Amberina

Congratulations!! All of your hard work is paying off:) Just imagine where you will be next year at this time!!!!

Yes!! I work night and I am a single mother. On my 1 or 2 days off a week all I was able to do was sleep because I was exhausted from my crazy schedule. Now after the sleeve (I'm a little past 9 wks out) I have energy again. Now on my days off I'm constantly running - it is awesome! I am so happy I got the sleeve!!

My NUT recommended fish oil. Check with your team but it should be just fine.

I have also never heard a person who was successful with their wls say they wish they would have just ate better and lost the weight... seriously, like we haven't all tried that before we considered the sugery???? Sounds to me like your doctor was trying to sway you to 'try it on your own'. Like I said before, if you are anything like me, you have tried that dozens of times without results!! I used to be a person that could easily drop weight when I wanted to. After I had my son at age 35 that all changed. Within a year of his birth I had gained over 100lbs. No matter how hard I tried for the last 5 years, the weight would not come off. Before his birth I maintained a size 8-10 for years and years (since my 20's). After, I ballooned up to a size 24 and tried like crazy to loose the weight the way I always had (very similar to what I am doing now- small portions of high protein, low carb meals, protein shakes and I excersized 5-6 days a week and walked 7 days a week. It didn't work. What finally worked is the sleeve surgery! Something about the surgery just kick started the weight loss for my body.

My energy started to improve within days of the surgery. Now tha I am 9 weeks out it is incredible how much more energy I have! I work 5-6 night a week 12-14 hr shifts and I am a single mother. On my days off before the surgery I had to spend sleeping because I was so freaking exhausted. Now- wow! I spend my days off just going going going! I do fun stuff with my kids, shop, go out to eat- just a ton of stuff!! I did not expect this. I really thought my job was just taking a huge toll on me but really it was the excess weight.

I am SO happy you had a great experience!! Welcome to your new life!!!

Awesome job!! You look fantastic!! I also am going to keep my biggest pair of jeans as a reminder of what I never want to be again. It will help motivate me when I get discouraged.

Good luck to you all!! You are going to be so happy- this is by far the best thing I have ever done for myself! The first couple of days are going to be a bit tough (gas pains!!) But you will be feeling fantastic in a few days. CONGRATS!!!

This was me too but in 2011. IT was 13 full days before they could do the laproscopic gallbladder removal. It was horrible because for some reason the IV pain meds had zero effect on me. It does end. It gets better. You most likely need iv antibiotics to help the swelling go down. I promise it gets better! Just hang in there and you will get through it!!

I love Syntax nectar Protein powder. They have lots of flavors to choose from. My current favorite is Double Stuffed Cookie- it is so good!! I buy it from my surgeons offices and online.

I love Syntax Nectar!! My favorite is cookies and cream. It tastes like a mikshake- sooooooooo good!! They have around 20 flavors I think. They are fantastic!

I researched doctor's scales. The one I decided on was a Seca- it is a super high quality, German made scale know for its accuracy. They run about $400-$700 depending on the model. I looked on craigslist and found someone selling the $700 one in brand new condition for $70. I am SOOOO happy with it. It always reads the exact same as my doctors office scale.

....

My stats are somewhat close to yours. At 4 weeks out I was down about 40lbs. I am 6 weeks out now and down about 50. However, we are all so different from each other, and that makes is soooo hard to judge where you will be at 4 and 8 weeks out. Whatever your loss is by that time I can assure you that you will feel so much better no matter what the scale loss is. Eating healthier makes us have more energy and stamina. I was able to eat some types of salads starting at 6 weeks out. Mainly just spinach, assorted greens, chicken (small pieces) and light dressing. No carrots or chunkier veggies. Like the others have already said, there will be lots of other foods you will be able to eat at that time that are much easier and better choices than salad. I did find a 'superfood' salad at costco that has 16 grams of Protein per serving. It has 7 'superfoods' in it, making it very nutritionally dense. Since you will be away from home this won't help much. There will be lots of different choices you will have by that time. Just go by what your doctor and team has set for you and what feels right with your own body. Good luck and enjoy your Disney vacation!!

