VSGAnn2014

Happy first surgiversary. You look sooo trim and cute in your body shot. Very, very, very well done. You should be very proud.

At five weeks post-op I was eating salmon, refried beans, yogurt, cheese, chicken, coffee lattes (with skim milk), even a Taco Bell Chipotle loaded griller (I have no idea how I got that down, but it's recorded on My Fitness Pal during Week 5, so I guess it really happened). I'll warn you that I apparently have the sleeve of steel. I've never thrown up. So I don't know how typical all that is. But I do think at 5 weeks post-op you should be eating regular food. Maybe not Taco Bell, but at least chicken, soft fish, and maybe some broiled colored veggies. Maybe you should have an endoscope and see what's going on down there? Good luck to you!

About 4 years ago I tried Topamax / Topiramate at the suggestion of a rather random doctor I met. My experience was that Topamax made me ... clinical term here ... nuts. It made me an anxious, very nervous, sleep-deprived, still-fat girl. One woman's experience. That's all.

Excellent post. Didn't see this until today. Based on my own experience, this all rings true.

You are so beautiful. And those legs go up to THERE! Damn you.

You're very welcome.

I don't have a penis, but I love red wine. And great barbeque. And steak tartare. I had beef chili and Beans for lunch today. However ... When I was losing weight I didn't eat / drink a lot of this stuff. I didn't drink wine until I was almost six months out. And, of course, it was a good red. These days, my wine drinking isn't every night, and it's typically 4 ounces. On weekends with friends, I may (or may not) wind up drinking more than 4 ounces. Or drinking single-malt scotch, but I really do sip, sip, sip the spirits, so I wind up not drinking all that much scotch. I still go to wine tastings. (Went to one last weekend.) I still prowl the aisles of my favorite wine merchants stores, looking for big cabs, zesty zins, and complicated pinots. Oh, did I mention dark chocolate? I don't need to -- you know what I mean. Again, remember that I've lost 95 pounds and am maintaining at 140 pounds while eating / drinking 1,700 calories a day. FTR, I'm not a gym rat, but I do walk a lot. And in a month I'll be 70 years old. Make that a HAWT 70 years old. Lucky me. P.S. If you really want feedback only from guys, there's a men's room here, where the women rarely post. (When they do post there, it's probably because they're posting from the mobile BP app, which doesn't make it clear which forum a thread was started in.) Anyway, you can take your question to the guys there and get your penis fix.

Don't you feel like you won the lottery! I know. I do, too.

Protip to the OP: This forum could be a big help to you in the coming months. So try not to piss off everybody in your first dozen posts here -- no matter how frustrated you're feeling at the moment. Nobody here actually owes you anything. It's the Internet, remember?

Boy, you are feeling pissy! I do understand what you're saying. So cross-examine the surgeon tomorrow. Get the answers you need. BTW, pre-op I took Ranitidine 150 mg. twice a day for GERD. But after surgery, my surgeon prescribed a much stronger antacid -- a PPI (proton pump inhibitor) called Protonix, which I took for about 4 months. It made a LOT of difference in terms of how much hunger I felt during those early months. So also ask the surgeon about giving you a PPI Rx. Now, go out there try not to hurt anyone before you see the doctor.

Yeah, I think it's odd, too. And if you don't understand why, then it's incumbent on you to ask. And when you find out, I'd like to know the surgeon's reasons (if you wouldn't mind sharing them). P.S. I'll also say that I think it's possible for "the rules" to get garbled and misunderstood, even within the same medical office / organization / team.

Clearly, you fell in with evil companions. Get thee to a nunnery monastery!

@@lauraellen80 ... I agree that nutritional guidelines widely available are confusing. There are major points of disagreement between (1) standard nutritional advice (which I figure is what certified nutritionists dispense), (2) Atkins / low carb lifestyle eating advice, and (3) other plans like Paleo, vegetarian, and vegan. This morning I did some online research and learned that standard nutritional guidelines generally advise that healthy women should eat daily: 60 grams of Protein 170 grams of carbohydrates 70 grams of fat 2,000 calories 4-5 cups of vegetables and fruits (yeah, I'm working on that ... ) I also read (on various sites -- and I'm reporting ONLY that I've read this, not that I'm a nutritional researcher who's done any actual research) that too much protein in one's diet can be tough on kidneys, liver, bones, cause cancer, feed yeast overgrowth, cause dehydration, degrade brain functions, and God knows what else. There's so much emphasis after WLS on eating such a big proportion of protein during the losing phases that this focus carries over to maintenance. I've seen so many posts by WLS patients who report they're maintaining their weight loss (after losing all their excess weight) by continuing to eat high protein / low carb diets. And when anyone gains weight, the greatest proportion of advice given online is to "eat low-carb!" And, of course, no one is advising us to eat sugar and lots of starchy foods, but eating 4-5 cups of vegetables and fruits is surely harder for sleeved patients. At least, that's how I feel at 14.5 months post-op. Maybe I'll find eating 4-5 cups of veggies / fruits a day easier as the years roll on. ???

