BlackBerryJuice

I'm not that big, and I'm still the "fat friend" in one of my circles of friends. There's a bigger girl in my other group of friends (she's about 30 lbs heavier than I was pre-VSG) - she knows about my VSG and I asked her if it's something she'd consider, but she's not mentally ready for it, she's just focusing on accepting herself the way she is. It will be interesting to see whether the dynamics change once I'm the same as everybody else. Actually, considering I'm the only one who works out regularly (and HARD), I'll probably be in much better shape than everybody else, who am I kidding. Haha.

If you're going to take oil as a supplement (which I think is a good idea!), take fish oil for max benefits. There's been lots of studies out there showing that it benefits your cardiovascular system in particular. Cardiologists actually recommend it to a lot of their patients, and that's considering most medical doctors are very skeptical of naturopathic remedies (as many of them mess with conventional medication, among other things). I had some samples of liquid fish oil that I got from bodybuilding sites. Went to the pharmacy to look for it, and they only had capsules - which are MASSIVE and would not doubt get stuck in my sleeve! I'm heading to the vitamin store and then Popeye's today in a quest to find liquid fish oil.

Yeah, I have it....not a huge fan. Just dumped a cup that's been in my fridge for a week, lol.

I've been slowly breaking the news to people in my circle of friends - I didn't tell most of them before the surgery because I didn't want people who know nothing about the operation OR my surgeon to try to scare me away from doing it. Already had one unpleasant reaction. There's a person in my circle who I've gradually stopped considering a friend (very self-absorbed, never available for me when I want to talk to her, treats me badly and then justifies it by being "stressed out and busy," expects me to pick up the tips when we go out even though she has parents who pay for everything, etc), but all my friends are friends with her, so I have to continue to socialize with her. I decided it'd be very weird if everyone knew and accidentally mentioned it and she didn't know, so I figured I'd tell her just like I've told/will tell the other 2 people. She was like, "Are you ok!?" I was like, "Oh yeah, I'm fine, I can't eat very much and still am not allowed to touch most foods, but I don't have any pain or anything." She's like, "No, I mean, are you OK!?" - you know, as in, MENTALLY. Uh, yes....what a tool. To be expected, I guess. Now I'm thinking I shouldn't have told her - her accidentally finding out from other people would've been a nice slap in the face.

So I was just checking out the insert for my Nexium and it said it can reduce iron absorption. What can I do besides spacing them out as far as possible? Should I be taking more? My current iron supplement is 11 mg and there's another 4 mg in my multi.

That's not per meal, I just listed the total amount of "food" (if you can call it that...hehe) I consumed over the course of the day. I don't think I'll be doing actual "meals" until I'm at the solid food stage.

Yesterday was my 10th and last day on Clear liquids and here's what I had: 1.5 200-ml cartons of juice 2 Protein shakes (each around 400 ml) cup of French onion Soup (strained) 1/2 cup tea with splenda Some Water (probably 300-400 ml) Today I've introduced some new foods, like milk and pureed vegetable soup, and now I feel like there's a volcanic eruption in my abdomen, so today's food wouldn't be a very good example. I don't experience hunger, though - but I'm never not sipping for more than half an hour.

Yeah, I meant "leak," sorry, haha. I'm feeling a lot better after the Gas-X, Nexium, and copious (well, as copious as it can get after the sleeve) amounts of juice and ice cubes, but there's still a bit of discomfort. The only thing I can think of is milk intolerance? I just started having milk with my Protein shakes, this has been the only change in my diet. I was also supposed to start having cream Soups, but now I'm not exactly in the mood to introduce new foods...:001_tt2:

OK, so I went to bed at 1, was out cold, and then woke up shortly after 5 not feeling very good. I can't describe it - just kind of out of it, like my whole body felt really heavy or something. I decided to go with the usual suspects, so I dragged myself out of bed (with effort) and sipped on some Water and juice in case I was either dehydrated or somehow had low blood sugar (although I had a few sips of juice right before bed). I went to the washroom and peed a fair bit, so serious dehydration doesn't really seem like the main culprit anymore. Now I have a mild stomachache and it feels a bit painful/uncomfortable when I press on where my stomach used to be (right below the sternum). I didn't feel a stomachache when I first woke up, before drinking. Then again, I haven't pressed there before, so maybe it's normal post-op? I measured my temp and it's normal. I also have some pain in my back - travelling between midback and lower back. I've been 100% compliant with my diet and didn't exert myself yesterday. Went and watched a movie with friends, but the chair was very comfortable so I don't feel like that triggered my back pain. What should I do? I can feel a fair bit of gas rumbling in my tummy, so I was thinking of taking a Gas-X, and then maybe following it up with a Nexium in case I'm overproducing acid and it's making my tummy sore. Please tell me it's not the :bored0:L-word:bored0:.

