Hi all. So I have been looking at and reading over this forum for a couple months now. When graduated high school I was around 330, biggest was 348. I lost down to about 270 but have gained most of that back now at 320. I am 26 and have been contemplating possibly being sleeved but have tons of questions and the fear of something going wrong(I know this is with any surgery). So here are some of my questions:

1. I know you have to take vitamins after surgery, but how long do you have to take them? Just a certain amount of time or the rest if your life?

2. I don't have a big issue with sweets.. My thing is I love real food, like home cooking. So with that being said, I'm not a big veggie eater. I can tolerate a few things but not many. Is there anyone else like this? If so what is the advice you gave gotten from your nutritionist?

3. How long before you were able to go back to work? I don't have a strainious job but am on my feet just a bout all day. Minimal lifting.

4. How long before you get back into the gym?

5. Do you know of anyone who has had the surgery with long term results?(5+ years)

sorry for such a long initial post. Just so many questions before taking that leap. I have an aunt(11/2105)and a cousin(2/16)who have both had the surgery. Both have seemed to do great as far as weight loss goes. Both had the bypass surgery. My aunt, who is mid 50's, has seemed to have more colds than normal since the surgery but my cousin has seemed to do great. Any an feedback is greatly appreciated.

1. Suppliments will have to be taken for the rest of your life.

2. I love real food as well. That probably won't change a lot. But now I like quality food rather than quantity! We eat lots of great foods. Just not nearly as much! Some veggies are good to eat, but your main focus will be on protiens!!

3. I was out of work for 6 weeks but I have a VERY strenuous job that requires standing and lifting heavy things for 12 hours straight. I have heard of folks going back to work at a desk job in as little as 2 weeks. Just be very honest with your doctor and staff and they will be able to recommend the appropriate time needed. Do NOT go back to work unail the doctor says it's OK.

4. I am out 5 months and still haven't hit a gym. But then again, I never did in the first place. I have lost 111 pounds so far. But I also weighed nearly 100 pounds more than you. I would think they will not let you lift anything until 6 weeks anyway.

5. I don't know anyone personally who has had the sleeve done for that long but I do know some folks that had the bypass done about 8 years ago and they are doing great! Hope this helps. Good luck. BTW - I am glad you are deciding to do this while you are young. I waited until I was 49. Not a great idea, wish I would have had this done 10 years ago or earlier.

I will try my best to answer your questions in bold under the quoted section of this reply.

On 5/20/2017 at 9:42 PM, Jd101 said:

Hi all. So I have been looking at and reading over this forum for a couple months now. When graduated high school I was around 330, biggest was 348. I lost down to about 270 but have gained most of that back now at 320. I am 26 and have been contemplating possibly being sleeved but have tons of questions and the fear of something going wrong(I know this is with any surgery). So here are some of my questions:

1. I know you have to take Vitamins after surgery, but how long do you have to take them? Just a certain amount of time or the rest if your life?
You will be on supplements for life. Over the course of time they may change up as you get more nutrients in but you should be taking at the very least a multi-vitamin daily. I still take my Men's One a day gummy vitamins along with my iron and calcium supplements. There are some other stuff that I added that were recommended by my prior primary care doctor and my nutritionist, but its not necessarily a requirement for all bariatric patients though. Your surgeon should have covered everything you will expect and need to deal with post surgery. And vitamins and their importance after should have been apart of the initial conversation.

2. I don't have a big issue with sweets.. My thing is I love real food, like home cooking. So with that being said, I'm not a big veggie eater. I can tolerate a few things but not many. Is there anyone else like this? If so what is the advice you gave gotten from your nutritionist?
I would say that for the first 6-12 months you will strongly want to focus in on your proteins (grams in per day) that you get in and not worry too much about the veggies. The first 3-6 months I would say avoid raw veggies all together. The gas and bloating that raw veggies may cause will be enough to double over the strongest person. Also I didn't heed that advice as was trying to eat salads 40 days out and got some of the worst stomach pains imagainable. Had to take a papaya enzyime and gas-X to get past that pain. And then I didn't touch raw veggies again until I was able to eat pork/and beef. Much better experience from that point on.

