KathyD49

Dear PhatGurl80,

First of all, let me dispel your theory that you are "taking the easy way out"! It is DIFFERENT than the traditional Diet and Exercise, but they still play a major part in your weight loss! And I have to say, I am one month out, and I would NOT qualify this as "The Easy Way Out"! I am learning a whole new way of life, and it demands committment, drive, energy, determination. I don't want to scare you by saying that this is not the easy way, but it truly isn't. It is just a different direction, one that is "more sure" than diet and exercise with no other intervention.

I find that every day, I have to THINK about what I am going to eat. Earlier this week, I had an episode where (through my own laziness) I overate, and was miserable for hours! Not the easy way out at all. I knew better, but did it anyway, and paid for it for several hours. I am learning that there are choices to be made, and consequences for Bad Choices. When I was on the diet and exercise roller coaster, I made bad choices all the time, and the price I paid was not loosing, or re-gaining some of my weight. Now the consequences are more serious, (nausea, vomiting, painful stomach, etc) so I have to be even more determined to make the correct choice.

Also I found when I was trying to loose weight by diet and exercise that I gave up when I got bored with the diet, the plan, the whatever. After having a VSG there is no "giving up" cause you're bored! This is a permanent lifestyle change! It doesn't matter if you get bored, you are still going to live with the change for the rest of your life. I hope I am not scaring you or discouraging you. I wouldn't change what I did for anything! (I too went to Mexico for my surgery. I cashed in part of my retirement IRA to pay for the surgery. I wanted it THAT badly!) I have lost 48 pounds total so far (20 on the pre-op diet and 28 since the surgery.) I seem to have hit a stall or plateau right now, but I continue to try and make smart choices about what I eat, and continue with my exercise program. (I swim laps in the pool daily.)

I still have issues, like tryiing to get all my water and protein in every day. I am a poor pill taker and it is a struggle to get my vitamins down every day, and I am working on that, because I don't want to have problems down the road that might be caused by to little of one vitamins or another. I was already osteopenic (pre-osteoporosis), so I REALLY need to keep working on my calcium and Vitamin D intake. Also there are many other things that can be caused by deficiencies in your diet, like anemia, hair loss, etc. So it is a daily challenge to get my vitamins and mineral supplements taken. BUT I still have to say, I wouldn't change what I did for ANYTHING! I am SO loving myself at 48 pounds less! And I know the loss will continue, so I am trying REALLY hard not to get bored, not to loose my determination, to stay focused and to do a good job of this!

I wish you well on your journey. It is a challenge, but always rewarding. I look forward to reading your posts as you blog about your experience! Best wishes!!!

KathyD49

Well, I can't help you with the Iron or the Calcium, but as far as gummy vitamins for adults, those I have. I can't remember if I got them at Target or WalMart, but am pretty sure it was one of the two. They are made by Vitafusion and are called MultiVites. They say that they have 200% of Vitamin D and that they are gummy vitamins for adults. According to the nutrition information a daily serving is 2 gummies a day. Since my doctor told me to take a multivitamin in the morning and in the evening, I take two each morning and two each evening. Hope that helps some! As far as chewable Iron, try googling it. I know I have seen chewable Iron on some of the web sites I have been onlooking at different protein supplements, and such. Don't know about Calcium, I think Caltrate is chewable. Hope this helps.

KathyD49

Hey LR6909, Big Congratulations!!! That is FABULOUS news! Will be thinking about you. Let us know when you get a date so OI can put you on my prayer list for the day of surgery and immediately after! Second week of August is just around the corner. Best wishes!

KathyD49

5McK

Best advice? Do lots of research! Talk with people who have had the procedure done, ask about their doctor, ask about the facility he uses, is it JACHO certified (JACHO is THE gold standard certification here in the USA and International JACHO certification the gold standard out of the USA), ask to talk with other patients he has operated on, ask to tour the facility he uses, meet the staff at that facility, you CAN"T do to much research on who, where, when, how!

Best of luck to you! I am 3 1/2 weeks out from surgery, and have to say it was the BEST decision I ever made in my life!

KathyD49

Kris, Congratulations on your Six Month Surgiversary, and on meeting your goal (even if it was a couple days late!)! I know how you feel! Everyday I find more and more advantages to loosing some of the fat that has surrounded me for my entire adult life. Keep up the great work!

KathyD49

Good for you dreamscancometrue! My husband wasn' that supportive of me when I first started talking about WLS. He finally came around, but it took him a while. Keep on with the Rocky attitude! I'll be thinking about you and praying for you on your surgery day!!!

