Newly Gastric Sleeved

Hi Everyone

I am a 29yr old mother of a 4yo boy from Australia.

I have just received the phone call from the hospital to say you can now have your sleeve on the 28th of may.
Lets just say I am soooooo scared sad

I want to set a good example for my son in life and yes after trying lots of weight loss tools (which nothing worked) I have decided to get the sleeve.

Please I need some advice??? smile

how long after op were you able to move around and be 'normal' again?
how long till you can return to work?

I have pre-op app on Wednesday and will obviously ask a lot of questions
Thanks
Mandy from OZ

Hi, I actually have a surgery date of May 21st, start my liquid diet tomorrow. I'm excited and scared....but mostly excited. I agree, 15 lbs in a month sounds good. How much did u expect to lose? I ask bc I'm unsure of what to expect.

my wife had it done almost a year ago. She's down 95 lbs..she looks and feels great! The 1st week for her was the hardest, but now she eats whatever she wants. She stays away from her "trigger foods"..Coke(anything carbonated), and chocolate!..won't even touch it. She's in a "maintenance phase" now..trying to gain muscle....it gets better! I'm speaking from the outside, I know, but I was with her the whole way. Good luck, and just stick to what the Dr says, and you'll be golden!..stay away from your trigger foods too!

I am 33 years old a had gastric sleeve surgery on 04/02/14. My highest recorded weight was 265lbs. On the date of my surgery my weight was 239lbs. My current weight is 224lbs, which I feel like I am struggling to lose. I work out 6 days a week for a little over an hour and half, but still my results have stalled. If anyone has any advice for shedding the weight please provide that to me.

Congratulations on your success so far. Unfortunately, I've found that some people on MFP have weird attitudes about surgery and gastric sleeves and think of it as "cheating" or somehow inferior to how they lost weight. Just thought I'd warn you.

Water. Water. Water. Protein. Protein. Protein. Sleeved 12/20/13. Down 89lbs so far. I've hit stalls, but I just keep tracking my calories, getting my water and protein in, and keep on exercising. Good luck to you!

No, it's not reversible and it's not detrimental to health in the long run (if you follow the doctor's orders). They just make your stomach smaller and remove the ghrelin (hunger hormones). Eventually your ghrelin grows back and your stomach can get bigger than just after surgery but you will always feel a restriction.
There are 'slider' foods that you can eat easily like chocolate, mashed potatoes, etc. so you have to stay away from those.
You can still have cola even though it's highly recommended that you don't drink it because of the carbonation.

I had mine four years ago and I don't regret it. I still feel restricted in how much I eat and I still don't feel as hungry as I did before the surgery. I think it was the best thing for me because before when I'd overeat, I was over 300 lbs. Now, I've gained weight but I'm able to use this tool (that's what it is - not a magic wand).

15lbs per month is the average to lose for the first 7 months. Don't worry if it slows down after that. Just keep on keeping on.
And, yes, your caloric intake goes up later on. Just at the beginning you're not able to take in any more than that (unless you eat slider foods and graze).

You're welcome and thanks for the gracious reply.

Gastric sleeve is different than say, gastric bypass or the Duodenal Switch where food is re-routed and nutritional deficiencies can occur. In the Gastric Sleeve (to visualize this, the doc said my stomach was the size of a large cantaloupe and he reshaped it to the size of a banana), food goes through its usual route - You just can't eat as fast or as much as you did before in one sitting.

For the folks who are considering this tool for weight loss, let me tell you my experiences.

The week after the surgery was not too painful but I experienced depression (they tell me it could've been the anesthesia) and anxiety. My thoughts ranged from "What in the world did I just do to myself?" to "You wanted this. You need this. You can do this." I couldn't get comfortable in the hospital bed or on the couches, and anything and everything (and everyone) irritated me. I sent everyone who came to visit me home because I didn't want to take their heads off!

I've never smoked but I'm guessing that it's very similar to trying to quit smoking. My stress-reliever (eating) was taken away from me. I couldn't even take a big swig of water because it was too much for my stomach.

At one point, maybe a month afterward, because I was not hungry, I'd forget to eat - or just wouldn't eat because the proteins I needed just were too uncomfortable to eat - so I ended up with hot flashes from not getting enough food in.

I finally got it straightened out. I lost over 100 lbs in the first 7 months and then stayed at 106 lost for about a year. After that, I got lax and started eating out of boredom and let the stress-eating take over. I've gained back 47 of those pounds.

I'm back on track now. This tool (small stomach) is really helping with my eating. I still don't feel as hungry as I did before the surgery but I can tell when my stomach is empty.

Many people still have 'head hunger', basically stress-eating, etc. afterward and it's highly recommended that if you do find yourself stress-eating, to visit a mental health specialist who specializes in eating disorders. Stress-eating is not a eating disorder but these specialists can help give tips on how to handle stress without reaching for that bag of corn chips or chocolate (two of my stress go-to's and slider foods).

My doctor recommended it because I gained 10 lbs a couple months after my surgery from eating my favorite comfort food (mashed potatoes with lots of cheese and butter). I don't eat those anymore. Not just because of the calories, but because sugary foods have more effect on me now - they put me to sleep!

I'm four years out and finally am planning to see a mental health specialist because I need those tips, even though it's much easier to resist stress-eating because I don't feel the hunger.

Feel free to ask me any questions if you're new to the gastric sleeve or if you're considering it. Hope this helps!

I am also set to have a sleeve done on May 28th. I have know several people who have done this procedure and have said it was the best thing they've ever done. I'm nervous about it and the liquid diet SUCKS, but if I can't commit to that, then why bother doing it at all. If you need/want a support buddy, I'm here!!

650 calories is really normal for the newly sleeved. Get your protein and fluids first and keep working to get your calories up a little each week. I'm 7 months out and get 1000-1200 /day now. Finally hit a healthy BMI yesterday, (first time in my adult life). Still losing slowly and have about 20 pounds to go to hit the middle of the healthy range.

I was sleeved on 5/29. If you would like you can add me as a friend.