Tiffykins

It's the skin, just like with pickles, corn and other things that have skin. I know a lot of people don't have issues with them, but it was explained to me, that the skin is more difficult to move through. I can tell you that my first experience with raw veggies/fruits, I was jonesing for pickles. I ate some in my chicken salad, and low and behold 3-4 hours I was burping up remnants of that pickle after I had eaten another "meal". It was utterly disgusting, and I didn't eat pickles for another 6 months. Corn and grapes gave me the same results. I'd eat a small portion (few bites after meat), go about my day eat another meal a few hours later, and there I was burping up the corn pieces. Of course, now that I'm further out (18 months) this doesn't happen, but for the first 6-8 months, I couldn't go through spitting out pieces of corn, pickles and grapes. It was just disgusting. High cellulose fruits/veggies, stringy veggies/fruits were to be avoided for 3 months by my guidelines. Not for any other reason because of the transit time, residual swelling and the fact we needed to focus on getting in Protein via food sources. With these foods, it cut my capacity because they'd fill up my sleeve.

From someone who literally loved food, I can tell you the sleeve is not going to fix the head issues. I battled a lot of my head hunger when I had the band so I had a good grasp on that pre-sleeve. You might want to consider working with a counselor to help with your food issues. Head hunger DOES NOT go away with the sleeve. I have lost my physical hunger completely, but that doesn't keep me from eating. Early out, yes, I had to set a reminder to eat, but I was also very hellbent on succeeding in getting to goal, and not wavering from my post-op eating plan. So, it is my head that I had to control early out if I wanted to lose my weight, and really see food as fuel. I am more in control now, my head wins sometimes, but for the most part, I know the "rules" and I know the consequences of bad choices. The lack of physical hunger definitely helps, but it's not going to last. I'm 18 months out, can eat twice as much as I could at 2-3 months out, and it's definitely more difficult to make the best choice on what I put in my mouth. It takes constant diligence, it takes control, and it takes constant effort to not bury my head in the proverbial cookie jar. I do agree that food is an afterthought now. I get so busy some days that I still forget to eat. I have gone 16 hours without eating, and didn't realize it until I was super cranky, and had an empty feeling in my stomach. Remember, they operate on our stomachs, not our brains. The sleeve will restrict the quantities we put in to an extent, but the choice is all ours on what we put in our mouths.

I totally slacked off yesterday, but will work out this afternoon when I get home. I have some appointments this morning on base, and I have no idea how long they will take. I'll log in my workout when I get home ! ! ! Keep up everyone ! ! ! WE CAN DO IT ! ! !

I agree with Julia on the toxic, unhealthy relationship aspect. Since she is so involved in your life, I do think having your fiance with you is a good idea. Do not be surprised if she is not supportive, condemning, and insulting. She might surprise you, but when someone shows you who they are, you have to believe them. I know it's difficult to tell someone who you see approval from so badly (the comments about you being a failure clued me in that you want her approval, although you don't NEED it), but I think you have to do what is right for you and your future health. You deserve to be healthy and happy regardless if your sister approves of your decision or not. I can only imagine the feelings you are experiencing due to all of the connections you share with her. I wish you the very best, and I would use the fact that your other doctors think this is a great option for you to get healthy, and lead a life without co-morbidities. Best wishes.

