smg

Congratulations on making the decision for yourself! The decision on whether or not to discuss with your "friend" is one you will have to make. The only thing I can say is that the process brings a lot of emotions front and center, and you want to surround yourself with positive people, and leave the negative behind. Best of luck!

Honestly, I think most of us (even those of us who thought we knew) needed to be taught or re-taught how to do a lot of what's needed to be successful long term. Once you meet your surgeon and nutritionist (NUT), be sure to ask them these questions and make sure that they will be available to answer these questions as they come up on your journey, before AND after surgery. My team has been fantastic and I've been able to continue to email my NUT with super-fast responses even after surgery. My team has ongoing classes beyond surgery to keep you informed of healthy food choices and eating habits, as well as fitness help. It's been a great experience so far for me, mainly because of how easy the people on my team have been so eager to help when it's needed. I hope you find the same access and helpfulness! Don't ever think a question is stupid! Best of luck!

About Time Pro Hydrate helped me so much in the first few days after surgery. It's water with electrolytes and 20 grams of whey protein isolate. To me it tastes light and helps fulfill both your water and protein goals. The ones I had came in 20 oz bottles and they have a couple of flavors I think, although I just really liked the raspberry lemon personally. Keep at it!

Great news! Good luck and welcome to the club

I agree with others in that this is going to be a decision best made between you and your surgeon. For me, the sleeve was just a more comfortable choice. Not changing any of the "plumbing" had a lot to do with it. Also, as I understood from my doc, bypass patients are more reliant (long-term) on supplements, whereas sleeve patients (most of the time) can eventually get back to a point of getting the vast majority of their Vitamins from food (provided they eat the right foods). I think either is a great choice as they're both proven to do what they're intended to, and it really boils down to what you and your surgeon feel is best for you. Best of luck in whichever you decide!

I don't know for sure as I'm not a doc but I would imagine the beer would fall under the same "warnings" as any other carbonated drink. I can't imagine marijuana causing any issues down the line (although I'd check with your surgeon), and as far as coke goes, I would HIGHLY recommend that be the one you put away for good. Good luck to you.

My pre-op diet was a Protein shake for Breakfast, another for lunch and then a dinner consisting of a lean protein and bright green veggies...but no limit on the food for dinner.

Being 8 days post-op I can tell you that, for me, the pre-op diet was MUCH more difficult than the post-op diet. My wife and kids have been supportive in that they would eat upstairs in my wife's office...lol. Since the surgery, though, I can be in the same room as the food and have little to no desire (aside from mental desire) to eat it. I rarely feel "hungry" and I hear from a lot of others it was that way for them too. Hopefully your husband will realize you're doing this to better your life (which obviously includes him!) and come around to be there for you. Best of luck to you!

I got mine done on April 15th! So far so good!

I tried the Unjury brand, but I couldn't handle it post-op for some reason...just didn't agree with me. I've really enjoyed Quest protein. It was recommended by my NUT and I've tried several flavors and enjoy them all. Easy on the tummy too.

I have 5 incisions that are still healing (only 8 days out) but, for once having a hairy stomach will be a positive thing

I just think it would be somewhat helpful for a doctor to say - you may be able to have carbonated drinks or you may not, it depends on the person as opposed to some strict NEVER rule and false information about stretching of the stomach, which I have been told is completely impossible with carbonated drinks. I will be making that decision - if it's for me as I go through the process of talking with doctors, nutrionists and the other people as required before I can have the surgery. I get encouraged by patients who have no problem with the things that I am concerned about and then there are patients the say the opposite and then I get worried. I think that the docs who say NEVER to carbonated drinks truly believe that they should be on your NEVER list. As far as stretching the stomach goes, I don't know, but I'm sure it expands it temporarily from the carbonation and I have heard stories from other post-ops that have tried it (perhaps too soon) that the gas pain can be unbearable. I've not heard any docs say it stretches the stomach on a permanent basis though. I've not tried any at this point (8 days post-op) and I have no desire or intentions to anytime soon, and I was a heavy coke zero drinker pre-op.

Obviously everyone is different, and you will get conflicting information depending on the patient/surgeon you hear from. I'm only 8 days post-op, so I can't speak long-term, but I can tell you that your tastes will most likely change. Some of the things you enjoy now, you may not after surgery, and some of the things you can't do now (like water) you may be able to after surgery. Everyone's experience is different. Again, being only 8 days post-op I don't know long term, but I can tell you for sure it would be a bad idea to drink anything carbonated for some time after your surgery. When or if that day comes where it's "safe" to try, I don't know, but I do know that I don't crave it like I used to and I certainly don't miss it. I think you have to mentally prepare yourself for lifestyle changes, and not just "less" of what you eat now. This surgery is a tool, not a complete answer, that takes dedication and sacrifice to achieve. That being said, if you are reaching your goals (you should definitely set goals) and feeling good about where you're at down the road, I don't think it's the end of the world if you indulge a little, especially if you weren't making poor food choices pre-op. Hopefully you'll find your happy medium and figure out a plan that works for you. I wish you the best!

I'm not sure if you've seen or tried About Time Pro Hydrate, but it's been a lifesaver for me. It's a mineral-enhanced water that comes in 20oz bottles and also includes 20g of whey protein isolates. It's a great drink. My NUT recommended it if the shakes were too rough in the early days and it has been a great addition to my daily drinks. It's sweetened with Stevia also, so no artificial sweeteners.

I cook for my wife and two kids and am currently one week post-op (yay!). What's been working for me is getting "full" before I cook for them. I'll have a Protein shake, or some tomato Soup, chicken broth, or even a runny scrambled egg before I begin cooking. It doesn't take much to gain that "full" feeling and once you do, the desire to eat is pretty much gone. I really feel at such a short time after surgery our desire to eat these comfort foods is mostly mental and from habit. You have to stay strong and realize that what you did, you did FOR yourself and not TO yourself. You are not being penalized, you are healing. I'm not a doctor, but I would have to assume that things like fries which are starchy and can have sharp edges, can really cause some damage to your new stomach. Never mind the calories or anything like that....just be careful and stay strong.

I'm 5 days post-op and thankfully gas pains were minimal. My surgeon was trialing a new co2 machine that works a little different than the traditional machines used during vsg surgery. Typically, the machine will inflate the abdomen and continue to emit co2 for the duration of the surgery (albeit at different pressures), so as your abdomen can only take so much, the additional gas needs somewhere to go so it will often travel throughout the body and into the tissues. It's these *escaped* gasses that typically cause the most pain and are the most difficult to break up. The machine my surgeon was using had a *circulating* aspect to it so once the abdomen was inflated, the machine would start to cycle some of the gas out while keeping it inflated at the same time. Because of this, I have had close to zero gas pain except for just a bit on day 1, but very minimal and it worked out completely by the end of the day. It was great! Very blessed that he happened to be testing the machine the week of my surgery!