DeanBean

WL Warrior,
What? No! The gastric sleeve is overtaking all other forms of bariatric surgery as the most popular. It has nearly the same effectiveness as the gastric bypass without all of the complications. My surgeon is no longer doing the band because of the problems of slippage and because it does not work long-term. Many band patients are undergoing band-to-sleeve revisions. I don't know who this young doctor is, but the impression he gave you that nobody does the vertical sleeve gastrectomy anymore is totally wrong. Look at the chart on this page: http://connect.asmbs.org/may-2014-bariatric-surgery-growth.html You can see how the popularity of the band is dropping significantly by year as the popularity of the gastric sleeve is growing exponentially. In comparison, the rates of those getting the gastric bypass remain about the same.

WL Warrior,
What? No! The gastric sleeve is overtaking all other forms of bariatric surgery as the most popular. It has nearly the same effectiveness as the gastric bypass without all of the complications. My surgeon is no longer doing the band because of the problems of slippage and because it does not work long-term. Many band patients are undergoing band-to-sleeve revisions. I don't know who this young doctor is, but the impression he gave you that nobody does the vertical sleeve gastrectomy anymore is totally wrong. Look at the chart on this page: http://connect.asmbs.org/may-2014-bariatric-surgery-growth.html You can see how the popularity of the band is dropping significantly by year as the popularity of the gastric sleeve is growing exponentially. In comparison, the rates of those getting the gastric bypass remain about the same.

WL Warrior,
What? No! The gastric sleeve is overtaking all other forms of bariatric surgery as the most popular. It has nearly the same effectiveness as the gastric bypass without all of the complications. My surgeon is no longer doing the band because of the problems of slippage and because it does not work long-term. Many band patients are undergoing band-to-sleeve revisions. I don't know who this young doctor is, but the impression he gave you that nobody does the vertical sleeve gastrectomy anymore is totally wrong. Look at the chart on this page: http://connect.asmbs.org/may-2014-bariatric-surgery-growth.html You can see how the popularity of the band is dropping significantly by year as the popularity of the gastric sleeve is growing exponentially. In comparison, the rates of those getting the gastric bypass remain about the same.

WL Warrior,
What? No! The gastric sleeve is overtaking all other forms of bariatric surgery as the most popular. It has nearly the same effectiveness as the gastric bypass without all of the complications. My surgeon is no longer doing the band because of the problems of slippage and because it does not work long-term. Many band patients are undergoing band-to-sleeve revisions. I don't know who this young doctor is, but the impression he gave you that nobody does the vertical sleeve gastrectomy anymore is totally wrong. Look at the chart on this page: http://connect.asmbs.org/may-2014-bariatric-surgery-growth.html You can see how the popularity of the band is dropping significantly by year as the popularity of the gastric sleeve is growing exponentially. In comparison, the rates of those getting the gastric bypass remain about the same.

@@VSGAnn2014, I agree! It is because of these long-term studies that we now know that patients need to take Calcium supplements (etc.) for the rest of their lives. The long-term prognosis is excellent as long as patients are armed with the correct supplementation.

Milk adds Protein and makes a Protein shake creamy and delicious. If not milk, maybe yogurt?

First of all, I think it shows incredible inner strength for you to recognize that your friend's response was controlling and unhealthy, and even more self-control for you not to respond to her right away.
I would give her a call and make it clear that you are not asking for advice as to whether or not you should get bariatric surgery. It has been recommended by your team of physicians and you will be following their medical advice. That is not what the call is about.

I would state explicitly that you plan to surround yourself only with encouraging and supportive voices over the next year or so, as you go through this transition into a healthier you. Any person who is negative toward you will have to wait a few years before they can re-enter your life.

Your contact with her is to see if she is interested in being one of your cheerleaders during this difficult process, because she has been such a strength to you in the past and she is someone you hold dear to your heart.

While it seems counter-intuitive, it may help in the long run to allow your friend to feel heard. She has heard some negative stories about bariatric surgery, and it would help both of you to let her get it off her chest. I would ask questions about dates, what kind of surgery it was, how much weight was lost and regained. Ask if you may be able to speak with these people to find out what complications they had. I am guessing that once she airs her concerns, she will be better able to listen to your point of view.

