Chris R

I did have a "last meal" the night before I started my 2-week pre-surgery liver-shrinking diet - went out to my favorite restaurant and ate what I wanted. But I don't necessarily think it's a good idea to just be totally out of control. Changing the way you eat is going to be difficult enough after surgery - you will HAVE to control yourself or you could do serious physical damage.
Believe me, I totally understand your feelings, especially now. Having been through 1000 calories a day for 2 weeks pre-surgery, then 1 day Clear Liquids the day before, NOTHING (including water) the day of surgery, Water only next day, clear liquids for 2 more days, full liquids for 2 weeks, and now having finished week 1 of 3 weeks of soft/pureed foods only, I am dying for something I can really sink my teeth into! But it's well worth it to finally be on the road to losing the weight and keeping it off permanently. And after all, I know eventually I will probably be able to eat most if not all of the things I used to - just a LOT less of them! Patience - it's worth it!

It's rather saddening when I'm reading threads on here and find people start bickering. I've posted elsewhere about this, but I think it deserves repeating.
Message boards, by their very nature, do not allow the reader to have the physical cues of eye contact, facial expression, or tone of voice that one has in face-to-face conversations. This can make a poster's intended tone and message easy to misinterpret. It's very important to keep this in mind when reading posts, and to give people the benefit of the doubt when you start to feel upset about something they said or the 'way' in which you felt they said it.
I honestly don't think anyone comes on here to be mean, nasty, or to try to insult people. Perhaps one person doesn't get another's sense of humor, or just misses the real point behind what someone is trying to say. But rather than letting things dissolve into nasty back-and-forth sniping that ends up getting more people upset, administrators involved, and running threads that the original posters made to honestly seek information and advice off-track, there is a simple solution. If you find that you simply don't like the way someone expresses themself on here, you can use the ignore settings. That way you don't have to ever read anything they post again. Simply click on the arrow next to your name at the top right of the screen, click on "Manage Ignore Prefs", and enter the name of that user. You can ignore their posts, signatures, and private messages. Simple solution, yes?
If you get into this kind of back and forth bickering and this solution isn't to your liking, then perhaps you should reexamine your reasons for being here...
Just my 2 cents worth...

My experience has been great. No problems with nausea, vomiting, sliming, or dumping. Had some stinging pain in one incision until the dissolvable stitches let go, since then no pain. Lost 60 lbs pre-surgery over 9 months, have lost 24 lbs in 25 days since surgery, not including the 10 I gained in Water weight from IVs in the hospital.

It's rather saddening when I'm reading threads on here and find people start bickering. I've posted elsewhere about this, but I think it deserves repeating.
Message boards, by their very nature, do not allow the reader to have the physical cues of eye contact, facial expression, or tone of voice that one has in face-to-face conversations. This can make a poster's intended tone and message easy to misinterpret. It's very important to keep this in mind when reading posts, and to give people the benefit of the doubt when you start to feel upset about something they said or the 'way' in which you felt they said it.
I honestly don't think anyone comes on here to be mean, nasty, or to try to insult people. Perhaps one person doesn't get another's sense of humor, or just misses the real point behind what someone is trying to say. But rather than letting things dissolve into nasty back-and-forth sniping that ends up getting more people upset, administrators involved, and running threads that the original posters made to honestly seek information and advice off-track, there is a simple solution. If you find that you simply don't like the way someone expresses themself on here, you can use the ignore settings. That way you don't have to ever read anything they post again. Simply click on the arrow next to your name at the top right of the screen, click on "Manage Ignore Prefs", and enter the name of that user. You can ignore their posts, signatures, and private messages. Simple solution, yes?
If you get into this kind of back and forth bickering and this solution isn't to your liking, then perhaps you should reexamine your reasons for being here...
Just my 2 cents worth...

