Marisa46

There's no way I could have gone back to work after one week. I don't think anyone in my office would have appreciated hearing me moan and complain. I was only half awake the first week even though I had stopped taking the pain medication after a couple of days because the meds made my head spin. The second week the littlest thing made me winded; I live on the third floor of my condo (no elevator) and I moved so slowly. Granted I'm much bigger than a lot of you. I honestly didn't feel well enough to go back to work until after the 5th week and even then I had a few curve balls.
If you honestly feel that you can go back after 1 or 2 weeks without endangering your health then WONDERFUL; but please take your time and rest as much as YOU need to. The purpose of the surgery is to make life better but we have to be well to enjoy it.

You need to fill out FMLA paperwork, so that your job is protected just in case things don't go as planned and you can't come back in 2 days. I think a week is way to soon but since everyone is different .... just be careful not only is your body stressed but adapting to a new way of eating is a major change.

Hi all,
Last week was a GREAT week for me! I had a huge list of NSVs that I wanted to share with you all....
1. My office has a gym/recreation center. But the space is a bit cramped. They have many indoor games - the most popular ones are carroms and chess, and I'm pretty good at carroms. I always only play carroms and have never tried any other 'physical' games. But last week, a friend offered to teach me table tennis. I never thought that the game was so physically demanding! BUT I was able to play for 45 mins straight!!!!!! I was soooo happy and was beaming (and sweating) the whole time! Now I'm addicted to the game. I'm not very good at it - my hand-eye coordination can be better - but I'm learning the game and hope to be better at it. That is a huge NSV for me!!
2. We have a annual sports meet at our office headquarters every year and the carroms competition happened yesterday (saturday). A systems technician who used to work in my branch was transferred to the head office at the end of last year and he had not seen me for more than 6 months. He was there for the competition and he did a double take when he saw me. He came to me and asked "So where is the other half, mam?" I just laughed and said I got rid of the other half coz she was high maintenance. I was so proud of myself at that point - it is insane....
3. Similar thing happened when my cousin, who is away for college, visited my house in the summer hols. He has not seen my since right after my surgery. He was amazed that I had lost so much weight. He mentioned that I looked just like when I had just graduated out of college (that was in 2004). Of course I treated him to a great lunch for saying such a sweet thing! LOL!
4. My clothes are falling off! LOL! I cant believe that I'm happy to have ill fitting clothes... I have lost a total of 24.5 inches so far. The biggest inch loss is in my chest and waist (my belly is melting off LOL). I have gone from a 47 to 43 inch in my chest, from 46.5 to 40 in my waist, 54.5 to 49 in my lower abdomen. I have had very little inch loss in my arms and calves (only 1 inch in arms and 2.5 inches in calves). But I'm quite happy with the overall results.
Sorry for a long post but I couldnt contain my excitement. Had to share it with my VST family!
Keep up the good job guys! I'm so motivated I'm going to hit that gym frequently. My trainer will not know what hit him today LOL

Going back to work this morning so I start getting dressed and damned pants fell off! Holy cow! Guess its time to go buy new work pants. Thank god for a good belt. I look like MC Hammer but oh well. Lol

One of the best updates ever! Glad to hear it! It will be great to tackle the actual problem instead of sticking a bandaid over it and hoping you'll go away. Palliative care is for the almost dead, not for young otherwise healthy people.

Ok so here's an update. I found out a couple days ago that I apparently have several torn disks, and the ones that aren't torn are bulging. Because I've gone so long without the diagnosis my spine has begun to deteriorate. Finding this news out... I couldn't be happier... you're probably thinking I'm crazy but hear me out. I've been going to Drs for years to figure out why I'm in pain. And Dr after Dr told me its because you're overweight its because you're overweight it's probably just stress... you know you're overweight right? When this Dr looked me in the eyes and said "Stelina, I know why you're in pain. I understand how hard this must be for you. We are going to do everything we can to fix it." My whole body gave a sigh of relief! We know! Now we can fix it!! When he stopped and actually said the words "it's not in your head" I damn near cried... I've been hearing that my whole life and he told me I understand and its not in your head. That was one of the happiest moments in my life. I know I may sound strange to y'all but for the first time in my head, I'm on the road to recovery as opposed to just treating the symptoms with copious amounts of pain killers and muscle relaxers. IM GOING TO GET MY LIFE BACK!

If I'm careful, eating is more of a pleasure now than it was before surgery! Starting over again from the ground level, eating only the simplest, blandest foods has made eating diced peach a revelation! Focus on the tastes on your tongue, and dont lament the lack of quantity.
I feel like I'm no longer pressured to eat more than I care to eat just to clean my plate. I can be very selective about what foods I want, what tastes I want to experience, and a little goes a long way.
I'm not saying that everyone gets to that place, but I'm only 3 weeks post-op and I love the taste of my food more than I ever did. You just have to have a little more time to "learn your sleeve". You'll be back to loving your food again.
Focus on taste, not on quantity, and you'll be SO happy!

