joatsaint

I guess the speed at which one can eat more would depend on how well the recovery process went and what size bogey was used during surgery. I think it was about the 6 month mark where I started being able to eat more than 1/2 cup at one meal. But from what I've read, it's normal for the stomach to "relax" a little once the swelling and trauma from surgery is over. And I have some days where it just seems like my stomach is a bottomless pit. But unlike pre-surgery, I can eat just a little and walk away. Even though I may be able to eat a cup to 1 1/2 cups of food, I still limit myself to 1/2 or 3/4 of a cup and be satisfied. That wouldn't have happened in the past. I'd have to eat until I was stuffed before I could walk away. And I can remember when I first started being able to eat more, thinking, "OMG, I am eating soooo much." Completely forgetting the huge platefuls I used to able to eat multiple times a day. I don't believe you have stretched your stomach out, or that it is easy to stretch your stomach - since most of the stretchy part has been removed. Just be vigilant and realize that just because you can eat more, you don't have to. Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

Okay, this post is not to bash the newbies or newts (not a newbie/not a veteran), although I can see how it could look that way. My sense of humor is dry/sarcastic and it's hard to convey that in print. I thought I'd start compiling some of the most commonly asked questions I see posted on weekly basis, just to show that you are not alone with your thoughts and concerns. Will all my hair fall out after VSG? "Individuals don't begin to notice the increase in hair loss when showering or brushing the hair until about three months post-surgery. Although the resting hair is being pushed out of the scalp by new hair that is already growing, it can take anywhere from about six months to a year for the hair to return to its normal fullness. Individuals who have undergone gastric bypass or other operations of the digestive tract designed to reduce obesity are more prone to hair loss post-surgery. This is due to the reduced intake of food in the weeks and months immediately following these procedures. The body needs an adequate amount of proteins and vitamins to maintain hair production. Protein-enhanced shakes are often recommended for these patients as a substitute until solid food can be better tolerated. Hair loss related to surgery typically reverses itself without any medicinal intervention or the need for over-the-counter hair loss tonics or treatments. However, maintaining a diet rich in protein and iron is believed to help promote and speed up healthy hair growth. Suggested foods include salmon, beans, eggs, spinach, broccoli, nuts and whole-grain cereals. Avoid foods that can inhibit hair growth, such as those that contain high levels of caffeine and fat." Losing Hair After Surgery | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/...l#ixzz2Maz1GjQH Can I take my leftover stomach home in a jar? Man, what kind of sickie... um I mean, that's a very astute question. I didn't ask my doctor about it, but from what I've read, it's considered medical waste and a biohazard in the U.S. So you can't have it as a trophy or to tan and make a beanie out of it. If you're having surgery out of the country, then they may let you take it home, just be careful going through customs. If they ask about it, just tell them you found proof that the Chupacabra exists in Mexico. Can't I do this with out the surgery? You know, eat the crazy small amounts and still lose weight? Why isn't that ok? You can eat the small meals to lose weight, and it is okay. I just couldn't live that lifestyle for very long. It was a non-stop battle to keep myself from eating more. How did you choose your doctor, how much did it cost, and how did you pay for it? I don't want to recommend my doctor, since I wasn't happy with the aftercare, but I paid about $5k between the doctor and hospital. I put it on a credit card and will have it paid off before the end of the year. I found my doctor by calling my insurance company and getting a list of approved WLS doctors. I did a Google search for each doctor and read the reviews before choosing my surgeon. Do you regret having WLS surgery? I do not regret it for a minute. Even with all the discomfort of the 1st 10 days, I am very happy with the result. Food is no longer the focus of my life and I love sitting at a buffet restaurant knowing that I will only eat about 1/4 plate of food. What do I need to pack for the hospital? Here is a long list of suggestions on things you might want to consider taking with you. http://www.verticals...surgery-thread/ How soon after surgery can I start drinking alcohol? I'm sure every doctor has their own recommendations, but my doctor said wait 6 months post-surgery before drinking alcohol again. I'm not a big drinker to begin with, so I didn't miss alcohol. But I did drink about 2 oz. of Tequila at month 6 or 7 and was buzzing immediately, more so than I would have been pre-surgery. So, if you're going to start drinking again, just be aware that it may take less alcohol to impair your system. :-)

I sold body raps a long time ago. The wraps did the job and the inches stayed off as far as I know. But the wraps I used only worked once, meaning that people lost inches the first time they were wrapped, but from then on, subsequent wraps had no noticeable effect.

I had planned on documenting my gastric sleeve surgery experience in the order it occurred, but I forgot about the psych evaluation. Once again luck was on my side as I knew what to expect before arriving. I had a chance to talk with a post-op gastric sleeve patient during my 1st appointment with my doctor. The test itself was about 451 questions. Really though, you could say it was about 150 questions asked 3 different ways. My best guess is it is done in that format to measure how consistent and true you are answering. I guess that they believe that if you are trying to manipulate the test for whatever reason, by asking the same question 3 different ways mixed in with 450 questions, you won't be able to remember how you answered previously and your true feelings will be revealed. I can't remember the exact answer selections, but I think there were 6 choices - ranging from Always True to Never True. So they might ask, "Have you consistently missed work because of drinking?" and you choose among the 6 answers as to how true the question applies to your situation. 50 or so questions later, it is asked again differently, "I never drink so much alcohol that I have called in sick at work." And they mix in questions about how alcohol has played a part in your family and social life. Your feelings about stealing, is it better to be a child or an adult, how you behave in social situations, how you bad/good feel most people behave, which is the better part of life - being a child or being an adult. I think you get the general idea. The psych interview was pretty brief - about 15 minutes. The questions mainly center around my eating habits and what I knew about diet and nutrition. That I realized that surgery was only a tool and not the solution. That I needed to exercise before and after surgery. And what I thought my ideal body weight should be. I told him that I didn't want to fixate on a specific number and just wanted to look "normal", whatever that weight turned out to be. I had been following a guy on youtube who started out at my weight 350 and was down to 235 and I thought I'd be very happy to look like him. I haven't been down below 270 since 1997! My doctor later told me that my ideal weight is 200 and seem to take it in stride that I'd have no problem getting to that weight. So we'll see. My plan is to set small goals and not get too hung up on reaching a specific weight. Expenses so far: My copay for the doctor has been about $2000 so far ($500 office visits, nutritionist counseling / $1500 surgery cost) My hospital costs so far, $3000 ($1000 blood, ultra sound, chest xrays and EDG / $2000 surgery cost) I had a bit of a panic yesterday. The hospital called to confirm my surgery date and collect payment. They told me the surgery cost was $19,000 and in my mind I'm thinking "NINETEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!" I wasn't expecting to have to pay out of pocket that much! And then they said,"Your copay is $2000." Fortunately, I hadn't completely stroked out after hearing the first part and was able to get my heart out of my mouth after I realized I wasn't responsible for the full 19k. :-) I fumbled my Discover card out and gave them the digits. Still to be paid (and as far as I know, the last): Pre-op blood typing/urine testing (must be done within 72 hours of surgery) - I'm scheduled to be tested on 12/26 / surgery 12/27 / expected to return home 12/28.

I went back to work after 10 days. I went in for surgery on a Friday and was back at work on Monday - 10 days later. I have a desk job and it wasn't any real problem going back to work. I wore the elastic binder under my shirt everyday to support my new stomach. I've seen some people post that they were back a work after 3 days.

I don't like exercise. I don't get that post workout rush so many people talk about. "Oh, I have so much energy after a workout." I call B.S. I think this is a buch of hype created by marketers, much like women who've had children encouraging other women to have kids by saying, "Oh, childbirth is painful, but it's the kind of pain you forget." Yeah, right! They just want you to suffer like they did. :-P So post-op, I had to figure out how to get in some exercise without thinking I was really exercising. Here are the ways I've been able to sneak in more exercise without really exercising: Parking far away from the entrance at the mall or superstores. If you've ever been to a mall or Super-Wal-Mart, you know what I'm talking about. Wearing a backpack to work. I started using an old backpack as my lunch box after my old lunch box became overflowing with vitamins, protein powders and shaker bottles. It was an old one I had bought a few years ago when I went to college. It still had the school supplies (pens, pencils, calculator, screwdrives, and floppy disks (yes! we still used 3.5" floppies in 2005!)) and one of my old school books. The book weighs about 5lbs and I just left everythinging in the bag. It probably weighs around 20lbs with all my junk in it. I park at the far end of my office parking lot and wear it into work. It's almost a thousand feet from my car to my office. Do that twice a day and I've gotten in almost an extra quarter mile of walking. That's a sneaky way of burning a few extra calories without really exercising. Now if only I could get Security to let me walk up the stairwell to my office. :-P Bathroom workouts - squats, wall push-ups. Another sneaky way to slip in a little extra exercise is to workout in the bathroom. Each bathroom break, I do 40 wall push-ups and 15 squats. It's easy if you have a handicap stall. The one in my office has handrails that are perfect for using my arms to help support my weight when I do toilet seat squats. They're really simple, I stand up and sit down on the toilet, trying to use my legs (and not my arms) as much as possible. The wall push-ups are really simple as well. I stand as far away from the wall as I can - and still be able to lean forward safely. I lean forward with my hands about shoulder width apart and rest my weight on my hands. Then do a push-up, 1 second down, 1 second to complete the up motion. I started out at 10 push-ups and now 2 months later I can easily do 40, 2 to 4 times a day. Stairwell workout. My office moved from a single story building to a multi-story office building in January. Now I have access to the stairwell on the 5th floor. I walk down to the 1st floor and time myself going back up to the 5th. A round trip takes approximately 5 minutes. Do that 2 or 3 times a day and you can build some endurance in the legs. Walking the long way around the building. My office is pretty big and is shaped like a baseball diamond, so no matter which direction I turn when I leave my office, I can make a loop around the building and get back where I started. So I always make a complete loop around my floor whenever I leave my office. Or if I have the time, I make a loop on the 5th floor, walk down to the 4th, make a loop there and walk back up to the 5th. Pretty sneaky, huh? So these are some ways I have been able to sneak in some extra exercise without it really feeling like I'm exercising. Hopefully, you will take some inspiration from my tricks to find your own ways of working just a little more exercise into your life. Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

When you create a new ticker, your first option is to choose the type of ticker. There are 3 radio buttons to choose from, the 3rd one is labeled "Surgery countdown". That's the one you want.

