Tiffykins

Agreed. I didn't bother with the simple carbs early out because I didn't have room once I got in my protein and Water. The first time I tried rice, I thought I was going to die. It was the most extreme pain I had felt post-op. Use caution introducing new foods especially ones that can expand in your new sleeve. The feeling that comes with those foods early out is not pleasant. At least, this was my experience rice, Pasta and stuffing. I didn't count the carbs from my 4 green Beans, or 3 broccoli florets because there really is no way to count carbs for such a tiny portion especially for low carb foods. I rarely, more like extremely rarely, went over 30 grams of carbs per day. They slowed my loss once I started adding them into my diet. Even the healthy carbs slowed my loss. Some people do find that eating simple carbs cause a craving for more, and then it's difficult to avoid them.

Some people add the unflavored protein to Soups, the yogurts, etc. Honestly, I didn't even worry about protein. I didn't get it in on a consistent basis until I hit mushies. It's not ideal, but it's what I had to do to stay hydrated. You can add sugar free pudding mix (the powder) to greek yogurt. The white chocolate or cheesecake flavor tastes fabulous.

I lost in my upper torse, butt, and thighs first. Boobs and belly were the last to go. Arms, face, legs, around my ribs, shoulders, and calves got way smaller, way faster than my belly which is where I carried most of my weight.

The first 6 weeks is crucial in the staple line healing. The first 2 weeks is the highest risk for a leak. The following weeks is to truly allow the staple line to heal. The tissue will heal completely around and over the staples, but these things take time. That is why lifting restrictions, strict post-op diets, and specific food restrictions are in place to help protect the staple line, and allow for a safe, and effective healing period. People have developed leaks months later some due to surgical error and misdiagnosis when symptoms first appeared, some people admitted to eating the wrong foods, overeating, which can all lead to excess vomiting, and stressing/weakening the staple line. There can be other factors that increase the risk for a leak such as being a revision patient, smoking, and other personal health issues that may contribute to complications. Discuss the risks with your surgeon based on your own medical history.

There is no way in the world that I'd allow a surgeon to use more than a 40fr on me. I have a 32fr, and honestly I can eat more than some people that have a 34-36fr. There's a lot that goes into sleeve capacity. Your stomach may be longer, I may eat slower etc etc. You really have to go into this 100%, trusting your surgeon, believing in yourself, and remembering that the sleeve is just a tool to help you achieve a goal. The difference between a 32fr and 40fr is a mere 2.3mm. Really, it's not going to make a huge difference between these smaller sizes of bougies. If you want your stomach to stretch, regain weight, and not lose or get to goal just so you can eat a normal sized meal, then don't waste your time, money, resources, energy, and emotions on getting the sleeve. You'll only be upset with yourself later on. I can eat twice as much as I could at 2-3 months out easily. If you come out with a huge sleeve, eating what I can eat at a year out, what is that going to do for your future battle with regain? Honestly, I can lose weight like a champ. It's keeping the weight off that is so much more challenging. It's difficult to believe, it's hard to wrap your mind around it, but seriously, you'll be satisfied eating smaller portions because 1) your hunger will be severely reduced, if not removed completely 2) you'll learn that food is just fuel for your healthy body. With the reduction of Ghrelin (the hunger hormone), honestly food just isn't a big deal anymore. It kind of sounds like your stressing out over losing your "friend", your comforter, that void filler because you know that you won't have that as a coping mechanism any longer. Find a new habit, find a new coping mechanism. Seriously, people do not care about how much you are or aren't eating unless you make a big scene. Early out, like the first couple of months only, you will be eating tiny portions, but things I did was to make it less obvious are put food on my plate, eat what I could, and then move the food around to the edge of the plate, to make it seem as if I had eaten larger portions, ask for half servings, or Soups, if people ask tell them that you're watching your intake and trying to cut some empty calories when eating out. That's not lying, you're just not volunteering information. People just don't sit around and obsess about what we eat. Just because we obsess about food doesn't mean the rest of the world is that interested in what we throw down our throats. In short, yes, you are over thinking all of this, and you just have to go with armed with as much information as you can, faith, and trust in your medical team.

I experienced the same issue. I was holding steady at a nice 36C then I lost another 10-15lbs, and they shrunk down to a small 34B. I hate it, I really can't wait to get a boob job. If it weren't for fabulous push up bras, I'd never leave the house ha ha ha.

