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10/10!! 😎

October 10! Just found out insurance approved it - I’m over the moon. Pre-op diet begins Sunday!

Correlation of nutrient deficiency and recommended treatment NUTRIENT SUPLEMENTATION/DAY IN CASE OF DEFICIENCY Biotin Biotin 10 mg / day p.o Copper Elemental copper 0.1 to 0.5g, intravenously, 2x/week Iron Ferrous sulphate, 500mg/day p.o Selenium Sodium selenite 200 mg/day p.o Vitamin A or Retinol Vitamin A 50,000-200,000 IU/day, p.o Vitamin B2 or Riboflavin Vitamin B2, 10 to 20 mg/day, p.o Vitamin B3 or Niacin Nicotinic acid, 500 mg / day, p.o Vitamin B5 or Pantothenic acid Pantothenic acid 10 g/day p.o Vitamin B6 or Pyridoxine Pyridoxine, 100 mg / day p.o Vitamin B9 or Folic acid and B12 or Cobalamin Folic acid 1 to 20 mg / day p.o Vitamin C or Ascorbic acid Vitamin C 500mg to 1g/day p.o Vitamin D Vitamin D, 600 to 800 IU / day p.o Vitamin E Vitamin E, 400 to 800mg/day p.o Vitamin K Vitamin K, 1-3mg/single dose intramuscularly Zinc Zinc, 15 to 30 mg / day p.o Protein 1.5 g protein / kg p.o

Hello everyone! Well very excited to tell you the surgery went very well. Tomorrow I will be two weeks post op and have been mostly on a liquid diet, but the small things I have eaten such as pudding and oatmeal have stayed down with no problem. I am having no abdominal pain other then the minor irritation from the incisions no worries there. I am actually already feeling the results of having the large intestine back in tact and feeling the nourishment from the food I am ingesting. I am so happy at this point in time. I have now lost exactly 200lbs so I am over 40lbs past where I should have stopped. I obviously do not want to gain all my weight back but do look forward to at least being able to keep things down, in and get the benefit of my food intake whether or not I gain some back or not. I lost from a size 32/34 to currently a size 10. At over 5'9 and large framed that was a lot for the body to take in a year and a half. I will let everyone know how it continues to go, but I do want to say thank you so much for all the kind words of support, and for those that have no other solution for severe bypass issues I am up till this point, proof that there maybe a solution albeit it may have to be a reversal.

Yeah, I've only exercised a handful of times and then it was only 10-20 minutes because I was exhausted. Today I'm going to start up with some HIIT and see how that goes.

Ok, so ty for the birthday wishes! Had a great day (no IF--no UP or DD days lol). But I actually was pretty good all things considered and although I'm still up the 1.4lbs from the weekend, I'm not up from yesterday. So I will count that as a win. I'm still stuck at 161.8lbs today. This actually doesn't bother me too much since I suspect this is a set-point for me from a long time running. The last time I weighed 160lbs was almost 19 years ago! And I was at that weight for a very long time. I'd weighed in the 150s (and briefly, the 140s) in high school. I was an athlete and had monster muscles--especially in my thighs and butt--of course that was very unpopular back then...go figure. So I'm pretty sure this will be a tough decade to break out of and through past the 150s. But I'm setting my jaw to get down to TCB. LOL. After today. Today is my REAL birthday--we just celebrated with the sissies yesterday cuz my big sis was in town for it. Soooooooooo, I get a real live dinner date with Mr. F. tonight. I think we're going to Outback Steakhouse cuz it will be really easy to be good there and I think they have a steak and lobster special for $14.99 or something crazy like that. I'm actually toying with doing an OMAD day. I'm about to rev up the YouTube to see if I can find some women who do OMAD and see if there are any studies attached to it for women. Most of the studies on this stuff are done on men. And we all know we are so different in how IF affects us! I quickly put some numbers together. If I can eat 7oz of protein, I'm in the 50g of protein for the day area. If I could also drink 3oz of Premier on the way to dinner--I'll either kill my appetite or boost the protein ingestion! LOL. I'm pretty sure that would be ALL I was eating! But for grins I did throw a few lettuce leaves and blue cheese dressing numbers around! I know I've eaten 7-8oz by weight in a meal before--so my thought is that I will use this as an experiment to see just how much dense protein I can eat in a meal--eating protein first. If I fall short of my protein goals for the day--well--it would only be for one day. But if I can do it without overeating and stretching my pouch, then OMAD might be something I could/would consider. I used to do it when I was in college all the time. But I didn't know anything about protein reqs at that time!

