PdxMan

McButterpants and I had the same surgeon, so, I, too, was outpatient. (My that was a lot of commas ... did I use them correctly?) In at 6:00 and back at the Golden Nugget taking a nap at noon. But that was our surgeon, not anybody else's. Each surgeon is going to have a protocol they are familiar and comfortable with. I don't know about you, but I want my surgeon to be as comfortable as can be when they are working inside me. Just because one surgeon does it one way versus another doesn't necessarily make it better. They are going to make these decisions based on a number of things most of which we are not privy to. So, as I'm sure you have read on these forums many times, comparing yourself to others does absolutely no good. Why were you on a 10 day liquid diet and your friend was able to enjoy lean cuisines? Because that is what each doctor has recommended before and it has sized the patient's liver to a size they are comfortable working with. Why do some people get a catheter and other's not, especially when the surgery is only supposed to be less than 45 minutes? Because that particular doctor knows that if the surgery should go longer, they don't want to take the time to catheterize you mid-process. They just want to eliminate the hassle by just doing it, while others are fine pausing for a catheter insertion, again, if needed. Why the drain for some and not for others? Because each has witnessed different results using them. There is a tipping point for using drains as there is also the belief that drains themselves can cause issues, so one has to way the risk/benefit of using them. It would appear laparoscopic VSG is one of those procedures that sits on the fence. As far as how we react to anesthesia and surgery, well ... that is a highly individual thing. Two people can undergo the exact same process by the exact same surgeon and have two completely different outcomes. I couldn't drink hardly a thing afterwards, but I have always been a sweller. Meaning, that my body gets swollen easily by the least bit of trauma. I know this attributed to my inability to drink early on, but of course, I got past it. You say you don't want to be a negative Nelly and want to truly be happy for your friend, then do just that. ** EDIT ** So, I just re-read this and I can see where it could be interpreted as coming off harsh, but my intent and tone is just the opposite. I just want you to be focused on your journey and make the decisions that are right for you. When we start to compare ourselves we often take the track of being "less than", and that, for me, is just one aspect of my destructive behavior.

I went to Dr Thomas Umbach in Las Vegas. I had a great experience with him and would highly recommend him. He has a cash price of $10,400 and also has financing option available. There are several of his patients on here. Do a search for his name. You will find great reviews. I am over 2 years out and still have excellent restriction. I lost 120# and have been at goal for quite a while, now. Plus ... you get a mini vacation in Vegas. I took the wife and stayed at the Golden Nugget, $44 a night. I used miles to fly there, but usually airfare to Vegas is pretty cheap. We rented a car off Hotwire for less than $100. Pretty easy decision for me and absolutely no regrets.

At 6 months post is when I started to lose my hair. I thought I had it nailed as I was taking Biotin, Vitamins and getting all of my protein/water in. If you go back 2 years on this site, I'm sure you can find some snarky posts from me stating I had found the answer to avoiding hair loss. Then, I started noticing hair on the shower floor. It continued until I had lost about 50% which was about 3 months time. Good news is, it all came back, and then some. I think the biotin helped generate more hair all over my body as I have never been hairier as I am now. So, I think there are people who can go through this process without losing their hair, but they are the exception. IMO, the hair loss occurs as a result of the rapid weight loss. Hormones are stored in your fat and when they are released in relatively large amounts due to rapid weight loss, your body reacts. If you were perhaps not so compliant with your post-operative guidelines and lost weight at a slow rate, I'm guessing you could get around the hair loss thing, too. But, I also believe you have an optimum window for weight loss, so once you get a little ways post-op, weight loss is going to be harder and you risk not reaching your goals. From what I understand though, is it isn's so much about the hair loss, as we constantly are losing hair, but it is more the fact the next hair growth cycle doesn't begin, and this is due to the higher hormone levels. I am not a Dr, but this all kind of makes sense to me.

