PdxMan

HERE!

I always told my wife that I would hate to see what size I would have been if I didn't exercise. (pre-surgery) I think in my head, exercise gave me an excuse to eat more. I don't know ... It's all in my past, now and my sleeve doesn't let me make those kind of excuses anymore. THANK GOODNESS!

Duodenal Switch = DS Bougie: A thin cylinder of rubber, plastic, metal or another material that a physician inserts into or though a body passageway, such as the esophagus, to diagnose or treat a condition. A bougie may be used to widen a passageway, guide another instrument into a passageway, or dislodge an object. Basically, it is something they put in through your mouth into your stomach to use as a guide to sew the staple line. Don't worry too much about size, the difference between a 32 and a 40 is VERY small.

Yup, same for me. I was on broths a week longer than suggested and mushies as well. I started eating canned tuna REALLY mushed up at 6 weeks and could only eat a bite or two. It was uncomfortable and I was afraid to move on. I did, though, so know it does get better. I am 7 months out yesterday and I can eat pretty much anything, but in real small quantities and I chew, chew, chew. Meats are the toughest, for sure. Salads and sliders go right on in, no problem.

For those researching, I think a good question to ask your surgeon is how tight to the bougie do they sew. Just because they use a 34 bougie doesn't mean your stomach will be that size. It is merely a guide and keeps them from accidently sewing the stomach too tight or closed all together. If they stay an inch away from the 34 bougie ... guess what? You have a size ~70 stomach. Enough to do a re-sleeve, for sure. Vickie, I'm sorry you have to go through this. Good luck.

That's just it. I don't think I have overcome it ... yet. I have an 8K race this weekend. My coach suggested I elimanate my supplemental protein (I have one shake and 1 bar daily for 60g) and focus on carbs for the 4 days leading up to the race. It is difficult for VSGers to carb up enough while maintaining normal daily activities. I'll let you know how it goes.

I think my approach to the Dr would be to ask that he do a tight stitch close to the bougie ... give it awhile. If there isn't the expected restriction, then look at putting a band on it. It seems like a potential risk where none needs to be taken. I've read on here people 2 years out still experiencing excellent restriction. I would hate to add a band based on a *maybe*.

and my response ... Oy, I think I found your problem. Carbs. For the average Joe, yes, swear off carbs (greatly reduce). Totally agree. For a runner, carbs are the gasoline. They are essential. I am trying for 150-175 grams on the average day, but pre-race, I'll be shooting for 200-225. I am exercising enough so weight loss/gain isn't a concern anymore. I do what I need to do to keep my training up. Looking at your stats, it is my opinion you should be there, too. I run about 20 miles/week and know I wouldn't be able to be anywhere near that if I didn't eat a bunch of carbs. Gotta have em and in quantity. Not good for weight loss ... excellent for running. I can go into detail about how the body converts carbs/protein/fats into glycogen, stores them in the liver ... blah blah blah, but you may have already done some research on this topic. Of course, there are a million opinions out there and nutrition is not an *exact* science. Find any study and I will find another stating just the opposite. You have to find what works for you, but Protein heavy I know does not work for runners. It takes a lot of energy and time to convert. That is why we are to avoid any protein supplements leading up to a race. Now, post race is another thing all together. Protein ... YES! Carbs ... YES! You must repair any muscle damage and refill your glycogen stores. That is why at the post race tables they have bananas, bagels and Protein drinks.

That is a good question. I am currently training for a marathon with a running group in Portland and someone asked this very question of our coach. He said that the training program he has set up was designed to be able to accomplish the goal at the end of the program. He couldn't say exactly what would happen if someone were to deviate from it by either increasing or decreasing effort. Those that do more than the program leave themselves open to injury, but more importantly, exhaustion. Now, I know training for a marathon and training for a 5K are different, but I think for a new runner, they are probably similar. One of the issues I just posted about over in the Exercise & Fitness section deals with the issue of having enough energy to finish the race. For me, it is difficult to get enough nutrition to do the physical activities I want to do. If I exert myself additionally outside of the program, I risk not being able to stay within the running program's training guidlines. But of course, I have no idea what your history is or your fitness level. You may be fine doing additional things. Bottom line is you have to listen to your body and what it is telling you as far as your energy reserves. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress and how you are able to do it.

