theantichick

I was on full liquids (which included Protein shakes, Jello, pudding, greek yogurt) from the day after surgery. I could only eat or drink an ounce or so for the first week, and if I sipped or ate too fast, I was MISERABLE... and the surgeon said that was completely normal. As the swelling and inflammation in the sleeve from the surgery resolved, my tolerance got better. By a month post-op I could eat about 1/4 cup at a time and drink normally. Now at a little over 3 months post, I can eat a tad more than 1/4 cup of really soft things (yogurt consistency) but meat still sits heavy and I can't eat very much at a time.

I also had to have VSG because of auto-immune and needing NSAIDs and steroids occasionally. I have had reflux problems in the past, so it was a little concerning, but the benefits for VSG outweighed the risks. So far, with a normal PPI dose, I have not had any reflux problems, thank goodness (and knock on wood). If I didn't have auto-immune I probably would have chosen bypass because of the reflux, and I have 120-140# to lose with a serious sweet tooth, so dumping syndrome (if I had it) would be more reinforcement for better food choices. Though I had some worries about malabsorption, overall bypass would likely have been a better choice if I didn't have auto-immune.

see my sig

I know I keep posting, but every time I read this, it just makes me want to reach through the internet and shake your Dad. This is NOT how statistics work!!

@@Djmohr I was going to quote parts of your post where I was jumping up and down saying "YES YES YES!!" but then it was the whole post. So just YES!!!

Your surgeon should be able to help guide you to the appropriate surgery. For me, the bypass would have been the best option, however I have auto-immune arthritis and have to be able to take NSAIDs and steroids when needed. The NSAID/steroid contradindication is absolute for bypass and lapband, but is relative for sleeve. Lapband was a non-starter for me for a number of reasons, but wasn't even an option because it's a foreign body left in which is a no-no for auto-immune. Because I have had reflux in the past, GERD was a serious worry for us with the sleeve, but again I had to be able to take NSAID/steroids. So I'm lucky that I haven't developed GERD. But as you can see from our decision process, there can be a lot involved besides patient preference that your medical team has to guide you through.

My surgeon cleared me for the pool at 4 weeks. If you are going to need to get in the Water before then, talk with your doc and ask if it would be OK if you had waterproof bandages on the incisions. I used them for showering until my incisions were closed, and they work pretty well. The incisions are small enough I got mine at the local drugstore and didn't need any special order bandages.

My surgeon wanted me at 1,000-1,200 kcal a day by 6-8 weeks out. She says that there is evidence we get a metabolic "reset" with the surgery, but restricting calories too far for long is likely to mess with it again. I had a couple of stalls as I increased my intake, but it evened out.

Oh, by the way, I'm a nurse and in graduate school and researched the heck out of this before doing it. The major complications (leaks, serious infections) are actually quite rare. The minor common complications (nausea, vomiting) are easily manageable. The moderately bad complications (strictures) are also normally treatable, and don't happen very often. Safety-wise, WLS is safer than virtually any other abdominal surgery. Malabsorption is only really an issue with the bypass. Some minor malnutrition with the sleeve is related to reduced intake and possibly low-carb eating, and is generally avoidable with a good Multivitamin. Dehydration is usually limited to the first few weeks post-op, and many people are able to drink enough fluids to not have any issues. Complications are absolutely possible, but they don't tend to be as common or as serious as your dad would make them out to be. Here's my response to a lot of the "there's a better way" nonsense. (And in case you can't tell, I get a little preachy about it!!) http://www.theantichick.com/2016/08/05/the-easy-way-out/ Good luck!!

One more note. The effects of yo-yo dieting are showing to be worse than if we all just stayed fat. Statistically, only 5% of those who lose their weight solely with diet and exercise will keep it off long term (3 years or more). If any drug on the market only had a 5% success rate, it wouldn't be on the market. We are being sold a bill of goods in relation to diet and exercise. The long term success rates for WLS range from about 50% to about 70%, depending on which study you read, and which surgery. That's a damned sight better than 5%. You wouldn't try to run a marathon with a 50# backpack in heels, would you? The surgery just gives you a better toolkit... reducing the backpack to 20# and giving you good running shoes.

