tami wright

I have an appt on Monday to get my insurance paperwork submitted to Blue Care Network. For all the Grand Health Partners sleevers' date=' about how long "out" were your sleeves scheduled after your insurance approval came through? I am concerned that my insurance will approve around the beginning of October but that when I go to schedule my surgery I'm not going to be able to get in for weeks! I guess what I'm asking is... how long did you have to wait from insurance approval to the day you actually got your sleeve?[/quote']

I had BCN and waited 3 weeks from approval to surgery and it only took a few days, less then a week, to get approval.

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Im getting sleeved on the 23rd @ St. Marys.

Good luck to all the new sleevers coming up!! you may have moments of regret shortly post op.... Hang in there! It gets easier every day and as the pounds slip away and your clothes fall off.... You will be glad you went this route!

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I had a day or two of that and got back to basics' date=' more Water and more Protein. Protein cuts the carb crave and the insulin spikes that keeps that cycle going. Hang in there, at least your concerned enough to speak up for help. You can do this!! I find that my emotions are all over the place!! Crying and getting really p*** off at people.. anyone else?? VSG on 8/21[/quote']

I have horrible hormone surges!!! I'm 4 months post op. hormones are stored in our fat stores. So we are losing those fat stores rather quickly and those hormones are now running wild with no where to go!! Be alert and this is a great time of discovering not only self control in the food department but in our emotional department as well. Just as we can't let food control our emotions, we can't let our emotions control our mouth!!

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I am still restricted in portion size but I can eat more often and just have not been making the best choices like I used to. And I'm just hungrier this week and its kinda freaking me out. Thanks for your input. I think I just need to avoid the slider/trigger foods which have started to sneak in and cause cravings.

Also' date=' I might just be overreacting. I haven't gained any weight and I've only noticed this in past few weeks. Just wanna get it in check and keep on losing.[/quote']

I am 4 months out as well and down 64 pounds. I too, fight the carb monster!! He's a nasty one! I have really worked hard at paying close attention to my Protein intake. I mean look at every single label!! Also, I did cave to my cravings. If I know one thing about myself, I can't do cold turkey on quitting. So, realizing my sleeve was a "tool" as we say around the sleeve world, the tool kept me from over doing anything. If I found that I "needed" that one sinful carb of whatever, I will have it and get over it. What I am discovering as I focus on getting in my Protein, carb things like breads, tortilla,and such leave me feeling uncomfortably full and unsatisfied to say the least. I also find that I am hungry much sooner when I have had carbs!

Another helpful "tool" is I have started NOT going to the store as much as possible. I get what is called "Nature Box" delivered to my home. It's for my Snacks need. I get healthy, satisfying Snacks delivered. I have also discovered local farmers markets that are awesome for fresh fruits and veggies! Also recently discovered Whole Foods is not far from me and that will be one of my next stops. They carry a soy free Protein powder that I am going to try. It's lower in sodium as well as no soy. Trying to avoid soy since its really not good for you at all. I do still have at least one Protein Drink a day on most days, probably miss about twice a week depending on family activities on the weekends. I get my Water on most days, I'm guilty of not exercising as I should be!! I really am working on retraining my brain and how it sees food and how what I eat truly makes me feel after its consumed!! I want to enjoy not only what I eat. But the after effect as well!

You are a whole new you!! It takes time to get to know a new person, even if its you!! Don't beat yourself up, be a VERY good listener and you will discover great things about the new you. Also, a family that I know through a child development program I work for, has great recommendations and insight to local farmers markets. Maybe you would pick up hints from her blog that you could apply to your local area? If you are on Facebook you can find her by searching "Real food in a Real World" and sign up for her blog. If I can help with other hints let me know!!

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My husband and my kids and my best friend knew. My husband and I got married two months after my surgery. So we had family in town for that. My mother asked when i picked her up from the airport "what are you doing to lose weight, you look great!" I thought she would be negative about WLS but has ended up being one of my biggest cheerleaders. I don't regret keeping it secret although I do share it pretty openly now. Looking back on the reason I kept it secret..... I was afraid of failing, again!! Everything I tried always failed in the weight loss department. I didn't want everyone to know and then fail again in front of them. Now at 4 months out, I KNOW I am not a failure at this, I feel good about discussing it!

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I'm so happy with my sleeve' date=' down 48 lbs at week 18. I'm finally ok with only losing 1-2 lbs a week. I'm glad the scale is going in right direction! (Sleeved 4/22). day before surgery My son made me buy this red women's large T-shirt while trying to get a mens XXL. Very surprised how I looked. Praise God!![/quote']

Great Job! I was sleeved 4/29! And my husband recently made me buy a few Large size tops (my usual was XXL) and I was also amazed that not only did they fit, I was actually comfortable in them!! Keep up the great work!

