VSGAnn2014

Geez! I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles. But you sounds SOOO knowledgeable and strong and smart about everything that's happened to you.
I can't support you with any knowledge or personal experience with your situation. But I can certainly support you virtually with kind thoughts and hopes that you will continue to heal well.
Basically, it sounds like you now just have a gastric bypass, which hundreds of thousands of people have and have gone on to lead quite normal lives. I'd certainly hope that is in your very near future!
Welcome to the forum. Again, you have sure been through the wringer! Glad you're through the worst of it.

LOL! Had my surgery at 68 (am 69 now). 10 pounds to goal.
Best weight loss program I EVER started.

Raising my hand and adding my data to the database!
I have "put alcohol back into my diet after surgery."
And I have not (yet) gained weight back.
Most days I have a single drink. (Am sipping my evening's single-malt scotch 1.5 ounces right now.) I've been doing this most days since 6 months post-op. I've lost 100 pounds and been at or below goal for 13 months now.

Kind of embarrassing to do this, but I'm bumping my own thread for those who want to hear my surgical team's predictions about Year Two post-op and beyond for gastric sleeve patients.
I posted the OP almost 6 months ago, and (so far) my bariatric physician's assistant's predictions of Year Two of sleeved life are certainly holding true for me.
Since I posted this nearly 6 months ago, I've very slowly lost another 8 pounds and now weigh 135 pounds. Today, I decided it's time to raise my daily calories from 1, 700 calories to 1,800 calories. At 135 pounds and 5'5" and 70 years old I don't want to lose anymore weight. So I'm going to suck it up and eat another 100 calories a day.
I'm still feeling great, looking great, love eating really healthy, delicious food and wearing small, attractive clothes that I haven't dared to wear in decades. Happily, I have no health problems at all (that I'm aware of).
Earlier today I posted something very wise I recently saw on a health blog -- that the two magic ingredients of a healthier lifestyle are patience and consistency.
I think that statement is very important information for anyone who is considering WLS or is working hard to get the maximum health benefits from their own WLS.

I think the only way to start exercising is to start moving -- just a little bit. Then move just a teeny bit more. I honestly believe anyone can do anything if they just do that.
Last spring when I was recliner-bound (yup, could hardly move my ass out of it), I started counting my steps in my head (one, two, three ... thirteen, fourteen ... sixty-one, sixty-two). I literally counted how many steps I was walking each day. Kept a record. I found I was walking less than 1,000 steps a day.
These days, even before being sleeved (happens in a few weeks), I'm now hitting over 5,000 steps daily and sometimes 6,000 and 7,000/day. I've lost over 10 pounds in the last 8 weeks.
I'm now on Day Two of the pre-op diet. I have no doubt I will survive that, too.
It doesn't matter at all what you can and cannot do. Just do that today. Then tomorrow do a tiny little bit more. The next day, same thing. And along the way, be kind to yourself and don't hurt yourself.
If you want some inspiration, check out this guy!

Thanks for your encouraging words, Linda.
Yes, I've studied my ass off. Yet until I'm sleeved, I realize it's all theoretical.
I start my two-week diet on August 4 -- a week of 2 shakes and a low-cal meal and then a second week of 3 shakes.
As ready for it as I am, I'm getting a little anxious like everyone seems to get prior to the real deal.
But like everyone, I'm so ready to finally solve this problem. It's about damn time, eh?

Congratulations on your surgery going well and your wonderful weight loss. That sounds just great.
I'm 68 and will have surgery in 3 weeks.
And I say 70 is the new 50!

Welcome, Chuck.
I was sleeved 2years ago at age 68. Like @@SassyNanny I have been issue-free.
I've lost 100 pounds and now weigh 135. More importantly, I have my life back now better than ever.

You want to do it "the easy way"?
Do what I did: I didn't tell anyone but my hubby about my WLS -- not my family, workmates, friends, acquaintances, or random strangers.
Consequently, nobody has ever discouraged me or irritated me or infuriated me by sharing their ignorance about WLS with me.
And I haven't been charged with physical assault.

I had VSG surgery on August 18, 2014 -- one year and two weeks ago. Today I met with my bariatric P.A. for my one-year post-op review. She's extremely sharp and keeps up to date on bariatric surgery post-treatments, nutrition, behavioral issues and emerging news. She attends bariatric conferences often and reads all the new studies.
She was the one who encouraged me at four months post-op to move from 800 calories/day to 1,000 calories by Month Six and to 1,200 calories by Month Eight. She said that would help me to prevent my metabolism from accustoming itself to the very low calorie post-op menus we are restricted to with tiny, swollen stomachs.
Apparently, it worked: I am maintaining a 143 pound weight and eating 1,700 calories a day.
I've had an exceptional Year One. I've reached my weight loss goal and am 7 pounds lower than that. I feel great. My blood panel test results are 100% great. No shortages at all. In my opinion I've done everything right. I eat 3 meals and 2 Snacks. I don't graze. I eat nutritious food. Most days my Protein grams hit or exceed 100. I typically eat 5 healthy vegetables and fruits each day and eat at least 21 grams of Fiber (the daily requirement for women). My muscle mass is exceptional for my age (I'm almost 70). I no longer need knee replacement surgery. I walk most days, do yoga and strength training.
So today what I really wanted to know and what I asked her were these questions, along with her answers:
1. What should I expect during Year Two?
You've done really well with weight loss surgery. You've already been maintaining your weight for the last 4 months. In Year Two you can expect more of the very same challenges you've already been dealing with since you reached goal -- planning and eating nutritious meals, focusing on regular exercise, not overeating, and staying focused and motivated. It's important to stay connected to us if you have any questions or changes in how you feel or your health. Staying connected to us is one of the best things you can do. All the research shows that you're much more likely to be successful long-term if you don't "fade" away and try to deal with all the challenges you're having by yourself.
(That made me feel pretty good. )
2. During Year Two, will my body start to produce and release more ghrelin and will my pre-op hunger levels return?
No, the ghrelin doesn't come back. Yes, I know that myth is out there and considered to be true. But it's not true. Yes, you may experience "head hunger" or boredom that could lead you to start eating food full of empty calories that don't help you achieve satiety. And eating those empty "slider" calories will make you want more of them. That's the same "head hunger" challenge you've always had to contend with. Again, no, the ghrelin doesn't "grow back."
(Needless to say, her predictions about ghrelin not coming back just thrilled the hell out of me!)
3. Will my metabolism lower for any reasons, requiring me to eat less?
Not unless you stop exercising or your muscle mass goes down significantly. Also, you're already eating "good" foods, not high-sugar, high-carb foods. The nutritious foods you're eating (protein, veggies, fibrous fruits, whole grain foods) require your body to work harder to digest them. A diet high in slider foods (chips, Cookies, candy, ice cream, sugary drinks) wouldn't make those digestive and metabolic demands of your body. Just keep doing what you're doing now, and your metabolism should remain the same.
(Whew!)
I know that only time will tell how I do. But I now feel like I have a very good chance of keeping my weight down and remaining slim and healthy going forward. BTW, she told me about patients of hers who are 5 and 6 years out who are as slim now as they were when they first reached their weight goals.
So take that, b*****s!
:)

You want to do it "the easy way"?
Do what I did: I didn't tell anyone but my hubby about my WLS -- not my family, workmates, friends, acquaintances, or random strangers.
Consequently, nobody has ever discouraged me or irritated me or infuriated me by sharing their ignorance about WLS with me.
And I haven't been charged with physical assault.

Sipping through a straw causes ulcers?
WTF? How?
And for the record, people choose gastric sleeve surgery for a variety of reasons. Seldom is the decision about which bariatric surgery to have based on their desire to ensure they can keep eating junk food.
@@Ele marie -- you assume a lot about WLS and WLS patients that simply isn't true.

Here's how I think about these feelings throughout the weight loss phases .... Y'know how when newbies are in their first week post-op and say things like this:
"Am I ever going to be able to drink Water again?"
"I feel like a failure -- I haven't lost any weight yet?"
"Will the gas pains ever go away?"
"Has else anyone ever regretted having WLS?"
A few months down the line -- when we can drink again, have lost XX pounds, have forgotten about gas pains, and our only regret is not having had WLS earlier -- it's hard to remember our early concerns.
I expect that in a few months, a year, or two or three down the road you are going to look back on these feelings (if you even remember them) and regard them the same way.
This journey is so long. We encounter so much tough territory. And then we leave it behind. Last month's mountain is forgotten when we look up at the next one.
It's good to feel what we're feeling and call it by its name.
As a friend keeps saying, it's all good.

This is the first time in my life I've ever given away / donated / gifted my beautiful big-sized clothes. I always kept them around before, thinking I might need them again.
I'm here to tell you that the therapeutic value of getting rid of those beautiful, expensive size 12s, 14s, 16s, 18s, and 20s was priceless.
I felt like Alexander burning my ships after reaching the shores of Persia.
Commitment!

Have you watched a video of the surgery yet?
If not, you might like to get up-close-and-personal with what happens to your poor little tummy during surgery.
Here's a 7 1/2 minute video for you.
(Others may have other vids they think are better.)

My husband and medical team knows. And two friends who live 1000 miles away (in opposite directions and don't even know each other).
It's been a non-issue. I didn't lose hugely fast. And I've yo-yo dieted a gazillion times, so everyone just thought I was on another diet and finally made it stick.
I've lost 100 pounds and now weigh 135.
YOU are in charge of your information. Do what makes YOU comfortable. Put your needs and yourself first.

Actually, as a 70-year-old who was once 20-something I do think there are some unique issues that people your age go through related to bariatric surgery.
You're in SUCH a different point of life than folks in their 40s and older. You're still trying to find your way in life in every way imaginable. Your obesity has such a big impact on all of your navigational challenges.
Life and its burdens teach us a lot of lessons about what we're made of and how we can come through adversity, endure pain, and come out stronger than before. But most of you haven't dealt with some of these adversities: You probably haven't been married yet -- or divorced yet. Most of you haven't had children yet or cared for your own parents as they ail or age. You haven't yet changed your career trajectory more than once. Many of the lessons those experiences teach translate well in terms of the courage and self-confidence we need to succeed with WLS.
On the plus side, obesity probably hasn't yet had a chance to impact your health, like it has for middle-aged folks and older. You have much more energy than we do. Your metabolic rate is higher than ours. Your body's ability to recover from WLS and to look like we all want to look like is far superior to older folks'. Your double chins will disappear. You won't have any wrinkles. For the most part, your skin will pop back and look like you were never overweight. Few of you will need plastic surgery.
On the other hand, the 20s-style social life means you are probably spending much more time in bars and clubs than older folks. Alcohol and other drugs have caloric and other downsides for those following a WLS lifestyle.
As some here have described, fewer people in their 20s are obese, compared to the proportion of obese people in their 40s and older. So that means your age-peers are not as sympathetic to the plights of the obese and are perhaps more ignorant and more scornful of WLS as a treatment for obesity. So, yeah, those are tougher attitudinal environments than older WLS patients have to weather.
So I agree that you could be the one to focus on your generation and WLS. Do some serious research of your own. Interview surgeons. Interview patients. Report on their observations and experiences. You could start by blogging about your own experiences. Other 20-something WLS patients may also be blogging about theirs.
You could write the book, go on tour, become a talk show host, build a media empire, become a bazillionaire!
(You're welcome. )

Actually, as a 70-year-old who was once 20-something I do think there are some unique issues that people your age go through related to bariatric surgery.
You're in SUCH a different point of life than folks in their 40s and older. You're still trying to find your way in life in every way imaginable. Your obesity has such a big impact on all of your navigational challenges.
Life and its burdens teach us a lot of lessons about what we're made of and how we can come through adversity, endure pain, and come out stronger than before. But most of you haven't dealt with some of these adversities: You probably haven't been married yet -- or divorced yet. Most of you haven't had children yet or cared for your own parents as they ail or age. You haven't yet changed your career trajectory more than once. Many of the lessons those experiences teach translate well in terms of the courage and self-confidence we need to succeed with WLS.
On the plus side, obesity probably hasn't yet had a chance to impact your health, like it has for middle-aged folks and older. You have much more energy than we do. Your metabolic rate is higher than ours. Your body's ability to recover from WLS and to look like we all want to look like is far superior to older folks'. Your double chins will disappear. You won't have any wrinkles. For the most part, your skin will pop back and look like you were never overweight. Few of you will need plastic surgery.
On the other hand, the 20s-style social life means you are probably spending much more time in bars and clubs than older folks. Alcohol and other drugs have caloric and other downsides for those following a WLS lifestyle.
As some here have described, fewer people in their 20s are obese, compared to the proportion of obese people in their 40s and older. So that means your age-peers are not as sympathetic to the plights of the obese and are perhaps more ignorant and more scornful of WLS as a treatment for obesity. So, yeah, those are tougher attitudinal environments than older WLS patients have to weather.
So I agree that you could be the one to focus on your generation and WLS. Do some serious research of your own. Interview surgeons. Interview patients. Report on their observations and experiences. You could start by blogging about your own experiences. Other 20-something WLS patients may also be blogging about theirs.
You could write the book, go on tour, become a talk show host, build a media empire, become a bazillionaire!
(You're welcome. )

