My journey from vsg on 3 March

Welcome to the group Enjoy the journey it will be fun - There are bumps and hurdles but once you get rolling you will have the time of your life

Hi everyone. I thought I’d cover off my experience while it’s still fresh. I had my VSG four days ago now. I’m at home writing this sitting up in my bed. I have ibuprofen and paracetamol next to me but I haven’t managed to get it down and am not missing it really so have quit it.

One thing I wish I had known preop is about referral pain. I woke up with the worst backpain of my life. It was awful and I thought I’d injured myself during surgery but in fact it was just wind.
I never thought I would write this but at the moment every fart feels triumphant. If I had known back pain was common I think I would’ve been less anxious. Also the best tip my doc gave was that it would feel a step change better every 12 hours. He was right on the money.

No four days post op I would say I’m sore. I mentally still haven’t quite come to terms with the permanence and gravity of what I’ve just done to myself. It suddenly feels even bigger than it did pre op. I literally just removed 80 percent of an organ voluntarily which seems completely nuts. However my problem has always been portion size not good quality and the surgeon commented that my stomach was large when removed.

When I got back to where I’m staying I went shopping with my friend. We are all foodies and we went down and went a little crazy buying. My psychology was that I deserved to treat myself. At the time I was concurrently thinking how stupid I was to have major surgery and already be thinking about treats.

Anyway. SUCH A RELIEF. The surgery works! Came home and my mental hunger was off the charts but I gave myself a couple of tablespoons of yoghurt and a spoonful of frozen yoghurt (the treat) as a starter. Well. Couldn’t stand the frozen yoghurt and was completely full off the two tablespoons of yoghurt. Even mentally.

I’m not sure what I was expecting but this has been described as a tool and yesterday it very much acted like one.

I’m looking forward to feeling normal in my body and for some reason I feel like I might be the one that eats nothing and doesn’t lose weight. BUT as far as today goes it’s all going well.

I’ll definitely need friends going through this at the same time so feel free to join me! I am wary of the emotional journey that is about to begin. But u do hope that this post was interesting and maybe helpful to some of the readers.

We must persist!
Best wishes
Mooki

2 minutes ago, mooki said:

No four days post op I would say I’m sore. I mentally still haven’t quite come to terms with the permanence and gravity of what I’ve just done

2 minutes ago, mooki said:

I’m not sure what I was expecting but this has been described as a tool and yesterday it very much acted like one

3 minutes ago, mooki said:

I’m looking forward to feeling normal in my body and for some reason I feel like I might be the one that eats nothing and doesn’t lose weight

Ok you are typical and from reading your post the Mind Games have started, You are correct you were given a tool but you have to now work this tool, It is very early for you and everyone on this site has gone thru what you are going thru, First things first is your plan, You will will be amazed at the results but Currently your whole existence is focusing on this surgery, Start to get back to normal You will not be the one that eats nothing and loses nothing, You follow a plan and you will shred the weight! Just look at the lower right side of this site 5 million pounds the members here have lost! NO doubt you will run this number up higher! Not possible to use this tool and not shred weight, Unless you go off.

One of the hardest things the first month is to get off the obsession of the surgery and new life style and back into a normal routine. Everything has changed and for the better! Keep moving forward and kill the obsession with food. F@$ck Food! IT is not easy we have all been there, Treat food like Gas. You need a little gas to run a car and a little food to run your body. As i sit here today i remember the first few months and change of lifestyle, I crashed big time, but i recovered and got going on this journey. The discomfort and pain will go away quickly So today go do something you want to do and enjoy the day

Congratulations and every day it gets easier and smother

47 minutes ago, mooki said:

Hi everyone. I thought I’d cover off my experience while it’s still fresh. I had my VSG four days ago now. I’m at home writing this sitting up in my bed. I have ibuprofen and paracetamol next to me but I haven’t managed to get it down and am not missing it really so have quit it.

One thing I wish I had known preop is about referral pain. I woke up with the worst backpain of my life. It was awful and I thought I’d injured myself during surgery but in fact it was just wind.
I never thought I would write this but at the moment every fart feels triumphant. If I had known back pain was common I think I would’ve been less anxious. Also the best tip my doc gave was that it would feel a step change better every 12 hours. He was right on the money.

No four days post op I would say I’m sore. I mentally still haven’t quite come to terms with the permanence and gravity of what I’ve just done to myself. It suddenly feels even bigger than it did pre op. I literally just removed 80 percent of an organ voluntarily which seems completely nuts. However my problem has always been portion size not good quality and the surgeon commented that my stomach was large when removed.

