LilMissDiva Irene

Party time!!! Welcome to your new life!!! Please let us know how you came through when you're up to it.

With this surgery, chances are if you had reflux pre surgery you will likely have it after. I'm not a Doctor though so I'm only guessing, but it just makes sense to me. Anyway, I do take Omeprazole every morning. I was only told by my surgeon to take it for the first 6 month post op, however I have no real intention of ever stopping taking it. The studies show too much evidence that reflux is a big issue with the sleeve. I'd rather keep my acid under control rather than "chance it" and end up damaging my esophagus so much I have to revise to RNY or DS. I honestly do not think my body can handle either of those surgeries and need to practice some preventative medicine here. To combat the Calcium deficiency, I take 1500 mg of calcium citrate a day making sure not to take it with Iron, and taking Vitamin D and Magnesium for super potency and absorption. All of this to me is a small price to pay for my health and fitness. If I didn't do all this I'd end up with a stroke, Type 2 diabetes or heart disease, even cancer. All of these run in my family, and I was already diagnosed with hypertension at 31 years old. I was headed no where and fast. I was placed on 4 maximum dosage pills per day to bring my BP down. Today I'm down to only ONE!!! It's the minimum dose and to date my BP has been excellent. It's only a matter of time before my PCP takes me off of that too. You really have to consider your choices when you do this. Think about your future, look at your relatives when making this decision too. If they have something, chances are you will too if you continue with very bad habits. Hang in there, don't sweat the small stuff.

Sometimes yes and sometimes no. There are times when I don't even think about food and I can get by through the day on the bare minimums. However, there are times where I get a lot of head hunger (not physically hungry but craving lots of food) and those times are pretty hard. Fighting the cravings is just as hard post op as it was pre op for me. That said, the days where I'm not fighting cravings far outweigh those where I do. I'd say usually its one week out of a full month that I'm like this (usually TOM). The sleeve has been my best friend sometimes! I thank my lucky stars every day that I was able to get it done!

Hello Myrtle, welcome to VST!! I am also formerly banded and now sleeved. Let's just say I don't miss my band at all. I got started at LapBandTalk.com and many of my friends at that time revised to the sleeve. Eventually as they watched me struggle for years, convinced me to make the switch. All of those friends will forever be on my "I owe" list!! My surgeon is Dr. Alberto Aceves, in Mexicali, MX. My full revision costed a bit over 11K, and I believe the sleeve alone costs about 9k for him. He is one of the most skilled sleeve surgeons around. Of course being he is in Mexico, he is not covered by American Insurance. Good luck in your journey and research! You surely came to the right place.

Big hugs Ali!!! No worries!! I went through those same exact feelings while I was lying in my hospital bed. I *will* tell you it does get better. Better than you will ever dream possible!! Here I am, 5 months out living my life and happy as I've ever been. Cheers and Congrats on you new tiny tummy and your new THIN LIFE!!!

Go git um!!! You will be a-ok.. and yes definitely check in when you can. Cheers!!!

I'll tell you exactly why you will eventually learn to not over eat your sleeve... because if you do, you will be yakking it up and you will be in bad pain. You will either learn after a couple times, or the preceding pain of fulness will be enough to stop you before you hit that yakking point. Most of your meals will probably be done while not feeling hunger. I'd say 95% of mine are done this way... and when I say not hungry I'm talking about the growling hunger. I do feel hunger in other ways, such as real grouchiness and light headedness. Those are my new hunger signs for the most part. I think my stomach has growled a total of 3 times since surgery. No worries, this surgery *will* keep you in check. Not always, but mostly. That's why this tool is such a blessing!!!

Hey Labrys, welcome back!! We are dwindling away and its always so nice when someone checks in. Congrats on feeling out the stall and on your recent losses. Yayyy!!!

Congrats to you MommyT!!! You are really doing fabulous!!! Here's to your future goals, and may they come so fast you don't even realize it!!!

Hey that's not too bad... the only thing I can think of though is that it's best for me not to indulge on Fast Food really, it's so filled with things that get my synapses to working overtime. Even eating low cals I'm destined to crave it again and again. Like Cookies, once I have one I will be craving it's devilish self for days! OT: How about this? Yeah I used to be able to eat that and then some...

Wonderfully said!

Very true and very VERY sad. I know better than to travel any lengths of time without something healthy(er) to munch on, which my easy go-to is usually turkey Jerky. One ounce will fill me and keep me for a few hours until I can get to a healthier option. Anyway... I just wanted to say I've been stuck in this situation so many times!! (Which is why I know better, but that doesn't mean it doesn't still happen)... and it is incredibly difficult to find *anything* worth putting in my mouth! The sugar in everything is hideous. Even in so many of the products we think are healthier for us... is just not the case. I'm an avid label reader here!

