SteveT74

No, you can't hurt yourself or damage your sleeve from drinking too much or too quickly. The pain you feel will stop you for going to far and liquid will pass through your stomach and right through your pyloric valve without resistance. You are told to take small sips frequently in order to make sure you are well hydrated and not in physical discomfort. After your stomach swelling subsides, you'll be able to drink like normal. I was sleeved on 12/17 and I can already drink the same as I did before surgery (big gulps). Since I can drink "normally", I haven't been taking sips constantly, but always have my water bottle handy and drink regularly--hitting at least 64 ounces a day and sometimes closer to 100. The drinking really is a big key to rapid weight loss.

I think you already know many of the answers to your questions. You got out of your healthy rhythm and need to find the motivation to get back on track. I would suggest you make an appointment with the nutritionist at your surgeon's practice to discuss what's going on with your weight loss. You don't want to let it go for too long. If you think working with a personal trainer will get you motivated, go for it! Weight is lost in the kitchen, not the gym--but, working out can be a good motivator for eating healthy. Also, you can definitely do Keto after bariatric surgery. I am only 3 weeks out and I am essentially doing keto. Obviously, I am eating more protein and my macro doesn't look exactly like the ideal Keto macro, but I cut my carb intake to less than 20g of net carbs per day. I am getting my 100g + of protein a day and the rest of my calories are from healthy fats like avocado. It's been enough to put me into a state of ketosis and I think it's helping me along the way. Plus, I am very happy with the foods I am eating. For me, this is a sustainable lifestyle. If you're a carb addict, it can be hard to give up those carbs--it takes about 4 days to get through the "withdrawal" and even a little longer with keto, but it's totally doable. You can definitely do it... think about how you were able to handle the pre-op liquid diet. Keto is way easier than that!!!

Thanks!

I can understand not telling friends, family and co-workers about your surgery, but I don't see how you can conceal it from your spouse. Do you really want him to find out after the fact, when you're on your post-op diet and are dealing with all the usual post-op recovery issues??? It's not like he wont see the incisions on your body. How will that conversation go when he finds out after the fact?? The fact is, if your husband is not supportive to the point you feel you have to conceal this from him, you need to consider whether you should be staying in this marriage. This is not a healthy situation.

It's called the Week 3 Stall and it happens to almost everyone... maybe not exactly on week three but sometime between week 2 and week 4 there is a stall. It's total normal and expected. There is actually science that explains why. In addition to all the hormonal changes you're experiencing and the shock your body is trying to cope with, fat is stubborn. As you burn through the cells, the space left behind retains water. It can take a little while for your body to flush this water out. Ironically, the best way to move this process along is to drink lots of water and exercise (not only does exercise accelerate weight loss, but you flush out a lot of water when you sweat). The stall can last a week or even a little longer, but fear not. It will end and you'll be back on your way to skinny.

Add me to the list. My A1C's have never been higher than 7.1, but I have morning syndrome--so I would get big spikes in my blood glucose in the AM. Pre-surgery I was taking 1000mg of MetFormin a day and 1.8mg of Victoza. Even with the meds, my morning glucose readings were anywhere from 125 to 170. When I was discharged from the hospital after surgery, I was cut down to just 500mg of MetFormin a day. For the past 10 days, my morning readings were between 79 and 105. My PCP suggested I stop the MetFormin and see how my blood sugars are doing. So, without the metformin, I had a BG reading of 82! I'll see how it goes over the next couple of days, but I am really excited by this! I am not going to have my blood work done until March, but I hope I see a big drop in my A1C's just like you guys.

Wow, you look great!!! Like a butterfly emerging from chrysalis!! Congrats!!!!

I called my doctor's office and they told me to start taking protonix and skip the pepcid. I am seeing him for a follow up next Wednesday, I'll know more then. I hope I don't need another endoscopy.

I have also been using the working out as a replacement for stress and anxiety reduction. Going to the gym may not be comfortable for everyone (Lolo and I are kind of lower on the BMI to start), but you don't need a gym to exercise. Go for a good long walk (even if you're in a cold place, you can walk the mall). You can focus on a hobby etc. You need to replace the unhealthy stress outlets with healthier choices. I know that's easier said then done. At the same time, you are still a new sleever (like me). Your new stomach is still swollen and it can a while for all that swelling to subside. Once it does, eating will be more comfortable for you. If you're willing to cook, you can find many healthy, sleeve friendly options out there. I have been cooking lots of sleeve happy meals for myself (and my family) and I have been able to actual enjoy what I eat. There are definitely times when I would like to be able to eat more of what I made, but that's just my fat brain doing it's thing. I needed the surgery so I wouldn't have those extra bites (well, not really bites, more like plates). So, losing out on those extra bites is part of the reason I needed the sleeve. You can still find joy in food, it may just requires a little more creativity and effort.

I have got one to add. I was just sleeved on 12/17, mostly to treat my T2DM. Before surgery, every morning my blood glucose levels were over 125 (usually over 130), and that was with taking 1000mg of MetFormin and 1.8mg of Victoza daily. I was taken off the Victoza when I was discharged from the hospital and cut to 500mg of MetFormin. For the past 10 days, my morning blood glucose levels have been between 79 and 105. I talked to my PCP yesterday, and he took me off the MetFormin to see how I do. Today, I had a morning blood glucose level of 82 without the MetFormin. So, I am officially off all of my T2DM medications!!!! For me, that's huge!!! As much as I want to lose weight, getting my T2DM under control was the biggest reason for me having this surgery.

I don't think anyone can go through a surgery like this without having some discomfort. The pain will go away in a couple of days. I was lucky that the gas wasn't too terrible for me--I expected it to be terrible, but it was only mildly bothersome. I walked a LOT and took my gas-ex chewables and that helped tremendously. For me, surgical pain was no big deal and I was able to eat and drink without any issues with relative ease. However, I developed a respiratory infection a few days after surgery and there's nothing like a hacking cough after stomach surgery!!! I had level 10 pain every time I coughed (which was every minute or two). I also have had a chronic sore throat (feels like bad strep, but it's not) for the past two weeks. I am seeing my surgeon next week and it's probably GERD. So, we all have our crosses to bare!! I can't say this has been a picnic for me, but I have NO regrets. I am down 17 pounds since the day surgery (12/17) and 28.5 pounds since I started my pre-op diet (12/3). I lost 6 inches on my waist since the day of surgery!!! My blood glucose levels when I wake up (which were always over 125 before surgery) are now in the normal range (79-102) for the past two weeks. I was taken off most of my meds when (except MetFormin) when I left the hospital and, yesterday, my PCP took me off the MetFormin--so I am not on any diabetes meds!!! That's huge!!! I still have high blood pressure, but I am hopeful I can get off blood pressure meds as I lose more weight and exercise etc. Plus, I had issues with my ankle after I severely sprained it last year. After losing 30 pounds, the ankle is 80% better---and I bet it will be 100% better with some more time (and more weight loss). That will save me orthopedic surgery!! Bottom line is there's always a price to pay when you need to correct something like morbid obesity (and it's co-morbidities). For me, some short term pain and a little GERD is well worth the price of getting my T2DM into remission (hopefully)! When you're struggling in the beginning (like we have), you have to keep your eye on the big picture. You're not going to really remember the pain a year from now, when you look and feel great.

Keto works great with the sleeve, but there are different ways of doing the keto diet and a lot of them are not good for us. The theory in keto is to have a high fat, low carb and moderate protein diet. The typical keto macro doesn't work for sleevers since we need a higher protein diet. Also, you do keto without adding in all the silly stuff like bacon and other stuff loaded with saturated fats and processed through factories. Stick to things like avocado, fish, lentils, beans (high in protein and fiber), green veggies etc. You can definitely achieve ketosis with a high protein, low carb, moderate fat diet and reap all the health benefits.

You're suggestion that "if we all found that diet and exercise easy to follow, then we would never have needed bariatric surgery" is misplaced and defeatist. I think a lot of bariatric patients are great dieters. I followed strict diets and went to the gym five times a week for years. I couldn't lose weight because I had T2DM and insulin resistance made weight loss really difficult. If had a sleeve or bypass and think that those alone will do the trick and you're not following your nutritionist's instructions and aren't getting real exercise (where you actually sweat and get your heart rate up), you're going to be disappointed. You only have a year or two in the honeymoon phase to get your sh!t in order and if you don't take advantage of that time, you're going to regret your choices. You're only a year out--you still have time to get back on track and actually get the most out of this surgery!!!

I just posted on this in the December Sleevers thread. I have the same issue. I am burping all the time and it has like a weird acid/metallic taste. I also have had a chronic sore throat for the past couple of weeks. I just called my doctor's office to see what I should do. I have been taking pepcid twice a day. They are switching to protonix once a day (twice if necessary) and I am seeing the doctor next Wednesday. I hope I don't need another endoscopy (I had three of them before my surgery).

I guess I am lucky, none of my family, friends or co-workers questioned my decision. I only had a BMI of 38 when I started this journey, but I had T2DM, high blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides. If surgery can help cure or reduce these real health risks, how can you not do it? I am sorry I didn't do it years ago so I could have hopefully avoided T2DM and other issues.

