FrankyG

Wow that was a whole lot of surgery! Glad you're doing well and improving steadily. Keep up the good work.

You may need a PPI (proton pump inhibitor) to reduce the acids in your stomach. Something over the counter like Omeprazole (Prilosec). I took that every day for like 6 months. Excess acid can cause all sorts of stomach upset - nausea, feelings of hunger.

I'd go with the NUT's advice too. With your carbs and calories that low, I'm surprised you have much energy to even get out of bed most days! Low carb is great, but 50-75 grams is more in line with what I'd be shooting for, as you need some (healthy) carbs to provide energy. And your calories are extremely low too, and that is crazy to say keep your Protein BELOW 75 grams.

I had no pain after my surgery, but that's not the norm - I was just lucky. If it's from the trapped gas (they inflate your abdomen to get in there to work - and that is usually what causes the worst pain), the more you get up and walk and move around the better for working it out. Try walking your bedroom or several rooms of your house every hour or so if you can stand it. If you're having pain at the incision site, take your pain meds as often as allowed (yes, even if it tastes nasty - trust me I know ), move slowly, and use a firm pillow to clutch to your stomach getting up off a chair or out of bed (it helps). You should start feeling much better pain wise in a few days max. If you continue to have moderate to heavy pain 3-4 days out, call your doctor's office to discuss.

You're in a stall. Absolutely nothing to worry about if you're getting your Water, Protein and some exercise. During these stalls, you probably are losing inches (due to fat loss and muscle building) instead of seeing the needle on the scale move. A pound of fat is much bigger/bulkier than a pound of muscle, so it is suggested that you take your measurements every month (I do arms, bust, waist, hips and thighs/calf) so you can see progress and not get too discouraged. Even if you're not seeing the scale or the measuring tape change, it doesn't mean you're not doing okay. So don't lose hope. Your body needs time to adjust and sometimes you'll hit one of these for a few days, or a few weeks even. Stalls will happen many more times in your weight loss journey - just keep on top of your protein/water and exercise and you'll be fine! There are many threads on here about the stalls including one called "embrace the stall" (will go find and paste in unless someone else beats me to it) ETA: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/351046-embrace-the-stall/?hl=%2Bembrace ^ here you go!

WOW!! Your progress to this point is amazing and you should be so very, very proud of your accomplishment. I am in awe of your 120 pound loss before surgery! Congratulations and thank you for posting this.

I'm about 11 months out and able to eat close to 1.5 cups at a sitting. The gurgling has not gone away however and I was told it might be permanent. I'm fine with that tho since it's a minor thing compared to where I was.

How did the candy and Cookies and junk food get in your house? In your hands? Throw it out right now, and don't go down those aisles in the grocery. You are like an addict right now - someone that quits drinking doesn't go hang out in a bar or stock up their liquor cabinet, and you should be avoiding your food triggers just the same. Don't shop at your normal grocery even if you need to change up your routine. But stop bringing bad things into your house. If you live with others, then they'll just need to deal with eating healthier at home and eat crap when they're not around you. This is a huge deal - don't focus on being a failure, focus on the future! And definitely get in ASAP to see your NUT or a counselor - your head is not in the right place and you have to refocus and get serious about changing your lifetime of bad eating habits. You can do this - just be strong and seek out help and commit to working hard at eating the right things.

@@Babbs and @@sprocket Yeah, it sounds bad when I typed it out, but the surgeon was more optimistic than rude about it (hard to show tone of voice in typed out text you know?). Just seemed like he was pretty sure I'd be a great success and wanted to motivate me more than discourage. But I was/am unfortunately a slow loser. In the beginning tho, I think I did lose like 30 pounds in just over a month (which was like AMAZING), so it was looking like I'd keep up a pretty decent pace, and then it just sort of slowed down to turtle pace. At least the other doc and the NUT were good about staying positive with me despite the rate I am losing. Hey - at least I'm still going in the right direction and working pretty well at it! And it won't bother me if the doc does label me a "failure" at my one year appointment next month - I consider the amount I've lost so far a huge success, and am especially happy about relearning how and what to eat and getting more active.

My surgeon told me he would consider me a failure if I didn't lose at least 70% of my excess weight. And that I should be losing around 10 pounds a week in the beginning but never defined the parameters of how long the beginning part lasts. I do know that the one time I saw him for a checkup, he was strongly emphasizing that I needed to be doing better, despite the fact that I am following the dietary guidelines and exercising - I just don't lose as fast as others. I think I'm about 60% excess weight lost, but I've been a very slow loser. I was also told that the prime time for sleeve weight loss is about 18 months, so I do still have plenty of time even if I'm only losing about 1-2 pounds a week most weeks. I do stall out on average every third/fourth week. My consultant doctor (same group but different than the main surgeon) and my NUT both agree what I am currently averaging is excellent and that you can't compare yourself to others. And that the surgeon is always a bit more optimistic about the pace/goals and that they are more flexible for others that lose at a slower pace (like me). I'm reducing about 6-8 pounds a month now but I am also losing inches and seeing minimal skin sag.

Weight gain is totally normal - I always gain about 2-4 pounds during my cycle, I gain Water weight if I eat certain things or gain/stall if change up my exercise routine. And don't forget that fat also acts as a storehouse for things like hormones (like estrogen), so as you lose fat (weight) it is releasing tons of stored hormones back into your system. That can not only can that cause weight fluctuations, it can also make you feel moody and screw with your general well-being as well. But it is all perfect normal!

I am over 10 months out, and eat sashimi all the time and have been eating it since I was cleared for solids. Fish has always been a good source of protein for me. I used to love the seaweed salad, but I don't want to waste the space in my sleeve so I usually go for all sashimi, but the seaweed wouldn't be bad for you I would think if you just had a little (seaweed is very high in nutrients and minerals and a good veggie to consume from what I remember). I will even eat a bit of sushi, but I pretty much discard 3/4 or better of the rice ball, and just use a tiny amount to soak up some soy sauce now.

