KellyL

You are already back on track by coming here and posting and making yourself accountable. You can do this, look how far you've come!! And you are very close to reaching your goal!! I used to be so addicted to Mt Dew, but I kicked the habit of them months before surgery. I love the Lipton Diet Green Tea Citrus now, almost as much as Mt Dews. Good luck!!

Sorry to hear you're having a rough start! Did you have a complication? Wishing you a speedy recovery from here on out!

It is a difficult decision to make to self-pay for surgery if you don't have insurance for this very reason, the risks of complications. That is why I chose the Sleeve over other procedures, less invasive, not a lot of aftercare, etc. But in the event of a complication, I would have had to go to the ER and paid out of pocket there too, which I am sure would be expensive, but they can't refuse to treat you, regardless of where you have surgery. I spoke to my PCP briefly about going to MX before, and she was kinda surprised but not negative. But now she's thrilled with my results. She knows how I struggled pre-op to try to lose and knew about my Type 2 Diabetes. I am grateful that I didn't have any complications, but I knew going in, that even though the risk is very low, it could happen. I was nervous, and did think about it alot, but ultimately felt I had no choice where my health was concerned. You would want to have blood work post-op every few months or so. Some people have them at 3/6/12 months.

Laura, congrats on your weight loss, you're doing awesome!! I'm sorry to hear of your problem, I haven't read of anyone reporting this issue. It very well could be the meds you had to be on. I hope your Dr gets the issue figured out and resolved very soon. I remember your signature quote from before, and I just love it! Sending your prayers and positive healing vibes!!

Wow, she looks great, I hope the Band works for her, and she doesn't wind up struggling like so many do with it. And yes, I was just reading a thread on a different forum of a girl having to gain weight because she was denied by her insurance. I think she was only had to gain 10lbs. I can completely understand the desperation to have WLS, and people gaining a few lbs. I just wish people weren't pressured to do such things to try to have surgery to improve their health and lose the weight, it's sad really.

I'm so sorry for what you're going through, I would be highly upset too!! Did your surgeon ever say whether you had a lot of scar tissue or anything that may have prevented him from doing a typical sleeve? Did he mention what your bougie size is suppose to be? When he did the leak test, if there was one, did you get to see it on the screen? When I had my leak test, I got to see it on a screen myself, and they provided me with an x-ray of my new sleeve. Even if they didn't give you a copy of yours, perhaps you can ask if they have one? If not, you will have to do the contrast study to know for sure. How much dense protein can you eat? I think I saw one girl over on OH (obesity help) that complained about the same thing and found out she really didn't have any reduction in size of her tummy, but I'm sorry I can't remember her name, perhaps you can search over there and find her. I think she is both suing her surgeon and having or had a revision to DS or something. She posted it on the VSG board over there. I would investigate fully and find out what has happened. Good luck!

:cheer2: :grouphug: :party4:

Wow, you have done an amazing job with your weight loss, congrats on your success!!

I agree, start small with something like walking, or as Ren suggested the Wii. That is my favorite thing to do, and I know I will stick to it because it's fun. I have all the Just Dance games except for Just Dance 3, which was released this month I think. I plan on trying to catch it on sale. I also have the Michael Jackson one. I have also seen people rave over Zumba, and you can also get this for the Wii. Good luck!

Congrats, you look great! 130 lbs is very impressive!

I started losing, and pretty heavily at 4 months out. I lost a good bit of hair in a 2-3 wk period. I did notice my multi didn't have iron in it, so i switched multis to one with iron and take 1 in the morning and 1 at night. I had done some research and besides not enough protein, iron deficiency can also cause hair loss. But I am just over 5 months now. I was already on Biotin, and started getting 80+ grams of protein, pretty early post op. It may be a coincidence but the loss has slowed way down. It may start again though I hope not!!

I use the St Ives Timeless Skin Moisturizer even before surgery and it seems to have helped a really deep line I had on my forehead. I saw it on an episode of Dr Oz, they were talking about cheaper alternatives to Wrinkles/Aging that were good. I am happy with it now, but still have a lot of weight to lose, so I may get more wrinkles before it's all over with. It says it is "collagen elastin" on the jar. I got it at Walmart for a little over $5. I think they had other stuff, maybe a scrub? While looking at supplements, I also saw where you can get collagen supplements to take orally. Seemed like it had some good reviews. I am 47 so I thought I needed to start some kind of regimen. I just had no idea what to get either, but the price was reasonable on this so I thought I'd give it a shot.

oops, I must of cut off some of my list, I thought I also had YMMV = your mileage may vary on the list lol.

Thanks Rootman, and yes SF = sugar free is a must for the list, I could of swore I had that on there! I agree, this would be a good sticky. Felicia: RTD = ready to drink is a good one!! Hopefully others will think of more.

WOOHOOOO!! That's wonderful! Congrats!! :cheer2:

Wow, congrats!!! It sounds like you are happy but maybe in shock? lol I know you have a lot of questions, and I am sure your questions will be answered by those experienced with pregnancy and the Sleeve. I just wanted to congratulate you and wish you well.

