Tiffykins

I've been maintaining since mid-April about 120-125lbs easily. I guess my body is just comfortable at this weight because regardless what I eat, or how I eat, I don't gain. Not saying I'm out eating junk, or totally screwing myself, but for the most part, I just eat what and when I want. I do still keep carbs in check to some degree, but I'm not depriving myself of white carbs. Everything is in moderation. My labs have been superb since surgery, and my numbers have actually improved even though I was "normal" pre-op. My good cholesterol has improved, and all my levels are stellar. I think my body just needed to get comfortable, and apparently it likes hovering around 120-125lbs. I'm okay with it now. My fat has redistributed, and I have accepted that I'm going to be this size.

I just felt like my body needed something. I was in maintenance when I did this, but you never know what might shake things up for your system. I always tell people the same thing: Increase your calories for a few days by 100 calories a day, push the fluids (drink that sugar free gatorade if you're burnt out on water/crystal light), hell I drank regular gatorade because I felt like my body just needed more. You may just need to get in more calories, and change up your menu. Throw a snack in that's still Protein, but get some extra calories, and see what happens to the scale. If your thyroid is lacking, it'll be more difficult for you lose, but 1.5lbs a week is still losing. You may just have to shake things up for a few days. Hang in there, it'll get better chickee ! ! !

What did your doc say about your labs? I can tell you what I did when my energy bottomed out just recently. I carb loaded for a couple days, ate an entire bag of spinach (for all the Iron and vitamins), and really focused on nutrient/vitamen dense foods, and I ate Protein, but it wasn't my focus. My body needed something different. 3 days of this, and I felt refreshed, and ready to go. I'm not saying that will help any for your situation since I didn't get my labs pulled. I just knew something wasn't "right". I had been slacking on my multi, and just kind of going and blowing. My body let me know real quick that it wasn't going to "run" right if I didn't treat it right. Do you have a nut you can work with on getting in some good, solid calories and Proteins to not only get the scale moving, but to give you back your energy?

On Friday, I'm catching a flight to Virginia to see my bestest friend in the entire world, and to meet my godson. Her priest allowed her sister to stand in my place during his christening. Anyways, I love to fly, but hated it because I was so fat before. Now, I'm actually looking forward to flying and being comfortable for the entire flight. I won't have to worry about squishing my neighbor, or the seatbelt not fitting properly. I haven't seen Meghan in 2 years, and honestly she is my soulmate. I don't believe your spouse has to be your soulmate. I also believe you can have more than one soulmate. She has been a huge support for me through the last 4 years. She and I share a weird connection. Seriously, the last time we saw each other(2 yrs ago), and said our good-byes, both of our hearts hurt. I have never had a female friend that I could count on. She is simply amazing, and I honestly don't know what I would do without her in my life. She is one of the strongest women I know, and we've grown so much through our friendship. I'll be gone over the weekend, and highly doubt that I'll have time to log onto VST with the exception of Friday afternoon sometime. We are going to the St. Patty's day parade on Saturday, and then bar hopping on Saturday night. I come home Monday evening, and will try to check in with everyone at that point. Luckily, I have appointments, lunches, and bowling tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday I have a follow up with my PCP regarding the low blood pressure issues. So, hopefully my week doesn't drag on. I'm so ready to go away for a much needed break. I love my family as you all know, but honestly I need to get away from everything here.

