Lissa

My best friend is an ER nurse in the hospital where I had surgery, so I had the best advocate in the world for mine. Even better, several people from my WLS support group work in the same hospital and they all checked in on me after surgery, although I was too doped up the first day to really respond.
Having an advocate is always helpful. I stayed with an aunt recently who was in the hospital. To hear her tell it, no one responded to her at all, but she was hallucinating from her narcotics the whole time she was there and kept telling me she was tired of them changing the wallpaper on the solid blue wall in her room. That's what clued ME in to her hallucinations and I was the one to ask the nurses for a medication change and a doctor call. Turns out my aunt is allergic to morphine.
None of that is to diminish your experience, Kim, because it sounds like you had a horrible time in the hospital. I suggest consulting an attorney to get a copy of the 911 call and then going from there. Good luck!

Dana, I was on the recumbent bike one day, riding like zombies were chasing me, when I suddenly had a small panic attack that I might actually starve to death someday because I wouldn't be able to eat with my sleeve. Mind you, I was 7 months out at the time and eating plenty of food daily, so I have NO clue where that stray thought came from. I beat that thought down, finished my workout and decided to live the rest of my life HAPPY about this surgery. I wouldn't be alive today without my sleeve.

I'm not going to give you a verbal kick in the butt, even though you know you messed up big time. I hope you learned that lesson that you cannot eat anything solid yet! Head hunger is a killer.... You should probably call your doctor and keep an eye out for any signs of a leak, i.e. throwing up bile, blood, etc. I seriously doubt that you've destroyed your sleeve, but you definitely need to stick to the diet your doctor prescribed. I have heard stories about people who ate solid food too quickly and had major problems, but I've never known those people personally, so can't verify if they are true. Good luck and get back to your liquids/soft foods phase. It might be a good idea to drop back a stage for a couple of days to give your sleeve time to recover.... I'm treating your post as if it's a sincere post rather than a troll....

I love this post! It's exactly the thought process I'm working on with myself. I know that I will eat certain foods until I'm literally sick of them (cheetos), so I have to keep them out of the house. I know that if I allow myself to get hungry, I will eat something I shouldn't, so I carry Protein bars with me. I know that I will choose almost anything over plain Water, so I keep orange mio drops with me.
It's about small choices that add up over time. We all have to make them all day long, and it's our responsibility to make the right choices. No one can do it for us. We must choose the right things each time.
Okay I still want my cheetos...but no one said this would be easy...just easier than without WLS.

I am a traveling notary in Florida, currently separated from my DH. I have two grown sons and a stepson that I will continue to claim as mine forever.
I'm 45 and just bought my first ever house alone!! I've been moving for days, so have been offline for a few days.
I've been self employed for 10+ years and I love it!
I see, read, live to garden and do DIY projects, and I am an aspiring writer. Someday...
Lissa

I am a traveling notary in Florida, currently separated from my DH. I have two grown sons and a stepson that I will continue to claim as mine forever.
I'm 45 and just bought my first ever house alone!! I've been moving for days, so have been offline for a few days.
I've been self employed for 10+ years and I love it!
I see, read, live to garden and do DIY projects, and I am an aspiring writer. Someday...
Lissa

It's just like Nike says: "Just Do It". I like the idea of making an appointment with yourself. I'm doing a 30 day squat challenge and it's killing my legs, but I have determined that I just have to do it.

I eat a lot of pickles/olives as Snacks. I crave them, as a matter of fact. I've never thought of just drinking the juice, but I may have to try it!

Kim, Have you been to another bariatric doctor for a consultation? Perhaps a GI series is in order to see exactly what is going on inside?
I'm sorry you had such a horrible time. It sounds like your doctor and hospital suck. Just my opinion, of course!

