liannatx

@Luvin_Life125 "tuna salad or chicken salad individually portioned and ready to go. I sometimes eat it on cucumber slices or use it as a dip for red pepper slices. syntrax nectar fruit flavors. I buy a different 5# bag every month and use the snack size ziplock bags to package single servings ready to grab. I use a sharpie to write the flavor on the bag. Buying one container a month allows me to build up a good variety of flavors without a big one time investment. The Syntrax flavors mix easily and with little clumping in a bottle of Water, no mixer bottle needed. The ziplock bags keep the powder contained and easy to carry a few in my purse all the time. When I am ready to make a bottle, I just rip or cut the corner off the bag and it pours through the small bottle neck without making a mess. I like my flavors diluted so one scoop works perfectly for me in a regular bottle of water. You may have to adjust the amount you keep in your bags to suit your preferences." I love both of these ideas! I love cucumbers and that will be a great alternative to crackers. I learn something new here daily and just file it away for future reference.

I looked at your before and afters in your Gallery, You look fabulous!

It is almost impossible to predict. I would think, since you didn't have so much to lose, that it should bounce back nicely. I recall reading somewhere that areas that have stretch marks do not shrink back 'as well', since the skins elasticity has already been stretched past its limit. Factors that seem to affect it are the amount of loss, how long at the highest weight, age, genetics, and LUCK, lol.

I have heard of that, and recommended it to mother. I used to do the Leslie Sansone dvd "Walk away the Pounds". It is very low impact too.... I got mine on ebay super cheap. I would just pop it in the DVD and do it my living room.

Yes! The first 2 days even one tiny sip gave me foamies. By day 3 I was able to take small sips easily all day. From the 4th day on I have been able drink with no problem. My surgeon said that water/liquid goes through pretty fast once the swelling is down, but no more than 4 oz in 15 min, heck that is a 16.9 oz bottle of Water in an hour!

Surgery 3/9/15 and I did the same. I had some nausea and wasn't vomiting, but was spitting foamies into a cup and could see reddish brown tiny blobs (almost grainy size) in every spit. The nurse said it was blood residue from inside my stomach as a result of the surgery, and that it was perfectly normal. It was only that first day, and maybe a tiny bit the next day. As a side note, the ice chips and Water also made me nauseous on the second day, but by day 3 preop I was able to sip VitaminWater Zero and such with no problems at all. Sending Wishes for an easy recovery!

That is great that your hunger is so diminished and your old (bad?) food habits are broken! I personally don't see anything bad about your intake if it is working for you, and you feel good there. My surgeon recommends 600-800 calories in the losing stage. He calls the first 6-8 months when Sleevers lose the most weight Honeymoon phase, the Ghrelin is still at bay and our higher weight/calorie deficit ratio really helps the pounds drop at a pretty fast pace. He says to take advantage of this stage, then up calories to 800-1000 when getting closer to maintenance, and keep increasing calories in stages 1000-1200, 1200-1400, etc once you reach goal to find a maintenance range. All that being said, a thousand different people will have a thousand different variations of the same basic plan LOL.

@onmywaytobeingfound There is also a little blue "@Mention" button at the bottom of everyones username profile. It tags that post and notifies the person that a response was made to them.

I also had horrible scarring and adhesions. My surgeon was going to do a revision but once he got in there he felt it would be better to let my stomach heal and return to a semi-normal shape. I had to weight four months for the Sleeve surgery. I had the band for 9 years though, and apparently the damage was extensive. I am also surprised they still do the Lap-Bands, and surprised anyone would want it.

I have a bruise that is so dark it is eggplant colored. It isn't that large though. I had some really ugly bruising after I had my lapband out that stuck around for weeks, I just assumed they were normal for me.... maybe an effect of the blood thinners.

Great post! I love your attitude, it will serve you well on this journey. This quote struck a cord with me, “Once you’ve made the decision to move on, don’t look back. You will never find your future in the rear view mirror.”

@proudgrammy Thanks. I will make sure I am taking small sips. I have really had a great recovery so far, just a little tired but I know that will get better every day.

Thank you Elode! I guess people don't tend to post about it NOT being an issue, I will just sip away then.

