Justinh125

Yep. It's gotta be your call...only you can decide how important the issue is.

String cheese works nicely in a pinch

String cheese works nicely in a pinch

Oh yeah, you don't want to put cream and sugar and all that in there....you'll end up drinking calories that way. Don't go drinking one of those sugary drinks you get at the coffee shops.

Oh yeah, you don't want to put cream and sugar and all that in there....you'll end up drinking calories that way. Don't go drinking one of those sugary drinks you get at the coffee shops.

I was sleeved on 8/21 and talked to my surgeon for my 6-week last Monday (9/30.) I explicitly asked him about coffee, and he said it was fine as long as I make sure to sip some extra Water to make up for the diuretic effect. The way he explained it, the "no-coffee" restriction is more important for gastric bypass patients due to the re-routing of their intestines....obviously that doesn't happen with our surgery. That being said, I'd tell anyone to respect what their own surgeon told them to do. If I hadn't asked, I'd be under the impression that I'm not allowed to have it. But my surgeon was quite clear. I then asked if there was any food or drink that I should always avoid. While he of course wants me to stick to healthy eating, he said that unlike his gastric bypass patients, there's nothing in particular that will make me sick or cause complications.

I was sleeved on 8/21 and talked to my surgeon for my 6-week last Monday (9/30.) I explicitly asked him about coffee, and he said it was fine as long as I make sure to sip some extra Water to make up for the diuretic effect. The way he explained it, the "no-coffee" restriction is more important for gastric bypass patients due to the re-routing of their intestines....obviously that doesn't happen with our surgery. That being said, I'd tell anyone to respect what their own surgeon told them to do. If I hadn't asked, I'd be under the impression that I'm not allowed to have it. But my surgeon was quite clear. I then asked if there was any food or drink that I should always avoid. While he of course wants me to stick to healthy eating, he said that unlike his gastric bypass patients, there's nothing in particular that will make me sick or cause complications.

I should also point out that before surgery, I was averaging between 3000-5000 calories a day, and wasn't gaining or losing weight at that amount. So for me, even 1200 is a profound reduction and I figure if it takes me 3000 to maintain (at my previously higher weight,) 1200 is probably still low enough to lose. I've found the post-bariatric diet to induce ketogenesis fairly constantly. I've confirmed it with those Keto-sticks you can get at the pharmacy. Given the way the reagent strips react, I figure my body must certainly be breaking down fatty-acids for fuel. Maybe you get some of those and see if you are in a ketogenic state.

I should also point out that before surgery, I was averaging between 3000-5000 calories a day, and wasn't gaining or losing weight at that amount. So for me, even 1200 is a profound reduction and I figure if it takes me 3000 to maintain (at my previously higher weight,) 1200 is probably still low enough to lose. I've found the post-bariatric diet to induce ketogenesis fairly constantly. I've confirmed it with those Keto-sticks you can get at the pharmacy. Given the way the reagent strips react, I figure my body must certainly be breaking down fatty-acids for fuel. Maybe you get some of those and see if you are in a ketogenic state.

I don't think adding just 100 calories will make a huge difference. My weight fluctuates so much through the course of the day that I wouldn't know if I was in a stall even in the middle of one. I sort of "eyeball it" based on the 7-day average the scale has been showing me. By my estimate, I am at your exact weight right now. You said you're a scientist...give it a try for a few days and carefully record what you're eating and what the results seem to be. Then try without the extra food and see how that works and compare. I understand you'd just be a "case study" and not a sufficient "n" to run stats, but you could measure variance and other such things between your measurements. But also being 6 weeks out, I find everything seems to work itself out so I just eat when I'm hungry. Some days that works out to 600 calories, others as many as 1200, but I'm consistently loosing weight, so I haven't worried about it too much. One day I even ate a few french fries (gasp)!

I don't think adding just 100 calories will make a huge difference. My weight fluctuates so much through the course of the day that I wouldn't know if I was in a stall even in the middle of one. I sort of "eyeball it" based on the 7-day average the scale has been showing me. By my estimate, I am at your exact weight right now. You said you're a scientist...give it a try for a few days and carefully record what you're eating and what the results seem to be. Then try without the extra food and see how that works and compare. I understand you'd just be a "case study" and not a sufficient "n" to run stats, but you could measure variance and other such things between your measurements. But also being 6 weeks out, I find everything seems to work itself out so I just eat when I'm hungry. Some days that works out to 600 calories, others as many as 1200, but I'm consistently loosing weight, so I haven't worried about it too much. One day I even ate a few french fries (gasp)!