Good news - whether they strike or not I am unlikely to be affected by it - they have to give 10 days notice from the day they choose to strike and I am only 5 days away! Whew! Now I won't whine about THAT anymore. Cant guarantee I won't be whining about something else though....

Got sleeved on Aug 15, 1 day shy of 5 weeks post-op now. Just want to update everyone on the highlights of my progress and experiences post-op. 1. I've been able to tolerate carbs surprisingly well. --> Once during pms (about 3 weeks post-op), I ate about 1/3 bowl of rice with broth and had no adverse reaction. My body was craving carbs so bad, I read it's something to do with serotonin drop during pms. 2. I don't experience that aversion to sweet stuff that so many people have spoken of. --> I still crave them, I still eat them, I still enjoy them. 3. Eggs feel uncomfortable, which is a bummer. 4. Salmon and sauteed onions cause that stuck feeling so now I avoid them like the plague. 5. I didn't lose a drastic amount of weight in the early weeks post-op. -> I lost the bulk of my weight during the pre-op liquid diet. 6. I haven't been losing as much as some people post-op but I'm definitely losing weight albeit slower than my pre-op phase. 7. I still have big appetite which often causes me to ponder whether the surgery has failed, but then I order something and the appetite goes away quickly after a few bites. The surgery works! 8. You literally can still eat anything but you learn how to be smart about them. --> I had Mexican and Greek food last week. I had fajitas meat and allowed myself a small amount of the guilty stuff (chips and tortilla). For Greek food, they actually have lots of healthy stuff (bean and eggplant dips, grilled skewered meats, etc). I steamed some cauliflower to eat with the dips and allowed myself a small amount of pita bread. 9. Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason to how much weight I lose daily. --> I was losing around 300-500g daily during my pre-op liquid stage. It was quite steady and reliable. Then with reintroduction of new foods, PMS, or exercise, I either stalled, went back up a little bit, or the wackiest of all, I was losing 2 pounds, 100g, and 2 pounds, 3 days in a row. 10. Once, I was craving this particularly unhealthy food. I gave in and had the entire thing but I only chewed and didn't swallow. It was a low point but you do what you gotta do.

I was reading that bariatric surgery doesn't have enough stats yet on the long-term outcomes of patients, so that's one reason there may not yet be much protocol standardization. I appreciate the conservative approach of surgeons; right now I long to have coffee or other things, but I would hate to suffer acid reflux in 5 years because I drank caffeine again too soon, or get gout because I ate too much protein, or some other thing. For those who stay active on this forum long term, it will be interesting to see if there are common problems that befall us in 5-10 years and beyond. I am 70 now, so may not be around in 10 years, but I'm going to enjoy the heck out of the years I have left with this new lifestyle. I think about those in their 20's - 40's who are having the surgery and hope they won't have a future of digestion issues to deal with. I suppose new meds will keep being developed to meet the challenges.

@frustr8 you’ve eaten a lot more than I have! I’m tye last 2 days I’ve had 1/3 premier protein shake 12oz Apple juice 10 oz chicken broth 2c ice chips. I’m really struggling! Hospital said it’s reflux and so we’ll see how I improve mixing forward. I’d say trust your body. If it’s too soon don’t push it. You have the rest of your life to get there. My surgeon was very kind and said do not obsess about measurements and just make sure I’m using the restroom and that I feel ok.