I hope that she would then ask you why you are considering bariatric surgery. I would be concerned if she did not.

If she continues to behave in a controlling way toward you, I would thank her for her concern and perhaps even mention that you are disappointed by her response, and then wrap up the conversation.

I hope you can find wonderful cheerleaders to be there with you through the process, in addition to the friends you will make here. There may be a support group in your area where you can meet people.

First of all, I think it shows incredible inner strength for you to recognize that your friend's response was controlling and unhealthy, and even more self-control for you not to respond to her right away.
I would give her a call and make it clear that you are not asking for advice as to whether or not you should get bariatric surgery. It has been recommended by your team of physicians and you will be following their medical advice. That is not what the call is about.

I would state explicitly that you plan to surround yourself only with encouraging and supportive voices over the next year or so, as you go through this transition into a healthier you. Any person who is negative toward you will have to wait a few years before they can re-enter your life.

Your contact with her is to see if she is interested in being one of your cheerleaders during this difficult process, because she has been such a strength to you in the past and she is someone you hold dear to your heart.

While it seems counter-intuitive, it may help in the long run to allow your friend to feel heard. She has heard some negative stories about bariatric surgery, and it would help both of you to let her get it off her chest. I would ask questions about dates, what kind of surgery it was, how much weight was lost and regained. Ask if you may be able to speak with these people to find out what complications they had. I am guessing that once she airs her concerns, she will be better able to listen to your point of view.

I hope that she would then ask you why you are considering bariatric surgery. I would be concerned if she did not.

If she continues to behave in a controlling way toward you, I would thank her for her concern and perhaps even mention that you are disappointed by her response, and then wrap up the conversation.

I hope you can find wonderful cheerleaders to be there with you through the process, in addition to the friends you will make here. There may be a support group in your area where you can meet people.

First and foremost, I have never had a single second of regret. Despite the stricture, the constant nauseated feeling I had for the first few weeks (meds fixed that), my inability to drink plain Water (still! almost 2 years out!), and the constant diarrhea (still! almost 2 years out!).

That's all the bad stuff, all completely tolerable as it replaced the constant guilt for cheating on whatever diet I was on at the moment. The gassy, bloated feeling I had from whatever "bad" foods I had gorged on that day. The dread I felt about stepping on the scale.
My size 8 wardrobe has replaced my size 20. Brightly colored clothes have replaced most of the black in my closet. Heels are comfortable now. I may have poop Soup, but I no longer have to wait for the handicapped stall because a regular stall is too small. I was able to do any exercise I wanted before, but now I can exercise without sweating profusely the moment I start, I can breath comfortably, I don't have to stop to "get a rock out of my shoe". I no longer wear capri pants when it's cold outside because they are the only pants I could find that fit. I don't care if my hair and makeup is perfect and I can go out in workout clothes because I no longer feel as if I look like the fat lady who just didn't give a ****.
I can eat in public without being self conscious. I don't feel the constant stares (all in my imagination, I'm sure) when I walk through a mall full of teens. I am no longer the fat mom. Hell, I am no longer the fattest person in the room, hoping someone fatter will show up. (Ha! It's been so long, I've forgotten about that until this very second.) I thought I would miss food. I don't. I don't miss the fat lady stores, I don't miss buying wide shoes, I don't miss the looks when I get on an airplane, bus, train or theater -- you know, that look that says, " PLEASE don't sit next to me!!".

No, no regrets. The little blips on the radar are were all worth it. I am most surprised about how much I was fooling myself when I thought I looked and felt great. Let me tell you, it's was nothing like I look and feel now.

They're looking for ulcers, gastritis, GERD, or any other abnormalities in the stomach. I had gastritis. Not a showstopper.
Yes, it's nerve-wracking, but it's a very important procedure for your safety and sleeve success.
http://www.asge.org/assets/0/71542/71544/19212DA8-AE13-4C03-9D06-CA06204E864D.pdf
Best of luck!

