Soon2bFit21

So I am going to be part of the rare % that is going to say that DIET (regular high sugar carbonated have no place in anyone’s diet) have done nothing to impede my weight loss. I’m currently 5 months and down almost 80lbs. My stomach isn’t stretched from drinking these, I drink slowly and it takes at least a full hour to have 1 can. I’ve had very little issues with fluid consumption post surgery so I don’t feel this gets in the way of staying hydrated. If you’re not having pain, bloating, or unusual sides I think this part of the many old wives tales and fallacies with weight loss surgery.

Are you exercising at all? This sounds like it may be something else going on that’s possibly hormonal (ie high cortisol, pcos, insulin resistance, hypothyroidism etc) I agree to disagree on people who are not “big eaters” having the surgery. I wasn’t a big eater and spent many years with a high level of exercise and closely monitoring my diet and still ended up 340 pounds before surgery. Without getting VSG, I don’t even want to think about where my weight would be now as it would be so outrageous. Don’t be afraid to go to multiple doctors and asking for different tests/opinions. It took me years and years to somewhat find out what was wrong with me to somewhat understand why I kept gaining weight. I cried, I had complete breakdowns in front of my husband because of the sheer frustration of it all. VSG is a wonderful tool, but if you have something going on that is causing your metabolism to lower significantly, it’s only part of the puzzle.

Starting weight pre 6month diet: 335lb Pre Op Weight: 339.8lb Currently 5 months post op and sitting at 261lb (down 78.8) Goal weight: 220 (I’m tall) and long term goal weight 195

First 2 months were like that for me, I had major taste and smell changes that were too numerous to list. 5 months out and almost all is back to the normal except I still can’t stand coffee in the morning. I grab an occasional iced decaf now, but it’s a very rare craving. I don’t care for yogurt since the first portion of my diet or refried beans. Just reminds me too much of how bad food tastes post surgery.

You’re not going to stretch your stomach with water, it’s in and out too quickly for that. I’m in the same boat with being able to drink a relatively large amount after surgery. Don’t ever drink to the point of discomfort and you’ll be fine.

If you don’t mind me asking, do you normally heal quickly and don’t scar easily? I’ve seen some pretty terrible scars on people and it worried me a lot. I’m going to need a breast lift and tummy tuck within the next 6-12 months. Would you mind listing your surgeon as well? Looks like they do great work. 😊

I’m looking at having an extending tummy tuck with lipo, and a breast lift/augmentation sometime early next year and the costs are going to be roughly in the 25k range (insurance won’t cover any of this as it’s an elective cosmetic procedure and my insurance doesn’t cover anything related to weight loss). I’m curious what most of you that had more costly surgeries used for financing? Did you do a personal loan, Care Credit, other financing options, or credit card? Any tips would be helpful!

I personally think the Fairlife shakes are by far the best and easiest to digest. I had a lot of issues with taste incompatibility after surgery as well. They were the only ones I could tolerate

I returned after a week, but I really should have taken 2. My recovery wasn’t easy and I also had a hernia repair that was worse than the VSG surgery. Everyone responds differently to anesthesia and the procedure itself. If you have an active job, it’s definitely say at least 2 weeks at the minimum. My work is mainly desk and I struggled with exhaustion, brain fog, and severe shoulder/chest pain from the gas used.

I’m very pale and use self tanners. If you have a partner help out them on after exfoliating correctly, they work great. Bondi Sands light/medium gets me quite dark after two applications and lasts about 10 days. Make sure you put a heavy lotion on knees, elbows, or anywhere you have thicker skin first to prevent them darkening more. Also, use the applicator mitt that comes with this, it does make a difference in the application and doesn’t streak.

Agree with this. I’ve been fine on salads around the same mark and raw veggies in general. Some people can’t tolerate at all until many months later. They tend to fill me up quickly so I’ll eat the majority of my protein on the salad first, then the greens after.

I returned to work after a week that is primarily desk and sitting. I should have waited longer and had severe mental fog and lethargy for a good 3 weeks post op. I could tolerate the pain ok (also had a hernia repair that was much more painful than the VSG) but the fog was very difficult to work through.

I just felt horrible on a daily basis and couldn’t take it anymore. All Of my previous attempts at keeping my weight down through the years didn’t work any longer. I was getting too big and the stress on my already arthritic joints was too much for me to be able to over exercise like I did previously. Gained close to 100 lbs in 3 years because of that. Best decision of my life and I don’t regret the surgery in the least bit.

Zero regrets. The first month was very hard recovery wise. Do I miss being able to eat certain foods? Absolutely. Do I miss being able to perform better in the gym? Yes. Do i miss the 67 pounds I’ve lost so far? NOPE! This was a completely life changing experience for me and after spending 20 years struggling to keep my weight down with over exercise and extreme dieting only to have it backfire and gain even more back each time.

This is very common if you eat certain foods, the most common for people seem to be breads, pasta, rice and dryer cuts of meat. For me, I get an excess of saliva buildup that is very “stringy” and large amounts. I’m 5 months out and rarely have any vomiting episodes, but when I did it would start with my stomach and esophagus making odd noises and the feeling like something was stuck in my esophagus. Generally within 10 mins this would cause nausea and vomiting. I’d often just vomit a tiny amount of food and mainly the thick saliva. I know my body well at this point, so as soon as I start feeling things coming on, I’ll immediately stop eating. I do find that water makes it worse unless I wait at least 20 mins. Keep in mind that if you do vomit or irritate your stomach/esophagus, it may take hours or until the next day before it settles down. As time goes on, you may tolerate certain foods better. I can eat small amounts of pasta and some breads now on occasion without issues.

It was completely worth it to me in all respects. I have bad arthritis too, there are alternative medications that are not NSAIDS, not to mention losing weight is much better for arthritis. They served me decaf coffee in the hospital post surgery. Most surgeons will not say you need to stay away from coffee completely, it’s just in the post surgery diet for a few weeks. That said, I was a die hard coffee drinker that absolutely had to have my big mug in the morning. I’m 16wks out and have had no desire to drink it - I now do tea.

I don’t personally like these because the calories are higher and the protein is soy based. They also use malitol which can cause bloating and digestive upset. I’ve always stuck with Bult bars, they’re the best tasting out of anything, protein is good quality, and the cals are lower. Quest is my second go to but they don’t taste as good and have higher cals.

I have my 16 week follow up appointment with my surgeon next week and have anxiety even thinking about it. My surgeon is downright rude, demeaning, and dismissive. I’ve lost 62lbs in 15 weeks yet every time I visit he mentions a phantom weight that I started at (15lbs less than my actual REAL pre surgery weight) and discredits the amount of weight I’ve lost. I’ve asked where he got this number from and I’m just told “this is what we have in your chart” (from where?!) I’m told that I need to weight 150lbs to be healthy. At 5’11 I would have to lose 20lbs of lean mass and be zero percent body fat to weight this - aka dead! My labs are all perfect, I no longer require a CPAP, and my blood pressure is normal. I did not have many health issues prior to VSG so this is not contingent upon me gaining my health back. I’m also told I should be doing 300 mins a week of cardio. At my age with rheumatoid arthritis, that’s simply not possible. I do cardio 5x a week for 20-30 mins at a time and lift weights 4 days a week. I feel like I am making good progress despite having a couple stalls along the way. Saying I come out of the office feeling defeated and unworthy is an understatement. I don’t get it, and I don’t understand the point of making patients feel this way. I’ve been a nurse for 20 years and normally have a thick skin, but these visits always leave me feeling like I’ve not done enough.

This is a great idea on bringing someone with me. My GP has been very supportive of the process and I’m sure she would be willing to run the labs needed for rechecks.

I’ve brought up the BMI issue with him before, especially considering I spent many years bodybuilding and have more muscle mass than most. It’s immediately dismissed and he just refers back to general BMI guidelines and says that should be my goal weight for health. It’s like he won’t accept my prior history with being physically active either, he always seems shocked that I wasn’t sedentary my entire life and that’s why I was obese. I know my activity history is in my chart and I bring this up every visit but nope, still nothing. Directly after I had my surgery he said I had the most developed ab muscles he’s had on a patient, yet still said “the majority of my patients don’t get so obese by being physically active, they sit around doing nothing” 🙄

Prior to my surgery, I did look elsewhere because I was so frustrated with the process. The experience with the center in general has been a horrible experience that just became worse after surgery. At this point I believe I only have one more follow up in 6 more months and then I’m on my own (which I am completely ok with). I completely agree on putting reviews on every outlet possible to warn others.

Unfortunately they only do follow ups with the surgeon that performed the procedure. They do have a NP but he takes care of the pre op side of things with diet only.

It was a bit of an annoyance for me, but I was able to go back to drinking water on a normal level fairly quickly. Not everyone can do so, but I’ve seen quite a few here that are able to go back to drinking larger amounts. Give it time, it won’t be all sipping forever.

This sounds like an error on the part of the surgery center’s billing team. They would have to obtain a secondary prior auth if it was outside of the date range of your original surgery date. I would give them a call, most of these issues can be fixed and are due to incorrect billing.

Obviously not everyone has severe sides, but I am not the only person that had. Just sharing my experience. I’m glad it was helpful for you.