Wheetsin

Now, try feeling this way just a few weeks post-op. ^ In my 9th week sleeved, and 6th week stalled. It's the logical brain vs. emotional brain. Logical brain knows it cannot go on like this forever, but emotional brain is frantically trying to figure out what blame to assign where. Sounds like your logical brain got the affirmation it needed!

My surgeon charges $11,999.00 and I've been told it's for everything, start to finish, plus 1 year post-op care.

I broke out very badly starting about 2 weeks post-op and lasting about 2 weeks. My skin is normally clear, but at one point I had about 17 zits on my chin alone. It's hormonal (in my case). Chin acne is often related to hormones, and especially in the first handful of weeks our bodies are going through hormone hell.

As others have said, it's talked about all the time, actually. As for your questions, virtually everyone has it to some degree. Some people seem not to, or for it not to be noticeable, but just about everyone has it. It's hard to quantify it into a how much because no one really counts the hairs on their head. It hasn't hot yet with my sleeve, but with my band it lasted for about 2 months. It did not thin my hair to where I noticed, but I noticed the amount of hair on my hands/in the shower (I have really thick hair). It was the same when it grew back. Really, what's some very temporary hair thinning when compared to the weightloss? It's like like no one will notice you're fat as long as you have all your hair.

vanilla Protein powder, SF vanilla pudding, OJ, a pack of splenda and some ice will get you pretty close to an orange julius. On the Torani's, ifit's your thing, I can highly recommend "Salted Caramel" syrup. I use it for protein ice cream (chocolate protein, with instant coffee mixed in). I have about 10 of their flavors, and just picked up an "egg nog" and a "cookie dough".

The Target generic (market pantry) has a version of a crystal light product that comes in cherry limeade, and really tastes like it.

Pure protein, chocolate peanut butter About 3/4 oz sharp cheddar (nibbled as I was cubing it for a salad) About 3 tbl pasta salad Half a pack (about 1.75 oz) Jack Link's buffalo chicken jerky 10 wasabi & soy almonds Half a bottle isopure grape protein

No awareness what so ever. One minute I'm awake in the ER, and the next I'm waking up in recovery. You don't have a normal process of falling asleep, like when you're tired and gradually doze off. It's like a light being turned off.

I'm coming up on 9 week sleeved and 6+ weeks stalled. I don't weigh myself at home so I can't pinpoint when the stall started, and I guess I can't say for sure that it's still on, but last week when I was weighed, I weighed the exact same that I weighed when I went to the doctor between 3 - 4 weeks post-op. As for what to expect, most people stall week 2 or 3, and it tends to last a week or two.

I don't think most people can really control hunger or cravings. I think the best approach is to moderate. I know that is oversimplified, but I always fouind that if I had a craving and fought it, it didn't go away, it just got worse. And that's when I would eat the entire pack of Cookies instead of eating 2. So I'd say if you're really craving ice cream, go get one of the small 10/$10 type things (I think they're actually 1 serving... but they look tiny b/c who actually eats 1 serving of ice cream, right?) or perhaps try a popsicle or a healthier ice cream. chocolate isn't that bad for you. Maybe get a chocolate frozen yogurt and you can kill two birds with one stone. Cutting carbs down to about 20 is, IMO/IME, the easiest way to lose weight quickly. Note I said weight, not fat.

You don't get stuck like with the band because there's no stoma. The "stuck" of the band was food (or whatever) unable to pass through the stoma into the stomach proper. We have a completely normal passageway into the stomach. Our version of "stuck" would be eating too much - when we get discomfort/pain, and may have to bring the food back up. Some things feel the same, or very similar. And some things feel completely different. You really can't compare the two, even though I know that's your natural instinct (I lived with my band for 6 years, and I wanted to be able to anticipate exactly how they would compare). I have not slimed with the sleeve (we're less likely to slime when we don't have something "stuck"). I gurgled with the band, and I gurgle worse with the sleeve. I gurgle a lot, especially if I eat something "tough" (like a jerky) or if I eat a bit too much. You will need to (probably) work on changing your mindset. We learned "tricks" with our band that just won't work the sleeve. The differences from band to sleeve are discussed quite often. Keep reading in this forum and you'll probably find most of what you're after. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/39589-band-to-sleeve/page__p__351611__hl__+eat%20+around%20+the%20+band__fromsearch__1#entry351611 That's a fairly recent thread that will probably cover some of the questions you have.

I think it depends. People whose faces are physically still young tend to look younger with lost weight (face skin stretches back nicely). But people with physically older faces (wrinkles, sagging skin, etc.) -- I think they tend to look older. The extra fat "fills out" their face and hides some of the age indicators. When the extra fat is gone, you see the sagging and wrinkles. This happened with my grandmother. She was the youngest looking 70 I'd ever seen, and she was fat. Then I didn't see her for about a year and she was sick during that time and lost most of her excess weight. The next time I saw her she looked her age. Looking at before/after pics, it was very clear that the difference was the "filling" in her face.

