kellyw74

You are doing the right thing and will be much much healthier for your children! We really do not bleed much with this surgery. You will be fine! Hugs, Kelly

I was sleeved at Kaiser Richmond in the Bay area!! Good luck to you!! Kelly

I forgot to add....try staying away from the Protein drinks if you are drinking them. I found that they really made me go when i would drink them in the begining. kelly

I felt the same way as you. I remember thinking will this even work for me? I can not fail another time! I was so scared about having 85% of my stomach removed just to not lose weight. My dr. assured me that I would be a GREAT success with the sleeve because I had been successful losing in the past, I just could not keep it off! I needed something that gave me restriction and now I have it! When you can only eat 2 oz at a time, you WILL lose weight! There is no way you can't!! Trust me, you WILL!! If and when you go to a fast food place, you will not be able to eat like you do now, so the thought of putting 2 wraps in your sleeve will not be an issue because if you try, you WILL throw up! You might one day be able to do one, but not two!! My dr. told me that I will be able to eat again, BUT NEVER like I did before! I will NEVER be able to eat 5 pieces of pizza at one time again. I will NEVER be able to eat fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuts, corn & green Beans at one sitting again. I will never be able to go to a buffet and gorge like I did before. I am fine with that. I will however, be able to eat A donut one day again, but I don' t know that I want to. I think the sleeve (for me anyway) changed my thinking! I am 10 weeks out and I really don't want to eat **** anymore. I want healthy things and have not eaten ANYTHING "bad" since 5 months before my surgery. As far as not losing tho, it is enevitable. You will lose because you eat so little. Now, you can't just sit on the couch forever and expect it to just fall off. I have to work very hard for every pound I want to lose. However, I am very close to goal too. Follow your dr.'s guidelines and you will do great!! Kelly

Hopefully it wont happen to you, but I have heard of people being sent home the day of surgery because they did not follow the pre-op diet! Good luck! Kelly

I am sure that a lot can happen in a year. Maybe you could have a friend go with you instead of your family. Or lots of people go by themselves, you could too. It would save a lot of money, I would go alone, but that is just me. Keep your chin up, lost of things can happen between now and then! Maybe you will even find a job that will give you insurance and will pay for the surgery by then!! Who knows! Kelly

Oh I feel ya! I was the same way until about week 4 when I was allowed solid food. SOmething about those liquids and purees went straight thru me!! And I totally agree about work! My bathroom is right by a row of cubicals!! I had the worst gas with mine and went back to work in 7 days after my surgery, so you can just imagine!! ECHO ECHO!!! NOT COOL!!! Kelly

I am sure that you probably know this, but make sure you are eating enough. I was not losing for about 2 1/2 weeks and figured out that I was not getting enough calories. I upped my calories by about 200 and started losing again!! Kelly

My husband is not HEAVY, but bigger. He is 6 ft 1 and weighs about 230. I like bigger built guys and not scrauny men. When I met my husband 20 years ago, I was 17 and was about 180lbs. Not fat, but def not skinny!! Pretty much just on the little bit of chunky side. Over the years, I soared all the way up to 280!! WOW!! My husband always loved me for me, not my weight and never said a word about how fat I was, I was always the one unhappy with my weight. He always told me and still does how beautiful I am everyday! Now that I have lost about 90lbs, he hates it!! He tells me everyday when he hugs me how skinny I am and that if he wanted a skinny girl, he would have married a telephone pole!! Kidding of course, but he likes bigger women! Our marrige is fine and we are not having problems, but he would rather me be be heavy!! He knows I am much healthier and that makes him happy, but really prefers me heftier!! Neither one of us is going anywhere. We love each other and how much I weigh will not change that. I have lost and regained 100's of lbs over the years and we still keep on being married!! LOL Kelly

How awesome!! You look wonderful!! Kelly

I count them, but agree with rootman. Kelly

I walked until i went to my first check up with my surgeon and was cleared to do more. He said I was healed and could do whatever I wanted. So, I started running and lifting weights at 6 weeks out. Kelly

WOOP WOOP!! Good for you!! Kelly

At this stage in the game, you really should only be focusing on staying hydrated. NOT ON PROTEIN!!! IT is hard enough to drink all your liquids, let alone worry about protein. So, focus on that for now and don't worry about protein until you move to solid foods! When you get to that point, use myfitnesspal.com. That is a great website to track all your food, exercise and water! Best of luck to you! Kelly

