GriffinSabine

I'm 4 months out from my surgery, and things are going great. I had no issues prior to surgery, no co-morbidities, but a BMI of 47 which was the qualifier. Everything went perfectly before and since. The only problems I had were 1. sticking to the pre-op diet, I did not do well 2. pain much greater than I had anticipated the week following surgery 3. overthinking and worrying about things prior to surgery I feel very lucky. Having said all this, I see that there is a common theme among all of us whether preparing for surgery, or recently sleeved, and that is "how fast am I losing?" or "is this a normal rate of loss?" I have lost about 45 pounds in four months, and feel this is fantastic. It averages 2-3 pounds a week, around 10 per month. And it is consistent. If I stall, I don't even think about it. I know the weight will continue to fall off as my body adjusts. Never in my life have I lost weight and been almost 100% certain that I won't gain it back. But remember, that IS possible if you don't work on yourself and your habits. Fortunately - very, very fortunately - the sleeve is an amazing TOOL to help you make the changes you need to. Pay attention to the learning curve (I am still on it) you'll have along the way, and try to make the best choices you can MOST of the time. Look at your progress over a week's time, not every single day. Just do the best yo can. The only person you have to prove anything to is yourself. Be proud of yourself and the path you are on. That's all I got!

Water weight! Do not stress about this at all. Drink MORE water, take a walk, simply eat clean and check the scale in the morning (if you must!). You'll be down!

Thanks a lot! I appreciate it!

I didn't follow it very well. I barely even started until one week prior, and it should have been two. Above all else, I made sure to completely stop eating two days before so my stomach would be TOTALLY empty. Aside from that, I worried every day that my liver would not have shrunk enough because I continued eating carbs and even drinking wine the last week before surgery. Fortunately everything went 100% perfectly but I could have really screwed myself up - and I knew it. Being totally honest.

Crozer, Dr. Leon Katz. Excellent surgeon and staff!

Absolutely. It is an awful, awful feeling. Besides the physical symptoms, I have an impending sense of doom, that something is VERY wrong with my body. I first experienced it a week after surgery when I very stupidly ate a couple of pieces of Valentine candy. It was an intense experience to say the least. FOLLOW YOUR GUIDELINES. You do not want to be eating sugar too soon, if it all. I have also had very bad dumping a couple of other times, when consuming alcohol, but sugar is the main culprit and I avoid it most of the time even though I'm a few months out. You do not want to have dumping - horrible feeling (thank goodness it does pass).

Since surgery I've had acne on my jawline and chin, and nothing helped. Recently my pcp prescribed an antibiotic cream for my face (keep it refrigerated) and it cleared things up. Skin looks 100% better. I can still feel bumps under the skin though. Apparently it is most likely hormonal. Odd!

It does get much easier. I'm at 12 weeks and even this time last week, was still not feeling good with Water. For eleven straight weeks I'd get nauseated EVERY time I had a few sips. Now suddenly the last week, I feel almost back to normal and I've been able to get much more water in. No more nausea.

Try your best to do a real, honest head-check, especially where wine is concerned. I don't know if alcohol is an issue for you (it is for me) but you must be very careful. Especially so early. I drank wine at 5 weeks out and regret it. At only 12 weeks, it continues to be a problem for me and always will be. In addition, it greatly slows the rate of loss for a variety of reasons. It is very early on for you to be on this slippery slope. But if you are not able to control what you eat, at least chew things to an absolute mush consistency as much as possible and avoid wine. Tell yourself it will still be there, and you can have it down the road.

String cheese, Babybels, or Laughing Cow on Wasa cracker Pickled or deviled eggs Jerky - if anyone can suggest a VERY low sodium variety or brand, please advise! Leftover marinated and grilled ANYTHING - after the weekend there is always something left from the grill. Very often I have bite size chunks of cold chicken, steak, shrimp, pork, even cod or haddock in a baggie in my purse. I just make sure to eat it within a couple of hours. Leftover meats in small amounts are my mainstay. Tinned smoked oysters, tuna in the pouch Nori - dried seaweed Raw almonds Greek yogurt 2% with raw sunflower seeds thrown in. If I'm feeling decadent, I add a spoon of honey. Leftover sashimi (within one day)

12 weeks for me this week, 40 # lost. Started at 275, now 235. Somewhat slow, but steady, and that's fine by me - I know it's not coming back!

