Mews

I'm almost five months out and one of the issues I am constantly struggling with is energy. You would think with all the weight I lost that this wouldn't be an issue. Oh well. Currently I'm eating between 900-1000 calories a day with a minimum of 60g of Protein. I am taking all of my Vitamins as well but nothing seems to help with the energy levels. I will admit I'm not exercising but part of the issue is that I can barely walk up a flight of stairs or even 100 feet without becoming incredibly exhausted. As I'm a teacher this makes my days very, very rough and all I want to do when I get home is take a nap. I did think about increasing my food intake but it's very difficult for me to get past the 1,000 calorie mark with food. I was just wondering if anybody could recommend some high energy foods. I would like to start getting active but I need a bit of a boost. I am including some fruits in my diet, mainly grapes, watermelon, pears, and applesauce. No veggies though as my stomach really doesn't like them. I have tried Peanut Butter and some nuts but they are a hit and miss with my stomach depending on the day. I also eat some "good" carbs as well. Oh, I did cut out caffeine so that's not an option. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I had sashimi as four weeks out (when I was allowed soft foods) and then regular sushi at eight weeks. Be careful, though as some people have a hard time with the rice. Ironically for me, this is one of the foods that don't get me sick but I'm not complaining. If I could afford to eat sushi at every meal I would!

I'm 4 1/2 months out and having similar issues. It's not my gallbladder, though, and I'll be having an endoscopy later in the month to rule out anything serious. I would recommend seeing a gastroenterologist to rule out a possible stricture or other stomach issues.

It does take a little while to get used to. Does your machine have a "ramp up" on the air flow? I know with mine when I first start it the air flow is very gentle. I have it set so that it takes about 40 minutes to get up to full flow. That helps a lot. Also, if your face was swollen your mask might have been too tight. Did you get your CPAP and supplies through a medical supply company? I found that if one mask doesn't work there are many, many others to chose from. I use a mouth only mask with nose "pillows" to provide air flow through my nostrils. It's so comfortable. As to the OP, I can't live without my CPAP now. I sleep better, don't snore, and I wake up more refreshed. I do need to see my pulmonologist to see if my machine needs to be adjusted as I've lost a considerable amount of weight. As I have severe apnea, I'll probably be on it for a while but the hope is one day I won't need it any more.

CLK I agree with you. I know for myself (and everyone is different) that if I deny myself certain foods I'll get cravings and if they aren't satisfied they usually end badly (binging, getting sick, etc.). Instead what I do now is plan them in my daily menu. Just a little bit, enough to satisfy the craving and not enough to throw my stomach out of whack. If I'm really craving chocolate I'll get one of those mini Hersey's bars and see what type of exercise I need to do to burn it off. My craving is satisfied and I'll get in a workout. To me that is win-win. Another thing for me is that I specifically chose this surgery for the freedom of it. Yes, there are foods that my stomach will have trouble tolerating and I tend to stay away from those. Also, I make sure I get all of my Protein in. However, if I wanted to give myself a strict no-holds-bar diet where huge groups of foods were permanently banned from me then I would've gone with a gastric bypass instead. But I know myself. I know how my mind and body work. For me the freedom is the key. If my weight loss is a bit slower then so be it. Also, I'm a little different than a lot of people as I didn't have food issues/addictions before the surgery. If you have those issues then a strict diet may work better for you. For me, though, I'm one who forgot to eat all of the time. A few years back I even amazed a nutritionist one time when she saw my food log and she was like to can't be that fat with so few calories. Go figure, right? Not everybody can do the "all in moderation" thing though. Some people need the strict diet to help them lose weight. If it works for them and they are happy with it that's all that matters.

