Amom2twins

I only had a JP drain for 4 days while in the hospital. When it was removed, they just pulled it out and covered it with a bit of gauze & tegaderm (a plastic sticky dressing that holds the gauze in place). I had to change the dressing everyday until it formed a scab & then it didn't require any further attention. I do have to say when they pulled out the drain, it felt very weird, like having a "roller coaster" stomach.

6 weeks if I remember correctly, but don't go by what I say, your doctor must give u clearance.

Wow, what a transformation! You look great & happy. Congrats.

I love your story, it is so inspirational! A size 4 is amazing & your profile pic is lovely. I also would like to see your b4 & after pics. Great job!

You will improve your health by leaps & bounds with VSG, don't be scared. I am so happy that you have such a wonderful relationship with your husband. This surgery is very personal & if you don't want to tell anyone about it, then don't. You can always change your mind if you chose to. If you want to talk about it, come to this website where you are surrounded by supportive friends going through the same thing. Good luck!

I am so happy for you that you got approved by your insurance. You are making a great choice by joining this community. You will find lots of support & helpful advice. I started off very close to 300 lbs & was sick of being the fattest girl at work, out of breath from just walking, and was starting to not fit into booths at restaurants. I wouldn't take this decision back for the world. Good luck & keep us posted on your journey!

I realize these aren't the most flattering pics but I am so thrilled that my upper arms no longer look like my thigh, lol. Also, those pants are a size 16 rather than the 24 I used to wear & the shirt is an XL rather than the 3X I used to wear. I have formally retired my "I've given up on life" sweatpants & crocs (only shoes that didn't hurt my feet at my highest weight). I love my VSG & am never going back to my old ways!

Childbirth by far was worse....even with the pain I had at first with VSG, it was never unbearable & got better each day. Nothing on earth can ever compare to the severity of labor pains & I mean nothing!

I am so happy for u! Those pesky 2 lbs will go away before you know it. You look amazing!

I believe I was able to eat salad at 8 weeks post-op. I have had no issues whatsoever, I usually get some form of grilled chicken (cut up very small) to adequately provide the required protein. I make sure to include some lettuce or tomato in the bites with the chicken to make it moist enough.

I liked Muscle Milk light when I was on liquids, especially since it comes in a variety of flavors and is ready to drink.

I had my surgery on June 5th. I still have far to go but I feel light years from where I started & I feel great. The first photo is of me in Dec 2011, & the other 2 are from yesterday, approx 61 lbs down from my highest weight.

Could someone please explain where I go to upload my b4 & after pics on my profile? I was able to upload a photo but it is showing up as my main photo when I post and I wanted it to be my b4 photo. This is a photo from my heaviest weight from Dec. 2011. I have very few photos of myself at that weight since I avoided cameras but I was with my bff at Melting Pot and she wanted a pic of us. I am almost 60 lbs lighter now & proud of it.

Today some relatives from out of town were visiting at my uncle's home with lots of other relatives in attendance. I chose to go (I wouldn't have gone in the past since I was embarrassed about my weight). Instead of feeling ashamed and self conscious, I felt empowered and happy. They were all happy to see me & I rec'd lots of compliments on my weight loss. I love my sleeve!

Update: I need to get smaller uniform pants, finally! I have dropped 53 lbs so that was the magic number apparently. The current ones are very baggy & this makes me very happy!

I was probably pouring myself into pants that were too small because where I work you have to go exchange them and have it all documented with the size written down that you take. It can feel humiliating to go up a size when I know I am already obese to begin with. I look forward to exchanging these for a smaller size very soon!

I definitely wouldn't recommend eating a regular hot dog. I ate a Nathan's hot dog about a month ago (no bun) & it was too greasy and made me feel lousy. I used to eat 2 or 3 of them with fries no problem but that was the old me. Not going back!

I have some good news for you. I had horrible nausea my entire pregnancy (every day). I won't call it morning sickness because it seemed to be all day. I was sleeved on 6/5 & haven't had one bout of nausea or vomiting at all. I fully expected to have some but so far so good!

I made grilled shrimp for dinner on skewers for lunch today & it was sooo good. They are moist enough & full of protein, especially if you like a squeeze of fresh lemon on them.

I didn't mention that I can wear jeans that are 4 sizes smaller but the uniform pants are polyester and the waistband has a bit of stretch to them. I must have been at maximum capacity in them before. I was really hoping to have a dramatic difference when I went back to work, but I know that big milestones take time. I guess I'll find out by my coworkers comments. They don't hold back where I work.

Wow, I was just thinking your arms look great & you have nice muscle tone in your legs. Congrats, you look amazing!

I will be going back to work soon & tried on my uniform pants. I have lost almost 50 lbs but these stinking pants still fit me. They are a lot looser but geez, I expected them to fall off me. Granted these were probably very tight on me before. Did anyone else have this happen? Initially, how many lbs did you have to lose before getting a smaller pants size.

Plain greek yogurt mixed with a bit of MIO drink mix is tasty & an excellent source of protein. I also like low-fat cottage cheese. These are both easy for me to tolerate.