This is all based on my limited experience (I've had 4 surgeries). You will go to sleep immediately. It's not like when you're sleepy and drift in and out. You're there one second, and you're out the next. You'll have no sensation of "going" -- it's like a light switch getting shut off. Waking up is not the same. It will take you a while to be coherent. At first you'll be aware of some noises, and maybe some sensations. Your eyes may or may not respond - I can open my eyes, but have a hard time controlling what they look at (I try to look forward, but they tend to drift upward). You will not be speaking nearly as coherently as you think you are, so be patient. Mentally you'll be all there, you'll be able to have rational thought, etc. But it will be like you brain is sending out signals through mud. You'll stay in recovery for a while. You may still be a bit in and out of it when transferred to your room. Your memories after-the-fact will be sketchy. This is largely a side effect of one of the meds you'll get during prep. Some things you will remember crystal clear, and others no memory at all. I tend to remember fragments - snapshots. I can remember them coming to get me out of prep, but not the journey out of the prep room. I remember being in a hallway and talking with the people pushing me about remembering it (two of my surgeries used the same OR, about 6 years apart), and I remember being wheeled in and recognizing the layout, but I don't remember anything else until I'm already on the table and the anesthesiologist is putting a mask on me. I remember a short conversation we had, and next thing I'm waking up. I remember a few of the conversations, but I don't remember much from recovery. I don't remember the journey to my room at all. I know my parents were there, and that I talked to them, but I have no idea how long they were there, what was said, etc. Worst part of surgery #1 (lap-band put in): Really nothing. Maybe the anxiety I had in the prep area. It was my first surgery and I was scared. I had a moment just before they started the IVs where I had to suppress a flight instinct. But really nothing about the surgery itself was bad. For this procedure I'd rate my worst pain as a 1 on a 10 point scale. Worst part of surgery #2 (gallbladder out): Again, nothing really. I woke up in a bit more pain. For this procedure I'd rate my pain as a 3 on a 10 point scale. (I'll start asking for meds at a 4) Worst part of surgery #3 (lap-band out): Easily the worst part of this surgery was the sore throat I woke up. It felt worse than strep, and lasted several days. I was spitting out rather than swallowing because swallowing hurt so much. Pain from this surgery was comparable to surgery #1 (I felt good enough that about 30 mins from leaving the hospital I was in a store looking for something to treat my throat with). Worst part of surgery #4 (sleeve): I had a good amount of pain when I woke up, probably a 4 or maybe a 5 - it's hard to remember now. Most of it was "the incision" (most people have most incision pain from the left side incision), and a smaller amount from the incision that was also holding the drain. I"ve never had nausea or vomiting with surgery. I've been sleeved going on 9 weeks and have never had nausea/vomiting.

Oh yes, good point. 5 meals a day * an average of 45 - 60 mins per meal -- yes, it does feel like we eat all day.

No sugar added juices can often have more sugar in it than soda, so just be careful. Your body will be able to get energy without you having to eat a lot of carbs. I'm not saying don't drink it, and I'm not saying don't eat carbs - just be mindful of it.

I'm not seasoned, but I usually eat 3 meals with 1 or 2 snacks. I need to in order to get my calories anywhere near where they should be (I'm still trying to up them a bit). It also helps space out the protein, so I can get away from protein drinks.

Are you sure it's sugar free, or is it "no sugar added"? Fruits have sugar in them, so fruit juices have sugar. Check the nutrition info - I'd guess that either there's sugar in it, or it's not actually a true juice. There's nothing against apple juice specifically - maybe just a general effort to try and keep carbs low. I use Old Orchard Healthy Balance apple juice. It's sweetened with Splenda, and only has 5g or 6g carbs per serving. I use it to dissolve my Fiber supplement in, and Miralax when needed.

GNC sells them, but they're pricey. $5-something per bottle, but this week they're buy 1 get 1 half off. Online you can get them for about $3.35 each. Several sites sell them for the same price, here's one of them. Pricey considering you can get a huge tub of powder at Wally World for the cost of 4 bottles, but my sleeve does not really tolerate thick things. I don't puke them, but they hurt. And actually quite cheap compared to what the same "meal" would've cost you pre-op. These RTDs are barely thicker than Water, don't taste like Protein (to me), and are RTD. They have a slightly odd taste, but I add a squirt of grape Mio or a pack of grape drink mix and it covers it up nicely. That makes it a bit sweeter than I'd prefer, but I'll take it. Odd "dry mouth" sensation after you take a drink - I'm ok with that because it makes me want another drink (and I get my protein in more easily!)

Should I mention the double Ghirardelli chocolate cake (with chocolate ganache) it's going to be sitting atop? Where's my devil smiley? I actually don't like chocolate at all, unless it's paired with PB. PB & chocolate (Reese's, in particular) is my absolute favorite.

Oh yes. And one of the batches I have to do tonight will have Peanut Butter frosting *swoon*.

I actually don't like to eat them but I love the creativity of inventing flavors, or finding a way to replicate a flavor. I've told DH he has to be my taste tester. I don't think he minds, but his waistband might!

So in my "spare time" (haha) I have a very, very small cupcake business. I do cupcakes mainly for family & friends, or a few select jobs for friend-of-a-friend type relationships. I'm working on 500 cupcakes for a wedding tomorrow. This is my first large cupcake order since surgery. Realization #1: I don't use recipes. I use a standard base, and add things to it until it tastes right. Never realize how many tiny "tastes" I took until today. Getting these 5 cake flavors (and frostings) just right in about 1tbl worth of capacity - total - is going to be interesting. Leftovers, anyone?

Pasting a previous response rather than retyping. The short answer is yes, your lost volume should return as soon as your hair follicles reenter anagen.

The average is about 30gm, if you're healthy, so your NUT's info is not too far off. That's why I spread it out into (about) 10gm (snack) or 20gm (meal or Protein drink). If I eat over 30 I don't count it. What's hard to define is what constitutes "at a time." If it's per meal, that's not really valid because a meal can easily last me two hours. If it's per time frame, there's virtually zero consistency. If it's per some completion of (or partial completion of) some body process... most people out there won't know when time's up. Etc. I use a 2 hour guideline, but that's just my own educated guess.

Right now I'm drinking the Nature's Best RTD Isopure (whey Protein isolate) in Grape Frost. Here's the nutrition info (for a different flavor, couldn't find a good one for the grape). That's mostly for taste and viscosity. Prior to starting those, I'd just add 2 scoops of whatever brand powder instead of one. Every powder I have has at least 20gm per scoop (I think 23 is the lowest).