KellyL

Good luck to you on everything! Let us know when you get a date.

Hi Tamz, Good to see you back, you look awesome!! Congrats on your success. The sweets or carbs can get out of control very easily. Once it happens, about the only way I have found to get it under control is to go back to basics, making sure you have plenty of hi protein snacks around for when the cravings kick in. I use protein bars and Atkins shakes for sweet treats, and keep plenty of grab quick foods available like almonds, pecans, pistachios, popsicles, pork skins, etc. And yes, I too sometimes am probably thirsty but think I'm hungry, so I have to make sure I drink so many oz of fluid before i allow a snack or have my meal. After the initial first couple of days it's not really hard anymore, you'll soon stop craving them again. Dehydration alone will also slow weight loss or even cause a stall. Good luck on getting back on track, and keep posting, it helps!

Yay! So glad you were able to get that protein in and hold it down. Things are indeed looking up for you, congrats!! Happy Birthday!

:welcome: Hi, glad you found us too. What a great bunch of people and a lot of support and knowledge. You must be excited with your surgery coming up in Mar/Apr. It's nice to "meet" you.

You could try increasing the protein and fluids. I see a lot of the successful people saying they take in 80-100 grams of protein and 100 oz of water/fluid. It's difficult for me to get in that amt of fluid, but I shoot for as close as I can get. I can totally understand and relate to getting down and being jealous of those who've had Gastric Bypass seeming to lose faster. But my bro-in-law who had his Gastric Bypass a wk before my Sleeve has already been to the ER, in the hospital, with dehydration, kidney stones due to the fast weight loss, and now he's having to have some other tests done. I am still very happy I chose the Sleeve over the Gastric Bypass. Hang in there, and try not to compare yourself to anyone, this is YOUR journey, make the most of it.

If they don't have insurance and have to self-pay, the cost of surgery in MX is half or less than the US cost of getting the Sleeve. That is what first peaked my interest, but the training, skill, and experience was what helped seal the deal for me.

I'm sorry you're having problems. That doesn't sound normal at all. Is this happening with anything you try to eat, or just certain things? I would call my Dr to be on the safe side. I hope you feel better soon and find out what's going on.

You are doing extremely well with your weight loss, congrats!! I don't see a problem with the protein bar as breakfast if it's not causing you to stall, and clearly it's not harming your weight loss efforts. Your calories look ok too. How many grams of Protein are you getting in per day? The protein bars usually have 20 or so. Also are you on a multi-vitamin with Iron? I don't see why you'd need the red meat except for the Iron content, if you prefer other meats and protein sources. Do you like chicken and does your sleeve tolerate it? What else are you eating through the day, please give me samples of your meals. I need tips from you with your weight loss! And then we can see if you're getting enough protein too.

It happens to a lot of people, I think it's because of the anxiety of thinking we aren't going to get to have these foods ever, or at least for a very long time. Sometimes it's referenced as "Food Funeral". Try to do your best, but don't think it means you aren't ready for or deserving of the surgery. It's not a sign of the surgery not being for you at all.

Yes, the sleeve was initially the first part of the Duodenal Switch. Patients with a high BMI were given the first part of the DS, in essence the Sleeve, in order to lose a portion of their weight. This made it safer for them to be able to perform the second part of the DS later on, which is the rearranging of the intestines for the malabsorption. They found that a high # of people lost a significant amount of weight, not needing the second part of the DS surgery. That's when the Sleeve became a stand alone procedure. The RNY (Gastris Bypass) is different, in that they don't have a sleeve at all, they have a pouch that is made from their intestines, which is much stretchier than our sleeves, that are actually our own natural stomachs with the greater curvature removed. The portion we're left with of our stomach is the least stretchiest part. I would much prefer to not have to revise to any other surgery, but if I did it would definitely be the DS over the RNY.

In regards to the size and restriction of your sleeve, yes asking the size of the bougie, what capacity that would leave you with, etc is important. Also what is the success rate of the surgeons other patients with the size he states that he uses.

Strange, I haven't seen this as a side effect of the surgery before. You may want to try Magnesium supplements, I take them for muscle cramps and twitches and it helps in the bathroom dept too. Congrats on being sleeved.

I am so happy to see you post girl! Been thinking about you and asking Trish about you. So glad things went well. Message me when you feel up to it.

Bougie is a tool the surgeon uses to help guide the tool as he's sizing your sleeve. DS is Duodenal Switch and is a weight loss surgery that has the sleeve that we have plus the malabsorption similar to the Gastric Bypass. There's some differences between those two surgeries, but that's the simple answer to your question.

Since you're still early out you may want to double up on your prevacid, but please get the ok from your Dr. I think it will go away on its own too, but I have no idea when. It does sound a lot like the slimey's I've seen others mention. I know it has to be annoying and embarrassing, do like the country boys here in Alabama do with their dip (chewing tobacco) Keep an empty 20 oz bottle just for spitting in. Just be careful not to accidently "drink" it. ewww I totally just grossed myself out with that visual!!! Good luck!!

At this point you may want to look into a DS. Sometimes due to metabolic reasons, a person has to have the malabsorption part. There's a lot of things I would consider before having it though, and you have to be careful with your vitamin regimen and regular blood work. But the most important thing about any of the weight loss surgeries is what we choose to eat. Any of the surgeries can fail if we don't follow the rules of protein first, lower carbs and then only good carbs, no junk. Have you had lab work done, thyroid tests, and allergy tests? Certain food allergies can prevent us from losing weight, and if our hormones are out of balance or if we have a sluggish thyroid. Good luck to you!

Congrats on being sleeved and joining the losers club! Happy to hear things went great and you are recovering at home now.

Congrats on being sleeved and recovering comfortably. I'm glad you had a great experience with your surgeon and everything went well.

I get the Pure Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter, and they're ok. I want to try the Quest ones soon, so many yummy sounding flavors.

That sounds awful and not normal. I'm glad you're giving your doc a call, please let us know how things go! I hope you feel better soon.

Congrats on being sleeved on 1/31 and Happy Belated 45th birthday!! Sounds like things are going really good for you and I totally agree with the feeling good comment. It's kinda like feeling alive again. I'm very happy for you.

I am not hungry at all most of the time, and yes you will be satisfied on so little food, it's mind blowing! It's hard to wrap your head around the possibilities of this pre-op, especially during the pre-op liquid diet. That was the worst part of this whole journey to me. Hang tough, you can do this!!

:cheer2: Awesome!!

Awww that's great that she supported you and now you get to support her. Tell her congrats, I hope her recovery is going well!

:welcome: Hello, wow, you are kicking butt in the weight loss girl, congrats!!! I hope the appt goes good, let us know!