Tiffykins

I was the same way early out, and could not even sip during my meal. The further out I got, the easier it was. I'm not even sure you could consider it sipping when literally it was just enough liquid to wet my mouth. I don't think I swallowed anymore liquid than I did spit when I first started. Now, of course, things are different, but I still can not take a full drink during a meal. If I do, something is coming up, or I get uncomfortable.

There is nothing safer about the band vs. the sleeve. If you have to worry about food issues, imagine the morning sickness and puking with a band wrapped around your stomach. With excessive puking, comes slippage and erosion. With the stats on the band, have your husband read my blog. He can read the complications with the band long term. 1 in 4 band patients will have to have another surgery within 5 years. Does he want you to not be able to eat a good solid diet because food gets stuck? ? ? The band may be "safer" initially, but think long term. Think 2-3 years out.

I think the answers are going to vary. Some feel they have to because they can not make the best decision the majority of the time, or they fall into a cycle of bad food choices when they stray from structure. For me, I haven't had that issue. I only follow the Protein first rule about 85% of the time. Sometimes a girl just wants a big, fat juicy, leafy salad, ya know? And, on those days, I eat a big, juicy, leafy salad and no meat. It happens a couple times a week, with maybe another day that I might just eat veggies for 2 out of my 4 meals. I am so bored with meat that it's disgusting sometimes, so I have to change things up. I did not practice this until I was below goal and wanted to experiment with how I felt. Some days, I felt like my body was telling me " feed me something green, Seymour, feed me something green NOW" so I listened and my colon thanked me. I do not always eat protein first and I"m finding that I'm eating a lot differently than I was even just 5-6 months ago. I used to eat one thing on my plate until it was gone then I moved onto the next thing etc etc until I was satisfied. But, I've gone back to an old trick in this weight loss program that I did through church called "weigh down workshop". One of the practices is that you taste everything you've ordered, whatever tastes best, I eat. Then I rate the rest of the meal and proceed accordingly. Sometimes that creamed spinach wins over the ribeye, sometimes the loaded baked potato wins, but more often than not, the meat does win, just not every meal. Sometimes, I even eat a few bites of meat, a few bites of veggies then back to the meat. I only did protein first through my losing stage. Now, it's kind of "whatever the heck I want". I do not suffer from the "eat a carb, crave a carb" thing. I do not deal with hunger. If I've been bad on protein in a day, I'll grab a bag of beef Jerky, and gnaw on that as a snack. I really do eat things in moderation, and it's kind of whatever my body wants at meal time.

I colored and bleached my hair about a month after the shedding had slowed down substantially.

You qualify. I do not know about that MTF, call them and ask. Once your husband returns, have your PCM put in a referral to that particular MTF if they perform VSG. I do believe WIlford Hall in San Antonio in Lackland is performing the sleeve now. Don't quote me on it because surgeons come and go as you know, but you might be able to go there. I see an off-base PCM and it was no big deal to get a referral to our MTF here. As long as you have Prime, you can go there. So, that will not make a hill of Beans difference. I've been trying to get on tricare.mil all day and it appears their server is being a douchebag. Do not rely on what the idiots on the phone say. Do you have any of the following? High Blood Pressure Diabetes (or borderline diabetes) High cholesterol Joint pain/issue in the weight bearing joints such as knees, hips, ankles, back Thyroid issues PCOS Get your PCM to write a letter of support, if you need templates, or guidelines for this, let me know, I have them saved LOL. Any of those will help you get through the hoops. You do not necessarily be "approved" with Tricare to have it done at a MTF, you just have to meet the minimum requirements. You're a 100lbs overweight (strap some ankle weights on under boot cut or flare-leg jeans when you weigh in next time). YES, I just told you what so many people (especially military wives) do to get approval when they are on the cusp.

Ditto to Rootman's post. . . I have told people " I had a partial gastrectomy". When you say "vertical sleeve gastrectomy" they just look dumbfounded and it's too confusing for people to process. EVEN those in the medical profession seem to ignore "gastrectomy" and are purely focused on the vertical sleeve part.

Hey Melissa, What is your BMI? The requirements are BMI 35 with at least 2 co-morbidities, or BMI of 40 without co-morbidities. The sleeve is covered at military hospitals on post/base, but not by civilian surgeons Dr. Nick Nicholson Dr. Wade Barker Dr. David Kim Are the 3 surgeons I researched for my revision when I was trying to get my revision from band to sleeve covered and approved and was looking at self-pay options. All of my family is in D/FW Texas so I would be close to family/friends if I had to go that route. I'm not sure what area of Texas you are in, but there are some great surgeons in San Antonio and Houston. If you need anything, feel free to contact me. I've gone round and round with Tricare for 2 years now on the sleeve so I'm fairly well-versed.

