SKCUNNINGHAM

In addition to the ones above: - who in his/her office can you call if you have questions after you go home? (Get the phone number). - what are the symptoms / side effects that IF they occur once you go home, you need to be worried about? I assume you already know the following: - How long has he/she been doing the sleeve surgery? - How many sleeve surgeries did he/she perform in the past 12 months? - How many sleeve surgeries has he/she performed in total? - How many of the doctor's sleeve patients developed a leak? - Has the surgeon had any patients die after sleeve surgery? If so, what was the cause of death?

I think my sleeve could provide the sound effects for a movie all about plumbing. It has calmed down some as the months pass. Certain foods (cucumber does it for me, too) stimulate it to perform even more than usual. GASX strips help mine calm down.

I, too am a past 50 sleever. Wow, wouldn't it be great if we could have been sleeved in our 20's and not have to waste the last 30 years doing all those other things we did to lose weight? I had my epiphany about the sleeve recently. Clean eating alone is not going to do it for me as I approach maintenance. I must embrace regular exercise and make it a part of my life. Forever. (Gulp) I wish you success on your sleeve journey. Sharon

I am so sorry you are feeling poorly. This is the routine I did when I was in your point of the sleeve journey. I took a Famatodine (pepcid) every morning, ground up. When I would feel nauseus, I would take a GASX dissolving strip and drink warm broth. If I was tired of broth, I drank warm mint tea sweetened with artificial sweetener. Somehow the combination of the GASX and the warm drink settled down my stomach. I drank Propel or crystal lite(watered down) in addition to water. I didn't like the water really cold. I took Famatodine and Prilosec before bed. The protein drink I used was ISOPURE PLUS both the grape and punch flavors. I ordered it from Amazon and had it shipped to my house. I hope you start feeling better soon.

I would recommend getting on a B12 regimen and having your doctor check your B12 levels. I would also recommend you take Calcium supplements. Does your multi Vitamin have extra Iron in it? You need take one with iron in it. Good Luck. Sharon

So far (11 1/2 months out) I am more lactose intolerant now than I was pre-sleeve. I can't drink milk or eat icecream without sever repercusions. I can eat yogurt, cheese and cottage cheese - which I really enjoy. I enjoy yogurt much more now than I did before. I really enjoy the taste of raw veggies more now than before - they taste much sweeter. Fresh corn, sugar snap peas, or carrots amaze me with their natural sweetness. I don't really miss Pasta, rice or potatoes - a couple of bites and I am satisfied. I use these as a garnish on my plate now. More than 2-3 bites, and it fills my sleeve up uncomfortably. Fluffy bread does the same as pasta, rice or potatoes. I avoid it. I can do a little corn bread now and then. If I indulge in a "real sweet" desert (not a SF pudding or fudgsicle) usually 2-3 bites and I'm done. Don't want any more. That is as surprising as if my dog started spouting Shakeperean sonnets to me! Overall, I seem to enjoy everything more since I am eating less quantity. I guess it follows the old line of thinking - if you only got to see one sunset a year, wouldn't you enjoy it more?

I love this tool! Wow!

I created a new Sub-forum. If you search for the group "Success Habits" you will find it. I posted the first topic on the first Habit, PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY. Hope it helps.

The first Success Habit Principle TM identified in the Success Habits of Weight-Loss Surgery Patients by Colleen Cook is: PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY. I recognize that I alone am responsible for my success and failures. This is the most important factor contributing to optimum weight loss and long-term weight control. If each of us was asked the question, “Who is responsible for your success?”, each of us would probably answer “I am”. The religious among us would also likely give credit to God’s help in achieving success. The study that was done on the Success Habits identified that the most successful people at maintaining their WLS weight loss long term had a very strong sense of personal accountability that exhibited itself in some key behaviors. They developed an indicator that identified WHAT they were doing regularly that was helping them stay in control and remain accountable for their weight every day. You must be personally accountable for the decisions you have made, take responsibility for your choices, and be honest with yourself. Ms. Cook believes (and I agree) that we are where we are because we have made the choices to be so. Our lives must be serving us in some way (whether we are fat or thin at the point you are reading this), or we would already have made changes. Take responsibility for who you are, why you are and where you are right now and take responsibility for how you arrived there. Don’t wait for someone else to have to change for you to achieve your goal of long-term weight control. You alone are responsible for this. Long term weight control is about managing the ratio of Calories-In versus Calories Out. If you eat more than you expend, you gain weight. If you eat less than you expend, you lose. The sleeve is an outstanding tool to help us control the amount we eat (if we use it correctly). You alone are responsible for what you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat. We are also responsible for the other side of the equation – I alone am responsible for what exercises I do, how often and how I manage making exercise a part of my life. Successful people do those things which unsuccessful people are not willing to do. (The above is excerpted from the book with a few minor changes by me) So what was the great learning I had from this? Bye-bye blaming anyone but myself. Good-bye to any excuses that don’t start with the word “I” at the front. I thought back to the FOUR OTHER TIMES I have lost around 100 pounds and failed to make it past two years in maintaining – before I would gain it all plus more, back. I identified how I had framed my failures to myself – who or what I had blamed on those failures. Then I rephrased them in my mind, taking accountability for my actions. Rather than go through all four failures, I’ll just do the last one. I lost 103 pounds through hypnosis, diet and exercise. I was well on the way to celebrating my one year at goal mark when I had a person in my family close to me die suddenly, I changed jobs to one that required me to travel out of state 80% of the time and didn’t give me the time to exercise, was on an expense account living out of hotels, and forgot to take my hypnosis material with me for a couple of weeks. I went up 3 to four sizes by the time the first year in the new job was over – from a 10 to a 16-18. So here is the rephrased version of what happened, taking full accountability for my actions. After the sudden death of my stepfather, I decided life was too short to worry about monitoring everything I ate. I told myself if he could die like that, what was the point. I didn’t make time to exercise, even though every hotel I stayed in had a gym. Consoling myself with food was much more important to me than the pleasure I got after working out. I chose to quit listening to the hypnosis CD’s, even though I knew they could have helped me get back on track. I felt guilty listening to them while I was overeating and not exercising, so I chose to “forget” to take them on a trip. Here is an accountable version of where I am now. I am almost at my initial goal weight, and I am pretty content with where I am. I have been letting the outside stresses of looking for work (I recently left my employer) distract me from my goal of getting rid of the 10 pounds that stand between me and reaching my goal. This stops TODAY. Whether I find a job that is commensurate with my education and skills quickly, or whether I have to take a job far below my capabilities, I will practice the Six Success Habit Principles. TM My employmentsituation has NO BEARING on my attaining or maintaining my goal weight. I understand that I must embrace exercise as a life long part of my life. Diet alone will not do it for me. So this is the first thread for the first habit. I will put up two more threads in the near future that are also on this habit. Once will be on building new “good” habits to replace old “bad” habits. The other will be on goal setting. Both skills are really necessary for mastering this accountability thing. Hope this helps. Good Luck. Sharon

Lissa - you look great! I agree with a cami - you could absolutely go out in it. I, too, love the Flexees brand. It is great to see you enjoying the sweet taste of an NSV. You give so much to everyone on this site, it is nice to see you having a victory and celebrating for yourself. Best of luck to you. Sharon

Give me a price for the multi, the iron and the B12 and I will buy them from you. I am in the Dallas area (75474) to calculate the shipping costs.

Congratulations Dorrie! Diva - you are always and inspiration - both on your focus on eating and your absolute dedication to exercise. PDXMAN - you are tenacity personified - with a huge dose of knowledge about the body's physiology thrown in. Thanks to both of you. Sharon

