St. Louis Sarah

I saw Dr. minkin 2 years ago about the lap band but was denied by insurance b/c i had not jumped through all the hoops. Two year later i go in And see him about the sleeve and realize once again i i do ot meet the requirements so my office visit was not that fruitful. Today i got a call that my insurance has approved me. I feel like this is a gift! So has anyone used him for a sleeve? I know he has been doing lap bands for years but not sure about the sleeve.

I was sleeved Oct 20. The first month and half went great then weifght loss really slowed for me. When i did a check up in January I had slowed to about a pound a week. I started off at 270. I am 5'11" and would love to be down to 170 but really honestly would be happy at 190. I wont be skinny by any means but look good. I have dropped 2 pants sizes to an 18. I feel like i am stalled forever. I eat what am supposed to eat and have even started working with a personal trainer doing crossfit 2 times a week. Ive been doing that for 2.5 weeks. I have not lost any weight since Jan check up 2 months ago. I can not seem to break under 232. I fluctuate between 232 and 235. I dont drink from a straw, i dont drink caffeine or soda. I do however chew gum. Here is a typical day's food for me. Decaf coffee. 10:30 i eat 1 cup of hormel's turkey chili. 2:30 greek yogurt with 3/4 or less flaxseed granola. ( I realized i was eating about 300 calories of that, so i have cut it back to about 1/4 cup.). 5:00 turkey patty with some veggies, maybe 1/4 c pasta salad. 9:00 pm hummus with snap peas. I do sometimes eat a little bit of bread. But i have really been trying and today when i weighed i had not lost, so sitting on my pitty pot all day today i ended up comsuming 4 cupcakes...aahhhhh. I look a ton better. I saw my sis for the first time in awhile and she said...i get why you feel happy the way you are.. You look great...youre no longer fat. I am but i tall with a large frame and carry my weight well. Any one else out there super slow loser or stalled for months?

I say go for teh food u can eat. Keep it soft like eggs and crackers and crab would be great. My doc told me that at 4 weeks you are pretty well healed. I started eating all reg food after my month check up. You might want to try soups too. It will get better. You have to eat or your body is gonna go in to starvation mode and save evey calorie.

My doc said after four weeks you are healed. Maybe say 6 for sure.

Reading that,i jumst think, HOLEY MOLEY THAT IS A LOT OF WEIGHT! Sounds to me you are doing great. My doctor told me he expects about 3 pounds average a week during the beginning. Keep up the great work!

I had surgery Oct 20 on a Thursday and returned to work Monday Oct 31. I teach high school and had no problems. I agree wi the fatigue. I would say mine lasted abt 4 weeks, but nothing to stay home for. I could have gone back after a week, but think the 10 days really helped.

Ladies it looks like i am part of the club. I was sleeved same day as you Chris. I do get the pain feeling. I just feel like i need to eat more. I want more. I dont eat breakfast until 10:30, my lunch hour. Then i eat again at 2:30 b/c i am hungry. Then i eat dinner at 5 and snack at 8. But today and realized i have only lost 2 ppunds the last week. I felt sorry for myself and ate a cookie. Went down awesome. sad. But i think we need to realize we can not break a lifetime of poor eating in 3.5 weeks. We must struggle now to get control. I didnt cut my stomach out to be fat anymore. Aaahhh! I am going to try to skip having my pb and crackers snack tomorrow. But it is the only texture i get all day and sadly look forward to it. Surely after we can eat more foods we will do better.

My friend had the surgery done in Mexico and had problems due to the doctors mistake. Afetr a year in and out of hospitals she had her entire stomach removed. Quite the horror story....but..you know what...after everything that has happened to her she still says it was the best decision of her life. She would do it all over again. That is why i too had the surgery two weeks ago tomorrow. Cant be happier.