Okay, so I really thought I wouldn't make it through the liquid diet. To be honest, the first 4 days were HELL! The hunger, cravings, and fatigue WAS REAL! I think I am finally in ketosis though (day 5) - no hunger, no cravings, increased energy, etc. (That or I am just delusional now.) My liquid diet consists of 5 protein shakes and "unlimited" clear liquids (broth, crystal light, sugar free popsicles, sugar-free powerade, etc.) Knowing me, I HAD to make a schedule so I would be able to pace myself and just tell myself "you can make it one more hour." 8:00 AM, Protein Shake 9:30, Jello 10:30, Protein Shake 12:00, 16 oz of some kind of clear liquid 1:00, Protein Shake 2:30, 8 oz of broth 3:30, Protein Shake 5:00, 16 oz of some kind of clear liquid 6:30, Protein Shake 8:00, 8 oz of Broth Of course I continuously drink water throughout the day. I am in bed by 9:00. Other than the occasional popsicle thrown in, I have been sticking to this schedule and it works. Lots of sleep has helped too - if you are asleep, you aren't hungry Just 8 more days to go for me (September 26th surgery).

Thanks. So like the pain I have about 10 in down on the right hand side of my chest. Often I get this gurgling too. Very loud!

My surgeon said he has been doing this for 12 years about 10 surgeries a week and in that whole time has had only 2 people with leaks. He says its because of the very stick diet he has. The diet kind of sucks...well it really sucks but I trust him and understand why. I have not read about many others talking about their diet being as strict as mine. For a while I was kind of resentful and feeling sorry for myself - that everyone was eating all kinds of stuff. But know I am thankful and think it is the best for me. It seems like a long time when its happening but in retrospect its just a fraction of time compared to your whole life.

On the plus side of things just met with my surgeon and we went overstuff for pre OP no 2 week pre OP diet very excited about that and now I have to wait 10 days before I get a date for surgery. Apparently my surgeon is so backed up and busy he is booking out till December and Jan.[emoji17]but on the plus side thing I am just eatting healthier and learning to portion everything I eat. I can not wait for a healthier ME... I hope everyone is having a great day. [emoji16] Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

Good Afternoon everyone! I need help/advise. I got the Gastric Sleeve on 08/16/18 and definitely found myself with the same cravings as before and worrying whether they took another body part out and not half my stomach. I was losing weight though so i was pretty happy. This past Thursday was my one month surgaversary. I had lost about 15 lbs on the two week diet before and was loosing 10 lbs a week the first two weeks after surgery. I am now down 5 additional pounds since then but within the last two weeks the scale is at a stand still. I feel like it is to early to stall! Can someone give me any advice, I am starting to be incredibly hard on myself.

I’m getting the sleeve 10/1. Starting at 255 and I’m 5’0. Your success makes me hopeful!!

This is my scale of pain... endometriosis 9/10 slipped disc 8/10 hysterectomy 8/10 kidney stones 6/10 gastric sleeve 2/10 I had some discomfort, but it was gone within 2 weeks. Stick with it - you'll be fine!

Just as a fun fact I’m 10 months post op next week and I bruise so much easier 🤷🏼‍♀️ My doc just does blood work every check in and it’s always been normal. Just a new fun thing for me I guess. But at 12 weeks out you probably won’t know that for sure yet 😂

I’m currently 18 weeks pregnant and 10 months out of surgery, so far so good, my only concern is getting in enough calories but my OB is watching me closely.

Im almost 10 months out. I learned to show up after the food is served with my family. Or not at all. But that’s a choice I was OK making, I’m not big on social gatherings to begin with. 🤷🏼‍♀️ In general though I can tell you many people experience post op depression including myself. But the way of addressing that is different for everyone so I’d also echo the therapist suggestion should you find it continuing on and on and even outside of food/family gatherings. Or a support group.

I hope this doesn't scare you, because I'm trying to do the opposite. I had the worst, very worst experience post op with pain management. In fact, my post op pain was so bad that I developed shingles at 28 years old from the trauma and stress on my body. I will have shingles out breaks, potentially, for the rest of my life. That being said, still, absolutely the best thing I've ever done. I would go through that pain 10 more times to be sitting in my same shoes. Everyone's pain experience is different. Some people go back to work after a few days, and are just fine. Some people have a hard time adjusting and lack energy early on. The point is, this is all worth every ounce of pain endured. It will change your life forever, if you are willing to let it.