My best friend is an ER nurse in the hospital where I had surgery, so I had the best advocate in the world for mine. Even better, several people from my WLS support group work in the same hospital and they all checked in on me after surgery, although I was too doped up the first day to really respond.
Having an advocate is always helpful. I stayed with an aunt recently who was in the hospital. To hear her tell it, no one responded to her at all, but she was hallucinating from her narcotics the whole time she was there and kept telling me she was tired of them changing the wallpaper on the solid blue wall in her room. That's what clued ME in to her hallucinations and I was the one to ask the nurses for a medication change and a doctor call. Turns out my aunt is allergic to morphine.
None of that is to diminish your experience, Kim, because it sounds like you had a horrible time in the hospital. I suggest consulting an attorney to get a copy of the 911 call and then going from there. Good luck!

I see no problem with someone else's before being my after pic. I started at 352 and I'm holding steady at about 120 pounds lost. I've seen "lightweight" sleevers who started at 230 and lost down to the low 100's, but that's not my reality or my goal. I think each of us looks for their own ideal body image. I'm very very close to mine. My original goal was 170; surgeon's goal was 190. I'm comfortable where I am, though, and, while I'm still trying to eat right and I'm exercising, my goal now isn't the number. It's the health benefit and how comfy I am in the body I'm ROCKING these days.

Yes. My point in saying this was to remind people that we all have different goals. We all start at different places and end at different places. There is no magic number. Mine might be much higher or lower than yours, but it is right and realistic for me. ????

I see no problem with someone else's before being my after pic. I started at 352 and I'm holding steady at about 120 pounds lost. I've seen "lightweight" sleevers who started at 230 and lost down to the low 100's, but that's not my reality or my goal. I think each of us looks for their own ideal body image. I'm very very close to mine. My original goal was 170; surgeon's goal was 190. I'm comfortable where I am, though, and, while I'm still trying to eat right and I'm exercising, my goal now isn't the number. It's the health benefit and how comfy I am in the body I'm ROCKING these days.

LIssa, you've got the right attitude

I see no problem with someone else's before being my after pic. I started at 352 and I'm holding steady at about 120 pounds lost. I've seen "lightweight" sleevers who started at 230 and lost down to the low 100's, but that's not my reality or my goal. I think each of us looks for their own ideal body image. I'm very very close to mine. My original goal was 170; surgeon's goal was 190. I'm comfortable where I am, though, and, while I'm still trying to eat right and I'm exercising, my goal now isn't the number. It's the health benefit and how comfy I am in the body I'm ROCKING these days.

I see no problem with someone else's before being my after pic. I started at 352 and I'm holding steady at about 120 pounds lost. I've seen "lightweight" sleevers who started at 230 and lost down to the low 100's, but that's not my reality or my goal. I think each of us looks for their own ideal body image. I'm very very close to mine. My original goal was 170; surgeon's goal was 190. I'm comfortable where I am, though, and, while I'm still trying to eat right and I'm exercising, my goal now isn't the number. It's the health benefit and how comfy I am in the body I'm ROCKING these days.

I know I'm not around as much lately, but I just popped in and someone had liked an old post of mine. While scrolling through the thread, I saw names I remember from way back and some newer names. What struck me as AWESOME, though, was the tickers at the bottom of everyone's post. Each and every ticker shows some tremendous weight loss for every person on the thread. FYI, the post was "Anyone have a Relatively Easy Recovery". I'm stunned at the high numbers everyone is showing (including me! YAY! ) IF anyone ever doubts that the Sleeve works, just scroll through a few of the older threads and look at those tickers. It's a ticker tape parade!!!

I know I'm not around as much lately, but I just popped in and someone had liked an old post of mine. While scrolling through the thread, I saw names I remember from way back and some newer names. What struck me as AWESOME, though, was the tickers at the bottom of everyone's post. Each and every ticker shows some tremendous weight loss for every person on the thread. FYI, the post was "Anyone have a Relatively Easy Recovery". I'm stunned at the high numbers everyone is showing (including me! YAY! ) IF anyone ever doubts that the Sleeve works, just scroll through a few of the older threads and look at those tickers. It's a ticker tape parade!!!

