Saxons

Firstly, you are NOT a failure! I am 6 years post vsg, and it's a marathon, not a sprint. You are still 20kg under your start weight, which is fantastic! I regained 5kg two years ago, and felt I was on a slippery slope again. I went back to the basics, started on my shakes again, really counted all my food and managed to lose it again. But I am still 10 kg from my target weight! Has your nutritionist got you keeping a food diary? We often underestimate our portion sizes, or we are drinking calories we don't realise (milky lattes, a cocktail, thickshaks or sodas). But please, don't beat yourself up. A sleeve is just a tool to help you, it's not a win or fail. Best wishes.

I had my gastric sleeve done in 2018, so have a few years experience. I couldn't eat anything for at least 4 weeks post op, and then it was a tiny teaspoon of mush at each meal. It took me hours to get through a protein shake of 300ml. By the time I finished the breakfast one, it was time to start the lunchtime one! And so on to dinner... 1200 calories seems huge to me at 3 weeks. I was struggling to drink enough water at that point. My tummy was so tiny. Even if I drank too much water, I would vomit, because my stomach was too small to cope. I still suffer that vomiting if I am too ambitious with my portions. I wouldn't be able to even get through 1200 cal now, unless maybe I went on a strict no carb, high protein plan. Even then it would be a struggle. High protein foods are SO filling. I love fish and seafood, but I can hardly eat 2 tbs of grilled salmon at a meal even 6 years out. I lost 90 pounds in 6 months, luckily no skin looseness... very fortunate. I have slowed my weight loss and then plateaued at 120 lbs loss. If I was you, I would go back to your protein drinks, and go from there.

Maybe its too late, but I told no-one except my husband and 2 sons. And swore them to secrecy. I was concerned about the lectures I might get from friends and family, and answering millions of questions, and people question my serving sizes and side effects etc. You shouldn't have to explain your health decisions, and listen to opinions that criticise you. The only thing I think you can do is state that your weight was causing health issues for you, and that although you have tried other methods, you think this surgery is the best for you. And leave it at that.

Well after 6 years, nothing has changed much since the end of the first year. So I think I am stuck with the result I have. It's just a heads up to those potential patients considering gastric sleeve surgery to go in with your eyes wide open as to the both positive and negative outcomes.

To stay at 265lbs wouldn't be my preference, with or without surgery. I think what I am trying to say, that if I had a crystal ball prior to surgery, then I might have decided to really worked very hard with a dietician and personal trainer, rather than altering my body anatomy and physiology so dramatically and permanently. I have 2 friends who have also been sleeved who have had disastrous outcomes. One is down to 100lb and is quite sick, she has been admitted to hospital numerous times. The other has had gastric leaks, and has had 4 repeat surgeries to oversew the gastric suture line. Another has developed pancreatic cancer (unrelated to gastric sleeve), but she is battling to get enough nutrients into her to fight the debilitating effects of chemo. I just think we all need to recognise this is a huge anatomical and physiological change to our bodies, structure, digestion, vitamin intake which lasts for the whole of our lives.

A perspective on what it is like YEARS after gastric sleeve. I was sleeved in January 2018. Start weight was 265 lb, and I am now 174lb. I wanted to get to 160, but haven't got there. I am 5ft 9. Am I glad I did it? I'm conflicted on this. It's SO permanent. I get very tired of not being able to eat a normal size meal. Going out to eat is expensive and frustrating, cause I can only eat about 1/4 of what is on my plate. Cooking seems to take away any appetite I might have (it's like the smell kills my appetite), so by the time I am ready to serve a meal to my family, I cannot eat a bite. I still suffer nausea and vomiting, yes even 6 years down the track. Even if its just dry retching and there is nothing in my stomach. I suffer from reflux which I never had prior to surgery, so I take a PPI every day. I also take vitamins, because my food intake is so tiny. But a lot of the time, I throw them back up. I am chronically anaemic due to lack of red meat or substantial leafy greens. The only thing that seems to help is to take tiny sips of iced water to try and settle the retching. Eating a small meal can take an hour, because I have to wait for my stomach to empty before I can take another bite. Eating sugary or carbohydrate foods makes me sweaty and shaky, and I still battle bouts of dumping syndrome (I am not diabetic). I suffer from irritable bowel syndrome due to the surgery, and I burp lots! Hardly ever prior to surgery. This is all awkward in company for lunch or dinner, and I don't feel I want to announce to all dinner companions (who may just be friends of friends) about my surgical history! I have lost 90 lbs, dropped 3 dress sizes, but if I had my time over, I wish I could have lost the weight through diet and exercise. I really do. So just know... there is no going back from this surgery. It's totally permanent.

