Rootman

I believe the issue is the long insoluble fibrous strings that may ball up in the stomach. So it MAY be desirable to avoid eating long raw stalks of it. Cut up small bits and cooked it should be fine.

It was a few weeks till I really had any desire for it I felt so crappy for a few weeks I didn't do much of anything but go to work and come home again.

It's true for the guys sometimes too. I now weigh 222 and people say I look like I weigh 180. My size LARGE shirts hang on me loosely, my size 36 pants are baggy. I have it in the hips thighs and I generally carry a little fat EVERYWHERE, feet, hands, face. I also seem to carry a lot of inter abdominal and inter thoracic fat, which is really bad stuff to have as it can press on your organs and cause serious issues.

The symptoms you list are pretty severe to be explained by ketosis, I would wonder if the issues you are having is due to anesthesia, healing from the surgery and the sudden drop in caloric intake. The gas they use during surgery causes a few issues too due to the irritation of nerves. Contrary to popular belief the gas completely dissipates in a few hours and any gassy feeling in the stomach is typically the stomach itself feeling particularly sensitive to typical amounts of "gas" in the stomach. I would recommend going back to the doctor to be sure.

Swim laps - I do 120 lengths of a 75' pool in 90 minutes 2 or 3 times a week Horseback riding - been twice in the last 3 months, love it! Cut the grass without wheezing like I was going to die Have sex without it hurting more than feel good - neck, back knees etc. Walk any amount of distance without getting winded

Yeah good luck getting this former fat boy in front of a camera for a nude or semi nude picture, I don't even like pics after 150+ pounds lost. A LOT of heavy people are the same way. There is no way a doc would require this of you, especially in the USA with the HIPA rules and all.

This early on in recovery it is typically a result of irritation of nerves leading to the diaphragm. It should pass and YES it sucks and sometimes even hurts. Later hiccups are a sign you are full and a signal to stop eating RIGHT AWAY, the feeling gets worse if you ignore the hiccups and eat a few more bites.

Almost 8 months out and I eat pizza once in a while. Our favorite is a local pizza shops thin crust with a fir amount - but not piled high - of toppings. I can eat one piece of a small pizza and I'm full, MAYBE 2 if the pieces are small, I used to scarf down 3/4 of a large all by myself and would want more but my wife already at the other 1/4!

Whoa! Let's clear this up before anyone else gets confused. I am pretty sure that Travelbum is speaking of closure staples used to close his incision and not the staples used to close off the stomach. Some surgeons use staples instead of stitches to close up the laproscopic incision holes. Travelbum, can you verify this? Maybe I'm wrong. And if I'm right this is pretty painless, you might get a little stinging sensation but it shouldn't feel any worse that yanking a bandage with a few hairs attached.

Yes, her problem is most definitely psychological rather then physical. There are thousands who have full bypasses and can maintain their weight despite the fat that in the case of an RNY they have a MUCH smaller "stomach" (actually a pouch made up of part of the intestinal tract). Quite a few people have had to have their stomach completely removed due to cancer or the threat of cancer and can survive and thrive. I'm going on 8 months out and have slowed to 1 or 2 pounds a week weight loss which means I am eating close to what I need to maintain my weight. I can easily add a few calories and keep my weight right where it's at. Just as they had issues with eating too much food they now have issues with eating to little.

It was also recommended for me as well to get anti-bacterial soap and wash by belly with it for the few days pre-op. I really have a problem with this stuff as I think it PROMOTES the formation of antibacterial resistant bacteria. Basically you kill 99% of the bugs and the 1% that are left reproduce and inherit the ability of the resistance, and so the cycle goes. I also have to wonder what benefit this has since you typically wash the last time hours before surgery and then put on your relatively germy clothes and sit around a while getting sweaty and providing a good environment to reproduce MORE of the resistant bacteria. Just my 2 cents.

150 pounds down and they have stayed pretty much where they are, if I lose any more - and I should lose another 35 pounds or so at least - I suspect they will get bigger. I am very fortunate as they are hardly noticeable, but they ARE there and will probably NEVER go away unless I work out so much that I bulk up like Ahnold and get huge 'ceps to fill the space the fat once took.

Yep, what Eureka-C said! ANYTHING is fair game but try and eat Protein first then the other stuff if you still want something. I've heard a few genuine sounding precautionary tails about avoiding raw celery stalks and coconut due to the vast amount of fibrous tissue they contain, these "may" ball up in the stomach and since they're pretty indestructible may cause what's called a bezoar - in a cat it's called a hair BALL.

Khy, YES do follow your docs orders but I highly suspect that he derived this diet recommendation from experience with BYPASS patients. When they bypass the first part of the intestines the absorption of Protein is hindered, since we DID NOT get a BYPASS this malabsorbtion is not an issue. So somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 to 100 grams of protein is good, anything over 60 should be OK.

