kittenkate

Today marks 3 months since my surgery. Including the 13 pounds I lost during the 2-week pre-op liquid diet I have lost a grand total of 78.5 pounds! It is absolutely incredible! I still have a ways to go but losing almost 80 pounds in 3 months is so reassuring and SUCH a motivator to keep going. It hasn't been easy, I'm sure you all know that, but seeing the changes and realizing that I CAN do this is worth all the difficulties. I love my sleeve! Before (December 2011): After 3 Months (Taken in the last 2 weeks):

Thank you! That was in front of Leed's Castle in Kent, England. I took a trip to London last week, it was amazing.

I tried a couple sips of a fountain Diet Coke at a baseball game last month and it tasted terrible! I used to drink 4 or 5 sodas (regular AND diet) a day, now I can't really stand the taste of them. As for fried food, I stay away unless it's a special ocassion.....that means Scarborough Faire in the spring and the State Fair of Texas in the fall. Even then I'm only allowing myself a few small bites. It's something to look forward to but not enough to throw me off track. Who can say no to fried pickles anyway?

My pre-op diet was Optifast shakes for Breakfast, lunch and dinner. No solid food. No variation. For 2 weeks. I think it was harder than the post-op dietary change has been! All I can say is hang in there, its a very small price to pay to the amazing lifestyle changes that are ahead for you. I'm only 3 months post op and I already can tell you it was the best decision I ever made for myself.

Wow! You didn't just lose pounds, you lost years! What is your secret!? Haha. You look beautiful, well done!

I will be 3 months post op next week and I only just recently have been able to drink more than just a few sips at a time. Protein is hard for me because I can't stand the taste of it, it makes me gag. Now that I'm on solids I focus more on seafood, cheese, and greek yogurt. Actually, greek yogurt may be a good option for you as well. It's easy to get down and is high in protein. Definitely stay hydrated, that's priority number 1, but if you still have issues with protein try greek yogurt. It gets easier, I promise.

I am 9 weeks post op today and for a snack at work I brought a 2oz container of mixed nuts, mostly almonds. I ate about 4 almonds and decided to see if this was an issue. I honestly hadn't really thought much about it and I don't remember my doctor saying anything about nuts. Then again, that was over 2 months ago so who knows. Anyway, is it bad to have eaten nuts this early? What about whole wheat Pasta? I'm trying to branch out in my diet a little bit but I don't want to hurt my sleeve. Thanks!

I am so glad to have found this thread! I was embrassed to tell my starting weight in other threads because it seemed like most people didn't have as much to lose as me. When I started the liquid diet I was 387.7, I'm almost 9 weeks post-op and I am currently 332.6. The weight has just been falling off for me and it's been awesome. I get the feeling that I will start slowing down here pretty soon but as long as that number gets smaller then I can handle the rest. I'm 5'11 so my goal is 175, meaning I have about 213 pounds total to lose. You guys are great inspiration, good luck and post often!

I, unforunately, was not blessed with large boobs. As I grew in size, so did they so I kind of expected it to work the same in reverse, and it definitely has. At my biggest I was a 44DD, I'm down to about a 40 C and I have a WAYS to go yet..... *sigh*

I live in Texas, I started at a 26/28 and am down to a 22/24 right now so I need those sizes. I would definitely be willing to pass along my 26/28s. You're right, it gets very expensive trying to keep up with clothes.

This is my first time posting here but I have browsed this forum SEVERAL times when I had questions so I am very grateful to everyone for being so open and honest about their experiences. I am 5 weeks post-op as of today and I am STILL having trouble getting in my 70 - 80g of Protein. I have tried different powders, different shake recipes, I can't do it! My stomach feels SO full with it, maybe I am just trying to drink it too fast. How long does it normally take you to drink 8oz of milk mixed with Protein powder? I've seen some people post about Isopure, some good some bad, but at this point I am willing to try anything. I've been doing really well with the surgery, I've lost 44 pounds, but I know I need to get in my full amount of protein. Do you have any tips or sugesstions? Should I just try and drink the shakes slower? I hate the taste of protein, I really wish it was available in pill form. I would gladly take 10 small protein pills per day if it meant not having to drink 2 shakes. Yuck!! Anyone out there like Isopure? Also, while I'm here, I am TERRIFIED of stretching my stomach. I don't eat very much and I make sure to eat slow and stop when I'm full, but I'm always worried that my bites are too big or something. I may just be paranoid. I love this sleeve and I'm so glad I got the surgery, it is just going to take more time to get used to I guess.

Hey everyone! I stopped taking BC about a year ago (my surgery was this past January) but I am ready to go back on the pill. I am currently taking Tri-Sprintec (the generic version of Ortho-Tri-Cyclen LO). Is there a certain amount of time I need to wait before taking the pills again? I am 6 weeks post-op tomorrow.

I am about 7 weeks post-op and have thus far had to buy new work pants once. I can tell that I will soon be too small for these pants as well. Don't get me wrong, this is a GREAT thing. But MAN, work clothes are expensive! People always told me that I needed to save up for the clothing I am going to have to buy but, of course, I didn't listen. My surgeon was telling me that he had heard of a program that did sort of a clothing swap for people who have had WLS. Has anyone ever heard of this or know of any kind of program that does this? I think it's a great idea!

Great story, thank you for sharing! I wish you the BEST of luck! It will absolutely be the best decision you ever made. Keep us all posted on your progress.

