JamieLogical

Wow, that NUT doesn't sound very supportive!

That is one of my more constant fears. Since I reached goal I have been making constant adjustments to my exercise and nutrition to try to make sure I don't dip below the "cushion" I set for myself. I did fall 2 pounds below it at one point, but I think I have things pretty well under control right now.

My experience was great. I think you and I had a lot of the same criteria, though I did specifically prefer a surgical center to a hospital. I felt the risk of illness or infection from a hospital outweighed the risk of not having emergency services onsite, since complications while in surgery for sleeve are INCREDIBLY rare, but infection is a real possibility with ANY surgery. I read about a million reviews of my surgeon before choosing him and I was very encouraged by the fact that he was internationally recognized. I think the BIGGEST thing for me though was the follow-up resources. Having a nutritionist and several doctors that I could contact 24/7 with any questions or concerns was awesome and I took full advantage of it. I also liked that THEY contacted ME for regular follow-ups as well, so it wasn't always me having to seek them out.

Were you cleared by your surgeon for jogging barely over a week post-op? That seems kind of nuts! I ran almost every day pre-op and I still didn't try anything close to that intense for the full two months post-op. Man... at a week post-op I still couldn't even make it through the day without napping. Can't imagine having the energy for that kind of workout. I was REALLY pushing myself to try to get my calories up before I went back to intense exercise so I could actually sustain my workouts. Once I was able to get over 800 calories a day in, I felt like I could do a good 40 minutes of intese cardio without any majorly ill effects. I did have to start eating a few gummie bears after my workouts because my blood sugar would drop really low and I would get dizzy.

If there is anything this site has taught me, it's that literally every single surgeon and nutritionist has a different plan The no carbonation thing I can see making some sense. I don't think it would stretch your sleeve, but I can see how it could cause gas and be uncomfortable, so more of an "as tolerated" sort of thing. I also think a lot of nutritionists tell people to avoid carbonation just to keep them from drinking soda, which is a bad habit to have whether you're sleeved or not. The sleeve just gives them a way of putting the fear of God in us about drinking it. Luckily I gave up soda many years before I was sleeved, so that's been a really easy rule for me to stick to. I think you are right that not eating and drinking at the same time is one of the real keys to success. I noticed early on that as soon as I felt "full" my very first instinct was to reach for a drink. That's when it REALLY sank in that all those years that I had been eating an entire pizza in one sitting or whatever, what I was doing was washing food out of my stomach to empty it faster so I could eat even more. I used to go through 4 glasses of Water during a meal at a restaurant. Sure it was great for getting all my water in, but it was also great for getting POUNDS of extra food in. Not drinking while eating lets me get the full benefit of my restriction and it is something I definitely plan to stick to forever. I have found that I can take NSAIDS occasionally with food, but I wouldn't want to take them daily for any period of time. I usually only ever take anything if I have a migraine. A couple of times I've had some sore muscles or strains and it's been tough to resist taking naproxin, but I've managed so far. That potato thing is weird. I don't eat potatoes or an anything starchy post-op just because it takes up so much space and makes it harder to get my Protein in. But I can't imagine a valid medical reason for not have potatoes occasionally.

Yeah, I have had issues with LOW blood pressure post-op. All those years of trying to watch my sodium intake before surgery and now it's hard to get ENOUGH sodium after surgery! My PCP literally wrote "liberally increase intake of salt" in my patient plan when I went to her about the dizzy spells I'd been having. Definitely a huge adjustment.

As long as you aren't sucking in a bunch of air with your straw, you should be fine. I typically do not use them, but have had a few times when a restaurant served me some water with a straw in it and I just used it without thinking. I didn't have any ill effects. I know a lot of people find it easier to get all their water in if they use a straw. I think if the choice is between "risking" using a straw or not getting all your fluids in, the decision is pretty easy!

That is an impressive loss rate. Congrats to you and good luck with your future loss. Don't beat yourself up if you don't make a specific deadline, though. Just keep up the good work and take pride in your progress.

