So when you say "it's not been easy"

 What a great question!  Thanks for asking, I'm totally happy to read everyone's postings.  

One of the things I absolutely hated when I did weigh****chers (twice!  50 lbs one go & 40 another) was how consumed my mind was with what I was eating.  Do you all experience that?  I know that I'll have to be conscious of it all the time, use good planning & such, but I don't want it to be the thing that I always want to talk about with my husband.  I want to live my life without having intrusive thoughts about weight and food.  I think part of the deal was that there was always some level of hunger going on while "dieting" & hoping that won't be so true after VSG.

For tkdgrl: I know that onset or exacerbation of GERD is one of the possible side effects of surgery, but don't know what the recommended treatments are.  Since you're on the PPI meds, I'm assuming a physician is treating your symptoms.  Have they recommended any procedures that might help?  I'm going to ask my surgeon on Tuesday (final pre-op appt) & if he has anything useful I'll send you a message.
Jenny

Thanks for thinking of me! Both my gastroenterologist and my surgeon say it's basically a waiting game as far as the GERD goes. Your stomach continues to produce acid for a large stomach for a while after surgery, which is why almost every surgeon sends their patients home on a PPI or an H2 blocker at least for about 3 mos, and some people stay on it much longer. There's really no procedure, other than revising to RNY, that would help the GERD, and I don't want RNY, so I am stuck waiting. I've tried nexium, prevacid, prilosec, zegerid, and now protonix, and none of them cured the GERD completely, so I take what works the best so far and wait.


I'll tell you, my life is pretty consumed with two things: 1. getting in my protein (i.e. eating) and 2. getting in my fluids, especially with the restrictions I have (physical, none by my doctor's orders) on what I can comfortably drink. It's not easy to be away from home for a long period of time. I constantly have to plan for what I can eat, what I can drink, bring several bottles of doctored water or tea, etc. If I am going to be gone from home for a while, it's an ordeal. So while it's not hunger preoccupation like before surgery, it's definitely not a carefree life after surgery for me.

Abby

I'm not that far removed from surgery, but here are my $.02.

I've written about this experience on this forum before, and I'll keep sharing it because if anyone else out there thinks they could share my anxiety issues, they need to be aware and have a plan to deal with it beforehand.  The only thing that has been difficult for me so far is related to anxiety.  I FREAKED OUT when I was about three to four days out from surgery.  I had a pretty scary anxiety episode (Oh God, what if I can never eat pizza, what if I can never eat steak, what if I never taste Coke again...).  Sounds a bit trivial, but I felt like I couldn't breathe!  I felt like I was under water and the things I were afraid I'd never have again were like the air I desperately craved!  I had to get up and walk around trying to regain normal breath, and I was afraid I'd have to go to the ER for anxiety medication if I couldn't calm myself down.  I had a spell of anxiety about 10 years ago, but hadn't had any issues with it since then.  This came out of nowhere and was really tough on me for a few days.  Luckily, things got easier and easier.  Now that I'm on mushies, it is easier to focus on all the things I can have instead of the things I miss.  Plus, the closer I get to the 8-week mark, the more comforted I am by the thought that if I need to, I'll be able to eat anything I want without it actually killing me...immediately, that is. :)

I guess having this surgery can force you to deal with your food issues in a major way whether you like it or not.

I'll see how "not easy" it is in other ways when I'm further out and have to struggle more to make the weight come off.  For now, the surgery was easy, staying in the right calorie range is easy, and fluids are a little less easy because I don't have much desire to drink and it feels weird to drink too much on an empty stomach (which is how we are supposed to drink).

I don't say that, because it has been pretty easy.  I'm not trying to blow sunshine up your skirt, but I have had one or too minor hiccups along the way and that's it.

The surgery was a piece of cake for me -- I had no pain, nausea or vomitting, and I walked, and walked, and walked in the hospital and when I got home. I still get up from my desk and walk 1/4 mile 3 times during the day to keep my blood moving although I'm past the blood-clot risk period. 

The fluids -- not hard but require thought and planning.  I am most apt to forget to drink while I'm at work; so, I have to be conscious of it.  I can now pretty much drink as much as I want.  I'm careful to time my wait after eating to drink every time.  Again it's not hard especially now that it's a habit.

Food -- other than I can't tolerate chicken very well, I'm good with most everything else.  I have no issues with a low-carb lifestyle.  About the only thing I seriously crave (and only occasionally) are asian noodles - i.e., Pad Thai, Pho with noodles, Bun, etc., and indian dishes with rice.  I have adapted recipes for Pho, Thai coconut soup, and some of my asian dishes to take out the rice and noodles.  

Eating out -- chili is my go-to meal.  I also order things like seared tuna sashimi, or yesterday, my husband and I had the fajita trio at Chili's without the tortillas  or rice and beans.  I ate 2 shrimp, two slices of beef with some Guacamole, bell pepper, and cheese.  He ate the rest.

 

For everyone dealing with the mindf*ck, the best book I've ever read that addresses it and offers strategies on how to deal with it is Anatomy of a Food Addiction: The Brain Chemistry of Overeating by Anne Katherine.  I talk more about it in my most recent blog post (there's a link to it on Amazon there as well)... if you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it.

I don't eat after 8pm to prevent reflux. So this means I have 12 hours per day to get in six small meals/snacks consisting mostly of protein.

That means finding a healthy food every two hours. Now we know not to drink 30 min before or after, but also need to get in 64 oz of liquid each day, so this means sipping constantly, right up until that 30 min window.

There are also multi vitamins in the morning, 3 calcium chews 2 hours apart in the afternoon, and 2 pills at night.

So at this stage, (2 months out), it seems like I am on tummy duty at all times.

Add to that any dumping or hormonal issues, or poopage problems, and being tired all the time, and needing to exercise, and yeah, in a way, it's like a full time job.

But I would do it again in a heartbeat. I know this part of the process has some hurdles, both mental and physical, but it is worth it, and I know from reading the boards it will get easier and feel more like a normal routine as time goes one.

Also need to give a big shout out to my good friend Jeni who went through surgery with me. Doing it together has really made such a difference. We are there for each other during rough times, and cheering each other on in the good times. She's the best!

Don't hate me, but I actually found this whole experience to be pretty easy. Had an unpainful surgery and recovery. (Ihave had worse dental work). My weight loss was on the slow side but steady and i just did what the program said. Didn't find it too difficult to stick with it because my sleeve is a pretty tight one and the restriction really helps plus the lack of ghrelin keeps hunger down.

One thing is that I spend 10 months getting mentally and physically ready for this. Had various reasons I had to wait including insurance appeal. So I kept reminding myself that I was going to have to be prepared to eat differently for the rest of my life and that there would be much less sweets, carbs and quantities in the future. At age 58 I was able to accept that and therefore did not go through a "mourning" phase for loss of my food friend. Had dealt with that. I think this is an overlooked issue for many who have trouble adjusting so deal with it ahead of time. Don't just eat all you can before surgery. Start right now adjusting to the idea of less food and turning down some things you might like.

The part I found hardest was drinking the protein shakes for the two weeks post op. they all tasted so terrible. I have since learned ways to make them better and better brands but at the time in my rural area the choices were limited. Read Sublimate's periodic post on information for newbies. It has a section on what I learned about how to doctor up protein drinks and get them down.

Diane

This has been the EASIEST thing I've ever done BUT getting used to the small portions when I'm USED to eating a cow was/is hard.  That's about the extent to being hard for me.

Ms Shell

I have to say for me it has been VERY EASY,  i had no problems, surgery went great,  drinking,  eating  no problems,   I love my sleeve and would do it again once a year if i had to.   My struggle was/is head hunger.   I want a piece of key lime pie dammit,  and i'll eat a piece of keylime pie.   So my weight loss has been affected by this.   I understand and accept this.   I have lost 74 lbs with 16 to go and i will get there,  but the head hunger is still alive and well with me.   But it hasn't stopped me from reaching my goals,  its just delayed me getting there lol,   but I'm so pleased with my life.  I chose to do this my way and i'm not one to eat 3 oz at a time,  i have a bigger sleeve and i eat more than a lot of you.   But i eat a lot less than i did and i eat healthy choices MOST of the time and i can be quite happy with that.  We are all on the same journey but we each take our own path to it.  :o) Jeani

This is a great thread, thanks for bringing the topic up!

Like most others, I found the surgery itself pretty easy.  Not a lot of post-op pain, no nausea, have never vomited, no food intolerances, no foamies except when I drink too soon after eating.  The only post-op issue I had is acid (which I had pre-op also), and it took awhile to find the right PPI.  Strangely, the one I took for a few years before surgery, no longer worked.  But once that was straightened out, it's been smooth sailing.  (I do avoid falling asleep less than three hours after eating, which often means naps have to be timed just right.)

As a previous poster said so well, though, the constant planning and thinking feels like I'm on "tummy duty" pretty much all the time.  I eat every three hours, avoid drinking 30 minutes before and 60 minutes after (because of the foamies), so I watch the clock - meaning I pay attention to when I quit eating, and remind myself when I need to start drinking again.  This can be a challenge at work because I forget to drink when I get busy.  At night I parcel out my next day's vites/supps into a little snack-size baggie, and in the morning pack my breakfast/lunch/snacks for work that day.  I log my food faithfully in sparkpeople every day so I can track where I am.  All that being said, I've surprised myself with my willingness to do it all, every day, without fail.

Another thing that's been surprising is that, so far, going low-carb has been pretty easy.  I know that, for my health and well-being, I MUST eat my protein first - a measured amount that satisfies but doesn't overfill, and I've been willing to do that too.

Finally, I've found that having prepared things, ready to eat or heat up, has been a major tool.  I have never lost my hunger, and I get hungry about 2-2.5 hours after my last meal (drinking does help stave off the hunger).  If I have something planned and ready to eat, I stay on plan.  If I don't, I tend to stray.

None of these are things I did in my "fat" life, so when people talk about major lifestyle changes, for me these are what they're talking about.  Easy?  sometimes.  Necessary?  absolutely.