Well, these surgeries all sound scary since you're making pretty significant changes to your anatomy. At the same time, you're making changes to your anatomy if you needed surgery to have your gallbladder removed. Your mom is going to worry about any procedure you have--because that's what mom's do. However, the risk is the same as a gallbladder operation. These procedures are routine. My surgeon did 4 sleeves and two bypasses on the day he did my surgery. The mortality rate is close to zero and the complication rate is really low. Sure, there are some horror stories out there, but they are rare exceptions. I think it's a good idea for your mom to go with you to visit the doctor and ask question. That will hopefully put her mind at ease.

Are you logging what you eat on MyFitnessPal or another similar app? When I dieted in the past (pre-surgery), I found that made a big difference. I always thought I was eating well and sticking to my diet, but after I started logging what I ate, I realized that I was eating way more calories that I should have been. It's easy to lose track of those quick bites--especially if you're a grazer like me.

I guess everyone is different. I haven't really had any issues with any food in particular. My problem is that even though I am trying to eat slowly, I am still outpacing my sleeve. I end up taking that one extra bite and a minute later I am f--ked!!! The pain hits right in the chest and then I am getting the foamies and feel like throwing up. It can be so bad that I actually try to make myself throw up thinking that will help me feel better, but nothing comes up--just saliva. It's gross!!!! I am also getting these weird tasting burbs and I have had a sore throat for the past two weeks that just won't go away. I think it might be because I am in ketosis, but sore throats aren't usually one of the symptoms. Now I am wondering if the sore throat is GERD? I have been taking my pepcid twice a day and have even starting taking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (with 8 ounces of water), but the sore throat is still there. Anyone else have a chronic sore throat?

If you have had serious issues with major unipolar depression and/or bi-polar depression in the past, this can be a challenging time for you because your hormones are all out of whack which can trigger lots of feelings (good an bad). One of the problems with being obese is that fat cells produce and store estrogen. As you burn those cells off, the estrogen is being released into your blood stream. This will throw off your hormonal balance in a major way. [This effects both men and women btw]. It will cause mood swings and can make you downright irritable--like super PMS. If you're unhappy with your p.doc in general, by all means get a new one. If, however, this is just a concern about your current mood, try to get an appointment as soon as possible, but don't look to change docs right now if he or she has been doing a good job for you in general. It's hard to find a good p.doc and there aren't many (or any) p.docs that specialize in treating bariatric patients (we aren't really all that different from any other patient once our bodies adapt to the new physiology). You should, however, go to your bariatric support group meetings. My practice has them twice a month. It's a great way to meet other people that are going through the same things you're going through (or have been them already). Try to get that appointment to see your p.doc, but if he or she has been doing a good job for you so far, don't run out and change. New docs often like to change up meds and that can really add fuel to the fire. This hormonal spike is going to be a short term issue (a few months at the most)--not a life long thing. So, you are only talking about dealing with unusual emotions for a little while--and then you get back to being yourself (with all the usual issues that you had before surgery, but with less weight to carry around). If have issues with major depression and you feel yourself slipping into a downward spiral, you might also look into seeing a doctor or clinic that could give you ketamine infusion. That would definitely take the edge off while you go through the adjustment phase. My wife suffers with major depression (has for years) and she gets ketamine treatments every 3-4 weeks depending on what's going on. It's not a cure all, but it makes a huge difference!!!

Insurance companies generally make their assessment based on your weight at the initial consultation. If you have been approved for surgery, the weight you lose pre-surgery is fine and expected when you go on the pre-op liquid diet! I am in the same boat as you. I had my surgery on 12/17 with a BMI around 34. Generally, people with lower BMI's tend to do better than average with the VSG. In a number of studies, they found that a 95% of people with a BMI below 40 reached a BMI under 30 within 12 months of surgery. They were also far more likely to lose 70-80% of their excess weight something in the order of 60% of people receiving a VSG with a BMI under 40 were likely to loose 75% of their excess body weight (with many losing 100% or more of their excess body weight). I don't know of any studies of people with BMI's under 35 at the time of surgery, but I would expect the likelihood of a happy outcome to be very high. Personally, my highest recorded weight was 256. I was 243 when I started my pre-op diet on 12/3. I was 231 on my day of surgery (12/17). And 22 days post-op, I am down to 216 with a BMI of ~32. I am only 16 pounds away from a BMI of 29.8 (officially not obese!). This is the lightest I have been in over 10 years (I got very close to 216 close on two diets, but with lots of suffering and a huge and fast rebound). I have no idea what I'll weight when this weight loss phase of this journey reaches its bottom, but I am just focusing on eating a healthy diet (following my group's plan to the letter) and getting lots of exercise (which is easier when you start the journey at a lower BMI).

