ouroborous

I second this. Greek yogurt -- GOOD Greek yogurt -- is a sleever's dream food. High in Protein, high in flavor and satiety, low in calories and carbs. Unfortunately, a lot of brands are catching on to the Greek yogurt fad and, I think, just rebranding their regular yogurt as "Greek yogurt." I tried the Yoplait Greek yogurt (can't remember what it was called) and it was cloyingly, disgustingly sweet, as well as being high in calories and carbs, and mediocre in protein. I switched back to the Oikos right away!

There are a lot of symptoms, and some are very specific to sleevers. In general, a burning swelling sensation in my throat is what I experienced. It was a little frightening at its worst, because it literally felt like my throat was swelling closed. Sometimes it just feels like a mild sore throat, sometimes it's worse. Also sometimes it felt like I had wicked dry throat, like when you're very thirsty. Except that I had been tracking my Water intake and it was good -- it was just a little acid burn. Particularly at night, stomach acid may back up into your mouth -- you may wake up choking on it (I did). Very, very unpleasant (and bad for you). Another common symptom is a persistent cough. You may mistake it for allergies or a cold (I know I did!). It tends to be worse after eating. Also, mild pain in the center of the chest is fairly common. Finally, many sleevers (myself included) experience acid overproduction as "hunger." It's not really hunger, it's just that growling, churning sensation in the stomach that we're used to considering hunger. This is why getting on an acid blocker is a Very Good Idea for a sleever (at least in the first 6-12 months). It not only protects our fragile stomach and esophagus from some acid damage, but it makes us feel less "hungry," so we don't sink our own weight loss. Obviously, talk to your doctor, but if you're not already on an acid blocker (specifically, a proton pump inhibitor or PPI, like Prilosec), you probably should be.

I 100% completely support this suggestion: food journaling will save your butt (literally), and there are free online sites that make it almost trivial (since who isn't around a computer that's connected to the internet, these days?) When I started tracking my food, I realized that even after sleeving: I was eating almost 1200 calories per day. I would still lose weight on that, just very, very slowly. I was eating a LOT of carbs. Give it a try! And definitely get on an acid blocker. They remove almost all of the "hunger" pangs for me.

It's certainly possible to drink more. Especially with liquids, our sleeves aren't as restrictive as you might think (as long as you don't gulp). Early on in recovery, I was drinking >100 oz of Water per day with no problem. The issue is that too much (of anything, including liquids and water) causes acid to back up into your esophagus, causing reflux. The sleeve just doesn't expand enough to let it all in quickly, so acid comes back. This is Not Fun, so it's best to try to stick to the doctor's guidelines as precisely as you can manage.

So, this isn't serious enough for me to bother the doctor with (yet), but I was wondering if any other sleevers have this same experience. For the most part, during the day, I feel fine. In the past few days I've had a few bouts where I feel flushed, and my BM's (sorry, TMI) have been very loose -- bordering on diarrhea. But I only go once a day, so I dunno if that's it. Edit: I should mention that the nut. had me taking Colace (a stool softener) for a while due to hard constipation right after surgery. Obviously I've been off that for a few days now. I've been trying really hard to stick to all the nutritionist and surgeon guidelines. For the most part I'm eating 800 calories a day. There was a day when I ate 950, there was a day when I ate 650, but mostly I'm right around 800 calories. I'm getting >60g of Protein per day, maybe closer to 80-100. I'm taking my recommended bariatric Multivitamins. Most of the time, during the day, I feel fine. At times, I feel better than fine -- when I'm exercising I feel like I'm king of the world. The problem is when I lay down to sleep, I generally feel icky -- shaky, a little queasy (not enough to throw up, just a little... off), and generally like something's "not right." I know I tend to get anxious over little things, but this is disrupting my sleep a little -- just when the reflux calmed down, this popped up. I've been brainstorming for solutions, and here are a few that I thought up. I'd like input. Due to the loose stools, I'm losing Water. When I'm drinking 80 oz of water a day, I may be losing enough so that I'm mildly dehydrated by the end of the day. It's a challenge to drink too much more, because it tends to flare up the reflux. "No more than 80 oz" was what the nut. recommended to avoid reflux, but maybe I can tweak that. I'm not getting enough of some nutrient. But for the life of me, I can't think of what. I THINK I may be a little low-carb since almost everything I eat is protein, but MyPlate (my food tracker) says I'm actually over on carbs 80-90g/day. If I'm malnourished, I can't think of what. Again though, the loose stools could be causing me to lose out on nutrients, too. I'm undernourished. I may be eating the recommended calories (800), but according to LiveStrong, I'm also burning 250-400 calories per day in exercise. I wonder if I'm just running low on fuel? I'd really like to nip this in the bud before I have to see the doctor/nutritionist, but I will definitely talk to the nut. about it on my next appointment (on Wednesday). I'm just curious if anyone has gone through this -- feeling mostly fine during the day, but then feeling run-down, shaky, and a little nauseous at night.

