Fluffnomore

Nice jugs, LV.

Neeeeeaaaar….faaaaaar….whereeeeeeeever you are….. (The singer chimes in.)

Thanks for posting. I am also a 10/24 sleeve, and I'm on full liquids now. I can easily get in 600-700 calories per day with shakes, Soups, etc. and I get the sense from reading here that I might be eating too much. OTOH, I'm losing overall and hitting the Protein and liquids goals. It's so easy to obsess and I appreciate Cheri's note above. My main problem is that I keep forgetting that I should be shooting more for 4-6 oz of soup, than 8. I guess I'm a slow learner, but I'm only now starting to figure out what's too much. It is still surprising to me when I start to feel those cues at under 4 oz. Every day is an adventure.

I wavered back and forth until I was approved. Then, I was lucky enough to get a surgery date in under two weeks. So I kind of feel like it went fast enough that I couldn't completely lose my mind worrying about it. You're going to do great.

And you tell them you're selling donut flavored supplements?

I honestly never thought about this. I appreciate Laura's initial information because it makes a lot of sense. This would have been one of those things that I would think, "What's the harm?" Other than being disgusting... Cue after school special commercial music: "The more you know…"

Yay! I have lost a little faster than I thought but it's bumping up and down now. Thankfully still on a downward trend. Way to go, Bird.

I'm with Lipstick Lady. There are just so many people around me, and I don't like the idea of being the subject of speculation. However, being in the beginning stages of this I don't know what I will do long term. That said, CANCER???? Jesus. My lie to a couple of people, which isn't a lie because in my case it is also true, is that I had hiatal hernia surgery. And the medical protocol for that surgery is similar anyway. Sigh. I'm an open book most of the time; I don't know why I am having trouble with this one. And hey, fluffynomore11_13…nice name.

I've been pondering this question from another angle. I live (in the smallest house, LOL) in a really nice neighborhood where the ladies are mostly known for being skinny (even underweight), fashionable and pretty. I have hear the sentence (name changed), "Mary and John would love to have another baby but Mary won't be able to do it unless she breaks down, stops working out obsessively and occasionally has a sandwich." They reference the "white wine and their kid's ritalin" diet. I joke that I can't hang with them because I don't own a tennis skirt. So extreme caloric limitation, obsessive working out, drinking to excess (not hard when you're not eating) are celebrated. It's kind of the opposite social pressure than many deal with. I'm not sure that I'd get mocked or made fun of for revealing WLS, or even that I care. But in our community of a few hundred families that I know and socialize with, I can only count about 5-7 women who are overweight in any way. As I move out into my social circle away from the neighborhood there's a huge variety in weight. But socioeconomically speaking the more money most of my friends have, the less likely they are to be obese. I don't know what this has to do with telling vs not telling…but I know for me, I am more likely to reveal the details to people who it might benefit. And most of them aren't physically the closest to me.

Way to go! Love seeing this.

Our big family joke is that my first pureed meal is going to be a cheeseburger. Cheeseburger in a blender. Good band name, now that I think about it. I mean, it totally won't be, but for some reason the idea cracks me up. I find that laughing at the circumstances is more productive to me than mourning about what I can't have, but I recognize that everyone is going to handle this as best they can. (I'm 2 weeks out now.)

Hey! Re the lying/hiatal hernia…I did look up the recovery protocol for one and it can be the same/similar as VSG. I just say my doctor's conservative. Oh man, what a tangled web. But again, it's no one's business…we don't owe them even that much of an explanation. Here's a blogger's version of it. LOL, maybe she had VSG too... http://www.3sidesofcrazy.com/2012/05/hiatal-hernia-restricted-diet.html

I'm still struggling with this a little. I have a group of about 10 friends from various parts of my life that know. My mother knows. My husband and kids know. And that's it. Interestingly (I almost typed "unfortunately), I work with two different companies, one as a consultant and one as a part-time manager. Both of these companies involve my working with large groups of volunteers, out in public. Out of necessity, they know I had surgery and that I was out of touch for a couple of days. Those who have asked have been told it was hiatal hernia surgery with a strict diet afterwards, because I've already had an event in which it was obvious that I couldn't eat and I couldn't walk around lifting boxes of wine, auction items, etc. When discussing it I was initially very vague and said, "Abdominal surgery." There are select people within both groups who know that I had both HH and WLS surgery, but I'm not ready to be the poster child amongst literally 100 people. So, I'm on the threshold of the closet. I'm not sure what I'll do as the weight loss becomes more apparent, but right now I feel like it's my business as much as it can be. And it's pronounced high-ay-tal. Smile.