I have really been going back and forth as whether to post here or not. I guess I am sort of a "forum person" in my hobbies and areas of interest, but I have to be honest, I have avoided posting on this site or even looking at it for a couple of reasons. I found this site only a few days before my surgery but when I found it I found more negativity and frightened people then I found inspiration. Actually, I have gone here and gotten the (bleep) scared out of me by a few posters, every time I see their posts I get knots in my stomach. The main poster that does that to me has a screen name that starts with the letter "i". Everybody is terrified of leaks and all the negatives of this surgery and I just haven't been able to relate to many of the topics. Below I will share some of the basics of my journey so far.
First off, I am a 35 year old male who is 6 feet 3 inches tall. I wasn't fat my whole life, I actually weighed 218 when I was 19 years old. That was pretty close to a "perfect" weight for me. I got into a business where the guys I worked with partied, ate, and drank to excess. Over the years I ballooned to 445 lbs which is where I have been for the past 2-3 years. In 2010 I was considering the lap band but chickened out. I was back on in 2011 but chickened out again. In 2012 I HAD to make a decision because I was put on Metformin for borderline diabetes and Lisinopril for borderline blood pressure as well. That was it. I started again with the nutritionist appointments and made an appt. to see my surgeon who is located downtown Chicago a few miles from my house. My first appt. with him was in early October 2012 and he suggested a VSG instead of the lap band because of the large amount of weight I wanted to lose. I left thinking about it and did the rest of my pre op requirements such as upper GI, psyche, EKG, etc. I saw my surgeon again on November 14th, 2012 and we decided on the VSG (which I really didn't know a lot about). We set surgery for December 21st, 2012.
Because I am a big fella, my surgeon put me on a 28 day pre op liquid only diet (to shrink my liver and loosen my skin) which I started on November 23rd, 2012 (the day after Thanksgiving). The first few days were tough but I have very strong will power and stuck to it, following the requirements to the letter. I didn't cheat even once. Again, not even once. After about 12 days it was smooth sailing and I just plugged away and kept up the exercise plan that I had been doing for over a year which was just walking 1.5 miles, three times per week at my local YMCA. I didn't weigh myself even once the entire plan and weighed myself the morning of surgery. To my astonishment I lost a staggering 49 lbs!!!!I I couldn't even believe it, to be honest with you I began to sob like a little girl! I went from 445 to 396. I was just so shocked. My surgeon told me that I broke his practice record which was previously 45 lbs for a pre op diet. Again, I LOST 49 LBS IN 28 DAYS!!!
On the morning of December 21st, 2012 I was ready for surgery at a major hospital downtown Chicago. I arrived, valet parked, checked in, and was laying on the table prepped for surgery within 1 hour just waiting for the anesthesiologist. I was in surgery about an hour and a half later and the surgery took 2 1/2 hours. I am going to cut the details of my hospital stay down so readers aren't sitting here all day reading. Any questions just ask me. I wanted to leave the hospital the next evening but my surgeon said that he wouldn't allow me to break two records and that I should stay another night. Quick recap, I was checked into my room after surgery at 6pm Friday night and was discharged from the hospital at 11am Sunday morning, less then 48 hours after entering my room.
Upon arriving home I checked my weight, expecting to have lost a few lbs, and actually gained back 2 lbs due to all the fluids that were pumped into me. I was back up to 398. My recovery went ok I think, I was in a lot of pain along my largest incision which is about 3+ inches wide. I was on Tramadol which sucks. It took me 9 days to finish the 25 pills that I was prescribed since I was skipping doses. I was home on Sunday morning and by Wednesday morning I was off to the YMCA where I walked only one lap around the track. I limped around and talked to my friends there before going home. I was back at the YMCA on Friday and actually walked 5 laps (a half mile). I finally weighed myself on Friday, one week after surgery, and I was down from 398 to 391. I weighed myself again on Sunday afternoon and I lost another 4 lbs from Friday to Sunday, 9 lbs in 9 days, ending up at 387 lbs, 58 lbs down in 38 days.
So that's basically that. It's been over 10 days now since surgery and I am feeling like a million bucks. Here are the "scary" parts. I am using the term scary because after reading this site I would have thought I was going to die from this surgery. I HAVE NOT been nauseous even for one second since surgery. I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOT thrown up, or even gagged for that matter, not even once. I AM ABLE to drink 60ozs of Fluid per day. I just started puree on Saturday, 8 days out, and it's been perfect. I had 4 ozs of low fat cottage cheese (which I LOVE) today as well as only one Protein Shake, a bowl of Tomato Soup, and plenty of Water. I AM NOT hungry, EVER. I just eat to live, that's it. Today I feel the best that I have felt since surgery. Every day gets better. My goal is to lose 220 lbs, 100 in three months from the start of my pre op diet on November 23rd. I WILL do it.
I know I left out a bunch so fire away (or ask any questions that you want).

