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I'd measure my food. Not because I think you're consuming too much but because I think it's important to start that habit immediately so that portioning and recording what you eat become second nature to you. Later on you'll have questions about how much you're eating and if your loss slows you'll want to know what you can do to fix that. The best way to control what you eat and to stay out of denial if bad habits slip back in is to track every mouthful of food. So, perhaps making eight ounces of a liquid and slowly doling it out to yourself would work. In the very beginning, I think most of us eat this way. It's hard to eat the three larger meals we're used to with a stomach that's a fraction of the size! I think I slowly grazed on food until about six months post op, when I could fit in a more reasonable amount in a sitting. At that point, it was no longer necessary to eat all day long just to hit my nutritional goals, so I transitioned to a more normal eating pattern. What's important here is that you stay hydrated and try to get some Protein in. You're newly sleeved and that's where the biggest issues with healing come in. It's also important to make sure that your grazing doesn't turn into a bad behavior. Meaning, don't allow that desire to slowly nibble all day make you allow yourself slider foods (and junk!) once your sleeve can tolerate it. The biggest way I see people slow their progress is by not addressing this kind of behavior. We go from being overeaters to sneaky grazers and again, the best way to stop that and stay accountable is to track your food. I did this, too - it's a learning process. So, keep yourself honest and don't worry about it unless it becomes a problem. If you're having trouble sleeping, make sure you're not consuming way too many artificial sweeteners. I avoided them for the most part prior to surgery but post op they were a huge part of my diet, until I realized they were causing me to have trouble sleeping. In the meantime, half a melatonin tablet will do the trick, though you might feel a bit groggy in the morning. I'm more sensitive to it post op than I was prior and it really knocks me out, much the way a sleeping pill would do. Crazy, the way our bodies change. Good luck, and congrats on your new sleeve. ~Cheri

A real stall is three weeks or more at the same weight. I had two of them and both were nine weeks long. Both started out as "natural" stalls, something you should fully expect post VSG. But like many of us, after about a month at the same weight I fell back into bad habits and had to address the bad behavior before I could get back on track. It is perfectly normal to have stalls and it is perfectly normal to have a less than perfect journey. If we had all of the tools we need to lose weight effortlessly, we'd skip the surgery and just join Weight Watchers again. The sleeve is that extra tool that helps us do the head work to overcome. So, expect stalls and expect some measure of frustration and expect that you will need to put effort into adopting new habits permanently for long term success. As for what month you stop losing there's no such thing. Really. I'll say it again: NO SUCH THING. Your sleeve is just about as large as it will get at roughly one year post op. Your capacity afterward is tiny compared to pre-op, even if it is considerably larger than immediately post surgery. We're talking about fitting in between 3/4 to 1 and 1/2 cups of food somewhere between one and two years post op. And that's it - forever - unless you try your very hardest to stretch your sleeve (though pain and real effort) what little it will stretch. So what does all of that mean? It means that there is nothing stopping anyone at one, two, three or even seven years post op, from picking up the pieces if they fall into bad habits and regain. The sleeve was and will remain a restrictive tool to help you lose weight and maintain that loss if you make the right food choices. Expect that the lower your body weight and the closer you are to your body's happy place, the harder it will be to lose weight. So yes, weight tends to come off more quickly in the beginning and to come off more slowly the closer you get to goal. That does not mean it's more difficult to lose weight. You'll use the same exact techniques and tools to lose. It's just harder for your body to give up those final pounds. I was six months to lose the last twenty. That's a bit excessive, maybe, but I was a slower loser from the start. But everyone slows down near the end - it's natural when your body has less to give up. And in my experience, people need to feel in control so they fiddle with their diets any time they don't see a drop on the scale every day. If you're tracking your food and you're not eating an extra four hundred calories a day all of a sudden, it's doubtful that your diet is the culprit. Everyone's body reacts differently but in more cases than not, the thing that shakes a real stall is upping the calories and carbs in your diet, not slashing them. Or you could just wait it out. Because with time, it'll pass and it's part of the journey. ~Cheri

