VSGAnn2014

Wow! You are a knockout. I literally would not have recognized you. And you look so much younger. So, so proud of you. Congratulations!

Bryan, you lost 40 pounds the first two weeks post-op? Then, sorry dude, but you don't get to call this a "stall."

Doing grrreat here! Was sleeved on 8/18, four weeks ago tomorrow. I have lost 11 pounds post-op (lost 8 pounds on a 2-week pre-op diet and 11 pounds on my own before that, for a nice round total of 30 pounds lost since early June. I'm very, very happy. My recovery was easy. No serious pain, the usual WTF?! moments a couple of days post-op, the usual confusion about how to sip enough water and get all the protein in. But I've been able to eat at least 60 grams of protein since Day 5 post-op and now usually get almost 80 grams/day, so am doing well. Daily calories are now in 650-800 range. I'm currently enjoying pureed chicken, one-egg omelettes, refried beans, steamed salmon, a little mashed potato with cottage cheese, spaghetti squash, even an open-faced sandwich (toasted) with tuna salad (mayo and pickle relish) and melted Swiss cheese. Other stuff, too, but those are some highlights. And it all tastes good, too. I do have a single protein shake (25 grams) for breakfast most mornings. Went back to work 2 weeks ago, and energy is increasing. I'm walking with the dog for 30 minutes a day, my major exercise now. Eventually, I'll add water aerobics and get to the gym as my energy continues to climb. In short, everything's going great. Looking back, it was nothing like the drama llama I'd expected. I hope everyone is also finding their groove and doing well. Onward and downward!

Not saying what YOUR problem is, but here's my story .... Pre-op, I took a 150 mg. Ranitidine once a day and continued that post-op. At my ten-day post-op consultation, I told my doctor I was experiencing noticeable stomach acid / hunger signals, especially at night-time. So he switched me (for the next 3 months) from Ranitidine to Protonix. He said Protonix will eliminate 98% of excess stomach acid, whereas Ranitidine negates only about 50%. After my first Protonix pill, I have had ZERO stomach acid / hunger feelings. I'm nearly 4 weeks post-op now.

What a bizarre scene.

Sure, go for it. Lose it on your own. Keep it off on your own. That has worked well for so many people here. Oh, wait ... it didn't. The last study I read said that 98% of people who lose weight through dieting gain it all back, and often more. And 50% of people who have WLS maintain most or all of their weight loss permanently. You do the math.

Par, you have some awfully sweeping opinions about things you probably haven't done any actual research about -- not to mention your sweeping generalizations about the "pot fixes everything crowd" and the anti-GMO crowd being stoners. Nobody here said pot fixes everything. And the anti-GMO crowd I know personally are all chardonnay-sipping soccer moms. For a competing opinion about medical marijuana by Dr. Sanjay Gupta NBC's medical corresponent, check out: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/10/sanjay-gupta-medical-marijuana-legalization_n_4932277.html FTR, I haven't smoked marijuana since the 1970s. I smoked it then recreationally, but quit because it slowed me down way too much. That was my experience. It might not be everyone's experience. I still enjoy wine recreationally. And my doctor says wine has medicinal benefits. So there's my drug of choice.

I can only assume by your OP that you're not a math person.

Eventually, no matter how we get there, it all boils down to not ignoring the facts of life. I have many long-term normal-sized friends who have always lived this way. In contrast, my lifestyle has pretty much been one where I had reasons / targets / deadlines for getting slimmer. Staying slim was always a little too boring to pay much attention to. Besides, I could always lose that 20 pounds again, right? Because I was so good at losing 20 pounds. Then 30. Then 40. Then even (gasp!) 50. But eventually, my dieting / weight losses / weight gains / aging / arthritis / mental gymnastics were CAUSING the problem, not solving the problem. I am coming to peace (intellectually -- although I'm not that far in my journey yet) with the idea that WLS is really about getting to the point where we have a fighting chance to learn how to maintain a healthy weight. We and others give us so much positive feedback for losing weight. But we don't get much positive feedback (or little biochemical rewards) for maintaining our weight loss. This is a real big subject.

What everyone else said above. I'm 3 1/2 weeks out and am currently enjoying my three week stall. Happily, I knew it was coming. Not sweating it at all. And I've lost post-op 9 pounds. So look how great you're doing. I'm not in a race with anyone.

SoCal, what a nice, nice milestone. Or century-stone. Sounds like you are really working your sleeve and everything else HARD. Way to go! Ann

68 y.o. here. Am 3 1/2 weeks post-op. Yeah, we all have some anxiety pre-op. But in the end, my surgery and recovery was pretty easy, I thought. I'm betting you'll do great. Important thing is to have an excellent surgeon. I was lucky there, too.

You can have all mine. Yuck!

Frankly, @@Queen of Crop, I'm as interested in being an armchair observer of your expat life as of your continuing WLS journey. And with both topics in the same blog, it's a "best-seller." Sort of: "Sleeve, Eat, Love."

I'm three weeks post-op VSG. Ten days post-op I had my first ever gallbladder attack. It wasn't awful, but the bariatric nurse at my surgeon's sent me running to the emergency room to get an ultrasound done that night. Yup. There were more than 2 dozen bright, shiny little gallstones in my gallbladder. I'm having the sucker out this coming Monday. Same surgeon as VSG (he's great). Same hospital. Same early morning elevator ride up to the 3rd floor. Same little scrub brushes to shower with the night before and morning of. It will feel like old home week in the surgery. Oh ... and I don't even have to spend the night in the hospital this time. This surgery thing is starting to feel old-hat.

I'm sorry, but no one needs a PCP whom they have to educate about modern medical science. If they don't know their stuff already, what do you need them for?

Same here. No NSAIDS post-op with VSG. Says my doc and everything I've ever read about it. I hate to add to your disappointments though.

Am dying laughing here. What un-self-aware imbeciles. That's a social version of Tourette Syndrome. Shaking my head!

Julie Norton, I am very sorry for your loss and pain. I do hope that it eases as you go around the bend to the next part of life, whatever that will be for you. Ann

How in the name of heaven do you get into and out of those things by yourself. I could suffocate before hubby got me unlaced!

@@Queen of Crop ... I sooo wish you'd start blogging again. I loved your first year blog. Just loved it. Three weeks ago when I was recovering from my own VSG surgery, I went back and read the whole thing all over again. Glad to hear you're continuing to enjoy life so much. You've given me hours of pleasure "constructively anticipating" my WLS and helping me to recover. BTW, my surgery and recovery has been a (knock on wood) relative breeze. Best wishes to all here!

This is one of several common but wrong "facts" floating around out there about WLS. This is not a fact, but it's just "on average" what ALL WLS patients lose. In other words, some people lose 20%, some 40%, some 60%, some 80% and some 100% of their EXCESS WEIGHT (the amount that they're overweight). Likewise, some patients maintain 100% of their weight loss, some maintain 80%, some maintain 60%, some maintain 40%, some maintain 20% -- and some gain back every bit of the weight they lost. How much you lose and how much of your weight loss you maintain in future years is purely a function of: * how much and what kind of food you eat * how much Water you drink * how much you exercise * how well you deal long-term with your food / obesity / eating / addiction issues (At least, that's how I understand it. Competing views are welcomed.)

Well, let's see. You've lost 13 pounds in, what, 38 days. That's over 1/3 pound per day. That's 2 1/3 pounds a week. That sounds pretty good to me.

Nope, not so far. But I'm on 20 days out. Not sure how I could eat and eat and eat at this phase. Why do you think you did this?

This may be the only plastics I yearn to do. You look incredibly different post-op. Best wishes for your continued recovery.