Kindle

I have a very active job, on my feet all day, bending, squatting, kneeling, lifting. Also self pay and no PTO. I wanted to take 2 weeks but we got busy so I only ended up taking 7 days. I planned it over Christmas so I actually only missed 3 days of work. I did, however, have a 3 week 20 pound lifting restriction that we were able to work around. So if you can't modify your job to accommodate whatever lifting restriction that your surgeon gives you, that will probably dictate the amount of time off you have to take.

Please consider the statistical validity of this one study and its conclusions before getting your panties in a wad..... "In their retrospective analysis of a prospective cohort study of 443 patients who underwent bariatric surgery at the university hospital between 2006 and 2013, the percentage of excess body weight lost had dropped from 77% in 241 patients with available data at 1 year to 56% among 39 at 5" Which means they are basing their "findings" on just 39 out of 443 patients from ONE hospital. That's not even a 10% followup rate of their own patients. What happened to the other 90% at 5 years out? Tens of thousands of people have had VSG and they are telling us what happened to 39 of them! It's more than laughable as far as statistically relevant conclusions are concerned.

Surgery on Friday. Back to work Thursday. On my feet all day bending, squatting, kneeling. I couldn't lift more than 20 pounds for 3 weeks but then I was back to the usual 40-60 pounds. Just made sure I had plenty of shakes and water and juice to sip on in between appointments.

I actually have a friend who had bypass the same day as her husband. On the way home from the hospital she made him stop at KFC. She "only" had mashed potatoes and gravy. 5 min later he was pulling over for her to puke. When they got home she opened a can of Coke and took several slugs. And promptly thew up. 8 years later she still eats total crap and vomits nearly every day...... 'sigh'...... So yes, there really are crazy people out there, they aren't all trolls.

Check out the subforum "Don't Sweat the Stall Stuff". There are hundreds of posts addressing your concerns.

Way to go!

Definitely call your surgeon's office. At best, seeds can cause severe gastric irritation on your already inflamed stomach lining and at worse get stuck in your staple line and cause a leak or infection. And yes, I do mean to scare you. Did you really think popcorn was a pureed food? If so, you need a serious sit down with your nut before you do hurt yourself. On the other hand, if you knew it wasn't pureed but ate it anyways you need a serious sit down with the psych that approved your surgery.

The absolute worst thing you can do is compare yourself to others. The second worst thing is to obsess over the numbers on the scale. If you follow the plan, you WILL lose. You don't need a scale to make that happen and the rate at which you lose has Nothing to do with your long term success. I lost over 100% of my excess weight and I don't even OWN a scale! But since you asked....lost 22 pounds on my preop. Down 100 pounds at 9 - 10 months postop (not sure exactly when since I don't own a scale). Still down 100 pounds at 27 months out. That's what matters, not how much I lost the first few months. Think in terms of the rest of your life and it'll make all the short term stuff a lot easier.

As far as I'm concerned Genepro isn't really Protein. There are absolutely no third party studies or analyses that support the manufacturer's claims. There are no unbiased studies that indicate pre and post protein serum levels that would quantify the absorption rate and efficiency. The company can't even provide an analysis of individual amino acids to indicate whether it is a complete protein or not. Anyone with more than a couple semesters of biochemistry would know there is no scientific credibility to their claims. Basically they start out with whey protein, but the molecule is then so altered, it is really no longer a protein molecule. They play around a lot with the hydrogen molecules. It doesn't take much to change what something is when you start adding and removing molecules. For example, the oxygen we breath is made of 2 oxygen molecules. Remove one of them, add two hydrogen molecules and you have Water. Add one more hydrogen and you have hydrogen peroxide. Oxygen, water and hydrogen peroxide are not interchangeable even though they differ by just 1-2 molecules. Imagine what happens to protein when you strip away most of the hydrogen molecules. Now let's look at the other products this company sells.....all fad "miracle" supplements that claim to boost libido, burn fat, build muscle, enhance male performance, etc...kind of hard to take them seriously. You're better off sticking with "real" protein supplements with decades of scientific proof that they are providing proper nutrition. 100% whey protein is the best absorbed form of protein available. And there are hundreds of studies that prove this, not just one company's quack marketing ploys.

