CraftyChristie

That dress is fabulous and so are you! Congrats and thank you for being so helpful to everyone around here even though your journey is mostly complete... you keep sticking around and spreading wisdom and encouragement and that is awesome!

Wow! Congratulations you have worked hard and it has paid off. I think staying away from the carbs really speeds things up... that seems to be key with everyone who has been successful quickly. I need to keep reminding myself of this when it's my turn What kind of workouts do you do 6 days a week? Thanks for telling us about your progress!

Thank you everybody for all the suggestions!!! I think I'll go to Wal Mart or Target and look for some condiment bowls and things!

Welcome Brian... I am new here too (no surgery date just yet, consult coming up on the 12th) and I am finding it to be a wonderful place... a home away from home There is so much information here and so many supportive people.

I'm so sorry to hear about what you've been through. I think the fear you feel about leaving your children without you is perfectly natural and you obviously love them very much. The risks are much lower with this surgery as you know. I think you are making a fantastic decision by taking care of yourself because you can't take care of them if you haven't taken care of yourself.

Wishing you all the best in this endeavor.... before you know it you'll be on the other side of all this and very happy with your choice!

I have heard that some people find it really helpful to buy small dishes, utensils, cups etc. so that when they eat 1/2 cup of food or what not, it's easy to gauge it and it doesn't look like you are eating so little with it on a big dinner plate or something.

So I was wondering if any of you have done this and what did you buy? Toddler dishes? Smaller versions of adult dishes? I know when I did a pre-op diet for lap band (which I never followed through with getting) I was using toddler spoons to eat things like applesauce or whatever... and drinking from sippy cups.

Would love to hear any experiences/products!

I had the option of RNY or VSG for my revision. Here's some of the reasons why I chose VSG over RNY.

1) RNY malabsorption for calories/fat only lasts 18-24 months, but the malabsorption of Vitamins and micronutrients last a lifetime.

2) I didn't want the remnant stomach left behind which is not easily scoped, but can still develop ulcers.

3) Only 30% of RNY patients dump so for me it wasn't worth it either way. I don't feel like punishing myself for a bad choice is truly going to keep me from eating something that makes me very sick.

4) I had a pouch/stoma combo with the band. It sucks, it's not natural. I was still hungry all the time.

5) The regain stats and RNY patients that seek revisions due to pouch/stoma stretching, or needing malabsorption again, was just down right scary.

6) No rerouting with VSG, and I get to keep my pyloric valve intact.

7) I needed Portion Control, and to have my ravenous hunger somewhat subdued. The sleeve gave me both.

8) I wanted to eat and live as close to a naturally thin person as I could. I wanted to have the option to eat a balanced, well rounded diet. The food restrictions with RNY weren't for me.

I have lost just as much if not more than some RNY patients that started around the same time and with the same pre-op stats. For me, I knew that I didn't need malabsorption to be successful. It's a very personal decision, but for me it was really a no-brainer when I looked at all the pros and cons of both surgeries.

Best wishes on your research and decision.

Tiff, thanks for posting this list of reasons - it reflects my own and you worded it so well! I will definitely be sharing this on my blog if you don't mind!!

It sounds like an allergy to the adhesive - I get the same way if I put a band-aid on my stomach even though band-aids don't bother me on other places on my body! I think because the tummy skin is white, unexposed to sun, etc... it's more sensitive. They do make tapes for sensitive skin, maybe ask at the pharmacy and switch out the adhesive. Ask your doctor if you're not sure!

The duodenal switch was the only surgery for a long time before RNY, now noone does DS anymore. When the band came out people thought it was crazy, now it's just as popular as RNY. Right now the sleeve is the new kid on the block.. people haven't heard of it, don't know enough about it. The majority of people will always want to stay with what's tried and true but it doesn't mean the new thing isn't better! With everything I know about this surgery, I am pretty sure that in a couple of years it will be just as popular as the others, if not more so!!

Go with your gut and trust yourself and your decision :thumbup:

I would say the same as everyone else did so far. The mal-absorbtion is just too big a problem, especially with rare cases when someone can not stop losing weight. Also besides the comment about using the muscular part of the stomach and less stretching.... with VSG you also lose most of your Gherlin (sp?), the hunger hormone... so it really helps control hunger.

I haven't had sleeve yet but these are my reasons for wanting it over RNY :frown1:

Even though you are not on liquids, adding in some Protein Shakes (make sure they are pretty low carb) would help you get variety. If you like tuna, try making it new ways without mayo such as with some mustard and relish, or olive oil and pepper. Scrambled eggs are great too. Also - try some meatless products! Morningstar Farms brand has really delicious meatless products. They taste good and are very high in Protein. I especially like the Breakfast sausage patties, chicken patties/nuggets, and veggie burger patties. Hope this helps you find some variety and a lot of these things will be great when you are back on solids after surgery too.

I'm 27 and I first looked into WLS at age 20 - wish I had done it then. I thought I'd give myself more time to keep trying to do it "on my own" but all it has gotten me is 70 lbs heavier. Back problems, knee problems, plantar faciitis... all kinds of things that I didn't have yet when I was 20. I honestly think earlier/younger is better so you can get things under control BEFORE you start having a ton of probems. I wish you all the best.

I don't know for sure yet but my consult is May 12th and they said it will probably be 2-4 weeks after... so I might end up around the same time!! :biggrin0: I will definitely let you know!

