Tiffykins

It's just as easy to mindlessly munch and graze now as it was pre-op especially with slider foods. I opt for a healthier option now that I'm in maintenance. During my losing phase, I really didn't snack because I knew I needed to avoid it completely to get to goal. I ate when I wasn't hungry pre-op, and now that my hunger is completely gone, I still eat when I'm not hungry. BUT, with the sleeve, eating a healthier option is easier.

That's really fabulous ! ! ! With VSG, remember you need to make sure you take b12 since we can get deficient in that one pretty easily.

Nope, not one, single solitary regret. . . Even with all my complications, I would choose to revise to VSG again. I would go through every struggle and challenge that I endured the first 2-3 months post-op to be living this life that I have today.

I lost major inches just by following the post-op guidelines. I mean I dropped 113lbs in 6.5 months with just VSG and simply following the 600-800 calories a day, no more than 30gr of carbs, and 60+gr of protein. I don't think you'll need anything additional to reach your goal if you work your sleeve. You can just focus on eating nutrient and protein dense foods and lose weight without adding anything else to the equation with VSG.

Thanks everyone ! ! ! We had a great night, and I absolutely loved being able to dress up without having to "hide" everything.

This is just my advice or suggestions, and you can take it all with a grain of salt if you'd like. . . #1 You really have to start believing in yourself, and believe that you DESERVE to be loved, and cared for regardless of your pant size #2 Be open to the opposite sex, you might not have been as ignored as you think, I know when I was younger (high school), I didn't date because I never thought anyone "wanted" me. Boy was I wrong, and didn't find out until years later, I blew guys off because I didn't think they were interested, they were, but I didn't think enough of myself to even recognize their "flirting". #3 You won't and don't have to be alone, but you do have to be willing to love yourself. I know it sounds totally stupid, but before you can give or receive love from anyone else, you have to fall in love with yourself, all of you, even your faults, and not so great parts. #4 If you want change, make those steps towards your goal. If you have girlfriends that are kind of social butterfly types, go out with them, watch them in a crowd, see how they interact with people, and then just kind of start with your own comfort level. #5 NEVER, EVER settle for less than everything you've ever wanted. . . I don't think it sounds stupid, and I hope that through this journey, you are able to see that you are more than just a pant size, and you are worthy of love and happiness.

My first suggestion is call your surgeon. What food stage are you on? I was still on mushies at 4 weeks in to the post-op diet. Unfortunately, juts because the guidelines say we can eat something doesn't mean our bodies will accept it. I would call your doctor and make sure everything is okay, maybe a contrast study could help figure out what is going on. I think I puked all of maybe 2-3 times post-op, and it wasn't until I was well into more solid foods.

Congrats on your surgery! ! ! I know several people that had the single incision sleeve procedure, and they rave about the procedure as well. Best wishes on your continued success.

The only thing I hate is that they use the word "RADICAL" Like rerouting patient's intestine, and making a tiny pouch for RNY, or inserting a foreign object with a band is NOT radical in some way? ?? I just hate the terminology they use, "radical, drastic" etc. I don't see this anymore drastic or radical than RNY or the band in all honesty. I'm glad VSG is getting more "ad" time, but hate the vocabulary the media uses to grab viewer's attention.

Typically, it's an insecurity within him, and not an issue with the wife unless she starts acting on that attention from other men. At least that has been my experience, I got attention when I was fat so my husband didn't really have any major issues with me getting more attention. He was a little jealous when he first came home from his deployment, but that's pretty typical reintergration behavior for military members that are gone for long periods of time. My marriage was solid pre-op, and it's more solid today. We discussed our concerns long before I had my band, and he was deployed during my revision. We shared our concerns, and we also really thought about all the pros and cons. He was always proud of me, but now when the guys at work say "man, your wife is looking super hot", he simply smiles and says " thanks, she's worked hard to achieve her goal". We did go through a little bout of him being the food police when I continued to lose below goal, but I just had to explain it to very simply and very matter of fact. Any concerns he has had, we've discussed. Communication is KEY.

