borntothewind

I had my surgery on the 9th of May, and on the 23rd, I started eating soft foods. I had avacado, and even had a TINY slice of pizza with thin, crackery crust. The next night I had (gasp) liver and mashed potatoes with gravy. I just ate very carefully, and picked out all of the fibrous bits, chewing to an almost liquid pulp. This made me feel SOO much better, physically, as well as emotionally. I had my surgery in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and the instructions were a little sketchy. I was worried about everything I did until I found a great set of post-op instructions online with EXPLANATIONS about what to do and WHY. Things like the 'no drinking' rule. I was told to NEVER drink with my meals, or for 30 minutes before or after. I read in a few places that this was because I would stretch my stomach out and render my surgery pointless. Harsh. The PDF I downloaded explained that this was not the reason, but the purpose for not drinking before was so your meal would comfortably fit, and not drinking after was to hold the 'full' feeling as long as possible. Makes sense, now. This made my life so much easier, as I stopped feeling guilty about everything I put in my mouth. And if I REALLY need to wash my mouth out with a little water to clear lingering taste, I can take a sip and swallow without blowing a gasket. I also learned the importance of protein and fluids, and that (THANK HEAVEN) i don't necessarily have to combine the two. I purchased a protein powder that I sprinkle on my food, and can actually enjoy the taste of the 2 liters!! of fluid a day I need to drink. I LOVE my 1liter smartwater bottle, filled 2x/day with sugar free hawaiian punch! I take 3 Flintstones gummies and 2 Viactive chocolate chews for dessert and skip the nasty liquid vitamins, protein drinks/shakes... I am a wild child and eat a scrambled egg for breakfast with 1/2 slice of 2% American cheese melted wickedly on it. For lunch, I even ate garlic mashed potatoes with protein powder sprinkled on them! When my family had a cookout this weekend, I grilled a portobello mushroom beside their hamburgers and dipped it in (gasp) cheese dip with a few slices of avacado! I have a few basic rules I follow.
1. keep it low/no fat.
2. no more than 1/2 cup
3. drink the 64 oz. of fluid
4. 60 grams protein powder
5. keep meats tender, and don't eat the kind that swell as you chew. This will continue once you swallow, and that ain't good.
6. move your butt
7. avoid skins, seeds, and fibrous bits... spice is ok in moderation, just no pepper seeds!
8. Don't do it if it hurts! (food) I don't eat lettuce or uncooked veggies, either. But a little cooked spinach is great.
9. ONLY EAT IT IF IT TASTES GOOD!
This pirate attitude toward the rules has helped me achieve a 30lb loss in less than a month, the ability to be happy with my decision and NOT feel deprived when eating with family and friends, the descent from a size 20 to a 14/16 in less than a month, and a perma-grin plastered to my face!
BOTTOM LINE. Don't sweat the small stuff. And don't be miserable. Lose the guilt and find a way to enjoy living your new life.

It's impossible for any of us to say that those people are or are not doing something right.
Some folks lose more quickly than others. Many on this forum will tell you the first rule, the second rule and all the following rules are:
Do NOT compare yourself to others.
Instead, ask yourself if you can KEEP OFF those 20-30 pounds you would have lost without the help of the sleeve? The answer is usually "No", and has contributed to almost everyone's decision to get sleeved.
Only you can decide if you're doing the right thing. But I bet 99% of the sleevers on this forum will tell you they would do it again in a heartbeat. I would.
And you can see by my ticker that I have lost almost 50 pounds in 13 weeks. So I and many many others have indeed lost more than 30 in 3-6 months.
Good luck!

Hi Patty;
Reposting response from my VSG guru who used to dispense good advice to me as a newbie like a fairy godmother.
_____________________________________________________
This is my standard reply when this question pops up every couple of days. I won't try to sway anyone one way or another, but I'll give you my reasons for choosing VSG over RNY (bypass). For me, it was never an option. The cons outweighed the pros.
Some factors I considered in deciding on VSG. The pouch that RNY offers is similar to the pouch with the band. Least to say, a pouch sucks, I love having a normal tummy, just less capacity and still fully functioning.
1) No blind stomach left behind that can be difficult to scope yet can still get ulcers and cancer.