It's rather saddening when I'm reading threads on here and find people start bickering. I've posted elsewhere about this, but I think it deserves repeating.
Message boards, by their very nature, do not allow the reader to have the physical cues of eye contact, facial expression, or tone of voice that one has in face-to-face conversations. This can make a poster's intended tone and message easy to misinterpret. It's very important to keep this in mind when reading posts, and to give people the benefit of the doubt when you start to feel upset about something they said or the 'way' in which you felt they said it.
I honestly don't think anyone comes on here to be mean, nasty, or to try to insult people. Perhaps one person doesn't get another's sense of humor, or just misses the real point behind what someone is trying to say. But rather than letting things dissolve into nasty back-and-forth sniping that ends up getting more people upset, administrators involved, and running threads that the original posters made to honestly seek information and advice off-track, there is a simple solution. If you find that you simply don't like the way someone expresses themself on here, you can use the ignore settings. That way you don't have to ever read anything they post again. Simply click on the arrow next to your name at the top right of the screen, click on "Manage Ignore Prefs", and enter the name of that user. You can ignore their posts, signatures, and private messages. Simple solution, yes?
If you get into this kind of back and forth bickering and this solution isn't to your liking, then perhaps you should reexamine your reasons for being here...
Just my 2 cents worth...

It's rather saddening when I'm reading threads on here and find people start bickering. I've posted elsewhere about this, but I think it deserves repeating.
Message boards, by their very nature, do not allow the reader to have the physical cues of eye contact, facial expression, or tone of voice that one has in face-to-face conversations. This can make a poster's intended tone and message easy to misinterpret. It's very important to keep this in mind when reading posts, and to give people the benefit of the doubt when you start to feel upset about something they said or the 'way' in which you felt they said it.
I honestly don't think anyone comes on here to be mean, nasty, or to try to insult people. Perhaps one person doesn't get another's sense of humor, or just misses the real point behind what someone is trying to say. But rather than letting things dissolve into nasty back-and-forth sniping that ends up getting more people upset, administrators involved, and running threads that the original posters made to honestly seek information and advice off-track, there is a simple solution. If you find that you simply don't like the way someone expresses themself on here, you can use the ignore settings. That way you don't have to ever read anything they post again. Simply click on the arrow next to your name at the top right of the screen, click on "Manage Ignore Prefs", and enter the name of that user. You can ignore their posts, signatures, and private messages. Simple solution, yes?
If you get into this kind of back and forth bickering and this solution isn't to your liking, then perhaps you should reexamine your reasons for being here...
Just my 2 cents worth...

It's rather saddening when I'm reading threads on here and find people start bickering. I've posted elsewhere about this, but I think it deserves repeating.
Message boards, by their very nature, do not allow the reader to have the physical cues of eye contact, facial expression, or tone of voice that one has in face-to-face conversations. This can make a poster's intended tone and message easy to misinterpret. It's very important to keep this in mind when reading posts, and to give people the benefit of the doubt when you start to feel upset about something they said or the 'way' in which you felt they said it.
I honestly don't think anyone comes on here to be mean, nasty, or to try to insult people. Perhaps one person doesn't get another's sense of humor, or just misses the real point behind what someone is trying to say. But rather than letting things dissolve into nasty back-and-forth sniping that ends up getting more people upset, administrators involved, and running threads that the original posters made to honestly seek information and advice off-track, there is a simple solution. If you find that you simply don't like the way someone expresses themself on here, you can use the ignore settings. That way you don't have to ever read anything they post again. Simply click on the arrow next to your name at the top right of the screen, click on "Manage Ignore Prefs", and enter the name of that user. You can ignore their posts, signatures, and private messages. Simple solution, yes?
If you get into this kind of back and forth bickering and this solution isn't to your liking, then perhaps you should reexamine your reasons for being here...
Just my 2 cents worth...

It's rather saddening when I'm reading threads on here and find people start bickering. I've posted elsewhere about this, but I think it deserves repeating.
Message boards, by their very nature, do not allow the reader to have the physical cues of eye contact, facial expression, or tone of voice that one has in face-to-face conversations. This can make a poster's intended tone and message easy to misinterpret. It's very important to keep this in mind when reading posts, and to give people the benefit of the doubt when you start to feel upset about something they said or the 'way' in which you felt they said it.
I honestly don't think anyone comes on here to be mean, nasty, or to try to insult people. Perhaps one person doesn't get another's sense of humor, or just misses the real point behind what someone is trying to say. But rather than letting things dissolve into nasty back-and-forth sniping that ends up getting more people upset, administrators involved, and running threads that the original posters made to honestly seek information and advice off-track, there is a simple solution. If you find that you simply don't like the way someone expresses themself on here, you can use the ignore settings. That way you don't have to ever read anything they post again. Simply click on the arrow next to your name at the top right of the screen, click on "Manage Ignore Prefs", and enter the name of that user. You can ignore their posts, signatures, and private messages. Simple solution, yes?
If you get into this kind of back and forth bickering and this solution isn't to your liking, then perhaps you should reexamine your reasons for being here...
Just my 2 cents worth...

So, I had my surgery yesterday. I was too tired and out of it to come post an update here. All I wanted to do was sleep. The surgery went well. I think the gas pain was worse than the belly pain. My doctor also repaired a fairly large hiatal hernia while he was in there. So I think that compounded the pain and the gas some.
Went for my X-ray this morning, and everything looks good. No leaks, and he said the hernia looks to be healing nicely. I'm now taking in Clear Liquids, VERY SLOWLY. I have been disconnected from the IV and morphine pump. I'm now on Tylenol with codeine. I'm actually feeling pretty good right now, for the first time since surgery. Not so much in pain, I can best describe it as "tightness" in the belly. They want me to drink Protein. They gave a packet of liquid that I can put into Water or cranberry juice. It is not flavorless, and it is NASTY with a capital NAS and a capital T. I have my wife bringing up the free Unjury flavorless powder samples the nutritionist gave us to try, and I will probably mix it into the chicken broth they brought me.
I will be released tomorrow, and so glad to be on the other side. I'm not gonna lie, the first 24 hours was pretty much hell, but I'm actually feeling pretty good right now, knock on wood.

My NUT originally told me 3 meals a day, 1 snack, but my surgeon told me let your stomach be your guide. He said stop eating a meal when you feel satisfied, NOT full. If you haven't finished it, do NOT wait 20-30 minutes and eat more. He said if you're hungry again 2-3 hours later, then eat again.

You can do it! That's what maintaining is all about! Don't obsess over it, just get yourself back on track.
I'm sure it will be different trying to maintain than it was to lose. I guess it will take some trial and error to figure out what you can have to maintain a healthy weight!

Steve

Good luck! It's nice to be first. Best wishes for a complication-free surgery and quick recovery!

My NUT originally told me 3 meals a day, 1 snack, but my surgeon told me let your stomach be your guide. He said stop eating a meal when you feel satisfied, NOT full. If you haven't finished it, do NOT wait 20-30 minutes and eat more. He said if you're hungry again 2-3 hours later, then eat again.

