SerendipityHappens

I was in the hospital for nearly a week with mine. my doctor was able to do it laproscopically (5 incisions) even though my gallbladder was ruptured and infection was septic. He spent a long time in there scraping infection from my other organs etc.. I couldn't even get up and walk for the first two days and yes, Definitely felt like I got runover by a truck,. my first walk I thought all my organs were going to fall out of my abdomen. I had a morphine drip in the hospital. After I was discharged from the hospital I was another week on the couch at home. After the second week I was feeling much better.. but the first two weeks were horrible. I swore I'd never ever ever have another surgery again! My VSG surger felt like a weekend at the spa compared to what I went through with my gallbladder! Hopefully you will find your recovery easier.. My doc said mine was the worst he had ever seen and he said I was very close to death due to the extent of the gangrene.

I'm on purees My diet says up to 1/2 cup of food... one of the suggestions on my menu states one scrambled egg and 1/4 cup of puree. It then warns that you may only be able to eat a small portion of this, but the 1/2 cup is the maximum you should measure for yourself at mealtimes... I usually do almost the entire half cup with maybe a teaspoon left over. It's hard not to eat that last teaspoon since I'm not "full" but I stop when I feel satisfied. I know I'm eating a lot more than most at this point. At week three it says to consume 1 to 6 ounces of food per meal and stop at the first sign of satisfaction but don't eat until fullness. I guess it makes sense since bodies are so different. I have had hardly any inflammation of my sleeve so I know I have a lot more room early on than most people, but it still makes me worry.. like what if it's NOT just lack of inflammation? The doctor did mention that I have a slightly longer than average stomach but that I shouldn't be concerned about restriction. Anyway, as for the tiny bites, that is REALLY hard for me too. I have been using a baby spoon and setting a timer. Some people use an app on their phones to tell them when to take a bite but the timer has been working for me. What's been the hardest is I'm on purees.. it's really hard to chew something that's already puree!

the for the liver shrink "light dinner" according to my doc should be lean and green.. like literally a hunk of fish or chicken and a salad of the darkest leafy greens you can find- or a scoop of steamed leafy greens. No root vegetables, no starches.

I opted to just take some cottage cheese drain a bit of the whey from it, sprinkle some pepper on it then put a few tablespoons of marinara and a teaspoon of Parmesan and microwave it. Tastes great. I'm sure the ricotta bake is better.. but I'm happy with my simplified version.

I had spasms/contractions for the first week. Pretty bad the first few days and then they became less severe as the days passed. Warm herbal tea and warm broths helped a lot. Cold liquid would exacerbate the condition for me.

5 weeks for leaks (though most likely in first two weeks) 3 months for DVT (though most likely in first three weeks)

First week.. clears.. not even Protein shakes 2nd week, milks and protein shakes 3rd week, purees but not pureed meats plus soft cooked eggs and cottage cheese 4th week soft foods.. includes fish, deli shaved meats, Beans, soft cooked vegetables, soft fruits (no berries) toast, cheese) 5th week .. Ground meats, ham, salad greens cold cereals 6th week.. poultry, nuts, fruits except citrus, raw veggies, breads, rice and Pasta 7th week... Citrus fruits, seeds, berries, Protein Bars, all other meats I was instructed to try to get as much protein from foods as possible but it's ok to supplement with protein shakes as needed especially at the beginning. Was also advised not to puree foods once I'm in the soft foods phase since my stomach needs to mature properly and not get "lazy"

I have told my boyfriend, my three sisters and one friend who lives out of state and doesn't know anyone else that I know. On surgery day I was down 70 pounds from my highest weight so people are used to me losing weight, and also eating weird foods. I've been doing Protein shakes twice a day for the past three months anyway! I went on "vacation" and came back to work today.. I spent two weeks post op visiting with my sisters, so I just tell everyone that my vacation with family was great.. Everyone tells me I look so well rested! I have no plans to keep my VSG a secret, I just don't want people having expectations. This summer I'll be going back home for a wedding and will see my entire extended family. By then my weight loss will be obvious and I will happily let everyone know about my surgery then.

This put a smile on my face. Story of my life! I love Ann Taylor, Banana Republic and Talbots.... Can't wait until I can actually buy something in there for MEEEEEE!

I'm only two and a half weeks out and I'm over 600 calories already. I plan to hang at 800 calories for a few months and take it from there on increasing. Also, there really isn't much concern about getting too thin unless you have some sort of complication with your surgery.... It's not a physical problem because there is no malabsorption.. even if you can't eat all those calories, just add an ensure or two to your routine in order to stop losing.... although psychologically some might have issues since most of us already suffer from disordered eating, we are at risk of developing some sort of eating disorder.

