piercedqt78

I'm almost 11 months post-op, at goal and YES would do it again 100000 times over. I had zero complications, and am now working to actually gain a few pounds back, as I feel I am underweight.

Oscar Mayer P3, they are little containers with a total of 2 oz, they have different combo of meat, cheese and nuts. They are about 120-140 calories, and have 12-15 grams of Protein. They have turkey, ham, and chicken, peanuts or almonds, and cheddar, or colby jack. http://www.proteinproteinprotein.com/ and they are only $1 at walmart.

I sent in my information and I'm waiting to hear back from them. How long did the process take? How are their shakes?

load up on zinc, it builds the immune system, and will help fight off anything that is just getting started. You can get it in couch drops, pills, and I believe a liquid as well.

Oh, I'm in a 4/6 so it won't work for me. Thanks though.

How much are you asking? What is it made of?

At my postop appt, my doctor didn't even ask me how I was feeling etc. Instead he turned and ask my husband how he felt about my weight loss. Even though I 'm a good southern girl, I spent 17 years in Chicago, and don't take crap from anyone. I my hubby looked at me, and I stood up. (hubby just shook his head, knowing it wasn't going to be pretty) and I firmly but politely explained to the surgeon that he was not my husbands doctor, did not preform surgery on him, and he was not the one to be happy/satisfied/whatever with my body, my weight loss or health. That I was perfectly capable of answering questions about MY body, and that from now on he was to address any questions about my body/diet/health/sleeve/weight loss to me, and ONLY to me. He was shocked that I stood up for myself, I guess he is used to women that are heavy being down on themselves, or having low self esteem that he was amazed when I was do forward with him. He collected my chart and left the room. The nurse came in and gave me a copy of my bloodwork as I had requested so my primary care doc would have it in her chart as well. And she gave me a high-five, and said you wouldn't believe how many women let him talk over them, and let their husbands excitement over their new smaller size take over the appointment, and they never ask questions, or get any real medical info from him. As I was leaving, I had to stop at the reception desk to make my follow-up and get my new lab orders, the surgeon came up to me and apologized. And every appointment since he has been very different. I guess I was a bit louder than I thought, as the whole office was aware of what I had said, and even the NUT (different location) knew about it. LOL Sometimes you have to let them know that they are working for YOU, not the other way around. Doctors seem to get on a power trip, and they let that go to their heads.

My drinks in the hospital all came with straws, and when they did my leak test, yep through a straw. I was never told no straw, just to take it slow until the swelling went down. I use a plastic cup from Disney, with Stitch on it and wouldn't give it up for anything. It makes me happy, and I get my water in by using it.

Sorry I have to laugh at your post...sounds just like my mom. The whole telling strangers in a restaurant and I, too, am known as the WLS daughter in her community. To tell you the truth, though, it really doesn't bother me. I am more comfortable accepting compliments and talking to the people that do know than I am facing the people that don't know because I feel guilty about lying if I don't disclose my "weight loss secrets". Oh it's not like I kept it a secret. I am very open about my situation, but when I mention it to a waitress I am discreet about it, not my mom, she is loud and makes sure everyone around hears.

My name is Mandy, I'm 36 and a mom to an almost 13 year old. She was born June 2001. I was born in Jacksonville Florida, and moved all over the country as a kid. I attended 9 schools between kindergarten and graduation. I moved to Chicago in 10th grade. And lived there for 17 years, the longest I have ever been in one place. Then my daughter was diagnosed with a bleeding disorder, and the dryness of the heat being used 7-8 months a year caused her to have excessive bleeding issues. We came to Florida to visit and spent 6 weeks here over her summer vacation. In Chicago she was in the ER at least once a week for severe bleeding. We spent 6 weeks without a single bleed that we couldn't stop on our own. So we went back to Chicago, packed our things, put our home on the market and moved back to my hometown of Jacksonville Florida. My husband is a conductor for the railroad, as was my dad before retiring. My daughter wants to be a graphic designer one day and will be attending a magnet school for performing arts, and digital arts. She is a very talented artist, and I couldn't be more proud of her and her determination to get to her goals. I was a body piercer in chicago and I have worked in some amazing tattoo shops. About 40% of my body is covered in tattoos, and I have won several awards for my tattoos. My artist is like a brother to me, and we have been friends for over 17 years. He has done most of my work, and I will either go back to Chicago or have him come here to visit to do some more work on me. I love to swim, surf, and cook. I am a trained chef, and I can cook just about any style of food, and I'm very popular at church functions, and parties. We have 3 dogs, one Australian Shepard Mix named Kambria, Kammi for short, an English Toy Spaniel Mix named Louie, and a Cavalier King Charles named Leopold. They are all 3 rescues, and I love them like children. We also have 2 red foot tortoises, named strawberry and Squirt. They are adorable, and act like the dogs. lol, they come when they are called, and know when and where food goes into their cage.