Thanks

My husband wasn't too keen on his family finding out either. They already think I"m a stuck, high maintenance bitch (well they've come around a little over the 5 years we've been together LOL), but none the less, can you imagine their thoughts on me having surgery to get skinny? Because that's the ONLY reason some fatty would have surgery, right? **Insert stupid comments from ignorant people** Well, least to say, I told his parents, and they were supportive. Grant it, I've heard "you're starting to look sickly" "you're starving yourself aren't you?" To my husband via a phone call while he is on duty "Son, please feed Tiff, she's lost far too much weight, she's anorexic and you need to get her help!" Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh I've heard it all. It didn't help when we went "home" for Thanksgiving last year and because of their food and preparation methods, I literally lived on Protein bars, yogurt, and those little packets of prepared chicken salad. It was horrific because I couldn't eat anything they cooked so it definitely compounded the issues of me being "skinny". I still weighed in the 160s when we went home, you can only imagine the comments now at 125lbs LOL. For me, it's not an option to withhold information from family, even in-laws. The only thing we do not discuss is finances and our sex life. Your husband needs to support you, and defend your decision to his family if they give him or you flack because of your decision to better your health. When my mother-in-law realized they were physically removing my stomach tissue and the freak out commenced, I said "IF I had a mass in my breast, and it needed to be removed to prevent the cancer from spreading would you be trying to convince me not to do the surgery?" Well of course NOT, but that's cancer was the reply. I explained if I don't lose weight, I'm going to end up with diabetes, lose a foot because I can't reach them to wash them properly when the diabetes effects my circulation, or I'm going to stroke out during pregnancy, and you want a grandchild from your only son, correct? Least to say, this little conversation put things in perspective. My in-laws came down for my surgery since my husband was deployed, and my MIL stayed by my side through my complications while I was hospitalized, and we grew closer because of all we had gone through. Tell them, get it out there, let them process the information, and tell them to suck it if they give you or your husband hell. They don't have to live with you, you don't have to answer to them, and at the end of the day, unless they aren't going to fronting you the money for the surgery, they aren't going to be there to count out your 15 pills a day if your obesity isn't resolved, so they get NO SAY in how you live your life.

Congrats on getting your date. As a smoker, I can shed some light on the smoking thing. Other than the obvious anesthesia risks for smokers, due to the smaller size of our stomachs, it does increase our risks for ulcers. It's a risk with gastrectomies in general. As as smoker, I can tell you that I've quit and gone back to smoking 3 times since my revision. Yep, I smoke, I know it sucks, but I'm not going to lie here or anywhere for that matter. When my gallbladder was giving me hell, my surgeon decided to scope me to make sure I hadn't developed an ulcer as well because my pain was occurring any time I eat or drank anything including Water. He was damn positive I'd have an ulcer, well least to say, I didn't and my sleeve is beautiful. That was at 8 months post-sleeve. Also, the little respiratory therapist that I prefer to call the torturer from hell, likes you to use that little spyrometer to help your lungs "wake up", and prevent pneumonia. I can tell you with a cut up abdomen, CO2 gas inflated tummy cavity, gas pains, incisional pain, that whole hacking up a lung really sucks, and I imagine not being a smoker helps with that issue. You'll do great on the low carb, high Protein, the diet will shrink the slippery, slimy fat on the outside of the liver which makes it easier for the surgeon to move it out of the way to get to your stomach. I was specifically told it takes several weeks and sometimes months to actually shrink a true fatty liver, a couple weeks of low carb, high protein, or even an all liquid diet isn't going to do it. All that pre-op diet does is shrink , or help alleviate the fat deposits on the outside of the liver. Nicked livers kind of suck, but happen when it's in the way and slippery. I had a starting BMI of 50, had hoards of tummy fat, and was given 1 weeks of low carb, and high protein, essentially meat, cheese, eggs and salad. Think of all the "fat" in meat, cheese and eggs? ? ? It's not going to shrink a fatty liver, but it'll get the fat burning via ketosis. I was allowed to have a "last supper" night before surgery, and I did just that. I ate spinach/artichoke dip, an 8oz ribeye steak, loaded mashed potatoes, french fries, some corn and other veggies, and I shared a Cookie monster with ice cream, it's essentially a 3000 calorie brownie/cookie combo sundae with caramel and hot fudge, I did share a few bites with my then 10 year old son LOL. My liver looked spectacular day of surgery. Least to say, all that food coming out post-VSG was a total wreck, and good lord, it was NOT a pleasant experience. Sorry for the overshare, but most want the whole experience. Alcohol also thins your blood, you'll get standard anticoagulants to help prevent blood clots and they do not want any other additives, drugs (aspirin, NSAIDS, tylenol, alcohol, etc) to increase your clotting time anymore than the prescribed doses of heparin or lovenox. Congrats on getting your date, best wishes on your sleeve ! ! ! You'll do great. . .

