Calling all VSG veterans

I believe we have all gone into this under similar situations,  diet after diet, yo, yo up and down,  living a life on the sidelines etc, etc.  I also feel giving up 80% of your stomach is a very big decision and that as some people who either don't have a weight problem or are just against it all together,  feel it is the easy way out.  If they think this is easy they are fricken mistaken big time.

Regain is just as hard to lose as ever, and yes the same relentless, creeping horror all over, so the best thing to do is not let that happen.  It takes hard work and determination. 

I have no idea about hormone dump.  Never experienced that.

Dangerous foods are hard to keep out if your husband thinks just not letting you have it is helpful.  If he wants to take the kids out to have something....let him go...or teach everyone to eat healthy so they never end up in the same boat as you are in right now.  It isn't a bad life,  it does not mean they can never have something fun and sinful ever again,  it just means they have it for a special occasion.  Moderation is key after surgery and even those who are of  "Normal weight and BMI" have to do the same to keep it.

The long term benefits are a active healthy life,  happier and longer life expectancy.  Cute clothes....disadvantages....always finding something to spend more money on....a new top or cute shorts, dresses, clothes, clothes and more clothes...

The regrets .... other than not having surgery sooner I have none. 

Counsel,  none.....I am just letting you know the experiences I have had.  I am not going to tell you to have or not to have WLS....it is a very big decision....having 80% of your stomach removed....that's a big deal.  You can't undo that....I am not a counselor of any kind so think hard and long and make sure you make a decision you can live with because there is no going back.

Good luck on your final decision either way I'll be watching for you and support you.

 

I like your attitude and your emphatic statement that it is worth it. I am hearing that loss after regain is often just as hard, or possibly harder after surgery, but I am not seeing that in the statistics. I see that without surgery, an obese person is only 2% likely to lose a significant amount of wt and keep it off, while with wls the average wt lost and kept off 5 years is much higher. That seems to indicate that keeping it off is easier with wls than without.  How else can I interpret this? Can you expand on what happens? I am trying to understand. If it is truly harder for a lot of people, maybe I need to rethink my decision to have the Sleeve.

I have the same question. I hear from some people post-op that they "forget to eat" or don't feel hungry. Or, they just eat a little bit of protein and feel satisfied. I'm 22 days pre-op, and dieting makes me FAMISHED. It always has, at 135 lbs at age 19 and at 273 lbs at age 34. To me, it MUST be easier to keep the weight off if you aren't feeling painfully hungry constantly. 

If it's HARDER to keep the weight off post-op than it is pre-op, then why are there so many more post-op success stories? Why is it nearly impossible to keep weight off without surgery if it's easier to keep weight off without surgery? This makes no sense to me.

Yes. Famished, tired, preoccupied with food, moody, cranky, crave'y, cross, and again tired, tired, tired. Did I say preoccupied with food? Every crumb in the house calls to me with a siren song. I hope hope hope that I will have peace soon.

I know how it feels to not notice or desire food. I once took Topamax for migraines, and the serendipitous side effect was that I lost my appetite. Food was silenced, and left me alone. I quickly lost 20 pounds. I had to remind myself to eat. It was heaven. It didn't last long, however. My brain got wise to the effect and overrode it, and the weight came back.

I had a tough year last year....I lost my brother to cancer and 5 weeks later I lost my daughter in law suddenly to a pulmonary embolism.  I had always been a stress eater and going through, first sitting and watching my brother waste away from a vibrant active person to what resembled a holocaust prisoner weighing in at about 100 lbs if that, was an excruciating experience and then to turn right around and learn that my son got up in the morning and found my daughter in law on the bathroom floor already too late to help her was awful.  The fact that she was dead and he now had to go through that was just heartbreaking to me.  They were in the middle of packing for a move to a new duty station (he is career military). 

Now with all that said and sorry if that really was TMI,  but this is why I had a regain.  I quit focusing on ME which I did very well for 5 years.  If you focus on YOU and make sure you continue to make good food decisions,  exercise, and you don't have to become a exercise guru or master, but a good routine of consistency, walking, biking, something you like zumba????  You can keep it off....come to this site for motivation, seeing others who have done it.  BTW,  I have almost conquered my regain.  I took charge of ME again and I am winning.

Keeping it off I believe is easier with WLS.  If you follow your Dr's advice and not over eat,  do not let your pouch stretch then you keep restriction and it is a very big reminder that your stomach can't handle too much food.  Don't graze, don't drink high calorie drinks, don't eat high calorie foods even small amounts because a calorie is a calorie is a calorie and it all adds up.  Follow and study your plan,  keep coming here,  the support here is very helpful and people here are always happy to share their experiences, good and bad and we can learn from them. 

I am a sleever, and I researched the different surgeries carefully and this was what I believe was the best decision for me. I went to an orientation meeting with a Dr. describing all of the choices of surgery.  The band was never anything I was thinking,  too many slipped bands I had read about and I didn't want anything like that put inside of me.  The RNY, it's done but they leave the left over part of the stomach and that sort of left an uneasy feeling to me.  So the sleeve it was.  I think the recovery is pretty easy.  The recovery may be the same for the RNY too,  ???  I don't think you would or could regret having the sleeve,  but whichever you decide will be great and best for you and it will be a new life and healthier too.

This really got long and I am sorry for that but just trying to hit all the bases.  Good luck on what ever decision you come to and as I said before,  I will support you however you decide to do this.  Keep us posted on your journey.

I hope all this is helpful

I am so sorry for your losses, both unimaginable, as I have lost few close loved ones as yet. It is very good to hear that you are being successful conquering your regain. That is wonderful, and gives me lots of hope.

I am trying to pre-imagine what caring for my own needs first looks like when it comes to food, as I have always planned menus around my kids' and husband's likes and needs. I feel guilty eating meat more often then they do, or reserving anything just for me. I was raised that food is caring, and if I keep something just for myself I am being selfish. For example, I felt really odd today skimming my serving of veggies and meat off the top of the jambalaya I made in the rice cooker, then stirring the rest better into the rice that had settled to the bottom during cooking. I felt I was taking the best for me. In reality, the recipe was well balanced and had enough good stuff left, and everyone else likes the rice. It is a mindset I need to change.

I understand that,  I have always cooked either extra for ME,  or even something all together different for me.  I do take in consideration what the family likes is sometimes something I can't have.  I have been able to make lots of things that are WLS friendly and good for them and they like.  They have not complained. 

It's important for the family to understand it's for your well-being that you watch what you eat and for them to rally around you and help you feel comfortable with your choices and not feel like you are getting something "special" but necessary.  They too get that "special" something....pizza, goodies etc. and you do not par-take in that anymore. It's a learning curve and they will learn right along with you.  Don't feel guilty in taking care of yourself.  It's like going to a restaurant,  you don't all order the same thing, well now it's at home and you might have something different then the rest. 

It all works out in the end and you are the winner in your own choices.  Sit with them at meal time and enjoy the company and don't think about what is on the table just eat what you're allowed and you'll do fine.  Hang in there, and try not to overthink this.  As Nike said it....JUST DO IT!  

QUESTION: Is regain after a sleeve easier to get off than it was before surgery, or at some point does it start to seem like the same relentless, creeping horror all over again?  At first if I bounced up 5-10 pounds, I could pull it off pretty fast. Now a few years out I have to work hard and it will take closer to a month to pull it off. Consequently, it is not quite as hard as what it was prior to surgery- but not as easy as the first 2 years or so.

QUESTION: What does a hormone dump feel like, and how long do they go on? I didn't have too much of a problem. Most folks post about feeling crazy cranky or wicked weepy. Mine manifested mostly into borderline ocd behavior when it came to thinking about and prepping my food to ensure I was on plan and getting exercise in and not being flexible at all with the family for those two counts. Not bad though at all, and it passed soon enough. Certianly not a reason to avoid surgery.

QUESTION: How do you get help in keeping danger foods out of the house when you have a family that has no idea what you are going through? My husband's idea of helping is cheerfully not giving me any of what he brings home for him and the kids on the weekends. I struggled with this at first, and had the crap food in the house. My husband in particular wouldn't let go of it. A few days post op he saw I was struggling with staying out of it, so cleared it out. The next struggle point was again getting him to cook healhty food and not the high fat crap that he grew up on. He cooked most of the meals back then. He kept trying to say my girls wanted it. It literally took a family meal with all 3 kids present saying they did not want that crap food. Once that happened, he switched. It took about a month and he learned to really enjoy the healthier stuff, and the kids liked it a lot better too. Let go of feeling like you are depriving your family if you insist on healthy eating. They should not eat that crap either. Get it out of the house and keep it out. They will be ok. If it was a birthday or something, we make the cake and during the weight loss phase leftovers were tossed 24 hours later. 

QUESTION: What long-term benefits and disadvantages have you experienced? Dramatic health and quality of life improved. My oncologist also said that hands down the best thing I could do to reduce future cancer risk is to lose the weight as well. 

QUESTION: Any regrets? No. None. I had to really argue with my husband and finally just schedule it without him wanting me to do it- but even that turned around once he saw I was going to be ok. 

QUESTION: What counsel do you have for me? Nursing will require lifting and such- give yourself at least 6 weeks healing time if at all possible. Expect to be fatigued for closer to 2 months- you will be able to manage it, but will need a little extra rest during that time 

Thank you. I am getting a clearer picture of what to expect.

What a novel thought, a husband who cooks most of the meals. Not my experience, for sure.

Another novel thought--throw out the birthday cake so it won't go to "waist."I will have to try that.

 

Welcome to the forum.  I hope you find it as informative and supportive as I have.  You are asking good questions.  I'll take a stab at answering them  I am three years post op and about 22 months into maintenance.

QUESTION: Is regain after a sleeve easier to get off than it was before surgery, or at some point does it start to seem like the same relentless, creeping horror all over again?

I would never say that maintenance is easy - its an effort similar to the weight loss phase.  But the weight loss surgery makes it possible to succeed.  I tried very hard to lose weight before WLS, and I would always regain.  With the sleeve, I can succeed.  It takes effort but it is possible to maintain the weight loss.

 

QUESTION: What does a hormone dump feel like, and how long do they go on?

I found I was moody and edgy during the rapid weight loss phase.  I attributed this to hormones from the fat being burned.

 

QUESTION: How do you get help in keeping danger foods out of the house when you have a family that has no idea what you are going through? My husband's idea of helping is cheerfully not giving me any of what he brings home for him and the kids on the weekends.

I asked my hubby to avoid snacking in front of me.  He cooperated for about a year.  Eventually he went back to his old ways again, but I am better at resisting.  I also found that limiting carbs helped keep the cravings down, and that helps a lot with resisting forbidden foods. 

I also found that I needed to have healthy, tasty, enjoyable alternatives in the house at all times.  If I could tell myself, "No, you can't have that pizza, but you have that buffalo chicken spaghetti squash, or that chicken in spicy peanut sauce." It really helps me resist the tempting fatty foods.

QUESTION: What long-term benefits and disadvantages have you experienced?

I lost 225 pounds, going from a size 5x to a size 14.  No more sleep apnea, no more pain in my knees and back.  I can fit into an airplane seat, and take the strenuous tours when we travel and I can keep up with the best of them. 

I am so glad I had WLS.  It has changed my life.

 

QUESTION: Any regrets? 

I only wish I had done it sooner

QUESTION: What counsel do you have for me?

Its not easy.  It takes determination, and a life-long commitment to manage the obesity.  I don't want to give the impression that it is easy or automatic.  But it is possible to get healthy and maintain the loss. WLS really works.

 

best wishes,

Carol