I bought a yonanas machine and use to it turn bananas into soft serve. They are perfect when my family has ice cream and I can't. The lactose in ice cream makes me very ill. But the yonanas machine turns frozen banana pieces into a soft serve like texture. You can also use it for frozen peaches, berries, add Peanut Butter or Protein powder into the mix. It's great.

Don't put makeup on abrasions. It sucks, but the makeup will slow healing and may cause some scarring. Try using neosporin cream to speed healing, and clean it with sea salt Water, if you can find H2Ocean, it's great. It's available at tattoo shops, and sometimes hot topic sells it. It's used to help body piercings heal. I have had low blood pressure all my life, and dizzy and fainting spells are common when it gets too low. I eat a ton of salt, and always have gatorade as it helps to increase blood pressure. I can't tell you how many times i passed out when I was pregnant with my daughter. My average bp is something like 70/50. Nurses always double checked my bp, and I would always say, "yes, I'm fat and have low bp". They couldn't believe it was that low without meds.

Yes, and they are only $1 at my local wal-mart. I love the smoked turkey, and the chicken. I don't eat pork, so the 2 ham ones I can't say anything about. I don't mind the fat content, since I use them for lunch and that's not too bad for lunch. I have also used them to make omelettes, and just saved the nuts for later.

My mom is amazing, and she is a great support. But she tells EVERYONE about my surgery. If we go out to eat and I don't order, she tells the waitress that I've had WLS and I'll just pick off her plate, like I'm 4. Or when I don't finish my meal, she tells them I had most of my stomach removed and can't eat much and that I will need a box, then she proceeds to ask me why I don't request one when I order my food. (sometimes my dad eats whatever I have left over, so no box is needed). She added me to the prayer list at church, and instead of just listing surgery or medical issues, she actually had it printed in the bulliten that I had WLS. I don't even attend there on a regular basis. But now when I visit, people ask me if I'm the WLS daughter, and how much I have lost. It's crazy. I HAD to tell my mom, she helped with my daughter while I was in the hospital, my hubs works a lot of over night shifts, and my daughter was only 11 when I had surgery.

at the pureed stage I used tajin on my cottage cheese, it was the only way I could get it down. I had no issues at all, and I was about 3 weeks out.

I have found a great snack. They are called P3, buy Oscar Meyer, and they are meat, cheese and nuts. About 150 calories, but 14-16 grams of Protein. I get them at walmart by the lunchables for $1 each. I always have them on hand in the fridge, so if I get hungry or my family chooses to eat something that I either don't like, or isn't good for my sleeve, I can have that. I like them for lunch, or I split them into 2 Snacks in the same day. At the 4ish month mark I was able to start really eating, and when I say really eating, I mean 3-4 oz at a time, three times a day. Tonight for example, I had a piece of corned beef, about 3/4 the size of a deck of cards, 1/2 of a red potato and 3 or 4 cabbage leafs. I was satisfied, but not stuffed. I skipped the Irish Soda bread, and the Guiness cupcakes that were for dessert. Instead about 2 hours after dinner I had the other half of my greek yogurt from Breakfast that I had stuck in the freezer, so it was like ice cream. And last night for "dessert" I had 1/2 of a banana that I had stuck in the freezer tossed into the yonana machine, and made into soft serve. I don't feel deprived that way, and I'm eating things that are good for me.

I was told not to use the gummy Vitamins. Not sure why, but both my surgeon and the NUT said absolutely no gummy vitamins. I will ask why when I go in next time.

I use Centrum and my blood work has been perfect for the last 2 visits. My first post-op set of labs showed me Iron and folic acid deficient so I added those, but other than that I'm within normal levels of everything he tested me for, and it was a HUGE list. They aren't bariatric specific, but they are complete.

I went from band to sleeve, and haven't regretted it for a moment. I made it to my goal in 6 months. I'm under my original goal, and in a size 4/5. My goal was to be in the single digit sizes, now everyone says I'm "tiny". It's crazy. I talked to a plastic surgeon, and he wants me to gain 10 pounds before he will even consider a skin reduction.

I'm down 125 pounds and I went from a 42dd down to a 34c. They are proportionate to my body, so I'm happy with the size reduction. And all the women in my family are big chested.

