lslblues

Wow. Its been exactly one year, almost to the hour, that I had the sleeve surgery. Its been a very interesting year with lots of ups and a few downs. I posted about a week after surgery what the surgical experience was like. I'm not going to rehash that. Good Down over 80 pounds, BMI down to 23. Weight seems to have stabilized for last couple months. Although I never had high blood pressure nor took medication, it was higher than it should have been. I now pop out 115/75. Energy level is good. Very active. Knee/back pain is GONE or at least 95% of it Doesn't feel like I'm dieting. I still focus on Proteins, but my stomach's capacity is still 1/5 or less than what it was. I eat 3 "meals" and 2-3 Snacks per day. Cravings/desire for food greatly reduced. As a gauge of how much I can eat, I was traveling yesterday and ordered a 3 piece chicken strip and small fry from Chik-fil-a. I ate 2 pieces of chicken and 3 french fries. I was very full. Bad Definitely lost a lot of muscle. It partly makes sense as it takes less muscle to move less weight. But the last few months I've been working out putting muscle back on. Initial discomfort from surgery. Very distant memory now. Certain foods still cause issues - bread/pasta are two prime examples. My ass definitely hurts when sitting. Planes are terrible. Loose skin - definitely some saggy skin. Lightheadedness - Have this pretty regularly when getting up. Have actually passed out 3 times. Mostly when dehydrated or had any alcohol. Hot tub also does it to me. Have to keep a close eye on it and sit back down quickly if necessary. Social awkwardness - people don't understand why I eat so little and it has offended a few people. It is hard in a social food setting to not stand out. Ugly Foamies/vomit - I have had foamies 5 or 6 times and thrown up 3 times. Definitely not pleasant and just have to eat slowly and watch for signals to stop. That overfull feeling is terrible. Again certain foods like bread/pasta cause issues. Bariatric Vitamins - disgusting. I switched after about a month to a multi-Vitamin that had all the same stuff. These things made me gag. Sugar/alcohol - has a greatly increased effect. I can eat a kids size ice cream serving, otherwise get terrible sugar rush. Alcohol - same thing. Effect greatly amplified. One glass of wine and I am really tipsy. Overall I still feel it was a great decision. I had battled weight issues since a kid and had never been successful getting anywhere close to where I am, much less keeping the weight off. I think if I was in the same position today that I was a year ago, I would try the balloon first. I went with Dr Heider in Charlotte and was very pleased. The self-pay through them was very straightforward and covered everything.

I lost a lot of muscle in my legs and upper body. I was getting over 100 grams of Protein each day and was exercising a lot. Again, makes sense to lose muscle in my legs. Much easier to haul around less weight. But I definitely loss muscle in my arms, chest, etc. I've focused the last 6 or so weeks on getting it back and getting good results.

A friend just got back from Mexico having the gastric sleeve at CER with a very common doctor used here. They had to double up in rooms and her roommate was a SIXTEEN year old girl. The girl was 5'7" and weighed 185 pounds. Her mom was there with her, and she had had the surgery a couple years ago with mediocre success. But gastric sleeve surgery on a 16 year old with a BMI of around 30? My friend talked to her and there had been no real efforts on changing lifestyle, dieting, etc. and no health issues. Maybe I am totally out of touch, but I was astounded that a doctor would do this surgery at that age/weight/history.

I've read all kinds of great information on this board and just want to share my experience, although it sure is a lot like all the other experiences. My doctor was Dr Heider in Lake Norman Regional Medical Center. He took his time to answer all my questions and explained everything. The staff was also very nice going over diets, process, etc. Check out their website and see the fairly low self-pay option in the US. The hospital, while smaller, is very new and I felt like I received excellent care from the moment we arrive. Did the pre-op testing, upper GI, EKG, blood draw, etc. on Wednesday afternoon. The barium goo was pretty nasty and I think I would have thrown up if they made me take one more swallow. Process was about 2 hours to complete all the testing. Surgery was schedule Thursday 9:30. I arrived at 6:30, they got me prepped, and I laid there for about an hour. Dr Heider was able to move my surgery up a little bit. I hate needles and was dreading the IV. They collapsed the vein on the first try. CRAP. Second try was good. I talked to Heider, the anesthesiologist, etc. When it was time to go, he gave me I think a versed, and I don't remember a thing until recovery room. I was only in the recovery room for 30 minutes or so when they moved me to my room. The rest of Thursday, into the night, I was in considerable pain. I didn't have the gas pain, mine seemed to just be stomach pain. I've heard it described as someone kicked you really hard in the stomach, and that's pretty accurate. It would hover around a 4 or 5, and then shoot up to a 7 or 8. They gave me morphine every couple hours and that really helped keep the pain level down. Thursday night was a terrible night's sleep. I was also nothing by mouth and only survived by brushing my teeth every couple hours and gargling. Friday morning, I was feeling better and the pain was more like a 3 shooting up a 5. I didn't take any pain medication after 12:30 AM on Friday and felt pretty decent. I did have some nausea kick in during Friday, especailly when they gave me that drink for the leak test. I passed the leak test and started sipping Water a couple hours later. I'm easily hitting the ounce of Fluid per 15 minutes and the pain levels are down. Zero pain from incision sights and man are tiny. Overall, its been an interesting experience so far. I hate pain, needles, and hospitals and had doubt, was thinking about cancelling, etc. I was literally thinking "I should just cancel and head to Bob Evans for biscuits and gravy". Wednesday night, I looked in the mirror and asked myself if this is how I wanted to look for the rest of my life. Hell no. I clung to that all the way through the AM wait, the pain after the surgery, etc. There is certainly a price to pay to go through with it - $$$, risk of complication, pain, etc., but I hope that will be a long distant memory in 6 months.

It took me 30 minutes to drink a premier Protein shake first couple weeks after surgery. I am now 3 months out and just finished my Premier Protein Shake is less than 5 minutes. I can't guzzle shakes or Water like I used to, but I have a 20 oz cup at home that I drink a couple times per day and I can finish it in 5 minutes as well.

Talk to your doctor and dietician.

Ready - congrats. I'm curious - GUYS ONLY - What was your shape before and how/where did you tend to lose weight first? I am down almost 40 pounds after 8 weeks, but have only gone down 1 pants size. I am taller and carried my weight all over my body. It seems like the vast majority of my weight lost has been face, shoulders, butt, and legs. GUYS - just curious how/where you tended to lose weight? My doctor said you tend to lose weight in the reverse order you put it on, which I guess would be holding mostly true for me.

When I researched this and discussed with my doctor, he gave me the guidelines of the first 2 weeks are highest risk for a leak, with days 10-14 being the highest risk. He described it as the day 1-2 risk of a leak due to staple line issue is very low. Leaks due to issues with healing are where you get the leaks around day 10-14, especially as you start to add thicker liquids and purees which apply more pressure to stomach. Follow the post-op diet, take small bites, and eat very slowly to keep this risk down . For embolisms, it was the first 3 weeks, with the risk going up during those 3 weeks, peaking at 3 weeks, and then going down to very low at 2 months. The more active you are, the lower the risk. The risk and timeframe differed based on age and gender. The 3 weeks is what it seemed to be for middle aged males. Women and older, the risk is supposedly higher and lasts longer. I was unable to find specific percentages, rates or increase/decrease, etc.

I'm 5 weeks out and while I can drink fluids very easily but make it real food and there is definitely a feeling of full. Its actually kind of interesting because as long as I eat slowly, I will not feel anything until about 2 bites left, and then its literally as if a switch gets flipped, and I'm done. All desire to eat is gone and my fork just goes down. As a previous poster said, you should definitely have the feeling of full when you get to more solid foods. Huge difference even between purees and soft foods for me.

As they have already said, your doctor will give you a program to follow. Mine was 10 days clear liquids, 4 days full liquids, 1 week pureed, 1 week soft, then introduce new foods. Longer waits for lettuce, fruits/veggies with skin, crunchy food, dry food, etc. General answer is a couple months. No one can answer your question except your doctor and dietician. That is who you need to be asking.

I had my surgery in the states, but went with a friend to TJ and he had his surgery with Dr Garcia. Overall it was very positive experience. Dr Garcia is very soft-spoken, speaks ok english, and seems like a very competent surgeon. There is a female doctor that is on his staff who was excellent. She had a gastric bypass done a few years ago and has done very well. She speaks excellent english and is very good at explaining what you need to know. There were also 2 doctors, one of which was always there, who spoke excellent english and helped out with any questions/issues. I was also very impressed with the plan they give you regarding post-op diet, procedures, etc. The hospital is a bit older and some of their equipment is older - for example the EKG machine. Sanitation and medical protocols were ok, but definitely behind American standards. They are definitely focused on bariatric surgery. The day my friend had surgery, there were a total of 6 gastric sleeves being done - 3 by Garcia and 3 by 2 other doctors. The hospital does other types of surgery, but they said 75%+ of their patients were gastric sleeves. Hospital only has about 15 rooms, all of which are private. Very laid back. As the guest, the accommodations were nice. Fairly comfy bed in the room for you to use. Walmart - 5 minute walk. Excellent mexican food that delivers to the hospital. Starbucks, KFC, Dairy Queen, Carls Jr all within 5 minute walk. Beach 2 blocks away although the staff member did caution about being very careful if I went down there. TV with maybe a dozen english channels. Package deal with hotel makes that part very easy as well. Staff at hotel has lots of bariatric patients and has necessary accommodations. We walked down to the shopping center/Cinepolis and saw a movie. Nice walk and good distraction. Overall I thought it was a well-run operation. I'd think twice if I was a higher-risk patient. I'm not sure they'd be able to handle complications as well as other hospitals.

I sometimes feel low on energy. B12 and Gatorade G2 or Powerade Zero really help boost my energy levels. Have you talked to your doctor/nutritionist about it? I'd ask about increasing carbs slightly. What is your normal daily caloric intake? Carbs/protein grams?

I could not stand the chewable Vitamins so I switched to Celebrate Multivitamin capsules. About 1/2 the time, I get nauseous about 10 minutes after taking it. Lasts about 10 minutes and I get close to feeling like I'm going to vomit. Anyone else have any issues? I am doing Calcium citrate pills and not having any issue. I'm guessing the 10 minutes is when the plastic capsule part is dissolved and the vitamins are released in my stomach? I've tried taking with and without food - doesn't seem to matter. Next I'm going to try BariMelts. I have had more issues with stupid vitamins than I do with food.

Found out why I couldn't find them. They are carried regionally. My costco in NC doesn't carry the stuffed chicken breasts, chicken patties, or skewers. At least not yet.

I was at Costco today and couldn't fund the skewers, chicken patties, or chicken breasts. I was very bummed. Are the patties/breasts in frozen aisles?

My program depended on which phase. Phase 1 - Clear liquids - 600-800. Phase 2 full liquids - 800-100. Phase 3 - mushiness - 800-1000. Phase 4 full food 1000-1200. I had a hard time hitting those calories for phases 1 & 2. I am in now phase 3 and am almost always 850-950. I track everything with fitness pal.

Everyone's experience seems very different. I had what I'd consider a very easy surgery/recovery, and it was still tough. Be prepared for some significant pain and discomfort. The pain killers in the hospital made me much more comfortable and able to sleep some. For me the worst part was not being able to drink anything until after the leak test. So that was about 24 hours. I brushed my teeth about 15 times during the day and night and sucked on the swab. But man was my mouth dry. I didn't have gas pain like some people report. My pain really felt localized to my stomach itself. sleeping in the dumb hospital bed was very difficult and was glad I was only there 1 night. Walking - I started walking about 1.5 hours after surgery. The wing of the hospital was exactly 1/4 mile if I walked all the way around, so I started at 1 lap, and by the end of the day I was doing 3 and 4 lap stints. Day 2 I actually felt worse and walked less distance. Day 3 I was walking more than day 1. Just took it slow and didn't have any issues. I started riding my exercise bike before day 7 and started lifting light weights around day 20. I didn't have any issues drinking or keeping things down. Day 2 I drank 32 oz of Fluid. Day 3+, 64+. Part of this was experimenting with what sat well on my stomach. Mott's Light Apple juice saved me. Anything with dairy did not sit well the first few days but now is fine. Cold Water also didn't sit well. I was only nauseous once for about 5 minutes. Dry-heaved twice. Even though I read all kinds of experience articles and thought I knew what to expect, in retrospect I didn't. Things I learned - use the pain meds until you are comfortable without them. Especially at bed time. Try different liquids and different temps to find something that you can drink. IMHO, be prepared for significant pain/discomfort and be thankful if you don't get it. Also remember its only a couple days of discomfort and will get better each day. Was it worth it? I'm confident it will be, but I'm 24 days out and stuck in a stall, so right now its frustrating. I'm sure I'll get through it, but watching the scale go down is sure more fun...

