Foxbins

I had an unknown hiatal hernia that was repaired during my VSG. Surgeons are being trained to look for them because with a sleeve stomach, if they don't fix them during the VSG it's likely the smaller stomach will slide up through the too-big opening in the diaphragm. My recovery was so uneventful, no nausea, no vomiting, no pain. I don't know if the hernia repair affected recovery, I can't imagine it being any easier than it was. After my gallbladder removal I hurt like blazes for a week.

Mine was removed 10 months post-op. It started bothering me about month 8. I knew rapid weight loss (of any sort, not just WLS) increased my risk but I didn't care. So glad I had my VSG.

That's head hunger for sure. Notice that you're not craving a delicious Protein shake or a different flavor of soup---head hunger is all about tempting things, but not necessarily the best things to get rid of hunger or nourish our bodies. I try these things in this order-- Go for a walk--have something to drink-call a friend or read a book or do something on the computer. If, after I have done all these things I am still hungry, by then it's usually time to eat something. I make it protein-first and then I know I'm not hungry and can fight the head hunger better. You can do it!

I eat about 2.5-2.8 oz of dense protein and maybe 1/4 cup of vegetable. I don't eat corn very often. I mostly eat fresh tomatoes, squash, spinach, cauliflower. I think that comes out pretty close to what you're having.

I'm not having any problems at all. What does your surgeon say? May be time to give him a call if you haven't already.

I used to donate every six weeks before my surgery. I donated twice afterwards. At my six month labs, my ferritin (long-term iron stores) was at 7; should be between 22 and 291. My doc said I can't eat enough anymore to maintain my iron stores and give blood every six weeks too. She said donate every six months, max, and I have to have my ferritin checked yearly.

Only if the multi doesn't have Iron in it. Most do..

I'm 19 months post-op and eating 1200-1400 calories a day. That seems to keep me in a one-pound range of my maintenance weight.

I take 2500 mcg twice a week and my labs are great. I'd rather have a sublingual twice weekly than a needle!

I weighed or measured everything until I got to goal. Now I measure a couple times a week just to make sure my portion sizes aren't getting bigger without me realizing it.

Well, I'm 18 months post-op and have a stressful job. I haven't noticed any symptoms of depression or anxiety. I'm not saying it couldn't happen to anyone else, but I haven't experienced it. Gastrectomies have never been done in the numbers that have occurred over the past five years and especially over the past three. We are all kind of guinea pigs in a huge, real-world experiment and the long-term effects of VSG probably won't be known for a while. That said, the research done about ghrelin, leptin, and the other hunger and obesity hormones is also in infancy. As with any topic, take what you read on Wikipedia with a dose of skepticism. Anyone can post anything there.

I take 2500 mcg twice a week and my labs are great.

I have noticed, this, too. I once had a physician ask me if I was having any intestinal difficulty after my bariatric surgery, I looked at her funny and said no, She said, "Well, I asked because it's very common with surgery." I said, I have a sleeve gastrectomy, not a bypass. She had never heard of it. And VSG patients have stomachs, not pouches! Bothers the heck out of me, too when folks get it wrong.

Liquids can't stretch your stomach (you have a stomach, not a pouch) or cause a leak. My surgeon said no more than 2 oz every fifteen minutes, but early out I couldn't even manage that. Just do the best you can, protein first.

I weigh myself every day, because ignoring the scale when I was fat was a way of denying that I had a problem with food. However, I am pretty laid-back and don't obsess about the number. I'm in maintenance and as long as I'm under 140, all is good. Over that, out goes the yogurt and oatmeal and in come the hard-boiled eggs and protein shakes!

I was very very strict with low-carb intake until about 7 months post-op, when I began to eat small amounts of fruit. I had lost 80% of what I thought would be my total weight loss and in truth, all-Protein and green veg was getting really boring. However, my loss slowed down a lot, so I went back to all protein until I hit my goal of a normal BMI. Then I started adding in more dairy and more fruit. I don't deprive myself of anything now that I'm at goal, but all those months of not eating sweets has made Desserts less appealing than before surgery, and thankfully I am satisfied with a tiny bite now and not the whole cake.

I went from a 44D bra to a 34D which looks good on my body now, very shapely! However, my butt is gone. Flat as a pancake and sliding down the backs of my thighs. But, I am 57 and things were starting to sag and slide when I was fat, too. Trust me, if you want boobs when you are thin you can buy some, and you'll be healthier, too. P.S. There is a thread on here about padded panties if you want more shape in the rear, too.

I'm 18 months post-op and some days I can eat a lot, other days not so much. If I'm tense or anxious, I can't eat as much as days with no worries. Early days, I think swelling played a role in whether my sleeve was tight or loose.

Eggs and ricotta are soft foods, and a shake is a liquid. You won't feel much restriction with them. Dense protein, like meat, will make you full much faster.

My first goal was a normal BMI--not because I believe in BMI so much, but because my doctor gives her "above normal" BMI folks a lecture, and I didn't want to hear it anymore, So I hit 160, a normal BMI for me, and then thought, well, I spent my late 20s and early 30s in the 150s--let's aim for that. So I got to 150 and had my gallbladder out, and after I recovered from that I was 144 and looked good. I thought I'd try to get into maintenance there, but my body kept losing a little bit until I hit 137. I've been here for about six months now, up a pound, down a pound, but mostly 137. I feel great and I think this is where my body wants to settle. I think you will know when you are done. I also think that getting really thin is scary for some people, which is why some are more comfortable at higher weights. Really, your goal should be what is easily maintained and makes you happy in your mirror and in your skin.

I'm having good luck with Bifera--part heme iron, part ferrous gluconate. No constipation or stomach upset and my iron levels are rising.

If I were you, I'd wait until your weight loss ends. Losing 15 lbs a month is still substantial weight loss. The more you lose, the more skin can eventually be removed with plastics.

The pouch created during a Roux en Y bypass is made from the fundus of the stomach, the stretchy part, and an artificial opening, called a stoma, is created at the bottom of the pouch and connected to the small intestine. In the VSG, the stretchy part of the stomach is cut away and the stomach in sutured close to the lesser curvature, which is more like muscle tissue. There is a little stretchy part at the bottom of the stomach where the pyloric valve is and at the top where the stomach meets the esophagus, but mostly it's tough, fibrous tissue that's left. In RnY patients the pouch can stretch and the stoma can stretch. In VSG, the stomach tissue swelling goes down and the stomach does increase in volume, but will never hold anywhere near as much as an unsleeved stomach. Poor diet choices can sabotage any WLS--VSG or RnY, you'll gain weight on a diet of milkshakes and Cookies. If you google Roux en Y and VSG, there are some sites which will show you the surgery and the re-routing in RnY. "Fundus" should get you the info about that part being stretchy.

Mine itched like crazy, too, and then I realized they shaved my stomach before surgery and it was the hair growing back. I used Benadryl cream for a few days and exfoliated so the new little hairs could come out quicker. It only lasted a few days.

Hi, Carlos! I think meggiep is trying to get a support group together for the folks closer to the bay. FeedYourEye (I think) is going to coordinate for folks closer to Sacramento. Maybe shoot meggiep a private message?