Tiffykins

There is not a standard procedure for the sleeve surgery. Each surgeon's technique is different, some cut/staple off closer to the pylorus than other, some leave more at the top, some don't use bougies as a measuring guide for their sleeve patients. The most common sizes of bougies is 32fr -40fr, and the difference is a couple of millimeters. Anything over a 40fr has shown and is documented to give patients a higher incidence of regain at 3-5 years out. Also, each individual stomach, each person's anatomy is different so what you are left with can not be measured until your sleeve has matured and that takes between 6-12 months for most sleeve patients.

I had the band so I had this eating curve beat to some degree. BUT, I will say measuring your portions by volume will help avoid this issue. I realize carrying measuring cups is not convenient nor is it realistic, but some tips I learned along the way are visuals. A matchbox is about 1oz, a deck of card is 3oz. For eating out, to this very day, I still use these visuals to ensure I don't overeat. Also, the food that will fit in the palm of your hand is pretty stinkin' close to 3-4oz. Eyeballing is just not accurate, nor did it help me stay accountable. Food density and consistency will vary, and everyone has different mileage for certain foods. The "how" behind foods are prepared are also a key component to how much of a certain food I can consume at one meal. For me, during the losing stage, I timed my meals. No more than 30 minutes, and if I didn't/couldn't finish the measured portion in that time period, no biggie it went in the trash. I lived with the "clean your plate" and the "if you put it on your plate, you better eat all of it" lifestyle, and what did that do for me??? It got me up to 270lbs, I never learned portion control until I was post-op. A lot of this stuff is behavioral changes. Chewing food to mush early out really helps prevent this feeling of "Ugh, I'm gonna puke or OH sh*t I'm miserable". Grant it, I hated things tasting like sawdust early out, but if I didn't want to be uncomfortable or puke I had to do it. Some of this just the healing process as well. Your nerves have been cut, stapled off, damaged and are trying to heal. I didn't get a full signal until I was around 3ish months out, and it was a single hiccup, and I didn't even know that is what was going on until it was too late. I had that one last bite thing happen a few times, and it always resulted in me puking up that last bite. Today, I can eat double the amounts I could consume at 2-4 months post-op, but still have the same restriction I had at 8-9 months post-op. So, the restriction is still there, my slider foods have changed over time, and I have learned how to cheat the sleeve by adding food lube(condiments, gravy, sauces), extending my meals, and eating sliders. I don't employ these tactics often, and it's typically at social functions when I find myself cheating my sleeve. I eat out 3-5 times per week with friends and family, and I do eat more because of the pregnancy so I'm not as stringent as I was in my losing phase.

I do eat it in moderation. No more than 1 stalk at a time, and the stalk is no more than 6 inches long. I load it up with pineapple cream cheese, and it's a great snack. I hate cooked celery so the only way I'll eat it is raw. I would say I only eat every couple of months only because it's not something I "love".

Hi and welcome ! ! ! The sleeve rocks first off. This is just my opinion so you can take it with a grain of salt. The recovery from the sleeve is less painful, but more difficult in regards to getting fluids/protein in for energy. The fact that you're a revision it really will depend on what your stomach look likes when they get in there. Some people, even virgin sleeves, have hoards of swelling, well your body is going through essentially 2 in 1 surgeries. Also, take into account removing your port. If you have scar tissue around that area, or have any current pain, I can almost guarantee that spot will be tender much longer than any other incision for your revision. I'm over 2 years, and still have pain in that area at random times even after having hoards of scar tissue and adhesions removed from that area, not one, but twice in 2 separate procedures. I would say most revision patients take off 2-4 weeks, some virgin sleeve patients can go back sooner. It is really individualized and will completely depend on how easily you can get your fluids in. Best wishes ! ! !

It took me getting out of the plus sizes for me to notice any major changes. The biggest issue I had was finding pants that fit in all the right areas. Either they were huge in the waist, and tight in the butt, or huge in the butt/thighs and tight in the waist. Once I got to regular sizes, (like normal 16s, 14s,12s etc), I actually skipped sizes, and lost the most inches once I was trying to maintain. I lost a measly 20-25lbs, but dropped from a size 7/9 to a 2/4.

I recommend getting some probiotics. I developed lactose intolerance post-op, but could tolerate some cheeses and yogurts. I had the liquids in, liquids out issue as well, but I found that probiotics helped with the cramping more than anything. Yogurt (greek yogurt) was my main staple in my diet, and I could tolerate it even though I could not tolerate milk, or protein shakes. Creamy soups were a little too heavy for me, and I used the reduced fat of the cream of celery, broccoli, and thinned them out with water.

I'm really sorry you have to deal with such a putz. I've been so lucky that my PCP is very pro-WLS. He, along with the entire staff, have cheered me on, fought to get my referral approvals when I was going through my revision to VSG, and have shared my story with his other patients. He has been nothing short of amazing in the WLS support department. I wish more general med doctors would get on board, and lose their bias towards weight loss surgery.

This is going to come off sounding super harsh, and probably isn't going to "sound" right, but it's really how I feel about these situations, even with family members. I do not think we should expect others to change their behaviors due to our decision to have weight loss surgery. Temptations are going to be everywhere, and we have to make the choice to not indulge. While it's nice in theory that those co-workers would be supportive and not tempt you, if it's something they love to do, I would not be comfortable asking them to change what they do to accommodate me or my eating behaviors. If you are close with the co-workers, and you know them way better than any of us do, then share with them that you are having WLS, and ask that they not tempt you by reminding you that those foods are there, or offering them to you directly. Pack your desk with more sleeve friendly options, be prepared for those times by having your own foods available to you. Some people will offer you food because they worry you aren't eating enough. They'll make remarks about you wasting away to "nothing", or that you're getting too skinny. It happens a lot and it causes some people a lot of emotional turmoil. I'm not opposed to sharing your choice to have surgery, but I would not feel it's fair to ask them to stop doing something they love because your choice.

Net carbs is simply the carb grams minus the fiber which supposedly makes the "carbs" not count. For me, and only me, I didn't have the time/energy/desire to have to deal with all that mess. Plus, me justifying my food choices got me fat in the first place. I ate pretty decent foods, but I ate craploads of those good foods. I always said "well at least, I'm not eating fried foods, or a bunch of junk food". I couldn't do it mentally, I just felt like if I justified eating an apple over eating protein foods, I was only setting myself up for more disappointment and giving myself those "cheat days or cheat foods" like I did on weight watchers or in my other previous diet days. That's a behavior I had to change to be successful. Others love to count net carbs, it gives them a more varied diet, and it works for them.

Thank you for sharing your story. The mental aspect of this journey is the most difficult obstacle to beat in my opinion. All of the emotional and mental issues that you've endured have led to those old habits creeping back in, and I hope you can tackle those effectively. I know that the further out I get, the mental aspect will be my issue as well. Not so much emotional eating, or binge eating, but just getting complacent in my food choices. Congrats on the 15lbs lost already. You can do it, and we're here to cheer you on ! ! !

I've taken just about everything on the market for various head colds. Advil Sinus/Allergy is my favorite and I pop Dayquil pretty regularly through allergy season. If you take anything with Advil, Ibuprofen, just make sure you have something on your stomach when you take it. Hope you feel better soon.

I agree, as does my surgeon, 100%. I've said it since before I had VSG. BMI can not take into account bone density/weight. Look at all the body builders that have 3-6% body fat, yet on the BMI they are classified as overweight. My surgeon prefers to gauge overall health and fitness on the patient's body fat percentage over the BMI chart.

Just my 2cents. I would do the 6 month program. Learning behavioral changes, preparing yourself mentally, emotionally and physically during that time is essential. Also, with self-pay, you'll have to consider the follow up care that you might have to pay out of pocket. Even though there is minimal true follow up care, it's still something to consider. As much as I thought I was prepared for all the changes, every day I learned something new through my recovery. I had already had the band so I feel like I had the eating curve beat with the sleeve. I had already established some of the "habits' like not eating and drinking together, chew, chew, chew, chew, slowing my meals down, and recognizing eating patterns really gave me a head start on my sleeve recovery. Also, learning to distinguish the difference between head hunger and physical hunger really helped me face those challenges.

Have your surgeon submit for medical reasonings? I also know one lady that went into the ER complaining of excruciating pain, vomiting, and she was admitted and had emergency band removal with VSG done at the same time because it was medically necessary. She was only 20lbs from goal with her band, but had been dealing with all the band issues and living on Ensure and Protein drinks. Her insurance covered it 100%. . Also, your surgeon can request a peer to peer review and get it approved. Have you had an upper GI performed to rule out a slip or possible erosion???? You've got all the classic symptoms of both. Your surgeon is going to have to make your case, and give a medical reason/cause for your problems i.e. a slip, erosion, or other band malfunction.

I wouldn't wait, I'd go to the ER. If you're febrile, and having that type of pain, there could be something more serious going on. As for the PPI, I took Prilosec 20mg once daily. First thing in the morning, wait 1 hour before eating as it's written in the packaging, and never had any further issues. The Tums/Rolaids are full of Calcium carbonate which can cause rebound reflux when you take a PPI. Gaviscon is a good in between, but I would caution you taking anything other than Clear liquids orally at this point if you are febrile and have pain. If they start lecturing you about surgery in Mexico, point blank stand up for yourself and your decision, and say "That is NOT an issue at this point, MY ISSUE now is that I am exhibiting these symptoms, fix it!" They will more than likely send you out for labs, and a contrast study on your sleeve. If you go to the ER, they can rule out the most dangerous complication of a leak. The longer you wait, the worse the recovery will be, and the greater chance for infection if there is something wrong with your sleeve.

