theantichick

I'm only 4 months out, so I can't speak from experience. Hopefully some of the vets will pop in and give you their real world experience. I can share my research with you though. The evidence is indicating that surgery gives us a "do-over" in relation to set point. Our bodies have a tendency to get used to a weight, and fights like heck to maintain by flooding our systems with hormones and other mechanisms to drive us to eat high calorie, fatty, sugary foods as well as slowing down our metabolism in order to hang on to fat stores and maintain what the body thinks is a good weight. While they're not sure *how* yet, the evidence points to the surgery re-setting that point and making it a little less of an uphill struggle to maintain. Notice I said a LITTLE LESS. This still requires a lifestyle change. The sleeve doesn't really stretch, so the volume restriction is always there to a degree, but it's still possible to "eat around" the restriction by eating the wrong things, or grazing constantly throughout the day. So we do have to radically change our relationship with food, and get and stay active for it to really work long term. Hope that helps.

I will say that the pre-op diet was 100 times harder than anything post-op. I didn't quite have crying jags, but I was emotional and hurting (had to go off my arthritis meds for the surgery) and tired and cranky. I just kept focusing on the end goal, and counting down the days until it was over. Post-op, my hunger went away and so did my cravings, so it got much easier. Of course, a new set of challenges - getting in fluids and Proteins, but not nearly as hard. You'll get through this!!

Hmmm... the stomach itself isn't involved in abdominal exercises. So the staple line isn't an issue. What is an issue is that the stomach is pulled out through the abdominal muscles. So there's a small incision through the abdominal wall, mine is a couple inches above and to the right of my bellybutton. That needs to completely heal before doing intense abdominal exercises. I was cleared for light weights and aerobics at a month, and I think crunches at 2 months. But your surgeon will of course be the final word.

Do you like dancing? I used to bellydance and loved it, and there are some great bellydance workout videos. Think outside the box... are there any sports you like? Keep trying different things. If you have Amazon Prime, there are a lot of exercise videos you can stream included.

My reading comprehension is just fine, thank you. If you read the FIRST POST from OzRoo, you see nothing but plays on the word Bugle. And if you read later, you will find that she clarifies that she had no idea what a Bugle was, or how you could eat one, and that she was trying to figure out if it was a misspelling or what. And then she found out that it was a type of chip sold in the US. She's from Australia. And I *JUST* stated in the part YOU QUOTED that I agree that the conversation went off track from there. But that *initial post* (which is how pages are created) was NOT to mock you, it was someone from another country laughing at her own confusion about someone eating a musical instrument.

@@Miss Impala I'm going to take offense to the term "Bari Nazi". We get a rash of people coming in here talking about (and wanting permission/absolution for) eating the craziest things at only a few days post-op. This is not about people waiting around with rulers to rap on knuckles for violating rules. This is about people who have been through the process (successfully I might add) having genuine concern about other people's safety. And not just those posting, but the people reading the posts who haven't gotten good instructions from their surgeons. It is flat out unsafe for people to eat things they haven't been cleared for in the early post-operative days and weeks. The ramifications can be infections and leaks which can lead to hospitalizations and death. I'm a nurse, and I'm not being dramatic. While some can violate their post-op diet progression orders and suffer no consequences, others can have (and do have) dire consequences. Violating those diet progression orders is not "cheating" and we would be remiss if we didn't point that out. Once patients are released to full diets, what they choose to do is on them. At that point, the vets mainly just shrug and say "didn't work for me, but hey whatever". It's a serious distinction. No one on this board wants to see anyone else fail. Most of the vets aren't here because they have anything to get out of the board anymore, they are here because they are paying it forward for the support they got when they were new. They want to see everyone succeed. And I'm damned tired of seeing them get slapped in the face for it. Actually, this page was made because someone in another country didn't understand what a Bugle was. They aren't sold there. The conversation went off track from there, granted. But the page was not made to mock you.

No, not "end of discussion". I didn't say I was going to block newbies, I said I was going to block newbies and ANYONE who comes in guns blazing and name calling. I am here to support people, not to watch someone give good advice and be called an a-hole for doing so. Maybe we need a forum for "I just want positive feedback and permission/absolution and don't want my butt kicked over bad decisions" so people can post there and get all their warm fuzzies and bad information there, and the vets and people who are serious about their success can not bother.

Sheesh. I think Rants and Raves shouldn't be included in the regular feed. You should have to intend to click on it, and even possibly have to click through a disclaimer saying you understand that it's Rants and Raves and agree not to get butthurt.

Two arms. Single arm stuff we're sticking with 5#.

I signed a contract for personal training at my gym for a year. 3 visits a month isn't a lot, but it's all I can afford right now. I was going to just focus on aerobic activity, but a good point was made that weight training will help me maintain/increase muscle mass which is essential to losing weight and maintaining my loss as well as things important to me like core strength. What's frustrating for both me and my trainer is that the auto-immune is causing us to have to start with RIDICULOUSLY light weights (like 12# - 20# for upper body and 60# for lower) in order to not trigger auto-immune flares. I feel like such a pansy. But, I keep reminding myself that even if I am using no weights, it's still more exercise than I was doing before, so it's still progress. I have a goal to someday be able to do a pull-up.

Oh, I almost forgot... I just started using Fairlife milk, it has more Protein than regular milk, and the chocolate variety is really tasty.

Oh, and my inflammatory factors are down post-op. My rheumy was talking about biologics before I decided on surgery, and now biologics are off the table indefinitely.

