ouroborous

I've been exercising -- as in cardio exercise, walking -- since day 2, at the doctor's recommendation, so obviously that's not off limits. From what I can tell, it's only resistance training (weight lifting, machines, etc.) that's off limits. My post-op pamphelet says to avoid lifting more than 15 lbs for two weeks post-op. I've also heard four weeks, and six weeks. I know the surgeon is the final arbiter, and I'm going to see and ask him on Thursday, but in the interim I'm curious: when did you guys start working out (for reals, not just walking) after your surgery?

Buy a Wii! It's actually a surprisingly decent workout to play some of those games, and it's way less boring than 100 crunches, or whatever. Plus, the Wii Fit helps you track your weight and such.

I guess I'll be the token male on this thread! I'm not single, however, but I encouraged my girlfriend to get the surgery once she'd made up her mind (and once I was convinced that it's safe). Not just for the obvious, "noble" reasons -- it's good for her health, she'll live a longer, happier life, etc. But also for one very un-noble, "selfish" reason as well: I wanted a skinnier girlfriend. Mock me if you'd like, but let's be honest. Men -- especially single men -- are visual creatures. We care, very much, what you look like (even when we protest that it doesn't matter, it matters). Hopefully, if we're good guys, that's not all we care about, but it's pretty important. So, I can't speak for other men, but I can speak for myself, and I bet I speak for a lot of men. Mostly -- at least in the "first impressions" department -- we care that a woman is healthy, and looks good. This surgery achieves both of those goals. Sure, you may not want to give him every gory detail, but that kinda goes without saying (a new relationship isn't usually the place for detailed talks about former medical procedures). If you need to explain anything (for instance why you eat so little, or why you can't have carbonation), just explain that you had stomach surgery in the past, and it's doctor's orders. Most men really won't care beyond that, as long as you're healthy. But honestly? I think a guy will just be thrilled to be with a "skinny" girlfriend, to the point where he doesn't really care HOW she got skinny. In the long run, hopefully, we'll move beyond caring so much about appearances. But the truth is that we NEVER get completely past it; we always care at least a bit what you look like (which is why the sleeve is such a great thing for relationships!). Once we start moving beyond first impressions/lust, we should just be thrilled that the surgery is making YOU happy, and less judgmental about it. In other words, as the immediate visual draw becomes less important, our caring for you should take over, and in that department lap sleeve is a plus, too. There will likely be a small percentage of exceptions, but honestly I think most will be happier with the results and not care how you got there. The exceptions who will make a fuss about it, aren't worth your time.

You can have pizza some day. That's how I'm thinking of all of my favorite things -- pizza, philly cheese steaks, even beer: some day, and in moderation. Thinking of it that way helps a bit with the "deprived" feeling. Lifelong deprivation doesn't tend to make me succeed on diets. Moderation, on the other hand -- I can do that! And I can certainly wait until I'm healed (although if the weather gets nice and I get my new ride... temptation!)

Did you notice that it started out good and then decreased during the day? That's what's happening for me -- in the morning up until around 2pm, I feel GREAT. When I exercise, usually a long walk around lunchtime, I have incredible energy and stamina. But then I start feeling more and more sluggish, irritable, and a little sick to my stomach. By bedtime I usually feel shaky and wobbly and miserable. The only thing I can figure is that I'm still sort of eating on my old schedule, where my meals were VERY widely spaced. Since I tend to go to bed fairly late, that can mean up to 6 hours since I last ate, by bedtime. Also, since I've slowed down my Water intake a lot to help with the reflux (and it HAS helped), I've been struggling to make 60-80 oz of water/day. I wonder if I'm getting a little dehydrated too. First thing I do when I get up in the morning is drink 20 oz of water, so maybe it's a progressive thing throughout the day, too. Or who knows, it could just be a healing thing. I'm really happy about the weight loss, though. I hope my "pound a day" thing keeps up for just a little while longer. I wouldn't mind seeing 275 by my birthday (although 20 pounds in 17 days seems like a stretch...) :001_tt2:

Well, I'm now 20 lbs. down from my surgery weight over 3 weeks. That's almost exactly one pound a day. Counting my 15 lbs. from the pre-op diet, that's an astonishing 35 lbs. total. Many, many to go, but I'm really happy! If I could just even out my energy level (I think I'm not eating regularly enough during the day, or perhaps not staying hydrated enough), I'd be the happiest camper there is!

Honestly, your symptoms sound like reflux, aside from the cold sweats. Stomach pain and hunger sounds VERY much like acid reflux. Are you taking a PPI?

From what I understand Zofran is an antinausea medicine. My nausea hasn't really gotten bad enough to need that, and I'd like to attack the root cause of the wooziness, not just the symptoms. Thanks for the advice, though!

You got that right. I'm trying to make exercise and motorcycle riding my 2nd job (I gotta keep up my midlife crisis street cred, after all). Gaming is just a "when I can spare an hour" thing these days.

B12 is absolutely required. With the sleeve in general, and also with PPI's, we don't have enough intrinsic factor to get enough B12. Without enough B12, you can rapidly get serious, irreversible neural (brain) damage. I would question any nutritionist who said that a bariatric surgery patient could go without supplements for the long term. For a few days or a week while you're first healing, you should be okay. For longer? Get a second opinion, or a new nutritionist. Malnutrition is not something you want to mess around with. Edit: oh yeah, anemia is bad too. Make sure you get enough Iron. But honestly, brain damage scares me much worse than some reversible hair loss does.

Yeah, it tastes just horrible, but it really does seem to help. I hope you feel better soon, Angie.

Well, the hairstyle thing -- not so much of a problem for me :thumbup: But yeah, uncovering my face's "real" shape... definitely want that. This may sound stupid or vain, but there's been times I've looked at myself in the mirror and pulled my chin taut so that I could see what I looked like ... with cheekbones!

Yeah, the sleeve is a harsh mistress, but if you treat her right, you'll reap the rewards!

Walking and water are truly the magic cures for VSG recovery!

It really does get better, and it's SO important to get a mask that fits you, doesn't leak, and (perhaps most importantly) works with your preferred sleep position. I'm a back sleeper, so the last one doesn't affect me much, but folks who sleep on their stomachs or sides may have to shop around a little. Don't give up -- once you get the CPAP working properly, it's a miracle, truly. You won't BELIEVE how differently you feel. Of course, at this point, I'm hoping to kick the CPAP entirely, but even if that doesn't happen, I wouldn't trade it for anything. A good night's sleep is priceless.

Well, I had a big moment of food regret today when I was out for my fitness walk (2.2 miles today! huzzah!) All along the Seattle waterfront (where my walk goes) are these amazing restaurants, big and small, from deli to Anthony's (anyone in Seattle will know Anthony's). The food smells were dizzying and delicious. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not HUNGRY. It's just that after three weeks of being on mushy/slushy foods and Protein shakes, the idea of one of those delicious, meaty, hearty philly cheesesteak sandwiches was just... overwhelming. And then I got to thinking "well, with the bread... and the meat is sometimes a little tough... I can't have a philly. Ever again! WAAAAH!" Don't get me wrong, I'd still get sleeved again in a minute, and I still think fitness and health and self-esteem are WAY more important than a stupid sandwich. But the thought of never again, no more philly cheesesteak and a beer while people watching on a warm summer day... that made me sad! I'm a strange creature, I know :thumbup:

Honestly, I'd reschedule the surgery. Get married, then get sleeved. The extra 24 days aren't going to make that much of a difference, and it's one less thing to worry about!

That's amazing! I hope I do as well as you! Congratulations!

My doc okayed me for liquid Tylenol (NSAID's like ibuprofen and so on are supposedly off limits, at least according to Dr. L). It works great for the occasional mild allergy headache. It actually seems to hit me quicker than the pills did, which is usually a blessing when I have a headache that needs knocking out!

It's a big factor. And folks from as young as you up until their 60's and 70's are getting sleeved. Obviously the senior citizen set has more problems and complications!

I actually had almost zero issues from a pain perspective, and very little feeling whatsoever on the restriction for fluids. I too had to be told to slow down, since drinking too fast was causing my reflux. Now that I'm pacing myself, reflux is better. If I could just kick this nighttime woozy feeling (other thread), I'd feel great and I'm only 3 weeks out.

This is actually the thing I'm looking for the most. Underneath all the flab, I think that my face has a nice bone structure. Once my cheeks are thinner and my chin is tighter... I'm looking forward to that!

Congratulations!

I'm not there yet. I've lost over 30 lbs. but since I started out so fat, I still don't see it. On the flip side, my energy level is through the roof, my mood is improved, and all my clothes fit better. Sometimes it's the little things that mean the most!

Interesting. I posted on the post-op forum about feeling woozy and shaky at night. I just removed the iron from my regimen at my nut.'s recommendation (my bloodwork showed that my iron was too high!) I hadn't connected the two, but now I'm wondering. I'll definitely ask the nut. about this when I see her next week.