I never had any - I did take a Gas-X for the first 4-5 days, just in case.

Congrats! I havent' weighed that little since I was about 12!

It's unfortunate that doctors in the US feel like they can turn away a patient if the operation was performed elsewhere. I mean, don't people ever travel and get into accidents? Or move from one state to another? One of my friends was travelling in Asia in the spring and had a burst appendix repaired in Singapore. I can't imagine a doctor here saying "I refuse to treat you because you had surgery in Singapore." WTF? As a future physician, I'm extremely bothered by this notion. In fact, I think if a doctor here was to do something like that, they'd be up for disciplinary review. I could tell my physician was NOT happy when I told her about my surgery (she was perfectly professional, but I could gather it by her body language), but she agreed to do follow-ups with me - she did ask that Dr. Aceves specify the required bloodwork and the like, as she has no experience with bariatric patients. Now, back to your concern....you don't need a WLS surgeon for follow-up. Like I mentioned earlier, a primary care physician can do the basic follow-up, such as bloodwork and making sure your incisions are not infected. Just request the details from your Mexican surgeon to ensure that your PCP knows what she's doing. Any general surgeon is qualified to repair a ruptured sleeve or complications such as strictures in case something happens (partial gastrectomy is a fairly widespread procedure). Gastroenterologists can also do a lot of the repairs for complications, as they can perform ablations and other invasive procedures without actually cutting you open. So any complications that may arise (knock on wood) can be treated by other specialists. The only required follow-up besides bloodwork will be an upper GI (barium scan), which can be performed at any facility and also doesn't require a WLS surgeon. You can always request a copy of your scan and send it to your Mexican surgeon for review (I plan to do this in addition to having it read by the radiologist here in Canada). I would approach this very matter-of-factly. Don't start your interaction with the physician by announcing you are looking for a doc to take care of your sleeve. I understand it's very litigious in the US and doctors may be tempted to turn away any patient who's potentially risky. Establish a relationship with the doctor first and then casually mention the surgery. I didn't have any sort of big discussion with my doc about how she feels about my sleeve. I simply walked in there, dropped the bomb, and gave her a list of all my meds and the paperwork from the surgery, and then informed her that I will need bloodwork and an uppper GI in 3 months. You are paying them for their services and they've all taken a Hippocratic oath, so don't feel like you owe them something. You could've gotten the surgery here and then moved to another state or your surgeon passed away unexpectedly and was no longer available for consults, or whatever. Also, explore your rights as a patient. Like I said, I'm pretty sure here in Canada a doctor couldn't legally refuse to treat a patient like you. In countries founded on immigration, it's ridiculous to hear doctors say they won't take care of work performed in other countries.

I'm also an avid lifter and hardcore exerciser, so I can relate to your concerns. According to guidelines from my doc: 1) walking should be started as soon as possible 2) swimming can be started after about 2 weeks, as long as you feel comfortable and the incisions are dry and no longer sore or itchy 3) strenuous exercise should be avoided for 4 weeks after surgery. As far as personal experience - I find that I get tired much faster these days (the low calorie and Protein intake probably plays a bigger role than the surgery itself), so I wouldn't even WANT to do more than 10 minutes on the elliptical. I do have a fair bit of energy, I just run out of it very fast. I plan to try a short swim on Friday (10 days after my surgery) - probably no more than 300 meters - and see how it goes. If it's good, I'll use it as my main form of exercise until 4 weeks are up. At 4 weeks, I intend on starting with some very light weights and slowly upping it back to normal (e.g. I used to curl with 25s, and I plan to try 10s for the first time). I'm worried about muscle loss, but reality is, it's a lot easier to regain muscle later on than to fix a hernia from overexerting yourself and damaging an incision.

This is something I learned about in school, so I had to look up some websites for you, but here's a few articles that are geared towards the general public - I didn't read too closely, but they seemed to make sense. There are theories that serotonin is closely tied to some digestive diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome. We're covering gastroenterology in school in Sep-Oct, so whenever I learn something that might be pertinent to us sleevers, I will definitely share it. If you are interested in more in-depth stuff, there's always good old PubMed. I found a ton of articles in medical and scientific journals when I did a search on this for you, so there's no shortage of theories and data out there. Emotional Eating ? Brain-Stomach Connection on ELLE Gut feelings: System acts as second brain | The San Diego Union-Tribune Stomach soothers: your gut is so busy it requires its own nervous system. Here's how to keep things calm, cool and trouble-free - Good Medicine - Natural Health Articles | Find Articles at CBS MoneyWatch.com

Haha, yeah. I'm on a 10-10-10 plan. I'm trying my best to follow Dr. Aceves' guidelines as he hasn't had any leaks and I'm sure the diet is a big reason for it. Honestly, I don't think anything will happen if I have milk (I'm sure if I had steak, it'd be another story), but the way I think about it, if I follow the diet to a T and have a leak, it's his fault - if I don't follow the diet and get a leak, I can't really blame anyone but myself. So I'm trying super-hard to stick to his guidelines even if other doctors are more lax with the diet.