Thank you for your perspective. One thing I didn't make clear is the fact that I spent well over six months doing serious research into the surgery. I hold advance degrees in two different research fields so this was something that came very naturally to me. I even went so far as to read medical journals on the subject to get a full perspective of what I was getting myself into. I knew most of the risks that I was taking, including even death, when I chose this surgery. However, there is a lot that isn't told or glossed over. For example, at one of the seminars I went to when I asked about complications I was told that there is a chance of a leak but that was such a tiny percentage that it's nothing to worry about. What happens when you're the person with the leak in that small percentage? I knew my surgeon had an impeccable background and all of the information I could find on the group was positive in terms of their skills. And I'm not saying that my surgeon did a bad job with the surgery itself. I think my problem was that I trusted him a little too much. Unless you're a doctor, we all put faith in our surgeons to know what they are doing and that they are doing what is best for you. Therefore, when I asked him what sort of issues I would have after surgery I listened to him, took notes, etc. None of the above things were ever mentioned in my conversations with him. I am bothered when doctors ignore issues or don't feel the need to bring up things that may put the surgery in a bad light. For example, when I had a knee replacement done a few years back my surgeon sat me down and said this is what could happen and why. He knows better than I do. He is the one with the appropriate education and the experience to tell me what i may not find in an article or on the internet. I told my VSG surgeon I wanted to know everything that could go wrong. He told me that very little could go wrong and did a standard list of a few things. He also knew my health issues, including my depression as I'm never one to hide that fact from my doctors. Nothing about how this would affect my depression even came up. Yes, I would have some tummy troubles but those would settle down in a few months. I am still very proactive in my health. When my doctor ignored my pleas that something was wrong I took it in my own hands to once again do research and find a good gastroenterologist who deals with bariatric patients. I'm meeting with him tomorrow to see what is going on. I have a strong idea of what I think it could be (combination of bad reflux and gastritis) and it has nothing to do with the skills of the surgeon. Rather, yet another unspoken side effect of the surgery itself. The thing is that I want to be treated for it and get on with my life. My surgeon was not nearly proactive enough. I was very condescendingly told to make sure I "eat slowly, chew well, and space out [my] bites." This is something I had been doing since day one, including following all of their rules, and I told him but the way he was acting was that it was my fault for not following directions. I find it rather ironic that he only took interest in my issues once I mentioned I was seeing another doctor about it. As for the post-op care, once again, I knew exactly what my diet was supposed to be like. I stuck by the low-carb diet for as long as I could until I could barely think straight and almost passed out behind the wheel while driving. Once again, the doctor said this was no big deal, just take some time off of work. However, I found out from another doctor that not everybody reacts to a low-carb diet the same way and some have serious difficulties with it. My body was basically going into a form of shock without carbs (it's not carb withdrawal. This was something completely different). I was told me to start taking in sugars to help me through it. I also developed reactive hypoglycemia, which is something that once again is very common place yet no one told me about it (and no I'm not diabetic). I literally have to keep candies in my purse to keep myself from passing out at times. Once again, I did the research but the doctors are supposed to know more and help me through this. That wasn't the case. As for the psych clearance, my own psychiatrist did it. He's known me for over ten years and knew that I was mentally able to handle such a drastic change in lifestyle. As I said, my depression was under control. Also, I didn't have any food addictions or eating disorders which is one of the main reasons for the evals in the first place. I digress though...the whole purpose of this post was to see if there was something that you wish you knew beforehand that nobody told you. Once again, I'm not trying to discourage anybody. I just wish I had known people who went through this surgery and could tell me what it was really like. As I said, there's only so much you can get from reading.

One thing I've noticed four months after surgery is that there are a lot of issues associated with the sleeve that the doctors didn't discuss or were "glossed over" by them in their seminars and "education" classes. From what I've gone through and what I've read post-op I truly wonder if I would've had this surgery if I had known about it before hand. Yes, I've lost a decent amount of weight but there are many times I wonder if it was worth it going through all of this suffering since the surgery. I was a relatively happen person before the surgery but now I'm being described as a "shell" of my "former self" and many people are commenting that I haven't looked well. Are there any issues that you've experienced post-op that would've changed your mind if you had known about them in advance? In my case I can think of a few: Depression - I know this was never mentioned by my doctor and I've seen many people comment about this on the forums. For me personally I was diagnosed many years ago with severe clinical depression. It was under control with medications prior to the surgery. However, afterwards my depression got so severe that even my psychiatrist was concerned. I dropped off a medication I had been on for about six years (as it worked well) to see if something would pull me back out from it. I think this alone would have stopped me from having the surgery because I was always under the mantra of I'd rather be fat and happy than skinny and miserable. And just to put this in perspective, this isn't the run of the mill "sads." I'm having a major depressive episode which is never, ever fun. Gastric Issues - I realize that our stomachs are new and temperamental. However, I was told by the surgeon and the nutritionist that after eight weeks I should be able to eat food without any real issues. Now don't get me wrong. I follow the rules like everybody else. I'm not trying to down a Big Mac. However, I haven't been able to tolerate most solid foods for close to two months now. Even taking small bites, chewing well, etc. doesn't help matters. I'm basically living off of soft/mushy foods and to be honest I'm getting sick of it. While we're trying to figure out what's causing that, I did find out that I'm suffering from very bad reflux, something I didn't have before the surgery. Blood Clots - There is a reason why you have to take those gods-awful shots. They are a real concern and they DO happen. I know. And don't trust anybody who tells you that your clot is "small" and "nothing to be concerned about" even though it was over 18 inches long, running from your ankle to mid-knee. I guess that person has never had a pulmonary embolism. Oh and clots don't go away over night. "Cut and Run" Doctors - I guess this should be an old adage to some as many surgeons across all fields just care about the surgery itself and nothing else. However, I learned that just because a doctor or a group claims they will provide good post-op care doesn't mean that they'll actually do it. Heck, the reason I chose my surgeon, besides his credentials, was the fact that they pushed how great their post-op care was. Also, don't ever choose a surgeon who is only in the office one day a week because if something is really wrong, you'll have to wait the week to see him/her. Oh yes, they have colleagues but they "frown upon" seeing another doctor even in their own group. Is there anything you wish you knew (e.g., gallbladder issues, loose skin/rashes, etc) in advance? Would any of that have changed your mind? P.S. I know I sound angry as I am. I don't want to discourage people from having this surgery if they really want/need it. However, I'm a big believer that you should really know what you're getting yourself into so you can make a completely informed decision. I know right now that I would not have gone through with this surgery knowing what I know now.

Oh I feel your pain. I truly do. I'm four months out and I'm still having problems with nausea and vomiting (and that yellow stuff is most likely bile as I have that issue too). I've gotten to the point that I just don't even try eating solids any more because I know they will make me sick. This has been going on for two months and it was only at a visit to my surgeon last week that he showed any concern. I did have an upper GI series done to see if I had a stricture, but that came out negative. So now I'm going to see a gastroenterologist to figure out what the heck is going on. Maybe that's an option for you? If you're following all of the rules and still getting sick check into it.

I took all of my antidepressants in pill form the day after surgery without a problem. I know my doc said nothing larger than an M&M for pills but capsules never gave me an issue. I will agree that opening the capsule would be a bad thing as the capsule itself is designed to provide a slow release of the medications once they are in your system.

I can't. I tried, first at six weeks out, then eight, then ten, etc. My new stomach just won't tolerate it. Because of this I've switched over to ice tea. It's not the same but at least I'm getting some caffeine in.

I fell your pain. I truly do. I had one month where I only lost four pounds and that was my third month in. It's not the thing you want to see when you've had such life altering surgery. One thing you have going against you is your low BMI. You'll hear about people losing this amazing amount of weight but they're usually much larger than you so don't fret. Also, everybody seems to go through a long stall around the 3-4 week mark. I do recommend MyFitnessPal as well as a great way of keeping track of food, especially Protein levels. See how many calories you are consuming and maybe that's affecting your weight loss. Remember, not eating enough can throw your body into starvation mode and you'll stop losing weight.

The reason why you need the CPAP in the hospital is because with the anesthesia from the surgery your body may not wake up if you stop breathing during your sleep. I don't want to freak you out but that's what my pulmonologist told me. It has to do with the effects of the anesthesia on your nervous system even after you've woken up and can actually last for weeks after the surgery. Think of it this way, when they put you under you will probably also be given a catheter because everything goes to sleep, not just your mind. If you can't pee on your own (and most people can't for the first 24 hours) imagine how well your body would react to other things. As for the CPAP, as others mentioned, there are options. I hated the nose mask because I'm a mouth breather and the full face mask was extremely claustrophobic. Talk to the rep from the company providing the CPAP for you as there are a ton of options to choose from. I actually have a mouth mask with nose "pillows" to provide air through my nostrils. It's SO much more comfortable and not claustrophobic. Also, it's going to take a while to get used to. Don't compare it with the sleep study as they were gauging the pressure that they needed for you and you were hooked up to so many different things. Now I can't even sleep without my CPAP on.

The first six weeks or so were really rough for me. It wasn't until after a few good weeks on solids that I started to gain any energy back. If food hurts, back down to the previous level. For example, if solids hurt, go back to mushies for a bit. Your stomach might not be ready for it. And I can tell you, at four months my stomach STILL can't handle a lot of foods including almost all dense Proteins. As for the brownie, it might be what is called a "slider" food in that you feel no restriction when you eat it and it just slides down. They can be very dangerous to your weight loss.

I don't know. I've lost 58 pounds and I can't for the life of me figure out where it came from. My clothes still fit the same and most people haven't even noticed that I've lost that much weight. It is very frustrating.