Lissa

You bought her a ring yet? She sounds like a keeper to me!!

yeah, the head work is the hardest part, especially when your self-esteem has been STOMPED. Good luck! I'm looking forward to hearing that you are in counselling and working through your issues.

That would be great! You could also ask for it to be "pinned" so the thread stays at the top of that forum to make it easier for new visitors to find.

It IS possible to defeat the sleeve, just like any other weight loss surgery. But, you're going to classes at Kaiser? I'm assuming yes. They will help you work on your food issues and, if they don't, then I recommend you find a counsellor who will help you work on them. The surgeon sleeves our stomachs, not our heads, so the head work has to be done by us, either before surgery, or afterwards. Good luck!!

Lucky me, I can't STAND coconut and couldn't before surgery! Thanks, PDXMan!

Big Daddy, There is a forum for posters to list their surgeons and hospitals, with the ability to review their doctors. Maybe this post should go there? I think it would make it easier for those researching surgeons to find it if it were in that forum.

No, Anderson, I have not turned nasty to you. I am stating the facts as I see them. If I were nasty, I would have said something negative about you. I didn't do that; I simply didn't agree with everything you said. One thing I learned in counseling is that "We can disagree and still be friends". After your posts that I took to imply you thought the surgery patient was lying, I looked her up to see if she had ever posted before and she has. Her posts have been about various things, so I'm inclined to believe that she is posting her personal experience.

I personally think you're a little too optimistic. Some of the higher BMI people lose that kind of weight in six months, and some of the guys, but I've seen very few people that are "only" (sorry best word I could find) 300 pounds lose 150 pounds in that time frame. For reference, I started at 352, lost 13 pounds pre-op, and have dropped another 68 pounds since surgery 4.5 months ago. 81 pounds is a fantastic loss, IMO, but it has slowed down a bunch since the first month where I dropped 27 pounds. Realistically, depending on what you lose/lost pre-op and how that first month goes, you should make it to 100 pounds lost in about six months or so. Besides, losing a little slower helps (some) with the skin issues, as in it doesn't look quite as bad, so there is a benefit to it. Now, you may LOOK like you've lost 150 pounds at six months, depending on your exercise levels. Even though it weighs more, muscle looks better in clothes than fat looks!

I'm very happy with my sleeve. My sister in law had the GB (and two revision surgeries) and has regained all her weight, despite have horrible malabsorption and dumping issues. She's given me some great advice on how to avoid sliming and vomiting, unfortunately she's knowledgeable about it because she has such tough issues of her own! I'd do the sleeve again in a heartbeat, but I'd rather be fat than have GB or RNY. I know that because I waiting years for a new procedure that wasn't GB or RNY to appear on the horizon. After learning about the sleeve, I feel like angels are singing and the sun is shining! Yes, I'd do the sleeve again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fluffy, At 3 weeks out, I could NOT have eaten half a cup of anything, mushy or not. If it's causing you pain, perhaps try measuring out 2 ounces for yourself, eat it slowly, then give it a few minutes. If you're still hungry, you can always have more. It's hard to 'un-eat' if you've had that one bite too much. I'm grossed out by the thought of sliming or vomiting, so I always try to eat a little less than I need to fill me up. I don't always accomplish it, because I had my first ICK session last week, but I try. Mine was because I took a drink much too soon after I finished eating. Good luck!!

Oh, Rosy, I despise red and green peppers since surgery for some reason. I do eat some raw broccoli as well and it does fill me up. The celery I ate was part of a meal, chicken, celery and some bbq sauce as dip for the chicken for that "hot wing" substitute experience.

I've been to a few others, and I used to post on the lap band forum before I decided to go with the sleeve instead. I am comfy here, although there is good info at OH and other places as well. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I'm really glad you guys posted this, and all of the follow-up information! I have been eating celery for a couple of weeks, not tons, but enough! I think I'll skip the celery from here on in! Are there any other foods we should be avoiding for similar issues?

Please do let us know! I worry about that in particular!

Wow, congrats to you both on your weight loss!! You will get to goal, just keep rocking that sleeve!! The pics show an incredible journey for you both!!

Congrats to all of you! That is terrific news!!

Sorry to hear about your mom passing! Thank goodness she got to see your accomplishment!!

Personally, I think you're going to have a real hourglass shape when you get to goal! You look really great so far! Keep on rocking that sleeve, girl!!

Shell, I had three surgeries in less than 5 weeks, so I know what you're saying about vein pain! I did okay until the last one when it took six sticks to get an iv started. I wish I'd have thought about it the day before and really loaded up on some extra water! I still had bruising from that last iv for about 3 weeks and the bruised areas hurt for awhile. It will get better, just drink some extra Water to keep things hydrated in there. Good luck!!

Wow. Anderson, I hate to see you leave this group because I think it's an amazing place for support after surgery. However, you must make your own decision on that issue. As for calling PDXMan a know it all...he is. In the best possible way! I look for PDXMan's posts on exercise and carb issues whenever I have questions about them. I appreciate his input and support. Seeing that he has definitely been very successful with his sleeve makes me read his posts with an open mind. The whole point behind VST is to provide us all with support and answers to questions that we may not be able to get in our day to day lives. I know that, just today, I learned about a potential sleeve problem that I'd have never thought to consider asking at my IRL support group meeting. (Celery, for those interested) I will be asking my doc that question when I see him next week. Good luck to everyone!

Sleeve4Me, That's the sensation I had when I first got my blood clot in my leg. It was like the worst charley horse ever and didn't go away for a couple of days. It's fairly quick to diagnose for a doctor, but the self-tests my nurse friend had me do did NOT give me conclusive results, so I'll leave those out of this post. I think you should at least call your doc, if not go to the urgent care or ER. I know you're a long way out from surgery, so maybe it's not a clot, but I'm very paranoid over clots after my own experience.

cscake, I think you should still go to the ER. Blood clots are NOTHING to play with. I had one that shot two clots into my lungs. I was hospitalized for those two pulmonary embolisms and, more than six months later, I'm still taking rat poison (coumadin) every day to keep my blood thinned. A pulmonary embolism can kill you instantly, with no warning, and it's NOT pleasant.

(((Pookeyism))) I'm so sorry!! That's the absolute hardest thing to deal with at this point in time! My best friend passed on Jan 7, 2012, so I've been a little hit and miss on posts here. I'm so sorry I didn't see this sooner!

Y'all are killing me! I love celery! I don't eat tons of it, but it's a great crunchy food for me. I do de-string it before I eat it, but I'm not super vigilant about getting all the strings off it. Guess I'll have to settle for the baby carrots!

I agree. I've bought several cute (thrift store) sweaters and a couple of thick bathrobes, added a couple of blankets to the bed. I'd much rather be cold than have that 81 pounds of insulation back!!!