I am approaching my one year anniversary on February 12th. I have had a good first year, have lost all but 10 pounds of my excess weight, and have made many behavior changes. But I have always been worried (scared!) about being successful in maintenance, since that has been my lifelong pattern. I have lost close to 100 pounds 4 times previously, and haven’t successfully kept it of for more than a year or two after achieving goal. I did something positive to help me get into maintenance. It is another “tool” to help me be a healthy smaller person – just like the sleeve itself is a tool. (That’s my NSV – I did something positive for my maintenance). I enrolled in a class taught by the nurse that runs the WLS support group at the Baylor Carrolton (Texas) hospital. Baylor is a big medical system in the Dallas area, with hospitals in several suburbs of Dallas and the main facility in downtown Dallas. My surgeon, Dr. Nicholson was the head of the WLS program at Baylor Plano. I chose to attend the support group through the Carrolton office, since it was closest to my office. The class is “The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients”. The class is several sessions, with each session focusing on one of the Success Habits. The material in the class is based on material by Colleen M. Cook and developed by the Bariatric Support Centers International. The material includes a book, workbook, website membership and additional information given in the individual sessions. The Success Habits Principles are now taught in hundreds of bariatric support groups each month and are recommended by many Bariatric Centers of Excellence (per the material – I haven’t verified this independently). It is great material for those in the losing phase and those that are going into maintenance. The premise behind the material and the class is a survey of patients who had WLS surgery, and what behaviors are in common for those that are successful versus those that are not successful. The average time from surgery for the patients was 7 years. The average amount of weight lost was 103 pounds The habits are follows: PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY: I recognize that I alone am responsible for my success and failures PORTION CONTROL: I understand the importance of satiety and understanding my body’s signals NUTRITION: I make good healthy food choices each day. FLUID INTAKE: I drink the right amount of the right kinds of fluid at the right times each day. EXERCISE: I have adopted the habit of exercise as a regular part of my lifestyle VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS: I take good quality vitamins each day to support my good health. Sounds simple, right? Well, I have taken classes on the first two classes and I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH – particularly about accountability. I am not scared like I was about maintenance – these classes are really setting things out for me in a clear way that I think I can successfully do going forward. And, if I hit a bump in the road in the future – I think I will be able to recover – rather than spiraling out of control. If there is interest, I will set up a sub-forum for the “Success Habits” and have threads for each habit, or each key learning I have from the classes. I am so pumped up about these classes; I am considering taking the classes to become a Support Coach for WLS patients. Let me know if you are interested in hearing more about this on this sight. Sharon

I lived on chicken broth (homemade by my dear hubby), beef broth (from the jar of concentrate, not boullion cubes), ISOPURE PLUS drinks (ordered from Amazon) and hot mint tea (decaf). Shortly after I found a couple of crystal lite flavors I liked. I also got the costco (chocolate) shakes and liked them, along with the EAS brand from Walmart (in chocolate and vanilla). I then branched out to the nectar brand powder (ordered online from one of the bariatric sites) and started making my own smoothies. I like the Vanilla Bean torte flavor, the chocolate truffle flavor and the Fuzzy Navel (fruit) flavor. Once you are ready, the fuzzy navel makes a great smoothie with a frozen bananna or some other frozen fruit in it. Good Luck. Sharon

One of the best lessons my mother taught me is "Life isn't fair - get used to it". I think LIssa's answer says pretty much everything you need to know - (I liked it so much I have it bookmarked in my personal "Words of Wisdom" file) You are 100% responsible and 100% accountable for your success with the sleeve. The sleevers that lose the weight the fastest after surgery are the ones that avoid the kinds of carbs you cheated on. It takes mental toughness and committment to break those bad habits we all had. The longer I have been sleeved, the more I realize staying thin is a mental game as much as anything else. If my mind and will are strong, I can overcome any passing desire for anything. I can find some other way to cofort myself than putting something in my mouth. Good luck on your journey. Sharon

I was in such a strange place mentally when I was at my highest weight. It was as if the real "smaller" me was inside this enormous person, driving her around and going through life. Sort of like when you are taking care of an altheimer's patient - you still love the person and take care of them but you realize the "real"person who you have loved isn't there anymore. I felt that way about myself - I took care of myself and went through the motions but didn't love myself. I was really in denial about how I really looked - avoided pictures if possible. I forced myself to take a picture on the first of every month during the process. I look at the pictures and study the differences from month to month. I take measurements every month (lot's of places) and study the differences in those too. I think my head caught up with my body at about 150 pounds. The size I am now is really what my mental image of myself is. If I get much skinnier, I will have to readjust again. I no longer am taking care of the "fat patient" that I didn't love. I have reintegrated my inner and outer selves. I don't ever want that un-integrated feeling again.

