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When you get back to eating full solids again, you will notice the restriction.

Hi Fiddleman, you Bariatric Legend, Been reading your posts for years and just recently joined Vets Forum, so wanted to say hi. . . Did it last minutes or hours? Sounds pretty scary, especially since way out of ordinary for you. But if you did eat it just before lying down for the night it could have been just heavy enough to trigger some heavy duty reflux action (onions in your dessert bar??? hmmmm!), and maybe combined with what you had for dinner earlier. I would definitely "beat feet" to doc if it happens again though. But fingers cross--be well!

Thanks feedyoureye! It feels great to be here. . .

Hi swimbikerun, I hope your problems have been resolved and you are enjoying good physical health now. I am so fortunate to not have had any physical issues from my surgery. I have an excellent bari team who keeps a really close watch on me physically--for that I have no complaints. For me, the uneasiness is more the emotional part of the whole thing since I reached 3 years--just kinda feeling like the bari medical professionals generally regard older postops as "not needing" emotional support anymore.

Hi marfar7, Thanks much for your reply. Stay tuned to this thread for updates. I am really excited and dedicated to us Bariatric Pal pals having a regular place to gather monthly! I will do everything in my power to make this new group happen! And--welcome to So Cal. Is it a big adjustment for you from living in Oregon? Never been to Oregon, but have heard it is a beautiful place to live!

There's lots of differing opinions about pop--diet or regular for us WLSers. I personally chose to give it up for life, and am glad I did. It was a condition of my surgery so I followed it. If your surgeon has recommended you not drink it for now, I would follow those instructions. If you choose to not permanently remove pop from your new eating plan and lifestyle, when you are further down the road to your recovery and your stomach is fully healed, you may be able to drink it again occasionally without any ill effects.

Sure, if you're not having any problem swallowing tablets, the Citracal PETITES calcium citrate +D tablets are fine, but be sure you read the label because they are fewer mg per tablet than the regular size Citracal. I like them too because they are much easier to swallow than those bigger ones. Even though they say you can take them with or without food, my surgeon says they are BEST absorbed WITH food. But like so many things, there's a lot of differing opinions about that.

Everyone is so different and it depends on so many things. I live alone and I also have a pretty high level of pain tolerance, so I was fine all by myself when I got home. It's always nice though to have someone there if you can. Congratulations on your approval and best wishes!

Yay for you! I remember that day so well when my doc said that to me, so I can really say that I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL! Congratulations on your huge accomplishment. SO PROUD FOR YOU!!! And the BP meds disappearing are, for sure, just around the corner. And try to always remember, "stalls" are not really stalls. They are merely your body adjusting. It knows what it is doing. As long as you are following your bari program, your body will adjust its weight accordingly. That means that there will be times when you don't lose for awhile (longer than YOU think it should be, but your body knows!).

Thanks so much for your kind and welcoming words Isereno, swimbikerun, and QueenofCrop! There's something about hitting the three year mark that's made me feel like there's not many others around me anymore that are now experiencing the longer-term challenges I am. Most in my support groups are immediately post-up and up to one year out, with maybe a handful of vets. Soooo--I definitely feel a kinship here, and looking forward to sharing my story AND supporting all of yours in any way I can!

Yep--there's so many different programs out there. Many do not have you worry about counting carbs until you are back to eating normal foods again, months down the road. After all--you have quite enough to be worrying about right after surgery, right??? Most eating plans for the first few months after surgery give you the right balance of everything you need and as long as you follow that, counting carbs isn't necessary. Congrats on your sleeve!

Congratulations, and many, many more! I love people who continue to acknowledge and Celebrate their special surgiversary every year. I plan to do it forever!

So happy for you, Tiffany! Aren't our bodies such amazing machines? And isn't it wonderful that we have this second chance to get and stay healthy and be able to "stick around" for the long run? This time we really know and appreciate what a gift our body is and are learning how to treat it like it is intended to be treated. It is never too late. . . Just keep on reading all the awesome tips and trick here on BariPal from all here who are your partners in this adventure. I think the main message that most will agree on is that the sleeve is an excellent tool, but it doesn't just magically make all the weight go away. The owner of the sleeve is the one who has to do all the hard work to make that sleeve work. It's often not all a bed of roses, but the closer you adhere to your bariatric program from the very beginning and for the duration, the greater the odds are that you will enjoy the permanent rewards of WLS. Happy waiting for August 11 day!

Sounds like maybe you went back to work too soon? Maybe you need to get an off-work order for another couple weeks? With the major surgery that you just went through, it's totally normal to feel exhausted. Some people take months before they get their energy back. The more you exert your body, the less chance it's having to heal itself. I know this is tough for you, because we need that ol' paycheck, but at this stage, your health is really, really important. But I know you know that. Take care of yourself, and let us know how you are doing.

Definitely--comparing ourselves to others can be so self-defeating. This adventure is so much about keeping ourselves positive and keeping it FUN! It's like the old saying--"comparing apples and oranges"-- it's not accurate and serves no purpose except making us feel bad if it "looks like" someone else is losing faster. And--there is absolutely NO comparison between how guys and gals lose. Guys generally lose more/quicker 'cuz they're not built to be the ones who bring all those little bundles of joy into the world . . .

Ditto to what everyone above said! Just a little "looking into the future" for you--I am 3 years out, and those memories of how tough it was at the point of where you are right now have long faded away. I definitely still respect that I went through all that because it is all part of the process, but there is soooo much good that is right around the corner for you. I know you know this--not trying to "tell you what to do"--but when you say your food feels like it's stuck. You are still taking real small bites and chewing them really well before swallowing and waiting a bit between bites, right? For me--slowing down my eating was a major hurdle. That's why I mentioned it. :>) As someone who has struggled with chronic depression my whole adult life, I do relate to what depression feels like. Your feelings related to what you've been through with WLS are normal and to be expected. My wish for you is that these feelings will lift for you day by day as your strength returns and your body fully heals from the surgery. You are now nourishing it the way it was always meant to be nourished. I personally have found that since I am not eating the junk anymore, my depressed brain has healed considerably along with my sleeved body! And--you WILL enjoy eating again. You know what is different? Today, I no longer have any guilt associated with ANYTHING I eat for the first time in my life. I don't have to categorize food as GOOD or BAD. Because now I know how to make the right CHOICES. And if I want to PLAN to have an occasional ice cream cone in my eating plan this week, I can have it, enjoy it, and continue on with my normal, healthy eating plan. That feeling of power over your relationship with food is HUGE. It doesn't happen overnight, and not without a lot of work, but when it does, Yay, Yay, Yay! Best wishes to you!

Try to make sure YOUR decision is NOT being based on something someone SAID about someone else's outcome (success/failure/complication, etc), rather than what the medical facts of each of the procedures are that YOU know you have researched. I think some people's decisions are based on the fact that the RNY is considered the "gold standard" of WLS and has been performed for more years than the sleeve. On the other hand, some people like the idea that the sleeve is a less radial surgery (less rerouting of the "plumbing") than the RNY. As you know, both are very successful procedures--it all boils down to personal preference (and, of course, physician recommendation). With either, full compliance with changing eating habits and lifestyle for the rest of our lives is identical. Sleever or RNY?--Good luck in your final decision. I know it's a mind-boggling one. . .

What a great question! I hope you get a lot of POSITIVE feedback. Like so many other things with this process, "your results may vary." I'm 3 years out. For me, I did A LOT (I mean A LOT) of advance preparation, both physically and mentally/emotionally. I was well equipped with the knowledge that my poor eating habits were the exact reason I was obese, and that processed foods/fast foods and simple carbs could no longer be in my life. My new lifestyle's eating plan had to be lean Protein and veggies/fruit for the rest of my life. I feel that many bariatric programs don't seem to prepare patients very well for the mental/emotional part of WLS. For many sleevers whose hunger eventually returns (not everyone's does), they are caught totally off guard by not knowing that the emotional work needs to be done. MOST of us will have to deal with the returning hunger and/or cravings, and I think many of us do not realize that will happen. This sets us up to go right back to eating the way we had for so long. Even I, who DID BIG-TIME PREPARE, thought that my hunger and cravings would be MUCH less from what they were pre-surgery. I definitely still DO get hungry and I DO have cravings. I have done a lot of difficult (but so worth it) head/emotional work to learn that I must make the CHOICES, every time, that are healthy and nutritious to deal with my hunger and cravings. The personal accountability and responsibility of every bite that passes my lips is my CHOICE is still sometimes hard to reckon with, especially since I spent so many years of my life NOT being accountable. Is it worth it??? Nothing has EVER been MORE worth it!!!