LOL! Go to bat for @@LipstickLady?? Um, I don't think she needs ANYBODY to go to bat for her!
If "going to bat" means agreeing with her, then yes. Her first advice was spot on, but because you felt she has a "tone', you chose to dismiss it. Like I said, we are just trying to help, and some of you newbies make it very hard when you automatically become defensive and combative when you don't automatically get the answer you want to hear.
I gave you friendly advice. Listen to the people who have been there and done that, because they really do know what they are talking about. I think that's some pretty sound advice if you ask me.

@x0CheekzVSG

@@BLERDgirl, @@WL WARRIOR, and @@Babbs all made very valid statements about our need for Protein and fluids, healing, etc., and I agree with them.
There is a lot of great encouragement and support on this site, along with some great suggestions; however, bottom line - you should be doing exactly as your surgeon and NUT have recommended you to do.

Based on my understanding and research, the portion of our stomachs that was removed is where the grehlin was produced and which is what makes us feel "hungry." Therefore, you probably won't feel true physical hunger for awhile which is normal; at least it was for me. I was probably at least 2 months out before I actually said to my husband "I'm hungry." During that time I still drank my Protein shakes and ate what I could and drank liquids as much as possible. Like many others, it took me awhile to reach my protein and liquids daily goal; some days I still have trouble getting enough liquids in, but I keep pushing forward.

As for the BM issue, it will be very different from your pre-op days. Because we're consuming so much more protein than we are of Fiber early on, there isn't going to be a lot to process through. That said, I agree with checking in with your surgeon's office. It could be you need to add a little Fiber (i.e. Benefiber) to your shakes to get things moving along. I still have to do that occasionally because once I've eaten my protein, there is rarely any room for veggies and/or fruit during the day.

You are still in the very early stages of your post-op journey. I wish you the best of success in your journey. Be patient and do what your surgeon and NUT have recommended for you. Different surgeons and NUTS have different plans so not all of us get the same instructions, although our instructions are pretty close a lot of the time.

I was told that I didn't have to eat when I wasn't hungry AS LONG AS I got in my 64 ounces of Fluid, 70 grams of Protein a day, and required vitamins/supplements. Starvation mode may be a myth because I lost 100 pounds in five months while eating a daily total of 500-600 calories a day. However, my weight loss slowed way down during month 6 and eventually picked back up once I increased my daily calorie intake.
I was also one of those people that didn't have much of an appetite early on after surgery. After a few months post op, I started to go through different phases that consisted of days when I felt no hunger to days when I continually felt hungry. I've also just recently started to crave sugar again.
Chances are your appetite will return, but it is most important to follow the post op plan set by your surgeon/bariatrician at this time. Like others have mentioned, your lack of weight loss may be due to not getting enough liquids and Protein in everyday. It is vitally important at your phase to meet that requirement to promote healing and ward off dehydration. I did liquids for a full month after surgery. Sure, I crazy hell wanted to chew on something, but sometimes you just have to suck it up and do it to get the desired outcome.

Sounds like you are all pretty early out when the stomach is still swollen. It takes about 6 weeks for that to go down and then over time you will develop more capacity. By a few months liquids are not restricted at all so watch those liquid calories.
Liquids will not stretch the sleeve.
The stomach will stretch somewhat over time but most of the part that was stretchy was removed so you will never be able to eat the volume of solid food that you did before.
I remember in the beginning eating solid meat and chewing forever and praying for the day when it would not hurt to eat after 2 bites. But those are the days when you are losing the most so don't wish it away.
In time you will be able to eat a small entree at a restaurant and feel full but not uncomfortable when eating enough to not feel hungry.
I am 16 months out and can eat everything but portions are what they should be not enormous like my old life. I can eat 4 ounces of steak and some broccoli etc when I got out to dinner. My daughter is happy to eat the rest of the steak. Yesterday when I went out to lunch I had a personal 8 inch brick oven style pizza (left off the end crust). I was able to eat most though focused on the toppings. I felt full after but not uncomfortable. I am in maintenance so fit it into my plan. I will never be eating 3-4 slices of a pizza like my old life. I will never go back for seconds.
Take advantage of your restriction. Choose dense Protein. Stop a bite or two before you think it is enough. Chew a lot and eat slow. These are things I have to remember every day.