Celebrate the victory!.... AND the first three or four days are the hardest, so after tomorrow you will be golden! You're doing a great job, and you are really proving to yourself that YOU really are in control of your food! Sticking with your preop like you are will benefit you in so many ways.. not just physically for your surgery, but also the mental victory as well!

I would suggest not stocking up TOO much on Protein powders/shakes. Many people have reported that what they loved prior to surgery, they hated after surgery, so I'd hate to see you get stuck with any. I'm a bargain shopper so for me getting good prices on things was super important... I looked around online for all the best prices on the Vitamins I'd need post op and stocked up. I also got the acid reducer ompezerole that my doctor recommended when it was on sale at walgreens. Gasx strips were a life saver because my stomach had a lot of gas for the first week or so. Honestly, I didn't really worry about packing everything for surgery and I went all the way to Mexico for it. The biggest thing I did was prepare my body for surgery. I was on an 800 calorie diet for three months preop and I made sure to get at least 70 grams of protein a day along with taking vitamins. I also added some kale and ginger juice to my Protein drinks for three months prior to surgery and made sure I had lots of leafy greens and I avoided grains for the three months prior to surgery. I just wanted to bathe myself in protein, micronutrients, and anti-inflamatory foods as much as possible prior to surgery in order to have speedy healing time. I don't know if it worked, but I can say that I had very little inflammation of my sleeve post surgery... Could be a fluke, but I like to think it was a combination of having a fantastic surgeon, taking my daily kale and ginger juice, and making sure my body was not in any way Vitamin or protein deficient prior to surgery.

March 13th in Tijuana Mexico. I have been blessed with an extremely easy recovery thus far.. Just hoping to get past the DVT and leak "danger" window and then I will breathe easy. My sleeve has had almost no inflammation, I didn't take any pain medicine since leaving the hospital and wasn't even given any narcotic pain medicine when I was there (I asked them not to give me any since narcotics make me feel yucky.. I'd rather have pain than take narcotics). I've been able to drink freely since the day after my surgery (drank 80 ounces of fluid the very next day after surgery with no problems at all) No nausea after day two.. I did have some stomach spasms that lasted the first several days. For the first two days, they'd stop me in my tracks, but reduced in intensity over the next week until they went away completely. The diet is progressing amazingly. I enjoyed a scrambled egg for breakfast this morning with 1/4 cup of curried lentils pureed with spinach and carrots and I added a few splashes of hot sauce. VERY yummy! Getting 70 grams of protein a day.. about half from food and the other half from shakes and I'm able to get all my water. Getting all my vitamins in pill form so no need for yucky chewables. I'm back to work at my boyfriend's store and not even tempted by all the chips and pastries we sell there, I'm working full days on my feet, but not doing any lifting or extensive bending/streching yet. Incisions healing very well. I couldn't be more thrilled with my VSG experience so far!

Congrats! I TOTALLY understand this NSV and you're not a dork for being excited about this. I am watching for mine... any ... day.... now...! Seriously, I've never ever had knuckles and I'm 41 years old! I'm quite small boned and I have "baby hands" When I make a fist they look like balloons!

1. How far minutes wise is the MI hospital from the border? Minutes Or airport? Crossing the border into Mexico was fast, it took maybe 1/2 hour from the Airport to get to MiDoctor 2 how much did u tip your driver once u got to MI hospital? I gave Victor $5.00.. Some give $10.00 and some don't give anything 3. After your tests on the day you arrive do you go straight to Marriott to check in? What tests do they run? This can vary from person to person. Some people go went straight to the Marriott on day one and didn't have tests until surgery day. I was scheduled first for the next day so I was taken straight to MiDoctor and they took blood, and regular vital signs and did an EKG. I was admitted to the hospital that night so I'd be right there available as the first surgery of the day. While I was in surgery the other people arrived from the hotel and started their processing. 4. How far is Marriott from the Mi hospital? Minutes 5. Do you have the same driver to the hotel from the Mi hospital that first day? No, I had the Marriott driver who took us in the Marriott shuttle. The driver who brings you from the airport is hired by the coodinating company. Did you tip him again? No I didn't tip him.. I was whisked inside to check in and he was gone. How much? How much for the luggage guy? I gave the guy who brought my luggage to my room two bucks. 6. Once you get back to your hotel that first day and all checked in, did you go out and about? I wouldn't know, I was checked into the hospital for the first night I know at that point I will need to order broth etc... Ill prob be hungry lol...Who takes you places or did you walk? How much did you tip on small trip!? I didn't go anywhere even after surgery. If you need to go somewhere arrange with the front desk. To get your broth/popcicles you just call roomservice.. Most of the packages come with 3 free broths 3 free popcicles and 2 free waters. If after surgery you can't eat your broth fast enough, you can put it in the coffee carafe to keep it warm. When I checked out of the hotel, I left the maid $10.00 That was for three nights. If I had asked for her to make up the bed/change the sheets during my stay, I would have given her $20.00 but since all she did was empty trash and bring new towels I was an easy room for her, I don't feel bad about leaving $10.00 Victor brought me to the airport. I tipped him again $5.00 for driving me to the airport... The van was FULL of people so I figure $5.00 was a pretty fair amount.. If he was making the trip for just little ole me, I would have given him more.

