Violetsareblue

A little over 4 months out now, and as of this am I’m at 169, down from 228 on surgery day. For reference I’m 5’8”. I’m pretty pleased with the progress though like everyone else I wish it was coming off as fast now as it did in the beginning 🤣 I’ll hit a stall for a week, drop 3-4 lbs, then up/down a few ounces for a few days, then drop a little more weight. I can’t not weigh myself every day because not doing so, not being really really diligent about managing my weight, is what got me into such a bad spot in the first place. I just know that stalls happen and it’s not the end of the world to go up a few ounces for no damn good reason, and it doesn’t mess with my head too much. i still have a TON of constriction though 😕 I regurgitate after almost every meal even if it’s just a few bites of food or if I eat pretty slowly. I don’t know if this is normal at this stage but I will bring it up at my next appointment.

I know it’s so, so common, especially for Bariatric patients and alcohol. I drink a glass or two of wine a night most nights but that was normal for me before and I don’t think it’s excessive. I definitely don’t drink to get drunk and rarely even get tipsy. But I used to be only a social smoker and I am now up to a pack a week 😕 I think it’s called addiction transferance? I want to cut back.

Sounds like a pretty toxic environment 😕 I won’t tell you to find a new job but if HR is basically giving you the brush off... Anyway, only my husband knows I had WLS. Everyone else thinks I had hernia surgery. Thanks to the quarantine, I hadn’t really seen anyone for a few months, and all my friends knew I had started losing weight a few months prior by becoming really active. I had someone flat-out ask if I had WLS and I said no. People don’t just get to know personal things about me like this is some guessing game. As far as I’m concerned, the WLS was ancillary to the other major lifestyle changes I had already made. So if people continue to grill you, I would laugh and tell them that you get asked that question so often, if you had a $1 you would be able to pay them all off to shut up. Then turn your back and start doing something else.

I’ve been stalking Poshmark not only for selling old clothes that are now too big, but scoring new-to-me clothes as I transition sizes! It’s been awesome.

So glad to see this post! I’m feeling great. Still a lot of restriction and I’m definitely under 500 cal/day. Have lost a little over 50# since surgery day, and it’s just crazy to be back in such a small body again. Still have about 40# to go to get to my stretch goal weight, and weight loss has definitely slowed at this point to about 2#/wk. But clothes shopping is so much fun again! I bought a top in a size small the other day, looked at it on the hanger, and thought “I have no business trying this on/thinking this is going to fit me.” And it did! I am definitely dealing with a bit of body dysmorphia because I still see myself in my minds eye as this bigger person, but I’m really not any more. also - advice for anyone reading this who is early in their post-surgery journey, or still pre-op: as tempting as it may be to buy “goal” clothes in smaller sizes, try to hold off. Not for the reason you may think, but I have found that my style now that I’m smaller is wayyyy different from my style when I was bigger. I was still shopping for styles I would have picked out as a larger person but in smaller sizes, and now that I’m smaller, I don’t want to wear those styles, if that makes sense. Save your $$$!

I know nobody has a crystal ball 🔮 (I wish!) but if you were about 50# from your goal weight, would you be comfortable scheduling a procedure or procedures (tummy tuck, skin removal, etc) in about 6-7 months from now? This doctor is very popular and books about this far out, so I would love to book now just to get on his schedule. For the record, I had my VSG in May and I’m almost 50% to my goal weight. Weight loss has slowed to about 2# per week, so by my calculations, I should be at goal in 6 months as long as I can sustain that weekly loss.

Hi everyone - I’m a little over 2 weeks post-VSG (5/15). Everything has been going great and I’ve already dropped 25# from my surgery weight. The problem is, I have ZERO appetite. I thought some hunger would begin to return as my body healed, but if anything, it’s declined further, because just the thought of eating anything, including sipping broth, gives me terrible waves of nausea. Yesterday, it was so bad, I dry-heaved into the toilet for 5 minutes, but nothing of course came up except water. I’m really struggling to get at least my protein in, sneaking scoops of Genepro into anything and everything, but it’s so hard because really the taste of anything except really cold, unsweetened iced pineapple black tea (yes I know, very specific 🤣) turns my stomach. So even protein water is a no go. And I cannot do protein shakes - something about the texture of that cold, thick liquid grosses me out to my bones ::shudder:: Has anyone else struggled with this? If yes, what did you do? Did it abate on its own?

It’s not so much the lack of appetite but the extreme almost aversion to food and how it’s inhibiting me from at least getting in my protein. I just don’t want to mess this up 😖

Ugh so you feel me! I got a craving for wonton soup broth the other week but now the thought of it turns my stomach! Pho is a good idea. I also love Tom Kha soup so maybe I’ll order some of that and just strain it. I’m trying to stick to thick liquids and VERY soft foods for a few more weeks as my stomach heals, on the advice of several people who have had VSG surgery.

Thank you for your reply. So how did you hit your protein goals those first few months? I’m taking a daily Pepcid but I’ll email the nurse to see if she has any other suggestions.

I do not drink hard liquor or beer. Just no preference for it. But pre-VSG, I was very much a wine drinker. Not cheap rotgut stuff (no offense to anyone who enjoys $2 moscato). I would have a few glasses each night without fail. I was very concerned about what life would look like on the other side of my surgery as far as my enjoyment of fine wines. A little over a week post-op, and shockingly, I have no craving for wine. No desire. It doesn’t turn me off, but I’m not missing it. Something I never would have believed could be true pre-surgery. I asked my doctor about wine specifically at my one-week appointment, and he said it would be fine to have it in very small amounts, just being mindful of the empty calories aspect, and that smaller amounts of wine would hit me much harder now. Unlike RNY patients, VSG patients don’t experience many of the same issues with alcohol damaging their digestive systems post-surgery and can often drink in small amounts after their surgery with minimal issues. A few days ago, we had a small (socially distant!) outdoor gathering with friends. None of them know about my surgery. I knew it would raise all sorts of concerns if I didn’t drink at all, because everyone knows I love my wine, so I brought a cup with about 4oz of wine in it, which I took teensy tiny sips of over the course of a few hours. It was fine but I didn’t want any more.

My doctor prefers a liquid diet 1 week before surgery, but he said I didn't have to really be super strict since I'm at a lower BMI and don't drink much, and no hard liquor, no sugar. I myself decided to do a liquid diet 48 hours before the surgery. Went fine.

I have told nobody except my husband that I had VSG. I don't intend to either. I told everyone I was having hiatal hernia surgery because they have a similar recovery. I had already started on a good regimen of biking and Peloton and everyone knows I eat pretty healthy, so I actually started losing weight slowly a couple months before my surgery date (5/15/20). And I intend on keeping up those habits post-op. I'm just a very private person, I do not ever put my deeply personal business out there to anyone, people talk, people judge, and I don't need any of that negativity. I know I can't control what people say or think, but I can control what they know about me. Just my personal comfort level and my decision.