VSG-Gal

I have searched the web high and low for all credible info related to VSG and have found this website to be the best to provide a summary of what you can expect before and after! I hope this will save you from hours of researching. https://fi.realself.com/original/ckfinder/GastricSleeveGuide.pdf

Soft foods has soooo many options not sweet. I was so damn sick of sweet drinks myself during my pre op diet. I’m on week 2 and I purée my favorite soups in the blender. I bought ready made cauliflower balls from Costco and chew it really well. Moist deli meat! Yum! Eggs! Well Steamed non fibrous vegetables you can eat or purée. Hummus! So many hummus has different flavors to choose too! Ripe avocado

What WASNT my favorite food was my problem. My favorite “food” was the buffet line, any buffet will do. That was my downfall.

May I suggest that you go for high quality foods. That’s what I did since I saved a lot of money for not needing to eat so much. Put that money toward eating organic everything, no antibiotics no nitrates meats, pasture raised eggs etc. congrats on a new life journey with your new stomach

You will find from this website that there is a HUGE variety of how doctors do things with different patients, pretty individualized, even with the same type of surgery. Take info with some grain of salt and follow up with your doc.

I didn’t have this problem but If I had to guess, it sounds like a hernia. You are not suppose to pick up anything heavy for quite some time. This is doctors orders to me and I just had my surgery 1/22/18. Yes, picking up small children is a no no. Anything over 20 lbs is too much at this stage. Inform your surgeon

You most definitely CAN have chicken after surgery, but you will need to wait several weeks post surgery. As for a raw carrot I don’t know. My dietician never mentioned that. I just had my surgery on 1/22/18. Seize the opportunity for the surgery. It WILL be tough at first but everyone I know who did it are glad they did, including me!

Did your doc give you any anti nausea med for post op? Mine did, but I was lucky I didn’t need it after hospital discharge.

Protein is important for proper healing. It’s a must! Please drink it

Yes! My dr required one psych evaluation and friends who had weight loss surgery all said they were required to get one psych exam as well. It’s nerve racking but it’s not so much a pass or fail, but a way for the psychologist to find possible weaknesses related to your medical care, such as pegging you for the type that may not be compliant to doctors instructions. My psychologist had me fill out a extensive 4 page multiple choice questionnaire. I got results on same visit as he used a scantron. Even though he listed 2-3 things that MAY affect my aftercare, I can assure you I’m a stable person, so I was surprised to see that. I conclude that everyone will have at least have something “found”, and it’s just a guess on their part so your doctor will take that into consideration. I got my surgery approved no problem or follow up needed.

This is my last post. I understand people’s concern if a dr recommended you to go to the ER, I also would recommend they to go but this was not the purpose of this thread per my original post. I had two questions and only 2 people actually helped to answer one of the two questions I had while others are quick to question my decisions. To the naysayers, I did go to the ER today after further discussion with my dr and the result is...I’m fine. Thank you to all who were genuinely concerned for me. After a chest X-ray, bloodwork, and CT Scan of my abdomen they said the reason for my abdomen pain from an attempt on taking in a full breath is simply because of spleen infarct. Patients who undergo bariatric surgery are 25% at risk of getting a lesion and is not considered an emergency issue, but one that will resolve on its own. I hope this post will assist someone else who may have the same experience I did and looking for possible answers. Of course any kind of symptom not previously disclosed to you to expect is scary and your dr should be informed. Obviously every doctor has different methods and recommendations and every patient has different needs so while we may have some similarities please don’t assume your way is the right and only way! Do share your experience. That’s what this website is for, but leave it up to others to make up their own minds on how they want to proceed. I’m told by the physician assistant that the top part of your spleen is removed because your stomach is attached to it so this is somewhat common occurrence for 25% of the people, though not everyone feels the pain. I did.

I am 6 days VSG post op with a small hernia repair. On day 1 after surgery I was surprised I could finish 4 oz of their thinned cream of wheat the hospital served me per doctor recommended menu. I was heavily medicated through IV however so if I had any pain from it I didn’t feel it. On day 2, I had lunch before they discharged me. A cup of thick blended beef stew. I was able to finish that with some tightening/cramping of my stomach at the opening, followed by gurgling noises like air bubbles coming up. I took a few sips at a time but food never tasted so good after two weeks of pre op liquid only diet. Even if food was blended, it was thick and savory. Day 3 to Day 6 now is where this gets interesting! With hospital Pain meds wearing off, I started feeling pain on my left side if I tried to take a full breath, much like a person would feel if they suffered fractured ribs. I thought this was normal since I’m feeling soreness because our stomachs are on the left side of the body and it’s very likely my stomach is swollen and it may be impeding my lungs to hold air at full capacity. That is until I message my doctor on day 4 and told him and he said for me to go to the ER?! I had no nausea, chest pain or fever and didn’t feel like it was an emergency situation so I didn’t go. I have the same discomfort now at day 6, it’s Sunday, so I will call their office tmw but DID ANYONE EXPERIENCE THIS left side pain where they felt they couldn’t take in a full breath of air without pain/discomfort like a bruised/fractured rib feeling? Day 4- I wanted to test the limits of my pouch and see if It can handle thinned out rice porridge yet. I just couldn’t handle another day of liquid only. I was able to drink in 20 ounces of this thick soup! I had some pain just at the entry point of my stomach followed by gurgling and bubbles to which my doctor said is normal for 1-2 weeks post op but other than that I’m shocked I could drink/eat that much on day 4! Have I stretched my stomach to failure?! Have any of you tried eating/drinking more, earlier than you should and what resulted? It seems at day 6 my pouch is at full capacity to handle a full size meal if it can take in 20 ounces within 15 minutes

@Creekimp13 I’m not opposed to going to the ER if I truly felt I was at risk of a serious problem however I’ve been to the ER too many times only to sit and wait for 5 hours or more and be sent home without much of a fix. I also made this decision based on extensive research on possible problems and couldn’t find much onlien which is why I sought advice from posters here. I am done explaining myself. I did not post this thread to get questioned but to seek answers. Yes, assuming that someone has a death wish is uncalled for and quite frankly is rude. However I do thank you for your apology.

I may not have made the best choice by eating more than I should but I was never told I shouldn’t eat more than a certain amount at a certain period. It’s absolutely disgusting that fellow bariatric posters would think I’m faking this post or post negative comments to others!! Shame on you! We are here to support each other, not necessarily our choices but if you can’t answer my questions or provide insight without insult don’t bother posting. On a Side note, I agree with @nomore fatty patty @low bmi sleevein regards to doctors treating you here regardless of where you got your initial surgery done. But I think you do need to do considerable research for an experienced doctor in Mexico to reduce your risk for complications. Read reviews and try to get a recommendation from someone who has had it done there already. i already plan to call the doctors office first thing in the morning and had previously offered his nurse to take any test or see my doctor that day if necessary but neither was asked of me, so how can I take the ER suggestion seriously.

@low bmi sleeve I had to gain 10 pounds to meet the minimum BMI for my insurance to cover my VSG. Gaining 10 pounds is easy to do for any food addict. I qualified because I have been suffering for more than 6 years of not just high blood pressure but high Cholesterol, sleep apnea using a very unsexy cpap machine nightly, and diabetes. I was prescribed way too many prescriptions and I was sick of it and sick of being tired all the time. The one positive I’ve had since my surgery 6 days ago is that on day 2 before they discharged me from the hospital, my doctor took me off 3 previously prescribed meds and I was no longer diabetic! Voila! Just like that! I couldn’t believe it worked that fast. Now the challenging part is I have to keep that up by not overeating again. Im afraid that if my new stomach can handle a full size meal now how will I lose weight??? If I’m lucky I might be able to maintain the measly 20 pounds I lost strictly from my liquid pre op diet and 3 days post op period. I haven’t lost one pound in last 3 days despite a very low calorie intake, around 800 calories.

