lisajxoxo

A-freaking-mazing!!!! WOW! What is your secret for losing it so fast? It must feel so good to live life so much differently now. Congratulations on your success!

One thing I wish I had done was to call and set up the appointments AS SOON as I had the authorizations. If you know who you are going to see (the nut and psych) you could always call now and set up an appt for after your seminar. That will lock you into an early appt after your seminar and if for some strange reason you change your mind afte the seminar you could always call and cancel. I had to wait 2 week for my initial nut appt. You just never know how their scheduling works. Good Luck!!!

Hello and congratulations on your pending surgery! You will get a wide variety of answers here I'm sure. I took 2 weeks off and that seemed perfect for me. My first day back (was this Monday) and the only real problem I had was that I was SUPER tired. No issues with pain or anything else. For me, your food intake the first week or so is soooooooo minimal that my energy levels just tanked. I've also read on here where some people are up and back to normal only a couple days after surgery. My advice would be to take as much time as you can. It's good to let your body heal ... Good Luck with your surgery!

Hi Mera, welcome to VST! I don't really have any advice to give you because I'm just newly sleeved. I will tell you though that I was (quite possibly) addicted to this site when I first found it. There is a wealth of information here. I used the search button up top and found answers to so many of my questions. Good Luck and welcome!

TMJ has some big long technical term but it basically is an inflamation in your jaw joint(s). For whatever reason I clench my jaw at night while I sleep (I don't grind, I just clench) and it gets so bad that I wake up and can't even open my mouth for up to an hour or so. I've tried just about everything and low and behold, a little botox in my jaw muscles relaxes them just enough so that I can still eat, talk and do everything normal, but I don't clench at night. The pain is gone. WooHoo!!!!!!

I'm not even too shy to say that for me Botox (actually I like Dysport better now) for my wrinkles and Sculptra for the deep bags under my eyes have made a WORLD of difference for me! No one ever notices that I've had anything done BUT I always have people comment on how "rested" or happy I look. For me it's well worth the money. In fact, I had a conversation with my doc the other day about what will happen to my face now that I've had my sleeve and will be losing a significant amount of weight. We've got a plan. I'm so excited! Oh, by the way, he also puts botox in my jaw to relieve my TMJ (and that's the only thing that has ever worked). p.s. I'm not saying this is for everyone, just sharing my experience.

Have you tried logging into myfitnesspal.com yet? I use it to keep track of my Protein mostly but also calories, carbs and Water. There is a place you can enter recipes and I'm sure that will give you the protein/calories etc. p.s. I'm in no way affilitated with that website, I just happen to think it's super easy to use. Good Luck!!

I want to start by saying I’m writing this just one day short of 2 weeks post op (and this is how I’m feeling right now). In the past, I would consider myself an overachiever when it comes to losing weight. I’m an expert. Give me a plan and I will follow it and lose weight. My down fall has always been KEEPING it off. I lose and then I gain it all back and then some. The point between losing and gaining has usually been triggered by frustration. I’m tired of counting points or tracking calories or carbs or meals or shakes or pills or whatever the diet of the minute is. When I get frustrated my thought process was, “oh the heck with it” and I’d go eat whatever I wanted … and the gaining begins. I’ve read several posts where people ask if the way we eat after VSG is “just another diet”. I’d have to say no because in some ways it’s similar but for me the “frustration point” leads to a very different outcome. I’ll explain. The other day I was in the myfitnesspal site logging my food/water and trying to figure out how I can get all my Protein in without drinking Protein Shakes. I’d prefer not to drink them but in order to get 70 or more grams of protein in I’d have to eat a lot of food and on mushies, with my tiny tummy and ZERO hunger, that’s a challenge. Then I hit a familiar stage … I though “oh the heck with it” followed by something new … “I just won’t eat, it’s easier that way”. WHAT???????????? If you want to know if post VSG is anything like a diet the answer is NO … in the most important way. I have ZERO hunger which means ZERO desire to eat things that I shouldn’t. My focus is getting my protein in because I know I feel better when I get a lot of protein in my system. I feel better when I have all my Water, all my Vitamins and all my protein. Of course I want to lose weight, I wouldn’t have had this surgery if I didn’t but my daily goals now are to do what I need to do to feel as great as I can and for me that means water, protein, vitamins and walking. Maybe this is the difference between a diet and a lifestyle change? If so, how totally awesome is that! Happy Monday my friends!

