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Throwing my anecdotal experience in the ring here, as well! I had a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) at the end of November 2023. I was a "slower loser" the whole time, and then I hit a major stall about 6 months post-op, just bouncing around the same ~5ish pounds for months. I set up an appointment with my team for July 8th, discussed the issues I was having (mainly just being hungry and therefore eating larger portions), compared the different options, and we settled on trying out Phentermine. I did have to have a mobile heart monitor for 30 days prior to my surgery, as I had these weird heart "flutters" for YEARS and nobody could really figure out what they were (they ended up being PACs, or Premature Atrial Contractions, which apparently almost everyone has at some point and most people can't feel. I'm just unlucky! They are benign if they are not occurring in excess). My team had me do an EKG in-office that day, as well. They asked about any family history of heart issues, sudden death at early ages, etc. With a normal EKG, I was started on half of a 37.5mg tablet for 4 days, to increase to a full tablet after that if there was still residual hunger and I didn't have any major side effects. They said I'd know within those first few days if it was going to cause any issues. I did increase to the full 37.5mg after 4 days, and I've broken the stall (dropped 5lbs since July 8th, and part of that was spent at a music festival with few healthy food options), and I feel generally great! I do also have ADHD and Narcolepsy, so the stimulant properties are helpful for me. I'm feeling satisfied with much smaller portions and not experiencing cravings at all. I did have some mild insomnia the first few days, BUT I am already a night owl with a bit of insomnia due to the Narcolepsy, so it wasn't a big issue. Other comorbid conditions include depression and anxiety, which I am taking medication for, as well. The anxiety has not been exacerbated, which WAS an issue I had with previous stimulant use for Narcolepsy. Cost-wise, it ended up being roughly $7 USD with insurance. For me, trying Phentermine is definitely worth it, and I will follow up with my team later next month to see where I'm at. I had feared I was done losing after only 6 months post-op, and Phentermine has restored my hope that I can keep going to get to a healthier weight. It's important to remember that, while Phentermine will decrease your appetite, it does NOT cause you to burn any more calories than normal unless you also increase your activity. You have to decrease your portions - the Phentermine just makes it easier to do that, if it works as intended. So, your personal experience may vary, but it's worth discussing with your team if you feel stuck! EDITED TO ADD: My team said that I need to take a break from using it daily about once a month (like, not take it for a couple of days), otherwise I'll develop a tolerance and it won't work as well. This is pretty typical for stimulant medications in general.

Off to see The Pet Shop Boys! I’m a massive fan and it’s the final week of their world tour with a special 5 nights finale at the ROH. Whilst we’ve had a wander around Covent Garden previously, we’ve never been to the ROH so a whole new experience just for that alone 😊

If you feel hungry grab a tsp of peanut butter. It helps and you get some protein. Dietitian just told me that yesterday I am 4 weeks post op

I'm going back home to the US in November. (I'll be 6 weeks post-op then) I fully plan to take an empty suitcase and hit walmart and the thrift stores. And also stock up on Tylenol since you can get bottles of 100 over there and only packs of 16 and only 2 at a time here without a prescription. Always handy to have around.

My surgery got cancelled. We have no idea why. I got the notification on my portal app for my health plan so I immediatly contacted my surgeon's office because they have been going forward like I still have one. I was able to check the actual surgery schedule and sure enough I'm not on it. I'm beyond angry right now. I put in to have a whole week off of work next week that while I can definetly not take off, half of my team is going out of town for a conference so I would have to reschedule for the end of this month. That also sucks because I've pushed things out to the end of the month because I knew I would be in recovery. Now I have to somehow move them back and push other things. I want to scream.

Please be careful. You are still very early out from surgery. I know that some of it is your circumstances but the last thing you want is to harm yourself. This is a pretty major surgery. The incisions on the outside are deceiving, the inside requires a lot more healing time. I am off all of my pain meds too and was trying to play tough guy at a week out driving myself and all of that but the NP had to tell me to slow down. This is not a race. I am two weeks out now and today will my first big outing to my crochet group where basically I drive 30 minutes and sit in a chair for a couple of hours then drive back and I’m a bit nervous if Im being honest after realizing that just going to the dr and then grocery pickup 5 minutes down the road took it out of me a few days ago. Just be certain to listen to your body and ask for help if you need it.