I agree with Laura and others who feel this article is written by someone with very skewed feelings. It is not objective whatsoever. I love how she relates this story: I have mixed feelings on this. First off, anybody who even is sitting in pre-op not knowing what the side effects are should be denied the surgery due to sheer stupidity. Really? You are going to have a surgery and not have a clue as to what is going to happen? Ok ... sure ... let's just believe that for a second and combine it with a medical team who is not going to mention anything about possible side effects. If you don't know the side effects of ANYTHING a medical professional is doing to you, then sorry, you shouldn't be getting the procedure. Come back when you have done your research. As far as the sexual dysfunction, I would love to see what her research in to male ED revealed. It is an easy search to conduct but again, this would not support her skewed view on WLS, so of course, she doesn't report on this. I'm not saying there aren't men with decreased performance post WLS, but the research suggests their issues may only by tangentially related to WLS. More likely other underlying issues were present. The bottom line is you will always be able to find the contrarian viewpoints on any topic and when they deal with personal issues, they will be even more stauncher in their defence. God bless them. The world needs people like Rush Limbaugh in the world ... right? Hmmm ...

Wow, 14 hours. That is quite the day of travel. The tight feeling in the morning is just a part of the healing process. It will pass. You may want to try your liquid at a warmer temperature. I drank room temperature Gatorade for the first couple weeks as if it was cold, I couldn't get it down. Water wasn't even an option for me unless it was about an ounce.

I agree ... maybe you should just stay home and cook something nutritionally relevant.

If you are concerned your PCP may talk you out of it, then I would question the strength of you own resolve. That is not something I can address as only you know your history of battling weight. I know I considered this my last ditch effort to gain any semblance of control over the way I abused food. I was self-pay, but did my surgery in Las Vegas (BABY!!) $10,400. When I talked to my PCP before, he merely asked me what my dieting history was and if I thought I had exhausted all other options. I felt I did and told him so. That was the end of it, but if he would have pursued me trying other routes, I would have ignored him as I feel I had pretty much tried it all. If you feel you haven't tried it all, yet, then I would encourage you to try. VSG is a drastic procedure which is not reversible. For me, and my issues relating to food, it has been a perfect fit. I've been at goal for almost 2 years and haven't regretted it a bit.

I think it is a must for anybody who has more than 75 pounds to lose. I found that as I lost weight, the loose skin began to really irritate me while exercising. It would bounce around and was so uncomfortable, I didn't want to exercise anymore. The compression garments were exactly what I needed and work fabulously. HERE is my write-up about outfitting myself for running: http://vsgrunner.wordpress.com/equipment/ I guess I would ask, what do you have against them? Seems like you have some judgements about them. Try it, you might find you like them.

Hello, I am coming up on two and half years post-op. As far as the whole gherlin question though, I would highly advise not putting much stock in that being your cure to obesity and cravings. In my reading here and other research, people's issues with having a poor relationship with food and their ability to abuse food has little to do with gherlin. Now, let me also say that I do feel my food craving is far reduced post surgery compared to pre, but I also know there are other contributing factors here. I have done a lot of self reflection as to why I abuse food and try to take a more conscience approach to what I put in my mouth. Bottom line is having reduced gherlin is not going to prevent you from snacking or craving food. I was doing this just last night. I returned from a holiday party where I ate shrimp and chicken skewers with a little pad thai. It was delicious and I was full. But, when I got home, I walked over to the pantry and grabbed a box of Cheese-Its. I stopped. Why did I grab those? Was I hungry? No ... I was actually quite full. But yet, I stood there with a box of Cheese-Its. I put them back resolving to the fact that I do things just out of habit without even thinking. This is something that I just normally do when I walk in the door. I usually grab a quick snack when I get home because several hours have passed by and dinner won't be for another hour or so. I am fine with grabbing that snack, but I repeated that behavior when I wasn't even hungry. That is just one of my problems. I don't necessarily eat when I am hungry. I eat because I repeat behaviors, bad or good. Lack of gherlin isn't going to help me here. What I need to do is be aware of what I am feeling when I do eat.

Here's the thing about why I also give the advice I give. I have found that people who have this approach (your co-worker) actually DO have an issue with whatever it is they are inquiring about. I saw this from my friend after I went to rehab for alcoholism. "Why did you go there? You really didn't drink that much." "Couldn't you just drink less or just drink less often?" I basically had to cut ties with all of them for my own sobriety as they were not healthy for me. I later found out from another acquaintance it was their own demons related to alcohol/drugs which prompted their attitudes. By dealing with my issues, it forced them to take a look at theirs, which they didn't like. I see this with members of my family. My mother constantly asks me about my portion sizes. "There is just no way you can survive on that much", but then later admits that sometimes she just can't stop eating something she likes. When she sees someone taking control of their eating habits, she realizes how little control she has over her own. Your co-worker may be experiencing the same. It could be she has even bigger issues with food. We just don't know, but turning these questions back to her may do more good than just getting her to stop with her pursuit. You may be helping her in ways you just don't realize.