I second the resale shop suggestion above. Look online for thrift stores or the salvation army has stores in many areas. I have a store in my area that benefits a womens domestic violence shelter. We joke with the ladies there that I rent my clothes. I buy them, (really cheap) and then re-donate when I have lost out of them. I have gone from a 22 to a 4/6. Now they keep an eye out for me, and when things come in that fit my style and size they hold them for me. Remember that alcohol is empty calories, and the hangover isn't really worth it. Don't go down a dangerous path without a really good plan, and drinking is a dangerous path. Since you already know that many people turn to alcohol then be prepared, and keep any drinking in strict moderation. Also remember that your tiny tummy will absorb the alcohol quicker, so you will become drunk very quickly, and then sober up just as fast. Since my surgery 10 months ago I have only had 4 drinks, 2 glasses of wine at formal dinners, a mixed drink in the Bahamas, and a hard cider. That's the extent of my drinking, and I always made sure I had someone to drive me after, and also that the people around me knew that I had a low tolerance for alcohol. You were very pretty pre surgery, but you are smokin' hot now. Great work!

I was sleeved May 8th 2013, and I am glad to say I will NEVER shop for myself at Lane Bryant again! Don't get me wrong, I loved being able to go in and shop and not feel like everyone was staring at me, or having a super tiny sales associate look down her nose at me, but I'm also glad to not have to pay $30 for a tank top ever again. Oh, and for some inspiration, when they have their annual sale, Victoria Secrets panties are not too crazy priced, and they are soo super cute. I went in and asked for a med, and the sales girl told me I looked more like a small, guess what? She was right. The effort you put out there is so totally worth it, work your sleeves for everything they have, and you will love the results!

I did the band out and revision the same day. I was more sore from the port removal than anything else. So the sleeve should be much easier than the band removal, at least I would think so. I had my band for almost 8 years, and I still have a nasty knot of scar tissue where my port was, my hubby calls it a phantom port. I'm hoping when I get my plastics done, they will remove the port scar, and the hard knot that is under it. Now that I'm at goal, it sticks out, and looks like a tumor.

Don't stress about one day of "wrong foods" we all have days where we make less than perfect choices. I know I for one have had some horrible food days, but I bet even making bad choices you still ate 80% less then you would have pre-surgery. Think of it like this, last night I had 2 oreo Cookies, presurgery I would have had 2 ROWS of oreo cookies. So my bad choice was still less than a full serving, I satisfied my sweet craving, and guess what I'm still down 126 pounds. I got up this morning, and I'm still at goal, my size 4 pants still fit me, and my world didn't collapse around me. I had my sleeve done, to get the weight off, not to have to eat "diet food" the rest of my life. If I was able to make perfect food choices 100% of the time I wouldn't have needed the sleeve to begin with. So give yourself a break, take a deep breath, and know that a "bad food choice" here and there isn't a deal breaker. Don't add to your stress by freaking out over every non diet food you put in your body. I made it to my goal in less than a year, and I still eat things I crave. I make good choices 95% of the time. But I do occasionally have an ice cream, or a cupcake. And it hasn't derailed my progress at all.

I know when I got to the "Whole liquids" or pureed stage, I requested that my creamy chicken be ran through a blender at a local restaurant, and they were able to do it no problem. I have also had them puree the black bean Soup at panera and it's like thin refried black Beans. Basically if they offer smoothies, or blended mixed drinks they have a blender and will usually puree Soups for you. I also order my salad with no lettuce, just the toppings, so I get tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, onions and a few croutons, dressing on the side. I dip my veggies in the dressing and nibble while waiting on the main course, or I get a soup to go if that's an option, and it's lunch the next day or dinner that night when we do lunch out. My 12 year old is not able to finish an adult meal, and isn't much for the kids options, so we usually split something grilled, or blackened. We love blackened chicken, and if she eats the soup or salad I get to choose the side, if I take the soup home she chooses the side. Sometimes we take turns picking the meal, but honestly I eat so little, and I'm not really a picky eater so I try to get her to make the selection. I think it's a good way to get her to make healthy choices for herself, and starting her on a better path to adulthood. She knows my limitations, and almost always makes good choices for both of us. I guess I'm lucky, she was never a hotdog, grilled cheese, or spagetti kind of kid, so kids meals haven't ever really appealed to her. They offer such horrible choices to kids at 99% of restaurants. But we have learned over the coarse of the last year or so that some places have kid sized portions of the adult options, just ask.