Disney

You look good in the before, but you look GREAT in the now pic. Great smile, too. I think it's so sweet that he went on the diet with you.

Yes, thanks for sharing those pics!

Thanks for the update. Glad you are on your way to recovery and also back on track to get your sleeve soon!

You are right, everyone is different, and you won't really know till after your surgery, but I had surgery on a Wednesday and flew 7 hours (with layovers) on a Sunday. I actually went shopping while we stayed in San Diego the day before we flew home. So, that's a 6 hour shopping spree 3 days post-op. I felt fine. Just a little tired by the end of the day, that's it.

Good luck to you! You should be fine!

Yep, skin and scar tissue heal over the staple line. I was scoped at 8 months post-op, and the staples were not visible at all. If you aren't queasy, I have actual pictures I can share.

Yep! I would love to see the pics, too!

Thanks for updating us! Hope you are feeling better every day!

Take it easy these first few days!

Go Shanny!

Shanny Shanny bo banny,

banana fanna fo fanny,

fee fi mo manny, Shaaaanny!

Woohooo! Look at you!!! Great job!

It's already been mentioned, but I agree. You are exercising so much, your body just needs more food!! I know it's hard. I struggle to get my calories in every day, and I am not nearly as dedicated to exercise as you, to say the least. I am impressed with the workouts you are getting in every day. Good for you! Keep it up and you know you will see results in time!

I don't like it either. I like consistency!

When I was in high school weighing anywhere from 130-140 I wore a size 10 or 12. Now, I weigh about 205 and I can get into 16's. Now that is crazy. At this rate, I would be in a 12 by the time I weigh 180 or so.

Also, if you ever look at vintage stores or even on ebay, the sizes back in the 60's and 70's and probably even 80's were wayyyy smaller than today. I mean, if it says size 10, it is probably a size 4 nowadays. I bought a vintage rock concert tshirt on there and it was size XL and it was about the size of an XS in today's clothes. I knew this beforehand as I read the measurements. Just crazy that we need that perfect "number" to make ourselves feel good.

Yes, you are doing very well. Keep it up! and Welcome!

Well, it might take a while, but try some gluteal exercises, like stairmaster, lunges, etc. They will build up your booty in a good way!!!

I am lucky to have great support from my whole family but the one thing I can say to you is, early out, (not sure how far out you are) it is VERY hard to smell those fast food or any other good food smells and not eat them. So, if you are very early out, I think it would not be out of the question to ask him to give you a break and not eat that stuff in front of you. Soon enough, you will be able to eat more and y'all can eat some of those good things together. It did not bother me that much, but the smells can sometimes overwhelm you. So, I see where you are coming from.

It might be helpful if you could cook something he likes and he might not eat the fast food so much.

Good luck. It is ROUGH in the beginning.

WOW, that sucks! And I agree, what if you would not have had the money? Heck, if I wouldn't have had it, I would have written a check that would have bounced all the way to the bank. What are they gonna do? Put your tummy back in? You can worry about that later. Please try not to stress over it. I know it's easier said than done, but really, there is nothing you can do. It just stinks that insurance companies can get away with this madness.

Try to focus on your brand new life you are going to be enjoying. Believe me when I say, it will be worth every penny and I'm not even half way to goal yet! Don't let this bad news ruin your big day for you.

And it's true, just think about all us poor sleevers who had to pay for the whole thing because our insurance wouldn't pay a red cent.

But I do understand that the problem is that they pulled this on you at the last minute. It is just wrong, yet typical. Sorry about that!

Fantastic! You look great! I lost in my face so fast, too! It really makes people notice.

Congrats

I just had my 6 months lab drawn and will see my doctor this friday. Per the results they called, my labs were all good except for I was low in Vitamin A so they suggested just a supplement from the store. I have just switched from the bariatric chewables to Centrum Women's silver (2x per day)and chewable viactin(2x per day). I started taking my Vitamin A and still take my vitamin B lingual weekly. We will see in 6 months at my yearly how it is going. I take out all my pills in the morning and put them on top of one of the caps so everytime I walk into the kitchen I take one so that by supper time I only have my 2nd multivitamin for the day. Along time ago I belong to a gym and did their weight loss program and we took extra vitamin B complex which helps in losing weight. I will take my Vitamins as it keeping me healthy and that is the main reason of having the surgery is being healthy.

Sounds like your labs were ok, but be careful about the viactiv Calcium (if that's what you are taking) as it is calcium carbonate not citrate.

Here is Tiff's post about the difference:

"Calcium carbonate is only absorbable if taken with food and needs an acidic environment, and the calorie/carb/sugar count on those lovely little chocolate/caramel chewables are kind of high.

But apart from needing food to be absorbed, it's the cheapest, and lowest form of calcium available. You can take the carbonate, but my PCM won't even recommend it for his patients with normal anatomy because he thinks it's just junk.

