VSG AJH

Thinking about you today, @sassyfrass23. Per your post, yesterday was your first day of the pre-op diet. How did it go? How are you doing now with your anxiety level? Have you been able to secure any medical leave for after surgery? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I agree with everyone. You can't spring a leak years out from overindulging. At that point, the only real risk you have of getting a hole in your stomach will come in the case of an emergency if medical staff use a blind NG tube. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I had absolutely zero trouble nursing my baby after my sleeve. You do have to be really careful about getting in your fluids, as well as your Protein, but you can do it. Hang in there, mama!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App I had absolutely zero trouble nursing my baby after my sleeve. You do have to be really careful about getting in your fluids, as well as your protein, but you can do it. Hang in there, mama!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

197.3 Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Sun Warrior vanilla vegan Protein is delicious. I buy it at Sprouts. It's not bad when just mixed with Water, but it's super yummy as you progress and can blend it with kale, spinach, banana, PB2, etc. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I experienced this after my initial sleeve. So much blood, I thought I would have to go to ER. Surgeon said it was pretty normal, though. Minor tearing and hemorrhoids. Making sure my Fluid intake was on target and stool softeners helped, but the biggest help was a Squatty Potty. Sounds crazy, I know, but altering the alignment inside when I tried to have a BM really did wonders. At the time, I had to order it from the Squatty Potty website, but they're now available at Bed, Bath and Beyond (where you can use a coupon). Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I began to have a similar pain on the left hand side a few months after surgery after transitioning to the solid food stage. It got progressively worse over time until it became pretty much a constant pain. In my case, it turned out to be pain as the result of pouching because of retained fundus left behind during my original sleeve surgery. Pouching was not visible with the contrast on an upper GI, but was visible on two separate EGDs. Actually just had a "laparoscopic partial gastrectomy" (essentially resleeved) a couple of days ago to take off the neofundus. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

You'll probably find conversions over on the gastric bypass forums. Best of luck to you! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I'm at 200.6 this week, so down another 1.1 pounds. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I had zero trouble with Fireball shots. I had two in a short course of time with no ill effects. Tried the same with two tequila shots about four or five months later, and they came straight back up, along with what seemed like everything I ate for a solid month. Now I can't even handle slowly sipping a margarita because of the trauma of that experience. Sent from my iPhone using BariatricPal

I like Captain and Diet (Captain Morgan's in Diet Coke). I usually make it a double and sip on it. The Captain in the soda usually makes the Coke not fizzy. I also like whipped cream vodka in Diet Root Beer. Sent from my iPhone using BariatricPal

I've had this same pain for some time, and two separate EGDs about a year apart showed the same kind of pouching from retained fundus at the very top of my sleeve (upper GI didn't show anything). Being resleeved on Wednesday. Sent from my iPhone using BariatricPal

201.3 today. Down 1.7. Sent from my iPhone using BariatricPal

I had sepsis in June 2014 after developing an infection in my foot after stepping on a piece of glass near our pool. I looked and felt horrible afterwards for some time, even though my health was technically improving. You can google and read about recovery from sepsis and see that it takes a while to really recover. Do stay hydrated and be gentle with yourself. Give yourself time and grace to heal. Blessings to you.

@@CowgirlJane -- I don't think a retained fundus is a common thing, but it is one of the occasional complications that happens, probably primarily with the sleeve. Essentially, the doctor leaves behind part of the fundus he was supposed to remove during the sleeve procedure. Instead of having the upside down Y-shaped stomach of a typical sleeve patient, I had a stretchy pocket on top of a narrow middle. That pocket has expanded over the last two years since surgery, and now I have kind of a barbell shaped stomach. Intead of having a slight increase in capacity (as is common two years after the surgery), I have almost the same capacity I had before surgery. The pain I experience is related to food being sort of spread out in the stretchy pouch just under that initial valve into the stomach, then squeezing down into the non-stretchy, restrictive part of the stomach that was sleeved properly. This is not something that struck me all of a sudden after year two or anything, but rather something that has been ongoing from day one. I had a noticeable restriction the first many weeks after surgery and lost weight fast (very probably from post-surgical swelling), but I could always, always eat and drink all of my water and protein from day one with no trouble. Surgeon's office insisted that was a blessing, and not a problem, but I mentioned it at every follow-up appointment, and on phone calls between appointments. The pain came on with the introduction of solids foods at month four post-op, and the weight loss stalled/stopped shortly thereafter. I continued mentioning pain, lack of restriction, lack of weight loss, etc. despite measuring food and counting calories. I was put back on Omniprazole for a few months as they ruled out GERD, but because I had no symptoms of a leak, my pain issue wasn't a priority to my surgeon's office. At my one year visit, they finally seemed to recognize I'd been complaining about pain for a really long time, and began sending me out for other testing. Problem was discovered right away when visualized internally, but the aforementioned run around and complications with those doctors was ultimately fruitless. Though I have a new connection with a new surgeon who sent me out for or completed his own battery of tests, I've been in the pre-approval (and now appeals) process with insurance for a correction/repair since November, one month before my two year surgiversary. Again, this is not the regular old slight expansion that happens a year or two post-op, the one you read about every Monday after a weekend bender. I don't think that kind of "stretching" happens. When doctors tell people "they can't stretch their sleeve," I think they mean it the majority of the time. In fact, the properly sleeved portion of my stomach looks lovely and textbook in a radiology lab. There are, however, those occasional cases where something like a retained fundus occurs, and unfortunately, it's been my experience that I've had to really fight and fight and fight to get someone to believe that I've been having issues and not just eating too much and on the sly.

