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My surgeon gave me a copy of the surgical notes and he used a French bougie 34 and 60mm staples. I'm six months out and have full restriction. Not sure how long this will last but hopefully until I reach my goal.
Bougie size I believe is based on patient height, weight, and surgeon technique. Generally, the smaller the bougie, the smaller the new stomach size although the finished sleeve size is determined by how close the stapler gets to the guide and whether the surgeon oversews the staple line.
Periodically I come to this support page because I used to live on it prior to my VSG surgery in 2012 & I remember when someone came through and posted when post their surgery how grateful I was and made me feel I was not about to make a mistake & afterwards that I had not made a mistake. It?s been 7 years since my surgery and I will say the regrets are very very few. It wasn?t easy but at some point you will be able to eat more. The only times I?ve regretted was when I was eating something soo good but couldn?t have but a few bites but I always can have it an hour or 2 later so it?s really All Good! So hang in there. When you are able to wear those smaller clothes you will feel so much better. I remember how the juice from cabbage greens was so so good during that liquid period. Then was the soft foods period & finally progressing to regular food, only a bite or two initially. Still now if I eat a bite too much, everything I ate probably will come up. So just gauge or measure how much you know you can eat as time goes on & just don?t cross that line. I usually fix more than I?m going to eat that I can eat off of later because in my house it may be nothing left to eat from the next couple of hours. I keep water or crystal light for my water to drink through out the day no matter where I go & if I wake up during the night, I?ll just take a few sips & go on back to sleep. It will get better!!! Best of Luck!!!
**And please do not forget the Protein Shakes, since we can't eat enough to get all the nutrients our body needs daily, I have to take my multivitamin supplements & protein shakes are a must!!
Thanks for the link that was a good video. It's interesting that he has meats and dairy closer to the "bad" end of his food continuum, yet it seems that most people on this site (and my nutritionist) recommend high protein, which leaves little remaining room for fruit and vegetables.
And to the thread, I have no idea the size of my stomach!
I was told about this site and figured I would come and say hello, maybe hang out. I'm sure support is important in this process. I am to have a VSG on Oct. 9th. Feel like I am understanding what is to come, but advice is welcome.
-Erik
TY so much, I will try that n maybe do shakes for dinner. Im so excited but yet so nervous lol.
Mine is a 34 and I asked him to do it tight ! Haha don't know if he did or not and I had really good restriction up until the 2 year mark and then I noticed I could eat more, ugh. So I had to measure for a while and I have to be mindful of what I do. I never thought I would be able to eat much again but that is not the case. Make sure you follow the plan and measure your food and you wont have any issues.
Have you tried eating in the morning and doing the shakes at night ? I had a hard time with shakes doing anything for me in the morning and its still the same way now. I do better eating breakfast and doing a shake for lunch or dinner, I don't do shakes very often anymore, I like eating my food ! It is actually easier after surgery unless you are hung up on certain foods, but by your post I am not seeing that you are so you should be just fine. Congrats on the upcoming surgery.
I have 1 more month left b4 my doc submits to ins. Im trying to replace 1 meal with a (already made) premier shake or I also have boost shakes. I do good in the morning and have a shake and then as a snack later I have a nutrigrain bar but later in the day all I want to do is eat n eat... Idk if its me just about to start my cycle or what. I get so frustrated and mad at myself.. I have healthy snacks but still. I keep thinking if I cant do it now then what am I going to do when I have the surgery. I really have been trying. Just scared I guess. Any tips that I can try. I already drink alot of water all day and have kicked sodas to the curb 5 months ago thankfully :D
I have no idea, and really don't care (if, indeed, he even used one) - there are so many other factors involved that it makes little difference. When i had mine done some eight years ago, there was a group in here from one surgeon who insisted that if you didn't have a tightly oversewn 32Fr sleeve, that you would never lose the needed weight, could never maintain your loss, would soon be eating 16 oz steaks, and no one would ever love you again.... Yet others who had 36 or 40Fr sleeves did just as well (and others with 32s struggled.)
My nominal stomach size at surgery time was 2.5 oz; when my wife had her DS, her nominal stomach size was 4 oz which probably works out to a 56-60Fr, typical for a DS, yet all these years later, our meal capacity is about the same.
A more important factor is to understand that your capacity will increase some over time, and you need to plan for that. This doc provides a rough projection of what to expect, and his ideas of how to live with it (mainly taking up that additional volume with high bulk, low calorie veg) - you may or may not like his prescription, but the main idea is to plan ahead for it and figure out how you are going to handle it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_aahPETzH0&t=106s
Good luck, and have fun with it
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
Hi Vanvooh,
Im 4 weeksout now. Ithurts less now than before. I can eat about 2 to3 tspns of puree before burping and thats how i know to stop. Somedays are better than others. I still get nauseus which i hooe will subside. Key is to drink water all day and eat a good carb puree with protein to stabilize insulin as low sugar causes nausea. Want to avoid that. My bp is normal and off meds now. Lost 25 lbs. I still have moments of regret when I see people eat but was told by month 3 when i can eat atleast 4 oz (dry oz not liquid oz..theres a difference) i will feel a lot better. 2 to 3 tspns of food ****** me off. Go to walmart and buy a foodacale 10$. Make sure you set it to lb/oz...ypu will need it eventually.
At this point the nausea is killing me. Hooefully the more it heals this will go away. Im sure regret will be a thing of the past soon. Im already starting to be a little happier
Good luck and reach out to me if you do get it so we can help each other out.
