Recent Posts
Thanks so much for your replies everyone! Since I read them, I've been able to reach my protein goal quite easily! So thanks again, I really appreciate the help!
Does anyone take B-12? I was advised to take it weekly (I use Nascobol spray) after my surgery and have been using it ever since. I rarely hear it mentioned on this site. Just curious. Thanks!
Not a dumb question! Liquid is liquid and it all counts. It also can't stretch your stomach since it flows through. Keep sipping :)
When I was newly post-op, I'd drink 16 oz of protein shake first off for 60g of protein. Then I'd sip calorie-free stuff until dinner time, at which point I'd drink my third shake (8oz, 30g) of the day. Then I'd go back to sipping the calorie-free stuff. I was able to reach my goals (64oz, 90g) pretty much from day one this way.
VSG with Dr. Salameh - 3/13/2014
Diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder and started Vyvanse - 7/22/2016
Reconstructive Surgeries with Dr. Michaels - 6/5/2017 (LBL & brachioplasty), 8/14/2017 (UBL & mastopexy), 11/6/2017 (medial leg lift)
Age 42 Height 5'4" HW 319 (1/3/2014) SW 293 (3/13/2014) CW 149 (7/16/2017)
Next Goal 145 - normal BMI | Total Weight Lost 170
TrendWeight | Food Blog (sort of functional) | Journal (down for maintenance)
The liquid in the shakes can be counted in a min liquids requirements for the day. I used to deduct app 1-2 oz from the total volume, to take into account the powder plus the air bubbles in that (when I made it from powder)
I.e. drinking 16oz of premixed protein shake, RTD, I counted 15 oz towards my liquids requirements. Making a shake using protein powder, 16 oz finished drink, I counted 13-14 for liquids.
I used to have a container with me almost all the time, and constantly sipping. Initially it was protein shake, later on and long term, I almost always have a bottle of water or other drink (green tea) almost anywhere I go. When I get home from work, I often make a weak tea to sip on as I feed our cats and start making our meal.
Initially I would stop drinking 15-30 min before my meal, but as my insides healed, there was no need to wait 30 min. Long term - I drink liquids to app 5-10 min before I start eating. I often get 100-150 oz of liquids a day. That not only helps with my hydration but also with BM. Now I can drink 8-12 oz in 5 min or less if I haven't eat dense proteins type food for at least couple of hours.
When I start drinking after a meal, I wait at least 30 min. Sometimes much longer. Starting with small sips allows me to judge if I have a room to drink, or need to wait longer.
Hala. RNY 5/14/2008; Happy At Goal =HAG
"I can eat or do anything I want to - as long as I am willing to deal with the consequences"
"Failure is not falling down, It is not getting up once you fell... So pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again...."
I have had 2 stalls in 6 month since surgery. I weigh myself once a week. At my 6month post-op checkup, the PA told me if i go 4 weeks without a weight loss to make an appointment with the dietician. They would rather us come in early and correct what we are doing wrong now, Than a year from now when we have gained back most or all of the weight.
HW-430
SW-372
Day of Surgery-347
CW-246
Coming up on the third week now with no weight lost. Good to know that it's common for other people too.
At one week post op I remember drinking two complete protein shakes through out the day as well as sipping on water and tea all day long.
One of the biggest reasons I chose VSG was because I was allowed to take NSAIDS and my bariatric team prescribed me 800 mg Ibuprofen which I use today 2 years out.
Actually, Grim, it is those surgeons most familiar with the sleeve on a day to day basis that are most amenable to NSAID usage for those procedures, as they, well, are most familiar with those procedures and their patients. The practice that I used had been doing them for some twenty years on a near full time basis (interspersed with the odd bypass here and there) - and that was eight years ago, and there are many others who have been doing so since the 80's and 90's. These are also practice that tend to emphasize long term follow up, so they have a better than average understanding of what their patients are going through over the years; it this was a big problem, they would be doing something about it. (and yes, for their bypass patients, it is no-NSAIDs - because that is what the bypass and its propensity toward marginal ulcers demands.)
I'm sure that you have seen bad things with NSAIDs over the years, as the bypass has been the default WLS for many years, and many have accepted these limitations as just a fact of life in the WLS business. Some have become so scarred from these problems with their bypass patients that they simply transfer their rules to their other patients irrespective the different tolerance characteristics of the procedures. This is one of the factors that has driven some surgeons to move toward developing alternatives that address such long term complications and limitations. That's progress, and it's an ongoing process.
1st support group/seminar - 8/03 (has it been that long?)
Wife's DS - 5/05 w Dr. Robert Rabkin VSG on 5/9/11 by Dr. John Rabkin
While it can be a little awkward to get used to sleeping with a mask on your face, the honest truth (from what I've seen on many years of OH) is that people get TREMENDOUSLY better sleep on a CPAP. I'm a stomach sleeper and used a CPAP prior to WLS, and I even found a way to sleep on my side/stomach with the correct pillow and mask.
To be honest, what you "want" to do here and what you're "down for" are pretty irrelevant. Untreated sleep apnea can have fatal consequences, and your surgeon's office is looking out for your well-being.
True story: I was on a CPAP at time of my VSG, but somehow the machine didn't make it to the OR for me to wear during surgery. They flipped on the anesthesia, I got knocked out, and I very nearly had a stroke less than ten minutes in because of the sleep apnea; it took them nearly two hours to get me stable and I very well could have died. This is no joke.
Sparklekitty / Julie / Nerdy Little Secret (#42)
Roller derby - cycling - triathlon
VSG 2013, RNY conversion 2019 due to GERD. Trendweight here!