You might get a little more laxity in your sleeve over the next couple of months, but in all honesty, I still can not eat an entire chicken breast within 30 minutes without feeling stuffed. I tried my damnedest and got in about 3/4. I'm talking Tyson boneless, skinless chicken breast halves that you get in the supermarket. Or like 1 grilled chicken breast that comes on a grilled chicken salad? ? ? I still can not eat more than 3-5 strips of a grilled chicken breast, and I'm pretty focused on eating the green leafy stuff that I stick with 3 little strips of chicken and load up on lettuce. I think my colon appreciates the greens LOL. I can eat a lot more mushy food today than I could a year ago, but heck, those sliders taste yummy so I eat slow, and steady and I can get 1-1.25 cups of puree/soft solids. Chicken salad as long as it's kind of a stringy, and NOT chunky chicken salad, I can easily eat 1 cup. Give me chunky, hearty chili and I have to nurse that cup of chili for a good 40-45 minutes to get the entire cup in. I joined the maintenance group of OH for vsg'ers and it appears that there are plenty of 2-4 year out people still eating the same quantities they were at 12-16 months out. It seems pretty consistent with bougie size of 32-38fr, and a lot of us say the same thing. Slider foods are easier to eat not just out of yumminess, but because they are easy to eat in more quantity which helps us get in the necessary calories/protein/carbs to maintain our weight. Hope that helps! ! !

Eat Protein first, then greens and if you have room then some starches. Do not drink with your meal, and wait 30 minutes after eating to resume drinking. Do not stretch your meal out over 30 minutes. DO not eat until you are full/stuffed. Measure your food portions, and do not graze throughout the day.

And, the pain returned today to some degree, LOVELY LOL. . . I got my lab results today, and of course, they are stellar, no issues, liver/pancreas all look good, appointment with surgeon scheduled for the 27th. More than likely a good scoping and contrast study. It only happens when I eat dense Protein so I've gained 2 pounds over the last week, and it's either before my period weight, or it's because I've been living on slider foods and super soft mushy Proteins. I'm so frustrated, but I can wait it out to see my surgeon.

I had a leak 2 days post- revision from the band. The band had destroyed my stomach tissue. I knew going in my risks, and was NOT surprised by my leak. I survived, and have been thriving for well over a year now. My surgery was performed here in the U.S. Leaks can happen and you are at risk the first 6-8 weeks post-sleeve, biggest reason for the strict post-op diet of liquids and easily digested foods. You are at highest risk the first 2 weeks, but eating the wrong foods, too much food, excessive vomiting from eating the wrong foods, and pushing through the post-op diet can all contribute to a leak weeks to months out. There are 2 separate patients on Obesityhelp.com that went 3-5 months with a leak until it was detected. One lady was eating food on day 3 post-op, and her leak went undetected for 3 months, and her recovery took a solid year. The other lady went undiagnosed because she did have her surgery out of the country, and the surgeon just kind of left her out to dry, and the US docs didn't know how to fix the botched surgery. She is alive, but revised to RNY, and deactivated her OH account because she was essentially "burned at the stake" for outing the crappy doctor and their practices.

The difference between a 32 and 36 is a less than 2mm. It has little to do with the final size of the sleeve. It will more be determined by your own anatomy (length of stomach) and surgeon technique. A surgeon can use a 32fr bougie, but not dissect the fundus completely or leave more tissue closer to the pyloric valve and your capacity will be different than a different patient with the same size bougie. Your surgeon could use a 36fr, oversew, get all the fundus, and you might have a short little stomach and not be able to eat as much as me with a 32fr bougie used during surgery. Essentially, the bougie is only a small part of the equation. Now, with bougies over size 40-44fr, that's where the higher incidence of weight regain is seen at 2-5 years post- VSG. I'd be more concerned with surgeon stats, experience and technique.

I prefer the documentary/science/geeky shows. I refuse to watch Biggest Loser. The exploitation of obese people and whoring out of products on that show nauseate me to the core. I try to find inspiration in the people's struggles, but with a 85% failure rate of the participants, and Jillian's half-ass attempt to be compassionate counselor to the fat people, I can't bring myself to watch it. I've always thought Jillian was scum of the Earth, and my opinion isn't going to change in the future. As for Heavy, I was going to watch it, but for me, it's the same as going to support groups. We all know why we're fat, yet we still did the same things over and over expecting different results. I can't handle the whining. I know that seems harsh, but really I never questioned why my ass was huge. I knew why, and I finally did something about it by having surgery and working through my own food issues after years of failed diets and weight loss attempts. I know I'm not explaining this correctly, and something is getting lost in translation here over the net. I did enjoy watching one season of Ruby. That was until she went out with that long term guy friend, and he acted like he loved her out of pity. She is inspirational, and a very compassionate person, but I still feel that a lot of production editing is done to spur viewers interest and increase ratings.

