Peaceful surgery, easy transition, grateful

Monday I will be six weeks out from VSG, and I want to share my story especially to those of you considering surgery. It's important to read the experiences of those who have had complications, but it's also important to know that it's likely that your surgery will be entirely uneventful--as mine was. The VSG is considered as safe as gallbladder surgery--a fact I related to one of my more nervous family members.

I had pain and discomfort for two days following the procedure--completely managed with pain meds and Protonix. Once I was home, I found I needed the pain meds just a few times as I became more active and experienced a bit of incisional pain. I never had even one bout of nausea--and I'm fairly nausea-prone in general. Since I began eating food again, I had one acid attack in the middle of the night that was easily managed. No foamies or any other yuckiness so far!

By the end of the first week, I had no problem ingesting 64 oz of liquid/water and 3-4 protein drinks. (I think I tossed the one oz cup on day 4.) I am one of those patients who didn't lose the hunger sensation, though, so I was eager to drink to fullness. I'm fairly confident I can distinguish between head and acid "hungers" from instinctual hunger. (I just finished the marvelous book, Eat What You Love; Love What You Eat which has some wonderful tools for dealing with emotional eating, by the way.) Now that I am in the twilight of the soft foods phase, coping with the hunger is MUCH easier as the denser foods do increase satiety. I am under-eating the sleeve--or as Michelle May says in the book, eating to a 5-6 on the hunger-fullness scale. And I am finding that as time goes by, I am less hungry than before. I have a one cup bowl and a shrimp fork that I use for dinners with the family. I eat a few natural carbohydrates in vegetables and fruit because I have found over the years that I am more likely to eat my protein that way--but meats and dairy are definitely the focus of the meal. I am grateful for the protein shakes that ensure I'm getting all the protein I need.

Comparatively, I'm a slow loser--but I'm 50 years old. Since the pre-op fast 7 weeks ago, I have lost 20 pounds with 100 to go--and I am very ok with that! (I lost 60 additional pounds in the two years previous.) My decision to take the WLS route was completely grounded in my inability to maintain weight loss, so I'm very much in this for the long haul and view my eating disorder as an addiction. As a method of accountability, I started logging my calorie/protein intake when I began the puréed stage, and I'm averaging 800-1000 calories with 80g protein. [I am walking a mile a day, hoping to add mileage in another week. (I usually walk two miles, but my energy has been lower since the surgery.)] I really enjoy cooking and baking for my friends and family--it's a part of my identity! But since my diagnosis of diabetes two years ago, I tailored our meals to eliminate pasta, rice, wheat and white flours. I bake with almond flour and the sugar substitute, erythritol, the only sugar alcohol I've found that doesn't upset our stomachs. (Almond flour is low carb but calorie intensive, so moderation is key. Preparing meals in this way put my diabetes in remission before surgery.)

I realize I'm just a new kid, fresh on the losers' bench, but I wanted to share what a positive experience I've had in the hopes of encouraging others. There are so many benefits to this surgery--medical science is still ascertaining how it works for us physiologically. For me, it has begun to help me to eat more mindfully again--with renewed attention to my health--I'm beyond grateful. Wishing you all the very best!!

Glad it's going so well for you! Like yours, my recovery was very easy. I had relatively little discomfort and never a bout of nausea.

For what it's worth, you may be one of those people for whom ghrelin works out of the system slowly. You may find you do have a reduction in hunger as time goes by. I hope that is the case. I'm 2+ years out and still have very little actual hunger (head hunger is a different story!).

Your positive and bright attitude is wonderful. Best of luck to you.

Thank you for your kind response! I was very interested to hear that for some people ghrelin works itself out slowly--I am feeling even more hopeful! Many thanks and best to you!

glad you did so well , enjoy the rest of your journey

Thank you so much! I am grateful! Congratulations on your great success!

Thank you for your account of a smooth beginning. At times, it seems like I hear so many stories of pain and complications that it raises more doubts.  I'll have to remember that everyone is different. 

I wanted to post my positives experience because it seems like we all get caught up in reading about the negative outcomes/aspects of the surgery--it's just human nature. But I think my experience is the common one! Best to you!

Thanks for sharing!  I'm 11 days out.  Things are really going okay.  Barely needed pain meds.  Went back to driving because I had no pain.  Can take decent sized sips (not like before, but not the baby sips that were so hard at first.)  Foods are going ok.  Had a little too much soup, and that wasn't awful.  (I was very sick through my two pregnancies.)  Got the runny nose tonight when was filling up from dinner.  I keep thinking that the other shoe is going to drop.  I did a half mile today at the park while the kids were playing (we have a park with paths that go in sorta a figure 8 around the play structure.) 

I'm cautiously optimistic!  Wishing you the best, as well!

Keep being optimistic because it just gets better! Sounds like you're off to an excellent start! Best to you!

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have surgery tomorrow so it is reassuring to know there are some uneventful surgeries as well.