JillianMarie

Hi all!

Hopefully everyone is doing great, I haven't posted in quite some time so I wanted to update. The last time I posted i believe I had mentioned that I wasn't feeling restriction anymore, and that it took quite a bit of food to make me full. This was NOT the case post-op initially. For about 6 weeks I had great restriction, but after moving to solid foods i got where i could gradually eat more and more, and when i say that I don't mean that i was testing myself and trying to stretch my sleeve, I mean that my hunger was returning and I felt satisfied only when I ate more. I have tried several things over the past few months to try to experiment and see if it was just my eating behavior, the foods I ate, the timing, or something I was doing wrong. Well, I tried going on a liquid diet to re-shrink my sleeve, and it was unsuccessful. I also tried the 5 day pouch test, and found that I can eat MUCH more dense Protein (cottage cheese, grilled chicken, etc...) than I should be able to eat at this time out (a little over 4 months). My hunger has returned and my stomach actually growls again! It hasn't done that since I was pre-op!

I had an upper GI done about a week ago, and it showed that my stomach has stretched quite a bit. Probably due to the fact that it was abnormally elastic to begin with. I feel NO restriction anymore, and if I chose to, I could literally sit and eat for two hours straight. I of course, practice self control and don't let myself do that. But, I have found myself having to try to diet and go hungry again. This isn't fun. I have talked to my surgeon who thinks that I should either undergo the DS or be re-sleeved. I am greatly considering being re-sleeved. Does anyone know someone who has had to have this procedure revised?

Thanks!!

I have to say I did pretty good with popcorn. I had it with butter..but few hand fulls during the movie and I was satisfied!

Thats good to hear! It only takes a few handfuls when you get the "real" experience at the movie theater! But it makes a great low cal snack at home, the light butter microwave bags make a great snack for movie nights at home, and you can do a lot less damage with popcorn than by munching on other snacks!

I'm kind of surprised that you're all having an easy time with the popcorn - it looks terrifying to me right now.

It looked terrifying to me as well, and i was sure the first time i ate it that i would get sick. Nope. Do this- pop some popcorn then put a cup in a bowl that has a little Water at the bottom. Or sprinkle some Water on top. You will see how it shrivels up into "mush", when you have some liquid in your stomach it is surprisingly easy to digest. I wouldn't recommend eating it without a drink of course, but who can eat salty popcorn without a drink?

I ate popcorn much earlier out than I probably should have, but never had any problems from it. It is a slider for me. I can eat a whole big bag of it but I keep it to the light variety. At the movies you should go by how fast you feel full, it will fill you up faster being that they add butter to the popcorn. (or ask for no butter).

AMEN to the benefits of eating enough healthy fats. And with our small stomachs we really don't have to worry about over doing it unless we are drinking Olive Oil straight from the bottle. LOL

I agree with you all about the healthy fats, I notice that if i eat two tbsp of Peanut Butter I am satisfied for hours and lose my carb cravings as well. The healthy fat and Protein in the Peanut Butter really sticks with me throughout the day.

You might want to try the generic of protonix. It's way cheap and just as good as nexium.

I had it happen all the time with my ban but never with the sleeve.

I would definitely call your surgeon and ask why this is happening. Is Prevacid a PPI or an acid reducer? Maybe you should post this in the ask Dr. Jossert section. He comes in and answers questions.

Prevacid is a PPI. I've got an RX for Nexium that i may fill, my Dr. says that it works better than Prevacid. I took a Reglan last night and it seemed to help a lot though.

I dont find that at all. If I dont include some complex carbs in my day (not necessarily every meal) I am looking for something, nibbling, feeling peckish and eventually have a big sugary carb binge. A half a slice of wholegrain toast with a morning egg, some crackers with lunchtime Soup or some potato or brown rice with dinner and that sugar drive is controlled for me. Cut it out and go low carb and even though the cravings go after a few days I feel shite, have no energy to run etc. I can make it up with a lot of dairy or whatever, it doesnt have to be grains, but grain foods like really good quality stoneground bread doesnt contain the fat that dairy does, so i think a balance of both is better.