2) 2 years max on calorie/carb/sugar malabsorption, but a lifetime of vitamin/nutrient malabsorption. This process is called adaptation, and it happens with intestinal bypass surgeries.

3) I had a pouch with the band, and it sucked. I'm pretty fond of my pyloric valve and the sleeve let me keep it. I love having a normal functioning stomach, just smaller in capacity.

4) Regain stats and #of RNY patients seeking revision truly scared the poop out of me

5) I have too many friends in real life that struggle with Vitamin deficiencies post-RNY, and most of them either never got to goal, or have gained back a significant amount of their weight.

6) The long term complications with RNY were too numerous for my comfort level. Pouch or stoma dilation, strictures, vitamin/nutrient deficiencies, ulcers,

7) I researched gastrectomies that had been performed for stomach cancer and ulcer patients, and found comfort in the long term results and minimal complications of patients that had lost most or all of their stomachs had dealt with over several years.

8) I was a volume eater, and knew a restrictive only procedure would work for me.
9) I did not want to have food or medication restrictions. I chose WLS to have a "normal" life, and I think it's normal to eat a couple of Cookies. With RNY, I wasn't willing to go through the possibility of dumping if I wanted to have a couple of cookies, or a slice of cake on occasion. The big scare for me is medication restrictions for life. NSAIDS and steroids are a NO GO for life with a RNY pouch. I realize that I may never be diagnosed with a condition or disease that requires steroid use, but it is possible. I want the best long term results with the least amount of complications. Malabsorption is not anything to play with in my mind, and I was not willing to take that risk.
__________________________________________________
Personally, I have two friends who have had bypass. One great success but two follow up surgies in last 10 years for complications. The other has had success but a lot of issues. I feel so badly when she dumps - we litterally pull over and she craps in a plastic bag. This still happens at over a year out.
At a year plus out the only difference in my life is restriction of how much I can eat. I am a lucky girl and have no regrets.

Also any reason you have had a charcoal based product, or somethingn like pepto bismol (bismouth) will produce black stool.

Creamy, liquidy stuff tends to flow on through faster, and you don't really feel restriction. Now....when you eat a few bites of tuna out of the can....WHOA BABY, you WILL feel restriction!!! (of course you must wait for that;) ) As you progress your diet, you will start feeling the restriction.

I had my surgery on the 9th of May, and on the 23rd, I started eating soft foods. I had avacado, and even had a TINY slice of pizza with thin, crackery crust. The next night I had (gasp) liver and mashed potatoes with gravy. I just ate very carefully, and picked out all of the fibrous bits, chewing to an almost liquid pulp. This made me feel SOO much better, physically, as well as emotionally. I had my surgery in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and the instructions were a little sketchy. I was worried about everything I did until I found a great set of post-op instructions online with EXPLANATIONS about what to do and WHY. Things like the 'no drinking' rule. I was told to NEVER drink with my meals, or for 30 minutes before or after. I read in a few places that this was because I would stretch my stomach out and render my surgery pointless. Harsh. The PDF I downloaded explained that this was not the reason, but the purpose for not drinking before was so your meal would comfortably fit, and not drinking after was to hold the 'full' feeling as long as possible. Makes sense, now. This made my life so much easier, as I stopped feeling guilty about everything I put in my mouth. And if I REALLY need to wash my mouth out with a little water to clear lingering taste, I can take a sip and swallow without blowing a gasket. I also learned the importance of protein and fluids, and that (THANK HEAVEN) i don't necessarily have to combine the two. I purchased a protein powder that I sprinkle on my food, and can actually enjoy the taste of the 2 liters!! of fluid a day I need to drink. I LOVE my 1liter smartwater bottle, filled 2x/day with sugar free hawaiian punch! I take 3 Flintstones gummies and 2 Viactive chocolate chews for dessert and skip the nasty liquid vitamins, protein drinks/shakes... I am a wild child and eat a scrambled egg for breakfast with 1/2 slice of 2% American cheese melted wickedly on it. For lunch, I even ate garlic mashed potatoes with protein powder sprinkled on them! When my family had a cookout this weekend, I grilled a portobello mushroom beside their hamburgers and dipped it in (gasp) cheese dip with a few slices of avacado! I have a few basic rules I follow.
1. keep it low/no fat.
2. no more than 1/2 cup
3. drink the 64 oz. of fluid
4. 60 grams protein powder
5. keep meats tender, and don't eat the kind that swell as you chew. This will continue once you swallow, and that ain't good.
6. move your butt
7. avoid skins, seeds, and fibrous bits... spice is ok in moderation, just no pepper seeds!
8. Don't do it if it hurts! (food) I don't eat lettuce or uncooked veggies, either. But a little cooked spinach is great.
9. ONLY EAT IT IF IT TASTES GOOD!
This pirate attitude toward the rules has helped me achieve a 30lb loss in less than a month, the ability to be happy with my decision and NOT feel deprived when eating with family and friends, the descent from a size 20 to a 14/16 in less than a month, and a perma-grin plastered to my face!
BOTTOM LINE. Don't sweat the small stuff. And don't be miserable. Lose the guilt and find a way to enjoy living your new life.

I had my surgery on the 9th of May, and on the 23rd, I started eating soft foods. I had avacado, and even had a TINY slice of pizza with thin, crackery crust. The next night I had (gasp) liver and mashed potatoes with gravy. I just ate very carefully, and picked out all of the fibrous bits, chewing to an almost liquid pulp. This made me feel SOO much better, physically, as well as emotionally. I had my surgery in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and the instructions were a little sketchy. I was worried about everything I did until I found a great set of post-op instructions online with EXPLANATIONS about what to do and WHY. Things like the 'no drinking' rule. I was told to NEVER drink with my meals, or for 30 minutes before or after. I read in a few places that this was because I would stretch my stomach out and render my surgery pointless. Harsh. The PDF I downloaded explained that this was not the reason, but the purpose for not drinking before was so your meal would comfortably fit, and not drinking after was to hold the 'full' feeling as long as possible. Makes sense, now. This made my life so much easier, as I stopped feeling guilty about everything I put in my mouth. And if I REALLY need to wash my mouth out with a little water to clear lingering taste, I can take a sip and swallow without blowing a gasket. I also learned the importance of protein and fluids, and that (THANK HEAVEN) i don't necessarily have to combine the two. I purchased a protein powder that I sprinkle on my food, and can actually enjoy the taste of the 2 liters!! of fluid a day I need to drink. I LOVE my 1liter smartwater bottle, filled 2x/day with sugar free hawaiian punch! I take 3 Flintstones gummies and 2 Viactive chocolate chews for dessert and skip the nasty liquid vitamins, protein drinks/shakes... I am a wild child and eat a scrambled egg for breakfast with 1/2 slice of 2% American cheese melted wickedly on it. For lunch, I even ate garlic mashed potatoes with protein powder sprinkled on them! When my family had a cookout this weekend, I grilled a portobello mushroom beside their hamburgers and dipped it in (gasp) cheese dip with a few slices of avacado! I have a few basic rules I follow.
1. keep it low/no fat.
2. no more than 1/2 cup
3. drink the 64 oz. of fluid
4. 60 grams protein powder
5. keep meats tender, and don't eat the kind that swell as you chew. This will continue once you swallow, and that ain't good.
6. move your butt
7. avoid skins, seeds, and fibrous bits... spice is ok in moderation, just no pepper seeds!
8. Don't do it if it hurts! (food) I don't eat lettuce or uncooked veggies, either. But a little cooked spinach is great.
9. ONLY EAT IT IF IT TASTES GOOD!
This pirate attitude toward the rules has helped me achieve a 30lb loss in less than a month, the ability to be happy with my decision and NOT feel deprived when eating with family and friends, the descent from a size 20 to a 14/16 in less than a month, and a perma-grin plastered to my face!
BOTTOM LINE. Don't sweat the small stuff. And don't be miserable. Lose the guilt and find a way to enjoy living your new life.

This is too funny! I hadn't heard about the 'always being cold post-op' thing, and the sweating issue has never been a problem for me (usually always cold), but since my surgery, I have been FREEZING all the time. It was so bad the first night out of the hospital that I snatched all of the towels out of the hotel bathroom and laid them over the covers on my bed, just to stop shivering! I am still sleeping with an extra blanket on my side of the bed, even though it has been in the 90's here in TX, and feel like a lizard with all of the sun basking I have been doing this week... can't seem to soak up enough rays. This little revelation explains a lot!