I used to be an avid consumer of Quest Bars, but they changed their main ingredient several months ago and they just did NOT agree with me after that. Made me SUPER bloated and gassy. So I now switched to Combat Crunch. They are a little higher in calories and carbs than the Quest Bars were, but that wasn't a deal breaker for me since I'm now in maintenance. The one I have at my desk right now has the following nutrition: Calories: 210 Fat: 7g Saturated Fat: 4g Carbs: 25g Dietary Fiber: 12g Sugar: 5g Sugar Alcohol: 1g Protein: 20g So it's basically 210 calories, 20g protein, and 12g net carbs. The Quest Bars were more like 190 calories, 23g protein, and 3-4g net carbs. So better nutritionally, but not worth making myself sick over.

I honestly feel like my whole life is a treat post-op. Vacations are so much more fun and active. Time with family and friends is more precious. Being able to buy and wear cute clothes to work... So many things are just so much more fulfilling! I definitely find that I just treat myself better in general. No more wallowing in self-loathing!

Selecting a surgeon is a very individual experience, because everyone has different priorities. The first thing you need to decide is which things are more important to you. Do you prefer surgery in a hospital or surgical center? What is your budget? Do you want to be able to see videos of your surgeon performing surgery online? Do you need to Skype with them or have direct contact with them ahead of time? Do you place more value on statistics or personal reviews? How important is their after-care and follow up? Once you figure out your answers to these questions as well as which are more important than others, then you can begin to evaluate the surgeons that fit most of your criteria.

I was supposed to do a total of 60 minutes of "brisk walking" immediately post op. Not 60 minutes in a row, just total throughout the day. I wasn't allowed more intense cardio or strength training until 60 days post-op.

I am going on 17 months post-op and the only thing that really makes me uncomfortable to eat is raw vegetables. They make me very gassy/burpy. I do fine with cooked vegetables. Breads I *can* eat, but they are super filling, so I tend to avoid them. Like, for example, my husband and I made homemade pizza the other day. I've actually been tracking my food the past week (out of curiosity) and while the portion of pizza I allotted for myself was a reasonable weight/mass and calorie count, I couldn't eat nearly all of it, because the crust was just so filling. I ended up just scraping the cheese and toppings off of a good portion of it and leaving the crust. I haven't completely deprived myself of anything, especially since I am at goal and maintaining now. I can eat Cookies, cake, candy, ice cream, spicy food, fried food.... Just the raw veggies and breads are at all challenging for me. I have only thrown up one time since my surgery and that wasn't because of any specific type of food, it was because I ate way too much too fast on Thanksgiving.

Thank you so much for posting. I didn't even realize they were doing sleeves 10 years ago. I thought it had really taken off as a stand-alone procedure (no longer just part of DS) about 7-8 years ago. So hearing from someone that is 10 years out is a rare treat! I'm curious to know what, if anything, has changed about the basic guidelines for sleeve since you had yours. You mentioned the no soda/carbonation rule, which is still in effect for most of us, but what other guidelines were you given. In looking around the forums have you come across any new guidelines that you WEREN'T given back when you were sleeved?

Awesome job and thank you for posting! I think it's very encouraging to new people to see the long term success of our veterans. So few people stick around these forums once the novelty of their WLS has worn off and it's just "normal life" for them again. I make a conscious effort to participate in the forums regularly partly to help keep me accountable, but mostly to "pay it forward", since this site was invaluable to me during the beginning of my WLS journey. You look like you have done amazingly well and have an awesome attitude. Congratulations and good luck in your future endeavors.

The surgery definitely changes the way we're affected by alcohol. I am a total light-weight now. I get buzzed VERY quickly on very little alcohol, but then I sober up super fast too. It's weird for sure. Luckily I don't drink much. Just VERY rarely at social events, so I just make sure to go super easy on the alcohol now. There was one night in my 20's when I managed to do 28 shots in one night! Now if I did two shots, I'd probably be passed out or throwing up...

I didn't use those doctors, but the flying into San Diego, being shuttled across the border to a hotel, clinic/hospital the next day and night for surgery, and then one or two nights back at the hotel is pretty standard. I also have gone to Tijuana alone for surgery twice now and had no issues or concerns. It's perfectly safe and they take good care of you and get you where you need to be when you need to be there.