3. How long before you were able to go back to work? I don't have a strainious job but am on my feet just a bout all day. Minimal lifting.
I foolishly went back to work 1 weeks after the surgery. I honestly should have given myself at least 3 to 4 full weeks to recover. Even though I felt fine after a single week post surgery, mentally my mind wasn't right and once that wasn't ready it wasn't long before my body and the pain followed. If your jobs is gonna give you 3 to 4 weeks to recover from surgery then I would strongly suggest that you take it and that is just a sit down desk job with very minimal physical activities.

4. How long before you get back into the gym?
I waited till I was allow to eat more foods again before I went to the gym. So that was about 90 to 120 days post surgery. I believe I was at poultry, fish, and lamb proteins at the time. And at the gym I was only doing cardio, cardio, cardio. I did very little to no actual resistance training at all (weight lifting). It wasn't until I was cleared to eat beef and pork, not ground beef and pork, but like actual steak and chops that I started to focus on resistance training. Then I wasn't relying too much on protein shakes to get in or meet my daily protein grams requirements.

5. Do you know of anyone who has had the surgery with long term results?(5+ years)
I don't know of any men locally that have had the same results from surgery that I have. At the time I had my surgery I only knew 3 women that have had the sleeve/bypass/band etc, and one guy that had the bypass. To this day they are all still overweight if not obese. Its like they all were okay the first year or two and then by year three the old habits crept back into their lives and their progress stalled. I use them as reminders to not give up and just stay where I am at. Its why I try to get to the gym 2 to 4 times a week. Its why I post up videos and photos of me at the gym. Its reminders to me to let me know that the work didn't stop when I went under the knife. The surgery was a starting point, and how I will finish will be determined by the pure amount of work and effort I put into it.

sorry for such a long initial post. Just so many questions before taking that leap. I have an aunt(11/2105)and a cousin(2/16)who have both had the surgery. Both have seemed to do great as far as weight loss goes. Both had the bypass surgery. My aunt, who is mid 50's, has seemed to have more colds than normal since the surgery but my cousin has seemed to do great. Any an feedback is greatly appreciated.

I hope my answers are somewhat helpful to you.

Do not be afraid to ask questions! You are you greatest advocate here! Hopefully some of my answers help you. I'll give you my stats: 24, female, 5'4, sleeved on 2/22/17 (currently three months post op). Starting weight: 287 (October of 2016 when I went for my initial consult), surgery day weight: 248, current weight: 201.8. I wish I had taken measurements, because the photos say a lot more than the scale does!! To answer your questions:

1. Vitamins are for the rest of your life. Try not to view that as a negative, or a "side effect" from surgery. My 55 year old dad takes vitamins every day, so does my 85 year old Nana. A multivitamin is for everyone, not just bariatric patients. I use a daily patch, another friend who had the sleeve uses a chewable. I'm only three months out, but maybe someone who is further out can speak to whether or not you are allowed to go back to swallowing vitamins, if that's something you prefer.

2. I'm a veggie person, but still love food too! In the beginning, your focus is going to be more on getting your protein in, and less on your veggie intake. Best bet is to talk to your nutritionist about your concerns and see where you can tweak things for you, specifically.

3. I work a desk job with almost daily fieldwork (going into the community, into homes, court - lots of walking and getting into and out of the car). I had surgery on a Wednesday and was back to work the following Tuesday, so less than a week. I was super tired, and pretty much did nothing but work and sleep for my first two weeks back at work, but I was SO happy to be out of the house and having a sense normalcy. Working also helped me with my water intake - when I was home resting, I would sleep on and off and not hit my water goals. Sitting at my desk, at work, helped keep me awake and sipping. That being said, if you work a high intensity job, the recommendation is anywhere from 4-8 weeks out of work. You know your body best, and your job best. Be honest with your surgeon, though, as doing anything too stressful on your body too soon could be very damaging.

4. After about a month, I was in the gym doing VERY light cardio (northeast winters keep us inside!) like the treadmill. At 2.5 months, I got the all clear. I have taken up HIIT classes and I can do them with no problem!

5. I have a friend who had surgety in December of 2011. She has had incredible results. She currently focuses on muscle building and stays away from the scale. She's been maintaining for almost three years with no regression!

I hope this helps! Feel free to reach out if you have anymore questions!

The problem with going back to work so soon when you're on your feet all day is going to be that you won't have the energy. You're going to be gassed. It won't work out well.