Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums

Hey everyone! I just had my surgery 7 days ago and am looking for some local buddies to go thru this journey with. I live in the Trussville area now, north of Bham. Anyone out there close?

I was wondering if you would feel the difference right away? (As in restriction) ,would the pain be worse or less??... and what would be some suggestions you guys could maybe share, as in before and after sugery.. I would really appreciate it .. thanks

I know that it is normal for weight loss to slow down, but I started out at a pretty high BMI so I want to be sure I maximize these first months to get the maximum loss. At the last meeting with the NUT, I was not feeling good. She encouraged me to up my carbs to more like 80 a day, instead of staying in the 25-40 range. She was right, i felt better almost instantly, but I also think my weight loss has slowed to 1-2 pounds a week. I am keeping my eaten calories in the 700-800 range and I get another 65 or so calories in Vitamin supplements (chewables and liquids have calories and carbs) but the total is always under 1000. I am probably getting 70-80 carbs a day now, …

So, I have a revision scheduled with Dr. Kelly for January but am also considering Dr. Aceves. My story is a little different being that I have an older non-adjustable band called the Molina band (I have other posts on here about that) but here is where I need your input... I have read all your posts on the two docs (and they both sound equally awesome and competent) but am confused on the pricing difference between the two?? Dr. K is almost $5k cheaper than Dr. Aceves for a revision surgery. Does anyone happen to know why? Thoughts? My husband is questioning this mostly and asked me to post and see what everyone has to say about this. Thanks!!!!

So I called the secretary, and she told me everyone had to wait six months before surgery. I figured that, so it helped getting a "definite" answer or just to have an idea. Still counting down the days until my consultation. I'm excited. Five more days.

I had my VSG on Jan 9th. I have not felt well since. I have no energy. I get tired very easy. I sleep a lot more than usual. I stay nauseated all the time. Has anyone else had this problem?

Anyone take nardil after being sleeved? Nardil is an maoi that is known to cause weight gain. Wondering if the craving for carbs would be tamed with the sleeve?

I have been noticing in several posts that people report feeling colder after this surgery. Some people attribute it to the weight loss, but others say they have lost large amounts of weight before and not had this effect. I decided to do some research. There are several articles that say increasing ghrelin increases body temperature. This article suggests that rats that don't produce ghrelin have trouble regulating body temperature in cold environments. They also have less nonREM sleep, (more dream time, less deep restful sleep), but they stay awake better during the day. I guess what is interesting to me is this hormone is a big player in sleep and thermo-regulation. I …

Help! My biggest fear is being hungry. I'm having my surgery on March 2nd, and have literally tried changing how much I eat over the past week, and I feel as though I'm STARVING. I get headaches, feel tired, and my entire body starts to hurt. Is this some sort of food withdraw? I'm not even cutting down drastically, just a little. Am I alone in this? I'm scared I'll feel this way during pre-op and initial post-op. Any advice, or sharing your own stories would be most helpful.

I'm sure the same as before just less. My diet consists mainly of soy, or non soy meat alternatives with a carb side, and some veggies. Not as much as I should have but yea.. I do eat diary. I just can't shake cheese and yogurt. So what are you eating?

I am back on the losing side! I got the ok to go off my feeding tube Tuesday and also my drain taken out! YAY! I have lost a few lbs this week and am down to 164.4, just a smidge higher than my lowest weight at the beginning of December! I have about 40 lbs to goal, a little more than half way there. Ready to be back to normal and exercise!

I finally got my date for the 3rd time. Feb 6th!!!!! is there group yet for February? I might just be blind too lol

I was noticing that OH is having a WLS conference in Atlanta in Oct. Are any of you planning on coming?