Yes, I'd do VSG first. I haven't had knee issues, but when a family member needed two knee replacements two years ago she did one at a time. She did the first one with no weight loss and had a long, tough recovery. She opted to keep going with physical therapy and put off her second surgery until she lost some weight and felt better. Fifty pounds later she had the second surgery. Perhaps it was just knowing what to expect but she bounced back right away and has continued physical therapy and the weight loss on her own. By the time she had the second surgery, it was her choice to have it then or put it off a bit longer, because the need wasn't as pressing. Due to her age, she opted to do it then, but had she been younger she probably would have put it off for at least a few more years. Good luck! ~Cheri

I was always a "super sniffer" and it never really bothered me. If anything, I feel like having a stronger taste of sense and smell made me a better cook. That said, yes, I'm definitely more sensitive to all smells post op and it's about a thousand times worse being pregnant on top of that! And meat is especially hard for me. I've had to sort of re-learn normal with this one, but will admit that even the faintest "off" scent makes me pitch the entire package. I'm always careful to wash meat to be sure I'm smelling the meat itself and not the old blood or packaging. And I've become a bit of a fanatic about cleaning my refrigerators because they can get stale and hold smells in quite easily. I super clean mine about once a week, when I do my shopping. There have been times I could tell without even opening the package that something was off and have been proven right when my doubting mother-in-law or husband open the package to check for themselves. Consider it a super power? I spent many years as a vegetarian but did eat meat prior to surgery. Now that I'm expecting meat makes me completely ill, so I'm pretty sure I'll only be an occasional meat eater in the future. I don't care for the smell of it either raw or cooking. Sometimes I can eat it if someone else prepares it but prefer to avoid it now. There are plenty of ways to get Protein without it, so long as I'm careful about my diet, so I don't worry too much. Good luck and I hope you find a solution that keeps you both happy. ~Cheri

New sleeves are noisy. It gets much, much better with time. At some point my husband and I realized we were no longer being serenaded by my guts every evening in bed. Nowadays the only time my sleeve makes noise is when I miss a dose of my PPI or eat too much dairy (despite knowing I'm intolerant) so it's no longer an issue. I used to have an embarrassing stomach prior to surgery, too - it would loudly growl and gurgle even within a hour of a large meal and nothing bothered me more than sitting in quiet lecture hall or conference room and having people stare at me because my stomach was growling so loudly! Within a year it should diminish. Be careful to get on a PPI immediately post op but yes, expect the sleeve to be noisy for a while as you heal and adapt. ~Cheri

Read it all and make an informed decision. If you researched your surgeon and trust him/her and feel confident about their ability, and if you're educated about what to expect post op there is no reason no to go ahead. Yes, complications can happen with this and any other surgery, major or minor. They are pretty rare but can always happen to any surgeon at any time. They're accidents - it's the unintentional thing that happens during the procedure, in most cases. Choosing a surgeon of experience and skill minimizes your risk, as does knowing what to expect post op - if any sign or symptom could be a leak so you get it addressed immediately. Following a post op diet to the letter is also important. You should do everything you can possibly do to minimize your own risk and diet is one of the few things you can control. That said, complications really ARE rare with this surgery. They happen, and you should know that they happen, but for most people the worst thing they experience post op is gas pain or acid reflux. You'll be sore after surgery and that's normal. I hated having to sleep in a recliner, but really, that's a small sacrifice for my sleeve! Make sure you're reading it all - not just the horror stories but the stories about people that came through fine. We're all here. It's good we can pool our knowledge and experiences for everyone else. Choosing whether or not to do this is far too personal for me to try to sway you either way. But I can say that it's perfectly normal to have a bit of nervousness and also to wonder if it will work for you. I see people post about it all the time, but after a year of research the only feelings I had prior to surgery were eagerness to be on the other side and frustration that I had to travel so far for my surgeon! Good luck whatever you decide, ~Cheri

