FrankyG

No real advice other than read posts here (that's what I did before my surgery) and ask lots of questions. Good luck!!

You just had a major surgery, and if you've had an decent amount of weight loss, your hormones are going to be haywire for quite some time to come. Totally normal to have wild mood swings and crying jags. May not happen for everyone, but definitely to a large percentage. Knowing it is biological makes it a bit easier to deal with, but it still sucks.

The main reason you even have to do a pre-op diet is to shrink your liver. If your liver is too large, they might end up damaging it during the surgery. It sits almost blocking most of your stomach, so they have to use the laproscopic tools to lift it and then hold it out of the way while they cut away the stomach. If the liver gets damaged, it could not only turn a fast sleeve surgery into an hours long nightmare, but you could have serious complications - a damaged and bleeding liver could mean you're hospitalized for days or even weeks. You do not want that. That scared the crap out of me and although I had one moment of weakness during my pre-op, I did my very best to stick to the diet because I knew it had nothing to do with weight loss - it was to prevent me from having very bad complications. I was doing the surgery to improve my life, not damage vital organs. As far as the smoking... I was a very happy smoker for the last 20 years. I started as a teenager, and I was pretty mad about having to stop for this surgery. But same thing again - I am doing surgery to improve my health and my entire rest of my life. Smoking is bad. There is nothing whatsoever good about smoking. I know I am addicted, and quitting is one of the hardest things I've ever done. I had never been able to quit for any length of time before, but making the decision to have sleeve surgery meant I cared enough about my body and my future that continuing to be a smoker was just the most assinine, stupid thing I could do. And so I quit. And I had one slip up about 2 weeks out, but I got right back into quitting and I didn't slip again, and it's now been over 260 days since I had my last cigarette. I won't lie; I still want a damned cigarette almost every day, but I know it's bad for me and that's not who I am anymore. I won't let them control my life any more. Cigarettes are just as bad as being addicted to drugs or being an alcoholic - you are allowing an addiction to ruin your health and jeapordize your future. If you care enough about yourself to have this surgery, then show that you care enough also to get off the smoking and put ALL of this awful stuff in your past. Most surgeons will test you for nicotine and even the metabolized form so you might just be kicked out of the pre-op the day of if you haven't quit with enough time to get it out of your system completely. At least a month out should do it, and that includes using gum or Patches, but if you only have 7 days left, then quit right now. Even if they don't test you, you're risking a poorer outcome. VSG is major surgery, don't fool yourself that you can just keep sneaking one here or there and it won't hurt anything. You are hurting your body every time you smoke, and you are risking poor circulation, poor healing, poor lung capacity and issues with breathing during surgery and even clots for months after. Why? So you can feed a deadly addiction? If you continue to smoke, you're saying to yourself that you aren't worth having the best possible outcome and faster healing and better health. You're better than that, so start thinking that way, and fight hard for your health. There is still time, and you are so worth it. You CAN do this!! (I used patches and gum for a week, then cold turkey. I also used a quit smoking app on my phone - Butt Out - that was a lifesaver as it has a community that was really supportive)

I burp when it's time to stop eating. If I try to igore the burping, I'll end up hurting or having the throw up, so I learned pretty fast not to ignore. The full feeling is a sort of tightness down in my throat and it can lead to pain if I try to overeat, so again, once I burp or feel that tightness, I am finished eating. Very annoying to burp after every meal, but I'm getting used to it. My husband just says "stop eating honey" and my other family members think its funny (I can't help it sometimes so I burp and then say "excuse me!" but still). In the early days, you're going to throw up if you don't get the signal to stop eating. There is no where for the extra food to go, so it could feel pretty uncomfortable until you throw up... but once you figure out your own signals, it gets way easier. As far as being able to eat more - of course you will! I was told I have a 34 bougie size which was on the smaller end of things, and I'm eating around 6-ish or more ounces at this point (6 months out). In the beginning, your stomach is very inflexible and swollen - I was told to imagine it as a plastic tube - there is no give in it at all since it is still healing and tramatized. It can take months for it to start relaxing and allowing you to eat more, but it will happen... just never on the scale you were used to pre-surgery.

You are not getting enough calories and I doubt you are getting enough Protein. That is crazy only eating 600 calories a day!! Even 800 calories is too low. You should discuss without your doctor/nutritionist, but you should be shooting for closer to 1000-1200 calories a day (at least) and at least 70 grams of protein, and drinking 64 ounces of Water daily.

Did you take measurements in the beginning too? One of the things to remember is that a stall on weight isn't necessarily a total stall - your body may still be losing fat and gaining muscle, but the scale isn't going to show that is happening... I took measurements of upper arms, bust, waist, hips and thighs to track the changes and do a monthly check up on all of those. I've had a month where I barely lost 4 pounds as far as the scale was concerned, but lost INCHES off my waist and hips. And even if it is a stall, it may just be your body needs a little time to adjust to each new thing you add in. Starting meats is a big deal - remember your body hasn't had that in weeks or even months depending on your doctor's diet plan. It just may be that your body is all "WTH is this????" and you need to give it time to freak out a little and adjust. Eat what you can, by all means take a step back to liquids if that makes sense to you for a few days, but just remember as long as you're following the basic diet stages, your body will catch up and the stall will break.

I was kept overnight, but probaby could have gone home. I was the first one in for sugery at 7am, in recovery by 8:30 and in my room by noon, so honestly I could have just gone home late afternoon. Other than the fact that I was super sleepy, I wasn't in any real pain. I was up and walking the halls at like 1pm and lost count of how many times I walked the circuit. I had no pain at all. It was weird. Just mild discomfort. The doc said they made a point of removing as much of the gas from the abdomen as possible as that is usually what causes the pain, so as long as your doc does the same, you should be okay with just normal pain meds taken orally at home. My doc sent me home with codine and some other opioid that I took once just because I thought maybe the hospital drugs might wear off, but still no pain hours later, so I just put in the medicine cabinet.

You are probably on some sort of pre-operative diet, so don't do anything like a food funeral now. You don't want to have your surgery complicated by the fact that you consumed a bunch of fat right before - the pre-op diet is very important to shrink your liver so it is easy to move out of the way and perform the sleeve surgery. You will eventually be able to eat things you ate before, you just might not want to, so don't get stuck on the idea that you can never have "X" again. Focus instead on how you are going to be knocking out those cravings once and for all and wanting to eat things that are good for you... because it really does change after surgery. Good luck!!

You're doing so well! Congrats! Great status update.

41 pounds down since my Dec. 18th surgery. It hasn't been steady loss; I experienced stalls that lasted several weeks. I'm fine with a slow loss as it means more time for skin to adjust. And I've apparently been doing just fine on the Protein and Water, as I've experienced no hair loss so far. Also, take measurements in addition to looking at the actual weight on the scale. I've noticed in the stalls that I'm losing inches rather than actual pounds sometimes. Muscle weighs more than fat, and takes up way less room so you may still be losing fat even though the scale isn't showing a substantial loss.

Surgery was 12/18, down 41 pounds so far. I think that is just fine with me. I figure the slow but steady means that my skin isn't going to sag and bag as badly as if I was dropping weight rapidly (so for all you slower losers, that's a perk!) I am still struggling with chicken and things like brussel sprouts as that all just comes right back up. Rice and Pasta are not an issue, however, in small quantities. I'm lucky if my calories get up over 1,000 but I'm eating mostly high protein/fats with lower carbs. Trying to get more carbs in, and adding in the rice and Beans is helping get my calories up too, so my NUT should be happy. I eat a whole lot of cheese - cream cheese, hunks of cheddar, colby jack. Yum! My go to snack is about 16 almonds and a Frigo cheesestick. I am in Texas so I drink HEB's mootopia milk (high Protein, low sugar processed milk that tastes A-MAZ-ING and has about 12 grams of protein per cup), and eat lots of stews/pastas/ground beef dishes. Lots of bean dishes. I have a slow cooker going right now with kidney beans, brown rice, tomatoes, onions and sliced sausage for dinner tonight. Lots of fish (have a great baked recipe with lemon, mayo and spices that is EASY), refried beans (I cook a small amount on a plate with some shredded cheddar, then top with pico de gullo and sour cream, and eat with some chips for a "bean nachos" meal). I keep a pack of Protein Bars in my desk at work for emergencies, but mostly I pack my lunch and take a few cheese sticks for snacking. I also eat them with fruit (cheese stick and apple or kiwi fruit is nice). I also realized that protein powders like unjury make me throw up like crazy. I can't even stand the smell - instant nausea. I can't eat anything with high sugar. Tried a few bites of ice cream, and had a bad reaction (think it was dumping syndrome) as I ended up in the bathroom shaking on the floor for about an hour - the throwing up and diarrhea was awful - so will not be eating anything sugary for a very, very long time. Fortunately, I have no real craving for it right now either. My energy levels are MUCH better now, and I'm now fitting into jeans I haven't worn in two years. And they aren't tight.