This isn't something to worry about - 20 to 30 lbs loss is about the amount most people stall, I know I have (not from surgery, but in my own weight loss attempts) and it's simply because your body is changing so quickly, and it needs a little time to adjust. Especially with surgery because it's so much change so fast. It would be impossible to just go down down down without ever having plateaus. At 2 weeks, you are definitely close to starting to go down again. Usually 2-3 weeks is enough for your body to adjust. At that point if it still doesn't try changing your typical diet up or just going for some short walks - something to wake your body up again. But my guess is truly it will start moving on it's own again.

These plateaus are your body's way of adjusting - and it's actually a good thing - it will help with things like excess skin :tongue_smilie: Your body needs that time!

Take some time for yourself, some deep breaths, and focus on something positive! The best thing is if you can find a project of some kind to focus on for a while, that will help the time go by. Good luck!

Yes please! :-D I'll PM you with my email address.

thanks, I appreciate it. she came to my younger daughter's baseball game last week, and couldn't say anything to me without sarcasm. I left the bleachers to sit by myself. Didn't want her to see the tears. I used to wash her mouth out with soap, but now she is taller and stronger than me :redface1:.

I want to cry, seriously, I am picturing my own mom and I can't imagine hurting her like that or making her cry. I really hope your daughter comes around. In the meanwhile, I'm 26 and I will gladly be stand in for a while :001_wub: You need some mother-daughter time you come hang with me in CO. We'll get manis and pedis and go eat our tiny meals together :thumbup: I'll give you as many hugs as you would like :thumbup:

Well, the truth is that this IS the easy way out. The thing is, it's also the SMART way out -- the other "ways out" don't really lead "out."

That's like saying that not crashing your car into a wall is the "easy way out." Yes... technically...

For anyone who knows the amount of work required post-op, the pain, the cost, the restrictions, the fear... it's not EASY. It's just EASIER -- not to mention safer, and smarter -- than the constant merry go round of dieting. And there's nothing wrong with that.

All I can say to this is....

:thumbup::redface1::thumbup::001_wub:

OK, for the CHEATING comment, here's what I'm thinking...

Cheating? Eating right, exercising and focusing on my health, but with a little help, is cheating? So having a personal trainer or a nutritionist or a therapist to help me as I do the right things... is that cheating too? It's a helpful tool just like those things - I still have to be the one to put in all the work - a surgery doesn't do it FOR me just like a personal trainer doesn't.

Hi... I'm Christie. My husband and I both want to get the sleeve this summer. I am SO THRILLED that he wants to do this too, for so many reasons. I was wondering if anyone out there is post op and has been going through this journey with a spouse or significant other that also had surgery!

I am wondering does it make it easier to keep on track? Are there challenges about doing it together? I think overall it will be a great thing because we will understand what each other is going through, and we will have to make the same changes. But I also worry there will be that 'partners in crime' feeling if we want to cheat or skip exercise and whatnot. I would just be very curious to hear some insights if anyone has done this journey together! Thanks!

I say vlog!!! I just started vlogging on my private health blog. I may go public later but right now privacy is something I want. As a suggestion if this interests you, I keep my blogger blog private for invited readers only, and I use Vimeo for my videos. It is higher quality than YouTube with no time limit (but you do have to pay if you want that feature I think)... and it allows me to password protect my videos but still embed them in a site. So on my blog which is for my invited readers only, I post the video and provide the password. But anyone who would happen on my Vimeo account through my other public videos would never know these private videos exist.

ah yeah, the Protein thing makes sense. Thank you for the reply! So glad you are doing so well.

I just read the rest of the thread... the way she responded was really rude! I was designing digital products once and someone made a product using my stuff and gave it away for free without asking me. She didn't take credit as if it was her own, but still, that's against all the usage terms in that field. I politely told her that and she told me I should take it as a compliment that she liked my stuff enough to make something with it to give away. Reminds me very much of the comment this girl left you. Some people just don't get it! Exactly like you said, it isn't her place.

Yeah... I have learned some hard lessons too. I had someone "friend" me on Flickr, and when I looked at theirs it looked like they were collecting photos of heavy women, both clothed and nude! I have NO nude photos just for the record LOL just typical photos of hanging out with my friends and family, but apparently the guy got off on that. That was super creepy. I've also been weight-loss blogging on and off for like 9 years now and I've had people recognize me in person which is creepy too.

It's so hard to balance because if I make everything in my "online life" private, it makes it so much harder for people to be a part of it, especially family members who aren't that internet savvy. Hard enough for them to get to the link... if they have to have their own account, sign in, have a password, etc to see private stuff it just doesn't help. Plus then if my photos were private I couldn't really blog them. For me, I had to just accept that if I want to live my life the way I want to live it, then I will have these things happen from time to time. So that's where I'm at for now I guess.

That being said I totally agree you should have been asked before your photos were used. I think people forget with weight loss before & afters that this is a real person with a real life and feelings. They just see a photo they like and they are only thinking about the fact that it shows a success. I hope you hear back from the person!

That must have felt great! I am definitely on the other end right now. When I see someone I haven't seen in a while, I definitely weigh more than the last time they saw me. I'm looking forward to when I would LIKE to run into people :thumbup1: :001_tt1: Glad you got to have that experience.

That's so wonderful!!:thumbup1:

If you don't mind my asking, how long after surgery did you have to wait to swim? I would think til all the little wounds from the laproscopic procedure are totally healed up? Or is there some other guideline too? I would really love to start out with swimming because with knee, foot, and back pain, that's the easiest way for me to get cardio. I know once some of the weight is off I'll be able to handle more impact again but in the beginning swimming would be wonderful.:001_tt1: