Southernlawyer

NEVER! VSG was the perfect solution for me! IT was the best thing i've ever done for myself. I lost 165 lbs!

I have been sleeved for 2 years this october. I would NOT worry about increasing your calories. If I read your post right you just got sleeved this summer. Just worry about losing weight...once you get down then I would worry about muscle mass. I mean in theory yes, you want to lose fat not muscle and thats why its so important to get your Protein. But, increasing calories is not a good idea. There will come a time when your caloric intake will naturally increase... I would just stay focused on eating small, low calorie, high protein meals. There will always be time for the rest. Thats what I did. I spent the last year building muscle and exercising--that was what worked for me. I lost more than I weigh. I even skirted with being underweight for a couple of months.

I am 14months out and have lost 160lbs. I am ALWAYS freezing. however, on the upside, over the summer i wasnt as hot as i used to be. I dont know if its related to the surgery or the weight loss...eitherway, I wouldnt change a thing. This surgery has helped me so much and I've never been happier. But, intereting question. Im eager to hear a Dr's thoughts on this.

Okay this one really goes out to those veteran sleevers. So, I am 13 months out now. I have lost pretty much all I could safely lose (a lot of people think ive gotten too thin) I'm getting to the point of becoming UNDER weight (which is hilarious frankly...ive never been thin in my life...literally). That's really the problem. I have started training for this 1/2 marathon and the running is making me lose weight to a point that is making me nervous. I am already wearing a SMALL right now...i just dont know what to do. No one really seems to understand--people say stupid stuff like "just eat more"....as though I could even if I wanted to?? I mean dont get me wrong I eat 3 or 4 meals a day...and I do eat very healthy meals...but i just dont know how to replace those calories I burned of running safely. My mother says shit like "go eat a grilled cheese"...which makes me crazy! My trainer says go drink weight gain powder...which goes against all logic in my book. My surgeon said (btw Im a 6'0 man) I dont want you to get into the 160s...if you do call the office. well that was 3 weeks ago...i weighed 173 then...NOW in just 3 weeks i lost 10 lbs. I'm losing my mind here. and frankly, am getting a little scared...i dont know how to make it stop. But, at the same time I WANT to do this race...for me...because ive never been able to run more than a few feet in my life without being out of breath. What do yall do?? please help me.

totally normal! it happened to me and I had my surgery 1 year ago--ive since lost +140lbs and am still losing. The key is when you start getting better to exercise. But, for now...dont sweat it just follow the plan. you'll don fine.

no, i dont mean are you being serious...rather medically speaking...is that bad? should i be concerned?! I told my Girlfriend about more sodium and she laughed at me because im a salt freak! (its my favorite )

I used to call this "Stage II" (stage one is eating...stage two is it getting stuck, hiccups and not being able to speak for 5 minutes) it goes away for the most part. though last week i ate some salad and out of no where it happened. my girlfriend was shocked she said "you havent done that in months?!" but it lasts a while...chew very slowely...very! and you'll be fine.

i waited as long as i could before i bought anything. I got most of my stuff altered until i just couldnt do it anymore. I can tell you this has been amazing and SO ANNOYING!!!! at the same time...because that shirt you got...you know, the one that looked great on you and was the right size but not on sale...yeah, well wear it as many times as you can...because in 3 weeks it will be too big...in 2 months its going to the homeless..... i have donated thousands and thousands of dollars of suits, shirts, shorts....i mean you name it....i used to get all custom shirts....pft...gone...gave them away...i couldnt even alter them anymore. I JUST bought a new suit...I was so excited--big birthday present! ...yeah that was 2 months ago...I had to put it on this morning to go to court...doesnt fit...looks stupid. So, it will just happen at all times...its really wonderful...it frustrates me...but hey...i'll take it. The funny thing is that after losing 120 lbs i dont realize what my size is...so i get scared trying on a L or XL ...i always no no no...that wont work...so i try on the XXL and it swollows me...so i say oh my god!? let me try the XL...too big...so i try the large...too short! hahaha!!! but the point is that 9 months later and i STILL try on the 2XL 1st... (i finally got myseld to stop trying the 3XL...)