It's all based on your surgeon's diet plan. Some surgeons have their patients eating soft food before they check out of the hospital. Some, like mine, gave a strict three weeks on liquids. Ask your surgeon. Here, on VST, you're likely to get as many different answers as there are surgeons out there. However your diet seems perfectly in line with what I've seen a few surgeons allow their patients post op, though the majority of us spend a while on liquids post op. ~Cheri

You could honestly have the exact same reaction and response at every stage of the process if you don't address it now. It's easy to go into surgery thinking it's all about portion control and that's the answer for long term success. I did it, too. Many of us are in complete denial about our food addictions, emotional attachments and rotten coping mechanisms. If you got the sleeve and want to eat around it, you'll always find a way. So address this NOW. I can tell you from experience that it will make your journey a thousand times easier and maintenance will be a breeze. Because, really, it does not matter if you swing to goal in nine months if you cannot maintain your weight and be happy there, does it? This is about fixing YOU, not just your body and about making it easy to be that thin person you wanted to be. It's hard to be on a restricted diet - no matter if that means 1 cup of food or 1 oz. of mushies. It's a mental game and you've got to find a way to win it. Make those few bites of food count. Make them healthy, and very flavorful and of the best quality ingredients you can get your hands on. It will help with satisfaction. And now is not the time, but in a few months, don't forget to incorporate a healthy mix of food and a moderate diet that includes good carb grain and veggie choices. It will help you feel more satisfied, give you more energy and hopefully, give you the edge you need to stop the bad habits before they hamper your progress. Food and my relationship with it is totally different now. I do not lust after it or go into eye rolling swoons after a few bites of something in a restaurant. I have had only a handful of meals post op that I've really, truly enjoyed on that kind of level. My standards are higher now. My tastes have changed. Just dumping a thick, rich sauce on a dish does not make it wonderful. Sweets no longer really appeal to me. This is normal. And while it's frustrating, it is something to be thankful for. It gives you just one more tool to fight the bad habits, the emotional and boredom eating, and the binge and graze behavior. Because if food isn't appealing, why break out of your set nutritional guidelines? Find better choices. This is entirely up to you. How well you do and how happy you are with this surgery is up to you and how you choose to live from this point out. Good luck, ~Cheri

My doc never denied me coffee but I avoided it until I realized a few weeks post op that I was lactose intolerant. So I get my morning coffee as a Protein shake. I just mix my coffee and one or two ice cubes (I like my coffee drinkable, not scalding) along with two scoops of my Syntrax nectar (in chocolate, vanilla or Cappuccino flavor) and drink that up. I get my coffee fix (no it's not the same but it does the trick) and I push up my protein count for the day. Win-win in my world. I also mix with tea if I'm in the mood. If your doc didn't give guidance, a quick call or email will clear it up for you. Every surgeon has a different set of guidelines, though. While my surgeon is actually pretty strict about his post op diet, this is one thing he didn't deny us. Oh - be mindful of your caffeine intake, though. I'm far more sensitive to it post op than I was prior. I can only drink coffee before eleven or it keeps me up at night. One cup does me all day where I used to drink from sunup to sundown with no problems. ~Cheri

It's all in your head and how you relate to food. If you're an overeater and large quantities are your weakness you're more likely to struggle with this. If you compare your food portion or even what you're eating to other's and feel deprived if you aren't matching them, this will be a struggle for you. I started out weighing and measuring and wound up horribly frustrated because I couldn't even fit in what I thought I might be able to fit in at certain points. It took me more than a year to be able to eat more than one egg scrambled with cheese in a sitting. So then I focused on quality of food and yes, like gmanbat - the flavors and the tastes. I focused on that mindful eating I'd always rolled my eyes at prior to surgery. I made sure that if I could only have four or five bites, they'd be five bites of awesomely tasty and healthy food. After about month four to six, when you should start working on a more moderate and balanced diet, you'll find that those hangups about what you're not eating and that diet boredom fade away and you should be completely used to a much smaller portion of a more normal diet. It's when we go months on end not just eating minuscule portions but also deny ourselves of foods we genuinely want/need that we find a problem with deprivation or a mental hangup on food. Good luck. Approach the surgery sanely, try to know what to expect and be prepared for your experience to be uniquely yours. Don't try to force a one-size-fits-all approach or you'll be unhappy. ~Cheri

