mikeyaintskerd

It has been awhile since I have posted here. So long, that I almost forgot that I was a member. September 15th will make 5 months since I had my surgery. A lot of things have changed for me. First off, the Protein shakes, had to stop. At first they were easy, and great. Except, I could only drink one kind and only one flavor of that kind. Everything else was making me sick. Of course, two of the same flavor, of the same kind, twice a day, every day, after a few months, also started to make me sick. It got to the point where I was getting sick, thinking about drinking the shakes. My meal also changed. After the healing seemed to complete, I noticed I started eating more often. At first this bothered me, because the idea of eating more often, seemed in my mind to defeat the purpose. Yet, I also noticed that I was eating a lot less.... just more frequently. I also noticed I was drinking a lot more fluids then I had ever done. I also, have not had a drink of soda, since my surgery, which I think probably also helped. I noticed that bread, will not be eaten again. That includes cake, bagels, doughnuts, etc. I have tried almost all of these things, and while it does not make me sick, it hurts. I am not a fan of pain, so I do not try them again. I find that I do not miss any of them. I have noticed that I have a very huge craving for grapes. I now go through grapes, like I used to go through milk. I used to go through a lot of milk (something else I find, I do not miss.) Well, after almost 5 months, and fearing that my eating was going to become a problem, I have lost 92 pounds. I am very close to the goal that my doctor set for me, and I believe I will pass that goal. Some other things that have changed. I am off all of my medications, except for my thyroid. Since I eat more times a day then I used to, I find foods that are high in protein for Snacks, such as tuna. For the first 3 months, I could not eat tuna, but my dietitian told me to keep trying. She said that if I am going to cut out the Protein Shakes, I needed to find other sources, and tuna is a great source. So far, now at 5 months, I find I can eat tuna again. In fact, other then the breads, I have found that I can eat just about anything. My sweet weakness is M&Ms. I usually eat a bag of them a week. Which compared to how I used to eat them.....much much different. I also have a weakness for chocolate chip frappachino from Mcdonalds. I had someone tell me, I should not drink those, but I compare it to what I used to get at Mcdonalds. One meal at Mcdonalds for me used to be, a double quarter pounder, large fries, two mcdoubles, and a milkshake. Now a meal for me at Mcdonalds is the frappachino, and thats it. So I felt guilty at first, but not so much in contrast. That and instead of going like 3 times a week, I go like once a month. I also found out, that I can run. I started running a mile every morning. It was only taking about 7 minutes once I got into it, that I thought that was not enough time. So now, I run for 30 minutes every morning. One day I will try to see how far I am going. I leave my house, and run for 15 minutes, and then turn around and run back. It is amazing, because I would not run before. I used to have a joke at work, that if someone made me chase them, they would get hurt if I caught them for making me run. Now, I have had to chase people, and smile the whole time I am doing it. In my local area, I am signed up for two 5ks.... coming up in October, and another run, called a Mud run in December. That one has an obstacle course, which I think I need some training for. Learned about something called a Zombie run, which I will be doing next year. As far as more personal things, there was a rumor that I was told about.... size. I am talking about the little guy size....downstairs. Anyway, I was told that for every 30 pounds lost, I would gain an inch. I thought that was complete BS, yet, it was extremely pleasing to one day wake up in the morning, and notice that I could see.... everything. In a way that I had never experienced. Then to top it off, my wife, told me some stuff about things that could not be done before, that was being done now. I do not want to go into detail, but that rumor, seems to have a bit of truth behind it. Something I used to be ashamed of, I am now very proud of. My kids have noticed a difference with me as well. I am doing all sorts of activities with them. Went to a Water park with them, and they where shocked that I went on the slides with them. Something I would not even think about doing before. I had an amazing time, and I am sure they will remember it for a long time. Something I do not think I would have been doing before I had the surgery. I also got very luck with loose skin. As, so far, I do not have any, and have been told by the doctor, that I might not have any. He said to make sure, once I lose to the point I feel comfortable, I should start weight training. That building up muscle, would help fill in the skin, that was full of fat. Sounds like a plan to me. Anyway, that is my story so far. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask me.

I do, I will have to post some tomorrow when I get home. I also have a video of before and after on youtube. The mikeyaintskerd is the username.

I noticed that too. One of the first things I noticed, was that I started sleeping less. Went from about 10 hours of sleep at night to about 5 or 6 hours. Yet, I feel like I have slept when I wake up now. Sleep Apnea was the first thing to go for me. Wife told me I stopped snoring midway through week 2. Anyway, I started trying to run around month 2. Once you get started, it gets easier each time. I am not an expert, but I think with the less weight, the blood can travel faster, as it has less area to go, and thus the oxygen is made available more. I might be totally off about that, but makes sense to me.