Yes, I do take a Nexium in the am. I haven't had any issues with heartburn or anything, thankfully.

I agree with Jane, try a high-protein diet instead. The weight will come off faster, you'll be more satisfied, and less of the weight will be muscle.

Glad I'm not alone....the urge has finally passed - incidentally, a little while after I took some liquid calcium, which makes me wonder if I was also overproducing acid or something. I hope tomorrow won't be as bad - after that, I can start having cream soups and the like (already stocked up on Asparagus & Sweet Basil and Butternut Squash!), and protein will be easier to get in with milk. I'm thinking maybe my leptin levels went through the roof because I've been losing weight so fast. I honestly thought it was gonna take me an entire month to lose 12 lbs, as I'm not that heavy to begin with.

To answer your original question, most surgeons will tell you to start with clear liquids (i.e. no milk), then proceed to full liquids (which includes milk and basically anything you could sip through a straw), and then to soft foods (e.g. cottage cheese, cooked veggies, fish). So until you can talk to your nutritionist or surgeon, I'd plan to take the shake with water for the first few days.

Is the pain on/in your skin or underneath? What does your skin look like - any redness or peeling? Do you feel any heat or hardness when you touch it? What did they give you to treat the staph infection?

So it's day 9 for me - still Clear liquids - and I've been dealing with SERIOUS hunger since the afternoon. I'm absolutely famished right now and none of the tricks that worked in the preceding 8 days since I started eating have helped. I've been drinking juice, tea, and now strained French onion Soup, with a popsicle at some point, and I still feel like I could attack a cow with my bare teeth and rip a steak out of it. It's not a craving, because while I want meat or fish the most, I'd kill for anything at this point. I thought you weren't supposed to have hunger this intense after the VSG? :crying: I've been trying to convince myself to have a Protein shake, but I feel like I'm literally going to vomit (not exaggerating) if I have another water-based shake, so I don't even want to risk it. I'm tempted to take the leap to milk a day early because then at least I can have a Protein Shake that's palatable and hopefully the protein will help - but of course, I'm paranoid that something bad will happen if I veer off my diet. AHHHH!:frown1:

I think you've made the right choice. A friend of mine is a medical resident and she's currently taking care of a woman who developed pretty serious malnutrition-related complications from her bypass - TWENTY YEARS LATER. And the woman's still obese! My friend is not sure whether she used to be heavier, but she was clearly unable to reach a healthy weight OR be healthy in other aspects with the bypass. I would've never gone for a bypass (if I was 500 lbs - maybe, because the rewards would then be worth the risks, but not at my original size).

Our healthcare system is not perfect, but it's significantly better than healthcare in the US, which is a certifiable nightmare (I lived in the US for 5 years, so lots of first-hand experience there). Healthcare in the US is third world. If you live in the third world and are rich, you can afford to get great healthcare (just like in the States!) - all you do is go to a private hospital or book a flight to another country. But for most people, it's subpar. Yes, there are waitlists here, but like you mentioned, at least you stand some sort of chance of getting your procedure done if you are broke - in the States, no dice. American healthcare is only great for the uber-rich and for insurance companies.

There's a physiological basis for developing depression after surgery - there's a large number of serotonin receptors in your gut - which is why people tend to feel relaxed and happy after a good meal. When part of your stomach is removed, so are many of the serotonin receptors. As depression is an issue of interaction between serotonin and its receptors, this makes it more likely for you to develop depression. There's an entire medical field called neurogastroenterology that likes to refer to the gut as "the second brain" - it's becoming clearer and clearer that your stomach and intestines do much more than digest and absorb food. Unfortunately, this is a new field and our knowledge about this is still limited.

To fit the whole nursing home resident profile, I purchased Centrum 50+ Chewables and it's actually a pretty good multi, I think it's about as good as a multi could taste. So I bit the bullet and took my birth control pill without crushing it today (I'm terrified that if I crush it, too much of it will get left behind and then I'll surely get pregnant, and my life will be ruined, etc etc etc). Still alive, 2 hours later. The worst, however, is the Nexium, and that's a big sucker, so I don't want to risk taking that one whole until at least a month out.