deletedsally

Congratulations! My surgery was 3/30 and I was down by 31 pounds this morning too! We are doing great and isn't it wonderful???!!! Before I started, I made a big chart with graph paper and I mark each pound lost with a red marker line going down a pound. I get it out a couple times a day and smile at the plunging red line and anticipate where I will be in the near future.

Hi Brenda. Congratulations on your surgery. The best tip I would offer is to order unflavored UNJURY protein powder. It has no artificial stuff added and it's easier to digest than anything I got at health food store. The fact that it's unflavored means you can mix it with anything. After my surgery, stuff that was too thick or too sweet made me want to gag--I could mix this with some water, lemon/lime crytal light or a little orange juice in water with lots of ice and it went down pretty easy. Don't know what I would have done without it! I used 3 scoops a day with my water for 60 grams of protein, and then I didn't have to stress about trying to get enough from other sources.

Wow! Congratulations on your surgery and your speedy recovery. It's been 4 weeks since my surgery, and I've lost 29 pounds. Your weight loss is exciting.

One of the reasons that I finally decided to have this surgery (especially knowing that insurance wouldn't pay for it) was because I had a lot of similar complaints--and I knew that every one of them was weight-related. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea--but wearing the mask woke me up all night. Not wearing it I had palpitations that woke me up. My memory was shot--and I felt pretty confident that it was from oxygen deprivation to my brain when I was sleeping. The BP medication that I had to take to reduce palpitations and lower BP caused me to feel depressed and lethargic. I woke up all night with shoulder pains, neck pains, hip pains, legs and hands going to sleep. I could barely limp around to even run errands because my feet hurt all the time. Guess what? (If this doesn't encourage you, I don't know what would.) It's ALL better. It's only been 4 weeks since my surgery and I've lost 29 pounds with 110 still to go, but it's already made enough of a change that I'm sleeping well, no palpitations, no waking up in pain, no numbness in hands/feet, no need for BP medication, pain in feet reduced dramatically, improved alertness and depressive symptoms almost gone entirely. I think you will be surprised at how quickly you start to feel better after your surgery! Go for it!

Sorry to hear about your complications. No fun. Will the stint be something permanent or will it be taken out at some point? Hope you are feeling better now.

Can't wait to hear back from you after your surgery. I loved reading your blog--it reminded me of my own story. I tried Tom Venuto's stuff too--and it really did help me lose weight and feel great--but eventually, just like with every other diet, my body kicked up the production of grehlin and I started to eat more and gain weight back. I'm with you...I believe this surgery is going to give us the tools that we were missing before. Great choice!

By the time you get this reply, you should probably be home and over the worst part. My surgery was less than 3 weeks ago, so we can walk through some of this stuff together. Let us know how you are doing as soon as you feel up to it! Congratulations!

What helped me most with the pre-surgery anxiety was to talk to myself like this: "Did you research this surgery carefully? Yes. What is the quality of your life before/without this surgery? Lousy. Is there any procedure or weightloss method that you have discovered that is more likely to give you permanent weight loss with fewer risks? No. Do you think this is the healthiest and wisest choice you can make for yourself? Yes. OK...then refuse to worry about the risks anymore. There are always risks in life. Driving to the grocery store is taking a risk. You are gambling--but you are gambling with everything on your side. The deck is heavily stacked in your favor--and what you stand to win is your life.

Sorry you aren't feeling well. I wonder if your blood pressure could be dropping too low?

I think I understand what you are going through. Tomorrow it will be 2 weeks since I had my surgery. I was excited about the possibility of having a better quality of life--but I was terrified that something would go wrong and that I would seriously regret having the surgery. I'm not far enough out from surgery to tell you "I love my sleeve." I'm still on a full liquid diet and can't eat much of anything--but I'm on track for where I need to be in the healing process, and I'm trusting that my ability to tolerate normal foods will come with time and that my stomach capacity will increase over time as well. For now, I'm not especially hungry and I've lost 24 pounds in 3 weeks. (9 before the surgery and 15 in the last 2 weeks. I'm already off my blood pressure medication and I was able to walk 1/2 mile with my family tonight. Just to be able to walk around a lake with my grandchildren peddling their bicycles was wonderful! (Before the surgery, I had so much pain in my feet and shortness of breath that I could barely walk to my own mail box.) I believe that I made a choice to live a better life and to live a longer life, and so far I have no regrets. I have lost weight and regained it so many times...I think one thing that can help us leave that lousy dieting past behind is that we are having the part of the stomach that produces those self-sabotaging hunger hormones removed. Along with having smaller stomachs, I believe that will help us win this battle!

I just read your story. I had my surgery on 3/30/10 and had a very similar experience. I kept telling the nurse my chest hurt and I felt like I couldn't breathe. She kept telling me that my O2 level was fine. I remember telling them that I felt like I was having a heart attack and that there was crushing pressure on my chest and pain in my left shoulder. That started a flurry of activity--anyway after they did an EKG to make sure it wasn't my heart, they told me it was the gas pressure from the abdomen being inflated and gave me enough pain medication that I was in recovery for about 6 hours. After that, it was all pretty manageable. Hope you are doing well now!

That's wonderful! I can hardly wait until I can post that I've got 50 pounds behind me! You'll be buying a new wardrobe before you know it.

Congratualations on more weight loss! I'm at the end of my first week and I have been feeling concerned because I haven't seen the scale budge for the entire week. I keep reminding myself that I came home from the hospital 10 pound lighter and that obviously wasn't all fat loss over a 2 day period, and that my body fluids are still stabilizing--but the truth is that we all like to watch the scale go DOWN. Sounds like you are doing great--keep up the good work!

Thanks for your comments. You have helped me to have more confidence walking through this!

Some hair loss may be unavoidable, but my doctor told me that it will be worse if you don't get your protein requirements met. My hair is already thin, and I've decided that I might just treat myself to a really cute wig if I lose too much! It's better than being so fat I can walk.:thumbup: