milkD

Make sure you are sipping very very slowly. Take breaks between sips.
I couldn't drink much at first either. I know that tightness too but now 4-weeks out I only feel it with heavy food, not drinks. So yes you will get better.

Highest was 283. Surgery was 255. I picked 140 as my goal weight because at 5'3 that's the weight I would be considered normal. I'd be ok with around 160 though.

You look gorgeous and younger! I love your black and white dress

I've made the cauliflower pizza too. First time turned out great, second not as much because we made it too large. I like it better smaller so the middle of the crust bakes more. Found the recipe just by googling.

I thought my c-section was more painful in the first few days but the pain between both is lasting the same length. I'm 10- days pot op and only now feel like I'm getting back to normal and can bend and move normally. I'm slower to recover though.

I was sleeved the 24th. Day of surgery my scale said 255, theirs was 257. This morning mine said 244 so around 12lbs lost. Not bad as I came home from the hospital the same weight with all the IV fluid I received. Tomorrow is my (early) 2-week appointment. I haven't been able to reach my protein or fluid goal yet for the day but I'm not too worried. I'm supposed to be on full liquids for 4 weeks but I don't know if I can handle it for that long. I find most what I have to eat unappetizing. It's either a shake or soup I have to add yucky protein powder to. I hope I can move on to mushies sooner. I'm dying for an egg or tuna salad.

I was sleeved the 24th. Day of surgery my scale said 255, theirs was 257. This morning mine said 244 so around 12lbs lost. Not bad as I came home from the hospital the same weight with all the IV fluid I received. Tomorrow is my (early) 2-week appointment. I haven't been able to reach my protein or fluid goal yet for the day but I'm not too worried. I'm supposed to be on full liquids for 4 weeks but I don't know if I can handle it for that long. I find most what I have to eat unappetizing. It's either a shake or soup I have to add yucky protein powder to. I hope I can move on to mushies sooner. I'm dying for an egg or tuna salad.

Good to know... I never associated my eating problems as 'emotional' because I never ate when I was. Reading the forums for a few weeks now, I started to realize maybe everyone does have a problem with food in some way. So again I hope over the next few weeks and month I find out more about myself and have the strength to realize and change it . I already feel a small change that food isn't as important just being on this pre-op diet.

We're getting sleeved the same day at the exact same time. Oh and pretty close too. I'm in the Bay Area. Good luck to us both!

Mine is at 7:30am and I have to be there 5:15! yikes. I know I won't get much sleep.
Good luck on yours. I hope we both do amazing.

You look gorgeous and younger! I love your black and white dress

We got let out of the hospital Wednesday morning. He was put on anti-seizure medication and had been seizure-free for 24 hours so we were allowed to leave.. thank god, we all hated the hospital. However on Thursday night and Friday morning he had more seizures right before his medication runs out so we were told to up the dosage. Seems to be working now... no seizures since then and he's finally acting normal again except a little tired. He's been acting more cuddly and wanting to hug mommy and daddy a lot so there is that.
Today finally felt like a normal day and liquid diet has been great, not even suffering. Thank you so much for asking!

We got let out of the hospital Wednesday morning. He was put on anti-seizure medication and had been seizure-free for 24 hours so we were allowed to leave.. thank god, we all hated the hospital. However on Thursday night and Friday morning he had more seizures right before his medication runs out so we were told to up the dosage. Seems to be working now... no seizures since then and he's finally acting normal again except a little tired. He's been acting more cuddly and wanting to hug mommy and daddy a lot so there is that.
Today finally felt like a normal day and liquid diet has been great, not even suffering. Thank you so much for asking!

Thank you HappyCamper. I think we will be facing the same thing with my son. He had several more seizures last night so looks like he's just going to be one of those kids with seizures and hopefully we'll be as lucky as your daughter and he'll outgrow his in a few years.
Right now the surgery is still on. Husband is adamant I do it. I'm very thankful for him. Thank you everyone for the kind words.