Studies show that a low carb, high Protein diet shrink liver fat effectively, avoid white carbs, and your liver will be fine. Even with my BMI at 49, my liver looked fabulous after doing just 1 week of low carb/high protein diet for both my band and revision. It takes months to shrink a true fatty liver, and they're only worried about the slippery/slimy fat on the outside of the liver. The side effects of the Adipex are stressful on the body, your liver is going to have to break that crap down so really just stick to your pre-op diet and know that your liver will be just fine without adding more chemicals/drugs for it to break down. If you start the protein first rule, eat slowly, and avoid white carbs this will help post-op as you'd be instilling good habits before surgery that will carry over.

Best wishes ! ! !

I honestly had fears of being an old lady and not being able to wipe my own hiney, or bathe myself and the emotional and financial toll that would put on my family. Diabetes scared the hejeebies out of me, and knowing that if I continued on the path I was on, at some point, I wouldn't be able to touch my feet to clean them properly, and then I could lose a foot due to bad circulation and not being able to take care of myself. I had this big fear of taking meds every day of my life to control or treat an obesity-related condition, and the side-effects of those drugs on my liver or kidneys. I feared my obesity would impede my chance to conceive, have a healthy pregnancy, and deliver a healthy baby. I feared dying early, or being too fat to enjoy grandchildren. All of that seems much worse than any risk that surgery brought, and believe me, I am not a good surgical candidate. I'm a long term smoker, I have a clotting disorder (my blood is missing a Protein factor that keeps me from clotting normally, and I need DDAVP before, during and after surgery and that increases my risk for DVTs even with heparin or Lovenox), I was 270lbs which large amounts of abdominal fat (makes surgery difficult), so I weighed all the pros and cons, and I went for it knowing that in the long run, surgery would get me to a healthier weight, and I would dodge all my previous fears of staying obese into my "golden years". You can check out my blog on here for some research articles, and statistics. Best wishes with your 3 month insurance requirement, and know you are doing some absolutely amazing for your future. I'm not saying there won't be struggles, but, the victories far outnumber the struggles ! ! !

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/snacks/r/cheesecrisps.htm It's just baked cheese. I use hard parmesan, or asiago cheese. Parchment paper on a cookie sheet works great for these. I stick them in the oven and watch them carefully because they will burn. I grate the cheese into little piles, and they melt down to little crisps.

I agree. The closest surgeon that performs VSG is in Georgia, and down near Miami still over 4-8 hours away.

White wine is my safest bet. The first time I drank, I got drunk fast, sobered up faster. With time tolerance has built up, and now I have zero issues catching and maintaining a good buzz. Vodka and cranberry juice I would recommend you trying a few sips of wine or a mixed drink with juice before you go out just to make sure you don't get sloppy on your weekend out. Congrats on your husband's return ! ! !

Me too. . . I am currently trying to help 3 other military wives get approved or get to a long distance MTF for the sleeve. Sadly, I have a feeling that we aren't going to get a response. I've sent messages, and posted here, but no replies. I'm not holding my breath since I've once again called all the Tricare regions, and they are still stating it is an unapproved, non-covered service outside of MTFs.

Contrast study. But, it's very unlikely that you've stretched your sleeve unless the surgery was not performed properly. Meaning the surgeon would have to have left a large portion of the fundus behind. Sleeves mature around 6-12 months out. I'm at max capacity even though I've figured out ways to cheat the sleeve. I've been eating the same quantities for a solid 12 months if I follow all the sleeve eating guidelines.

Breakfast- Poached with cheese or greek yogurt and some deli meat, or leftovers from the previous night's dinner early lunch - deli meat(3-5 slices depending on the texture, brand, and thickness) with cream cheese, or 3oz of tuna or chicken with greek yogurt lunch- repeat from above, or some ground meat with refried Beans and taco sauce, the prepared chicken deli meat strips, or the fajita seasoned chicken and steak strips that you can find in the meat department. late afternoon meal- chicken or tuna or even crab with more greek yogurt, or mayo, cheese chunks, beef Jerky and pork rinds dinner - was the meat portion of whatever my family was having with a few tbsp of green veggies typically green beans, spinach or broccoli and more cheese My menu was very boring during my losing stage. I ate tons of refried beans, ground beef/turkey with Pasta sauce, tuna or chicken salad, tons of 2% milk cheese chunks, laughing cow cheese wedges, loads and loads of greek yogurt. I'd take a romaine lettuce heart, cut it in half and roll up some thin sliced deli meat and cream cheese (garden veggie was my favorite), or a wedge of laughing cow cheese. I would occasion bake a tilapia or mahi mahi frozen filet with lemon-pepper seasoning and could eat about 4ounces. That pre-cooked bacon was a good option to roll up in deli meat too. I could microwave it to make it extra crispy. I'd make the "cheese crisp chips" and top with tuna or chicken salad for some texture. Mornings were my biggest struggle. My sleeve restriction was tightest in the morning so foods had to be soft/mushy.

The carb and calorie alone would keep me from this unless the protein and Fiber count was in the 60-80 gram range.