Is there anyone who never took medication for gallbladder post-surgery, and has also had no problems since?

You guys that are so diligent - which is impressive - do you not even have a single sip after eating? To swish your mouth or anything? I always do, and I am two months out. Worried this is going to be my biggest struggle.

I am a little over two months out and mine has started falling out. I cried.

This was so helpful to me.

I remember hearing for the first time at the seminar that having this procedure removes hunger hormones. I assumed it must be a myth, even a "sell" on their part. I thought, there is no way I will ever not care about what's next to eat, when I'll eat it, how much I'll have, and how long I'll regret it before repeating. That was four months ago. Today I absolutely believe it! I'm a month out. Weight is falling off me, and I have zero appetite. I moved to solids about a week ago and they are "nice" and all...but I literally DO NOT CARE ABOUT food. I still prepare it for my family, go out to eat a few times a week....but I have NO interest in food whatsoever! Honestly - I've been waiting for this feeling all my life. I know in time I'll get my appetite back, but right now I'm just really grateful to be experiencing this. I am so, so happy I had this done. The downside is what you'd expect - I have very low energy about half of the day. I'm managing to get most of my Protein and supplements in. Water is no problem. Most days I get an hour of exercise (walk or swim) at an easy pace. Too easy...70 year olds pass me constantly. I would love to make my workouts harder, but don't have the power to push through for long. At any rate, I'm easily fatigued and really hope this changes in the near future. All in all, I'm loving the great benefit of not having an appetite; of not obsessing about food. Amazing!

I'm 38 and also very, very easily fatigued the last few days. I'm a month out and my energy has been all over the place. I'll feel great for an hour or two, then I crash hard. I just feel so pooped. All I heard was walk, walk, walk after surgery so I was on my treadmill the third day after. I am not hardcore, just do what I can do. Frequent walks and swims since, plus being up and down stairs a lot. Does anyone think I could have started off doing too much and it's just now catching me the last week? I sure am exhausted. Never felt this way before in my life.

Longtime mj user. I don't get the munchies, but be careful!

Hi OP, you and I were sleeved the same day, February 3. My suggestion is to continue trying different foods and see what you can tolerate. My NUT advanced me to regular solids now, provided I am 100% compliant with not drinking before or after, chewing 20 times, and pacing myself between bites. That has not been an issue. I felt that horrible "brick" stuck in my chest feeling, as well as a dumping episode, early on and VERY quickly learned to not let it happen again. In fact, I'm glad I experienced it because it is a VERY strong motivator to comply and eat properly so it doesn't happen again. I lost 10 my first week, none my second week, and 5 so far this week. I am on track. I'm swimming a half mile a day, walking a half mile to a mile a day. I was active before so this is easier. My #1 focus is Protein and Water. I had low carbed for 12 years prior to VSG so I absolutely know what works in terms of diet. Beans won't help you lose weight so I wouldn't even bother with them unless it's for taste (I love beans). eggs are great. I am eating almost a full cup at times of something like eggs or even chowders or very fine, tiny pieces of beef stew (meat and broth only) and have no issues. But if I eat a cup, I can eat almost nothing else the rest of the day. Make yourself get at least one good Protein shake or smoothie in every day. You can get 30g of protein right there. I also add greek yogurt to mine, raw spinach, roasted beets, berries, avocado, anything worth adding for a nutritional blast. Sorry to ramble on. Please PM me if I can help in any way!

That is highly immature. No. Belladonna was goeffurself's original name. She changed her username mid-conversation.

Very impressive! You should be extremely proud!

No it really doesn't help b/c that is YOUR surgeons recommendations NOT mine. My original question was not how to advance my diet. I was cleared for a soft diet ONE week post op and doing just fine. Thanks anyway. Seriously rude response to one of the nicer people on here.

It will pass. I'm only four ahead of you (sleeved on 2/3) and I'm feeling REALLY good now. I just started pureed foods and it's much better. I was hungry as well and feeling frustrated but it did pass, and quickly. I can very much feel the restriction now and tell my sleeve is REALLY working. It is the "tool" everyone described it as. If you pay attention, and it's very easy to, you should be fine. Give it a few more days, you will feel better!

5'3" 250 here