shriner37

At 12 days post-op I experienced my first NSV today. As my size has yo-yo'ed over the years I have all sizes of clothes in my closet, with shirts from (men's) size 16 1/2 up to size 19. I was very pleased to find that I now fit comfortably into an 18 1/2, and almost a size 18. My NSV was packing up all of my size 19 shirts to give to charity. Not quite yet ready to drop down a pant size but hoping that will come in another week or two. Anyway, the first NSV feels very good!

I am now 9 days post-op. I lost 8 pounds on my one week pre-op diet, and the first four days post-op I lost another 7 pounds. However, my scale has been at the same number for the last five days. My first reaction was "this can't be, I'm only eating 500-600 calories a day!". Then I gave it a little more thought. Our bodies periodically need time to recover and rebalance after significant weight loss. Losing 15 pounds over a period 11 days is very significant weight loss. It would be totally expected that my body would need to sort things out metabolically and stabilize before losing further. All of this is very understandable and makes perfect sense, but it is still very frustrating to step on the scale in the morning and see no movement so quickly after all of the hard work, pain and effort of going through surgery! Has anyone else experienced this type of stall this early? If so, how long did your body take to recover and did your rate of weight loss pick back up?

I think for me I may have started exercising too much too soon. I started a fairly aggressive walking program but given the low calorie level of the pureed diet at the time I may have forced my body to react by shutting down my metabolism. I cut back on the time and intensity of the walking and saw my weight loss pick back up. I know exercise is a critical component of weight loss and success after surgery, but the level of effort needs to match the calorie intake. In other words, you don't want to burn 250 calories daily in an exercise program when you are only taking in 400.

I woudn't be too hard on yourself, we all have to learn our way through this as we go. For what it's worth, my doctors' plan allows for refried Beans and cottage cheese starting on day 7, so I doubt you did your sleeve any harm. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that the first three months are the "golden window" when we see the most benefit from surgery the most quickly. After that the weight loss will slow down to a more realistic level. So if you want to maximize the results it is very important to stick to the program for at least the first several months.

You will have to listen to your own body as each of us has a different response to surgery and speed of recovery. For me, I had surgery on Tuesday and went back to work the following Monday. I too have an office job and spend a good part of my day in meetings and on conference calls. Realistically I could have gone back on Friday (3 days after surgery) but it was the first day I was consuming anything beyond Clear liquids so I wanted to start the re-feeding process at home. I will tell you that for most of the first week back I was more tired than usual by the end of the day. It takes your body some time too fully recover from the rigors and trauma of surgery.

I'm now 11 days post-op and doing well. My doctor progresses diet fairly quickly so I'm eating pureed foods plus very soft items like eggs, cottage cheese and refried Beans. I progress next week to soft solids like deli meat, soft cheese and well cooked vegetables. One thing I'm learning, at least with my sleeve, is that knowing how much to eat is an art. Unless I eat very slowly my stomach doesn't tell me it's full until I've already eaten a couple bites too many. I'm learning to eat slower, which helps, and also gauge the food so I stop just before the over full feeling. At this point that amounts to slightly less than a half cup of food.

Thanks for the replies. I was well aware of the "three week stall", and understand the physiology behind it. It was just a little unnerving to have it happen five days after surgery. Hopefully weight loss will pick back up soon.

My situation is about the same as yours. I attribute it to being in good general health and having an excellent surgeon. In fact, I jokingly told the surgeon's PA the same thing yesterday. We both had a good laugh, but I suspect that wasn't the first time he'd heard such a statement. Doing a good job with the surgery can certainly lessen side effects and pain, and shorten recovery.

Congratulations! Every day gets better from here so you have a lot to look forward to. Your sleeve will be a bit cantankerous for a few days but just keep sipping and it'll come around.

I had surgery last Tuesday and was back to work this Monday. I work in management, so I move around the building a lot but don't really have a strenuous job. I know everyone is different. I was able to get off the narcotic pain reliever on Wednesday (the night I came home) and switch to liquid tylenol. I think that helped me get back on my feet quicker.

Good luck! My surgery was one week ago today. Everyone's surgery experiences are a little different but I hope you have a quick recovery. Keep in mind that although we must give up a life of eating fast food and fattening items as staples, we will be eating healthier, living a longer and hopefully more satisfying life!

I think everyone is different, and it probably depends on your general physical condition. I am 5 days post-op and walked 20 minutes this morning. I would have liked to do more but it was all I felt comfortable with at this stage.

Most of the comments I read are from folks who had a hard time the first week getting down anything, even Clear liquids. I was that way on Day 1 and 2, but for the past two days have been able to drink liquids without much restriction (as long as I go fairly slowly). For the most part I still limit my meals to a 3-4 tablespoons and haven't pushed it except at dinner I had some cream Soup and was able to eat nearly the whole portion (probably 4-5 liquid ounces) by going slowly. I will say that as of Day 2 I switched from Hydrocodone to liquid Tylenol, so that may be having an impact on reducing stomach inflammation and swelling. I'm not having any pain or strong sense of fullness. Am I overeating the sleeve at this point, or is my inflammation just eased to the point that it can handle more? Has anyone else experienced this?

True, a better term would have been capacity. First couple of days I filled up very quickly, almost immediately. Last couple of days it has taken much longer to achieve the same sense of fullness.

