Gastric Sleeve Post Op

[JA Lenny 4]

Hi, I am new to this forum. On 10th March 2020 I had gastric sleeve and am on the last day of my liquid/broth diet. Tomorrow I start my Protein and liquid diet for one week.

My pre op weight was 213lbs (96.8kg) and for the two week pre-op weight loss, I managed to lose around 12.5lbs (27.56kgs), which brought my weight down to 200.5lbs (90.9kgx) on the day of my Op. 7 days following, my weight is 194lbs (88kgs). Not sure if that is good.

Today for some reason, I am feeling hungry, not sure why, but it only lasts for about a couple of minutes. Is this normal??

[Sammi_Katt 303]

Hi, and welcome. ❤️ Congrats on your surgery, and good to hear you're doing well (That is fantastic for pre-op loss!)

As for the hunger feeling, it could honestly be head hunger. It influences the body more than you think. When you start on Protein and liquids, it will be a little more easy to distinguish; just plain liquids sometimes just drives people crazy and makes them feel "hungry," even when they're not. It gets even easier when you're eating actual food- for me, I missed the act of chewing, and once I was able to, the hunger that I was feeling stopped.

I'm 10 (11? ...I can't count) weeks out now and still don't experience "hunger" anymore like I did during that pure liquid phase. I get what I think is hunger from time to time, but it turns out I'm usually just gassy or thirsty.

[JA Lenny 4]

Hi, Sammi,

Thank you for the reassurance. I was getting worried that the surgery wasn't working for me. I have had a few health obsessed friends that I did not tell I was doing the surgery, because I knew what their reaction would have been. I did, however, tell them over the weekend and the reaction was the same, the only difference being is that I did the Op. They told me, nothing is going to change, that the Op is a scam and I suppose mentally, that stayed in my head, that's why I was wondering if the estimated 6lbs post op weight loss was a good thing. It is as if I have to prove something to them.

I am due to go to my first post op appointment next Wednesday and was feeling that I would be disappointing my doctor (the one that did the surgery) and also wanted to ask him how soon I can start to exercise.

When did you start yours and by the way congratulations on your tremendous loss to date.

[CammyC 291]

@JA Lenny I’m two weeks post op today and down 10 lbs. not sure what that is in metric. I think 6 lbs in 7 days is great! And yes, I am hungry too. Especially during the liquid phase. I’m eating mushy food now like eggs and Beans, but still kinda hungry.

I was googling pouch too big?? Lol. I think a lot of think oh this is too easy to drink liquids or I’m still hungry so it didn’t work. I know I did. I def know now it did bc I def cannot eat like before surgery and it’s nice. I wish you a great recovery.

as far as your “friends” go that are not supporting you....well it’s not a scam! Some say this is the easy way out....WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!! This is major surgery and what we endure leading up to it as far as all the tests and the liquid diet is so hard not to mention the recovery and adjusting to having our insides rearranged and getting new tummies. I call my new tummy “Gurgly Gail”.

You know what let them talk all they want and you have nothing to prove to them! You did this for you as I got my sleeve for me! I’m ready and want to be healthy again. I hope your “friends” get explosive diarrhea. They sound mean. Sorry. Not sorry.
But I do hope you have a great recovery!

Edited March 17, 2020 by CammyC

[Angeleyes4ever 2]

Hi I am new to this myself and had my surgery on March 5th my weight prior to the program was 345, day of surgery it was 313 and now 2 weeks post op it is 296 My biggest challenge has been trying to reach all the ounces I am supposed to be drinking of Water and Protein Shakes because I don’t feel hungry. I feel good but my doctor scared and said I will get dehydrated and end up hospitalized. Has anyone experienced this and if so how did you get over the hurdle? Thank you in advance

[biginjapan 647]

6 hours ago, JA Lenny said:

Hi, Sammi,

Thank you for the reassurance. I was getting worried that the surgery wasn't working for me. I have had a few health obsessed friends that I did not tell I was doing the surgery, because I knew what their reaction would have been. I did, however, tell them over the weekend and the reaction was the same, the only difference being is that I did the Op. They told me, nothing is going to change, that the Op is a scam and I suppose mentally, that stayed in my head, that's why I was wondering if the estimated 6lbs post op weight loss was a good thing. It is as if I have to prove something to them.

I am due to go to my first post op appointment next Wednesday and was feeling that I would be disappointing my doctor (the one that did the surgery) and also wanted to ask him how soon I can start to exercise.

When did you start yours and by the way congratulations on your tremendous loss to date.

I think you're doing really well! I've only lost 3.8 kgs since surgery and that was two weeks ago. Some people lose weight really quickly post-op, for others it's more of a slow burn and then really gets going a few weeks in.

Also, in regards to your friends, I find that a lot of people don't understand how weight loss works. Most people think it's a matter of less calories in + more exercise = weight loss. But our bodies are really complicated, much more so than a 2+2=4 equation, and most people who are obese or morbidly obese have other issues, like insulin or leptin-resistance, which can really hinder weight loss. In addition to that we have lower metabolic rates that are difficult to change. There are two contradictory actions when we diet and start an exercise regimen at the same time. The exercise will give a boost to our metabolism, but the diet will slow it down. So in effect they cancel each other out which is why most people plateau after a few weeks and can't figure out why. The body doesn't like change and will always try to get back to where it was, especially metabolism. Also fat cells like being fat and will use any opportunity to fill themselves up again - something to remember when you are 1 or more years post-op. Going back to any old habits will be a very happy reunion for your fat cells, which is what happened to me and why I needed revision surgery. Fat cells never disappear, they are always there, just much smaller than before. Which is why people who were obese before will always struggle with food compared to people who have always (or mostly) been at a healthy weight. And of course most of us probably have real addictions to food, which is difficult to deal with. Compared to drugs or alcohol, none of which are needed to survive, we need to food to live, so have to deal with our addictions every time we eat, go shopping, or are in any other situation involving food. It really is a hard mental game to keep up with.

