Tiffykins

The losing stage diet is pretty much dead on to what I did to lose my weight with the exception of low fat guideline. Maintenance, yeah that's a big fat NO. I continued to drop weight on 1000-1200 calories, limited carbs. My body needed a minimum of 1500 calories, and preferably 1800 calories a day to stop losing. Even at almost 22 months, if I slip below 1500 calories, cut my carb intake, I drop weight. I'm not talking 1-2lbs a week, I'll talking like 5-7lbs a week. Maintenance is tricky for a lot of people, and it really takes a lot of tweaking to figure out what works for each individual. And, I'm fairly sure that I consume more fat grams than this recommends. Going low fat/fat free introduces tons more carbs, sodium, and sugar. I think it's a great guideline, but it's definitely not a "one size fits all" plan. I'm just sharing my experience so others are not discouraged if they have to adhere to a different guideline.

Honestly, measuring portions is the easiest thing to do in the world until you can eyeball portions. The idea is to stop eating before you feel stuffed. Initially early out, your stomach nerves have been severed, and need time to heal. So the ever elusive "full signal" can take weeks to months to be recognizable. My full signal is a single, solitary hiccup. If I eat a couple more bites after that hiccup, 2 things will happen. Either I'll get super uncomfortable, or I'll puke up that one last bite. It only happened a couple of times way early out for me because I was still learning. Also, individual stomach length can change sleeve capacity. So just because myself and another VSG'er surgeon both used a 32fr bougie, we might have different capacities. Plus, once the sleeve matures it's capacity is different for everyone. Also, the consistency, temperature, food type change my capacity. It's all a learning experience. It's really more about changing poor eating habits. Instead of shoveling food in frantically, in huge volumes, it's learning to measure portions that will give you satiety, keep you within the prescribed dietary guideline, and to establish a relationship with food that promotes the mentality that food is fuel. Even at almost 22 months out, I rarely eat until I feel "full". Getting that feeling every meal for the past 20 years is what helped me get fat so why continue that path if I want to be successful long term? For me, there's a big difference in being "full" and being "satisfied". I'm satisfied on 3oz of dense Protein, 2-4oz of green veggies and/or 3-4oz of carby goodness like mashed potatoes. Mixing carbs with my dense protein allows me to eat more, drinking warm fluids or alcohol before/sipping during my meals allows me to fit more in. It's called "cheating the sleeve", and I do use these tactics to get in a couple more ounces of food per meal because I'm in maintenance, pregnant, and I need at a minimum of 1800 calories per day. If I adhered to every single sleeve rule like I did during my losing stage, I would literally have to eat 7-8 times a day to meet that caloric intake. There's no way I have time in my life to eat that many times a day. I need to do it in a max of 4-5 meals. I personally stretch my meals out further, eat softer meats, mix carbs/starch with my meat, and sometimes still stick with mushie/puree consistency food to get in enough calories/protein to maintain my weight. As soon as I go back to the dietary guidelines, I drop weight and that's not the goal long term with the sleeve. But, changing a lifetime of craptastic habits is/was my goal.

I think I celebrated through my entire losing stage. I didn't do anything spectacular once I hit goal. I continued to lose below goal, and just kept shopping LOL. For me, I knew a trip, cruise, any extended plans would be screwed by 'the nature of the beast' we live with life as a military family so I celebrated every tiny victory along the way.

I had a pedicure done before my surgery LOL. I'm a firm believer that those prep nurses and docs have seen it ALL, but they don't have to see MY ALL. I'm of the thought process that if I wasn't "presentable" in any area that it was just icky. Kind of like when my mom told me to never leave the house with dirty panties on. . . I just wanted to be presentable, I don't care what they've seen or how many body parts they've shaved, scrubbed, none of them were MY body parts, and mine needed to be in pristine condition before anyone ventured down there

It's perfectly normal for you to feel these emotions. But, I can tell you that I can and do (did til the positive pregnancy test) party my ass off when the occasion is "right". I eat red velvet cupcakes monthly. I eat the mini ones, and I have 2 of them at least once a month, and have for ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh what seems like forever. You're life is NOT over. Your social life is not over. Your love for food will NOT magically disappear forever just because you have the sleeve. Food might get boring, you might have an aversion to sweets, you might hate food and find eating a chore to some extent, but just my experience, I love food just as much today as I did pre-op. The coolest thing is that I am truly satisfied with 2 mini cupcakes instead of of half a dozen big cupcakes. It was hard for me to believe that I would soon hate that "Thanksgiving day" full feeling, I loved having that feeling every meal, but now, I hate it. I feel so much better when I feed my body the best foods, and while I indulge here and there, I lead a very normal life. Hang in there chickee, you're going to love your sleeve ! ! !

Thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo very much ! ! ! Just a couple of more weeks, and I'll be posting baby bump pics. My muffin top that was sooooo tiny before is full on roll at this point LOL. I have a definite change in my body shape, my tummy is bloated so badly, and I do look pregnant in some tops which is kind of cute, but kind of a crazy mindtwist as well. I am so grateful to be able to share this journey with you all, and I appreciate all of your support ! ! !

Liquids in, liquids out. It sounds like your swelling went down quickly, be thankful just keeping drinking your fluids. Don't risk stressing your staple line with foods, or chunks of food. The hunger hormone is still in your body. You'll feel restriction once you get to more solid type foods. But, right now, just keep plugging away with your Protein, and clear fluids.

I was diagnosed with positional orthostatic hypotension last February, and have the same identical symptoms. Increasing fluids, and activity levels help tremendously along with ensuring that my sodium intake is around 2000mg per day. I had cut sodium to below 1500mg per day because I wanted to avoid Water retention, and well I never realized that we need sodium. It's essential for our bodies to function properly. I still have episodes, but they are manageable, and resolved with increased fluids. My doctors (PCM and surgeon) both explained due to the weight loss our blood pressure receptors have a difficult time adjusting. There is nothing wrong with my heart and it is manageable, but if I drop my sodium and Fluid intake, I have episodes. Wiggling your legs, bending your knees several times, to get the blood flowing before jumping out of bed really helps. If I sit in my recliner too long in the reclined position and "hop" up super fast, I nearly pass out, and had it's very unsettling. It just takes some practice to get slower, not bend at the waist and pop up super fast, but I've dealt with it for over a year now, and I can go weeks to months without an episode then BAM I'll have several in one day. They are way worse in the morning than throughout the day.

Zero regrets, I never had buyer's remorse, and never once questioned my decision. Here's a big topic on "regrets" with lots of different perspectives: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/3082-any-regrets-getting-the-vertical-sleeve/page__st__60__p__118892__hl__regret__fromsearch__1#entry118892

I think the sleeve is just a tool just like the band or RNY (bypass). I know far more people in real life that have monstrous complications long term with weight regain and complications with the band and RNY. I eat sweets, but I'm also in maintenance, and I eat whatever I want in moderation. For me that's the key, moderation. I think a big misconception about weight loss surgery is that the surgery is supposed to do all the work. We have to be willing to make the best food choices. I honestly don't know one single, solitary naturally thin woman that could eat like I did pre-op and not gain weight. I can still suck down a 3000 calorie milkshake if I choose to do so. But, I have zero desire to do it. All of my naturally, skinny friends eat Cookies and a slice of cake here and there, but it's in moderation, and that's the life I lead right now. I eat sorbet instead of ice cream because it's naturally fat free, and I don't feel deprived. So, I'm making the best choice for me and my needs. You can adjust your calories/protein/carb intake to offset the work out regimen you keep. There plenty of people on here that do not adhere to the 600-800 calories a day and still lose weight because they work out. The band being left in wrapped around the sleeve could be a good safety net, but personally, I wouldn't have it in me any longer. Your concern is stomach stretch with the sleeve, and it's minimal, and the band being in place is not going to keep you from overeating junk food. The sleeve gives your permanent and constant restriction, but if you want to keep a band in place that's your choice. I think it's one of those calls you have to make based on your trust level with your surgeon. Since you have a band, for the sleeve surgery to be performed properly, the band and the capsule around the band have to be removed, and the stapler goes through that area. If the band were to stay in place, and sleeve was cut around it, that could pose issues in the future with more pouch dilation and esophageal dilation. People have died during gallbladder surgery and childbirth, but statistically, what's the true risk? This is one of those situations where you have to speak with your surgeon on his personal mortality and leak rates. I was my surgeon's first and only leak, but I also knew going in what my risks were. I was prepared for it. I read the link you shared. Leaks happen but the risk is around 1% with an experienced surgeon. As for weight regain, the sleeve only does so much, but I've read plenty of stories of RNY and even the DS having regain if we continue to make poor food choice constantly. There is no magic bullet. Sleeve stretching is minimal if the surgery is performed correctly. I'm 21 months out, and I eat the same portions I ate at around 8-9 months. My surgeon believes my stomach is at max capacity. The only surgery that RNY can be converted to is DS and there is only a handful of US doctors that perform that revision and it has a price tag of upwards of 35-50K because the take down of an RNY pouch is extremely difficult and risky. The VSG can be converted to DS very easily if malabsorption is needed since the sleeve is the first step in DS. The RNY can be revised to ERNY (extended RNY), where the surgeon goes in and shortens the intestine more, which causes malabsorption to start again after the adaptation process takes over, and people have reported that the weight loss is minimal with this procedure. In my blog on here, I have tons of information, research articles that I compiled from other VSG'ers and my own research. You can also check out this link for more information, the research articles are listed at the bottom as well. This is a compilation of personal stories/experiences from obesityhelp.com and other research information. http://vsgfaq.wordpress.com/

