emily_0192010

Honestly I don't remember much from the recovery room except that I was extremely dizzy. I also remember the anesthesiologist asking me to cough for him... and I didn't want to lol. I also remember that they brought my mom in for me (apparently I was asking for her :wub: ). Pain itself was not horrible for me. I had a pump that I could press whenever the light came on, and the light was always on when I wanted more. I found out afterwards that my dizziness was actually the pain meds (not the after effects of the anesthesia)... apparently I'm a "lightweight" (hehehe, yeah, me, a lightweight, teehee) when it comes to pain meds and I was bit stoned. When I asked my surgeon he was like "yeah, you were getting a bit too much even though I had you on the lowest dose" LOL. The whole experience was beyond worth it for me. I would do it again in a heartbeat if I had to... which I won't Good luck! And if you have anymore specific questions feel free to PM me

Isn't it awesome??? Even for slow losers it eventually gets to that point where you're like "wow, this is actually working!". At 6 months out I have seen people for the first time in years and they don't recognize me... THAT is an awesome feeling! I loved your comment about your weight loss compared to your child. I always compared mine to my little sister (she is 6)... and I remember when I lost my first 42 thinking that I just lost a whole person.. now I've lost 2 people and a bit lol! I love my sleeve as well! Congrats on how well you are doing

I am six months out and I still find it difficult. Sometimes I just really want to drink something different though... I get sick of water and the occasional glass of milk. So I take my diet-whatever... and I shake it. Like crazy. I make sure I get the bottle so that I can let the air out. I also make sure it isn't super cold. After I get the majority of the carbonation out (i know I'm good when the straw won't float anymore) I can normally drink it fine without any problems. My surgeon said that he didn't have any restrictions but that many of his patients simply don't like it afterwards.

Water is definitely very important! Your body needs it to function properly. I believe it is also important to us because your body needs water to flush the fat out of your body. As for stalls, water really helped me. I know it doesn't work for everyone but I was in a three-week stall and the only thing I changed was the amount of water I was drinking and I dropped four pounds. I had a hard time getting water down (well, its really liquids, so anything decaf and low cals/carbs should work). At first I had to literally carry around the bottle with me and sip all day. I just hit my six month mark and I can now drink a bit more at a time... but if I'm home I still keep my bottle close to me, just makes it easier. Good luck!

Congrats You are doing a great job and I bet you'll be there soon! Thanks for the reminder that sometimes going back to basics is best Let us know how your one year goes!

YAY!!! I don't remember exactly when I first realized that chairs were more comfortable.. and I know exactly what you mean about the starbucks chairs! I worked across the street from one and I would take my breaks there, and it was nice to choose to the chair instead of the bench You're doing great!

That's awesome!! For me its actually the opposite- people think I look older.. but since I am only 21 and used to be "baby faced" I consider this a good thing! Something you said really stuck out for me... the whole "i'll never forget the date" thing... I am the same way... without trying all the dates that have to do with the surgery have stuck with me... the seminar I attended, my first appointment and of course my surgery date itself 9/19/2011... I really feel like I turned my life around and they are so important to me. I hope I never forget, and I am actually considering getting a small tattoo of either a simple swan or a phoenix with the date intertwined. I am not normally one for tattoos, but it is so important to me. I came across a photo of someone with a tattoo done in all white ink, against white skin it is very subtle... I fell in love with it and that's what I'm going to get, if I get one. Congrats on how well you are doing! Don't be upset that you are a slow loser, over time you will see the large numbers too and it will be worth it

Hmm, sounds interesting!! I wish my doctor was more hands on like that! LOL. Our talks go like this "everything good? - yup - okay" Seriously, neither one of us are very talkative. I suppose if I brought up stuff he wouldn't be rude or opposed to talking about it, but I dunno. I will say my first appointment with him he asked if I had any questions and I literally handed him a printed page with ALL of my questions, he went through them one by one... so maybe I should give him more credit. Good luck! I wish I had a treadmill so I could try this as well

For most people, pretty much whenever. As long as you are NOT taking your pain meds there is no reason why you can't drive. As my doctor loves to say "if it hurts, don't do it". I was a bit uncomfortable even a week later, however I drive a manual car... so I had to use both legs (and since I'm short I have to really reach with my leg to reach the clutch) and both arms... so my stomach twinged a little bit. But honestly, it didn't last long. I would say that you should be fine to drive at that point. Good luck!!

Hi Stephen! First, I think you've done an awesome job! And second, my cousin, also named Steven, was also a first responder on 9/11. I know how tough it was on him and our family after that. Good luck on getting back to the "old Steve"... you got through 9/11, you can anything!

Awesome! Isn't it great to see such a difference??? Congrats

Don't sweat it I know how hard it is but there are a TON of reasons why this could have happened. Since you just started weight training, that definitely could have affected your weight. Are you getting in enough Water everyday? Try upping it by a bottle every day for a little while to see if that helps. Also, if you happen to be around that time of the month you could be up because of that as well... combined? I wouldn't be surprised at all. My suggestion is to leave to the scale alone for at least a week. Focus on your water and your Protein and try not to worry. This is not like other diets. Your body may want to stall out for a little while, but ultimately you and your sleeve will force it to budge. Good luck and congrats on starting the weight training so early! That is awesome!

Awesome! Congrats

I have those days too! Where I wake up and I hope and hope that the scale would have moved but then... nothing. And those days suck. But then I force myself to look at before and after pics and to see how far I've come and it makes it easier. I focus on how much better my life is and I remember that my back didn't hurt when I woke up and I remember that I don't have to worry about my sugar anymore... and it makes it all worth it! You are right, some days it is better to look back instead of forward... they are great reminders of where we've been and how we got to where we are now. Looking ahead will be for tomorrow

Me! I have never thrown up. Since day one in the hospital everything has stayed put Now, I've had some nausea here and there, but I've just been very careful and I don't push it. At first I would go slowly and allow my sleeve to adjust. I will say I didn't try anything "different" for me until quite a few months after surgery. For instance, I'm not a fish eater, so I didn't eat any fish after surgery until last week when I tried some of my friends (still don't like lol). I stuck to foods that were simple but I knew that I liked. I was very happy when sleevie liked them too (like slow cooked pork roast). Treat your sleeve kindly We are both lucky enough to have easy-going sleeves! I am definitely thankful for that.

I love your new attitude! I think it is great that you can enjoy your life and maintain at an 8/10... wasn't that the whole point of this?? Why we all went through this? I don't think any of us want to be supermodels, we all just want to be normal. Congrats on doing so well!

I found the easiest way for me was to drink the calories... I would stick to my Protein shakes though. There are a few that are higher calories, like EAS Myloplex. Sometimes the only way to break a stall is to wait it out. I know how hard it is (I just broke a 3week stall) but sometimes you aren't doing anything wrong. Make sure you are getting in your protein, your Water and your Vitamin and try not to worry about the numbers. It can be difficult but it will break. Good luck!

"Lucky YOU" indeed Congrats I bet that felt awesome!

I love your attitude, the whole "i'm gonna do it my way because it works for me". Awesome! I am glad to hear you are doing so well! Ever since my pre-op diet (which was super low carb and high protein) I have never followed my surgeon's "orders" perfectly because they didn't work for me. They don't know it, but after a few weeks of only losing 1 or 2 lbs per week I had a frappuccino... and that week I lost 4 lbs! My nut said "whatever you changed, keep it up!" I laughed hysterically after I got back to my car. But guess what, each week I had a frappuccino and I kept losing good numbers. I never told them but it worked for me. I guess my body just didn't like being "that" low in carbs. Now that I'm post-op, I do watch my Proteins, but I'll still have a treat here and there... I just don't worry about it! Its working for me and I'm happy about that Congrats again!!

For me, the answer was yes... however there were some things that my sleeve just doesn't like even if I try a bit or two. One of them is hot foods, so no more medium/hot wings for me! pizza sits very heavy for me, so I typically just eat the cheese and toppings. Mac and cheese would be iffy for me... sometimes Pasta hits me hard. I am only 6 months out though and have only tried these things recently, and in very small amounts. I think that one day I'll be able to tolerate a larger variety of foods. It was one of the reasons I chose this surgery... because I wouldn't have restrictions!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! That is amazing, both the weight loss and the triathlon! Thank you for sharing!

For high protein/low carb I use chobani plain yogurt. I add in a scoop of unflavored Protein powder, some torani sugar free vanilla syrup (i highly recommend), some walnuts and some cinnamon/nutmeg. Love this! And it is very high in protein. After surgery I could barely eat any, but now at 6 months out I can finish the container in an hour. Good luck!

Awesome job! You look great Thank you for updating us!

Welcome Ana Congrats on being sleeved!! We are about the same height (i'm 5'2") and I'm also hoping to be in the 120-130 range (though my ticker reflects a goal weight of 115, which i picked strictly because it was in the middle of the normal BMI range). I'm glad to hear that your recovery has been good for! You have definitely come to the right place for support and info! Oh, and in case no one else made it official- Welcome to the Loser's Bench

This was me... literally until this morning! I went three weeks with NOTHING. I went back to basics. I hit my Protein goal and drank my Water and stayed away from treats (for the most part). This last week I also stayed off the scale to give my head a break. I'm not sure if it was the water or just time but today my stall broke. It will pass, just give it some time. I know how frustrating it can be! Oh, some people suggested to me to change up your routine, I kinda did that as well as this weekend I went away so everything was different. I got back Sunday but waited until this morning (my normal weigh in day/time) to weigh in. Good luck and chin up!