Virginia S

Glad you figure it out! You and I were sleeved on the same day, but I've been on prescription Pepcid since day 1. I do take an occasional Tums for break through acid - cracks me up that one Tums is all my tiny tummy needs. I can eat a little more than you, more toward the 4T end of the range, but haven't seen any increase since I started eating foods. Next week I get to try regular solid foods. I'm afraid that'll limit even more what I can eat. I'm still getting most of my Protein from supplements; I eat almost exclusively protein foods, just not enough of them. But like you, I feel good. Weight coming off slowly but surely.

I was my surgeon's 5th sleeve. He has had zero leaks in VSG, though he has had RNY leaks in the past (he has done a LOT of them). Remember that the RNY is a more complicated surgery than the sleeve even though the staple line is smaller. The practice is a Center of Excellence, has a very low complication rate and zero deaths ever. So I decided to be big, bold and brave and sign up as number 5. Still, as much as I trusted him I was a little nervous about being the 5th. Everything went great though; I have had no troubles except back spasms, and you can't blame the surgeon that my back muscles are wimps. The number of sleeves is important, but so is overall experience and complication rate. One thing about never having had a leak - leaks happen, even to the best surgeons, and you need to make sure your surgeon would know how to handle it if it did. A leak can be scary but manageable; botched handling of a leak can be life threatening.

I couldn't do it - had to drop back to mushies twice a day and Protein Meal Replacements the rest of the day. Thankfully, my surgeon's plan calls for Liquid Protein to be gradually phased out by about 6 months. I think it will be easier on solids. Is the no Protein shakes thing a hard and fast rule with your surgeon or nut?

I've always loved Breakfast casserole, but most of them are more bread than Protein. Not this one! One serving (and I could only eat 1/2 a serving) has 140 calories, 12g of protein and only 3g of carbs. 1 1/2 cups ham (cubed or shredded) 6 oz plain Greek yogurt 1/4 cup crushed crackers (saltines/Ritz) 1/4 cup shredded cheese 2 tablespoons margarine 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion (I used onion flakes) 6 eggs Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8x8 pan. Melt the margarine in a large bowl. Add the ham, yogurt, crackers, cheese and onion. Stir. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, then stir into the first mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until center is firm. Let stand before serving. 9 servings.

Wow! Way to go. When I hit 7 months, I want to be just like you!

I got muscle relaxers. Here's how my doc explained it: your back muscles have to pick up some slack because your abdominals have been cut. If your back muscles aren't strong, they can have muscle spasms. I have an order for physical therapy to strengthen my back muscles as soon as I'm off my activity restrictions (two more weeks).

OK, deep breathe. Are these light liquids like Water, crystal light, etc? Because I did that - I started mushies and can't eat 1/4 cup, can't even eat a full scrambled egg, but I can drink me some liquids! I think the difference is that the valve at the bottom of the stomach, the pylorus, doesn't close when you drink liquids but does when you eat solids. So other than that your stomach, etc is healing very quickly this doesn't mean anything. A word of warning - try this with heavier/protein drinks and sooner or later you will pay. My body seems to treat some Protein drinks like liquids, but I learned early on not to assume that because I made it very, very angry with one about day 7. So when you get to anything besides liquids that pour straight through, don't assume the ease of drinking will translate. Eat, and drink thick drinks, slowly as instructed. You'll be OK.

Tough but honest answer - I'm shaped just like you, and like you I lose top down. Eventually I lose weight in the legs, but the one time I really saw huge progress more quickly in my legs was when I walked and hiked and biked and, leg intensive things like that. So I'm starting that early (I'm 3 weeks out) and will move to a little resistance especially for my upper body when I'm off lifting restriction. So yeah, the sleeve won't change how you lose. But a lot of lower body moving exercise will help you see progress at the bottom faster.

I'm at 600-650 right now with 70 grams of protein and <30 carbs. However, 85 calories a day are my calcium chews and the sugar free applesauce I bury my crushed potassium in - those will go away in June. I'm still on soft food. I'm shooting for 800 once I get onto solid foods (per the NUT), which feels like quite the challenge at this point. However, I'm pretty tall and I've seen a lot of folks post who were struggling to lose at lower calories and the suggestion is always to up their calories so I'm going to try to comply. We'll see.

I did but it didn't delay my surgery. I had 8 once-weekly supplements - 5 before surgery and 3 after (took the last one yesterday). They'll test my levels again with my one-month post-op blood work 4/18. Hopefully it'll work out easily for you as well. (I also had low potassium - it had to be up before surgery and they tested me for that but with the supplements I was fine).

Hugs, Barb! Welcome to the official "WTF did I do to myself" period of your recovery. Length of this period varies, but moving toward a normal life seems to be the key. Oh, yeah - and the tears and strong emotions, as uncomfortable as they are, are so normal my surgeon's office includes them in the pre-operative education handbook. You'll get through this! Good luck. Feel better soon.

Here's the daily routine that works for me: 15 grams of fiber supplement (I used 2 fiber chews twice a day = 10 and then fiber drinks or in my shakes for the rest) and 2 generics of colace each morning and 2 each evening. It's easy and it works. I've seen others who take a stool softener and then miralax every day. Just make it a part of your routine, instead of waiting until you "need" it. To get rid of the immediate problem, try milk of magnesia. Then put yourself on some kind of routine. Once I'm on maintenance and upping carbs, I expect to be able to ditch the colace and just have the fiber.

I had trouble with this pre-op but not post-op except losing track of time. What worked for me pre-op: First, watch your sodium. Second, it'll be easier post-op with the dramatically smaller servings; try reducing them now a little (tip - practicing the small bites and chew, chew, chew part will help you eat smaller servings - you'll be surprised!).

Just replied in another thread: Tums. If you're already taking an oral pill, add one to two Tums when the rumbles start. Rolaids also works but my local store is out. Regular strength Gaviscon is also supposed to be wonderful, but it doesn't seem to come flavored and I was was too chicken to try the regular.

I had the same problems. Notice I said HAD. It was acid rumblings. I actually got it more after I had eaten than when my stomach was empty. Are you taking a twice daily antacid (prilosec, pepcid, zantac?) If not, start by adding that. If you are, the magic solution that worked for me is Tums. Sometimes one tablet works, sometimes I have to take two. Works a champ.

I have such a Pasta problem...In the past, it didn't matter how much pasta you put in front of me, I would eat every bite - plus some bread along with. I'd wash it down with whatever amount of liquid needed and eat until miserable. I just have NO breaks on pasta, so I've decided to treat it like an addiction and go cold turkey. Not even a taste. We'll see once I feel more in control. Maybe that rule isn't forever, but it's certainly for now! Chinese would have been tough for me too - but you're not as cheap a date as me. Maybe that should make you feel good?

I was waay nervous - local Italian restaurant, and me a Pasta addict. But I had a plan - tuna salad plate, hold everything but the tuna salad. They brought me a big scoop in a bowl, I set aside about 1/4 cup & put the rest in a box...and couldn't eat but about half the quarter cup. So...about 5 or 6 more meals in the box. Total bill: $3.99. Am I a cheap date or what? Also - watching everyone eat pasta didn't bother me. What's up with that?!?!

I had that same concern, I can drink pretty easily. As long as your pylorus isn't closing (it's at the bottom of your stomach and closes when it's full of food to liquify things in preparation for release to the stomach. But when I went on mushies this week, I can only eat about 1/4 cup or 2 oz at my best, and usually not even that. So it doesn't seem to be associated with bad restriction. If you're not feeling full or uncomfortable, you're probably not stretching anything. A word of warning though: I found one Protein drink -

This seems a little high from what I've read here - most folks seem to shoot for around 800. That said, you're losing weight - are you very active? On the hungry, I'm almost three weeks out and just started to experience this - but I've also noticed heartburn. I read another forum someone who had terrible hunger pangs but started taking chewable antacids and they went away - they were actually acid pains. I've also read lots of people on here say if you're hungry it might be acid. So I'm going to try the chewable antacids.

