Tiffykins

Holli, I hope your holding strong on the "no DP" ! ! ! I know it's tough, hang in there.

Here's some pictures from my endoscopy when I had my gallbladder surgery, scar tissue/adhesion take down and the little exploratory stuff my surgeon performed on Febraury 4, 2010. Staple line: Inside the sleeve from the top Gallbladder Liver and some of that lovely scar tissue that had to be taken down Side view of the staple line/sleeve Misc adhesions Scar tissue in abdomen Colon and Small bowel with a big piece of scar tissue that was taken down

Many congrats to you and your wife. Y'all will love the sleeve, and keep us posted as your date approaches. I think it's fabulous that y'all will be each others main support, and can bounce things off each other.

Click on USER CP at the top of the forum Click on EDIT SIGNATURE on the side column. From the ticker site, highlight, and copy the bBcode. Come back here, and Paste that code into the signature box. Hit PREVIEW SIGNATURE If it appears to your liking, hit SAVE SIGNATURE.

I have a 32fr, and have not had anything close to a stricture. From what I've read, the strictures were seen with smaller than a 32fr. It seems the most "popular" sizes are from a 32fr to a 40fr for most stand alone sleeve procedures. I haven't read about many strictures, and from what I have read that it's not a common complication. Apparently, it's when scar tissue grows and interferes with the passing of food/liquid into the stomach, or a twist in the tubular shape of the sleeve. I'm not sure what the percentage is on patients that experience them.

Awwwwwwwwww Carol, my love, yes it's a phase. You've hit that stage where you're eating more, a sense of normalcy has set in, and you're just kind of living life. You're eating, and drinking, being active. My very first thought is just how many calories are you taking in? With your activity level, and you burning fat, building muscle, you very well could be hungry? Your body may need more fuel. I experienced something similar when John first came home. My stress level decreased, we started going out again, we started just kind of living. I found myself kind of snacking, and eating a few bites of this or that especially off his yummy plate. So, my dearest Carol, how many calories are you getting in? What are you eating? Are you tracking? Are ya mindlessly snacking (ya know those 4-5 pita chips always got me)? The one thing I did was throw myself into cooking, and finding new interesting, flavorful, and completely crazy recipes. I started cooking stuff I would have never even thought of attempting. Grant it, I'm no chef, but some of the stuff I started churning out was pretty fabulous. That was my distraction. I started tweeking recipes so they were a healthier, higher Protein meal for all of us. I think seeing the husband and kiddo gobble up the yumminess, and hearing all the "kudos" for a great meal made me feel better. I was able to eat what they were, and not feel guilty. I also started being social with the circle of women I met through the spouse's club and bowling. We started going out to lunch 2-3 times a week, and Breakfast on Fridays. Even though they all knew that I had surgery, and never talked about my tiny portions, I was pretty dead set on eating like they did. Sadly, it was pretty much impossible. So, I did get a little obsessive about eating out, and making it look like I was as "normal" as possible. That's kind of what led to the massive gallbladder attack. I thought after a fine dinner at the tapas restaurant that I would be brave and share a creme brulee dessert with one of the girls. Yeah, NOT a good idea, but I was hellbent on eating it. I ate 2oz, and I paid for it dearly within an hour. On top of all the rich, yummy tapas portions of lamb pizza, chicken satay with peanut ginger sauce, fried potato skins with ranch, lobster with a heavy marsala sauce, I was not going to pass up the fricken creme brulee. I kind of snapped out of it after the gallbladder surgery. I had to focus on keeping things low fat because anything full fat made me sick. I had to get back on track, and stop all the junk. Well, I did for a bit, and still try to make the best choices, but I'm grazing to maintain. For me, I had to redirect the thoughts of wanting to eat more, or have a little snack here and there. I didn't want to deprive myself, but I didn't want to stop losing. I refused to keep all of the Snacks out of the house because it wasn't my husband or son's decision to have WLS. It was mine, and it's my battle to win. I had to go with the healthy options. I stockpile "mommy's snacks", and no one eats my stuff. That's the only way I can keep myself in check. Grant it, I have my days, Carol, we all do. But, it does get better.