I have had occasional reflux in the past, generally I could tie it to specific foods, or overeating, or laying down too soon after a meal. And it got worse as I gained weight. It was always treatable with over the counter antacids, and had not recurred since I was put on PPIs with my RA/PsA meds. So given the need to be able to take NSAIDs/steroids for the RA/PsA, my medical team and I decided to risk possibly exacerbating the reflux into full-on GERD and went with the VSG. I've had no real issues. Almost 4 months out and other than sometimes getting the uncomfortable over-full feeling when I eat too fast, no real reflux. Of course, I'm on PPIs but I would be anyway.

Depends on your doctor's instructions. If they gave you an explicit list of foods, then they likely intended for you to stick to that. Generally chunky soups/stews, even if blended, counts as purees. Each surgeon has their own food stage progression plan.

I'm not Mian, LOL but the key to mixing any Protein powder with hot liquids is to mix it with a little bit of warm Water or milk until it dissolves and then mix that into the hot liquid.

@@Raymia here's all the samplers I ordered: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-powders/products/syntrax-nectar-protein-powder-sampler-variety-bag-15-flavors https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-powders/products/bariatric-fusion-meal-replacement-single-serving-packet-variety-pack https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-powders/products/bariatricpal-fruit-protein-drinks-variety-pack https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-powders/products/bariatricpal-variety-shake-pudding-7-packets-per-box http://www.unjury.com/products/unjury-starter-kit.html https://www.gotein.com/sample-pack I also have not tried these, but another place that's offering sample sizes is: https://truenutrition.com/p-7425-tn-proteinflavor-sample-packs.aspx I've also been told you can go to some health food stores like Vitamin Shoppe or GNC and they'll let you try some of the Protein powders/drinks, but I haven't tried that myself. It's a lot, and I didn't order them all at once, but I was glad I did. A lot of them, I just couldn't stomach. This was a LOT less wasteful than ordering stuff I hadn't tried. I am VERY picky about tastes/textures so I knew I couldn't just grab something off the shelf. Oh, and I also got a sampler of ready-made Premier Protein from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Premier-Protein-Chocolate-Vanilla-Strawberry/dp/B01LWU0BP5/ref=sr_1_9_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1481650883&sr=8-9&keywords=premier+protein+flavors The other option a lot of people go with is just getting the unflavored stuff and adding it into other liquids and foods. I found that the Syntrax and GENEPRO unflavored affect the taste/texture the least. Some of the samplers have unflavored to try. Some people don't trust the Genepro hype (more available protein than should be available by mass) but I haven't found any reason not to use it. Good luck!!

You'll get a range of responses. Pain is individual. I had very little pain. I didn't even experience the gas pain so many people report. I had some nausea, but never actually threw up. I have rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis and had to be off my meds for surgery, so by day 3 post op, that pain was worse than the surgery pain. I was sore like I'd been kicked, and it was worse getting up out of bed, and I was slow to move, but walking helped once I got going. I will tell you that the hospital will be prepared with meds to deal with nausea and pain. And they will push you to get up and walk because it does help. You'll do great!!

Oh, yeah... and I got sick to death of sweet... found the trick to putting unflavored in bouillon or broth... mix it with a tiny bit of warm Water so it dissolves, and make the bouillon with less hot water than normal, then mix it together. That way it doesn't clump.

I ordered samplers from every brand that had them available. I liked the Syntrax Nectars the best, and a couple of the unjury flavors were OK. You can mix them with less milk/water to make pudding, or more milk/water to make them thinner. The fruit flavors, I froze them in tubes to make ice pops (found the tubes on Amazon) which made the first couple of weeks a lot easier to get Fluid and Protein down. But don't stock up TOO much before surgery. After surgery, I couldn't stand the ones I'd bought tubs of, and ended up drinking the pre-mix Premier Protein they gave me in the hospital, and for the most part since surgery that's been all I could stand. LOL.

I don't think I met the Protein goal until late the 2nd week. And then it wasn't consistent until late the 3rd week. My surgeon made it clear that the most important thing is to stay hydrated, so focus first on getting enough fluids in, and the 2nd most important thing is protein. Just do your best. There are clear protein options like Isopure and Syntrax nectar (some flavors) that can go down easier. I ended up freezing Syntrax Nectar Roadside Lemonade into tubes like ice pops to get both fluids and protein down easier the first couple of weeks. Just keep at it, it does get easier!!

Headdesk. He doesn't have the facts. The surgery seems to for some reason give us a do-over related to our set point. Science doesn't know why yet, but that is the current evidence. I have a post on my blog that's linked in my sig called the Easy Way Out. I don't have the citations for my evidence, but I'm a post-grad nurse and everything I talk about is from medical and scientific literature. If it will help, forward it to him. You may have to just quit responding to his input about the surgery and let the results speak for themselves. My Dad (also an engineer) just can't understand why I had to have the surgery, after all it's just a question of willpower and deciding to eat the right things. He just doesn't get that willpower doesn't work. I explained the medical reasons and what we know so far about the science behind the surgery and then just quit discussing it with him. I know he was worried, and it is out of love for me. He got to see me 62# down at Thanksgiving and more active than I've been in years. That's the proof in the pudding. Hugs, and good luck! It'll all work out.

I have a blog entry The Easy Way Out (link in my sig) that addresses my responses to people on the subject. I'm 4 months out and already seeing improvement in my RA/PsA. There's good medical reasons for having the surgery, hold your ground. These people are not on your medical team. If you and your medical team have decided this is a good option, then that's all that needs be said. Good luck!!

I'm a side sleeper and went back to side sleeping a little shy of a week post-op, but used lots of pillows to support my abdomen and back. Wasn't back to normal until about 3 weeks post.