HI everyone...just a quick question..were you able to pick a surgery date or did they pretty much tell you the date you could have it on? the reason I am asking is because my bariatric coordinator said I can be prepared to have my surgery like the first part of May given the approval time period...My family wants to come from Georgia to be with me here in Texas and my mom said it would work out better if I could do it the first part of June;.due to siblings getting out of school at the end of May and one graduating from a program she is enrolled in... so i say all that to ask...can I pick my own surgery date? lol i kno some of you would be like 'the sooner the better'…

Okay, it's lunchtime and I'm up for some mental gymnastics... I read somewhere that it takes a 3,400 calorie deficit to lose a pound of body fat. One gram of fat, when consumed, is 9 calories (according to the equation for figuring out hidden carb grams in a given food; carbs and Protein are both 4 each.) There are 459.59 grams in a pound. So logically, it would mean that you'd have to burn through 4,082 calories to burn off a pound of fat from your body. There's a 682 calorie deficit unaccounted for somewhere. Now, I recognize that there's probably weight of blood, muscle tissue, etc. etc. factored in along the way, but nearly 700 calories seems like a big over…

Hi there 20 somethings I am hoping you can help me understand my daughter. I had sleeve surgery done in April of last year and could not be happier with the results. I have lost almost 70 pounds and still going hope to make it to my goal by my anniversary of 85 pounds. It has truly been a blessing for me. Here is my dilema I have a 22 year old daughter that I would love to get interested in looking into getting the sleeve for herself. I have taken her with me to my support group meeting, as a matter of fact when I started the process her and I both went to the inital meeting together to find out all about the surgery. I thought that she would be excited and see tha…

My surgery is schedule for 2/7/11. My pre-op diet started today, low carb, high protein. I am getting excited and nervous all at the same time. I am so glad I found this site. This is the first time I am posting, but I have been reading all the great information provided. Thanks for sharing your stories and tips. This looks like such a great added support system.

I apologize for the long post in advance I'm so incredibly happy today. I finally got a call from my surgeons office saying that I'm approved for surgery. I started this whole process in October of 2010. I went through all of the psych evaluations, 6 month long diet, etc. Unfortunately, when my surgeons office submitted my file to the insurance company BC/BS of Minnesota), I got a call back saying an exclusion I was not notified of was placed on my policy at the beginning of 2011. So that left me with 3 choices...I could either pay for the surgery myself (but I'm a broke college student the way it is), I could try to lose weight on my own again (imagine that, it didn't…

Sometimes, I think it is hard for some of us to visulize what we might look like at our current or former weights or at the weight we think we might get to in this journey of ours. I found this website and I thought it was helpful! Maybe it will be helpful for you too...it's certainly interesting! < http://www.mybodygallery.com/ >

36 more days until my surgery and I ABSOLUTELY can't wait! I know that I may have a hard time after the surgery but I don't care! The thought of having more of a chance to be around for my son as he grows is wonderful to me! The thoughts of being able to shop in other stores that the few that are for "plus size" people is wonderful to me! I don't know if there are any others out there that are scheduled in March already but I am and I thought I would get this party started!!

How many switched doctors after deciding to change from band to sleeve? I'm convinced the band failed me but, in some ways I feel resentment toward my doctor too. I think they should have warned me the about the possiblity of vomiting daily and possiblity multiple times a day. I knew vomiting was a possibility but not to this extent. He also told me with the band, I could eat everything only much smaller amounts. Thre are LOTS of foods I can't eat at all because I'll start to vomit. I know he's highly experienced but, he's definitely in it for the money. At least I'm familiar with him and his office is convinient to my home.

and I'm down 16+ lbs! They want to see me in two weeks again. it seems they follow sleevers a little closer than GBS. At least I got an afternoon appointment so I can work half day.

this is a question for those of you who have experienced erosion....what are the signs?? Over the last week I've been having really really bad acid reflux, even during the day.....to the point that I have a hard time sleeping at night, like I'm choking on my saliva (I know graphic, but its the truth) Even sitting up in my recliner I have reflux.... What did you experience?? I'm glad I have decided to get this band out of me, but that's not until June....I have a doctor appt on Feb 2nd and I hope everything is ok and it stays ok until June, but this week has been more horrible than the last 7 years with this band in me!

Anyone?

Hi my name is Erika and I was sleeved Dec. 20th. I was hoping to find a local support group where I could go to a meeting but haven't found anything in town. Found this online group so I decided to join. I'm not fully on solids yet- taking baby steps. Did start working out but now have a small pain right above my belly button. Hoping that will subside soon. I see many of you have been around for a while. Any words of wisdom for this newbie?

A staff member at one of my sister high schools had had a Lap-band for awhile, but chose to keep it secret. Shortly after her retirement party, she collapsed, and within a few days, was dead. It seems that her Band had eroded, and she had a massive infection. There was nothing that the doctors could do. Every time I see one of those "Get Thin!" billboards along the freeway, I want to tear them down. Many people seemingly do fine with the Band, but the thing is still a ticking time bomb.

I went to see my doctor this morning for a check up and nearly passed out in the waiting room. He admitted me to the hospital. I was having severe muscle cramps and weakness. My lab work came back PERFECT...could be that I'm dehydrated and everything is concentrated...hence the good labs. If I had to bet I'd say my potassium is low. I do feel somewhat better since getting a bag of IV fluids bolused. Right now I'm trying to choke down milk of magnesia because apparently I need it. I've literally been admitted to the hospital once a week since my surgery and this is getting OLD. I just want to be home cuddling with my babies and living my life. Hopefully soon this rough pat…

I just wanted to thank you all for being here. I was sleeved 12-19-11. Because of your posts, I can gauge where I am in my recovery and I'm doing well. I am in a stall and have been for 24 days. I've read that it can last a month. I did lose 1" in my waist. So I just have to be patient. You guys are the best!

I know its to make the liver less fatty, but do they do an xray or sonogram of the liver prior to telling you to go on a liquid diet? I have seen some that didn't go on a liquid diet, and some that have only gone on a liquid diet for a week, however the average I have seen is two weeks. Thanks.

Approved (finally after 7 mth process!) now contemplating whether I should do it. (tell me I can't and I want to, tell me I can and I freak out!!!) My questions to anyone out there is can you lose too much weight after VSG? Yes I need to lose 80-95#, that'd be a perfect size for me. But much more than that and I would feel, for me, that I'd be TOO thin. So can you control that or do you just keep losing? Second part of my post is...I exercise A LOT and love to. Other than joint pain from arthritis and being overweight, I'm in great health and almost always have a lot of energy (I credit that to the working out). I'm afraid I'll get weak and tired after surgery an…

So I am officially seven months out and down 60 lbs. I am down from a size 18 to a size 8. Life is good. BUT, I've been noticing that I don't have the same feeling of not being hungry as I did before. I'm really scared. I know its the holidays and I must admit, I have been gnoshing like crazy on things like goat cheese and fig spread, usualy holiday foods and wine... that damn wine. In the last two weeks I've gained 4lbs and I'm freaking out. I need to step up the excercise...this I know. I really don't want to lose that much more weight but, honestly, another 15 to 20 and I'd be at goal. Don't know what to do.

I'm new to the forum. I am scheduled for my sleeve on Feb 27 with Dr Ortiz. My question involves going out to eat post-op. I plan on telling a select few about my surgery. When you go out with people who aren't in the know, how do you handle it? I would think it will be pretty obvious that I'm not eating a 'normal' amount.

Hello everyone, I am having terrible pre-op jitters!! I am leaving without a companion on my voyage and am a little nervous about after care and if it is necessary to have someone to help look after me??? Please, in desperate need of reassuring, comforting feed back!! Thanks!

I'm curious. I am starting the process on the 31st. I called my insurance today to see if the sleeve was covered and they said it is if its a medical necessity. So that got me thinking "Hmmm.." so.. I would like to know what are the reasons most people get denied approval? I have no comorbities, but my BMI qualifies me. Thanks a bunch.

I'd love to follow your journey as well as see pictures from start to finish. I noticed in the picture section, some of the pictures in a persons album isn't dated so I have no clue as to the start and beginning of their journey. Anywho, I am looking to lose 130 to 160 lbs, and wanted see someone who had about the same goal. I'm 282 now, and 5'6. How long did it take you? I can imagine it would take me about fifteen to eighteen months to lose that amount.

Ugh, I'm more interested in knowing how long I'd have to see a nutritionist as opposed to everything else. Ugh.. I'm counting down the days. I'm ready!

Just wondering if anyone was from Massachusetts and had Dr Andros Sandor do their surgery ???

