Lissa

Quit watching the scale so closely! Or, at least, quit letting it ruin your day. Yes, it's common to fluctuate from day to day. As we drink more, or eat a little more, it's going to bounce up and down. However, the overall trend WILL be downwards, you can't eat enough NOT to lose weight. Now, with all that said, I am guilty of looking at the scale every day. I just have to make myself not care when it's bouncing up and down. Look for the NSVs and concentrate on them. It will keep you from making yourself crazy. You're rocking that sleeve!!!

Well, welcome to the loser's bench to all of you!!! We're gonna have to slide WAYYY over to make room for all the new people! BTW, Frumpy, you're gonna have to change that name pretty quickly to "Fabulous".

Congrats on being sleeved!! You've already been welcomed to the loser's bench, but I'm sliding over a bit anyway!! Good luck!!

Well, this is the place to find all the information you could ever want about the sleeve!! Welcome ladies and have fun searching. If you have specific questions, they'll certainly get answered here!! Good luck!!

I don't prefer dill pickles; I like sweet gherkins. The sweet pickles have sugar in them, but it's not overwhelming. I like to eat one with a slice of roast beef or turkey. Usually I roll up the meat with a slice of cheese and a pickle in the center. Delicious, quick and easy. I was given a bento box with it's own freezer pack and sometimes I'll pack the above for my lunch when I'm out and about. It's pretty cool to have something I know I can eat without having to find a restaurant and worry about what they are adding to the food. I also like olives (Queen stuffed olives are YUMMY), but I can only eat 1 or 2 before Rex complains about the vinegar. Sometimes, though, I just want a little salty snack in my belly!

Happy, Congrats on your approval!! Yours is a story of what can happen when you advocate for yourself!!! I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself and sticking to it. I'm sure it would have been so easy to say that it wasn't meant to be and throw in the towel, but you, instead, kept pushing for what you needed !!!! Can't wait to welcome you to the loser's bench!!!

I'm glad you're both taking Acid Reducers. Are you also watching the temp of what you are drinking? I couldn't stand really cold or really hot drinks when I was early post-op. Try drinking things at the lukewarm to slightly warm temp and see if it helps with the spasms.

Congrats!!! You do look wonderful and happy!!!

First, Crawford, welcome to the loser's bench!! I am amazed that you were sent home so quickly!! I suggest sticking to clear liquids for at least the first week, and asking your doctor about an acid reducer and some eating guidelines. Who is your doctor? Second, 5DogMa, Glad to see that you're home and feeling better!!! Good luck to both of you!!!

Well, You're all invited to join me!! The more the merrier!!!

So, tomorrow I have a full day planned of ME time! I'm going to meet a good friend for lunch and girl talk. She's been out of town training for a new job for over 3 weeks, so we have lots to catch up on. Then, we're going for the full spa treatment: waxing eyebrows and chins, pedicures, manicures, haircuts. Ahhh, it sounds so relaxing. For me, it's a combination of rewards: Hitting 1/3 of my weight lost, losing 180 pounds (DH, not dear), making my Christmas challenge and getting rid of my bi-pap machine. I haven't made ALL of them yet, but I will within the next week. Besides, I've had a stressful week and this is my Christmas gift to myself. I think the ladies will agree that this sounds like a wonderful day, no?

I really can't start the C25K program yet, based on some advice I got here and from my breathing doctor. However, I'm here to cheer all of you on, while cadging tips from ya'll on what the challenges will be when I start!

You're FINE. Our staples are titanium and, as you found out today, don't react to the MRI. That was one of my first questions because I have to have fairly regular MRI and CT Scans because of a birth defect in my brain. I've read that titanium is a naturally occurring metal in our bodies, so it shouldn't react to the MRI. I had to LOL at an episode of House several years ago. They showed a man (maybe a prison inmate) who had many metal-based tattoos which reacted to the MRI by having the ink start jumping out of his skin. I'm not sure it's THAT dramatic, but it was an interesting story.

Thanks, again, for all your support! I'm wrapping my head around it and I just got some more news. Apparently, he decided to quit counseling. I just wonder if he quit his job as well?

