amberj

I am here to tell you that those cravings never fully go away. I am 2 months out and still struggle with some foods. its a mental thing because of the way we have eaten all of our lives. the sleeve just help with the restriction of how much is consumed. I too thought the surgery would fix this but its really something i am having to struggle with to get over. everyone is different though and some lose the cravings right away. but most of us go through a chew it up and spit it out phase because we have to just taste it. i think there's a whole thread on that. but anyways. i wish you the best of luck and am proud you made the decision to do this for yourself! good luck! you can do anything and get through anything if you put your mind to it.

i had gained 4 pounds during that 3rd week and one morning i woke up and had lost 7 ---i think its normal--probably water retention. i still have that issue if i consume too much sodium. if i wake up and my rings tight i dont even bother weighing. good luck and congrats on taking this step!!!

I agree witht he others. I had to walk across campus and up stairs to get to my classes a week after surgery. I did fine with it. but go slow because like frumpy no more said you might feel weak and tired and you dont want to fall down them. good luck with your surgery hope you have a smooth recovery!!

ive only lost 30 pounds and have the same problem so you arent alone. I have a feeling this is only the beginning and that i will look better with clothes on for a long while. maybe when we can start exercising more it will get better. best of luck!

I didnt have to do anything. No supervised diets or anything. It got submitted and I was approved within a week. I guess it just depends on your case and history.

it took me a week to get approved and the surgeons insurance coordinator called me the same day to let me know it was approved. i got a letter a few days later. so stay in touch with our surgeons office. they will know before you do.

my favorite is chike chocolate. no after taste and it doesn't smell horrible. the strawberry and vanilla are good too

they do get more supportive as the process goes on. My fiance' was 100% against me getting the surgery. The night before i had it he started a big fight on purpose. I sat on the bed next to him crying my eyes out and tried my best to explain why I needed this. I have never told him how much I weighed, he never imagined it was 341 pounds. I told him I needed this for my 2 small children, for our future because if something didn't change I wouldn't make it to the future. He was scared. the morning of surgery he apologized and started to cry and said please come back home. He was so afraid I would die in the hospital. His previous wife had died her sleep and he didn't want to lose me to. He is seeing how much it is helping me and slowly starting to support me. He still says things like "are you sure you can eat that" which gets on my nerves because he has no clue. I told him the answer to getting rid of the fears is to research and read. I tried to involve hiom in the research process but he never thought i'd actually go through with it and ignored me. He is a little worried of how things will be after the weight loss and says things like " ill have my bags packed when you get small". just insecurities. He knows i wouldnt go anywhere. we have beautiful children together and i love him so very much because he has always saw beyond my flaws and accepted me as i was. All we can do is reassure those that we love that this is safe and necessary. we are doing it because we dont want to have to miss a moment with them. Life is short enough as it is. This will prolong our lives so we can share one more smile and make one more memory. Give him time, give him the material, and tell him you need him to be on your side through all of this. If he truly loves you he will want nothing more than to see you happy and healthy. All in all, do it anyways and let time work its magic on him. he will change his mind!

Im almost 2 weeks post op too and have just lost 9 pounds so i am with you on feeling like you're not losing fast enough. I had to put my scale away it was making me depressed. I get about 650 cals a day and I do my best to get all 60 g of Protein. i also try and exercise everyday for 30 mins at the workout room in my apartment complex and I dance to the Wii game just dance for like 6 songs every other day. At this rate I know the weight has to come off at some point. My 4 year old eats more than me! Hopefully we will get out of the funk and get on the weightless train soon! Happy losing

it does get better. i think our minds have to play catch up with our tummy. im a little over a week out and it is just now getting to where i am not hungry as bad. I have started adding thicker liquids like pureed bean soup to my diet and that helps so much. i dont get hungry again for about 5 hours and i drink water the entire time in between so something is always in my stomach. the cravings however, are still here. but i do a chew it up spit it out routine when i really feel like i have to taste something. the craving goes away instantly. It will get easier. just hang in there!

im in school now and had my surgery last week. the first 3 days i didnt want to do anything but after that i was fine. Im taking 12 hours this semester. Im just lazy when it comes to assignments, Im about to start on a paper now that i shouldve done a week ago. I'd say it is up to you on how fast you get back into the work. If youre able, do things a head of time and submit them early. Take the time to heal, let your professors know what is going on in case you miss something. they are generally understanding.

i hadmy surgery one week ago. i started walking on the treadmill on monday. I dont over do it. I stay on for 25 minutes and walk at a pace of 2.5 to 3 mph. when i get tired i stop for a few minutes and rest then start again. listen to your body and take breaks accordingly. I figures the treadmill was the same as walking up and down the street which my dr suggested doing when i felt up to it. at first i was told to only walk around my house but that gets boring and when i felt good enough i started outside.

i fully understand. i hate the protein drinks with the exception of chike chocolate. i just tried it this morinng hot and it was really good. im supposed to be on another week of full liquids but ive tried introducing some thin pureed soups into my diet and im tolerating them pretty well. yesterday i ate about 10 baby spoons of pureed bean soup. i was full!beans are a real good source of protein as well. the liquid phase is really hard because you want to eat other things. my biggest thing is i want meat so bad! Id love to have some chicken salad or tuna fish! but i know i have to wait another week for that.

unjury has an unflavored one they you can just add to the soups you are already eating and they have a chicken flavored one too. i havent tried them, but ive heard they are okay. If you are on full liquids, greek yogurt is an awesome source of protein. i only drink one shake a day and eat the greek yogurt for the rest of my protein. its not really sweet and you can kind of dress it up any way you want.