For me, its about low GI really, not low carb. chips, Cookies and a lot of fruit are high GI foods that give you the spike in blood sugar than the crash. But have low GI carbs with Protein and you still have a slowly digesting meal that keeps you full and keeps the blood sugar stable and favours a fat burning environment in yoiur body.

Jachut- I have always found this to be true in the past for me, that if i ate whole grains and low glycemic carbs such as some fruit, that I had more energy and it helped control my appetite. I know that there are certain foods that do have carbohydrates but with a low glycemic index that actually keep me from getting hungry, and those are Pure Protein Bars, Supreme Protein Carb Conscious bars (i love the Peanut Butter crunch) and Snickers Marathon bars. I am assuming the high protein content and low sugar helps with the cravings and appetite. Also, strawberries, blueberries and canteloupe all really help with my energy levels and keep my blood sugar stable. I haven't had any problems with berries although canteloupe seems a little hard for me to digest right now, it sits hard on my sleeve.

This happened to me before my sleeve... after having pneumonia 6 times, (I promise), my pulmonologist ordered a sleep study. Turned out that I had severe sleep apnea and was aspirating in my sleep. Since using BiPap I have not been sick!

I have had chronic insomnia for 11 years, and am now taking a combination of Clonopin, Ambien, Trazadone, melatonin, and Simply Sleep or Benedryl (same ingredient) every night to help me sleep. It is unfortunate that i have to take so many things to help me sleep every night. I have never snored, yet i do have a collapsed septum (when i breathe in through my nose, my nostrils completely close), so I have to breathe through my mouth when i sleep. It may contribute towards the waking throughout the night. I also used to suffer from a rare sleeping disorder called NES. Some friends have suggested sleep centers and getting a Cpap or Bipap, I need to check and see if my insurance covers sleep studies, it would be worth a shot.

I may start taking Reglan again, which helps move contents of the stomach through faster, it might be worth taking at night to help keep things down rather than coming up. My Dr. gave me an RX for Nexium but I rather not fill it because of the cost, I am currently taking Prevacid. If Nexium is much better than Prevacid it could be worth the price difference.

We all know that excess carbs can slow weight loss by adding too many calories, and also cause us to become Protein deficient; but have any of you found that carbohydrates cause increased hunger and appetite?

My nutritionist gave me a plan that can is somewhat high in carbohydrates compared to what many of you are eating. She said that if it didn't work for me, we can adjust the plan.

I have found that ever since moving to solid foods and including carbohydrates, my appetite is much stronger than it used to be when i was on the first month post op diet of mainly Protein and very restricted carbs. I didn't find it hard to resist food because i didn't think about it often. But after including bananas, oatmeal, milk, and some cereals and breads, I have a big appetite and get the urge to graze all day. Also, it has lead to some Water retention and bloating.

What are your experiences with carbohydrates and appetite? And for those of you that monitor carbs and calories, how many carbs and calories do you allow yourself in a given day?

Thanks!

So so you write down everything you eat? I am concerned because I do not feel I am getting enough Protein yet (how many grams are you eating a day?). I know I am eating the wrong foods too which scares me a lot! It just seems the the crunchy stuff goes down so much better and I can eat more of that stuff....like chips. I have got to get myself together!!! I have lost somewhere around 55 lbs but I want to lose about 20-25 more and I am not loosing much anymore. I go up and down between 164 and 166. chicken is very hard for me to get down. Other meats seems to be easier. It seems if I chew everything else good enough, I should be chewing chicken enough! I really do not want to go backwards but I am finding that old habit die hard. Anyone got any advice for me???

