Tiffykins

It's not the best form of protein. They typically taste worse post-op. Ice cold is the only way I could manage them, or diluted out in gatorade/powerade. Don't buy stuff in bulk. Most people deal with changing tastes after surgery. Go to the Food/Nutrition forum on here, and look for the thread that talks about places to order protein. There's all kinds of links in there on where to order samples. Seriously, I went through over 20 brands, flavors, and varieties. . . I ended up buying a tub that I thought I loved, yeah 5-6 shakes in, and I gave it to my neighbor. You can use them, but they aren't the best option. Your nutritionist will either say "yay" or "nay". All 3 of my nutritionist said "they are NOT the best, but they are better than zero protein".

Sounds like acid. Is it with any other foods, or just acidic tomato based stuff? Are you taking a PPI?

Dave, I literally had to set an alarm on my Iphone as a reminder to eat every 3-4 hours. Without it, I would literally forget to eat. Immediately post-op, you might not get a full signal and that's why it's so important to measure your portions, eat slowly, but do not stretch your meal out over to long of a period because the food moves through as we eat. I didn't get a full signal for months. Literally, I measured food for the first 3 months. Of course, pre-measured stuff makes this easier. And, I always measured by volume not weight with measuring cups. The little kid's ounce medication measuring cups is what I used until I got to 1/4 cup of food then just plain ole measuring cups work just fine. I get the hiccups when I'm full. I have rarely eaten to a stuffed or uncomfortable feeling. I took that "one last bite" a couple of times early out, and well that one last bite came back up. I called it my little hitchhiker. It's a creepy, crawly feeling of undigested food coming back up your esophagus. NOT pleasant, so I learned my lesson quickly. Now, I eat on a decent schedule. Breakfast- around 9ish snack- around 11 lunch - around 1 snack - around 4 dinner- around 6-7 snack - around 9 or 10 (this is not a daily thing, only if I'm shy on calories or protein) Through my losing phase, I ate 4 meals. No Snacks. I just can not consume 1500-1800 calories a day in just 4 meals anymore, and if I don't eat that many calories consistently, I continue to lose weight. I will tell you that if you are prone to allergies/sinus drainage, take your meds, use your spray, whatever you need to do to prevent sinus drainage sitting in your sleeve. That's the most miserable thing in the world. I've had major allergy attacks and had to go on thick liquids and mushies for a day or two because food wouldn't fit in there with all the mucus. Disgusting, I know, I apologize, but it's something that I never thought would be an issue. I don't get hungry at all, but I know when I get cranky, and kind of have this "oh sh*!" I haven't eaten anything feeling, that it's time for me to eat something. It happens a lot with my hectic schedule, but I'm still never hungry.

I can eat that same amount over an hour if I eat super slow, and use condiments. For my program, it specifies to keep meals to no longer than 30 minutes to avoid overeating. Just sharing my experience. . .

I was advised to get out of ketosis and to eat carbs because ketosis can cause brain damage to the fetus. So, no more low carbing. The baby will get what it needs from you, but you have to make sure your body doesn't suffer during the pregnancy. My pregnancy calorie goals were set at 1500-1800 with a minimum of 100gr of Protein and 100gr of carbs. Best wishes, and keep us posted on how you're progressing. You'll do great, just stay on top of your calories, Calcium, Iron, and Vitamin intake! ! ! I can't imagine dealing with a pregnancy that early out, but it's a fabulous blessing, and I wish nothing but the very best for you and your husband.

Your mind telling you to eat instead of you physical hunger is the best way for me to describe it.

It can happen when you are still in the healing process. I kind of feel like we as revisioners have the learning curve of eating with the sleeve down. Things can get stuck if you eat too fast, or don't chew things up completely when early out, BUT, it's a completely different feeling than what the band offers. The best way for me to explain it is: You take a bite, you feel a bit of discomfort, you might slime a little bit, and then that bite comes up. No gagging, puking, or shoving your finger down your throat to induce vomiting. It's just not the same experience. It only happened to me a couple of times when I was transitioning to solid foods. When it did happen, I didn't put anything solid in my stomach for a couple of hours, and stuck with mushy foods for 1 day. By mushy, I mean chicken salad/tuna salad/chili/beans/etc etc. I never went back to a liquid diet because of a stuck episode. The sleeve really does give you everything the band promises but fails on. Best wishes in your research. . .