Ohhh my band surgery with 2 days in the hospital was 42K and that was in Pensacola. There are so many fees that hospitals throw in that are completely withdrawn for self-pay patients. The 42K is what my insurance paid, they actually billed closer to 54K but after negotiated rates, and some fee negotiations with the surgeon it was decreased. My band surgeon billed Tricare nearly $300 for a fill and was paid $150, for a fill under fluoro, add on radiology fees for the fluoro machine and the hospital fee for that was $400 bucks.

Have you checked out the VAs in your area? I just thought of this, and know a couple of people that had VSG with Tricare for Life (retired Tricare recipients) at VA hospitals. Don't get tricked into thinking Tricare will pay for VSG via a civilian or you'll get a big nasty bill when they deny all the charges since it's not an approved covered procedure outside of MTFs and VA hospitals. Many of my friends have jumped through hoops via civilians that swore it'd be covered, then it was denied, one even got the surgery, and now she's trying to get a congressional complaint together since she just received a nice little 41K bill from the surgeon and hospital for her surgery and 1 night hospital stay ! ! !

GOOD NEWS ! ! ! Feet shrink too. At least mine have, and they've shrunk tremendously. I wore a solid 8-8.5W pre-op, today I wear a comfortable 7 (normal width). I think the only reason I need an 8-8.5 is because my foot was wide like a wooden boat, I also have flat feet, with a high instep so to squeeze my "Fred Flintstone" feet, as my lovely husband calls them (how I'd like to strangle him), into decent shoes I needed the extra length to accommodate the fatness of my feet. One of my most profound NSVs: Being able to see all the tiny bones in my feet, and to have space in between my toes without spreading out my toes. I had little sausages for toes, now their boney and I actually have toenails that look good polished LOL ! ! !

Yeppers, your body is pissed ! ! ! I gained over 30lbs the first week do to FLUIDS. . . So, don't fret, you will lose weight. You still have anesthesia floating around in your body, your hormones have gone haywire, and your body is generally just confused. When people ask how much weight you've lost you can always say "I'm not sure, but I feel fabulous, and know I'll be looking fabulous once I'm actually over the healing period." Put the scale away if it's going to do depress you. It's not going to do anything positive so don't punish yourself.

Within 2-3 small swallows, I was gassy, painful cramps, and then I'd puke typically. I could still tolerate yogurt and low fat cheese, but milk and whey proteins were completely out.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh no ! ! ! I've got tons of new growth, but it's growing in stick straight. I had semi-curly, full body, wavy hair pre-op. Now, not so much ! ! ! You still look smokin' hot regardless of what the hair fairy is sprinkling on on your head.

Daisy's on Protonix and she swears by it. . . It's available in generic, and it's an older PPI that was used before Nexium got so popular. Not available OTC, but generic RX is super cheap apparently.

I ate lots of yogurt and added probiotic powder to fight off the stomach bug. I hate, I mean absolutely despise throwing up so I did everything I could to prevent hurling. I went back to mushies, lots of yogurt, and Probiotics for the good bacteria to even out in my GI tract. I don't think it took any longer for me to recover than pre-op. I used the same tactics pre-op, lots of saltine crackers and chicken noodle Soups, broths, etc etc. Plain, bland diet always helps. Little to no meat, yes, I know it kills the Protein count, but if I'm hurling up what I eat, what does it matter? ? ? I never take Immodium, or any other drugs to stop the diarrhea. For me, when my body goes through something like this, it's always a sign that my body wants it out of my system. I'm not going to take something to stop me up. I'll poop 10 times a day over taking anti-diarrhea medications. Gatorade and pedialyte pops to combat dehydration are always in my house in the event we get hit with a stomach bug.