I think it's perfectly natural to grieve. I'm sorry it's been so hard for you. You have to try to remember that this is still short-term for you and that you may feel differently about these things in a few weeks or months. I don't have any answers yet. I'm two weeks in. But I don't have the buyer's remorse you do either. Have you sat down with a counselor or therapist to talk about this? I don't throw that out lightly. I was not so morbidly obese that it was life or death for me this week. Nonetheless, I have to recognize that sooner or later my behavior(s) would if not kill me then not allow me to live a happy and fulfilled, active and healthy life. For me, I have had hundreds of cheeseburgers (probably) but I only have one life. And I don't want to live it the way I was living it. As for why you can't diet? None of us can. Or rather, we can…but we can't maintain. This is not an easy fix at all, but it can be helpful. I really hope you find a way to reconcile. It really will be okay. Thinking of you and sending positive thoughts.

You're so right. I'm weighing once a day just to track it along with all of my food and it's amazing the differences that can occur just in that time period. I have decided to change my weight in my profile only when I get weighed at the doctor's in a couple of weeks. And I'm fighting myself. There's very little for me to "regulate" right now! I'm on liquids, I'm hitting my protein and fluid numbers, and I am not taking in more than about 750 calories on my "biggest" days. There is NOTHING to adjust except my attitude.

She's not Queen. She's a princess. Please try to keep up, Your Pugaliciousness. How do I get to be a princess too?

I had dilaudid in the hospital every three hours, including one last "road warrior" shot about 30 minutes before I left. Was supposed to switch to Tylenol with codeine after but after the first 6-12 hours (and taking one or two doses) I decided it tasted so nasty and was hard enough to get down that I'd see how I did without it. And I was fine. I absolutely loved it in the hospital: they'd come by and give me a shot in the IV, and then I'd doze gently for the next hour to two hours, get up, trot up and down the hall dutifully, and then wait for the next dose. However my good friend who was sleeved in June had a horrible reaction to it. They also gave me the anti-nausea at the same time, the whole time. (Reglan, I think.) I went off that at the hospital too; no need to continue at home thank goodness.

This is a great post. Congratulations!

All I saw above was "butter your butt" so I think I might need to look into that therapy sooner rather than later. SMDH.

I went out for Mexican with my family the week before surgery. I had the chicken soup, ate only the broth, and had an unsweetened iced tea. You can do this. Just because it's your birthday doesn't mean you get a free pass. My birthday's coming up later this month and I will still be on all liquids. You know what? It's ONE day. It's just a day. I'm going to get a pedicure and call it even. Good luck.

Is it likely you would get stranded? (I mean, seriously now…do you live in an area like this?) If yes, by all means put together an emergency kit and have bottled Water and some portable, long-lasting food. If not, try not to freak yourself out with what might happen. It's highly unlikely you'd ever encounter this scenario.

My mom was surprisingly supportive. I was not expecting it. I am a founding member of ACORN (Adult Children of Registered Nurses. Our motto: "Don't bleed on my couch!") Children of RNs generally don't get a lot of support in medical situations, in case that isn't clear. Both times I've gone into labor, my mother's comment was, "Are you sure? Don't bother the nurses." ANYWAY. She has also struggled with weight all of her adult life, and over the last 3 years went into an intense liquid/protein/appetite suppressant diet under medical supervision. She lost the majority of her extra weight and has settled back about 20-30 pounds over her minimum. It continues to be a constant struggle. So I was sure she would tell me I should go that route and get upset with me for having a needless surgical procedure, etc. She didn't. She's been great. In fact, I told her that one of my main reasons for hitting this at 44 is that I didn't want to wait another 20 years to get to her kind of success. She has been supportive and is investigating this on the sly for my older brother, who has Type 2 diabetes.

C'mon Laura. Back away. You're not supposed to be in here.

I really believe that fat-shaming is kind of the last frontier of things we're allowed to make fun of in public with little impunity.