No, I was released for normal food at 6 weeks but because I couldn't do shakes, and I couldn't eat 4oz of solid Protein, I had to rely on mushies for longer. My diet of mushies consisted of chicken/tuna salads, refried Beans, ground meat with Pasta sauce, or taco seasoning and greek yogurt. But, I didn't have room for junk food, or carbs so there was nothing "normal" about my daily intake. So, it kind of depends on what your definition of mushy food. I could only eat about 2oz of solid meat around 2-3 months out so it was ridiculous for me to try to eat my protein if all I could in was 2oz. I need to puree it, or make it moist to get in 3-4oz of the meat. I was never depressed during my recovery. I had my down days, but I have never dealt with true clinical depression, and even with my complications, extensive recovery, not once did I have any regrets. NOT one regret, or second guessing myself. I will say that I was not an emotional eater, I was a volume eater, and I didn't have a lot of head hunger with the sleeve because I beat a lot of that with the band experience. Food just didn't taste good probably because I was in ketosis and I stuck to things that I knew would work for me to get in my protein from food sources. All I did to get over it is overseason food, try new recipes, and really focus on creativity in the kitchen. Food was just blah, and it was a chore to eat since I had zero physical hunger.

Even once I got to normal foods at 6-7 weeks out, I was far from normal. I still had difficulty getting in dense Protein so I had to rely on mushies for 3 solid months post-op. It was my "normal". Everyone is different, and while others are able to bounce right back, and start eating normal foods around 4-6 weeks there is no guarantee that will be the case for you or anyone else. Also, food became really repulsive to me at different points post-op. I was bored with food, it tasted horrible, nothing satisfied me, and it was not a fun ride, a temporary ride, but it didn't suck any less. I will say that I've been feeling pretty normal for about a year at his point so it wasn't a forever thing.

Total waste of money. I got a gift card over the holidays, used it for some Strivectin, and it did absolutely nada for my stretch marks, or incision scars. I used it religiously, and to no avail it did nothing.

I'm not sure where you're reading it's the worse surgery and all the disadvantages, but that information is very skewed from the actual research articles that are available on VSG. I would recommend doing more research. The sleeve is the safest, and carries the least amount of long term complications of any WLS available. Personally, it sounds like what you have read is limited. My band to sleeve revision has been extremely successful, and I've been maintaining for a year at this point without any long term complications or vitamin/nutrient deficiencies. I'd be interested to read what you've read regarding how horrible the sleeve is. To answer your questions based on my sleeve experience: Do u have the same hunger strikes as the band? I have zero physical hunger, and amazing, constant restriction at over 21 months post-VSG Do you never feel satisfied? Always, and I eat anything and everything I want. What kind of food is hard for you to eat? None. I can honestly eat anything and everything. Pork chops tend to sit heavy in my sleeve, and I don't miss pork in the least so it's not a big deal. My husband came back from Afghanistan not wanting to eat pork any longer so it worked out perfectly for us. No one could pay me to keep a band in my body. Stretching with the sleeve is minimal, and your surgeon is correct that if the surgery is performed correctly, there is little to zero issues with stomach stretching. There just isn't enough tissue left behind to stretch back to pre-op size. No way, no how. Keep researching, and make the decision based on what you want long term. I lost 138lbs in 10 months with VSG alone, and have maintained that loss easily for a year. Everyone has a different experience, and certain aspects of VSG are very individualized just like the band experience, but in my opinion, the band is not worth all the turmoil, time, and energy lost trying to lose weight.

I'm 7w5d pregnant, and have seen a 3lb gain overnight. Logically, I know it's Water weight, BUT that didn't keep me from freaking out over it. I can tell you that my ob wants me to gain 30lbs during the pregnancy, and I kind of giggled considering the calorie intake they want to me get in is the same amounts I've been eating for a year in maintenance. I lurk on the pregnancy after WLS on obesityhelp.com a lot, and have been for a year. The only patients that I see struggling with losing pregnancy weight are band patients, and RNY patients that weren't at goal when they got pregnant. I have an unrealistic fear of gaining all my 140lbs loss back in the next 8 months. I know I'm growing another human, and I have to eat so my body doesn't suffer in the process, BUT that doesn't take away the fear of regain. The one thing I'm relying on is all the good habits I established during my losing stage which I will go right back to after the baby is born because I know what works for me to lose weight. Best wishes on your pregnancy ! ! !

Do not fret, and please do not start eating craptastic food options just to get the weight loss to stop. There are healthy options available. Can you get access to a nutritionist or dietician? If so, do it now, and have them work out a meal plan for you. I had the same issue, and for me the key was to add in healthy fats and more carbs. You'll need to focus on eating more and possibly drinking calories via 100% juice. I can not stress enough that eating junk food to get your body to stop losing weight is just about the worse thing you can do. The few things I did was add avocados, Peanut Butter, nuts, all of those healthy fats that were easy to eat, and not wasted, crap calories. I also drank 100% grape juice for added calories. Refried Beans with cheese, high Fiber, good carbs, and a good option to help add some calories and healthy carbs.

Woohoo many congrats and cheers to your continued success ! ! !

I can only share my experience. My husband met, fell in love with, and married at 270lbs. He loved every inch of me because he fell in love with me. He supported my choice to have surgery, and honestly, he didn't have a voice in the matter. I would have done it with or without his support. BUT, the changes that I had to make in my eating and after my revision to VSG from the band, and the rapid weight loss, things did change. He made comments about "how small" I was, and he missed my fat. He always dated "thick" girls, but you know what, his love for me hasn't changed. He has a preference, he likes curvy girls, he loved me at 150lbs at my goal weight, and when I continued to lose weight, he did get concerned, but he never said anything out of "meanness". It was a lot of concern,and he had insecurities because he realized men were noticing me more, and well that didn't fly with him. We had a talk about him "hiking his leg on my thigh", and that I was not his property, and I sure wasn't going to leave him just because I'm skinny, I'd leave his ass fat if he was a douchebag. I think going into the conversation with the health benefits, the reasons you are doing it is not driven by vanity, and that you want him to be part of your support system will make it easier. There is also a forum on obesityhelp.com for spouses of WLS patients that you can peruse or have him read to get some perspective. I can say that my personality has not changed one single bit since losing weight. My core beliefs, morals, values are all the same. I am no more confident, cocky, or different than I was at 270lbs. I think that's where the problem with WLS patients and their partners rears its ugly head. It's when the patient changes, and expects changes in their partner just because they get "skinny". I can tell you that my husband still pops wood, and loves every inch of my saggy boobs, flabby thighs, wrinkly excess skin on my stomach. There is no less or more love making for us. If anything sex is better because well sex as a skinny chick is pretty phenomenal. It's amazing what the body can do when there's not rolls of fat getting in the way.

HOLY CRAZINESS look at your shrinking waist, you've done so well, and look phenomenal ! ! !

I agree with all the previous posters, and I'm going to throw it out there that the BMI is not the end all be all to great health. There is zero account for true weight in that thing, and stressing over it for me was nonsense. My initial goal kept me in the overweight category, and I was content at that weight. I still had curves, and not to mention I still had boobs. Another 30lbs lost, and I looked so tiny and felt uncomfortable in my own skin. That damn BMI chart is so judgmental and condemning. I had a good talk with myself, and realized that body fat percentage, resting heart rate, my overall health, labs, and how I felt was all more important that than damn 24.9 on that chart. The big thing to remember is that the BMI chart does not take into account bone density, excess skin, or fat %. It's just an equation, and there's far too many factors to base your health on that number. I think you're in a good place, and maintenance you might find different challenges. Letting go is sometimes more difficult than staying the course. But, it's very liberating to recognize your success, and embrace your future without beating yourself over the BMI chart. Go run about the park, relish every single moment, and realize just how you've come, and how much further you can go ! ! !

The whole anal leakage pretty much deterred me from ever even thinking of using it. I ate a full fat, never watched fat intake during my losing stage and still developed gallstones and needed to have my gb removed 8 months post-vsg. I only experienced one episode of constipation and it was during my losing phase. Miralax as mentioned above worked wonderfully. I'm almost 22 months out, and am more regular today than I ever was pre-op. Adequate clear fluid intake, and good fiber choices really help in my opinion.

There's a big difference between "drinking" and "sipping". It's a tough habit to break and because of my band experience, we had to stop drinking 30 minutes before and wait 30 minutes after eating to commence drinking. The big difference with the sleeve is that I could drink right up until I take the first bite. We don't have a pouch. We have fully-functioning stomach just like we had before they removed that big stretchy part so liquids go in, hit the pyloric valve and empty into the intestines. When we add liquid to the food, it can make food mushier, and it can move the food from the stomach to the intestine faster which can allow you to eat more, and cause you to get hungry faster. This is a "trick" to cheat the sleeve. I do take sips with my meal if it's super spicy or salty, but it's a minimal amount of liquid. Essentially just enough to wet my whistle. Early out even sipping can cause discomfort because the swelling is still there, and there is not room for the liquid with the food sitting in the sleeve. Stretching your stomach is pretty difficult, but drinking with your meals can lead to overeating, discomfort, vomiting so you have to find what works for you. If you want to stay within the guidelines provided by your surgeon, and establish good habits post-op, it's best to follow the rules. I can say with 100% certainty that if I do take more than a few sips through my meal, I can fit more food in. During my losing stage, this would have been detrimental to my success. I would have gone over my calorie intake, and that wasn't an option for me. I was too hellbent on getting to goal to sabotage myself with bending the rules. Maintenance is different, and it takes time to figure out what works, and what doesn't.

I just want to address the bolded statement. I had a leak 2 days post my revision. I also had horrible anesthesia complications during the repair, landed on life support for 4-5 days and my prognosis was grave at best. I had an extensive 3.5 month long recovery with an additional hospitalization for abscesses, was on TPN with a central pic line for over 2 weeks with nothing by mouth for over 20 days after the leak repair. My husband was deployed, and not allowed to come home during all of this even as I lay in ICU with a 10% chance of survival. I can assure you that my recovery was pure hell, but not once did I think "oh crap what have I done!". To this very day, I have absolutely ZERO regrets nor am I anything short of 100% certain that I made the right choice with VSG. I never once doubted that I made the "right" choice with VSG, and today, I'm even more certain that I made the best decision. I've said it many times here that I would endure every struggle and obstacle in my recovery to live the life I have today. I just thought I would throw out my experience to give a different perspective on complications with any surgery.

LOL LOL I completely forgot I even had pictures of the test. It was the last test in my drawer which is pretty odd. I had stockpiled those little boogers over the last 14 months, and it was 9:45pm when I tested, I didn't even think I was pregnant. I just pee'd on the stick in hopes that it pop negative and I would start my period like I had done so many months before. In Januray, I was 11 days late. Popped negative on every test, had blood drawn and my HCG spiked, then dropped, and I started a couple of days later. They suspect another chemical pregnancy so I had given up. Had the appointment with the reproductive endocrinologist scheduled for March 24th, and honestly, I just wanted my period to start so I would quit being so bitchy LOL LOL. We only had sex one day during my ovulation days, so I know the exact day we conceived Sprout, and I was totally caught off guard with the positive. I just pee'd on the stick, tossed it on the counter, and went to fold some bath towels, carried those 3 bath towels back into the bathroom to put them away, glanced at the test and it said PREGNANT. If I hadn't have just pee'd, I'm sure I would have pee'd on myself. I just starting bawling, like sobbing, and carried the stick into the living room where my husband was playing Call of Duty. He was like "ohh huney, what's wrong?" I handed him the stick, standing there sobbing, and his reply was "well, that's just great dear" THROAT PUNCHING almost commenced ! ! ! It didn't hit him until the next day, and then the questions and emotions ran through him. He just isn't an emotional guy, except I could see the joy in his eyes as he watched the fluttering of Sprout's heartbeat on the u/s screen. It was pretty amazing ! ! ! Sorry, it's blurry, I was shaking when I took the picture. Just to let everyone know, the results will stay displayed for about 24 hours. I put the test in a plastic baggy, and it's stored away.

Since I'm high risk, the 3d U/S is pretty standard so they can monitor the baby's heart. . . I'm not sure when that will happen, but it's in the "list" of things they'll do to me. Thanks so much