PamelaAM

I just received my samples from www.alternavites.com today in the mail. I am currently taking gummies but they don't have all of the nutrients that we are supposed to have and I can't stand the chewable Vitamins - the chalky taste in my mouth gags me. These vitamins are crystals that you put on your tongue to dissolve. With the sample they sent me they sent a code for a 10% discount so here it is FS10. Sounds like a good alternative to chewable or "must swallow" vitamins. I'm going to try them next week when I get back into town.

You look amazing! Keep up the good work!

Awesome job!!! Isn't this one of the most exciting things we have ever done with our lives?

During the first 10 days after surgery, I was having a hard time getting much in the way of calories down while on liquids. And my surgeon said if I got 45 grams of Protein in he was fine with that. Well when I went in on day 11 for my post op I couldn't even walk I was so weak. My doctor told me my body was in starvation mode and that I needed carbs right away. My brain was so foggy I couldn't hardly think. In fact, I fell when I had to go into the restroom at the doctor's office. The doctor told me that my body was not able to survive without carbs like some people can and instructed me to go down the street to Del Taco and eat some refried Beans and then to go home and eat ice cream. He made a specific point of saying "not lowfat and not sugarless, get the full on regular ice cream". I ate that for 3 days and what a world of difference it made! I'm not saying that anyone else should indulge in ice cream but what I am saying is that you should take to your doctor and they may need to make some adjustments to your diet. Every person's body and biochemistry is different and I don't believe there is a one size fits all solution with this surgery.

You look fabulous!!!

I just love reading success stories like yours! I remember many many years ago (and I really MEAN many years ago. . .LOL!) I had gone froma 16 to a 10 and I would go shopping and still take size 16s into the dressing room and then feel like an idiot for grabbing the wrong sizes. Weird how our brains have to catch up to our bodies! Congratulations on your successes and your new life!

You are such an inspiration to those of us who are coming up behind you! You look amazing and you have to feel incredible!!! Keep up the good work. This sleeve is nothing short of a miracle to me :-)

Sounds loike you are just having a stall. I had one from my 2nd week all the way into my 3rd week - it was very discouraging but I did notice that my clothes were getting looser. Then all of a sudden I started losing again. IN fact, during the stall, not only did I nopt lose weight but I gained 3 lbs! It will pass. Just try to get in your Protein (I get now between 50-60 grams a day - mu surgeon said he was happy with 45 and I've just stared to be able to get in more. Don't get discopuraged, the weight WILL come off :-)

Congratulations! I had my sleeve the day before you and am down a total of 38 lbs from my all time high of 250 so we are right about the same place! I, too, had a very tough first couple of weeks but feel so good right now! This has been an amazing life changing event for me!

Also, talk to you doctor about what his diet plan is for post op. I noticed that someone said you would still be on liquids. My doctor puts his patients on pureed/mushy foods when you hit the 2 week mark. I was able to do soft scrambled eggs, refried beans, cheeses etc. I started feeling WAY better once I was on that food instead of the liquids. I did notice that I still had some brain fog at week 3 though. For me, I wouldn't have been able to do a long lecture day but it seems like most people didn't have it as tough as I did. I'm at 5 1/2 weeks now and just traveling across country today (CA to PA) for the first time for work.

Congratulations! You will not regret your decision. For me, this is the best thing I have ever done in my life!

I went back on my 5 week sleevaversary but I had been working from home for two weeks prior to that. the 5 week mark seemed really good for me. By that time, I almost felt 100%.

I am such an open book! I've told everyone! Didn't think I was going to originally but everyone has been so supportive that it felt good to have so many people supportive of my decision. But I do understand that for most/many people, this is something that they want to keep close and not share with everyone. By sharing my story though, I have had so many people then share stories of their relatives, etc who have also had surgery and are so happy with their successes. I also keep thinking that if I can inspire just one other person, then it is worth sharing my story. . .but that's just me :-)

I actually took my Heparin shots in my arms because I was so afraid of anyone touching my stomach, so I know for me, it had nothing to do with the Heparin. Another thing too is that they have now found that the Triple Antibiotic cream causes allergic reaction to 15% of patients so if you have any of that, throw it away and use the Double Antibiotic cream if you use anything. It was that third ingredient that was causing the problems.

Just wanted to give an update since many of you know how badly I suffered the first couple of weeks. Today is my 5 week sleevaversary and I couldn't be happier. This weekend I was actually out for the whole weekend at an amazing weeking of hope for the pancreatic cancer community including board meetings, scientific sessions and finally on Saturday evening our gala that honored my good friend Cindy Landon (Michael died of pancreatic cancer) and Lisa Niemi Swayze (Patrick died of pancreatic cancer). It was such a powerful and amazing weekend and I did fine from early early morning each day to late into the night. We raised over $800,000 for the fight against pancreatic cancer and the thing that I was most excited about was that I had the energy to do the entire weekend! Today I make the drive to the office for the first time (been working from home) and am really excited to get there! This weekend I'll be in Philadelphia for one of our big PurpleStride walks and then the next weekend in Dallas for their walk. So glad to be sleeved, be back, and be SO happy!

The chocolate Premier ones - 30 grams of protein

I can't even imagine downing an entire protein shake at 11 days out. I am 5 weeks out tomorrow and still have to split the Costco protein shakes (small containers) into 3 servings. Maybe try to limit your intake to 2 oz - that's probably the size of your stomach.

Eggs were probably the easiest for me. I soft scramble one egg every morning and eat it with a spoonful of sour cream and some salsa and I am in heaven. Sometimes it takes me 30-60 minutes to actually eat it but that's fine. What I've had problems with is potatoes - mashed/baked - but no problem at all with yams. I also had a problem with avocado when I first went on mushies but I am 5 weeks out tomorrow and had some today and it was fine. It's funny how different foods react so differntly on different people!

Are you taking B1? I broke out in awful hives about a week after surgery and something told me to do some research on B1 - and when I did I found out that if you have an allergic reaction it could show up as hives. Do a search for "hives + B1". I stopped the B1 and the hives went away. My GP says that he has never experienced anyone getting hives from B1 but the Internet says different and they went away when I stopped the meds.

With this particular surgery, the nausea is very common and the patch alone may not do the trick. Make sure you ask them to give you anti-nausea meds during the surgery and you can also ask for the patch as well. I had both PLUS numberous other meds including Compazine and nothing really took away the horrible nausea. But I had had chronic nausea for 7 years since my cancer surgery that I took meds for every day. The good news is that I dealt with awful nausea in the hospital for a few days but now I am completely off of ALL nausea med for the first time in 7 years and it is fabulous!

I had ordered samples but they've never come so I guess I will just order a regular order and give it a try. I've been doing the One A Day gummies and they simply don't have all of the iron and mnerals that I know we need

Also, while working on getting your fluids in you can add some Kellloggs K2O protein mix which at least gives you 5 grams of protein for a bottle of water. Not a ton but at least it is something. I use the pink lemonade one and it is easier to get the fluids down.

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 :-)