Kaze

@ Oh, so you can drink Water fairly normally after a few weeks/months? That's super comforting because I'm a "catch up" drinker and although I want to work on spacing out my hydration (it's better overall) I still know sometimes I just need a couple chugs of water at once. Plus from what I understand, water can significantly help with weight loss. I think my biggest problem is going to be the no drinking with meals.

Oh I don't have a problem with the taste of water or anything like that, in fact, it's the opposite, I love the death out of water. I just am also kind of scatterbrained and unless I can have reinforcement, I can lose track. I'm just hoping after surgery water can come about as naturally to me as it does now except that I need to not gulp and I need to space out my bottles at least half an hour.

True story but I never enjoyed bacon. Very few times did I experience bacon that I just WANTED; usually had to be candied bacon or nice and flavored. I'm still pre-op. It's just one of those meats that are blah to me. Now, put a nice rare ribeye in front of me? We're going to fight if you try and take a bite. I hope that's something I can still have post-op (obviously 3+ months down the line).

Hey! So, this is probably not relevant to far too many people here because my circumstances are a little unique but I'm sure those of you who have been sleeved can chip in about some concerns I've had all throughout this process. I'm a transplant recipient (kidney, three years ago on the 8th) and one of the requirements of my transplant for long term success is four liters (136oz) and immunosupressants. I just wanted to know if it's pretty easy to drink Water after VSG? I know for a while you'll have to go slow and really consciously sip through the day, but even then, I've been reassured that it is possible. What are your experiences? I don't get four liters religiously, but I feel ~96oz is the bare minimum. Also, as far as medications (and taking them with water) do you feel you can't take too many pills? I have medications that must be taken 12-hours apart. For reference, this is their size in correlation to a quarter. If it says "immunosuppressant", it HAS to be taken: Morning Night Others As always, any help is greatly appreciated!

Semi update: Called my transplant doc and they're going to put me on liquid immunosuppressants for the time being! I should have no concerns now. @@Christinamo7 I will! And thank you!

@provenzee @gary5862 Ah, thank goodness. I wouldn't necessarily want to "gulp" Water again because it's still a bad habit of mine that I hope I can kick before surgery on the 21st, but it's comforting to know that I don't have to meticulously measure my water throughout the day and *should* be able to leisurely drink my way to my goal. Obviously I went into this process highly concerned for my transplant which comes first and foremost and is leaps and bounds a priority to me (which is also why I'm DOING weight loss surgery to alleviate the stress on it). I've got my favorite water bottle and I think it's 28 ounces (probably 32 to the top) so maybe I can try and drink at least 3-4 of those per day at a decent pace and that would actually get me to my transplant goal (or just under) at 128oz.

Is the 16.9oz bottle of water every three hours just a personal goal of yours or is that all you can tolerate? Thanks!

That's what the person said in the thread back in 2011! Two weeks out and they were feeling confident in getting more Water than is recommended. Thanks! Did you have to work up to it or was there a day you just felt better and was able to get more fluids than you could before?

@@Christinamo7 OMG I know! Metformin kicks my bowels' ass! I had to demand being put on Metformin ER to alleviate it but I STILL have bowel problems. I'm supposed to be on Lantus and novoLOG as well but I stopped those to experiment and my A1C was 5.9 so I'd say it's safe to assume my diabetes is well controlled, I don't need insulin, and perhaps I can hopefully get off Metformin pretty quickly. I need to call my Endocrinologist.

Actually that's not surprising to me, the smoothie with more sugar than coke thing. After all, the smoothie has fruits, dairy and added sugar which drives up the sugar content but I think one good thing is those are all natural forms of sugar which our body can easily metabolize. Coke has corn syrup, cane sugar and a bunch of other calorie-dense, nutrient-low sugar substances. I still think choosing the higher sugar content but quality sugar smoothie is going to go a long way to better choices (like using different, lower fat milks, no added sugar, etc) but Coke is addictive and has zero additional nutrients so it's literally as empty as empty calories comes. The smoothie, however, could have an assortment of colorful fruits and therefore a heaping of Vitamins and minerals and anti-oxidants. That's my stance and I'm stickin' to it! (obviously it comes down to each individual smoothie and how it was made) Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