There is no farina based products in their limited baby food isle. But that’s ok, as long as I can have some texture in my mouth like the rice porridge I think I can manage a few days. But don’t get me wrong I’m certainly counting the days where I can eat scrambled eggs! Lol! Thanks for the Chex mix tip, I might mix that in with the rice porridge

Food tip: my local Walgreens didn’t carry cream of wheat for me to eat. After two weeks of liquid only diet, cream of wheat actually sounds good! But since they didn’t have it my friend had the idea of looking into baby food isle. I was willing to eat anything so long I wasn’t drinking more fluids. They had a dry rice flour powder where you just add water. So I’m eating that now. I was able to cheat a bit on a handful of Chex mix. I made sure it dissolved totally in my mouth before swallowing. It was nice to experience a crunch in my mouth. I wouldn’t recommend anything more than a handful the first week post op and be sure it’s completely dissolved before swallowing.

Kakatlady, I will be there for you each step! This process is hard for everyone. I am a food addict on top of that, so I will have challenges forever as I try to lose 60 pounds then maintain. Remember that what you go through now is temporary and that the reward of a better life is around the corner!

Not feeling better yet but from what I’ve been reading and in talking to friends who had bypasses and sleeves, it does get better and we can eat more but we need to be patient. The stomach will stretch eventually, just needs time to heal. I’m still dealing with cramp like pain every time I fill it with anything no matter how small right now.

Hello newbies, I just got sleeved yesterday and am now home after one overnight stay. I was put on a liquid diet for two weeks pre op. No solid food whatsoever. I had mandatory Optifast shakes 800 calories per day plus vegetable broth and some sugar free jello. It was miserable and I was hungry everyday but after two weeks of not cheating I realized my fear of complications for not doing the diet was greater than my food addiction. Right now I’m going through severe stomach pain with each swallow followed by gurgling, possibly gas bubbles coming up.

I just got sleeved Yesterday! We can be on this journey together. Today is my first day home. I’m experiencing severe stomach pain after each swallow of liquid or creamed soup. It’s then accompanied with loud gurgling sounds like gas bubbles coming up from a slow drain. It’s liquid and cream of wheat the first week me and most

I’m on day 3 of this Opti Fast HP 800 calorie/day diet. I’m only allowed water, sugar free jello, sugar free popcicle, decaf coffee, decaf tea and clear broth. No food whatsoever!! I’m hungry and I’m struggling. I’ve lost a measly 1 pound so far for this sacrifice to date. I understand different people have different diets required of them so I’m hoping to hear from people who experienced my actual type of diet for comparison. How does one last to day 14? Tips to help me get through the next 11 days? How much weight did you lose in your 14 day liquid only diet? First weigh-in at diet consult: 214 Current weight: 202

Wish I could change shakes but I can’t. It’s part of the program my doctor preselected and i already paid for, $290 for two week supply of Optifast, and for post op, multivitamin and calcium chews. But i will try drinking more, water/decaf coffee/decaf tea. Going for a walk is kinda tough right now, being that it’s cold and wet outside where I’m at. I’ll think of some other household chores to keep my mind off. Thank you for all the suggestions! 10 more days :/

I can get through awful tasting shakes but it’s the hunger that I’m having a hard time coping with! I’d rather deal with other types of physical pain than hunger.

Thank you TooManyTacos So far, I’ve been having the required 4 powder packets of Optifast (200 calories each) a day that totals just 800 calories, plus two cups of broth and one sugar free jello. The protein shakes are horrible, too sweet and too chalky tasting. My stomach has been grumbling since yesterday. From what I read on the internet, most people say on the 3-4th day, the hunger goes away. As hungry as I’m feeling now I’m doubting that will happen by tomorrow