I keep somewhat of a journal but i don't write down everything down to the number of spoonfuls, and if i have a few sugar free hard candies i dont write that in.. I am getting over 100 grams of Protein a day. I eat South Beach Diet bars and a lot of beef Jerky, and I make chocolate pudding with sugar free Jello pudding mix, but substitute EAS chocolate Protein shakes for the milk, which makes it almost pure protein. The crunchy stuff also goes down really easy for me, chips, popcorn, crackers, that kindof stuff... i could probably sit and eat a whole bag of chips before feeling full, it does nothing to me. I'm trying to stay away from that stuff now. Greek yogurt is high in protein. I had a barbeque sandwich tonight, normal amount of meat but only half of the bun, and the pork digested well and has left me full. I just make sure that whenever i eat, whatever meal it is has a good source of protein in it.

It is a VERY simple recipe of basically eggs and cream cheese. I am able to get 6 sets of Buns out of a single recipe which makes them about 1 carb per sandwich. I have also used them to make little pizzas out of too! You can do a yahoo search for Cloud bread or here is one link....No-flour bread. Riiiiiiiiight?.

I do eat a lot of low fat foods too I guess. I do fat-free or low-fat cheese, cottage cheese, mayo, etc.... I only use plain greek yogurt, sugar free smuckers, a lot of splenda products. I do not fry hardly anything at all, if I do it is with spray. I eat Atkins bars, Power Crunch bars, pure Protein bars and I love whey Crisps. They come in regular or chocolate and I put them in my cottage cheese or greek yogurt everyday. I even eat them by themselves when I get the munchies. I used to eat only egg beaters or all whites but once I figured out how little cholesterol I was now eating, I went back to regular CHEAP eggs....LOL.

Wow the pictures of the cloud bread look incredible! Great idea for making little pizzas, i could melt some fat free mozzerella and turkey pepperonis and no sugar added Tomato sauce and it would be perfect! I have to cut down on carbs, my nutritionist told me I was really overdoing it on carbs (well over 150 grams a day) so I would like to adopt the low carb lifestyle. You gave me some great ideas! Thanks!!

I met with a nutritionist today for the first time. She developed a meal plan for me, with substitutions. She did say that very well cooked vegetables are safe at this point, NO raw vegetables, and that I need to increase my fat intake to help with satiety. She said that eating strictly fat free foods all the time doesn't sit in your stomach long at all and will cause hunger sooner. And last, I've been really overdoing it on carbs, causing my insulin and blood sugar to spike, so all refined carbs are out, but 100% whole grain light bread is okay and fruit is also. I feel better that I'm on the right track now!

Sorry to disagree with you Ellisa, but carbs matter to EVERYONE. I found that as soon as I started eating more food (more calories) but dropped my carb % my weight loss took off. It is so funny to be able to lose weight at 1200 calories and low net carbs but sit still at 600 calories with the same amount of carbs. I owe a great deal of my loss to the low carb diet that I follow. Atkins FOREVER....LOL!!!! But seriously, just by tracking what I eat online (myplate) I can see when, how much and why my weight changed (or didn't). Plus, I have come to love the low carb lifestyle. I do NOT eat breads at all anymore. If I want my burger on a roll, I make cloud bread (whoopsie rolls). I love eating my Atkins or Power Crunch Protein bars. They have a little as 2 net carbs a bar and help me keep the weight dropping off while been super yummy! I even switched to low carb, unsweetened soy milk like Silk or 8th Continent (my fave). I do cheat here and there, snacking on one of the kids Cookies or eating a few fries so I am definatley not deprived. Hope my 2 cents helps.

BTW...I do have to go see the staff in 2 weeks and I know they are going to be pissy because I am currently below the minimum weight they set for me but it is more fun to be yelled at for being too thin than all the years of being told your too fat...LOL!

Now to just get rid of the excess skin so I can take my shirt off in public....oh well, at least the shirts look nice now!!!

What is cloud bread? I take it that it is low carb of course. How many carbs do you limit yourself to daily excluding Fiber? And do you also do low fat or not worry about fat as much, just keep the carbs very low?

Greeneyes- I'm also 26 and was sleeved 2 months ago! On the 17th, the day before you!