I have a similar issue and had since a few months post-op. My surgeon kept blowing me off, too, until I was still complaining about pain at my one year visit, and hadn't had much of a weight loss in months (3 pounds in 6 months). He sent me for an upper GI, which revealed nothing, and an endoscopy, which revealed I had retained find us at the top of my sleeve. It would pouch out with the camera inside, and the GI could turn the camera completely around in the stretchy bit. My surgeon promised to repair it, but since I'd had an insurance change and bariatrics was an exclusion on the new policy, reports from the GI doc were "unreadable," and peer-to-peer conversations between docs resulted in a change in the way the GI described the pouching he described to me in the recovery room following the endoscopy. (I have a feeling my surgeon possibly threatened to reduce the number of patients his office referred to the GI practice.) After several more months of pain, I was finally able to get through the gatekeeper at another Bariatric practice where the surgeon himself does the endoscopy in the case of possible complications, rather than relying on an external GI. He too determined I have retained fundus at the top of my sleeve that, by now, two plus years post-op has stretched out markedly. I've regained 25 pounds from my very lowest weight, and 10 pounds from my longest stable weight. I've always had a greater capacity than other sleeve patients, and have dealt with pain after every meal of solid food since about month four post-op (pain that is now constant, whether eating or not). In my case, the pain is to the left side, and radiates across my lower left rib cage (pain to the right might not be the same. Liver issues, maybe?). I am currently working with this new surgeon's office to be "resleeved" to remove the retained fundus, and hopefully resolve my pain issues. I'm in the appeals process with insurance now since I'm dealing with medical issues and not having a repeat Bariatric surgery (though the process is identical). I would suggest you seek medical attention with a GP or new Bariatric surgeon, and if you can, have all the necessary tests to determine what you're actually dealing with, rather than just having your pain issue dismissed (as I've found many doctors prone to do).

I'm in -- thank you for coordinating! Current weight 203. Goal weight 190. Sent from my iPhone using BariatricPal

I've been trying to reply from my phone for days, but keep getting booted off the app. :/ 186.1 this week. Up and down in the same weight range. Boo. Not ready for maintenance!

I encourage you to examine your coffee. This is where I was taking in a number of surprising uncounted calories. I've heard "don't drink your calories," and I didn't think I was because I wasn't drinking soda, sweet tea, sports drinks, etc. When I began working on the 5:2, my husband pointed out that only black coffee is encouraged. I genuinely felt defensive of my coffee because SURELY it wasn't that bad to have a bit of half-and-half, however, when I actually measured out my half-and-half (or sugar-free non-dairy creamer), then calculated it in my morning cup of coffee (plus my mid-morning warmup or two, plus an afternoon cup), I was easily at 120-150 creamer calories over the day. That's an awful big chunk of the 500 calories allowed on a fast day, and personally, I'd rather have food.

No change for me this week. Boo.

I'm still hanging in there with the 5:2, though another week at it and I've still lost nothing, really. I'm still bouncing up and down in the same 3 pound range. I'm EXCELLENT at maintaining, evidently, but I'd LOVE to actually get to my goal weight first. :/ I opted to move this week's Monday fast day to today as my husband wanted to meet for a lunch date while our littlest kiddos were at their once-a-week sitter. I haven't been very successful eating out and staying around 500 calories, so this week is Tu/Th. I'm at 520 calories for today, and while I feel fine physically, I'm a little wrecked emotionally fighting this body of mine. I swear, if someone told me right this minute that bariatric surgery is "the easy way out," I'd probably get arrested for assault. Part of me keeps toying with the idea of another two-week liquid protein fast like I did pre-op. I keep thinking maybe it would shock my body into losing again. But then I think of how incredibly challenging that was, and imagining how I may actually lose my everloving mind if I go through that nightmare again and STILL don't lose. Anyway, hanging in there right now. Going to sip on some decaf and binge watch some House of Cards while trying really hard not to feel sorry for myself.

