kellyw74

If you have Kaiser, in the pharmacy they sell Ferrous Gluconate pills over the counter. I take them because after surgery I became anemic. I take 325mg two times a day in addition to my Centrum that has iron in it. My levels are much improved after 2 months and I am to continue this until my 6 month labs in November. I would ask your dr. first, but they are like $4.00 for a box of 100. Good luck. Kelly

Lookin' hot!! Good job! Kelly

I too am playing with my intake to see what is going on. I do the same thing...lose, stall, lose, stall. It is frustrating. BUT, I do think it is the calorie restriction that does it. I basically eat between 600-850 a day and that is really hard for me to do most days. I will be 11 weeks out on Monday and sometimes, I just can't get it all in. I use myfitnesspal.com and have found on the days I exercise, I burn about 250-300 calories at a time. If I am only consuming 700, that is only leaving me 400 net for the day!! No wonder I am not losing!! So this week, I only exercised twice instead of everyday and I lost 2lbs instead of .5. I think I need to try to do something to up the calories so I can exercise or not exercise for a while! It is so hard to wrap my head around all of this. My plan only wants me to eat 3 times a day, 1/2 c, with no snacking, but I can't do that. I can't eat enough at one time to get enough calories in. So, I snack. I have to. Maybe one day it will all just click!! Kelly

If you could do it on your own, you would have never been with that surgeon in the first place and you know that! You have to do what is best for you, but know that you will not find anyone on this forum that regrets having it done and most of us would do it again tomorrow!! There are a few on here that are just having buyer's remorse right now because they have not learned how to use it, but those of us that are healed and have really gotten a chance to use our sleeves love them! Kelly

I had my surgery on a Monday and went back the following Monday. I also have a desk job. I was tired, but was fine. I think 4 weeks is really extreme unless you have complications and need to be off for that long. Good luck! Kelly

I have not felt full or that tightness feeling in my chest and I am 10 weeks out. I measure my food and usually don't even get to eat all of it. I eat until I no longer feel hungry and then I stop. I sometimes hiccup and feel pressure in my throat! That is most def when I stop if I haven't by then! Kelly

I had GERD before my surgery and took Nexium for 8 years. I have not had any issues with reflux pre-surgery as long as I took my meds. I am 10 weeks out and same is true, as long as I take my meds I am fine. I did have a day when I forgot and I was SICK!!! I did also change to Prilosec from Nexium about 3 weeks ago and it has helped tremendously with my hunger. Good luck to you! Kelly

Do you take meds? If so it may be time to come off of them!! I would def let your dr. know!! Kelly

GOOD JOB!! Yes, once I started eating real food, my loss did stop!! But, it was only temporary. It is like your body doesn't understand the food thing. I started losing again after about 2 weeks on real food. It all works out!! Kelly

I REALLY think that they operate on your stomach and it seriously does something to your brain!! I still get hungy, not that RAVENOUS, feed me now hunger and even the hunger I do have is getting better everyday. But, I don't crave greasy, bad for me stuff any longer. I want to eat good things now. When I use to see pizza commercials, I would order one. Now, it doesn't even phase me. I have no desire for a cheeseburger or french fries and I use to eat that crap daily! Kelly

I am on soft foods now and have been since week 4. I am week 10 and will be here until 12 weeks!! I can not wait till then and can have salad!! Here is what I eat mostly: Foster Farms Turkey Meatballs Tuna chicken Salmon Tir-Tip Steak Roast-slow cooked Hamburger/turkey burgers cheese Eggs-boiled/scrambled Sausage Chicken salad/tuna salad/egg salad Lunchmeats Cottage cheese Peanut Butter Pure Protein bars Well-cooked veggies Fuit with out skin That is my menu for the most part. Good luck to you! Kelly

I felt the same way and at my first post-op appointment even made this statement to my dr. He said we will not starve to death. We have enough fat reserves and as long as we are eating something, we will be just fine. I was worried about the 300 calorie a day intake I was getting and he said not to! I would be able to eat again one day and he was right. I am 10 weeks out now and can eat about 700-800 calories a day now. That is much better than I was. I COULD eat a lot more than that if I grazed all day, but I don't. I also had HUGE issues with losing 1-2 lbs a day like I was for the first couple of weeks. That was so weird for me. He said that was self-sabotage and that thinking was not good for me. I had to surgery to lose weight and here I was thinking it was a bad thing that it was happening. Why would I do that? Isn't that what I wanted? Our minds are weird and like to play with us. Sometimes, we just get in a comfort zone and get freaked out when things change and try to talk ourselves out of that change. I think that is why a lot of us have failed in the past. You have done great and will continue to do great!! You are not going to starve as long as you eat. And, at about 6 months out, you will be able to enjoy a great balanced meal, just smaller portions of that meal!! HUGS, Kelly

I get something like that all over my stomach and around my bra straps when I exercise and get hot! It is like little red bumps. As soon as I cool down and take a shower, it goes away. Are you getting too hot? It is weird, but seems to only come on when I exercise. Never did it before surgery. I will be 11 weeks out on Monday! Kelly

Welcome and good luck on your journey!! Kelly

YAY!! I am soooo happy for you!! Kelly

Bariatric Advantage Lemon, chocolate, and Caramel chews are the BOMB!! I love them and look forward to having them everyday!! I have moved to Citracal and still eat them because they are soooo good. Kinda like candy!! Kelly

YAAYYYY!! I plan on joining you in a few days!! Kelly

This past week I had 2 eating episodes where I had to eat in front of people for the first time!! I was so nervous because NOBODY knows!! I had a friend over for dinner her and I are really close and I made salmon. I, of course can only eat like 2-3 oz of it and that was all that was on my plate. She knows I have been dieting and she was like...."No wonder you are thin as a rail, eating like that!!!" We just kinda laughed it off! I told her I had already eaten a little earlier, which I did have a piece of jerky, so I wasn't lying!! Another one was on Friday, we had a meeting and lunch was ordered for our office. We all ordered what we wanted and I got the grilled chicken sandwich in anticipation of just eating the chicken off the plate. I was nervous because I have not eatin in front of my co-workers since before my surgery!! Well, thank goodness they screwed my order up!! THey gave me fried chicken and everyone I work with knows I am eating HEALTHY now and was not a bit "concerned" that I did not eat my lunch!! WHEW!! I got out of that one! I ended up eating a boiled egg that was in the fridge for my breakfast the next day! I will just feel better about eating in front of people when I can eat more than 5 bites of something. And the fact that I eat soooo slow. That has to look weird to people that don't know what is going on!! Kelly

WOW!! That really sucks!! I don't think any of those things would cause your surgery to be cancelled!! If you can have a period and still have surgery, I don't think swollen glands or poison ivy would stop it!! I used to get it so bad when I was a kid and the ONLY thing that made it feel better was RHUBARB!!! Go to the store and get some. It is in the veggie section. keep it in the fridge so it is nice and cold and break the stalk like celery and put the juice on your blisters!! It will stop that itching!! It's Heavenly!! Good luck to you!! Kelly

I only did an EKG as well. They put some of those led's on my chest, side and leg and it was about 2 minutes and I was done! Easy, peasy!! Kelly

This was a BIG deal for me!!! I use to drink 2-3 glasses of tea with EVERY meal!! I started practicing 4 months pre-op. I just did not put a glass at the table with me. Then would not get a glass after my meal for 1 hour. That was SUPER hard.!! Now, it is second nature. I don't even miss drinking with my meals and can't imagine having all that liquid in there with my tiny amount of food anyway!! You will get use to it!! kelly

I felt the same way you did! I thought it and re-thought it a thousand times. I had gained and lost the same 100lbs ten times in 15 years. I could lose it, but could not keep it off. I had to do something to ensure that I would not regain and lose, regain and lose!! Gastric bypass was never appealing to me, but this surgery was. I researched it for over a year and decided I would chat with my dr. He sent me to see my AWESOME surgeon and we decided it was a good fit for me! I can not say enough good things about my sleeve. I would recommend this surgery to anyone that wants and needs restriction with food. This is the best gift I have ever been given in my entire 36 years!! I can have anything I want, I just have a smaller amount of it. If I want a cookie, I could have one, but I would eat one and not 10! I can have A piece of pizza and not 5. You will not get fat eating like that. The insane thing about it is, it is almost like they operate on your stomach and it fixes your brain!! Weird, but true for me. I don't want to eat **** anymore. I eat on plan and I am good. I haven't had a fast-food, cookie, pie, cake, pizza, bread, rice....nothing since before my surgery and I really don't want to! I am sure I will, but at this time, I have not! All you have to do is look at everyone's stats. This surgery works if you do what you are supposed to do! Now, you can't sit and eat bon-bon's all day and expect the weight to fall off. I have to work very hard for every pound I lose, but it is worth it and a lot easier now that I can only eat 2-3oz of Protein at a time!! Good luck to you! Kelly

Everything for me is being introduced slowly. My plan calls for no nuts, Beans, seeds, raw veggies, bread, rice, Pasta until 3 months out (AUG 1st for me)!! No alochol, caffeine, soda for 6 months-they really discourage it at all! Everything else is as tolerated. I had to go thru the liquid, full liquid, pureed, soft food stages to get to regular diet. But, nothing is off limits on these stages except for these items listed. Kelly

I shop clearance raks because I never stay the same size for long and paying a lot for clothes sucks anyway, let alone when you only wear them like twice!! I paid $8 for a pair of jeans like 3 weeks ago, have worn them twice and they won't stay up on my hips now. I don't feel so bad about it, like I would if I would have paid $50 or more for them. I also just bought some new white dress pants for work and yesterday was the second time I wore them, it looked like I pooped my pants. That is how baggy they were! They have to go in the don't wear pile now!! It is sad, but so gratifying at the same time! Expensive too!! That is why goodwill, Ross and Kohls are my friend right now!! Visit one today!!! Kelly

It will only get better and better too!! Congrats!! Kelly