Down South Aussie

Today I entered Onederland!

Started my Journey on Jan 15th at 305.6lbs, managed to lose 75.6lbs before my Surgery on June 5th and an additional 30.2lbs since then! On my way to a goal weight of 160lbs.

It has been a journey, yes it is true the scale is a cruel taskmaster, but I'm a results driven person so it was very hard for me to stay off the scale or to see numbers go up some days or stay the same through my stall. While they were operating there was a growth discovered on the outside of my stomach which proved to be cancerous, but given the size, location and that fact that it was completely removed during the surgery I have been given the all-clear by the oncologist saying it was a blessing in disguise because otherwise it would have grown and grown until it became a really big problem. Good thing I didn't listen to all those who asked me if I still wanted to go through with the surgery given my success pre-surgery. Funny thing is the most common surgery for stomach cancer is a sleeve.

I have gone from a 46 in pants at Christmas to a 36 and from a 3XL in my shirts to a L. I'm loving my new lease on life, even the rest of my family is losing weight!

So here I am, The first big goal has been achieved, time to keep marching onward and down!

49 minutes ago, Tealael said:

I was wondering how everyone approaches their partying/vacations? I was told I could have a sampling of anything I wanted while on vacation, just follow the import rules ( Protein first, 64 oz hydration, 30-30-30, no grazing, etc) and when I get back I resume my plan strictly. What rules were you given about partying / vacationing ? Does your program even address this subject ? Do you feel like it's helpful or sabotaging either way?

I'm about to go on vacation in about 10 days and having spoken to my nutritionists they had mentioned I should try to stick to my diet plan in that I should maintain a schedule. You won't be able to maintain the same controlled foods the way you do at home but you should still be able to stay within guidelines. For instance, there is a great burger joint that I love where I am going so i will have something there for sure, but instead of 2 patties with extra cheese and bread Buns I will have 1 patty wrapped in lettuce with the onions and tomatoes and most likely make 2 or 3 meals out of it. The burger they use there is extra lean so it should be fine. I may not get my grilled chicken, shrimp or salmon that I eat at home but I can get good lean cuts of lunch meats and salad and hummus and so on. I will be taking some of my food cups that are 4 oz in size so that I maintain my Portion Control and will still eat 5 times a day and make sure to be getting my liquids in and Protein first, all be it in different forms than I might be used to.

My thought is that when you allow yourself to stray too far from the habits you are forming you start on that slippery slope, just a little today is ok, tomorrow just a little more is ok and all of a sudden you are way far from your regular routine and then you have problems. but hey just my 2 cents.

18 hours ago, mommamiller said:

I am a nurse and trying to give my boss a heads up on how long I will be out of work. Thnx

The funny thing about this is that it is asked so often, i asked it as well when i was getting ready for my surgery. The answer is it varies with each person, me personally i took 9 days and could have gone back much sooner, but i work a desk. So looking at the surgery itself, i was up the day of surgery and walking miles within the ward, i went home the next day after walking 7 miles within the ward, that being said one of the ladies i went through class with had a sleeve done on the same day as me and ended up being in the hospital for 4 days and went home on oxygen. So your recovery will be your recovery and that will drive your time off. The other factor for you is you will most likely be on restricted duties with the amount of weight you will be allowed to lift. Up until today i was restricted to 20lbs or less lifting to prevent hernias at your incisions.

55 minutes ago, Babes911 said:

Hi I had my sleeve 07/2/2018 less than a week post op. And it has been challenging. I am very gassy which has me in pain all day long . Am still on the diet that i was given at the hospital which is:

1 yogurt

1 Protein Shake

I cup yea

2 bottles of Water and 1 christalite

And I can barely talk it all in for the day cus every time I take a sip in something the gas starts acing up in my stomach n throat which hurts like hell.

Walk, walk walk and then walk some more. One of the problems you have is that the gas will gather in certain spots, one of which is in the large intestines as it crosses along the top of your abdomen, right before it descends down to your colon. Now can you guess what your stomach pushes on when you put something into it? yep you got it; the large intestines where it crosses your abdomen. The good news is it will pass (and i mean that both ways ) but walking is the best bet to keep things moving along and stopping the collection of gas within your intestines.

On 7/4/2018 at 6:06 PM, Sweedfire86 said:

It’s almost laughable to write this, but at any rate here we go. I recently transitioned in to week 3 post op. My plan has me moving on to no more than 1/4 cup of tuna fish, canned salmon, 1/2 an egg and so on. I am using the My Fitness Pal app and adding up my calories for the day and I am finding myself concerned about eating 500 calories per day. Before surgery I would have considered this starving, now I am concerned that this is too much. Hahaha I think I’m going bonkers.