Yes the drivers are crazy so be careful!! I left a day early so I didn't get to go shopping with the others, but Trish did take them to the area where you can shop and I know my sleeve sisters companions went to a mall to shop and also went to the movies. But I didn't venture very far from the hotel myself. Good luck to all of you that have surgery dates with Dr Kelly soon, he and Trish are truly wonderful.

:welcome: Hi, and welcome to the forum! Wow, you have accomplished so much, and done so well with your weight loss, congrats!!! Yes, I know what you mean, we always tend to think our weight is the root of all our problems, but when we lose weight, we find out that things are still difficult, we can still suffer from self-esteem problems, and losing weight doesn't magically make everything perfect. There are going to be struggles no matter what size we are. We still have difficult emotions to deal with, and it's a big change to find other ways to deal with these emotions and stress. You said it motivates you to go to the gym, and that's great, not only for helping with the weight loss and your stamina, but a great way to relieve stress. Your story is very inspiring, thanks for sharing. I hope you enjoy this forum as much as I do!

Flying back was no big deal for me at all. But I had an extremely easy, practically painless recovery. I didn't even have to take any pain meds, but Dr Kelly does send you home with some if you need them. I just sipped on water on the plane and in the car ride home from the airport, which was about a 2 hr drive/ride for me. I wasn't hungry or uncomfortable at all. Don't forget to check your bag on the way back, because you really don't need to try to lift anything. I used luggage on wheels also. Good luck!

I'm lost?? What part of your journey are you hating? The burping/belching? Sometimes burping is our sleeves new way of telling us it's had enough food and we should stop for now. Sometimes it's due to acid, are you on a PPI/acid reducer? And as far as hating the smell of whey protein or milk, then just don't worry about it and try to get your protein in from regular foods. Some people are lactose intolerant in the beginning. It may take a while to start getting in the minimum amt of protein, but some is much better than way too little. Maybe you're having the "buyers remorse" that some people talk about having in the first month or two? It's hard for me to grasp this, as I didn't have it at all, not one second of regret or remorse. But I know we're all different. It definitely takes a while to get adjusted to eating protein regularly and all, so I understand, and you are still fairly early out. It does indeed get easier, the further out you get. You kinda find things you can easily tolerate to eat, and you get in the routine of eating small amts of protein all thru the day. Your health problems sound like they have greatly improved, you're doing great on the weight loss, even though you view it just as a bonus. I can relate, as I has surgery to improve my health and mobility first, then looks/weight second. But I will not deny that looking better feels great and has improved my self esteem and confidence. I wasn't extremely unhappy with my weight either and had come to accept it til I felt I was becoming housebound and unable to do the simplest things without pain, such as shower, grocery shop, walk up my stairs in my home. I am an extremely slow loser (not any fault of my sleeve, i knew this going in) but the difference the Sleeve and the weight loss have made in my life is extremely positive. I am very happy with my new sleeve. I hope you can reach that point in your journey soon and start enjoying your life. You came to the right place to get a lot of advise, ideas, and support.

I started Biotin a few months before surgery, and it was helping then, because I had a lot of new growth coming in. I wanted to get a jump on things. Most vitamins I have been able to take ok, but I had to switch a couple of times on the multi, some gave me a queasy tummy. I prefer liquid softgels when I can get it in anything I have to take. I am using Nature Made Multi Complete with Iron Liquid Softgels.. It also has vitamin D3 in it. I got it at Walmart for a fairly reasonable price, it's probably available other places also.

VST = Vertical Sleeve Talk WLS = Weight loss surgery EWL = Excess Weight Loss-Percent of excess weight loss BS = Bariatric Surgery COE = Center of Excellence Onederland = When you get below 200 into 100's BMI = Body Mass Index TMI = too much information NSV = Non scale Victory SV = scale victory PPI = Proton Pump Inhibitor = acid reducer such as prilosec FF - fat free RF - reduced fat LC - Low Carb LF - low fat OP - on program OT - Off topic OWL - ongoing weight loss WOE - way of eating WOL- way of life BIL - Brother-in-law DB - dear/darn boyfriend DD - dear/darn daughter DH - dear/darn hubby DS - dear/darn son FIL - father-in-law HTH - hope this helps IMHO - in my humble opinion LMAO - laughing my *** off MIL - mother-in-law PITA - pain in the *** ROFLOL - rolling on the floor laughing out loud RU - Are you...? SIL - sister-in-law SO - significant other BF = Boyfriend GF = Girlfriend BFF = Best Friend Forever SS/DD= same sh*t, different day TIA - thanks in advance TOM - time of the month TTFN - ta-ta for now TTYL - Talk to you later WTG - way to go YKWIM? - You know what I mean? FYI = for your information MYOB = Mind your own business TGIF= Thank God It's Friday BTW = By the Way

:welcome: Hi Alex, welcome to the forum!!! Don't stress too much about the scales right now, just focus on getting your fluids in. You're gonna lose weight, don't worry. Good luck with the first op appt with your surgeon!!

I had a drain, and it was removed 48 hrs after surgery and right before release from the hospital. It didn't bother me much and didn't hurt at all to be removed. Not all surgeons use a drain.

Congrats on reaching a normal BMI and you look terrific!!