this thread made me laugh. i felt like the only one doing this too. my grandma was making cookies and i just wanted to taste them so i chewed and spit. and i've done it with french fries and fish sticks. weird i know but when you smell something sometimes you just want it. maybe its not a step in the right direction as far as changing my lifestyle, but i could have swallowed and chose not to so i take that as a positive thing. I hope it gets easier as time goes on.

good luck!! Dr taylor did mine (same office). you should come to the support group at womens hospital on dec 14th at 6 if you are able. its very informative and meeting people like us is great for motivation. best of all, it is free! they also have sessions where different Protein drinks are offered for samples and they discuss diet exercise and life changes. I hope to see you there !!! ( the meetings are every 2nd wednesday of the month from 6 to 7 30) I'm not sure if Dr. Frelich has the exact same mannerisms as dr taylor but i assume they are close since we get the same packet. One thing to ask for is liquid pain meds!! they ordered me the pill form is it was very hard to keep down. the 2nd time the dissolved it which made me vomit. The elixir was later prescribed but my stomach rejected it too. All in all they do really good work. I have hardly any pain now and am feeling closer to normal each day. Hope everything goes great!! prayers bein sent your way!!

I just had surgery on Wednesday. I am wondering if I am drinking too much. I make 2 quarts of crystal light in the moring and by 8 it is gone. I still seem to have room for food. Today, I drank an 8oz protein drink, a coule baby sppon bites of my 7 month olds very thin cream of wheat, about a 1/2 cup of strained creamy chicken soup and 1/4 cup of spaghetti (sp?) sauce. On top of that,I have already finished my 2 quarts of crystal light. Am i consuming too much?? I am worried that I am over doing it. I don't take big gulps or anything like that;I just literally drink ALL day long. The day after surgery i couldnt even get 8 oz in. Is this okay or normal? Have any of you been through this??

well i survived--im not sure how--the first day afterwards i was wonderin what i had done to myself. i had alot of trouble with the medicine for pain. today is the first day i havent vommited or had an extreme case of naseau. i dont hurt that bad- im sore from throwing up but incision wise, i am fine. im finding it hard to adjust to food now. the thought of anything makes me sick. i can tolerate crystal light and ive had a couple sips of broth but thats it.i have a lot of issues with swallowing alittle air when i take a sip of something. it feels like my whole stomach is filled with air and hurts so bad. im trying to take it slower and make myself burp. ive walked around the yard a few times today to make the gas move some. hopefully this will get easier as the time goes on. so far so good. today is def an improvement from yesterday abd last night. glad to be home ! and glad to be on my way to a brand new life!!!

Dr. Alvarez has a video about the staples--someone posted it here before i think but to save you time ill jut re-post it for you! lots of good info!

hey everyone!! gettin my sleeve on the 16th!! so pumped!!! its so close!! on another note--i talked to a guy at work today about what i was having done because he asked why i wasnt eating anything the past few days (liquids--meh) and he is now wanting to look into it. he had no idea that our insurance covered it and ive watched him struggle with his weight and the problems associated with it for many years he asked for my surgeons name and how to go to a seminar--gave him the dr' card and directions for signing up for the seminar-excited for him to by making a decision that something needs to be done. and it would be nice to have someone at work knowing what it is really like. hope it works for me---but as for me--I CANT WAIT FOR THE 16th!!!

i have UHC too---it took one week --so excited for you you should come to the support group meetings if you are close enough. they are the 2nd Wednesday every month in womans hospital from 6 to 7 30. the next one is dec14th. If you need any info on it or directions or anything just let me know love to see you there!

yeah when i called my ins company to ask how long it would take because it had just been submitted, they told me 3 to 4 weeks pending a nurse review and she said i need a 5 year history a 6 month diet and all weightloss attempts---------i needed NONE of that. they just have to tell you stuff like that as a standard procedure. my financial adviser at the dr office said its a case by case thing. some get approved within days others take a few weeks. i just got lucky i guess. if all your stuff in order that date seems reasonable to me. i started this thing the first of last month and when i said i wanted to have it before thanksgiving i got a lot of the that may not happen comments from friends and stuff. but it did. youll have an answer before you know it! just stay positive no matter what they say

I have no shame in getting this done. I want the whole world to know that i'm doing something for myself to make me healthier , happier, and a better mother to my children. I don't necessarily care if someone has a problem with it because after all, it is my body and my heath that's at risk. I've had nothing but good responses, everyone understands and is supportive for the most part. my fiance is a little worried about it and doesn't want me to have it done but oh well, i doing it anyways. I say BE PROUD! It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. this is for you, don't let negativity ruin it for you. own it and love it. if you are anything like me, this is the best decision you ever made for your health! you might even inspire someone else to look into it when all other options have failed. good luck with everything

It took a week for me to get approved once it was submitted. I got approved on the 28th of october i had another appointment with my dr to discuss surgery dates on the 7th and i have my surgery on the 16th. i think it all depends on the drs schedule as far as a date after approval. sidenote:the dr has to give the insurance company a date so if you call and they ask are you scheduled on such and such date and you were like me and didnt have any idea what they were talking about, this is why. but it doesnt mean that when itll be on. good luck!! hope approval is fast!

i don't have bcbs, but i had a similar experience. I called and was told i only had to have a bmi of 40 and it be clinically necessary. when i was called and told it was submitted to insurance, i took it upon myself to call the company and ask how long it took for approval. i was told 2-4 weeks for approval and id need a 6 month diet and a 5 year obesity record, BUT it only took a week for approval, I didn't have to have a 6 or 3 month diet and i didn't have to prove a 5 year history either. The financial adviser at the clinic told me it is simply a case by case basis and what what the insurance company told me it's standard procedure. I really hope things work out for you and you have a fast approval!