I'm 23 days out as well and my left side definitely is definitely more tender than my right. This morning I was doing a light workout including some ab twists. My right side, no issue. Left side, a bit sore. I'm also more comfortable lying on my right side than left.

Protein shakes were also part of clear liquid diet for me as well. I had a terrible time with shakes right after surgery. I had a mini panic attack and went to the store and bought like 8 different brands of protein shakes - all were terrible. I couldn't figure out how I was ever going to get my protein. Ended up doing unflavored Protein powder in Soups and Jello. I was getting 60-70 grams of protein and 64 oz of Fluid by day 4. At about 7 days, the protein shakes started going down better again. I think part of it for me was the dairy. Now 3 weeks post-op, I'm back to drinking Premiere Protein shakes no problem, although some other brands still don't sit well. As far as tough getting fluids, try different fluids and different temps. Apple juice went down very well for me right after surgery and room-temp Water was much better than cold water. Its easy to put 1/4 scoop of unflavored protein mix in 6 oz of apple juice to help get both.

Sorry you got such little direction on the post-op diet side. My doctor/team gave me a big binder with detailed pre/post op instructions, including diet. At day 10 I was allowed full fluids which included yogurt and pureed soups/chili. The first batch of Wendy's chili coming out of my blender was fantastic. Yogurt also saved me as the Dannon light and fit yogurt went down very well and has 12 grams of Protein. Not sure who you can contact, but I would be pretty demanding of getting some support. I had pager and office phone as well as email addresses for my doctor, dietician, and surgery coordinator. All have been very responsive when I've had questions.

It gets better. Drinking was hard for me the first 3 days, especially Protein shakes. Try different fluids as well as different temperatures. For me, cold apple juice went down way better than Water. And room temp water went down better than cold water. 3 weeks post op I can drink a 20 oz Powerade Zero in about 10 minutes. Water and Protein Shakes are much easier to drink as well.

I'm two weeks post-surgery and just transitioned over to soft food. I was actually pretty surprised how easy getting fluids and things like yogurt down was. I can drink a 20 oz bottle of Water in 15-20 minutes, 6 oz thing of yogurt in 15 minutes, a cup of blended chili, etc.. That last two nights I've had tuna fish salad and scrambled egg. I was thinking my sleeve must be huge if I can eat 6 oz of yogurt or a cup of chili without batting an eye. 1/2 cup of tuna fish salad - I'm DONE. Can't even think of another bite. 1 egg with a little cheese on it - DONE. I'm glad to see the restriction kick in big-time for more solid foods. It does make me understand more about "sliders", "eating around the sleeve", "cheating the sleeve", etc.

I don't like you! I'm 14 days post-surgery, down 30 pounds and still in the same damn pants... I swear all the weight has come off my face, shoulders, and legs. Pants are definitely looser, but not quite ready to drop down in size. Seriously, congrats - sounds like things are going great for you and its a great feeling. What part of Florida are you in? I'm actually going with a friend from Weston to Mexico for his surgery in a couple weeks.

No problems yet. I've eaten blended chili, Soups, tuna fish, scrambled egg, and yogurt. Thicker/more solid the food, the slower I definitely have to eat. Last night it took be about 25 minutes to eat just over 1/2 cup of tuna fish salad. Chew it up really well. The more solid foods definitely make you feel fuller and for longer than liquids.

My doc cleared me for stationary biking as soon as soon as I felt good enough. I've ridden every day since day 5 after surgery. And of course start out easy...