Hello All:
I found this information today while cruising the internet at work (I know I know, but it is my first day back and I am trying to stay awake). I pasted the hyperlink at the end so you can figure out the source, but the information seems reasonable and accurate.
One of the first questions patients ask about food. The surgery has a nice benefit of reducing the hunger inducing hormone reglin. But ultimately, its the restrictive nature of a smaller stomach that leads to weight loss.
So its normal and smart to ask, “What happens if my stomach stretches and I gain weight back?”
Your Stomach Can and Will Stretch After Surgery
Our stomachs have the amazing ability to stretch and expand as a result of our food intake. The walls of our stomach are made up of folds of tissue called ‘Rugae.’ These are folds in the stomach wall that expand and contract as a direct response to food entering and flowing through your stomach.
Hunger and How Food Flows Through Our Stomach
When we eat food it enters through our mouths, gets chewed and swallowed. It then flows through our esophagus into our stomach where acid starts the process of breaking the food down. As we continue to eat, more food enters the stomach and joins the rest of the food – all of which is waiting to be broken down by stomach acid.
Our stomachs expand to accommodate all of this food. When our stomachs expand far enough a signal is sent to our brains telling us, ‘That is enough food, I’m full now.’ After you’re done eating, the food is slowly broken down by your stomach acid and then the folds in your stomach contract to push the food into your intestines where digestive juices further digest your food.
The Problem
The reason many people are overweight is not because they like food more than the rest of us. Its because their hunger and full signals are broken.
Once you continue to stretch out your stomach by overeating on a regular basis the signals your stomach sends to your brain indicating fullness and hunger start to get skewed. After a while your stomach only says, ‘I’m full,’ after its severely stretched out. And it may start saying ‘Feed me,’ when its still half-full. This is why losing weight is so difficult.
When Overeating Leads to Stomach Stretching
After gastric sleeve surgery its important to keep your stomach away from the overeating cycle that can lead to a stretched stomach. If you ate too much on Thanksgiving your stomach will stretch. If you binged one night on KFC, your stomach will stretch. Your stomach is just doing its job. The good news is that it will contract.
However, if after a large meal, your next meal is a large meal and you continue this on a regular basis you risk permanently stretching your stomach. The danger is not in the size of your stomach. The danger is that you will skew the triggers for hunger and fullness. This will lead to a continued cycle of overeating, which will then lead to weight gain.
How to Prevent the Stretch After Gastric Sleeve Surgery
Eating one or two large meals will not lead to a permanently stretched stomach or issues with your hunger and fullness triggers. However, doing this multiple times can lead to issues.
The list below hi-lights key points to reduce the risk of stretching your stomach after gastric sleeve surgery.
Limit volume not sweets. Instead of totally limiting every aspect of your diet, give yourself a reward once a week with a special treat limited in size. But do not go out and eat a large meal – regardless of the type of food.
Reduce the amount of fluids that you drink when you eat. Its not a bad idea to drink before you eat so that you feel full faster. But its better to drink your fluids an hour or two before eating and/or an hour or two after. This lets the fluids digest and they won’t increase the amount of gas that can build
If you do have a bigger than normal meal, make your next meal small and make sure you don’t make larger meals a habit.
If you are always feeling hungry, then eat small amounts of healthy Snacks in between meals. Almonds are a delicious and healthy way to feel satisfied in between meals.
Get a good book with healthy recipes that are geared for people who have gone through gastric sleeve surgery. We’ve got a list of ourbooks here.
DO NOT get discouraged. If you fell off the wagon and binged one or two meals or even the entire previous week. The stomach and the mind is an amazingly resilient thing. Start over and start eating normal meals again. Call your surgeon and ask for help before it gets too far out of hand.
Get on the online forums and ask others for help. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. Here is a list of our favorite forums.

