Four Year Surgiversary

Well, yesterday marked my four years since my sleeve.  For the most part, it has been a great journey.  I have learned a lot, researched, and put to practice new and hopefully lifelong habits that have made me able to stay below goal with very little effort.

I did have a short period at just over 2 years where ****iness set in.  I thought that I had reached the promised land, and I was going to spend the holiday season from Halloween through the New Year eating what I wanted, not journalling, and seeing how it went.  I gained about 6 pounds, but the worst part was breaking the cycle and getting back to what had been working for me all along.  It took several months, but I did it and all has been smooth since then.  I now know that I can have a cheat day here and there, but that I have to live this new lifestyle daily in order to maintain my success.

A couple of weeks ago I had a health scare.  I ended up having a small bowel resection because of a rare internal hernia that strangulated my intestines.  I was already on my low end of my happy range, so 7 days of no eating and being hospitalized did not do well for me.  I lost about 9-10 pounds and I now sit too low, even for my liking.  I'm trying to gain weight and it goes against everything I know.    I find it very difficult to eat off plan- cookies, cakes, full fat anything, but I have to because I'm not gaining as I should, and I find that since that week of not eating, I feel my restriction even more.  I have now added a fourth meal.

I read online that internal hernias may be a complication of RNY, and it got me thinking that maybe this happened to me because of my sleeve.  So far, everything that I've read says no, but the seed has been planted in the back of my mind.  I wonder if this has happened to any one else here.

Well, I just wanted to let everyone know that life after my sleeve is still great and I'm loving life!  I still have great restriction, probably because I have rarely overeaten.  I love being thin and active, and would do it all over again, only earlier!

Hugs!

Thank you for your words of wisdom. Take care of yourself. Hugs back at you!

It's great to hear from people that are farther out and still maintaining successfully. Thank you for sharing!

Congrats on your continued success and best of luck with recovery from your recent surgery.

Congratulations on hitting year 4. So sorry about the strangulating hernia. If you need to increase calories, healthy ways (which I'm sure that you know) are nut butters, avocado, more protein, etc. No need to eat sugary stuff.

Hernias can be a complication of laprascopic surgeries, because the abdominal wall has been weakened by the surgery. Whether or not, this is the case in your cir****tances, only your surgeon could tell you. The sleeve itself, doesn't increase the risk of hernias, but laprascopic surgery does.


Wishing you a speedy recovery.


Gail

Thanks for popping in and giving an update, it's nice to hear from folks years out!

I agree with Loverofcats about the healthy high cal stuff- I know pre-op, nuts were a surefire way for me to gain a few lbs fast (not that I wanted to!) So, maybe even a pocketful of almonds and walnuts to nibble on throughout the day would help.

Sorry to hear about the internal hernia. I knew about the risks for those from reading on the various surgeries pre-op, but I too have not come across much linking partial gastrectomies to internal hernias.. however, that being said- anytime you mess with the digestive system, and I'm sure our guts got wiggled around as well, plus the loss of intra-abdominal fat that probably helped keep everything nice and snug in there, it could be related- but exceedingly rare? Abdominal wall hernias are one thing, but an internal hernia is a spooky issue- I'm glad they ID'd it and got it fixed.. May I ask, had you had any twinges of pain before the episode that landed you in the OR? I would be curious to ask your surgeon if it was the Petersen's space or somewhere else, and if in his opinion it was related to the VSG surgery or just an internal defect that reared up on it's own after weight loss. Googling "partial gastrectomy internal hernia" brings up just a couple hits, but nothing really close to what we have as the studies note that these were subtotal with anastomoses- meaning, they removed the bottom of the stomach and did indeed move the intestine up to the stomach.. 

@INgirl:
I had no twinges before my episode.  We had been away for Memorial Day, and all was great.  Memorial night, I went from cramps to severe pain in less than an hour.  They  thought that adhesions from a prior hysterectomy 2 years ago were causing the obstruction, but when the surgeon operated, he saw it was an internal hernia.  He thinks that it was probably congenital, although he can't say for sure.  He also felt that it was not caused by my sleeve surgery.

And thanks to you and lover of cats for reminding me to stick to healthier foods.  That's what I had been doing for the week after I was released while eating within the low fiber diet I was told to stick to, but continued losing, so I added sugars and fats this week.  I've put on 1/2 lb so far.  But I do feel like I'm betraying myself, so I bought some peanut butter, and will up the healthy fats!

Congrats on reaching your four year mark and being below goal. Even though I know the recent loss of weight was unplanned, still being slim at four years is great.

So sorry you had this hernia and glad its fixed. I just bet it had nothing to do with the sleeve - have never heard of this in covering these boards, but only a doctor can advise.

I second the advice to not eat cookies and ice cream but to add healthy higher fat items like nuts and cheeses and such. When I couldn't stop losing at goal i solved the problem with a big glob of peanut butter every night. Now this has become my daily treat and I have to allow calories for it but its far better than what i used to eat as an evening snack. whole milk could work too if you feel you can quit it when its time. 

Anyway, thanks for posting. Its so good to hear from those who are this far out that yes, it can last!!!   diane

 Living in successful maintenance for four years is awesome and so encouraging for those of us trailing along on the path. Congratulations on figuring out what works for you!

I am so sorry about the hernia and subsequent need to gain weight. That must be a scarey endeavor.

I like to add canned coconut milk to a warm protein shake to up my calories and fat intake. I do a chocolate premier protein shake with 8 oz of coffee and about 1/4 cup of coconut milk and heat it all up. Yummy! Even my kids like to drink these.

I also find that cashews are a softer food that I can eat a lot of.

Congratulations on your 4 years!