mae7365

100 pounds in 8 months......great job! I know you have to feel healthier just by the fact that you are off some medications. And having people compliment you on your success is such a great motivator! Congratulation!!!!!

I love Syntrax Matrix with Water and sweetened almond milk (4 ozs each). The flavors are good and they aren't thick like many of the Protein shakes I've tried. And, they have lots of protein.

I hope you are very, very proud of the decision you made. As time passs, you won't care who knows about your surgery. Because as time passes, you get healthier and appreciate the new you, it won't matter what anyone else thinks, or feels. You will know that the only one who can make you happy with yourself.....is you. It is the one thing that I learned from surgery. It was all about ME and I was worth it!

I found I have to eat before going to bed. Why? I sleep eat. I didn't believe it until I brought it up at the last support group and the NUT said it's a real thing. I've found chicken bones on the kitchen counter and don't remember eating a piece of chicken. I found an empty jelly doughnut box and don't remember eating a doughnut. I have a history of sleep walking since I was a young child, so I guess it's reared it's ugly head. P.S. The NUT is going to talk to the psychologist and see what he recommends. In the meantime, she told me to make sure I eat something before bed so I can at least control my food intact.

Eat. As mentioned above, if your body thinks it's "starving" it holds weight and minimizes energy utilization - hence fatigue.

I had been dieting for 6 months prior to my first meeting with the surgeon. A week before surgery I realized I had dropped my BMI from 39 to 33 and I knew it needed to be 35 to be considered for surgery. I actually had to gain 15 pounds before my appointment to assure I met Aetna criteria. My PCP and I had both come to the realization that I wasn't going to get below 33 BMI after I stopped taking the diet pills she had prescribed for the first 6 months. Once I stopped taking the diet pills, gaining weight to meet my BMI requirement was easy. I had a 36.1 BMI on the day of surgery, so my 6 month pre-op diet did show a reduction as required by insurance.

My NUT said Crystal Light is OK as Water replacement. That's all I use.

I had a party at my home last month. There were six of us sitting around the kitchen table, and 4 of the 6 had had WLS. The others were amazed. Obviously, WLS is more common than I ever imagined!

I just need to add that with time, all foods are tolerable in limited quantity. Yes, your eating habits will hopefully be forever changed, but with time, you will never need to feel deprived. Protein shakes are still my main source of protein, but I can go out to dinner with my husband and always find something on the menu. I take a bite of his dessert and it satisfies that craving for sweets. I've had a small slice of pizza. I do not feel deprived at 5 months post op. It is the best decision I've made for myself. I was always worried about kids, husband, work.......this was just for me and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to change my life.

I didn't have a band to sleeve revision, but I was low BMI at the time of surgery. My BMI was 36.1, but had been as high as 38. I had comorbidities that got Aetna to approve my surgery. I did have acid reflux before sleeve surgery and very bad reflux for the first 3 months after surgery. I was taking Nexium and Prilosec after surgery and had to sleep sitting up. I would wake up with coughing fits and my voice was actually beginning to change. Finally around 3 months post-op, it began to get better. I still take one 20mg prilosec each day and I still get reflux if I eat to close to bedtime. When I stop eating after 7:30 pm, I have no reflux. And the coughing has stopped. But I would have had the surgery even if I knew the reflux would be bad post-op. It was that important to me. I also found that Alka-Seltzer heartburn chews and Gas-X were my constant companion. I rarely need either anymore - I just had my 5 month anniversary on the 12th.

A very good friend of my son has a failed lapband from 5 years ago (still inside her, but no inflation/restriction). She is very heavy, but happy. She told me a year ago that her own Mother told her she loved her move then she was thinner. I can't imagine such cruelty to a stranger, let alone her own daughter. I told her that love is unconditional, and I love her for who she is, not what she looks like. You ARE BETTER than the cruel people who make cruel comments about you. Love yourself because you are worth it. And be happy that you've made a decision to become healthier, since that is what weight loss is all about.

Well I totally understand the lapse in program as I've been "carb loading" for the past 3 weeks and I've gained 2 lbs. I'm 4 months post op today and I've lost 56 lbs. so far and I'm very happy with that. But you are not alone in this lifetime journey. I'm trying to put the past behind me and start each day with a fresh attitude about what I eat and more importantly what I don't eat. All I can say is don't give up on yourself. You've lost 75 pounds and you have to feel better about yourself for that. If you need to give in to the "carb" craving, I've purchased BelVita Breakfast biscuits. If you eat the whole package it's 230 calories and 4 grams of Protein. I eat 2 out of the 4 biscuits when I'm craving carbs. They are nutritious, but have 35 grams of carbs. I know I feel better about eating them than when I was eating candy bars, Cookies and cake. And they taste good.