I don't think everyone (or anyone) is telling her it isn't right and that she should be eating more - I just think people are sharing their own experiences. That's why people post questions on here - to find out what other people have done.

I don't think everyone (or anyone) is telling her it isn't right and that she should be eating more - I just think people are sharing their own experiences. That's why people post questions on here - to find out what other people have done.

I had my gall bladder out in 1994, 9 months after my oldest was born, and almost 19 years before my sleeve. I found the gall bladder surgery a breeze - didn't have trouble with pain, didn't even take the pain meds the nurses kept offering. Felt back to normal in 2 days. The sleeve was more painful for me - not horrible, but I still was having incision pain 3 weeks out.
Oh - and the surgery was MUCH less painful than gallbladder attacks!!

Yes you are very right!!!

First things first. Congratulations on you fantastic loss and getting to goal! You did it!
Now let's get your head straight..........
You mentioned that you are off-track. You're here telling us, which means you're looking for help. And you're going to get it! Support, some tough love, you'll get it all from your wonderful VST support crew!
But you know that you are the only one who can do this and keep the weight off! You reached your goal in 6 months (fantastic), but that wasn't enough time for you to retrain yourself from a lifetime of bad habits! That's how you got to the surgery point in the first place. You need to continue with logging and counting for at least another year until it becomes second nature to you to watch what you eat and know what you're putting in your mouth. Then, after you've been stable at goal weight (+/- 5 lbs) you can get a bit less vigilant.
You mention that you are losing inches still. That is normal, as you body is remodelling itself with the new weight. That is NOT a quick process! As I mentioned above, you need to be stable at goal weight and see how things "shake out" over time! Are you exercising? That could be some of the inches lost (muscle tone building, fat moving around, etc.). Even if you've been off-track eating, at least exercise gives you a bit of an offset.
Not to mention exercise has many added benefits beyond a number on the scale......
Now let's talk about the scale. We all know it's our mortal enemy. When you started this whole process, it was with a goal in mind to lose X lbs. But what you really wanted was to lose body fat. A regular scale does not discriminate between fat and muscle and bone and Water. So you could lose 100 lbs and have lost mostly muscle!
If you can, try to get a body fat reading (some scales do this and are not that expensive). You can get it done at a gym by a trainer (using fat calipers), or even possibly at your primary care physician. Body fat % is a much better indicator of how well you really are doing in your loss AND in your maintenance.
Don't let the number on the scale rule your life, your mood or your motivation! Do you physically feel better? I'll bet you do! And that was the whole point of getting the VSG. Your health is exponentially better now. So use your physical body feelings to guide you. Are you tired? You might need more exercise to build stamina and muscle base. Are your energy levels fluctuating during the day? Look at your food intake and find out what causes the changes. Are you sleeping well? If not, try drinking less caffeine, changing your nighttime routine and hours of sleep. Rest is a key component of our health and gives us the energy to tackle the new day (including the desire to exercise and eat right!).
You are driving this bus dear. You've completed a huge challenge in getting to goal. Now tackles the new challenge of living a full healthy happy life by using your new skills to keep yourself in this "happy place".

My NUT originally told me 3 meals a day, 1 snack, but my surgeon told me let your stomach be your guide. He said stop eating a meal when you feel satisfied, NOT full. If you haven't finished it, do NOT wait 20-30 minutes and eat more. He said if you're hungry again 2-3 hours later, then eat again.

I just found out I have to be at the hospital at 6 am tomorrow! I'm the first case, and surgery is at 7:30! WOW!

At three weeks out most people are still on liquids. I would say the safest answer is from your doctor. I hope you will call.
I'm sure he can give you a remedy for your pain.
Best of luck!

6 years and 2 kids later and I have finally reached my "wedding weight". I don't post much, but truly am grateful for my sleeve and for the people on this site who share their experiences (good and bad).
HW. 225
Surgery: 11/7/12 219lbs
Today's weight: 170
Goal weight: 140

Stop weighing yourself everyday. Take the scale out of your house because it will drive you crazy.