Hi again Ladies, I'm the gal from up in the Kaiser San Bernardino County area who had my surgery down there at Scripps Mercy in April 2011. I'm so excited for you guys! Pacific Bariatric, as you probably already know, is a super group of bariatric docs--they really know their stuff. It helps a lot when you know that you can have total confidence that your surgeon has done tons of these surgeries. And--I was treated like royalty while at Scripps! The pre-op education that you get from Kaiser MAY sometimes seem like it's soooo long (and even maybe sometimes a little boring) but please try to remember how lucky we are to HAVE this education. It will make a BIG difference in your long-term success. There are a lot of other bariatric programs out there who do not even begin to prepare their pre-ops nearly as well as Kaiser does. And then, of course there is the aftercare that not many programs offer. I have had the opportunity to attend Kaiser support groups 3 times a month (now it is 4 times a month) for the last three years, and I have attended them all. There's been studies done recently that WLS patients who regularly attend support groups post-surgery sustain more successful weight loss. Some people get kinda spooked about having to have the psych eval as part of the pre-op process. Photo 925 said it perfectly. Since this is such a life-changing procedure, it's obviously important that the patient is mentally and emotionally equipped to handle and comply with the requirements associated with bariatric surgery. As far as the teacher's harping about the childhood issues--can I offer my two cents? Maybe what she was trying to focus on is that the root of our screwed-up eating habits that got us into trouble in the first place very often DOES go back to our relationship to food that we developed from a very young age! (i.e., clean your plate; aww-did you get a boo-boo? here's a cupcake to make it all better; I made these cookies just for you--you better eat more than that; have some more--it's not gonna kill ya, etc, etc). Then, we live our lives and stressor upon stressor happens and we soothe ourselves with food, and well, you know, the rest is history--here we are at bari surgery! I'd love to read about your progress as you move through the process. All I can say is that you are in great hands!

For someone who has just had surgery thru the time they are back to solid foods, I would say it is impossible. Once back on solid foods with few dietary restrictions, it's still a challenge to get an average of 20gm per meal. That's why I still rely on at least one high-quality Protein shake a day (Premier ready-to-drink) and keep Protein powder on hand too, even at 3 years post-op. It just makes life so much easier.

I was sleeved at age 59--three years ago. I was obese my whole life (by at least 100 pounds most of my life). I suffered from , unspeakable ridicule from the time I was 10 years old. I was bullied for my fatness from grade 7 through high school. Obesity affected my ability to advance in my career, to find a husband, to have children, to feel like I was worthy to have a place in this world. Yes, to some that probably sounds extreme. It is what obesity did to me. So for me, the chance to be freed from the bonds of a lifetime of shame, how could there possibly be any regret to having VSG? My life has changed in ways I never knew a person could feel about themselves. I have a lot of "catching up" to do in life--and I am well on my way to doing so. Good luck with your decision. You will make the right one--you are already asking your first GREAT question!!!

Absolutely yes!

We who have suffered from obesity for so long are often so cruel to ourselves. We would never tell someone we love and respect that they are a loser, so why do we tell ourselves that??? Mississippi Queen, you will get to ONEderland. It IS your CHOICE. It is in YOUR POWER. Go gal . . .

Have you checked out the Forum here on Bariatric Pal that is Age-Specific (separate forums for those in their twenties, thirties, forties, etc)?

Sorry you're feeling rotten. Yep, here I am, just someone else telling you to hang in there. But we are telling you that because we want you to feel better, and most importantly, we want you to start enjoying what it means to now be a WLS person and what a positive impact it is going have on you for the rest of your life--and in some ways that you probably haven't even thought about yet. So at the times when you're feeling the worst before you start feeling better, just try to remember WHY you made your decision to have the surgery, and you will be on your road to recovery and never look back to this challenging time. I don't mean to sound like a nag--but please take care of yourself. You know how important it is at this early stage that you get in your Protein and your Water. And, your "no energy" is totally normal. You DID just have major surgery! As your body heals and you are able to get in more quality nutrition, your energy will come back. Take care and please let us know how you are doing.