I think, and this is just IMHO, that this is BS. I CANNOT eat and not drink, although I don't drink anywhere near as much as I used to. I used to drink 2 or 3 glasses of Water ever with every meal. Now it's maybe ONE, and consumed during the meal. IN a restaurant I usually polish of a glass of whatever I'm drinking prior to the entree being served and another glass during, I sometimes have them get me a drink to go too and sip on it for the next hour or so. I am going on 8 months out and have lost about 150 pounds so it must be working despite my "flushing food through my stomach" . I also do not get hungry, at least like I used to. I just get a small sensation that whispers, "Hey, maybe you should eat something.", not the ravenous tummy screaming at me "FEED ME . . . NOW!".

Well 2 guys who worked at the site where I had mine done both said they went hog wild the EVENING before their surgery and they lived to tell about it. Nachos, buffalo wings and tequila shots, YIKES! They said they got real sick but didn't define it exactly and I was reluctant to listen to the gory details as my own post-op tummy wasn't up to hearing about it. I would be very concerned about post-op constipation too, having your gut packed with waste when anesthesia sometimes hangs up the colon might be pretty painful. Whatever you do fess up to it and take the consequences. Better safe than sorry. BTW: I was on liquid diet for 10 days, just wanted to make it as easy as possible and wanted to jump start the weight loss.

Yep same here at abut 8 months out, I get the burps and burp a few small burps in a row and it subsides, there are times when I can't talk till I get the gas out. It doesn't happen very often and seems to be more prevalent after a "big" meal that I ate too fast. Of course a BIG meal now is just one small portion.

I am nearing 8 months out and am just about at 150 pounds LOST, that's one whole skinny person LOST! I too was anxious as things (not just diets) typically just don't go right for me, I must be a real schlep . Post-op I was not hungry EVER for 6 months and then after 6 months I have a real genuine mild hunger just before SOME meal times, especially if I've worked out or done a lot of physical labor. Now this is a little signal my tummy send me saying "Don't you think it's about time to eat?" not that BIG signal it used to send me "FEED ME . . . NOW!" Pre-op I used to NEVER be full and ALWAYS had room for a little more. Pre-op I can remember just a handful of times when I was uncomfortably full, and that was after MASSIVE meals. I get full now after just a small portion. I wrote all the above to say this - if it worked for me - Mr. Eat-Non-Stop and ANY reason is a Good Reason to eat, then it WILL work for you. Now ther HAVE been failures and there always WILL be. As long as man has a will then he can use that will to subvert ANYTHING - including having %80+ of his stomach removed. If you eat constantly post-op and eat too much of the wrong things then you WILL subvert the sleeve and not lose or even gain, but this tool is pretty darned effective of curbing the amount as well as the desire of food. No one can say for certain but the odds are MASSIVELY in your favor, a whole hell of a lot better than ANY odds in Vegas.

Well if you're in the USA any drug store or department store (Walmart) should have it. You can buy online too but if you're not in the USA it may be dicey. http://shop.emergenc...CFZBU7Aod-F5JzQ It also has a lot of B12 in it too so a separate B12 may not be necessary.

I suppose they do but I would disregard them, you aren't going to get fat off vitamins, and the 120 or so calories extra is NOT going to sabotage your diet.

Another guy here, I held it in till just after the surgery then had a massive cry, you know one of those kids get and can't catch their breath? It's natural, your facing a veritable unknown, a MASSIVE change in lifestyle and the removal of something that's given you comfort ALL your life - FOOD It's natural to have a LOT and conflicting emotions about it. It's hit me a couple of times since then too, I suspect that the sudden and tremendous changes my body are going through have upset my body chemistry pretty severely.

I for one would NOT have a plastic gizmo (band) floating around in my gut for love nor money. That and the cost of upkeep, did they tell you it's $200+ each time you get a saline fill / removal to expand or shrink the band? YES, the sleeve is more invasive and perhaps a tad riskier as there is actual removal of tissue. But you'll have to make up our mind and then stick with it. While it's nice that others support you ultimately the ONLY opinion that counts is YOURS.

One thing that has helped both the wife an I was to start drinking a EmergenC brand Vitamin C drink 3 times a week. It's no mystery, it's principally ascorbic acid which passes through to the urine one the body adsorbs what it needs, this acidifies the urine and makes it inhospitable to some infectious bacteria, and the increased Water helps increase the urine flow too. I mix mine with 12 ozs of water rather than the described 6, makes it easier on my tiny tummy.

I'm with Megin, chili NEEDS beans to be more than a thick "meat soup".

For the most part there is no decision involved, your stomach is pretty severely "injured" and you will most likely not WANT to eat. It also works out that you need more calories to maintain a heavier weight because it takes more energy to run and move a fat body than a thin one, therefore the limited calories you ARE consuming is more of a deficit that when you are thinner. You lose faster at first then later when you require fewer calories and can eat more due to the stomach healing.