If it's the same pain as mine, it really is muscular. And it sounds the same. That's the very, very good news. However, mine didn't clear up with Extra Strength Tylenol & heat - it took muscle relaxers. If you're not better in a few days, call 'em back, maybe even share my story and ask if you can get a short term muscle relaxer prescription. If you can't take time off from work, tough it out and take them Saturday and Sunday. It only took me about 24 hours to feel sooo much better. Va

So it's been a week of challenges and triumphs. Saturday I started having pains in my left side. Called the surgeon on call (not mine, but I like him) and we talked over my symptoms (none but the pain) and decided it was muscular. But it got worse not better and yesterday at work I couldn't sit in my chair. By the time the surgeon's office opened at 8:30 I was in tears. I ended up in the office on an emergency appoint. Got muscle relaxers, slept most of yesterday and feeling worlds better today. Back to work again tomorrow. So today, hubby and I decide to go out for lunch. I just started mushies, so we looked up the menu at Shoney's website - it listed a tuna salad plate. Got to the restaurant - no tuna salad, no soft foods. Chef comes out, we find chopped up eggs on the salad bar and he makes me an off-menu egg salad. Really good, but he brings me a big Cereal bowl full. I serve out about 1/4 cup, but can't eat it all - the rest into a to-go tub will make at least 4 more meals! And they charge me - nothing. Good save, Shoney's!

First, the sleeve is not made of anything - it's a just name for what's left of your stomach post-surgery based on the shape. Basically they remove the round part of your stomach and leave a long thin tube that runs from your espophagus to your intestine. They don't bypass anything. There are a couple of advantages: The part they remove is the stretchiest part, which makes it harder to stretch. It is also the part that produces the hunger hormone. If you take an antacid to get rid of the rumbly/grumbly feeling, you shouldn't feel hungry. Bypass leaves some of the gastric fundus so it stretches easier, and has normal hunger feelings. All that said you CAN stretch your new sleeve, it's just a lot harder to do. Because there's no bypass, there's no dumping and no malabsorption of food/vitamins. Your food goes through the same channels as it does now, there's just less capacity to eat. The sleeve/stomach (we don't call it a pouch) is tight and gives good restriction when you eat. Today I served myself 1/4 cup of egg salad and didn't eat it all. That will grow over time - long time sleevers can eat 4-6 oz of dense Protein - but that can take months. There's nothing artificial left behind like the band, and nothing to slip or malfunction. No adjustments. Just heal, follow the food rules (high protein, low carb) and get on with life. You can eat anywhere, though eating certain things will defeat your weight loss. So - want a chocolate egg because it's Easter? You can do that, but don't do it every day. Every restaurant has something you can eat even on the diet phase - lean meat, chili, meat salads, etc. plus veggies. I started looking at the sleeve because I take a steroid every day and steroids can cause problems (marginal ulcers, etc.) for bypass patients. That made me realize - even if someone doesn't have a health condition when they have surgery, what happens if they do get sick? So - sleeve for me. Hope this helps!

My nut says sometimes cravings tell you something. Are you getting any fat at all in what you're eating? If not, maybe add a little good fat (not a lot, and not a lot of saturated fat). We tend to be afraid of fat, but our body needs some. My Protein powders have no fat. I stopped having weird cravings when I started drinking a daily pre-made shake. Some fat, not a lot, not saturated.

So I looked up pumpkin seeds too. 10% lower in calories per 1/4 cup - 186.6 vs 205.2. Pumpkin seeds are lower in overall fat but slightly higher in saturated fat. Carbs the same 6-7 grams, but in sunflower seeds almost 4 grams are Fiber, in pumpkin seeds, almost none are. Yeah, I might be OCD.

People who take steroids should not have the RNY bypass. Here speaks someone who takes steroids every day of her life and researched this carefully. The sleeve is THE surgery for a steroid patient, and that's medically supported not just my opinion. So your friend may have made a bad choice from the get-go. Some of what she told you was true, but needs to be taken in perspective. WLS isn't a coast, but it unlike everything else you've probably tried, it works. It can be tough to get the fluids and Protein in, ya gotta keep plugging. On the hair loss - you may well lose hair, but it will grow back. I have warned my husband it might happen and am trying to prepare myself, but I had the surgery knowing that it often happens - a few months in cute hats vs. a life time of obesity was no real trade-off to me. Be honest with yourself about these things. Assure yourself it will be worth it to work your way through the challenges and then when they come you can say, "I was ready for this, I'm fine." Good luck!