Tiffykins

You look sooooooooooooooo amazing ! ! !

It's true that Prilosec can take up to 14 days for maximum efficacy. But, it will work. You might have to take it twice a day in the beginning. I really hope your doc gets serious about the reflux. Tums just won't cut it, and it's just a miserable situation to be in.

It was for my program. They especially pushed the Syntrax nectars for the clear stage. Those are fruity flavored, and not milky like the chocolate ones. Just check with your nut or doc to get the go ahead.

At the top of the Forum, right by New Posts. Under the Photo link. . . User CP means User Control Panel From there you can edit everything, you can change your profile colors, your email preferences, anything and everything that has to do with your account on here.

I had my band on a school day, and the kiddo went to school. He did just fine. For my revision, I had surgery during the summer. I was very open about my surgeries. He's kind of a gross little boy and wanted to watch youtube videos of the surgery, see diagrams, and pictures, and he wanted as much information as he could absorb. He was supportive, and beyond understanding of my recovery. He became my little time watcher to make sure I was eating, and drinking. It was cool, we bonded, and now he's super proud of his "skinny" mom even though he was never ashamed of his "fat" mom. He just said "I'm glad you feel better, and you don't hurt, plus I can really hug you now so that's pretty awesome." I have a totally kickass kid, and we have a special little bond that really got us through an ugly, extensive recovery.

Yeah, it's tough to distinguish between full liquids and mushies even on my program. The big difference for mine is on fulls, it had to be thin enough to suck through a straw.

PHOTO WHORE IT UP ! ! ! You deserve it, and I think everyone should do it. . . You're amazing I <3 you bunches, and so glad to have you in my little life. . . PHOTO WHORE IT UP, seriously, it does wonders for your ego, your self-esteem, hell it just feels good.

Go to USER CUP, edit avatar on the left hand side, upload your picture.

Wooooohooo chickee ! ! ! You're doing so fabulous, and look amazing! ! !

Beef Jerky, or those beef or turkey steak bites with cheese chunks. . . That was my go to calorie/protein food choice in my losing stage. Pork rinds for the salty/crunchy craving.

I had 4 stages - Clear - broths, sugar free popsicles and Jello, all non-calorie, non-caffeinated drinks count as clear, Protein drinks mixed with Water, Full liquids- all of the above, plus sf pudding/custards, cream Soups minus the little chunks, protein shakes/drinks made with milk, greek yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese Mushies/soft/purees- All of the above PLUS - Anything that can be blended- chili, chicken/tuna/egg salad, if it had chunks I chewed, chewed, chewed, and chewed some more. Refried Beans, soft cheeses, eggs, tofu, boiled veggies Solids- all of the above, plus slowly adding in solid foods without a bunch of condiments (like in the chicken/tuna salad). Mushy/purees/soft foods were all the same stage for me. I didn't play around with seedy stuff(like fruit on the bottom yogurt), raw veggies, or maybe chunky, stringy stuff.

Pepcid and Zantac are h2 blockers, they simply treat the symptoms of heartburn/reflux. Get some Prilosec or Prevacid OTC instead if you want the acid to stop. My directions on my Prilosec is to take on an empty stomach, and wait 1 hour before eating. I know it can take up to 14 days for the Prilosec to kick in fully. Have you tried Gaviscon to give you some relief? It might help more than Tums in the interim until you can talk to your doc.

I couldn't have chunks until mushies/soft foods. No raw veggies/fruits/nuts/seedy stuff for 3 months. It's just how our program is set up, yours might be different.

Drink the broth, no chunks. Get a cheap little mesh strainer for the little chunks in the creamy soups.

I think it smells worse than the flavored stuff. It reminds me of baby formula, and that makes me want to puke.

Everyone "should" take a good quality mulit-vitamin. I took them before surgery, and will continue for the rest of my life.

