Kaze

@ Starting weight, or at least the weight on the day of my pre-op class was 297 lbs or ~135kg. I'm not sure if I've lost anything, my scale is kind of fidgety. I'll update my weight when I go in Tuesday, haha. My scale says I've gained and then it says I'm the same and then lost then back to gained. It's kind of annoying because I'll go in all defeated because it's telling me I've gained substantial weight and get on a medical scale and I've lost a few pounds from the last recorded weight...throws me for a loop all the time.

Hey, I'd be happy to lose ~20lbs (10kg) by my appointment. It'd be about as much as I've ever lost on my own trying for months and months.

Hello! So, if you've happened upon a post I've made before, I've made it no secret I'm a kidney transplant patient. It's the main reason I'm both pursuing and fretting the sleeve. On one hand, I need, need, need to lose weight to give this little bean the best possible circumstances it can have but I also have concerns regarding meds and fluids, but many people have reassured me in the department. So my next, well hurdle if you can call it that, is my doctor. Let me give a little background. I'm 19 years old. I've been going to this particular nephrology practice (at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO for those curious for whatever reason) since I moved to Missouri from Cali when I was like 18 months old. I was born with chronic renal failure secondary to posterior urethral valves. It wasn't until 2010 that I finally had to go on dialysis about a month after my fourteenth birthday. Since then until June of 2013, I had battled to be put on the transplant list and for a majority of circumstances, my weight was the biggest inhibitor. My doctor has always been skeptical about my persistence. I'd suggested the Lap-Band about two years into dialysis and he shot me down...and hey, at 16 what could I do? Later on down the line, I got my transplant after getting sick and losing 25 pounds (only time I've ever lost a large amount of weight). Skip a year and I was suggesting it again. I was 18 at the time and he was still super skeptical, but he finally heard me out (well kind of). I asked him to give me his suggestions for places to go. His suggestion, which took well over six months to get to me, was a program that was now defunct. Lol he tried. So I personally sought out Saint Luke's myself. Cut to March of this year, I was diagnosed with diabetes and most of my doctors actually REASSURED me that weight loss surgery would be good! A few months prior an hepatic endocrinologist wanted to see me to discuss elevated liver enzymes indicating possible fatty liver tissue. He was the first one to go "Uhm, that's actually a really good idea???" and he was shocked to hear when I told him I'd been suggesting it for some time and didn't get the support I needed. He's the one who pushed my doctor into the right direction. Now, to get to the point of this My surgery is happening on Tuesday. A three year battle is coming to an end, albeit with one detail changed (not Lap Band but sleeve ). On August 9th I have my next follow up with my renal doctor (3rd with my Endocrinologist). That's about a month and a half and a smidgen. I'm not looking for concrete estimates as I know everyone is different, but I'd love to know your experiences. At about 6 weeks post op, how much weight had you lost? I'm hoping I can kind of wow my doctor and (respectfully) tell him "I told you so".

I'm using Cytosport 100% Whey. It's 27 grams per scoop and is affordable (assuming you have a Costco and a membership) and it should last a month if you do 2 1/2 scoops a day (assuming your goal is 60-80g like mine). It comes in vanilla and chocolate only though, so that's unfortunate.

Hey, I wish I still had my best friend to tell. Y'all are further than me. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Because I like fruit oatmeal and don't like artificial sweeteners. I did say I plan to cut it with regular oatmeal and protein powder, so the sugars in it would be significantly less than what it says on the nutrition facts label.

Oh my, thank you so much. All of these comments are super reassuring and they make me more confident in my decision. If anything, I can maybe use the surgery to encourage myself to drink MORE water than I do now, which as I said, I seldom actually get my Fluid goals every day because I'm so scattered with water.

@ Oh, so you can drink Water fairly normally after a few weeks/months? That's super comforting because I'm a "catch up" drinker and although I want to work on spacing out my hydration (it's better overall) I still know sometimes I just need a couple chugs of water at once. Plus from what I understand, water can significantly help with weight loss. I think my biggest problem is going to be the no drinking with meals.

