concerne of memory loss/concentration issues

[mwilson4040 28]

So i have been reading now about the memory and concentration issues people have been having. My surgery is in 2 weeks and this scares me. I am an air traffic controller and cant have this suffer or no job for me. Any thoughts

[Rootman 1,101]

I brought this up in another thread: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/15451-ghrelin-and-memory-learning/page__p__131016__hl__ghrelin__fromsearch__1#entry131016 . For me it seemed like a good 6 month before I got my head screwed on straight.

The effects are anecdotal at best and nothing is really conclusive. I would think that such a massive change in your body chemistry by the reduction of ghrelin, change of diet, ketosis kicking in and the after effects of anesthetic the brain would surly be affected somehow. Being in such a stressful job this would certainly have an impact on you. I'd suggest you speak with your doctor about it. How much time are you planning on taking off?

[mwilson4040 28]

I planned on 2 weeks

[Rootman 1,101]

Talk it over with your doc and see what they say, perhaps they have an opinion on how to mitigate the effect - whatever the cause.

[RickM 1,753]

This may be a nutritional issue, as post-op we live on limited volume with a Protein emphasis and it's hard to maintain a reasonable balance; some programs compound the problem with intentional imbalances by going ultra lo-carb in an attempt to ramp up the weight loss, a debatable approach at best though useful in some cases. I have similar concerns to yours when I go out playing with the racecars - I can't afford any kind of lethargy or brainfade either. I work to maintain as much nutritional balance as I can within the caloric and Protein restrictions we have, and haven't noticed any kind of problems in this regard (nor has anyone else noted them in me,) beyond the expected issues the first week or so when working off the anesthesia and pain meds.

As suggested by others, discuss these concerns with your doc, both your surgeon and your PCP (particularly if he has experience with others in similar critical fields like the pilots,) and maybe a consult with a dietician to work out how best to keep yourself sharp through all of this. Working with the docs to adjust meds appropriately as you lose is also essential, particularly when things can change so quickly at the beginning.

The surgery and the entire process is not a sentence to any particular problem; we are all individuals who respond somewhat differently to the initial surgical trauma, anesthesia, inital weight loss and resulting chemical imbalances in our bodies, dietary and med changes and it's next to impossible to tell ahead of time who will have what reaction to which change, if any at all. Stick close to your docs and dietician (if you have one) and if anything seems questionable, then question them on it - this whole process is far from standardized as there is quite a bit of variation between programs and surgical techniques used.

Good luck with it all - long term it's a good move and hopefully the short and mid terms are fairly uneventful as they are with most of us.

[mwilson4040 28]

Thanks for all your replys started my pre op early and am down 13pounds so thats going good but man am i hungary lol

[Disney 20]

A super low carb diet can affect memory and concentration. Your brain needs some carbs to function properly. The ADA says you need 130 g of carbs, but there have been people to argue that number. I personally think that is just absurdly high. I have read where a third of that is more than adequate. Just ask your nutritionist. Moderation is key. Don't pig out on carbs and don't cut them out completely and you should be just fine. Good luck to you!

[CowgirlJane 14,260]

interesting as i had not seen this. I have not been sleeved, but had the band removed a week ago - i have been fuzzy headed and really low functioning at work. I had to tackle something that involved alot of numbers and i really had a hard time organizing my thoughts - I had to go slow and carefully. I assume it is the after effect of the anesthesia. When i am sleeved, I plan to take a little more time off from work because this has been rough.