I haven't been on this site in about six months. But after this latest idiocy, I'm finally ready to delete my account.
Yes, Alec, as the owner and operator of this message board you can do anything you want to do with this board.
However, your posts in this thread mischaracterize the ways in which this board's culture and the value it offers WLS patients have declined for some time.
But the blockbuster is your admission (long suspected by me) that you read BP members' private messages. IMO reading members' private messages is a significant ethical violation by any message board operator. Those who choose to remain here need to understand that clearly.
These days there are so many other social media options for support of WLS patients. I urge those leaving BP to explore them all.
I expect that my and some others' opinions will soon vanish when Alex heavily edits or deletes this thread, just as he has deleted other comments and BP threads where members have expressed their opinions about BP's culture and operational policies. But I've bothered to type them anyway.
In closing, I would like to thank the many WLS patients here who contributed to my WLS success (I've lost 100 pounds and have maintained my weight loss for longer than a year). I also thank those who invited my input and who appreciated the help I offered. Help is a two-way street.

Quick response ...
The 85% of the stomach that is removed during VSG surgery is the FUNDUS. This is the part of the stomach that stretches. The rest that is left is the non-stretchy part of the stomach. That's a good thing.
The other thing the FUNDUS does that the non-stretchy part of the stomach (your new sleeve) will NOT do is to produce ghrelin -- the hunger hormone. And believe me, you will be so grateful for the lack of / reduced level of ghrelin post-op.
Immediately after surgery, your new sleeve will feel like the surgeon removed 95% of your stomach. She/he did not. However, right after surgery your remaining non-stretchy sleeve will be traumatized, inflamed and swollen terribly, making its capacity incredibly tiny. This inflammation and swelling will go down gradually as the severed edges of your new sleeve (which are stapled together) start to heal, repair themselves and grow / knit back together.
This healing takes months. The severed nerves have to find each other and make new connections. So do the stomach muscles and other tissues. And that's why you have to be incredibly compliant and careful about what you eat during the early months post-op. This is when complications can occur caused by eating inappropriately at that time.
One of the hardest things for some patients to learn is that post-op they are NOT on *just another diet* and that eating inappropriately is not *just cheating*. This is also why vets and well educated newbies have such strong reactions to people who want to eat cheeseburgers and tortilla chips and drink alcohol and what-not a week or two or three post-op.
How long does it take for your sleeve to fully heal? I'm sure it varies from patient to patient. But in my case, I had the sense that by six months my sleeve was intact again. I know that when I and other family members have had other injuries / surgeries of various kinds that we've been told by surgeons that it takes a full year for our bodies to recover from severe injuries / surgeries. This would be a great question to ask your own surgeon.
Keep learning about the sleeve. The details about the surgery and its aftermath really do matter and your self-education will improve your compliance. And teach your husband what you learn. The more he knows, the more effective his support for you can be.

I chose the sleeve because:
* I was put off by what I had read online and heard from my surgeon re lap band complications and unpleasantness.
* I didn't want gastric bypass's lifelong effects of nutrient malabsorption, complex Vitamin supplements, and dumping syndrome. I was also put off by the re-routing aspect of bypass.
* I had "only" 85 pounds to lose.
* I liked the idea of the sleeve's assist with lifelong restriction. (I now understand that I must always eat Protein first, avoid sliders, not drink with meals, and not graze to enable that restriction).
* I was terrifically excited by the sleeve's reduction of ghrelin. (I now understand that the no-ghrelin effect may not continue as strongly long-term as it was immediately post-op; we shall see.)

I haven't been on this site in about six months. But after this latest idiocy, I'm finally ready to delete my account.
Yes, Alec, as the owner and operator of this message board you can do anything you want to do with this board.
However, your posts in this thread mischaracterize the ways in which this board's culture and the value it offers WLS patients have declined for some time.
But the blockbuster is your admission (long suspected by me) that you read BP members' private messages. IMO reading members' private messages is a significant ethical violation by any message board operator. Those who choose to remain here need to understand that clearly.
These days there are so many other social media options for support of WLS patients. I urge those leaving BP to explore them all.
I expect that my and some others' opinions will soon vanish when Alex heavily edits or deletes this thread, just as he has deleted other comments and BP threads where members have expressed their opinions about BP's culture and operational policies. But I've bothered to type them anyway.
In closing, I would like to thank the many WLS patients here who contributed to my WLS success (I've lost 100 pounds and have maintained my weight loss for longer than a year). I also thank those who invited my input and who appreciated the help I offered. Help is a two-way street.

I haven't been on this site in about six months. But after this latest idiocy, I'm finally ready to delete my account.
Yes, Alec, as the owner and operator of this message board you can do anything you want to do with this board.
However, your posts in this thread mischaracterize the ways in which this board's culture and the value it offers WLS patients have declined for some time.
But the blockbuster is your admission (long suspected by me) that you read BP members' private messages. IMO reading members' private messages is a significant ethical violation by any message board operator. Those who choose to remain here need to understand that clearly.
These days there are so many other social media options for support of WLS patients. I urge those leaving BP to explore them all.
I expect that my and some others' opinions will soon vanish when Alex heavily edits or deletes this thread, just as he has deleted other comments and BP threads where members have expressed their opinions about BP's culture and operational policies. But I've bothered to type them anyway.
In closing, I would like to thank the many WLS patients here who contributed to my WLS success (I've lost 100 pounds and have maintained my weight loss for longer than a year). I also thank those who invited my input and who appreciated the help I offered. Help is a two-way street.

I haven't been on this site in about six months. But after this latest idiocy, I'm finally ready to delete my account.
Yes, Alec, as the owner and operator of this message board you can do anything you want to do with this board.
However, your posts in this thread mischaracterize the ways in which this board's culture and the value it offers WLS patients have declined for some time.
But the blockbuster is your admission (long suspected by me) that you read BP members' private messages. IMO reading members' private messages is a significant ethical violation by any message board operator. Those who choose to remain here need to understand that clearly.
These days there are so many other social media options for support of WLS patients. I urge those leaving BP to explore them all.
I expect that my and some others' opinions will soon vanish when Alex heavily edits or deletes this thread, just as he has deleted other comments and BP threads where members have expressed their opinions about BP's culture and operational policies. But I've bothered to type them anyway.
In closing, I would like to thank the many WLS patients here who contributed to my WLS success (I've lost 100 pounds and have maintained my weight loss for longer than a year). I also thank those who invited my input and who appreciated the help I offered. Help is a two-way street.

I haven't been on this site in about six months. But after this latest idiocy, I'm finally ready to delete my account.
Yes, Alec, as the owner and operator of this message board you can do anything you want to do with this board.
However, your posts in this thread mischaracterize the ways in which this board's culture and the value it offers WLS patients have declined for some time.
But the blockbuster is your admission (long suspected by me) that you read BP members' private messages. IMO reading members' private messages is a significant ethical violation by any message board operator. Those who choose to remain here need to understand that clearly.
These days there are so many other social media options for support of WLS patients. I urge those leaving BP to explore them all.
I expect that my and some others' opinions will soon vanish when Alex heavily edits or deletes this thread, just as he has deleted other comments and BP threads where members have expressed their opinions about BP's culture and operational policies. But I've bothered to type them anyway.
In closing, I would like to thank the many WLS patients here who contributed to my WLS success (I've lost 100 pounds and have maintained my weight loss for longer than a year). I also thank those who invited my input and who appreciated the help I offered. Help is a two-way street.