I agree they are totally overrated. I wear their hipster panties because they fit my awkward lower region without riding up my asscrack. Plus, I have a really hard time spending $39.50 on a pair of sweat pants with PINK written across the ass. For me, it's a lot of money for half quality. It was a spur of the moment, kind of on a whim shopping moment. I'm taking a break from shopping as I've been going a little crazy restocking my closet since last year at this time I was wear a large top. All my sweaters swallowing me, and were just barely too short to wear as a sweater dress. Least to say, my friends have really loved picking through my closet. I saw a picture of myself from our squadron Christmas party, and I still had BOOBS. Even one of my FB friends commented "where'd they go?" LOL

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I never even thought of trying Kohls. . . Thanks for the tip ! ! !

I giggled outloud on this one ! ! ! The stinky parts is only temporary, and the small boob thing, well I'm trying to be positive about the small boob thing because my waist is so small now! ! !

Love ya too. . . It was pretty emotional, and baring my soul to that manager lady was a bit telling. I could see all the little questions running through her mind. At point, I just took off my shirt and showed her what their bras did to my boobs and my skin. She was just kind of a stunned, and kept apologizing. I told her, no apologies, and it only confirmed that I need to get into the plastic surgeon way sooner ! ! !

I never even thought of going to Fredericks ! ! ! I need to see if there is a store anywhere close to us. Thanks so much ! ! !

I do believe everything happens for a reason, BUT at the same time, I believe we are in charge of our destiny. I personally would still have surgery. Not sure on the surgeon situation, can you find another more experienced sleeve surgeon that can perform the surgery without jumping through all the hoops again? I never had a problem losing weight. For me, it was the keeping it off. If you are disciplined enough to diet and exercise without the tool of VSG then yes, you can do it on your own. BUT, with a 95% failure rate of weight loss maintenance the deck is kind of stacked against use lifetime dieters. I fought really hard to have VSG and was determined to not settle for RNY or the band. It took 3 months to get it approved, and battling insurance. I did have to go to a surgeon that didn't a lot of revision experience, but it was a risk I was willing to take. He had done other revisions, and band removals, just not a lot of them. I do not regret my decision at all. It's a tough situation to be in, but I personally know myself well enough that I knew I'd gain weight back with surgery. Heck over a decade, I lost and gained back the same 400lbs over and over again. I'd lose 50, gain 60, lose 30, gain 25, etc etc etc. It was a never-ending, bitter cycle that left me feeling frustrated, and like a major failure. For me, when I found out I couldn't have my 1st surgeon choice, and self-pay was not an option, that doing the same thing over and over yet expecting different results was insane (some famous person's quote), and it rang true for me. I know that I could lose weight, but I wanted to keep it off for good. Best wishes, and if you're religious, pray until you get an answer.

Pasta hurt until I was about 4-6 months postop, breads I avoided until I was at goal. Hummus is considered a mushy food by my guideline along the lines of mushed up beans.

Thanks chickee. Honestly, I don't mind my cheap bras from Ross and TJMaxx. I have found some really comfy Maidenform balconette bras, and a couple of IZOD bras that fit well. I just recently realized I have this extra skin on my side, up under my arm. It's not fat, it's seriously extra skin. I'm hoping that with a good boob job that will help with the extra skin. With the VS bras, the one thing I found is that either they flattened me out completely, or all the padding made my "boob skin" fold onto itself and my boobs just looked gross. That new Miracle bra was the worse out of all of them, but I will say that after breast implants, I'm sure I'll have zero issue finding bras that fit properly.

I never bring home the salad leftovers anymore. I did a couple of times, and it seemed like the lettuce lost it's luster, that watery stuff would gather in the bottom of the container kind of grossed me out. The only time I'll bring home salad is if I'm going to eat it later that day. I'm a bit of a lettuce snob so it's rare for me to even order salad out, but when I do, I typically eat 90% of it.

I was the same way with veggies. I would see people eating sweets, and it repulsed me. I hated the smell of Cookies and cakes for the longest time. You're doing great. I stuck with green Beans because they're so low on the glycemic index, and I could eat several of them with meat first. Plus, I'd buy frozen green beans, and steam them for a bit of texture. It's still a mushy, but steamed veggies were heavenly.