Depending on how swollen your sleeve is, you can probably hold up to 6oz of food. Soft foods and purees always go down easier and you can eat them in greater quantity. General rule of thumb is to stick to a high protein, low carb diet and eat reasonable amounts of healthy fats (avocado, extra virgin olive oil, fish etc). Portions should be around the size of your palm. Use a small teacup or salad plate and eat SLOWLY. If you eat too fast (as I have learned the hard way), you'll out pace your sleeve capacity and that's NOT fun!!! I don't think you need to count calories, but I track everything I eat with the MyFitnessPal app. It's very helpful for me as a beginning sleever. I am 3.5 weeks out and i am eating between 600 and 800 calories a day, more than 50% of that is from protein, 30-40% is from fat and 10-20% is carbs (net carbs under 20g per day). Again, these are general rules of thumb and everyone has different dietary needs so you should make an appointment to meet with your group's nutritionist to go over your diet. What works for me, may not be right for you.

I discovered lump crab meat is virtually pure protein--no fat or carbs. One ounce of lump crab meat has 23 calories, 0g of fat, 0g of carbs and 5.5g of protein. I am talking about real lump crab meat, not the imitation stuff that is loaded with sugar. You can get it at Costco, Trader Joe's and some supermarkets. I will have it with some wasabi sauce (20 calories a tablespoon). I have also turned it into crab salad with a little low fat mayo, onion, pepper and lemon juice etc. I have also made crab cakes (omitting the bread crumbs of course). I am allowed white flaky fish in my soft/puree stage. So, I have also been making Tilapia stuffed with lump crap, rigotta cheese (part skim), spinach, onion and garlic. I preheat my oven to 400 degrees. I then chop the spinach, onion and garlic finely, then saute it in a little (1.5 tablespoons?) of extra virgin olive oil with a little salt, pepper and lemon juice. I then put half a cup of rigotta cheese in a bowl and add 3-4 ounces of lump crab meat. I then put the sauteed spinach, onion and garlic into the bowl and mix it through thoroughly. I then take 4-5 tilapia loins that I buy from the frozen section of Costco and slice them down the side to create a pocket and then stuff the tilapia with the stuffing. I then place the fish in a pyrex dish (which I first spray with PAM). I put another ounce or so of lump crab on top of the tilapia. I then sprinkle some lemon juice, salt (sea salt--not processed crap) and pepper over the fish. I then put one or two tablespoons of Benecal light (50 calories a table spoon on top of the tilapia), then I put the dish in the oven for 25-30 minutes (you know its done when the fish is flaky and the edges are a little brown. At this point, I can eat a 4-5 ounce serving, but my wife and kids love it too so this is dinner for the whole family.

Lolo, I think you and I are of like minds. I won't touch any weights, but I will push myself with cardio. That said, I won't run or jog on the treadmill--nothing high impact. I will walk at up to 4mph at up to a 5 degree incline on the treadmill and I will bust my ass on the elliptical and in spin class. I also started using the rowing machine, so I can at least get some upper body muscles involved (although I keep the resistance down). I am seeing my doc on 1/18 for my one month follow up and I am hoping to get cleared for weights at that visit. An Orange Theory is opening up in my neighborhood at the end of January and I am really interested in giving that a shot. Looks like a great workout!!

I had my operation on 12/17 and stalled this past week where I would lose a pound one day, then gain a half pound the next etc. I got on the scale yesterday and it dropped 2 pounds and today I lost another 1.5 pounds. Go figure??? Weight loss has never been linear for anyone (neither has weight gain). It's all about trends and, for once, it's finally "trending" in the right direction. Today is my first day back to work since the surgery and it's been very strange. It seems like everyone in my office knows, but they have been very supportive (at least as far as I can tell). Still, I am suffering from a little brain fog that I didn't notice since my brain power wasn't an issue when I wasn't in the office. It was nice being home and being able to focus 100% on recovery. Now, I am back in the real world and it's not all about me and my weight loss efforts anymore. Anyone else struggling to adjust to getting back to work and the "real world"?

Good for you. I had my surgery on 12/17 and started spin classes last Sunday. I started slow my first class, but I am busting my ass now!! I have been on purees and softs from day one so getting the protein and calories hasn't been an issue for. I can also drink without restriction so hydration is no problem either. I can easily drink 100+ ounce a day. As for diet, I cut carbs down to less than 20 net carbs a day, so my protein makes up more than 50% of my caloric intake daily and fats (good fats like avocado, fish oil, etc) make of another 42%. I log everything I put in my mouth in MyFitnessPal and watch the macros and nutrient count carefully. I just went into ketosis 6 days ago, which broke 10 day stall. I am now down 31 pounds since I started my pre-op diet and 14 since I had the surgery. More importantly, I feel awe some and my blood sugars are normal!!!! I had a fasting blood sugar this morning of 87 without meds. I used to be in the 120 s or higher on metformin and victoza. I love my sleeve!!! However, I fo still get some hunger and can eat more than 6oz of food, which seems like a lot compared to everyone else. Not sure what it all means for my future. Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk