thinoneday

Neither. . . I didn't have much pain with either surgery. this really just depends on your own way to cope with pain. . .

Candyman, good for you man! People, especially family, don't realize the pain and suffering we go through with our obesity. to them it's like if we lose weight we may look better, or something. . . i don't know. . . only thing, and I hate to put a damper on the whole thing. Write something out and put it into an envelop to be opened in the case of something. . . put it up, if you live alone, put it onto your table addressed to whoever. . i do this everytime i have surgery, or even go on a vacation . . . cause you never know. Good luck and all will be ok. . .now watch who'll get beat up! lol

sorry cookies, but not all grafts come from cadavers. when i had my breast reduction i signed consents because they wanted to use the skin for grafting on an 8 year old boy who was badly burned. Of course I signed, what the heck did i need that extra skin for. . if it would help him, sure. . . now my surgery was definately NOT free. . . so that part may be a myth. . . let us know

Awww , I totally feel you! But you got alot of good advice here. And your screen name says it all! "Rebel" . . . you can fight it all the way. . . don't give in! DON'T LET IT WIN!!!

See you on the losers side! Good luck

Hi, I'm out 3 years and still can't and probably will never be able to have salads. The lettuce or any leafy vegatable nearly kills me. It's a pain like i've never had before, a call me an ambulance pain. . . it lasts for about 30 minutes and goes away. . . my doctor said that alot of people with the sleeve can't tolerate salad. Do I miss it? No, i just do the best i can with the other options, like coleslaw is good, mixed veggies is ok, cooked veggies are good. . stuff like that. . . good luck

oh yes, I'm out 3 years now and can eat what I call "normal". . . not like before, with hords of food, just normal. . . for example i can eat a whole egg or two (thats pushing it though) I can eat a whole sandwich, about 1 1/2 slices of pizza, whole piece of cake. But not the whole thing! And that, to me, is the most important. I'm not able to pig out like i used to 3 years ago. . . i'm "normal"

At 2 weeks out i had lost 23 lbs and at 7 weeks out i had lost 53 lbs then at 8 months 100lbs and at 1 year 150 lbs. . . i never once thought i was losing too fast, my doctor was happy with the results, i felt great and everyone commented how "healthy" i looked. . then at 1 year it stopped dead in it's tracks for 7 months i was at a stall. . .then in the 8th month the weight started off slowly again, i lost another 10 lbs and that was it. . . now i'm out 3 years and have maintained my current weight. . no more losing but definately no more gaining. . . and to me that is the most important. . . if i'm to lose more, well good for me. . . but if not, then that is ok too. . at least i'm not 350+lbs any more and feel and look good! Good luck and keep up the excellent work!

Lewanda, I lost 53 lbs in 7 weeks when i first had surgery, But remember everyone looses at their own speed, my loss may not be your loss and your loss may not be the next persons loss and so on. . . we are all unique and our bodies do how they were meant to do. . . this is not a cookie cutter surgery. . . then after my first year i lost a total of 150 lbs. I'm out now for 3 years and remain at the same weight, sometimes up a couple of lbs, sometimes down a couple. . .just depends on what i've eatten the night before or if i missed taking my diuretics or not. . . water weight is a b. . . . ch Good luck you will do great!

Dumb question here, but what are "we" riding? Horses, motorcycles, bicycles, brooms? never mind, just realized which forum i was on. . . it's motorcycles right? Sorry can't help you with this one, I'm a horse rider. . . hehehehe

Fabulous post! And so very true! Thanks for the website, will definately go check it out!

I'm a complete sinner and will probably go to the hot house anyhow, so for me it was 90% vanity (ugh!) and 10% health. I was always unhappy with my weight! Always being made fun of, teased, taunted, as a kid, then as an adult, the same thing, teased, taunted, made to feel all jokes had to be fat related and that i should be happy all the time. . . (shoot, I'm not freakin' santa claus) Now I can do so much more, and look so much better. . . it's so nice to actually like myself again! So for me it was vanity mostly. . .