Awwwwwwwwwwwww darling (in my best southern girl), you've hit that wall. . . I hit it too around the same time right before pregnancy. Grant it, I wasn't make good choices like you are, but I still had that gain. The good thing is that you see it, caught it, and are getting control of it. There did come a time where I just started accepting that 5lb bounce on the scale. I had to do it for my mental sake. I wasn't willing to give up my Mojitos, and honestly that's when I'd bounce on the scale. It wasn't the food necessarily, but I wanna drink and not beat myself over it. Geez I miss my Mojitos LOL LOL 3.5 more months LOL LOL. You got this chickee, and I know you'll find that balance again! ! ! Cheers to all your many successes :heart:

Yep, carbs slide right through, they are mushy, chew down to nothing so they're just going to go right on through. Protein takes longer to breakdown, and move out of the stomach. None of the surgeries stop carbs, all them absorb the same. Even the DS, can't beat carbs so all that falls back on us to make the best decision.

I stopped saying "the sleeve or VSG', I now say "partial gastrectomy" and have not had any issues with any doctor, regardless of specialty, even my pharmacist knew what a gastrectomy was. The word "sleeve or vertical" seem to throw people off. Gastrectomies have been performed since 1800's. The sleeve has been performed as the first stage to RNY or DS for over 20 years. It only gained popularity in the last 7-8 years as a stand alone procedure. My PCP had never heard of it until I told him about my revision and that I needed a referral.

Tons of research, googling, reading medical publications/articles, and pouring myself into gaining as much knowledge as I could to give me the best rate and chance at long term success. I'm pretty nerdy when it comes to this stuff, and could spend days on end reading information from nutrition, Vitamins, to long term health concerns with removing the largest portion of the stomach. I paid for a subscription for 12 months to some of the medical publication sites so I could have access to more in depth information. For me, the fees were nominal, and well worth the few dollars spent to get full access to the articles/studies/publications regarding VSG and gastrectomies in general. I wasn't willing to just have my stomach amputated, and not know what I was in for long term.

Fingers crossed you can get the sleeve. From my understanding, dilation is reason for them to approve the full revision. At least that's what I've seen on the various forums. Best wishes on insurance submission and keep us posted ! ! !

Dreamfields is a good option and they get mushy too. Spaghetti squash is another option. Look on allrecipes.com for spaghetti squash recipes. As for pizza, it's one of my biggest cravings. I use naan bread, or low carb wraps as the crust. Shirataki noodles are repulsive in my opinion. Regardless of how much I rinsed or cooked them, they were repulsive.

From everything I've read, it's the combination of major trauma to the body, anesthesia, and the major dietary change. I lost hair after my gallbladder removal as well.

I eat all of those things listed on a regular basis. The stomach does very little in ways of digestion, it's main purpose is to mush up the food and make it readily available to the intestines. We're left with plenty of stomach tissue for this function.85% of digestion occurs in the intestines so you'll be fine there with foods. Everyone's normal is different. Once I got to maintenance/below my goal weight my new normal began. Every single person has a different definition of normal. For me, I eat what I want, every food, no restrictions, just portion sizes are much smaller, and I still focus on Protein because my body runs best with protein focused meals. I take chewable Vitamins because it's what I like, not that I can't take pills, just because, well I'm a big kid and I like the chewables. There are no medication restrictions with the sleeve. Now with that being said, some medications need to be taken with food such as NSAIDS, and some heavy antibiotics. I have zero issue doing this, eating a little yogurt, a couple of crackers, popping a huge pill and then just swallowing enough Water with the pill to get the pill down is not an issue for me. Pills early out are typically restricted due to swelling. Anything that is extended release needs to be changed for the first 6 weeks per my surgeon. Best wishes on your research and consults.

I get a lot of messages from people just getting started, or just getting to normal food, and I remember being there. I remember never believing that I would be able to eat something decent. Well, here's a little nugget for everyone, and for me, seeing what others were eating really helped me wrap my head around all of it. Everyone wants to know what eating postop equals or they need visuals for reference. Tiff's lunch for today. 5 tortilla chips with salsa, 1fajita w/ 2tbsp of refried beans,1tbsp sour cream, 4 small strips of grilled chicken breast meat & lots of sauteed onions!!! I tear off the majority of the tortilla. 2 years out, I could technically fit more in if I wanted or really ate super slow, but this is my standard lunch portion size. I'm completely satisfied and really love the restriction. Pretty mushy meal when all factors are considered, but here's proof life post vsg is very doable and normal food is possible!

Make a homemade sugar scrub (google for the how-to), and add pure lemon juice to it, and you can apply straight lemon juice it. Over-moisture those areas after your done and allow it to dry. I'm pasty white, but my thighs had a funky reddish tone to them. The lemon sugar-scrub and applying lemon juice helped. Plus, the more weight I lost, the less they rubbed together so that definitely helped too. Now, all my skin is the same color.