I see no problem with someone else's before being my after pic. I started at 352 and I'm holding steady at about 120 pounds lost. I've seen "lightweight" sleevers who started at 230 and lost down to the low 100's, but that's not my reality or my goal. I think each of us looks for their own ideal body image. I'm very very close to mine. My original goal was 170; surgeon's goal was 190. I'm comfortable where I am, though, and, while I'm still trying to eat right and I'm exercising, my goal now isn't the number. It's the health benefit and how comfy I am in the body I'm ROCKING these days.

I'd do my surgery again every day of the week and twice on Sunday!!! I'm not officially at goal yet, but I'm LOVING life these days!!!

I went into surgery expecting to die, and accepting the gamble because of all my health complications. I woke up and went "What?" because I truly didn't expect to wake up. When they wheeled me into my room, I got up off the recovery bed, walked around the hospital bed, and sat in the chair. I never did get in that hospital bed. My only pain was in my thighs from trying to use my leg muscled instead of my tummy muscles, but that went away quickly. I took pain meds three times after surgery, then refused any more pain meds.
I drove myself home the day after surgery, about a 40 minute drive. I started walking up and down my hallway the next day and I've been high energy ever since. In 10 months I've lost 110 pounds, plus I feel amazing!!!
This is the third best gamble I've ever taken (having my boys were #1 and #2).

I've seen anecdotal evidence that suggests squats and lunges help with this issue. Flat butt is not one of my problems, though.

Lissa I agree absolutely! That's one of the reasons I love my surgeon (Dr. Holover at New York Bariatric Group) because phsych evals are required for you to even be considered for surgery, as are pre and post op follow-ups. I think many people with a chronic illness, particularly ones that manifest as visibly as obesity does, tend to feel a sense of shame or reluctance to talk about our problem. We've been shamed by society and by others we know, shamed by our own prior failures. I would not have gone by choice to start seeking therapy and emotional help for precisely that reason. I think my surgeon and his group are extremely responsible for mandating it. I have someone I can turn to now when I need help maneuvering this new "tool". Otherwise, the tool will fail me as it has failed others. Revision surgeries are on the rise. And I don't mean revisions as a result of lap bands not working or slipping or surgical shortcomings. I mean people who couldnt change their habits quickly or consistently enough and risked serious harm by stretching out their stomachs again or causing damage to their bands. I think therapy can be a HUGE deterrent in this sort of behavior, and help us all succeed who are brave enough to embark on this lifesaving journey.
My psych helped me keep things in perspective when I was literally too busy kicking myself in the ass and freaking out. I adore her, and implore everyone (despite how worry-free your recovery) to find a professional with whom you can speak if the occasion arises. Thank you all again for all your kindness and support!! I'm really happy I had you guys to help "talk" me through it before and during my follow-ups!!
Stay tuned, bc now I'm facing all kinds of other issues/questions, which I'll be posting about separately. Hope to see you all there, as well! lol (Don't worry, I'm fine, they are nothing like this topic lol)

I LOVE this quote from your psych! This is one of the things I have learned and the reason I am always mentioning that therapy is a huge help on our weight loss journey. I truly believe that we cannot be mentally healthy after WLS without some time spent dealing with the issues that made us obese, whatever they may be... and it's not all about the food. We've allowed food to have a much larger place in our lives than it ever should have occupied and it's a huge mental shift to put food into the "food is fuel" place that t-dog mentioned earlier. Many of us are just as addicted to food as an alcoholic or drug addict is to their poison of choice. I'm really happy to see that you have recovered without permanent damage and that you are moving forward in a positive manner.

MistySJ, I remember that one. I think it is called the Daniel Diet. Supposedly, if we ate like the Old Testament people ate, we'd never be fat. Of course, that completely ignores that they were nomads who walked miles in the hot sun every day and worked like slaves for every bite of food they ate... or that they didn't have modern methods of food storage, preparation or preservation. I have a sister in law who has done that diet several times and swears by it. "I always lose 40 or 50 pounds on it"... then she gains that back with extras as soon as she starts eating "normal" again. I keep telling her I'm not "on a diet". I have changed my way of eating completely.