Once you start the hard liquids, you will find that hunger will go away quickly. Just the thicker stuff will help a lot. I found that cream of chicken, and cream of potatoes, and those others that I thought would be terrible, are now favorites of mine. In times when I start to worry that I am eating to much, I will go back on the hard liquid diet for a week or so.

keke, I believe that if I can do this, that anyone can do it. At 6 days after, I am guessing that you are still on the all clear liquid diet, which I HATED. I was also resting and thus watching a lot of TV, and got to see just how many food commercials there are. Just a tip when re introducing food, something I learned the hard way, take it slow at first. The slower the better. You eat to fast, or eat to much, you new stomach will let you know about it. Best of luck to you.

I touched on this a bit in my story. I was told a rumor, that for every 30 pounds I lost, I would gain an inch downstairs. Now I am not sure if it has been all of that, but there is a difference. First, I know that I am reaching areas that I have not reached before. Not sure I can go into to much detail, but I can say, I know, due to certain sounds that are made, like choking, that has never been done before. That, and other things. So to make a very long story, that I could go into great detail about, my sex life has been extremely wonderful since surgery. Not just for me, but for my wife.

I was told to reintroduce foods, only a few weeks out after surgery. Right now, I am a little over 6 weeks out, and I have only gotten sick twice. Both times was with red meat. Hamburgers to be exact. What I find confusing, and curious if anyone knows about is why Hamburger? I mean the first time, it was a half of a hamburger, made on the grill. We made sure to use lean meat. However, after a few bites, up it came. Happened again just a few days ago. However, things like meatballs, made from the same hamburger, I have no problem with. Is this odd, or does it have to do with how it is cooked?

That all makes a lot of sense. None of my NUT is covered under my insurance, and I can not afford the 200+ dollars for each visit. So, I am learning as much as I can. My doc did tell me the red meat would be difficult, but if I was doing meatballs, then hamburger should be fine. However, seeing what all of you guys are writing, it really does make sense, and shocked I did not think of it like that. I will keep that in mind, from now on. Plus, anytime I have difficulty introducing something new, I go back to my soft foods diet for the rest of the day, and the next and restart again. So far, seems to be working ok. Still can not eat much, but the loss of weight is amazing.

No. Mine was very simple. Sounded to simple. Lemon Water and chili. Basically dark Beans like pinto or kidney, hot peppers, and tomato. Which my NUT basically said, if you like chili, eat that.

Any store should have premade chili, but is best to make your own. That way you know you are getting lean beef. Plus no additives to keep it on the shelf. As far as the lemon, I just bought store brand version is real lemon juice and then added it to the water. The diet I was on said you only needed to drink it first thing in the morning and then before bed. However, the more you drink, the better. Since I loved the taste, it was all I drank, all day. Was told the lemon water is what helped me the most.

I looked up the symptoms to look for if you are lactose intolerant, and I have not had any. I am not sure what the difference is with the lactose free milk, and the milk I am using, but when I try my shakes with Water, silk, Lactaid, or Almond milk, I feel sick everytime. I mean, I bought them all, so I used them all, and only with milk was I able to drink the shake, and feel fine. Using 1%.

Is it bad? I was told not to drink it, but I can't do my shakes without it. Silk does not work. Lactaid does not work. Can only do them with milk without getting sick. Why is milk said to be bad?

My mother in law also had her surgery there, and she had nothing but good to say about Tampa General. I sometimes think I should kick myself for not doing the same. If it where not for things going to well for me right now, I probably would.

I am 6 weeks post op, and I was very worried about this myself. I always had a drink before during and after meals. I thought this would be an extremely hard thing for me to overcome, but I actually found it much easier then it sounded. I often times, just stop drinking, have my meal, and then realize I am past my time to have something to drink again. After a few weeks, you get so used to it, and it becomes so routine, that you forget that you are doing it that way. At least, thats how it is working out for me.

I am about 6 weeks post op, and I am getting tired of the shakes already. Just found the spot here under food & nutrition, that might help me with that. I am basically stuck with one shake that works for me. All the flavors I liked before surgery, I did not like after surgery, and only the chocolate peanut butter of my brand, is what I can tolerate now. I tried addeing things to it, and plan on trying some of the recipies that I found on here. However, I can tell you, it seems very hard to do just shakes right now. Hopefully the recipes help. Right now I mix mine with milk, yogurt, peanut butter, ice, and banana. That has restarted my like for the shake, but need more variety. It is possible, but you might want to check out that section of the forum. Looks like it might be very helpful to me.

I think the reason I have issue the most with it, is I used to drink a gallon of milk a day. I used to prefer milk to water, or anything else really. So perhaps that had something to do with it.