No, it's a good post and I'm glad you shared. It can happen but in just about every case I've seen it's related to dairy, sugar, artificial sweeteners or too much of something too fast. I had a horrible time with the diabetes test they did on me recently - all that glucola syrup was NOT making my body happy. And I did have issues in the beginning and it took me longer than I would have liked to discover that I had full blown lactose intolerance. Sharing your experience can help other people connect the dots more quickly or at least go into the surgery armed with a little more education on what could happen post op. No, this isn't RNY and dumping isn't the norm. I would say it's not even common. But people should know the symptoms and signs and be prepared to address it, for sure. Hopefully you figure out what caused the issue, OP. Until this pregnancy my lactose intolerance had resolved and the only absolute no-no food for me was ice cream, something I avoid anyway. I could even consume very small portions of cow's milk if it was in a sauce of some sort. So if that's the answer, it might improve for you, too. I still maintain a sensitivity to artificial sweeteners to the only time I ever consume them (intentionally) is in my Protein shake. It just happens that the one I like the best has artificial sweeteners. If I eat more beyond that I experience discomfort, too. Good luck, ~Cheri

My rant, my opinion, right? Before you get started on how unsupportive and not nice I am, and how I should just dodge the posts I don't want to read, I'll kindly tell you to educate yourself on how I typically post and on my contributions to VST. (That's my nice way of saying I don't care what you think and that you shouldn't waste my time or yours telling me how mean I am.) Because I cannot possibly be the only person so incredibly sick of these posts! Anyone else tired of the whining? I don't mind an occasional vent, but the outright whiny, childish and incredibly annoying posts just make me thankful I'm on VST (and on the other side of the computer) and not in an in-person support group. Because, really, people, this is getting stupid. I am not talking about actual complications or asking a valid question, either. I'm talking about the same cycle of wah-wah-wah about simple things that should have come up with only a few attempts at research. Let's address a few of these annoyances that keep cropping up: 1) Oh my gosh, it's a travesty but guess what? You are NOT going to lose the weight faster than you put it on. I know - it's heartbreaking. I mean, surgery is supposed to be magical, isn't it? I, for one, got a free unicorn AND a leprechaun with my surgery. I get that you don't want to work at this. Really, I mean, taking advantage of a fraction of the stomach capacity and learning how to eat wisely so you can develop a healthy relationship with food and gosh, to live the rest of your ENTIRE LIFE not obese, not overeating and to have a chance to ditch the bad habits and emotional baggage...that's just way too much to wait for. You should probably just be angry at the world and vent on a public forum about how the surgery has ruined your life because you've only lost 20 pounds in three weeks. I mean, really! Those are some completely shoddy results, if you ask me. Because really, who thinks that a one to two year period of focusing on weight loss to lose the weight for good (especially after fifteen years or more of trying to lose the weight on various failed diets) is worth the time or effort? 2) Surgery hurts. I know, I know. You probably didn't realize that having anesthesia and being flopped around, pumped full of gas, sliced open, having an organ removed, having staples and stitches put in and having drains in your body would actually hurt. But it does, imagine that! I know, in most cases it lasts five to ten days before you're feeling better, but surely your world is ending, your pain is the worst ever and you definitely need to post about it here so we can all give you pats on the head and you can scare the people researching the sleeve away. Be thankful you're not one of the people with a REAL complication causing ACTUAL serious pain. Or maybe you are. We can't tell or guide people to their doctors because there are just so many suffering people posting that it's a challenge to weed out the ones with real issues and the ones who forgot to take their pain pills. I know, we all handle pain differently. But really, a teeny bit of research would help with expectations, wouldn't it? And let's not forget how tired you are post op. Who knew that eating less than 300 calories a day after major surgery and having to really work at staying hydrated would wear you out and make you tired? Ugh, it's completely unreasonable! 3) It's hard to eat when you only have 15% of your stomach. Who knew? I mean, sure, that's why we had surgery, but I know you figured you'd just have a smaller stomach made of cast Iron that could easily tolerate at least half a bacon cheeseburger within a week of your operation. All that sipping (of warm or room temp liquids!), all of that discomfort when you try to shovel in a cup of oatmeal in week three, the challenge of finding Protein you can eat easily, the challenge of finding a shake you actually like - I mean, who knew that was going to be part of the game? Oh wait, what do you mean everyone that actually researched their surgery knew about this stuff? Well, never mind that. Post about it so we can all hear how different and more difficult it is for you, because I'm sure it was a walk in the park for everyone else. 4) I'm sure your heartburn and acid reflux are terribly uncomfortable. It is for all of us. I'm sure the gurgling and healing stomach sounds are annoying and hard to get used to. They were for the rest of us, too. Which is why you should be on a PPI. If you did even a cursory bit of research on the sleeve, I am certain the fact that acid is an issue post op for almost everyone came up. So if you aren't on a PPI (think Prilosec or Nexium - Tums and Pepcid aren't PPIs) you should probably be on one. Even if your surgeon didn't suggest one. And if he/she didn't prescribe one or suggest one, I'd question that surgeon, because this is a known issue post op for nearly every patient. But it's your body and your suffering, so hey, why not be a tiny bit proactive and ASK FOR ONE if one isn't offered? While we're here, you should have done enough research to realize you'd need sublingual B-12, an iron supplement and Calcium citrate as well as a multi until your doctor does bloodwork and tells you your levels are fine without supplements. I know, it's HARD to take all those pills...it's so annoying, too. But if you don't take them you'll be tired and sluggish and forgetful and won't feel up to par. But you knew that from all your research, I'm sure. 5) I doubt you're starving. Very, very few people do not lose the hunger post op. I have seen a few that struggled with this but they are few and far between. I know, you probably didn't do enough research to realize that you still have ghrelin in your system for a few days post op, or to find that acid gurgling in your belly feels exactly the same way as a rumbling tummy. You probably thought you'd be immune to head hunger, because you thought obesity was only caused by eating too much, not by any type of emotional attachment to food. You probably didn't realize that two or three (or more) weeks on a liquid diet would be challenging, mentally, even if you don't really want food. I know, I know, we already covered that surgery is supposed to be magical and you wanted it to control your feelings about food and your desire to eat for the rest of your life. 6) Diets don't work. Isn't that why you finally opted for surgery? Then why do you insist on treating the way you eat post op like a diet? Why do you insist on carb counting yourself into misery and allowing yourself only enough calories to sustain a ten pound cat instead of an adult human? Why are you surprised, after years of failed dieting, that the desire to binge and graze and eat emotionally show up when you restrict yourself the way you've always done on past diets? Why do you insist on eliminating entire food groups for fear of gaining weight, only to post at one or two years post op that you can't understand why maintenance is so hard and you can't stop eating junk? Oh, that's right, you thought the sleeve was part B of your diet and treated it that way...and got the same success you got from all those diets you did prior to surgery as a result. 7) It's hard to break bad habits and be healthy. We've covered this! Surgery is supposed to be magical - and therefore any emotional eating problems, baggage from your childhood, poor eating habits you're reinforced for years, etc. should just be magically erased when the surgeon slices out 85% of your stomach. I know, you don't understand why this is so hard! I know, you're so frustrated and you regret your surgery because you want to eat and you can't. Why won't your sleeve stop you from eating those Cookies or that big bowl of ice cream? This is completely unfair. I suggest you post about how the surgery is a waste of time and/or money because it didn't do the head work for you, cause this isn't supposed to be hard. It's magic. 8) Some people lose hair and get loose skin? AH, say it isn't so! If losing the weight and being healthy isn't worth a temporary trade off, surgery isn't for you. I know you already have diabetes, high blood pressure and are slowly killing yourself with your obesity, but you have an irrational fear of loose skin and thinning hair and aren't sure if this surgery is for you. I get that. After all, I'd rather die slowly with beautiful hair than compromise my vanity for a few months and extend my life in the process. I mean, really, we have to have our priorities! So please, as soon as you notice some hair falling out, please panic and post about it and ask if anyone else has experienced it. I'm sure you're the very first person it's ever happened to before and you should frantically warn everyone and work yourself into a frenzy envisioning your bald dome if it continues. 9) If you post stupid, tiresome, uneducated or ridiculous things to strangers on the internet, sometimes you get snarky, short or even blunt and (borderline) rude answers. I know, I know. You live in a world where everyone sings kumbaya together with genuine feeling before they start their day on the communal farm. Well, lots of us don't live there or have an infinite amount of patience and tolerance for those that think we should all be the same. I might answer one way and many other someones will answer another way and between all of us, hopefully there will be enough of an answer that anyone with the same question (but who doesn't necessarily have the same expectation on how it will be answered) can put together a solution. And then, in a perfect world, they wouldn't post the same question two threads down less than 24 hours later. I love VST. I love that I found this site and researched my surgery for ONE WHOLE YEAR before opting to slice out my stomach. I love that it is full of resources, full of true experiences, full of warnings, full of advice for those that bother to search it out. Even four year old threads can still be relevant today! I love being able to come back here and "give back" in a way, by helping people with genuine questions and genuine concerns. I want to cheer other people on their journey and I want to help people approach this surgery in a sane way that will help them not just lose the weight but keep it off forever. But for goodness' sake I simply have to acknowledge that I am only human and only have a limited amount of GAF when it comes to some of these posts and lately, some of these members. It shouldn't be exhausting and aggravating to be here! I've been around the military too long, I think - I'm about a step away from yelling at some of these jokers like they need, instead of being diplomatic and polite. My vent, my opinion, remember? Remember: you can always just skip over my post and not respond if it really bothers you! ~Cheri

