catwoman7

I had almost no pain at all except for some very sore abs for the first few days. I used very little morphine in my pump at the hospital (and then only because the nurse wanted me to because of my sore abs - she wanted me to walk as much as possible). The codeine or whatever it was they sent me home with sat unopened. I had RNY, btw.

I eat a piece or two of string cheese almost every day. Eight grams of Protein in a standard-size piece. Oddly, it was one of the few things I could tolerate when I had a stricture.

that seems ridiculously low. I think I was supposed to have 4-5 shakes a day, so that's around 80-100 grams. However, the only thing I was allowed to have besides the shakes was Clear liquids (which included broth, sugar free popsicles, and sugar free Jello). Are you allowed to have other things besides the shake that have Protein in them, maybe? If not - wow. That is low.

mine started by having acid indigestion after eating. As it progressed, either the indigestion would last for 2 or 3 hours (ugh!!), or I'd vomit. By the end, I couldn't keep anything down at all. At first I didn't think it was a stricture because I'd never heard about the acid problem, but I did know the vomiting was a sign. I had an upper endoscopy and sure enough - it was a stricture. They "fixed" it and I felt a million times better right away!! No more acid, no more vomiting. Night and day difference!

I was having trouble with B-Complex for awhile (i.e., nausea), but they discovered I had a stricture and I haven't had any problems since they "fixed" the stricture - so obviously it was related to that. Some people do have problems with the "B"s in particular, though. I always take that one with food just in case.

I'm really glad to hear I'm not the only slow loser. I'm following the plan to a "T", so that's not it. I think some people just lose slower than others for whatever reason. One good thing about it: at 2-3 lbs a week, people might actually believe I'm doing it just through diet and exercise (I haven't told many people outside of my family that I had surgery - and I wasn't sure if I'd need to tell people down the road or not. Maybe not!!). As long as the weight eventually comes off, I'm happy.

I'm not sure I've heard that, but maybe people just don't talk about it because it's not as alarming as losing the hair on your head (or wouldn't be for *me*, anyway.....). I'd be willing to bet the cause is the same, though.

I've been a slow loser as well. But I'm a post-menopausal female *and* dropped a lot of weight pre-surgery, so that may be affecting it. Also, how much weight you have to lose can affect your rate, too, as James mentioned.

I don't really see how it's more invasive. Both are major surgeries. Unless you're referring to the intestinal re-routing - although that's not necessarily more invasive - it's just an extra step. some things to keep in mind: 1) RNY has a lot of long-term research behind it as it's the gold standard 2) not everyone dumps - the number I've heard is 30% (of patients dump) 3) ASMBS is now recommending that VSG patients avoid NSAIDs, too 4) Malabsorption problems are supposedly not common IF you keep on top of your supplementation and get regular labs 5) VSG patients take supplements, too - just not as many. I've found it easier than I thought it would be. I take a small handful at Breakfast and a couple at dinner. Then I just have to work in my third dose of calcium, which I take sometime during the day. Once I add Iron, I'll take that before bed. my arthritis and headaches have both gotten *much* better since I lost weight, so I really haven't needed the NSAIDs (this was a huge concern of mine pre-surgery, too).

my multi is chewable, B12 and D are sublinguals.

yes. It was a breeze - very easy fix. I didn't feel a thing and felt a million times better after the procedure. Night and day. I could eat again with no problem!!

I hate to tell you this, but I quit smoking 20 years ago and *still* have smoking dreams! It may just be part of addiction (or past addiction) - it remains part of your identity, even years later. I won't be surprised if i have food dreams for a long time after this....

yes - I've read very high protein consumption can be hard on kidneys, but I would think you should be OK with 60-80 grams a day (in fact, ASMBS says up to 100 grams), especially if you're drinking enough fluids.

I stalled weeks 2 and 3 but then had a big drop week 4. I think your body has to re-calibrate once in awhile, esp. after a big drop in weight (like you folks who lost 20 lbs the first week! That's a lot!!)

I ate a lot of sugar free Jello, even though under ordinary circumstances I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole. But it was the only "solid" food i could eat for two weeks, so i ate it - and sometimes lots of it - almost every night.

my husband has no clue what my weight is, and we've always had a very strong relationship. I think mine would flip out, too!

I think it depends on so many factors (age, gender, how much weight you have to lose, whether or not you lost weight before the surgery, etc) that it's hard to say what's normal. I lost about 40 lbs during the year leading up to the surgery and then another 15 lbs during the two-week pre-surgery diet. The first month post-surgery I lost 16 lbs and then it's been about 2-3 lbs a week since then. But then a lot of the weight people lose at the beginning of any diet is Water, so I would have lost a lot of that before I actually had the surgery. Plus, I'm also a post-menopausal female - a group that's known to have a tougher time losing weight - so that may be playing into it, too. it seems like a lot of people lose around 20-25 lbs the first month, and then it drops into the teens for awhile. So the numbers she gave you may be a bit optimistic - although I'm sure you can find people who *do* lose that much (and she would certainly know better than i would - I just read boards - she actually works with patients, so...)

if you have a stricture, you'll feel a night and day difference after the procedure. Beforehand I was having miserable acid reflux issues for several days and I started having trouble keeping things down. Towards the end, I could hardly keep *anything* down. I had no idea it could be a stricture because I didn't know it could cause acid issues (in addition to vomiting), but they did an upper endoscopy and there it was! What a huge relief to be rid of the thing! It's an easy fix and I felt a million times better afterward!

I'm in my 8th week and I started lifting weights last week

I went out a couple of times while I was in the pureed stage and just got a cup of pureed Soup. Now that I'm in the soft food stage, it's easier - although I still order soup a lot (not necessarily pureed). I usually order yogurt at Breakfast and either a shrimp cocktail or soup for lunch or dinner. I've eaten baked fish at home, but it would take me a week to eat a fish entree (or any entree, for that matter....)

it sounds almost like a stricture, although you're pretty early out. Hmm. I'd just call your surgeon's office in the morning and run it by them.

I agree with what SuzeMuze said. Also, I was thinking more about this and I think 27 lbs in five weeks is really pretty normal - whatever "normal" is. I belong to another forum where some of the members put the amount of weight they lost each month in their signatures. From what I've seen, most of them lost anywhere from 15-25 lbs the first month, and then it starts slowing down in subsequent months (in the teens for awhile - then down to single digits). So you're right in line with this. I'm a bit of a slowpoke at seven weeks. But then, I'm a 50-something female and i lost quite a bit of weight pre-surgery - both of which can affect the rate of my post-surgery weight loss. Plus like SuzeMuze says, my body's in control. As long as I'm following the program (which I am...), the weight will come off. So will yours.

I've lost about the same as you (27 lbs) and I'm seven weeks out! I think it's because both of us lost quite a bit of weight *before* surgery.

took about a week for me

I usually eat yogurt or cottage cheese. Sometimes I'll throw a few blueberries on the cottage cheese (like maybe 10 of them)