Hey Laurabr1. Looks like we have a lot of things in common. I'm 5'3 too and my highest weight was 283 (though first consul at the doctor was 279). And like you my surgery will be July 24th!
Personally, I'm so excited for the surgery already though I do fear the recovery. You have no idea how many times I've thought "I must be crazy to be choosing to remove part of my stomache permanently and forever change myself... there is no going back!! Why can't I just try harder to diet and exercise?" Well I have been trying to diet and exercise for the past 3 months now ever since my first WLS seminar. I cut out soft drinks, coffee and started a low carb/low fat diet. I haven't followed it always but I have definitely been eating better. Two weeks ago I also started replacing Breakfast with a shake to get ready for the liquid diet. I have managed to lose a bit of weight, now down to around 266... but I have been stuck at around 265-268 for over a month!! I just cannot break the number and this is how I know I really need this surgery. I need a better tool and I know I don't have enough will power and strength to do this on my own. Most importantly I have been miserable and hungry all the time and I don't want to have this feeling anymore. I feel really confident this will be the right choice for me at the end but I know it's scary and it's hard to imagine it right now.
I'll be thinking of you as we head to surgery together! Good luck to you. Let's hope we both have an easy surgery and easier recovery.

Yeah I have this same issue. I walk around thinking I look pretty good and then I see a picture of myself or see myself in a full-body mirror and I cringe because my largness surprises me.
It's better than having body dysmorphia because I will be satisfied with my results even if I never reach goal weight. I can still remember when I was 180lbs, size 12/14 in college and I felt so good about myself and I was still overweight. So really it's a matter of my body catching up to my mind, not the other way around.

Thank you HappyCamper. I think we will be facing the same thing with my son. He had several more seizures last night so looks like he's just going to be one of those kids with seizures and hopefully we'll be as lucky as your daughter and he'll outgrow his in a few years.
Right now the surgery is still on. Husband is adamant I do it. I'm very thankful for him. Thank you everyone for the kind words.

Just gonna edit my post.
I was given a few Vitamin samples by my doctor so i decided to be a guinea pig if anyone is interested in Opurity, Bariatric Advantage or Celebrate. These were recommended because they are specifically for WLS.
Multivitamin:
Opurity BYPASS-Optimized Multi (Orange Berry): This was a HUGE tablet which is no surprise as it's 1x a day and includes all the B12 and Iron you need. I made the mistake of popping it all into my mouth. It was chalky and powdery and had a slight tartness which I did not enjoy. I don't think I can handle these and I'm dissapointed because it's price and 1x a day attribute was really appealing.
Celebrate Multi Complete Chewable (Orange and Forrest Berry): 2x a day and therefore smaller than Opurity. I liked the Orange flavor much better though the berry wasn't bad. It was a little tart (which I liked here) and close to a candy like a sweet tart. The Orange was harder though and less chalky and powderty. Closer to a Flintstones. My favorite of all the Vitamins actually.
Bariatric Advantage Complete Multi Formula (Orange): It was ok.. Still too powdery and chalky to my tastes. Not interested in this brand at all as it doesn't have b12 or iron and it's still 2x a day.
calcium citrate (all of these have Vitamin D included):
Opurity (Orange): It tasted similar to BA multivitamin to me. Medium chalky/powder. It was better than their multivitamin but it's 4x a day.
Celebrate (Cherry Tart and Berries & Cream): The better of the calciums. The Cherry had a nice tartness and was the most candy-like. It was still medium chalky/powder but the taste made up for it. Berries & Cream was the softest of all chewables. It broke apart and melted really quickly. It was the most powdery but since it dissolved the fastest I actually prefer it. 3x/day
BA (chocolate, Wild Cherry and Cinnamon): My least favorite of all the chewables. These were all horrible. The chocolate was the worst, it felt like putting dry chocolate milk powder in my mouth. Wild Cherry was hard but powdery and slightly tart. Similar to Opurity to me. Cinnamon tastes EXACTLY like a Big Red but in powder form. Almost leaves your mouth refreshed but it's not for me.
To be honest I'm not won over by anything though Celebrate brand was better by far for me. I think I'm just going to try Centrum Complete and add sublingual B12 and Biotin. I thought I was going to take separate biotin anyway because I don't want hair loss. I'm not sure about the Calcium yet, I'm going to ask my doctor for other options.
I also noticed a lot of people taking the gummy vitamins and they are really tempting however my doctor says those are dangerous because they can cause a blockage. The percentage of values seems pretty random too with some at 50% and some at 200%. There is no iron in them or enough B12.

