AdecadeLater

I was just thinking the other day about how long it's been since I was sleeved. It has been so long I rarely think about it any more. I remember in the early days almost all of the posting was from people who were either pre- or within a year or so post surgery. I decided to register here and see if anyone has any questions they'd like from an oldie Up front: 360+ was my high. I lost down to 200 "on my own" but when the weight started coming back I decided I HAD to have surgery if I was going to have a fighting chance at staying down. I am older so I do have a lot of loose skin. Due to having been so heavy, I will never be under 200 w/out skin removal which I cannot, for medical reasons, have. And I don't mind much. It would be great to not have to deal with the flapping arms and gut, but it's not the end of the world. 10 years a sleeve: The only real negative I can think of it that is is very unpredictable. One day I can eat almost a "normal" small plate of food. The next day, if I ate that much it would come back up. I am sick about once a quarter due to overeating. I really try not to have that happen but it really is hard to predict. So when I am eating in public, I go very light. At Christmas parties, I grazed. I would pick up a carrot or celery stick off a tray, dip it and nibble away. No one pays that much attention to detail, only that I was eating. I picked up one sugar cookie and at it. I nibbled at it, it took a good 20 minutes to eat. Really, I don't think anyone gives it a thought. Here at home I just stop eating and wait to see how I feel. "Full" for me is now a pressure. If I feel that pressure, I am done. If not, I take another bite or two. When I read back here in the old days, I read some pretty crazy stuff. My favorite was a woman who swore up and down she knew someone who had to be sleeved three times because she drank diet soda. No. That is not what happened. But if you want to believe it, that's fine with me. But that will not happen. For the first few years I drank diet coke. I absolutely follow the rule of no Fluid w/ my meal (unless it's part of a soup). I wait the full 30 minutes, often a bit longer. I thought it would drive me nuts, but it does not bother me at all. I have switched to unsweet ice tea for my "passion" drink and I have come to love it more than the diet soda and absolutely know it's better for me. But had nothing to do with the sleeve. My surgeon was an absolute tyrant. (He retired the next year.) He felt you had to "earn" being sleeved. I thought that by losing over 160 pounds on my own, I had already earned it. His point was that I was gaining back (I think I was back up to about 260 at surgery but it's been so long ago I don't remember the details) so he made me do a 3 week liquid fast prior to surgery. I was stupid to do it. He had no real way to know. I wish I had done low, low carb for 10, then shifted to the liquid for the last half. The reason I say this is because the one mistake I made was eating solid food too soon. I was about 7 weeks out from surgery and with the 3 week liquid fast, I felt like a prisoner. So I ate. I look back on that moment and wish I had handled it differently. I don't know how to explain it, but it felt like a fail. It felt like I had let food win again. And I felt like it all happened due to emotions and feeling bullied....a lot of which got me to where I was to begin with! So anyway, your experience may be very different. But I'll check here every other day or so and see what's up. If anyone has any questions, ask. I will try to answer. Of course, it will only be my perception. I wish us all luck on this journey. And I wish this surgery had been there for me in my youth but we get what we get in life. Take care all -- Decade

I didn't read all of the details so forgive me if this has been asked but have you tried white fish like tilapia? It is Protein, but very light on the stomach. I've been trying to think of "real food" options that are light. Wasabi peas are a bit spicy but it is not a spice that impacts the stomach, just the sinus, and are a good source of protein as a snack. Pepitas, no shell pumpkin seeds, are a favorite snack of mine. 1 oz. equals 10 grams of protein. Another I feel is light on the stomach.

Good luck! It is a good way to live. The first couple of months are hard, but nothing compared to what we were facing if we stayed on the 400 pound track. I am far from perfect but so happy this is my normal. With your attitude, you will do great. You are doing an incredible job!

I can't imagine not having restriction. Honestly, I think that if you lose restriction, your doctor made a surgical error. I am going to be very honest here. No reason for me to lie. I have totally "tested" this sleeve. In those bad times, I have tried to eat more than I should so it's not like I've been perfect with it and it still stays tight as a drum. It is about learning to eat quality food, and pass on the junk. Because your sleeve will always control your quantity. Do NOT allow yourself to fall into the habit of grazing. That is the only thing that will defeat the sleeve. But the good news is that you can fix that and the sleeve will still be there to help you control your weight.

Jamie - back in the day. (lol), you had to look for the sleeve. In my city (Columbus, Ohio) there were only 2 hospitals that I could find who were doing the sleeve. It was sort of a transition window between surgeons moving away from the band and toward the sleeve. I know my surgeon was refusing to do any more bands. The key back then was getting insurance to approve and the company I worked for had just that year added the sleeve to it's approval list. The previous year I had considered gastric bypass, but when I called my insurance the nice woman happened to mention that the sleeve would be available the next year (she was pretty certain) so I decided to delay and see. I had to real problem with getting gastric bypass and might have leaned that way if I was younger, but with being already 50, I just wanted something to help me without the negatives. The rules were pretty basic, but they do (as you know) vary widely by surgeon. The guy who replaced my surgeon when he retired had a different set. For instance, he allowed carbonation --assuming it was NOT around food consumption. My issue with soda was the artificial sweeter. So they were 1) eat very slowly. Take your 1 cup portion (which is now 1 cup for me PLUS any healthy veggies) and eat until you feel resistance. 2) Take nothing more after 20 minutes. If you can't hold it then, stop. 3) No Fluid for 30 minutes. I usually go 45. This is really a habit you want to love on. My desire to drink my ice tea (usually 2 a day) keeps me from eating food because I require my stomach be empty to drink. 4) No white processed sugar. This was supposedly a health thing but let me tell you, I experience dumping. They say sleeves do not, but I do. If I am going to eat anything it has to be low sugar (like the cookie at Christmas had to NOT be iced) and I have to mix other no sugar foods or I get sweaty and shaky and sometimes fully sick. So if you experience dumping, you are not crazy or alone. (The surgeon told me it was in my mind.) 5) No NSID's. I still do not take them. I love advil as a pain med but if I take it, my stomach starts to hurt after about a week. I sprained my back so I decided to go ahead and use them and they did not like me. 5) No potatoes. I did not honor this one and I believe it was surgeon based, not a "real" rule. Are others told this? For some reason he hated potatoes. I think that taken in moderation, a baked potato is fine and healthy for you. But that's def not what he thought. 6) They wanted us on a life time for Calcium supplements but all doctors since have told me to NOT do that unless I am tested and show a need for calcium. Since the sleeve allows full processing of food, it makes sense to me. I probably get much better nutrition now than I ever did before being sleeved. 7) Multi Vitamin. After the first 6 months, we could switch to just a basic OTC type. Only needed the high test during the healing window. That's all I can remember right now. All was pretty basic.

You have lost a prime window of opportunity but you have not lost the war. There have got to be some healthy foods out there you'd like. Maybe you need to start looking at recipes and trying some new things. I just posted my story. Read it if you'd like to know who this advice is coming from. But trust me, that sleeve will be your friend for the rest of your life. You just need to work on how to take advantage of it at least 95%. (No one will be perfect!)