Everyone else has already given a lot of the data I would. Let me just also say that in reference to gallstones - if you're at risk for them, any significant weight loss will trigger them, whether surgery or not. So just getting healthy can set you up for them.

As I've said many times before, there's a difference between "cheating" when it's just a diet, and violating your prescribed diet advancement. One is a simple choice, good or bad. The other is taking your life into your hands. Eating solid food before your surgeon has cleared you is more than just "a mistake, we're all human". You don't see people in AA saying "hey, that's OK, we're all just human". No. They say "we're human, and we screw up, but you get that this was a really bad choice and it can kill you, right?" Everyone on this board wants nothing but success for everyone on the board. But we get a lot of people who are posting about their choices like they want or need some kind of absolution. I don't get it, either. And a lot of people get their knickers in a twist because of someone else's "tone". Guess what, people? I've been on the internet since the AOL dial-up days, and there is no "tone" on the internet except what you read into it. I followed my diet progression instructions to the letter, because I'm a nurse and I've seen what happens when people don't follow the post-op instructions. A lot of times, nothing happens. But sometimes, people end up in the ICU or the morgue because they thought they new better than the doctor, or they "just couldn't help it". It was rough. I wanted to taste something other than Water and Protein shakes so bad I was ready to lick a Dorito. But my health was important enough to me that I kept telling myself it was only 10 days more (or whatever at that point) and I got through it. If you're not ready to muscle through the post-op diet progression, then you're not ready for surgery, period. If you've already had the surgery and have messed up, then the people here have a responsibility to say "hey, you know that was a bad choice, right, and it can hurt you?" And then to say "here's how I got through that rough patch myself". Tone be damned, we should not be expected to coddle people who are potentially killing themselves. Or let the silent readers who don't have good information from their surgery team think that it's just "cheating" and it's OK. Now, once released to a full diet, I've eaten all sorts of things that would give the veterans on here fits. And I'll suffer the consequences for that, because I'm an adult and I decide what I eat and don't eat. So far, I haven't done too badly. That could change, but for now I'm good. I don't need absolution or permission from anyone for my diet choices, and I don't come here for some sort of weird confession. If I did, I would expect to have people tell me that similar choices derailed them and I might want to consider my choices. That's the point of an online support forum, it's not supposed to be an echo chamber where everyone coddles the poor choices other people make. I'll step off the soapbox now. And by the way, this is the rants and raves section. This is one of the purposes it serves. If you find it too negative, quit reading it.

I used to use Gaviscon a lot for reflux, it did a better job than chewable antacids because it coats more. I'm lucky that the sleeve didn't aggravate my reflux, it was one concern I had about having the sleeve. I've read that bananas help, are you able to tolerate those?

Some people who have been working in doctor's offices for years get a very inflated opinion of themselves, especially if the doctor feeds into it. Don't get me started on medical assistants being introduced as a nurse (or introducing themselves that way).

I was always the person sweating at the drop of a hat, so I welcomed having to layer up again. I can also say that eating carbs doesn't help. I am not on carb restriction and have usually 80-100g a day. All I can offer is the advice to add layers like you're scaling Mt. Everest. LOL. I grew up in Alaska, so I remember putting on the silk thermals and extra socks and then clothes and then a sweater and then the jacket/hat/gloves/boots. It's not something I normally have to do in Texas, but I am having to add jackets/sweaters now, and I don't run around the house barefoot anymore. In the home, there are ALL SORTS of lovely electric heated things now. I don't have a heated mattress pad now, but I used to and they are SO MUCH better than heated blankets on the bed. I have a heated foot pocket in my bed, because it's always my feet that are miserably cold at night. But on the couch and my reading chair, I have electric thermal throws and vellux blankets. I knit myself some fingerless gloves for when I'm working on the computer. I also use one of those tubes that you heat up in the microwave to soothe a sore neck or back as a wrist rest with my keyboard to help my chilly fingers.

