PetCleric

Hi! Another Tennessee sleever here :-) I had surgery on October 4th, so I'm about 10 1/2 weeks out. Pre- and post-op combined I'm down 56 pounds. Woohoo! My surgeon is Dr Spaw, and I couldn't have been happier with my surgery experience.

I'm 5 weeks out and doing very well, I think - but I have developed an intolerance for Protein shakes or drinks. I was hoping to try to get all my protein from food for the next couple of days at least, if not foreviu!¡ Today I realized that if I drank some milk (1%) as part of my liquids then I could get protein in more easily. I was wondering if that's good reasoning or not...

I haven't found an unflavored Protein powder I like but I'll keep trying! And is soy milk lower in carbs than regular milk? I guess I thought the sweetened versions were just as carby and the unsweetened are kinda gross to me. I have used unsweetened almond milk with flavored Protein Powder in the past, just not liking the flavor of the powders right now. Whew! So complicated.

Whoops! Thought the first post didn't go through. Duh!

Thanks for the quick replies! I already eat turkey, chicken, Greek yogurt, eggs, and cheese - but my stomach capacity is around 3 Tbsp and I can't get enough volume in of those foods to meet my Protein goal. (yay for low capacity!) Fluids are going down easily, though, so the milk will really help. I am a type II diabetic, so I do worry about carbs, but I've been off all insulin and other diabetes meds since day 1 of the prep diet and my sugars are fantastic... So I'll just keep an eye on my sugars and risk the milk for now. And I did try a Protein Bar by my stomach said nononono so I'll wait a couple of weeks before trying that again!

Thanks for the quick replies! I already eat turkey, chicken, Greek yogurt, eggs, and cheese - but my stomach capacity is around 3 Tbsp and I can't get enough volume in of those foods to meet my Protein goal. (yay for low capacity!) Fluids are going down easily, though, so the milk will really help. I am a type II diabetic, so I do worry about carbs, but I've been off all insulin and other diabetes meds since day 1 of the prep diet and my sugars are fantastic... So I'll just keep an eye on my sugars and risk the milk for now.

Wow! May I say, "hubba, hubba!" You've done so well- congrats!

My surgeon's office accepted CareCredit, so that's what I did. I was in the states, so I don't know about Mexico. I used it to pay for the amount that I owed over insurance - which in my case would only pay for 50% after I met my deductible. I applied online and literally had an answer in seconds, then could print out my number and use it immediately if needed. That's all my experience thus far - don't know how they'll be to work with in the long run.

My doc put me on Hyoscyamine automatically after surgery to prevent stomach spasms. Don't know if it would help you, but I never experienced any spasming post-surgery.

So far on pureeds I've enjoyed thick Soups (tomato with cream cheese swirled in), tuna/ chicken/ egg salads, Greek yogurt, sugar free pudding, refried Beans with cheese, laughing cow cheese wedges, and squash casserole. The only thing I can't handle that I've tried so far is Peanut Butter Even one spoonful blended into my shake makes me feel terrible for a couple of hours. All is good except I have a new-found aversion to the Protein shakes in the past 36 hours. I even tried the clear Isopure drinks today with no luck. I don't get nauseated, but I am really turned off by them. Weird - I'm 3 weeks out from surgery and I've been drinking them fine fir 5 weeks now.

I want to sleep in the bed with my husband and not on a recliner due to back pain. I want to wear my wedding rings on the right finger. I want to move around without my shirt getting caught on my fat a$$ so that I have to pull it down every 5 seconds. I want to have sex without thinking about how my fat rolls are jiggling. I want to wear high heels occasionally. I want to go to reunions and enjoy seeing friends instead of just thinking about how big I am. I want to stop adding to my health problems at every Dr visit. I want to dance without thinking about what I look like. I want to be comfortable in a regular bathroom stall instead of having to contort myself to wipe. I want to hug my husband and have the lower part of our bodies actually touch. I want to ride a horse without feeling sorry for the poor thing. I want to fit into restaurant booths comfortably because it is pretty dang humiliating to be too fat to sit down to eat. I want to get a massage without feeling sorry for the poor masseuse. :-)

Hi Missy :-) My surgery is October 4th and my doctor requires a 2 week pre-op diet, so I'm starting day 4 of that. Truthfully, I haven't been as hungry as I feared - I think I'm taking in enough liquids to keep my stomach full. Of course I have to pee every hour on the hour! I'm a type 2 diabetic and struggle to get my fasting blood sugar below 165. I was on about $700.00 worth of meds per month, including insulin and yet still had trouble. Now - with only 3 full days of a reduced calorie and carb intake, and NO insulin - my blood sugar this morning was 118. Woo hoo!! That's my motivation - I can already tell that the sleeve will help me - no guess work! Heather

Yeah, so my "number" was - get this - 132. That's right. I stopped breathing or dropped a low oxygen a whopping 132 times an hour, and was somehow managing to raise a 5 year old and own/operate a business with 15 employees. Of course I fell asleep within 60 seconds of getting into a car and quite literally fell asleep in conversation with someone face to face. Twice Love, love, love my CPAP. I don't ever sleep without it and it has absolutely improved my life. I feel like a big ole freak with my Darth Vader mask on, and I would love it my apnea disappeared after surgery... But for now I'm very grateful for a little air up my nose at night!

Thanks so much for the answer :-) It's comforting to hear about the (relatively) low rate of regain. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to lose the weight, but not at all confident about making the right choices daily -- I mean, I've been *so* successful at that so far! <rolling eyes> I think I can do it most of the time, don't get me wrong ... Congrats on the sprout and I can totally relate to the fear of pregnancy weight. I actually told my doc not to even tell me what my weight was! i didn't want to pass on my anxiety to my wee one. Then he turned out to weigh 11 pounds, 14 ounces at birth. Whee!!! Heather

Hi! I'm in the process of deciding about surgery and just trying to collect as much information as I can. This forum is an amazing resource. :-) I realize VSG is a tool and that regain is possible if you aren't careful. On other WLS forums (RNY, Gastric bypass, band...) I hear some people talk about regaining a significant portion of their lost weight, even all of it. But I have yet to read about a "sleever" regaining more than 20-25 pounds. So my question is ... are there any sleevers out there who have experienced this higher level of regain that other WLS patients have? No judging - I know life gets in the way of the best intentions! I just wondered if I haven't read enough or if the VSG truly has lower regain stats. (And in case it comes up, I've already decided that it's the VSG or nothing for me! Love everything about the principles of it, and wouldn't risk anything else available out there right now.) Thanks! Heather

Shoot! I can't do Thursdays for several weeks - my husband teaches at night and I don't think my 6-year-old would be too interested! i will definitely come in the future, when this quarter is over for my husband. Again, congrats on your NSV!!

Congrats on your progress!! Very exciting! Getting off meds is one of the major reasons I'm thinking about the surgery. I'm considering the sleeve with Dr. Spaw, too. I haven't met him yet, just heard a lot of good things. May I ask if you are happy with him?