HaloEcho
More updating...
Jun 23, 2011
There have been some questions about my progress and some of the things I've gone through since my VSG, so I thought I would address them here. Again, not sure I can remember everything about right after the surgery, but I’ll do my best. And I can definitely tell you what things are like for me now.
My operation was at about 5pm on a Mon; I was up walking by 10p and went home at 4pm the next day. The whole experience was great, and the staff at Dr. Schoen’s office and University Hospital here in Aurora were amazing! Right after my surgery, I remember thinking how weird it was to not feel hungry. I never had to do a liquid diet or anything like that, but I wasn’t allowed to eat for about 36 hours before my surgery and that seemed like forever. But once I was out of surgery, I couldn’t care less about not being able to eat. The only thing I seemed to miss was chewing. For 6 weeks I had to go from liquids to mushy to soft, and I still remember the first couple of bites (and that was all I could eat) of a scrambled egg about 4 wks out. It just felt so good to chew something.
Medically I did really good after my surgery, and never had any complications. I healed up quickly, and other than the week I spent in bed recovering and the obvious weight loss, you never would have known I had anything done. It was overall very smooth, which was a blessing.
OK, so back to how things went. I don’t know how to describe the different mindset that I had after the surgery, but it really changed the way I felt about food. I’m a food addict, so I know there must have been times that I missed it a lot more than I remember. Several months out, when I was finally brave enough to try some dense meat, I made beef stroganoff (my FAV) and ate with the family. A few bites in I was full, of course, and I do recall being very disappointed about that. It tasted really good, and I wanted to eat more but I knew if I did it would just come back up. I was deathly afraid of stretching my sleeve all the time, so I worked really hard at not overeating. I had (and sometimes still do) a very distinctive hiccup/burp combo that always efficiently warned me when I was done. I learned to trust that. Oh, and I was very religious about the not drinking with my meals thing. Even though I’m far enough out that I could technically drink with meals now, I rarely do. Partly because I’m not used to it, and partly because I just physically can’t do it. I feel too full and then I don’t eat, or if I do eat I feel miserable. So it’s just not worth it.
I will be 3 years out on July 7th, and I can honestly say that I feel like I eat pretty much the way I did after about 6 months out. There are a few times a month I can eat more than usual, but 95% of the time I can eat about ½ a hamburger and a few fries, or a medium sized salad that I try to load with protein & good fats, or about the equivalent of those things. I do not always eat as healthy as I should, but I find myself drawn to healthier foods than I ever did before the sleeve. Back then, I only ate something healthy if I was on a diet. It was like an apple with peanut butter was punishment, now it’s a great snack. I’m shopping healthier too, so my kids are eating better, and I believe they will all remain healthy and fit (as long as they’re eating under my roof) just based on how they’re developing their food habits. I can still feel like eating when I’m emotional, but now I will look at what I have here and either the options are pretty good or I just don’t eat. I don’t put food in my mouth just to have it there anymore. I have to want something, and cravings and hunger just aren’t things I experience very often. There are MANY days that I’ll look at the clock and it’s 2 in the afternoon and I realize “wow, I should really eat something today!” That sounds good to someone who has dieted for years and has always wanted to not feel hungry, but it can be a bad thing and I constantly have to keep an eye on myself so that I can get enough calories and fat in my body. But it’s like anyone else in the world…you just have to self-monitor your food intake. But now instead of restricting it I’m ramping it up a little The main thing that lets me know I need to eat is shaking. I’ve had a recent physical, and am very healthy and have no signs of blood sugar problems or anything, but when I don’t eat my whole body shakes. So I try to get in something before I get to that point, because it’s fairly uncomfortable.
Heartburn. Yes, I still have it, but not as often as in the beginning. And I know what’s going to trigger it, so I keep a lot of Tums on hand. For me they work just fine & I don’t have to remember to take a Prilosec every day. I’m terrible about taking pills! And as for what I can and can’t eat….there has been nothing I can’t eat. Somebody asked about sugar cravings. If I want something sweet, I can have it. That’s why I chose the sleeve. The band restricts dense food and bypass has dumping from eating too much sugar, so I love that there are no restrictions in my diet. I do try to make the best choices for at least 2 of my meals per day, still starting with protein & veggies and then eating the carbs if there is room (we are mid-westerners originally, so we have a lot of meat & potatoes around here). But if I want a donut for breakfast, I have it. Because I know I’m not going to take in too many calories over the rest of the day, and also because I know I can eat that one donut and not want 6 more. When I’m full, I’m full. And it has just become habit to stop then rather than push myself to being sick. It’s like anything else. It happened over time, and once you keep doing what you’re doing, it just becomes what you do.
So this is getting pretty long, and some of you may have fallen asleep by now. I will continue to update this and provide any information that might be useful, and some that’s just ramblings coming out of my head. Sometimes you have to weed through those to get to the useful stuff! 
Thanks for reading…I’ll be back!
