Lissa

As long as Sleevie isn't complaining, it's not too much. Be careful of the strawberries, though. They have tiny little seeds that can get caught in a new staple line and cause problems. They are on my doc's "Don't eat till six months" list. Also, your sleeve is still a little numb, so you may not feel pain in your sleeve if you eat too much. You'll feel it other places, mine was my shoulder if I over-filled Rex (my sleeve). It's really important to under-eat your sleeve. You can always eat a few bites more, but it's really painful when the sleeve lets you know it's over-filled.

Star, That's a great NSV!! As a matter of fact, losing clothes sizes may be my favorite NSV.. .no, second favorite, but this is a family forum.

I still have egg drop soup, and it was good in the liquid stage, too. I'll eat the fish part of sushi with wasabi, crab, shrimp and even some of the chicken from sweet and sour chicken, although I have to peel off most of the batter to eat more than one or two pieces. I'm a REALLY cheap date for chinese food these days! LOL

I'm a fan of the Premier Protein shakes from Sam's Club. That said, NOTHING sweet tasted good to me early post-op.

Your doctor should give you an Rx for liquid painkiller. Make sure you have the right measuring device for afterward. My dosing was listed in metric and I only had English measuring tools. Figuring out the conversion was out of my league at the time I wanted the dose.

Having more muscle definitely makes everything else work better. It ramps up your metabolism, gives you more endurance for tasks, and makes you look so much better!

Southern Girl, I answered the incision question in your post about bandages.

Do what your doctor said to do. My instructions were to leave the steri-strips on my incisions, but not to worry if they came off in the shower, which I was allowed to do as soon as I went home. I had a drain, and when the surgeon removed the drain, he put a band aid over the opening with instructions for me to leave the bandaid in place for 3 days. I had no problems with infection and can barely find any of my incisions now.

Congrats!! Welcome to the loser's bench!

No, Mama, #2 is a layered cut with the slightly messy look that's been popular for a while. It's really cute, though!

Try drinking decaf tea, Water with mio drops or crystal lite mixed in, or decaf coffee. All good sources of hydration without being straight water. Are you on an acid reducer? If not, talk to your doctor about starting one. Good luck! This too shall pass.

You need a therapist. Knowing what drives you to eat is good, but a therapist will help you understand WHY you chose eating as your drug of choice...and help keep you from developing crossover addictions. I see a therapist to deal with my issues with food. I, like you, ate my emotions because I didn't have another outlet. Some of my "friends" don't like the changes in how I deal with things now, but that is their problem, not mine. If being friends with someone requires that I accept being treated like crap, then I don't need that "friendship". Hopefully you can find a good bariatric therapist, but any therapist is better than none for these issues.

Search for 3 week stall. EVERYONE goes through this stall. It's part of the healing process. Keep following your doctor's plan and it will be over soon.

I like #2 as well. It's cute, fairly short, allows for layers and doesn't require the upkeep of either of the other two cuts. Since it looks like you have a small child, it's probably the easiest to maintain. I had mine cut in a graduated bob, which is wash and wear for me. The back is cut so that it curls under a bit by itself, which leaves me looking polished, even when all I've had time to do is run a brush through my hair. Even though I do a lot of driving, I can hit it with a brush and it lays back down when I'm going into meetings. The bonus is that my stylist can keep the style going while letting my hair grow longer and it has a bit of flexibility for the layers I have now.

Crystal lite tea is okay if it's decaf. I don't know if it is or not because it's too sweet for me, even with artificial sweetener. I like my tea dark, but barely sweet.

Well, you're following the post-op diet your doctor gave you and your body is probably still retaining a bit of Fluid from surgery. At your next appointment, you'll have lost more than the doc is expecting, so he'd better make it up to you then about how fantastic you are doing! Don't let that thoughtless comment get you down. You're doing great and this surgery WILL work for you!

It's normal to have nerves when it's this close to surgery, but don't let them defeat you. You have done your research; you're confident in your doctor, and you are ready to make a permanent change in your life. You have to get through 1 day where you give someone else control over your body for a couple of hours and then it's a beautiful ride to a whole new you. This is worth it and it will lead to meeting your dreams and your goals. Don't talk yourself out of this. IMO, VSG is the absolute BEST thing I've ever done for myself. It's reversing the damage I had done to my body and it's given me a whole new lease on life. It can be yours...all you have to do is trust that you have made the right decision. Besides, surgery is the easy part. You get to go to sleep for a few minutes and wake up with a brand new tool to help you live longer, feel better, and look fantastic. Go for it! I'll keep you in my prayers, but you're going to do great! It would be unusual if you weren't experiencing a little bit of the jitters right now, though.

I was told to wait until six months post-op for alcohol in any form. I think I had a drink at 4 months out. If you're not back on solid food, I certainly wouldn't put any alcohol in the sleeve. Your staple line isn't completely healed and you might actually end up with pain or burning from the drink.

I think we all fight the urge to eat what we know we shouldn't. Know your triggers and avoid them, but don't deprive yourself to the point that you end up binging. Of course, that's not applicable when you are on the liquid diet. Then, you just have to stick to the plan. Good luck!!

I'm probably guilty of saying "muscle weighs more than fat" constantly! LOL I should be saying that muscle takes up less room than fat. Whoops! Bad on me!

Yay! Isn't it great when things are moving!! FYI, When I read the thread title I kept hearing the song "The Witch is Dead".

Welcome, Dana! Congrats on starting this journey. Six months seems like a long time, but it gives you a chance to do all your research and be sure your head and heart are ready for this journey!

decaf iced tea is one of my post-surgery favorites. I can get a lot of water in that way in a hurry. I sometimes drink a half gallon pitcher in a weekend, and I live alone!

The hormones are incredible after surgery, so it could very well be caused by that. You could also be going through a reaction to giving up food because you're on a liquid diet. Sometimes it takes our minds a little while to catch up with what our bodies are doing. You could also be reacting to the anesthetic from surgery. That, by itself, can cause some mood swings. Have your cry, then get up and do something. Shower and do your hair if that's all you can manage. If you're up to a bit more, do a load of laundry or some other small chore that makes you feel better about your environment. If you have a bit of energy, go do something... a movie, sit on a bench at the mall and people-watch, whatever floats your boat. I sometimes get to the point where I just don't think I can deal with ONE MORE THING... and the above is how I deal with it. I hope it helps you feel better.

There's no crying on VST!! You look phenomenal!