M2G

Everyone at my surgeon's office, from the nurses, to the NUTs all tell us all the time Calcium Citrate, NOT carbonate is what ALL WLS patients want (maybe with the exception of the bandsters). It IS much harder to find calicum citrate in chewable form, so I order mine online. It doesn't bother me, I was told up front that I needed chewable calcium citrate.

I truly believe a positive mental attitude is almost as strong as medicine! I found myself having to reframe my thinking too when I would get frustrated with the 6 month insurance wait and hoop jumping, but the best part it is all worth it in the end!! Good luck, and welcome.

Darn gallbladder. I had mine removed about 12 years ago, so as my WLS dr. said "one less thing to worry about". It's funny now that I have fresh scars from the VSG I cannot even FIND my old scars from the gallbladder. I'm sure you wouldn't have picked having 2 surgeries back to back, but hopefully you can heal and move on. OH and congrats on -23 lbs woo hoo!

Saw it on OH and commented, but still looked again over here and it is SO CUTE. I'm so happy that new hair is growing in for you, it is so traumatic losing hair.

Ooooh, got it, thanks for posting. It takes 3 scoops to = 60 grams of Protein. That makes a little more sense.

No, I have never heard of it. I wonder how much Protein a body can absorb in one sitting...I've seen various responses to this question, but I don't have a clear idea of scientifically how much we can absorb in one meal. I mean based on one serving of that stuff having 60 grams of protein, then you could eat that and be done for the day right? lol, not that I think that is a good plan, but I am curious about how much of that 60 grams can be absorbed at once. Sounds interesting though...did you order it?

I'm 11 weeks out now and my ticker reflects weight loss since surgery...including my BMI from start until now. At 2 months I was probably about -34ish? -36? I don't have my weight sheet in front of me right this second.

Well, here is what the NUTs who work for my surgeon say (you know how NUTs have their mantras, and repeat them over and over to anyone who is willing to listen ) "Don't drink your calories" They say it is a slippery slope, getting your calories from drinking (like milk leading to milkshakes, and fancy coffee drinks, etc.) The big deal about milk is that it is not dense, solid, filling Protein. It goes right through you. HOWEVER, most NUTs are also accustomed to dealing with RNY and BAND patients who STILL have their FULL hunger, which is why they develop the mantra about it going right through you. They would rather see you EAT the same amount of calories, carbs, protein, & fat, than drink them. If you are concerned about your milk consumption, I would probably check with your dr. or NUT, and see what they say. I think since most sleeve patients don't have extreme hunger, and you are tracking your calories, and getting all your protein, then to ME, it seems fine. But I am not a professional.

The list is under "general" topic... http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/10081-the-official-what-you-will-need-for-your-surgery-thread/ I also used my heating pad, hardly used pain pills (I think I took them twice after I left the hospital and that was it), definitely have a RTD Protein shake that you can just grab from the fridge and sip (I like Premier Protein you can buy a whole case at costco or Sams) and I also used straws (I think some people think that straws are a no no after surgery {because theoretically you can drink too fast}, but just about every sip I take is from a straw and I don't have a single issue!) Also I used sugar-free Halls Vitamin drops, because I had a sore throat for a good 10 days post-op, thanks to intubating, etc. That is all I can think off the top of my head. Good luck with everything!

Well, my particular surgeon was fairly new to the sleeve (I think he said he only had done about 15 prior to my sleeve) but I had 100% confidence in him as a surgeon. He has been around a LONG time and been not only a surgeon for a very long time but the speciality of bariatric surgery for a long time. While he has done literally thousands of Bands and RNY's he never missed a beat when I switched from the band to the sleeve (never tried to talk me out of it, never ONCE pushed one surgery over another) so my confidence in his ability to operate on me was 100%. Honestly if I had your surgeon I would probably be getting a second opinion based on what you have mentioned about what he said and his feelings about the sleeve. I'm sure thsi is not an easy decision for you, and best of luck with whatever you decide to do. I couldn't be happier with the sleeve and you couldn't pay me a million bucks to try yet another lousy "diet".

I have only told who I wanted to tell, and so far no one has pressured me into 'spilling' the beans so to speak. I'm sure when I've lost more weight* people will start asking more questions and honestly I think it will just depend on WHO is asking, HOW they are asking, and MY MOOD of the moment. lol.<BR> <BR>*Interestingly enough, I just blogged about how it's almost sad that people don't notice wieght loss (on me personally) until I've lost about -50lbs. So I guess since that is my next goal I better get myself ready for some nosy questions.

What a transformation, wow!!! I love what your hubby said...awwww! Sounds like you lost a lot of weight prior to surgery, and that is something to be proud of too. Almost -100 gone, THAT must feel amazing!!! Thanks for sharing your photos with us...I know how hard it is to do!

You look wonderful, congrats on that first goal, SO exciting! I just bookmarked your blog and will spend some time checking it out. Thanks for the link!

Of course not! I will add yours to mine too. And I will look into the the RSS feed, thanks for the info!

Wow! Amazing! Congratulations, you must feel great. Thanks for sharing your pics with us.:camera:

WOO HOO for the evil drain being gone!

Totally agree Irene! (But I didn't have a band so you can skip that part for me) but I drink right up until a meal and once in a great while have a tiny sip or two while eating, and then I've waited as little as 15 minutes after to start sipping again. I generally wait about 20-30 minutes though. I find that breath mints help me when something leaves a "presence" in my mouth and also kicks up the saliva so I don't feel so dry without some Water.

Hey Christa, I've bookmarked your blog. You can find mine in my signature if you want to check it out. I looked for a way to follow your blog without signing up via email...is there a way to do that? I get too many emails already. lol.

Oh I don't think that doing Curves alone will shed weight. I know you said Curves + Diet, didn't work, although I think most people do find some success with dieting AND exercise. Actually, for me personally, excercise alone does not =equal= weight loss. It's all about what I'm putting in my mouth and how my body treats what I put in my mouth. Hence why the sleeve is working for me. But for the sole fact that I've been able to stick with Curves for almost 7 years now is huge for me! Good luck with that gym Klus...sounds like a GREAT deal!

My personal experience was that I was in the hospital about 24 hours total, I was up and walking within 3 hours of having surgery, I used very little morphine (they gave me a pump and I hardly needed any at all) my pain while in the hospital was never above a 4 (their scale was 1 no pain, 10 worst pain possible), and I did not need the pain pills I was sent home with. That being said, this IS major surgery and honestly you should plan to be out of "life" for at least a week. I went shopping at costco 6 days post-op (my mom was here and did the cart pushing and lifting) but it was a lot. I'd had my drain pulled earlier that day, and was {ICK WARNING} gushing Fluid and blood from the drain incision site. After about 20 minutes in Costco I had to go sit and wait for her to finish (all the while holding my flimsy guaze patch over the old drain site). You could not pay me enough money to try out the band (even though I was orginally going for the band, I switched my surgery about 2.5 months into a 6 month insurance wait time to the sleeve and now that I have the sleeve I wouldn't change surgeries for anything.) Given your particular set of circumstances, I would have the surgery on a Mon. and have your friend help as much as humanly possible during that first weekend back on the job. If you could get one weekend off AFTER surgery, I bet you would be fine because that would be almost 2 weeks before having to go back. Definitely no pulling heavy items or lifting more than a few lbs. Good luck with whatever you end up doing!

Congratulations on your loss and the regaining of your health! Congrats on signing up for a 5K, you will have to keep us posted on how that is going. Thanks for sharing your story with all of us, it truly is wonderful that some of the longer-term vets come in and check in with us and let us know how far they have come. We love hearing success stories!

Just checking in on you NellyBell83....did you get your DVD's and how do you like them?

I've been a Curves member for almost 7 years, and I do love it. First and foremost I have made some amazing friends at Curves that I get together with regularly outside of Curves and they are a great support system. I know in my heart it is because of these friendships that I have made that I have been able to stick with it for so long. I totally agree with Eloray, that it is mostly lacking in cardio. The cardio comes from the "jog pads" that are in between each station and it's hard to jog hard enough or fast enough during the 30 seconds that you are on each station to get a true cardio workout going. But I like that the hydryolics allow you to work as hard or as little as you want. There are some Curves that have the Curves "Smart" system, which is a little tag you place in each machine and it's supossed to give you real-time feedback (i.e. - work harder, slow up, etc.) but I pretty much think that is worthless. I know I get into my target heart rate zone with each workout and I've worn a heart-rate monitor that takes in your height, weight, age, etc. and I've burned as many as 300 calories in one 30 minute workout. If you read stuff that says you burn 500 calories per workout, that is questionable to me, just my opinion. Anyway, I love it and I do supplement my Curves workouts with my treadmill and occassionally a cardio class or swimming laps at my local rec center.

My dr. was against salad until you are past the 6 week mark. I'm not sure that he is big on salad anyway (because it is not dense filling protein) but I just recently in the last 2 weeks have had 2 salads (I'm 10+ weeks out). I make sure to eat my Protein first, then I had a few bites of salad (and enjoyed them!) Anyway, that is my surgeon's notes.

I agree that the hernia repair/gallbladder out, etc. are pretty safe bets. I agree that we have HIPPA to protect our medical information, but I also can see where your nosy boss isn't going to be happy with "I'm having surgery". However, I would try that route. Have your story planned just in case he asks, and try to give single word answers. Maybe, just this once, he won't ask what kind of surgery. I agree with Tiffy you could say this and have it not even be close to a lie is this, "I prefer not to share my medical information in the workplace (that way it's not directed at him that you don't want to share), where I have a job to do and as soon as I am cleared by my doctor, I will be back at work in 100% capacity." I agree that this guy does NOT sound like the type of boss that you want to share your personal medical information with. Good luck, and hold your head high!