Not yet. We're still trying, but we're on the "Let Go and Let God" for the time being. It was just too stressful for me to be charting and all that good stuff. I am going to start using a fertility monitor to make sure I'm ovulating properly. My nutritionist just advised against using them, and trade them in for eating solid food. If your medical team says for you to use them, then you'll need to follow their directions. Most of the high quality ones have amino acids which are good for us, but my nut and surgeon both stressed eating Iron rich foods, dense Proteins, lots of veggies such as avocados, sweet potatoes, fresh spinach, broccoli, any type of greens. They feel like Protein Shakes take up room when I could be using that space and time to consume more Water, and solid foods.

They aren't a no no for a lot of sleeve patients. They offered me a straw in the hospital, but I chose to sip directly from the cup. I couldn't use a straw early out because it made me feel like I had extra air in my sleeve. A couple months out straws were a godsend, and made drinking much easier.

It works great. I make a spaghetti squash mac-n-cheese, I mix it with ground meat or chicken and alfredo sauce with other regular spaghetti, I've made a veggie dip with it. It's pretty versatile, and while my husband and son are not huge fans of it on it's own, they don't gripe when I toss it in the mix with other stuff.

I'm a year out from my revision. VSG rocks, and it's the best thing that I ever did for myself. I have zero complaints, zero regrets, zero issues. It's amazing ! ! !:001_rolleyes: Best wishes for your revision.

You gotta get out of ketosis NOW. Eat a sandwich, you can not stay low carbing it at all. Get to a high risk ob/gyn asap, and get some baseline blood work done. My surgeon/nutritionist/PCP said to drop any Protein supplements which I never used anyway, but you have got to focus on solid, healthy, balanced diet. My guidelines for pregnancy, are 1500-1800 calories,60- 100gr of protein, unlimited carbs from veggies, fruit, whole grains. This is essentially what I'm eating to maintain. Ketosis can cause fetal brain damage. You can not play around with ketosis and pregnancy. I'm not trying to scare you, but it's the downright truth. The baby will get what it needs from you and your body, and you need to ensure that your body stays healthy during the pregnancy. Best wishes, and many congrats. We are currently TTC, and can't wait until we can share the exciting news. You'll do great.

Hi Carole, I had a band, in short, it sucked, and caused a lot of complications for me in only 8 short months. You can search my posts via my profile if you'd like. I'll be honest and tell you that I'll bash the band until my last dying breath, and have no qualms in doing so. The VSG has been fabulous, check out the forum here that is labeled "BAND TO SLEEVE REVISION". You'll get an idea of just how many people have issues with the band, and have to get it out of their bodies. When talking to patients in support groups, don't just talk to those that have had surgery in the last 6 months. That's the honeymoon period, everyone loves their surgery the first 6 months. Talk to some band patients that are 3-5+ years out, you'll find more dissatisfied/struggling bandsters than you will find those that have made goal, without having another surgery, or food issues such as puking, sliming, productive burping, or food getting stuck. I have yet to meet, speak to, see a post from one band patient that has had their band without a second surgery for at least 10 years. The only one close made it to 9 years, had several other surgeries to "fix" her band in those years, and is now looking to revise to VSG if the band hasn't screwed up her stomach too much. Here's some interesting info from the manufacturers of the band, you can see from their stats that 25% of band patients need another surgery to revise, remove, replace, or reposition the band within the first 3 years. Also at the bottom, you'll find some research links for band vs. sleeve and some long term results that have been published.

You're not insane or alone. But I'm a year out, and finish most of meals in 30-40 minutes, I eat normal sized bites, and have only had one 3 hour dining experience and that is because it was a 4 course meal served during a special dinner. I couldn't control when they brought me the food. I have a 32fr, and I lost a little bit more of my stomach tissue because of the damage the band did, so I actually have a little bit smaller that a 32fr at the top of my stomach due to complications. I'm not trying to convince you, but to me, it seems like you're focusing on the negatives instead of looking at the positives that are shared out there. I couldn't get in Protein for the first few weeks, but it's because my body wouldn't tolerate the supplements. I was able to hit 60gr of protein a day once I hit mushies. I started mushies 3 weeks into my post-op diet. Eating tiny portions doesn't last forever. I can honestly eat twice as much as I could at 3-4 months out. For me, it wasn't about how fast or slow I'd lose, it was the fact that I needed to keep it off for the long haul. VSG gives me the best stats on keeping off with the least amount of complications. Whigging out is pretty normal. Emotions are high, your stress level is maxed out. Just a little fair warning, once you start losing weight, the hormones go into overdrive, and you will be moody, pissy, and lovey-dovey all in the same day, sometimes within the same hour. I hope you know that all the emotions you're going through right now are perfectly normal. You just have to have faith in yourself, trust your surgeon, and know that you are doing something fabulous for yourself, and future health.

