klus263

Good Luck Kris. I have a bucket list also but first goal is getting healthy. I was sleeved on Dec 1st and have already stopped my diabetic medication. I have returned my cpap maching (only had to have it as a requirment for surgery). Next is cholestral medication. You have made a great decision. Keep us posted.

Glad to hear you are having a good recovery. I only had a one day stay in the hospital. Walking definately helped in speeding the healing process. It was very hard not to use the stomach during the first weeks. I would have twinges telling me if I overdid it. Just take it easy. I am at 5 weeks and no longer have stomach pain.

Your daughter is wise beyond her years. I did not tell my sisters or my parents until after surgery. Suprisely my father was understanding that I did surgery...I did not go into details as he is 82 and would not understand but he accepted that I was overweight and this was probably was the best thing for me. They live in another state and I only get to see them about once a year. It won't matter in even one year. It has only been 30 days for me and I was a lucky one with no complications at all. I am loving my decision and now close to 35 lbs down from the day I started my journey with my first doctor visit back in February. What matter is that you are doing this for yourself. My husband realizes that he can't do it on his own and we are getting him sleeved in March or April at the latest. Good luck in your journey!

Funny, no matter how well we feel, everyone once in a while it reminds us "hey stupid, you just had major surgery...slow down!". I got that several times. I am 4 1/2 weeks out and I think I just got past that part. I was able to get groceries today and put them away with out any pain. I work from home answer phones and I went back to work after one week. Good Luck and take it easy at work.

Who is your carrier. Mine was Aetna. I had to do 6 months of pcp visit for supervised diet. My BMI was 38 but I was diabetic so with a co-morbidty I could not go below 35 BMI. I think I lost only 2-3 pounds during those visit. Once a month I went in and weighed. The first visit he gave me a sampe diet of 1600 calories a day. My weight taken at my first surgeon visit is what was submit to insurance. I had to have a history of obesity so I had a doctor visit from 2008 which had my weight at approximately the same. I also needed a one on one with a nutritionist. When I called insurance they showed me directly on line the guidelines for approval. Once they had all the paperwork I was approved within 24 hours. Hang in there. Yes, there are hoops to jump through but it is so worth. I got my sleeve Dec 1st.

Is it a sharp pain. The first few weeks I still had some stomach pain especially if I overdid it. Moved laundry-loading or unloading the dishwasher. I took children's liquid tylenol and that took the edge off. If it extremely painful and does not let up at all, you really should contact your doctor.

The waiting is the hardest part. My company-self funded insurance first had the guidelines of 12 months of supervised diet but when I call the actual carrier it was only 6 months. By that time I was at my 6 month mark so I was able to start with the surgeon and submissions. I had started my journey in February with the seminar. I was sleeved Dec 1st and am loving every minute of it so far. I was one of the lucky ones and have no complications whatsoever but I am following my doctor guidelines religiously. I do not have as much to lose as you but I am already down 30 lbs. My insurance once they had all the paperwork gave an answer in 24 hours and called the doctor's office who called me to scheduled the surgery. It is a great feeling to get the call. Hoping they approve you quickly.

I am no except since I was just sleeved but for most things that I read, you should probably drink a protein drink which may add some calories and extra protein can never hurt with all that exercising. I just hope I will be as active when I am that close to goal. My husband and I have recently started hiking.

My local Walmart carries only the chocolate but Publix also have French Vanilla. I use it every day. I also add 1/3 cup of dry milk which increases the protein to 21 grams. I also vary the taste with Torani Sugar Free Syrups like rasberry and carmel. I have them either warm or cold. Walmart has them by the Oatmeal. There are also some that are premade in bottles and I am looking to use those when I travel.

