rivergirl

I thought of 1 more tip that may help. When I went to my required preop class, the nutritionist was all about choosing low calorie, low fat, low sodium foods. When I met with the other nutritionist that I was assigned to, I mentioned my philosophy is to eat real foods - have an egg, have a cup of whole milk, have dark meat, have a hamburger. She said she was ok with that as long as I had restriction and was losing weight. I've always had pretty tight restriction, so even eating real foods with real fat and oh-my-gosh, cooked with salt, I was getting a MAX of 900 calories in, if that. So I would encourage you to eat real food - it doesn't all have to be heavy or fatty, but have thigh meat (it's easier on my tummy and tastes better), have shrimp, have a hamburger patty, have avocado, full fat yogurt. But don't get caught up in all the diet foods that may be allowed - Protein bars are usually really high in sugar and are a trigger food for me, low fat salad dressing just doesn't taste good, skinny cow just about anything is just going to torture you - because you can eat it, but you'll want more and more. I still "cheat" occasionally, but where I went through a couple weeks where I kept skinny cow ice cream in the house and went from having 1 every couple days to 2-3 a DAY, now I don't buy them at all, but every couple weeks my hubby and I will go to culvers and I'll get a single scoop of frozen custard and throw half of it away. It tastes better, is way more satisfying and doesn't make me crave it constantly. You are gonna do great! This site has been really helpful for me, but keep in mind that a lot of people come here because they are having issues with their sleeve. I'm in a Facebook group with other people who had surgery the same month, and very few of us even come on here anymore. Just a heads up

You'll get there, just hold on!! Follow your surgeons rules - they're there for a reason! I'm doing really REALLY well - 318 at my highest, 311 the morning of surgery (11/21) and 186 today. My surgeon says I'm ahead of the curve, but I also had a couple preop issues (pcos & LARGE hiatal hernia) that may have been contributing to metabolic issues. My tips for an easy recovery? - if you don't have a recliner, rent one for the first week. You'll sleep so much better and its much easier to get up - get out of bed as quickly as you can post-op. I was afraid my period started, so I got up as soon as I felt awake enough to get to the bathroom. While I was up I walked a very slow lap around the pod. After that, I was up walking very hour or two. - do NOT let nausea or pain sneak up on you the first couple days. Keep your zofran and vicodin ON TIME. Trust me on this . My surgery was in a Thursday afternoon and my last dose of pain meds was Monday morning, but the zofran continued for another day or two. - be gentle on your tummy. Don't push the limits with the diet restrictions. Keep the foods very soft and mild for a while and let your tummy heal. I couldn't have steak or pork for 6 months, but I did it - and finally, if you think it's going to suck, then it's going to suck. Keep your chin up, stay positive, remind yourself any pain, discomfort or frustration is only temporary and it will pass!

Where in Nebraska are you? I'm in sioux city, ia and am 11 months post-op.

I was with Minkin at Des Peres, too I had a very nice, VERY pregnant anesthesiologist though, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't the same as yours I'm 11 months post op tomorrow and down from 311 day of surgery to 187 today. I took 2 weeks off work, but honestly I could have gone back to my desk job after a week. My best advice for recovery is 1) take all your pain and nausea meds like clockwork the first couple days. I didn't need them after day 3 or 4, but if you need them do NOT get behind schedule. 2). Get vertical and walking as soon as you're able in the hospital. It makes such a difference. And 3) sleep in a recliner the first week. I had to rent one for a week, but you'll have one incision that's kind of sore (I didn't even feel the other 3) and it's much easier to get out of the recliner than a bed. Good luck!!!

Just wanted to update this thread since I saw my surgeon last week. I asked him about the metformin and he said "no way!". He explained it in more detail - metformin increases our sensitivity to insulin. Before surgery, not a problem because we're making a ton of insulin. As we lose weight, not only does our insulin resistance go away, but we produce less insulin as well. If we add Metformin, we will become too sensitive to insulin and our blood sugar will get too low. Long term, this can make us hypoglycemic. And what is the fix for low sugar? Eating something. So we'd just be shooting ourselves in the foot for weight loss. He did give me the green light to get pregnant, so I have an appt with on OBGYN in a couple weeks to do baseline fertility tests. Fingers crossed!

