JamieLogical

Every surgeon is different and you should definitely stick to YOUR plan. I was allowed protein shakes at day 4 and pills/vitamins at day 7.

You got way more info than I did! I was only given a protein and water goal. No guidelines on carbs, sugar, calories, or fat. That being said, I have found that in meeting my protein goal, I don't have much room for carbs and maybe get 45-50 net carbs per day at 9 months out.

@@Cupcake Congrats! So happy to hear everything went smoothly for you!!!

@@snowkitten I haven't experienced the muscle burning you describe and I work out a lot, so I don't think I have whatever you've got going on there. However, I do have dizziness and tiredness. I've met with my doctor about it and she did several tests. Nothing showed up except that I have low (for me) blood pressure now. My blood pressure pre-op had always been pretty much in the normal 120/70 range. It was maybe a bit higher than that at my higher weights. I think the highest I ever saw it was 135/85. But now it is very consistently about 90/65, which while not technically in the "low" range for blood pressure, is very low for me. For now, the only thing my doctor's had me do is "liberally increase" my intake of salt. Well, I'm not a big fan of salt, so I am trying to be at least less fearful of high sodium foods, but I still can't bring myself to ADD salt to things. Two days ago my BP was up to 95/65, so a slight improvement at least.

I chose to go to Mexico for similar reasons. I could only qualify for WLS through my insurance if I had been a documented BMI above 40 for 5 years. Well, in the last 5 years, I had worked hard to lose weight "on my own" multiple times in the past 5 years and had gotten below 40 BMI for much of that time. So my choice was to stay fat for 5 years so I could have my insurance cover surgery or pay for it myself. I chose to pay for it myself and plan to spend the next five years happy and healthy instead of fat and getting fatter! Congrats on your decision!

I will say that I am often shocked by the number of people who post to these forums who seem to just genuinely have NO clue what they should/shouldn't be eating post-op. Did they not receive any information from their surgeons and nutritionists? I find that incredibly hard to believe. And if they didn't receive adequate info from their surgeons, then why they heck did they go through with the surgery?!?!?! I would never, in a million years, undergo major surgery without learning every single thing I could about it before hand. If I couldn't get the info from my surgeon, then I would look for it elsewhere. I wouldn't make such a huge decision with no information!

I think it's pretty normal for someone coming out of a long term relationship to want to go a little wild and explore their new-found freedom. Especially if you got into the relationship pretty young and never really had a chance to explore dating and night-life and whatnot when you were younger. It sounds like this guy you are seeing is a good guy. Maybe have a serious conversation with him about what you need right now. If you aren't ready to completely commit because of your past experiences or lack thereof, maybe he will be understanding and open about it and be willing to take things slowly on the commitment front.

I only had to be on clears for two days. The first day of that, I was still in the clinic and only had ice chips, a little water, and I think one sugar free popsicle. The next day I had a little Vitamin Water Zero, a few spoonfuls of broth, and i think like two tiny bites of jello. If you are like me, you just aren't going to be able to handle much of anything that first day or two. Water is the main concern. I wouldn't worry about protein much at all. Beyond those first two days, I still really only had popsicles, chicken broth, and water. Tried drinking a little protein shake maybe 3-4 days post-op. Then I really started working on getting more protein aroudn the 4 or 5 day mark. By that point I was allowed protein shakes and drinkable yogurt in addition to strained soups.

I have heard of people for whom GERD gets better post-sleeve, but it definitely seems to be the more rare outcome. Typically speaking, GERD is worse in VSG patients post-op for at least the first few months to a year. Some people continue to have issues with it beyond that point. I, like Babbs, had my GERD get significantly worse post-op, so I've had to be on 40mg of omeprazole daily. I'm a little over nine months post-op.

I get frustrated by it sometimes too, but I try to be empathetic. Lord knows if I ate perfectly all the time and always did what I am "supposed" to do, I would never have needed WLS in the first place. People in glass houses and all that.... However, I do believe that when you are seriously committed to WLS you should do your absolute best (not be perfect, mind you, just put in the effort). There is a lot of money on the line for one thing. Whether you are self-pay or not, the cost of this surgery is not insignificant. People who have their insurance pay for the procedure shouldn't take it for granted. After all, you presumably pay for your insurance or your employer does, so it's indirectly costing you or your coworkers in the long run. But, more importantly, we are talking about serious health risks associated with not sticking to the plan. Eating off-plan on your pre-op diet means your liver might be an issue for your surgeon when they are trying to perform your surgery. Eating off-plan post-op can lead to leaks or tears along your staple line, food getting stuck, or all sorts of potential LIFE THREATENING scenarios. And even if you just aren't working to get all your Protein and Water in, that can have serious health consequences for you. SO if you commit to having this surgery, you should commit to doing your absolute best to make the most of it. No one is going to be perfect 100% of the time and I definitely don't encourage people to go off-plan, but I do think people need to have the capacity to forgive themselves and move on when they slip up. Beating yourself up isn't going to accomplish a whole lot either. You have to find a balance. You can't make excuses and let old habits creep back in, but you can't live a life of deprivation and misery and self-punishment either.

