LindaS

I received one from my doctor's office about a month after my surgery. The text is almost exactly like what Leah's shows above. It is on a business card, and it also has my surgeon's office name and contact info. My card also has my name printed on it. I don't use it. I don't mind taking leftovers home. I have four kids, and if I am dining out, it is usually with just my husband. One or more of my kids usually claims my leftovers as soon as we arrive home. The food isn't wasted. I did keep the card though because there may be a buffet meal or something someday that I will want to use it at.

I missed my goal for Halloween, but I am already signed up for the Christmas Challenge. I am hoping to be at Onderland by Thanksgiving and down 20 pounds by Christmas. I am at 206 now, and my goal was 195. It was my first challenge; I started late and overestimated what I would do. Still, I started the challenge at 215, so even though I didn't make my goal, I can't complain. I am also going to follow Meg's example and make a mini list: Onderland: 199 Normal BMI: 190 Christmas Challenge Goal: 185

Your liver sits on top of your stomach, and most doctors have you go on a special diet before your surgery to "shrink" your liver. This gets it out of the way as much as possible for your surgery. For my pre-surgery diet, I had to avoid carbs and sugars and alcohol. It was also high in Protein. Some surgeons have you do a completely liquid diet pre-op, but I was able to eat all the veggies I wanted, which was wonderful. It made the pre-op diet so much nicer.

You look fantastic! I am so impressed with your progress. I am also 3 months out (tomorrow), and I love that my belly is no longer even with my breasts. :-)

I had a very easy insurance experience. All I did was call my insurance company to find out what my coverage was and any requirements. My surgeon's office confirmed everything. For me, bariatric surgery was covered as any normal surgery and did NOT require preapproval as long as I met the BMI requirements and had both a NUT and psych eval before hand. I didn't have to submit anything to the insurance company to get approval before hand.

My sister is an RN, and when I called to tell her I was having the surgery, she stared asking me questions. She is now considering WLS. My sister-in-law is also a nurse and very supportive of me. I am almost 12 weeks out from surgery. I feel good. I am thrilled about the weight loss, the inches lost and the GAIN in energy. I also feel better about myself. I didn't have low self esteem before surgery, but I love the energy and ability that I now have to do things. I didn't realize my size was keeping me from doing things. For instance, my girls sleep upstairs. I have arthritis in my ankle, so I rarely went upstairs. In the morning, I'd yell from the bottom of the steps to wake them up. Now that I've lost weight, my ankle feels better, and I am going upstairs several times a week. I love that.

I am almost 12 weeks out. I do not regret it. I haven't had any issues. I've lost about 49 pounds. I am happy with the results and with my sleeve.

If I walk outside, I usually get at least a couple of miles in -- the shortest route I do is 2.5 miles. If I use my treadmill, I walk for at least 30 minutes. When I use my treadmill, I also vary the incline. I try to walk at a "dog walking" pace at least. On the treadmill, I vary my incline from flat to the 3 setting. I'd work on going a bit faster first and then you can go longer for the same amount of time.

The other day, I followed a link in a post here that went to MSNBC. While there, I saw a link to a story about a personal trainer who gained 70 pounds in order to learn what it is like to be overweight. His goal is to be able to have more understanding of what his clients are going through in their weight loss journey. The guy has been deliberately gaining weight for six months. He even posted pictures on his web site, and it is like seeing our progress pictures here in reverse. He stared out with a six pack ab, and it is gone. When I looked at his photos, I was actually surprised to see how fast the abs were gone. In November, he plans to start dieting and working out to lose all of the weight again. It was interesting, but I was just saddened about what he did to his body deliberately. I hope it works out for him. As a publicity stunt, it has brought him media attention. I am also amazed (although I shouldn't be) at how fast he gained weight. He went into this thinking he would gain around 50 pounds in six months. He has gained more than 70 pounds, and it hasn't been six months yet. His website is fit2fat2fit.com. Would you hire a trainer who has gone to this length to empathize with you? Other thoughts?

I am so excited! I was walking on the treadmill tonight and noticed that I have actual muscles in my biceps -- muscles that stick out when I flex. I've NEVER had that before even when I was skinny. Plus, it hasn't taken me very long to develop them. I've only been lifting weights (5 pounds) for about 3 or 4 weeks, and I do it about 3 times a week. Still, I am very impressed with the results. It is amazing. My 16 year old daughter always goes around asking if people want to see her guns. She then poses and shows off her muscles. Tonight, I was able to show her my guns. They are tiny guns, but they are there. It just motivates me to do my weight-lifting routine more and more.

I just recently switched from chewables to tablets -- same brand of Vitamin. This morning I took my multi and 3 Calcium 500 tablets, and I went into overdrive for saliva production. I was worried I was going to get sick, but I didn't. I think it was because I took the Vitamins on an empty stomach. Once I had some food in there, I felt fine. Tomorrow, I plan on eating a bit before taking the vitamins. I'll let you know if that helps.

Congrats, Maureen! Welcome to the site and to being sleeved. Triplet grandchildren? They are a great inspiration for getting healthier, I'm sure. I'm getting tired just thinking about three three-year-olds -- so much energy! Thanks for sharing your path to WLS. I hope you continue to update us on your progress. Welcome again to the losers' bench!