I think one of the other things to bring up is the fact that long term, dieting just does not work, especially for those of us that get into the "clinically obese" category, since our bodies just seem to be great at hanging onto fat better than others... and cravings, deprivation and exhaustion tend to throw us off the wagon easily. Gastric sleeve surgery is a tool that allows you to take back control - of your portions and cravings - to give us the ability to make better food choices while limiting the portions of said foods. You still have to eat better/healthy foods (which becomes MUCH easier when you're not feeling ravenous all the time) and exercise. While some may say it is an extreme measure, I feel like for the sake of my health, it was the great decision rather than remaining grossly obese and dying young, with some periods of intense struggle and frustation trying to lose the weight (and keep it off and failing). What is wrong with getting help with something you've struggled and failed at on your own? Why on earth would you not accept the help that the surgery provides if you have the ability to get it done? Is it some sort of punishment that you should remain fat forever just because you lack "willpower/self-control" according some judgemental person(s) that have no idea of the struggles that a long-term obese person goes through? And I had no outstanding health problems yet either. Great blood pressure, excellent choloesterol... on paper if you covered up the weight number, I look fantastic. But I'm not going to stay that way carrying this much weight around. And there are very, very few fat people that make it up to their 70s or beyond. I plan to fully enjoy myself for a very, very long time. So sure, anyone could diet and exercise and take off the weight for a little while, as long as they monitor their food, portions and exercise - basically let that stuff control their lives - or you could introduce the surgery to level the playing field to that of a normal-sized person that can maintain their weight through regular portions and activity. Then you can adjust your diet and get in your exercise and your body won't be fighting you anymore - you'll be on the same team. I'm so glad your husband is communicating with you about the surgery and he may even come around to the idea of doing it himself. It will not be easy. I think most of us have had issues at some point in the process. But for myself, I'm just over 2 months out, and pretty thrilled with the results and don't have any regrets in doing this. Keep talking to each other, discuss those fears and worries and really listen to what each other is saying. I think he was just balls-out scared for what this means for the future, and also pretty worried that you would lose so much weight that you would leave him/and feeling judged himself. He couldn't possibly think you should stay fat for the rest of your lives, but sometimes the gut reaction to drastic change is "he!! no!" and to get mad. Stepping outside of your comfort zone is scary - and I do hope the two of you are able to work things out so you both are able to get healthy together and share many, many decades together and see your children and grandchildren grow up.

If you haven't already - call your doctor! They should have given you an emergency/after hours contact number, so use it. Severe pain is not normal or something to gamble with after surgery. Hope you're okay, and things aren't serious, but do consult with them ASAP.

I'm still trying to learn my signals at 6 weeks out. I think most of the time I'm getting a feeling of weight at the back of my throat, but it doesn't always happen unfortunately, so I'm trying to stop after 2-3 bites and just wait for 10 minutes to see what happens. If it is okay, I'll have another bite or two and wait another 10 minutes. My overfull signals are burps and then a weight/pain in my upper back. And I do still have to throw up sometimes.

I smoked for over 25 years, with a ~2 year quit in there but went right back to smoking during a stressful time period... that being said, I quit completely a bit over 2 months before my surgery. I haven't gone back either, and I miss smoking and still think about it almost daily even tho I'm more than 110 days clean. And I can't promise that I'm forever quit since I do miss it so much. But here's the thing: I know that I'm an addict. I don't really miss it; that's the addiction talking. It's just like being an alcoholic. I can't have just one smoke or do it for a little while and quit again. I will always struggle with staying off cigarettes and I recognize that, and will do my very best to make sure I don't pick it back up again because it will hurt my health and likely kill me if I do. So yeah, totally conflicted but hanging on as hard as I can to my quit because I deserve to be healthy - despite that stupid addiction. There are no benefits from smoking - zero, zilch, nada. I had weight loss surgery because I also had issues with food and eating and I want to be healthy and live an active and enjoyable life with my husband. Being morbidly obese wasn't conducive to that idea, and neither is smoking. There is no good reason to smoke, and I've witnessed two family members die a slow, agonizing smoking related death... I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. And yet I still have that insane little voice inside that just wants a damned cigarette. Irrational and stupid, but that's what an addiction is. You can't get any more blatant than that. So that is just one more reason to not smoke - because I am not going to be thought of (in my own mind anyway) as a stupid person. And using an e-cig is just as bad if not worse. All you're doing is changing the method of delivery and still putting poison into your body while fooling yourself into believing that it is healthy. They're still in the early days of studying the health effects and the news coming out now is NOT good. Saying they're safer than cigarettes (even using the no nicotine cartridges) is like saying that playing with one poisonous snake is safer than playing with 10 of them... they are still dangerous. http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/California-Declares-E-Cigs-Are-Health-Threats-290104881.html https://www.sciencenews.org/article/health-risks-e-cigarettes-emerge I quit using the Allen Carr method (the vids are available up on youtube) and a phone app (Butt Out only available on iphones unfortunately, but there are plenty of quit apps) and told myself that the quit was temporary until I got healed from surgery. But I'm sticking with it as long as I can, because I know I feel better now than when I was smoking, and frankly it's nice to not be coughing and wheezing, have warm fingers and toes, and not smell nasty (and yes, you do smell nasty ALL OF THE TIME to non-smokers - that sh!t is in your hair, your clothes, embedded in your skin... I can smell smokers a mile away now, and had friends tell me the same thing). Look, I'm not telling anyone to quit smoking. You have to be an adult to smoke anyway, so I'm assuming that you know enough to know that it's got no benefits, is harmful to your health and you're wasting money and throwing away years of your life to do something that is in essence a nasty habit that will cripple and then kill you in the end. Only you can decide if you're worth quitting for - no one can do it for you. But if you just went through something as extreme as weight loss surgery, you have to care a little about getting your health and well-being back on track!

I'm just under 6 weeks out from surgery, and came out of a stall in the last week (sort of - lost a few more pounds). I had my 6 week appointment with the doc yesterday, and they said I'm still in the normal ranges, but moving slower than they'd like. I am cleared to eat anything at this point. But I can't eat close to the amounts they want to see. I'm barely able to get down 3 ounces in a meal, and I'm throwing up more frequently trying to eat more solid Proteins. So that means my calories are pretty low. They want me to eat around 1400 a day minimum, I feel lucky if I reach 800. And that's with a large portion of carbs/fat making up the calories. I have been trying to minimize the high fat/carby stuff, but they told me to eat - whatever it takes within reason - as long as I get my calories up. I just can't eat enough it seems, and I am starting to think it might be better to step backwards and get back on the Protein drinks and such, but even liquids seem to be going down worse (like my restriction is back) and the amounts I can tolerate are less now than the early weeks. I am getting all of my Water in and usually get most of my protein, just that the calories are never higher than 800-900 and it's a struggle to get that much. I'm not even feeling hungry at all, so I have to remind myself to eat something every couple of hours. They told me to "graze" to make sure I get the calories in and once my levels are better and I am able to eat more, the grazing can be cut back... Anyone else experience this? It's frustrating as I know the low calorie count is the main reason I'm not losing weight, but I can't force myself to eat without throwing up and it doesn't help that I really don't want to eat most of the time now!

My NUT was saying 1400 minimum NOW. She says that is why I'm stalled/slow losing weight. And the doc backed her up on that too. I'm doing my best, but I can't tolerate solid meats yet (chicken comes RIGHT back up) and it's so hard to eat when I know I'm only going to be able to take 3-4 spoonfuls and then feeling like I need to throw up after... Oh, and my metabolism sucks anyway - I have hyopthryroidism. I am taking my Vitamins and trying to eat, but I am DRAGGING and exhausted most of the time... which the doc also attributes to the lack of calories. Sigh. I never thought I'd have this problem - not eating enough! I'm going to try to hit the store tonight and pick up a few things I know I can eat (Mootopia milk and cheddar cheese for some strange reason) and see if I can't pack in a few more snack times during the day.