I had horrible fatigue for a good month before I started feeling normal again. Water and Protein are the most important things, work really hard to get those in. My protein intake fell when I moved to purees because I was trying to eat more food and use less Protein shakes. Also, if you've started exercising, you may need more calories to support it.

You've already called your doc, so anything s/he says trumps my input. Bright red blood in stools, unless it's REALLY A LOT, is rarely cause for concern, especially if you've been constipated or have had hard stools. It's common for a hard stool to cause a fissure (similar to cracked skin) that bleeds, and every stool that passes - hard or not - after can open it back up for a little more blood until it completely heals. You can also develop hemorrhoids that can open and bleed, but that's usually with long-term constipation. Check with your doc, of course. But I was an ER nurse, and we saw this A LOT. I also have IBS with constipation, so I've lived this most of my adult life. Stool softeners or Fiber supplements in the diet, along with LOTS and LOTS of Water usually resolves the problem. Danger signs are abdominal pain with passing stools (beyond gas), stuff that looks like coffee grounds in the stool, or bleeding that just doesn't stop.

I am no longer bedside thanks to my auto-immune arthritis, but I cannot see any way I could have gone back sooner than 4-6 weeks, and I had virtually no issues post-op. I was incredibly fatigued the first month and had a lifting restriction until 4 weeks where there is no way I could have worked ER or ICU (which is my experience). Your surgeon can give you the best input on this, but I would not count on only 2 weeks off. I work as a healthcare IT analyst, and was back to work from home 5 days post-op (surgery on Wed, work from home the following Monday) and back in the office 12 days post-op. I wish I could have taken a week completely off, and then started working from home 12 days post-op. And that's for a desk job. Frankly, I would advise asking your surgeon when his program advances you to soft/pureed foods, and when the lifting restriction is typically lifted, and I'd plan for a week (2 if possible) beyond that. I was so fatigued and fighting to get enough fluids and Protein in until the soft food stage, I couldnt' have even THOUGHT about doing anything physical. I've never worked in a hospital that had a true light duty option for nurses. If yours is different, then maybe take that under consideration. I don't have celiac, but I have RA/PsA and my inflammatory factors have reduced post-op after an initial flare from surgery and being off my meds for a month. Not a cure, but my meds appear to be working better and we're taking biologic therapy off the table for the foreseeable future. There is some evidence that PPI use which is very commonly needed post-op increases the risk of c.diff but I've never found a good explanation as to why. And of course, any abdominal surgery increases the risk of hospital-acquired infections. The only restrictions I've heard that are common post-sleeve are a relative contraindication for NSAIDs and steroids, and they recommend carrying a medical information card in your wallet (or adding it to a MedicAlert if you have one) for no blind NGT/OGT. I suspect that a blind NG/OG is much more of an issue with RNY or lapband because of the pouch which isn't present with the sleeve, but I went ahead and put it on my MedicAlert. NG/OG can still be placed, just with a scope and not blind. After recovery and advancement to a full diet, I don't have any particular restrictions from my surgeon. I take the same meds as before (though we've been able to stop several of them at this point) and my activity level is increasing (though slowly due to the RA/PsA). I do have to eat frequent small meals in order to get enough protein and calories, and need to drink constantly to get enough fluids in, but no specific limitations. I have not officially been declared free of my sleep apnea, but after I lost about 35 lbs my mask quit fitting and was leaking so badly I couldn't sleep. Because I could only find one mask that worked for me (a hybrid) and was already on the smallest size, I didn't see much point in trying to get re-fitted, and just quit using it. Hubby says that I only snore now if I roll onto my back, and he hasn't seen any apnea episodes. I haven't had an increase in daytime sleepiness or BP, which were indicators of my apnea. I did buy an OTC oral appliance that stops the snoring even on my back, but I haven't adjusted to it for the entire night yet, I pull it out in the early morning hours. The snoring is lessening as I lose more weight, and sometime next year I'll probably arrange for an in-home sleep study kit to get the diagnosis off my active list. As an RN, I researched and was familiar with all of the potential complications. I tried to comply with my pre-op instructions as much as possible, and that's pretty much all you can do. I've had surgery before, so there's no unknowns with anesthesia. I had a super recovery, comparatively. I had quite a bit of nausea, but never actually threw up. I progressed quickly through the food stages set out by my surgeon, only a few things caused issues but even those things I can eat now. I did have a LOT of fatigue for the first month, but it's hard to tell how much of that was surgery and how much was RA/PsA, especially off meds. I had no issues with my incisions or healing. My surgeon told me that the complications are actually very uncommon, except for nausea/vomiting. I had had issues with n/v post-op in the past, so the surgical team took extra precautions with me, and I had zero vomiting even in recovery. I can tell you I've not regretted it for a single second. Ok, to be fair, I had thoughts for the first week post-op of "what did I just do?" but they were fleeting and I felt better every day than the day before. Now at 3 months post-op, I feel pretty darned good, and with a few exceptions life looks pretty normal (just lighter). I wish it had been an option for me 10 years ago.

Wow. Just.... wow. I know that medicine is practiced very differently in the UK but this is shocking to me as an RN. I wish I could send you the carafate I didn't use post-op that was prescribed *just in case* I was having more stomach discomfort than the PPI would handle.

I'm an RN, and I wouldn't even presume to tell you what you could and could not take without consulting with your medical chart and/or the practitioner. An office coordinator CERTAINLY shouldn't. She has zero training to understand all of the issues involved. I have auto-immune arthritis, and one main reason I and my medical team chose the sleeve for my surgery over the RNY was because I HAVE to be able to take NSAIDs and steroids as needed for my arthritis. It is not "standard" to have WLS patients taking either because of the risk of ulcers, but in some cases the benefits outweigh the risks. I have been lucky so far that I haven't had to take any of either since surgery (losing the stomach tissue as well as fat tissue appears to be lowering my inflammatory factors) but I can take them if I need to. The office coordinator was WAY out of line, and I would follow up with the office about it.

Because they had to do an intervention, I had to stay overnight. If they are doing it just to check things out and they don't have to put in a stent or "fix" anything, I have heard they'll send you home later that day, but I don't know that for sure.

have you tried some of the fruit flavored Protein drinks? I can't stand Isopure, but some really like it. I like the Syntrax nectar flavors. I got some tubes from Amazon to freeze Syntrax into ice pops, that changed it up from the other protein stuff early on. I also read somewhere that you can make pudding out of most protein powders by putting 1/2 of the recommended milk or Water in. I haven't tried that, but it would be something to mix things up. Before you know it you'll be post-op and then onto pureed food and there'll be no looking back!

There are no true malabsorption problems with the sleeve. The malabsorption occurs with the RNY and the DS. As others have stated, reduced intake and sometimes diet changes can cause you to not take in enough nutrients, which is why they strongly recommend Multivitamins after sleeve surgery. There are no digestive changes for the sleeve, so medications are usually continued as before. Of course, you'll need to discuss your specific situation with your surgeon. The only thing I have noticed is that food seems to go through my sleeve a little faster than it did through my old stomach, but it's not so much faster that it will affect medication absorption, most of which actually happens in the upper part of the intestines anyway. Some medications have to have dosages adjusted, particularly seizure medications and anything that is dosed based on weight, but it's not an absorption problem.

A few years ago I had a reaction to medication that caused a lesion in my heart which caused a very abnormal heartbeat. I had to have a procedure called an ablation to zap the lesion cells. It was done as a cardiac cath procedure. Because of that, I had to get cardiac clearance from my cardiologist to have the surgery. Heart problems do NOT mean you can't have the surgery, it just means they have to check a few things out and maybe fix something first. Cardiac cath procedures are done VERY frequently now, and the teams are VERY good at what they do. The worst part of it for me was the 6 hours laying flat after the surgery because I had to pee SO BAD but couldn't manage to make myself go in a bedpan. I was a nursing student at the time and begged the nurse to get an order to catheterize me, which she did and I got through it. LOL. So don't stress about a cath procedure. Good luck!!

If they suspect an ulcer, they should be giving you something like Carafate. Do you have an option to call and ask for something that will give more coating and relief than the Gaviscon and lansoprazole?