I live in Las Vegas and Dr Umbach was my surgeon. He is WONDERFUL!! I know that there were a couple of women in my pre op class that were out of state patients. They had surgery the day before me and were there for their post op IV therapy on the same day as me (1 day post op for me 2 day post op for them) after that they went to the airport to go back home. I think for your situation, if you have someone here to stay with, you should do it. It will make you feel better and you will have someone to look after you. If you're like me flights always make me feel icky afterwards- staying put for a week or so would be great after surgery. I know I felt awesome about 3-4 days out of surgery. It was that first day (day of) that I felt really icky (that gas pain in my collar bone!!) By day 3 it was about gone. Let me just say that Dr Umbach is so AWESOME!! He and his staff have made this the best experience EVER!! You are so luck to have him as your surgeon. And why not make it a mini vacation to Vegas while you're here!!

I am so sorry if I scared you- that wasn't my intention. I just happened to have a TERRIBLE experience with it. Even at it's worst, if you just fight the cravings you will be ok. I know it's probably scary because it happened to coincide with a stall. If you push through that I think you'll feel so much better about it. Just make sure to ignore the insane sugar cravings!! That was my downfall. I ate Cap'n Crunch for breakfast lunch and dinner. I even started to put extra sugar on top of it!! I grew up in a house where that is unacceptable. My cravings were just intense. Just stay on your plan and you will be fine. It's not the hormone itself that causes weight gain, it's the fact it causes hunger and therefore you eat more that causes it.

I was just hungry all the time. And all I wanted was sugar. I was never a person with a sweet tooth before that. The cravings have worn off now- almost 4 years after it was put in. I will never get nexplanon again. I do have to say that I am very sensitive to ANY birth control with hormones. That is why I tried the nexplanon. It was one of the lowest on the list. And yes, I most definitely gained 100lbs. It took a little over a year but it happened. I was miserable!! Remember though- I had the nexplanon implanted BEFORE my sleeve. You have it AFTER. I don't think it will affect you badly because the chemical that causes hunger cannot be produced in your stomach, that part was removed. That is what got me. Always feeling hungry. You may stall for a bit but I'm confident that you will be successful even with the nexplanon!!

Also Zyprexa makes you feel Hungary but with the,sleeve the hunger causing chemicals are not there. My best friend takes zyprexa. She gained over 100 lbs because if it. She was sleeved last year and has had great success!! She just doesn't feel hungry anymore. I think it will work great for you.

I had Nexplanon implanted about 3 years ago. I have always gone up and down with my weight, but after getting it put in I gained almost 100lbs. I had never had that big of a weight gain before- not even close! Normally I can diet pretty easily and loose any weight pretty quickly. Not after the Nexplanon. I tried and tried and couldn't loose the weight. That is the reason I decided to get the sleeve. My doctor told me that I might gain 5lbs when I was getting it put in..... Lucky me I gained 100. After my ordeal I have found several people with the same experience that I had. So just be very careful- it can definitely hinder wight loss. Oh- I also wanted to mention that I craved sugary foods constantly. I would have been happy to eat sugary Cereal for Breakfast lunch and dinner. I lost interest in normal foods. Also I did loose my periods for quite a while. When they did return it was more like spotting. I used to have pretty heavy, regular periods before that.

Uh, yes! Liquid goes through. When you eat something with just a little weight to it, you will be shocked! ^^^ This is so very true. The first week or so I felt the same way. I could drink quite a bit- I thought something was wrong. Now at 4 weeks out I can only eat about 1.5- 2 oz at a time. My favorite is cottage cheese with a bit of avocado. I feel full after a few tiny bites!

What brand do you use? I would love to try this. My surgeon and NUT both have suggested adding a b-12 supplement.

@KSTUZ- Yes I had my sleeve done on July 22nd. I am 4 weeks out. I have lost a total of 40lbs (that includes 10 lbs lost on my 1 week pre op diet). I am worried about not getting enough exercise. I work at a desk for 12-14hr shifts 5 nights a week. I am also a single mom to two kids. I am usually exhausted when I get home. My first day off I have to spend sleeping (I work nights). I need to find time to exercise. I usually walk around my complex when I get home and if I have time, before I leave again for work. I REALLY need to work out a schedule so I can get more workout time in. You are such an inspiration. I want to have the success you have had, and that means I need to step it up quite a bit! You look absolutely AMAZING!!! Keep up the awesome work and continue to be an inspiration to all of us here on the forum!!

Wow!!! You look awesome !! I only hope I can be half as successful as you!! You look absolutely AMAZING! Way to go!!!

That was great!! I think everyone here can relate to your story. I am 3 weeks post-op and your story was very inspiring to me

It depends on what kind of job you have. I work at a desk. I am on the phone and computer most of the time. I had surgery on Wednesday and was back at work on Monday. If your job requires more physical exertion, I would take more time. Good luck!!