Height: 6’3”
HW:375
SW: 338
CW: 310

I had very similar reactions as i was transitioning to soft solids. The simple truth is yes as you move back on each step you will be taking in more calories, but at the same time you should also be seeing more and more caloric burn from additional movement and exercise. one thing my nutritionist did for me was put me on a machine that gives you all types of numbers along with what my expected daily caloric burn would be both with just laying around and living and factoring in my exercise. right now i am burning 1958 calories just to stay alive, but then factor in the 1200+ that im burning through exercise each day and it starts to put things in perspective that the 500 or 600 calories you might be taking in is still just fine. Best bet if you feel unsure is talk to your nutritionist or surgeon and they can let you know if you should be worried, but i think you should be just fine right now.

Just now, MiltonP said:

The fact that you gain weight doesn’t mean that you gain fat you probably gain muscle mass happen to me didn’t understand it until my doc explaining it to me try to measure your fat% and your muscle mass

Very true, I have a nutritionist appt next Monday so I'm going to ask if I can step on their fancy machine and see where my muscle mass is vs pre surgery.

thanks

I know, I know I know.....NOT ANOTHER STALL POST!!??!!

i promised myself I wouldn't post one of these, I was prepared for the stall, it is happening, but I have a question...

did anyone put weight on during their stall?

i was at a rugby tournament all weekend, watched what I ate, took in my fluids, took in my Protein, my exercise was down ( only 5 miles a day compared to my 8 - 10 that I normally do) Yet somehow managed to gain 1.6lbs over the weekend, so I'm just curious if anyone else experienced this during their stall?

thanks.

6 minutes ago, RobR44134 said:

I’m four days post op. I’m actually not using my pain meds. It makes me uncomfortable which helps with hunger. Sometimes I’m so sore the last thing I want is something to eat.

I have been using popsicles and Jello to help too. So far so good but does feel like I’m drinking Protein Shakes and crystal light non stop to ensure I get my ounces.

Good to hear your doing well. I was really surprised, I had 1 dose of morphine in the hospital and nothing but Tylenol otherwise, nothing in the last 36 hours. My incision on the right is a little sore but not bad, otherwise I don't notice the other incisions.

27 minutes ago, BrookeR said:

I am 5 days post op and these Protein Shakes are not cutting it!!!! I want something of some substance even if it is Peanut Butter or cottage cheese! I am so tired of drinking sweet things and am actually hungry. Surely I am not the only one, right?!

I'm 5 days out too. I wouldn't say I'm hungry, but yes the need for something of substance is most definitely there. I have added some chicken Soup by Unjury once a day and that helps significantly. I will also have a sugar free ice pop that I will chew, just to try and convince my mind that in having something that needs to be chewed.

I picked up some blended veggie Soups today and will be talking to my dietitian tomorrow to clear those and I will add some unflavored Protein to them, hopefully they are ok with it because the fickleness soup is great because it isn't sweet. I know my nutrition store has some soups that I'm going to look into as well.

Mental games are what we have to do I guess for the first few weeks.

good luck.

So I'm curious what others have done to get through the liquid stage? I am 5 days post op and I'm doing great, I really don't feel hungry but this puts me at almost 1 week without any solid food. I know this is all in my head but I can be around food, even help prepare food for others no problem, but when I see others actually eating that food my cravings kick in. Again I don't feel hungry, but I get almost depressed, kind of angry at just the idea of not being able to actually EAT rather than drinking my food. Any tips or tricks for getting over this hurdle?

On 5/30/2018 at 2:12 PM, SleeveinIL said:

I have to say that Jello-o SF chocolate pudding is my go to treat. I have also tried the Enlightened "ice cream" bars once a week (my nutritionist approved) which also has Protein in it (they are low sugar not SF). I have also made homemade Keto "brownies" which are completely SF and were delicious. Texture reminded me more of a cheesecake than a brownie when refrigerated. If you'd like the recipe, I will be happy to share.

Yes please!

Just saw saw your post with the recipe, thanks.

Thanks, I was sleeved just 2 days ago and right now I just have some goals to get me through the liquid stage, but I'm glad to know things eventually stabilize.

Small update, came home last night and still doing good. The best part is that I am on no pills other than what is required for the surgery recovery. No cholesterol tabs, no high blood pressure tabs and best of all no diabetes meds!

14 minutes ago, Chunkysoup said:

Congrats to you! I have surgery in 42 days (but whose counting?) I will also have to have a hiatal hernia repaired, I'm nervous about having most of my stomach removed AND repairing the hiatal hernia. I have read where people feel like they can't get a deep breath afterwards. Sounds like you were feeling pretty great after surgery! How are you feeling today?

Yeah it is uncomfortable to take a really deep breath, but working with the inspirometer it is getting much better, it's a process.

