M2G

Congratulations!!! I still have about 50lbs to get there, but I will keep working and someday soon my post will read much like yours. Okay, I *just* looked at your ticker and can I say OMG! That is freaking incredible. You are totally rocking that sleeve. Awesome...way to go! (Was all of that weight POST-SURGERY? OMG!!!)

Welcome to the 'losers' bench! YAY! Hope you continue to feel well. I also showered with my drain with no coverings, but if there is one thing that this site has taught me is that EVERY surgeon is different. My rule...follow MY surgeon's orders exactly. Hopefully that evil drain will be out soon and you can shower freely!

I had to do that as well, and it is so hard to wait. But in my case I was eternally grateful because originally I was going to do the band. That 6 month required wait time allowed me time to 1. learn about VSG and 2. do enough research that I was 100% confident it was the better choice for me. Hang in there, I won't lie and say that it goes fast, but it will save you thousands and thousands of dollars to have insurance help kick in and pay vs. self-pay, so think about how much extra $$$ you will have left for new clothes!

Congratulations!!! Clothes on makes it even MORE impressive! Great JOB!!! When do we get pictures?

I wonder if that is why creamed soup wasn't on my list...

Exactly!!

Welcome to the forum! Yes, we all have a choice! I'm only 3 weeks post-op but I would definitely do this all again in a heartbeat, best thing I've ever done for myself!

Yay! Excited for you! Will be thinking of you as you go through surgery/recovery. Post an update when you can.

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/10081-the-official-what-you-will-need-for-your-surgery-thread/ From over in the "general" board...it is pinned near the top!

Can you photocopy your surgeon's guidelines and share them with her...so she can cross-reference your choices if she feels the need to?

I am definitely not an expert at all, but if I counted right you only got about 45 grams of Protein, and you didn't list fat grams but I know that the sausage, the pork rinds, the ham and the chicken thigh (oh and the PB) all have a pretty high fat content. Just looking at your list, I would start by swapping the pork rinds for something that is SOLID protein like albacore tuna fish for example. And the chicken thigh could easily be swapped for a chicken breast (my NUT said NO meat ON THE BONE...too high in fat!) The other thing you could do is add some Protein powder to your ice cream treat (or pudding or whatever your treat of the day is) and bump that protein up. I think you are not getting in enough, low-fat, solid, dense (and filling) protein. Just my $.02 cents!

Vicki, I just saw that you asked me about this VERY subject in that post. Sorry I didn't see it earlier. It will pass, I KNOW it will....it is sooooo frustrating to live through and you do start to wonder if you just had a $20K surgery just to lose 10lbs. That you will be THE ONE person who doesn't lose weight after surgery. lol. Hang in there, keep doing everything your surgeon outlines for you and keep drinking that Water and you will see the scale go down again SOON!

Some surgeons require their patient to have a drain that is left in when you leave the hospital. It is a tube coming out of your abdomen, that goes down into a "bulb"( the bulb is about the size and shape of the thing that people who take your blood pressure squeeze to pump the air into the cuff) there is adhesive that holds the bulb to your body. If you go home with a drain, it IS uncomforable (or I thought it was one of the worst parts of surgery, IMO) and akward, you need to wear soft pants, etc. to not irritate it. The purpose of the drain is to collect Fluid left over in your body cavity following surgery, so it serves a purpose, but definitely is not fun. I had a drain for 6 days following surgery and I thought it was pretty annoying. lol

Well, I lost my gall bladder due to "dieting" and no WLS involved! About 12 years I ago I did Medifast (which at the time was an ALL liquid diet...you could ONLY get it through a drs. office becuase it required constant medical monitoring.) I did lose about 80 over the course of a year (the liquid part was about 8 months) and within 6 months of losing all that weight, the horrible pain began and I had my to have my gallbladder removed. I was told it was a risk going into the diet, because as you lose weight your gall bladder just cannot process the extra cholesterol etc. that is being released by your fat cells. Therefore, the sludge builds up, and stones began to form, and the pain is a result from your body trying to "pass" the stone. That is why the pain comes and goes. The danger is that stones can get lodged in your system causing your body to fail and can be very dangerous. I do not know about "surgery" itself being a catalyst, just the resulting weight loss from having surgery. At least that is my understanding. At any rate, I do hope you find someone and FAST. You don't want to mess around with this any longer than you have to!