Well, I don't want to be a kill-joy, but for me the answer is no. I am over four months out and I do not enjoy eating at all. It is a task that has to be done to stay alive and that is it. I am never hungry and do not enjoy the taste of anything that I used to. My results cannot predict yours though. Everyone is different. And you know what, I may be different in another month. You evolve greatly from day to day, week to week after the sleeve. It is a road of a lot of twists and turns and surprises. The main thing is to have patience; something that is not a great virtue of mine. If I want to try something, I do it. It may make me throw up, but hey, if it does I'll be fine in a minute and I don't have to eat any more of it. I can leave it off for awhile and try it again in a couple of weeks. It's all trial and error. I have learned what things fill me up faster, what gives me heartburn and what swells and sits like a rock in my chest. I am trying to learn other things to enjoy; eating out was always our weekly highlight. Now, I do not enjoy it at all. I told my husband that I was going to have to learn how to shop (something I have never done). He is going to have to start giving me my saved food money to buy new clothes. I promised that I would spend some on some nice night clothes, so at least we could enjoy some good dessert together...LOL Best Wishes!!

Stellina, when I read your post, I couldn't help but relate. I was in a similar set of circumstances a year ago:

My Mom has Alzheimer we are trying to keep her at home but it didn't seem like it was going to happen because
My Dad who is horrible with finances had managed to put my family in the position where there was an excellent chance for a foreclosure on my parent's home.
The love of my life , my soul mate, the man of my dreams had just embezzled, absconded with $25 k and I was looking at financial ruin while
Said love of life was in Big Bear with HEATHER

Fortunately, I am employed (Praise God) I've been unemployed many times the last time was in 2003, I know what it's like to know you won't get a job you interview for because the interviewer gives your hips that "OMG she's huge!" look. I'm not going to try to put a positive spin on anything because the number of things that you are going through now would BREAK a weak person. BUT
That's the bright spot. YOU ARE NOT WEAK! You can get through this SH#+ and you will thrive because you haven't given up. I'm in awe that with everything that is going on in your life you are choosing to go through WLS and improve your life. Please don't give up on yourself. The WLS process is hard but you are up to the challenge. Go out and kick some kharmic a$$!

OMG too funny :lol: :lol: . I agree with most of the points and don't miss being fat at all. I LOVE my new body, attitude and sleeve.

As long as you're still on liquids or mushies, if you can chew it DON'T do it. Once you're back up to soft solids, you might try watermelon. I'd wait on pickles until you're back to regular solids. You could sip the juice maybe, but it's pretty acidic. I think I'd wait awhile.

I bought for weeks 1-2:
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OH! I can't wait to be able to paint my toe nails again!!!

Great list!! Most of the above for me, and also cutting my own toenails!

So happy you only have one incision site. I didn't know about this until after I had my procedure. But I love my sleeve and I love my skinniness.

UPDATE!!!!
Spoke with CIGNA this afternoon and they stated that they have received the paperwork for my surgery and that the doctor's office stated that they would like to perform the surgery on 6/28 so it looks like I may be a June Sleever!!!! Ready to join all my friends on the loosers bench

I would call my ins. co. to verify the paperwork made it after the Dr. office says they sent it.

Ice cream is a myth. It doesn't exist. Neither do cookies. I saw this show called Ice Cream Hunters International.....but you know....they have never proven its existence. Might as well forget about it.

I'm in the same boat. Try to be focused and calm (that's what I keep telling myself). Definately call your insurance company after it's submitted they can give you a time frame on when to expect a decision. Lady Lisa thanks for that encouragement I will be calling first thing in the morning!

Call that office every day until they can tell you for sure that they have submitted! You have every right to do so as a PAYING patient! Especially an insurance paying patient!

We are all afraid one way or another. Some of our fears are valid; some fears are not. Be kind to your self. Be good to yourself. If you can't cut back now then maybe you can start working on another facet of the journey.

Don't think of it as a last meal. You'll get to enjoy many foods you love again, once you're through the healing process. It's great to not get that overstuffed, awful feeling!

I love the Syntrax nectar drinks, especially the lemonade, lemon tea and cappucino flavors. But then again, I don't like most others because they're all vanilla and chocolate (yuk).
I use unflavored in Jello for more Protein. You can't use protein in liquids above 130 degrees or it will clump and foam. I make JellO like regular with 1-2cups of hot boiling Water, mix it, let it sit until room temp. Then take 1-2cups of room temp water and mix with a scoop of protein. Then mix it all together when it's not hot. Chill and then it's a treat later!

Yup, lost 31 lbs....for the last 2 months I have already been doing 2 protein shake smoothies for 2 of my meals daily. So the fast shouldn't be that big of a deal to me. Just have to eliminate the skim milk for water in the shake and not add the Chobani yogart and frozen fruit
I am the type that researches everything completely, and yes, follows 100% of what I should to accomplish what I am trying to accomplish. I see no point in going through surgery if you are not committed to a before and after life change.

Surgery scheduled for May 29th!!