PamelaAM

You look fabulous! We love hearing from people like you who are a ways out and have been so successful! I am so happy that I have made this decision for myself and can't wait until I am 3 lbs from MY goal! Amazing job!

I had the same thing. My doctor told me NOT to put on that triple antibiotic cream which they have now determined causes allergic reaction in 15% of people - in fact he told me to throw it away. He gave me some heavy duty prescription stuff that seemed to stop the itching and help the discoloration. I also took two Benedryl at night to stop the itching and help me sleep (per the doctor). About a week after I started taking the B1 I actually broke out in major hives and when I looked up B1 and hives, it apparently is a not so uncommon side affect. I stopped taking it and haven't had another break out.

I had that feeling much earlier on - about 10 days out. It just so happened that I had my post op right about that time as well and my doctor told me that my body wasn't doing well without carbs and sugar. Kind of a weird thing for a bariatric surgeon to say but he told me to go eat ice cream and carbs for a few days and boy, what a difference! So now I know that my body can't do well without a reasonable amount of carbs so I am not as strict with my carbs as most probably are. He explained that some people's bodies just don't fare well without the carbs. I thought it was strange but when I added carbs back in to my diet it made a huge difference. I was at the point that I could barely walk and had no sense of balance at all. I would definitely check in with your doc :-)

So I finally broke my 2 1/2 week stall as of this morning. I had actually gained 3 lbs from my low from a few weeks ago and couldn't figure out what I was doing. I looked at my food log from yesterday and realized I only ate 451 calories - yikes! Normally I get in around 800. Maybe it's just about changing "something" up a bit to get the pounds dropping again. I remember years ago when I was dieting, one place said that if you had a stall to eat nothing but either cantaloupe, bananas, or oranges (just pick one and eat only that) for three days. Worked every time. So maybe there is something to changing things up just a bit. And I actually had a few bites of ice cream last night too!

You look fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing your journey - it is such an inspiration to all of us!

That's interesting because I have experienced that same tightness on the left side right under my boob usually when I am sleeping and go to turn over. I can't see anything there and can't feel anything weird. Wasn't sure what was causing it. Don't know enough about anatomy to know what exactly is there. Same location that you describe. Anyone else?

In week 5 now and everything just keeps getting better! Can't wait to hit the 6 week mark to start trying some other foods though. So glad that I did this :-)

So today is one week out for me. I honestly have to say that I had no idea what to expect. Problem was that I thought I had done my research, talked to alot of people and really read up but boy oh boy was this one shock of an experience! I never really had any pain to speak of and stopped taking the pain meds within 12 hours. What got me was the horrible nausea and the fact that while I knew I was supposed to get the liquids etc in, I couldn't even make a dent in ANYTHING. I guess for some reason I thought it was going to be easier than this. I'm a pretty intelligent and realistic person but there is no way that I was prepared for what I have been through in the past week. I know it's different for everyone but I remember reading someone posting on the board who had gone to Mexico and said that the first day home she went shopping. I can barely force myself to get up and walk around - so weak. I'm sipping Water all day and still not getting nearly enough in. And I know I'm not getting enough Protein in. But I am going to move forward and just keep pushing myself. I know it will get better - just hadn't planned on it being this difficult. I know when I would come to the board and read posts from people who were a few months out and everyone was saying "I love my sleeve!" I got really excited! I should have sought out more of the reality of what happens in the first month - or I should say what "could" happen. I was totally blindsided. I am feeling better every day and I know this was a great decision. I am just waiting for the day that I feel whole again :-)

You are doing amazing! I had my surgery on a Monday and was in the hospital until Thursday afternoon! Good job!

A huge congratualtions! And how exciting about the clothes! There should be a better system in place for clothes sharing! I've already got a big box gathering of things that no longer fit! And as opposed to past "diets" when I always saved my "big" clothes just in case, now I want to get rid of them forever!

Hey Kristy! I found Day #14 to be MY magic day! Your on the other side now and it only gets better from there! Congrats!

Congratulations on your successes! I agree that this has been the best thing I have ever done for myself! It's quite amazing how empowering it is when food no longer rules your life! Keep up the good job! I am 4 weeks out today and haven't been able to do too much walking yet (had a really tough recovery) but we went to see some friends to the LA Rock & Roll Marathon yesterday and had to walk probably a mile to get back to our car and I did ok, so I think I will start getting some walking in now :-) Keep posting your successes! It is such an inspiration to the rest of us and especially to those who haven't been sleeved yet!

For me, the full feeling is as if I had eaten my pre-surgery amount of food. We just got back from going out to lunch and I ate one mozzarella stick and couldn't eat another thing - I was so full. And I commented to my husband that it is so cool to get that full feeling after eating so little. It was no problem to sit and watch him eat an entire meal and dessert because I surely didn't want any of it. In fact sometimes it's hard to imagine that I could ever eat that amount. And tomorrow is 4 weeks for me :-)

OMG! This happened to me too and I thought I was just going crazy! My vision has gotten really blurry since my surgery on Sept 27th and I have to use my reading glasses to read just about everything now. Before I hardly used them unless I was sitting down to read something lengthy like a novel or a contract. I hadn't seen anyone else post about this so thought it was just me.

http://www.gastric-bypass-guru.com/restaurant-card-bariatric-surgery.html Someone senmt me this site. You can print out a card to use when ordering at restaurants. It doesn't say that it requires your surgeon's signature - just has a line for his name etc. I sent it to my surgeon because he has mentioned he didn't know where to get them.

Received an update from my doctor regarding these restaurant cards. They said that the reason that they stopped using them was because they really don't want people ordering from the kids menu because of the poor nutrional values of most items on kids menus. They recommended that you either order an appetizer or just order and ask for a to go box right away. I think we all knew to do that. She did say, however, that it wouldn't hurt to carry the card just in case anyone gives you a hard time. The cards don't really ask for the surgeon's signature, just their name.

Don't feel bad. I had lost 21 lbs in the first 10 days after surgery and as soon as I went on the mushies stage, not only have I not lost but I have gained two lbs that just don't seem to want to come off. I know I am doing everything right so I'm not worried about it. I know I will start losing again soon. And I am way beyond the "time of month" deal so it's not that. Just keep doing what you are doing and it will come off. You can't continue to eat only 700-800 lbs and not lose eventually.

Just noticed that the site doesn't even list "sleeves" - must be old information. But the info on the cards is accurate so I guess it doesn't matter.

Here is it again: www.alternavites.com

I am just going through my 4th week since my surgery. I was one of the ones that had a really difficult recovery for the first two weeks. But even while I was going through the awful time that I experienced, I never (well, maybe once) did the "what have I done to myself" thing. I kept remembering how many times over the past 40 years that I have lost the same 50 lbs only to regain it and then some. Being overweight isn't enjoyable, and it isn't healthy. My husband was concerned as well and I'm sure when he saw me go through the hell I went through for the first two weeks, he really questioned my sanity in having this done. But when I turned the corner on Day 14 and he saw me become my old self again he was relieved and knew that I had mnade the right decision. I'm down 34 lbs from my all time high, which was on the first day that I weighed in for orientation for my classes. I remember thinking to myself "how did I ever end up weighing so much? How did I let this happen?" I knew that day, was the last time I ever saw that weight on the scale again. It is really strange eating such small portions - but strange because we're not used to it. Just like everyone says, you get that same full feeling just after only a small amount of food. It's fabulous!!! And for me it is especially good because I never felt full before. So I would wait until my husband would say he was full and I would then stop eating. So lo and behold, I ended up weighing almost as much as him! Do you research. Talk to people on this board. Everyone is a wealth of information and I don't know how I would have gotten this far without the support of this board!

When I was so nauseous and light headed that I could hardly walk, when I went to my surgeon he told me to get some sugar and carbs into my body for a few days and boy, what a difference! I'm not suggesting you do that without talking to your doc but some people's bodies can't do without some carbs/sugar. I know that was the case with me.

So I made it today for lunch! It was my first experience running cauliflower through the Cuisinart and I was amazed at all of the things that I am now thinking I can do with that "riced" cauliflower - who knew? LOL! The pizza was great! Made a double batch so I will have it for another 7-8 meals :-) Don't think my family would be fooled thinking it was real pizza but for me it was great! Thanks so much for the great idea! Saw someone post about making fried "rice" with this too - that will be my next attempt!

I fully expected to stall around week 3 and that's exactly what I did. But I weighed this morning and was up 3 lbs from last Monday morning - weird. I'm not really freaking out too much because I know it has to be water weight somehow because there is no way I even ATE 3 lbs of food - LOL! Have others experienced this too?