Are you still on a PPI? Did you have a hernia repair at the same time? Call your surgeon, and ask to be seen.

Nope, not with the sleeve. Happened all the time with the band, but never had it happen with the sleeve. The key to not getting food stuck is to chew well, and eat slow during that first couple of months post-op. Your stomach just needs time to heal.

I never allowed my fatness to impede an amazing lifestyle, I was extremely social, dated a lot, so I'm not sure what you mean by being skinny is the only way to enjoy life. The big difference here is you are talking about adding a legalized amphetamine to your regimen to lose weight instead of just buckling down and following some sort of guideline. You asked for tips, you got them. You're in control of how you want to lose weight and get to goal. But, surgery isn't a quick fix, and like I stated before, Adipex isn't going to stop the empty calories from affecting your weight loss.

I don't know what you activity level is or will be when you choose to get on program. I lost on average 20lbs a month by eating 600-800 calories a day, no more than 30gr of carbs, and at least 60gr of protein.

So, without any diatribes, why have surgery if you're just going to ignore the guidelines, drink empty calories, and then pump your body full of appetite suppressants? Why not just use the surgery as the tool it was meant to be, lay off the booze, suck it up, and lose weight without drugs. It's great you haven't gained weight, but Adipex isn't going to kill off the empty calories/sugar/carbs you're consuming with the alcohol intake. All it's going to do is hype you up, increase your heartrate, and maybe keep you from eating nutrient dense food all while stressing your liver on top of the booze. Mexico must be fabulous, but the after effects of what you are choosing to do to your body might not be worth it down the road.

Pepcid is an h2blocker http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000872 and does not work the same as a PPI. Nexium, Prilosec, Protonix, Prevacid are true PPIs. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001062 Pepcid will treat the symptoms, but not prevent the overproduction of acid like PPIs work. Prilosec and Nexium are both labeled to be taken on an empty stomach at least 1 hour before eating. If the Nexium isn't working for you, Prilosec and Prevacid are both available OTC.

It sounds like your just going through an adjustment period, and things will get better. Protein supplements do suck, I hated all of them, and yeppers they all made me puke. I developed lactose intolerance and since whey is a milk product, I'd puke or get major gas with diarrhea. On the greek yogurt, you can mix in the ranch dressing packets, and the sugar free pudding powders to add flavor without having to buy a bunch of different flavors. You can also purchase those sugar free coffee syrups to add to greek yogurt that will help with protein counts. eggs didn't work for me either. Poached eggs super soft with some cheese were the only ones that worked, and to this day, I still hate the way scrambled eggs feel in my sleeve. You're being super active with your packing and moving, it's not an excuse, your running on fumes at this point, and once you get to mushies, I'm sure you'll feel much better and be able to get more protein in from soft meats, and Beans. Since you're still on liquids, you won't get much satiety. It's the liquids in, liquids out kind of rule. Even full liquids don't hang out in there long. If you had reflux pre-op, it may have intensified post-op since your stomach doesn't realize it doesn't need to produce less acid. Water really sucked for me too, I had to drink it room temperature, and I drank a lot of warm tea the Celestial Seasonings peppermint tea was my favorite with a little splenda. It felt soothing on my stomach, and counted as a clear. Hang in there chickee, it'll get better ! ! !

Hey Peggy, congrats on getting your sleeve. A lot of us struggle with getting in fluids and Protein the first couple of weeks post-op so you are not alone. Your stomach is still super swollen, and your body is still processing everything. Lactose intolerance usually involves vomiting or diarrhea with severe cramping at least those were my symptoms. Horrid gas is typically a side effect of lactose intolerance as well. Hang in there, focus on your Fluid intake, and rest when your body tells you to rest.

