longer-life

Congratulations! These are exciting times!
By the way, I'm Dominican American and you look Dominican to me. :-)

What Jackie said, the pad is THE way to go. I was cold underneath with a heated blanket. The pad warms by bottom and of course heat rises. The queen / kings are dual control so hubby doesn't have to even turn it on.
One thing I did not like is the wires near my feet, I could not feel them very much elsewhere, just at my feet. So we took a bath towel and put it over that area and the top sheet keeps it in place. No more wires and the thin towel doesn't effect heat output much at all.

Great NSVs!
I had one yesterday. My sister in law who is also a masseuse kept commenting how much thinner I am while giving me a massage! Any other masseuse would have freaked me out but since she is family, it was music to my ears!

Awwww Jaz!!! You are very welcome!!! That was the closest thing to being there physically for you that I could think of!!!! I pray that today begins your healing inside and out... Always remember that there are people hoping, praying and thanking God for you and your recovery!!!!
Keep your head up Sis!!! I believe it's getting better..

You are worth it too, but you already know that. I hope your doctor gives you good news soon. Big hug to you. Sorry about your mother in law.

I FEEL GREAT!!!!!!!!! lol. no seriously lol i really do. no pain at all. not too weak but not too active. a little gassy but thats it. im great compared to before!!!! youre so sweet. <3

How exciting!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!! (seems we have similar stats)

And I have faced and come to grips with a lot of situations in my life. I found out who my friends really were. I see the true status of my relationships, ALL OF THEM.
I also decided not to pursue nurse anesthesia school. I decided to pursue a PhD in Chemical Engineering. I have had tremendous changes in my personality. Or is it that I now released my self-imposed inhibitions? Down 95lb and lovin' it. This wouldn't have been possible this soon without the Sleeve. I feel like I gave myself an extension on life. One that was never there at 440lb. I have a ways to go but at this point I know it's actually possible to get there. I spent so many years dreaming of a life of health and personal satisfaction but now it's a reality that I can see coming.
I love myself more and it shows in my outward behavior and appearance. I am very excited every day. I look forward to being a PhD and doing something to help advance mankind. This is the destiny I was hoping for. The future once a pipe dream. I am here to make some sort of change to help not just myself.
I thank the following:
Francis W Teng, MD
the members of VST
family and friends that supported me
I now have a vital tool to help regain my path in life....

This is kind of creepy but too funny to keep to myself.. I am six weeks out and down forty pounds from starting weight. I have noticed that i am getting a lot of random male attention. Got hit on, doors held open, the elevator kept waiting, rushed ahead in lines and even got a rose from my smoothie guy. I knew stuff like this could start happening. The thing that struck me the most though was when a arandom homeless guy said, " hey sexy". It hit me that i hadnt been hit on in many many years - not even by the homeless!! Is it a nsv?? Well, it has nothing to do with the homeless guy but i gotta say, it was indeed an nsv!!!

Here's my most recent NSV! Went out with a "friend" the other night, and wanted to dress to impress. I think I managed it! Oh, and the shoes are the first heels I've worn in years! I wore them till 4 in the morning without too much pain!

so its been a little less than 24hrs since removing my stent. i must say, i feel a lot better already. i didnt need to take loritab for pain last night and i usually take it 2x per night... sometimes even 3!
usually i cant find a comfortable sleeping position because it hurts my chest & back badly. usually ifeel chest & back & even some rib pain all day long! i dont feel anything now.
my throat is sore but thats nothing!!! i can handle that pain anyday compared to a stent.
also, usually i have CONSTANT saliva. i have a bucket next to my bed. i havent been spitting since getting home but was still spitting right after the removal.
i cant believe its out. its too good to be true. i keep thinking the dr is gonna call me with bad news lol. seriously! i feel lucky & feel blessed right now. it was truly TRULY truly hell and i made it.
thank you god!!!!!
thank you to all of you who listened to me whine and complain and cry and b!+ch day in and day out about my experience. you guys truly helped a lot.
also thank you to favoredone (im not sure if shes following this story) but she went above & beyond and sent me 2dozen roses from proflowers with this beautiful red vase. its the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me and i wish i could squeeze her!!!!
im thankful & grateful for you all.

NO LEAK!!!!!!

Great NSVs!
I had one yesterday. My sister in law who is also a masseuse kept commenting how much thinner I am while giving me a massage! Any other masseuse would have freaked me out but since she is family, it was music to my ears!

LovePINK: Please continue to let us know how you're doing and what kind of help you're getting. It may help others in your situation who are not as brave as you and won't post their mistakes.
We can read all the information in the world but it really sinks in better when it is addressed straight at us right? You did the right thing by reaching out and you got some real straight answers. Good for you for taking them to heart!

Congratulations Yecats!!!!!!!!!! I am VERY happy for you!!!!!

I totally agree with Iwishfit, slower is better. I'm going into my 3rd year and for the past year have maintained my weight. I've lost all of my weight that the doctor wanted me to loose, but sure I wish i could lose 30 lbs more. . .will I? probably not, cause of my frame and structure of my body. . .am I happy, YOU BETCHA! At least I don't weigh what I did before and can do so many more things that I could not do before. . . but of course, I'll keep working at it to see what can be done to lose that extra few pounds, but i'm def not going to kill myself doing it. . . if i loose, i loose, if not then not. . . good luck!

I want to thank everyone that has replied to my thread. I really think I needed to hear these things and it has given me the biggest wake up call. Today I did REALLY well, even though I'm on mushies I pretty much stuck to Clear Liquids and gave my sleeve a rest. Im glad that I was able to post here and get all of these responses because they have truely made a difference. I actually cried reading a lot of these because u guys are 100% correct and I can't believe how much damage I could've done to myself. I'm grateful for this website for opening my eyes and helping me take the first steps to getting back on track. Thanks everyone.

Thank you Longer-Life. It looks like we are losing about the same.

I just re-read a my post from December. I had forgotten how angry and bitter I was feeling back then. Feels like so long ago. I am now down a total of 90 pounds (40 pre-op and 50 post) and life is good! I rarely overeat or feel sick, I don't really crave foods I can't have, and I love cleaning out the "fat clothes" from my closet! I started a new job last month and am loving it. I feel like I am in control for the first time ever.

You are not in the minority. I have told most people I know. Just like Lyndynojo,thanks to someones honesty, I heard about the sleeve for the first time ever, so I want others to know about it too.

I have mixed feelings about your post.
On one hand, yes, you're falling into old habits. You're trying to eat like you're a pre-op person and you're not. You're repeating the habits that helped you gain the weight in the first place.
Knowing that and admitting it here is a big step, and I applaud that.
You need to figure out your new limits. It's natural to test boundaries and see how far we can push ourselves. With the sleeve, you'll find the answer is, "Not very far!"
I'd start examining what helped make you gain weight in the first place. Are you an emotional eater? Do you overeat? I think a lot of us are totally in denial about our food issues until we're forced to face them post op. I was convinced my issues were purely medical and while to some extent that was true, I discovered post op that I had a real problem using food to cope, to comfort and to hide myself.
The part of your post that I don't like is the idea that you've done "BAD" or that eating certain foods is naughty or not allowed.
I know I'm in the minority but I've been on this journey for nineteen months and feel I'm in a good place both mentally and physically. In my opinion, telling yourself that you're never allowed to eat those foods again, that you have to stay low-carb for the rest of your life, that there's only one acceptable way to eat - well, I think those are all more manifestations of the unhealthy relationship with food that got us fat in the first place. I respect that we want to change for good and use the sleeve as a tool to help us live those healthier lives we dreamed of. But I think that the notion that healthy eating is an all-or-nothing equation is silly AND dangerous. It makes falling off the wagon into self pity binges a bigger risk, just like yo-yo dieting does.
I can only tell you what I did. I started out eating like a carb Nazi. And within three months I was unhappy, depressed, had low energy and felt like I was on...gasp! A DIET.
I'd had VSG to AVOID diets and now I was subjecting myself to one for life!!
I had to stop. I started eating like a normal person. You know, someone without an overeating addiction or food issues. And guess what? Normal people use smart food choices about 90% of the time, but they do indulge occasionally. They don't binge and purge. It's not all-or-nothing...it's just FOOD. It doesn't control them or make them feel guilty or disgusting or out of control.
So I think that all of us need to find that middle ground. We need to teach ourselves to eat in moderation. We need to learn to be responsible, healthy eaters - and not just eating health foods but learning how to have a healthy relationship with all foods.
Because one day you'll reach goal. And then you'll need to eat more than 800-900 calories a day, and you'll realize that it's not easy when you sliced 85% of your stomach out. You'll need to increase your intake without binges on junk food or giving up those healthy habits you learned in the first few months post op. You'll want to have a slice of birthday cake with your family instead of feeling left out. You'll want to be NORMAL.
So pick yourself up, shake it off and keep going. You can do this. You need to do some exploration of yourself and your eating habits to figure out what's going on and fix it.
~Cheri

Old habits die hard. You have to find the right way to "get out of your own way" and let yourself be successful.
good luck.

Yum!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing!

Found this on Pinterest.. sounds yummy and might be a good occassional sweet tooth solution for some of us..
Protein Peanut Butter CUPS -
1 scoop chocolate whey Protein powder -
1 TBSP all-natural Peanut Butter -
1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder -
1-2 packets of Stevia -
4oz Water -
Blend all the ingredients together in a blender -
Divide the peanut butter mixture into round muffin tins (USE a SILICONE tray!!!), filling about 3/4 full. -
Place filled muffin tin in freezer and let freeze for about an hour or until firm
(Freeze any extra peanut butter cups for up to five days)

This is probably posted somewhere already, but I ran across this video of a patient have VSG surgery performed. At the 8:30 mark, there is a side by side comparison of the upper GI photographs of a patient's sleeve immediately after surgery, and then the same patient's sleeve 4 years later. As you can see, the sleeve does get bigger. However, it's nowhere near the size of a normal stomach. It made me feel much better to see that after 4 years, the sleeve should still be a small enough size to be an effective tool. It just depends on what we decide to put in it!
Here's a screenshot if you're squeamish about the surgery portion of the video.