ChristinaRose

My doc leaves the drain in for 2 weeks. He wants to be absolute sure there are 0 leaks and likes to monitor his patients closely. He actually makes his patients drink 2 oz. of "Blue powerade" every hour (that way if there were a leak, the blue liquid would travel into the drain and we would go immediately to hospital. Basically blue is the only color our body doesn't "excrete" so it helps keep an eye on our insides while healing) At the 2 week point the drain will be removed and then he moves us into the pureed stage. Will be on liquids until then to make sure transitions go as smoothly as possible. Sticking to doctor's orders makes the process SO much better.

Sleeved yesterday! Minimal pain, some nausea but easily treated with the good stuff I will be going home tomorrow. It felt good to know I'd lost 30 lbs on my own and no telling what I'll be when I get home. It has been an awesome experience. Sitting in my hospital bed right now and counting down until discharge tomorrow! Woop Woop!

Sleeved yesterday! Minimal pain, some nausea but easily treated with the good stuff I will be going home tomorrow. It felt good to know I'd lost 30 lbs on my own and no telling what I'll be when I get home. It has been an awesome experience. Sitting in my hospital bed right now and counting down until discharge tomorrow! Woop Woop!

Sleeved yesterday! Minimal pain, some nausea but easily treated with the good stuff I will be going home tomorrow. It felt good to know I'd lost 30 lbs on my own and no telling what I'll be when I get home. It has been an awesome experience. Sitting in my hospital bed right now and counting down until discharge tomorrow! Woop Woop!

Sleeved yesterday! Minimal pain, some nausea but easily treated with the good stuff I will be going home tomorrow. It felt good to know I'd lost 30 lbs on my own and no telling what I'll be when I get home. It has been an awesome experience. Sitting in my hospital bed right now and counting down until discharge tomorrow! Woop Woop!

Sleeved yesterday! Minimal pain, some nausea but easily treated with the good stuff I will be going home tomorrow. It felt good to know I'd lost 30 lbs on my own and no telling what I'll be when I get home. It has been an awesome experience. Sitting in my hospital bed right now and counting down until discharge tomorrow! Woop Woop!

Sleeved yesterday! Minimal pain, some nausea but easily treated with the good stuff I will be going home tomorrow. It felt good to know I'd lost 30 lbs on my own and no telling what I'll be when I get home. It has been an awesome experience. Sitting in my hospital bed right now and counting down until discharge tomorrow! Woop Woop!

Sleeved yesterday! Minimal pain, some nausea but easily treated with the good stuff I will be going home tomorrow. It felt good to know I'd lost 30 lbs on my own and no telling what I'll be when I get home. It has been an awesome experience. Sitting in my hospital bed right now and counting down until discharge tomorrow! Woop Woop!

Sleeved yesterday! Minimal pain, some nausea but easily treated with the good stuff I will be going home tomorrow. It felt good to know I'd lost 30 lbs on my own and no telling what I'll be when I get home. It has been an awesome experience. Sitting in my hospital bed right now and counting down until discharge tomorrow! Woop Woop!

MAY IS ALMOST HERE!! It's ALMOST OUR TIME! I'm sending best wishes and speedy recoveries to you all! I'll be sure to check back in and let you all know how I'm doing! IM so ready!!
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Yep, few on May 1st & few on May 10th too, that is great!
Start my 2 week pre-op diet tomorrow. Making me a bit nervous, only because this is making it so real!
But excited too!

I see there's a few of us on May 1st

My surgery date is May 1...next week in Charleston, SC. So dang excited May sleevers rock!

Hi all! Being sleeved on May 1st in Charleston, SC! (Less than a week away...whoa, so weird!) Nice to meet all of you and looking forward to getting to know everyone!

It sounds like you're on the right track. You are not in denial about your eating habits prior to these life changes or about your addiction. That's a huge leap ahead of where most of us are when we're sleeved!
It's all headwork. Your surgery is going to give you the opportunity to kick the addiction but if you don't do the headwork, well, it'll still be there two years post op and give you grief in maintenance. It's not what anyone wants to hear but it's absolutely true.
I just finished a pretty good read about disordered eating called Beyond the Refrigerator: Navigating Life After Weight-Loss Surgery. While I didn't really learn many new things, I enjoyed the perspectives in the book. You might check it out from your local library. I also enjoyed Hungry: Lessons on the Journey from Fat to Thin, which focuses more on overeating and the way one man tackled the emotional side of the problem.
The surgery makes it very easy to avoid foods in the beginning, especially if you lose your hunger like most of us do. But once you're a year out or close to two, like I am, it really becomes apparent if you're in a good place or not. My sleeve will stop me from eating half a pizza but it's not going to stop me from eating a cookie per hour or a tub of ice cream. So my advice is to keep on your current track and to also add in some counseling if you find you need the additional support once you're sleeved. The frustration and emotional upheaval once your coping mechanism is taken from you can be very difficult to overcome, and I speak from experience!
Best of luck to you. I wish everyone that opted for this surgery prepared as well as you seem to be doing. Being overweight isn't a stomach problem that the surgery will solve - it's a head problem, and we need to face that head on if we want to beat it for good.
~Cheri

You sound like you are ready for this journey. Like the other ladies said, this is a hard addiction to beat but with the surgery you can do it. Take things one day at a time and stick to your pre-op and post-diet you will be surprised and happy with your decision to finally beat it. Good luck to you.

My surgery date is May 1...next week in Charleston, SC. So dang excited May sleevers rock!

My surgery date is May 1...next week in Charleston, SC. So dang excited May sleevers rock!

food is the most difficult addiction there is. Nobody that is addicted to drugs is supposed to have a little bit of whatever they are addicted to everyday to be healthy. We have to have food every day. It is a work in progress for me. I am able to say no a lot easier then I was before, but it is still a struggle not to turn to the bad things that i did to before when things happen. I have been really tested this past week, and I have been able to say no still....so yay! good luck...and congrats on your upcoming life saving event!

Christina Rose, you are a beautiful girl (said in a totally platonic way, fyi!) and I love the ticker pic of you and your spouse/boyfriend. Congrats on your weight loss journey that is about to begin. You will have a rush of so many emotions, but it's exciting.. and scary.
I am still trying to figure out how to eat now that I can and still not sure about it. I'm struggling this week, but it's a roller coaster some days. But I didn't gain all of this weight overnight, I sure am not going to learn to lose it nor lose it overnight either.
Hang in there, sounds like you are off to a wonderful start!
Sassygirl, hang in there yourself ok? You have done a wonderful job according to your ticker.... but I love what you said, it's totally true. No other addicts have to have their choice drug and 'get over it.' It's a hard struggle.... but we are all worth success. Hugs.

You are SO right on track! I really got serious about my pre op nutrition plan and wound up losing almost 60 pounds prior to surgery. Even better than the weight loss was the change I made in my diet that has stuck with me throughout this process. I learned to love my veggies, chicken breast, baked fish and all those things that are good for you. Also, I really lost my craving for junk food carbs. I'll have a little dish of ice cream now every now and then and maybe a cookie or something but when I'm done, I'm done. I do miss eating a normal size meal, but life's just a lot of trade-offs. Great going and best of luck in May!

3 years out here and still can only eat 1 slice of pizza, no more then 6-7oz of food at a time. . still slime like a maniac if i eat too fast or too much, still can't gulp drinks, always have to ask for a to go box when eating out. . . haven't gained weight, don't exercise or really watch my diet. . .i am maintaining wonderfully between 200-210lbs. . .lost 150lbs, surpassed my doctors goal for me which was 212lbs and finally love myself and am at peace with myself. . . what a wonderful feeling that is ! good luck!

My restriction is still good...As GreginMI said, the 6-12mths is the optimum restriction and in that time I have also learnt new habits and I believe that is the key! My restriction is very similar to what it was at around 8mths out and I too feel that I eat like a normal person. Of course, I can graze if I WANT to, but at 21mths out I am very mindful as what, how and when I eat. Good food choices has to be a factor... that doesn't mean you can't have a 'treat' - I do, just not daily or even weekly!
This really is the best thing I have done for myself and my health!

Your stomach will be able to hold more food after a year or so, but will never be able to hold what it used to. I can definitely eat more now at almost a year out than I could shortly after my surgery, but I still eat like a normal thin person should. It's the way I eat that has changed and will keep my weight off. I have broken my addition to food and I want to eat healthy things now. Not sure how this surgery does that for someone, but it did it for me. Good luck to you. This was the best thing I ever did for myself. 113 lbs down and 20 lbs to go to goal! yaaaaa hooooo!!

Hi! My surgery is scheduled for May 1st in Charleston, SC. So good to meet fellow May Sleevers!