iegal

I had a lot of nausea for about four days. Yuck. Have you spoken to your surgeon? Next, try tepid decaf tea (I tried peppermint). Cold drinks did not sit well. Hugs - things get better,so stick in there.

Best wishes!

Congrats and welcome to "onederland!"

Oh hun; Weight Loss is such an emotional journey. I had much more stress with the emotional issues than the concern over how much weight I was losing each month. Our surgeons did surgery on our stomachs, not our brains. You will struggle with self esteem, self doubt will creep in, sabotage, fear, brain cravings for things you do not really want/need, outsiders mocking your accomplishments, relationships with others change and mostly your relationship with food changes drastically. You will find others treat you differently simply because you weigh less. This depressed & angered me becasue I was the same girl, just a few pounds lighter. My world was changing as much as my body was changing. Remember you are emerging into a new you. Accept some days will be good while others will be filled with regret. Things get better - I promise. Slowly, but they do get better. Really. Here to cheerlead you on to those bright days ahead.

Beautiful. Congrats on your success thus far!

I lost a lot of my turkey neck over time. Not saying that I am perfect but much better off with a little saggy skin rather than the load of extra weight. Stick with the VSG plan. You are worth it.

TAKE THE PICTURES. At almost two years out, I wish I had taken my day before pictures. I now share those "preVSG" vacation pictures to other SoCal citizens who are considering WLS. You will be amazed at your changes. Do not be ashamed of where you are today, please. You are not ugly, horrible or in denial. You are making a change. Be proud of yourself!

Set a timer and take a small sip every 15 minutes you are awake. That full feeling doesn't come right away, your body is learning and does not yet realize 80+% of your stomach is gone. Hormones are still in you from pre surgery. Have you tried sipping tepid decaf tea? Really helped me. Keep with it, things do get better.

Hugs and prayers for you. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Okay - I had my surgery almost 2 years ago, prices look like they have come down considerably. I paid $18K inclusive of everything including preop/post op liquid diet protien foods, physc eval, nutritionist meetings, weekly support classes for life and also 6 months of Dr. follow up visits. Follow ups were about one hour with surgeon. My surgeon's partner is charging $14K. You can watch my surgeon on Dr. OZ - Nov. 2010 talking about VSG surgery. Regular insurance now pays for my follow ups including labs. No regrets, even knowing if I had waited 18 months I could have saved money. Still worth every penny. I love my sleeve.

Just be careful of the sugar intake - even in Spenda. Great way to be creative on your fluid intake.

Hi - congratulations on all you the weight you have lost so far. Maybe you are still eating with your eyes rather than when your stomach tells you are full? Are you eating off of a small plate? Satiated is not equal to gorged no matter what your eyes tell you. Yes, I can eat so much more than I could those first six months. Do I feel full? Yes. Am I satisfied? Yes. Do I want more? Sometimes but this is mental, not a physical hunger. I want to eat more because others are still eating - so I still need to practice to slow down so that my smaller portion lasts longer. I think what you are experiencing is lack of mental satisfaction, not physical satisfaction after a meal. Our surgeons operated on our stomachs, not our brains. Stick with the plan - things get better with time. Learn to embrace the new you and find something else that will give you that feeling of satiated. Hugs. I love my sleeve with no regrets.

I puked for about three months if I ate too quickly or too much. Slow learner on listening to my new tummy signals of full tummy. Are you puking even with mushies & liquids? If yes, contact your surgeon ASAP. Agree with previous poster, you need to speak to your surgeon and get some follow up. The scarring of the stomach internally may restrict anything other than liquid passing through. Be vigilant not to become dehydrated as this will put you back in the hospital quickly.

At closer to two years from surgery (Sept 2010) I am not as disciplined as the other wonderful responders. Goal was quick for me, so I did not keep all of my great habits during the weight loss. Today - I still battle my mind and it is a good thing that my sleeve restricts me. Yes, I can eat more than I think I should - throwing in slider foods (chips/candy/sauces) in with meals which allows me to eat more than I think I should. I snack between meals. I still eat too quickly a bad habit that has come back. This tricks my stomach into allowing me to get more in since my full signal (I sneeze about three times) is overridden when eating quickly. I need to drink more often rather than grab a snack. VSG surgery has turned me into a sugar a holic. food is not in my every waking thought. I don't plan my day around food anymore, dreaming of my next meal. I eat because of smell, texture and social reasons. Sadly-a few recent emotional downturns have caused me to slide into some bad habits again. Working on being better. No I do not measure food, what I do is at every meal...every meal I eat on a small plate. If out to dinner, I eat off the bread plate. So others at the table do not feel uncomfortable, I place my plate on top of a regular dinner plate, using the dinner plate as a charger. Tricks my mind into thinking I am getting a lot of food. People do not "watch" my portions too. My problem prior to surgery was volume and using food as a cure for everything. Guess what my problem is after surgery? Same thing but my "sleevie wonder" stops me from overeating...as if I could over eat now. HA HA. Surgeon made my stomach smaller and did not fix my brain. Although I do not feel physical hunger I suffer from snacking urges due to boredom, bad habits or neglecting to drink enough. I am maintaining my weight - within 5 pounds approx but I still need to make better food choices. The sleeve did not fix my mind - food is still a battle but now with VSG I can win the war. I win more battles than I lose. Need to stratagize daily to win more battles. I am the enemy. I am the victor. No one is responsible for my future long term success of VSG but me. Stay vigilant with your good habits even after goal. No regrets, I love my sleeve.

