ANewJourneyAwaits

Hey everyone,

I am almost at my one month and to date, I have lost 20lbs since surgery. I wanted to see what everyone else lost their first month as 20lbs doesn't seem to be a lot. I am getting my Protein in, Water in, Vitamins done, and walking (not been cleared for lifting heavy weights yet). I know it depends on your starting weight but, I don't know, I thought I would be at 25+ now. At any rate, I am so happy to be where I am and the progress and inches lost that I see.

So, I am 43lbs from my highest. And 20lbs at almost the 4 week mark. From what you guys are saying, I’m right on track. I was going to ask if 20lbs in 4 weeks was slow or not.

2 hours ago, MandoGetsSleeved said:

Reading through this whole thread...Honestly NY, you seem to have convinced yourself the sleeve won’t work. With that initial mindset, it probably won’t. Sorry, it sounds brutal, but attitude is half the battle. This is only a tool (whichever surgery). The real work is in the lifestyle change. That much is up to you. Your success or failure is YOUR choice. NOT the surgery.

I echo that it is a mindset/attitude battle and what Ms. SSS said. I started with very similar stats to you, I am 5'7 as well. I discussed it with my surgeon and he echoed that the individual dictates the success and not the surgery. I chose the sleeve because:

• Like Ms.SSS said, I didn't want to have my intestines messed with. It freaked me out.
• My surgeon said I would lose roughly the same amount of weight either way, if I followed their plan.
• I am not prone to GERD and did not want to spend extra time under anesthesia.
• I didn't want dumping syndrome. Thus far, I don't think I have experienced this yet. Things have set wrong in my pouch but that's about it.

I specifically asked them in depth would I be able to lose the weight that I wanted and they confirmed, yes. The surgeries are much more advanced than even 4-5 years ago. There is no 18 month window where you start to regain. If there was for everyone, then why would anyone ever do this? The 18 months is a honeymoon period, as someone else said. In either surgery, you will have to have discipline. This isn't a miracle cure. Both can be stretched back out. Anecdotal experience isn't indicative of success or failure. If that were true, all the RNY friends that I have regained almost all their weight back (both were over 400lbs) while my one sleeved friend has kept it off. I don't think that means RNY doesn't work. They just fell back into poor eating choices and never truly changed their mindsets. They thought it was the easy way out and it's not. Gastric sleeve has been the right choice for many, myself included.

Whatever you choose in the end, know that it has to be mentally first and it is basically a reset to unlearn bad habits, train for good habits, and give you 6 months to a year head start on your weight loss. Just like with anything, like Mando said, the success is your choice.

@RTL1234 I am doing fine! I am on my period today (it didn't change my cycle or anything) and am super tired. I already am battling fatigue after surgery but on top of the period, I am super tired. How are you doing? Do any of you have instagrams that I could follow? I've begun mine but still too nervous to leave it open to the world but let me know if you want to follow too. I am ANewJourneyAwaiting. I've not done my weekly weigh-in because of my TOM. I will next week. I did have two nonscale victories. I jacket that used to kind of fit but be way way too tight on my upper arms is now loose! Like a normal oversized jean jacket and a ring that didnt fit my ring finger anymore is now too loose for my ring finger and fits the pointer finger. Super happy. And I got my engraved medical ID Bracelet.

@K Be Good! To echo what RTL said, I hiccup and burp all the time. After Water, after food, just whenever. Ha, ha. I hope you feel better soon and don't have COVID! Stay safe out there!

@mil_unloaded I did a 2 mile walk the other day as you saw, and my mom told me to cool my jets too, as I am only 3 weeks out of a major surgery. Glad you are getting your exercise in and not feeling sick! I've only had one bad pouch day. You are doing amazing!

How is everyone doing other wise?

That’s good to know! Thank you so much. The fatigue was really bad today.

I think it may be because that time on the month is coming up. It’s the only hypothesis I have.

Last week, I was so full of energy and pep and had so much energy that I couldn't sleep at night. This week, I am so very tired, even though I am sleeping at night. I don't know if it's because I walked two miles yesterday but today, I am so tired, taking a nap is all I can think of. I am hitting my Protein and Water goals (fully, 70+g of protein and around 78-80 oz of water) and am taking my Vitamins. However, still tired. Also, everything, and I mean everything that I am eating is hitting wrong in my pouch and making me feel just blah. I am not sure what is going on. Has anyone else had "good" days and then a "bad" day with food before? I've not had anything sit wrong in my pouch before and now, water, tea, protein, etc. is just making me feel like I have a rock in my stomach that is sitting there.

On 1/8/2021 at 2:01 PM, minnesotan-guy said:

Hey @ANewJourneyAwaits, I'm 10 days post-op too from VSG and I literally came on here today looking for an answer to the exact question you asked! I haven't been having any trouble with hitting my liquid or Protein goals and I feel relatively normal. Sure, like you, I can't gulp down anything and I'm still pacing myself but it's not nearly as restrictive (or painful) as I thought it was going to be.