Hey all, I responded to MassIndex, but I thought I would post my message here as well: For me, I had been hitting the wall right around the 5-6 mile mark. I am in a running group here in Portland training for the Vancouver Marathon and spoke to our coach about this very topic as it is a concern. Here is what he suggested: Slow my pace down by 1 minute/mile and see if I can go further. I had been running between 8:15 - 8:45 per mile, so I am slowing down by 1 minute and am able to run farther. I haven't bonked yet, but my long distance at this point is 8 miles. We have an 11 mile run the week after next. I'll let you know how it goes. Start carbing up (good carbs) and drop Protein supplements on Wednesday for a Sunday long run/race. Since it difficult to refresh glycogen stores, we need to start the process earlier. Limit running/exercise effort until race day. Increase calories, increase Water. Needless to say, this is difficult. Whatever level you are getting, get more. Use the energy supplements GU, Roctane or the like 15 minutes before a race. If race is over 45 minutes, take another at the 30 minute mark. This is what I have been doing and it has been working for me. I have an 8K race this weekend, and am starting my carb load today. I'll let you know how it goes. Please keep me posted on yourself. There isn't a lot of info out there for VSG runners. I think we're a small group. What is your pace currently? How many calories are you able to get in each day?

Yup, about 2 months here, too. I eat them quite often now with some tuna, or chx. Here is a thread that discusses salads and veggies, too. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/29597-can-you-eat-salad-vegetables-and-fruits-with-the-gastric-sleeve/

Again, always enjoy a good exchange. If you look at my last post, I'm not talking about "attempting to quit 2 addictive behaviors at once", but quitting smoking should have occurred at least 3 months prior to even scheduling the surgery. I'm sure guessing surgeons in other countries won't have a problem operating on you and watch you go out 30 minutes after and have a cig. I'm sure there are several here in America, too. But that is not what my surgeon and dozens of others I researched allow. If you're looking for a backrub and warm fuzzies to tell you it's OK, go smoke in your hospital gown ... I think there is a forum for that. But if you want real answers to how people are succeeding with their sleeve program, then the answers may not fit your pre-conceived notions. Empathy? Oh, yes, we have it. So much so that we are willing to share the truth and offer whatever help we can. But I'm not going to sit here and tell you black is white. Sorry ps I quit years ago (about 6-7 attempts) and it is still a battle. If smoking were healthy, I'd have one right now

I'm guessing you are asking why I couldn't do this pre-op ... ? Short answer ... because of my relationship with food. I didn't eat to merely satisfy a hunger ... As far as my exercise, 4 days a week I run between 4 and 5 miles, and twice a week I do Tabata and weight lifting. I started by walking about 1/2 a mile. There were telephone poles on the side of the road, so I would walk to one pole, then jog to the next, walk to the next ... Then I would walk to one, run two, walk one, run two ... walk one, run three ... until I was able to run a mile. I just kept progressing.

Yes, do a search on this site for Ketosis. Lots of posts.

Always enjoy a good exchange, for sure. But, no surgeon is going to ask you to quit smoking on your surgery day. To imply this is irresponsible. From what I have read, most surgeons require a minimum 3 months non-smoking before they will even schedule the surgery. I've heard of 6 months as well. But, a lot of smokers are not honest with their medical team and do not admit to being smokers. It is a risk to be healing from a surgery and smoking. Is it a necessary risk ...??

Did they give any reason? I would follow up with them. I couldn't imagine why protein suspended in a bar would not absorb vs protein suspended in a shake ...

