please tell me about life after the sleeve

I am considering having a sleeve. Here are the things that I like about the sleeve:

1. The stomach is intact, just a lot smaller. The pyloric valve is not bypassed. 
2. Removing most of the stomach removes most of the ghrelin production, and, hopefully, greatly reduces the appetite. 
3. It can be converted to a bypass if necessary. 

My questions are for those that have had the sleeve, especially those veterans who have had the sleeve in for a while. 

Has your appetite been greatly reduced? 

Do you have any pain when eating?  I have read way too many posts recently about people who've had the sleeve and maybe a year or two out, say that they have pain when eating and even drinking anything. That really concerns me. 

Please share with me how you have been since the sleeve. 

Thank you!

Hi Anne,

Its great that you are asking these questions. I am three years post op and I am maintaining at goal.  I am delighted with my sleeve.

I can eat anything I want, though I need to limit calories and carbs to prevent weight gain.  I am also diligent about following the rules to maximize my sleeves efficacy.  So I avoid grazing; I eat dense protein first;  I avoid liquid with meals.  etc.

I know that carbs cause cravings for me, so I keep my carbs low.  I still have hunger, but I don't feel so driven to overeat as I was before surgery.  The surgery changes our bodies in a way that makes it easier to manage obesity.  But it doesn't make it easy or automatic. just possible.

I don't have pain from eating, unless I overeat.  But I'm good at knowing my limits, so its rarely a problem. 

I want to emphasize that it is not easy.  It takes a long-term commitment to managing the obesity. Many people do regain a lot of weight.   But the sleeve makes it possible to succeed.

best wishes,

Carol

Carol, 

Thank you for answering my questions! :)

The thing I keep hearing over and over again is to stay away from the carbs. That this sleeve will work if carbs are restricted. That is the same for all WLS it seems. 

How much can you eat at a time, and how long can you go before you feel hunger again? 

Thanks, 

-Anne 

My meals consist of 4 ounces of dense protein plus a serving of low-carb veggies.  I'd guess about 6 or 7 ounces per meal.  I eat a lot of casseroles  that are combos of these:  chicken and broccoli casserole, crack slaw (ground beef and cabbage) chicken in spicy peanut sauce, buffalo chicken spaghetti squash, crustless mushroom quiche ... etc. 

I eat 4 meals a day so I have a meal every 3 or 4 hours, and I am sometimes hungry after about 2  to 2.5 hours.  A lot of people said they don't get hungry anymore, but I still do.

Yes, carbs cause food cravings for many of us, and its best to limit them to help stay on track.

best wishes,

Carol

Well, that IS the infamous lifestyle change!  White carbs.  Flour, sugar, rice, pasta, and potatoes.  Eat those foods and watch your body grow, surgery or no surgery.  Don't eat them and watch your body shrink.

But the key point here.. THE LIFESTYLE CHANGE *****IS**** WHITE CARBS!

If you meet a regainer ask them how they regained. 99% of them will tell you they went back to white carbs.

I'm 5 yrs out and I have no hunger really, I just eat by a schedule because I know I need to survive.   I have had no pain when eating or any other time with my sleeve.   I still have to make the right choices on what I eat, that is a struggle sometimes.

Thank you for the reply :) 

It's good to hear that the sleeve lessens the appetite. Mine is out of control. I'm sure I will always have "head" hunger to deal with, but if I could tame the real hunger and the appetite, I think I can finally lose it and keep most of it off. 

-Anne

Carbs stimulate hunger.  I could probably go days without eating now with minimal hunger pains.  I once saw 13 clients in a row and wound up not eating for almost 24 hours.  I had the smallest twinge - it's a result of the sleeve, for sure, but it's also the fact I have low serum insulin from a low carb diet.  Pre-op eating pancakes, donuts, whole wheat bread, sugary yogurt, etc, I would have gone freaking nuts from the hunger.  Now it's just discomfort... like a minor foot cramp that comes and goes away if I ignore it.  It's no longer an emergency.

Insulin stimulating hunger will get us every time, sadly.  Even if you get the DS, carbs will sabotage you if you don't eliminate many.

Having said that, some people do eat moderate carbs post-op, but the most successful people I see permanently limit them.

I am 4.5 years out, and have minimal appetite. That part is true. I still have great restriction as well. I did have a hiatel hernia a couple years after surgery, but I also had one before. No telling if that would have happened without the sleeve as well. I did lose the gallbladder due to all of the weight loss, but I was also allergic to the meds they prescribe to protect the gallbladder. So not surprising I lost the gallbladder. 

As far as pain when eating- sometimes I still have a hard time with dry protein. It feels kind of like it gets hung up in there, so I just avoid it. The gallbladder/hernia issues were at the same time so for a period there I did revert back to a liquid diet until they figured everything else. But overall, I would not describe it as painful to eat or drink. Just a little symptomatic due to hernia/gallbladder issues. 

It changed my life. My quality of life has improved dramatically. Even just 3 months out I realized the improvement that occurred during that time was already enough to make the surgery worth it- and I was no where near goal at 3 months. Can't recommend it enough- it was the classic "tried every diet under the sun" and failed them all. Usually ended up putting more back on than I lost type thing. The sleeve made it achievable, and given I now really know what it feels like to be morbidly obese (former bmi was 44) I am determined to keep the weight down for health reasons, not to mention I just feel so much better. 

Thank you for responding! 

You are a teacher? me too :) 

I don't have a gallbladder but I have had a hiatal hernia and a repair in 2011 and have had no issues with it since then. 

When you say dry protein, you mean like well-cooked steak? 

-Anne