Rootman

Yes it SHOULD, be sure to eat your protein as it is vital for hear, muscle, skin and nail growth.

Surgery 12/6/10 has pretty much decimated my appetite and I find that stuff I want or think I want tastes good for maybe 2 bites and I have to force the rest of it down. I'm having a tough time getting more than 600 calories in and not quite enough Protein. I hope it will be SOME better in days and weeks to come. To answer your question, the sleeve is more of a physical restriction than a dietary one, if you can tolerate it you can eat it. It's still advised to go for more protein and less carbs though as this tends to help lose weight. The chewing is really necessary as we now have a limited stomach capacity for acid to help break down the food before it enters our gut. It also helps us to eat more slowly so we feel full sooner and NOT overeat. If you are still loosing weight then you are a success, however if you are "eating around the sleeve", that is eating too often with too many calories then it s most likely YOU are failing the sleeve, not the sleeve failing you. I wish you the best.

Due to insurance issues and the desire to get my surgery fast I elected to do a self pay in Tijuana MX at Jerusalem Hospital. BTW: Every thing has worked out fine. I am losing weight at a fairly rapid weight. I am trying to get in enough Protein daily. I also have a regular physician I can see if something does go "wrong". The surgery was quite a bit less then the in the states. One thing that is notably missing is the follow up visits by either a surgeon or nutritionist. Can I get frank opinions on whether these visits are REALLY necessary? What, if any, tests should be done post surgery? Bloodwork? Procedures? On the same subject, what should I be looking for concerning post sleeve surgery? I have watched my Water intake to be sure I don't get dehydrated. Taken chewable Vitamins to make sure I get the right nutrients as well as a sublingual B12 tab. I always choose over carbs when I eat and chew-chew-chew my food to a "paste" before I swallow.

No, I can't stand weight loss TV programs - used to make me feel bad and now that I'm sleeved I just don't want to watch the "drama".

Sleeved Dec 6th and still wearing them. In reality as long as you are up and moving around and not laying about for hours at a time (except for sleep of course) you can take them off. I have problems with edema (water swelling) and they really cut that down. As I drop weight I shouldn't have the edema problems and may discontinue wearing them.

Glad to hear it! I wish you well.

Got one here, I'm a tourer with a Honda Goldwing 1800. I was REALLY having a tough time before surgery and gave up riding late last summer, it was just too uncomfortable, my 3X riding jacket felt restricted my head felt like it was in a vice and I could not get comfortable. I am anxious as to what riding is like this spring when it warms up, hopefully I can enjoy it again. I have already experienced the set problem on my desk chair at work, my butt is sooo sore at the end of the day, I have to get up and walk around a LOT more to keep from getting butt numb. I guess with nearly 70lbs gone there is a lot less "padding" back there now.

Keep it up! Go Girl! Th other will work itself out.

A few people have, Tiffykins is one that comes to mind. It CAN happen but is by far the vast MINORITY.

I'm with Tiffykins on this, the OTHER fears drove the fear of the procedure out of my mind. Thinking of having my legs amputated from the inevitable diabetes was real scary. As was possibly proceeding my wife in death after living a miserable existence of sitting in my recliner gradually declining in health because of my weight. I needed a kink in the arse to get me on the right track and to be forcibly separated from my love of food via the sleeve was the only way. To be frank, you'll be shaking in your boots till the operating table and then wonder "What the hell did I just do" afterwards. But after the first 50 lbs or so it really starts to hit home - THIS IS WORKING. Getting up and moving around takes so little less energy, your blood sugar stabilizes and your BP starts to lower. It WILL be worth it.

Being a guy I have to say I was first aghast that they turned the subject to sex, but then I had to really think of situations in my wife and my life and see that I've done or almost done it too. We are sexual beings and men because of testosterone, more so. When panicked and seemingly cornered into a situation that we feel uncomfortable in we tend to turn to sex to make things right. I'm not saying it IS right, I'm just saying to some guys SEX is a "comfort food" that they turn to when pinned down. I have to wonder, is PART of their fear the fact that you will get skinny and more "attractive" to the world and leave them? Surprisingly that was my wifes biggest fear and she too turned to affection (light weight substitute for sex) as her coping mechanism. Maybe I'm wrong here, but perhaps you could go along with them, give them what they want and maybe THEN they will be ready to cope with the issue and finally talk. I know this seems like "giving in" but perhaps they really need it to get through the situation. If they continue to act this way and ignore you and fail to support you, then dump their ass. Perhaps that will get them talkin'.

Go to the doctor, perhaps even the emergency room. Unless you bit your lip or cut a gum you may have serious bleeding in your stomach or esophagus,

At first glance I thought it was a picture of Paige Davis from TLC's Trading Spaces! Quite cute. I vote you use this as your new profile pic!

