Lissa

Oh, I am made of sterner stuff. Working in a prison definitely kicks the sissy-girl out of you. But, this is still a g-rated forum. I couldn't find anything to say in response to your post that I thought would stay within TOS guidelines.

I did tons of research before surgery, but decided against DS for the same reasons I decided against gastric bypass: malabsorption. Both DS and GB require that you monitor your vitamin levels super closely for life, even more closely that we should do with our sleeves. The other issue for me was dumping syndrome. I had IBS pre-op and wanted to avoid making that worse if possible. I've been lucky that I haven't had any episodes of that since surgery, so I made the right choice for me.

Now, one of the other maxims of weight loss surgery: Never trust a fart. Congrats on being sleeved, especially with only one incision! Welcome to the loser's bench!!

Nicotine is out of your system in 3 days. Drink lots of Water. After that, it's all in your head rather than being because you "need" nicotine. I got myself through by promising myself I could have a cigarette in 2 days, or a week, or next month. IMO, cold turkey is the only way that really works. Patches and ecigs just deliver more nicotine, which is the major addictive substance in cigarettes. Good luck!!

That is gross. I've been researching tummy tucks and every time I see pics of someone's removed skin I want to hurl. My best friend is an ER nurse and she's finally learned not to tell me horror stories about what goes on at work. I lose my cool really quick when it comes to blood and guts.

SleeveMe, Smoking aggravated my pre-op pneumonia, diminished my lung capacity and caused asthma. I've had a good bit of improvement in my lung capacity, but I'll never be 100%. My pulmonologist is hopeful that my increased cardio will undo some of the asthma damage. Oh, and I also now have allergies to pollen, etc that I did not have before smoking. But, why give your life to smoking after going through this to save yourself from obesity?

Strange, You should ask him that! Just tell him you're "not that kind of girl" and that he has to at least shake your hand and buy you some broth first.

Souled, It is a vice you must give up. Smoking, especially after VST, impedes healing of the sleeve, makes skin reabsorption more difficult, and can cause ulcers in our sleeves. Drop them now. It's tough, but why have life-saving sleeve surgery if you're going to continue to smoke? FTR, I'm an ex-smoker as well... and it nearly killed me pre-op.

You'll get it, and sooner than you think! Mine fell about 3 weeks post-op. That was my first real NSV, I lost my panties. My pants themselves followed two weeks later!

Congrats! Now that you're here, hang out and visit with us!

Wow!! You do look great! You can tell you've got your sassy back, too!

Peacequeen, I may be one of the ones that you are referring to as making it seem easy, but it's not. If you noticed, my weight loss all but stalled. From January until the beginning of May, I barely lost 10 pounds. I kept up on eating right, Water, and exercise, but the weight just wasn't moving much. The only explanation I have for it is that I weighed in that same bracket (250-270) for over 10 years on my way up, so it took a while for my body to decide that it could let go of some of that weight. I also doubled my cardio and weight lifting during May and BAM, I dropped to 252. That was my 100 pound mark, but I think that the extreme (for me) exercise is what finally kicked my body into gear again. Please don't beat yourself up or feel like a failure. You're one of my inspirations around here!!

LMAO!! That would do it. Of course, that's when I first realized I was REALLY losing weight, too. My panties were falling around my thighs while I still had pants on over them!

Yeah, Star, I sometimes have to remind myself that prison humor/attitude doesn't work in a g-rated forum. I work really hard not to drop curse words into posts here. 13 years after my last work day in a prison, I still use way too much salty language.

Glad that you have a date!! With a surgeon! LOL

By now, you should be sleeved! Hope everything is going well and that you are recovering pain-free!

Fingers crossed for yoU!

I'm thrilled it's not a leak. Resting your sleeve sounds like a great idea until the swelling goes down. I was really concerned when you posted the other day that you did have a leak. I've never been so happy to be wrong!

It's okay, Star. YOU didn't leave me speechless. This is a g-rated forum usually, so I had no response to Ourborous' last post!

I'm absolutely speechless. Mark this one on the calendar.

Jimmy, Women responded first because there are WAY more of us here than there are guys. We're also the ones trying to take care of everyone, so we hear ALL of the men's complaints...even the ones they won't tell their buddies! Besides, We're used to treating chafing in private areas from changing baby diapers.

IMO, the "clean plate club" should be renamed the "guaranteed big a*# club". Good on you for knowing when to say when.

I have to go through Gravatar to change my profile pic.

I feel sorry for your little friend, ourborous! He's telling you to be nicer to him. Maybe a little baby powder would help. I bought cornstarch-based baby powder recently for my tummy issues. As I get more active, more things rub together than you'd think and my belly isn't liking all this movement. With the humidity in FL, regular baby powder felt like sandpaper on my tummy. Someone else mentioned monkey butt powder. They also make a paste which speeds healing. Good luck!

I look at it like this: Your surgeon sets your pre and post-op diet based on what your (general you) surgeon has found works for his/her patients with his/her surgical technique. Therefore, you should follow whatever diet your surgeon recommends for best results. I sometimes wonder about the big differences as well, though.