I made friends with a few of the other people who were having VSG at the same time as me and on our group chat I'm hearing a lot about how they're dealing with naseau, not being able to hit their goals, not being able to tolerate certain foods, etc. And, I'm sitting here thinking, "Am I the one doing this all wrong?" Because I haven't dealt with any of that.

So thank you for posting and everyone else who commented, that really did help put me at ease.

– Minnesotan-Guy

@minnesotan-guy Glad to see I am not alone! Over the past three days, I have been able to hit my Protein goals. Today I actually exceeded it. But still, nothing has sat wrong with me really, even on soft foods. I am now not so tired (I think because of hitting protein goals). I was so nervous I was doing something wrong but I went to my two week check up on Friday and the surgeon was stunned with how well my incision have healed (other than the allergic reaction to the glue), how I can walk 1-1.5 miles, how I had no problem drinking from the get go, and just overall how well I am doing. He said I was doing great. Definitely helped put my mind at ease further. And to be fair, I am following their instructions to the letter. I hope it continues to just get better and better.

I am glad to see you are doing so well! Let me know what they say at your 2 weeks!

@rtl1234 Aw thanks! Today was better. Head hunger is a real thing! Woo.

And to make you feel better, yes. I am still seeing what satisfied and full feels like. I’m not sure how to describe it, sometimes I’m like “Oh man, I have to eat now because I feel sick with hunger” or I will not feel hungry at all. Or I just feel like “Okay, so that was 1.5 oz” but I don’t feel full. That was until I accidentally drank some Water then I felt that lump and kind of bad after I ate fast.

I feel like most Protein I eat sits kind of heavy. Not sure why.

Do you have a hard time falling asleep? I do and my counselor (who is a bariatric counselor) said it’s normal. It even says it in my book from the hospital. I went from being sleepy all the time to not. My counselor said it was because our metabolisms are revving up. Not sure. Going to try to sleep now. :)

Today was a rough day mentally. I now see how much I turned to food when I was upset. Not having it today was new. First time I struggled mentally with cravings. I have an appointment with my counselor tomorrow. I’m trying to identify when I feel this way and writing it down.

Otherwise, I ate too fast today and I felt like a lump at the bottom of my throat. Definitely felt uncomfortable but not sick. Won’t be doing that again. Every day is better. Though I’ve been at a stall for the past 4 days. Sigh. Still so glad I did this surgery. I am looking forward to soft foods next week.

I want to agree with the poster above. The first week for me was super rough. Day 7, I turned a corner and every day gets better.

@mil_unloaded I had a terrible reaction to the surgical glue. Just be sure to watch it.

@RTL1234 Right?! I can drink pretty normally and it felt wrong? I just expected to not like the same stuff, have a harder time eating, and not be able to drink. I feel great today other than my incisions. I even went for a 30 minute walk today. Felt nice to get some Vitamin D and fresh air.

2 minutes ago, GreenTealael said:

Actually I think your experience is normal. It's possible that you're more likely to hear or read about outliers at either end of the bariatric "success" spectrum on help sites than from people who had unremarkable surgeries and recoveries as there is little to mention.

Vets like @catwoman7 who have been around a lot longer than me may be able to confirm but there's usually a pattern to the posts you'll see and it's almost always someone seeking information or help for a concern or unexpected response to surgery. People who are fine check in less frequently.

Good Luck and Congratulations ♥️

Thank you for this. ❤️ I think I get anxious over the little stuff and I really, really want this to work. I had it built up in my head that it was going to awful with food for the first months and I guess when that didn't happen, I just kind of panicked. It sounds SO SILLY saying that out loud. Unremarkable is still great!

Also, let me clarify that I cannot eat much. My pouch is small. Tiny portions fill me up (1-1.5 oz) and I have lost weight since surgery. It's just Water that goes through quite easily.

33 minutes ago, sach1 said:

Did you still lose weight as expected?
I experience similar things as mentioned above and same thoughts that its not going to work for me. I'm stuck.


Sent from my SM-N960F using BariatricPal mobile app

I have lost 15lbs now since surgery (11 days ago). Also, I just went for my first 30 minute walk. Felt nice to be out in the sunshine and fresh air.

I do! I have had SUCH a rough experience with the incisions. Mainly because I had a severe allergic reaction to the surgical glue. I've actually had to go on prednisone. Anyway, my biggest incision is actually right in the center of my stomach. The wound kept "oozing" during surgery, that's what they told me, so they had to put something in there to stop it. I can press on it and feel it. And it HURTS and pulls. Also, the stitch on my left side pulls sometimes and hurts. No clue why. I've never experience ANY of this before. I wish they had stitched me up vs. the glue. And whatever is in the main incision, I am not sure if they are planning on leaving it or taking it out.

So, I posted previously that I was having a hard time getting all my Protein and Water in. That is still kind of true but at day 7, it's like I turned a corner. I can drink normally (not a gulp, but not a tiny sip like before) and I can get in 1.5 oz of food at a time (protein first, then fruit or veg, as per the diet) and an 8 oz shake so I can get closer to my protein goal. I am terrified of stretching my sleeve out because I can drink more and I can get more at day 10. I do 8 oz of Protein Shake before it gives me 42g of protein in one go. And NONE of my tastes have changed and nothing has "sat" wrong with me. I have tried pureed fruits (baby food), sugar free popsicles, eggs (they got "caught" the first time but we made them runny so now they are okay), ricotta bake, and tomorrow tuna puree. Nothing has made me ill yet. I don't get hungry like before, but I do feel hunger sometimes and it isn't head hunger.

