Queen of Crop

Aloha Oahu Firewater......are you back? How are you doing? Drop me a note when you can. I am only here two more weeks and would love to meet you. Queen of Crop www.queenofcrop.com/about

I'm sorry I don't know the answer to this, but I do know that I take a B12 vitamin every day and I get a B12 shot once a month as per my doctor. I didn't know that it might be because the sleeve cuts away part. I was told though that you can't overdose on it; if you have too much you will just pee it out. Sounds like you need to talk with your doctor about that. Other than that, the sleeve is a dream.

I had my sleeve done 3 days after my 58th BD (last October) and as of today I am 1 lb. from goal having lost 81 lbs......it's been one of the best years of my life, so think of it as the best birthday present you can give to yourself!!!! If you want an idea of what your first year might be like, take a look at my blog.(link below my signature)...I update it each Sunday and I think most will agree....progress has been made. As I near my 59th BD, I feel 39! Good luck and congratulations.

Wow. I was sleeved a few days after I turned 58 (11 months ago) and was in the hospital 8 days in Germany....and happy to be there the full 8! I felt very well-taken care of. I know the hospital stays in the US are so short and I can't even imagine it. I would strongly suggest you stay in a hotel for a day or two before making the trip home. This is major surgery and even though I know they do this all the time I think you should be close to where you had it done and not 5 hours away. Just my thoughts. On the bright side, less than a month after surgery, I traveled for the next 6 months throughout Europe and the US! I blog about my journey every Sunday. If you don't have signatures turned on your profile, you should do that so you can see people's progress and blogs. Mine is www.queenofcrop.com Good luck!

Aloha! Smart of you to do all your research now. Just speaking from my experience, I too was going to go for the band but when I had my consultation with the doctor (who is sort of known as the rock star of bariatric surgery in Germany) he told me I should not do the band, but to the sleeve. Reasons were that the band was not as successful, because I was over 50 and it's harder for your body to accept having something foreign in it, and the band is too much maintenance (and for me, I was traveling at the time and it would have been impossible). Also just reading the posts here on the band to sleeve revision group makes me so happy to have chosen the sleeve. Good luck and hope you get all the information you need to make a good decision for you. And keep coming back to the forum; people here are very happy to help. Queen of Crop www.queenofcrop.com

To iggychic: Personally I think your response was rude. The poster came here for support and yes, maybe some advice, but she (or anyone here) doesn't need to be lectured or judged or compared to your marriage. (And by the way, many many couples can't afford housekeepers). Only she can decide what's right for her and her marriage. Lighten up and try being a little more empathetic.

How do you live without those plastic containers that have the days of the week on them? Every morning I take them out of the day we are in and put them on the counter (in cute little soy sauce dishes). I use two as I was told to take my calcium at night. They sit there until after breakfast has digested a bit then I take them between breakfast and lunch. But without the MTWTHFSS container, I'd be lost! You can get them in the grocery store or any drug store. I take a multi, fish oil, Biotin, Vit D, B12, and Glucosomine in the morning and two calcium at night. Once in while I forget but I don't stress about it.

Well who knew???? After 10 months of weighing myself every morning as soon as I woke up and had my coffee but after I took my pajamas off I would weigh myself thinking this was the best time of day (to get the lowest weight). Well my husband said, no, the best time is after you've exercised (even though I have 2 cups of coffee before I go out). Sure enough, the scale is 1/2 lb to 1 lb lower after I exercise! So that's my tip of the day.....I'll take it any way I can get it! (Another incentive to work out too!)

To Butterfly: No to Saipan! I just love to eat Saimin! (Hawaiian version of chow mein).

This is why I posted this; because I wasn't sure I would ever be able to eat noodles or pasta again. I was the same way up until now, so just know at some point in the future you might be able to. Just venture in lightly. Still can't eat rice but maybe in a few more months.

A few people have told me it's helpful to see what other people are eating (I agree!) so I have posted a few photos of some of my meals on this Sunday's blog. I am so happy to have had noodles (Saimin, a popular dish here in Hawaii) twice this week. First time my tummy allowed that to happen after 10 months and 80 lbs. Also I am so happy that I could only eat a little, but it was enough! AND I lost another lb this week too.... Hope everyone had a good week!

For me, it's taken me 10 months to handle any sort of noodle. I haven't tried Pasta for a while, but twice this week I had wheat noodles in Saimin and a Hawaiian noodle dish (similar to chow mein). You'll laugh when you see how large the portion is and how little I ate, just know that every bite was heaven, I felt very satisfied when I was done, and now have leftovers for the next week! Photos are on my Sunday blog at www.queenofcrop.com I have been told that it's helpful to see what other people are eating so here ya go! I know I would have wanted to know before I was sleeved.

Aloha Suzcomptime! You are I are SO similar! I was 5'3" 223 lbs was sleeved 5 days after BD #58 10 months ago. I have lost 79 lbs and am within 5 lbs of goal, but like you not stressing about it. (Although I am going to be sure and reach it before my one year is up!) Like they say, the 50's are the new 40's but with the sleeve I'm dialing back to the 30's! ROCK ON!!!!