My nutritionist said no more than 8 oz/45 mins, so it sounds like we're all getting the same advice. Just a bit of advice: drinking too fast can cause your acid reflux to go into overdrive. I was getting 100-120 oz of Water per day, but it was making my reflux just brutal. Now that I've toned down to about 80 oz, I feel generally better.

Congratulations on the sleeve! The first week is the hardest -- the first couple of days, really. Just sip, sip, sip (tiny sips!) and walk when you can, and you'll be doing great in no time!

Congratulations! The first few days are the hardest -- sip, sip, sip, and walk as soon as you can (don't overdo it, but make sure to keep moving!) You'll be losing the weight in no time!

I wear an 11 1/2 wide. I'd be HAPPY to be just plain 11 or 11 1/2. It's a pain (literally and figuratively) to find shoes that fit properly!

Well, it'll happen. All of a sudden, once I got around the 300 lbs. mark (which made me about 30 lbs. down from my "high water" mark), I noticed that: I had WAY more stamina My clothes didn't chafe when walking My feet didn't hurt or get blistered The FUN of walking and being outside vastly outweighed the discomfort. I've always liked exercise on some level -- the idea of forcing my muscles to work and get stronger appeals to me. It's just that it was always so painful and so dang hard. But now that the pain and discomfort is going away, and it's just good honest sweat -- it's great! You'll get there!

That's good to hear. I did have a brief moment of "will I ever have a cheeseburger again??" today. My girlfriend can eat one of the Kid's Meal cheeseburgers from Kidd Valley (don't know if you have them where you live, but they're my favorite "fast food" hamburger). She eats it slowly, and often over two meals, but there's hope yet! Probably no more beer for me, but that's okay. I'm partial to vodka too :tongue2:

The long term side-effects of human chorionic gonadotrophin at superphysiological doses are unknown. I would strongly recommend against this method of weight loss. The irony is that due to some pituitary damage I suffered due to a 1cm prolactinoma on my pituitary, I may need HCG for normal testosterone levels! God only knows what the combination of HCG and VSG will do to me...

I got one of every class to 80 (and got many of them epic/raid gear), then got bored and quit. Now I'm addicted to LotRO, but I'm also finding that my newfound energy due to weight loss is pulling me outside a lot more! I used to play mostly PVE on Baelgun. Look up Drhfuhruhurr (80 Warlock) sometime. When Cataclysm comes out, I may reactivate my accounts long enough to bring my 80 Pally (my favorite) to 85...

Yeah I've kinda given up on beer, which is sad because it was one of my first true loves. However, that love left a mark on me -- a big ole beer belly! From now on, when I'm clear for booze, I'm a vodka collins man!

Also I've noticed since I've lost 30+ lbs that what I have is, um, firmer. Extremely so. The word "granite" comes to mind. If this is a shadow of things to come, I am seriously loving it.

Good god, if that's true, I'll be godlike... er, I'll shut up now. :tongue2: Honestly, I'll be happy for ANYTHING. Like I mentioned, it's been so long since I felt like a man, that any little bit (hehe) will make me happy as a teenaged boy.

I think that the only thing that I didn't like about VSG from a "man perspective" is that we can't do "typical man things" like eat a giant cheeseburger followed by a huge mug of beer. But really? In the big picture? I'll take being seen as a "dainty eater" with a smokin hot bod, compared to a "big, manly eater" with a giant beer gut and poor health and stamina, any day.