My favorite is only 23 gms of Protein, but it is wonderful I use Syntrax Matrix and I've tried three flavors and love them all. Mint cookie is my favorite. I make mine with 4 oz. sweetened almond milk and 4 ozs Water. The almond milk gives it a very rich flavor vs .just water or regular milk.

I love your post. I try to ignore the posts where people are "bitchy" to each other or complaining because some "newbie" didn't look for an old "thread" before posting a question. BTY, some of the old threads are six+ pages of responses and sometimes very difficult to find answers. I love your philosophy. I am currently reading the AA book (my son is an alcoholic and doesn't want to change), so I know what you mean about constantly reminding yourself of where you were in order to become and remain the person you want to be. Thank you for the reminder!

Very common. Your small stomach is still very swollen so you won't be able to eat very much before the discomfort begins.

I had a whole bunch of "food funerals" the weeks before my surgery. I not only had thoughts, I actually acted. I tried to eat as many of my favorite foods as possible knowing I wouldn't be able to enjoy them for a long time after surgery. I was not a very good pre-surgery patient. Lucky for me, I was has a low BMI and my surgeon wasn't overly concerned with my pre-op diet.

If your insurance pays for a hospital, go to a hospital. Hands down you are safer having this type of surgery in a hospital - mainly because hospitals have all the resources available to deal with just about any issue that occurs. Not just complications, but reactions to drugs etc. I go to surgery centers for true outpatient procedures, not for something as major as having 3/4 of my stomach removed. But if you are required to go to a surgery center, ask lots of questions. Make sure they have a plan for how they will handle complications. What happens if your surgeon "niches" another organ accidentally and you need a blood transfusion? Just make sure they have a PLAN B in the event of any emergency.

My NUT at our support group meeting said that soda is discouraged due to calories. She indicated that most obese patients drink sweetened soft drinks with lots of calories. I personally only drank diet soda. She also indicated that diet soda does not count toward daily Fluid intake since the carbonation acts as a diuretic. Does that make sense? I've had carbonated diet soda (I'm 4.5 months post op) and I just let it sit open to reduce some of the carbonation before I drank it.

I also had GERD and a hiatal hernia. He repaired hernia at time of VSG. I did suffer from heartburn for the first couple months after surgery, but it has now resolved and I'm actually not taking any prilosec or nexium as of last week. My doctor never seemed concerned with my acid reflux before surgery. He was pretty confident that it would resolve itself after surgery.

I had severe chest pain whenever I would drink anything for the first 3 days after surgery. My surgeon told me it was esophageal spasms and would go away after a few days. He was right. I guess they are caused by swelling from the surgery and when anything hot or cold hit the esophagus, I thought I was going to die. That could be what your daughter is having and why the surgeons aren't as concerned. I know it felt like I was dying and no one seemed to care. The biggest issue is dehydration, so hopefully it will stop soon and she will at least stay hydrated.

I use Syntrax Matrix with 4 oz of sweet almond milk and 4 ozs of water. I like the Mint Cookie and Cookies & Cream. The sweet almond milk is low in calories (40 calories in 4 oz) and it gives the shake a really nice flavor.

I joined the gym since my husband retired in January and I need something to do besides entertain him......but I do agree that I loose weight when I exercise and it is great for stress. I go there when I'm feeling overwhelmed with anxiety, emotions etc. I find that exercising really does clear my mind and reduce my anxiety level.

You look awesome!

For the first 6-8 weeks, your stomach is still swollen from surgery. I know that food was not high on my list for the first couple months. I just ate very small portions - like 1-1.5 ozs max until I was feeling better. Remember, the most important thing during those first few weeks is staying hydrated. Drink Water (or herbal tea like I did). I ended up back in the hospital at week 3 for I.V's and potassium since I ended up getting dehydrated. From that point forward, my doctor told me to eat when I was hungry and not eat if I didn't feel it would stay down. As long as I focused on water, broths, sugar-free juices and very thin Protein drinks I was fine. I made it through and I'm now 4.5 months post op and doing extremely well according to my surgeon last week. It will get better. Just be patient with yourself and your new, smaller stomach.