KathyD49

<br><b><img class="bbc_emoticon" alt="" src="http://cdn.verticalsleevetalk.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif"> Just wanted to say I enjoy your blogs. But for the life of me, I am curious as to what you work at....to make enough money.... to make it worth your while.... to leave your husband, home, and family behind. Just curious...but please keep writing and sharing.</b><br>

<br><br><br>Boots1<br>I am a travel nurse. I take a contract (through my agency) and travel around to different areas of the country and work. I mainly work in California, because I can make exactly twice what I make in Iowa as a nurse! I would love to have my husband come with me. He is retired, and has the freedom to travel, but he is a homebody. He drove truck over the road for 35 years, and now he wants to stay home! I have been traveling for about 4 years now. I go home every two or three months for a week or so, and I saved up (I have been in CA this time for 9 monhts) and took a whole month off between contracts.<br><br>I have been very fortunate, as every place I have worked a 13 week contract, they have offered me extensions. I have been at the same hospital for almost 9 months currently, and love it. If I could move family and friends to CA, I would! Only thing is, my Mom is still alive (90 years old and VERY healthy, still in her own home, still drives, cooks own meals, does own laundry, cleans, etc.) I worry that something might happen to her and I would have missed the last four years of her life. I plan to work another 7-8 years (I am 62) and then retire. I love what I do, I am a labor & delivery nurse and work in a very busy OB department currently (350 babies/month). Am glad you have enjoyed what I have written. It started out to help me figure out my relationshiip with food, but has become a sort of journal of my post op story.<br><br>Thanks for your comments!<br><br>Kathy<br>

Kris, Thanks for sharing! I was excited also when I weighed less than my hubbie, but I made that one BEFORE I even had the surgery, when I was still on the pre-op diet. My big NSV came when I returned back to California earlier this week. (I make my home in Iowa, but live and work in California most of the year.) I now weigh less than my roommate! What a thrill. She has always weighed less than me! I am taller than her by 3 inches, and she has always weighed less. But when I got on the scale this week, I weighed 4 pounds less than her! WOOHOO! What a thrill! I LOVE IT!And the BIGGEST thing I love, soon I will be able to shop ANYWHERE for clothes! I have already made my LAST TRIP to Lane Bryant!!!!!

Dear ATLGirl,

Thanks for the Breakfast Casserole recipe. I can't wait to try it. I LOVE Breakfast casserole. The one I usually make though is a HIGH carb one, made with frozen waffles, crumbled bacon, ham, sausage and a ton of cheese, eggs, cream and milk. I love it, but know that I can't eat it now. So am eager to try this one. In fact, I think I am going to try it Friday morning (tomorrow) when I get home from work. I think this would be a great substitue to my calorie laden recipe. Thanks again!

KathyD49

Dear Lordservnt,

Why do you think that you can NEVER have some of your favorite foods again? I think the whole key to making a success of this "new life style" is moderation in everything! When my husband was diagnosed with diabetes he said "Well, I can NEVER have pie or ice cream or cake again!" I tried to tell him that he could, IN MODERATION! He just can't see it that way though, and he binges on sweets, and then when his doctor yells at him about his lousy A1C (lab test indicating his long term blood sugar control, or lack thereof) he clamps down and doesn't have any sweets till he gets tired of that and binges again! It is an up and down thing, and he never does either in moderation. (And THAT is HORRIBLE for his diabetes!!!)

My doctor told me there was nothing I HAD to give up forever, except overeating. He said eventually I could eat everything I wanted to, but I HAD to eat it in moderation! And I couldn't make a life style of eating high carb, empty calorie foods. He stressed to me over and over, MODERATION!

I know from experience that when I have dieted in the past, if I wasn't supposed to eat one certain thing, THAT was the thing I CRAVED till it almost drove me crazy, and I would end up eating tons of that one item! So in talking with my surgeon, and thinking long and hard about this subject, I have decided to track what I eat, and allow myself an OCCASIONAL treat, to reward myself for doing so well with my new life style!

I bought an Ipad recently, and one of the apps for it is a food tracker (actually it is the Weight Watchers food tracker app), and I enter everything I eat and approximate amounts. This helps me to review my day or my week and when I weigh, I can look back and see, "yep, I did good this week, I can have a little treat tonight." I started doing this on my pre-op diet, so although I am only about three weeks out, I have established this habit, and am trying hard to stick to it.

Anyway, BEST wishes to you on your new beginning! So far, I have found it to be a huge adventure, and I can't wait to see what is around the next curve in the road I am traveling!

I can sympathize with you about the pre-op diet. My surgeon told me to cut out carbs. He said IF I HAD to have carbs, to keep it below 40 gm of carb per day. Well 40 gm of carb per day is almost NONE. I managed, but wouldn't want to be on a carb free diet forever. I loved eating steak, chicken, turkey, etc. I am a big meat eater. But OH did I want some pasta, potatoes, rice, bread, etc with my steak! I lost 20 pounds on the pre-op diet, but it was the worst two weeks of my life as far as eating. I am on solids now, and trying to stick to low carbs, but I do eat a little bit of potatoes, or a littel bit of rice. We are entertaiing tonight, and I made two different kinds of home made ice cream, and a pound cake for our dessert. I intend to have a very small serving of one of them for my dessert. Although I know that my capacity is so limited that I will probably only get one taste of the ice cream and none of the cake. I can only eat four or five small bites and I am full. If I swallow even a single bite after I get that "full" signal, I am physically uncomfortable. So I eat SLOW, SLOW. SLOW. and try to listen to my body and stop before I hit the full stage.

Good luck on Phase 1 and Phase 2 of your pre-op diet. And best wishes for a successful outcome with your surgery!

Dear Seelessofme32,

I am sure you are counting down the days, I know I was. (I am now two weeks post op.) Hope that time picks up for you, and you get there really fast.

My best advise is to take your own pillow with you to the hospital. The place where I had my surgery had horrible pillows, and I had a terrible time sleeping my two post op nights in the hospital without my comfy pillow. Also I wished I had taken my heating pad with me. I know some places won't let you use a heating pad, but my hospital would have let me, if I had thought to bring it, Also after surgery, WALK, WALK, WALK! The more active you are, the sooner you get rid of the CO2 gas they use to inflate your abdomen during the surgery. They let it out when they are done, but not all gets out and it has to absorp, and in the meantime can cause some discomfort. The sooner you are active, the sooner it reabsorps and the sooner you are more comfortable.

Best of luck!

Wow, I didn't have to take any thing pre-op! I have taken Mag Citrate before for a colonoscopy, and Milk of Magnesium also after surgery, but didn't have to do either before my VGS. You have my sympathy. I (on my own) took two Colace capsules two days before my surgery, cause I was so constipated from the pre-op diet. And that worked pretty painlessly for me. You're in my thoughts and prayers tonight. Hopefully by now everything is OK, cause I see your post was three days ago. Hope you are well on the road to recovery from your surgery and feeling better every day!

Barb, I too had doubts as my surgery got closer. I think some doubts are normal. It is a major life style change, and one that you can't change your mind when you get tired of doing it. A week before my surgery, I started wondering if I was doing the right thing. I have always been fat, and have tried EVERYTHING under the sun to loose weight. I would always loose 40-50 pounds when I joined Weight Watchers (would you believe I joined 17 times!?!) But always gain it back when I got bored with the diet and quit. Usually gained another 5-10 lbs along with the 40-50 I had lost. Also tired Diet Center, Curves, Redux (the miracle diet pill. One of the side effects was supposed to be erotic dreams. I was really bummed when that didn't happen to me, and I didn't even loose that much weight on it!) Also tired Weigh Down Workshop, NutriSystem, Medifast, Optifast, Jenny Craig, Overeaters Annon., Overeaters Victorious, Slim Fast, etc., etc., etc. But now my health is at stake. As I enter my 60's (OMG that sounds old!) I find that I am (was) pre-diabetic, my blood pressure was creeping up, my cholesterol was up (I was on statin meds for that), I had really bad gastric reflux (on meds for that too), sleep apnea (breathing machine at night), bad arthritis (more meds) and the only thing I could see was more medical problems heading my way. I am (I think) a YOUNG 62, and want to live and enjoy my life for years to come yet. So I decided to commit to this and do it! I am bound and determined to get down to a normal weight and stay there. I wrote to a good friend who had a Roux N Y surgery 6-8 years ago, and asked her if she would do it again if she had it to do over. She said "in a heartbeat!" She has really struggled, and gained some of her weight loss back (lost over 120 lbs and gained 40-50 back). But says she is so much more comfortable and healthy now that she wouldn't go back for anything.I think you need to concentrate on one of the last things you said in your post "You ARE worth the effort!" Best of luck. Keep us all posted on how you are doing!

Hey Epiphany, good for you! My knees and hips were my major motivation for getting sleeved! I had a hip replacement at age 48, and at the time the doctor told me to loose weight to make the replacement last longer. Well what did I do? I gained weight, like 50 pounds of it! So now not only does my "good" hip hurt, but so does the one that was replaced 15 years ago. And of course, my knees hurt also. I dread having to have the original hip replacement re-done, and don't want to replace any other joints either, so I decided to make an investment in my future life, and try to loose weight for GOOD this time!

I am two weeks post op, and have lost a total of 34 pounds, 20 on the pre-op diet and 14 since surgery. I find getting on the scale every morning to be the high point of my day! I used to avoid the scale like poison! So congratulations and best wishes for a great outcome. Keep us posted!

