SKCUNNINGHAM

My go-to Protein drink was Isopure PLUS (not just ISOPURE). It is 8 ounces, comes in two light fruit flavors. One is a punch flavor, the other is grape frost. The flavors are not strong like some of the fruit flavored Protein drinks. They are about the strength of crystal lite or propel flavored waters strong. Each 8 ounce bottle has 15 grams of protein. If you are having trouble getting enough protein in, drink these instead of Water until you get your protein in. I order a couple of cases from Amazon.com.

My incisions itched from the healing process. It has happened every time I've had surgery.

You look great!

I went to the orthopedic doc again today, to see if I could get out of the d**n boot cast (from spraining my ankle a month ago cleaning my closet to find skinny clothes). No luck - one more week with the boot. Then, four weeks in an ankle stabilizer. This contraption laces up like a toe-less boot, with laces from above my toes to my shin. Then, it has three straps to completely imobilize the ankle joint. Anyway, the point is, the tech needed a size EXTRA SMALL stabilizer! It took him three different ones to get one that fit. I have never been a size extra small EVER IN ANYTHING! I entered this world weighing 9 pounds and kept going from there. No part of my body is extra small - except maybe my eyelashes or my patience. This is a silly NSV, but it pleased me so much, I laughed out loud. :lol:

Definately see the second surgeon. You have ZERO COMITTMENT to the first surgeon at this point. So you went on a "coke date" (to use a term from my high school years) - you haven't committed to marry the guy! I'm sure he and his staff have ZERO COMITTMENT to you at this time. They must have many people come in and do what you did - never to be seen again. One of the most important factors to consider when selecting a surgeon is their experience in performing the sleeve (not other WLS surgeries), and the experience of the hospital where the surgery is done is taking care of a sleeve patient. If surgeon #1 hasn't had the initiative to update his website or his forms, he is new to this sleeve game. Run the other direction! This is way more important than buying a house - would you buy one from a builder of condos who just started building free standing houses? Would you buy a car from an airplane manufacturer? Here's info that supports you want an experience sleeve surgeon. http://healthengine.com.au/article/sleeve-gastrectomy.html This article quotes " The mortality rate in gastric sleeve is 1:500 and it lies between the gastric band, which is the safest, and the laparoscopic gastric bypass, which carries the highest risk." From something I was reading this week on another forum - surgeons who perform 100 or more sleeves per year have lower risk rates. Hospitals that perform over 150 sleeves per year have lower risk rates. If you are considering a surgeon, ask how many procedures he/she has performed in a year, and how many he/she has performed in total. Then ask the same two questions about how many of his patients died. This will give you an idea where your surgeon is versus the norms. Also ask about the hospital you will have the surgery performed in - how many procedures do they do a year? Don't be hesitant about being a questioning, "pushy" consumer of medical services. WLS surgery is a hot field now - a good experienced surgeon should have no problems or concerns with sharing this information. Good luck in your surgeon selection!

Where do you get powdered peanut butter?

Wow - congratulations! To paraphrase Martin Luther King - "You are on the mountain top, looking at the promised land!" How wonderful! Enjoy your achievement, and living life as a healthy, thin person. Jouney to goal.bmp

Mini - I had nite sweats like you - but mine were all related to my hormone levels - first after my hysterectomy in my early 30's and again when I went through the change. I hope they get it resolved soon - they are MISERABLE. Hang in there.!

You look wonderful! Congratulations!

I too have been cold since surgery. I am so cold in my office, I keep a fleece there and have a heater. Since my part of the country has been 100+ degrees for two months, I go outside to warm up and enjoy the heat!

I like taking the easy way: I do my banking online, rather than mail bills through the mail I send email rather than hand-write letters I use an automatic washing machine rather than a rub-board and washtub to clean my clothers (like my grandmother) I dry the laundry in an electric dryer rather than hang them on a clothesline (like my mom did) I have my choice of two bathrooms in the house, rather than a privy at the bottom of the yard (like my kinfolk in Arkansas used to do) I buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rather than going out in the yard, catching a chicken and wringing its neck when I want chicken for dinner My doctors use all sorts of modern treatments that previous generations of doctors never even dreamed of Why should it bother us to take the "easy way" to lose weight? (although some things about this way are anything but easy) Three cheers for taking the easy way out!

Are you tracking your measurements along with tracking your weight? Sometimes I lose inches, not weight. Sometimes I lose weight, not inches. I would keep doing what I'm doing - 60+ grams of Protein, <30 grams carbs (no "white carbs - bread, potatoes, etc) and >60 ounces of Fluid. Only weigh once per week. Measure once per week, too. Hang in there, the weight will come off with the sleeve.

The sleeve is a tool to help you change your life. You still have work hard - make the right choices, don't eat the wrong foods (milkshakes, etc) that just slide through the sleeve, exercise, take your Vitamins, get in all your Fluid - etc. This is a lifetime committment. So think hard about having the surgery. This isn't the "easy way" no matter what the uninformed think. Good luck with your decision.

Congratulations to you and your husband. I am happy for you both. You look wonderful - you are lit from within. Enjoy the new house and the birth of the baby.

I too was craving salad and raw veggies. Listen to your doctor - he's telling you this so you don't stress out your stomach while it is still healing. When you do start eating veggies - pick the easier ones to digest to eat raw (tomatoes, cucumbers). The cruciferous veggies (broccolli, cauliflower) I still don't eat raw - I eat them cooked- and I'm six months out.. I ate asparagras (cooked) too soon, and gave myself stomach pains for 2 days from it. And, after having trouble twice from too much raw celery - I now limit myself to one rib raw. (cooked doesn't bother me.) I don't eat much raw salad greens - a little goes a long way with me.