I attribute a lot of my success with VSG to loss of physical hunger. Plus, I really did follow the rules to a "T" to lose quickly, hit goal and worry about maintenance when I got there. I worked the crap out of my band. I fought to make it work, and I wanted to succeed. But, it failed me in the end, and destroyed my stomach. So, I was pretty hellbent on making the most of out my sleeve opportunity. I really did not make horrible food choices pre-op (pre-band), and even with a BMI of nearly 50, I had zero co-morbidities. Both of my surgeons were amazed for a 30something year old woman, with my BMI, and the fact that I smoked for 12+ years that I didn't have issues. My bloodwork looked pretty great pre-op, I really had zero indicators of being obese if you were to just look at lab results. I just ate a huge amount of food. The band did strip me of good food choices, but not on a regular basis. I only had my band for 8 months so I didn't struggle with it for an extensive period of time. Also, with my complications, my husband being gone, I was pretty hellbent on recovering fully, losing weight, and being an active participant in our life instead of just a spectator. The band did help me beat the learning curve of eating with the sleeve. I knew different tricks to help me through those rough spots because of the band experience. I also knew what to expect during the first 2-6 weeks post-op. I also think that to some degree, I felt like a failure again with the band. I did lose 23lbs the first 2.5-3 months with the band, but gained back 16 of those while trying to get my revision. I kind of felt like VSG was my last shot, and I had to make it work.

I get my B12 sublinguals at Wal-Mart. 60 day supply for $5.00. Green bottle with a yellow label and yellow cap. My multi is chewable with bioavailable Vitamins and minerals so even though I do not take my sublingual B12 on a regular basis, I have not had any type of deficiency on b12 or any other vitamin/mineral on any of my follow ups, which were every 3 months for the first year, and now I'll go every 6 months for 2 years.

It's normal to experience this so don't be alarmed. I never really thought I'd be able to eat my favorites, but I have been enjoying everything I have always loved. Through the first 6 months, my portions were tiny around 3-4oz of food sometimes 6oz. But, now I can eat twice those amounts on certain foods. I definitely do not eat a lot, but I also don't feel deprived. The best thing about the sleeve is that you can be satisfied with a smaller portion of your favorite if you can wrap your head around the fact that we don't have to eat 4 servings of something to enjoy it. Hang in there, once you get to puree/mushy stage, you'll feel much better.

Congrats on your quick approval. My reasons for choosing VSG over RNY for my revision: 1) Malabsorption with RNY only last 18-24 months for calories/fats/sugars, but you get a lifetime of vitamin/mineral malabsorption for life. That isn't a fair trade off in my opinion. 2) I had a pouch/stoma with the band, RNY offers the same thing, and my body hated the pouch. 3) I wanted to keep my pyloric valve for normal digestive functions. No bypassing no dumping 4) No blind stomach left behind that can still get ulcers/cancer yet it's very difficult to scope. 5) Pouches stretch. Regain stats with RNY are just scary. 6) Long term complications with malabsorption, and other various issues with RNY just weren't worth the immediate payoff of quick weight loss. 7) stats on VSG vs. RNY for weight loss were neck and neck, and I knew I didn't need malabsorption to get to my goal weight. That's the short list. Best decision I ever made ! ! !

You've done amazingly well thus far, and you're right you should celebrate all the victories ! ! ! You'll lose those last few pounds, and get to your goal weight. Just hang in there, don't give up on yourself or your sleeve. You look gorgeous! ! !

That's just horrible. . . I hope they get you something. I told my surgeon if he didn't give me a RX, I was just going to go OTC anyway and take something. Reflux isn't something to play with especially with a healing staple line, and if it's ongoing Barrett's esophagus is a dangerous condition to risk.

PPI is a proton pump inhibitor. It keeps acid from producing in our stomachs. H2 blockers like Pepcid, zantac and others treat the symptoms of heartburn/acid reflux/ulcer issues. With a PPI, it keeps the acid under control, and helps protect the staple line. You might want to talk to your surgeon about getting on something. I went on Prilosec about 6 weeks out.

Muscle Milk light tasted "okay" to me, but had a funky smell. I'm probably the pickiest person in the world when it comes to taste and texture. I affectionately call Isopure- IsopuKe. But, I know several others that love that stuff. The floaty particles of protein really made it disgusting. Optimum whey available at bodybuilding.com is one that I could tolerate taste, and texture wise. I developed lactose intolerance, and whey is a milk product so they all ended up making me puke at some point.