I've used coconut oil for years as well (I keep a little container in the bathroom just for my hair and skin), but I use olive oil (heated up to be warm in the microwave) as a hot oil treatment. I literally dip the ends of my hair into a bowl of it, smooth the oil through each section and wipe the excess oil into the rest up near the scalp until my whole head is covered, and then clip it up and wrap it with a towel or shower cap and go do stuff for an hour or two. Then shampoo out and condition as normal. But I also have super colorized hair (it's blue now) so I have to do this stuff to keep it from looking like a cotton ball. I also have a bottle of Palmer's Coconut oil formula hair milk I use after each shower (got it for $5 at Target), and I don't use shampoo with sulfites in it (most shampoos have that, and it is horrible for your hair). I mostly use a no-poo approach - I use conditioner to "shampoo" my hair, and just lightly scrub at my scalp in the shower, then leave it in for 5-10 minutes and rinse. I use a mild sulfite-free shampoo maybe every week or so (when I do the olive oil treatment mostly). I am also on Biotin right now for the sleeve - it helps with skin, hair and nails (they have it as part of my daily Vitamin from the doc's office due to the hair loss possibility). You can buy it at most places that sell Vitamins and it's supposed to really help. And eat your protein! From what I've read, the hair loss is occurring due to the lack of Protein in your diet, so try to get in as much as you can.

That's wonderful that you're doing so well now! Great that they let you stay longer to ensure you were good to go home too. I had no gas pains at all. I asked about it when I saw him right before my doc released me, and he said he makes it a point to remove as much of it as possible because they know it causes so much discomfort and pain. Last time I had laproscopic surgery, I couldn't sleep flat for over a week and hurt soooo much until the gas was dissipated, but this time was shockingly pain-free so I guess I lucked out on having a doc that actually cared about that part. I actually had almost no pain at all and was off my pain drugs within 2 days of surgery. At my hospital, they had glycerin mouth swabs - they were a lifesaver for the dry mouth thing when you're waiting to be cleared to sip something (but they did allow me a little ice too). Oh! And I had a standing x-ray for the swallow test. Just had to step up slightly and hold still. It was so easy! They didn't do a catheter at all for my surgery - my doc said he wanted you up as soon as you can, and the surgery is expected to be pretty fast so they said there was no need and it's uncomfortable to get one anyway so they never do them. Totally agree about the walking - get up and get going as often as possible! The more you walk, the better you'll feel and the less chance of developing blood clots.

Just got out of a 2 week stall. VERY frustrating, but it happens to 99% of us, so you're perfectly normal! Stop weighing yourself and just keep doing what you are doing and it will work itself out. And since no one else has mentioned it, if you took measurements, there is a good chance that you'd see a difference there instead of weight on the scale since your body can be losing inches even if the scale isn't moving. But even if it's not, don't worry - this is all temporary!

Just got out of a 2 week stall. VERY frustrating, but it happens to 99% of us, so you're perfectly normal! Stop weighing yourself and just keep doing what you are doing and it will work itself out. And since no one else has mentioned it, if you took measurements, there is a good chance that you'd see a difference there instead of weight on the scale since your body can be losing inches even if the scale isn't moving. But even if it's not, don't worry - this is all temporary!

I totally get why they tell sleevers to not drink while eating, but is this a permanent thing? I like spicy stuff, and in general like sipping on something while I eat (usually Water, but love milk too) and it is very sad to me if that is how it is to be for the rest of my life. I'd get over it, but the spicy stuff is probably a no-go if I can't drink something with it. (and apologies if this has been asked/answered many times before - searched but nothing popped up)

You could try taking an antacid before eating, but it might be a good idea to also let the food cool down so it's not super hot - just warm - before eating and seeing how you do with it that temp. Oh, and make sure you're eating really slow so you're not swallowing lots of air too. I take a chewable acid reducer in the morning and it's really helped with the overall gas issues, so I hardly need to use anything else through the day.

I ate Noosa yogurt once I was cleared for that level of foods (about 2 weeks out from surgery). It has 14 grams of protein per container (8 oz.) and I've seen it at Kroger and Target now.

Best, I'm starting to wonder about why you're seeking answers to these sort of questions and it's coming off as kind of disturbing. You seem obsessed with calories - the last post I saw of yours concerned a starvation diet of 300-400 calories. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/328591-did-anyone-eat-below-400-or-300-calories-for-a-year-post-op-after-gastric-sleeve/ I am also getting the idea (which may be wrong) that you might actually like the idea of being anorexic. If you're considering any sort of weight loss surgery due to being overweight/obese, then I would hope you would discuss healthy ways to go about this with a qualified doctor and nutritionist and not rely on strangers on the internet for guidance. And in your case, from what you've posted so far, you probably should see a counselor/psychologist as the things you're proposing to do are very likely to be harmful to your health.