I'm two weeks out and not sorry... but there are some here who ARE sorry. There ARE some people who have tough recoveries. There are some who experience leaks. There was recently a forum member who passed away from a blood clot. NOW, did this stop me? NO. Surgery is a risk, but at my BMI and quality of life, I knew that the benefits by FAR outweighed the risks. I did everything I could to mitigate the risks and went into surgery happy and without fear, trusting in my surgeon. This is a relatively low risk procedure and there are AMAZING benefits to having it.. but there are still risks... VSG has about the same complication rate as getting your gallbladder out, most people wouldn't think twice about getting their gallbladder out.

I was self pay and I had my surgery in Tijuana. My local bariatric center wanted 20K for self pay and there was no way I could swing that. I figured since I had to travel far anyway that relying on follow ups or a support system from the bariatric center were not something I'd be able to take advantage of, so why not look out of the country... My surgery was 4,500 including everything but airfare... The surgery was great no problems at all... I chose Dr. Cabrera for my surgery.. but if you have a bit more money to spare, you can get Dr. Alvarez or Aceves who both have excellent reputations internationally. (though honestly I couldn't be happier with the surgeon I chose) Check out some of Alvarez' videos on youtube at his station is endobariatric.. watch enough of his videos and you'll never even need a seminar.. (and he's easy on the eyes too so watching is videos is quite enjoyable)

I've read where it is one of that last things we an add and it may take longer to tolerate it than other things..... I will definitely want to add some rice here and there at some point too, but I'll be using it more like a garnish than the main event like I used to!

I am putting 1/4 to 1/2 of a slice of american cheese on my beans and melting it in... I totally didn't even notice that I shouldn't be doing cheese until next week until checking with my paperwork after reading this thread. D'oh.. and I've been trying so hard to folllow my Dr.'s instruction to the letter... looks like we're in the same boat!

I did low carb in the months leading up to my preop phase.. being in ketosis helped me stick to the strict diet. Also, having Protein shakes/soups you actually LIKE goes a long way. I'd be spending my time now replacing one meal a day with a protein supplement to get used to the protein and find ones you like.

You SHOULD. with eating only 1/4 cup servings.. there's enough for everyone!

When I was having gallbladder issues, I couldn't eat pizza without running to the bathroom within about half an hour.. when I did, ****TMI ALERT*** the toilet would have oil just floating on top of the Water. Same with Chinese food. I'd NEVER leave the restaurant until I had gone to the bathroom because I had to GO within minutes of finishing my meal and it was EXPLOSIVE.. and again grease just floating there. Oddly, I could eat pastries with no trouble.. and we all know pastries are full of fat, so I don't know why the fat in chinese food and pizza was different in my body?!

I had a scrambled egg topped with 1/4 cup pureed curried lentils, yellow peas and spinach.. with just a dash of franks red hot sauce for breakfast.. it was SO DELICIOUS, I'm thinking of an encore of that for lunch!

By "eating until satisfaction" I am following my doctor's instructions. As outlined in my post, my food was measured. The concern is the amount of restriction we feel. the whole point of the surgery is so that we will be able to eat until the point of "satisfaction" but not necessarily "fullness"... and be satisfied with a small amount of food.

I've been the same.. I ate two cups of broth in one sitting my first day out of the hospital.. Was able to drink my Protein shakes with ease once I was cleared for those.. I assume I can drink so well because my sleeve is not inflamed... but on my first attempt at eating I ate nearly a whole egg WITH 1/4 cup of refried Beans... I read about people who can't get past a tablespoon of food when they start, and I'm chowing down on what is considered the "maximum" for my stage.... AND I didn't eat to the point of "fullness" just until I was "satisfied" Granted that's still restriction, but I just figured it would be more so early on. I've had a few people tell me not to worry, that I should really feel the restriction when I start on my denser Proteins. We'll see on Wednesday when I can start adding some meats.