I posted this on the forum, but wanted to a place to keep these links for people who need them. List compiled by Mac on her OH profile. Long-term Sleeve Experiences - 2 Years on January 15, 2010 9:11 pm Diligence-is-always-required Stalls-Happen Update-from-a-2-Year-Post-Op-VSGer 2-year-surgiversary-and-feeling Two-and-one-half-years-post-op TWO-YEARS-YALL Just-Passed-My-2-Year-Surgiversary questions-for-post-ops-2-years-out-or-more 2-years-out-food-amount-info anyone-2-years-out Happy-2-year-anniversary-to-me 2-years-post-op-TODAY 2-5-Years-After-a-VSG Everday-life-at-2-5-years-out 2-1-2-year-update Has-it-really-been-2-years 2-1-2-year-update Two-Year-Surgiversary 2-year-update-portrait-of-a-heavyweight-a-bit-late Two-year-surgiversary 2-and-1-2-years-later 2-years-since-my-surgery-any-advice-on-face-lift 2-year-post-op-pics Two-Years-Before-amp-After-Pic 2-year-update-portrait-of-a-heavyweight-a-bit-late Thought-you-might-enjoy-an-update-with-a-few-pics Busybusymom-is-back-2-years-post-op TWO-YEARS-BABY Any-old-timers-still-lurking-the-boards Long-term Sleeve Experiences - 3 Years on June 8, 2009 10:43 pm Three years out Three and a half years after Vertical Gastrectomy My Story A quick 2 year and 3 year VSG update Third Year Surgiversay Not always easy but always worth it Very Discouraged 3 years out Links for researching the VSG on March 15, 2009 11:18 pm Here are some links I've collected when I was researching the sleeve. ASMBS position paper on sleeve - includes reports of early studies LapSF Educational presentation to FACS - includes some 2 year results LapSF Two Year Study LapSF Five Year Study - abstract only LapSF Five Year Study - presentation (requires Windows to play) Literature review on the sleeve - requires $$ to get the full text unfortunately Sleeve best for over 50 crowd Video of a sleeve with lots of education discussion Video of a sleeve that is more about the operation Ghrelin levels after RnY and sleeve Ghrelin levels after band and sleeve Diabetes resolution in RnY vs. Sleeve Comparison of band to sleeve - literature review

Many times, I see pre and post op asking about high quality Vitamins. I see so many patients pounding away with sub-standard vitamins, and they really don't realize what they are missing. I realize a lot of surgeons recommend Flintstones or even some of the adult gummies, but really we have to be our best advocates for our best overall health. Jill over on ObesityHelp has compiled a spreadsheet, and it is on a live downloadable file. You do not have to sign in to download it. Just click on the spreadsheet, and you can either choose to OPEN or SAVE it as an Excel Document. This will give you a breakdown of exactly what you are getting. She has broken it down to a 1 dose be it a capsule, tablet, chewable, etc. I've sent Jill a message on OH to ask her to throw my chosen Multivitamin in the chart if she has a chance. If she does I'll let y'all know how it compares. Anyways, just more geeky research from me. I told y'all I'm always trying to learn as much as I can, and want to share as much as possible in hopes it makes someone's journey a little easier. VitsComparison.xlsx - Windows Live

You know my struggles in maintenance were a rollercoaster. We never thought I'd get to 160, I passed that and got to goal in 6.5 months which landed me at 148. My body slowed way down once I got to goal. I mean I didn't lose weight for 4-5 weeks, then I'd wake up and be down 3 pounds with no change in my diet. I was actually eating more calories and carbs, and still sporadically lost. I don't have any answers because I struggled with continued loss. My body did finally just stop losing, and now I bounce between 120-125lbs on any given day. Don't be surprised if you wake up one day, and are down a few pounds. I'd say up your calories, carbs, and Protein, and you might see the scale drop again.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh I love, love, love that tea. And, it's extremely soothing during the healing period, and definitely helps when/if you ever catch an ugly stomach bug post-op.

I'm totally stealing this list, and posting it in my blog for quick reference ! ! ! Thanks for posting this, it's a great list.

There is no way that 60-70lbs lost is the "norm" for VSG unless all of her patients have the same amount of weight to lose. If you still want to lose, shake up your diet, increase calories and Protein, cut some carbs out, increase Fluid intake, and increase activity level. It's harder to lose those last few pounds, but it's not impossible. I'm not saying your doctor is wrong, but it's been proven on this forum, and many others, that 60-70lb loss is not the "average" weight loss for sleeve patients. I lost over twice that amount with VSG alone, and could continue to lose weight if I wanted to do so. Go back to the basics, plan meals, track your intake and exercise, modify everything to get the scale moving again.

