Malyss

Definitely beautiful...hot, I would even venture to say. I truly feel inspired to find my goddess within.

It's not been 2 weeks for me yet, but I'm feeling great. I think that my biggest struggle is trying to drink enough water. It's hard to get 8 glasses in. I sip and sip as much as possible, but it's still a challenge. Otherwise, I'm great. I have no pain. I'm going back to work on Wednesday.

For a bit, I think that I was more concerned with having a catheter than I was with having a major surgery. I decided not to stress about it. I watched a video or two online about the insertion of catheters and became a little more comfortable with the idea. For the duration of time that I had a catheter while in the hospital, it really did make life easier. After the surgery, I was out of it for a bit, so it would not have been easy or convenient to have to get up periodically to urinate even if I was getting up every now and then to walk the hallway. And when mine was removed, it didn't hurt or bother me at all. I experienced absolutely no discomfort from my catheter at any time. Best of luck with your surgery!

@RossJL & Aspiring Evangelist - Thanks. It's definitely a good milestone. I didn't expect it to happen so soon!

My surgery was just back on 2/22/12, but I am already off of my high blood pressure medicine. When I went for my post op visit with my surgeon back on Thursday, my blood pressure without my meds was great. So, I asked whether or not I needed to start up my meds again and he said no.

My doctor says 2 weeks as well. I've been handling everything that I've tried quite well so far, so I'm looking forward to giving pureed food a whirl, but I'm trying to be patient. At least on my doctor's "full liquid" portion of the diet, I am permitted runny hot cereal (I like Mother's Oat Bran) and nonfat cottage cheese. So, I sometimes feel as though I'm almost eating "real" food.

Wow. Congratulations on your success. It does take a big leap of faith to go into the operating room. I had my surgery last week and it's all still fresh in my mind. I'm hoping to get down to around 170-175 as well.

The Thursday post can be found at: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/31998-its-thursday-thinker-time/page__p__278922#entry278922

It makes it rough at times when so many things end up food oriented. I wasn't sleeved yet, but a few months ago I was slightly disappointed maybe even a little peeved that the reward that my office received for doing well was a small luncheon...a sub platter, some chips and some soda. Granted, it was probably economical for my employer but considering my office was being rewarded for over a year of hard work, which we did without the benefit of a supervisor it was a little sparse. I think that most of the folks in my small office would have been happier with a gift card or something along those lines. I'm very much not into food oriented rewards...especially now.

Last weekend, I found them on sale at GNC and tried the apple melon flavor. I found it to be all right. I didn't find it to be any great taste sensation, but it was quite all right.

When I was discharged last Friday, I was given the impression that my doctor is against his patients returning to drinking coffee. I'll know more as I go along, but I'm in no hurry. I detoxed about 3 weeks before my operation and so far, my energy levels have been fantastic.

I'm using the nutritional tracker at www.sparkpeople.com . I've used Spark People in the past and have found the site useful. I can also use the site to track my fitness minutes, weight and more.

My only whine is about being stuck at home while recovering from my surgery. I had my sleeve surgery last Wednesday. As per my doctor, I'm not "allowed" to drive until after my appointment with him tomorrow. It's boring here at home. At least I've been able to catch up with Misfits on Hulu. I should probably get around to reading World War Z since my husband brought that home from the library for me. Oh, and it's rainy and cold out, so I cannot wander out for a walk at the moment.

I just had my surgery on 2/22/12 and had to go through 2 weeks of the preop diet. It gave me a chance to try out some of what I would experience on the other side. Mainly, I started focusing on making sure that I stopped drinking Water 15-30 minutes before one of my Protein shakes and that I didn't start drinking water again until 15-30 minutes after. I also think that the 2 weeks of pre op dieting and the one day of clear fluids helped out with some of the mental stuff. At least it was not an abrupt stoppage of solid/regular food a day before the surgery. So, I was somewhat accustomed to not eating big meals, etc. I'll echo the sentiments about not cheating. Cheating isn't worth it. One of the other reasons for the pre op diet is to assist in reducing the size of the patient's liver. This makes it easier for the surgeon to do their job and makes it less likely that the patient's liver will be roughed up in the process. Part of the liver has to be moved out of the way to free up the stomach for the surgery. Best of luck with your surgery! I wish you a healthy and wonderful outcome!

Just wanted to say congratulations. It sounds as though you went into those situations with a great plan and did a wonderful job executing your plan. It's very wonderful that your family supports you and I'm sure that their support helped you stay your course. I have Italians amongst my in-laws, so I'll definitely have to remember the bit about just having a meatball and such!

It can be good to vent, well...unless one is venting from an adjacent table about something that is none of their business! Man, there apparently are all sorts of eating competitions in this world. Screw'em. You're doing what you need to do in an appropriate way. Head up, forge on.

During my pre-surgery class, one of the presenters stressed the importance of our breathing exercises, coughing up what is in our lungs, and how having a pillow to hold can assist. One of my friends had heart surgery last year and had a heart-shaped pillow for such things. I decided that I wanted a stomach-shaped pillow to have with me, so I made one. I am a bit offbeat and combined the stomach pillow idea with Frankenstein, as I lightheartedly joke about how my new stomach will be a "Frankenstomach." The pillow as a little bit of a rush job because I ended up putting the project off until a couple of nights ago. I'm still debating whether or not to add a stitch line on its forehead. I did make it two-sided, though. As you can see, one side is smiling. The other side now has a frowny face with black eyes for when I'm not feeling that great. (I haven't taken a picture of the frowny side yet.) Given the pillow's size, it's more of a pre-surgery look rather than a post-surgery look. This pillow is nice and big and firm.

Best of luck with your surgery tomorrow! I have to report to my hospital at 8:15am tomorrow for mine. I'm trying not to be too nervous.

Thanks to all. If I'm too nervous to sleep tonight, I might get a stitch line on it. I enjoy doing little projects like this. Back for Christmas, I made a rag doll for one of my young nieces. I can be dangerous with craft materials.

"What was your dream job when you were younger and how did you end up at the one you are now?" When I was in 6th grade, I wanted to be a mortician. At the moment, I have a B.S. in psychology & a certificate in gerontology and I work as a shipping specialist in a warehouse. I ended up in shipping after taking the job as a temp job after graduating in December 2007. Since the economy has tanked, I feel as though I've been kind of stuck in my office job. The primary bright spot is that the office job pays $4-5 more than most of the office jobs in my area. Do you have any creative hobbies? Do you paint, craft, sculpt?

I've been "Malyss" since about 1996 or so when I first logged onto LambdaMoo (a MUD/MUSH-esque type of thing) and I needed a decent screen name. "Malyss" rhymes with malice. I prefer to use Malyss for most of my online activities. I like the name. It looks pretty but has darker undertones...sort of how I somewhat imagine myself or some alter ego form of myself.

In my small office, WLS has been an open topic of discussion. It was something that interested me and I started discussing it when another coworker mentioned that she was looking into it. My immediate office coworkers know where I'm disappearing to next week when I go out on short term disability for my surgery. The siblings that I've mentioned the surgery to are supportive, but I kind of wish that I hadn't told any of my family anything about the surgery because I would have enjoyed surprising them on my next visit. I live maybe 6 hours away from my family and I generally see them once a year. During my last visit, I discussed bariatric surgery with one of my nephews (he's older than I am). It was something that he's considering. I also have an ex-sister-in-law who had the gastric bypass or some form of that done and she's doing very well. My friends know about the surgery and are being supportive. I was a little reluctant to tell my in-laws, but they now know. To an extent, I have felt a tad embarrassed about deciding to have the surgery done. Despite my many dieting adventures since at least 7th or 8th grade, I feel slightly disappointed in myself for needing this tool, the sleeve, to assist me. And on the other hand, I sometimes have a devil may care attitude and am open to discussing my plans for surgery.