I don't know if you are doing anything wrong, but I can tell you my experience was exactly the same (I even emailed my NUT and she said I was doing GREAT with everything). Stalls happen all the time and happen to everyone, but that doesn't make them any less frustrating when you experience one. I had a 10 day stall as soon as I started "mushies" (I think I was about 10 days post-op at that point) and my stall lasted 10 days. AND, it was a weight that I did spend a lot of my adult life at. So I sort of jokingly told my husband, I think this is weight that my body is taking it's sweet time to say goodbye to. But eventually it passed and I started losing again. HANG IN THERE!

Over 3 weeks post-op and no hunger. And I really did wake up after surgery with no hunger. And I don't have acid (yet!) so the ONLY time my tummy rumbles or 'talks' to me is first thing in the morning because I usually don't eat after about 6:30 - 7:00 pm (liquids yes, solids no), so in the am, is when I feel it talking. But as far as actual physical hunger NONE. Head hunger, cravings, yep, still have that (as Tiff said it was a tummy surgery, not a brain surgery...lol). I eat by the clock now, otherwise I feel like I could go all day and not eat. (I definitely don't do that, just *feel* like I could.)

YUM! Those sound really good and probably a lot healthier than store bought patties! (no nitrates, you control the sugar amount, etc.) 11 grams of protein, hardly any carbs, and low in fat. Perfect for post-sleevers! Thank you!!!

I had a friend who just had this done 3 weeks ago. She looks great now, (of course I didn't see her bruises for almost 3 weeks since her surgery was the same day as my VSG...she is an older woman that I work out with at Curves), and she also paid extra (not covered by insurance) to have something done about the area below her eye (they were sort of puffy before.) Doesn't look like you have the under eye problem.

I have never had a band, but I am forever grateful for the MANY people who blogged about their bands and how they carried cups, bags, etc. to throw up or slime into. It totally turned me off from the band, especially because the band seems so fickle. It would be one thing to completely avoid a food that could trigger an episode but it must be incredibly frustrating to have something slide right through the band one day and the next come right back up. I am only 3 weeks out on my band, but am eating soft foods (90% protein) and I have yet to have anything come back up. Or even feel like it's going to come back up. I'm not saying it will never happen, because I can't see into the future, but I am SO thankful that I have not had a single episode of anything finding it's way back up. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for all your problems, I hope you can get the VSG revision.

Wow, I guess I'm having a hard time envisioning a band AND a plication. I have not had a band, the VSG was my first WLS, but (this is totally just my opinion) if it were up to me I would just do the VSG. I know some people have a hard time with the idea that it is permanent, but honestly isn't that what EVERYONE who has WLS is looking for? Permanent weight loss? Good luck with your revision, I think there is a plication board on here too, that you might want to check out.

-30lbs is awesome!!! WOW! Great job!

You are looking great! Congrats on your success!

You look wonderful!!!!! GREAT JOB!!!!!!!! And look at how big that yellow belt is on your tiny waist! WOO HOO!

Congrats on having your date! I was the same as you...totally excited. I didn't have tears or regret, just a PMA! (Positive Mental Attitude...I've found it will carry me FAR in life if I use it wisely.)

I saw a brief diddy on him and he said he is diabetic and he lost 80+ lbs in 5 months by cutting out ALL carbs, and all forms of sugar. He said he never once touched a carb or sugar. I believe that he could lose that much by doing the no carb/sugar thing, but I wonder if he will be able to keep it off? The never-ending question!