I think it's up to you. My guess is he won't be thrilled with you bringing it up. But if it's a genuine concern of yours, you could try something like "I know you weren't on the job, but I was a little nervous when I read about your DUI." My surgeon also had a great record, but was sued a couple years ago for refusing to operate on an HIV-positive patient. I was deeply troubled by that, as the risk would be nearly nothing as long as they are using proper surgical technique. A good friend of mine is HIV positive and he once accidentally cut himself cooking, and in helping him tend to his wound, I forgot about everything and ended up getting HIV-infected blood all over my skin. That was years ago, and I didn't get infected. Point being I saw it as a knock on my surgeon's ethics. I weighed it, but ultimately decided that nobody's perfect, and went ahead with it. There's stuff in my past I'm not thrilled about...we all make poor choices sometimes. But only you can decide if that's a deal-breaker. I imagine that if a good friend was killed by a drunk driver, I'd chose a different surgeon....I would feel too strongly.

I think it's up to you. My guess is he won't be thrilled with you bringing it up. But if it's a genuine concern of yours, you could try something like "I know you weren't on the job, but I was a little nervous when I read about your DUI." My surgeon also had a great record, but was sued a couple years ago for refusing to operate on an HIV-positive patient. I was deeply troubled by that, as the risk would be nearly nothing as long as they are using proper surgical technique. A good friend of mine is HIV positive and he once accidentally cut himself cooking, and in helping him tend to his wound, I forgot about everything and ended up getting HIV-infected blood all over my skin. That was years ago, and I didn't get infected. Point being I saw it as a knock on my surgeon's ethics. I weighed it, but ultimately decided that nobody's perfect, and went ahead with it. There's stuff in my past I'm not thrilled about...we all make poor choices sometimes. But only you can decide if that's a deal-breaker. I imagine that if a good friend was killed by a drunk driver, I'd chose a different surgeon....I would feel too strongly.

Agreed. Interestingly, when my surgeon saw something unusual on my barium swallow test, I asked him what it would mean for me. He gave me a refreshingly honest answer: "I don't know."

Agreed. Interestingly, when my surgeon saw something unusual on my barium swallow test, I asked him what it would mean for me. He gave me a refreshingly honest answer: "I don't know."

Also, the pouches they create for the RnY patients are considerably smaller than the sleeve...just something to keep in mind.

Also, the pouches they create for the RnY patients are considerably smaller than the sleeve...just something to keep in mind.

I think part of it is that this is a much newer procedure, and while we've gotten to a point where the general public has usually heard of gastric bypass, I have yet to encounter anyone that knows what VSG is when I tell them I had it. (I don't tell everyone but that's another topic.) I can tell you that the book my doctor gave me, while extremely helpful, was clearly adopted from the gastric bypass book. He even admitted as much when I asked him about drinking coffee, which is not recommended for bypass patients but not as serious for us.

I think part of it is that this is a much newer procedure, and while we've gotten to a point where the general public has usually heard of gastric bypass, I have yet to encounter anyone that knows what VSG is when I tell them I had it. (I don't tell everyone but that's another topic.) I can tell you that the book my doctor gave me, while extremely helpful, was clearly adopted from the gastric bypass book. He even admitted as much when I asked him about drinking coffee, which is not recommended for bypass patients but not as serious for us.

Keep in touch with your surgeon and make sure to let them know what's going on...they'd be the best to know if it's normal or if they need to take a look at something, but I can tell you it gets better over time.

Keep in touch with your surgeon and make sure to let them know what's going on...they'd be the best to know if it's normal or if they need to take a look at something, but I can tell you it gets better over time.

When I started getting freaked out in the pre-op room, they pushed some midozalam through my i.v. line. It's a close chemical relative of ativan. It calmed me down a bit. I tell people to be careful with benzodiazepines though..at their worst they can be extremely addictive.

When I started getting freaked out in the pre-op room, they pushed some midozalam through my i.v. line. It's a close chemical relative of ativan. It calmed me down a bit. I tell people to be careful with benzodiazepines though..at their worst they can be extremely addictive.

Awesome! Lookin' good!! I feel like 6 weeks must be one of those "speical spots" in this process where a lot of people can look in the mirror and really notice a significant change. Today I was going to go run some errands, and I put on the same shirt I wore the day before surgery....I looked like a giant dress and I had to change into something else!!! It was waaayyy too big. I'm not a 2XL anymore. How refreshing.

Awesome! Lookin' good!! I feel like 6 weeks must be one of those "speical spots" in this process where a lot of people can look in the mirror and really notice a significant change. Today I was going to go run some errands, and I put on the same shirt I wore the day before surgery....I looked like a giant dress and I had to change into something else!!! It was waaayyy too big. I'm not a 2XL anymore. How refreshing.