Swiftflow

Glad to hear about the specialist coming in to help, it sounded like the other guy you talked to last time was doing something like bad used car salesmen do--he saw you were distressed about the changes and tried to sell you on the car they could get you in today.... No judgement here, you have to do what is right for you and I am glad that surgeons are learning and moving from the quick buck lap band into the sleeve--sound like this practice is trying to get started with the sleeve, so it is great they have someone coming in with experience.

at a point now where my list is mostly complete I can say it has been worth the journey indeed! Im out of town this week and the plane ride was comfortable, I felt normal in the rental car, feel great with my Business clothes on and not like I have to rush to change into comfortble clothes, Ran to get out of the rain and felt strong, Caught my reflection in the hotel mirror and was not ashamed... I am so glad I found the sleeve. It is great to write these down and enjoy the journey.

I had this issue with tuna salad early out, now there are no issues. So just give it time. Everyone differs in this--I had such a bad experience at 5-6 weeks out with tuna that I did not even try it again till after 6 months and had no issues. I am sure it would have been ok sooner, but just take it slow and don't get too discouraged. I went through phases of just not even wanting to mess with food anymore because it was such a bother, but it does pass and life feels relatively normal again soon

very nice, Looking at your ticker, it looks like you did a great job pre-op already! Congrats on the Sleeve from a fellow Texan. Take it easy and recover so you ca rock that sleeve all the way to goal!

Yeah its a tough one at first, but you really do get used to it and feel it. Granted if you gulp something fast you may go to overfull without catching that feeling. I kinda have a feel for it now, but when I got overfull in the past I always would sneeze or start producin mucus ( meaning If I ate more the mucus production would lead before my body started throwing it back up). Since everyone does differ a bit and even differ on food types, you are best to aim for the 4 oz mark generally and then go real slow and feel the fullness. Example for me is I know I can eat more mexican food that other types due to the mushie refried Beans or chips and salsa being sliders--so I can eat comfortably after setting that portion in my mind and stopping there. now it is a rare occasion where I push it to feeling uncomfortable--its like any other habit that you just adapt to over time. Until then I would shoot for the 4 oz then go real slow and see if that helps. To add one more thng--before VSG I always ate to get full or as much as I could. It does help if you can get to just eating a certain portion and not needing to feel full. Full and satisfied are two different things for me now--If I am feeling like a thanksgivng meal full then I am not comfortable. Or if pushed myelf until I started sneezing then I have gone too far for my comfort level. Sunday I had 4 oz of Ribeye and a bite or two of veggie. It was tender and I might could have had 6 oz--I don't know because I was satisfied at what I had set asside. And felt great the rest of the day while watching the Mavs sweep the lakers!

Its like crack, stay away if you can... I need to quit it yet again. If your in the first 6 months don't even think about it for sure. I should add this is only my opinion, unfortunately it has no effect on me different that it did pre-sleeve except I burp a bit more. I picked up the habit after 6 months out again and wish I had not. It has not done anything to hurt me as far as the sleeve goes, it just has no nutritional value and I am very very addicted to it.

I think the hardest part is the waiting. I think I spend hours on all the forums reading and chatting all I could. It all seems long ago now and worth the wait. You will get there! Its like your getting off the non stop diet-gain-diet-gain treadmill once and for all and you want i all to happen fast because it seems like you have spent years trying to make it happen and deserve it to happen now ( at least that was my mindset) I was one who was on the scale everyday and watched every stall impatiently. Trust me it all does pay off in the end, and I go days now without getting on the scale and worry more about my golf game and why I am not getting better at golf faster

It was around 5-6 months before I could comfortably eat steak or pork without chooping it into tiny pieces and going real slow. Don't fret though, I had nice 4 oz of ribeye just this week and don't have to worry eating it in any special way--pretty normal now just able to split 8oz with the wife and feel nice and full.

Yes liquids are a funny thing, I can down a 44 oz drink now in a few mins as long as no food is with it. Some foods like a ribeye now I can eat 4 oz and other softer foods I can get 6-8 oz. The restriction is still there a year out. As long as the surgeon does the work correctly you can expect long term restriction on solid foods, Liquids you have to be careful and stay away from any high calorie drinks or alcohol as they can run right through the sleeve.

There is no way for them to know a percentage because we all have different size stomachs to start with. I did see my video and the part they removed looked huge to me. Without a full volume test befroe and after there is no way to have a specific number--it is a guess. The constant they can do is to use the same size tube in forming the remaining stomach sleeve. However due to stomach length being different remaining stomach volume can differ between 2 people with the same surgeon and bougie size. There are also differences in how close they come to the upper and lower stomach valves that affect both volume and chance of strictures. It is definately not a cookie cutter pattern they follow and why I recommend doing research on your surgeon and discussing these topics with them. Many follow the published studies from the leading VSG surgeons and some do their own thing.

Yeah its been too long, out living life but I will try to stop by now and again! great to see your still rockin it!

Thank you all for the support, it has been a great year!

Great work, I had forgotten how close our sleeve dates were--with you being a year sooner. You helped me out so much in the early days! Keep up the great work !

Well it has been a great year. I am down almost 120 pounds total from when this journey started. Wearing Large or Medium shirts instead of 3-4XL. 34 inch waist pants instead of 48. I am loving everything about the sleeve! I feel normal for the most part and can eat anything I want in limited quantity. Stil have good restriction and not much hunger. I do get empty feeling now and then or need energy, and I do crave bad foods sometimes as well--just not real strong hunger. Either way even when I do indulge it is a very small amount and I don't worry much about it. I am very active and don't do any sort of calorie counting or "diet" anymore other than just making sure I get protien in my foods to keep energy up. If I do eat something worthless like a pop tart ( I know terrible right?) I will drink my 15 oz Isopure protien before I eat it because the energy just wont sustain me from carbs. Please don't take this as a suggestion for a way to eat--its just what I do when I know I am going to eat something without protien in it. I am out playing golf allot these days trying to learn the game for the first time and going to the driving range allot. I love the outdoors now, going to spend time at the pool or golfing this summer. I have not been doing allot of workouts or runs lately since I prefer to use that time to hit golf balls right now--but I am sure that may change with the seasons as I still love a good 5k run. Anyway I wanted to stop by and say hello and say that I am so glad I made this decision. My insurance company is now covering the sleeve for some ppl at work I hear, but I self paid and have NO regrets as it is the best money I spent on myself and it was worth this year of health!

Good to hear! Hopefully someone might have some experience, but you might also try Obeisity help for the revision forums there as they are more likely to have people who have done a revision.