I hated the isopure premade bottled drinks. They were the only thing, besides my colonoscopy prep drink, that made me gag postop. As for unflavored powders I've had Unjury, Syntrax, Isopure and even 100% whey powder straight from the cheese factory. They all pretty much taste the same to me.

Can you do stevia and/or erythritol? If so, you will not have a problem finding bariatric products postop.....just read labels. I could not tolerate artificial sweeteners postop as they caused severe stomach pain. I drank herbal tea, milk, diluted fruit juice,diluted sports drinks and pedialyte. I never bothered with the "sugar free" crap and never had a problem with real sugar slowing my weight loss. As for protein supplements, there are plenty out there that contain stevia and/or erythritol. If you can't do either of them then yes, you may have a hard time finding things to get you through the preop and postop food stages. Not impossible, just gonna take some creative menu planning.

Boy, that's rough! How are you getting your protein?

I had my surgery in December which means I was on liquid preop and postop through 3 holiday parties, two birthday parties, a funeral, Christmas dinner at grandma's and New Year's Eve. Got through all of them drinking Protein shakes, ice Water and sipping broth with Protein Powder. Over two years later that is all a distant memory and a very teeny tiny part of my WLS journey. Don't get bogged down in the "now". These first few months are nothing compared to the decades you will spend as a healthier, skinnier you.

Why? Are you looking for justification? To answer your question.....No, never. Followed my instructions to a T. If anything, I transitioned through my stages even slower than allowed. I had no desire to put myself at risk for a complication. No food on the planet was worth the risk of hurting myself after spending all that $$$. Didn't matter if I was hungry or craving something or just wanted to have "real" food. Following the plan was just part of the mental commitment I made when I decided to have surgery.

Depends on what hospital, where you are staying and what they provide. I was at OCC and the Marriot. They provided all my postop medication (sublingual NSAIDS, antibiotics, antinausea, GI motility meds, and PPIs). chicken broth, bottled Water and popscicles. I brought GasX strips and narcotic pain Meds with me but never needed them. I did walk to Walmart 1-2 times/day after surgery and picked up herbal tea bags and pedialyte. Plus my sister needed to get her Starbucks fix. There's also a GNC next to Walmart and I got a couple bottles of Isopure. Unfortunately it tasted horrible and made me gag. If anything, the walking was great for postop gas....probably why I never needed the GasX. OCC also provided thigh-high compression stockings to wear postop and especially for the flight home. I suggest bringing some if your hospital doesn't provide them.

27 months out and maintaining below goal for 18 months. I pretty much eat whatever I want. Heavy on the protein and veggies; moderate fat, fruit and fiber/whole grains; light on the simple carbs. No tracking or measuring. Just use common sense, make good choices 90% of the time and indulge in total crap the other 10%.....although holidays and vacations are more like 60/40

This is a question for those that are at least a year or two postop. Well into the new lifestyle, done with the learning curve, your new habits are "normal" and all that newbie stuff is behind you.... what is the #1 thing you miss the most from preop? And what is the #1 single thing you do not miss? for me, I miss being able to chug a big glass of cold Water or a whole bottle of Vitamin water, etc. Down the whole thing in less than a minute. I can take big, normal gulps, but only 1-2 before I have to make myself stop. the #1 thing I don't miss is being in pain....foot pain, ankle pain, knee pain....all day, every day.

What others said....take a good hard look at why your sisters failed. Did they follow the program? When did they stop? Why did they stop? What did they eat? What did they drink? What poor eating habits did they give up or not give up? What new coping mechanisms did they develop for dealing with life? Were they seeing a therapist or getting regular counseling. You have first hand experiences to learn from and improve. Use that advantage. And I'm sure it's obvious, but just remember, long term WLS success is all about your head, not your stomach. Make sure you focus on what you need to be prepared for the mental battle as well as the physical one. Obesity is just as much of a mental illness as a physical state and no simple surgery is going to "cure" you.

Like others said, tracking and measuring everything is going to be the best way for you to get a grip on your macros and figure out exactly where you need to make changes. Even if you really really don't want to, if you really really want to keep losing you will. However, I'm not a tracker, so I kind of get where you're coming from. So here are some very basic rules that could be a good place to start..... 1) 64 oz Water every day. And that's a minimum.... I usually get 80-100oz. The basic chemical process to metabolize fat requires H2O. Without an ample supply, the fat is simply going to sit there. 2) 60g Protein every day. Again, this is a minimum. Many programs have goals of 80+. Now this does require a certain amount if tracking...I just tally it in my head. Read labels and look up nutritional info online if you don't have a tracking app like my fitness pal. My easy fix is I eat a Quest bar and I have a protein smoothie everyday. That's 40-50g of protein right there. All the "real" food I eat is bonus protein, and I know I'm well over the 60g mark every day. 3) unless it's a non starchy vegetable, never eat anything that contains more carbs than protein. Again, this takes a bit of nutritional education. You need to read labels and look things up online if you don't have a tracking app. If you must snack, go for raw veggies, Jerky, Protein Bars, or Greek yogurt (again, read labels as some have more carbs than protein) I've been doing this for over two years and after reaching goal I made it a point to add in more whole grains and fruit, but while you are still losing, it needs to be all about water, protein and veggies. Oh yeah, and don't forget to take your Vitamin supplements every day.

@@JamieLogical explained it very well. There are actually YouTube videos that kind of demonstrate it. I say "kind of", because the video uses a funnel with no simulated pyloric valve, so it's more in line with a bypass stomach. Sleevers have a pyloric valve, so there is something preventing the stomach contents from just pouring into the intestines. All that being said and despite all the scientific explanations and surgeon recommendations, I have drank with my meals since about 6 months out. And I eat Soup all the time. I still lost over 100% of my excess weight and at 27 months out have kept it off. So no, although probably helpful for many, due to all the reasons listed above, it is not a totally necessary rule that you HAVE to follow. I found drinking with meals didn't make me too full or less full or hungry sooner. Besides, at this point in my journey it's my brain that decides what and how much and how often to eat, not my sleeve.

Yes, there are dozens of ways to be successful with WLS and just because your surgeon's plan is so much different than what worked for me doesn't mean it's wrong. I apologize for any disrespect. Just keep in mind that this is YOUR journey and you can work it any way that gives you the results you are looking for. And don't be disappointed if you aren't reaching some of those deadlines for "X" number of pounds lost by "Y" date. I just see too many people get depressed and self sabotage when those sometimes excessive goals aren't met.

What are your surgron's long term success rates ? Do his patients keep their weight off 3-5+ years out? The reason I ask is IMO he is giving bad advice. You are going to totally screw up your metabolism if you stay at 600 calories until you hit goal. That could be many many months, even years. You will be a very slow loser because your body is in chronic starvation mode. You will be malnourished in some category because you can't possibly consume enough needed nutrients (including fruits and veggies) and stay under 600 calories for that long. Not to mention the mental strain of trying to adhere to such a restrictive diet plan. Then when you do finally reach goal maintenance could be hell. Your metabolism will be used to functioning at such a low pace that any increase in calories will lead to regain. Another observation....40 pounds in 3 months is a huge expectation. At your starting weight that seems a little excessive. I had lost 17 pounds at 3 months. My calories were up to 800 by then and at 1000 by 6 months. Slow but steady worked great for me and I've been able to maintain my 100% excess weight loss for a year and a half at 1400-1600 calories because I never starved myself. Just saying if you aren't finding great success in your surgeon's plan, you may want to explore other options.

So if it is a max $10K OOP, why don't you just have to pay the $10K and they cover the rest since the procedure was approved?

Glad you are on the mend. Did you talk to your original surgeon or see the OR report? Seems the hernia should have been identified and repaired at the same time as your VSG.

No, it's not a sleeve, nothing is removed. From my understanding it's kind of like a whole bunch of mini plications from the inside. A few things bother me about the procedure that would make me not want to choose it for myself..... 1) it's marketed for people wanting to lose 20-50 pounds. I had way more than that to lose 2) it doesn't even come close to providing the restriction that VSG or bypass does. Or even as much as the lapband did for those of you looking at revision. 3) it leaves a whole bunch of folds in your stomach held together with anchoring devices. Who's to say all those little anchors won't erode through your stomach just like the lapband has done. This potentially leaves the patient susceptible to ulceration and even perforation several years down the line. 4) it just hasn't been around long enough to know all of its results, both good and bad. This is the main reason I went with the sleeve. They've been doing gastrectomies for over 100 years, with dozens (if not hundreds) of followup studies, so there weren't going to be any "surprises" by choosing VSG.