feedyoureye

I don't believe the rny pouch stretches back to regular size...the stoma stretches and lets the food fall through or exit quickly and allows one to eat more quickly without feeling full.

I'm in Coops... I'm back into my "bounce" range, but not at the lowest the last few days... I only have 7 pounds to "Normal" and a few more to goal... Would really like to see that scale read my goal weight or LESS this year! I have been at this weight range for many months... got to shake it up....Go get'em girls!

I'm cold hot cold hot cold hot... I think my hormones must be a mess! Im almost 12 months out and was through menopause before surgery...

Divas bootcamp

If the world ends, at least we will be lookin' good!

I did that with red wine years ago... couldn't drink it for about 10 years after...

I think your version is better than mine... I just drank the 6-8 glasses of water, not the gallon... and had a tiny amount of fruit with my meals (a few raisins on my cottage cheese... a half a pear on my salad with blue cheese and walnuts) ... but mostly it was a variety of protein, veggies (mostly brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli and a little bit of carrots...) almond butter, cheese, greek yogurt, tofu and gluten. Really it was not that hard, and I could feel the restriction with the protein first... the sleeve was working. I cut the carb craving enough to get back to a realistic level of carbs and not the "Party like there is no tomorrow and I want MORE chocolate" levels. Moderation! Who would have thunk?!

I thought the drinks were repulsive too, but for goodness sakes, sometimes you just have to take your medicine! At least until your stomach is healed and you can get your protein from real food... If your not throwing up from the drinks, then I say, drink them! They will help you heal and not loose muscle, and get strong and get in part of your fluid too. Its only a couple of months, then you never have to look at them again. I actually got to like some of them after a while... and they do make it so much easier to get in your protein. At 11 months out I use drinks a couple of times a week to get in a low carb and high protein low calorie meal when I don't have much time, or just need something really on track in the middle of the day. They can be your friend, and when your taste buds get a little back to normal, the right ones are not half bad.

I did the Kim version of Divas bootcamp for two days, and I lost all the weight I had gained over the holidays. I'm back to my standard eating like before the holidays and am doing fine. It really helped me grab hold of myself and stop the madness quickly. (FYI 4 pounds in two days!)

I had an out of pocket co-pay of $3000. It was tough to scrape it up, but I will be saving so much on health expences in the future because of this investment in my health now. My Drs office said that the hospital could work out a payment plan if I needed it as well... Check out all your options before you give up. Some Drs are starting to add a surgeons fee on top of other fees- outside of co pays and such... if they said they were free, perhaps they ment they did not charge a surgeons fee... just guessing here...

So glad to hear it, good luck at work.

oh and make sure you measure yourself early on... now...... if you haven't already... you will lose inches at a different rate than pounds... sometimes the scales say the same thing, the tape says you lose....

Dehydration will cause dizziness. Sip sip sip...and walk walk walk. I know you feel like staying in bed, but make sure you walk every couple of hours... to the mail box or the end of the block. I would walk around the block and at times feel so light headed. My doc insisted all of his patients take 6 weeks off from work. I would have to say that was a little long for me, but 4 weeks was perfect. You really do have to think of all the changes in the first month as a job in itself! Drink drink and walk walk. You will feel better soon.

Congratulations and Fantastic!

99 percent ARE positive. I had my surgery done on Jan 18 2011 and have never looked back.

11 1/2 months, I'm in.

if you are off track, just get back on as soon as you can... if you are doing everything right, then hang in there, the little stall will pass.

Sometimes being low on Vitamin D can cause depression too... are you taking your vitamins? It helped me a lot...

I took it for 6 months twice a day....I opened the caps and dumped them in a spoon of applesauce or pudding. Down the hatch. I REALLY did not want to have gallstones +an extra surgery!

Lets be honest here..if you thought it was perfectly fine you wouldn't have asked. My doc wouldn't operate on anyone who had smoked 30 days before surgery. Nicotine kills your circulation (hence smokers wrinkles) as well as other problems... other chemical components can cause problems too... Here is one medical paper that talks about it...there are many more listed on google... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1323208 I would say, if you must smoke, wait at least until your stomach heals... over 8 weeks. Please don't take these comments as rude... I think the people here are just looking out for your health and success... I am also an ex-smoker, and sometimes it is said that ex-smokers are the most down on smoking of anyone... I think this might be true! Abstract The association between cigarette smoking and delayed wound healing is well recognized in clinical practice, although extensive controlled studies have yet to be performed. The documented effects of the toxic constituents of cigarette smoke--particularly nicotine, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen cyanide--suggest potential mechanisms by which smoking may undermine expeditious wound repair. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor that reduces nutritional blood flow to the skin, resulting in tissue ischemia and impaired healing of injured tissue. Nicotine also increases platelet adhesiveness, raising the risk of thrombotic microvascular occlusion and tissue ischemia. In addition, proliferation of red blood cells, fibroblasts, and macrophages is reduced by nicotine. Carbon monoxide diminishes oxygen transport and metabolism, whereas hydrogen cyanide inhibits the enzyme systems necessary for oxidative metabolism and oxygen transport at the cellular level. Slower healing has been observed clinically in smokers with wounds resulting from trauma, disease, or surgical procedures. The reduced capacity for wound repair is a particular concern in patients undergoing plastic or reconstructive surgery. Compared with nonsmokers, smokers have a higher incidence of unsatisfactory healing after face-lift surgery, as well as a greater degree of complications following breast surgery. Smokers should be advised to stop smoking prior to elective surgery or when recovering from wounds resulting from trauma, disease, or emergent surgery.

What specifically is the thing that is bothering you? My doc said that incidents of depression can escalate with the sleeve... or is it expectations not met... pain.... Almost ALL people with regrets at the beginning change their minds about that... hope this is you too!

I am not recovering, but I only took pain killers one time the day after surgery... and I probably could have gotten by without. Now the day at the hospital was another story... but both my nurses said I used the pump much less than most. Just let them know your desires up front, and they might be able to find pain killers that are not habit forming for you. Good luck with that!

Just take your time looking through the forums, you will get the hang of it. Lots of people have had Dr Aceves as a surgeon here too. There is a search function to find spacific posts, and the "view new content" helps you to find the newest posts. You can also access your own content under the menu that pops out when you click on your name in the upper right. Perhaps if your family checked out this site, it would help them understand...?

Those legs look fantastic girl!

Fantastic ladies!