My recommendation was 600-800 calories, 60grams of Protein and no more than 30grams of carbs. For the first couple of weeks, getting in 300-400 calories is nearly impossible. Most patients do feel fatigue. A lot of patients are on 5-14 days of Clear liquids and then progress onto full liquids and then onto mushy foods a couple weeks later. It just depends on what type of post-op diet they have you on. I had a tough time hitting 600 calories until I got to mushies. I did not have any issue staying between the 600-800 calories through my losing phase, and actually had a difficult time getting up to a maintenance level of 1500-1800 calories per day. I have to eat sometimes 8 times a day to hit my calories so I don't lose anymore weight. Once I hit mushies, I felt much better, and didn't feel horrible on 600-800 calories per day. I was losing consistently, and I think dropping the weight and my body surviving on my fat stores helped me feel energized.

myfitnesspal.com here as well. I have never found one item, food, Protein, drink mix, that isn't already in there database. Even the store brand and generic brand stuff is in there. It's my favorite and I tried about 3 others before switching over.

Hi and welcome. I hope you can get another sleep study, and possibly have it completed at a different sleep center for a true 2nd opinion. As for other co-morbidities, do you have any joint/back pain, borderline diabetes, cholesterol issues, thyroid issues, PCOS, GERD, some of those are considered co-morbidities by some insurance companies. I hope you can get another sleep study, and keep us updated on your progress.

I didn't even try soda until several months post-op probably around 4 months out. I can't imagine drinking them early out because drinking non-carbonated liquids was uncomfortable. The swelling is significant after surgery so unless you want to hurt and possibly puke I'd stay away from them for quite sometime. Also, they are empty calories so it's recommended to stay away from them until at or close to goal.

YAY YAY Angie for getting your date set. I hope these next couple of weeks fly by for you. Congrats to you as well for having a date. For me, pain was minimal post-op, but I have a high pain threshold. Others experience more pain, and require more pain meds. I was a revision so the most discomfort I experienced was around the area where they removed my port. Other than that, the gas pain from the CO2 gas they use to inflate our abdomen is more bothersome than anything else. Walking helps tremendously, and some found a heating pad helped as well. Best wishes to you both ! ! !

Congrats on getting your date set ! ! ! You'll love the sleeve.

We've all scootched over on the loser's bench waiting for you ! ! !

This is going to be my last post about maintenance because every time I get excited about being able to maintain, I lose weight. Maybe I'll gain it back. But, I've been tracking, yesterday, I managed to get in 1500 calories with the assistance of a late night snack(damn insomnia) and a glass of wine at lunch. Every other day I've been topping out at 1200-1300 calories per day with 60-80 grams of carbs, and 60-70 grams of protein. I'm eating a really balanced diet, and eating up to 6 fricken times a day. Eating cheesy poofs, and plenty of other no no foods occasionally. Well, Sunday, I weighed 132 solid. Been holding between 130-132 for about a month now, and today, I hop on the scale and I'm at 128.5lbs. SERIOUSLY ! ! ! I've cut cardio, been walking a little more. Lifting light weights, and just doing crunches, haven't even been bothering doing my butt/thigh stuff. I'm so frustrated, and truthfully just mentally drained over it. I can not eat anymore than I have been. I'm essentially grazing throughout the day to just sneak in 30-50 more calories per day. It's so exhausting. I know many people would love to have this problem. I know I probably shouldn't be upset, and I hope none of y'all have to deal with difficulties maintaining. Losing was by far easier than maintaining. I feel like I'm force-feeding myself. I'm carrying snacks in my vehicle and purse to make sure I eat enough especially when I'm out and about. I just want my body to settle into a comfortable weight. I am not going to drink weight gainer, or just sucking down milkshakes, but I have got to figure this crap out.

Yeppers, it's been tested 3 times, at 6 months, 8 months, and then again at 9 months. It's gotten a bit better. I had thought the same thing that my thyroid has gone crazy. But, all of the tests have come back within normal limits. I've been holding steady since April 19th. I actually gained 3-4 pounds then I started my period and I'm losing those pounds pretty quickly again. I think my body is finally getting "comfortable" at this weight/size.

