Sleeve Gastrectomy Q&A
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Jenneke0269
Posts: 28 Member
So I made this thread for any questions on Sleeve Gastrectomy, or VSG to make it shorter. Anyone who has questions about the surgery can ask them here, and anyone with experience in it can answer them.
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How long before you felt like yourself again? I am nervous when they say, I will struggle to drink 1oz of water.
Every surgery is different. Mine went very smoothly, I had a good surgeon (no "medical tourist in Mexico" stuff), I'm relatively young, and I didn't have any complicating factors in the surgery.
The water situation is like this: in the hospital, they'll give you a stack of disposable medicine cups and a pitcher of water on your first full day in recovery. Your goal is to drink 1 of those cups (~1oz) every 15 minutes until you've gotten enough. It's not painful or anything, water will just go right through your stomach pouch into your intestines. By the time you get home, you'll probably be well enough to sip from a normal glass and get about 4-6 oz. of water down. Also by the time you get home, you'll be on full liquids again, meaning protein shakes, thin (non-chunky) soups, sugar-free Jell-O, etc. And yes, Jell-O does count for your daily water goal. Within a week of getting home, you'll have no problems at all drinking fluids, just don't chug. Chugging rapidly fills your stomach, even though water goes right through, it still can pool in your stomach. So you could overfill yourself and possibly get nauseous or even vomit.
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The other thing that seems foreign to me, is when they say, you may make 1/2 of a given soft food; but you will be eating only a bite or two. I can't even imagine what that will feel like.
After surgery, you'll be on liquids-only for between 1-2 weeks. Then you have a period of pureed foods, think applesauce, or instant mashed potatoes in consistency. Dietician rules vary for what you can puree, mine said "basically anything you're comfortable sticking in a blender" That pureed phase lasts another 2 weeks or so, then you go to soft foods. Soft foods is described as "Anything except cuts of solid meat, or crunchy things", the reason solid meat like chicken breast, steak, etc doesn't count is the muscle fibers are tough enough that your stomach has to work harder to dissolve them. Since you're still healing, that's not something you want to do. Not all meat is forbidden though. Things like ground meats and most seafood are acceptable. Quantity-wise, for now you'll only be eating about 2-4oz. of food (about equivalent to 1-2 scrambled eggs) at a sitting. I know that sounds ridiculously small, but after surgery your stomach is tiny. That 2-4 oz will fill you up and you'll feel full.
When it comes to choosing your meals, just remember to go slow. When you make something you haven't had since before surgery, make only a small amount, and after your first bite or two, stop and wait for a couple minutes. Your stomach will tell you if it's ready for that food or not. If you feel nauseated, overly full, or in pain, STOP eating. If you have problems with a particular food, that doesn't always mean you can't ever have it again, maybe try again in another week. If the problem persists, then you may need to avoid that food in the future.0