You betcha!!!!! From what I understand, when we had this surgery, not only were our tummies removed but some hormones and other "stuff" we may not know we needed. It makes sense to me, however, when some of these hormones are removed, people do stuff they never used to. . .turn to drugs, alcohol, sex, get more emotional, get angry, etc. . . I did that too. . never was a drinker, but recently I could easily become an alcoholic. . .thank goodness I have control not to do that. . .but it's definately there, that and wanting to go crazy on carbs. . . at 3 years out this is not a good thing (no wonder some people fail with this surgery after a while). . . I had posted a post about my hubbie hurting my feelings by telling me I had gained weight, well after having had a pity party with myself and LOTS of self talk, I told him thank you cause even though I did not gain weight (according to my scale) it made me realize that maybe I'm doing bizzare things which i didn't do before. . . and then I realized that yes I'm snacking like an idiot on carbs and between meals and yes I was drinking alcohol A LOT!!! Sooooo, i stopped that dead in its tracks. . . think head hunger is murder? Try stopping every thing cold turkey! If i wasn't crazy before, I will be now! hahaha. . . but it's only temporary cause once my body gets back on track, I will be ok. . . . PS: For you stats folks, I don't have proof of my findings, only observation. . . .

hahaha, I have a loose turkey skin chin now. . . I remind myself of my grandma! I'll stand infront of the mirror and shake my head and watch it wobble. . . oh well, at least I'm not 350 lbs! I traded one thing for another. . . I'll take the wobble anyday!

I'm 3 years out and can just barely get down 6 oz at a time, if it's pure protein like salmon, chicken, turkey, etc then only 1 small piece, maybe about 3 oz, 1 egg, and if having cheese, 1 string cheese. . . water and fluids are great. . . no problems getting that down at all. But let me tell you, i sure don't miss pigging out! hehehe

Thank you Leah, your quote at the end is so true. . . I will definately use it in the future. . . cheers and I'm glad your here with us. . . hugs

I'm so sorry this happened to your mom. . . bless her heart, i'll keep in our prayers . . . thank you so much for posting this warning because I've seen where some new sleevers who are out bearly 3 weeks want to eat bread and cake and enjoy this and that because they are "bored" or "sick" of their post op diet. . . I feel badly for these folks and am so glad you shared your mom's experience with this surgery. . . blessings to your mom and your family. . . hopefully she'll do well. . . keep us posted!

How wonderful! And congratulations on passing your test as well! What a fabulous story! Thanks for sharing

I think jealousy gets the best of some people. . don't let it bother you. . . i know that is easier said then done cause we ALL have feelings that get hurt, be it by our forum or our family and friends. . . like it was mentioned earlier, just say Thank you and move on. . .

totally agree Queen of Crop

i'm 50 and feel great! I look younger and feel alot better too!

i'm fine now and thanks again!

Nothing is better then a good poop! Makes the body feel great! I'm so glad things got moving and your back to "normal" . . . keep up the excellent work!!

hear hear Queen of crop! I agree with you, guys do have feelings just like us, only different. . . I understand what your saying too. . . all is well on the homefront here. . . I am better and am just going to dismiss the comment as a "bad day" Thanks all once again!

This happened to me. . . i too flirted with the idea of cheating, but STD/HIV scared that thought right out of my brain. . . my hubbie is everything to me, so why would I want to hurt him. . . I found out it was just plain boredom and all i really wanted was just someone to "go out" with. . .go places and do stuff not to have sex. . I didn't want a relationship cause I had a fabulous one with DH and couldn't see losing him over that. . .I'm glad i didn't do it. . . replacing it with a kid could cause more problems cause kids are very stressful. . . Just my thoughts. . . maybe you two need a break from lifes stresses. . . take a nice vacation together and/or just reflect on the many reasons why you are together. . . write down the pro's and con's of being together and when you see your pro's outweighing your con's you'll be happy about that. . . sometimes it's just a little change to make it all better. . . vacations are wonderful if you can do that. . . good luck!