Oh I don't have a problem with the taste of water or anything like that, in fact, it's the opposite, I love the death out of water. I just am also kind of scatterbrained and unless I can have reinforcement, I can lose track. I'm just hoping after surgery water can come about as naturally to me as it does now except that I need to not gulp and I need to space out my bottles at least half an hour.

True story but I never enjoyed bacon. Very few times did I experience bacon that I just WANTED; usually had to be candied bacon or nice and flavored. I'm still pre-op. It's just one of those meats that are blah to me. Now, put a nice rare ribeye in front of me? We're going to fight if you try and take a bite. I hope that's something I can still have post-op (obviously 3+ months down the line).

Semi update: Called my transplant doc and they're going to put me on liquid immunosuppressants for the time being! I should have no concerns now. @@Christinamo7 I will! And thank you!

@provenzee @gary5862 Ah, thank goodness. I wouldn't necessarily want to "gulp" Water again because it's still a bad habit of mine that I hope I can kick before surgery on the 21st, but it's comforting to know that I don't have to meticulously measure my water throughout the day and *should* be able to leisurely drink my way to my goal. Obviously I went into this process highly concerned for my transplant which comes first and foremost and is leaps and bounds a priority to me (which is also why I'm DOING weight loss surgery to alleviate the stress on it). I've got my favorite water bottle and I think it's 28 ounces (probably 32 to the top) so maybe I can try and drink at least 3-4 of those per day at a decent pace and that would actually get me to my transplant goal (or just under) at 128oz.

Is the 16.9oz bottle of water every three hours just a personal goal of yours or is that all you can tolerate? Thanks!

That's what the person said in the thread back in 2011! Two weeks out and they were feeling confident in getting more Water than is recommended. Thanks! Did you have to work up to it or was there a day you just felt better and was able to get more fluids than you could before?

I made a topic including this question, but I made the mistake of also including a question about medications so most of the answers focus on that and I didn't get far too many insightful responses on fluids, but how much do you find you're able to drink throughout the day? I've seen some people (in a thread made in 2011) say they can easily get 80-100oz through the day after about a month post op. My situation is I'm a kidney transplant and we're really encouraged to drink like a fish. My doctor recommends 136oz a day. Now to be fair, I don't get that even now because I just don't think about it, but I feel like coupled with the risk of malnutrition and what not, I should really focus on getting it all in properly post-op. I'm shooting for 100oz, which is a happy medium between bariatric suggestions (64oz) and my nephro's suggestions. How many of you find that to be a realistic goal? I know I'll have to sip throughout the day, but is 100oz something you could get if you consciously drink some Water every 15 minutes or so or whatever they recommend? Thanks so much!

@@Christinamo7 OMG I know! Metformin kicks my bowels' ass! I had to demand being put on Metformin ER to alleviate it but I STILL have bowel problems. I'm supposed to be on Lantus and novoLOG as well but I stopped those to experiment and my A1C was 5.9 so I'd say it's safe to assume my diabetes is well controlled, I don't need insulin, and perhaps I can hopefully get off Metformin pretty quickly. I need to call my Endocrinologist.

Actually that's not surprising to me, the smoothie with more sugar than coke thing. After all, the smoothie has fruits, dairy and added sugar which drives up the sugar content but I think one good thing is those are all natural forms of sugar which our body can easily metabolize. Coke has corn syrup, cane sugar and a bunch of other calorie-dense, nutrient-low sugar substances. I still think choosing the higher sugar content but quality sugar smoothie is going to go a long way to better choices (like using different, lower fat milks, no added sugar, etc) but Coke is addictive and has zero additional nutrients so it's literally as empty as empty calories comes. The smoothie, however, could have an assortment of colorful fruits and therefore a heaping of Vitamins and minerals and anti-oxidants. That's my stance and I'm stickin' to it! (obviously it comes down to each individual smoothie and how it was made) Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

