Wheetsin

3 turkey meatballs and a wedge of light laughing cow cheese.

You're not alon - it's very common. For multiple reasons, DH is very, very, very happy that I had this surgery.

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Well, I'm tall (5'10 give or take) and I think that just means my droopy skin has farther to distort.

Oh gosh, I can think of about 8 things off the top of my head called "PST test" and none of them are the same thing - though more than one ofthem could apply to this surgery. Can you give more info?

I'm not going to read through every response so forgive any of these that are duplicates. The things I didn't know about before are fairly personal - not as in "won't share" but as in "specific to my situation". I was a revision, and so the only things that have surprised me are relative to my previous WLS, or the things you have to be living it to know whether or not they even apply to you. But I'm a researcher, and started looking into VSG about 5 years ago. Not a lot will escape those two conditions. However, I see a lot of new people "shocked" to learn lots of things, so here are some that I see come up a lot: You will probably lose a good amount of your hair (I'd estimate 20% - 40%) starting about 2 or 3 months after surgery. It's possible to dump with the sleeve. Most people seem surprised to learn this. In fact, there's already been a thread on it today. It's possible to develop intolerances to foods with the sleeve. Not "sleeve doesn't like it" but actual intolerances. Reflux is a fairly common side effect. Reflux over time can lead to additional issues such as Barret's. Reflux can be helped (I won't say controlled) by medications - PPIs and the like. PPIs are currently under a lot of scrutiny for their long-term effects, i.e. bone density. [*]Your tastes can change with this surgery. So can the foods that work for you. These aren't necessarily slow changes. You'll probably be eating low-carb, at least for a while, and that can bring its own complications: "Ketosis" breath Low potassium may result in muscular cramps particularly in the legs/feet Pooping might totally change. In too many ways than I can list here, but let's just say there aren't really any good ways. Etc. [*]You may have to take Fiber supplements and/or laxatives for quite some time, maybe permanently. But maybe you'll never need one. Just gotta wait and see. [*]Since this is not a malabsorptive procedure, it's still possible to gain weight. You're still accountable for the things you eat. I'm surprised to see others surprised by this. [*]When food doesn't "sit well" it can be surprisingly painful, and can hurt in places that initially won't make sense (referred pains). [*]You may or ay not have problems with nausea. I've had no nausea, and no vomiting -- but I've had my share of discomfort. [*]Your body will probably start to make new noises. Gurgles, burps that aren't burps (I call them nurps), etc. They may or may not go away. [*]Your hunger may significantly diminish, or go away completely. But it might also remain consistent. Our fundus is the primary place where Ghrelin is produced, but it's not the only place. Think this is only a good thing? Lots of studies right now are pretty consistently linking Ghrelin to things like memory and cognitive function, is in - not enough Ghrelin, so in 50 years you may be skinny & have no idea why. [*]Lots of aspects of general weightloss tend to be forgotten or overlooked: things like your feet get smaller, your fingers, etc. Medication dosages may also need to be recalibrated You will need to actively adjust your caloric intake (you won't have much say in it for a while, tho) to adjust for your shrinking body - needs can change by 1000 calories, easily. Don't get in a "rut" and assume things will be forever this way, or that. There's more, but that's all I can think of off the top of my Ghrelin-starved brain.

If you want to get into the stats and risks, I have a very, very long post around here somewhere that details the reporting practices for risk and mortality rates on WLS. The numbers were current as of the time I posted it. It should help make sense of the percentages and numbers we see. They really are not transparent at all. Nor are they all applicable. Even something narrowed down like, "...risk of dying from lap VSG" is going to count in numbers that simply will not apply to you. It sounds to me like your family is having a knee-jerk reaction based on ignorance. The ignorance causes the fear. If there are other things like jealousy and/or animosity playing a role, that will complicate things a bit. It can be addressed, you just need to decide if it's worth the effort to you. If my family does not support me, it means that ________________________. So figure out what your blank is. Then you'll know whether you can accept their lack of support, or if you need to remedy it. It's your decision whether their support is important enough to be worth the effort of educating. If it were me, it would not be, but the emotional aspect of it is not that important to me (I don't need people to "support" my actions or decisions, I'm a big girl -- though I would not accept my family retaliating against my husband for supporting me.)

As you've already learned by now, it's to be expected - and it probably won't be the only stall you have. My "3 week stall" kicked in at 3 weeks on the dot, and lasted the better part of 3 months. I think I was stalled 12 going on 13 weeks before anything budged. .

Surgeries have been cancelled for not following the pre-op diet. It's good that we can all share our unique experiences, but IMO we also need a little onus for the permissions we give others by doing so. rapf - discuss your challenges with your nutritionists. They, not we, are the ones who should be OKing any exceptions to your pre-op diet. Pre-op diets vary widely, by surgeon, and surgeon has circumstances under which they're most comfortable operating. Trust me, we want to cater to them a little. Someone posted not that long ago having a really hard time with the pre-op diet and was OKed to add in some chicken or tuna without any problems. But do it on their advice. BTW, the pre-op diet is a bit more systemic than most people think. It's often attributed to wanting to shrink the liver, which is true, but you'll gain more than that. And your nutritionists should know the systemic advantages and be able to coach you or tweak your diet so that the benefits are still possible:

Genetics, lifestyle, the state of your skin, how much it was stretched, how long it was stretched out for, etc. I personally attribute the most value to 1) how far stretched and 2) how long stretched for. Genetics are important, but there are some things even genetics can't overcome. 30 lbs overweight for a year when you're 18, not nearly as big of a deal as 150 lbs overweight for 10 years when you're 40.

Yes, you can dump with the sleeve. People who have never had WLS can dump, so certainly we can. The difference is that it's a "risk" with us, but more or less a guarantee with RNY. Here's a lot of info on dumping (causes, breakdown, etc.) that I posted on a similar thread a while ago: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/32060-we-dont-technically-experience-dumping-buuuut/#entry279816

I have a mild allergy to latex, I'm mildly allergic to most adhesives (something in them but I don't know what, and only adhesives used on certain brands will bother me), and I tend to get "irritant contact dermatitis"/ICD. I'll get a much more severe version of what alliecat posted, but also the entire area that was covered will welt and I'll usually get extremely itchy, tiny blisters. ie. not just the outline of the bandaid, but everywhere the adhesive touched me. When I had my first surgery in 2006 we thought it was limited to a few brands of commercial bandages and they covered my abdomen with pieces of that "clear contact paper stuff" - Tegaderm or comparable. When they pulled it off, it took skin off too. I actually have a few scars from my reaction/injury to that bandaging that are way more visible than from the actual surgery.

You might want to search for "straw" or "straw use" or something like that. This has come up very frequently. The best thing I can say is follow surgeon's orders. That being said, there's really no rationale for not using a straw. Many, many (possibly most) people find they drink better/easier/more with a straw. I know the reasons they give for not using them, but they just don't seem to hold up once you really look at the mechanics of what they say is happening. I think there's a straw "bandwagon" among VSG offices. Lots of bandwagons... definitely a straw bandwagon.

Does that officially make you a skinny b***h? I think I could be underweight and still not wear a small. You guys suck. I was thrilled to put on my 22 pants the other day, then realized they're actually 24. Bah.

I can gain about 13 lbs with TOM. The process of moving glycogen in & out of your liver can take hmmm... I'd widely say 6 - 12 lbs. My cankles probably come in at 2 lbs each (if I sit at a desk or in a "legs down" position with heels on, I get cankles - but I used to get them all summer long so I'm not complaining). I hadn't weighed in like 1.5 weeks, but I weighed this morning after a Dr appt (I wanted to see how far off our scales were). I'm up about a half a pound from when I last weighed, but I was noticing yesterday that my body felt like it had another "woosh" -- seemed smaller, pants seemed a little baggier, etc. Me & my stomach both know I haven't eaten enough to gain a half a pound of fat. And I like to say, "If it's not fat, who cares?" I guess I'd care of it was a big tumor or something. But not Fluid.

I don't really like popcorn but I just had some last weekend for the first time. Even not liking popcorn, I couldn't turn down hot & fresh kettle corn. It's not really popcorn. It's pretty much its own food group. I have no idea what I ate in terms of volume, but let's just say popcorn is definitely not a slider for me. I definitely felt it in the sleeve. The term "slider" actually confuses me too. I used to think it was something you could eat "more than you should" of, like a food that "slid" through the sleeve quickly (hence the term slider), and you could eat twice as many ounces as normal (for example). Like let's say you can eat 3 oz of hamburger patty, but 7 oz of sloppy joe (same meat, just in a slider form). But if things like popcorn that really just compress are sliders, I've been wrong all along. In that case things like ice cream, cotton candy, snow cones, anything "whipped" or aired, etc. -- namely things that just LOOK like more food volume than they actually are, are sliders...

^ that's not new, it started when I had my band & just never went away

I'm very judgmental of what others eat now. Sitting at a buffet disgusts me.

Some of my typical snacks: Beef jerky, 1 oz = 12gm Protein 1 oz gruyere cheese = 7gm protein 16 pepperoni chips = 18gm protein 1 tbl PB = 5gm protein Cheddar cheese stick = 6gm protein 1 oz almonds = 6gm protein Poke/maguro 1oz = 7gm protein I still have a hard time with daily calories (I still average under 600) and protein (I probably average 50, but really do try for 60 and consider anything over 60 a bonus, I guess). I try to get 6 - 10 gm of protein per snack, and about 10 per meal. I generally try to eat 6 - 8 times per day: 2 meals + 3 - 6 Snacks (recently I've had to pretty much give up dinner, so I'm trying to add in an extra snack to compensate but I'm truly to the point of having to eat when I'm not hungry).

Below in blue.

Might be what I call "throat gurgles". Sounds like a burp, but is more just like a noise that my esophagus is doing. It can be pretty loud sometimes. I'm in a lot of meetings most days and I often have to explain - "It's just a noise I make." DH claims it wakes him up some nights. I had it with my lapband too. I called it "gurgling" back then, but now I make a new noise that better fits "gurgling" so the moniker shifted.

GB removal is a total breeze compared to VSG. You'll be very happy it's out. Acclimate slowly to trigger foods - some people have "phantom" attacks for a while (I didn't but I've seen them happen).

If you wake up with nausea, try a small glass of juice in the morning. It could be a sugar thing. Does it change at all when you eat/drink? What PPIs are you on?

Cysts, endometriosis, fibroids, adhesions, hernia, strain.... If you have good insurance, you might want to see a Dr. who specializes in sports medicine, since the pain seems related to prolonged physical activity. It could be something as simple as a sports hernia. Did you ever have a moment of intense pain, and maybe now it's just a recurring pain? Did it set in gradually? Etc. (Sorry for all the questions, I have a slight medical background and am generally compelled to try and solve problems -- but please in no way take any of this as medical advice... I'm not a Dr...I don't even play one on TV...)

This is just one of many reasons I'm glad that I'm the only female on my team at work. I guess what I would do depends on what kinds of things they're saying - e.g. are they speculating you had surgery, or that you're sick, or is it just catty stuff since your body is changing, or what? I'd probably also consider the relationship I had with the people. Are you close? Are you frenemies? Good terms? Etc. And also the work environment. Most of my work history is on large scale enterprise - corporate headquarters of Fortune 500 and up companies. How things work there, and how things work at Joe-Bob's Burgers & Tackle is a little different. What type of environment are you in? Do you have an HR department, or an HR person who is also your boss?