I got the vanilla ones before surgery and i really liked them. After surgery, they made me GAG!! I think it is because they are soooo thick! I hate them now and my husband had to drink the rest of the box. LOL Kelly

i have a seizure disorder and i stil had the surgery. i have them when i sleep sometimes and nobody can tell me why!! strange, but true! had my first one about 14 years ago and had about 4 in 10 years. Haven't had any in about 6 years, but take really good meds now. Topamax works wonders for mine!! it should not postpone anything. it has nothing to do with your stomach!! Don't worry!! Kelly

I too have been STARVING since having my sleeve. I prayed and prayed that this would be resolved after my surgery, but hasn't!! I have been taking Nexium for about 8 years and asked my surgeon to switch me to something else. He said Nexium was the best out there. Well, I took it upon myself to go and get some Prilosec OTC and have been taking it for 18 days now. I can honestly say that my hunger HAS calmed down!! I am so happy about it. I do still get hungry, but my stomach is NOT constantly growling like it was before. I think that Prilosec is MUCH better than Nexium and I am so happy that I started taking it. I emailed my PCP and asked him for a prescription because it is cheaper than buying it over the counter and he gave it to me!! LOL I hope that the longer I take it, the better my hunger will be!! Kelly

YAY for you!! Got a spot next to me on the loser's bench!! Update when you can!! Kelly

I did not have a drain. I did, however look like I had been beat with a ball bat on my left side. Seriously. I was black and blue for 2 weeks and felt like I had done 2,000 crunches for about 15 days!! The soreness takes a while to go away, but remember, you just had MAJOR SURGERY!! They moved and removed stuff!! You will get better!! Kelly

Mine had steri-strips over them and came off about 2-3 weeks out. My incisions NEVER itched. I am glad. I have been putting Vitamin E oil on them twice a day since the strips came off and my scars are barely noticable. Kelly

I HATE protein drinks because of the protein taste. GAGS the hell outta me!! If that is your problem with them, then try Pure Protein ready to drink in the can. It is SOOOO GOOOD!!! I promise you there is NO protein taste in the Strawberry Creme or Cookies & Cream. They both have 35g of protein in one can!! You can get them at AMAZON.com or The VItaman Shoppe. Buy one can and see how you like it before you get a whole case! SOOOO GOOD!! Kelly

For about the first 1-2 weeks I was hot, cold, hot, cold. It was horrible. Then, for about a month I was FREEZING all of the time!! Now, my hands get cold a lot, but mainly when I am at work. My office is sooo cold. When I am at home, I seem to be fine. I get cold at night time sometimes and it is weird!!! I just cover up in bed and get toasty!! My dr. said it WILL stop. It doesn't seem to be as bad now and I am 10 weeks out on Monday!! Kelly

Sounds like you are on the mend!! YAY!! Everyday will get better and better!!! HUGS!! Kelly

I was one of the lucky ones and had a really good recovery!! I was in the hospital, had my surgery and was home the next afternoon. I did not take pain meds after leaving the hospital. I felt really weak for a few days and went to my Primary Dr. I was anemic and had to start strong Iron pills and be taken off my blood pressure meds. For about a week, I was REALLY weak!! I went back to work on day 7 after my surgery. I felt good other than being a little tired, but everyday was better!! When I was able to eat more, that was when I was really feeling good. About week 2-3. I was not allowed to lift over 10 lbs for the first 2 weeks. Then not over 20lbs from week 2-4. After 4 weeks I could lift whatever I wanted. It takes 4 weeks for you to heal internally and you should not lift over 20lbs. I didn't lift anything really but a few small grocery bags! You will know how you feel and what you can do. Just don't over do it or pick up your children!!! Walking makes you stronger and the more you can do of it the better you will feel!! Best of luck to you!! Kelly

Maybe she weighs more than you do!! People that weigh more can burn a lot more calories than others by weighing less. I weigh 190 lbs (wow, did I just type that )!! And would not burn nearly as many calories in a mile walk as someone that weighs 250lbs. It sucks that I have to work twice as hard to burn as many calories, but it is true. Hope this helps.!! Kelly