breastfeeding and vsg

Hello there.  I will have surgery in approx one month and my 14 month old is still bf'ing.  I have been searching for information for the past 4 months will no "clear" answers.   I do not wish to wean him.  Anyone have experience with this?  Thanks in advance.

I had my VSG when my twins were 6 months old and were still BF'ing. Make sure your surgeon knows you are BF'ing, there are pain killers and anesthetic medications that are "safer" to use with surgery but you'll still probably have to pump and dump for the first 24 hours.

Since my twins were still BF'ing often at the time of my surgery, I did a bunch of pumping prior to build up my "stash" of freezer milk and that really helped with the first couple weeks after surgery when I had the most pain/fatigue. I had no problem with decreased supply post-VSG and weaned my twins at 16 month after they moved to only nursing once a day. In the 9 months after my VSG, I lost 130 lbs with very little effort and was almost at my goal weight before I found out my IUD failed and I was expecting #3 (due in Feb). I suspect that continuing to BF really helped loose the weight quickly.

This website has a ton of great info about surgery and BF'ing: http://www.kellymom.com/health/illness/mom-surgery.html

Good luck

Thank you so very much for your reply!!  So just to reiterate...you continued to bf your twins after surgery for 10 additional months without any nutritional issues?  You were able to get in enough water/calories?  Are you saying they bf and received a bottle at first?   And you didn't lose your supply?  I have been worried sick for months about this.  Some say "just wean or put off surgery" I want/need this surgery but I also want to allow my son to wean on his own.  I knew I would pump/dump in the hospital but wanted to continue nursing him once home from the hospital.  I figured I might lose my supply so I've been pumping for a few months as well.  My surgeon and NUT are aware the situation.  Needless to say, I'm the first person they've ever dealt with in regaurd to wls/bf'ing.  I will definitely check out kellymom.  Thanks again.

Correct, I continued BF'ing for 10 more months with no problems, in fact my girls are in the 90th percentile for height and 75th percentile for weight, so they're growing just fine.
It was rough for the first couple weeks to get enough fluid in, but after the first 2 weeks I could drink pretty normally and never had any issues getting all my protein in. I saw a slight decrease in my pumping amount at about 1 month post surgery but I added fenugreek pills to my diet and my supply picked right up.

The girls did have to take bottles of breastmilk when I was in the hosptial overnight, but they've never had formula, Only breastmilk and cow's milk (after they turned 1).

At 14 months, your son is eating some solids, right? By 14 months, my girls were mostly comfort nursing 3 times a day and getting the majority of their calories from solids. I totally understand wanting to let your baby wean on his own. I was prepared for the long haul with my girls, but they had other plans.

If you have any other questions, I'll try my best to answer them. Honestly it was much easier to continue breast feeding than I expected. VSG Surgery was a breeze compared to my c section.

Thanks again.  You have eased my mind so much!  I'm sure it won't be easy but at least I know it can be done.  I posted this on the vsg forum and let's just say a few of the responses were not positive.  I'm a LLL leader but still was not able to find much info on bf and wls.  Hope you'll accept me as a "friend."