durring this stage i lived on two things: 1)dannon light and fit yogurt and 2)Soup...like butternut squash soup in those containers from the grocery by the broths...theyre a bunch of them. that was literally all i ate for days...also at some point i started living on Smootie King's Gladiator...that was a great addition.

totally normal! it goes away...funny though i also used to call it "the gurgles" it sucks, i know...but it will pass...just try and drink as often as you can...stay hydrated!

well here is the deal....someone one here wrote many months ago when i was curious about the same thing "liquid in, liquid out". You arent REALLY constipated, per se. but bowel movements are certainly less frequent. I chaulk it up more to no food intake as opossed to eating tons of cheese or something. Let me say this though, when you DO have your surgery (which btw, it changed my life 9 months ago...so congratualtions and good luck) dont take milk of magnesia like they told ME to do....sure i started going to the bathroom...a lot! but it also dehydrated me and caused more probles than it solved. staying hydrated is critical! so good luck and dont worry about Number 2....just think of it as one less thing you have to worry about taking up time in your otherwise busy day. haha

Tiffykins, is that serious? I have been having this problem for 6 months now. See my last post. I have a Dr's appt in late August...just curious. I've been trying to increase fluids..but nothing has helped.

WOW! thanks everyone...I was sure that everyone would tell me I was crazy. But, what you are describing is exactly my issue. If I'm laying down and stand up quickly my face feels flushed and I feel woozy...it goes away in like 5 seconds or less. I have an appointment with a cardiologist soon, so i'll mention this to him. I've had doctor friends tell me to increase my Fluid intake--im sure i dont have to tell anyone here how difficult that is. Increasing sodium would be the sweetest news EVER! (i like salt....actually the more i think about it...there is no WAY that LOW sodium is the issue...sad). Yall keep me up to date on what you find out for the dizzies and I'll let you know what my doc says. I told my surgeon about it, but he looked at me like I was crazy and told me to see a doctor--nice.

So i'm 9 months out and everything is going great except one thing....for the past 4 months I get dizzy when i stand up. Anyone else get that? any ideas what that could be caused by?

okay i got an issue that is freaking me out....any of you vets deal with this? I am 7months out and have started to pick up the exercise to combat these last 25 pounds that are pissing me off. well, the more i exercise the hungrier i get. i know that sounds obvious...but its making me insane! The other day i was fine, calorie count for the day...below 500. Then i hit the gym some more and the next thing i know im STARVING! AND..what REALLY makes it worse is, i feel like I can eat more too...which is an AWEFUL combination. does this happen to yall? my family is annoying and says "you didnt eat that much" ...but they dont really get it...yes, youre right..i didnt eat as much as you did...but i was surgically altered and i feel as though i ate a lot....or, how about this, i ate more than i can usually eat... any thoughts? am i crazy? help!

well i'm fairly certain my back pain was caused by the ppi. I never had back pain until i started taking them. Then I saw it listed as a possible side-effect. So, i stopped taking them for a couple of days (but back then I still needed them) and after a day or so of being off of them my back stopped hurting...THEN I started having acid reflux almost immediately ..so i went back on it...and again my back started hurting me. After a few months my dr. told me that I didnt need to be on them anymore. Once, i stopped taking them for good, it, again, went away. I think its a pretty rare side-effect though...no one else seems to have had that problem..so who knows. I think I was on them for 3 months.

My doc told me at the 3 month mark to stop taking it and I did (mine was hurting my back--odd i know, but i swear!). I am 7 months out and I havent taken it since...I never have an issue..and IF i do, its nothing that your ordinary tums cant get rid of. I definitely had acid reflux before the sleeve but its now since gone away!! :001_smile: But thats me. Many people still seem to need it. But to answer someone's question, no you really dont need to be on it forever...

