info for gastric sleeve

Hello all, I am new on this site and i have a scheduled date for Aug 17TH for gastric sleeve, i would appreciate all info from people who have gone through this surgery. :-)

I actually went to support meetings to talk with post ops of the RNY surgery I was contemplating.  You get much more from a face to face conversation.  I spoke to RNY post ops before I chose my surgery. DAVE

If you add me as a friend, I have a lot of blogs from my short time with the sleeve.

I like it so far - no problems with food getting stuck, no vomiting, can drink pretty much like pre-op days, can eat small portions and be satisified, I have no hunger, I've had some cravings, but the intensity is much lower, and much easier to resist.

Surgery itself wasn't bad - my current tooth pain is much worse than surgery!

I had the sleeve done on Friday July 22nd. All is good. The day of surgery was a little rough. The anesthesia is the worst part. It took me a full day plus to come around. My only complaint is that I do feel hungry. But when I have a shake I'm full...thanksgiving kind of full with just a few oz. The good news is I've already lost 3 lbs since day of surgery.

thanks for responding, and good luck to you on your journey, well worth the ride..

I have a DS, so I have a Sleeved stomach plus malabsorption. I absolutely love my Sleeve---it has really cured the insatiatable hunger I has pre-op. I really, truly was hungry ALL. THE. TIME. But removing 85% of my stomach and most of the ghrelin-producing tissue has really made all the difference---I now have what I think 'normal' hunger must be. I eat normal portions and am full and satisfied.

It's been 7.5 years since I had surgery, and my Sleeve has stretched---I can eat about twice as much now as I could during the first six-eight months post-op. Some days I can eat quite a bit more than I can on others, but nothing near the amounts I could eat pre-op. And again, more than ANYTHING, I love not being hungry ALL.THE. TIME!!!

Have you checked out the forum here for the sleeve? If you read through a couple of days of posts, you will have a very good idea of what life with a sleeve is like and what other questions to ask.

I also have blogged about my experiences. I'm almost 3 years out so I've got everything from doing the pre-op testing, to the early post-op days to hitting goal and switching to maintenance mode.

 What kind of info are you looking for?  Success stories abound.  I am 2 years out and maintaining a 120# loss.  Went from a size 24+ to a size 8/10.   And this is at 60+ yrs old (I was 59 when I had surgery).   I've always had a tendency to eat fairly healthy, so I have continued to eat much the way I always have other than eating less volume and ditching a lot of the carbs (even healthy carbs like brown rice and oatmeal generate cravings - this is not the case for everyone).   

My breakfast this morning was a protein shake (protein powder, raw spinach, greek yogurt, flax seed,  water and ice).  Lunch will be chicken soup which is mostly veggies/greens (collards, squash, onions, green beans).  Dinner will be turkey cutlets and some kind of steamed veggie.   Snacks will likely be greek yogurt and an apple.  I try to get 3 snacks in because I can eat so little volume and I like to get my nutrition in with food and not rely on supplements.  I have a little bowl at my house that holds about a cup of food, and that's what I put my dinner in most nights.  I read about others eating a good bit more than that, but with a sleeve stomach, I don't know how they hold it.  I do have to watch my tendency to graze (a handful of nuts here and there, or an extra yogurt).  I do eat sugar or honey occasionally, as well as complex carbs (oatmeal or fiber crackers), but I usually pay for it with cravings and weight gain, so I try not to do it too often.  

I have thrown up one time since my surgery but that was my own fault - I ate whipped cream, and I don't tolerate dairy fats well.    The miracle of this surgery (for me) is that I feel normal for the first time in my life.  My physical hunger is manageable so it leaves me energy to work on my emotional hunger (i.e., eating over anger or some other feeling I don't want to feel).   That remains a challenge. 

Congrats on your sleeve.  It will truly change your life.