Chimera

Glue here - first big hunk is about to come off yay.

Our surgeons have rules for a reason - I think it is good advice to comply with your post surgical protocol for safety and sucess. See I can't be trusted around food - that is a known issue lol.

I think most of us have done every diet known to man - I know I have. Drinking liquids for a few months in order to lose many pounds is not the be-all-end-all - hello good old Optifast. At Optifast the idea was to start to get ones body mass down as quickly as possible - so more movement and greater health would hopefully result in success. Indeed it does - but I know I will be working on my food issues for te rest of my life. If one's BMI is over 40 - the mortality statistics are pretty scary. At first I did not mind the idea of doing just shakes and artificial forms of Protein - now that I am post surgical - I really want to transistion to normal foods as soon as I possibly can. My tastes have changed so drastically that all I can taste is chemicals. I am very much looking forward to using my new sleeve tool as a way to be healthy and make smart choices. A lifetime of crappy carbs, yo-yo dieting, and inactivity got me to 318 lbs - Here's hoping that simple good choices, daily exercize, mindful eating and hanging with like minded pals will have me in a much better place soon.

Congratulations! So good to hear that your surgery went well and you are on the mend Everyday gets a little better.

Thanks very much I am doing my best to get my liquids in - I have yet to make it to the full 64 oz. but each day seems to get a little bit better. Hubby is a gem - he is also a goof - tomorrow is his 3 week check in and he is already in the kitchen rattling around pots and pans making Eggface's baked ricotta recipe. He had an egg today and it took him about 40 minutes to eat - realizing he could not drink anything for another 45 minutes he took a nap lol. I am super glad we are doing this together as well. I feel very chill about losses or gains right now - I dont actually see how one has much of a choice but to lose weight if you follow dr's orders and the great advice always found here.

Those have too many carbs for what my surgeon wants pre-op. He has us do low fat Atkins-esque, under 20 g of carbs a day - which I found I could eat up 1/2 to 2/3 of my teeny carb allowance on Fiber gummies and chewable Vitamins. I asked how my liver looked and he said it was utterly tiny - and I ate more regular cheese than I should. I found that the lower the carbs went, the less I wanted them which is always nice.

I wanted to tell you guys thank you for the kind thoughts this past week - which has been bar none -probably the most hellish week of my life. My VSG surgery was last Monday afternoon (May 21, 2012) My husband had this same surgery done on Tuesday, May 9th and sailed through it - we brought him home the next morning. Unfortunately I have not experienced the same kind of luck with my own recovery. In a nutshell, I was supposed to go home on Tuesday morning, but I became tachardic (heart rate off the charts) and my red blood cells counts dropped so low that I was about as white as the sheet on my bed, as it turns out I was bleeding internally. Over the next few days I was given two blood transfusions, the first showed little improvement, then slowly the red blood cells started to return after the 4th unit of blood on the second transfusion. I was finally released on Friday morning - only to come home and have one of the 6 incisions on my belly rupture after I was home for about an hour - bleeding so profusely that it was like I had been hit by a shotgun blast.We ended up back in the ER once again that evening, having soaked through all of the towels, ratty clothes, and absorptive things in the house lol. They took yet another CBC (complete blood count) - which makes about 17 blood draws on someone who has teeny tiny veins, and can barely swallow .5 ounce of water - they were threatening to insert a central line and go back in to find the bleeding - Good news is that the numbers are looking better, so they did not need to. I was also 20 lbs. higher than my surgery day weight from blood pooling in the tummy and the insane amount of fluids they pushed all week. Right before I left the hospital they gave me a shot of lasix and put a Dulcolax suppository in the bum - lets just say I we had to stop a coule of times on the way home - we are not even that far from the hospital. 6 days out and it is the first day that I have actually start to feel okay. Now my stomach looks like a giant black and blue sack of potatoes - its has assumed shapes I have never known it could. Gotta get a picture of it before it goes away - it really is quite a spectacle. After the process I have gone through this past year with the nutrition, psych, and medical counseling and then having the surgery - it is in no way the easy route - merely the most successful in helping people as obese as myself hope to live a bit longer. Yesterday I was able to start getting all of my vitamins in, and am working hard to get my protein and fluids - it really is true, your tastes can really change after surgery. The only things that taste okay now are melted sugar free popsicles, protein chicken soup broth (strained), proti-diet protein drinks and powerade zero. I am very grateful to be feeling better for the moment - it think it might be a while before I have much energy. Frankly I am just glad to be alive - thank you guys for your enduring love and friendship.

