joatsaint

Mine flattened out and got a little droopy. But they're much better than pre-op.

I'm with jen, from the moment I woke up from surgery, I never really felt hungry again. Food just didn't interest me. I was so happy to have lost those cravings.

I've been overweight since childhood. I'd have done it between 25 and 30... when I crossed the 250lb mark.

I know where you're coming from. I too had thoughts of, "what if I'm the one person this doesn't work for?" Trust me, this is completely different from any diet you've ever tried. Now you have a tool that will force you cut back on the calories, and if you stay with the planned food stages, your taste buds and carb craving will be reset. This is your chance for a do-over. You can do it. We were all right where you are, right before and right after surgery. In a month, you won't believe how you life will begin to change for the better.

No tougher than any other multi-vitamin tablet. Just have to take 3 of them either 1 tablet 3 times a day or all 3 at once.

For years I took the generic brand from Sam's Club and never really notice a difference in my energy levels on the days I forgot to take them. Recently, I tried a brand of Multivitamin that has whole food concentrates added. I'm not saying I have amazing energy levels because of it, but I do feel a bit of a boost on the days I do take them. I've tried 2 brands that have the whole food concentrate, and both seem to provide a nice energy boost for the day. The only down side is having to take 3 tablets a day.

This is the one I bought about 4 years ago. It's still running on the same batteries. It's only a scale, no bells and whistles like memory. It has served me well. $36.99 http://www.amazon.com/Eatsmart-Precision-Bathroom-Technology-440-Pounds/dp/B0032TNPOE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424191655&sr=8-1&keywords=400+lb+scale

I get head hunger after eating a heavy Protein meal. I think my brain is just craving carbs. I try not to give in and eat junk, so instead I eat sugar free Jell-O mixed with cream cheese or a sweet low carb Protein Bar. That seems to help. I've tried the Quest Peanutbutter and Jelly, and Mixed berry Bliss work well to quiet my head hunger for sweets. My goto low carb sweet is sugar free Jell-O mixed with cream cheese. Recipe is very simple. 1 small box of strawberry sugar free Jell-O. 4oz of cream cheese. Mix the Jell-O according to directions and blend in the cream cheese until it is completely mixed and there are not little particles of cream cheese floating around. I usually use 2 cups of warm Water in the Jell-O rather than 1 cup cold + 1 cup hot. It makes the cream cheese easier to mix in. Put in icebox and let it set up. Serve with some Land O Lakes or Redi Whip whipped topping. Both brands only have 1 carb per serving.

I was in for 1 night. They only kept me that long to make sure my blood pressure and blood sugar levels were stable. After the leak test - the next morning - I was released.

I loved the fact that my sleeping decreased so much after surgery. I feel just as good after 5 hours of sleep as I used to feel after 9 hours. I chalk it up to not eating so much at night. Now, my body can concentrate on healing and recouperation, rather than digesting 1000's of calories while I'm asleep.

My 1st week, I wasn't drinking 20 oz a day, but I wasn't moving a whole bunch either. I put a priority on staying hydrated over eating. And just sipped sipped sipped as much as I could. As long as I felt okay, I wasn't worried. When I'm feeling exhausted, it's usually a sign that I'm not eating enough carbs. For some reason, I can't convert low glycemic foods (squash, cauliflower, broccoli, lentils) into energy fast enough - even though I'm eating plenty of calories. As a test, you might eat a tablespoon or 2 of Peanut Butter (it has a lot of sugar in it) and pay attention to your energy levels and mood. And let your doctor/nut know your results. Stay positive. Learn from past mistakes but don't let them weigh you down with negative emotions. Use your struggles to get stronger. Develop habits to deal with dilemmas. Focus on progress, not perfection. Celebrate your journey from point A to point B. Make each day better than your last.

Here ya go:

I had it all planned out in preparation for those kinds of questions. If anyone asked, I just told them that I was preparing for surgery to complete my transformation. When they asked what kind of transformation, I told them I was having a sex change, that I was a lesbian trapped in a man's body. That tended to shut them up, cause they couldn't figure that one out!

You will be able to eat almost anything by the end of your 1st year post-op. At 6 months, I could eat most things. But fibrous vegetables like lettuce were still tough, as well as chicken and eggs and whole wheat bread. Processed and sugary foods had never been a problem to eat. It was the healthy stuff that Frankensleeve objected to. At 1 year, my ability to eat anything had returned. My tastes had changed by then, but that's anther story.

You are normal. Your sleeve is going to have different tolerances for different foods. For me, chicken and eggs are still some of the hardest things to digest. Bread will sit like a rock in Frankensleeve. But Pasta, sugary/processed foods slide right on down and don't stick with me for very long. And for some crazy reason, Frankensleeve truly hates the Taco Bell taco sauce, but he has no problem with any other bottled salsa??? Go figure.

