Lissa

Thanks Joni and Minnie! I couldn't recall the name of that thing to save my life!

Good luck, Fern! I hope you beat your time goal!!

Unjury makes a chicken soup flavored protein powder...and you can order samples rather than huge containers. I liked regular broth because warm went down better for me than cold. I also couldn't stand sweets early post-op.

I agree, Laura! Whipping air into it is crucial, just like Egg Face says. I mushed a banana into mine last night, too, which added to the yumminess. It tasted pretty good when I was kicked back watching tv last night. Ahhh, life's simple pleasures...and it was easy, too.

You do look great! Isn't it fun to try on clothes these days?!

Woo Hoo! Dooter, that's great! I know you're on cloud 9 right now.

I haven't seen the picture of the bougies (Google, here I come), but that's 32 millimeters versus 34 millimeters. That's about the size of a set of quotation marks. " I doubt that is going to make a huge difference in the amount of restriction we feel. I think mine is a 34, but it's been so long since I asked my surgeon that question that I don't remember for sure. I know I am still only capable of eating about a cup of food, and that's when it's chewed well and eaten slowly. What actually turns out to make more of a difference in capacity is how LONG your stomach is apparently. Usually taller people have a longer sleeve and that may give them an extra 1/3 of a cup of capacity versus shorter people. That's still not much food and we're supposed to under-eat our sleeve anyway.

Mine has improved some, but I'm not off the machine YET! I've upped my cardio to exercise the heart and lungs, which my doc and I are hoping will eliminate the machine. Even if it doesn't, my energy levels are through the roof and I'm no longer tired every minute of every day like I was before surgery. I'll take it.

Multivitamin is for life. The others will vary depending on how your labs come out when you have them done. Good luck!!

Congrats on your anniversary and on your weight loss! Here's hoping that you have continued success with your sleeve!!!

Yay!!! That's a great NSV!

Amy, Have you looked at the surgeon's reviews on here? There are tons of threads from various patients of several mexico doctors with their experiences listed. Read through those threads...there's a search box at the upper right part of the page. Maybe reading what others have said will help to clarify your thought process. Good luck!

Hopefully you're just having residual effects from the dehydration. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Teach, As we've talked about before, it's worth a little discomfort to save our lives. My pain wasn't bad at all. My thighs hurt worse than anything else and that was only because I kept trying to use my legs when I got up rather than my stomach muscles. Once I realized that my stomach muscles were intact, that improved and the pain wasn't bad at all. I took pain meds the first day/evening in the hospital and that was it. As Urbanddecay said, everyone's pain threshold is different, but the pain is worth the amazing results we get!

Joni, Start doing light weights now (or as soon as you are cleared for them) and do high reps with low weight. Your arms (and mine) may never be svelte, but the weights will help tremendously. THAT I can tell you. If worse comes to worse, you can always self-tan them...as my friend says, "Tanned fat looks better than pasty white fat". That's why she uses self-tanner.

From reading others' posts about PCOS, I suspect I have/had it as well. Thank goodness I was sleeved when I was! IF not, I'd probably have the entire alphabet covered in co-morbidities! Hopefully yours will improve as you continue to lose weight!

You don't have a pouch; you have a sleeve. That sleeve is created by removing most of the stomach and what is left is mostly muscle, so it's pretty tough once it's healed. Try to eat less than what it takes to make you full, and it sounds like you are doing that. Be cautious, but don't obsess about it. You'll definitely know if you overeat...and you won't want to do it again! Good luck!!

Truthfully? Most of us don't have to worry about a leak after between 3-6 months, depending on how fast you heal. If you get one, it's a huge deal, but the percentage is very low... and, almost everyone I've seen who has had a leak says they would do the surgery again.

Yeah, it's normal at this stage. It WILL get better soon. You'll figure out what works for you as you move through the food stages. Once you have that figured out, this will be much easier! I think SF popsicles count as part of your water intake, but double-check what your surgeon recommended rather than take my word for it.

Are you pre-op? If so, have you been tested for diabetes? One of the newer theories I've seen is that those who are carb sensitive (I was one) are usually pre-diabetic..and I was as well. I lost weight on Atkins twice, so I'm familiar with the PITA that counting carbs can be. Once I was sleeved, I didn't count carbs, etc. but I didn't add a lot of them in either. Now that I've ramped up my workouts, I've realized that I have to have some of them. For me, refried Beans don't cause me to have highs and lows like simpler carbs, such as bread, do to me. I do try to keep my carbs lower and my veggies raw if I can stand the raw ones, but I don't count carbs like I did when I was on Atkins.

Thick, my highest weight ever was 352. I was 337 day of surgery and I now weigh 259... looking at the Century Club soon. In only 8 months, I've lost nearly 100 pounds and I feel like a brand new person. Is VST worth it? HECK YEAH! I was on the verge of dying from co-morbidities and now I'm running stairs, working out every single day, and LOVING my life. Yeah, surgery is so worth it. If you click on my name, you can view my gallery with pictures of me pre-op, and at least once a month since then. I'm feeling pretty good about life and my life expectancy right now. My story is NOT unusual here. There are lots of sleevers who have had similar experiences to mine.

Rodswife, I don't worry about carbs. Refried Beans were my first mushy food and I could only eat about 2-3 bites before I was full. There's some Protein in beans as well. As I've gotten further out from surgery, I've found that I need complex carbs in order to maintain my energy levels for working out. Protein has to be our first concern, but carbs are okay in moderation. Even if the OP orders refried beans and stewed chicken, at 5 weeks out, she'll probably eat 4 bites of the dish. My biggest worry with beans would be gas issues, truthfully!

WOOO HOOO!!! You're doing great!! keep on rocking that sleeve!

Try to concentrate on something else? How much water have you managed to drink today? What are you actually allowed to eat right now? If you're really craving the beanie weenies, maybe you can create something that has similar flavor but IS allowed. If you're allowed instant mashed, maybe put some of the juice from the pork and beans over a tablespoon of mashed and savor it. I actually dipped my fork in potted meat and then in my scrambled egg when I was on mushies!

Nerves are normal before any surgery. Just take deep breaths, try not to dwell on it and do what you can to handle any specific anxieties that you have. Before you know it, you'll be sleeved and wondering why you were so nervous!