ONLY 34 pounds in 3 months... um, yes it's great. Have you ever heard of anyone losing that much weight that hadn't had surgery? It's a very good amount to have lost already. What is "normal" for you might not be normal for someone else, so do not get stuck on the idea that you need to compare yourself and your progress to others. Make sure you're following your Nut/surgeon's instructions, get your Water and Protein requirements and try to do exercise several times a week. Your body will go at the pace it is happy with, and comparing yourself to others is just a waste of time.

It does sound too fast to me too. I would just tell the friend that it might be ambitious to expect to eat solid foods like that so soon, and to take it very slow, and know that stepping back and going to soft foods or liquids is definitely an option if her sleeve doesn't like the progression of the recommended diet.

Your hormones are going crazy right now. All that fat holds estrogen and it is now getting released back into your body, and other factors that control hormones are going haywire as you lose weight. So just like when kids hit puberty, their hormones ramp up and start causing things like mood swings and body changes... like sweating. I noticed that I definitely need to make sure I'm wearing a good deodorant, and I also cry a whole bunch more over the silliest things. I'm told that it should even out and return to somewhat normal after your weight stabilizes.

I had my gallbladder out laproscopically and it was painful and it took me at least 7 days before I could even sleep flat in my bed and I didn't go back to work until about two weeks out. My VSG was a cakewalk compared to the gallbladder removal. BUT the gallbladder was taken out something like 20 years ago, and I'd like to think they've improved things considerably since then. I would think if you had a desk job with little movement, you'd be okay as long as you could go home early if you start feeling bad. The weight restriction does sound right, tho. I was not allowed to lift more than 5-10 pounds for at least two weeks after either of my surgeries, so you might want to get some help for at least two weeks. Or be very very careful and move slowly and try to reduce the weight of the feed in the horse buckets even if that means making two or three trips. I know my main pain/discomfort was because of the trapped gas used to inflate the abdomen during the surgery and my VSG doc said he specifically made sure to get as much of that gas out of there as possible since he was aware of the pain from that in early recovery. I didn't even have to take pain meds after my VSG.

I compensated by withdrawing and being even more introverted than I would have liked. I rarely socialized and was constantly worried about being judged for being so fat. Things that will change (or already are changing)? I will start wearing the clothes I want to wear - vintage, pin up girl stuff (used to shop exclusively in vintage clothing stores as a teen and through college). I now dye my hair crazy colors since I don't care what anyone says or if they are looking at me or not. I feel free to be myself again. I don't think I will ever be skinny/thin. I will be completely happy to be chubby and a size 14 tho - since I think I look great that way, and I love my body at that size.

I drink a soda almost every day, but only diet and only over LOTS of ice and I let it sit for at least 10 minutes after pouring so that the carbonation has a chance to dissipate a bit. The ice waters it down, and letting it sit in a cup for a while helps to reduce the bubbles that I consume. Not recommending this for anyone, but this is what I do.

If you mean the gas pain, then it goes away after a week or two as your body heals and the swelling goes down. The burping and gurgling might never go away. I'm 10 months out, and still have both, and I've read they might be permanent. But then I guess that's okay because in my case, the burping is my never fail signal to stop eating because I'm full.

You sound depressed and lonely. I would suggest counseling, and also working on developing actual friendships. Get out there and find some group activities that are fun for you, and allow you to find people that are interested in the same things you are, and just work on developing your social skills. You should not be looking for a relationship right now. You need to figure out who you are and become happy with that person before you will be open for a healthy relationship. With you being depressed, insecure and lonely, all you'd attract right now would be broken people anyway... as you sound broken yourself. So fix what is wrong with you, and relationships should follow. Good luck!

You're probably still very swollen and the main thing is to get fluids in so you don't dehydrate. I drank a whole lot of chicken bullion and ate sugar free popsicles in the early days. The popsicles seemed to help to get the swelling down. I got some nutrition shakes for diabetics that worked out well for me in the the beginning (in the pharmacy section of most grocery stores), because I found anything with sugar would make me throw up. Contact your doctor's office to discuss too. They might have some ideas of other Protein sources/mixes/drinks you haven't tried yet.

I gain back a pound or two frequently. Hormones, that time of the month, retaining Water, eating too much salt... all of it can cause a temporary gain. You should take monthly measurements so when you think you're in a stall, you can see it is probably your body actually losing fat and gaining muscle. Get a measuring tape and check your hips, waist, chest and arms/legs and then track them once a month along with your weight. A pound of fat is much larger than a pound of muscle and you'll not see the difference on the scale. Stop weighing yourself so often and focus on how your clothes fit, on eating good things in reasonable portions, exercising at a healthy level and learning how to retrain your brain and body right now.

I think it's pretty common to feel that way. This is a huge step and not one to be made without lots of research and thought, and it will be a drastic change in your life and future. But it is a great change, and I wish I'd made the decision years ago (and that seems to be the consensus from what I've read!) Good luck with everything!

What she said. Seriously. You are judging your own body's progress against lots of others on here... and that is wrong. Your body will do what it needs to do at the pace that it decides. AND DEFINITELY TAKE MEASUREMENTS - once a month, along with pictures of yourself (front/side/back views). Wear the same clothes every time, stand in the same place if possible. You will see progress. Losing one pound of fat and gaining one pound of muscle will mean the scale won't move, but muscle is leaner and denser than fat... it will show up in how your clothes fit and measuring is as good or better than the weight on a scale. I'm almost 10 months out, and you're already halfway to what I've lost so far in your just over 2 months... so compared to me, you're doing FABULOUS.