LindafromFlorida

Mandie, I friended you so I can follow your journey. Big hugs!!!! Linda

Hi Linda, I'm in Florida too. Where did you or will you go for your sleeve? Hi Ally, Jacksonville, Surgery by Dr. (awesome) Uchal! St. Vincent's Riverside. Sleeved 11/18. Ally

Diabetes, heart and HBP have been slowly killing my husband many years. As you age, health worsens. It is your call. Finally we were OLD enough that Medicare and our Supplemental Insurance allowed us to have the surgery at 65 and 66. We are hoping it will prolong our lives instead of waiting to die from sitting in our chairs. But honestly, Healthymesoon, you have to be confident to have this surgery, so WAIT TIL YOU ARE. Best of luck!

LOL Cubs! Made me laugh. PS, I have always hated McDonalds, it was batter fried fish for me!

Wear loose clothing you can wear home (stomach at belly button are will be sore). We slept mostly, so no books or ipad/laptops needed. Needed robe for walks in the hall following surgery. 1 night in hospital, just used hospital gown they provided. We needed no gas-x, lip balm, and other things people recommended. In and out so fast! I can truly say it was 10 times easier than we expected, and we took 1 dose of pain med once we got home. Good luck, we are loving it!

10 years we researched every weight loss surgery and the sleeve was the only thing we felt was safe for us. I think you will find your answer here by reading the posts here, and asking questions. Good luck! Ask questions!

Food will be replaced by a healthy lifestyle and addiction to exercise I believe, looking at your post. Thank goodness you are young and fit enough to do these things to go along with your new plan of living. Your stats are similar to my husband, and he was sleeved 12/2. He is 65 with lots of health problems, so reading your post makes me proud that you are taking this step before you experience health problems like we did. Ten years ago we started this journey with seminars, but very cautious! Good luck on a new life!

Yes! The headaches were awful and common from what I read here. Sleep was the only relief. You will survive it though and pretty soon the headaches will go away! I think it is from dehydration. Best of luck!

Hello all. I developed diabetes type II diabetes over a year ago, and prior to that my feet were hurting so bad I would cry with the pain at night. During the day I was busy and just kept plodding on since I was working. I bough arthritis cream LOL. No help. Finally self diagnosed myself with neuropathy, and my doctor gave me Lyrica, which caused horrible blisters on my toes. I had to come off the Lyrica. Since the sleeving 11/18, I have no more neuropathy/pain in my feet. I dont know why but thank God. I have had a bout with gout recently in my big toe. Google neuropathy and see if your symptoms relate. My doctor said you don't have to be diabetic to have neurpathy. Good luck!

Recycled, you GO! Positive attitude and humor go hand in hand with your new life!!! Happy exercising!

LOL, Thanks Michael. It feels good to be rarin' to go on this weight loss. My husband is proof that you will lose without walking since he can barely walk due to back and leg problems. He has gone from 320 to 269 since Sept. 13, and his sleeve was 12/2. You are younger and we only wish we could have had this surgery 10 years ago when we could have exercised. This site and the friends here will give you lots of guidance in your new life!

Wow. I sure could not have done that. I would say you should still be resting a bit and starting off a little slower. A lot of people get low blood pressure and get dizzy following surgery, and not to be a negative ninny here, you might want to slow down a little. Like I keep reading here, we don't put the weight on overnight, so we will lose slowly. My husband has had the low BP/dizziness. Best of luck, proud for you!!!!

Hope you are feeling better - watch your BP also. This was my husband's problem, low blood pressure!

Soooooooo proud for you!!! Keep up the good work!

Our bodies are so different. I took one dose of pain med when I got home, rested, and 3 days after surgery went to the grocery store. One week later I had so much energy and shopped for hours. I always hated shopping. Now that is all I want to do. I think spring will rejuvenate everyone! I know it will make me happy. Best wishes.

Our surgeon said: Eat healthy. Do not eat three meals a day. Eat only when you are hungry. It is working for us. Good luck!

Jouselle, you are not betraying them! They can join you if they wish. Life is about change. Seems like every decade of my life has been about change. This is about your health. We all have skinny friends and overweight friends. They will still love YOU. Tour weight does not define you. Your heart defines YOU. Hugs this morning.

For every negative scary post I think you will find 10 successful positive posts. I shied away from the negative posts pre-surgery because I went in for surgery to prolong the lives of me and my husband. Any surgery is scary. But the knowledge that my husband's health and mine were going downhill rapidly made the surgery look like a piece of cake. We began WLS seminars 10 years ago and took this very seriously. Only regret we did not have sleeve sooner before everything got WORSE with our health. Best of luck!

This forum is the best thing going for all of us. The FB chatter is just that, chatter. We are real people with real issues, going through a wonderful new phase of our lives, but a little scary! This is your support group so use it to the max!!!! Hubby is doing well. Just be careful - when you feel lightheaded, sit! Don't shower! LOL. Good night and good luck, this can be fixed, Linda

Sounds like you have figured out it is low blood pressure. Pretty common from what I see here. My husband and I have both come off 1 of our BP meds and his BP is running high and low since surgery. He passed out cold in the shower, broke 6 tiles and really hurt himself. I don't know if I would work out a lot right now if I were you, until you get the okay. If you pass out you could severely injure yourself. Err on the side of caution. Good luck!

Hang in there. You will get lots of replies, and learn something new every day. This time has flown by. I was sleeved 11/18 and my husband 12/2, so we had no Thanksgiving dinner and a "light" Christmas dinner. We were so excited about the sleeve and that helped a little. You will find so many friends here and check our the forums section too, there are different groups and blogs. Good luck!

What are you allowed to eat Matt? Everyone here is on different plans, seems no surgeon is the same. My husband and I were allowed 2 weeks liquids after the sleeve, and we did a lot of low sodium chicken soup, bouillon, mushroom soup, and of course the shakes. We tried every kind of shake but prefer the Premier protein chocolate you can buy at Sams/Costco, or online. You can get sugar free Torani syrups in the coffee section and add to the shakes, or Almond Milk if allowed. Also you can add Crystal Light powder to the vanilla shakes. I think SF popsicles saved our sanity. This phase will be done soon then you go to mushies, and can have things like refried beans, puddings, tuna, and pureed food. What we learned from this 2 months ago when we had surgery was to keep busy. Next thing you know you will be 2 months post op and helping others!

Mandie, here is what I can tell you. I am 2 months post op and off Metformin, off a BP med and no more neuropathy. My husband is 2 months post sleeve also, and has had Type II diabetes 35 years. He is 65 years old. He is on insulin twice a day. Prior to surgery he was eating carbs and fruits like crazy at bedtime, because he bottomed out at a 40 blood sugar so many times, unconscious, ambulance and ER. Most days his blood sugar was 400 - 300 - 250. He had terrible circulation, neuropathy, cellulitis from the swelling in his ankles. He had a toe amputated at the end joint. It was very scary. With the help of the hyperbaric chamber his toe healed wonderfully. Now he has gone from 320 to 269 since October '13. His insulin dosage is down. No more night sweats. He eats nothing at night now and his blood sugar does not go down. I lived in terrible fear nights with this going on for about 22 years. His blood sugar most mornings now is 110-125. He does not have to eat Snacks all day now to keep his blood sugar stable. Today he had 1/2 carton premier Protein shake, 1 cup homemade vegetable Soup, 3/4 cup stir fried zucchini and a 4 oz. filet mignon. That is it. I would suggest that you start visiting some excellent doctors and ask a million questions. BTW, my husband was terrified to have this surgery because he did not think he would heal. The sleeve incisions healed perfectly. I told him in front of the surgeon, that he looked scared. He admitted it. I said I am scared if you don't have the sleeve, and the doctor agreed. He has a heart stent, was on 3 BP meds, and the Diabetes. Sometimes you just have to put your faith in God and go for it. You can finance the surgery. It could be the price of your life from what you are posting. Please get educated by the surgeon and endocrinologist, and by posting here, and make an informed decision. I am praying for you girl! God Bless.

Hi Katie, 66 here, hernias for me and my husband also. Seem to be pretty common here. Sounds like you are doing good. I have had a knee replacement so I am doing the recumbent bike. Just bought myself a gorgeous bicycle and cannot wait for warmer weather to ride it. Best wishes on your journey, I am celebrating my new life every day. Wish you lived near me so we could bike together lol!

Try dry roasted edamame - I absolutely love this as a little snack.