Sandi

Getting too much Protein, and then getting enough protein were my problems early on. I am now 10-1/2 months out and 92 pounds lighter. I could not have done it if I hadn't solved the protein problem early on. I am writing to share what I learned, as my doctor was precious little help. At first I was nauseated all the time and could not figure out why. I read and read, and found out that if you eat only protein with not enough carbs, you put your body into a state of ketosis (like on the Atkins diet) and that a byproduct of ketosis is nausea. Hello!!!! Why didn't anyone tell me that. i started adding more cabs to my diet. Problem solved. My next issue with the dreaded protein was trying to get 8-16 ounces down and into a sleeve that would only hold 4 ounces. Well, that required thinking about and drinking freakin' protein all the live-long day. That did not fit into my lifesteyle. I wanted a Protein Drink where I could drink 4 ounces of liquid that tasted good in the morning and get 25 grams of protein. I looked and looked on the internet and finally found Inspire protein at BE Eating and it was divine. Powdered protein in caramel latte flavor that could be mixed in 4 ounces of hot coffee in the morning, and tasted like a caramel latte from Starbucks. I am not exaggerating. That saved my life. Unfortunately, low and behold, the site has been undergoing some kind of renovation for the past several months, so the protein is not available at this time. They keep saying that it will be available soon, so that is why I tell you about it. Because if you can get this protein, do it. It is wonderful. So, when BE became unavailable, I had to go on the big search again for a protein I could take in 4 ounces of liquid. I found another one called nectar by Syntrax. I buy it on the internet. You can get it in individual packets for taking on vacay, too. It says it is supposed to be mixed in 8-16 ounces of Water, but I tried it in 4 ounces, and it is palatable. I got the caribbean cooler, and it tastes like a pina colada when mixed in 4 ounces of water. I like it. I also got the vanilla bean, and it is good mixed with my coffee. Now, if you are going to mix it with the coffee, here is the secret formula. You put the power in the bottom of your cup. Then, you mix in three tsp of sugar free Hazelnut creamer. (It's in the dairy section of your grocery store, and comes in liquid form -- has a green band near the top). You mix the creamer and the powder until it is completely mixed. Then, you add in the hot coffee -- about 4 ounces. Then, stir again. If you try and put the coffee in the cup first and then add the powder, you end up with a mess. Also, I tried it with instant coffee once, and the result was not good. I have a small pot and brew a cup of decaf every morning, and that's how I take my protein. Drink it down in a couple of minutes and that is my Breakfast. I usually have a caribbean cooler at night -- I call it my pina colada night cap. lol Hope this helps you in dealng with your protein needs.

Missing food is the worst part of gastric surgery. I am 10-1/2 months out and have still not conquered that. Sometimes I wish I could just sit down and eat myself into nirvana on a huge plate of mac and cheese. Those days are over. You just have to talk to yourself all the time. It's a mind over matter kind of thing, and I think it will take me years to get over this craving for the tste of A LOT OF FOOD. I still go out to eat, and I roder what I want. I eat a couple of bites of this and a couple of bites of that, and I am done. That is your life now. Get used to it. All I can tell you is that it gets easier with time, after you accept that you can no longer gorge yourself. You will eventually eat whatever you want, but just a few bites. That's why you had the surgery, right? And, that inability to eat a lot at one time is the only thing that will keep you from gaining it back. Oh, yeah. I went from a size 2X to a size XS. I have lost 92 pounds and am 9 pounds away from goal. It's a journey. It's not easy. But, the very hardest thing is getting your mind around the fact that you can no longer eat a lot of food. It's something you have to work on every day. I am still working on it.

20 pounds per month is quite a loss. It will slow down, so enjoy it while you can. I started exercising religiously at four months out so that I would not have a lot of hanging skin. Right now I am 10-1/2 months post op, have lost 92 pounds and have nine to go to get to my goal. I exercise 1-1/2 hours a day and have very little hanging skin. I started out just doing a short little 1/2 hour aerobics tape every day, which was very difficult for me to even get through in the beginning. I kept at it, and now I do that aerobics tape without even breaking a sweat, plus bowflex or pilates, and floor exercises for my legs. You can do it, but you do have to work at it, and exercise is key, unless you want to be looking at a lot of hanging skin at the end. Go on the internet and look at full body lifts, and you will see what I mean. Get your booty in geat, and start exercising. Do what you can and build up. Set goals. You can do it, but you do have to work at it.