I did MOM daily for two weeks. Worked for me.

Turn each question around on her: Her: What did you eat exactly yesterday You: Changing eating habits can be difficult to do. I've noticed you often ask me about food and what I am eating. Are food issues something you struggle with? Her: How much more weight do you want to lose??? You: I've notice you ask me a lot of questions relating to food or my weight? Are you struggling with personal food related issues? Her: What is your goal weight? You: If you contact our HR department, I'm sure they can refer you to our health plan that may be able to help you with food or self-image issues if this is something you are struggling with personally. You never have to answer her questions and she will discover that any time she asks you about it, it will be turned back on her. This will work even if she is skinny. I know more thin people struggling with their relationship with food than obese people, so, give it a try.

Congrats on being sleeved and your loss so far. That is great. But I would just want to put a word of caution out there to everyone that comparing one person's results to another can, in the long run, do absolutely no good. There are sooooo many components to weight loss and it is even more so magnified in the first few weeks post surgery. Can you compare how much Fluid was pumped into your IV during your surgery? Did you do a pre-op diet, and if so, for how long? Was it liquids only or lean/green or what? Gender differences Were you already rapidly losing weight pre-op dieting on your own? (body already going into starvation mode) Do you have thyroid or other endocrine issues? I think we all know BMI comparisons are worthless as is the whole BMI thing, anyway, so ... My vote is just be happy to have received the surgery and stick to the guidelines your medical team laid out for you. Do this and you will be fine. Don't compare yourself to others. This is your journey.

Did you click on the link in my previous post? You have a Costco in Edmonton ... Several, actually. Call them and see if they stock Premier Protein drinks.

How far away from costco are you? Have you checked there? I get mine at my local Costco. I see several in Edmonton: http://www.costco.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/WarehouseLocatorView?actionType=add&langId=-24&storeId=10302&catalogId=11201

Woo Hoo! Congratulations! You look great.

You really need to contact your medical team. You may have a stricture which will need to be addressed. Dehydration will land you in the ER. Give them a call today.

I have to agree with Amazon ... who told you this? I pretty much stayed away from breads, rice and heavy starches the first 7 to 8 months as I knew this was my window for optimal loss and I wasn't going to piss it away on a bagel. But after I lost 120 pounds and hit goal, I will have the occasional item from my list above. Yesterday I had a piece of cheese pizza for lunch and for dinner, I had baked sole with a baked potato (butter and ranch dressing on it). Now, my quantity is faaaaaaaar less than it used to be as half a pizza is now one slice and I enjoyed about 4 bites of potato, but NEVER enjoying carbs ... ? Your body needs carbs for energy. My mindset had to change when I got sleeved. Doing the low/no carb lifestyle, IMO, is for people who have 100% of their stomach. With the sleeve's limited capacity, my carb intake is already limited. As long as I follow the basic guidelines of eating my lean Protein first, I can enjoy any carb I want. For me, the key is to not ABUSE those food items and try to consume nutritionally relevant items. I used to do just the opposite. Experiment and see what works for you.

Some people's stomach is going to be a little more swollen than others post surgery and the full extent of the swelling may not occur for a few days. The first 5 days or so, I used the syringe I was using for the pain meds for liquids as well. I was only able to drink about an ounce every few minutes. I also had a hiatal hernia repair which, I believe, added to my issues. Did you have a hiatal hernia repair by chance? I am not a doctor nor do I play one on the internet. Do not hesitate to contact your medical team. But from my experience, this is not uncommon. For me, Water was unbearable. Gatorade at room temperature was the only thing I could handle. Try drinking different things at different temperatures.