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If you don't mind me asking' date=' what was most difficult for you the first few weeks after?[/quote']

I can't say there was a "most" difficult for me! I am a horrible "patient". I don't like not being able to do my everyday tasks! Taking a shower and then trying to dry my hair felt like running a marathon. I would be exhausted and need to sit down and rest. This was not only from the surgery (anesthesia hang over I call it) but I also was not getting my Protein in! Go buy the Liquid Protein stuff you can add to Water or broth! This was a really hard time for me. Then hunger set in and cravings started up! So I was tired, hungry, craved things I could NOT have, I'm probably lucky anyone in my house survived it all! I know I was not fun to be with! Add to this that at week 3 I totally stalled out in the weight loss department. This was because I was not getting the protein and my body was going into starvation mode! But at the 4 week point you can add in soft foods (yogurt, cottage cheese, scrambled eggs) and once I could do that I slowly started feeling better and started taking off the weight again. I would say those first 3-4 weeks were the worst due to no energy, wanting real food and knowing you can't have it, being told "you must walk" yet knowing you just don't have the energy! I honestly looked at my husband and said I was stupid to have done this, apparently I'm not cut out for it all. By week 6 when you are back on normal food, clothes are getting big on you, you can walk around the block without needing a nap..... It does get better. hang tough! I'm now 4 months out and am learning how to have a healthier relationship with food as it was so dysfunctional before! I'm still horrible about regular exercise and am working on that. I have lost 60 pounds tho and it feels great! Also, I stalled at the 3 month mark for just over 2 weeks! So you will have them. Just work through them. Pay attention to what is going into your mouth. It's easy to slip up and realize maybe you aren't getting enough protein or maybe not enough water! It will happen easily.

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Yep, left shoulder and I got it often for the first two weeks. I did the Gas-X dissolvable on the tongue strips and they helped A LOT! There is a lot of internal swelling we are dealing with as well so when you swallow, burp, hiccup, anything you can get that pain in the shoulder. I used a heating pad when I got home and that helped as well.

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1oz every 15 was exactly what I was told by my surgeon and NUT. It was really hard the first week or two. I'm 4 months out and it still takes me at least an hour to drink one bottle of water!!! I really work at getting my Water in thru the day so it usually means that is all I drink. Outside of my morning Protein shake! Then I sip my Water all day. I'm aware of "about" when I will eat lunch or dinner so I put the lid on the water about 30-45 minutes before a meal. If you listen to your body very closely over the next few months you will learn a new dance in life and your relation to food. It's been a great adventure! Not easy, but great!

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I hate auto correct! Boss?? Was supposed to be sooo.... LOL

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Hi everyone' date=' im on day 16 and im on the purred stage. However, i eat and just feel satisfied for an hour and then i get hungry again and i can actually eat more than 1/4 of a cup. I dont know what goin on .. Help please[/quote']

I went through this too! I am now 4 months out and I can say it does regulate itself. I went from about the 3 week mark to about my 2 (2.5) month where I ate every two hours and was drinking my liquid in the middle of that time period boss essentially every hour I was putting something in the pouch! PLEASE make sure you are getting enough protein! I struggled with that in the beginning. I stalled on my weight loss for about 10 days at about my 3rd week because I wasn't getting enough. I eat Greek yogurt every day, use my Protein powder as much as possible!

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You WILL know! And it is a feeling of discomfort in your chest. The key I think is to not only the small amounts but eat SLOWLY! Give your tummy a chance to tell your brain I'm full! One of my biggest problems was and is eating too fast! Old habits die hard. So I find myself eating away and then all of a sudden I'm stuffed and very icky feeling. I have never thrown up from eating too much, but sometimes wonder if I would be better off!! LOL! When I do get that discomfort I find that if I can go for an easy walk around the block it does help move things on down!

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I'm downriver' date=' my surgery is scheduled for September 4th with Dr. Bacal out of Oakwood. Anybody have him do your surgery? Wednesday cannot get here fast enough [/quote']

Good luck! It's not an easy road, the first few weeks were the roughest for me!! But it truly gets better each day, especially once you can get added Protein in! Push through the hard days after surgery! It will be worth it!

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I am downriver. Brownstown. Had my sleeve done 3.18.13 by dr Kharbulti (wyandotte).

I am downriver as well! Was sleeved 4/29/13 at Wyandotte with Dr K as well! Hope you are doing well! I'm down 60 pounds and doin a little better each day!!

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Then I would do Almond milk. Watch your brands because there are different Sugar contents in each. I prefer the chocolate flavor or vanilla. Then just make sure you are adding in GOOD Protein sources like the Greek yogurt and or a Protein powder. I will often also have Greek yogurt later in the day for snack. My surgeon wants me at 70-75gm's of protein per day. He said no more then 80 per day. After 80 your body doesn't really absorb it and it can cause issues.

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Almond milk has very low Protein in it. Use soy if you are having trouble getting enough protein! I use almond milk occasionally now (3 months post op) but when I do I'm using Greek yogurt and a scoop of Protein powder with it in my shake. So I "fix" the low Protein aspect of the almond milk.

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I never puréed my food either! I started slow!!! Did liquids faithfully for 6 weeks but about 5 weeks added cottage cheese and puddings (sf). I LOVED cottage cheese the first few weeks!! LOL! At 28 days I was still struggling with gas and gas pain in my left shoulder. Also struggled with nausea. Could no longer drink my premade Protein drinks I was drinking preop as they really upset my tummy! But if I make my own I'm fine. I use vanilla soy milk, Greek yogurt, 1/2 a banana and a scoop of vanilla Protein powder! Very yummy and does not upset my tummy! Although its very worth it, it took me a long time to be able to say I really felt back to "normal". I'm now 11 weeks postoperative, feel great, down 52 pounds !

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Hang in there!! It gets better! I was sleeved on 4/29/13 and at about 2.5 weeks totally stopped losing. Discovered I was not getting enough Protein at all. The first few weeks are the hardest to get in the Protein. For me anyway it was! I felt horrible, tired, week, etc. once I could add more foods, more protein it all started to change. But I stalled for about ten days. I have steadily lost since then. Currently down 52 pounds! 11 weeks post op!

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