Aloha Oahu Firewater.....are you on Oahu? We have been on the Big Island for the last 10 years, are leaving TONIGHT for Honolulu for the month of Sept and then we are immigrating to Amsterdam Oct 1. Would love to meet you if you are on Oahu. I went into surgery at the same weight you are and I am now 144! If you want to meet before or after your surgery, just let me know! Our condo is downtown near China town. My blog is www.queenofcrop.com and you can contact me through that. A hui hou! QofC

Thanks Scotty! Good advice....I'll try the clock today; and when I go to the 20th floor I'll really be able to work on that one!

Thanks everyone for the great posts: to Newfoundlove.....so happy to hear you can eat a little pasta...maybe there is hope for me in the future....planning another trip to Italy in the coming year and thought of going through Italy AGAIN without pasta is depressing. You are right on track for the hair loss (3-5 months) but it doesn't last long; the worst of my hair loss was just a few weeks then it started growing back....everywhere! As for the NSAIDS, there has been a lot of back and forth on this on the forum. I've never been a perfect rule follower and started taking Excedrin (just one) every now and then about 3 months out. It was the only thing that would help my headaches. But check again with your doctor. My guess is one every once in a while once you are healed will be fine, BUT, I'm not a medical professional either. Anyway, good thoughts; I think over all we love the sleeve and we can work around these few issues.

For those who can't see the link to my blog, it's because you have your signatures turned off on your options. My blog is www.queenofcrop.com The reason I don't usually put it in the body of the email is for some reason (I've never known why really) the VST forum rules say you can't put it in the body....why you can put it in your signature but not the body of the message I don't know. So maybe I'll get my hand slapped, maybe not. But you should go to your settings and be sure to turn signatures ON. Thanks for all the good feedback everyone.

You must not have your signatures showing in your preferences. My link is www.queenofcrop.com Thanks! Sharene

I've just posted my TOP TEN complaints (annoyances really) about the sleeve, just curious what everyone else's is. My list is on my Sunday blog that I just posted today. (Just click on the link to read them). Hope every one is having a great week and I'll be curious to know what other people think. Most of the time, we just hear I LOVE MY SLEEVE, but there are those few things.....

It's not perfect, but it's close....still, today on my Sunday Blog I've written about the top ten things that I haven't been happy about. Posting it for all of you pre-sleevers so you can see that they really are small things.....compared to the trade off! Just click on my link below to see what they are.

I'm excited for all of you! The next few days will zip by and you will all be on a brand new adventure....once the first few weeks of the surgery is over (which is a bit surreal) you will wake up so excited every day to see the changes in your bodies, your mind, your self-confidence, your whole outlook! Be sure to take BEFORE photos now....even if you don't show them to anyone.....you won't regret it in a few months..... Keep us posted!

My husband and I always has a good sex life (he's tall and thin) but after 26 years together our sex life is soooooooooo much more fun!!! We not only have more sex, better sex but we talk about it and laugh about it so much more now. No longer is the 800 lb Gorilla in the room.....my weight when it came to sex bothered him but he just didn't know how to tell me, until one day he just had a melt down....that was the beginning of my journey to surgery. I think that heavy partners often don't realize just how it affects their thinner partners....but you find out once you lose.....plus it's so much fun wearing beautiful underwear now! We both love it! Have fun everyone!

Good stuff: 95%! You've read all the testimonials here......what you give up? 5%! And at least for me, I don't really miss it and the control over my life far exceeds the fact that I don't eat Pasta or rice any more. If you have a chance, take a look at my blog;(link below). Even if you just skim it I think you will find that although I'm honest, there are very few negative things in there. I'm starting Week 45 and have been writing about my journey every Sunday for the last year....that should give you some idea of what to expect. The first few months? You'll feel weird and exhilarated at the same time, because for the first time, something actually works and the progress is fun! You are all in for a very fun year with changes to your body and your mind and your relationship to food. Go embrace it! Many people would love to have this surgery to improve their life and they have no insurance or cannot afford it. You are among the lucky ones! HAVE FUN AND KEEP US POSTED.

So a lot of us have bad knees due to the damage we have done because of our weight. A friend of mine had knee surgery and asked him what his PT gave him as exercises. One of them was to stand on one leg for 30 seconds at a time. So I started doing that.....in my elevator where I live! Going up (my right leg goes up-I remember it because I think of an upright piano!). Going down, my left leg goes up. When I first started a month or so ago, it was hard. Now it's easy and I can feel my knees getting better! I live on the 9th floor but as of next week we go to Honolulu and we're on the 20th floor there.....but I'm ready. Anyway, give it try; it's simple but it's helped me. I wrote about this on my blog when I first started but 4-5 weeks later I can tell the difference.

So reading through all these posts, I guess the answer is consider surgery after a year and no one has any exercises that will help..... I'm 58, 9 months post op, my breasts weren't bad when I was 80 lbs heavier, at least they were full; not they are pathetic deflated balloons. They look good in a bra, but once that comes off, it's a sad state of affairs......at this age I don't think I'll go for surgery and just be thankful I still have 'em!