tonibugg

I just left the hospital and was soooo freaking out the day before and the day of. Crying and nervous, sitting in front of the window writing down questions to ask the doc like, what happens in case of a needed transfusion, what is the complication rate, on and on!!! I think your mind plays tricks on you and all of the research and preparedness you have done seems to go out the window!!! I totally get it! As a matter of fact when I was rolled into the preop area I asked the nurse if it was too late to back out LOL She said "here here, this is some meds to help you relax" and off I went to la la land!! So I'm on the losers bench!! I have had no complications, a little bit of nausea and a little bit of gas pain but so far great!! I'm so glad I didn't back out but let me tell you it was a close one! I'm sure you will know when the time is right but don't think it doesn't happen to almost all of us! You will be fine =) I, and I know others on this forum ,will be praying for you to you to have a safe and fabulous journey!!! Get back on the saddle girl!!

I was in a stall for almost 2 weeks and got very frustrated... after some research and talking with other sleevers I decided to up my calories. I went from 400-500 to 800-1000 and the stall was over within 2 days =) Evidently when you don't eat enough to cover what your body burns during the day your body goes into starvation mode so up the calories and it should end! hope that helps!!

I'd like to at least see and feel what "too small" may be like! If I don't like it...I'm an expert at gaining weight, I already know that!

I used Dr Rodriguez in Juarez at Star Medica. Star medica was a great hospital and they had an amazing staff who spoke English lol, as well. We were treated like royalty =) I had a great surgery and had no recovery problems at all. It was important for me to be able to stay in a hospital since I was in Mexico, just a preference in case any problems came up etc. Right down the street from the US consulate, English speaking staff, and a great surgeon with thousands of surgeries under his belt, it was just a great fit for me. I went through a company called Belight Weight and my co-ordinator was Jessica. I used them because they did in house financing for a little over half of the $6800 surgery fee. There are lots of great surgeons in Mexico so there are lots of choices but this is Jessica's # if you should want to check them out =) 503-539-3023 Good luck with your journey!!!

Well, I've become inspired by all the before/after pics I've been seeing lately. My photographic approach was slightly different. I decided to do a "reverse" pregnancy photo timeline. Y'all get to see the first peek! I have been trying to wear the same outfit for each pic, and then space the photo's about every 4-6 weeks.
Top row - 2 weeks prior to surgery (night before liquid diet began)
Middle row - 5 weeks post op
Bottom row - 8 weeks post op
I'm at 49 lbs lost - I weighed in at 265 this morning. Would LOVE to be at 250 for the Labor Day challenge, but these pesky stalls, make it difficult to project that far out!!
Anyway - I just wanted to share!!

I don't know about the original one. On the current one you can hold down the button for a few seconds and it turns it into a stopwatch. You then push it again at the end of the activity and can log it on the website.

Just had to share. I went to a Water park tonight with my 2 children and my church and I went down the water slides. It has been over 20 years since I was comfortable enough to even attempt going on them. My girls were so happy and we had a blast. I will be attempting roller coasters next. BTW, I am 4 months out and down 94 lbs. Started at 330 and down to 236.

Wow!!! People are so rude on here sometimes!! So sorry RissyRoe that someone responded like that =( I am not on these boards too much any more because of the aggressive posts... I love the support this board brings but some of these aggressive posts make me just stick with my "secret fb page" =) If you're interested in joining it let me know!
Don't get discouraged in that post, you will do fine! Like Paige said, focus on other things and sip your Water and eat your popsicles!! This too shall pass!!

Wow!!! People are so rude on here sometimes!! So sorry RissyRoe that someone responded like that =( I am not on these boards too much any more because of the aggressive posts... I love the support this board brings but some of these aggressive posts make me just stick with my "secret fb page" =) If you're interested in joining it let me know!
Don't get discouraged in that post, you will do fine! Like Paige said, focus on other things and sip your Water and eat your popsicles!! This too shall pass!!

Yeah, I think we can offer support without name calling even if someone made a decision that could cause death. Someone wise once told me there is a right way and a wrong way to say the exact same thing and I don't think the right way was said being that it involved name calling. You are not an idiot. You have a disease. An addiction to food. Just like a drug addict has to drugs. And, on that note, there are many dead drug addicts amd alcoholics who ingested something they shouldn't have just like you did and it killed them. Trust me, I see it almost daily in my job.
Hang in there! Remember, this time in your life is only temporary. You will get past it and back to eating solids soon. Best of luck to you.

I appreciate the support from the people who aren't rude, it means a lot and it's helping me stay focused. So far everyone has agreed that the response was out of line but it's okay. I pay attention to the positive input because that is what I'm here for. Thank you for your encouragement!

Wow!!! People are so rude on here sometimes!! So sorry RissyRoe that someone responded like that =( I am not on these boards too much any more because of the aggressive posts... I love the support this board brings but some of these aggressive posts make me just stick with my "secret fb page" =) If you're interested in joining it let me know!
Don't get discouraged in that post, you will do fine! Like Paige said, focus on other things and sip your Water and eat your popsicles!! This too shall pass!!

Basically what I'm asking for the people who have advice to give, I know for a fact that I won't touch anything but full liquids, but how can I handle mind hunger better so that's it's easier to overcome?