Six days out from surgery and I am thrilled that I can finally take a small mouthful of liquid without agony and slimes. Good to know about the 6-8 week period - with the way I feel now,m I figured it would be that sort of time frame.

Thinking about you and hope you feel better very soon = My first night home after 4 days and I am very much in that "wth have I done to myself phase. Just trying to get through the days until things start feeling better.

Just got home and just woke from a tiny little nap to find my sweatshirt bloody It doersnt hurt, smell, not do I have fever or anything like that. Like I sprung a bit of a leak = I cleaned it and put a big band-aid on it and will keep an eye on it. Anyone else with this experience? I would prefer to handle this at home than go back to the hospital, seeing as I just got back home lol.

Woo I am finally back. Unfortunately I had some complications that had me in the hospital longer than I had planned. I had some internal bleeding that neccesitated two blood tranfusions - which take time to see if they are woking. Very tired, very trped of being poked and proded, and looking forward to getting some home rest - hosital rest - eve 4 days of it isnt like getting much rest.

Well my day has finally arrived after a loooong preliminary journey. We leave for the hospital in about 45 minutes, everything is ready to go, just need to have my second "Silkwood" shower. Wish me luck - I am so excited, and nervous too - I can't believe it is finally here /waves

My surgeon's numbers are that patients can be expected to lose 50% of their excess weight over the first 6 months, another 25% in the following 6 months - and the final 25% over the second year. I was originally planning on a RNY and my surgeon talked me into the vsg. He was thrilled that my insurance covers the vsg - it seems like it is a sugery that he really thinks works well for his patients. At my support groups the vsg patients that are more than a year out - which are a just a handful, as it is fairly new have lost a staggering amount of weight - all of them have hit goal = 100%+ of excess weight gone. Surgery the day after tomorrow with a big old mess of lbs to lose

Our instructions are to make sure sheets and bedding are freshly laundered the night you go to sleep before surgery, use only freshly laundered towels and clothing. And the two showers with the soap of course As for the new go to drinks - which replaced beloved coffee with milk and sugar and diet coke - herbal teas, occasionally with a bit of Truvia, and crystal lite - pink lemonade is my favorite. Wow Mina your doc is strict - my husband had his vsg last week and is going batty with the liquids. Our surgeon lets us have full liquids - mainly Protein drinks and not much else. At three weeks is when they advance to mushy.

I quit smoking on November 1, 2010 after 28 years of 1-2 packs a day. I had two half-hearted attempts prior, but I was one that loooooves smoking - I didn't want to quit but I knew I had to if I wanted to live. I went on Wellbutrin and my Dr. recommended stacking Nicotine replacement as well - I don't tolerate the gum or lozenges well, so I used the strongest nicotine patch they make. I joined quitnet and I swear - the Wellbutrin is some kind of magic drug. The first weeks were not pleasant, but with the Patches and reminding myself that the incessant craving only last a minute or two, and then the urge passes. Believe me, in the beginning the urge is literally every 15 seconds, I never, ever thought I would be able to quit. Now I never think about them - ahh well maybe once every few weeks I do. What keeps me quit is remembering my husband in tears because he was so happy my quit was successful. And never wanting to go through the hell of quitting smoking again - ever. I am free now.

Hope you are feeling better and home safe.

Sweet! I think you might like it DesertRat, I know I certainly did. The comments section on Amazon from readers has great information too - paraphrasing from one post, and the author: We are biologically wired to respond to sugar, fat, and salt. As processed food became an industry designed to create a profitable product, our waistlines grew. In 1960 women between the ages of twenty and twenty nine weighed an average of 128 pounds. In 2000, that number grew to 157. In the forty to forty-nine age group, it grew from an average of 142 to a whopping 169 pounds! Yes, ladies, the average perimenopausal woman in America weighs 169 pounds, so don't feel alone. It is so true - I was watching news footage from the mid 70's last week, and just about everyone is thin. Link to the comments: http://www.amazon.co...howViewpoints=1 If you guys have HBO - this new documentary The Weight of the Nation is very enlightening - I am so glad that I am able to have the surgery after seeing the truly staggering statistics of how obesity is ravaging our culture. http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/

I really believe it is a multi-layered issue - I know that I am much better to able to control my own, as well as my family's weight gain and moods by eliminating processed carbs and sugar from the house. I read a great book last year about these issues called The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite - by David Kessler, former head of the FDA. http://www.amazon.com/The-End-Overeating-Insatiable-American/dp/1605297852 He himself wanted to lose a few lbs and found it quite challenging, as a scientist he started to do research as to why humans have been roughly the same body composition since the beginning of time (with considerations for improved hygiene, advances in medicine etc.) and why in the 1980's obesity numbers began to skyrocket. He talks about how the combination of sugar and fat is one that does not exist in nature - two substances that we are genetically hardwired to want to consume in quantity when available - our biology has not had time to catch up with our industry in nutshell. Lab rats consume 'rat chow' as their main form of nutrition, when scientists started to feed them layered combinations of fat, sugar, salt (as restaurants such as Cheesecake Factory, Red Robin, and the like do.) these rats no longer would eat their nutritious yet bland rat chow - their dopamine centers lit up like a Christmas tree, setting up a cycle of addiction - so much so that these rats would cross electrified floors that would almost kill them to get to the bad stuff. These substances do the same things to us. It is a good read. One thing that the nutritionist at my surgeon's office said is that there are no essential carbohydrates - our bodies will make what we need from Protein and fats. I have noticed that when I drop the carbs down to 20g or less a day - which is akin to Atkin's induction levels and my pre-surgical recommendation - I am always satisfied with very little and do not have hunger cravings like I do when I consumed carbs, sugar, caffeine, and diet soda.

My goodness talk about going all in with quitting smoking the day before your vsg - my quit day is November 1, 2010 - quit after 28 years of 1 -2 packs a day and I will never go back. I never want to go through the hell of quitting again. Great work and I hope I will have such success with my own surgery - which is 3 days away, yippee!

Thanks Pookeyism - I was pretty surprised that my husband did it as well. His sister had a Roux 2 years ago and it changed everything for the better, she's now lost about 150 lbs., feels great and has no complications - that fact sent our family to a seminar and we were blown away by the statistics - especially when my surgeon said that if our BMI were over 40 we had a higher mortality rate if we sat in the chair and did nothing as opposed to having WL surgery. That started the ball rolling

Glad to hear that you are feeling better - things will be better when you are home I am sure

Just checked my husband post op instructions and it says 4 weeks.

I did not check my mobile phone messages yesterday afternoon until this morning - and lo and behold the surgery coordinator had left four messages telling me they have to reschedule my monday morning surgery. I went in for my hospital run dow appointment this morning, had another blood draw, an ekg, and they gave me my pre-sugery soap and stopped by after - thank goodness it will be the same day, just in the afternoon rather than the early, early morning. It is so funny how fixated I have become on the date of May 21st - we even clump together in our support group meetings, those of us who get our surgeries on the same date. I am glad I am still May 21 haha. And an update on my husband - who had his VSG and hiatal hernia repaired last tuesday morning - he is doing great! He was even out mowing the lawn on Friday. I feel so much more relaxed after helping him with his surgery. I know that not everyone has the same experience, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that my procedure and recovery will be as silky smooth as his has been. He feels no physical hunger - only a bit of head hunger - he is very bored with only liquids with two more weeks of liquids to go. I will soon feel the same pain - our surgeon wants us low fat, atkins induction style (less than 20g carbs - 100+ g of protein) the three weeks prior to surgery - with the day before surgery all Clear Liquids. 4 days to go - what a journey

Best of luck to you! My husband had his surgery last Tuesday and is doing just great and my own is next Monday on the 21st - so glad we are doing this together

Started this whole journey last year after attending the seminar in the spring - finally having surgery next monday, and hubby had his last tuesday is doing great. Yes it has been a long wait but it has given us time to attend many support group meetings, do lots of reading and research to prepare for the procedure and the new way of life that comes with it.