I really pushed the liquids today and i feel like it is paying off. I am coming out of the foggy state i feel i have been in since getting home Saturday. I am struggling with the proteins but plan to go buy some tasteless protein to add to everything starting tomorrow. I have had very little pain but did get up and about today and overdid it a little. I guess going from zero to 90 didnt help. But i will say walking and drinking have helped a ton. I was sleeved oct 20 and am even eating week two foods like cottage cheese.

Id like some input on chewable vitamins.

I am having my surgery tomorrow morning. We are going to do great! Obesity is a disease. When the rest of these uninformed folks understand that the world will be better. Its not like we are going in for a face lift. We are making a choice to be a healthier person for the rest of our lives. I need this tool just like you do. We would never ask a handicapped person to not use a cane, or a heart attack patient to skip the pace maker. Why is this any different? Good luck and I am sorry you are not recieving the support you deserve.

Steve- I get the whole...I am not really that overwieght thing. I am 5"10 and 3/4 tall. On my charts it says 5"10. I weighed in at 265 in dr office so I was only 39 BMI with the 5"10. Less if they used 5'11. Yet I am 100 pounds overweight if I am in the middle of the large frame weight goal. My insurance mandates you to be 100 pounds overwieght and have one co-morbidity. I dont take meds for anything. I dont have sleep apnea. Nothing. I do have acid- reflux. My doc told me that my insuracne will not likely accept that. Oh well. I have done the 6 months of dieting, tried every diet, and I lose it and gain it back. My family has a history of all the problems, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure...... Believe it or not my insurance approved me. I feel like this surgery is a gift from God. Not really a religious person, but feel like I have won the lottery. If you have been apporved...GO FOR IT!!!!! I had a friend do this surgery in Mexico and suffer complications ( a nonsolubale stich left in her stomach caused a leak. She had no follow up care in the US and missed the signs.) After a year in and out of hospitals, she ended up having her entire stomach removed. She does not regret the choice. She said she would do it all over again and pay 5 times what she did. You might be able to hold your breath for 30 seconds but you cant do it for life. This is the tool you need to get you to a healthy wieght. Good luck. I am having my surgery in two days Thursday and have only taken off until the Halloween. ( I am a high school teacher.) -Sarah

Thanks for the info wishes. My nut told me when could not do the viatin because it is not the right type of calcium. That after being sleeved we need the citrate form of calcium to absorb it. Strange how different all the info is.

The strawberry iron was great as was the calcium chewys. My nut told us that we need to take real bariatric quality vitamins and not your kids gummies. Which i take now. Are there bariatric gummies? I compared Centrum chewable to the Celebrate chewable and there was a huge difference. I feel like at least in the begining i need to take quality vitamins.

I tried the berry today and was not a fan.

Not sure of the time. They call me the day before to tell me.

Wow, i just reread my post and all the typos made me cringe. My Ipad is not the easiest...lol

I am october 20.

Will be sleeved October 20.

It is only a tool. My other has gastric bypass ans lost alot but is not doingwhat she should and has put a lotof weigtht back one. I am doing the sleeve, because, like yu, i dont want to do gastroc bypass. You are making the right choice.

I am pre op and have aout $300 worth of food when i did the Ideal Protein diet last Spring. I have a lot of soups and such that have 20 plus grams of protein and slim to no carbs. Has anyone used them as the protein shake?

They are from a diet called Ideal Protein. It is basically a diet that is wht we have to eat after surgery. Super low to no carbs and high protein. My program was offered through a chiropractor's office as is the idea. Try them, or look on ebay.

They are from a diet called Ideal Protein. It is basically a diet that is wht we have to eat after surgery. Super low to no carbs and high protein. My program was offered through a chiropractor's office as is the idea. Try them, or look on ebay.

I am new on here and will be sleeved october 20. I have decided that i am not going to tell many people about my surgery. Only my three closest friends, my mom and my boss. I dont want to be judged by people who have no idea what it is like to struggle. So i am curious what is the average weight loss like? I am 5'11"" and 265 pounds. My goal is to lose about 100 pounds.

Docs name is Guillermo Alavarez.