Joining in here a little late, but I'm in Sioux City. We just moved here this spring from St Louis, and finding a family dr up here who is familiar with VSG has been interesting, to say the least. I'm 10 months post op, and other than marrying my husband, this is the best thing I've ever done!

Short story is that 2 years ago, we TTC for over a year. I had PCOS but WAS ovulating on my own. Hubby's stuff is perfect. We did several months of clomid, trigger shots, follistim, IUI, etc. I always ovulated perfectly and always BFN. Fast forward to now...I'm 10 months post op and dr gave us the go ahead to TTC again. He assured me the 120# I've lost has cured my PCOS and we shouldn't have problems. I know weight loss helps non-ovulatory PCOS become ovulatory, but has anybody still needed assistance getting pregnant post-op? Or how long did it take you to conceive once you were *trying*?

You're wise to do your research and wait until you're ready. I honestly went through the same thing pre-op, I stalked this site every night and had to stop after reading so many complaints about complications or pain. What I realized, though, is that a lot if those people are older and already in poor health. Not all, but a lot. I'm in my mid-30's, was healthy (other than PCOS and weight) and was completely comfortable with my surgeon. I had no idea what to expect, because I'd never had surgery before. But, before surgery, they give you happy meds in the IV to help you stay calm. The worst part for me was the time right after the surgery where they had to keep dosing me up with zofran for the nausea. But in hindsight, that was only half an hour or so and I barely remember. Once I got up to the max dose, I was just fine. My pain wasn't much at all - I needed the pain meds, but as long as I stayed on top of it every 4 hours, it stayed below a "3". I walked to get rid of chest pressure which wasn't as much painful as annoying. Post-op, I've had ZERO complications. Nothing. No complaints. I followed my surgeons diet progression carefully, I don't drink carbonated beverages ever and I stop when I get my full signal. This meant waiting 6 freaking months before I could have steak, but the 125# I've lost since November makes it all worth it.

For those of you post-op, has your dr put you back on metformin or did you ever stop taking it? I was sleeved 11/21/13, and went to a new family doctor today. I moved to a small town recently, and the healthcare isn't quite what I'm used to. This dr had very little experience with weight loss surgery, and we talked about how I'd like to try to get pregnant soonish (I'm almost 36). We've been through fertility treatment pre-op and I always ovulated, but never got pregnant, so I'm a little concerned that weight loss won't help me. She told me it's simple - we'll just put you back on metformin. I told her my surgeon took me OFF metformin because it'll make my blood sugar too low, and she assured me that he took me off metformin before surgery because he didn't want to tax my liver with it if I became dehydrated post-op. Just wanted to see what your experiences were...I kind of think she's an idiot, but she's one if the best drs here

Everything ended up working out. My insurance called me with approval on Monday and dr hat Friday afternoon my drs office called me to schedule. My surgery was 11/21 and all is going well!

We've done it both ways, but when we decide to share an entree, I ask the server for an extra plate and follow that quickly with "we're going to share an entree, but don't worry, we tip well." It hasn't been a problem and we've always had great service (and we tip at least 25% to make up for the difference).

The pain from the surgery gas can radiate anywhere - especially in the chest, shoulders or upper arms. When I woke up in recovery, the worst of it was in my collar bones. Morphine mellowed it a bit, but not entirely. I was up walking within 2 hours of being in my room post-op and would continue to walk every 2-3 hours just to get that pinch in my collarbone gone. By 24-36 hours postop, it was mostly gone. Just keep walking!!

My hospitals policy is no catheters for surgeries under 4 hours, so I was pretty happy about that. I was the last surgery of the day and was moved from recovery to my room just after 7 pm. My period was due, so as soon as I felt awake enough, around 8:30, I asked the nurse to help me out of bed to the bathroom. I had a ton of gas pain, so I decided as long as I'm up I'm going to walk. My nurse was totally impressed and said I was the first patient of the day to walk. It really helped with the gas, though. I ended up walking several laps about every 2-3 hours through the night.

No, I'm sorry I haven't. I ran across dr minkin's name when i was researching surgeons, and was impressed that he was a center of excellence and the head of the bariatrics dept at des Peres. I searched his names on several forums, and he has happy patients. If you aren't 100% certain about your surgeon, I HIGHLY recommend dr. Minkin. My surgery and recovery have been picture perfect.

I was just sleeved on 11/21 with Dr. Minkin at Des Peres Hospital.