The problem with Keto as it was explained to my by my physician was the fact mpact on the liver can be bad and cause damage. So while you can adopt much of the keto principals going full keto was a going to be a problem if it was done for an extended period of time. It also worked for me in years pre op period but so did the diet that my dietitian had me on at the end.

Thank you all for the well wishes.

im still feeling great, every time I get up I'm doing 10 or more laps of the ward, blood pressure is low, but not too low, blood sugars have normalized following the surgery. All I can say is that the team whose care I am under is amazing.

So I have been fairly quiet on the message board but I have learned a lot by reading all of the different posts here.

so today was the day, I'm in my room now following my Sleeve surgery and I couldn't be happier, a new chapter has stared in my life!

my story starts back in September of 2017 where I had some bad liver results in my blood work, so we followed up with three month follow up and my numbers had tripled from the bad results that they already were at and prompted a comment from my GP that changed my life. She told me that if I continued on the trend I was doing that within 12 to 18 months I would be looking at a liver transplant in worse. It was my wake up call. for 15 years I had been promising I would get back into shape after being a state level rugby player in high school and earning my second degree black belt in taekwondo, I had certainly let myself slide.

On Jan 15th I weighed in at 305.6 lbs with a BMI of 44.5. I worked my butt of, literally, and today I weighed in for surgery at 230.0 lbs! And I feel great, coaching rugby again, even runnng with the kids I coach, running!

So now the second phase begins, my ideal weight I'm told is 154 so my goal is 160/165 so that when I get the little rebound I can level out at about 175/180.

so sleeve is complete, fixed a hiatal hernia and I'm up walking, downing my Water, all is well in my world right now and the future is looking bright. I have already stopped my diabetes Meds, stopped my cholesterol meds and looks like I'm going to go home with no blood pressure meds after cutting the dose in half already. So thankful for my wake up call and then the opportunity to get this done!

My plan is surgery on a Tuesday, i will return to work the following Friday, so about 10 days later, That way it is only one day before another couple of days of rest. I have spoken to my team about it and because i am also at a desk they are saying we will eval post op but they dont think it is going to be a problem.

We were told if there is any hope of insurance paying for Excess skin removal you have to document document document, as already suggested a note from your bariatric surgeon saying you need it for health reasons, a note from your PCP outlining any health issues such as rashes and infections as a result of the excess skin are all going to help your cause. Make sure that any irregularity with your excess skin is noted within your medical file, not just notes written by yourself. Then hope and pray, as frust8 said their job is to find out reasons they shouldn't have to pay for this. Your job is to convince the insurance company that it is more profitable for them to pay this small amount of money now rather than paying for years of minor medical procedures, Dr visits and medications, much the same way you needed to with the bariatric surgery in the first place.

I will have to reintroduce myself to oatmeal, i used to love it but it was more like having some oatmeal with my sugar rather than some sugar with my oatmeal, wont be able to do that anymore.

Yes talking to people can certainly help.

When it comes to taking the medication, I was reluctant at first probably because of two different things. First i dont like to take some type of altering pill for no reason, but the more i have read i am over that and second because of the stigma that has been built up about depression and being treated for depression. So i took the prescription and did nothing but look at the bottle until yesterday when i did a whole bunch of research on the actual medication, how much i was prescribed, side effects etc. and then i stepped back and realized im doing this surgery so that i can have a tool in my battle with my weight. When it comes down to it, the antidepressant is just that as well, a tool, and as such i have decided that yes i will use this tool to help me. Now mind you i have never been clinically depressed before, never been offered an anti depressant so for all intensive purposes the only reason i am taking this is to prepare and help me through the transition and then i ween myself off of it at about 6 or so months after my surgery.

I have not had the surgery yet, but met with my surgeon about 10 days ago and one thing she mentioned is that there are more and more studies showing that those who are on an antidepressant have an easier time through this transition and actually end up losing more weight. She said that there is such a great change happening with your body at the same time as you are trying to alter your eating habits which also means you are fighting your brain for head hunger and for most people they go through a stage of blah like you are describing. Because of this she doesn't mandate that her patents take an antidepressant but she does offer a prescription to any of her patients that may want to take it while they are getting ready for surgery.

I want to Fly all the way to Japan with my Family in 2019 and be comfortable (well as comfortable as you can be in coach).

1 hour ago, Losingit2018 said:

Cool. 3 months isn't too bad. From what I have seen so far, I think that we are in good hands.

My surgery is March 26.

oh so lucky you just started the Optifast diet over the weekend. Not looking forward to that, but will power through it.

Just now, Losingit2018 said:

Yep. Are you seeing Dr Scott? I have Dr Eichhorn

Where in the process are you? It has taken me six months to get this far

I am with Dr Eichorn also. I am at the end of month 2 of 3 month Monitored diet, insurance packet should be submitted beginning of April targeting May 21st for surgery.