I wish I had done sleeve to begin with. I had Lapband thinking it would a lifetime tool. I had 5 great years banded, lost to goal and maintained. Then the next 4 were a misery of fill/unfill, sliming, vomiting, and just feeling horrible. I finally had it removed and the damage and scar tissue required an almost 3 hour surgery to remove it and clean out some of the scar tissue and adhesions for a future sleeve surgery. I was sleeved last week. I feel like I wasted 10 years and 2 surgeries on the Lapband.... I am surprised they still do them do to the damage, complications, and revision rate.

Frozen scallops? Yum, I may have to check it out!

I am day 6 post op. I couldn't even handle the ice chips on day 2, they gave me foamies. The 3rd morning I was able to slowly take little sips of Water with an occasional burp like pressure, and by the 3rd evening could just sip on any clear liquid with no problems at all. The last 3 days I can sip and finish a 20 oz bottle within an hour or 2. (an ounce every 3-5 minutes?) I don't feel any pain, pressure, or burpy feeling at all. I am easily getting in 60-80 oz of fluids. Is it possible to drink to much or too fast and not know it? Or is just trickling through at the rate that I am sipping it? I don't want to hurt my new tummy.

I have been pouring 1/2 of one into my Water or VitaminWater 3x daily. I had to look at the label, it is a blend of Collagen Protein Isolate, whey Protein, and Casein protein. My surgeon approved them so I feel comfortable drinking them.

I have had diarrhea for 2 days now. Does this stop? Do I need have some Miralax in the mornings? It isn't painful or gutwrenching, just annoying and it hits instantly.

Folgers makes some new sugar free flavor drops. I got Caramel and Hazelnut. They also have Vanilla and mocha. I like them added to plain Vanilla Protein drinks. Changes it up just a touch.

I am going back Monday, which will be a week, and will be on fuller liquids. I was on full liquids pre-op, so I plan on doing pretty much the same things. Protein drink for Breakfast, some Soup for lunch, another Protein Drink for snack around 3 or 4. It worked pretty efficiantly pre-op.

Wow! You look great! The difference in your face alone is amazing, you look very happy and healthy.

My weight (fat, lol) is pretty evenly distributed. I would be afraid it would just sgueeze some of it to settle into a bigger panni or muffin tops! I am really curious about this. Let us know if you find positive results.

Vitamin Water Zero goes down much easier than plain water for me. I can easily drink 3 a day (60oz). The other thing I found at Walmart is the tubes of New whey Protein. The have 42g protein, and I pour half of one in each VitaminWater I drink. For the gas pains the more you walk and move around the faster the trapped air will work its way out. The Gas X strips are recommended by many many people post op. I have found that they help. Are you taking an acid blocker? Stomach acid can also cause rumbling and discomfort.

I was given acid blockers to take the first week, and recommended to take Prilosec or similar OTC ppi for the first 2-3 months. Try that, and try taking very tiny sips and spacing them a minute or two apart. I also discovered that VitaminWater Zero was much easier for me to drink than Water. I found the New whey Protein tubes in fruit punch (42 g protein) and pour half one into a bottle of Vitamin Water and sip, sip, sip. I have been drinking 3 of these daily since day 3 and really feel like the protein and fluids have helped me feel better much faster. As to Full liquids, I was told that they should be thin enough to go through a straw (don't actually use a straw!). So on soups they should be thinned, pureed, and strained of any solid or chunks. I cant have full liquids until day 7. Crazy how different all of our plans are.

I was on IV and not given anything to drink the first day. The second morning I was given ice chips, and they were very painful. The gave me foamies. The nurse said that most patients do better by pacing it out and sucking on one ice chip every 5 minutes. That did the trick for me. It also helped train me when I started on actual Water to take very tiny sips and pace them several minutes apart. I probably didn't have more than 12 oz of fluid that second day, but by day 3 and 4 the swelling was down and I have been getting 60+ ounces in daily since. The walking really helps to move the trapped air out. A heating pad is great too. I really wondered what the heck I had done to myself on the second day.... I had acid, gas pains, surgery pain. By day 4 I turned the corner and started feeling much much better. Trust everyone that says it gets better everyday, the miserable parts really do get better fast.