Ok, no need to call anyone on here an idiot. I think she's just asking clarification on what she's feeling and what can happen. She didn't say she was going out to eat this stuff just that she was having cravings. We all do! And if you say you don't have cravings, you aren't being honest.
Anyway, we need to be civil on here and have a little more compassion for people that are going through the same thing the rest of us are. If I ask a question and get a response like that, it's going to make me leave the boards and this place is important because I don't know everything. The info I get from everyone here has helped me so much and I don't know if I could have made it this far and still be positive about my decision without it.
OP, you are not an idiot! Your cravings are normal but just put them at bay. Get creative with things you can eat now and talk to a nutritionist. There's also tons of recipes around that can help you.

When you've been addicted to food and have turned to it got every thing for years, you don't think about that. That's like telling a recovering drug addict that he's an idiot for having drug cravings even though he knows it's bad for him. Have a little heart, it's not easy for everyone.

I also had the same worries you had at only 1-2 months out. I did not feel the "full" feeling until I was on real food at about the 3 month time frame. It took a while for the ghrelin (the hunger-stimulating peptide and hormone that is produced in the cells lining the stomach and pancreas) to flush out of my system. I don't have any negative responses to food -- I seem to be able to eat anything. However, I am 5 months out, averaging a slow but steady weightloss of 10+ lbs a month. Because of my pre-op weightloss, I am almost at the 100 lb loss mark and feel great. I am constantly surprised at how full I am after only a few bites of food. It WAS NOT like this in the beginning. I am happily pleased that my body craves nutrient-rich foods vs. the comfort foods I so enjoyed before this journey. Give yourself and your body time to adjust to this process. 3-1/2 weeks out is still VERY early int he process so please don't get discouraged. In a few months you will look back and see how far you have come and how in tune with your body that you are. You have had a wonderful weightloss thus far -- CONGRATULATIONS! Enjoy it.

I was able to "resume sexual activity" yesterday, after my 2 week post op appt. And with 24 lbs gone, it was like a whole new world, felt like a new person. Just wanted to give you pre-surgery people something to look forward to!
And I guess I could all that a Non-scale Victory also! heehee

It is hard to believe that today I am 16 weeks post op and that I am actually posting under "Success Stories"! As of this morning I have lost 69 lbs and am officially in ONEDERLAND!!! To make things better, I slipped on for the first time in 20 years a pair of size 14 pants!!!
I was fortunate to have had a quick, uneventful recovery. Weight dropped off quickly at first, but really has slowed down this past month and I am ok with that. As I was giving my youngest a piggy back ride around the house the other day, I had the realization that I have lost her in weight. I also thought "How did I carry this much weight around all day, every day? No wonder I never had energy".
So glad i did this for me!!!

What an inspirational post! My surgery isn't until the 29th so I don't know if I'll lose it slow or not but it is one of the things you think about. Your post makes me "ok" with losing slowly if that is how my body wants to lose it =) Thank you for your perspective! So happy for you and your family, afterall we are all doing this surgery to be healthier and if our family becomes healthy in the process then we've gotten back more than money or any discomfort that it may have cost us. God bless you and your family on your continued success with your journey!!

It gets better!! My first couple weeks I was miserable for the same reason. Sometimes I questioned what I had done to myself thinking life would never be the same and that eating and drinking had become a full time job. You are still healing and your stomach is swollen inside leaving you very little room for more than just a trickle of Water or broth at a time. Don't worry so much about your Protein at this point (you will be able to gradually increase that over time) but focus on your fluids. Broth, Protein Shakes and other liquids count as fluids, so remember to count that in your 64 oz. I found warm broth went down much easier than water for a while (although I had to keep reheating it because it took me so long to drink) I hated my protein shakes for the first couple of weeks, but that has gotten better. I could only drink about 4 oz (which I had to build up to) and that would take 30-40 minutes. It still takes me 30 mins to drink a Protein Shake, but now I can do the whole thing. I am eight weeks out. Drinking water becomes MUCH easier as time goes on. Hang in there. You are at a challenging stage, but each week gets easier!

I am sorry you are having issues. There's a couple of things you can do to help you get your Fluid in. Try changing the temp of the liquid. I could only do room temperature or warmer. broth and tea were my saviors. Also, take a shot glass, or something else that is about an ounce, (I was given med cups) and make sure you are trying to drink one every 15 minutes. That's 4 oz an hour. In 16 hours, you will have your 64 oz. It's a job at first to get fluid.. Heck, I still miss my goal on many days. Just make sure you're not already dehydrated.
The "what have I done" thought, most know it well. It will get better. You're still swollen and freshly cut. I am 3 months out and almost forgot about the beginning. Good luck honey. It will get better.

The pre-op diet, as hard as it seems, is so much easier than the 2 weeks after surgery!! At least you can eat normal portions lol The 2 weeks after surgery is such a mental game. You want to eat, you know you need to eat but YOU CAN'T!! Enjoy the pre op diet, don't fret over it too much, your life is about to change so much that when you look back at the pre op diet, is seems so much of a smaller problem than we all thought it was when we were going through it!!! Congratulations and good luck on your sleeve journey! It is a ride and I wouldn't change a thing =)

My incisions were dermabonded and stitched from the inside with the exception of where the drain was. I just kept band aids on them until they completely healed =) Hope that helps!

My incisions were dermabonded and stitched from the inside with the exception of where the drain was. I just kept band aids on them until they completely healed =) Hope that helps!