Still up and down the same few pounds. 187.4 today. I'm sure great at maintaining! Would just like to get to goal weight first. :/

184.6

I netted 571 calories on my Thursday fast day yesterday. I found it to be much more difficult than the Monday fast day. I think that's because on Mondays, my three littlest kids spend the day with a sitter, so I'm not dealing with their meals and Snacks all day. I find I'm far less tempted to snack when I'm not doling out snacks constantly. I also manually cut and hauled tree branches for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon, so my carbs were a bit higher than they were on Monday, where I spent the entire day running errands. I did 900 calories the day before per @@MichiganChic suggestion, and I'm down almost 2 pounds for my first full 5:2 week. I wish it were more since I'm still up about three pounds from my pre-Christmas weight, but a loss is a loss, and I'm happy for it. Thankful for it. Fingers crossed this week my body decides it LOVES this program and drops 6 or 7 pounds. Haha!

Here are some things I've been eating: 3 Egg whites with picante sauce: 105 calories (3 carbs for picante sauce) 2oz. Roasted Turkey Breast topped with 1/4c. 2% Daisy Cottage cheese, and 1T. Smokey Chipotle Salsa: 114 calories (3 total carbs for cottage cheese and salsa) 3oz. Baked chicken Breast with 1t. Hot Mustard: 100 calories (1 carb for the mustard) Tuna salad made with 1 pouch Low Sodium Tuna, 1/2T. sweet relish, 1 egg white (+ sea salt, cracked pepper, and celery flakes): 95 calories (2 carbs for relish) Chicken Salad made with 2oz. canned chicken breast, 1/4c. Daisy 2% Cottage Cheese, and 1T. dry Ranch Dressing powder (+ cracked pepper): 108 calories (3 carbs for cottage cheese and ranch powder) As for accommodating my family: I do my own thing through the day. We have six kids, so most weekday mornings, everyone picks their own Breakfast, and I don't necessarily eat with them. I always have boiled eggs on hand, so I may have one of those, some leftover Protein from a prior meal, or a Protein shake with my coffee after everyone heads out the door. At lunchtime, I'm home with the three youngest, so I make their lunch, then make something different (protein-heavy) for me. They don't necessarily notice that I'm eating that something different unless they want to eat it off my plate (a real problem). I always keep things on hand to make my days easy -- pouches or cans of tuna, cans of chicken breast, pouches of lump crab meat, vacuum packs of smoked salmon, frozen Morningstar burgers, Mahi Mahi burgers from Trader Joes, etc. One day a week (often Sundays), I'll also have my husband throw some extra protein on the grill for me. So, we may grill chicken legs for the whole family, so we'll grill extra chicken legs, but also a few chicken breasts and some lean pork chops to keep in the fridge for weekday lunches. It takes just a few extra minutes to prepare, but saves so much time and so many calories throughout the week. For dinners, I rarely make casseroles and pasta-based dishes anymore. I can't really eat them, and I don't really want my kids to be in the habit of eating them (working on developing their long-term tastes and habits). I will make Pasta for them every once in a while, but it is honestly not more than once a month or so. They haven't really missed it. I make Soups, stews, curries, chicken adobo, roasts, grain-free meatloafs, etc. in the crockpot. Other than that, I bake, roast, or grill many different types of Proteins. I often serve the protein with a variety of roasted, steamed, or raw veggies, and sometimes fresh or roasted sliced/diced fruit. I rarely make pasta, but I maybe once a week, I'll throw some organic Jasmine rice into our rice cooker, and the kids will eat that either mixed with their meal (if it's an ethnic dish that calls for rice) or they'll mix it with butter and salt and have it as a side dish. I've found allrecipes.com to be an excellent resource. It allows me to hunt for recipes searching by the ingredients I have on hand. I'm regularly adding new dishes to the menu, and keeping things interesting has kept the kids from missing carby things at home. I'm also not very accommodating at dinner time. I've said more than once that I'm not a short-order cook. They have options at breakfast and in their packed lunches, but at dinnertime, we eat one meal together. They can eat that or not, but they can't eat other things. Their school caters pizza on Mondays and another restaurant meal on Fridays, and we eat out on Saturday nights after church. They have total control during those times, but when we sit down together, they get to try new things and practice graciousness and gratefulness for the way they've been served.