AchieveGoals

@aroundhky& @7carol3Have you guys had any major complications? How would you deem your experience so far? I mean issues that some articles talk about regarding GERD, or hair fall, vitamin deficiencies, things you can't tolerate? Have you guys noticed an increase in food? Can you give an example of a portion of food you were able to eat 1st year to now 7th year? Any other relevant thing would be appreciated

Hey everyone! To those of you who had Diabetes prior to Gastric Sleeve, did you feel that it made you lose less weight than you expected? I have been hearing some things that patients with prior Diabetes end up loosing less weight after they get the procedure. But sometimes I feel like physicians will differ in what they say, but it's better to hear from actual patients. I currently have diabetes right now, my HbA1c is horrible, near 12. Hoping this gastric sleeve, with diet/exercise and using it as a tool can help reverse it. any advice please. Thanks

That is amazing Wanda! I wish you all the best, do you know what your current A1c is now? Please keep me posted Also if not too personal, can I know what meds you were on? I'm on Lantus, Bydureon and Metformin.

Do you still have more weight yet to lose? Can the HbA1c drop even further? Congrats on your progress... mine is currently around the same as yours was

Hello everyone! In terms of people acquiring GERD after surgery, I would appreciate all honesty in your answers, it would help me immensely.... First of all 1) Did you suffer from GERD before surgery? 2) If you do now, how often a week? And how would you rate it from 1-10 (10 being the worst) 3) What do you do to treat it, and does it help alleviate the symptoms completely? 4) How far out are you from post-op? Thank you so much everyone!

Doing my 6 month program at the UIC Bariatric Program with Dr. Chandra Hassan, anyone know of him or the UIC program in general?

Hey everyone! Was wondering if any women sleevers have become pregnant for their FIRST time AFTER having sleeve surgery? I would really enjoy hearing your experiences. How was the overall pregnancy, was it normal or C-section, how much weight was gained? How was the experience overall?

Hi guys! Just quickly wanted to know how long it took after surgery for you to go back to feeling "normal"? Normal in the sense where you don't feel any more pain from the surgery and where it doesn't hurt when you drink or eat anything? Also after having the surgery, is the feeling of being full "feel" different than the feeling full before you guys had the surgery? Thank You!

Hi guys, I was wondering your experiences regarding hair loss. My surgery is in 2 weeks, and one of the BIGGEST things I'm worried about is having hair loss with already thin hair. -- How severe was your hair loss on a scale from 1-10 (10 the worst, and 1 not much at all). -- At what month also did you see a decrease/stoppage of hair loss, and re-growth? I mean did you guys notice your hair feeling back to normal? For those of you who didn't have much hair fall, can you please relate to me what you guys did? May be hard to believe but I am a vegetarian, and I'm just worried if my hair fall will be even more extreme after the surgery because of this? Thank you all!

Does it hurt if you do it? Does it make food go down fast and make you eat more? Do you feel fuller? This is the thing I am most struggling with I really like spicy food, and am wondering what will happen if I can't drink while I eat....please any advice?

I'm really confused on this whole Dumping syndrome stuff. My surgeon tells me that Sleeve patients don't get it, however there are countless videos where sleevers talk about how they had it, and how it was horrible. I heard it is triggered by eating fatty/sugary/carb filled foods, but I'm sure we will all be able to have cheat days, does it mean we are all bound to have dumping? Thanks

Like if you really tried, is there any way you would be able to eat more than 1 cup at a time?

Hi again people! Anyone out there NOT have any Gallbladder problems or Heartburn? How many months or years post-op are you? Hoping to see people who are a long way out that do NOT suffer from these complications! Thanks

I feel like once we get the hang of things, once we are able to eat an adequate "normal" amount, I would want to continue with my life normally as if I'm a normal person but just with a smaller stomach. Going back to the Doctor and keep checking blood levels almost makes me feel like I have a lifelong illness or something. Although I know it's important, I do plan to change my lifestyle and eat healthy. Can someone please let me know what your Doctor or program says? Are you required to follow up every single year for the rest of your life? :S Or has your program said anything differently? Thank You all!