I had those EXACT same fears. Everyone around me kept telling me not to worry, it was fine, blah blah blah. As someone who has never so much as broken a bone before in her life the idea of being put under was terrifying. I can only tell you from my own experience that the anesthesia was wonderful, and kind of cool. They put some stuff into my IV and told me that in 10 minutes I would start to feel sleepy. They wheeled me to the operating room and asked me to move from the bed to the operating table. I remember having to struggle to move because I was SO sleepy. That's the last thing I remember. Next thing I knew I was being woken up by the same anesthesiologist who explained that everything was fine, I was in the hospital, and that I just needed to rest. I know how you feel but it was absolutely fine. Some of the best sleep I've had.

I'm 27! I consider that young.

I have been really good about waitin 30 - 45 minutes after eating before drinking anything. Today at lunch I was eating while working and got distracted and took a few sips just a couple minutes after eating and man did it hurt! I hope there is no adverse effect to my stomach after doing that but I sure learned to pay better attention. Ouch!

I haven't had any trouble with lettuce. I take small bites and chew everything really well. So far so good.

I had always intended to get the LapBand only because it was reversible but after meeting my surgeon he explained that with the amount of weight I needed to lose that I would be better off with the sleeve. I had never heard of the sleeve before so I did some research and determined that it was, indeed, the better option for me and I am SO glad that I went with it instead of the band. If you have a lot of weight to lose I would go with the sleeve definitely. To be honest, I'm not even sure what drains are but I know I didn't have them. I was off of work for about 10 days but to be honest I probably only needed a week. I recovered really quickly and had no trouble going back to work. I work in an office though so I sit most of the day, it depends entirely on what type of work you do as to how long you should recover before returning.

I haven't had any issues with people dining around me but I've found that it's easier to tell the waiter "I just had surgery and won't be able to finish this, can I go ahead and request a togo box now?" They don't want to be rude and ask any other questions and that usually kills the dessert question as well. As for that rude lady next to you, sometimes you just have to ignore people like that. They exist everywhere, not just at restaurants. I am someone that talks about my surgery to anyone willing to listen, which maybe isn't good because I'm sure some people don't want to hear it. I was with a coworker in our break room. I took out my lunch of wheat toast and tuna fish, she took out her leftover pizza. It didn't bother me but I guess when she saw my lunch and then looked at hers she got insecure about it. She looked at me and said, "I can't enjoy my lunch while you just sit there and judge me!" I hadn't said a word to her and I certainly am not the kind of person to judge anyone! It's just one of those things that we have to learn to deal with and understand that not everyone "gets it".

I had surgery on January 18, 2012 and so far have lost 41 pounds.

I'll be honest, I think the 2 week pre-op liquid diet was harder than anything post-op has been. For those two weeks I was on OptiFast getting in 800 calories a day with a regular sized stomach that was used to getting 3000 calories a day. It was not easy but it was absolutely worth it. Stay strong and stay motivated! We're all here for you, too! You will be so happy!

Hello, welcome to the site! I'm new myself but I can answer your questions. 1. It varies by insurance provider. I have BCBS of Texas which, I've heard, is very pro-WLS. I had to do all those same things (6 month with a doctor, psych eval, etc). I submitted everything to BCBS on December 19, 2011 and got my approval on December 29, 2011. Only 10 days! I was expecting a month at least. I certainly can't promise it will be that fast but if you've done all the requirements and the surgery is deemed medically necessary (which it was for me) then you should be fine. 2. I've heard this surgery called all kinds of different things. Sleeve Gastrectomy and Vertical Sleeve are the same thing. The proper name is Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. 3. I'm worried about excess skin myself. You're young like me though which is good because that means our skin still has a lot of its elasticity in it. The best way to ensure no loose skin is to work out your triceps, which is the area I'm focusing on. I didn't start doing strength training until this week though. Prior to this I only walked for exercise. You have to give your body enough time to recover before you start attacking your muscles. Your doctor will give you more specifics but you can expect to wait at least 4 weeks. 4. I have yet to stop losing. I know that eventually I will hit a plateau, that's just normal and to be expected. I started at 387 and am currently at 347 and I've shown a loss every single week. Because I have so much to lose I shouldn't hit a plateau for awhile but it will vary for you depending on how much you need/want to lose. Eventually your body will get used to the drastic reduction of food intake and will adjust itself. When that happens you have to decrease your caloric intake and increase your exercise. Good luck with your surgery! Like I said, I'm only 5 weeks post op but I can already tell you that its the best decision I ever made!

I'm at 5 weeks post-op now. I never really pureed foods to be honest. I either ate liquids or soft foods (and chewed them up until they were essentially liquid in my mouth). I dont know, the idea of pureeing normal food and then drinking said food......just couldn't do it. As for what I'm eating now, I usually have a yogurt or Protein shake for Breakfast, tuna on wheat toast for lunch, and a turkey dog for dinner. I drink as much Water as I can in between. I've been drinking the low-calorie gatorade after workouts because I get dehydrated really easily and I think I'm going to try that Isopure stuff as well. Honestly, I'm at the point where I'm testing the limits of my stomach. I tried a small bite of taco and it made me sick, so no more tacos for awhile. I tried grilled cheese (1 slice of wheat bread, 1 slice of fat free ham, 1 wedge of laughing cow cheese spread onto the bread) and that made me sick too, so no more of that. I think at this point that's all you can do. Eat healthy stuff and just see what you can tolerate. Definitely get your fill of Mahi Mahi if you like that, that's one of my very favorite foods so I eat that and tuna quite often. I love those babybel cheeses, hot dogs, yogurt, Jello, etc. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think at this point you can eat anything (obviously stay away from Pasta and white bread) but you don't have to stick with soft foods, you can start working normal food into your diet. There are some GREAT recipes on this site so definitely check those out as well.