Gastric Sleeve Patients?????

Try almond milk and freeze greek yogurt cubes -- low fat vanilla, and toss that in with some frozen fruit and you will not taste the whey I also like the brand body fortress. It has the least repeat on me, Good luck and let us know if you have come across anything.

I am scheduled for VSG surgery 1/13/14, feeling both excited and nervous. I have to have an IVC filter placed on 1/10/14, due to a blood clotting disorder. Has anyone out there had the same filter placed and were there any complication with it? Also, I am not a fan of protein drinks, which is the best?

Hello everyone, I had my gastric sleeve surgery 6 weeks ago. I feel great. I have lost 60 lbs and I am getting back to the old active me ( swimming a mile a day ect.). I have a few questions maybe a few of the group could answer. I find it very difficult to maintain adequately hydrated. I eat several times a day about 1/2 cup of food each time. Is that normal. I am so scared that I will stretch my sleeve out. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated
Best to all my sleeve buddies,
Scott

I had surgery 6/10/13 too and have lost 108 so far. I'm still losing 1.5-2#/wk and have 50-70# to go.

The first week I had gas (they pump it inside us to expand the surgery area) & diarrhea which I discussed with my medical providers (this resolved before intervention was required).

Had difficulty taking medicine the first couple weeks - nurse said take pain meds, which helped a lot (even though I wasn't in pain).

Difficulty drinking till my stomach healed (a month or so) - could only sip at first, now can gulp - got a nurse's watch which beeps every 15 minutes to remind me to drink (still).

I am starting to enjoy food again. But I appreciate having only a few flavorful bites and chew chew chew till it's mush. It's easier to swallow and extends the enjoyment. I eat my protein first and then veggies to fill me up (to help avoid having potatoes and cakes). It's important to get the nutrition before the treats. And it's important to me to love that I'm eating less because my longterm goal is to be healthy and happy.

Sidetrack here. The sleeve does not make us skinny. If I eat carbs, I still get cravings. If I don't eat enough (esp. protein) I still get hungry. The Ghrellin may be diminished at first but it comes back. The sleeve does force us to eat less, but can be stretched out. Sleeves give us a kickstart to lose weight, but we have to change our eating habits to succeed and avoid gaining it back. It is important to learn to enjoy smaller portions, and not eat that junk food. Nutritious food can be tasty and fulfilling.

It's up to us to see the glass as half full or half empty. We can focus on appreciating the things we Can eat (which can be really delicious) - or we can think about the things that made us get obese in the first place. If we have an addiction, we have to kick it and stay on the wagon. The sleeve will let us do that (I AM addicted to processed carbs), but we have to be vigilant for life. It's just easier if we have an eating lifestyle that we enjoy and don't have to fight.

I drink protein shakes religiously to get 60-80+gm/day. I'm allergic to dairy, some people develop an intolerance after surgery. I prefer egg-based more than soy proteins. My favorite is Optimum Nutrition 100% Egg Gold Standard Rich Chocolate flavor.

Have hit stalls (just keep doing everything right and have faith. It will be frustrating, but it Will resolve!) and have lost hair (it's dramatic and scary, but it grows back!)

I exercise to the extent I can. Arm lifts in my chair, gentle walks, my abilities increased as I toned and lost weight. My knees are blown, I'm over 60 years old, and at 317# I could barely walk without pain. Now I can walk on level streets (it feels amazing to just walk walk walk), but hills are hard and I still can't do stairs.

Tracking food helps immensely, as does the advice from all the wonderful sources on MFP. ("VSGers" and "Sleevers" are both surgery groups and I love "Let's Lose 100+").

Best wishes to us all!
Paula

Surgery 10/28. Have lots of reflux issues. Not sure what r how much I should be eating. Having lots of trouble getting in fluid. After two bites and then just kinda sits there. Is this feeling normal, eating too fast? Too much?

I had issues with burning when I ate. My doctor told me to take a prilosec once a day. That helped tremendously.

Ok i was sleeved February 15, 2013. Has anyone stalked on their weight loss and kinda lost motivation?