Hi guys, I was told by my Doctor that people who have Gastric Sleeve will never get or have issues with dumping syndrome. However, I was watching online videos where sleeve patients were telling their stories about how they get it and how horrible it was. What has your doctors told you? And have you ever experienced it after eating a lot of sweets or any food in particular etc? Thank you!

Hi guys, might be hard for some to believe but I'm a vegetarian who is about to get the VSG surgery. (crazy how I still have weight issues) But I'm wondering if people can successfully consume the food items I have listed below. If it does work for people, I plan to do this for a while I guess :S (2) 30g premier Protein shakes (http://www.premierprotein.com/sites/premierprotein.dev.manifest.com/files/styles/height_150/public/ProductImage_PP_Shake_11oz_Tetra_Choc_DC_US.jpg?itok=t1EYFNlt ) (1) 14g Greek Yogurt ( http://printablecouponsanddeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Chobani-Greek-Yogurt.jpg ) Would you guys be able to fit all 3 of these things in a whole day to satisfy a day's worth of protein? And how long would it take for someone to finish the premier Protein shake which is 11mL. Can you guys also tell me how far long are you? And lastly including consuming all of these items, would you be able to eat more than just this (fruits/veggies) in a whole day? Sorry for a lot of questions, but I would appreciate the response! Thanks

I'm about to get the surgery and there is one thing I am always fearing about. And that is the safety of the procedure for the extreme long term. I'm kind of young (just turned 26). I use to be a lap band patient and I remember the whole healthcare team promising me how effective the lap band was, and now 10 years later it's something that is leaving the US markets due to failures. What if it happens with the sleeve procedure too? Sometimes it makes me think that these Doctors will just do the procedure for you to keep patients and stay in business, but what will happen 30-40 years later is something that we will have to deal with. The thought of its permanency alone is really scaring me, and I know we should have a tool that permanently helps us with weight loss, but I'm just scared with possible complications that can come at old age or years later. Will those staples always be strong and intact? What if we get a leak in the long term? etc etc Can someone please chime in and maybe calm my nerves? I'd really appreciate it

@@UK Cathy Hello! Yes I do understand that as we age we will accumulate possible health issues, but I meant health issues that are directly caused from the Gastric Sleeve procedure itself, I'm kinda scared about those..however I appreciate your response! Thank you!

@@OutsideMatchInside I really appreciate your answer, thanks for clarifying it makes more sense now Because 1-1.5 would seem to be annoying for the rest of your life

@@OutsideMatchInside Can you please clarify as well if it takes the same amount of time (1 - 1.5 hour) to finish the shake being a year out? Thank you!

@@Inner Surfer Girl Is it still hard after a year or 2 later??

Hi guys! Well I'm a current graduate school student and I am getting the surgery done on Tuesday. It's my summer vacation so I got time to have the procedure done. It wasn't until a couple weeks ago I researched about long term complications of VSG and came upon reading stories where people have Gallbladder problems and gallstones due to the rapid weight loss. I don't have any current issues with my GB or stones neither did I have them in the past, but I'm scared that I might end up having problems and it will affect my performance academically. Meaning, I'll have a gallbladder attack right in the middle of the semester and end up getting kicked out because my program would not accommodate even for a health issue (crazy I know). Can someone please shed some light, I mean - have any of you had VSG and not had Gall bladder problems yet? And what can I do to prevent this from happening if possible? Thank you ...

@@Bufflehead Refreshing to hear this! Thank you

@@OutsideMatchInside There are people who take prescription medicines for the rest of their lives in order to combat heartburn/GERD - so this of course can be considered a complication. I thank you for your insight!

Hi everyone! I have a couple of questions for people regarding Water intake after VSG. 1) How many months post-op are you, & how much water can you drink on an empty stomach? 2) Were you able to drink enough daily recommended water the first month after surgery? How hard was it on a scale from 1-10? 3) Have you guys ever drank water while eating? Were you able to eat more or less? 4) I've heard people say, even the taste of water changes after surgery, have you noticed this yourself? 5) Overall on a scale of 1-10 how hard is it to get in the daily amount of water in NOW? Ahhh, sorry for all these questions, but I genuinely love drinking water :] I would prefer a ice cold glass of water compared to a soda any day, so I really was curious of how water drinking behavior changes after surgery. Any questions that you guys would answer will help me a lot I thank you for your time!!!