mkardh

I would like to add to this question....How long before I can stop worrying about leaks? Every twinge or burp I think LEAK!!! I am 8 weeks post op

So I have a tattoo of a small bumble bee on my butt (I call it my bee hind).... once I lose my weight and my butt shrinks will my bee become a "no see em"? lol

So I have a tattoo of a small bumble bee on my butt (I call it my bee hind).... once I lose my weight and my butt shrinks will my bee become a "no see em"? lol

So I have a tattoo of a small bumble bee on my butt (I call it my bee hind).... once I lose my weight and my butt shrinks will my bee become a "no see em"? lol

OMG I can't wait to take my first "skinny' vacation pics. I will go somewhere like Vegas, take like 500 pics and delete 490 pics because I look terrible.

Does anyone find dating weird? One, dates ALWAYS involve food. Two, men always want women to eat their weight on dates or else they have an eating disorder or something. Three, I don't really want to tell people I just met that I had surgery because it's really none of their business, and frankly, people ALWAYS seem to think it's something I want their opinion on. Which it isn't.
What I really need is a sleeved guy, and then we can share food. And war stories. HEY SLEEVED GUYS! SINGLE GIRL HERE.
No, seriously. Does anyone feel weird, or is it just me?

I got extremely bitchy for a while. I think I was having withdrawls from carbohydrates, pop, and everything else I gave up when I started the pre-op diet. I was sleeved May 20th and still have moments of pure bitchiness.

I got extremely bitchy for a while. I think I was having withdrawls from carbohydrates, pop, and everything else I gave up when I started the pre-op diet. I was sleeved May 20th and still have moments of pure bitchiness.

I got extremely bitchy for a while. I think I was having withdrawls from carbohydrates, pop, and everything else I gave up when I started the pre-op diet. I was sleeved May 20th and still have moments of pure bitchiness.

down 23 lbs. Was sleeved May 20th.

Hey everyone on the loser's bench. my name is Amy. I started my Journey in Feb when I got a call from a local Bariatric doctor wanting to see me after recieving a heart wrenching letter from my sister. :wub: So my sister and I went in and he was on board to help even though I was uninsured. He said I was too big to safely perform the procedure here so I needed to lose 75-100 lbs and once I did that we could move forward. He told me to call him and keep him posted to my progress that way he wouldn't have to charge me for an office visit. He hoped to meet with me again in 6 months to maybe have a better idea of when we might be able to schedule a surgery. In the meantime he set me up with the Bariatric coordinator and nutritionist at the hospital to meet with regularly. Well this past year I jumped on the HCG band wagin and had already lost 40lbs gaining 20 back once I stopped. But I learned alot while on the diet and now that I have something so big to look forward to ( a new life) I figured maybe this would give me what I needed to kick it into high gear and lose the weight as soon as possible no matter how drastic it may look to others. Also I am nothig but agrgumentative, andI set my goal forApril and no one was going to tell me different. So with a cal count of 500 cals or less a day and 2hrs 5 days a week in the pool I went from 550 the first of feb to 480 mid apr. When I made the appointment with the dr and he saw my progress he was astonished and shock my hand that day saying he was on board and we were doing this. My surgery was scheduled for the first wednesday in May. I went in for preop the went prior to that and the day before the surgery I get the call saying my ekg came back bad and I would need to cardio. So the next day I was there and was given a all clear by him right away after he gave me an echo, and blood work that came back fine. So my new date was set for May 16th two weeks ago today. Sofar so good. I had no complications in surgeryand have had no set backs since I got home. I am trying to just learn my new tummy. I have just started the soft food stage which from my dr includes (eggs, tuna, deli meats, refried beans) I am excited for this because I was having an awful time wanting the protein shakes so now I feel I have better variety. Everything I have tried so far has gone well. I did have an egg white and cheese omelet (part of one anyway) last night that made my tummy get after me a little bit, but I think it was more the speed I was eating no what I was eating. So again just learning my tummy and how to really eat right will be the key I think. Refried beans and mashed taters do real well I have not been getting out and walking as much as I should (let the verbal assult commence) I know I need to, again this is something I need to just get use to. My start weight was 570 a year ago and well at 570 there is not much activity so I have become use to a seditary lifestyle and it is hard to come to terms that already that is not me. Since as of this morning I weigh in at 450 a full 120lbs since last year. Only 24 of that is post wls. So another thing I need to learn is how to get out and live. I am so use to keeping super busy with as little physical activity as possible because it hurts! Well now it doesn't so I need to just get going! Right now my only concerns are leaks I am so afraid I will do something that will cause me to hurt my new tummy and cause a leak, more time in the hosp, and more $$$ added to my bill. I am also afraid of eating too much or too little, but that where learning my tummy comes in. The first week and half I was scared to drink too much at a time because people kept saying sip sip sip so I did and I NEVER got all my fluids in. So what is a sip what is a gulp??? I discovered that I can drink normally I just can not drink like I am quenching a thirst (cup tilted back sucking down the fluid) that ladies and gentlemen is gulping (atleast in my case). As far as healing goes, I feel good. I have no real pain except muscle soreness, sometimes a sharp pain when I do stupid things like trying to stand unsupported using my tummy muscles or rolling over in bed, but I believe that is muscle too, I hope
My incesions have healed except the spot my drain came out, but Dr just took that out last Thursday. It looks good, but not healed yet. I am super excited about this journey and excited to have a chance in my life to know what normal feels like because never in my whole life (since I was 2 anyway) have I been a "normal" size. But as my fav Author Dr Suess say " Why fit in when you were born to stand out" I don't think I will have any problem standing out no matter what size I am !!!!!

Great post in the linked thread, PDX.
I am still one who obsesses over the potential for the sleeve to stretch, but I am only 4.5 months out.
I think it comes down to previously failed diets....I have done GREAT so far, and now I am waiting on the other shoe to drop...for things to go off track somewhere then wake up right back where I started pre surgery.
Its a fear...and it may be irrational...but its a fear. And, time will hopefully show it to be unfounded, but until its been so long since I've had the sleeve, still enjoying the same size stomach as I have now, I will likely have that fear. For what its worth, my dr also laughed at the idea that the stomach could stretch, though conceeded that it would feel larger until all of the swelling was gone - about 6 months or so on average he said.
Maybe a bit of it is also that it all seems a bit too good to be true at this point??

The way my Dr told me was this..............
"Your sleeve should not stretch, but it will become A LITTLE more accomodating for food over time. Meaning, like an old shoe does after it's been broken in, it doesn't really stretch, but it is a little less rigid and you're able to fit more socks (a little more food) onto your feet and still get into the shoe." It took me a second to catch what he was saying, but it made perfect sense to me. I'm almost 7 months out and I started noticing this around 4-5 months for me, but still far less than I could eat before the sleeve.

Check out this post:
http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/28153-protein-shakes-as-meals-to-avoid-the-no-fluids-thing-smart-or-bad-idea/page__p__239465#entry239465
There are many threads about stretching the sleeve. Your sleeve is going to stretch a bit over time, but it is not going back to its previous size.
Search more threads on this topic for more details.

Wow - okay - first thing you need to do is pull yourself up out of the pity party. And I apologize, I hate to be mean and don't want to be insensitive. But you need to get a hold of yourself sweetie! This is a TOOL to help you loose the weight. Everyone looses at a different pace - and keeping yourself positive goes a long way in helping with that. All that being said, are you getting in the required liquids, Protein, etc? If you are and you are getting some good walking in, etc. The weight will start to come off. And 17 pounds is nothing to cry about!! Your attitude right now may be part of the problem. I'm so sorry you are having such a horrible time with this - but try to get yourself together and follow your eating plan to the tea - exercise and you will start to see the weight drop off.
Sent from my iPad using VST

I eat regular ice cream or dreyers yogurt blends... I don't deprive myself but I do everything in moderation. I dont eat any fried foods or soda.

I had this happen to me Monday evening. I am on 3 shakes a day and as I was turning in bed, my stomach grumbled and luckily I had the covers off and I was on my stomach. I literally shot out of bed, ran to the restroom, and I had to take a quick shower and I was so upset I threw away my pj bottoms and then I slept with two towels underneath me. I was exhausted. I decided chocolate with Fiber for my evening shake is not a good thing and started having it for Breakfast.
I was really embarrassed and the next day when I told my husband, who was oblivious (thank goodness) I said hey I guess night Sharts happen!

when my panties started rolling down. I swear this is no joke. Life was never the same again.lol

I am here in Mexico now!!! I feel really safe here!!!
Before I selected my doctor, I researched, researched and researched some more!!! It's definitely a personal decision that you have to make!

http://www.bajamedgroup.com/prices.php this is the group I went through and their prices

I am actually sitting in a hotel in Mexico recovering from my sleeve surgery. I chose to come here because of price. I am sel pay. For 6 months prior I have researched everything I possibly could and was lucky enough to know many people who had gone through the same medical group as me. If I had to do this "blindly" I dont know if I would have. Word of mouth is extremely important when you are considering going out of country.

Congrats!!! I'm sliding over so you can sit on the loser's bench with all of us!

Got sleeved yesterday. Feeling good just a bit sore.

Got sleeved yesterday. Feeling good just a bit sore.

In 9 hrs I will be driving to the airport and 5.5 hrs later I will be sitting in the hospital in Mexico. It seemed like it took forever to get here but now I cant believe its happening so quick!