Okay, not to be premature... after all, I am only 6 days out from surgery ...If your an expert, please evaluate this. I started out at 308 then lost 15 on the liquid diet before surgery. After surgery. I was 312. Today I am 283. Numbers aside, I have had so much energy that I am a bit freaked out. And could it be that I am loving my mile daily walks? I am struggling every day just to discern all these new physical sensations. Hunger, fullness, gas, pain, all feel different. And now I am going into emotional overdrive because I can't believe that I have all this energy and am already wearing some of my old clothes. So, seeing 2 anything on the scale is like proof tha…

Sleeve gastrectomy and the risk of leak: a systematic analysis of 4,888 patients. AuthorsAurora AR, et al. Show all Journal Surg Endosc. 2011 Dec 17. [Epub ahead of print] Affiliation Department of Surgery, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Lakeside 7, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, 44106, USA, aaurora@uchs.org. Abstract INTRODUCTION: Sleeve gastrectomy has become a popular stand-alone bariatric procedure with comparable weight loss and resolution of comorbidities to that of laparoscopic gastric bypass. The simplicity of the procedure and the decreased long-term risk profile make this surgery more appealing. Nonetheless, the ever present risk of a …

I know what the scale says I weigh, but sometimes it doesn't seem real. I have worn a size 2x pantyhose, and Queen sized knee highs for years. Yesterday I decided to buy some hose, and I was lost in the store. After buying several things and them not fitting, I found out, I'm a size A hose, and now "One Size Fits All" applies to me! I love my sleeve!

DOS: January 9, 2012 Surgeon: Kelvin Higa Fresno Heart Hospital

Do you have more energy? Is your energy the same, worst? I must say my energy levels vary. Some days, I'm okay, some days I'm tired. My iron levels are low so I take my iron pills as often as I could. Part of me fears getting sleeves might make it worst. I hope not.

Ok so I am home and loopy after my first pre surgerical producdurr. I had an edg done this morning. Dr did say I have a hiatal hernia but that he would take care if that when I have my actually surgery. So my question is what exactly is it and have any of you been told you have one

Hi All, I am 5 weeks out today. I feel like all the food I am able to eat taste "funny". I do have a sinus infection and am finally taking anitbiotics but it taste funny prior to that. It is true that I need to take foods slowly? This site in invaluable!

finally know where I am up to with having my band out and getting the VSG. I will be booked into hospital over the next week or so for January removal and then 3 months healing and the surgeon says the VSG is for me. He commented that he is now taking out more bands than what he puts in. Glenda :biggrin5:

Hey y'all!! I love reading the progress from Sleevers who had VSG around the same time as me. I had VSG on 12/28. I was 255 for my preop diet. 240 the day of surgery and 225 today. One of my employees told me that I looked different. He said he couldn't put his finger on it but I looked like my twin!!! That really made my day. I'm going to try on some old 16 pants today-- hope they fit! (:

I went from 256 to 201 as of today I went from size 26 to 14/16.....I can eat anything with no issues just small amounts like 3/4 a happy meal burger....walk my dogs every night ....I too struggle with wanting to eat more when im stuffed, but restriction is AWESOME.

Hi August All-Stars! This week has been ok for me. I weighed in at 195.0 this morning for a loss of 2 pounds. I love my sleeve but it seems as though I'll never get to goal. The last few weeks this has become much harder. I feel like I can eat more than ever so I really have to watch myself and track all of my calories and fat. Is anyone else feeling this way recently? I'm getting tired of being "on a diet" too. Can't wait to get to goal. Is anyone close? Let us know how y'all are doing!

I don't understand the posts of "Im stalled and not losing weight". Whats up with that? It just gets me fired up when I hear this from others. I mean, come on, 85% of your stomach has been removed, we eat like birds and someone thinks something is wrong when they don't loose weight for a few days to weeks??? My so-called stall happened when I switched to mushy foods, go figure. Body needed to adjust to it. Took a week and back to loosing about a pound per day if I stick to good healthy food. If I were stalled for more than a few days, I would contact my NUT and look over what and when I put in my mouth. I guess I'm just venting here, but there is no quick fix to being …

My name is Ginger. And would love someone who's done this to talk to. I'm done with my preop test. Just have one more appointment and authorization can start. Just worried about weight lose. Or lack of. Ive been pre op dieting for2 1/2 months and only lost 14lbs. And I have not cheated a lot. Hardly at all. Just worried ins will deny me cause lack of weight loss. Hope to hear from someone.