When I had my sleeve I tried to do the treadmill and absolutely could not stick with it. This time I am walking outside. Not sure if that’s an option for you but it’s so much more entertaining. Things to look at, people to say hello to, and you can go different ways and plus it’s fresh air. It’s also easier on your knees. I also walk a bit inside. For both, headphones help with music and a fitness watch so you can log your progress. After my nighttime shower I just put my exercise clothes on and sleep in them. That way when I wake up I am already dressed and I jump up and walk a bit around the house while my coffee is going and chilling over the ice so I can make my “proffee.” It’s just like 15 minutes (started with 5) or so but it’s a good start to my day. Then, I try to do a few minutes a couple more times during the day so I do it when I take my calcium (I have a recurring alarm to remind me). Depending on your job you may be able to do this on breaks. In the evenings, I prepare dinner but then head out to walk, depending on the weather. I am now up to 45 minutes but I started at 15. This one I get sweaty so I shower and put my exercise clothes on again (I have two sets and wash the other one daily) and then I sit down for my dinner and chill with my hubby for a while before it’s bedtime and i start it all again the next morning For me, it’s also easier to make a habit of things if I do them everyday, at least for a while. Eventually things will come up so I don’t do it every night, I’m sure but until it’s a habit I do it daily. My goal is 30 minutes a day no matter what but I try to do as much more as I can. The PA (physicians assistant) was at my support group meeting and did a talk one night on fitness and he shared that 90 minutes of exercise a week (15 minutes a day for 6 days of the week) causes a 15% Drop in “all cause mortality.” My surgeon was there and said that surgery actually only creates an 11% change so it’s pretty incredible. This takes 25 minutes per day because you want to do a 5 minute warm up and a 5 minute cool down. During the 15 minutes your goal is a zone 2 heart rate. You calculate the zone 2 range by first subtracting your age from 220 that is your MAXIMUM heart rate. Then you multiply that number by 60% that’s the lower number of your range and 70% which is the upper number of our range. The example is a 40 year old. 220 - 40 = 180 (MAX). 180 X 60% = 108 and 180 X 70% = 126. The zone 2 heart rate range for this person is between 108 - 126 beats per minute. (The fitness watch will tell you your heart rate so you can check You can do it at the gym if that works better for you and you can of course break it into three 30 minute sessions instead of daily if you choose as long as you get 90 minutes per week minimum. Once I can add strength training I may actually do it this way and do my weights on the other days. For now I’m just worrying about the cardio part. I can tell you though, it is so absolutely worth it. Since I have been doing the exercise I feel incredible. My energy has increased tremendously and my mood is so much better. It’s an all around good thing and not that hard, really, once you set your mind to it and get a few days under your belt it gets easier. I have been very sedentary for YEARS and I can’t believe I didn’t start this exercise thing sooner. It’s seriously pretty great!! Ooh and I was told the same thing for weights. At 6 weeks I can lift more than 10 pounds but not weights. Especially if I didn’t lift them before surgery and would be straining. Even at two months I’m supposed to slowly work my way up but I think that’s probably advisable for anyone whether they had surgery or not. Also, my friend found a fitness watch on Amazon for $20. Doesn’t have to be a fancy expensive one, just need heart rate and steps or distance really to get started. And if you know anyone else who wants to do some exercise, my friend and I talk on the phone most nights while we are both walking around our own houses. She said she wants to do her exercise bike last night but it goes so much faster when we talk. I said we can still talk while you ride your bike it doesn’t matter if we’re doing the same thing. The person you’re talking to doesn’t even really have to be exercising. They just have to be willing to talk to you and encourage you to keep doing it music works pretty well as an alternative busy a couple of nights and I’ve just used my headphones from instead of talking on the phone. Some people listen to podcasts as well

Yes that’s awsome I start my diet tomorrow to get the weight off that my Dr says I have to loose before surgery. This week has been an emotional roller coaster my uncle suddenly and I had to fly to Florida with my mom and sister and we have done nothing but eat out.