Me too, at least I sleep the night through now. I have cotton mouth when I wake, this despite the fact that I sleep with a CPAP that has a heated humidifier cranked up way past where I used to have it pre-sleeve. Dunno what's going on. The weather here has been exceptionally cold and dry though so that plays a factor I'm sure.

Good luck Pink! Wish you the best. Like you I LOVED food, I really struggled for a few days and finally konked myself over the head and really took it to heart that I was killing myself. I decided right then and there to get sleeved. 66lbs down, BP is down and blood sugar is doing fine. I miss food in my mind but realize the results are better than the munchies. Someone else on the forum said it best; "Nothing tastes better than THIN!"

I don't know what to recommend but here's my story: I was about 6 weeks out and the weather was bitterly cold and I just wanted to warm my innards up. I took half a cup of decaf with a little non dairy creamer and a packet of sweetener. It felt good but tasted like crap after the first couple of sips - seems like all my food hits me that way, good for a few bites and BLAH the rest. I drank maybe half the half cup and poured the rest out. Did this 3 days in a row, Seems to be no ill effects other than burping up coffee stink in my breath YECH!

Welcome Jamie and good luck!

I think that there is a little confusion, from what I've read it is not surgery or anesthesia ITSELF that causes hair loss it's the shock to the body that both may produce that puts the hair in "sleep mode" (to use computer terminology that all may be familiar with). The hair stops growing for a while because of the traumatic experience as the various systems in the body redirect their energy toward healing this new "wound" in the body. As the hair "falls asleep" it of course can work loose and may fall out. Those that remained in the follicle after the "sleep" will be pushed out by the NEW hair growth once it restarts. If you've ever lost fingernail or toenail you've seen the NEW nail grow underneath the OLD and push it off, much is the same way when the hair starts to regrow. Indeed for the same reason many who have surgery get horizontal ridges in their nails because of the temporary halt in growth. Most of the anesthetic leave the body in hours, the rest is filtered out by your kidneys in a day or so. Some I've read describe going under anesthetic as a controlled "death", the deeper you are put out the more the various autonomic systems are shut down. A VSG being a fairly simple surgery you are not put out that deeply as say you would be for open heart surgery. It is still necessary to monitor the vitals, but respiration and heart beat are not suppressed to the point that they stop. This "death" again causes the body to be traumatized and the body puts its energy into "healing" itself rather than, say, grow hair or even skin. Many like me peel pretty badly in the week or so after surgery. How badly it effects you depends on your system, a healthy strong person will loose very little and may not even notice it. Someone who has poor health and a bad reaction to anesthesia, a tough recovery and then problems with eating after the surgery may experience a LOT of hair loss. There is little to nothing that can be done to prevent or reverse it but time and time alone. Nutritional supplements MAY help but it's doubtful. WARNING: IANAD and the opinion s expressed are my own.

I've actually done some studying on this. Regardless of gastric surgery or not soda's even diet soda can lead to weight gain indirectly. The super sweet taste awakens the desire for sweets. And MAY lead to other indulgences. The sweet taste can over power your taste buds and make otherwise perfectly normal sweet tasting things to be less sweet, which MAY lead to adding sweetener and may loop around and make cause #1 more plausible. CAFFEINE can be a diuretic and cause you to dump more Water than you take in, which MAY lead to further soda intake - etc. If you're not getting enough water anyhow it may actually cause dehydration. While a can once in a while may be a treat the fact may be that since you already have needed surgical help to loose weight you may not be strong willed enough and allow something as "innocent" as a sweet diet soda to put you back into the bad eating habits that caused your obesity in the first place. WATER is the best liquid. Personally, I still have a tough time choking down tap water but I force myself to stay hydrated. Personally I don't want a (former) favorite treat to lead me back down a wrong path. WARNING: IANAD - the opinions and theories expressed here are my own.

Surgery Monday and back to work Friday at a desk job. Couldn't wrangle and more time off.

Deedle, that's funny. Poor girl. Nothing worse than a wet bed.

I got Gold Bond Anti Itch cream Extra strength. It works well. My whole tummy itched and eventually peeled and being a guy they of course shaved me so the regrowing hair came in itchy too.

My worst problem wasn't the weight it was the addiction to food that I could not kick. I ate WAY too much and could not stop. The sleeve provided the only answer that I could afford that offered a hope to beat this addiction and lose the weight that was killing me. It WAS a hard decision for me too but I knew the benefits far outweighed the risks.

Weird! I thought it was just me! I would wake up every 2 hours or so with a jolt - thought it was a new phase in my dreaded insomnia but it DID clear up and I sleep pretty good now.

Yes, I can really feel what you're going through - went through the same thing. This is LIFE CHANGING surgery not just a little repair or change. Stick with it and you'll get through it. May the sleeve be with you.