I did a little research. This can be caused by pressure on the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, and can result from tight clothing, weight gain or injury. I wonder if it might have something to do with having your abdomen filled up with CO2 during surgery. This could create pressure on the nerve that causes the condition. It could also be the swollen/distended sleeve that is pushing on the nerve. I'm going to ask my surgeon during my follow up next week to get his opinion as well.

Yes, me too. Left leg is worse, top of the thigh is completely numb. I'm going to see what the surgeon says about it during my follow up visit. I did a search of this forum and others and I guess it's not uncommon. There is another post in this subforum about it, called Meralgia Paresthetica. It is caused by pressure on the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve.

I was referring to the 40gm no-carb protein drinks. At this stage I can't get that much liquid in so today I started with half of a bottle, hoping to get 20gm of protein.

I just picked up some of these at the store, and am drinking a Grape now. It is certainly not as flavorful as Crystal Light, but to get 20 grams of Protein I'll deal with the taste. Also picked up their unflavored protein isolate powder to fortify Soups, hot Cereal, etc.

My main ride is a full size SUV (Escalade) which I love, and will continue to drive as I make long road trips and the comfort, ride and handling can't be beat. However, I've usually had a second "fun" car in the garage (I'm single). I sold my 2006 Corvette about 15 months ago as I wasn't driving it much. I think a present to myself, upon achieving goal weight, is a new (or at least new to me) Corvette.

Several studies done in the past few years show that the only way to achieve permanent, significant weight loss is through bariatric surgery. Whether one chooses Duodenal Switch, RNY, Lap-Band or VSG, it is the metabolic changes that follow the surgery that truly allow us to lose the weight and maintain the weight loss. Effectively the surgery reduces our metabolic weight 'set point', so our bodies strive to maintain a lower weight instead of constantly fighting our dieting efforts to protect a higher weight. The 'set point' research continues to develop. At some point in the future researchers may find a way to alter this set point through hormonal or metabolic therapy. When that happens some drug company will be insanely rich and bariatric surgeons will need to find another avenue to ply their trade. However, that research is still in its infancy and for now (and the forseeable future) bariatric surgery still seems to be the only way to achieve and maintain significant weight loss. For my personal situation I was not interested in Lap-band as it was introducing a foreign object in my body, plus the long term results and complication rates were beginning to come under scruitiny. RNY seemed a bit drastic. VSG seemed like the perfect solution. Being in my 50's with medical challenges I did not want to wait for what could be many years for the opportunity to improve my quality of life.

It seems like the ability to drink is related to how swollen and distended the new stomach sleeve is. Mine seems to have opened up on Day 3, allowing me to sip much more frequently than before. I think I went from around 12 ounces of Fluid total on day 2 to nearly 32 ounces on day 3. One thing I did was to switch from my prescribed pain reliever (hydrocodone/tylenol liquid) to just liquid tylenol. I did this because I needed to be able to drive, and confirmed with the surgeon's office that this was okay. I am wondering if the liquid tylenol somehow helped the sleeve to relax some and reduce swelling, allowing more fluids.

I know everyone's experiences are different, but Day 3 was a major breakthrough for me. The first two days it seemed like my sleeve was very temperamental and really didn't want me to even sip very much. However, as of this morning (day 3 post-op) I seem to be able to consume about as much liquid as I need, provided it is in small sips. Today was my first approach at anything of nutritional value. Tried some yogurt for Breakfast, and some cream of chicken Soup (with no solids) for lunch. I was able to get about 3-4 tablespoons of each down before my sleeve told me it was full. Plus a few ounces of Protein shake in between. Im surprised at the different just one day makes. Incisions are also healing well. The only one providing pain is the large one where the stomach was excised. It feels painful and the area seems swollen almost as though it is bruised.

I'm with you. I was also sleeved on the 15th. I read and studied enough that I knew what to expect, but it never really registered to me before surgery just how little you can really take in the first few days. My surgeon's plan has me just today starting on some yogurt, skim milk, oatmeal or applesauce. As little Water as I've been able to get in I am waiting to see how this works. Good luck on your journey!

My surgeon is pretty aggresive about returning to regular food. Day 1 and 2: Clear bariatric liquids (Water, crystal light, sugar free Jello or popsicles Day 3-6: Add in yogurt, applesauce, skim milk, lowfat cream soups, hot thinned Cereal (i.e oatmeal) Day 7-13: Add in cottage cheese, refried Beans and/or soft eggs Day 14-Week 7: Add in soft Proteins (i.e. deli turkey or chicken, baked fish) and well cooked vegatables (nothing raw) Week 8 and beyond: Most regular foods, well chewed and as tolerated

I was just sleeved yesterday and came home today. I am having a fair amount of suture pain, which was to be expected, which gets better with the Hydrocodone/acetaminophen that they gave me. Two questions for those experienced sleevers:' How long did your suture pain last? Second, and more importantly, did you have any stomach pains post surgery? I've not overfilled my sleeve yet (just really drinking a little Water and had a spoonful of sugar free Jello) but it seems to react somewhat painfully even with just a sip of water. The pain meds don't seem to do much for this. If you had this also how long did it last? I'm beginning to wonder if the stomach pains could be caused by acid. I took my PPI this morning but may need a split dose.