So stretching your stomach after gastric sleeve surgery is not a myth. It can happen and it does happen. Be aware of it and prevent it. Remember how hard the surgery and recovery was? Remember what a big decision you made? Its never too late to change your habits and get back on the right track.
http://216.70.100.66/weight-loss-surgeries/gastric-sleeve/gastric-sleeve-will-my-stomach-stretch

Never mind I just read up on the three week stall and it does include gain. Pulling myself together and continuing my plan! I wouldn't know what to do without this site!

I would suggest cutting out the carby food and concentrate more on lean Protein. For now, try to stay away from Pasta, bread, rice etc...protein is more filling so you should be satisfied longer. Carbs create hunger.

I think it's a "gateway" tool. First one starts with a straw in Water. Later they accidentally put the straw in a glass of juice, and think "oh my that's yummy, a little won't hurt me". Before you know it, juice makes a person feel pretty fancy and they start thinking, "hey, how about a little umbrella with a delicious piece of fruit". Next thing you know their having Mai Tai on the beach in some third world country without their passport, thinking if "I had just listened ..."

@@heynowkc
Pre surgery: Couch Potato
After surgery: Walking 30 mins progressed to an hour
Weight loss phase: Hour of cardio mixed on 3 machines
added additional hour of lifting
10 months out 30 mins cardio 5 times a week .An hour of lifting 3 time a week

Well my shake is 30 grams of protein, so two of those is 20 grams more protein than 2 Quest bars. Right now I am eating 3 meals a day and two protein Snacks. I think I probably need to eat mostly meat for my meals because my stomach capacity is about 3 ounces of food per meal before I feel too full and I do try and include vegetables as often as I can. So usually I have about 1.5-2 ounces of meat and then some veggies. I guess.. and I never thought I would say this, I'm eating too many vegetables. My goal for protein is 80 grams/day. But I revised that recently after reading a post here to 80-100/day.
My problem, really, is that I don't always calculate protein before eating, or even before the end of the day. So I think I just need to pay closer attention and make sure to have at least one shake per day. Like yesterday, for two of my meals I had shrimp, but I only had 4 large shrimp at each meal and MFP tells me that's only 4.6 grams of protein/meal. Whoops!
My total protein for yesterday was 61 and that was after going home and having an extra snack to bring it up from 51. I left one of my bars at home so that was even more disastrous than usual. But if I hadn't forgotten and eaten the bar, by the time I got home I would have still only been at 71 grams and 9 away from goal.

My breaking point was Diabetes.
Up to that point, I was quite happy being the kind of person who could eat anything I wanted to. I certainly was never going to join a gym or eat salads every day. I went many years without even trying a single diet plan. The trade offs of not being able to go on roller coasters or sit at a booth at a restaurant didn't have that much of an impact. My knee started to deteriorate, but even that didn't bother me until an accident damaged the only good knee I had left. When I couldn't climb stairs or pick something up off the floor AT ALL, that should have bothered me, but it didn't.
Diabetes did the trick, though. I started eating a low carb diet and exercising to maintain my blood sugar. I ended up joining a gym and eventually adopted the daily salad habit. I hit the grieving process pretty hard when I stopped eating my favorite foods. Through that diagnosis, I was pushed to become a healthier person and had to fight the battle between the behaviors I should be adopting (the healthy ones) with the habits I really missed (the unhealthy ones).

I just got the call from the new bariatric surgeon's nurse! My sleeve IS too big and will require a revision if I wish to do so! So I'm meeting with the dietician to stay on point and from there we will have a follow up appt to discuss next steps! Again thank you all for your kind words and support. I'm working on getting the surgical medical records for this DR to see now and I'll keep you all updated.