Someone is finally fixing the Internet!

Boy, is that woman you saw NOT a typical WLS patient. IMHO, you're worrying about the least likely thing that could happen to you. You've just got the pre-op jitters -- like everyone did. Actually having WLS, changing your eating behaviors, losing all your excess weight post-op, creating a different, healthy life-long lifestyle post-op, and maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle for the rest of your life will use up all the energy that's just rattling around inside you right now pre-op. Try to relax and focus on all the positive benefits you can enjoy from WLS. There are so many success stories here. Look 'em up. Read 'em. Enjoy 'em. Imagine yourself slim, healthy, active, not in pain, living your life fully one year, two years, three years from now.

The standard Protein recommendation is 60-80 grams of high quality protein daily. I don't know your individual circumstances so I can't say what's wisest for you. You absolutely CAN have too much protein however. Check in with your bariatric team or dietitian and see if they can make a personalized recommendation. All things being normal, anything over 90 grams per day for a healthy female would make me ask some questions. Good luck! Elizabeth, thanks for your response (just saw it now). What would cause your concern about more than 90 grams of protein/day for "a healthy women"? Is it that more protein than that would stress one's kidneys? BTW, yes, I am a healthy, active female (nearly 70 years old). The reason I asked about the protein is that there's considerable interest on the part of WLS patients in maintenance wanting to avoid eating highly processed, sugar-laden carbs. And given our stomachs' smaller sizes, there's a bit of a limit on how many cruciferous vegetables we can eat per day. We've learned to eat high protein during weight loss -- and been highly rewarded for doing so: meats of all kinds, dairy products, Beans, and protein supplements. There's also some alleged evidence and plenty of talk "out there" that eating more than 150 carbs a day will put us in weight gaining mode. So for active, healthy women in maintenance who are eating 1500 - 2000 calories a day (that's me) should I focus on adding more fats? I realize I've expanded my question a bit, but would appreciate hearing your thoughts on all of this if you are able. Thanks in advance.

Every day I see posts here that, were I so inclined, could give me concussions just from slapping my forehead. Just saw one where a newbie (6 weeks post-op?) was proud of using Wheat Thins to scoop up party dip. The amount of typing I'd need to do to explain why, from my perspective, Wheat Thins don't make sense as part of a WLS patient's menu 6 weeks out or 6 months out or even ever IMHO would frustrate me, piss off the newbie, and generate three new threads on why vets are so mean to newbies. Here's how I see it: Everyone won't be successful at WLS long-term. I think the successful ones figure it out one way or another. And those who aren't successful will f**k it up no matter what others do to try and save them.

Well, if two doctors have given you two different answers, and Google isn't up to your standards, I dunno what else to suggest. Good luck.

Google is your friend.

Anna, I don't know if you'll believe me, but you seem trapped in a false belief, that: Things will always be like they are now, early after weight loss surgery. That is SO NOT TRUE. Early on, no one can drink easily. Early on, no one can eat much. Early on, no one can eat a wide variety of food. All of that changes over time. Over months. You just have to do today what you can do today. Over time, your stomach will continue to heal. You'll be able to drink more easily. Over time, you'll be able to eat a wider variety of foods and more of them. Over time, your appetite will even return. So the error in thinking here is that what today is like is what your entire future forever more will be. That simply is not true.

Uh ... if you look to the left of @@BestDayEver 's post, you can see that she/he was sleeved in May of 2015 and has lost a lot of weight since then.

I would love to hear your take on how much Protein is essential for WLS patients long-term. My concern / question is whether we can eat too much protein. If so, how much is too much? 80 grams daily? 100 grams? More than 100 grams?

A single cup of green tea will not cause you to have an ulcer. If you're seriously concerned about ulcers, google "what causes stomach ulcers."

It's not the carbonation in sodas that's the problem, but their acidity. About 10 months post-op I had "one of those days" (stuck for 10 hours on a road trip with relatives who stopped only at McDonalds, Sonic and Dairy Queen for food). That day / night I wound up drinking about 32 ounces of fountain diet coke. And being a good WLS patient, I let the carbonation bubble away for the most part. Didn't help. For the next week I was really f**ked up with horrific GERD. I had to go back to my proton pump inhibitor (Protonix), and even that didn't work well. Within 10-12 days I was back to feeling normal. But boy, I won't ever do that again! One woman's anecdotal report there. (Others' mileage may vary, but don't bet on it.)