I can honestly say that I rarely get a "full" feeling. I still eyeball my portions and know what I can fit in there, and what will be way too much. Early out, I measured my portions and stretched my tiny portions out over 20 minutes at a minimum. I didn't want to push it because I had read so much about that familiar stuck and sliming feeling if you overeat with the sleeve that I experienced with the band on normal foods. I probably didn't get a "full" feeling for a few months. My signal that my stomach was full was getting the hiccups. I still get the hiccups now if I'm not paying attention to what/how much I'm eating. It's sometimes hard to remember that I even have a sleeved stomach now. I hardly ever eat enough to get uncomfortable feeling. Early out I did take one too many bites, a couple of times, and I was downright miserable until some of the food passed. It's hard to explain, but early out, you may not feel full, you may not get a true full signal. Once you get to solid food, you will feel a full or satisfied feeling in the normal spot with the sleeve. It's just your stomach, and not food hitting the esophagus like what I experienced with the band.

Hey there, glad to see you around again. You may want to type in the word imbrication, or plication into the search box at the top, and you'll find some threads that discuss the total gastric vertical plication. There are a couple of doctors in LA performing it, and I think the cost was around $6500. It's not the sleeve, there is no stapling, they simply pleat the stomach tissue over itself to give you a smaller stomach. There is no stomach removal, and the procedure is very new. But, it is showing similar results to the sleeve for weight loss early out. No long term results really are out there to note if ghrelin plasma levels are lower, or if there will be regain, stretching, but it is showing positive initial results. There are a few patients around here that have had the plication/imbrication performed and seem to be doing well. Just research it until you can research it no more, and go in knowing that in a few years you may still have to revise. Most of us had to consider that when we chose the sleeve as well because there aren't major long term studies out over 5 years for the sleeve. Grant it, those 5 yr studies are promising, but revising to DS is a possibility for some and I know a few that have had to go route with the sleeve after not making goal. Those patients did have a bmi higher than 60-65 and had hoped the VSG would get them to goal. Any of the WLS can be successful. Remember we all have to change how we eat, what we choose to put in our mouths, and you have to be comfortable with your choice. The rose procedure or anything similar to it is not what you want because it has an enormous failure rate. If you're going to self-pay, you don't want to waste your money on something that has failed 1000's of patients. I just read up on the POSE procedure, and personally, just my opinion, check out the total gastric vertical plication before you go with that surgery.

Studies out show that the more sleeve staple lines performed show less complications, and better technique. It's a personal decision, and no one can tell you which way to go on this one. When you talk to your surgeon, ask questions, ask about the bougie size he uses to guide the staples, if he oversews, glues or clips the staple line, ask if he dissects the entire fundus (this is essential to help prevent stretching of the stomach which decreases chances of weight regain), fundus removal also helps get all the ghrelin producing part of the stomach out of the body. Everyone has to learn somehow, and many people that have been their surgeon's first, have done amazingly well. Just go in well-informed, and confident.

With my band, I avoided most social functions, and dining out became a chore, and embarrassing experience. I could tell you which bathroom stalls echoed the most because I puked in most of them on a regular basis. My husband and I finally got to a point where eating out was so unpleasant that we just stopped going out. Now that I'm a little over a year out with the sleeve, and can honestly tell you that since about 4-5 months out, I have been enjoying social events that revolve around food. Honestly, people really don't notice unless you make a big deal out of it. I've only had a couple of servers ask me if my food was okay, and I just tell them it's fabulous, and I look forward to indulging in the rest later or for lunch the following day. I attend social luncheons monthly, friend get togethers with grilling, barbque, every side dish imaginable about every other weekend, and for those that don't know I've had surgery, they don't even realize that I'm just kind of "snacking" on a little bit of everything. I enjoy Breakfast out every Friday with my girlfriends, some of them know, some of them have no clue. They just think I'm a picky eater because I pick at my food for the 2 hours we're gossiping, and chatting. I can give you a fabulous example of how my life is at this point. Last night my husband and I attended an appreciation dinner courtesy of freedomalliance.org for our role in the military. My husband is active duty Air Force, and I'm the key spouse for our squadron. They served a 4 course meal. Appetizers: Blue crab cakes (I had 3 small bites) Stuffed mushrooms with blue crab, bread crumbs, and some sort of cheesy, gooey stuffing. (I had 2 good size bites) salad (by eyeballing the portion, it was about 1.5cups of lettuce): Exquisite salad with about 6 different lettuce types, veggies, croutons with a balsamic vinaigrette. I ate 1/2 of the salad, none of the veggies, all of the tiny croutons (about 8). Appetizer and Salad took me about 15 minutes to eat. Took a break of about 20-25 minutes before starting to eat my entree. Entree: I ordered an 8oz filet cooked medium, my husband ordered the 14oz Cowboy ribeye cooked medium. My steak was way too rare for my liking, only ate about 2 tiny bites before stealing about 2oz of my husband's ribeye. I ate those 2oz of his steak, and waited about 20-30 minutes before enjoying the side dishes. Side dishes: Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Creamed Spinach, 1 ate 2 solid oz of each which took me about 30 minutes to eat because I had eaten Protein before the sliders. I waited about 20 minutes between my "meal" and dessert. I was the last one eating at the table. But, I didn't care, I was going to enjoy my food. Dessert: An enormous slice of NY style cheesecake with raspberry and sweet cream drizzle. I ate 1/4 of the slice, with crust. It took me nearly 40 minutes to eat the skinny end of the cheesecake. To be perfectly honest, by the end of the night, I was extremely stuffed. I had another cup of tea before we left, and felt fabulous, but full. I have never eaten that much, and was pretty shocked that I could consume that much food. But, when I look at the time I spent eating, talking, socializing, photo ops, and all the in between stuff, I thought about the quantities, and really it wasn't that much food stretched out over 3 hours. This was over a 2.5 - 3 hour dinner and total of 4 hours for the entire event. We started eating at about 6:20-6:30pm and I finished my meal at 9pm. That is the only reason I was able to consume so much food. I took several breaks, and sat at a table with 7 other people. Not once did any of them notice that was I throwing my remaining steak onto my husband's plate, or that I only ate small portions of everything. No one commented on the fact that I ate so slowly, sitting down my fork and knife in between each small bite. I'll admit that I did have a cup of hot Earl Grey Tea before the meal started, and I did take a few sips of ice Water between each course. The hot tea helps relax my sleeve, and the water did help get the appetizers and salad through considering they were essentially slider foods. Once you are past the post-op diet, and can eat regular foods, you will find that all of your favorites are available to you again. Smaller portions, but deprivation is not part of a healthy lifestyle change. Personally, as you can see from my intake above, that I refuse to deprive myself of anything. I weighed myself this morning, and haven't gained in any weight even though I ate all of that. Everything is in moderation. I'm trying to branch out to seafood. So far, I've enjoyed Mahi Mahi, and crab. I have bought some salmon and flounder this week, and am excited to try both. Living on the Gulf of Mexico is pretty amazing, and I'm ready to branch out into the seafood haven I live in. I promise, you'll be okay. You'll be able to enjoy conversation, fellowship, and the good times with your small portions, and all of those social events will be cherished because your mouth will be doing way more chatting, laughing, and loving than it will be chewing ! ! !

What an amazing story, and thank you for sharing it! ! ! Welcome, and I'll be watching for your updates, and progress. Fingers crossed for insurance approval.

I don't understand it either. Maybe something switches when we shed the pounds, and our bodies/metabolism levels out. I'm not sure at all, but I'm not complaining LOL ! ! !:thumbup:

You look so awesome, many congrats on your amazing success thus far ! ! !

Yeppers, I'm constantly cold, and have been since about 4 months out. I burned up my husband and son through the winter, and now I stay cuddled up with a fleece blanket 80% of the time at the house. It has gotten better over the last couple of months, but my PCP told me that it's just going to take time for my body to adjust to the lack of "insulation".