Oh no I meant that your therapist and nutritionist can work together. Target your trigger foods, weed out the stuff that may cause overeating not only in quantity, but quality.

It's a learning experience. Ya know, we all have bad habits, and issues, it takes time, and you'll get there.

Oh I see, that makes sense, I'm sorry that went right over my head :confused1: I found a few nutritionists that I will call tomorrow, and whomever I end up getting in with I will see if I can schedule appointments with the 3 of us at a time to work together, it would definitely be beneficial. Thank you for being so inspirational!!

Any nutritionist along with your therapist should be able to get you on a meal plan. You've stated you are in therapy for your compulsive eating, and with that assistance, and guidance, plus the guidance of a nutritionist or dietician, you should be able to get this figured out.

Just tell them you've had a gastrectomy. You do not have to tell them or go into grave detail that you had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy for WLS. Gastrectomies are a well-known, heavily practiced procedure, and any decent nutritionist/dietician will have experience getting you on a meal plan that will help you.

My therapist does know about the surgery and has helped greatly with depression issues, however I know that there is only so much that that therapy can do, a lot of things time will resolve and I will have to change on my own. Good idea Tiffykins about mentioning to a nutritionist that i have had a gastrectomy, that should be easier to understand and work with from their end. We have a huge hospital in town and a large branch solely for nutrition, I'll see about getting into see a nutritionist ASAP and get on a meal plan and routine appointments. That should help guide me and keep me on a positive track. I know that if I have a professional looking down my shoulder and keeping me in line I won't be so confused and be making the mistakes I have been making!

Yes, I do have this problem if I lay down soon after eating. Also if I overate, have reflux, or ate something liquidy like Soup, or even too spicey.

It is pretty gross and I avoid doing that. I seem to not have the problem if I avoid spicey food and try to digest before going to bed.

Prilosec??? SOunds like you need it.

I've been taking Prevacid, but i've only been taking it once a day, and apparently it can be taken twice a day. I agree it's pretty darn gross, i'm trying to nip this in the bud!

Jillian -

I am really worried about you. You had your surgery less than 2 months ago, right?

You were a very lightweight (30 pounds to lose I think is what you said). You are already at a healthy weight which is great.

However, you should not be eating lettuce and some of the foods you listed until 3 months out or more. Since you are also asking about liquids & timing around meals, it seems like you have had very little or no nutrition guidelines given to you.

Please seek help from a licensed nutritionist who has experience with the Sleeve. If you cannot find that, even experience with any WLS will be of a benefit to you. The volume and types of food you are eating can cause serious issues with your healing stomach.

Please, please, please get some help immediately!

It's been almost 2 months, I have been very confused as far as post op directions because my surgeon gave me the clear to eat solids at 5 weeks, and was very strict at first with his post-op directions, but it seemed to progress very quickly. There aren't any local nutritionists that have experience with the sleeve, i have checked into it. I have even checked with the local weight loss surgery centers, and they only perform gastric bypass and lap-band, they have yet to perform the sleeve. I went to two different gastroenterologists seeking their opinions and looking for post- surgery follow up care, and they didn't really understand what I was there for. They said i was fine, and that I should be okay to eat what I am comfortable with eating, and that my stomach will let me know if i have trouble with any foods. One doctor told me to take new foods slow and cautiously, but at 5 weeks to introduce them in small amounts and that I should be okay with them and that the major healing has probably already occurred and my risk for leaks would be very low by that point.

At this point the only foods that i have problems with are green Beans, and acidic foods or high fat foods (with the exception of Peanut Butter, it seems to be the only high fat food that agrees well with me AND keeps me full for most of the day).

At times I wish i had used a different surgeon whom I would have follow up care with and had better outlines of everything from the start. I have been told different things by everyone.

I can always go back to my "safe foods"- yogurt, smoothies, applesauce, and Protein shakes, and try to pass a few more weeks or a month by to give more healing time, as long as I keep myself busy I can distract myself from thinking about eating other foods.

