Aisha902

You know yourself more than anyone else. A major issue is trying to make the doctors/nutritionists understand what is REALLY going on, and not what they BELIEVE is going on. I could never lose weight either. With every diet, I would drop my water weight only...then stall.. So, I understand you completely. Keep going - the last thing you need at this time is discouragement.... If you want to try and speed things up, try one thing at a time and see if anything works for you....if it doesn't, you tried and that's the best you can do. Be happy with your success so far! Slow losers united!

It would have to be over-filled again and again for it to permanently stretch (according to my doc). So, don't panic.... just try not to binge very often (or at all).... but eating it over the span of 5 hours is a good thing - some digestion would have occurred along the way... Don't worry! Go do something now to "make up" for it....take a walk? Some heavy house cleaning? That's what I do when I stray off course briefly...

Good luck Ellie!!!! I hope everything goes smoothly for you! Give us lots of updates! I'll follow-up on ya!

This has been the hardest 5 weeks of my life. I am not one of those lucky ones who recover and get onto their protein, vitamins, and water plans and head right into their new lives. I'm still stuck at recovery. Some days I can't eat or drink. Some days I can only drink. Some days I can do both. I can't get vitamins in without throwing up (the swallowing part is not an issue...just my tummy hates them). Acid reflux - something I happily didn't have prior to the surgery is KILLING me. Sometimes the medication will keep it calm...sometimes not. I didn't sleep last night from it I'm under 400 calories a day, so my weight-loss is probably not going as fast as it could, and I expect a HUGE stall coming my way. BUT!!!!!!! Not all negativity... I have lost 35.5 pounds in 39 days....Never, ever could have dreamed of this happening before the surgery. My clothes are looser (but still wearing the same clothes, but able to add in some that were shoved to the side of my closet in the "too small" section). I can bend over and stand up easily. Washing after number 2, has now become easy - no need for "go-go-gadget arms" (embarrassing as heck to say this, but it's true)...seeing a bit of collar-bone peep through..... when I lay on my side, I feel my tummy dip down and I almost feel thin LOL - stupid I know, but I like feeling the dip at my waist. My major issue is the exhaustion. I'm so tired all the time. Of COURSE I know why...but, I still feel sad when my kids ask my to play with them, and I feel the need to hide.... My poor, poor kids. Anyhow - I'm doing this for them...so i just keep telling myself that in a couple of more weeks I'll be stronger and healthier, and then they will be rewarded with a fantastic mom. Let's hope!!!!!! I update myself on everyone's questions and blogs multiple times a day from my mobile...it keeps me motivated to be strong. For some reason I'm not able to comment or "like" anyone's postings from my iphone App (maybe something weird from this country)...but I'm so happy for you all being there and writing everything honestly. Seriously, seriously would feel soooooo alone if it wasn't for this forum!

Hello everyone! Happy Ramadan! Well, for all of you who are managing to fast (and you Miaa, maashallah!), mabrook!!!! I envy you. I tried the first day, and threw up from dehydration (no Water in my throat at all), so...I tried again the next day, and the same thing happened. So now.... I am not fasting. I am really mad at myself, but I guess I'm just not ready to yet. I've had a tough go with this new sleeve - every day, it's a new challenge.... I too, hope Allah understands what I'm going through and will accept my later fastings. A very Happy Ramadan to all of you!!!! Thank you for all of your support - here in the middle east, there is very little support to be found.

Thank you to both of you...Yes - I'm going thru a huge struggle...To fast..or not to fast.... My doctor is Muslim, which adds to my confusion about the hydration issue..... And, I don't have a plan - I am sooooo slow drinking (and still so tired...so even though Qatar will be wide awake, I'll be fast asleep!) I guess I will have a lot of making up to do

Hello everyone - well, I'm 3 weeks out as of yesterday, and tomorrow or the next day Ramadan will start. Will anyone be fasting? Are there any issues in it? The doctor was fine with fasting and actually said that this Ramadan would be my easiest. I was too out of it to ask any questions... I know that I'm going to face a huge reduction in Water and Protein - and the problem is that I'm still healing. It takes me forever to finish a bottle of water or drink a cup of Soup. The maximum I'd be able to force down over a 24 hour period would be 2-3 cups of water, some hummous or skimmed yogurt, and a Protein shake. Will this be enough for me? I'm already dehydrated. Please help - suggestions please!

Yes, yes, yes!!!!! Tell them that - they will be very happy to know that medication works with you, and doesn't make you throw-up. Their mission after your surgery is to keep you from throwing up. As for Egypt - yes, the team was *mostly* English speaking... and if there was someone who couldn't speak English, there was another team-member close by who could. Why Egypt? Well, I live/work in the middle east, my hubby is Egyptian, so he assisted me with all of the administrative junk, and Egypt is very cheap for these kinds of surgeries. I spent $6500 (usd) on the travel, the surgery, the medication, and the grocery items for these past 2 weeks. I'm not sure how much you guys have to pay in the US, if you self-pay, but for me over here, this was a great price..(how much will you pay if/when you go to Mexico?)

I get a little (a lot) worried when buying drugs/supplements online....be extra precautious!!!!! :) And good luck - I wish you all the best in your journey....blog about it!!!

Hello everyone! Wow - it has been quite the eventful past almost 2 weeks. This blog is dedicated to those who are pre-op Everyone is different, but I hope if I give you my story, it will help some of you to be a little more prepared for what you're about to undergo! 1st, I did my surgery in Egypt - so far away from most of you...but the surgery is the same, albeit the administration a bit different... Soooo....(drum-roll!) I started my surgery at approximately 253.9 lbs. May be a bit less than that, but I was too nervous to go wandering around trying to find a scale! The operation was last Sunday... Everything was smooth in the operation - they knocked me out peacefully and happily and although the operation was only 45 minutes in total, I was out for around 5 hours. The torture happened the minute I was being transferred to my hospital room. I was screaming in pain (still out of it from the anesthetic), and vomited blood 4-5 times. Warning!!! For those of you who have sensitive stomachs to medicine, especially hard-core medicine like Morphine, be ready to have to make a tough decision....you will be in an incredible amount of pain..and will NEED strong pain-killers...but if you tend to throw-up fairly easily, taking those strong pain-killers may mean that you end up in even more pain. Throwing up after a gastric-sleeve operation, as you can imagine, is not fun. The doctors had to torture me with medium-strength pain-killers to avoid my throwing up to prevent further bleeding. OUCH! I was quite embarrassed of myself - I was in so much pain over these 2 days in the hospital that I created quite a scene. I don't remember most of it, but I remember getting the nurses and doctors all flustered with my carrying on. Oh well, not much I can do now The actual surgical pain - is more than manageable. Hopefully (touch wood) all of you will be just fine with that. I had two issues - 1) the gas issue - this pain was ridiculous. You have this constant feeling of just wanting to "deflate" and the pain that goes with it is indescribable....but, par for the course. It took me 6 days to "deflate" enough that I wasn't walking around looking 7 mos. pregnant and the pain was mostly gone. 2) the drainage site - you will have a drain for 2(ish) days. This is extremely painful and unfortunately I had developed cysts internally around the incision of the drain, and this was also an incredible amount of pain. I couldn't sit, lay down, stand from pain. When I went back for my 7 day post-op appointment, I yelped enough that they gave me an ultra-sound and CT scan and found multiple cysts formed in this area. A 5-day course of anitbiotics/anti-inflammatory cured this - I am now feeling almost normal. Writing this, I feel like I was such a baby...but I've delivered normally 3 babies (2 without an epidural, so I KNOW pain), and I was up and changing the babies the same night and taking my mom on a tour of my area the day after..in pain yes...but I was proud of my pain theshold. In my opinion, that means that this is one seriously painful operation (but hopefully none of you will develop the cysts which was the cause of at least 50% of the pain). So, now - I am now at 236.0 lbs (17.9 lbs less), 12 days post-op. Great!!!!! I am feeling very weak and I feel like I've done 5000 crunches and the incision areas are drying and itching like crazy, but I feel great compared to just a few days ago. I'm back home and back at work. It's hard figuring out how much I can drink before I'm full - the feeling of fullness doesn't exist in me yet - but when the juice starts bubbling back up (a weird feeling), I stop drinking for 10-15 minutes or so. POPSICLES rock!!!!!! I feel SOOOOOO much better after munching on a popsicle.. I've started putting all my juices in the freezer. It makes me feel like I'm eating, but it does nothing but soothes my aching tummy. Stock up on popsicles!!! I'm still on a full liquid diet - soups, jello, juices, and popsicles Working my way up to the thicker soups, protein shakes and will transition into mushed food. My tummy/esophagus controls me on this issue...I get a really yucky uncomfortable feeling and it lasts quite some time when I try eating something I'm not ready for yet.... ohhhh - one thing I had read up on before I went for surgery.... My doc requested my husband crush all of my meds. YUCK! When I was a kid, my mom had to chase me around with the medicine syrup...imagine how I was with crushed tablets? Super yuck! So, after suffering for around 5 days, I googled around on the internet and finally broke the tablets in half and swallowed those as normal. No issues whatsoever. Now I can swallow them whole (probably could the whole time, but I was being careful). So guys - there you have it. If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer!!! Looking forward to the days to come!

As for the tests (I just got them done this morning)... mine included: 1) CBC 2) Liver Function 3) Coagulation profile 4) Kidney Function 5) Blood sugar 6) Pulmonary Function All were blood serum tests except for number 6 (checking your lungs). I'm in the Middle East, so there may be differences from the US, but the above tests make sense for what we're about to undergo... Good luck!

And thank you for letting me know about the kilos vs. lbs on my profile....a bit deceiving (just a bit!)! Amended now...

Thank you very much!!!! Less than 24 hours enrolled on this site, and I love it! Made my day....thanks guys!

I'm having my pre-op blood work tomorrow too. Is there anything that would *stop* the surgery from happening? (Assuming my blood clotting test comes back normal...pretty sure that's important! Lol!) I'm scared they'll reject me. My flight is booked. My brain is ready. I don't want anything to stop this!!!!

115 Kgs.... wow...really? Maybe 6 real diet attempts per year..multiply that by let's say....the last 20 years (I'm 37)...that is a lot of FAILED attempts....and what do I have to show for it? 115 kgs....and absolutely NO photos. I actually physically tackle anyone who tries to take a photo. My poor 4 year old and 5 year old already know the golden rule..... NO PHOTOS OF MAMA!!!!! There are so many reasons why I want/need to lose weight...but..my sons are the biggest reason. Need to make them the happiest kids ever...AND need stay alive to see my grandchildren!!!! Ok, so it would also make me happy to sit comfortably on the airplane and not struggle to do up the seatbelt. It would be nice not to eye the chair before I sit to be sure of its' strength. It would be nice not to hear "fat" in every sentence - even if it's not being said. My reasons are endless. With my husband's amazing support (he told me he's supporting me, but he doesn't care if I do it or not - he loves me for me), I will be getting "sleeved" on June 16th in Egypt. I am the most excited person ever - so excited, that even though my doctor didn't instruct me to go on the pre-op diet, I'm doing it anyway. Couldn't hurt right? Anything to help the good doc out on the operating table! I am going to try and blog consistently throughout this process (my first blog EVER!) because I know how important they are - I have spent hours and hours viewing endless blogs and youtube videos. Needed the encouragement....and the not-so-encouraging ones, I learned from. Wish me luck everyone, and I wish all of you the best of luck as well. No one understands more than we do how much we need this. For those of you who made a success story out of this....you are my idols! Ma salama.