Early out (within the first 3-4 months), I couldn't really tolerate any Pasta, rice or bread. Which was fine because it screwed my carb counts. All that changed around 7-8 months out, pasta, rice and some breads became sliders. chips, pretzels, Cookies, fruit gummy Snacks, are all sliders for me. Bread is tricky for me. I can eat some bread types (steakhouse rolls seem to slide right down), but others cause me discomfort even at 15 months out. Scrambled eggs still do not settle well. I can eat them, but they hit my stomach like a brick, and it's really quite uncomfortable for about an hour. Poached eggs work great, but scrambled eggs are a no go. Egg salad, deviled eggs work amazingly well. Some of the things that didn't work with the band such as lettuce, fruits, raw veggies, and fruits all work great now. Once you're out of the healing period, and eat a bit more, you'll find out what really works, and what doesn't work. It is a lot of trial and error, and try to not get discouraged if something doesn't work the first time you try it. I had some things just not work then I'd wait a week or two and try again with success. Toast, bagel thins or sandwich thins (toasted) all work amazingly well for me now. I can eat a small grilled cheese sandwich minus the crust. It has to be super thin bread, but I never realized how much I missed grilled cheese sandwiches.

Transition time (from stomach to intestines) has been studied with VSG, and in one study it says it can cause some dumping type symptoms, and another study says there is no correlation to transit time and dumping with VSG. I'm in agreement with clk post above. Technically, the term dumping isn't medically possible, but some patients report having symptoms after eating high fat, high dairy fat content foods. I've only seen it posted when people eat ice cream, rich cakes or cake icing, etc. I feel like crap when I eat fried foods, and super high carbs. I don't get vomiting, nausea, or diarrhea, but I definitely feel very lethargic and kind of run down. I feel it's like my body just isn't used to those foods anymore, and it's telling me that it really hates when I feed it craptastic foods.

I lost hair for a solid 3 months.

You're going to "feel fine" because all the nerves in your stomach have been cut so you won't feel much of anything. The big concern is letting your staple line heal. food can get stuck in the staple line, you can stress out the staple line, and it's just not good all around. The liquid diet is not in place to maximize weight loss. It's there to protect our staple lines while they heal. You're at highest risk within the first few weeks of surgery, and believe me, leaks suck. I had one at no fault of my own. Recovery was hell, and it just isn't worth it. Stick with your dietary guidelines it'll help with establishing some good habits for the future, and it'll allow your stomach to heal properly. For the next few weeks, eating tiny portions will be easier. When you further out, you'll be able to eat more, and if you don't change those habits now, getting goal, and maintaining your weight loss will prove difficult. Not only are you risking a leak, behavior modification, and changing habits is the key to success with an WLS. The sleeve is only going to do so much for you. The rest is on us to make the best decisions on what we put in our mouths.

Excellent news Jane ! ! ! I was concerned when I was low carbing it, but my good cholesterol actually improved and bad cholesterol went down even with all the meat, cheese, and dairy I was I eating that was full fat. YAY YAY to better health. . .

Once you get to full liquids, my program allowed sugar free pudding, small curd cottage cheese, greek and regular yogurt. Regular gatorade has sugar, but it definitely helped keep me hydrated, and gave me something different to drink that didn't make me sick. If you are cleared for full liquids, see what all you can have. Full liquids are still liquids, but they do have more "staying" power than just clears. SF pudding with Protein powder mixed in helps keep you satisfied longer as well. It does get better I promise. Just hang in there ! ! !

Your body is changing. I have a pair of Old Navy jeans that are the "diva" cut in a size 4, and a pair of Old Navy jeans in the "flirt" cut in a size 2. The size 2 fits better than the 4 for whatever reason. When I say fit, I mean around the waist and the middle. Everything is too big around my thighs and butt except for size 0 Gap jeans, and the waist is a bit snug on those. Plus, if you're washing/drying jeans in between wearing (I know you're washing your clothes), jeans go back to the regular size when we wash/dry them. They may stretch or give a little as we wear them, but they always go back once we launder them. That's my take it on the subject, and if I'm wrong then I don't want to know anything different.

My mother has a band and a thyroid condition and she struggled to lose weight, and has been in a year long stall. But, that's also related to her stubborn band that she can't get filled because she already pukes on oatmeal. I had a band, and revised to the sleeve. I won't bash the band because I know there are "success stories" out there, but I encourage you to review the information I post to everyone researching the sleeve vs. band. I've lived with both, and can tell you that my life with the sleeve is exponentially better than my life with the band. This information is directly from the manufacturers of the band. At the bottom are some research links for the sleeve, and additional information you may find interesting.

Remember, your nerves in the stomach have been cut and stapled off so you won't get a full signal, plus, liquids in, liquids out. Try drinking warm fluids to see if that helps with the stomach pain after drinking. Sip, sip, sip is the key right now. As for Jill_B with the Protein, a lot of had our tastes change. You'll have to sample around with some different Proteins to see if you can find one that you can tolerate. My tastes came back to pre-op around 5-6 months out, and things started tasting normal and yummy again. If you can drink 2oz every 15 minutes, over an 8 hour period, you should be able to get in your 64oz of fluids. It does get better, and you're not going to fail. Have faith in your sleeve, and most importantly have faith in yourself.

Awww crap Maddie, I'll keep you in my thoughts, and prayers. Please update us when you can. Fingers crossed that you get some relief soon.

115lbs lost in 6.5 months that got me to goal weight of 148lbs at 5'2" tall. I continued to lose sporadically over the next 4 months to my current weight of 120-125lbs on any given day. I adhered to the post-op dietary guideline and saw results. It was easy for me to eat Protein first, stay within my calorie and carb guidelines to be successful. Maintenance was a little tricky because I had to add more calories and carbs for my body to stop losing weight. I've been easily maintaining for the last 4 or so months. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. No regrets, life is as normal as it could be. I eat and drink anything I want just in moderation and smaller portions. I'll add you to my friend's list, and you'll be able to review my blog that is chalked full of research articles, my journey, and my days early out for the first few months. If you have any specific questions, feel free to contact me via the private message system on this site.

I'm right there with Karen at 15 months out. Any slider foods, I can eat about 6-8oz. Dense Protein 3-5oz. 3oz if I want to eat some veggies/starches, 5oz if all I want is dense protein (meat). I've been eating the same amounts since around 7-8 months. Still have the same level of satiety off my portions, and still have zero physical hunger.

Bypass was never an option for me. I'd choose DS over RNY if I was forced to make that decision. Luckily, VSG was an option for my revision, I had to fight for it, but I got it. I was never interested in a malabsorptive procedure especially RNY. I figured the 2 years of malabsorption of calories and fat was not a fair trade off for a lifetime of malabsorption of nutrients and vitamins. Considering RNY patients only malabsorb for 18-24 months, I figured what the heck am I going to do for the rest of my life if I rely on malabsorption to get me to goal? Plus, I had a pouch with the band. My body hated the pouch. It's not natural, it didn't work for my body, and I knew RNY would give me the same pouch/stoma combo. Add in that only 30% of RNY patients dump with sugar, it just wasn't appealing. I've watched friend after friend have multiple long term complications with RNY. I can't count how many of them are deficient on some vitamin, one friend is going in for her 4th surgery related to her 7 yr old RNY pouch. This time, her intestines are twisted, and obstructed, and she's malnourished to the point of her teeth falling out because she malabsorbs so much of the nutrients she eats. For me, I just didn't want to deal with the long term complications that I've witnessed with friends in real life. I love having a normal, full functioning stomach. If VSG would not have been an option for my revision, I would have had my band removed, and stayed fat. Many patients win appeals for VSG. Work with your surgeon, and if your surgeon won't work with you, find a surgeon that will give you the surgery you want. You have to live with the surgery type for the rest of your life, not the surgeon. Best wishes, and don't give up or give in on getting the sleeve if you truly believe it is the best option for your long term health, and life goals.

Hey chickee, sorry I missed this until now ! ! ! Glad surgery went well, but hate to hear you are struggling with fluids. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers that you are home soon and well on your way to a full recovery. Keep us posted ! ! !

Are you getting in all your fluids? I know when I struggled with Fluid intake, my skin dried out, and I was itchy. I just had to lotion up daily, and really concentrate on my fluid intake. I hope it gets better soon.