surgery (this isn't entirely true i how I feel--I would say I feel like I should have felt maybe 2 months post RNY based on being able to eat and tolerate some denser foods).

That pound I lost stayed off, and a buddy joined him.  I'm pleased about that, and hope the trend continues.  The doc said 1-2 pounds a week, slow and steady.  So, I'm doing OK in the weight loss arena.  Not fantastic, just OK, and I'm OK with that, especially with my history of being a slow loser.

I'll update again when I can.  Good, bad, or otherwise.  Am I glad I tried this?  I think so, so far.  I don't think I can honestly answer that question for another couple of months.  But, so far so good.

Deeno

I've recieved numerous emails requesting more information and follow-up on my sclerotherapy procedure.  Some of the questions that were "repeats" or already answered previously I did not respond to--so, if you didn't get a response, you can find your answer somewhere on this revision's board.  It's just getting to be that crazy fun time of summer where I'm as busy as a bee, and don't get too much time for on-line stuff.

I had my sclerotherapy on 5/25.  The first couple of days I ate applesause and soup, very small portions, and kept it simple.  My diet was explained to me as following the pouch rules (protein first, healthy choices) and eating quantiies as tolerated.  Around the fifth day I noticed that I was not stopping eating out of fullness, but out of fear.  The fear will only last so long, so I was naturally worried, but kept doing my thing.  On day 8, I was not as dillegent about chewing to an applesauce consistency ( I have TMJ, so all that chewing was getting to me).  I swallowed a hunk of meat, and I haven't felt right since.  I, for the first time since 2 months post RNY, had the urge to purge.  I had to rid myself of what was in me immediately.  Since then, I have been eating very small portions, and feeling the need to stop eating due to an unpleasant feeling.  It almost feels like there is something stuck--now, I really don't think there is anything stuck--I think I am feeling full.  I suspect at this time nothing is wrong.  I am occasionally getting "the foamies" when I drink, too.  I have felt the need to vomit at least 4 times now, and boy does it come up fast.  I am trying hard to retrain my brain and stomach to communicate, but they still get along as well as siblings fighting over the same toy.  

I expected the sclerotherapy to work immediately, and I think that's how my brain got confused.  Well, my stomach is now running the show, and my brain doesn't want to relinquish it's power to the stomach.  It's obvious that my stomach knows best, and I just need to put the breaks on, slow down, and be a good girl and do every thing right (especially the chewing, and the not drinking with meals and waiting to drink 30-45 minutes after a meal, etc...).

Now, for the moment of truth....the scale.  In the past 11 days, I've seen my weight go down, way up, and then down again (I haven't weighed every day, but I still weigh myself more often than I should).  I am down a pound from surgery date.  But, I've see-sawed so much I don't know whether to count it or not.  Time will tell if that little pound has gone away and will soon have some friends to join him.

For now, all I can really say is that I definately feel as if something in my stomach has changed, and it is difficult to eat the quantity that I was eating prior to sclerotherapy.  So, at this time, mission accomplished.  We'll see if it lasts, and I'll continue to update when I can.  Thanks to everyone for your positive comments and well wishes.  I really hope that this procedure helps me to my goal of "normalcy"....well, at least normal on the scale!

Deeno

So, I went on a diet at the beginning of the year.  I worked really, really hard, too.  After 6 weeks of misery, I lost 4 pounds.  I was devistated.  I quit trying.  It brought back so many bad memories of pre-WLS diet failures that I just couldn't handle it emotionally, and I decided that my choices were to accept my size (16/18) and try to maintain, or be miserable.  I decided to be happy and move on, but still visited OH for support.

On one visit, I learned about sclerotherapy, looked into it, and decided to go for it.  From very early on, my surgeon and I have suspected that I have an enlargened stoma.  I was easily able to eat more at 2 months out than my husband could eat at two years out.  I joked that if there were a post WLS eating contest--any food--I'd win.  I never learned how to use my tool; never made the new connection between stomach and brain; basically never had a chance.  Now, I am thrilled that I lost 80 pounds, and still consider myself somewhat successful.  I'm proud of this achievement, but I feel as if it were through malapsorption, not a significant change in dietary habit (other than the liquid/pureed food for the first 6 weeks or so--I followed this out of fear, not fullness).

I've already had my sclerotherapy consult, and my procedure is scheduled for this week on 5/25.  I can't wait.  I am so hopeful that I will not gain any more weight from this point on, and perhaps even lose enough to drop a size in clothing and reach "normalcy".  I feel like I've got a chance to use my tool as intended now, and lose my caboose once and for all.

For those of you that don't know, sclerotherapy is a non-invasive procedure using a chemical to scar/shrink your stoma to keep food from slipping through so quickly, giving you that full feeling longer, and also reducing the amount of food that you can consume.  Back to the basic pouch rules again to make this work--it's all up to me.  I'm taking this very seriously, as this is honestly my last chance for acheiving my goal of being a size 14.

Happy New Year 2007!

All is well here and what a year it's been.  I am unfortunately 8 pounds heavier at the beginning of this year than I was in 2006, so the hammer is falling and the diet has begun.  Since my RNY in 2004 I have made no attempts to diet.  Now, I've followed the rules....mostly....and I've been a pretty good girl up until recently (stress, life, love of food...I'm just eating too much and eating the wrong stuff.  No excueses.).  So I've decided that I'm going to lose 17 pounds by May 1st, and to make it fun, I'm competing with my friend's hubby (who is hoping to lose 40 pounds by then).  The deal is, if we both make it to our goal, we both "win"--I mean, if you lose what you hope to lose you shouldn't, well, "lose".  But if one of us doesn't make "goal" that person loses and has to wash the other persons car...while the winner makes fun of him/her.  If we both don't make goal, then whoever has lost the biggest percentage is the "winner".   So far, it is slow going for me as I've only lost 3 pounds since Jan. 2, but at least I'm going in the correct direction.  Slow and steady wins the race.  As of Jan. 2 I was 33 pounds above a normal BMI.  I don't expect to ever see that number--honestly, I look healthier with a little meat on my 5'11 frame.  I did get down to 196 (had a serious family situation that caused me to stop eating due to stress---everything has improved in that arena.  Man, I never thought I would turn food down as I'm a big comfort food eater....it was rough).  I had lost ten pounds in four weeks so I know it CAN be done...I just don't want to do it that way this time.  Hell, I wasn't even "trying" to lose at that time either.  Well, now I am and I hope to get down to 194 (my 17 pound goal) and then decide if I want to lose any more or just hold at that weight.  Wow, what a dream to be under 200 pounds and STAY there.