joatsaint

I too hurt like Hell!!! I was taken off the pain meds early in the morning, but wasn't released till 6 hours later. At some point I got the hiccups and stretched my staple line. I had a 2 hour car ride home, and I could feel my staple line stretch at every turn, bump and stop. I don't think it would have been so painful if I had not gotten the hiccups and irritated Frankensleeve. But I'd do it all again in a New York Minute (recently measured at 32 seconds)!!!! It was all worth it.

My preferred drink is Crystal Light lemonade w/ Tequila. I do drink the occasional beer or Mikes Hard Lemonade. But I drink them very carefully because of the carbonation. I usually pour them over ice to release some of the bubbles.

I've only drank Premier Protein chocolate and EAS carb control shakes since surgery. I like miine a little thick - and I aleady had an old bag of chocolate flavored protein powder in the house - I just toss in 1 scoop of powder (1/2 of a serving size) with the premixed shake. Tastes like a thick silky chocolate milk to me.

Sugar alcohols will cause me to have loose BMs. Years ago, when I was doing Atkins, I took 6 sugar free pecan turtles (yes, the experience made such an impression, I remember it 10 years later! ) to the movies. I ate all 6, and in 30 minutes, I was running to the bathroom. Lesson learned.

I've never experienced dumping syndrome - maybe I was too paranoid about it and stayed away from carbs. But at times I did feel like a lawn sprinkler, having diarrhea so many times. My BMs were irregular for almost a year, before things started working somewhat normal again. In the beginning, it was diarrhea - from the liquid and puree diet. Then onto constipation - after moving to full foods and eating lots of Protein. I still don't go but every 4 or 5 days, but at least the problems of constipation and diarrhea are a thing of the past.

"What tips would you have for me? Any medications that could help with the gas and/or bloating? Acid reflux meds? The works! I plan on stocking up on everything I need! What about walking, when was it possible for you to go out and walk normally?" I never took any meds for gas, so I don't have any recommendations in that area. Some people say to get Gas-X strips. I can advise you on stocking up on food. Don't buy a lot of anything. Maybe just 2 or 3 of things like chicken broth, Protein shakes, sugar free popsicles, sugar free Jell-O. In the 1st week or 2, I was eating so little that I didn't need all the things I stocked up on. Plus my taste buds changed and some of my favorite things tasted bad. I was up and walking comfortably while I was still in the hospital. Once I got home, I was back to walking my normal pace. My doc wanted me walking 30 minutes a day - starting the 1st day home. Hope this helps.

I wasn't a fast loser, so I was only losing 13 or so pounds a month on average. But I was on target for the weight loss speed my doctor wanted me at. The #1 piece of advice is, expect to hit a stall. Especially the infamous 3rd week stall post-op. Most of us hit it, just stick with your eating and exercise programs and the weight will start dropping again. I wasn't able to do a lot of exercise the 1st 3 or 4 months. I had lots of problems with my feet hurting if I walked too far. I started off small and just worked my way up. By the 4th month, I was walking a few miles a day. This is my blog post about my plan to go from 0 to 5 miles per day. http://www.bariatricpal.com/blogs/entry/31216-nsv-2-you-best-step-off-b-hatch/

Having sleep apnea immediately qualified me for WLS. My insurance is bariatric friendly and I was approved 1 week after my initial consult with the doctor. I thought it might be the universe trying to tell me something - When I called my ins. company to find out how to qualify for WLS, the lady I was speaking with was 1 year out from VSG surgery. Coincidence, I think NOT!

1. coffee? Do many people continue to drink coffee post-op? If so, do you still use creamer, or just milk? I stayed away from coffee for the 1st 30 days. After that, I started sipping coffee here and there. I use powdered creamer/liquid creamer/ whipping cream/condensed milk - whatever is available. I use Splenda as sweetener. 2. Smoothies/juicing? How early were you able to make a smoothie with frozen fruit? Or have juice using a juicer? I used to have these after my morning workouts and really enjoyed them. I would get them with veggies and a couple fruits. I've never juiced or had a smoothie. 3. Drinking out of straws? Does most people drink out of straws with no problem? Or is it really best to avoid them? I wasn't ever told not to drink with a straw, but I don't ever use them - just a preference. 4. Caffeine? Stay away forever? I don't know if I can do that...at least some tea every now and then. I get my caffeine from coffee, so 30 days post-op was my first caffeine. Everyone is different, so be careful and only try small amounts of a new food (think 1/2 teaspoon full) to see how your sleeve will react.

Congrats on taking the 1st step to a better life.

I've gone that long without any weight loss too. You might look at the types of carbs you're eating and how many. I've found that even eating too much fruit can put me into a stall. Salt is another big one I have to watch out for. Over Thanksgiving and Xmas I was eating a lot of spiral ham. The extra salt kept a lot of Water weight on me.