From what I understand about Milk Protein is that it is absorbed a little slower than Whey, but it is still absorbed. If you are finishing a weight lifting routine, yes, Whey protein is best. You want it absorbed into your bloodstream and made available for muscle repair ASAP. If you just had 85% of your stomach removed ... you're allllll goooood. BTW, my NUT also told me to stay away from the bullets ...

Big fan of the Premier protein bars from Costco. (and other places, I'm sure) I also love their protein shakes (30g of protein, each)

Sorry ... if you are eating mushies, then how is your ground beef prepared? Your stomach is the mechanical part of digestion and beef is VERY difficult to digest. I was told 3 months before cow meat. Pureed chicken, tuna, fish ... fine, but not beef. But I do know that every NUT/surgeon is going to tell you different, so definately follow their plans, but beef ... wow. You will definately feel restriction with that, too. Be careful with liquid with beef, too.

Ahhh ... My liquids was broths and Protein shakes. I don't think they wanted me on dairy for fear of possible lactose intolerance issues, which didn't occur for me, but I know can for many others. From there I went to the pureed soups after about 3 weeks and did the purees for 3 weeks. I was so frightened to move off of purees, though. I didn't want to push myself. But, I just did what I felt my body could do. I think that is what is important. Try to be in tune with the feedback your body is giving you. It is hard, for sure at this stage as it is so difficult to know when you are full. I took measured amounts, about 2oz and then evaluated how it felt. If it wasn't good, I didn't go back to it. If other things are sounding good to you, I believe that is your body telling you it is ready. Just take it easy and listen to your body.

I took cream soups to be creamed soups ... as in pureed. Not necessarily containing cream. I pureed chili, chicken veggie and lentil/ham/veggie. Yum I don't think you should necessarily go backwards. Do what you can handle without pushing yourself. This is not a race.

In the interest of protecting everyone from potential harm, I just wanted to let everyone know that andersonlj is back. His new handle is IowaAndy. Irene, on other forums, when you ban someone, you can block their IP. Is that not possible here? He responded to my inquiry with a nasty private message from this post. I guess he didn't like that I recognized him after his rant about what a terrible site VST was and how there were much better support sites out there. Yet, he is back. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/30290-its-girl-scout-cookie-seasonaaarrrrgggghhh/page__p__261496#entry261496 Just be careful, y'all. I can handle his poison, but others may not.

Let me start off by saying what you are feeling is TOTALLY normal. I don't think too many people didn't roll over at some point and say, "What the heck did I just do!!??" I know I did. I just kept my eye on the prize, as they say. I did go back to liquids and stayed there until I felt ready to progress. I was on the purees, too, for longer than my surgeon wanted me to be, but you just have to listen to your body. If something is not agreeing with you, don't eat it. Your stomach is swollen right now and it is difficult to understand when you are full, so I just drank measured amounts every few hours. Around 2oz, I believe is what I did. I even set a timer to remind me, because I wasn't really hungry and as I told my wife, if I didn't have to eat, I wouldn't. As far as the horrible gas, you may be lactose intolerant right now. This happens to a lot of new sleevers. Also, a lot of folks have had success with Gass-X strips. These days are the most difficult, but keep listening to your body. Don't over do it. Stay on the board reading and posting and learning. Good luck, I'll be sending good thoughts your way.

My wife and her family eat anything and everything and are skinny as rails. They have no idea what or why I did what I did and I can't really expect them to. In a way, I'm happy they don't understand as I would not wish an obese life on anybody knowing the struggles internal and external I have dealt with my entire life. It has been an independent journey, but now that I have lost so much weight, they are seeing the person I have always wanted to be and they are now understanding. It's one of those things, I think, that they can't see until you are on the other side. But until then, you just need to push through it and know the rewards will be coming. They have been supportive because they love me, but that doesn't mean they understand, and that is OK.

We have them at our local grocery store. If they don't have them, ask if they know where nearby. Check Craigslist: http://orlando.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=canning&srchType=A&minAsk=&maxAsk=