The only problems I have now is the stupid redness from my incisions as an allergic reaction to the glue, I get hot flashes sometimes from the hormones I guess, and I am still very tired, even when hitting water goals.

I don't know, I guess I thought I was going to only be able to tolerate food a little, not like anything that I previously did, have no hunger pains, and get sick from a lot of the stuff I've tried. So far, none of that has happened. From what I read, my experience isn't super normal and I hope I am not doing something bad to my sleeve without knowing it. Anyone else have this? I am curious.

Edited to add: I feel very, very little restriction when I drink water now. It's there with food, certainly, but water seems to go on down easily.

01/03/2021 11:15 AM, RTL1234 said:

Glad to see everyone is chugging along!!

MIL - Do you have the same name on IG? I surf the hashtags over there and I was like that’s gotta be the same person lol. I don’t have a WLS IG so I don’t really do too much over there. No one knows I had surgery except some of my work and friends. My job at the hospital is like high school so I’m sure everyone will know in no time. 🙄🙄

ANewJourney - I hope the rash clears up soon! And the itchies! That’s the worst! I’ve been very itchy around my incisions, and the glue is peeling off which they said would be gone by my month appt. Isn’t it nice just to take normal drinks of something?! Lol!

I know I have no energy to go back to my job right now and I am very grateful to have a month off, but I am going crazy in the house with the kids. Especially not being able to pick my toddler up. It so aggravating. It’s so cold but I may bundle everyone up and just go to the park and walk slow. They said walking was okay after 2 weeks and I’m only 2 days away from that so I’m just ready. Change of scenery.

The itch is so stupid. I wish I had told them to suture me up. The surgeon said I even had a reaction to the antiseptic. I have great skin for healing but not when it comes to be allergic to things. I get it from my mom! Glad yours are doing well!

I also need another week. I am going to email my boss tonight and take the rest of my time left from 2020 (it rolled over this year) so I have five extra days. I feel bad but I’m not at 100% yet.

I also had diarrhea. The Fiber and colace made it worse. So I was taken off it. After the purées and being off them, I’m much better.

I have an IG dedicated to this journey of anyone wanted to follow and I’d love to follow you lovely people! :) Mine is ANewJourneyAwaiting if you want to follow me.

01/03/2021 05:40 AM, AuntieMAME said:

No cafeine? Oh crap. I havent had surgery yet - hoping for Feb. (Ins requires 6 freaking months!!!) No one said I would have to give up caffeine. With my job, I have to get up early for international calls. I work with people in Bangalore and London. I'm in the US. I have to get up crazy early for calls and and be really functional in them. Right now, drink 2-3 mugs before lunch. Am I going to have to change jobs? I'm so screwed....

~ AuntieMAME

Mame, for me it’s only for the first month after surgery. Otherwise I can have it again. Ask your doctor to be sure.

I drink Sleepy Time Chamomile and Decaf green tea. I just ordered Moroccan Mint Tea and Peppermint when my stomach goes funny. Trying to give up coffee.

I finally stopped hurting at day 7. It was like a miracle and I could drink water—more than just tiny sips. I don’t know what happened. But day 6 was my worst for pain. Like others said, walk and try some gas x.

Hey! I was sleeved on the 24th! I can be your buddy!

Im doing pretty well. I’m also on purées. I can fit in all purées and one shake. So I am getting there. I also don’t have to take tiny sips anymore. Just normal ones. Not huge gulps but normal drinks. I’ve lost 14lbs in 9 days. Unfortunately I had a reaction to my surgical glue and broke out in a red rash around each incision. I had to go on prednisone from my surgeon with protonix and benedryl that makes me so sleepy. Other than that, no pain. I feel great! Feeling very happy (albeit itchy). Can’t wait till that subsides and I’ll be at 100%. :) hope everyone else is having a good recovery!

RTL, I am having one hell of a time getting in Protein. If I push it I can get 64 oz of Water but I’ve only managed two small glasses of milk for protein today. It’s hard! At least I can take normalish drinks of water now and it doesn’t kill me. Tomorrow is my puree stage.

So, I can get about 64 oz. of Water but trying to get Protein is kicking my butt. I just seemingly can’t get it in. I am 7 days out. Getting liquids down is harder too but I am getting there. Does anyone have any advice? Tomorrow is my purée stage. I really don’t want to fall behind. I just want to make sure I’m doing it correctly and feeling a bit defeated. I’m supposed to get around 70-80 oz of protein. 

Rachel, my sleeve blush has gotten better but I had a reaction to the pain meds they gave me. I’m not in so much pain now but I feel still loopy and I’m on day 4.

It happens to me. No matter how small the sip is, I get a crampy feeling in the middle of my chest.