mae7365

I have a sleeve and my doctor repaired a hiatal hernia as well. For the first 8-10 weeks, I had the "stuck" feeling. In fact, for the first 10 weeks, I usually vomited when I got the stuck feeling. At my one month visit, my doctor told me not to worry about it.......my insides were still swollen, some people suffered from nausea/vomiting for up to 2 months post op and he promised me that he never had a sleeve patient die of starvation. The biggest issue is getting fluids in. I was never able to get the 64 ounces they recommended after surgery, but I'd get at least 48 ounce. I've been GREAT for the last two weeks (12 weeks post op today), so I'm going to assume I've finally healed inside and the swelling if finally gone.

You will loose. I'm 12 weeks post op today and I've lost 43 lbs. I want to loose 27 more, unless I think that's too much. Right now all my skin is shrinking with my body, no hanging skin at my neck and people tell me I look 10 years younger. I don't want to loose so much that I get that "too skinny, sickly" look. So I'm going to keep loosing until my body says no more.......or I say enough!

For me, it was insurance related. I had a BMI of 36.1 on the day of surgery. Insurance required my BMI to be 35 or greater for them to pay.

The sleeve keeps your digestive system intact, no long term dietary supplements except OTC Vitamins, much quicker recovery AND my surgeon said it is the most performed bariatric surgery he performs at this point in his career. I really didn't want my digestive system "replumbed" and the band wasn't even worth discussing due to it's long term failure rates.

I eat because I know I'm supposed to....but could easily not eat and be content. But I do still suffer from the 8pm -11pm "I want something to snack on" syndrome. And it's usually salty or high sugar. I've lost 43 pounds in 12 weeks, but I know it could have been more if I didn't "cheat" every couple of days and have a cookie or handful of pretzel. So, like before surgery, the long term success of surgery is directly proportional to your ability to create a new eating pattern AND find new activities to avoid old eating habits.

You look fantastic!

This is my first post, but I didn't know who else I could share my experience with who would actually appreciate the fun and joy of going shopping for real clothes in the mall. I've been trying to not buy anything new since my surgery back in November. I didn't want to waste money when I could see that my size was getting smaller each week. Even when the scale only changed a pound, my body changed a lot. So my daughter and I decided to waste some time in the mall yesterday. Macy's had racks and racks of clearance items and lord knows I need sweaters that fit since I'm always cold since I had surgery (even living in sunny, but chilly, North Florida). So my daughter kept pulling these really pretty sweaters off the rack and begging me to try them on. Size Large when I was 2X 11 weeks ago. Then she kept telling me to look at my profile....."Mom you are so skinny"! I kept looking in the mirror and seeing a "skinny" version on myself. Then my daughter tells my how proud she is of me for changing my life. She's my youngest, only 20 yrs old, and she tells me she wants me to live a very long time so I can enjoy all her first....engagement, marriage, grandchildren etc. I thought I had this surgery for me. To improve my health for me. Now I understand I did it for my family as much as for myself. My sons and husband weren't real supportive of my decision, but now the three of them are also commenting about how much better I look. That I look younger, have more energy. This morning as I was thinking of which new sweater I'm going to wear today, I was overcome thinking how much my family loves me. Sometimes it's easy to forget you're loved until you open your heart and listen to what they say (even when it's not "I love you"). I feel blessed and hope that many of you feel the same way!

Plus, you get a lot of fluids while you are in the hospital. It took me a week before I was actually below my weight on the day of surgery.

Been there, done that. Definitely a learning curve.

I'm on a regular diet now, and I can drink (any fluids) significantly more than I can eat. As mentioned, some foods just fill me up faster than others. So I may have 1/2 of food one meal and get totally stuffed at a couple tablespoons the next meal. It all depends on what I eat. Obviously, sliders don't count. I can eat pretzels, chips, crackers and never really get the pressure feeling that I do with Protein based meals. Hence why I try to stay as far away from those carb rich foods as I can. Some days I do have a few pretzels, but I count them out as a serving and limit myself.

B12 sub lingual along with OTC Vitamins every day. Plus, I do allow myself 2-3 cups of coffee every day. But I sleep less since surgery, I have more energy since surgery and I feel so much healthier since surgery.

You look great! You have got to feel so good about your decision 2.5 years ago.

I track everything on MyFitnessPal and I focus on getting 60+ grams of Protein. Right after surgery, I tried to keep my carb intake very low (<50), but the dietitian told me I need at least 125-150 grams of carbs for proper brain function etc. I have my 1000 calorie MyFitnessPal set at 50% carbs (125 grams), 25% protein (63 grams) and 25% fat (28 grams).

@@ChavaBling, I ate Special K Protein meal bars (10 grams of protein) until I got my taste buds under control. They may not have 20 grams of protein, but they taste really good and offered a good amount of protein for the calories (170-180). I thought it was a good transition bar for the first 2 months. Now I appear to have my old taste buds back, so the Quest gives me more protein for the calories.

I agree with comments about nutrition. Not getting enough Protein, Vitamins, minerals etc. can cause lethargy. And the biggy is dehydration. Not having enough fluids can cause lethargy, lack of energy and make you feel terrible.

Good old fashion exercises from elementary school - sit ups,leg lifts, arm circles, leg stretches etc. You can do them on the floor while you watch TV. So far, it's helped firm up my legs and abdomen. I'm also lifting 5 lb weights to help with the excess, hanging skin/whatever it is in my upper arms.

If you are on solid food, Quest Protein Meal bars are 170-190 calories, 20 grams of protein and some of them have amazing flavor (cinnamon roll, white chocolate raspberry, apple pie, S'more just to name a few!). I eat two a day as Snacks and it almost guarantees I hit my 60 grams of protein goal.

I love to shop the clearance racks at Macy's, Dillards etc. They have designer clothes on those racks at crazy prices. Plus, they always have further discounts on weekends. Ross is always fun and reasonable. Designer names at discount prices. I'm currently into yoga pants (they make me look skinny) and I love getting them at Ross for 50% of what they cost at Dicks or Sports Authority!

After your stomach heals, you will sometimes forget that you had 75% of your stomach removed. You just feel normal, but can't eat as much as you did before. To me it's like a miracle - I'm full on 1/8th the food I used to eat, I can eat the same foods I used to eat before surgery, but my new normal is less food and no crazy "I'm always hungry" feeling.

I'm almost 12 weeks post op, and I'm just beginning to get the acid reflux under control. It's really bad at night, aid in my throat and nose followed by hours of coughing. I take 40 mg Nexium and 40 mg omeprazole every day. I use lots of gas-X, Rolaids and Tums. My surgeon and the dietitian who runs my support group assures me it will go away by month 6. I had acid reflux disease before surgery, I had hiatal hernia repair during my sleeve surgery, so I still have a lot of stuff going on inside. I just have to be very careful how much I eat, what I eat and how late I eat before bedtime. I see my surgeon again in March, so it's on my list of questions/concerns to discuss. I've been told there are other prescription medications that I can take, but I'm sticking with the current plan until March since it does seem to be getting better each week.

Sleeve for sure. Your digestive system is intact and you do not have the malabsorption and dietary restrictions of RNY. Sleeve has been done for years for treatment of gastric ulcers etc. I look at it this way: I had a 32 ounce stomach that I could fill until it hurt. Now I have a 4 ounce stomach that makes me pay if I over eat (pressure and even worse - throwing up). So even if I overeat and eventually stretch out my 4 ounce stomach, it will never be the old 32 ounce stomach that just let me over stuff myself whenever I wanted. Unless I decide to eat every hours, high carb, high calorie foods, I just can't imagine being physically able to gain back all the weight I've lost. Does this make sense?

I shared with my immediate family (husband and children) and two neighbors/friends. About 6 weeks after surgery (Christmas time) I told other neighbors and friends from work. I really didn't want or need people to agree or disagree with my decision. It was mine to make and I wouldnt even try to defend my decision if anyone wanted to be negative. To me, I just told people in a matter-of-fact manor and all I've really had is people ask me curiosity questions like "Do you feel different? Did it hurt? How does it work? etc". I was a low BMI (36.1 on day of surgery), and I would have expected people to question why I did it. I've been pleased that people see how much better I look now.....I guess that could be why I don't get any grief over it. I'm not sure if I helped, but its the way I handled it. I never want people to think I'm embarressed about having WLS. I'm proud of the decision I made.

Sorry to the guys, but my biggest NSV's are girl things. 1. Buying pretty, lacey underwear size 7 vs. presurgery size 10 2. Yesterday I bought 5 new bras in Victoria's Secret and I haven't been able to shop there since 2005. Then there are all the other greats like no more medications for high blood pressure & high cholesterol. Having a BMI that is Overweight vs. Morbid Obese. Having my daughter tell her friends that her Mom is now "skinny". Thanks for posting this topic. I love reading everyone's posts.

I sent a friend request.