For reference, they all have less than 12g of sugar, and since I would cut them with a 1g sugar plain oatmeal, that's significantly less... I agree, artificial sweeteners tend to be far more addictive and lead to craving more actual sweets. I just feel as long as I'm making decent choices in a majority of circumstances, having an "as is" product isn't going to make me unsuccessful, but that's why I brought the question to the floor so to speak so those who are actually post-op can chime in, and it seems to me most people are in agreement that you just need to be careful overindulging in the "as is" foods...am I understanding this correctly? Also @ I stocked up on just stuff for the first 3-4 weeks...liquids, full liquids and mushy foods. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Thank you for the response! It looks like you take more than I do! Good news is I found I can eliminate quite a few of my meds that are just Vitamins (riboflavin and mag oxide) because they're in the multi. I also hope I can off or significantly reduce Metformin not long after surgery. I agree that it will be a chore for me to get my Water in. Like I said, the recommended from my surgeon is 64oz and from my transplant team is 118-136oz. I think if I split it down and get 100oz in ideally, that'd be fine enough. That's about 80% of a gallon...do you think that's reasonably achievable? I guess if I just drink more than the half gallon (64oz) I'm probably better off than I am now because I don't get the full 136oz now half the time...I'm a "catch up" drinker. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Oh yeah, I definitely intend to get yogurt as well. Oatmeal is just cheaper right now and easier to stock up on without fear of expiration while I'm pre-op. Plus the only flavors in sugar free were maple brown sugar and apples and cinnamon, both of which are bleh to me. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

My program specifies you should get sugar/salt/fat free of everything from oatmeal, canned fruits and canned veggies to yogurt and everything in between. I was wondering if this is just their program preference or merely a suggestion? I know the logic behind canned fruits in syrup because that's calorie city, but oatmeal, for example, isn't too terrible on its own (single serve packets). I bought some variety packs of normal oatmeal and I figured I could split the flavor packs with some regular oats we have to dilute the sugar content (and maybe even add Protein powder?)...is this a bad way to go about it? Outside of the oatmeal, I got sugar free canned veggies (peas), low sodium chicken broth, fat free tomato Soup and no sugar added canned fruit packed in Water...are all of these good for weeks 1-5? I know for like the veggies and the fruit I will probably have to puree them for the first 2ish weeks. Does oatmeal have to be pureed in the immediate post-op after liquid diet? My best guess is they do that so you can stay aware of dumping syndrome which can still happen in sleeves (I've seen various percentages tossed around from 3-17%) and to guide towards better choices in the long term, but how strict do you feel it is? Do you meticulously search for specific versions of seemingly healthy products? If you do, where do you find good variety in sugar/fat/salt free things? I'd love some suggestions! As always, information is always appreciated!

Definitely not the only one. It's nerves and, I'd agree, mostly because it's surgical and the reminder that this is a lifetime commitment lingers. There's also a lot of questions that go through (at least for me) our heads as we're headed towards surgery. All these things we do now and want to know if we can do after surgery (albeit with moderation). I'm nervous right there with you. I'm scheduled for the 21st, but seeing all the success stories and all the positive responses to how it changes people's lives is really helping fight back against the nerves. If you have or have ever been on Tumblr or other social networks, search "weight loss surgery" in the tag. There's hundreds of picture posts of people doing before and after shots and it's just so amazing. I know there's that here, too, but I've just joined and can't point you directly to it.

I'm 19, so I'm in the realm of ages near 24, and I'm also having my sleeve on the 21st.

My transplant team is pediatric and at a different hospital. My surgeon doesn't think I'll have a problem but I just would like some experience from people who have had the procedure and what their tolerances are.

Hey! So, this is probably not relevant to far too many people here because my circumstances are a little unique but I'm sure those of you who have been sleeved can chip in about some concerns I've had all throughout this process. I'm a transplant recipient (kidney, three years ago on the 8th) and one of the requirements of my transplant for long term success is four liters (136oz) and immunosupressants. I just wanted to know if it's pretty easy to drink Water after VSG? I know for a while you'll have to go slow and really consciously sip through the day, but even then, I've been reassured that it is possible. What are your experiences? I don't get four liters religiously, but I feel ~96oz is the bare minimum. Also, as far as medications (and taking them with water) do you feel you can't take too many pills? I have medications that must be taken 12-hours apart. For reference, this is their size in correlation to a quarter. If it says "immunosuppressant", it HAS to be taken: Morning Night Others As always, any help is greatly appreciated!