Tiffany Talbert Corbet

You're OVER THINKING this! Stop it! If you have come this far in the process of getting the surgery approved and scheduled, don't stop now. You will do FINE. One thing I will suggest is that you talk to your surgeon and make sure you have all the Vitamins you need ready to go, and talk to your primary about the possibility of an anti-depressant. Here's what I take....I know I've been out 15 mos., but these have made a difference......Oh, and remember......sip, sip, sip... WALK, WALK, WALK. I take a low dose anti-depressant (being overweight depressed me) One-A-Day Multi Vitamin x2 Calcium Citrate 600 mg x2 (so you get your calcium) Biotin (this helps strengthen hair and nails) B-12 5,000 mg (this helps with energy) If I come across as harsh, I really don't mean to. I just don't want you giving when you are so close and then regretting it later. I PROMISE after you get to the Stage 4 of the diet (usually 4 - 6 weeks post-op) you will wonder why you thought it was so hard. Nothing worth while ever came easy. YOU CAN DO THIS!!! YOU'RE WORTH IT!!!

Sweet girl, you need to remember, you are still healing. I know it's been a couple weeks since surgery, but this isn't like getting stitches and you're healed in a couple weeks. Your healing is taking place inside where there is no air to help it "scab" over so it will heal itself, and everything you put into your mouth, is going to your incision. Plus, you are likely still swollen a bit. Give yourself a break. Like everyone else has said, it will get better. I'm 15 months out and I am so used to not drinking anything for 30 min after I eat that it's second nature. I don't even crave anything to drink until then now. You will be able to gulp your fluids once you are completely healed, but honestly, you won't gulp much. I still can't take more than 3 gulps without having to stop and wait a min or 2 before I can drink more. Like I said, give yourself a break, you're still healing. All will be well, just be patient.

You ROCK! keep up the good work!

First thing you need to do is get the negative talk out of your head. Stop talking to yourself so negatively. You've made a HUGE decision to make your life better, start being nice to yourself. I had the same problem pre-surgery. I ate pretty much everything I thought I would miss post-surgery. Now that I'm almost 6 mos post-surgery, I don't even THINK of any of those things any longer. When I sit down to eat, I often don't get past the protein on my plate. I LOVE vegetables and bread....and don't get me started on desserts, but I'm SO full with the protein I don't even get to move to another option on my plate. Take it slow, take it easy on yourself, and make it as positive of an experience as you can. Remember, garbage in, garbage out....what you think, you become, so be nice to yourself and encourage yourself! You'll do great!

I'm taking my nephew who turns 13 in May ziplining! I've always wanted to do it since it became popular, but never wanted to endure going up to the ticket booth, or actually the landing to get the equipment and bein embarrassed by being told that I was too big for the equipment or exceeded the weight limit for the course. I'm down 69 1/2 lbs since Nov and I can't WAIT to go ziplining!!! GOOD LUCK!!!! You will do great, and I promise when you get on the other side of recovery from your surgery, you will NOT regret the decision. I actually went shopping yesterday and for the first time in my life ENJOYED it. I actually SAW that I was getting thin! I did the happy dance 3 times while I was in the changing room when I tried on each of the 3 outfits I picked out. They ALL fit, and the ALL looked good! I might actually enjoy shopping!! I've even come to the realization that I'm borderline Obese, and ONLY 30 pounds overweight! I've NEVER been able to say that. IT's so exciting and so rewarding. Can't wait to hear you tell of your adventures!!

I have noticed my body has a pattern. I had surgery 4 mos ago (11/16) and every 5 weeks I have a stall. The 5 weeks started when I started the 2 week pre-op diet and as weird as it sounds, it has happened every 5 weeks from there that I stall (2 week pre-op diet + 3rd week stall = 5 weeks). Then the next week I will start losing again. The body needs time to aclimate to what is going on so it holds on to what it has, equals itself out (makes sure you aren't starving it to death) and then starts giving it up again. Keep the faith. You're doing fine. Keep an eye on your diet like Sleeve Evangelist suggests, but don't be too hard on yourself. We are all different and we will all lose what we have at different rates. Try not to compare your loss to others. And, remember, as corny as it sounds, walking is your friend. Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk.

Good luck! My hubby wasn't all that on-board at the time I made the decision either, but once he went to the information seminar and got to talk to the surgeon a couple times at my appointments, he came around and is SO glad I did it. I'm 4 mos out and doing very well. I've lost quite a bit and fee great. You will do fine. If you have any questions....just ask! There are LOTS of us here who will be glad to help out as much as wel can.

Watch their body language and read their facial expressions. Likely they are noticing. I'm 4 mos out and down 62 lbs, but rarely does anyone make mention of it in my office. I've dropped 3 clothes sizes, hardly any of the clothes I had fit and I have shopped to replace with some smaller sizes. Only a couple of the "girls" in the office comment. One even made a point to tell me my pants were too baggy and to go get a smaller size. The guys, though, don't say anything....BUT...watch their facial expressions. You can tell they are noticing, but may not feel comfortable saying anything because of the "taboo" of talking weight with women and don't want to offend in case it's not something that is an intentional goal. Do you notice? I find I have a harder time noticing it that other people. I did have a neighbor notice last evening when my husband and I stopped to chat during our walk. Very nice compliments from him and his wife. Waiting for our next chance to visit my family that I have not seen since Christmas. THAT is going to be fun, because I'm down about 40 lbs since I saw them last and will probably be another 10 -20 down by the time I get to see them. Like you said, don't compare, don't compare, don't compare....you're doing GREAT! Just because they don't "say" they notice the changes/losses.....doesn't mean they aren't "seeing" the changes/losses. Keep up the good work!!!

Pink Butterfly, I'm right there with you! I was sleeved on 11/16 and am down 43 lbs. This past week has been a disappointment, but I think it must just be a stall my body needs to figure out what's going on. I can't do eggs. They seem to fall with a thud when they get to my stomach. I'm ok with most other foods. Not too good at the Protein shakes as I just can't take the smell. No matter which ones I try, I can still smell the protein, and I HATE the bubbles. I do ok mostly with the protein intake, and the carbs are staying in check as well. Hubby and I go to the "Y" 5 nights a week and walk 2 miles and hit a machine for 30 min too. I'm starting to think so much working out may be causing my body to take a time out and reassess before giving up any more weight. Here's to us! I'm keeping the faith and will NOT fail!

Since you travel as much as you do, do you have a smart phone? My Fitness Pal has a free app you can download and you can journal wherever you are instead of having to wait until you get to a computer. And what's really neat, is if you are grabbing pre-packaged foods, it has a scanner option that helps you enter all the nutritional info. Good luck! I'm 10 weeks out and have hit my second stall. My measurements are up slightly, so I'm thinking I must be retaining water. It's frustrating, but I know with as little as my sleeve is letting me eat, it can't be because I'm failing. It must be just be my body trying to figure things out.

Dee Dee, You are only 5 weeks post op? Oh, please don't be so hard on yourself. At 5 weeks I was finally moving onto soft foods and mushies. I was not restricted like you are to Protein shakes. I was encouraged to drink them for the protein intake, but to be honest, I just can't STAND those nasty things. I'm 9 1/2 weeks post-surgery and down 44 lbs. I don't check this board very much any longer simply because I don't need the posts to discourage me. This is MY journey and comparing myself to others is just NOT healthy. While it's good to hear their journey to find out what you might encounter on your journey, comparing yourself to them will cause insanity. God made you an individual and different for a reason. Your journey is yours, not mine, not anyone else's and you should be proud of yours alone. Do you have a support system? I'm SO blessed to have a loving (albeit onery) husband who is supportive and encouraging about my progress. He works out with me every night at the YMCA. He's always asking me each week how much I've lost this week, and is good about telling me he can see the change. I have a hard time seeing it because I'm so used to seeing my flabby body in the mirror, even 44 lbs down, I don't see much of a change. Please be good to yourself. I'm not a coffee drinker, so I don't know this answer, but can you have the frappe in a skinny or sugar-free? The biggest challenge is to keep the sugar out of your diet. It's not the fat that is bad for you. When you eat fat, if your body can't use it, it wil purge it. If you eat sugar your body doesn't need, it will store it as fat for use as insulin later. This was a hard lesson for me to learn, but I'm slowly getting there. I have found that eating protein first fills you up so fast, veggies and carbs aren't even an option. I'm learning that when I reach about 200 cals in my meal, I'm about done...more than that and I can really feel the restriction and become very uncomfortable. When that happens, I stop and wait. If I hiccup within 30 sec to a minute later...I know I'm done eating. Listen to your body. It will tell you what it needs. Be sure to turn up the volume on your body and down in your head. Your brain does NOT know what's best for you any more. I know this is probably just a bunch of rambling, and if so, I'm sorry. Please know that there are those of us out here for you. I'm happy to be a source of support if you need it. Send me a message, email me, and feel free to vent, cry, scream, question, kick, ramble, etc. Most of all, remember this journey is about you and the best way for YOU to get to YOUR goal....not anyone else's.

Being a former McD's mgr, I can tell you that this is NOT permitted. It was more than likely the first time it happened and they had no idea it was going on. He could have easily parked his car in the parking lot handicap parking spot, got out and zipped over to the drive-thru lane instead of going inside. If the line was long when he got to the door, instead of the hassle of getting back in his vehicle and then going through the drive-thru, he may have decided this was a better alternative. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be the manager to have to tell him/her that this is not permitted, because that would only potentially open another can of worms, and the first one out would possibly discrimination. But I would have to side with the potential for bodily harm and general safety. If we don't let people walk through or walk up to the window for safety reasons, people in wheel chairs (either motorized or not) should not be allowed to either.

So jealous! I don't get to start adding meats to my diet until 12/16! I will be 1 month out (4 weeks + 2 days). I'm SO looking forward to turkey and chicken, and can't WAIT to get to have grilled shrimp again. OMG...I LOVE shrimp. Good to hear you're having such good luck with that list. I like a lot of what you have on there, so I'm thinking I may truly enjoy Stage 3! Congrats on your success so far.

Oh, please don't cancel. I was sleeved on 11/16 and had never had surgery before, so of course I had similar apprehensions. I was SO surprised at how easy recovery was. I was up and walking the next morning (because my surgery was at noon and I didn't really wake up until about 9 p.m.). Morphine button while I was in the hospital, but my pain level was pretty low and I only used it when I "had" to (which was maybe 6 times for night and morning I was in the hospital. Then they sent me home with a Vicadin prescription, of which I only took 2 on Sat and 2 on Sun and was done with those. Except for a little pain where the incisions were, I had NO pain. I'm not 11 days post-op and I'm doing great! My stomach has finally healed to where I can take normal drinks and can get in a little more than 4 - 6 Tbsp at a time when I eat. Please do this for you. You deserve it and will be SO happy once you've succeeded with it. Good luck! Like the others have already said, if you have ANY questions or want to know how something goes/went, please feel free to ask.

My surgeon has them listed in Stage 3 diet. I'm waiting patiently. I grew up loving refried beans. I like to heat them up with a little shredded cheese on top then add salsa or Otts dressing and a little sour cream. <sigh> have to wait until 12/17....

Are you still having the pain? If it's constant, call your doctor and/or nurse to get some guidance. I had something similar a couple days post-op after having a coughing fit. It was 12:30 a.m. and scared the living crap out of me! I called my nurse practitioner and she asked if I had tried to drink anything. I told her no that I was afraid to. She said to try and drink something and if it happened again to call her back, but I had most likely just strained something. It didn't come back after staying up for a couple hours sipping Water...and it never did re-occur. A few days later when I was at my initial follow-up with my surgeon I recapped it for him, and he said it was a spasm, and not to worry about it. I haven't had that pain again, but I know I will NEVER forget it. It felt like someone was stabbing an ice cold icepick into my abdomen. I was scared I had pulled a staple....but I'm fine now.

Pelekania....you area riot! And your sister needs to be put over your knee and some sense slapped into her skinny butt. My sister and my half sister were 2 of the first I told about my decision (after my hubby). They both jumped on the bandwagon with me and were so excited. They've neither had weight issues growing up. My sister was always skinny, and to this day is 5'9" 135 lbs. She was always borrowing my sweatshirts because she loved wearing baggy clothes. My half sister (she's 13 yrs younger) is about 5'5" and probably weighs about 135-140....lots of curves and smack in the middle of normal. But they both have watched me struggle through my life with my weight and constantly fighting to try and get smaller. When I told them about this they were both so excited. My sister actually took vacation time and came to stay with me (4 hrs from where she lives) for a week to help me out, hang out with me while I recovered and cook for my hubby. I wish everyone could have the support I have. I'm sorry your sister doesn't get it, and I hope is will dawn on her soon that this doesn't change who you are, it only changes how long you will get to be around.

Don't give up now! You're too close to back out now. You will be fine. Don't over-think it.

I hear you loud and clear. For some reason, offending overweight people and being condicending to them seems to be an acceptable thing when any other kind of offense (race, religion, handicap, etc.) seems to cause outrage. It's an age-old issue. It's been going on forever. For some reason we're expected to take it in and deal with it instead of people being taught that socially they need to be more aware about what they're saying and the negative impact it can have. Guess that makes us the 'bigger' person for being able to handle the ridicule without killing people! (Pun FULLY intended.) What will be more fun will be getting to goal and then seeing the comments that are made. Those people who think we're "pretty" now, will be those who are jealous first and start hitting us with "are you sure you're not losing too much"? They'll never be satisfied. All we can do is be our own cheerleader and take their comments (good and bad) with a grain of salt. They will NEVER be satisfied because there is apparently something about us that makes them feel inferior so they have to make degrading comments. BRING IT ON...I say.

Simplejaxgirl and wndrfullife.... I'm 11 days post-op. Based on my post-op life so far...here are my thoughts. Am I making the right decisions? Yes, you are doing what's right for you and your future health, which in the long-run is the best decision(s) you can make. Am I loosing enough weight pre-op? Yes....The dr. only wants you to reduce the size of your liver. Losing weight is the best way to do this. It will make the surgery less likely to have issues from possibly knicking your liver. Plus, I was told, that your liver can get so enlarged that it can take 2 people with retractors to hold it back for the surgeon to work. Losing weight makes the liver light and fluffy and easy for one person to simply push out of the way. Will the surgeon say no if I do not loose enough weight? (No # was given) If you are losing ANY weight and following the pre-op diet as prescribed, he will not cance/reschedule on you. What if there are complications? He/She is a trained surgeon. I had NO compications....you will do fine and your hospital staff is specially trained to take good care of you no matter what happens. Will I be able to take care of my son and house after surgery? (I will only have support for maybe a day or two) Yes, you will not have a problem here. The only thing you will not be able to do is lift him up. So have him climb up in the chair/sofa with you to cuddle instead of picking him up. He may have to help out by picking his toys up instead of you, but everything else you will be able to do just fine. Be sure to rest as much as possible and keep sipping your beverages. What will life after surgery be like? It will be WONDERFUL! In 3 - 4 months you be able to play with your son longer and do more things with him that you would be able to if you had not had the surgery. You will be celbrating your future with him and able to participate so much more in his growing up. YOU WILL DO GREAT!! Start telling yourself that. You cannot control the unknown. All you can do is control how you approach it. Be as positive as you can and everything will be fine. I'm sure you think I'm being Pollyanna, and perhaps I am, but all I can do is answer from my vantage point, and so far, I've had an amazing recovery. I had never had surgery before and thought it would be FAR worse than this, and have been SO blessed....I'm sure you will be too. Good luck!!

In the "older woman" compliment/insult area....my grandma ALWAYS told me, "you'd be so pretty if you would just lose some weight".....really? I'm your oldest grand daughter and you don't think I'm pretty as I am? Thanks! And, being a redhead, there's always the compliment on how pretty my hair color is, but never about any other aspect of me. Or, my all time favorite....you have such a bubbly personality! (Too bad the rest of you doesn't quite measure up.) Perhaps this is on us for being so negative in our self-image and how we see ourselves that we are interpreting things that aren't really implied.....though I don't believe that (at least not 100%). Hopefully, my negative self image will change as quickly as my physical appearance.

I get that way when I eat too quick or too much. I'm having to learn to slow down and teach myself to stop when I start taking a deep breath or hiccuping. Those are my clues that any more will mean trouble. This morning I had a Tbsp of peanut butter, a 3-min egg and a 1/2 cup milk, and it took me about 15 min and a quick step outside to get my body to stop reacting to it and get the nausea to pass.