It's also an example of how every plan is different and you kind of have to find your own way eventually to be able to go on living your full life. For me, it's no hardship to give up soups. I steered clear of them for many years pre-op because of the high sodium, so I didn't have them often at all. I ate a lot of soup in my post-op liquid diet out of necessity, but again it was no hardship for me to give them up once I was on solid foods. My nutritionist's guidelines regarding soup make sense to me. I don't eat and drink together any other time, so why make an exception for soup? If soup were my favorite food in the whole world and I couldn't live without it, then I might feel differently. But for me, it hasn't been a sacrifice to give it up, so it's an easy guideline for me to stick to long term.

I'm not sure who told you that, but it makes zero sense (at least to me). Why would a hearty low fat soup be empty calories? Why wouldn't a 150 calorie Protein shake also be "drinking your calories"? I did speak to my surgeon about soup/liquids versus solid food and she told me that it made no difference other than how full you feel (very much with solid foods, not so much with soup). A few weeks ago we had lunch at PF Changs and before I ordered, I went to their web site and looked at calories. I end up having a cup of Hot and Sour Soup (80 calories) and Pan Fried Shrimp Potstickers (190) -- quite a treat, low carb, and only 270 calories. That said, you must be well informed when you order Chinese. There are a lot of high calorie dishes that look healthy! Check out this vegan magnet -- "Hand Made Butternut Squash Dumplings" - 1110 Calories! https://www.pfchangs.com/menu/nutrition/main/ It's not about the calories, it's about not filling you up. A chunky soup can be pretty filling if you focus on eating the chunky bits, as I do. But otherwise soup is basically eating and drinking at the same time, which we aren't supposed to do because it flushes the solids through more quickly and doesn't keep your stomach full as long.

Welcome to the losers' bench! Be kind to yourself these next few days. It could get a little rough. Glad to hear you are feeling okay so far. Remember to sip, sip, sip and walk, walk, walk.

4 weeks? That seems pretty early! I wasn't even on solid foods at 4 weeks. Not sure I would have wanted to challenge my healing stomach with something as harsh as alcohol that early out. Some surgeons and nutritionists recommend no alcohol ever. I have seen that before. I think it has less to do with any real medical concern associated with WLS and more to do with the fact that many people who have WLS have addictive personalities. It is not uncommon for people who give up food addiction to then replace that with another addiction, such as alcoholism. So I think some surgeons and nutritionists really push the "no drinking" think to try to prevent their patients from becoming alcoholics. Plus there is the general rule that we aren't supposed to drink our calories. But clearly that can be accommodated by making smart food choices the vast majority of the time and only drinking occasionally.

I was told 3 months. I was sleeved on Sept. 1, 2014 and I think the first time I drank was close to Christmas of that year.

I've had this one for a few years. Works for me. I like that it's easy to clean. The one downside to it is that it lets you save user profiles and now that my husband and I are almost exactly the same weight, it can't tell who is who! http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004L6NTHU

I know exactly what you mean. I have never been vain either. I don't wear make-up and I never worried about fashion either. My work wardrobe consisted of whatever was on sale when I needed a new shirt or pants (sometimes just what I could find at Goodwill), and the same exact pair of shoes in brown and black (when they wore out I would just go buy two new pairs of the exact same shoes). My "casual" clothes I wore anytime I did anything other than go to work were t-shirts, jeans, a hoodie, and sneakers. I had plastics a few years back after losing 90 pounds "on my own" and even that wasn't for the sake of vanity. My results were great, but I still never wore anything that could be described as anything other than "frumpy". For some reason, after losing weight post-sleeve, I am finding myself drawn to "cute" clothes. I posted a pic the other day of myself in a juniors dress, tights, and boots! WTF? It's a very strange feeling to suddenly be caring about what I look like in clothes. Even for my "casual" clothes, I've been doing t-shirts and hoodies a lot less and doing cammies and flannels instead. Weird. I have a visit to Cleveland coming up for my Mom's 65th birthday. All of my aunts, uncles, and cousins will be there and I haven't seen some of them in quite a while. I found myself thinking about what I want to wear to that while I was in the shower this morning. It's still two full weeks away and I was already thinking about what to wear?!?!?

Why not just take your vitamins with your food? Many vitamins say to do so right on the bottle.