Blood levels that check calcium will not detect bone issues. That is a blood plasma level for calcium and the concern with us needing Calcium citrate is for most of us, we're on a PPI which neutralizes acid, and calciumcarbonate needs an acidic environment and/or food to be absorbed. Well, when we're on a PPI, it impedes the calcium absorption. So, if we're in that lovely age to boost calcium intake to prevent osteoporosis, it's vital to take citrate.

With some Vitamins, it's a "some if better than none" but it usually isn't the case with calcium."

There are some other posts about acid and carbonate, but Tiff's got right down to it. I was sad to learn this as I used to look forward to my little "dessert" calcium.Maybe you won't have any issues with it, especially if you're not on a PPI. But it might take a while for a deficiency to show up.

Congrats! I hope you get a quick date!

That is hilarious! I had to laugh at you jogging through your house!!! Too funny

Tiff, thank you for being such an inspiration and voice of reason on this board. And thank you for this update and the wonderful pics. It seems like looking at 'family' pics to see your progress. It is so nice of you to share this most personal journey with us.

I still love looking at your before and after pics even though I have seen them before, they just make it all worthwhile to look at them each time.

BTW, my favorite is the one with the gun in the background. I freakin' love it. And you make the cutest pregnant lady ever!!

WOW! 10 mm?!? So sorry about that, but you are right, better to find it now than right after VSG surgery. Recovery is tough enough without the pain and fever, etc. that go along with a kidney stone.

I hope you have a quick recovery and they can get you in for your VSG very soon. Keep us updated when you feel like it

From what I have read, in addition to age, genetics and all that, a lot has to do with how long you were overweight. Which makes me sad because I have been for a very long time. We will see, though. Tiff gives me hope. I think patience is the key. I need to start working out, I have been very slack in that department.

My mother also got her lap band in May of 2008 and she got it removed in March and will be getting sleeved the first of September. She feels so much better getting it out, but the weight is already creeping back on. She is unsure if her insurance will pay for the sleeve, but hopefully they will since the band failed her miserably. Her stomach herniated up above the band. Her Dr. said he had never had to remove a band before. I find that hard to believe, but even if it's true it's not that no one else had problems and got it removed, they just had problems and the Dr. fixed it or put in a new band. I have yet to find one person who did not have complaints about the band. She's getting sleeved whether or not her insurance pays. If they don't she's just going to go to Dr. Aceves like I did. She was that impressed with him, his work and his staff.

Good luck to you and I hope you have a quick recovery for school.

I totally agree with doing this. That's why I always have 3 sets of starting numbers. My highest, My pre-op diet starting weight and my surgery weight. We own them all!!

So in totals, my Sleeve Journey totals are I'm down 89 Lbs - but from my highest I'm down 138 Lbs. Whoot!! I started my Pre Op Diet Sept. 1st so I lost that 89 in 9 months. Around 10 Lbs per month average. Not bad! That's exactly where I wanted to be and how I wanted to do it.

AMEN, we own them ALL!!! Sadly, my high weight was my pre-op weight, then I went on a low carb diet for a week and lost 10 pounds. For the life of me, I can't remember how much I lost the first couple weeks, so I can't help you there Meggie! sorry. I wish I would have documented better.

This is very interesting!

Yes, maybe he can work you in before someone else. Maybe someone who hasn't waited as long or been through as much as you. I hope so.

OR, maybe he will still be able to do the surgery. You just never know.

Good luck to you

Sorry! Double post!

Say what? Low carb doesn't work if you have caffeine? Splain this to me.

<div><br></div><div> Here's a little info:</div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "><h2 style="text-align: center; ">The Atkins Diet and Caffeine are Incompatible</h2><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "><p>The <i>Atkins Diet and caffeine </i>consumption are incompatible, according to Dr. Atkins’ guidelines for successful weight loss. This was one of the most troubling aspects of the diet when I first considered trying it. I was used to having several cups of coffee during the earlier part of my day, then switching to iced tea for the afternoon and evening. I especially dreaded giving up caffeine during the hot summer months – nothing was more refreshing for me.</p><p></p><h3>Coffee and the Atkins Diet</h3><p></p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; ">The <a href="http://www.atkins-diet-advisor.com/atkins-diet-foods.html">Atkins diet food list</a> made it clear, however, that caffeine wasn’t a good thing. After reading up on why, I had to agree. You see, the caffeine in coffee causes unstable blood sugar levels, which is one of the things the diet is trying to avoid. After drinking or eating something with caffeine many people have a hypoglycemic reaction. Their blood sugar level temporarily drops, triggering cravings for sugary foods</span> or carbohydrates. And Dr. Atkins also noted that caffeine simply wasn't healthy.</span></h3><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; "><br></span></h3><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; ">I never had to worry about it when I was on Atkins (sooooo many years ago) because I only drank Coke, so I had to cut that out completely anyway. I just don't drink coffee.

Of course Atkins is not the end all of low carb diets, but this is their explanation of why low carb doesn't mix with caffeine. </span></h3></span></div>