I've not heard of anyone who didn't have the EDG. But every surgeon is different. To be sure, I'd call his office. I wouldn't want my surgery delayed because of an oversight on his staff's part.

For me, it's the little things. Being able to step into my car, rather than sit down backwards and drag my legs in. And being able to get up off the floor WITHOUT having to make sure there's a chair, stool, prop nearby that I can use for assistance. AND I FORGOT ABOUT RESTAURANT BOOTHS!!! The greatest threat ever to overweight people. Booths are only 2nd to Wicker furniture on the fear scale for the overweight. :-P

Hey autumn, thanks for sharing your experience. Maybe I was lucky or too paranoid to take a chance on eating something that might upset Frankensleeve post-op. "Well I can unfortunately answer the first question. I had my sleeve December 15th and I have one time experienced what can only be dumping syndrome. Started with some cramping then before I knew it I had chest pain, nausea, light headedness and horrible pain. Lasted about 2 hours and then passed. Guess my sleeve did not like the pork my RN told me to try So no more pork and no more pain! Glad it only happened the one time so far!"

I don't have the answers to all, but I'll answer what I can. 1) Do you get dumping syndrome with the sleeve? In theory no, but some people claim to have had it. I never have experienced dumping. Dumping syndrome is the movement of food too fast from the stomach to the intestines. The pyloric valve, located between the stomach and small intestine regulates the movement of food and is still in place after being sleeved. It is bypassed in Gastric Bypass surgery, so dumping is something GB patients have to be aware of. 2) Does the sleeve make osteoporosis worse? Can't answer that one. 3) What do you take for chronic pain (like arthritis or back pain) that works? For a month or so post-op, I was told to take Tylenol for pain and to avoid NSAID based pain relievers. I've never had any problems taking any kind of over the counter pain reliever - aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, Excedrin, Tylenol. I do not take any prescription pain meds. 4) Do you suffer from Vitamin or mineral deficiency or poor nutrition from stomach being smaller? It's possible, if I were to eat unhealthy foods, but I take a Multivitamin supplement as well. I had to make a conscious decision to make good food choices post-op, not only to lose the weight, but to develop good eating habits once my sleeve had healed and I could hold more food. I started eating the diet my doc recommended right after surgery. At first, I could only hold 1/2 cup of food per meal, so I had to make the right food choices. At 6 months, I could hold a little more, and at 1 year, I could hold even more at each meal. That's why it's important to get into the habit of good eating habits. Eventually my sleeve healed and I could tolerate ANY food. It was up to me to make the right choices. And I can honestly say, everything I went through was worth it. VSG gave me a 2nd chance on life. I only regret waiting till I hit rock bottom before realizing I needed the help of VSG surgery to lose the weight. Control what you can, cope with what you can't, and concentrate on what really counts in your life. Know what matters and never give up on it.

I researched spiral slicers, but I haven't bought one yet. But if I were to choose one, it would be this one: http://www.amazon.com/Paderno-World-Cuisine-A4982799-Tri-Blade/dp/B0007Y9WHQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1423620907&sr=8-3&keywords=spiral+slicer With over 4000 reviews, it's hard to fake the ratings.

Hang in there. Like everyone said, it gets better and better every day. I still remember the feeling right after surgery. It felt like an alien was trying to burst out of my chest. And I was hitting that morphine drip button like I was a contestant on the Price's Right! It will get better and it will all be worth it. I promise.

rhayla, Contrats on getting back on track. I try to handle the setbacks the way a dog handles them. Just kick some sand on that sh*t and move on! One of my mentors said, Success is not sudden or overnight. Success comes through doing the things you need to do daily, through the difficult times and the easy times. When he's feeling bad, he grinds on, when he's feeling good, he grinds on. That steady grind adds up over time and leads to success. Keep up the good work. "Thank you all - for listening, and for not hating on me. I've done much better today, and Ive got my food plan for tomorrow, so I'll be on track. I've got my lunch for tomorrow all ready to go in the morning, and I'm looking forward to getting on the treadmill in the morning. It's a lovely eye-opener!"

To give my answer... first you must know that I am a very cynical person when it comes to the diet industry. But my answer to your question is, "because if you do it on your own, no one makes any money off you." Or the doctors and dieticians have seen too many people take dieting to an extreme case, resulting in death or health problems and feel that a medically supervised diet is the only way to properly monitor such a low calorie diet. My 3rd answer is, eating 500 - 700 calories a day is only going to last a few months at most. As your sleeve heals, it's capacity will increase. At 6 months, I was probably back up to 1200+ calories a day. At 1 year, I was up to around 1500+ calories a day. At 2 years, I hover around 2000 calories a day.

You're looking great! I only wish my flabbalanche looked as good.

I was given the choice of having a catheter or making the hike from the OR waiting room to the bathroom down the hall. I hitched up my gown and drug the IV bottle down to the restroom.