Yes unfortunately the antipsychotics cause metabolic issues, such as lot of weight gain and increased cholesterol levels. Quetiapine, risperidone, mirtazapine all come to mind as some of the worst offenders, but all psych meds have this unfortunate side effect. Whether your surgeon wants to proceed, I can't say. Your weight loss may not be as effective as you expect.

Promethazine (also known as Phergan), is an antihistamine with sedating properties. It's used for allergys. Do you mean pantoprazole? I find esomeprazole more effective, but they are the same class of drug. They belong to the proton pump inhibitor group or PPIs. They are of benefit when stomach acid escapes back up into the esophagus. Bariatric practices will routinely prescribed a short course of a PPI, say for 3 months. However if you have a liver disease, this could be a problem, but your surgeon would have thought about this before prescribing a PPI. Were you not supplied with these?

I am 5 years out. I would say that your 200 lb weight loss is not just fat, but that you have lost a lot of muscle bulk. That's why you are feeling exhausted on exertion. Did you take to regular exercise during your postop phase to maintain your muscle bulk? If not, then slow but steady muscle building exercise is the solution. Not more endless cardiovascular, but lifting weights, resistance training and strength building. You should start to see results in about 6 weeks if you do 30 mins a day.

I am nearly 5 years out, and I still can't drink a protein shake in less than a half hour. 🙃 I remember the day after my surgery, I had a barium swallow to test for leaks, assess the size of my stomach etc etc. Did your surgeon do that test?

Agreed, the preop diet was horrible and I also felt like giving up before I had even started! But rest assured, you will have such a small appetite afterwards, broth is probably the only thing you want. Because they remove 80% of your stomach doing a sleeve, all those grehlin cells that lived inside your tummy are gone too. So your hunger pangs disappear as well. I am nearly 5 years out, and still can't get halfway through a regular meal. I am just so full! It's a physical thing (tiny tummy) and a hormone thing (grehlin). After nearly 5 years...I have had my ups (amazing weight loss) and downs (miserable because I can't eat very much, and definitely not my once favourite foods). If food is your "thing", then you need to be prepared that this will change forever.

I am nearly 5 years out from my sleeve, and I still feel nauseous, sweaty, and dizzy from about my second tablespoon. I do vomit and dry retch regularly. It's absolutely depressing. And trying to cook meals for my husband and myself is difficult. For some reason, even the smell of cooking can bring the symptoms on... so he often ends up eating my share as well! And I still find going out to eat at restaurants or cafes really hard...I tend to only order a small starter. Everything sounds and looks delicious, but I just physically cannot eat. I am 175cm and 85kg. I was 125kg 5 years ago.

This is so distressing for you. I have no good answers, but I do know of the same problem. I had my VSG in 2018, so am over 4 years post surgery. I have lost 85 pounds, about 10 pounds from my goal. But I am happy enough with my progress. Yet a colleague of mine had the same procedure, same surgeon, and yet has not only lost nothing, but gained 29 pounds! We compared our pre diets. Mine was healthy, lots of fruit, vegetables, protein, carbs etc. I didn't eat desserts, not a fan of chocolate or sugar... my problem was portion size. It was way too big. I think I got used to serving a husband and 2 hungry sons! So the VSG was perfect for me because it limited my portion sizes of my pretty healthy diet. In addition, I did, and still do, suffer from dumping syndrome (unusual in VSG) so it discourages me from eating excess sugar or carbs. On the other hand, my colleague was addicted to everything sweet and chocolate plus carbs. She snacked constantly, nibbled on chocolate all day long, and although her stomach size was small like mine, she was dripfeeding it all day long. Have a really good look at your diet and what you are eating. Stick to the protein and veg. Honestly, I can't eat more than a palm size portion of beef or chicken. It can take me an hour to eat that plus a palm size portion of veggies. I can only eat half a banana or half an apple. I am just so full!

It's irritation of the phrenic nerve because of the carbon dioxide gas we pump in to expand the abdomen so as to visualise the stomach while operating. The gas gets trapped against the diaphragm and causes pain in the shoulder tip. Most cases resolve within a couple of days, but I suffered with it for 3 weeks. But it does get better as the gas is gradually absorbed, simple analgesia is best.

The dry retching seems to have started straight after the surgery. I can go a week and not suffer it, then I'll have it a few times a day, every day for another week or so. I worried I had a stricture, but my post endoscopies are normal. And I am the same... sometimes just looking at food crushes my appetite, and I just can't and don't want to eat anything. On those occasions, I try a couple of small spoons of yoghurt, but not milk .. that does make me throw up! It could be psychological I guess, but I have no idea why.