For me, I did better being under scrutiny. I posted on FB from the first day, and put pictures up every time I lost 15 pounds so my friends could see where I had been and where I had gone. I also thought that it would be a kind of chronicle of my experiences for those friends who might want to know what having the surgery was really like. And, for me, knowing that I had committed to post every 15 pounds lost and setting realistic deadlines for accomplishing each 15-pound loss, gave me something to shoot for, and got a lot of people rooting for me and encouraging me onward. All my friends wanted me to succeed, now fail. I am now 10-1/2 months post sleeve, and I have lost 92 pounds and gone from a size 2X to a size XS in bottoms and a size S in tops. My friends on FB have been right there with me every step of the way cheering me on, and became a motivation for me not to fail, and to keep going to I could keep posting positive results. So, I say, don't hide from your co-workers and friends. Enlist their aid in helping you along your journey. You can do it, and your friends will cheer you on every step of the way.

Thank you very much for the inormation. My point was that MY DOCTOR should have told me about the ketosis. Instead, Dr. Teng told me that nausea is a side effect of any stomach surgery. That was inaccurate. As for me, I only have one kidney, so I don't want to risk the kidney stones that are also a side effect of ketosis. I will suffer with a bit slower weight loss. Also, I cannot function with the constant nausea. Did your doctor tell you that you can take regular pills without crushing once your stomach has healed? What about gel caps? Dr. Teng tells his sleeve patients that they cannot take either FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. That makes no sense to me. I plan to get a second opinion on that. Who is your doctor? I quit taking the Prevacid. I don't need it, and see no reason to take it unless I have heart burn or acid reflux which I have never had in my life. Taking that one day at a time.

I was also sleeved by Dr. Teng and his team -- on July 14, 2011. I was informed that he has done 1,000 sleeves and I have no reason to doubt that. I think he is an excellent surgeon. He not only staples, but also sutures as added "insurance" against a leak. My problem with Dr. Teng is the nutrition follow-up. He had us eating 50 grams of protein a day with very little carbs and I was nauseated all the time. When I asked him about this he said it was because whenever the stomach is operated on, the patient feels nausea for 3-4 months post-surgery but doctors don't know why. I told a client of mine who is a doctor about this, and she said she had never heard of that. I asked about it at support and the nutritionist there told me that the reason for the nausea is that all the protein with very little carbs puts the body into a state of ketosis (much like the Atkins diet) and that a side effect of that is nausea. It only takes 50g of carbs to counteract that, and get rid of the nausea. Another side effect of ketosis is kidney stones, which is something I should have been advised of and warned against, since I only have one kidney. I think Dr. Teng should have known that. We have also been told that we can never take pills or gel caps again for the rest of my life bc they might get stuck going down. I have questioned that, since nothing in the opening to the stomach has been changed or constricted (unlike a bypass or band patient) so it makes no sense that something would have a tendency to get stuck now more than it did before the surgery. Still no reasonable answer to that question. Other reputable sites run by doctors and hospitals say that sleeve patients can take any pills they want (except aspirin) two months after surgery. Teng also says that we must take calcium citrate instead of calcium carbonate. Again, no reasonable explanation. This is a requirement for bypass patients bc carbonate requires stomach acid to break it down so it can be absorbed by the body. However, since sleeve patients still have a stomach, this doesn't make any sense for us. Still no reasonable answer to this question. Reputable internet sites say that sleeve patients can take either one. Finally, Teng says that we must take Prevacid for 6 months after surgery. However, this deceases the stomach acid to the point where you will likely develop a bacteria in the stomach, and also has a tendency to make patients dependent on it. Reputable internet sites advise patients to only take it as needed. I do not have problems with heartburn or acid reflux, so I have asked Teng why I have to take it. Still no answer to that question. To be fair, I only presented these questions to him and his staff in a forceful manner about three days ago. Perhaps he will get back to me with some good answers, and if he does I will post on this site. In the meantime, I am thinking seriously about paying for a second opinion on these issues bc I am very frustrated with being given a set of rules and regulations that are very hard to live with with no reasonable explanation for them, especially when I am finding on the internet that these rules are not required of sleeve patients. I feel like his office is lumping band, bypass and sleeve patients into the same bunch and telling us all to do the same thing. This is not acceptable to me.

I would definitely be interested in joining your lunch group. Please contact me at 702-739-6409 to let me know where and when.