Truer words never spoken!! It's actually kind of unfair...

Well when I puked it DID feel the same as pre op. The awful nausea wave and up it came... It only happened once though. Don't get confused between real nausea and vomiting vs. eating too much and sliming and puking. That is a difference and that only happened to me when I was banded. I learned how to eat properly while banded and haven't had any of these issues post sleeve.

I'm excited *for* you!! The time's going to fly by... and BIG WOWS on your workouts and inches lost!!!! Congrats girlie!!!!

A PPI is short for Proton Pump Inhibitor. It is an over the counter medicine that slows down the production of stomach acid since our stomachs are but a minimum of the size it used to be, and the pumps do not recognize this. I use Omeprazole (Prilosec) and it works really good. Hang in there!

Hello Mindy, Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. I can tell you these things will be felt to some extent by pretty much everyone here, including me. The good thing is you are doing something about it and you are on your way to changing your life forever, for the good! Great things are waiting for you, just you wait and see. All the best, and please keep us updated on how you're doing!!

Hi faith... big hugs to you! I'm sorry you had to go through that story and being felt like you were some kind of charity event for the glammy skinny girls to "work on". That was a terrible thing to say! I am also a pear shape, so I thought I would chime in. I also have big chunk legs. Always have. It's always been the one area that was the most trouble and where I would carry most of my excess weight. I have fat knees too! I kinda chuckled when you said that because of my own issues... it sucks when you think you're the only one in the world with that problem... ughh!! Anyway, so far my skin is forming back into shape just into the "ok" category. It's not so bad where I'm feeling all self conscious about it. I think you are younger than me (I'm 37) so I think that will help you some. Hang in there!! You will be ready for your next go round as a beautician. Good luck!!!

Hello Middlesister, No, definitely not - this is not the end of losing for you. Have you tried keeping a food journal, and are you logging every bitsy morsel that you're consuming? This even includes your liquids too... Have you begun to start a little bit of an exercise routing? If not, even starting walking will help to burn a few more calories per day that you otherwise wouldn't. If you're really being diligent with all of that, then look at how many calories you're getting in per day. Maybe you need to bump up your Protein Grams and Water intake. I drink up to 100 fl oz per day! Also, have you thought about fluctuating your caloric intake? Such as doing a few hundred more for a few days then going back down? Our bodies do get VERY used to eating the same amount every day. In fact, I do my best to never eat the same amount daily. These are just a few basic suggestions, not sure if you're already following these or not. At this point, I'd try shaking up your routine, from A to Z. Good luck and let us know how you do!!

Just wanted to chime in here for a sec... do not underestimate how far any of you have come! It *is* ok to look back and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Don't feel guilty for being proud of what you have lost so far simply because you still have a long road ahead. Sometimes it's the positive reinforcement from *myself* as opposed to anyone else that really keeps me motivated to continue on with the rest of the journey. Kudos to all of you!!! *Now back to the thread*

I agree 100% with Julia, just to be safe - call and get some advice from your Dr. I hope you're getting to feeling better soon!

Hang in there Patrick! Right now since you are within your first few days of getting back to solid Proteins, I think you are right in measuring it to 1/8 cup at a time. If you want a little more wait a few hours and try for more. Also, Rotisserie chicken white meat, remove the skin and bone - add a little bit of broth is delicious!!! Especially if you make the puree while the meat is just finished cooking... I'm telling you, you won't be sorry you tried that! It gets better folks! Promise!!

With salad it really is best to take your time, and go slow the first time. If it doesn't agree wait it out another month. I didn't start eating salads until 3 months out, and I haven't had any issues at all.

Anytime! Speaking of Salmon, pre surgery it was really the only kind of fish I ever wanted to eat. Once I was able to eat solids post op, it was of course the first one I went to (with the exception of the tuna packet from my puree stage). Well I noticed after a few bites my stomach would feel really queasy like... it hated it!! I didn't want to accept this right away so I tried it a few more times and still, the same result. So, I finally came to terms with it that my new tummy hates Salmon! I'm a bit bummed because its so good for me. *sad face* I think it has mostly to do that my stomach just doesn't like anything high in fats, no matter if it's good or bad. I've been doing my best to keep up with my Omega 3-6-9 pill daily to make up for it. The pill has not upset my stomach at all, thank goodness!!

Cherice & Julia, great job as always!!! Fantastic!!! Myself I just have to keep pushing on. I haven't lost any weight in the last 2 days but it's because I've been craving salt... ugghh!! One of these times I'll be able to just ignore those cravings! Oh well I cannot be mad at myself because I've lost 6 Lbs since last Wednesday. Some other good things of note is I'm starting to get into 12's now and Medium tops are fitting really good lately. Also I've shaved the "Morbidly" off my "Obese" title!!! Yippeeee!!!! I must stay strong!!!