More than two years out and currently pregnant. No hunger. Empty feeling when I need to eat - check. Dizziness and/or nausea when I go too long without eating - check. Hunger? Not so much. The few times I've felt what I thought was hunger it was my body kindly reminding me that I need to take my PPI again now that I'm pregnant. Set a timer and be thankful. This lack of hunger gives you the perfect opportunity to work through any emotional/head issues related to food while not feeling any physical hunger. Take advantage of it and maintenance will be far easier for the effort. That said, it is possible to enjoy food again. It just takes a while and really enjoyable meals are few and far between. Tastes change and if you make the right food choices odds are good your standards (as in, how highly you rate a meal) are likely to be higher. Oh, and like I said - more than two years out and pregnant - and a cup is about all I can fit in, though sometimes it's less and sometimes it's more, depending on what I'm eating and when I'm eating it. ~Cheri

I'm glad you're still here. I have enjoyed your posts the entire time I've been on VSG - both prior to my surgery and after. It is not easy. It can get a lot easier if we do the work but it's never easy. The fact that you freely and openly post about the very real struggle it can be is important. Too many hide their struggles away and lurk or leave VST altogether. It's important that pre-ops don't go into this thinking it will be the magic bullet and that the sleeve will tackle every other food related issue for them. It doesn't work. I also enjoy eating. I love to cook and I bake several days a week. I have had a fairly easy go of it in maintenance but I've definitely had to watch what/how I eat while pregnant. My appetite is still not there so much and I'm not really craving things. But my capacity is larger and being unable to stick to my usual Protein heavy diet has meant I'm eating more carbs. Which isn't a problem in and of itself...it's making sure I keep those carb choices to the healthy ones (most of the time) and keep my hands out of the candy bowl or cookie jar. And now that I'm pregnant, I want to snack at night again. It's hard to stop that behavior and hard to say no. Mostly I succeed but sometimes I don't. Anyway, this wasn't me quoting you to write about me. I wanted to say that I've also shared some of the same struggles and I appreciate that you're real and honest about your personal journey. Your experience is valuable to this community. You're one of the people that motivated me to get sleeved in 2010, and your posts about Dr. Aceves helped convince me to start researching him. ~Cheri

I'm more than two years out. I still do not like to eat any flour tortillas, ever. They gum up and make me feel ill. I'm cautious about rice and Pasta and can easily overdo it on bread if I'm not being careful. It's not that I overeat bread - it's that it swells and it's easy for me to overdo it on even a very small portion. I still cannot drink cow's milk except in tiny portions and I fear ice cream is a forever gone food, due to lactose intolerance. I think it's important to find the balance and break the cycle of trigger foods. So if there's a food you can't resist, despite working on incorporating it in moderation and controlling your desire to eat it, that's a time to consider an all or nothing approach. It's important that we don't let food rule our lives and it's also important to recognize that feeling deprived leads to binge or grazing behavior. The only food I could let myself get out of control with would be soda. I do not keep much in the house and I try to choose other beverages most of the time. I allow it in moderation. If I kept it in the house by the case, I'd drink it non-stop and have a problem. I acknowledge that and accept it. It's a trigger food for me. I also love popcorn but I have been able to incorporate it into my diet without letting it get the best of me. I enjoy it a few times a month (usually with a small, glass bottle of Coke to allow myself a treat that's perfectly portioned) without feeling the need to eat it more and without it causing me an issue on the scale. It's all balance and knowing your limits. The challenges and journey do not end simply because we reach or near goal. Congrats on one year, ~Cheri

The percentage of weight you'll lose is entirely up to two things: your mindset/effort and your body. I think doctors use averages and want you to have a reasonable expectation to start. There is no reason, other than your body simply refusing to hit your particular scale goal, that you cannot lose as much weight as you want to lose. Your sleeve at roughly one year out is about as big as it will get. It will be more than restrictive enough to help you maintain or to help you lose a few pounds if you put them back on. And many people continue to lose past one year in order to reach their goal. I lost fairly steadily for 17 months to reach goal and it was no more difficult for the last six months than the first six...it just went more slowly the closer I got to goal. There is no honeymoon with this surgery and no reason you can't lose every pound you want to lose, provided your expectations aren't out of sync with what your body can actually accomplish. I had 107 pounds to goal, originally lost 108 but my body wanted to maintain at about 105 pounds loss. It was easier to stay there than to fight it for the rest of my life. ~Cheri

You'll find what you need here: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/forum/114-self-pay-mexico-vertical-sleeve-surgery-new-forum/ ~Cheri

I think that normally, as in, compared to other forms of hormonal birth control, the Mirena has a very low incidence of weight gain. But the way our hormones are completely out of whack for a while after surgery has got to play a part in the issues a lot of women have with hormonal birth control post op. I've read that our fat cells store hormones and as they burn off this could play a part. I have no idea. I can say that I was a slow loser the entire time I was trying to lose, but after a very brief period where I was initially happy with my Mirena, I had a very tough time losing. I'd hate for you to remove the IUD if it's working for you, only to discover that you lose no faster. That said, I'd hate to see you have the same struggle with very sluggish loss like I did. It's all a coin toss, unfortunately, with no real guarantees. Good luck whatever you decide. Here's the post I made in May 2011 after I had mine removed: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/17214-is-your-birth-control-the-culprit/page__hl__%2Bbirth+%2Bcontrol+%2Bculprit ~Cheri

Good share. It makes sense, too. The VSG doesn't lose it's effectiveness with time due to the fact that your restriction around one year post op is about maxed, but the bypass does lose effectiveness after one year because the guaranteed window of malabsorption closes for many at that point. Couple that with a stretchable pouch and you can see why the long term success/regain rates for RNY are not as good as the VSG. I'd point out that with whatever method of weight loss you choose the closer you get to your ideal weight the slower the loss is going to be. So naturally, the vast majority of people will lose the largest amount of weight in the first year post op. It took me half a year to shed the last twenty pounds. ~Cheri