Nope. A c-section they are cutting through several layers of muscle and fat. With the sleeve, it's laproscopic, and you really don't feel like a major organ has been amputated. I've had a c-section as well, and by far the sleeve is way less painful. I had a big belly so I had some gravity pain when trying to sleep on my side. But, other than that, VSG is a breeze compared to a c-section.

I used the shots after my band, and was cleared to use them with the sleeve because some Protein is better than none, and when all the powders and pre-made drinks made me hurl I had to get in some form of protein. I didn't use them extensively because I puked on them as well. BUT, for those that can not tolerate anything else, they are an option. They aren't the "best", but your body will use the collagen and casein protein found in the bullets.

Nopers, I have 2 titanium screws in my left leg, and I've never set off the detectors at any security point. Military and civilian detectors have let me through without the wands going beep beep.

They stay, your stomach tissue scars over the staple line, and yes MRI, and other radiological imaging techniques are just fine.

I wear a size 0 in Gap jeans LOL, but a 4 in Old Navy pants, and a size 3 at Rue 21, but for most pants/crops, I'm in a solid size 2/3 for the most part. I'm super petite, my inseam is just 28.5" so I think a lot of it is based on my body type, and vanity sizing of course plays a major role. I still have one pair of size 6 that fit decently in the waist, but are huge in the butt and thighs. Thanks for the kind words ! ! !

Hey Dave, here's a helpful list for Protein counts. Honestly, it never took a lot of effort to get the 60gr of protein for me. 4 meals per day, no Snacks, and each meal needed to have a minimum of 15gr of protein. Check out page 10 of this guide for quick protein counts on specific foods: http://www.cornellweightlosssurgery.org/pdf/dietary_guidelines_sleeve_gastrectomy.pdf Here's another one: Pages 5 and beyond go through the food stages and protein counts http://www.hopkinsbayview.org/bin/c/a/nutrition_sleeve.pdf Foods that I avoided through the losing stage was all carbs except for Beans. Seriously for me, a carb is a carb is a carb, and I counted those boogers regardless of the Fiber count in the food. If it had 15gr of carbs and 8gr of fiber, I still counted it as 15gr of carbs. You'll hear net carbs vs. bad carbs vs. good carbs. For me, that was just too much crap to keep up with. I focused on protein, 60gr, no more than 30gr of carbs, and no fat guidelines 600-800 calories per day. Once I started eating veggies, I chose veggies that were less than 50 on the glycemic index chart. Green beans were my go to green. I didn't eat fruit because of the sugar counts. Glycemic Index Food List & Chart This thread has a lot of good ideas on food choices through the different stages, and various other information. I know your program might be different (mine was but similar to this one), and it's full of good information. http://verticalsleevetalk.com/pre-op-post-op-diets/1822-dr-aceves-information.html Hope this helps ! ! ! If you have specifics that are floating around in your noggin, let me know, and I'll see if I can get you the answers ! ! !

It's so much better. I can tell you that I freeze my butt off now. Literally, my a/c is set on 80 degrees and I live in NW Florida so it's hot and humid here, but I still freeze. For the first time in years, I've worn jeans more this summer than pre-op. I'm already pulling out long pj pants, pulled the comforter out of the space saver bag, and my poor husband is baking. But, I'm actually chronically cold. Also, I hardly ever sweat anymore. It takes a lot for me to break out in a sweat unless it's just super hot and humid out, but it's still mainly around my head, hairline, and neck area.

Jillian, I hope you find resolution and maybe a reason why your stomach continues to stretch unlike all of the other sleeve patients that do not experience this phenom issue that you have with super elastic stomach tissue. Are you gaining weight? Or have you been able to maintain your weight? You didn't have much to lose at just 35lbs, so I'm wondering if you were able to lose those pounds. I can eat double what I could at 2-3 months out, but I still can't eat more than 1 cup of food. If I were to try, I'm sure I'd be puking. I know you struggled in the beginning with eating more than the recommended amounts, do the doctors think this contributed to your stretching? I'd be really careful at your current weight looking at getting DS. The malabsorption is nothing to play with, and getting the sleeve made smaller is a super risky, and dangerous surgery. It's not even recommended by some of the top notch surgeons, and I highly doubt your first surgeon has ever performed one himself. Considering you didn't get any support from them when you were struggling, I really hope you consider going to an experienced revision surgeon especially if you want the sleeve made smaller. Which if your stomach is just super elastic, and you overeat again early out, making it even smaller won't last forever. Good luck in whatever you decide is best for you, and your future health.

Here's one that's low carb that I used without the bacon. 2 strips of thick bacon, chopped fine (or see note) 1 small onion, minced 1 clove garlic, minced or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1 small can (6 oz) tomato paste 1 can (12 oz) diet (sugar-free) cola - Splenda-sweetened preferred 1/4 cup low carb (sugar-free) catsup, (or see note) 3 T mustard 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce I prefer Sweet Baby Rays or Kraft thick and spicy brown sugar or the thick and spicy original.

I never bought one.

I think the studies that are out for the 3-5+ yr single stage VSG patients are based on the bigger sleeves that were used before the technique was adjusted. I lost 100%+ of my EWL, and I know many others that are 2-4 years out, and easily maintaining their loss. There's a few long termers on here, but they rarely post. I'm just over a year, and honestly, I really don't see myself ever gaining more than 5-10 pounds back over the next few years. I'm not naive to believe that I won't see a regain of some sort, but I also know myself better than any statistical study could predict. Losing isn't difficult with the sleeve, it's the maintenance that is tricky. So far though, I've found a really great balance and hover within a 5lb loss/gain on any given day.

Many congrats Coops ! ! ! You're rockin' your sleeve.

I don't have to wait. I'm guilty of staying too busy during the day, and not hitting my maintenance calorie goals. So, to compensate, I eat late at night, and have eaten a small "meal" and then go straight to bed. I know it's not recommended, but when I slip below calorie and Protein goals, I lose weight. The only thing that has given me reflux recently was a Pop Tart. I ate a pop tart with all the outside crust broken off and trashed, then went to bed. Within 45 minutes of laying down, I had reflux. I got up, popped a Prilosec and went back to bed without further issue. But, I've been known to eat a couple ounces of meat and cheese then go straight to bed without any problems. I've even eaten nachos or half of a bean burrito with jalapenos before bed, and didn't have any problems. Stupid pop tarts LOL.

Thank you all soooooooooooooooooo very much ! ! ! And, Dansha, I definitely have a website. Welcome to Tiffany Kelley's Personal Web Site I'll shoot you a message with the details on the special this month ! ! !

WOOT WOOT ! ! ! You'll be in onederland before you know it. . . Great job chickee! ! !

YAY YAY night's out are the best especially when we feel so great about ourselves ! ! !

I have a 12 yr old son, and he's super independent. During my recovery, he insisted on not being a burden, helping me with anything and everything. He's definitely a momma's boy, and we bonded a lot during my extensive recovery. My husband was deployed, and we didn't have anyone else here to really depend on. Least to say, he is super proud of me, but he worried constantly through my recovery, and 2nd hospitalization. I had a woman ask me if I felt guilt over putting my husband and son through hell during my revision, and recovery. During that time, yes, I felt horrible that they worried about me, I felt horrible that I couldn't get out and enjoy our Florida summer with my son, but at the same time, I knew that it would all be worth it in the end. My family now reaps the benefits of my weight loss more than any of us imagined. My son is proud of me, he loves being able to reach his arms all the way around me. He especially loves that we're eating better as a family. He loves that I'm more active with him. I'm no longer just a spectator in his life, I'm a player and we both love it. VSG changed how we enjoy our time as a family, and I'm so grateful that they supported me through it all.