A couple of things that REALLY helped me ... 1) boat loads of bottled Water (both cold and room temperature) I found I tolerated room temp much better and at 64oz a day you go through a lot! 2) a few different Protein shake choices - you never know what you will like or tolerate post surgery. I can tell you that as soon as I was able to get my protein in I almost immediately felt my energy levels rise which was good. 3) lots and lots of pillows. At first I was most comfy sleeping on my back propped up on pillows and then I realized that in between walking I had trouble sitting in the same position for too long so I was always re-adjusting and moving around and the pillows helped. and last but not least .... ... something to keep you busy!!! Day time TV stinks so find a good book, have the internet close by or something you find interesting! Good Luck!!!!!

It will only be uncomfortable when it's removed, otherwise you won't even know it's there. When they remove it, you won't feel pain, it will just be uncomfortable and kind of strange feeling. I wouldn't worry at all about it!!! Good Luck on your surgery!

I just started puree/soft foods and so far I've tried hard boiled eggs (I can only eat half), split pea Soup, string cheese and tuna. I also bought some frozen grilled fish (not breaded) and hummus (because they were on my approved list as well) but haven't tried it yet. I'm still drinking Protein shakes to get most of my protein in because food kind of scares me but I'm S L O W L Y trying things. Good Luck to you!!!!!!

I had the spasms as well. I stopped drinking anything cold and only do warm or room temperature now and since then I've been fine. This may not be true for everyone but I think part of the reason I got the spasms was from me mentally freaking out a bit. I was so stressed about drinking and the amount etc. etc. ... I would have to remind myself to relax and the spasms would go away. I'm in NO WAY saying all spasms are caused by that but just wanted to share my own experience. Hope you feel better soon!

I'm only a little over a week post surgery so I can only imagine how cold I'll get. I work in an office that is notoriously freezing and I've found 2 really helpful things. One, I sit on a heating pad (keep my behind warm and toasty) and two, in addition to the space heater I have a heated throw blanket that I keep under my desk and when I'm sitting at my desk I pull it up over my legs (so no one sees it) and ..... Ohhhhhh it is soooooooooo nice and warm!!!!! I love my space heater but for me there is just something about the warmth right there next to my skin that really warms me up. Give it a try if you're struggling!

Good Luck to you all!! I'm so excited for you. I'm just over a week out and went shopping for a couple hours today, WooHoo!!!

So glad you are home and feeling better! Congrats on the weight loss!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wore the hospital gown but brought a robe with me. I got one with short sleeves that were wide enough (to account for iv tubes etc.) and that zippered down the front ... oh and was long enough to cover my behind! It worked out perfectly! I also brought my crocs for walking the halls but they gave me those socks with the treads on the bottom and I never wore my crocs. Good luck with your surgery!!!

Hello, my name is Lisa. I was sleeved on 10/11. I'd like to formally request a seat on the losers bench. I do not really have any qualifications other than recently being sleeved, however, I have always been an OVERACHIEVER on the gainers bench. Of course I'm being somewhat silly ... but I am so happy to be on the other side of the fence now that I had my surgery. Seemed like a long time coming. Surgery went well, pretty uneventful. I'm recovering fine, still shocked at how little I can consume and at the fact that I have zero hunger. My primary focus right now is sipping Water, walking, Vitamins, Protein and some rest. Happy Sunday to everyone! YAAAAAAAAAAY FOR MY SLEEVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You should feel pretty because YOU ARE!!!! You look beautiful and happy, I love it!

Congratulations!!!! So happy things went so well for you! I pray that my recovery is as good as yours.

Thank you so much for the update! Soooo glad you're doing well. ... and no more 5 hour shopping sprees (unless it's online)!!! LOL!!!

I recently was in your place, waiting for approval. Hang in there and don't give up! Keep calling, keep harrassing them until they send you an approval! I'm sending you positive thoughts!

Beach I'm so happy to hear form you! I'm sorry you had so much pain. From what I've read it seems that each day gets better and better. Hang in there and welcome home!!!! Oh and CONGRATULATIONS on being sleeved!!!!

What a great story! Thank you for posting this. It's so nice for us Newbies to read success stories like this!

Good Luck Jason and let us know how it goes!

:cheer2: Oh I can't wait to see what the new christmas treat is!!!!!!!!!