JanePatrick

Hi There, Glad you are doing well. When I was in the hospital, a lady had brought her niece and nephew in law down to get lap bands and over the course of the 3 days, they both lost 7 pounds, so I was all stoked thinking YAAA lets see what I have lost... The infamous dot dot dot... I gained weight. I know it was from the IV and the fact that I had a more invasive surgery...but I felt let down. Damn IV I curse you for keeping me hydrated!

With both you and your husband sleeved your food bill is going to plummet! Sending you both a big hug and a welcome.

I am bookmarking this post because I think rereading it will help inspire me on those days where I think there is no end in sight, or that I will not learn the things I need to, or that I think I will never make it. Thanks for posting, what you said was inspiring.

Well since others are posting what they are grateful for today, I will jump on the bandwagon. First a short backstory, my parents and I have had years where we did not talk, not the closest of family's. My in laws have been like a second family to me, but still, with those boundary's I grew up putting around myself. So, I initially did not want to tell anyone about my WLS. I am a very private, reserved person with most people. I did though, just in case something happened while on the table. I have been surprised by the response. First off, since August, I have spoken to my parents more than I have in the last 5 years, my mother calls me to see how things are, just chat, and always ends with "I love you" which nearly makes me cry. She gave me a large monetary "gift" the day I flew out for surgery, insisted on buying me clothes when I hit my first 100lbs, and offered to pay for a gym membership. I am blown away. My Mother in Law has also been more chatty with me, open, and loving, as well as trying to throw money my way. My brother in law who is probably my favorite of them all, started crying when I told him about my WLS and was so happy for me. He is a short muscly man's man so this was odd for me. He also insisted that he provide a gym membership for me, sort of a "offer you can't refuse". I have one week to find a gym and give him the information . My sister in law....well...ya I still have not told her, she is the negative nelly in the family...I think that one will wait until she notices and says something to me about my weight loss. My partner has been amazing, supportive, super loving, and while I always knew she was the best thing going, it has been reinforced in the past 3 weeks since surgery. As I sit and reflect about all of these people I tear up because it is not something I have ever experienced in my life, and sometimes I don't know how to deal with it. It is truly a blessing to find out how much people love you. I am so lucky to have people that are so supportive and there for me even when I don't know about it.

I am 26 days out and the first 11 days I lost 29.2 pounds...and then it stopped and I actually gained 2 lbs back, how that happens on less than 500 calories, and walking is one of the many mysteries in my life. I have been trying to keep up a good mindset about it because I know tons of people hit this same sort of 2-5week stall, but it is disconcerting. The past few days I have been able to get in 500-700 calories with more protein than before. Last night I did a bad thing and ate a small slice of pastry that my partner had sitting out on the counter, which had been staring at me and calling out to me all day . This morning, I grudgingly got on the scale thinking that would put me up, but low and behold I finally lost again, 3lbs...in 1 day...after eating a baddie...go figure, not that I condone bad eating, but maybe the sugar jolted something in me. Hopefully I will never resort to that again, as I have been awesome about staying away from empty crap foods. Our bodies are weird and do weird things, especially when they have gone through some trauma like losing 85% of the stomach. I am sure you will come out of it and start dropping again.

I am a little over 3 weeks out now, and while I had a super smooth time in the hospital, since being home I have had exhaustion, nausea, happy to grumpy in minutes and a really hard time getting in the nutrition and Vitamins that are required. Cold to room temperature liquid/food can be just fine or it can send me into 30 minutes of gut wrenching nausea. Yesterday was the first day since surgery that I was able to get in 75g of Protein or more, but my h20 was less than I needed. I am slowly but surely getting to the point "they" tell you to be at the moment you get home. All of this is to let you know that even though I did not experience the health problems you did in the hospital I think it just takes some time for some people to get up to speed, and you may be one of them. Given the problems you did experience however, I would watch myself very closely, and keep in touch with your MD to make sure your kidneys are not causing some of these issues as well. Wishing you the best and hopefully in another week or two you will start feeling better, and more capable of the intake we need.

I have had this off and on since surgery, especially the first 2 weeks. I also experienced the foulest, most dangerous smelling breathe I have ever had in my entire life. :thumbup1: I got a tongue scraper, and upped the # of brushing's I did daily. It is getting better since I am able to have something other than liquids and mushies. I still have days though where I feel like I have a white shag carpet in my mouth.

It is truly a blessing to be able to feel so good about the sleeve, your body, the changes, the whole process! I understand what you are feeling, things that you probably never felt prior to the surgery. It is like being given a second chance to have a life you should have had all along. Grats on your weight loss as well.

MINI-me what a nice offer to make, it always amazes me when people over the internet are willing to help others out. People like you make the world a better place. I want to help too, so...I am in Yakima and would graciously allow you to buy me a steamed milk w/SF almond syrup if it will help the cause out!

Count me in as of 08/20/10. The experience was better than any I have had in the states, and I felt very comfortable with the staff and the surgery. My only non kosher blip is that I am pretty sure one of the hospital nurses (actually I think she was more like a CNA not a nurse) kiped my pain/sleeping medication the 2nd night. Other than that, the whole process and experience was better than I could have imagined.

I really like http://www.sparkpeople.com for tracking my stuff, and if a normal serving is 1 cup it will let you track as much of that 1cup as you want, say.12 of a cup since our servings are much smaller. It can be a pain to track, but once I have done it, I am usually surprised at the stats for the day, plus it keeps me honest with what I remember eating vs what I did eat. As for vegetarian, what are you eating for Protein? I notice that people who are newly veggie don't make changes other than cutting out any meat products and that can hamper weight loss because they usually add in high carb food to make up for the meat portion of a meal. In the Food & Nutrition forum I wrote on a post the following:: "If you are not opposed to the more "processed" vegetarian fare there are tons of options. In our house we use the following Brands a lot. Home Quorn Welcome to Morningstar Farms Worthington Loma Linda BOCA Foods | Wholesome Veggie Burgers, Chik'n, Breakfast and More gardein - garden protein Nates Meatless Meatballs (could not locate link for these)" You can make any recipe that contains meat and substitute in the "fake" meat. It tends to have a good protein count, as well as being low in fat/carbs. The hard part is trying them out to see what you like and what you don't. :confused1:

Seitan is very good Protein wise, but we have to eat it rarely due to people in my house have gluten intolerance. If you are not opposed to the more "processed" vegetarian fare there are tons of options. In our house we use the following Brands a lot. [/url]http://www.quorn.us/Home/ Welcome to Morningstar Farms Worthington Loma Linda BOCA Foods | Wholesome Veggie Burgers, Chik'n, Breakfast and More gardein - garden protein Nates Meatless Meatballs (could not locate link for these) You have to figure out what you like, such as we prefer the morningstar farms crumblers to the quorn crumblers, but the quorn roast is amazing in texture and taste if you spice it up. They tell you to cook it in its wrap but I don't I cook it like a regular roast with seasonings and its yum, plus most all of the products have a great protein count per serving, without high calories, fat or carbs unless it is a breaded product, plus no or little cholesterol and you are eating guilt free since only veggies were harmed in the making of the product :001_smile: I cook vegetarian for my family daily, so if you have any questions shoot me a PM and/or friend me and I will help as much as I can. It is perfectly possible to get a good amount of clean protein from these foods and avoid animal meat if you want to.

Hi Donna, I tried your Italian Beef & Zucchini recipe tonight and it was so amazingly soft and tasty:drool5:. I made some changes to it in order to fit into our household but it still turned out yummy. Next time I make it, I will add much less Ricotta than I did, I just wanted to use up what I had and it was a bit much in the recipe, but things still tasted great. I had it as is, but my family had it over baked potatoes with fresh Green Beans on the side. (why am I the only fat one in the house? They eat like piglets!) Here is what I used and the calorie count below. Thanks again for the inspiration.:thumbup: This was all cooked the same way you did in your recipe, just a Vegetarian version. 2 cup Zucchini chopped (skin on) 1 cup Red Onion (didn?t have a yellow) 1 cup diced fresh Tomato 2 cup Morningstar Farms Griller Crumblers (we are 97.9% vegetarian household) 1 ? cup non fat Ricotta (used way to much could easily cut in half) 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano grated 2 tbsp Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread 2 tbsp sqeezy Garlic (found in fresh veggie section-I hate cutting up garlic) Dash of Marjoram Dash of Oregano Dash of Johnnys Seasoning Salt Dash of Sea Salt Several Dash?s of pepper (I?m a ?dash? kind of cook, sometimes that goes wrong, but not this time.) Left out the basil as my household does not care for it very much. Since there is no way I could eat a full cup of this, it made ten ? cup servings with the following stats per serving: 122 Calories 6g Fat (2 saturated) 18mg Cholesterol 7 Carbs 1.5 Fiber (so 5.5 Carbs after subtracting the fiber) 12g Protein