Brenda, I send you a private message before I saw this thread. I actually had surgery at Brandon Regional, but wish I had gone to Tampa General. My wife had her surgery done by Doctor Murr at Tampa General, and I was there for most of her care. Tampa has an entire unit for bariatric patients, meaning all the nursing staff, and techs, and everyone, will know the best way to react to anything you have. Going through the process is much easier at Tampa General, and you get a much clearer picture of everything that is going to happen, and exactly what you are paying for there. Had I not worked for Brandon Regional, and had I not cared about the drive to Tampa General, I would have had my surgery there. They will treat you extremely well.

Trust me, I was shocked when she asked me if I could drink lemon water. I can eat lemons like oranges. I also, am a very huge fan of Chili. So my two week diet before surgery was like heaven to me. Plus, from what the surgeon said about my liver during surgery, it appears to have worked. Just tried reintroducing chili today as a matter of fact. Hoping hot sauce will be ok with me too. I have bottles of that stuff, that I do not want to just get rid of.

I agree with what you are saying, it just seems like torture to me. My biggest problem was will power. If I was hungry, I ate. Usually ate much more then I needed too.... so having me on a liquid diet for two weeks before surgery, would have been impossible for me to do. I know it would have been. It was almost impossible for me to do for one week after surgery, accept, I did not really feel hungry after surgery, I just saw, and smelled what everyone else was having, and wanted that. Without the hunger, it was much easier to resist. However, I can not imagine, being on a liquid diet, and still having the hunger. Then again, everyone is different. Which is why I wish the best of luck. I just know, I would fail that area..... of course, I think perhaps my dietician knew that, and maybe that is why I was on a the diet I was.

I thought maybe it was something specific to this surgery. I mean, my wife had the Gastic Bypass, and for the first 3 weeks, she was surviving off of milk because it was the only thing she could take in, that did not make her sick. I mean, I have no plans of stopping the milk. If I want my protien shakes, I need the milk. Otherwise, I would be sick everytime I had one.

Was told that no one is suppose to drink it after surgery. Suppose to become lactose intolerant I think they said. Yet, I have no issues with milk at all. Even I I drink it by itself. However I usually only use milk for my shakes now. So I am confused as to why it was said, no milk.

Am I the only one that was not on a liquid diet before surgery? I had a fatty liver and was told if I did not get it small enough, they would not do the surgery. My dietician put me on a diet of lemon water and chili. Said the lemon water is good for detoxing the liver and so are all the ingredients in chili. Like kidney beans, peppers, tomatoes, and lean beef. Was told to stay away from any type of potato. So for two weeks I ate all the chili I wanted (I did limit myself) and drank nothing but lemon water. Was shown pictures of my liver they took during surgery and the surgeon told me it looked like I had a new liver. He said he was shocked that it was the same liver that was shown to him by ultrasound less then a week before. Everyone was on a liquid diet? Really?

My name is Michael, and I am 6 weeks post surgery. I had my vertical sleeve done on April 15th. I weighed in, the morning of surgery at 364 pounds. Today is May 25th and I now weigh in at 307 pounds. The first week after surgery was the hardest. I did not get sick, but I did realize how much visual stimulants I used to see that would trigger my eating. I was on a clear liquid diet, but every food commercial I saw, made me want to eat. Before surgery, I never noticed how tv effected me. After the first week I started with soft foods based on my doctor. I can tell you the cream of chicken Soup never tasted so good. Cream of mushroom was awesome, and I do not like mushrooms. Anyway, I happened to find this app as I had my first run in with acid reflux. Was not sure what to take for it since I had not had the issue since surgery. Thought I might share any info or answer any questions for people thinking about getting it done. So far, very few complications, and lots of downsizing cloths. Any questions, feel free to ask.

Oddly, they had me set up for RNY as well. Even said that is what I went in for, but it was due to a coding issue the hospital was having, and even double and triple checked with my doctor the day of surgery. As I said, irritating. My issue was more with the doctors office though. The staff are not....customer service friendly. That however, is mostly past.

I would say, what finally did it for me, was having added two new medications, or constantly switching the medications I was on. I had always been a big guy. My freshman year in high school, I weighed 315. I had some issues that happened before then, that I am told is probably what really caused my weight gain, but the final thing that did it for me, was getting put on diabetes medication. Being told I was borderline diabetic. My mom is a diabetic, and has infections all the time because of it, and has been in the hospital several times. That is not something I want to go through. I also had a fatty liver, sleep apnea, High BP, and so on. So, I just got tired of sleeping at night, and waking up tired, and do not feel like taking a whole bunch of medications. Once I was told I needed pills for diabetes, I decided, that was enough. So far, only 6 weeks post op, I no longer snore, my sleep apnea is gone, and I am off almost all my medications. Most of my goals are accompished. I am not signed up for 2 5k runs in October and a Mud run in December. Something I would have never thought I would do.