I used SparkPeople back when I was tracking my food and exercise.

I agree with @*Lexie*. You need to get out of the "diet" mentality. Going off plan once or twice for social occasions doesn't have the same impact that it would if you were doing a traditional "diet". You just need to move forward and make better choices the next meal/day. Definitely don't let yourself fall into bad habits, though. For eating out, there is definitely a learning curve in terms of figuring out what sorts of things to order and how much of them to eat. It was hard for me in the beginning to accurately judge how much I could eat without getting overfull. It was easy when I was home and could measure, but eating out was a true test. You will get better at it with time and practice. Cut yourself a little slack and don't expect yourself to be perfect from the beginning. Make the best choices you can and learn from your mistakes.

hair loss is something that does happen to most of us post-op. There are many theories on how to prevent it, but the truth is, it is just different for everyone. The most important thing is to get all your Protein and Vitamins in. Some will suggest taking Biotin, Vitamin e, zinc, etc. But most of those things will only help regrowth, not prevent loss. The good news is, I think I've only seen posts from maybe two or three people on these forums in the 12-ish months I've been here who didn't eventually regrow their hair. Almost everyone goes through a period of loss form maybe 3-9 months, but it does eventually start to regrow. I only lost hair in any significant amount for about 1.5 months. It started at about 3.5 months post op and at 5 months post-op I was already seeing new growth. As for skin, again, there are some things you can do to improve your situation, but age and genetics play a huge role as well. Losing slowly allows skin a chance to bounce back, but you may not have a ton of control over your rate of loss, especially in the beginning. Strength training can help "fill-in" loose skin with muscle where the fat's been lost. Moisturizing daily and taking supplements can help with skin elasticity. I take Vitamin C and beef Gelatin daily. And finally, get in lots of water! Hydration is key to healthy skin!

My surgeon and nutritionist suggested low fat too, but I think as more of a "general rule". I mean, you have to be able to use your brain. They probably put things in absolutes in your instructions because they expect that most patients aren't going to read nutrition labels. But if you use your brain and see that the low fat version is full of sugar and has just as many calories as the low fat version, then there is no reason to choose the low fat version. I read labels. I eat low fat string cheese and low fat greek yogurt, because when I compare them to the full fat versions, they are better nutritionally all the way down the list. But that isn't the case for everything. Guidelines are good, but we have to be allowed to use our brains as well.

Glad to know everything went smoothly for you and you are back home and recovering. Sip, sip, sip and walk, walk, walk. Take it one day at a time. You really will see huge improvements every day. Be good to yourself and be patient.

Did your surgeon give you a PPI for your reflux? Mine had me on omeprazole for the first 2 months post-op. If not, you should contact him and ask if it's okay for you to take something over the counter.

Congrats! I had my surgery in Sept. 2014 as well and I'm down 61 pounds, so looks like we are keeping pace with one another!

There's nothing wrong with spicy food or full fat foods. A lot of people actually recommend full fat over low fat, because depending on the food, the low fat version can pack in more sodium and sugar to make up for the flavor. Read your labels. As a general rule, I try not to eat anything that has more grams of fat than grams of Protein. But with as little as we are able to eat, having full fat versus low fat doesn't generally make much difference in terms of calories and the total amount of fat we are intaking is still well within healthy perimeters. Too much fruit and/or veg would only be a problem if you are filling up on that and not getting all your protein in.

@@lauraellen80 It's awesome that your husband is being so supportive. That really helped me through as well. I do NOT envy the people on these forums that have to cook for their kids or whatever during pre-op. Everything you are going through sounds completely normal. The anxiety over the upcoming surgery and the deprivation of the pre-op diet makes a pretty miserable combination!

Love seeing all the new folks on here! If you have any questions, be sure to post and if you are embarrassed to post publicly, feel free to PM me! I'm 9 months post-op and while I certainly don't have ALL the answers I'm happy to share what I do know.

"Only"??!?!?! WTF? I lost less than 15 pounds my first month post-op......

Sorry. Didn't mean to derail the topic.

I had severe swelling in the first couple of weeks post op that made it very hard for me to drink water. I went through this whole thing where, no matter how tiny a sip I took, I would have this severe constriction of my esophagus, followed by gurgling coming all the way up into my throat, and then I would usually have to burp. Every single sip was that whole process over and over and over again. It SUCKED. But it got much better once my swelling went down.

Welcome!

Yikes. Sounds like they aren't the easiest people to deal with. It's hard enough just trying to take care of yourself in those early days post-op without the drama of dealing with other people's issues. Hang in there. Do your best to avoid them (I know it's hard when you are trapped in a house with them all day!) and just take care of yourself. You'll be going through so many emotions in the next couple of weeks. It's completely normal, even without the situation you're in.