For reference, they all have less than 12g of sugar, and since I would cut them with a 1g sugar plain oatmeal, that's significantly less... I agree, artificial sweeteners tend to be far more addictive and lead to craving more actual sweets. I just feel as long as I'm making decent choices in a majority of circumstances, having an "as is" product isn't going to make me unsuccessful, but that's why I brought the question to the floor so to speak so those who are actually post-op can chime in, and it seems to me most people are in agreement that you just need to be careful overindulging in the "as is" foods...am I understanding this correctly? Also @ I stocked up on just stuff for the first 3-4 weeks...liquids, full liquids and mushy foods. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Thank you for the response! It looks like you take more than I do! Good news is I found I can eliminate quite a few of my meds that are just Vitamins (riboflavin and mag oxide) because they're in the multi. I also hope I can off or significantly reduce Metformin not long after surgery. I agree that it will be a chore for me to get my Water in. Like I said, the recommended from my surgeon is 64oz and from my transplant team is 118-136oz. I think if I split it down and get 100oz in ideally, that'd be fine enough. That's about 80% of a gallon...do you think that's reasonably achievable? I guess if I just drink more than the half gallon (64oz) I'm probably better off than I am now because I don't get the full 136oz now half the time...I'm a "catch up" drinker. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Oh yeah, I definitely intend to get yogurt as well. Oatmeal is just cheaper right now and easier to stock up on without fear of expiration while I'm pre-op. Plus the only flavors in sugar free were maple brown sugar and apples and cinnamon, both of which are bleh to me. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Definitely not the only one. It's nerves and, I'd agree, mostly because it's surgical and the reminder that this is a lifetime commitment lingers. There's also a lot of questions that go through (at least for me) our heads as we're headed towards surgery. All these things we do now and want to know if we can do after surgery (albeit with moderation). I'm nervous right there with you. I'm scheduled for the 21st, but seeing all the success stories and all the positive responses to how it changes people's lives is really helping fight back against the nerves. If you have or have ever been on Tumblr or other social networks, search "weight loss surgery" in the tag. There's hundreds of picture posts of people doing before and after shots and it's just so amazing. I know there's that here, too, but I've just joined and can't point you directly to it.

I'm 19, so I'm in the realm of ages near 24, and I'm also having my sleeve on the 21st.

My transplant team is pediatric and at a different hospital. My surgeon doesn't think I'll have a problem but I just would like some experience from people who have had the procedure and what their tolerances are.

Hi! This is my first post and I'm going to assume there's some sort of introduction thread somewhere, but I'm been trying to navigate through the site and found this section which is relevant to me, so I'll find the introduction area afterwards. Short story: I'm a kidney transplant recipient and I'm pursuing VSG on June 21st. My surgeon has assured me there's no problem associated and has performed procedures (mainly the bypass) on transplant patients. I was wondering if there is, hopefully, someone else on this forum that possibly has an organ transplant of any kind? If you have a kidney transplant, that's even better! Do you feel like you can get your medications taken as expected? Do you have to take some separately? Did you have to alter any? Can you reach your Fluid goals for the day? Any experience is greatly appreciated and I'm mighty glad I found this forum! Thanks, Weston

Mine's on the 21st. Started the two week pre-op diet late as I'm having it done before the end of June for insurance purposes, but the surgeon sees no reason it shouldn't be enough time. They suggest two small meals and protein drinks + water. I'm going to do just protein drinks and water since I've got less time.

My first surgeon (before I switched because I'm 'high risk') told me that they are, within the next few years, phasing out the Lap Band as are many other bariatric programs just due to its complication rate and lack of concrete success for everyone. I originally went in wanting it, too, because I thought of it like a tool to help me get to a weight where I could do the rest myself, but since I was diagnosed with diabetes in March and the sleeve has greater success with relieving comorbities, and a constant back and forth with all of my doctors including my kidney transplant doctor, the sleeve seemed more appropriate for my situation. My SECOND surgeon made the very good point that because the Lap Band is a foreign object, it is highly likely to become infected or be an infection magnet for someone like me who is a medicated immunocompromised patient (for my transplant). So yeah, I'm having the sleeve on the 21st and I'm both nervous and excited.

I'm having my surgery on the 21st but I've had a LOT of surgeries before, so I can chip in on those questions. It's actually really surreal. Surgeries and anesthesia really differs. Sometimes you'll be in and out in a blink of an eye and sometimes you'll have vivid dreams or hallucinations. The most important thing is either way, you'll be without feeling and you'll be off in your own world if just for a minute or what feels like a lifetime. For example, I had a major urologic reconstruction in 2008. It was an 18 hour surgery. It felt like I was down for...5 minutes? I had my kidney transplant in 2013 and felt like I was down for hours, and it was probably my only "freaky" surgery experience in that, and this is hard to explain, but it felt like as the nurse was talking to me it just stopped being talking and it started being a droning that circled around me. As far as recovery pain, I can't give WLS exacts, but for most surgeries it's painful. BUT you're lucky for the first few days you'll have a PCA (patient controlled analgesia) pump to use at your leisure when it begins to hurt. That's for the first few hours or days (depending on the surgery) so your body can recoop a little bit. After they cut you off, though, it'll hurt but laparoscopic surgery usually isn't too terrible. I'm not going to sugar coat it and say it won't hurt, because it will, but you should be given stuff to help and it usually gets better and becomes more of an irritant than a pain after a few days.