5 days post op and have questions

bertgamble2001

Active Member
Joined
May 8, 2022
Messages
28
Hello all,
I am 8 years post sleeve and 5 days post SIPS. I am 5’7” and pre surgery weight was 225. My weight today is 215, which brings me to my first question. Is it normal to lose #10 in the first few days? I have been able to meet my 120 gram protein goal every day, but getting to the 1200 calorie mark is difficult while being on liquids. Water intake is good, with urine either clear or pale yellow. The surgeon said he was more worried about me losing too quickly than too slowly and this might be considered too quick.

A little about me: I am a 59 year old male who has struggled with weight since I had to stop strenuous athletic activity in my 30’s due to a knee blow out. I was always quick to lose weight while dieting, but it came back almost as quickly once normal eating resumed. When I had the sleeve, I thought my problems would be over but I proved myself wrong. I started at 250 and pretty quickly got into the 170 range. Friends and family began telling me that I looked sick which gave me all of the excuse that I needed to eat more. I stayed in the 180-200 range for a long time, but have recently ballooned up to 225. Here comes my second question. How have you dealt with outside pressure to stop losing or even gain weight?

Dealing with family and friends is going to be hard for me because I need to get down into the 20-22 BMI range and stay there. The reason that I had the SIPS (and paid out of pocket) is that I am trying to add years to my life. I have a bicuspid aortic valve (congenital defect) which has caused an aortic arch aneurysm that is growing at a rate which will require open heart surgery to replace the aorta in about 3 years. The thoracic surgeon says only 25% survive past 7 years after aorta replacement and that is just unacceptable for me. Since my blood pressure is already normal with no meds, adding in BP meds would render me nearly unable to lead a normal life so he suggested extreme weight loss as a possible delay tactic. If I am able to stay around a 20 BMI, the lower volume of blood and the lower pressure “may” be enough to slow the progression of the aneurysm and buy me years of quality life. The aneurysm will never go away, but the goal is slower growth and a longer life. I understand that I will likely look very strange, and possibly like a Holocaust survivor at 120 pounds, but if that is what it takes to pause my clock, I am all in.

Thank you for listening and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
 
Welcome bertgamble2001
Yes, a quick drop out of the hospital is not unheard of as it’s all fluids.

As far as family and friends, as hard as it is, ignore them. They are looking at you with “fat eyes”. They don’t know you skinny. If you’ve been overweight a good portion of your life, they can’t help how their brain sees you. If you had never been fat, and weighed the appropriate weight for your height, they’d think nothing of it. Best you can do is ignore it. It really doesn’t deserve an answer. If you feel you need to answer, just tell them you are working with your doctor and he’s happy with your weight. Or do what some of us do…just don’t respond at all. After a few minutes of silence on your part, they start to under how rude they are being. Then there are people like my daddy who just didn’t get it. I flat told him that my weight was my business and WE were not discussing it. But you have to figure this out for you.

Good luck with your journey.
 
Hi and welcome bertgamble2001! I had a full DS, so can't speak to SADI/LoopDS/SIPS, but definitely lost a lot of weight in the first few weeks, and then it slowed from there. Definitely speak with your doctor about any concerns you have and keep in mind with SADI/SIPS you will have regain over time. As an adult with agency, it is your body your choice. Best to just change topics if someone asserts an opinion on your appearance. Don't seek to justify your decisions about your body or entertain pseudo-health advice from non-medical professionals. That will give the impression that further discussions would be welcomed. Better to counter with something along the lines of: "I see you are concerned, but I have sought medical advice and am under professional care. This focus on my appearance makes me uncomfortable / unhappy. Lets talk about something else." I wish you the best on your journey.
 
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Until you reach your goal, don’t allow yourself to be romanced into the too fast thing. Your goal is really low and chances are it is going to be hard to reach and maintain. Lose as much as you can while it is the easiest. Studies have shown that those modified DS procedures tend to lose their fat malabsorbtion over time. You can find the study somewhere here if you look.

I don’t believe all the definitive real studies have been done yet on your procedure and it will be years till we know most of what there is to know about the DS look alike surgeries. But I can tell you for sure the human body does adapt over time. Your superpower is being male. Men always seem to do better than women.

Know exactly what you need to weigh for your goal. Don’t worry about too fast till you are within a few pounds of where you need to be.
 
a bmi of 20-22 is normal, not underweight You may look too thin at first, even to yourself, but over time your brain will adjust. If friends/family fail to adjust, that's their problem, not yours. My approach is to reply politely once, then feel free to be rude if needed. And really, I'm usually a very polite person. Ask anyone! If this approach isn't comfortable for you, you can just ignore these comments or questions, try silence, change the subject (how about those Mets!) and eventually most people will catch on.
You might have to take the direct approach with one or two people, as southernlady did, and don't be afraid to do so. You have the best reason to lose weight imaginable. I wish you all the best.
 
you've gotten very good replies, so I'll just say I wish you the very best and I'm glad you found us.
 

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