It's not out of the ordinary to feel hungry post-op for some sleeve patients. #1 The hunger hormone is still in your system. #2 You may not be eating enough calories if you are working out and you're body might need more calories #3 Sometimes if you're eating certain foods, it can cause cravings or hunger. Some people experience "eat carbs, crave carbs" and it can cause an endless cycle of cravings and hunger #4 If you aren't on a PPI (acid reducer like Nexium, Prilosec, Protonix), then you can get hunger from overproduction of acid #5 Head hunger causes cravings, but if you have an empty feeling, like you need to eat then that's true physical hunger I don't know what food stage you are on, how many calories/carbs/protein your taking in, how often your eating, your post-op eating plan, or how active you are so it's kind of hard to give you advice on what you can change up to help you. But, if you'll share more details, we can all help figure out how to help you with some ideas on getting the hunger under control. My post-op plan was pretty simple: 4 meals per day, no snacking, each meal needed to consist of a minimum of 15gr of Protein, no more than 30gr of carbs per day, and between 600-800 calories with a minimum of 64oz of Clear liquids.

Fingers crossed you get the results you want and need ! ! !

Many congrats ! ! !

Yeppers, totally counts as broth. The one thing I did was buy the bouillon cubes. That way I could adjust the strength of the broth. The ramen noodle flavorings are super high sodium, and I didn't want the water weight. I really enjoyed being able to have veggie, chicken or beef broth from the cubes. I think you can get 30 cubes for about 2bucks and each cube makes 1 cup of broth. No waste on the noodles.

I had the same issue pre-op, and I attribute a lot of it to the fact that I never really allowed my fatness to slow me down. I dated A LOT, I partied A LOT, I was like the cheerleader, and go getter in my circle of friends. I never dated ugly men, I was never desperate or promiscuous because I was fat, I just a fun-loving, outgoing, life of the party type girl, and I seriously never realized how big my body was pre-op. My mind is still kind of playing tricks on me. I wear a size 0 at Gap, Size 2 in the diva jeans at Old Navy, but I still reach for the 4s and 6s, I still buy medium and end up returning shirt after shirt for smalls. I really struggled with sizes and my brain not catching up for a long time. The first 100lbs dropped in less than 6 months for me so it was a whirlwind, I skipped sizes, and couldn't keep up mentally with all the changes. I loved it, but it was pretty crazy. It does get better, and I'm finally grasping the fact that I can wear and look fabulous in a size XSmall from Old Navy sweaters and tops. I don't see myself as fat in the mirror anymore at all. It's when I grabbed clothes hold them up to my body and realize the shirt wraps all the way around to my back that I've grabbed the wrong size. In the mirror, I see a skinny chick with super saggy skinbags for boobs LOL.

It was on my list of soft solids. Nice thing about the sleeve is that rice is not a no no food, and sushi with rice works wonderfully ! ! ! I don't eat raw fish at all, but know several that once they are released for solids enjoy sashimi. Most people don't get released for soft solids until at least 4 weeks post-op, closer to 6-8 weeks for the more conservative surgeons.

The tests I took were very basic questions with some crazy ones thrown in there. You need to remember the reason for the psych eval is to ensure that you will be able to handle the mental and emotional aspect of this life-changing surgery. It's more than just getting healthy and skinny, our emotions shoot all over the place post-op, and we really need to be able to handle it. Addictive personality (which I have), compulsive eating habits, eating disorders and depression can all intensify post-op. Transfer addictions are big topic in the WLS world, and I've dealt with it since being post-op, it's not any fun, and while I was able to get mine under control because I know my triggers, you really have to be prepared for this surgery mentally and emotionally. And, yes, if you have any mental issues, they can postpone the surgery, but that isn't necessarily a horrible thing. If you have intense food issues, then you need to address them before surgery, or at least start working on them before going under the knife. They operate on our stomach, not our brains. So, removing 85% of our stomach isn't going to help the mental aspect of obesity, overeating, emotional eating, or stress eating. My 1st psych eval lasted over 2 hours between the testing, and the consult with the actual psych. It was laid, back, and informal. I had a 2nd eval for my revision because my husband was deployed and my 2nd surgeon wanted to ensure that I could handle a 2nd surgery on top of having my husband in Afghanistan.