Amazing story! I am so happy you can finally have your surgery and really live your life. You're truly deserving. I'm headed for surgery a few days before you. Good luck and keep us updated.

I wanted a lap-band first because it is less invasive and reversible if something goes wrong. My doctor recommended the sleeve though. He says the band is too high maintenance. Apparently they don't last forever like the sleeve and a lot of people have complications.
In the end what did it for me is that people on the sleeve lose a lot more weight than the band. If I was going to have a major surgery, endure pain, burden my family, miss work and use all my insurance I better get my money's worth.

I wanted a lap-band first because it is less invasive and reversible if something goes wrong. My doctor recommended the sleeve though. He says the band is too high maintenance. Apparently they don't last forever like the sleeve and a lot of people have complications.
In the end what did it for me is that people on the sleeve lose a lot more weight than the band. If I was going to have a major surgery, endure pain, burden my family, miss work and use all my insurance I better get my money's worth.

Hello!
I didn't have my surgery yet but I want to be prepared. I know I may not be able to avoid baggy, loose skin but I still want to try my hardest.
So if anyone can give me ideas for exercises, videos, machines, etc that have worked for them I'd love to know. I'm worried about my tummy, thighs and arms. Probably arms the most cause I want to wear tank tops then thighs so I can wear a swimsuit. Thanks.

I really do love my hospital/clinic/surgeon. They really care that we do our best and understand everything. Today I went to a pre-op seminar with 9 other people (none of whom were getting lapband, lol). It's the 2nd seminar and they went over nutrition in greater detail.
They gave us free packets of Protein mixes to try like

The easist way to break it down is you can think of surgeries like this has having three phases.
1) Deductible phase - this is where you are responsible for 100% of the allowed amount charges approved by the insurance company.
2) Co-insurance phase - this is where the insurance company helps to foot some of the bill in your case 80% of it. Most insurance companies have a co-insurance cap and after that's met...
3) Out-of-Pocket Max Phase - this is where you have satisifyed your out of pocket maximum which consists of your deductible cap and your co-insurance cap combined. Once this is achieved your insurance will begin to process at 100% of the allowed amount for the remainder of your benefit year.
So what you'll want to do is when you speak to your insurance company make sure they clarify co-insurance maximum vs. their out of pocket maximum (even insurance carriers often get this confused in their verbage when quoting benefits).
Here's a basic scenario to explain. Let's say you go and have a surgery and all your bills combined comes out to $22,000.00
You're benefits for insurance include a $2000.00 deductible, a co-insurance of 80/20% with a co-insurance maximum of $2000.00 - that means your out of pocket maximum would be $4000.00.
So 22,000.00 minus the $2000.00 deductible leaves us with $20,000.00
20% (your responsibility of the co-insurance) leaves you oweing $4,000.00 of the $20,000.00 - BUT because we have a $2,000.00 co-insurance maximum you only pay that $2,000.00 and the insurance picks up the other $2,000.00 that would of been part of your 20%.
So your out-of-pocket maximum has been met totalling $4,000.00 of the $22,000.00 bill - even if that bill was 40,000.00 you'd still only pay the $4,000.00 for in-network services rendered.
Sorry for the long explination - it just really helps I think to understand how it all works at the insurance company (they definatly don't make it easy to understand up front lol). I know I wouldn't understand it if it wasn't for my loving, awesome, supportive husband who's super cool.

Hey Carlos. I'm also in the San Jose area but getting my sleeve done at Stanford last week of July.
I think you're doing an amazing job and you sound like a wonderful father. Don't worry, next week is July already and August will be here before you know it.
I can relate to your story as my husband is also a stay at home dad to our 19-month son. He too is overweight though his BMI is not as bad as mine. He's decided to follow me though and eat what I do (just slightly more) including the 2-week liquid diet. I'm excited for both of us.
Keep us updated and best of luck to you.