It was normal for me, after surgery. I had a lot of pressure in my chest - from the leftover gas. I was dozing on and off between the nurses taking me for walks and/or checking my blood pressure. I was hitting the morphine button like I was trying to win a prize on a game show! Hang in there, it does get better. I promise. Welcome to the Loser's Bench.

I vote "normal" too. I too am part of the famous "3 week stall" club. Stick with your post-op guidelines, the weight will start dropping again. I promise.

You look very cute. Did they give you a duck tail as well? I know a manicurist that has a pixie cut and a duck tail, don't know why, but I love it.

I've never looked too closely at Weight Watchers, but most of the ladies I work with follow WW on and off. It seems to me they eat a lot of processed carbs, as well as non processed carbs. How much Protein they eat, I'm not sure about. From my own experience, processed carbs/fruit/and anything with sugar will cause me to have head hunger and cravings. After surgery, I started slipping into old habits. And I started noticing I was hungry when my stomach was full. I started tracking what I ate and found out the even eating good stuff like apples would cause me to have head hunger. You might start noticing how often you become hungry (real hunger vs head hunger) and what you've recently eaten. I have to stick to a high protein/low carb diet to lose or maintain my weight loss.

I've been a registered massage therapist and a certified nurses aid. I had thought about going into nursing until I realized I'd never be able to stick someone with a needle or draw blood. But I wouldn't mind being a patient advocate or something along those lines for people looking to learn more about WLS and which one fits them best.

I call that, one helluva NSV. Congrats, all you have to do is take one step at a time.

I never thought about bougie size, now I kinda feel inadequate. Could I have bougie envy?

I was sleeved on Dec 27th 2012 - it was a cold, rainy 2 weeks after surgery, so I didn't get out and walk like my doc told me. I just paced around the house. On those times when I was disappointed (when I thought I wasn't losing fast enough) I tried to remember how fast I wasn't losing weight before surgery. I tried to remember how (pre-surgery) I would have been ecstatic to lose even 1/2 lb a month, as long as I was going down. Hope this helps, and try not to compare your weight loss rate to anyone else's. We all lose weight at different rates - genetics, exercise, hormones, and diet all play a part in it.

I've been stuck multiple times. Most of the time it was just a plateau, but on a few occasions, it was that I'd let myself slip back into some old habits. Or I had started eating salty foods - like mixed nuts ( I love mixed nuts!!!!!!). You might look at the amount of salt in your food, if you've cut back on exercise or if your carbs have increased or are coming from fruit/high glycemic foods or (best) if your carbs are coming from low glycemic foods - like squash, cauliflower, broccoli, Beans, lentils. I can still remember at about 6 months, I could suddenly eat more and more kinds of food. So I had to be more vigilant about how much and how often I was eating.

I would not buy much of anything. Maybe try a few low-carb, high Protein shakes (Premier Protein, EAS...) to find one you like for the pre-op diet. Maybe a few cans of chicken broth and sugar free Jell-O and sugar free popsicles. But don't load up too much, your tastes will change (at least in the short term) post-op and the flavors you liked pre-op may not be too appealing. Plus, you will be eating so little that you won't need to keep much on the shelves. When I was planning on stocking up for my post-op eating, I was still thinking I would need the same amounts I was currently eating. My best friend stopped me and reminded me, that I'd be eating about 1/4th of my current calories post-op and I wouldn't need so much food in the house.

My friend tells me that I'd probably be below 200 lbs if I had plastics. I weighed in at 203 today, so if I had the excess skin removed I probably would be below 200. But since I don't really know what the excess skin weighs, I don't try to handicap my weight. To determine if I want to lose more weight, I look in the mirror and try to evaluate how I look. I ask my best friend (who I completely trust to be honest) how he thinks I look. Then I decide if I want to lose more weight. I hope this helps.

I was weighed the day of surgery. But I have 2 "start" weights. My heaviest weight (375) before I started the pre-op diet and (352) the weight I was on the day of surgery. I don't consider 352 my real start weight because it was lost during the pre-op diet. And I know from my history that I would not have kept that weight off long term - If I could, I would not have needed surgery.

Could you elaborate a little more about what you mean by "pre-op" appointment? I had about 7 pre-op appointments. Everything from the initial visit to NUT visit, drawing blood, chest x-ray and psych eval visit. My initial visits with the doc were to make sure I could qualify for surgery, knew what I was getting into and the visit I had to have with the NUT. The rest were at the hospital - blood work, chest x-ray, stomach endoscopy and finally the psych eval (it was all about finding out if I knew what I was getting into, if I had realistic expectations, and if I was committed to the changes I would have to make).

To be straight up with you, I just took it day by day. I could not eat anything but sugar free popsicles for 7 or 8 days post-op. I wasn't able to get in anywhere near the recommended calories and protein that 1st month. My main focus was on staying hydrated. As long as I felt okay, I wasn't worried. I figured I had enough calories stored in my fat to survive a Zombie Apocalypse! (well.... survive as long as I wasn't being chased by a zombie... otherwise, I'd have been one of the 1st to go!)