In all my time here, I've seen a bare handful of people fail to lose their hunger and most of them had issues later on, not immediately. But oh, the desire to eat when you're stuck on a liquid diet is a misery most of us know and understand. First, check your PPI. If you're not on one, start ASAP. If you're on Prevacid, know that it doesn't work for a lot of people and you might need something else. If you're on a good PPI and still feeling that growly, gurgly, "I'm hungry" tummy, talk to your doc and get a prescription for something stronger. Second, really evaluate what you're feeling. Is it a desire to chew food because you're not feeling satisfied with liquids? That's pretty normal. It passes as soon as you hit the next frustrating phase: mushies, and the irritation you experience when you want to eat, feel you need to eat and know that you need more nutrition but you get full after just two or three bites. Third, it really does take time for the ghrelin to work it's way out of your system. You really might be feeling some residual hunger but it should be easier every day. I'd say that at this point you should be past it, though. Eating plenty of Protein will help you feel full longer. Try to push shakes before other liquids, and hang in there. Good luck, and congrats on your new sleeve, ~Cheri

It's normal to feel frustrated at various points after surgery. The only advice I can offer is good advice (I'm sure many vets will agree with me, anyway) but it's not advice you'll want to hear. You can't control your rate of loss. You have to let go of any expectations that have to do with how rapidly you'll lose. You have to stop comparing yourself to the way other people lose. Easier said than done, I know. And if you search back far enough, you'll probably see grumpy posts from me because I lost more slowly than I wanted to lose, too. Vent. Come to the boards and vent, but then shake it off and read the RIGHT threads. The ones posted by those of us that lost slowly but still got to our goals and even better, maintained our goal weight. We're here - even if the more popular threads are the ones about folks that fly to goal in nine months! It took me seventeen months to lose 107 pounds. I had two nine week stalls along the way. There were months when I lost more than ten pounds a month and months where I lost less than three. I lost, on average, just barely over 6 pounds a month. I got to goal, I got to wear a size six/small and I am no less happy about that because it took me longer. Heck, even pregnant I'm still in a size six/small, just maternity clothes now! I've probably said this half a dozen times in the last week, but let go of your time goals. Focus less on how quickly you lose and more on building the foundation of good habits that you'll need to maintain goal once you get there. Good luck, and congrats on your new sleeve. Oh, and put that scale away for a few days before it makes you crazy! ~Cheri

Wait! There's a surgery for that! It's called DS (duodenal switch) and if you're willing to live with a lifetime of supplements and malabsoprtion, you can eat those burgers and pat yourself on the back for it. It's mean and unsupportive to say, but I always considered the DS the absolute laziest way to do WLS ever...but that's probably an unfair assessment based mostly upon the fact that when I researched it most people were talking about eating bacon cheeseburgers sans bun and how great it was that they could eat whatever they wanted except bread. Ugh...getting excited about food and WLS ruins everyone's grammar, even mine! ~Cheri

I'm pretty sure it just means there was enough awesome going around that we both got an extra dose. And I already have a set of twins and am never doing that again, so let's hope it's not twins or I'll really get hormonal. And mean, of course. ~Cheri

Oh men. You boys lose so much more quickly and it causes women everywhere to pull out their hair! Congrats on your loss! It's a big achievement in a short time. Enjoy this window where it all falls off; hopefully it will continue for you. Men tend to lose faster than women and they respond especially well to the low carb diet that you're almost assuredly on right now. Enjoy the new sleeve, and stay positive! ~Cheri

Mine wouldn't have said no but many people experience trouble with greens and fibrous veggies until some point around six months post op. It's a soft enough food but the concern is more that the fibers could get caught if you have more inflammation around your staple line than you realize. Although in all honesty, I have never read a case where someone posted about this happening to them. That said, it's up to you. If your surgeon didn't disallow it, try a VERY small portion and see how well it settles. I couldn't eat anything like spinach or lettuce for months...and I still avoid iceberg to this day because it upsets my stomach and causes digestive issues! Good luck, and why not post your experience if you do try it out? Someone else might have a similar question down the line. ~Cheri