Agree all surgeons are different, but I agree with your initial reaction. I have read many post op diet plans for VSG and not one suggests it is okay to drink soda. At 1 1/2 years out not one drop of soda has passed my lips still. Not one VSG diet plan allows you to eat anything and everything you feel like at 2 weeks out. Even with a very expereinced surgeon, I did not follow everything my surgeon said to the letter. Listen to common sense, what your body says is okay. Maybe troll the internet for other surgeons diet plans and modify to what you feel is best for you and your needs. Although I could go to mushies at 2 weeks, my first taste of real food was at 5 weeks - 1 tablespoon of applesauce. It was what I could handle mentally as welll as physically. Let me know if you would like any surgeons diet plans that I have collected. Or better yet, just go to google and put in VSG diet plan. Congrats on your sleeve!

An early welcome to the losers bench. Remember to sip often, walk often and rest in between. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

I am 1 1/2 years out - no revision needed. Think you need to talk to your surgeon. When you get VSG - the portion left of your stomach does not have the elasticity to stretch back into normal size again...you can't grow a new pouch. This is not the old stomach stapling surgery of decades ago. Now I can eat more than I did at three months out. But I know how to trick my stomach with slider foods (not recommended) But in no way can I eat a lot of gorge as I did before as a volume eater. Talk to your surgeon, you will be happiest with a medical response. Good luck - I love my sleeve even today.

Oh honey, this journey is not easy. I will tell you that I did not feel "normal" with energy levels until about 6 months out. Think about it ... your body was probably getting 2000 calories a day with 200+ carbs plus all the sugar. Now you are lucky to get under half of those calories and carbs (hopefully little sugar) and you expect your body to be happy? My body was angry. i was lethargic, low energy for at least three months even with adequate liquids, taking Vitamins. I was detoxing, eliminating soda, no caffine, minimal carbs and so on. Boy did my body rebel. Stick in there. I promise things will get better. Stick to the diet plan. Maybe UP your calories - really. Sometimes body is in starvation mode. You are learning about how to eat and what to eat. This is a journey, not a script to follow to the letter. Hugs and feel free to contact me directly if you ever want to vent one on one. No regrets - I love my sleeve!

Yes, you’ll need help those first few weeks since you can't lift baby right away. Can a family member or a friend come and stay with you? Recommend a minimum of that first week someone around constantly during the hours your kids are awake. You will need to rest and recoup. Ask during your consult what surgeon recommends for support. Your kids are important so a delay would be better than a potential you not being able to care adequately for your babies.

So - are you already on your pre-op diet? Or is your NUT going to give to a plan?

So adverse to pain. I filled my pain perscription (liquid) prior to surgery - so ask your surgeon what they recommend for pain management. Honestly - no pain for me. None. Nausea was really bad but no pain. I had VSG as an outpatient so I was home comfortable in my own bed that night. I did take the medication one night since I was not sleeping. I slept a lot that first week. Make a list of what questions to discuss with your surgeon on that all important pre-op appointment. Wishing you the best! No regrets - I love my sleeve!

Most of us are scared before surgery - this is an optional surgery. Remember, human kind is afraid of what we do not know about. Some people are scared before learning to swim others were scared of transplant surgery. People are ignorant and it sounds like your doctor does not have all the facts. This does not make him a bad doctor but to threaten dropping you because you are pursuing something to make you healthier? Is that good medicine and in your best interest? No, he is not up to date on his information to advise you properly. I only had a 33+ BMI so insurance would not cover me. I was a healthy fat person considered obese, just not morbidly obese. Every physical for years my doc would suggest losing 75+ pounds. Wow, but surgery wasn’t an option to me without a weight gain of 25+ pounds – which is crazy. Knew what my future was...more weight, less activity, lower self esteem, inability to do the things I wanted to do physically, shop freely in normal size stores and so much more. Can I suggest you make a pro and con list? What happens if you do have surgery? What benefits do you get? Do research; ask others why they are doing this. Ask a person who has VSG for a while...are they still happy? (YES I AM) Now the cons - what happens if you don't have surgery? What is your future health going to be like? (take a look at your family who are overweight) This is not a decision to make lightly since VSG is non reversible. Move forward with confidence. Hugs to you!!!

Hi Delby; We are meeting first weekend in May in Rancho Cucamonga. You are welcome to come and join us! Send "sleeve 4 me" a message to get details or you can always contact me directly. Congrats on upcoming surgery! iegal

Hi; Congrats on your decision to have VSG surgery. Now about those kids...not knowing the maturity level of the kids or if they are worry warts you will be the best one to know how to approach them. Kids don't need to know every detail and they will learn more details as they get older. Balance what is need to know information. Remember they are your children, not your friends with adults minds able to rationalize pros and cons of this major optional surgery. Adjust according perhaps just small bites of info, not a data dump. I did not tell my adult age kids since I did not want them worry about my recovery while they studied at college. You and your husband know what is right for your family. Again, congrats! I have no regrets.

As WL surgeons will tell you - they do gastric surgery, not brain surgery. Many of us battle head hunger even after VSG surgery. I am 1 1/2 years out from surgery and have slid into eating in between meals not because I am hungry, but because I am able to do so and food still tastes good. Today I had chips with ranchy dip for a snack, and a few handfuls of candy hanging around from Easter. No dinner yet. Really I know better. Take your time to learn good habits and be vigilant. No regrets - I love my sleeve! Signed - need to take my own advice.