LizTex2587

I am getting sleeved on February 18th and I am having it done at Citizen's Medical Center in Victoria, Texas...how about you?

Welcome Sassy!! I will send you an invite to the February Sleeve Buddies group and we can keep each other updated on out progress!

Iggy, that's you hitting the nail on the head!

Not insensitive and judgemental...we all have to accept some personal responsibility for what we put in our mouths, and I have several personal friends who have had wls and they do great until they start eating wrong. I'm not saying it's not a struggle, it totally is! But it seems to me that all too often I see people in my personal life and other places that gain weight back and just can't understand how it happened...I'm all for supporting someone through their struggles, but geez accept some personal responsibility!

woohoo!!!! We have the same sleeve date!

Yeah I'm a pasta freak so I'm probably gonna have an Olive Garden pig out before the liquid diet... Food Funeral!! LOL

you just focus on you right now... You being healthy and happy is what is most important!

Welcome to those of you new to this thread!! My name is Liz and I am getting sleeved 02/18/13. I'm totally excited, and it's great that we can be here to support each other. Please make sure that you all join the " February 2013 Sleeve Buddies" group! I've been looking for some decent articles to put up for discussion. If anyone needs an invite let me know!

***I LOVE this article. Almost every single person that I have heard complain about re-gaining their weight has done it to themselves because THEY EAT THE WRONG THINGS JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN!! It's totally ABSURD! Why would you put yourself through the discomfort of having the majority of your stomach cut out if you are just going to sabotage yourself?!?!?!? This is a fantastic article...It's about time we started getting real with ourselves and others! Let me know what you think.***-Liz My Two Favorite Words In Bariatric Surgery: Personal ResponsibilityDecember 26, 2012 by tammy My Two Favorite Words In Bariatric Surgery: Personal Responsibility Bariatric surgery will not work unless we resolve the issues and change the bad habits that got us to the point of being morbidly obese. People email me all the time regarding the topic of keeping the weight off and staying happy and focused on their weight loss surgery journey. We all know that regain is such a big problem for so many of us in this community, and it can be really frustrating. It is also leading to more and more people inquiring about revisions. And for the record, no, I am not one of those people who think revisions are bad and should not be done. I do think sometimes things happen medically that require a revision, but also we can undo some of the good things our surgeries have done for us, which can sometimes be fixed by a revision. Here is what I have a problem with. I recently met a lady who has had two revisions in the last three years. She is still about 80 pounds overweight. She told me how frustrated she is and how sad it makes her to see the weight keep coming back. I asked her why she thought it was such a problem for her, and really expected some story of complications and issues that were beyond her control. What she told me actually made me even sadder than the medical issues would have made me. This beautiful lady told me a story of how she just loves her carbs. Rice and butter for breakfast, cookies for a snack, crackers and butter for another snack, and the list goes on and on. Bariatric surgery will not work unless we resolve the issues and change the bad habits that got us to the point of being morbidly obese. For some of us it will take therapy and dealing with a food addiction to be able to maintain these changes. One of the hardest things for me to do after my surgery and initial loss was admit I had an addiction and seek treatment for that addiction. I can thank my good friend, Dr. Connie Stapleton, for that light bulb moment. I have to take personal responsibility for my disease, its treatment, and for my recovery, which is so very important to me. How many of us truly take proper care of the second chance at life we have been given? I really ponder that question a lot. I know there are days when I do not. I like to have a drink when my husband and I are on vacation or go out on the weekends. Is that good for me? No. I make a poor choice when I put anything into my body that is not healthy. I then have to live with that choice. When we agreed to go under the knife and have weight loss surgery of any type, we took on a huge responsibility and a personal commitment to a new healthy life. This is not something I can take lightly. And my passion is to show others what a precious thing their treatment is and how it should never be squandered. I feel like every time we as post-ops make bad eating choices, it is no different from a patient who smoked their whole life, got lung cancer, then had surgery to remove the cancer and was cancer-free, PICKING UP A CIGARETTE AND SMOKING IT AWAY. If your best friend had lung cancer and then had surgery and chemo and was cancer-free, what would you say to them if they started to light a cigarette? Why then do we not say this to each other when we are out and one of us chooses horrible foods that have no nutritional value and will do nothing to improve our health? I hear so many in our community fighting tooth and nail to have obesity regarded as a disease, which it is for sure. But then, when we now have this amazing treatment for this disease, why do we not all see it and treat it as a miracle and a second chance and a real blessing? I think our path and our resolve has to be even firmer than that of a drug addict or a smoker. Why? We can live without alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes, but we cannot live without food. The temptation will never go away. I in no way expect every bariatric patient to be perfect. I surely am not, and I will always struggle with bad choices. I am human as you are. But I would simply challenge you to make fewer and fewer of the bad choices and more and more good ones. When I looked at the Doritos, my mind went to all of the people I know out there who want and need the treatment I was given and will never be able to have it for themselves. For me, that is a thought that literally stops me in my tracks. I have to think of where I would be without gastric bypass and how different my life would be. I think of the amazing things I can do, feel, and experience now because of the newer, healthy version of me. Your weight loss surgery was so much more than just a way to get skinny. You have been given something so precious and valuable. Nothing makes me sadder than seeing people just treat it as if it were nothing special and squander the chance they have been given at a new life. And, yes, I know many are thinking, “But, Erin, what about those of us who had terrible complications?” I know that happens and it is sad, but it’s one of the risks involved with trying to save our lives and get healthy. I have had a few, and am thankful that they have been minor and my heart breaks for those who have had serious ones. Please, the next time you are tempted to eat that cookie, or donut, or piece of cake, or plate of nachos, or have that sugary cocktail, or whatever your trigger food was, the food that contributed to your disease, think of where you have come from and where you want to be. Think of the person sitting in their room, crying their eyes out and miserable because their insurance just denied them the treatment you have been given. You owe it to yourself and those who love you to be the best and healthiest version of you that you can be. Never expect perfection as it will only leave you frustrated, but strive for 95 percent good choices and for optimal health. You deserve it, and you have a responsibility to make good choices. It is your responsibility to care for that treatment and tool and to never find yourself throwing it away. If you are someone who has regained, and are exploring a revision, I would encourage you to seek therapy first. Only when we fix the emotional parts can we really be the total package of health we all long to be and deserve to be. We are all works in progress, and the best we can hope for is to keep growing and learning. I love this community, and I love all of the amazing and diverse people who make it what it is. I also want to see us all be as healthy as we can be together! That will show the world how wonderful weight loss surgery really can be! Through personal responsibility, we can all better convey that truth to the mainstream media and general public! Erin Akey, FNC, LWMS, CWFI is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach and a Certified Aqualogix Water Fitness Instructor. She is the host of a weekly radio show about life after weight loss surgery called Fit Living. She also runs a company called The Bariatric Guru and is hosting a national conference series in 2012 called The Bariatric Breakthrough Challenge. For more

If you can't find a whole lot online, check with your doc.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Vertical Sleeve GastrectomyVertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Advantages•Reduces stomach capacity but tends to allow the stomach to function normally so most food items can be consumed, albeit in small amounts.•Eliminates the portion of the stomach that produces the hormones that stimulates hunger (Ghrelin).•Dumping syndrome is avoided or minimized because the pylorus is preserved.•Minimizes the chance of an ulcer occurring.•By avoiding the intestinal bypass, almost eliminates the chance of intestinal obstruction (blockage), marginal ulcers, anemia, osteoporosis, protein deficiency and vitamin deficiency.•Very effective as a first stage procedure for high BMI patients (BMI > 55 kg/m2).•Limited results appear promising as a single stage procedure for low BMI patients (BMI 30-50 kg/m2).•Appealing option for people who are concerned about the complications of intestinal bypass procedures or who have existing anemia, Crohn’s disease and numerous other conditions that make them too high risk for intestinal bypass procedures.•Appealing option for people who are concerned about the foreign body aspect of Banding procedures.•Can be done laparoscopically in patients weighing over 500 pounds, thereby providing all the advantages of minimally invasive surgery: fewer wound and lung problems, less pain, and faster recovery.Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Disadvantages•Potential for inadequate weight loss or weight regain. While this is true for all procedures, it is theoretically more possible with procedures that do not have an intestinal bypass. •Higher BMI patients will most likely need to have a second stage procedure later to help lose the rest of the weight. Remember, two stages may ultimately be safer and more effective than one operation for high BMI patients. This is an active point of discussion for bariatric surgeons.•Soft calories such as ice cream, milk shakes, etc can be absorbed and may slow weight loss.•This procedure does involve stomach stapling and therefore leaks and other complications related to stapling may occur.•Because the stomach is removed, it is not reversible. It can be converted to almost any other weight loss procedure.•Considered investigational by some surgeons and insurance companies.This information has been provided courtesy of Laparoscopic Associates of San Francisco (LAPSF).

Welcome to all our new February Sleeve Buddies!! Please make sure and join our group " February 2013 Sleeve Buddies" if you need me to send you an invite just let me know!

So glad to see that we are getting more February Sleevers!! Make sure you all join the February 2013 Sleevers group!!

Best of luck to you Moe!!!

Some docs are like that. they can and will dismiss patients at their discretion. I guess they think their time is valuable or something lol! I know my pcp is not wild about wls because when I mentioned it to him he totally shot me down...hehe he doesn't know that I am going to be sleeved in February. He may dismiss me for going against his medical advice but OH WELL!

Nikki! It's wonderful to hear from you! You have the best motivation possible! You can do this!

Howdy! So glad to hear from all of you! Well, my name is Liz and I am from South Texas. I am 25 and I work in hospitality and I am currently scheduled to be sleeved on February 18th!

Well....it would seem that I have to leave the Jan 2013 sleeve buddies club and join the Feb 2013 Sleeve buddies club. Yes friends, my surgery has been moved to February There is some pretty extensive dental work that I need to have done and since teeth are pretty important to the chewing process, he wont do the surgery unless he's confident that when I reach the solid foods i will be able to mastecate successfully...to tell the truth I am disappointed, but I know that these things happen for a reason and it will all work out for the greater good. Best of luck to all of you January sleevers! I hope that the new year treats you well and that you will treat your "new you" even better!

Fantastic! I'm so excited to connect with all of you January sleeve buddies! Thank you everyone for your response to this post.

My doc said that he very rarely puts in a band these days. it's becoming increasingly less popular since it is high maintenance (compared to other wls) and when you think about it...there is a stinkin' piece of hardware in your body. Also, most if the people I know personally that have the band have gained back so much weight because they just stop getting fills...and then they are like"I don't understand what's happening!"...psh. The sleeve is a great choice

It depends on what your insurance requirements are. Some require you to do 6 months or so of nutritional classes and other things, I got lucky and my insurance no longer requires the 6 month wait period. I had my consultation in September, went to 1 nutrition class, had 1 session with the counselor and I am scheduled to be sleeved in January! Check out your insurance requirements to get some ballpark idea of how long you may be waiting. Best of luck, keep us posted on your progress. You have come to a great website. People here are quick to offer advice, share their experiences, motivate you, celebrate with you, and just support you through this whole journey. It's a great place.

I can't wait to not feel like my life is over at 25. all of my friends are either engaged, married, or having children... I know that not everyone lives the same life but I'm so sick of people saying "just wait, you're turn is coming" and know that it's not. I'm not saying that people who are overweight cannot find love. But I do believe that often times we settle for less than we deserve just because we are afraid of being alone and feeling unloved. Bah! Anyway my whole point is that I can't wait to not have to feel like my life is stagnate and never going to change!

My Nutritionist said that it would be a good idea to cook individual meals in something like a mini crock-pot especially when it comes to making your meat as soft and tender as possible. I think this is a good idea since I will be mainly cooking for myself once I get sleeved in January. So my question is this: Does anyone have any recipes for cooking with a mini crock-pot or even any great recipes that can become "mini-sized"? I LOVE chicken, so don't hesitate to throw that in the mix. All suggestions are greatly appreciated!

thanks for all of the great suggestions everyone!

i just got on Pinterest two months ago and i tell people that it's just a bad place! I get sucked in like nobody's business! but yes I have already tried several crock-pot recipes that people have pinned and they came out very well