I seem to have a fairly high metabolism, after surgery i consumed quite a bit more than most people in the way of calories (around 900 a day through Protein shakes) and still lost pretty fast. If I can aim at about 1200-1400 a day, I can slowly get to my goal, then maintain at around 1800-2000/day.

Call your doctor! It never hurts to check. It sounds like acid to me but I am not a medical person hehe. I am just going from experience with old diet patterns. You might also want to keep the solids earlier in the day and try having a shake before bed so your tummy has more time without solid foods. Hope it gets better soon!! Sounds like a pain to deal with.

Thanks I appreciate it! I tried calling my surgeon about this and haven't been able to reach him, and i called my general internist earlier and only reached the office voicemail system. I may take your advice and have a shake before bed, or switch up my eating patterns and only do solids early in the day and after 5:00pm or so switch to yogurts, shakes, and puddings, things that go down easily. And maybe for the time being prop myself up with a few more pillows at night, i just find it very hard to sleep when I am nearly sitting up, it is much easier to sleep laying on my side with one pillow under my head, but that is what is causing the food to come back up

Your response really concerns me too. Now that I can eat soft foods, I can get down blended chicken with green Beans and broth about 5 ounces only. If really brothy and very blended about 8 or 9 ounces. If I were you I would ask for some kind of sonogram to see how big your stomach is or go to a different doctor to take a look. When you say whole chicken breast do you mean just chewing and swallowing? That is really fast for 7 weeks out. Let me know what you find out.

He is pretty sure that he used a 32 on me. I believe i may be drinking way too much and too close to meals. I am taking several medications and a few of them cause dry mouth, and i also live in Alabama where it has been about 100 degrees lately and high humidity. So i am always thirsty. It has been very hard not to constantly be drinking something. I believe that i have been washing food straight through my sleeve because of the large amounts of liquid i consume. I tried eating steamed broccoli last night without having a drink and ate about 3/4 cup, then was stuffed. Before surgery i could eat 6 POUNDS of broccoli at a time. If you are able to get down 8 or 9 ounces of very brothy foods easily don't be concerned, it is just liquified to the point where it can move through you that fast. How far out are you? Right after surgery I was able to drink Soup broth mug after mug, easily, although i couldn't even get a Jello down without stomach pain. It took about 3 weeks before i could get mushy foods down without discomfort. So liquids and broths are very, very easy on the system. But a great source of hydration!! I still find that I can eat sugar free ice cream and get full off it if I don't drink when eating it. Breyers makes Smooth and Dreamy No Sugar Added Triple chocolate Ice Cream, it is reduced fat and is sweetened with Splenda. Only 100 calories per half cup and it is the perfect end to a day on few calories and is very soothing on the stomach. Wonderful treat!!!

Drink up until 30 minutes before you eat or at least 15 minutes before you eat . Wait at least 30 min after you eat, but 45 would be better. You should notice a difference. When I am with people who don't know I am sleeved, I will sip some Water while eating,and I can eat way more food than when I don't.

So give it an hour time-frame from drinking total around meals? That makes sense.

That is also a good idea when you are with people, people won't look at you like you are crazy or trying to starve yourself! I'm at a healthy weight now and don't want to only be able to "pick" at tiny bites when I'm in public because I get comments from people thinking that I have an eating disorder. I usually can avoid those comments by choosing the higher calorie foods instead of only veggies and very low calorie foods, and choosing to have a few bites of dessert. It gets people off my case. Pretty annoying to say the least though!!

I have been taking Prevacid for the past few weeks and it seemed to work well until recently, the acid has kicked up a bit, and my Doctor wrote me an RX for Nexium. I am going to fill it and try it once but my insurance only covers it partially and it is an expensive medication to fill. I still swear by the cherry flavored Rolaids chews when my acid is acting up bigtime. They seem to work almost instantly for me, absorbing the acid and give me a big dose of Calcium at the same time. Also, depending on whether or not you are limiting carbs, a few saltine crackers absorb stomach acid VERY well, just like a sponge in Water. If my stomach is upset and I feel acid bothering me, i'll much on some saltines and chew a couple Rolaids chews and it soothes my stomach within 5 minutes.

Warning- This may be gross or TMI for some: I have been waking up a few hours after falling asleep almost every night after starting on solids, coughing up stomach contents (digested, not solid food, along with stomach acid), as if i have regurgitated in my sleep and started choking on it while sleeping and it doesn't wake me up until i have started choking. Then i sit up and cough stuff out of my lungs for about 10-15 minutes. It is not only really gross, but today for the 2nd time in 2 weeks, i have woken up early with a high fever and severe body aches and pains, sore skin, all the traditional flu like symptoms except for congestion or stomach problems. Both times I have woken up about 5am with the fever and severe body pains and unable to go back to sleep for hours until my fever breaks and the pains subside. It makes me wonder if I am getting stomach contents into my lungs and it is causing a bit of infection. About two weeks ago I got sick with the same type of thing and the Dr. put me on antibiotics assuming i had an infection that was a result of a virus. It did not cross my mind that it could be from aspirating food. I don't have chest pain. But it only makes sense that just a little bit of stomach contents would be all it takes entering the lungs to become infected because it is foreign to that part of the body.

I keep from eating 2 hours before bed, but this has been happening since I moved to solid foods and also since i have been laying flat at night on my side or back with one pillow. The initial weeks after surgery i was propped up with about 5 pillows almost to the point of sitting up.

Has anyone experienced anything like this before? Or heard of it? It seems awfully weird. I don't want to start taking antibiotics again because of the damage it does on the immune system, but at the same time i don't want to be fighting off infection continuously.

That might be the reason why you're able to consume larger amounts. The liquids are pushing the food right through.

Did you discuss your medical conditions with Dr. Almanza before surgery?

I did tell them i had mitral valve prolapse prior to surgery, and i also have something called dysautonomia. It is usually genetic but overlooked and misdiagnosed because of the huge variety of symptoms it can cause. I was misdiagnosed with panic attacks at the age of 10 and wasn't correctly diagnosed until the age of 21 when i found a specialist. It usually goes hand in hand with mitral valve prolapse. People who have it live for years or decades with it without knowing they have it because most Doctors do not even know of the condition. I just happen to live in Huntsville, AL, about 90 minutes North of Birmingham where the Mitral Valve and Dysautonomia Center is, where the very few specialists in the country happen to be for the disease, and was diagnosed there. I don't think Dr. Almanza knows the details about either condition, and although I think he is a good Doctor when it comes to performing these surgeries, it was almost like a shop getting people in and out of the surgery center because there were so many people being operated on. They operate on you and move you out as soon as possible to get the next people in. They do so many surgeries they literally don't have time to sit down and talk with you one on one about individual needs or problems. Or at least in my case i felt they didn't.

I agree that the liquid consumption is probably having a great deal with moving food through my sleeve so quickly. I tried steamed broccoli for the second time last night, the first time was several days ago and it was very filling so i tried it again, however i didn't have anything to drink with it this time. I ate a little too fast maybe, and because i didn't drink anything i got the "slimies". Haven't had that happen in a while. What was odd, is I didn't get nauseous of felt like i was going to throw up, i just started sliming. As the food moved down it went away. So it must have a lot to do with my Fluid intake.

Being in the 100+ degree heat index of Alabama and high humidity really makes me much more thirsty, i see it being easier to drink less once fall rolls around and cooler, drier air moves in.

I have not had much to drink today, and have had a 3 yogurts mixed with steel cut oats and a 2 oz stick of beef Jerky, which to most of you may be a lot but for me is very little by this time of day. It actually has very slowly moved through my sleeve because i have not been drinking. But again, I've been sitting at the computer indoors all day in air conditioning and have not gotten thirsty.