Hello. I am happy to say that I have begun the process to have the gastric sleeve procedure done. Jan. 10th is the day I go for the seminar, surgeon consultation & first meeting with the dietician. I have done extensive research on all the WLS procedures out there & the sleeve, by far, seemed to be the most successful with the least amount of complications. Of course, as with any surgery, WLS or otherwise, there is always a chance of complications. I look at the positives vs. the negatives. I suffer daily with pain, have lost alot of mobility, take multiple medications to "bandaid" the multiple health issues I have because of my morbid obesity, all at the ripe "old" age of my mid 40's. I WANT MY LIFE BACK! I want to be able to go for walks, exercise, get groceries at the store without having to drive a scooter around. I have mentally prepared myself for this. Completely educated myself to know that this WLS is a tool to help me reach my goals. I am hoping for surgery in Feb. or March of 2014. I have read alot of the posts on this forum & am now more excited than ever to get this process going & have my WLS. Thank you all so much & I hope to read more on this site. Good Luck to everyone on this journey. Can't wait to report my progress as well.

I'm in process off getting the sleeve done next year. Currently still doing my programs but it's really hard because sometimes I don't know what to eat without gaining weight before my surgery. Would love to hear more stories t.y.

I have had the Gastric Bypass 12 years ago and the band 5 years ago got pregnant. I wanted the sleeve because I cant shake this weight.. But decided I may need to get my mind together and just exercise! You Look awesome anyhow

hi I'm rosie, I have my surgery on dec 23,2013 a lil scared cuz I don't no what to eat the first two weeks it don't look like much choices I have,can I get some ideals plz....thanks

I'm currently scheduled for my sleeve procedure on January 16th and would love to have a few buddies for support! Anyone interested in buddying up?

I will be having the gastric sleeve in Feb/March time frame. I had my appt with dietician last week and she told me the part of stomach they remove holds the hormones in it that tell you your hungry or full. I have been thnking about this alot lately and want to know how you know when to eat if you do not feel hungry. Do you have to set alarms or have a schedule for the meals and snacks. I am trying to talk to people who have recently had the gastric sleeve done and to see how they are doing with their meals and how their daily energy levels are. Thank you for any response.

Not sure where to start, so I'll start with this. I was always a chunky child, then I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism when I was 16 and my weight seemed to get out of control after that. I've been morbidly obese for about 20 years (fluctuating between the mid 300's and as high as 450). I've tried every diet you could imagine and some would work, other's failed miserably but each and every time I would gain the weight back and then some!

My husband who was obese and a diabetic started researching the different types of surgeries and started the process in 2012 and after I had some health issues arise I decided to start the process as well. He had his surgery in July 2013, left the hospital off all diabetic medications and immediately started dropping the weight! He's lost 70 pounds (he's down to 224 lbs) and only in the last month has he plateaued.

I was so amazed to see how much weight he was losing that I couldn't wait until my day arrived and it finally did on October 23rd of this year. I managed to lose 26 pounds prior to my liquid diet before surgery, lost 10 pounds on the liquid diet and as of today I've lost 23 pounds since surgery. However, I'm not seeing the large number loss that I guess I thought I would see for someone who weights as much as I do and I know I shouldn't compare my husbands loss to mine because everyone is different but I'm finding that I'm getting angry with myself when I step on the scale every morning and either see no change or very little loss.

I feel as though I'm becoming more obsessed with food now than before I had the surgery because I'm so afraid of what the scale will say in the morning and the fact that the Doctor said he wants to see a 50 pound loss when I return at the beginning of February. I've joined a gym and was going every day until I made myself sick, so now I go 3 days a week and last night I was able to walk a mile and a half in 35 minutes, which to me is a huge accomplishment.

I would love to hear from anyone who may have possibly run across some of the same struggles and to find out what you did to over come them. I known in one of the previous posts that their was a link to a group, so I'll try to check it out as well.

Wishing everyone great success in their journeys!

Hello everyone,

I recently went to my doctor and was told that I should consider having the sleeve done. This past year I lost 65lbs but have gained about 40 back as of right now. I'm only 24 years old and feel as though maybe I'm too young for this surgery, but part of me thinks it would help. I've struggled with my weight my entire life and have lost and gained and lost and gained. Does it really matter how old you are or what does everyone think about this?