I agree with x4achange -- the drain coming out was the weirdest feeling I have ever experienced. It was like someone was tickling my insides in lots of different places. There was about 12 inches of tube inside me, and it seemed to be woven all over my insides. I felt it when it came out, and it was weird. It didn't hurt. Just weird. I didn't experience any cramping, but the drain site did drip for a day or two.

I'm 11 weeks out, and I am feeling the love. I am also cooking for my family. Sometimes though, I still cook myself a separate meal (or drink a Protein shake). This is usually when they are eating pizza. I started loving my sleeve when I was full after eating a very small portion, when I wasn't hungry, and when I started fitting into smaller and smaller sizes. Plus, I love stepping on the scale and seeing the weight go down. I now weigh less than I have since 2003/2004. That is amazing.

Is your wedding dress to the floor? If so, I say skip the adorable peep toes and go with ballet flats. You will be on your feet a lot on the day of your wedding, and your feet will thank you! Of course, I am not a "shoes" person, and I was more about comfort than looks on my wedding day (at least when it came to my feet). Plus, the only way I would have any grace is if my mom had named me Grace. She didn't. I hope you recover very soon, and I wish you the loveliest of weddings and hope your footwear of choice works out despite this delay.

I have lost almost 50 pounds in about 3 months. I am exercising -- cardio 5x a week and weight lifting 2-3x a week. I am also eating Protein first. Whenever I have eaten a lot of carbs, I either stall or gain weight. I should clarify that "a lot of carbs" is over 50 grams, which really isn't a lot at all (especially compared to what I used to consume before surgery). When I stay on track with eating and exercising, I lose. When I don't stay on track, I don't lose and sometimes gain. Thta's the only magic I know.

I'd hold off on the psych eval. One of the things I had to explain was the surgery I planned on getting and why. I learned a lot of this at the initial meeting. It gives you an overview of all of the options. Although when I went, I didn't realize there was a sleeve. Still, I recommend waiting on the psych eval. You want to make sure your evaluation covers what it needs to, and your bariatric surgeon's office is qualified to make sure it does. They usually recommend a psychologist to use as well.

You look great! I'd never have guessed you were ever heavy.

I have a family that socializes around food a lot. I found that if I bring my own meals, I could sit down with them and enjoy the socialization while eating what I needed to eat. When I was in the early stages, this meant I had cottage cheese or a yogurt/pudding with Protein powder mixed in to it. This would take me a while to eat, but it gave me something to eat when everyone else was eating. We all tended to finish about the same time. I still carry some of my own meals because there are things I don't eat like pizza. It made it easier because I didn't miss out on the socializing. Bariwise makes fruit-flavored Protein drinks. This lets you get 15 grams of protein in on one serving. They taste pretty good. Even my family liked them (although the smell isn't that great). To help avoid the smell, try one of those blender cups (it is a cup with a lid and a metal shaker inside that helps mix everything up). I found one for $3.00 at BariatricChoice.com. Good luck!

I tried phentermine several times since 1999. The most successful was the first time. It did leave me jittery, and I stayed awake a lot. I only needed about 5 hours of sleep when taking it. I didn't lose a lot of weight, but I did lose inches. It totally made me feel full. The third time I tried it, I noticed some pretty severe mood swings. I was angry and quick to snap at my family. In some cases, my anger was completely unjustified, but it felt justified. It isn't something I'd take again because of that side effect. You probably won't be too bad since you will have your surgery soon. Just be aware that if you find yourself really angry, it might be the phentermine.

I'm 5'7, and my highest weight was 255, which is when I decided to get the sleeve surgery. I was sleeved almost 12 weeks ago, and I am down to 206. This is the lowest I've weighed since around 2004-2006. I couldn't have done it without the sleeve. I did lose about 10 pounds on the prediet, so I was 245 on the day of my surgery. It is a scary surgery, but I thought the way my weight was going and what would happen if I didn't have the surgery would be even scarier. In the last year, I was gaining weight and couldn't control it no matter what I did. I didn't want to be at 300 in a couple of years. If you are having trouble losing, are you eating carbs? They tend to make me maintain and/or gain whenever I eat too many. Don't let the 1 pound loss discourage you. It will happen. I quit needing pain meds when I was still in the hospital. I haven't had any nausea or vomiting -- not even in the hospital. I had trouble drinking 64 ounces of Fluid at first, but I am able to drink that now. Good luck.

How wonderful that you were able to escape severe injuries! Good luck in replacing your car, and I hope things go smoothly regarding insurance.

I am 11 weeks out, and I have had hair loss. I started noticing it at 2 months. The biggest thing that I noticed was in the progress pictures I take showing my back side. In the photo the night before my surgery, the hair past my shoulders was full and completely solid. Two months later in the same pose, I could see my shoulders through the hair - in places it was big gaps. I had my hair cut to shoulder length to hide the worst of it. I also have very thick hair, so it isn't anything anyone besides me and my hairdresser would notice. I have also decided to hold off coloring my hair until my hair fully recovers. I do take Biotin, but it is for new growth not preventing hair loss. One of my friends who had the sleeve became so upset with the hair loss that she took clippers to her hair. I don't think I'd go that far -- I hate myself in short hair.

I was in the hospital for three days and two nights. I went in Tuesday and came out Thursday. I was very happy to get home because the frequent night checks don't allow for a lot of restful sleeping.

I am not sure if I am going to make it to my goal. I had several weeks with very little lost, but I am moving again. SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal LindaS.............215....................206............195............11