I've got 5 scars. 4 of them were the size of a dime right after surgery, and now they've faded to the point where they look like big freckles. The big incision where they pulled the stomach out is about 2 inches across now, and very faded, but still noticeable. I was a trained massage therapist, massaging the scars will make them breakup and fade quicker. So when I think about it, I'll spend a minute or two running my thumbs across the scars.

I noticed the same thing. Within a week post-op, I started sleeping about 5 hours/night and would wake up feeling good. I've noticed that I need less sleep since I am eating so much less. I guess the body can do it's recovery process more efficiently if it's not processing food from a late night meal. At 9 months out, I sleep about 6 to 7 hours. And I often wake up a few minutes before my alarm clock on work days. I've gone from sleeping till 10am to waking up around 7.

My doc told me to take any good multivitamin I wanted. I started taking vitamins about the 2nd month post-op. I've been taking the Sam's Club brand multivitamin tablet, a sublingual B-12 tablet from Wal-Mart and 1000mg Calcium citrate per day. I haven't had any stomach upset from any of them.

Thanks for the info. Doing these was harder than I thought because I am not much of a talker. I turned the camera on and then thought, "Oh crap, how do I start the conversation?" :-P

My doc didn't put a limit on SF popsicles or SF jell-o, but my stomach did. I wasn't able to eat much of anything for the 1st 10 days.

This is from a post byNJMOMof2 Symptoms of a leak are: Fever, rapid heartbeat, sever stomach pain, vomiting According to my surgeon, after 14 days you have a less than 1% chance of a leak. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/22197-what-are-the-symptoms-of-a-leak/

I had the sleeve, but 2 ladies in my office had gastric bypass. We are all losing weight and happy with our decision. I chose the sleeve over the bypass because it creeped me out - thinking about the doc rerouting my intestines. :-P The other things that pushed me towards the sleeve - 1. I don't have to be as careful about becoming Vitamin deficient. Bypass patients have to watch this more closely - but they tend to lose weight quicker. 2. Sleevers don't experience dumping the way bypass patient can. Sleevers still have the valve at the bottom of the stomach that regulates the passage of food into the intestines. Bypass patients can experience dumping syndrome by eating the wrong things and the food passes too quickly from the stomach to the intestines. From what I've read and seen in Youtube videos, this is not fun!

I found that when I took my calcium citrate increased my energy too.

What kind of info are you hunting for? There are so many books out there that it's hard to pick one or two that cover everything. I can tell you that I've never bought any books, I've found everything I needed on this board, just by visiting every day and looking at the new questions posted. We have so many of the same concerns and questions, that eventually some one will post the answer I'm looking for. And a lot of the time, I see things posted that I never thought about, which later were useful. The best way I've found to search this site for head hunger is typing the following into Google - site:verticalsleevetalk.com "head hunger" You'll get lots of personal stories and experiences from people that are going through the same things you are thinking about. If you really want a book, then I would look up "Emotional First Aid Kit" on Amazon and read the reviews to see if any other books are compared to that one or if the reviewers suggest other titles.

I mix Isopure unflavored whey protein into my soups and in refried beans.

From what I understand, a normal portion of meat is 4oz. Once I was on full foods (starting week 6), I only able to eat 4oz in total per meal. I bought some Glad 4oz storage containers to eat out of, so I wouldn't accidentally overeat and have stomach pains (do that once, and you will be very careful about how much and fast you eat!). Now at month 9, I am able to eat about 8 to 10oz per meal. Sorry, I never took any photos of my meals to show the size.

I don't go around telling people that I had surgery. If they ask about the weight loss, I tell them the truth, I am eating less and exercising more. And my co-workers can see that I'm eating less, eating healthier and walking a lot at lunch. If someone directly asks if I've had WLS I tell them that I did. I just don't make a big deal about it. Just remember if you tell someone at anytime, but you can't untell them.

Sugar free Blue Bell popsicles and Crystal Light lemonade.

Yes, this is completely normal. For at least the 1st month post-surgery, I never felt hungry and couldn't tell when my stomach was really hungry or if it was just my old habits making me want to eat. One solution I found was to get some 1/2 cup plastic containers from Wal-Mart. I would eat 1/2 cup of whatever 5 to 6 times a day to get in my calories. I knew that I could hold 1/2 cup without over-filling my stomach. Hope this helps. Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

Just wanted to show off a little. Bought a new suit this month and then ran across a vacation pic from July 2012. If you look closely at the July pic, you might notice a cruise ship hiding behind me. :-P

Thanks guys. Hopefully my pic will inspire someone that's on the fence about WLS to realize it really is worth it.