So, I'm six months out to the day...Ive done well. I'd say about ..well no lets be accurate here... the calculater says 92 pounds. IVe never lost more than 15 pounds before this is crazy! and definitely been the ride of my life. BUT!!! this past month, ive started feeling hungry! i feel like the volume of the food i take in has increased..and well, im really freaked out by it. Ive started working out more, and maybe its just because of that. But, i dont know. I'm so scared that one day im going to wake up and be right back to where i was...only worse...and with nothing left to cut out! haha! any of you vets out there...(i think we're vets at this point) has this happened to you?

Assuming its not hives from some of the vitamins you are on, I would put my money on the surgical tape. I know I am very sensitive to it as is everyone in my family and a lot of other people. That clear tape that is perferated all over ALWAYS makes me break out....and, since you had it all over you...just keep an eye on it and if it gets worse then for sure talk to you dr.

I had my sleeve in October and i think i had a glass of wine at thanksgiving. I find that i can have a drink but its best to stick to wine (and as much as i hate to say it, i do better with white.) Be careful, just have one and sip on it all night. DO NOT drink 2+ vodka martini's straight up....it will make you wish you were dead...just like it did me...it was in my denial "but i always could throw back martinis before the surgery" stage. other than that one incident ive never had any problems having a drink...actually lets be honest, my "problem" with having a drink is NOT having one because of the calories...otherwise...

Oh my God! I am so glad someone brought this up!!! So, I've been taking prilosec... 1) I have the WORST dry mouth that I have ever experienced. When I wake up in the morning it is as though my tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth..its THAT bad. AND, its only at night...WHY!??! I wasnt sure if it was the drug or my body acting funny to the reduced amount of eating... 2) I have had the worst back pain too. It started right after surgery and just never went away. I stopped taking the Prilosec and the pain went away...however NOW i have acid reflux again (i had it really bad before the surgery!) so i've started taking the prilosec again. Has anyone noticed these things?! When I asked my surgeon he sounded as though he has no idea what I was talking about...and kind of dismissed it. He is a great guy...but its not fun to have to wake up at 5am everyday to sip Water to get my mouth working...its awful! okay, I'm done...now someone tell me what to do to make it go away :thumbup:

I agree with the warm herbal tea!! That was all I drank for a few days...Chamomile mostly. Whatever you do, dont let yourself get dehydrated...I did and it just made matters worse. So keep sipping on something. Kudos to your for the broth...that made me want to kill myself AND whoever served it to me. I'm not even going to talk about the "beef broth incident" Good luck! It only gets easier.

Personally, I've never understood how every doctor has a different dietary plan for their patients?? Mine has a progression to solids and normal food at 8 weeks. Once, you hit the 8 weeks mark you can try what you want. There is no restriction as to carbs, etc. The only thing they say is no ham, beef or pork for 6 months.

I'm 5-6 weeks post op. I am totally with each of you!! I have to sleep on my side; I hate..HATE sleeping on my back. However, after surgery one of the biggest challenges was finding a way to sleep that didn?t want me to wish a merciful death! I slept in a chair (slash hospital bed) for about 2 full weeks. Then i was in my bed but really in a modified sleeping on back/sitting position. I think it was about 3 weeks out that i was finally able to sleep comfortably. The sleeping issue just sucks..but it goes away.

Tiffykins, I did the same thing! Honey and greek yogurt just seemed to go well together to me. But, I didn't get sick. I wonder why some thing affect people while other things don't? Sweetie333, I was so sick 6 days out (probably more afraid than sick at that point) that I never tried it...you may want to wait on that until you've been on full liquids longer. So far the only thing that has made me ill has been Protein powder because I find it repulsive. Oh, and oddly enough, sometimes drinking just plain Water is harder than anything else. I don't know why but its not so bad that I can't drink. I think that I am so used to taking big gulps of water that I keep taking TOO big of a sip...oops.