i1Linda

Good Luck tomorrow Anna! I will say a few prayers for you tomorrow. Give us an update when you can.

Theresa - I had the exact same pain - mine however was right at 2 weeks post-op. That left-side incision was a bugger. At two weeks a started having back spasms. Apparently, our stomach muscles wrap around and attach in the back region. I'm glad you called your doctor though. Better to be over cautious then not worry about something you should - that's why we pay them. Hang in there, it gets SO MUCH BETTER. Get that drain out on Wednesday and it will be all down hill from there.

bariatricchoice.com

Thanks for the update Matt. Welcome Theresa to the "sleeved side". We are all here if you need anything.

Prayers on surgery day are always a must. I will be sure to send several your way. Do the same for me....I am having knee surgery (other knee - "second verse, same as the first") next Wednesday. You will love your sleeve after it heals. I love eating small quantities (I love it most of the time) and enjoy shrinking out of my clothes. I feel great!

Madelyn, I had my surgery at Forest Park Medical Center in August. The facility was very nice and clean. The nursing staff was professional, compassionate and attentive. I have had surgery (c-sections and gall bladder surgery) in 3 other area hospitals (Presby Plano, Plano Medical Center & Centennial Hospital in Frisco). I would rank FPMC right up there with all of them, it's just physically smaller all though still a full hospital - which is not such a bad thing. Yes it is doctor owned.

Glad to hear your pre-op is going well. Monday is coming up fast. Good luck! You won't need it but I will give it anyway. Dr. Nick is wonderful!!

Wow Tiffy!! You look FABULOUS! And yes, quite a transformation.

WTG Girl - Welcome to Onederland!!!! Congratulations on your SV - scale victory !!!!!

Well for me, I still enjoy sweets. I usually just have a Bariwise protein bar (mmmm...peanut butter /chocolate ~ enjoying one now) every evening after dinner. It is my "treat" for the day and the little bar satisfies what sweet tooth I may have. My cravings however, are usually salty/crunchy. RF Wheat thins are my current weakness. This usually occurs at bedtime and I can't stop thinking about the wheat thins in the pantry....they call to me, even though I am not really hungry. So to wrap up, I still enjoy the sweets (well protein bar sweets) and use then to pleasantly boost my protein, but my CRAVINGS are strickly salty/crunchy. I couldn't care less about all the Halloween candy in our house this past month, just not interested....give me my protein bar and I was very interested.

Good Luck tomorrow Judy. We will all be thinking of you. Be sure to give us an update once you can.

Welcome to the forum Dan. Good luck with your journey. IF you have questions, ask away. There are lots of helpful individuals on here with a wealth of information.

AJW - you're right, we are TWINS! So cool. My goal is 140 (really 139...want to be in the 130's for some reason). Once I get down closer, I plan to reevaluate. Everyone tells me I will be too skinny lower than 140 but I can't imagine me ever being "too skinny". I finally broke my nearly 3 week stall at 182 today.... down to 179 - yippee!!! I haven't been in the 170's since well before my first pregnancy (about 9 years). :001_tt2:

My favorite bars are from Bariwise - Caramel Crunch & Peanut Butter. I buy them online (BariatricChoice.com). The caramel crunch bar taste like a $100 Grand Candy bar; the peanut butter bar reminds me of a Reese's Peanut Butter cup with a chewy center. Both are AWESOME and I have them for dessert. Each is 150 calories and 15 grams of protein.

Congratulations Bob! I am so jealous. I have been STUCK at 65 lbs for almost 3 weeks. Keep up the GREAT work.

Okay, I don't know if this works or not, but I will pass it on.... I was talking about hair loss with my hair stylist. She said that people lose their hair when dieting because they don't get enough fat and Protein in their diet. She said back in the 80's everyone was eating low fat (less than 20g) and hair was falling out all over the place. In the 90's and Atkins was the fad, no one lost their hair (for those that did Atkins, you know why - think greasy bacon cheeseburger with no bun). She suggested that since I was on a high protein, low fat diet to add some Fish Oil to add essential fatty acids to my diet. Apparently your body needs both protein and fat to grow hair and evidently it won't use the fat on my rear to make hair. I bought some Fish Oil capsules and have started taking them. Worth a shot.

Congratulations Judy! What an awesome victory. Keep it up GIRL!!!

Hi - Basically, none of these products are PPI's (proton pump inhibitors) like Nexium. Protonix is a PPI (available in generics, but not on the $4 lists at most pharmacies) and very comparable to Nexium. However, with that said, my Dr. put me on Pepcid (and H2 antagonist - generic is Famotidine). In effect, it does the same thing as PPI's (reduce stomach acid) but works in a different way. My doctor puts his cash customers on Pepcid 20mg to save them money (I got 90 tablets for $10) and he said it works fine for most patients. He will prescribe the a PPI if requested or if Pepcid 20mg is not effective for a patient. I did fine on the Pepcid and weened off of it completely at 12 weeks post op. In my opinion, if an H2 antagonist will work for you, it is worth the cost savings. You won't know until you try it. If it doesn't work, I would definitely ask for Protonix since it is available in generic and would be cheaper than Nexium. I hope this helps.

Tiffy, You are definitely an inspiration to so many of us. Congratulations on this great weight loss milestone. You look wonderful. Keep it up!

Yay! Congratulations on your surgery date.

I was released to start exercising at 4 weeks - no abs until 6 weeks.

Norma, Sorry to hear about your knee. What a bummer. Don't worry though, the weight will still fall off. I scheduled to have my other (right) knee surgery for mid-December. I am looking forward to my knee not hurting anymore, but not looking forward to the reduction in exercise required to let it heal. Good luck and keep us updated.

I downloaded CardioCoach this morning and used it for my workout this afternoon. It ROCKED!! I usually grind thru 25-30 minutes on my eliptical and get bored looking for an excuse to quit early. Today, with CardioCoach I went for 45 minutes and still wasn't mentally ready to quit (physically however, I was done, what a great cardio workout). I am actually looking forward to working out again tomorrow. Thanks Jachut for the recommendation. :crying:

Lucygoose - Unfortunately, it is just trial and error. Everyone's taste are different. Something I love, you may think is horrible and vice versa. There is a thread under food that rates different Proteins - everyone has their favorites. I would explore that thread and then order a bunch of the samples from the sources listed in the thread. Until you try them, you just don't know. Linda

Sorry to hear about your problem. Go to VerticalSleeveTalk.com - lots of Band to Sleeve revisions over there. Good Luck! Linda