Anyway, I'm just saying this because if you think of losing weight as a race, obese people do not start at the start line with regular (mostly healthy, maybe overweight) people. We are handicapped by our obesity, our metabolism, our brains, our resistance to different hormones, our food addictions, our co-morbidities, etc which puts us way back behind the start line. So we never get a fair "race" compared to our healthier counterparts. But when we get surgery, the loss of part of our stomach basically resets the entire body back to zero, and now we have a more even playing field. We still still have to work at it, and be vigilant with our food choices, but at least we are no longer handicapped by everything else that was preventing success in all the years we were trying to lose weight. I was reading an recent medical journal that says a) obesity is a disease, just like cancer, and should be treated as such, and b) gastric surgery should be renamed metabolic surgery since it has so many positive effects on the body. Honestly, it's now even being considered as a treatment for diabetes, since it has been so successful in eliminating that problem with obese people who had it pre-gastric surgery, but not afterwards. A good book to read (if you haven't already) is "Fat Chance" by Robert Lustig (M.D.) who goes into really good detail about what I explained above. I find educating ourselves with facts is the best way to counter people who will dismiss what we are doing as a "scam". Most people who think that probably have a very limited idea of what weight loss really entails.

Finally, you don't need to prove anything to your friends. The only person you need to prove anything to is yourself! Good luck! Stick to the program, don't worry too much about the scale when it doesn't move fast enough or stalls (because that will happen). When it does, focus on non-scale victories, like clothes fitting better, or moving down in size, being more comfortable in a seatbelt, needing to fill the bathtub with more Water since you don't displace as much as before (!), finding your collarbones and cheekbones again, etc. You got this!

[VIN_IN_AL 55]

19 hours ago, JA Lenny said:

They told me, nothing is going to change, that the Op is a scam....

It amazes me how many people I know say the same thing when I mention WLS. All these people that express the WLS is a scam "opinion" also have NEVER had to deal with a weight issue, I take their opinions with a grain of salt of course.

Loosing weight is so easy I am told by the misinformed and obnoxious, just eat less and move more!

WOW if loosing weight is so easy, so simple I ask in return, then why is obesity considered a growing health issue?

I usually get no coherent response...

Edited March 18, 2020 by VIN_IN_AL

[Sammi_Katt 303]

20 hours ago, JA Lenny said:

Hi, Sammi,

Thank you for the reassurance. I was getting worried that the surgery wasn't working for me. I have had a few health obsessed friends that I did not tell I was doing the surgery, because I knew what their reaction would have been. I did, however, tell them over the weekend and the reaction was the same, the only difference being is that I did the Op. They told me, nothing is going to change, that the Op is a scam and I suppose mentally, that stayed in my head, that's why I was wondering if the estimated 6lbs post op weight loss was a good thing. It is as if I have to prove something to them.

I am due to go to my first post op appointment next Wednesday and was feeling that I would be disappointing my doctor (the one that did the surgery) and also wanted to ask him how soon I can start to exercise.

When did you start yours and by the way congratulations on your tremendous loss to date.

I started walking from day one, but I didn't do any harder exercises until I Was cleared (which for me, was 7 weeks because I had my gallbladder out four weeks after my sleeve). I'm sorry your friends are not being supportive; they're going off old biases and stigmas, though. It's been proven that this operation has been able to help a lot of people get to where they need to be. It's not a magical fix-all. It's a tool that you use to make sure YOU are successful in making yourself healthy, but you are still doing all the hard work.

And you are losing weight! That's amazing still. Everyone loses differently; some people lose fast, some lose slow. You'll find a good rhythm and see what your body can do.

[JA Lenny 4]

Thank you guys, for your positive responses to date. I had a really rough day today, as it was the beginning of week 2 post op, where I have to incorporate Protein Drinks in my liquid diet. My first two sips made me feel so ill and really, I felt so terrible that I was in bed most of today. I forgot and took two large mouthfuls of my first Protein Drink and that is what made me ill.

Thanks for the support with regard to my best friend's comments, who up to today called me to carry on with her rhetoric. They do extreme regimes of marathons, triathlons, 60 miles cycle runs, Tough mudder, year after year and believe that everyone should be like them. They are very wealthy and can spend a lot of time on themselves (self indulgence) and have no worries at all. Self righteousness plays out and always calling anyone who is a size 12 or more fat. I have lived with that for 3 decades plus and it really impacted on me psychologically.

My main reason I decided to do the sleeve was that I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure in 2017. Added to that I have sleep apnea and asthma. I researched the option I took to have the sleeve for a few months and made a final decision to have it. The weight loss is a plus, but I have now been provided with an opportunity to have my diabetes reversed as I lose the weight and I am already getting a better night's sleep since my Op last week. Prior to that I have not had a good night sleep in over 3 years, which fed my high blood pressure.

I am so glad you guys are here to support me and rest assured, I am here to do the same. Thank you all so much for your kind words.