please tell me about life after the sleeve

Hi Anne,

Basically any meat that is overcooked so it is dry. Rotisserie chicken fresh is awesome. Chicken as leftovers 2 days later and dried out might pose problems. Scrambled eggs has caused me some major issues up until the point I finally realized that if they were over cooked, it would be very painful/vomiting and require a 3 day recovery. If they are cooked soft and still glistening/shiny then no problems. I now eat poached eggs, as that style never causes issues. Beef is one I have to be careful with- well done is a problem, medium rare no problem. Once in a while ground beef is a problem. I don't mean to make it sound like dry protein is this huge non-stop issue- it isn't. It is simply something I have to be aware of, and then I can easily avoid any issues. My husband helps too- he now notices when we go to eat something if it might be an issue ans warns me. Once in a while I can still mindlessly eat (imagine that) and cause myself problems. I had some problems with dry protein before surgery too, so that I am sure makes it more of an issue for me now as well.

What do you teach? I decided to put teacher in my username due to teachers having some unique challenges to deal with. The perpetual birthday treats being lovingly delivered, inability to use the bathroom when needed, etc  I found, for example, that post op I just plain and simply have to avoid the staff room. There is always free sugary treats there, and I just can't stay out of them. If I don't go, I don't obsess over it. Ugh. 

I teach high school French and the bathroom problem is really the only issue for me. We are having a potluck on the last day for teachers tomorrow - I'm bringing salad and our principal is a vegan (maybe there will be more healthy options), and I'm not on the liquid pre-op diet yet. Otherwise I would avoid it altogether. 

Hydration is always a problem. When the year started, class started at 7:05 and I could not take a bathroom brea****il 12:00. I wouldn't drink anything all morning and wouldn't eat anything either -because I never know when something isn't going to agree with me and I might have to go. Then, I would eat lunch and then pretty much graze all afternoon and into the night. 

After a couple of months the schedule changed and lunch started at 10:20 - that's still a long time. 

I put on a LOT of weight this year and I'm sure that this eating schedule was a part of the problem. 

Who knows what next year's schedule will look like, but , yeah - bathroom breaks are always a problem. 

-Anne

One year out, and I don't really get hungry for 12 hours of not eating - I fast occasionally, and that's really the only time I have hunger.  The only exception is when I eat carbs and go off plan.  Hunger roars back whenever I eat carbs.  If I eat under 50g/carbs a day, I am basically never hungry.  I can't express how happy this makes me. :)

Thank you so much for responding. 

Any kind of carb? or just highly refined carbs? I find that when I eat, say, nothing but carbs for breakfast (like pancakes) I'm shaky, hungry and sick a couple of hours later, but if I eat some protein with a "good" carb (like steel cut oats) I'm fine and satisfied longer. 

No pain, or any other problems with your sleeve? 

-Anne

I only eat meat and vegetables typically, with moderate dairy.  I shoot for 50g total or less daily, including fiber.  I have celiac disease, so I try to avoid grains, aside from the fact veggies are more nutrient dense by far, anyway.  I often have a salad with meat for breakfast instead for this reason.  Compare the vitamins in a salad to oatmeal for example :)  Low carb and ketogenic diets actually suppress hunger, since they stimulate hormones that suppress it.  The more carbohydrate you eat the more insulin you secrete, and insulin stimulates hunger and fat storage both. Many of us avoid higher carb diets post-op, generally, because it's the carbs that cause regain by a wide margin.  Weight gain and loss isn't just caloric in nature - it's severely influenced by hormones.  In particular, ghrelin, leptin, glucagon, and insulin.  These are directly controlled by what we consume or not, and food choice alters them better than any medication can.

Head hunger is another story entirely.  Nothing cures that except learning to deal with, and identify, its presence.

Nope, no problems from the sleeve.  I had a perfect recovery for the most part.  I never even used my pain medication prescribed pre-op.  My recovery was very atypical, though.  As for pain a year out, I am very uncomfortable overeating, but that's typical.  Ideally, we should all measure before eating going forward for this reason.  It is super painful and uncomfortable to eat carbs for many, though unfortunately I did not get the anti-pasta discomfort quite a few of us wind up with.  I was lucky - my surgeon was one of the best in the area, trained by some of the best in the country (he did his residency at the University of Chicago).  I also was ridiculously compliant with his instructions.  I had a flawless, and effortless, recovery thanks to their skill and my own compliance. 

That is a common response to carbs Anne. It is good you figured out to combine protein and high quality carb. Are you diabetic? It sounds like you might be dealing with low blood sugar after a high glycemic load breakfast there. If you are insulin resistant and not on metformin or something you might find the weight loss is a little sluggish at first, but it will kick in. Took me 3 months of dieting preop to lose a little weight, but post op it became much easier. Resetting the gut does wonders!

The real vets on this forum are amazing fountains of information.  I'm 20 months into the process, happy beyond belief with the results of my VSG.  But I deal with HEAD HUNGER every day.  I am not hungry but I WANT the food.  Not all foods, just the CARBS.  Therapy, behavior tools, and allowing myself to live in the present is making this work for me now.  I am a sugar addict.  I know it.  I have to plan my course of action when I know I will be in the presence of sugar and carbs.  Don't underestimate this aspect of your weight loss journey. The sleeve will be an INCREDIBLE tool to manage the physical feelings of hunger and limiting the amount you can eat at one sitting.  I wouldn't change this for the world.  But the HEAD has power of it's own and you should consider that as you make your decision.  Good luck.  Hope to see you on the losers' bench. 

Eight years post op and I love it.

Yes, a sleeve can be revised to bypass but #1) get the right surgery the first time.  #2) Don't bank on ins paying for a revision.  Most are not and those ins co's left are going to the policy of "once per lifetime wls."  So if you think you need malabsorption, get it now.

Yes, the sleeve can be revised to bypass but BETTER it can be revised to DS and with a sleeve you already have half the surgery done anyway.

I really only have an appetite when I eat white carbs and that is a blood sugar issue.

No pain with eating.  That is not typical of a sleeve, that is something else going on.

I had the sleeve for 2 years then revised to the DS. If you end up with the sleeve and need a revision, go with the DS not the RNY. 

As far as the sleeve goes I have had no pain. It feels like a normal stomach I just get full alot faster. I have/ had hunger. It would be about every 2-3 hours and then I would be painfully hungry. And I'm not talking head hunger but actual stomach hunger. It was getting to be a problem with just the sleeve. I had lost 100# but gained back 20# it was then that I decided to get the DS. Now it's not as big of a deal if I eat every 3 hours since I am malabsorbing some of what I eat. If you think you need malabsorption in addition to restriction, I highly recommend that you check out the DS.

Has your appetite been greatly reduced? 

It was almost non-existent for the first ten months after surgery. It has gradually come back since then but is nowhere near as strong as it was.

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. 

No, none whatsoever.

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

I've been great, never healthier or happier. No complications or problems. I would have this surgery again at least a couple of times a year if I had to, it really wasn't a big deal for me in terms of recovery or pain or long term (unwanted) health effects. But, thankfully, I don't have to! My sleeve will always be here for me.