When I got back to where I’m staying I went shopping with my friend. We are all foodies and we went down and went a little crazy buying. My psychology was that I deserved to treat myself. At the time I was concurrently thinking how stupid I was to have major surgery and already be thinking about treats.

Anyway. SUCH A RELIEF. The surgery works! Came home and my mental hunger was off the charts but I gave myself a couple of tablespoons of yoghurt and a spoonful of frozen yoghurt (the treat) as a starter. Well. Couldn’t stand the frozen yoghurt and was completely full off the two tablespoons of yoghurt. Even mentally.

I’m not sure what I was expecting but this has been described as a tool and yesterday it very much acted like one.

I’m looking forward to feeling normal in my body and for some reason I feel like I might be the one that eats nothing and doesn’t lose weight. BUT as far as today goes it’s all going well.

I’ll definitely need friends going through this at the same time so feel free to join me! I am wary of the emotional journey that is about to begin. But u do hope that this post was interesting and maybe helpful to some of the readers.

We must persist!
Best wishes
Mooki

I had vsg the same day as you, perfectly written post. I can totally relate to you right now.

yes everything they said...….. and get up and walk,walk,walk . it will relieve the gas (back pain) . drink your water like a fish....

Thanks everyone for your replies! So today I managed 1 litre of water and walked 3000 steps. I ate not much but I really tried.

I’m so grateful for you who responded. It’s funny reading what I wrote today as I realised I must still have been fairly drugged with missing words etc.

AJ it was kind of you to write so much for me to learn from. You’re right it’s life post surgery that matters. I am hoping once I feel a little less raw that mentality will kick in but I’m hoping my mini routine I’m creating will help me on my way.

November I’ve added water tracking to my app so hopefully I’ll do you proud! Haha

Krimson it’s fun to have a surgery twin. Will watch your success and cheer for u all the way!

1 hour ago, mooki said:

Thanks everyone for your replies! So today I managed 1 litre of Water and walked 3000 steps. I ate not much but I really tried.

I’m so grateful for you who responded. It’s funny reading what I wrote today as I realised I must still have been fairly drugged with missing words etc.

AJ it was kind of you to write so much for me to learn from. You’re right it’s life post surgery that matters. I am hoping once I feel a little less raw that mentality will kick in but I’m hoping my mini routine I’m creating will help me on my way.

November I’ve added water tracking to my app so hopefully I’ll do you proud! Haha

Krimson it’s fun to have a surgery twin. Will watch your success and cheer for u all the way!

Hey Mooki,

Yes, a surgery twin. How are you feeling? What's your stages for nutrition? I'm on clear liquids until Saturday, Full liquids on Sunday until the 16th and puree on the 17th. My full liquids phase does include cream soups, greek yogurt unsweetened, sugar free pudding, extra thin cream of wheat and all of the clear liquid foods. I'm missing a few items, but you get the concept. I reached half of my hydration/protein goals yesterday. Sipping fluids is a full time job. I'm also utilizing the samples I received from the Obesity Help Conference last October. Unjury has a liquid Chicken Soup with 21 grams of protein and 8 ozs of hot water needed , not to be heated over 140° . Fluids, protein and it taste like cream of chicken soup without the creamy consistency. I appreciate the smell and taste, I would love a cracker with the soup. Lol, but seriously ; I probably only want stuff just because I'm not allowed. We're going to be fine.

AJ knows stuff, like soup recipes and etc. I also appreciate that everyone has their own experiences and approach to winning the game against obesity. This is not a one size fits all solution.

I’m a March 3 sleeved too. I am still struggling with gas pain in my esophagus that comes and goes. I feel like I can’t get the air to burp out but once I do there’s immediate improvement. I got in about 50 oz of fluid yesterday and about 30 grams of protein. It’s truly a full time focus to get all of it in. Especially when getting it in causes the gas pain. So I am balancing the timing so I can hopefully get a better rhythm. I’m walking laps around my house every hour. I’ve made split pea soup completely blenderized and watered down to a very liquid consistency. I can get about 3/4 of an ounce in before I am full. I have a few more days to recover before I go back to my desk job. I am already down 7 lbs from my surgery weight. I’m down 12 lbs since I got home on the 4th because I gained 5 in water weight in the hospital. That rapid weight loss is helping me stay focused.

Hi team! I haven’t been online the last day because I decided to be brave and see if I could go to my friends engagement party. It was such a weird experience. Firstly it was a walk, which I was going to bail from, but then I thought I’d just see how I go and after pushing through initial scaredness I walked the whole 10km fine. Then we waited for dinner forever and I managed to get down the sauce of a mushroom stew and I chewed a halloumi fry to death and then realised I didn’t want to swallow.
@krimson I am on puréed food already. But I think I’m gonna go to liquid only for a bit longer. I ate some mince today and it was fine. I ate it pretty slowly. I do feel a LOT better having done three big walks over the last three days. I really recommend it.

The weird thing that I don’t understand is, if I ate this little in the past I would get dizzy and feel exhausted. But the last two days I’ve woken up at 6am and I feel fine. Not tired at all. How on earth did this surgery achieve that?

@cheifp I would suggest to try walking more to get it all out. It felt a bit weird for me to start but honestly feel better for it now.

My incisions and bloatedness tho remain.

Keep me posted on all your details. I really love hearing how you’re doing and keeping in touch.

Oh one last thing. Do u guys know if water can stretch ur tummy? I am having to really get through the water at the end of the day to meet minimums and I don’t really struggle. I don’t gulp as I guys have said too but I was surprised how easy it went through.

Sending love and healing and healthfulness!

Hi Fellow March 3 Sleevers - it’s comforting to read your posts. I can relate to the full time hydration and protein shake challenge. My program sounds like it’s a lot stricter (The Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston). I’m on clear fluids and shakes until 3/13, which is smooth foods, and a very limited list of options for those. Struggling with head hunger and feelings of deprivation and wanting greasy food. Can anyone relate? Bright side - I have a ton of energy and have been able to get outside and walk a couple of days in a row. Insomnia big time. When do you all go back to work? I fortunately have until April 6.

Hi Mooki,

This thread has been really useful for me, I have my op in 17 days and I am really terrified. Your initial post was so informative and has addressed a lot of my concerns, so thank you for that!. Also one of my big fears was having uncontrolled hunger in the early stages so it’s good to know that having a few spoonfulls of yoghurt satiated the hunger and enables you to carry on with your journey. It is also useful to know what to expect and to see that you are able to hydrate and walk at such an early stage. Thank you for sharing your journey. It’s interesting that every surgeon has a different post op pathway. My instructions are 2 weeks of clear liquids, 2 weeks of all liquids (including soups and yoghurt etc) and then purees from week 4-6. Normal textured food will start at week 7. It seems like a long time so I am hoping the initial 6 weeks go fast.

Hi Slowly!

I’m so glad it is useful! I can’t quite work out how this app works so I’m sticking to this thread and u lovely humans.
I weighed myself today and I’m down 4kg (9llb) I was kind of disappointed not to get a massive drop like I read everywhere else. Also it sort of worries me because I have always been a slow loser and I’m just desperate for this not to be another tale of slow difficult loss.
However I did my walk this morning and came back and made a protein shake and could only get a third in. So I need to chill out. But. So much hope is pinned on this! Must just stick to the plan. Haha.

I have a great app called happy scale that predicts my future weight at different times which I recommend. Is fun for daydreams.

Basically slowly I am sure it will only be positive. Every now and then I think it’s odd that I have cut out a large part of an organ. Hahaha. But it’s different from how I thought. I just am way more in control than ever before. It’s such a gift. I just feel like me but with out an enteral pit of hunger and obsession. Haha. Just don’t be surprised if immediately after surgery I second guess yourself and despair. We will be here for you!

But. As u can see my mind goes in circles. It’s amazing! I’m gonna fail! It’s amazing! I’m gonna fail! But I’m pretty committed to making sure it’s amazing. ?

Sfreasier - I think I still get hungry? Is weird but last night at 6pm I was “hungry” and I definitely felt better after. My hunger kinda felt like my tummy cramping. I am hardly sleeping toooooo! So glad someone else is the same! But it’s not a negative yet. I’m going back to work today because I’m bored but taking it very easy.

Hey Mooki, thanks for the reply. The reason I am having the op is to take back control of my eating, and to stop food having this huge hold on my life. That is the main outcome I want so to hear that is what is happening is great news. As for the merrygoround of thinking its amazing and its not going to work I can really relate to this. The mind is a powerful tool and I do think for me the mental struggle will be as hard as the physical challenge. I have found that trying to visualise the positives helps with the panic moments, so trying to visualise myself out of theatre and walking around, being slimmer in the summer clothes, enjoying holidays without the dread of weight gain etc etc. I hope each day is getting easier for you.

Awwww such a lovely reply Slowly. Do you know I had a funny thought yesterday at lunch. I just felt so much more in control of what I wanted and it was so much more reasonable.... and I thought... god this must be how normal people feel.

So for what it’s worth I think you’re doing the right thing. I do find my obsession with consuming is lowered and my impulse to stuff myself is lowered too.

Also today is day 7 and I feel
Pretty good! I took the covers off my incisions and two of them look like they’ll just disappear all together. Pretty amazing.