iegal

Welcome to the losers bench!

If you are in pain, call your surgeon. Really. You will end up in emergency room if you can't drink due to dehydration.Take care of yourself. Oh - stop worry about how much you lost and concern yourself with following your surgeons diet plan and healing. This is not a race to see who loses the weight fastest. You will be a loser.

liquid Protein shake (15 gm protein min) for Breakfast, lunch & dinner. No additives like fruit allowed. Protein Bar (15 gm protein min/low carb) for snack mid morning & mid-day 1 oz. turkey Jerky as a treat at night to chew. Minimum 48 oz of Water daily Decaf herbal tea non flavored up to 3 cups per day Nothing else - no soda (diet or otherwise), no coffee, Did this for two weeks as preop diet. VERY DIFFICULT but worth the amazing results

Woot Woot, you are a star!

Hmmm. Two sides here. You need the practice of dating someone, he deserves honesty that you are not attracted. Like CaliKat's advice. IMO go on the date, keeping it light. Who knows what can happen, right? Maybe you can inspire him (non verbally - just by your enthusiasm for life) to get healthy too. Now, get out there and have a blast. PS - you were always worthy of a date and were always beautiful pre VSG. Just now with the weight off you believe this because you project this beauty..

If you go to the top of this forum and look to the right, you can enter Dr. Patterson name and search for others. I have found two people already - Furby036 and also wolf3749 Good luck!

After surgery try childrens Vitamins such as Flinstones complete. I took two, once in the morning and once in the evening. Chew twenty times before swallowing. Next, take vitamins with food. Ha ha, I mean yogurt. Currently I am chewing down Trader Joes vitamins. Gummy vitamins generally do not provide enough of the needed nutrients. But at this point something is better than nothing. Keep trying until you find what works for you. Good luck!

My picture is not on here - so that is a dead give away that many people do not know that I had VSG surgery. My group of friends in SoCal group - some call me the "secret keeper" I only told my DH and a select few close girlfriends. That is it...for months. My mom did not know for over 3 months and she lives blocks away. She was told after she complimented me on how I was actually keeping the weight off. As I told her of my decision, I thanked her (and her size 4 body) for being a trigger for getting surgery. She told me I should just tape my mouth shut at one point. That was my "this is it" point. Reason for secret- I did not want any negative feedback, stories of "friends of friends" or input. I did my background check on surgeon, checked references, scoured the web and knew what I was getting into (for the most part). I built my support system with those who would love me through the journey plus I had the support here. Still - almost 2 years out not all my family knows. Most of my friends still do not. Do I eat differently at parties? Yes, but that is to maintain my new figure.

What makes a sleeve different than high protien diet? Restriction in volume of food. Sleeve is a permanent surgery that restricts how much food you can eat. While not needing to diet, a sleeve patient will at some point need to still watch what type of foods they eat. I am fortunate and have no intolerances to any foods. Bread, Pasta, eggs, milk, spicy and more...still taste great. Now it took awhile to get here. But a sleever can gain back weight or not lose at much as they hope. Too many calories, usually in liquid form sabatoge us. I am carb sensitive, so I watch how many carbs I eat and try to stay away from slider foods, like chips and candy which sleeve does not restrict as much as Protein. What I mean is I can eat a lot of chips (more than 1 cup) in one sitting. This food "slides" right on through this sleevie wonder of mine. Grazing can also sabatoge a sleever. Diets never worked for me. I could never maintain the weight loss for any length of time. Hence I was a volume eater. Even Atkins did not keep me full. After being SICK AND TIRED of not being the true me, I self paid for sugery here in the USA. No regrets and yes, I still love my sleeve!

Pure Protein shakes can also be purchased at Trader Joes. I was not a fan since they were still too thick for me. Same with MuscleMilk and Premier Protein drinks from costco. Yes, your tastebuds change after surgery for many of us. HUGE change in what I used to consider good - now is yuck. Like hamburgers. During losing stage I could not stand thick drinks so I went to GNC and used clear protien from Isopure. Not great tasting but tolerable at 40gm for a bottle. So I used 1 a day during from month 2-4 to make sure my protien count was always above 60gm. Another one I liked was cappucino protein packets at 15 grams a pack. I added milk/lactose free to up protien count. Really helped when food consumption was just a few bites. Don't buy a lot now. Trust me. I still have cases of protien powder/drinks I never could gag down. Hundreds of dollars wasted. Like the sites that will send you samples (small fee) Also don't be afraid to try something different.

Your mouth feels dry because you are in ketoisis. HORRID bad breath will follow. Good news - you are in a great stage for losing! Try sugar free gatorade or poweraide to keep hydrated. Protein count is second to hydration at this early stage. Just keep sipping. Have you tried clear protien - I used Isopure 40gm Apple Melon at GNC. Buy one bottle only as your taste buds change. Each day will bring new changes. Be patient learning your new sleeve. Hugs.

I threw away my scale before surgery. Chose only to weight myself only at surgeons office or once a week. No more stress about hormonal changes and worrying day to day. I beat the frustration that I see posted often. Might not be for all people, but for this freak out monster - it worked. I stayed motivated and on track.

He is scared. You will change - accept that. So, now sounds like hubby wants reassurance from you. Know you are hot now (hot is not a size) but will be hotter after VSG. I thought I would lose mine speical love after surgery. He didn't find out about my serious change until I went into consult. I was willing to lose him to get me healthy. Agree - you gotta do you.

Interesting read. ABC News video link at bottom of page. LA Times By Thomas H. Maugh II June 18, 2012, 12:11 p.m. A major new study confirms previous sporadic reports that weight-loss surgery increases the risk of alcohol abuse, researchers reported Monday. In the second year after having a gastric bypass, technically known as Roux-en-Y surgery, patients were 30% more likely to have problems controlling their alcohol use, a team reported online in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. and at the annual meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Previous reports have suggested that alcohol abuse could be a problem following bariatric surgery, but the studies have been small and generally involved collecting data at some point after the procedure. In the new study, a team led by epidemiologist Wendy C. King of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine began studying 2,458 adults before they underwent bariatric surgery at one of 10 hospitals. Of those, 1,945 could be monitored for one to two years after the procedure. The team found that 7.6% of the patients suffered from alcohol-abuse disorders (abuse and dependence) in the year before the surgery. At the end of one year after the procedure, the percentage was about the same, 7.3%. But by the end of the second year, the prevalence of such disorders had climbed to 9.6%, a 30% increase. Virtually all of the increase occurred in patients who had undergone gastric bypass, with no increase among the roughly 30% of patients who had a banding procedure. Some research suggests that the increase in problems arises because the metabolism of alcohol changes after gastric bypass. "Given a standardized quantity of alcohol, patients reach a higher peak alcohol level [in the bloodstream] after surgery compared with case-controls or their pre-operative levels," the team wrote. In other words, bypass patients get drunk faster and with smaller amounts of alcohol. The excessive drinking may be a greater problem for bariatric surgery patients because alcohol abuse can affect vitamin and mineral status and liver function, which are already potential problems for the surgery patients, King said. She urges clinicians to perform a better job of screening patients for abuse before surgery and to offer counseling to help them combat the problem. ABC VIDEO LINK: http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/gastric-bypass-fuel-alcoholism-16600168

33.1 BMI and I am close to your height. I self paid since no comorbidities other than knees hurting. Not going to say everything in journey was perfect, but I had no major complications. Learning the new you is not easy. Today at almost 2 years out it is easy to say I would travel this way again...over hot coals. I have no regrets and love my sleeve..

Your stomach isn't stretching out but you can be grazing, eating too quickly, and/or eating wrong foods like slider foods. Something worked. So, now we figure out how to get you back there. What is your calorie count daily? How many carbs? Proteins? Taking your suppliments? Excercising? How much sugar are you consuming (Are you drinking calories?) How much Water are you drinking a day. All these will affect your weight loss.

Suggest you take a sublingal b12 suppliment twice a day. Sleevers do not absorb b12 as easily I was really weak for a while, not getting in enough protien/nutients. You need to eat and find another Vitamin you can tolerate. Hate to be pushy but you did get this surgery to be healthier. So, find something that works and stick to it. Eat to survive. Try adding some carbs for a week and see how it helps. Chewy Vitamins, childrens vitamins, crushed vitamins...whatever lets you get what your body is crying out for to survive. Hugs.

Sweetie; I am so sorry that you have this news. Just so glad you were diagnosed. Praying for a full recovery. Hugs for you and your daughter. iegal

YIPPEE and hugs for you. I don't even know you and I am tearing up for all you have accomplished. Getting rid of so many complicatons is wonderful! Thanks for sharing your success and wishing you the best in more loss.

BMI of 33.1 and yes, I self paid. No co-morbidities but I was headed down an ugly road. I was not overweight all of my life, just for the last 10+ years. After trying just about every diet and failing multiple times, I had an epiphany moment. No more self loathing, no more yo-yo, no more buying diet plans. Did VSG because I wanted a fighting chance to be the real me. Took out a loan to pay for VSG and worth every penny for a US surgeon. Outpatient surgery was a good experience. Hit weight loss goal in 5 months, but I was diligent with the VSG diet plan. Watched my carbs and kept Protein count up. Surgery was drastic and VSG is non-reversible. This is your choice alone. So, let me ask you something. If you could keep off the weight without surgery, why haven't you? I love my sleeve and have no regrets.

Why would grazing constantly enlarge your stomach?

First of all I want to be your kid...look at those cakes! Way to go mom! You look fabulous! Happy dance for you.

Nope, you have to put liquid in it to puree so the taste changes. But, my taste buds changed a lot during those first few months so almost everything was new.

Wow, a lot of people in your shoes. A couple of my SoCal Sleeve buddies calls me the secret keeper. I didn't tell my mom who would have been adamantly opposed to this surgery. Did not tell her for until three months after surgery and she lives very close to me. She actually pushed me to get surgery by stating "if we could only tape your mouth closed" reffering to my eating all the time. I only told three people prior to surgery due to the negativity I was expecting. One dear friend was horrid and told me all sorts of "friends" who have had problems. Hence, I kept my mouth shut. When I hit goal, I started telling people how. That shut them up.

Feel your pain as I couldn't gag down the thick sweet Protein shakes either. So I went to clear protein in a bottle which I found at GNC. 40gm protein Isopure in Apple melon flavor around $4.50 a bottle was my standard during the first few months to supplement protein. Not delicious but certainly drinkable - think apple jolly roger candy. Just get one. Taste buds change. Also, have you tried Cappuccino protein? Still drink that today when I am in a hurry.