garayjoh

So, My name is John, 37 year old father/husband who is now 4 weeks post vertical sleeve. I am doing great, honestly & strangely. I actually reacted very well to the surgery, no pain, no nausea, no discomfort, but yes, SO tiered due to low calorie. It took me two years to finally get approved for the sleeve. I failed the first time around since the clinic I was working with did not I had my surgery May 13th 2014 at the Valley hospital in Northern New Jersey. I selected them since through Aetna, they are designated as a center of excellence. I was operated on by Dr. Marc Bessler (You can YouTube him). The metabolic clinic handled all of my paper work. My first visit with him was late December, and I opted for the three month approval process which entailed three months of supervised nutrition/Nurse Visits at their office/ and psychological therapy for evaluation. I was also ordered to undergo sleep tests which uncovered Sleep Apeena. I really credit this with being the tipping point for approval. My height was registered as 5'10" but in truth I am 5'11". My heights weight was 324lbs. Once I was approved, I met with Dr. Bessler and let him know I wanted this operation to occur ASAP, he was able to identify an opening, but that only gave me 1 week to perform a liquid fast in order to drop weight prior to the operation. I was able to drop from 324 lbs - 295 lbs. Since my operation I have learned many things. First, I am never hungry, but I still feel urges to empty a huge bag of chips into my mouth at night. In order to combat this, I jump on the elliptical and get my work out on. Since I am 4 weeks out, I have been incorporating soft foods, and yea, I eat less then my three year old. The weight is dropping steady. I am now down a total of 55 lbs. My waist has gone down from a 46 to a 38. I am excited, but I am learning that my life will never be the same again. Its summer now, and I am only able to eat about 1/2 of a hot dog with the bun and I feel Thanksgiving stuffed. liquids and foods at the same time equals a speedy trip to the bathroom for the seconding coming of what ever I ingested. I understand it gets easier, but in truth I am not complaining. Prior to my operation I was unable to sleep in my bed, the body pain was horrible. I was sleeping on the couch which I had tweaked with heavy plywood boards to support my weight. I was using a CPAC machine to ensure I would not stop breathing throughout the night as the thickness of my neck was collapsing my air way. I am now able to sleep next to my beautiful 7 month pregnant wife and I wake feeling refreshed. I am finally popping out of bed full of energy. Yea, I am one of those mentally deranged morning persons. All in all, I feel great. Anyway folks, since I am always pulling inspiration from these forums, I figured it was only right for me to actually say something. Thank you all for being open about your journey. Stay positive John. myfitnesspal: garayjoh

Most people are scared, the ones who are not are probably not wise enough to understand the significance of this surgery and will suffer later mental anguish. Now as for the eating, this is where I would suggest to stand fast and start to make the commitment to your upcoming lifestyle change. The importance of the pre-op diet is to shrink internal organs so as to lower the probability of potential complications during the surgery. Keep this in mind when you are tempted to cheat. By breaking the pre-op diet, you endanger the success of your pending operation. I had only one week of pre-op to drop 20 lbs. I went for a strip down liquid fast on low carb protine shakes. I dropped 25 lbs in 1 week. It was hard and I don't recommend it. I suggest you stick to the 2 week pre-op. Don't allow your fear to get the best of you. I have often described the differences in personalities as a person standing on a ledge. Their are souls who fear the edge, and want to recourse to safety! Yet their are others who feel this insane urge to jump! Its time for you to familiarize your self with the urge to jump. I had my sleeve on the 13th of May 2014. I am now down 79 lbs! I feel incredible. I feel full on minimal amounts of food. Every day is beautiful because I don't worry about not fitting into my cloths. I feel AWESOME! Trust me in a couple of weeks, you will feel the same way too. Let go of the urge to flee to safety and just jump into the new lifestyle, you will not regret it.

Thank you all, Just to provide updates on things, the weight continues to drop, Of course the hunger and urges at times continue but I am realizing that they are not true hunger pangs but restlessness. Important to note, DEHYDRATION! Trust me when I tell you this, it is the root of ANY issues you will face/feel. Dizzy? Dehydration! Hungry? Dehydration!Stalled out and not dropping a pound? Dehydration! Get your self a surgical steel Protein shaker and keep it filled with Water, if need be, squeeze a lime/lemon into it daily. Not only will your water taste fresh, it will help you avoid kidney stones as the acid breaks up fat. For the folks nervous or scared, please don't be. Its a beautiful new world post op. Just stick to the guide lines and you will be fine.

Morning, So I had my 6 week post op visit with Dr. Marc Bessler. I explained that I am consuming about 800 calories on a good day, and less then that when I can not really tolerate eating. I have no hunger or eating urges what so ever. I have stuck to the Protein first concept and am averaging about 2-4 lbs a week loss. The Dr. suggested that I could stay at about 800 calories with no issues. The thing is I burn at least 3K - 5K calories daily, including all my walking and nightly exercise regiments. Should I be concerned about this?

Good Point, I will reach out to my nutritionist ASAP. They cleared me for Cardio 4 weeks post op. during my 6 week post op, my surgeon said I can start weight training. I use a polar loop with chest strap to get a general understanding of how many calories I am burning through. I dont mind the weight loss, but not if it is going to affect my health.

Without a doubt! I am able to fall right back to sleep after feeding the little ones at night, my wife on the other hands, is never able to get back to bed until she sees the 6 am hours.

I was sleeved May 13 2014. Here is the thing, your two weeks of Clear liquids totally includes your Protein shakes. Go to GNC and get GNC total lean, lean shake 25g. They have great flavors and it's not a thick shake so it goes down easy. You have to approach your on coming weight loss as follows. Low carb intake, lots of Water like literally sip all day, and move around. I was only able to pre-op diet for 1 week because I was able to slip into a canceled surgery appointment. So I approached my 1 week diet like the Atkins version. I purchased isopure protein and mixed it with almond milk. This kept my carbs below 20 grams a day and this forced my body into ketosis. Since I was eating only 800 calories. I dropped 23 lbs before my surgery and 15 lbs since i was sleeved. Trust me, you will start dropping weight. Just follow the guidelines given to you by your doctor's and you will be fine.

Sorry wrong post