I am sorry that you are struggling. I did not have any negative thoughts after this surgery. I knew that this tool was going to be the last tool I would need and I would finally be able to succeed in losing and keeping of weight. My health was going down the toilet-I was diabetic and they were increasing meds and I knew that eventually if I didn't do something I would be on shots. I have non-alcholic fatty liver disease, my family history has heart attacks, strokes, arithitis, knee replacments, high blood pressure.....I wanted to be able to go hiking with my husband-a new hobby we just recently started. My children will at some point have babies and I wanted to be a grandmother that could do things with and they would not be ashamed to see in public. I wanted to make sure I have a long and healthy life. The first few days and week are definately the hardest as we basically relearn how to eat and what to eat. Concentrate on your fluids first and then gradually start working on the Protein. I can get all my protein in but I still struggle in drinking the recommendations every day. I still cook for my husband but as I am now working on reintroducing real foods, I cook much differently and he is liking what I am making. Hang in there! It will get better and keep reading here and posting, this place is great for encouragement. My doctor's office also has monthly support group meetings-check to see if your doctor has them or if you can contact other patients in your area so you can talk with someone locally. Also some insurance plans have what they call EAP (Employer Assistance Programs-I think) which you can meet with a therapist for a certain number of visits for free to help you make the adjustment. I had a case manager who called me about a week after surgery to make sure I was doing okay.

I am so sorry to hear of your horrible time. Just hang in there. Once you are able to get the fluids in, it will get so much better. I gained 14 lbs while in the hospital and it took much longer than a week to lose that and get back to presurgery weight but I am now 30+ pounds lighter and feel so much better. Keep following your doctor's advise. Good luck and keep up posted.

I tried doing it the "natural" over 20 years. Ten pounds gone, fifteen pounds gain, twenty pounds gone, forty pounds gain....and so on and so on. I deliberately did not tell 2 of my sisters (how would they understand-they have never been obese like me with co-morbidity issues). Since my employer covers weight loss surgery-quite of few of my coworkers have done lap band and gastric-the sleeve was just recently approved. I work from home so I really don't see any coworkers. My surgeon's office also has monthly support groups so I get all the support I want and need from them, from this board and from my family. I actually my sisters after surgery and one agrees that this was the best thing for me. Keep plugging away. I had to go through 6 months before approval and I took all the overtime possible from work to pay my portion. Now I am working the overtime so my husband can get his sleeve hopefully in April. Good luck you are making the right decision. I do not regret mine for a minute and never had 'buyer's remorse".

The shakiness could be due to low blood sugar. Keep hydrated and drink gatorade or something like that with electrolytes. This may help with the tiredness also. As for the stomach gurgles, I had them for several days after surgery. I stil get them if I eat to quickly or take too big of a bite.

2011 is gonna be a great year for us all. Congrats on the weight loss and good job on getting all of the fluids and protein. I can get my protein but I still cannot get all of my fluids but I am still losing. I am loving how I am feeling. My husband called me a cheap date this morning as we went out for breakfast and I order eggbeaters-1 egg and bacon and still could not finish the eggs. We are finally going to be sucessful in losing but also keeping off the weight.

My doctor works with the nutritionist at the hospital. We had to go through a 3 hour class prior to surgery-this is the surgeon's requirement along with going to a support group. I had to get signed certificates to turn in before they would turn into insurance. Our bairiatric nurse is also a WLS patient. She stopped in to see me prior to surgery and afterwards and called me several days later to make sure I was doing okay. Our classes are separate from lab bands patients to gastric and sleeve patients and ever our support groups are separate. You may want to see if you a Bariatric Center of Excellance which normally has support groups and may be able to give you names of nutritionist that are familiar with weight loss surgery. I did find several websites that had their diet plans posted. Every place differs on their guidelines but if your surgeon is saying one thing and the nut is not part of his staff or support-I would follow the surgeon over the nut. Keep a food diary and see what works for you. On the week that you ate starches how was the weight loss to the week where you keep it low. We are to try to have no more than 15 grams of carb with 5 or less gram of fat per serving. Good Luck.

Welcome to "Onederland"!!! Isn't it a great feeling. You are doing so awesome. I received 199 for Christmas.

I had to get the Cpap because I had a mild case of sleep apnea...personally it was money hungry doctors as they made me do 2 sleep studies and then get the machine. My surgeon required a minimun 2 week compliance plus I had to have the machine for after surgery. I have already returned the machine back to the sleep clinic. My husband says I already snore less. But I don't have a job that requires complaince. I have heard from my support group that many have been able to discontinue within a year of surgery. Good luck.

Oh, but I have forgotten to eat one last thing--a big breakfast at Cracker Barrel. I may have to do that before I go back to work on Monday. I know. I had a few food funerals before I started my pre-op diet. I was sleeved Dec 1st. But I know it is not forever. Today my husband and I went out to eat for the first time in almost 2 mos. Cracker Barrell breakfast....is so good. I made the right choices with 1 egg scrambled (egg beaters) no biscuit or toast and ate one piece of bacon. I couldn't even finish the egg. I felt good about my choices but realized that I still need to slow down more when eating out. It was nice to go out and still work the sleeve. Hang in there, and take it one day at a time.

My doctor will do my labs at 6 months. As one who has elevated liver panels for over 15 years I would not be overly concerned that they will redo the test that soon. It will take at least 30 days before any diet changes may reflect in new labs. For me they did do a liver biospy during my sugery but that is because I had non alcohlic fatty liver disease but the results not anything serious and he was forwarded them to my PCP. I did have a ultrasound a year ago and that procedure was very minor. My sister is lactose intolerant and uses soy and rice milk for a substitute for milk. She can do some cheese but in a very small amount. Since you are 8 weeks out you should be able to eat meat so concentrate on using that to get your protein. Hopefully this will turn around for you so you can start feeling normal soon.

I also used the Sugar Free Carnation Instant Breakfast and I added 1/3 cup of dry milk to make it 21 grams. I never used any other protein supplements. I found them in chocolate and vanilla. I also found Sugar Free Torina Syrups and add 1Tbsp to change up the flavor. I have raspberry, caramel and for the holiday-gingerbread. I drink them either warm or cold. Hopes this help.

My diet is to be between 600-800 calories a day along with 60 grams of protein and 60 of water. I am no where near the water consumption but I am getting the protein. Right now I seem to be averaging about 3 lbs a week. I normally walk every day at lunch around the apartment complex and a couple of miles on the weekend. I did have a stall around week 2 but I was still losing inches. Walking was stressed a lot for us also. How much walking or exercising are you doing?

I hope to have your results in 4 mos. I was sleeved Dec 1st. I am currently losing 3 lbs a week. Every doctor is different and at first I was allowed 2 oz but that will gradually increase. How many calories a day are you eating? Currently I am to be around 600-800. Everybody loses weight at different rates. And if you are working out muscles weigh more. Have you checked your measurements. One week I hardly lost anything but when I did my measurements I had lost over total 21 inches. It took my 20 years to be at the weight I am so I know it will not come off quickly but any pound lost is one that is never coming back!

I used Carnation Instant Breakfast Sugar Free with Skim milk it is 13 grams of protein. I add 1/3 c of dry milk which makes it up to 21 gram. I am still not close to getting in all of my fluids in daily but I am meeting my guidelines of the 60 grams. The first few weeks my doctor stress the fluids and then start increasing the protein. I am losing about 3 lbs a week, this may be slower than others but I am still losing and it is not coming back.

I completely understand. I went to Salvation Army today as I am down to one pair of jeans and they are starting to get loose. The last pair of pants I bought was a size 20. I found a pair of 16 and yes a pair of 14. Not to snug and I still have a muffin top ( I don't think I will ever lose that body feature) and a XL turtleneck. I have not been in these sizes since before my daughter was born and she will be 22 on Monday. I am loving my sleeve.

We all experience this. Today I made sauage bites to have later and the smelll is overwhelming. but I have not given in to try one just yet. I was a huge grazer and boredom is a big one that I have to manage. I am not hungry so I don't need to eat so I will just read some post and wait until it is supper time to try them. "Yoda...I need some help from the force here :P