Faboolous dahlink!! I'm thrilled for you and doing my own happy dance here!!!

I sure don't feel like I did before surgery. From day 2 after surgery I have had more energy and felt like a new person. Before, I couldn't imagine getting up and walking to the fitness center here and then walking more than a mile on the treadmill. Now, I do it regularly. I don't remember the surgery causing me to feel down at all. I was convinced TOTALLY that I was going to die during surgery. Waking up from it was like a whole new life given to me by God. Unpleasant things have happened, but they can't take away that one major blessing that He gave me. I, too, promise all of the newbies that your physical and mental condition gets better and better. Losing the weight is a side effect!

I could have written some parts of your story! I'll add my feeble prayers to the list. All I can say is good luck on your journey and stand up for yourself. Your PCP sounds like a control freak to me. Let your surgeon's office know what you have told us. Perhaps that will help to get you in for surgery faster. Believe me, if VSG is in God's plan for you, it WILL happen, no matter what obstacles you are facing in your life. Mine did, and I certainly had no idea how it was going to occur.

Yay, hair Lovin!! I'm glad you have your date. Nervous is to be expected. This is a BIG step, but it's a BIG step in the right direction for all of us. Good luck!! You'll soon be on the loser's bench.

Leslie, I'm sorry that I missed sliding over for you on the loser's bench!!! I really do try to welcome everyone to the bench! Italianlady, I read the thread you posted about and I really think that sometimes we don't need to be all sugar and sweetness. However, I try to not be actively mean. There's one thread that is giving me heartburn, but I haven't posted on it because the subject is SO hard for me. (Chewing and Spitting) I have food issues that I'm working on with a therapist and I cringe every time I read one of those posts. For some reason I keep thinking that it's a step in the wrong direction after being sleeved, but I can't find any hard evidence about that. I actually have it as one of my things to talk to my therapist about next week. I certainly hope you didn't feel that I was attacking Rosy on that thread, though. I didn't see anything that was said with any malice on there, but maybe I'm a pollyanna when I'm reading it. I "assume" everyone on this board is nice, so I maybe only see people trying to help. I've definitely been on some boards for other subjects that were not so nice. Anyway, I'm sorry that you felt attacked, or if the OP felt attacked.

I'm one who is on a LOT of antacid. BUT, mine is under doctor's orders, and NOt my VSG surgeon. I had blood clots earlier this year, along with two pulmonary emboli. I've been on Coumadin, except for a month break, since June, 2011. According to BOTH my docs, Coumadin leaches calcium with long term use. I started taking regular calcium, then the pulmonologist switched me to the Tums, 2x a day. They both want me getting the calcium in me, but apparently Tums has calcium that's more available to me with my medicine combo. YES, too much antacid is bad for you and can cause kidney stones.

:::Pinch:::: I can't wait till I'm where you're at today!!! Congrats!!

I've had a couple of pieces of toast in 3.5 months. Like others say, it's definitely something that fills me up. I like to toast the bread, then cook an over medium egg and put it on top. I can usually eat the egg and about half the piece of bread. Like Meg, I do like chips sometimes. I really like the baked cheetos, but I'll have a small handful once a week as a snack because they are a slider for me as well. Crackers are good with Peanut Butter or cheese. I've also eaten a couple with sardines. I can't eat many of them at a time. I'm still avoiding rice. One bite of it made me feel YUCKY full. I'll skip the rice, thanks.

I'm still taking as many chewables as possible at 3.5 months out. I take a Centrum chewable in the morning, two Tums twice a day, a sublingual B12 daily, and a Biotin that I swallow. I tried switching to a non-chewable multi, but it didn't sit well in Rex yet. I'll try again in a few months. I can swallow some pills, biotin and my asthma meds and coumadin. They are all VERY small, though.

I can't "weight" to see you both on the loser's bench!! YAY!!!!

You all are great!! I needed some humor after that text! I may file, but it's going to be very different from what we had talked about before!! And I will file when I am ready!! Lissa