Christinamo7

it protects your job. a woman in my face to face support group did not take FMLA and had some ongoing complications and lost her job. My FMLA was continuous right after the surgery and covers my appointments for the whole first year complete. so they can not tell me know if I need to go for any kind of follow up at all related. which is good because my PCP has been monitoring my blood pressure as we are slowly taking me off BP meds.

a month of clear liquids - YIKES. I try to think of it this way - in terms of food texture - if your arm was seamed up the side, which would feel better against that incision - a Protein drink or cottage cheese, or a slice of crispy bacon- and the answer is obvious, the liquid or cottage cheese would hurt less against that wound. well, the inside of your stomach is a wound like that in the first month. you'll get the hang of it. I understand the sleeve is a whole different feeling than the lap bad was. how much do you need to loose after your conversion?

I am not an every day tea drinker, but I always have a tsp of honey in my tea. It's counted in my daily calories and is fine. I have ever since the Clear liquids phase. in the beginning of being post sleeve I had a weird pain type feeling with every sip I had no matter what temperature the liquid was. this went away fairly quickly for me.

just give it a try. the cautions for straw is because if you suck in too much air your tummy could hurt. so if you use this and your tummy hurts, don't use it for a while. if your tummy doesn't hurt, you're fine. let us know how it goes!

thank you everyone. I am sorry for everyone of you who has also experienced such a traumatic loss - but to know you are all still going on is, well. it's good to know.

keep a diary of these issues in case you pursue skin removal.

one thing I do is on the weekend I typically pre-prepare a bunch of Protein. chicken breasts, ground sirloin and ground turkey blend, etc. sometimes I make ahead touch down taco dip and then divide it in to servings. I measure out some Snacks that are almonds, dried cherries and a couple of chocolate chips. I pre-prepare snacks of cottage cheese or ham with swiss and asparagus roll ups. so they are grab and go in the fridge for during the week. I fix my work lunches with the prepared Proteins. the ones I listed are cooked with garlic salt and pepper and are versatile. I can add salsa, or spag sauce or mexican seasonings. The rest of the protein goes in the fridge for dinners and then it is a simple thing to prepare an easy meal that fits with my calories/protein goals in the evening when I don't even want to do anything at all.

I would say most people experience a more vibrant good health afterwards, and many you see that have had surgery you don't know because you can't tell from looking at them. I know I tried to move a bookcase by myself about 10 days ago. could have done it before, but I have less weight to throw around and I did have to get help. That's ok, but it is an attitude adjustment for me. I am sure other things change as we re-evaluate our relationship with food and with moving our body. As we set and attain new goals. this is a good thing, and makes us better. Sometimes we need a little professional help to make and learn to live with those changes, that is absolutely perfectly ok! sometimes we just have people in our lives that meet that need. this is a good place to get that support as you go through the process.

I was sedated before we went to the OR and put under in there.

thank you friends - and @ Thankfully I am a stress cleaner and a happy eater - so for me the challenge will be making myself eat and drink. probably tomorrow I will do my normal work week prep so I have Snacks and lunches all ready to put in my lunch box and just do my best to make sure I actually eat them every day. I just do not really "want to" anything - and that is probably normal right now.

I do understand your frustration! when I went in for my pre op testing they found a medical issue that was either cancer or an infection or an auto immune disorder. I had to have months of tests and dr visits before they finally decided to let me proceed with WLS. and only then because they think it is probably the auto immune one. still don't know for sure. All you can do is continue to try to resolve the underlying medical issue and then move forward - it is hard to keep up hope, boy do I know it, but I can tell you it is WORTH it to get to the other side.

I was down just over 40 pounds at 4 months.

I feel fairly confident to say last week was the worst week of my life. and I am pretty sure this coming week will come second. a week ago Saturday my daddy was killed in a tractor accident on the farm. it was sudden and horrifying. I have no idea how I even continued to breathe last week much less follow a program.Thankful for that restriction helping me, and that I kind of auto pilot and go to Protein first when it was available. I had determined to just eat whatever people brought to the house and not add to my mama's stress but needing special things. and to drink enough to not get dehydrated - she had enough on her. I walked a lot on the farm, and some on the beach nearby but didn't track anything or worry about any of that stuff. was not capable. don't really know if I am capable of giving that my mental attention now. but now I am back home, fixing my own foods and it is time to get back with the program and back on plan. Weigh in this morning showed just slight loss and that's good. I wonder how much extreme emotional stress will affect this journey. on the positive side my uncle (who I posted about as my inspiration) and I had a nice long visit the evening after the funeral. Daddy was his only brother. He had the sleeve done about 2+ years ago. He told me how proud he is of me and my progress and we shared our surgery stories. he has lost 130 #. His wife of 48 years, my Aunt Loretta died just 5 weeks ago. a lot of hugs and sweet words. And my Aunt Diane asked me a lot of questions about WLS as she and my cousin Don are considering it. They have both struggled with weight their whole lives. Everyone said how glad they are that I am not struggling with diabetes anymore and how I am starting to look like the girl they remember before I got heavy. I am not sure how I can try to put back a life together that has any sense of normality. one day at a time I guess. I know some of you have had major life stresses happen during your active weight loss phase - were you successful in getting back on task to focus on weight loss/health issues?

I had to pay my share up front but yikes. I was told at my first appointment an estimate not at the end! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Thankfully my plan allows fruit and veg along with some other carbs. I make sure I'm getting my Protein in and usually eat it with protein as a habit due to formerly being diabetic. My blood sugar stays normal and that alone makes this a successful change and worth the surgery. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I have not lost any unusual amount of hair. Which is good because it is fine and thin. I do not let the process stress me. (I had already decided to get a real hair wig if it fell out to the point of being obvious) I get plenty of Protein and I eat eggs almost daily( rich in biotin) not sure what a veg option for that would be. I get enough sleep and I get enough to drink. And who knows if any of that matters? I know I lost a lot of hair some 8 years ago when going through the process of putting my son I a group home- who knows what or if I ate during that time. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I do not attend my practice lead support group because there are a few rny patients who insist their experience and rules apply to everyone and the truth is my sleeve experience is completely different. I do participate in their Facebook closed group where that is less of an issue but still somewhat of a problem. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

You should be able to correct and resubmit. They may want a blood check for nicotine. Get with your clinic and let us know what happens. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

When I eat too much, which happened the other day - I feel that after thanksgiving "I ate too much and want to die" feeling for about a half an hour and I want to go lay down. Drinking some Water helps as does laying down. It's only happened to me a few times. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Yes. This. !!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I have two good friends who had their stomach stapled with good long term success. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

it was valentines day - and the anniversary of our engagement so we had take out from our fav Pasta place and cheesecake.

so many - but lately a top fav is - Wait a second, Why should you care, what they think of you When you're all alone, by yourself Do you like you? Try Colbie Caillat

YES. this. @@Dub

I think you need to have an honest discussion with your provider regarding risks and benefits, and perhaps with your GYN as well. I have never had trouble with ulcers or anything like that yet I was surprised when my surgeon told me specifically that *I* could take Ib and products with it. However the policy of that same weight loss practice forbids them for all their patients. there is no way any of us here could tell you if they will be safe for you or not because that risk/benefit ratio is going to depend upon your specific risk level and your specific benefit level. I do take cinnamon daily for arthritis type pain and it is quite effective.