I do not have it down by any means. I would be fooling only myself if I thought I did. I am constantly learning. What works for me one week, won't work for me the next. I think the bottom line is we have to experiment. Stop thinking in absolutes. "I'll NEVER be able to eat normal again!" "I'm going to be tired THE REST OF MY LIFE!" "I'll NEVER figure this out!" I see this so many times. I went into this knowing that it is a work in progress and this process never ends. I am never "cured" of my addiction to food. I learn how to have a better relationship with it. But, to get where I have gotten has taken A LOT of practice, experimentation and patience. If something isn't working for me, it's OK. My body may have not progressed to that point, yet. Take a deep breath and know that I just need to either wait or modify what I am doing. What I do KNOW, though, is that I cannot do things the way I did it before. I had to make a change. So, you need to find what WILL work. There has to be a solution for you. I have never heard of an employer not allowing a person to have a drink. I've worked food industry, health care, education ... If you could share your exact industry or the nature as to why there is that restriction, it would help. Are you able to discuss the need to have something available with your employer? A fanny pack with an ice pack housing some of those ham/cheese rolls is a good option. Turkey Jerky from Trader Joes was one of my standby protein go-tos. Premier RTD shakes are still a part of my routine. Just don't give up and give in to quick, processed, unhealthy options. As I continually preach, if you want things to change, then you have to make things change.

Struggling with getting my eating/drinking balanced here (eating here being soup/yougert/cream of wheat/etc). I would love to do what you are suggesting, it's dang hard to "eat" for me. But then how do you balance the drinking? If you can't drink 30b4/30after....I am having a heck of a time. If I ate a couple of bites every 20 mins when would I drink? I was so proud of myself getting in all my Water Sunday and as soon as a started "eating" it got much harder! You are right. That was confusing. Let me clarify. Let's say I take my lunch at 11:30. I would have ensured I had at least 20 oz of water by 11:00 because I am so good with that. So, let's say I have 3 sliced ham with cream cheese wraps. I'll take one out of the fridge and take a bite. Chew it ridiculously putting it down after my first bite. For the ham I use, this roll will take about 4 bites. Takes me about 10 minutes to eat it. 20 minutes later, I head back to the fridge and grab another one AS LONG AS I AM NOT REMOTELY FEELING FULL. (or whatever my new definition of full is) So, I repeat the process. Yes, it does mean I am usually eating at my desk, but that is fine, for me. Continue to repeat this process until you BEGIN to feel the restriction. Doesn't matter if you are half way through one of the ham rolls, STOP! Just because there is food in front of us doesn't mean we have to eat it. I know ... that was a new one for me, too. 30 minutes later, resume drinking. On the rare occasion I go out with co-workers for lunch, the process isn't much different. If I am not sharing my surgery with others, if I am asked, I say I am just not that hungry right now but will probably have another bite when we are back at the office. I've been doing this for well over 2 years and it really isn't a big deal. I thought it would be at first, but then I discovered it really isn't all about me. We're learning new habits here. It is a good thing. I love the fact that I don't have to or want to power down food the way I used to.

I have found this to be true if I eat too much. Still true today. Try eating less more often. Just have two bites and stop. 20 minutes later, have another two bites. See if that makes a difference.

I talked to my NUT when I was at about 6 weeks with this same complaint. I was mainly eating pureed Soups, so she suggested I add more veggies (good carbs) to them. She explained that with the limited quantity of food I was consuming, now was not the time to be concerned with eating low-carb. I did as she instructed and she was totally right. Within a day or two I felt so much better. Perhaps give it a try and see if it works for you.

Once you get past ketosis (Google it) and are able to eat anything and everything, nothing changes with your taste buds, though I do feel sweets are a bit sweeter, but that is a good thing. It just takes time, but everything does return to "normal".

Well, we don't have a pouch, that is really directed at RnY folks. I know, for myself, when I need to drop 5 pounds, I get back to the basics for a couple weeks as I outlined. Don't drink prior, during or right after eating Start with lean Protein, then veggies Exercise I also have pretty much adopted the habit of eating slower than I did pre-op and chewing really well. I put my utensil down after each bite and don't take another if I am remotely sated. I believe sleevers begin to have issues when they learn to "eat around" their sleeve and not follow the basic guidelines. Doing the pouch test is like every other diet I tried, but could not maintain. I can maintain the principles of the basic sleeve guidelines.