Of course follow your doctor's instructions - but if I had had trouble holding things down, I would go pretty slow moving from liquids to pureed foods.

First of all, make sure you are getting in your fluids - at least 60 ounces per day. Then, you need fiber - you probably aren't getting enough from what you eat. I use benefiber packets - one or two per day. You can take up to three per day. Then I use a capful of Miralax in a smoothie - usually 5 days per week. It is not a laxative, it is a stool softener, and is gentle and harmless. I also use a tablespoon of flax oil in my smoothie. The more you exercise - the more regular you will be. Some people have great results with coffee. I don't drink coffee - but Chinese food is a sure cure for me to get my system moving. Don't compare your pre-surgery normal to what your new normal will be. You are putting less volume in so there will be less volume coming out. You are eating less fiber and fat, so that greatly reduces the output, also.

You really look phenominal in that LBD! You are the epitome of a confident, sexy babe! I bet you distracted the other gamblers at the casino from whatever game they were trying to play.

There is a very good resource here on the forum - a wonderful woman whose screen name is Tiffykins. She has been sleeved for around a year and a half to two years and has been very successful. She posted yesterday in response to a topic titled "how much should I be eating?" I am going to quote from her response: " Measured portions, specifically 2-4oz should be your target meal size. That's by volume for the most part, you could do probably 6oz yogurt and other super soft/liquidy type foods. Personally, I would not be eating hashbrowns or any type of white carb during the losing stage, but that's just how I chose to lose weight. You might not get a full signal until it's too late, then you'll be puking or hurting. I didn't get a "full signal" for months post-op so measuring was my key to not overeating. I was prescribed 600-800 calories, 60+gr of Protein and no more than 30-40gr of carbs per day. Measuring foods gives you a few things; 1) Staying within a set dietary guideline 2) Won't leave you hurting or puking 3) Will teach you to undereat your sleeve Eating until full or stuffed helped get me fat. I was specifically told to undereat my sleeve, to measure, and to stop looking for that full signal because if you constantly overeat it is not changing any of the habits that led to us having surgery." Look for her on the site, and check out her content. She is a great source of good data from a person who has "walked the walk" and lost her weight. Good luck on your journey!

I either buy myself something, or pamper myself in some way, or take time just for myself. So I might buy myself a piece of clothing that fits, or a piece of jewelry. I am a fan of manicures and pedicures - so I'll do that for myself. Or I schedule time to go have a girls lunch with a friend. I am trying to figure something to do for myself when I hit goal. Haven't decided yet.

Any chance of your wife having the surgery? That would be a great shared experience for the two of you. If not, I would recommend marriage counseling ASAP, or individual counseling for your wife. This unresolved jealousy could destroy your relationship. The statistics of divorce after weight loss surgery are not good (but divorce statistics in general are not good).

I like to calculate the % of my excess weight I have lost and the % of my starting body weight. It is great fun to see those numbers go up and the weight numbers go down. Congratulations on passing the 10% milestone.

You should have great success with the sleeve. I am 54 and am six months post surgery, and I love my sleeve. My doc had me start Famotidene (pepcid) as soon as I got home. I also started prilosec at about 6 weeks after surgery - when I started real food (after the mushiies stage). I didn't take any pain meds once I left the hospital (after a 1 night stay.) The doc gave me some, but I don't like pain meds. I found that a heating pad and wearing an abdominal support belt 24 hours a day helped me immensely on the discomfort. I wanted to get the pain medicine and the anasthesia out of my system as quickly as possible - and one of the reasons is I don't like how they slow down the functioning of my intestines. Good luck with your sleeve. This forum has been a great source of support for me during this process.

http://www.healthchecksystems.com/heightweightchart.htm The link above is from the Metropolitan Life Insurance company - it is their official height / weight tables. It lists the target weight ranges for women assuming 3 lbs of clothing wearing 1" heals. It also lists the ranges by frame size (small, medium and large). If you don't know your frame size - it also tells you how to measure and determine that - by using the distance between the two prominent bones in your elbow when your arm is bent at a 90 degree angle to your body. So first, determine your frame size. Then, find your target weight range from the chart. Determine how much weight there is from where you started to both the top and bottom of the target weight range. That would be the high and low numbers for how much excess weight you started with. My surgeon told me a VSG sleve patient usually losing 85% of their excess weight in the first year. So take 85% of both your excess weight numbers and subtract that from your original weight. That will give you your high and low numbers for how much weight you will probably lose in the first year. Here's an example using my numbers: I started out weighing 253. I am 5'4 barefoot Using the method described on the link, I measured the distance between the two bones in my elbow at 2". This means I have a small frame (hard to believe). Going to the chart for height and weight, a 5'5" women with a small frame should weigh 117 - 130. That means I was carrying between 122 to 136 pounds of excess weight. (253-130=122, 253-117=136) 85% of these numbers are 104 and 116 pounds projected weight loss at one year (85% *122=104, 85%*136=116 both numbers rounded up) So my goal weight for one year is most likely between 137 and 149. Hope this helps.

That is a wonderful NSV! That is a landmark! To me it ranks right up there with not having to be weighed at the feed store, not having to use a seat belt extender, and not having the slats fall out from underneath the bed when you lay down on the mattress. BTW - I take two measurements - I measure my "belly" - which is what I call the largest part of my stomach / apron. I also measure my "hips" - which is where the widest part of my butt is - and it is (now) just below where the apron ends. I even lifted up the d**n apron to get this measurement early on. I take that measurement to let myself know what my hips would be if I get the apron removed. (I can dream, right?)