I'm currently eating 12-1300 cals a day... I can eat about 1 Lean Cuisine serving size easily. I work out 5-6 times a week for at least 30 mins. Training currently for a 10K. I'm a wellness ambassador at work to keep me on point and accountable as well as helping others. I get 50-70g of protien/day... I'm following the bible I got from my surgery program in Hawaii from Kaiser. I don't eat bread, rice or Pasta at all. No sodas, very little caffine and a ton of Water daily. I keep a journal and am working with a dietician too. I'm 34 and was told I should have lost 85-99 lbs from the MD I saw here in NM. He threw a lot of #s at me to get to that amt but he'd expect this from his patient with my presentation of size. I would love to be under 200 lbs. I've lost this 50 lbs like 5 times in the last 5 yrs... I would love to hit 150-160 and would feel good I think. I just want to run! I want run Boston. I've run NY and Chicago full marathons at 230 and 250 lbs... It took almost 8 hrs to complete them and I need to be way faster to do Boston. That's one of my goals. I don't have goals of pant size or bikinis I want to DO things:)

I think I can add to this discussion. I do so without the benefit of seeing the actual report, the actual images, examining you, etc.. Given that:
That it reads: "Mild circumferential narrowing of the mid body,"... it doesn't seem that you had a complete sleeve; i.e., it wasn't done the full length of the stomach. You don't have a "banana"-shaped stomach, a narrowed, tubular-shaped stomach, as you now should.
Get the op note--the "operative report/note"--from your surgeon. See what size bougie he/she used. But it ~seems they left your stomach too big, didn't really cut the full length of it, and only narrowed a portion of your stomach. With that, you likely still have a lot of ghrelin circulating [hunger hormone], and of course, greater stomach capacity. The greater curve of the stomach may not have been excised.
Also get any "discharge summary" --in fact, get ALL your records from your surgeon, to give to your current doctor. And if you have any previous stomach imaging reports, they'd make for a good comparison. Also, there should be a pathology report of your excised stomach portion; it'd be interesting to see its size. Again, request ALL your records from the surgery.
The good news: no abnormalities are noted, and you have lost ~ 50 pounds...though I know you'd expected more pounds lost by now.
Get those records; keep doing what you're doing and see what the new doctor says, and what any future imaging reveals. Keep us posted.

I agree with you. My doctor's rules "relaxed" a whole lot when I proved to him that I could stick to my pre-op diet (I did it for a month instead of the prescribed two weeks) and then lost 90% of my weight my first 6 months post op.
I, too, was allowed to exercise from day 1, I just couldn't swim (open sutures) or kickbox (risking a kick to the stomach).
My big clue into some of the fallacies of our diets were when we were told no caffeine, straws, or chewing gum ever again but then told we could have one 8oz cup of regular coffee a day from day 3 on, use sports bottles (that utilized straws) and chew gum if we felt hungry when we shouldn't. I questioned the contradictions and my surgeon and his NP said to use discretion after seeing how they affected us. (I still can't chew gum. I swallow too much air and it's uncomfortable.)
Air will NOT make your stomach stretch. Carbonation is just air. Overeating constantly and to the point of discomfort will stretch the fundus that is left. I can drink carbonation (through a straw) because I pour it over crushed ice, stir it a bit and lose most of the carbonation. If it is TOO carbonated, it makes me burp and that's uncomfortable so I stir it a bit more or I don't drink it. It's not rocket science.
But again, I am NOT telling ANYONE here to go against their better judgement or their doctor's orders. I am saying to check with him/her and make decisions you feel are right for you. Diet soda is not a trigger for me. I can pour one a day and sip on it. Sometimes I finish it, sometimes I don't. Many days I have NONE, some days I have (gasp) TWO. Plain Water makes me nauseated so I get most of my fluids in via coffee, diet soda and liquor (KIDDING!!).
Do what's best for you. But don't do it until you are far enough out that you have it figured out. Your path will twist and turn. What works for you today may not work next month and vice versa. I followed a friend who had VST a year before me. We vacationed together twice post op to Jamaica and Las Vegas. I stayed a week at her house, she stayed a week at mine. Not only because I love her, but I wanted to see various stages of her life post op. What she can tolerate and what I can tolerate are totally different. She is four years out and has no regain. I am only two years out and have a 5 pound "bounce" range. When I hit the top, I go back to all Protein for a few days and lose it. For the first time, I am TRULY in control of ME and I love it.
Stop worrying and just do. You can do this. If I can, anyone can.