Good for you Kris! I am newly sleeved, and struggeling to get more active. I am just two weeks out, and still really tired and drug out. (Anesthetic seems to really wipe me out for 2-3 weeks), so my efforts to do much activity has fallen sort of flat. I did manage to get on the treadmill for a few minutes each day, but have no endurance at all! So good for you! I know that once I get past the learning to eat again process, I am going to struggle with eating what I should versus eating what I want! Best wishes for meeting your July 4 goal!

Best of luck CammyD! I am two weeks out, and feeling better every day! Hope your experience is good. Prays and good thoughts coming your way tonight AND tomorrow!

KathyD49

PhillyGirl

Have you talked to your doctor about this? It sounds to me like you have shingles. I did A LOT of research on weight loss surgery before I had my VSG, and NEVER read anything about skin burning because it had stretched from the weight loss. I think you should see your primary care physician! I had shingles several years ago and they BURN horribly. They are caused by the virus that causes chicken pox, and if you have had the chicken pox, the virus is always in your body, just is usually dormant. It can flare up for various reasons, stress, other illness or if your immune system is compromised, or lots of other reasons, so for no apparent reason at all.

Do yourself a favor, go see your doctor! And let us know how you are doing!

KathyD49

HI Taylor,

Congrats on your weight loss thus far! That is fantastic. I am so excited for you. I am a nurse and work night shift (7:00 PM to 7:30 AM) so I know what you mean about night shift. But I am a night person, and don't think I could tolerate a day job after 38 years of working primarily night shift. I have to second Gardendiva3's comments, I wish VSG has been around 30-40 years ago. I have spent my entire life fat, trying every program, pill, exercise program, etc to loose weight without success. I have finally found something that is going to work, and I am committed to it for life!

I am two weeks out from my surgery, and have lost 34 pounds so far. 20 of that was on the pre-op diet, fourteen since surgery. It is such a thrill to get up in the morning and get on the scale! I can hardly wait to get to my laptop and update my weight loss ticker! I am so looking forward to being several months out from surgery! Even though I have lost 34 pounds, none of my clothes look any looser than they did before surgery! It is frustrating. But I am holding fast to the idea that soon my body will get the message and start to "contract" with the weight loss. At least I hope that is the case.

Again, let me offer you my congratulations. You are doing great!

Congrats on making the decision to be sleeved. I hope you have a totally uneventful surgery and recovery! Looking forward to reading your posts when you are on the "after" side of things!

Well, I am back from the doctor, and the good news is; They can't find anything wrong with me. The Bad news is; They can't find anything wrong with me! Still have the temp. At the doctor's office it was 100.8 which is as high as it has ever been since the surgery. They drew blood, did a UA, did a chest x-ray, and everything was normal. So, who knows? I have to go back tomorrow. they said keep taking the tylenol every 4-6 hours to stay comfortable and keep the fever down, and we will re-draw you blood tomorrow (Hurray, I HATE needles!) and see if anything has changed. Said he didn't want to put me on an antibiotic, cause he basically didn't know what was wrong, so didn't know what antibiotic to use. So until tomorrow, I just keep on keeping on. Good thoughts going out there to all you VGSers. Take care and have a AWESOME Weekend! KathyD

Diva, You are an inspiration to me! I haven't been able to be physically active in about 12-14 years. So I am really out of shape. I have had a hip replacement, so I know running is out of the question for me, but I am inspired to do SOMETHING! I have a treadmill, and I think I will start to walk on it a little bit at a time, EVERYDAY. I am only 5 days post op, so I don't really have any calories to track yet, it is just water and protein drinks, sugar free jello and chicken broth, and more water. But I can see that as I add foods, I need to track the calories very closely, and also track my physical activity. Even though I feel sort of Punk today, I am going to hit the treadmill and walk for at least a couple of minutes. I usually get winded after walking 4-5 minutes, so I don't think it will be very long, but am going to try and increase it every day. Thanks for the inspiration!

KathyD49

Dear New Me,

I am so sorry that you are having all these problems at home. Hopefully you can hang on to the fact that you are a unique person of value, no matter how you husband talks to you! My husband was not excited about me getting the surgery (I am five days post op gastric sleeve), but he did go with me to the hospital (I had my surgery in Mexico) and was very helpful in the immediate post op period and coming home. I think he has his own issues with weight (he has always been overweight also) and my doing something about my weight causes him to feel guilty that he isn't doing anything about his problem. I am tryibg to be extra understanding and loving since he has been so good to me during this period.

I will remember you in my prayers tonight. Pray that you will start to feel better and remember that YOU ARE A PERSON OF WORTH! You deserve to be loved! If not by your husband, love yourself!

KathyD49