Hah, that's pretty impressive. I think people are fooled by labeling more than we all want to admit. Put some stock photos of fit, smiling, happy people on the bottle and hey -- it must be good for you, right? I especially love bottled Water. There have been numerous stories showing that, of the few bottled waters that aren't simply bottled tap water, many of them are much more dangerous than tap water -- tap water is required to undergo rigorous testing for contaminants, usually on a daily basis. Bottled water is required to do it once a month or so, if ever. You're simply better off drinking tap water. And your wallet will love you!

There's still quite a cultural stigma against men caring about their appearance (and even though it shouldn't be, weight is still considered more of a cosmetic than medical issue). I think that's starting to change, though. I'm seeing more and more (straight) men wanting to take care of their bodies and their appearance. I bet that as that trend continues, we'll see more men not just willing to get WLS, but also to talk about it. But I know what you're saying, wealthyminds -- whenever I go into the chat room I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of estrogen :tongue2:

:tongue2: I've never had much luck with exercise helping me lose weight. What it DOES do, however, is help everything else! I feel better, sleep better, have a better mood. I lose inches and gain muscle. I look better, my clothes fit better, I'm healthier, I get sick less. So while I will probably lose more weight due to the VSG itself, I can't imagine doing this without exercise. Why on earth would I want to go from a fat, doughy, flabby body to a skinny, doughy, flabby body? Lean and trim, all the way!

I gotta say, I'm starting to really enjoy exercise. Now that I'm 30 lbs. lighter than I've been in a long, long time, I'm really enjoying my "fitness" walks, and I find that my pace is MUCH faster if I even want to work up a sweat. The miles just fly by! Today I did a walk up beautiful Elliott Ave. onto Alaskan Way, with the gorgeous Elliott Bay to my right, and all of Seattle's interesting, colorful people out with me! I got to walk past the Seattle aquarium up to the cruise terminal, before I had to loop back. There's a flight of stairs at the Olympic Sculpture Park -- actually 3 flights of stairs, probably close to 100 steps. I was actually able to RUN up those steps and only be mildly breathless at the top. I love it! Next step is, to get cleared for weightlifting again. That long-neglected gym isn't going to know what hit it!

Hey, don't feel bad. I'm a GUY and I'm eying things like chemical peels and tummy tucks. We guys are not supposed to care what we look like, right? My opinion is: better living through chemistry, baby. I mean, hey, we all had surgery instead of losing weight the "natural" way, right? Riiiight? So, why not just go whole hog and get everything you want fixed up, fixed up?

When my girlfriend injured her shoulder and hip in a side collision many years ago, she was able to get referred to some physical therapy where they used infrared heaters to do deep-tissue heat, and some heavy-duty massage on the hurty areas. It took a while, but it eventually resolved completely. On the shoulder, I think she DID have to have a cortisone shot, but she said that that almost overnight made most of the shoulder pain go away. Bottom line (heheh) I definitely think it's worth talking to your primary care doctor about it.

Sorry, I didn't mean to harsh on your doctor, and if he/she helps you, go for it. But I have to be honest that I think the entire chiropractic profession is just a big ball of rampant quackery designed to convince people with the normal aches, pains, sprains, and pulled muscles that we all get that their chi is out of balance, their chakras are unaligned, and that there's some other New Age reason that you have to sign up today for a long course of $100 treatments. There have been numerous studies debunking pretty much the entire profession (aside from the few tiny points that seem to have some scientific validity) and showing that a good massage is as beneficial (and way cheaper) than expensive chiropractic treatment, but I guess the bottom line is that people in pain will cling to any straw. *whew* I'm glad I got THAT out of my system :biggrin2: I hadn't really considered Tiffykins point -- skinnier butts may have less padding. Maybe a simple pillow on your chair at work (where most of us sit most of the time)? Also, consider an ergonomic evaluation, if your company offers it. When I worked at Microsoft, it was a standard benefit, and I found that just by having an "expert" adjust the height of my desk and my chair, a whole bunch of long-running, mysterious shoulder and arm pain disappeared in very short order!

Hmm, I did some research and couldn't find ANYTHING about the piriformis muscle having problems after rapid WL, or about sciatica after WL. In fact, WL is supposed to IMPROVE both of these conditions. Not to be blunt, but are you sure your chiro isn't spinning a line in order to drum up more business? Perhaps... a second opinion (from, ahem, a real doctor, not a chiropractor)?