ShelterDog64

Yep, it's normal! Just small sips, all the time. And you're right about the gas...walk it off. You'll start feeling better about 1 week out and by a month, you'll feel almost as good as new. Congratulations on your surgery, the next part is amazing as the weight drops off and you start feeling better

When you say "large amounts", what are you talking about? Are you gulping water like we could pre-op? At barely a week post-op, the nerves in your stomach aren't all sensing things the way they normally would, which is why most of us are given instructions to take in limited amounts of fluids at a time...you can't rely on your normal 'full' feeling to tell you to stop. I'd also say that it's not true that "most" people vomit in the early period after VSG surgery. I'm 9 months out and I've vomited twice, both times after I was back on solid foods. Many of my support group members haven't vomited at all, even years out. Be careful pushing your limits so early...it would be very unlikely that your surgeon could or would do the procedure incorrectly, so you've had a significant portion of your stomach removed and have a long, fresh line of staples the length of your stomach. Be good to your body

It sounds to me as though the amount of food may have been too much for your esophagus. The shoulder pain is most likely diaphragmatic pain; if the bolus of food was a bit large you could have that feeling as it passes through the lower esophageal sphincter. Chicken, even moist, is a pretty dense Protein and meats have continued to offer me some challenges even at 8 months post op. Next time, try tiny bites and very slowly...that makes all the difference for me. If I'm distracted when I eat and don't chew appropriately or take a too-large bite, I get that feeling still.

I'm not quite at goal but had my surgery last summer as well. As my weight loss has slowed and I'm not constantly dropping pounds, I'm finding myself sliding back into my old dislike of my body, being very critical of every flaw and in general not being very positive about myself. I'm fighting that negative self-talk pretty hard, and I've asked my husband to help me, too. I have a very hard time accepting compliments, but now the 'rule' is that if he says 'hi gorgeous!' or 'you look great' or whatever, I'm not allowed to deny it or say anything negative in return. I say 'thank you' and 'I'm glad you like this dress' and don't let the negative stuff invade my head. It's amazing how much better I feel about myself when I'm not berating myself all the time. I was in a size 18 when I had surgery in June, I'm now in a 10 and will shortly wear an 8... it's absolutely ridiculous for me to be so critical of myself. I look good, and it's okay for me to think it AND say it. You too, right? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

It's VERY normal to still be extremely tired only 4 days post-op. General anesthesia can cause prolonged feelings of exhaustion in many patients, for many reasons. If you never drink or take opioid pain killers, your response to anesthetics and all the pain meds used during your hospital stay and whatever you're taking at home can all combine to make you very sluggish. I was about 10 days post-op before I felt mostly normal, and about a month out before I was back to sleeping normally. We have small marks on the outside, but had a major surgical procedure...take it easy on yourself

I always put them on right after I shower and put on my bra and panties. Then I place the patches right below my bra band, on my upper abdomen. I've never had mine budge!

Love your screen name I am pretty thirsty often...more than I ever was pre-op, and I blame it on not being able to slam a 16 oz. glass of Water at will like I used to. I've learned to ALWAYS have a water bottle with me and to drink/refill/drink as much as possible.

My husband is one of those metabolically blessed humans who can pretty much eat/drink whatever he pleases and stays within a 5 lb swing range with exercise. Being with me for 28 years has taught him that he's not disciplined as much as blessed...he's watched me struggle with yo-yo-ing up and down, trying diet after diet and watching it all come back regardless of what I do. As my college kids would say, the man is 'woke' and understands that what's a simple cup of rice for him is a food that will cause an action, a reaction and a full-blown fight for me with my genetics and metabolism. He's also an MD and I envy his patients...no simplistic 'calories in < calories out = weight loss' brush-offs from him. He GETS it

You're right in thinking that we ALL have these moments...you have to have a plan for what to do when the urge hits. I've found that activity nearly erases any cravings I have, plus when my head says 'hey, eat that!!', I go for Water first. That often does away with the craving. The other thing....don't expose yourself to the things that lead you off-plan. As soon as I started eyeing the bowl of candy at Christmas, I put it in a ziplock and sent it to my husband's office. I've stopped buying crackers. Not one single solitary sweet baked good has entered this house since I had my surgery. Candy, crackers and muffins/scones are my kryptonite, so they're not allowed to sit around my kitchen. Good luck!

I have access to a wellness center that does air displacement measurement to calculate body fat %...I'm not sure I'd trust anything else other than Water displacement or DEXA scanning. You can get an air displacement plethysmography for under $100, then do another in a year to see where you are. Calipers are very dependent on user skill for accuracy, so don't bother buying them. And I've got an Aria scale that supposedly measures my body fat %, but it's remained at EXACTLY the same wrong number for the last 8 months, through 80+ lost pounds...makes me doubt it

No worries! Written words are sometimes not as clear as we intend them to be

Using my WebMD degree , I'd say you're dehydrated and need to be seen at your surgeon's office or an Urgent Care to get some fluids. At 2 weeks out, you need to be sipping something nearly constantly, and one Protein shake isn't enough calorie-wise, either. If you're having trouble with the consistency of the shakes, you can blend them with ice to 'lighten' the density a bit, or just cut them with milk (Fairlife is a great choice). I can't stress enough how vital it is that eating/drinking has to be your full-time job for a month or so post-op.

You should call and talk to someone in your surgeon's office before Monday. That's not normal fatigue for 2 weeks out. Do you use a cpap, and are you using every night? Are you getting in all your fluids every day? How's your Protein intake? At 2 weeks post-op, I was sleeping normally, walking at least a mile daily and getting around 600 calories.

Honestly, I don't have a single regret, other than that I waited so long to do this. I look good, I feel great, I have less pain and more energy. The first month kind of sucks, then things improve and I've never looked back. Congratulations on getting through all your classes and getting a surgery date. This is a life-changing, life-lengthening experience!

I've been using the Patches since about a month out from my VSG, and my labs have been great. I've had a vit D deficiency and an Iron deficiency for years, I corrected the iron issue pre-op but was still D deficient even on oral supplementation. It's now in normal range on the patches, for the first time in 10 years. And I live in the Pacific Northwest, so it's not sun exposure that's doing it!

I didn't 'dismiss' your advice, I was commenting on your NUTs advice...chill out. I was offering additional advice.

I'd take this advice with a grain of salt. "Starches", or carbs, ARE important, but the kind of carb you consume is very important as well. I get plenty of carbs in my diet through dairy and vegetables...no rice or pasta needed or wanted. "Everything in moderation" is a cute phrase that lots of dietitians use, but it's a LOT harder in implementation. If it were possible for most of us, we woudn't be where we are, right? Many WLS patients find that simple carbs are a very slippery slope, and that we can't eat "everything" because the "in moderation" part is so very difficult. Just something to think about

I'd say that 1000+ calories a day might be too high for you to be losing. Do you feel any restriction when you eat? How many 'meals' a day are you eating? Are you snacking/grazing?

I measured: neck upper arm bust chest (just under my bra) waist thigh calf ankle wrist Just pick a spot on your upper arm/thigh/calf and measure that spot each time. I picked the largest area on each. I've been stuck at the same 2-3 lbs for 2 months and doing my measurements allowed me to see that I'm still losing inches even though my weight loss has stalled for the time being.

She's fine. She left BP and is part of a group elsewhere.

I and a number of people in my support group from all over the US use GENEPRO and have done very well with it. I've lost 83 lbs and am 29 from goal. And individual MDs rarely do 'studies'; they may look at their patients observationally and see trends but using Genepro vs some other brand of Protein is not preventing people from losing weight. Not following an intelligent eating plan is what keeps people from losing weight.

Regular sugar can be a 'slippery slope' issue for some of us, so that's why many VSG patients avoid simple carbs as much as possible. You're not likely to dump (both as VSG and from so little sugar), but it can and does happen. I switched to monkfruit sweetener for my coffee and I can't tell the difference, but that's me You DO have to decide where you want to 'spend' your carbs for each day. If sugar in your coffee is super important, then have it...but log it and count it, don't let it become part of a bigger pool of little bits of simple carbs over the course of a day. You've got a 6-9 month 'honeymoon' post-op, when you'll lose weight easily and quickly, don't squander that time by eating little bits of things you KNOW aren't good for weight loss. Those are better incorporated into your life when you reach maintenance. Good luck

A fundal deformity is indeed an indicator of an improperly formed sleeve. There should be none of that thinner, stretchy fundus left from your old stomach. Sounds like your surgeon is trying to blame you for his/her lack of surgical skill. What 'previous follow-ups' did you have that confirmed your belief that your sleeve was done correctly? Here's a good read: Laparoscopic Repair of Hiatal Hernia With Dor Fundoplication After Sleeve Gastrectomy in a Patient With Intractable GERD and Retained Gastric Body Tweet 0Share 0Share Andre Teixeira, MD MBA MPH, Carolina Ampudia, MD, Samuel Szomstein, MD FACS FASMBS, Raul Rosenthal, MD FACS FASMBS. Cleveland Clinic Florida Introduction: Sleeve gastrectomy is one of the newest procedures and one of the fastest growing surgeries in the bariatric armamentarium. Technical details of the sleeve are important and failure to adhere to strict technical guidelines may result in complications. Materials and Methods: A 26-year-old female status post vertical sleeve gastrectomy performed in a different institution 2 years ago presented to our office with severe gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) refractory to medical therapy. UGI revealed severe reflux and a hiatal hernia. The patient underwent a laparoscopic reoperation. Using sharp dissection, the sleeve was dissected off the liver. The liver is cranially retracted. Adhesions to the anterior wall of the stomach were sharply taken down. Right and left crus of the diaphragm were dissected and a somewhat large fundic remnant was identified, isolated and reduced into the abdominal cavity. The diaphragmatic crus was closed posteriorly with a running double layer of quills 2-0 Prolene sutures. Anteriorly another 2-0 silk suture was used to reinforce the hiatus. An Ewald tube was passed and the retained fundus was then sutured with 2 interrupted 2-0 silk sutures to the lesser side of the esophagus in an attempt to create a Dor type fundoplication. Result: The recovery of the patient was uneventful, with a normal UGI on POD1 without leak or obstruction. The patient presented to the office 2 weeks postoperative and she was completely off the PPI and no symptoms of reflux were present. Conclusion: Sleeve gastrectomy is accepted as an effective surgical option for treatment for morbid obesity. Strict technical guidelines and an excellent preoperative workup need to be followed in order to prevent complications from the operation. Sleeve gastrectomy creates a high-pressure system that can make GERD unbearable for patients with hiatal hernia and incompetent lower esophageal sphincters. The use of an anterior fundoplication type Dor can be a feasible alternative for patients with GERD.

@@JamieLogical I've never seen your before pics...you've done some amazing work, girl! You inspire me