Now its getting real and its getting real close. Procedure date is 16/10/2018. Had my skype appointment with the dietician today. Went over the phases: pre-op VLCD, clear fluid diet, free fluid diet, pureed foods, soft foods and then finally on the 25 November I will be able to commence a transition to reduced portions normal foods. Next monday is my appointment with the behavioural psychologist. Over the course of my program (18 months post op) I have four appointments each with a dietician, behavioural psychologist and exercise physiologist and unlimited face to face access to the doctor who will carry out the ESG.

I like it, I think it fits nicely. Another 5-10 lbs and you’ll be tripping over it, lol I agree!

I had VGS surgery on 9/15/16; this was almost 18 months from my introductory class for the program. I put off the decision to have surgery almost 6 months, and then due to scheduling issues rescheduled a couple of times before finally having the surgery. My high weight once I decided to start the program was 287- so I have lost 104 pounds as of this morning. I was pretty dutiful in following the eating plan, both pre- and post- surgery until I was about 9 months post-op. By that time, I'd bypassed my surgeon's weight goal for me by about 7 pounds. At that point, I did some serious thinking about what I wanted out of this surgery, and made the following decisions: First, I didn't have this surgery, this elective mutilation, to NOT be successful. There is no way on this Earth that I am going to backslide and let my weight creep up. Second, I also decided that I don't want to be "on a diet" for the rest of my life. I have ALWAYS been on a diet, for as long as I can remember. I didn't have this surgery so I'd have to continue to always be on a diet. Third, I have to be happy with my life. SO... I decided that I was going to have to balance these things, figure out how to make eating "normal" food work without gaining weight. I've tested things out, learned my limits, learned how to eat and drink that work with my insides and my head. OCCASIONALLY I will eat pizza, nachos, drink beer, have ice cream or pie, etc., but NOT all the time, and NOT in large quantity. Fortunately my sleeve restriction is still snug; I can eat about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of food at a sitting, depending on the food. What does this mean for something like pizza? I take one piece, I eat a couple of bites of the edge and also the toppings. I don't eat any of the crust, except those 2 bites of the edge. Believe me, it's enough for me, and if it's not, I"ll eat the topping only from part of another piece. I've tested out all my favorite foods, and yes, sadly, there are some things that I just don't eat because I can't, because they make me feel gross (haven't given up on 'good' bread yet, but rice and pasta are things of my past). I've learned that some things go down way too easily, and so I know where to be careful, what to avoid. I've also learned (take a deep breath, hard to admit) that I'm probably never going to weigh 135 pounds again, and that, regardless of my weight, I'll always feel like I need to lose 10 or 20 pounds. I don't think that's the after effect of being fat... I think it's the association of being a woman in the USA. It's OK... I can accept these things, because I have come so far and been so successful- in my doctor's eyes, in my husband's and daughter's eyes, and mostly, IN MY OWN OPINION. There are still things I can't do (eat and drink at the same time) or things I forget to do (eat slowly/chew lots) and I pay the price. HOWEVER... It's all been worth it. I am HAPPY. I don't wake up in the morning and hate myself for being weak, for being fat, for eating and drinking when I swore I wasn't going to. I went to Disney World with my daughter this summer and for the first time EVER (we've been going annually for 20 years), I happily posed for photos. She and I haven't had a photo in front of the castle since she was 6 (and she'll be 25 next week). I don't hate shopping for clothes anymore. I went to the pool in a bathing suit IN PUBLIC this summer and wasn't embarrassed. Most importantly, I look in the mirror and LIKE what I see there. Sometimes I even think, "Wow, you look cute!" I realize how much of my life I let go by because I felt fat, miserable, unsuccessful, unlovable, and I wish I'd done this surgery 10 years ago. I don't hate myself and my life anymore, and that is worth SO MUCH MORE than anything I could ever eat, in any quantity, at any restaurant. You know how they say, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels?" That's sort-of true, but being skinny (and I'm not) doesn't hold a candle to not hating yourself all the time. I am just so damned happy now!

Congrats sleevemebaby7781 My surgery was approved and I’m scheduled for 10/29/18. I’m 37 with a BMI of 40. I’m looking forward to this journey!!