I'm thinking about you this morning ! ! !

you think you've got everything figured out, low and behold, you learn something else about yourself. Today was a good day. I took Buddy (the 80lb German Shep) to the vet. Come to find out, he's awfully protective of me as he lunged at the guard at the gate when he reached for my military id card. I knew he was protective, but not that protective. At the vet, I opted to muzzle him before I let the tech get his vitals. Good thing I did because he was not a happy camper. But, all in all, the visit went great. Tomorrow is Hank's(the goofy, everyone is my best friend, basset hound) so it should be much easier. So, you may be wondering what I learned about myself today. While at the vet, an attractive guy winked, waved and asked "how you doin?" in that almost Joey (from Friends) tone. I actually giggled like a 16 yr old school girl. I politely told him I was doing well. It was innocent, but good lord did it make me feel good. I think it still shocks me to get hit on by really attractive men. I mean, don't get me wrong, I never dated "ugly" guys. I had my preferences, and I have always been attracted to super cocky, assertive men. Umm, hence marrying my husband. What I learned today is that I may have dated a lot, had a full "dance card" so to speak when I was fat, but I never felt this way when I got hit on. I'm not sure I can fully explain it, but it was kind of cool to giggle and get that "blushed" feeling again after so many years.

Send him my best wishes, and a big (soft) hug. I am so glad he is doing well. Thank you for updating us.

I chose low carb. I had a lot to lose, and knew that my body would rely on my fat stores for needed energy. By sticking with my no more than 30gr of carbs and at least 60gr Protein, I never experienced a stall. Every week, I lost a minimum of 2 pounds. For me, I had to break some bad habits. I had to completely rethink eating. I was a volume eater, and I didn't eat completely unhealthy. I just ate huge amounts of food. So, I had to set some boundaries for myself mentally. I'm an "all or nothing" kind of girl. I couldn't do it with just calorie restriction. I needed guidelines, structure, and it worked for me. Now, of course, everything has changed. I do not limit my carbs, I still follow the rules the majority of the time, but if I want to just eat mashed potatoes for dinner, that's what I eat. I know that sounds horrible, but it's true. I do not do that very often at all, but ya know crap happens. Some days meat just grosses me out, and I want to have an all veggie, cheese and cracker day. I think everyone has to decide on what works for them, and their bodies. For me, I had to not waiver from the program until we (myself and surgeon) realized my weight loss was not slowing down like it should have. I was averaging about 5-8lbs a week instead of the 2-3lbs. I had to change things up around 4 months, and I slowed down a little, but not much. I had a really hard time switching back to not watching carbs as carefully. I hated eating stuff in fear that I was going to gain. Fortunately, I didn't have that issue. I've lost sporadically for the last 4 months. I lost 80lbs the first 4 months, it took me a little over 2.5 months to lose 53lbs, and then the last 4 months I've only lost 27lbs total, and for the time being I'm holding steady. Some people don't eat white carbs, and count Net carbs instead of total carb. That just complicated things for me so I just counted all carbs. There are healthy carbs, and of course those are a bit different than the evil white carbs. You just have to do it your way. For me, and this sounds horrible as well, I am not a good endurance runner. I wanted to get to goal quickly, I was not interested in doing it slowly. I knew low carbing it would work for me because it worked in the past. I just couldn't keep it off.

food funerals are really a common occurrence. I know I did it before I had to do my low carb pre-op. The one thing you can look forward to with the sleeve is that all of your favorites are NOT off limits for the rest of your life. You will be able to enjoy all the food you ate before, it'll just be in smaller portions. Luckily, the sleeve is not a prescribed lifetime diet. Just get it out of your system, and know whatever you gain is just more you gotta lose to get to your goal. Keep coming back for support as your date approaches. We'll be here for you.

Hey Jenni, welcome and congrats on getting your date set. Start eating smaller portions now, sit your utensil down in between bites, don't eat and drink at the same time(this is typically the hardest habit to break). That's the little things that will help post-op. Mentally, prepare yourself that a lot of stuff is about to change. There may be some tough days, but the good days outweigh the bad. Go in with a positive attitude, and stay focused. Follow your surgeon/nutritionist's dietary guideline and post-op diet. Yes, post-op diets suck severely, but they are in place for several reasons. Best wishes, and know we're here to support you through this amazing journey.

I'm so grateful that Linda could possibly be home soon. Send her our love and good healing thoughts.

Many congrats on getting your date set. The sleeve is absolutely fabulous. I can't help you with the liquid pre-op because I just had to do low carb. You'll do great, and come here when you need support.