Hey all, Thanks for the responses, at least I know I am not alone and my stomach is not trying to explode from the Vitamins. I appreciate the information you guys provided. I went to costco and got a multi gummy that they carry. I felt like a goob for getting it, but I figure it is better to take in those carbs(sugar) and get the vits than keep avoiding the vits I have and start losing nutrients I am not getting in my food. The directions indicate that I should not take more than the recommended dosage (2). My god they are good, they taste and look like this candy you can get at the movie theatres, but they do not make me sick. I am going to finish off this bottle and give my "real" ones another go at that point. I am calling these gummy ones my "dangerous vitamins" because they taste like candy and the whole house wants to eat them now. Thanks again ~Jane

I had surgery just 3 days after you on 8/20/10 and I have had several days in a row now where I feel the same as you. I am getting a solid 8-9 hours a night yet all I want to do is sleep.Yesterday and today I have forced myself not to take any naps, and forced myself to do housework and run some errands. It is like pushing a truck uphill to even get up the oomphf to cook my family some dinner. I am no where near the same calorie intake as you though so part of my desire for nothing but sleep might be the low calorie part. I am also at the "dreaded stall" as well. I think my body is finally catching up to what I did to it 3 weeks ago and is rebelling. It will work itself out eventually, I just want it to be sooner rather than later.

Hello wonderful peoples I have a sub-lingual Biotin and B12 that work great, but my Multivitamin is causing me problems. It is DEVA one daily multi + mineral. I break it up with a pill cutter as they are quite large. My problem is that they make me extremely nauseous for 10-30 minutes when I take it. It is just one step under the point of throwing up. I have tried grinding it up and putting it in my Protein drink and that makes it worse. I know I need to be taking them but the sick feeling has kept me from taking them on a regular basis and I dread it when I do take them. I have tried 2 other Vitamins with the same result. Any suggestions? Is this normal? I have thought about trying the gummi vitamins but that seems so contradictory to taking something healthy.

Prior to surgery I always drank my water, juice, everything with ice cubes. After surgery I can't. Cold liquids are making me nauseous and cause pain. Even room temp are hard to get down. Warm liquids go down with ease though. Perhaps you are having some sort of similar issue going on. Everything I have read indicates that this will pass eventually. Try warm, and just sip sip sip as Tiff says.

Goodlife has the best information for you. While the VSG is the first step in a two step process, the majority of people now, never go on to the 2nd step. "They" in the bariatric surgery field found that the vsg alone was enough to help a good number of patients get to a healthy manageable weight. I am sure there are still some patients who opt to finish it off with the DS, but it is not a requirement.

I agree with the suggestions of getting it done, documenting it somewhere and when people start to notice and ask questions, then make an announcement, and forward people to the site where you have documented so far. This way any naysayers will be shut down prior to surgery, and once you have lost enough to notice, people will be less likely to outright be negative. In the process, being in the public eye, you will inspire others who are perhaps on the fence about losing the extra pounds through surgery or dieting. Whatever you choose, make the best choice for yourself and your family. Also, congrats on deciding to make a choice that will only improve your life!

I bet you had so much fun shopping. I really liked your last stripey outfit with the black earrings. They both look really good on you, you are very pretty and they accentuate it.

I don't think it is bragging at all, you are having some really good feeling accomplishments, nothing wrong with telling people about them. And Jane_J you crack me up!

What a great idea. Awesome job on your weight loss.

You have made "wrestling" so much more interesting! thanks for the chuckle, and awesome job on your goal!

Really something to be proud of. Your list of positives are things that people that are not overweight take for granted, it is so nice that you can start taking them for granted as well! Good job.

Nice job to both of you! I can already see the potential for having those Fair moments myself. My partner got a scoop of ice cream, and I had no desire for some. We started laughing because I told her this was a "virgin" moment for us. In the past I would have wanted my own, or if I was dieting would have had a mini temper tantrum that I could not have it. Yesterday my response was a "meh looks ok, but nothing special". You guys are an inspiration, keep it up, and congrats on the losses.