That is funny - glad you found the humour in an upsetting situation. Hope things settle down at the office and your sleeve journey continues to go well. Sharon

Meredit - I'm sorry your dad's family is not supportive. It is good you have other supportive people in your life. I would just practice saying to the non-supporters "I'm sorry I you don't agree with me on my decision for surgery. We will just have to agree to disagree on this. I love you no matter what." You recognize that with or without his support, you are going to proceed. Way to go! I admire you for your attitude. It bodes well (in my opinion) for your future success. Good Luck. Sharon

Yes this really works if you practice the correct behaviors and lifestyle changes. The sleeve is a really effective tool to help you lose weight, but it can't do it by itself. It takes concentrated effort on your part to get the maximum benefit from it. Thousands of patients have proven this really works. No, this won't work if you continue to do bad behaviors and make the wrong choices. Probably thousands of patients have proven this too - although a much smaller number than have proven it successful. It really sounds like you need to get to a counselor ASAP and get some insight into why you are undermining your own success. If you want to PM me to start a dialogue on what you should do and shouldn't do, I will be happy to share - I didn't want this response to be a long rant on what you should and shouldn't do - you probably know them anyway and are just choosing to not do them. . You are 100% responsible and 100% accountable for your success or failure to lose weight with the sleeve. If you fail - it won't be "the sleeve's fault". It will be your own fault. I really hope you change what you are doing and get some help to change whatever in your head is driving you to not do the right things. Best of Luck to you. Sharon

I think you should definately go to counseling - both jointly and maybe her alone. Could you eat the things that bother her when you are outside the home? Maybe have desert with lunch, or an ice cream treat on the way home from work? Would there be a way to add the calories back to your diet by adding an extra healthy meal (carb heavy) to your day rather than eat the junk calories? This would probably bother her less. Have you talked to a dietician about how to stay at your current weight? Good Luck.

You look amazing and in just a year! You are doing fantastic. I look forward to seeing your posts on your continuing progress. If you don't mind, I would like to ask you some questions - feel free to tell me MYOB. :-) What have been your biggest challenges during your journey so far? What types of exercise have you incorporated into your lifestyle? What behavioral changes are you most proud of? I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your mother in law. She sounds like a special lady. Sharon Cunningham

You are such an inspiration to me. I am so nervous and scared as I approach my maintenance. It is so reassuring to see people being succesfull in maintenance and in living a "new normal" life. Best of luck to you. Sharon

Sleeve4me - you are in my thoughts and prayers! I have never been a lover of exercise - but the following ones are my favorites. 2012 is the year of exercise for me too. lap swimming - I used to consistently get the most delightful endorphin rush every time after I lap swam for around 20 minutes. It would hit after I showered and was getting dressed. That rush made the swimming worth it. I wish I had a pool close now. "spinning" on a bicycle - This was tough to be able to make a whole class, and I had to wear padded shorts and use a gel seat - BUT - it is the only exercise class that puts my butt back in the Zip code it used to be in. A great cardio workout. I bought a real spinning bike and have the DVD's I work out to. working on a rowing machine - For some reason, I love to do this. I can turn my mind to other things and just do it, and not have to worrry that I am going to trip, fall or otherwise hurt myself. It works both the arms and legs and is a great cardio workout working on an elliptical - I love this, too. I put on music with a beat that is good to move to - I swear you can almost dance on the thing. Or I listen to a new book on my ipod. The 30 minutes goes by pretty quick. Zumba classes - The only "dance" class I have ever liked (sorry to all my previou aerobics instructors). It is really good to whittle the waist and hip area - not that you need to be smaller in those areas - you are beautifully tiny. And, I had a personal trainer to teach me how to use the machines at the gym, and got to where I enjoyed that. I used to enjoy boxing drills with him, too. I may look into that again. It is harder than I ever thought it would be. Good Luck to you.

When you get there, focus first on getting the cake set up and the balloons. Don't be responsible for serving the cake - delegate that to someone else - unless serving it wouldn't bother you. If it wouldn't, being cooped up behind the cake (sitting) would allow you to see everyone and not have to visit with your in-laws much. Make nice with your sister-in-law and wish her a happy birthday. Visit with those you like (with your "drink" in hand - whatever you figure out to bring), pay your respects to your in-laws, and when you feel yourself getting tired or when the environment is starting to get to you - go home. If this means taking separate cars - do that. If it means catching a cab - do that. If it means having your husband drive you home and he comes back by himself - do that. You don't want to screw up your recovery. Good Luck.

I have had to fight anemia since being sleeved. I have always been borderline anemic, but pre-sleeve, could easily correct it. With the reduced calorie intake after being sleeved, it is harder to correct with food alone. Multi vitamins with iron weren't enough for me - I was still anemic. I take two of the bariatric advantage chewable iron tablets before I go to bed, along with two chewable vitamin C tablets. The iron is absorbed better along with Vitamin C. It doesn't upset my stomach at all.