There's typically a couple stalls that lasts for 2-4 weeks that happens after surgery. I've heard them typically referred to to the 3rd week and 3rd month stalls when they typically start, but can happen any time. Our bodies have to recalibrate things after substantial loss, and it will hold on to fat and/or fluids until it knows its safe for it to lose more. As long as you stick to you calories, macros, and fluid requirements laid out by your doctor, the weight loss will resume. Restart your diet and track everything closely. Also go back to weighing yourself weekly instead of daily to reduce stress. Additionally, if you are working out more than you were pre surgery, keep in mind you may also be gaining some muscle weight, which offsets the number on the scale. If your clothing sizes are getting smaller, you're still on track! It is very frustrating as I just came out of one, but I did slack off on tracking my eating closely over the holidays. Even though I didn't feel like I was eating that much more, I had crept back up around 1600 calories a day by having a treat I thought I had earned. I didn't realize it was so calorically dense and was a big mistake for me. I was using it to feel better after having covid over Christmas and New Years, but it did throw me off track and made my stall worse. I'm back on the strict diet this week and its starting to drop again.

Thank you so much! The pre op diet they have me on is 2 protein shakes and 1 meal 3-4 oz protein and non starchy vegetables. I hear other people are on a all liquid diet for 2 weeks.

So had my VGS surgery on 13th June and have been keeping track of my measurements since about the 3rd of July 2024. Low waist included, as I am male and I wear most of my trousers/jeans low. Waist high is measured above my hips. 3rd July: Chest = 52 inches Neck = 19 inches Waist (high) = 51 inches Waist (low) = 53 inches Thigh = 31 inches Bicep = 18 inches 27 August Chest = 50 inches (-2) Neck = 18 inches (-1) Waist (high) = 47 inches (-4) Waist (low) = 50 inches (-3) Thigh = 28 inches (-3) Bicep = 15.5 inches (-2.5) So in total that's 15.5 inches lost since around 3 weeks after surgery. This has been especially useful given weight loss has slowed to around 2-3 lbs per week, and is a great motivator for me 😊 Anyone else tracking measurements?

Well you motivated me to see what was available for cheaper in my area in order to hopefully give you some suggestions and I found out that my own community center has lots of classes for cheap. They have a yoga class that looks promising. It’s Stretch and Flow Yoga. I have no clue what that means and I’m pretty sure it’s not beginner but I will just start in the back and do what I can I guess. 🤷🏼‍♀️ They also have a class that does some strength training and moderate cardio that I think I need to wait a little longer in the cardio and I know I need to wait two more weeks to be cleared for weights. I will be able to do them both time wise eventually, though, which would be 4 days a week. I’m seriously excited. I really hope that you find something that makes you excited too because exercise really does make you feel better once you get into the grove. Now I just have to figure out what people are wearing to Yoga nowadays. She says as she plans to go check out Amazon right after this. 😂

Hello, new here! I had mine done in the 3rd of June. Surgery went very well, my first week was awesome. Now i'm on the second week, some days away of the getting out of liquids. This second week have been not good for me, I got a lot of nausea and a lot of foaming on my mouth. The only things that been helping are orange juice and water. Tried some homemade, sugar free lemonade today and it also helped to settle my stomach. The only thing thats been really rough, even tho I wasent addicted to soda (I would have a can once a week), my mind keeps craving for it. Since I was a kid, everytime I got nauseous My granma I would tell me to drink a little bit of coke and it helped me a lot, so I carried this tradition into my life. Now that cant have it and I'm feeling sick in the stomach my mind keeps asking for it, and its so frustrating. I tought i would have this problem with coffee, since I was an avid coffee drinker but I don't miss coffee so much. Hope all you guys are doing well through the process!

I took Latuda for bipolar when I had my sleeve three years ago and my prescribing doctor was concerned about me not getting enough calories in the beginning for it to absorb properly as well. (For those who don’t know about this particular medication it’s not about it not absorbing due to the surgery itself like many controlled release meds. This med needs the 350 calories in order to absorb fully for anyone, not just people who had surgery). Anyways, My doctor switched me to vraylar for a couple of months prior to surgery just to make sure I was stable on it and then a short time after until I was back to being able to consume 350 calories at one time. The vraylar is quite expensive but luckily they were able to get enough samples for me. The plan was to switch me back once I was eating enough. What was weird and unexpected was post surgery when he tried to switch me back to the Latuda all of a sudden it caused me a great deal of anxiety and I couldn’t tolerate it anymore (even though I was on it for three years before surgery) so he kept me on the vraylar a little longer until things got back more normal for me and then made another change. I am now on a completely different medication. Neither the surgeon or prescribing dr could explain that anxiety except that when you alter the anatomy things just happen sometimes but I just worked with my prescribing dr and he sorted it out. The most important thing is that your prescribing dr and your loved ones are very aware that you may encounter some issues and that everyone is on top of it. If you feel the slightest bit off, you may need to be the one to contact your Dr. You mentioned “the switch” as an option. Not sure if you are speaking if the SADI switch or the Duodenal switch but both of those are restrictive and malabsorbing surgeries. The reason they suggested the sleeve for me was because they were concerned about my other meds not absorbing fully just because of the malabsorbing component of the other surgery. Fast forward three years and I gained my weight back and we are now considering conversion to the SADI or bypass because I gained my weight back. I gained it back because I ate the wrong things though so don’t let that scare you. I only mention it because I’m guessing you can see my current weight and may wonder why I didn’t lose. I did lose quite a bit and maintained it for a while but I was discouraged I didn’t lose it all and I let that get to me. Which is something you should be aware of, you may not lose as much as someone who is not on all these meds. Just don’t get too caught up in comparing your journey to others. I am 5’8” and I got down to 168. I would be so much happier and healthy now if I had just accepted that win instead of getting it in my head that I failed by not making it to where others did.

Hi I'm scheduled to get the Sleeve 5/6/15. I have two-year old twins and wanted to know how quickly you were able to get back to normal after the sleeve. My BMI is right at 40 so I don't have a tremendous amount of weight to lose so I'm hoping I can get back to normal in a couple days, just no lifting. I plan to go back to work in a week. Anyone please, how much downtime did you experience? Thanks, Nerkerle

An the other hand i want to be 200 pounds and ive had a hard time maintaining that I snore heavily and buy a lot of food out and on general want to stop being crazy about running after food im seriously confused surgery in three days feel like cancelling

@MrsFitz the body scan etc is not included free, there is a €150 charge for the administration/set up and then it is €85 every two weeks hence I only signed up for a six month agreement, to see if it is worth it longer term. That said it does include about 8 or 10 personal training sessions in the six months as well as general gym access. That main course sounds lovely, I love steak and pepper sauce though I tried it in July and it did not stay down, think the sauce I had was too creamy.

On your plate. The fruit and veggies section is more protein. Need balance. I think i would go back to basics for a week.. 1 cup breakfast lunch dinner. Replace one meal with a protein shake. Reboot your mind and follow the post op plan for a guide.

I have read through so many posts on the topic of revision and see that people are mostly very happy to have gone through with it but a lot of them seem to be due to regain, hernias or bad GERD so my query is a bit different. My surgeon has mentioned a number of times to me about doing a revision from sleeve to bypass as following my surgery a year ago I had bad reflux. When I was released from hospital in November I was prescribed two pantomed (PPI) a day and since then GERD has become less frequent, for the last three months I am now on just one a day and I don't consider that the GERD impacts me, maybe once a week I might have a bit of gas, but the surgeon was still suggesting bypass and at my last appointment (in May) even mentioned that it would help me lose more weight, even though I was then just 5kg/11lb from the target he gave me and still only 10 months post-op. Given all the complications I had after my sleeve surgery in July last year I am very hesitant to have any further operations as I don't know if it was the medical teams fault and/or my body. If it is something that the surgeon says is needed I am torn between asking for a referral to another hospital or risking his team again in the belief that they would be extremely careful with me after everything that went wrong the year ago. So far, in just under 12 months, I have lost 47kg/103lb and am only 7kg/15lb away from my goal weight (3kg from the surgeon's target) and therefore I was wondering, from those who have gone through the revision process, if you think it is worth it? For me the only benefit I see is that I would be able to stop taking the daily pantomed, so not sure that is worth risking another surgery for. I have not had a single dumping episode and for the last few months have been able to tolerate all foods without issue so am a bit fearful that the bypass may lead to a backwards step on those fronts. If my GERD is not impacting me is there any other long-term benefit to the revision when I am still (slowly) losing weight? I don't want to go more than a few kg below my goal weight as it is not a good look on me. If there is no drastic weight loss, given so much has been achieved already, is there hair loss with the revision? Any insights would be appreciated as I have my one year check-up in a couple of weeks and I want to be prepared for when the topic is raised

Congrats! Sounds like you are making some good progress if you've gone through that many clothes! I can relate to both of you. I feel like I haven't made the progress I should be, but Long Covid has hurt my exercise efforts and constant brain fog is frustrating. I also hit a 6 week long stall that really brought me down. Thankfully that finally broke the last two weeks for me, but I still dont' have my strength back. A 2 mile walk pretty much drains me still, even though I was doing 4-5 miles at a time 4 weeks post-op before Covid. EDIT: Based on continuing conversation in this thread, I just wanted to say I realize I have made good progress, but was trying to emphasize that I still have a mental block that, for some reason, prevents me from appreciating it. I've lost more weight than I was ever able to on my own, but at the same time feel physically weaker than any other point in my life despite trying to exercise. Also my start weight of 352 was from my highest ever weight in 2021, and not my pre-op diet weight of 321. Not trying to be dishonest, just trying to remind myself how bad off I was 2-3 years ago.

Hey there, I know exactly how you feel! But before I forget, happy birthday mine was a few weeks ago and pretty much did the same thing with the cake lol. I can only eat about 2 to 3 ounces. And I’m not gonna force my stomach to eat more. I used to love MyFitnessPal, but my nutritionist has recommended an app called ate. So I’ve been using that for now.

A week post gastric sleeve - premier protein shakes with lots of ice and a lot of Tylenol to deal with the carb withdrawal headache were my go to. I promise it got easier

Ugh. Conflicting information is so frustrating. I have gotten a lot of that with the SADI being new too. I just started making more appointments with the NP and I’m going with her advise. I had my Baritastic app open so I could show her a couple of weeks of nutrition at a glance and I told her my average step count from my watch. She actually had me increase my carbs and protein a bit because of my activity level. But she started me at like 60 carbs so your plan is different. Now they are good carbs. All veggies, fruits and whole grains like real oats or brown rice. I am now supposed to be around 80 but I haven’t quite gotten there. It’s hard to do after reaching 90g protein. I’m up to like 70g carbs and still lost 4 pounds last week (I started at an average of 5). I’m sure not all of our bodies are alike though or they would be able to land on one ideal diet plan that works for everyone. I don’t eat a lot of rice or oats. Most of my carbs are from veggies, fruits and beans. Once a week I have a low carb wrap which makes the carbs go way up but it’s mostly fiber so I think that’s okay (that’s on my list of questions) For your exercise bike, start out whenever you can fit it in but once you get the boost or energy it gives you to keep going try doing it first thing in the morning I started walking at night but with the rain had to do it in the morning a couple of times and realized that it gave me a tremendous amount of energy for the day. I even work in more movement throughout the day now. It’s pretty great.

That's so cruel and everyone is so scared that it could happen to them. I think I might have had a melt down. I feel for you because we want this surgery so badly and 3 weeks on a liquid diet is brutal. Biggest hugs sent your way.

Thank you! I thought I had already responded to your post. Apparently I didn't hit submit reply. As I've mentioned in other post's. My weight has been stalled. However I weighed today and I'm down 4 lbs. I'm at 245 lbs. I'm not sure if the scale is playing with me or not. So I'm going to wait a few days before testing it out again. My biggest progress that I see is in my clothes. I'm in pant sizes that I haven't been in since 2002. The other big plus I see with you and everyone else. We've just started this journey. In the next 6 months all of us will look dramatically different. I intend to post more pictures along the way. I hope everyone else does as well. Your progress pics look great. The progress is real and will only get better. I wish you and everyone else the best with progress to your goal. 😃