Lee

Congratulations KimChi! I'm so glad your surgery went so well. Love your nickname. It reminds me of being in South Korea!

Hey, I'd love to see the pics of the blushing bride. Reggie, that was so lovely of you to put that together for CoCo. I think I sent you a friend request CoCo, but not really sure how to do it..... maybe Sleevers are all Lame!

You look terrific. Congrats on a wonderful 3 months!

I'm moving to pills and capsules when I hit my one month on Wednesday. I asked to start earlier but was denied by my surgeon. His advice was to not mess with the staple line. That scared me enough to wait.

I'm saving a spot on the Loser's Bench for you breekahouse!

I was supposed to be drinking 64 oz a day by day 5 and had no problems. I'm 3.5 weeks out now and can drink the same as I did before surgery.

CoCo, I'm so delighted that you had a wonderful wedding and weekend. Big Congratulations!!

Every plan is so different. My Kaiser plan requires that I weigh daily for the rest of my life. I guess that way denial can't set in about what's working or not working. I record everything in myfitnesspal.com so that I'll be in the habit when I progress to new foods.

Nicola, I saw my surgeon on Friday. He gave me clearance to bathe, swim etc on the 17th which will be one month for me. He lifted all exercise restrictions etc beginning on the 17th as well. Life is good.....

I packed a bag but the only things I used were chapstick, toothbrush and toothpaste. I thought I'd use my iPod etc but never did. I slept most of the time and had no interest in reading or watching tv. I wore comfy clothes to the hospital and just wore them home. I expected to stay two nights but was so thankful they let me go home after one night. It's so much easier to rest at home! Good luck!! :thumbdown:

What a wonderful three month report. Thanks so much for sharing your incredible journey with us!

Tonya, please be careful with the immodium. I was not able to tolerate a Protein shake from days 5 to 10. I had violent runs when I tried. I discovered that it was the "whey" protein powders causing the problem. I tried Muscle Milk Light which is lactose free and did just fine. The runs stopped as soon as I quit the Whey protein. Now at three weeks out I can tolerate dairy and whey again just fine. I think we lose some of the enzyme necessary to process the lactose but then regain it when we're out a bit further from surgery. I did not worry at all about my protein in the first two weeks. I did what I could and knew that I'd have lots of opportunity to up my protein grams. In the first two weeks, just be sure to get all your fluids in so that you don't get dehydrated.

Brenda, I consider this a very very big compliment. Thank you for your kind words. Around here, we look to those ahead of us on the path and learn from their process. I know that you will be there for those that follow in your footsteps. This is a wonderful "pay it forward" kind of place and I've been learning from the best!

Yes, there's pills for lactose intolerance but I didn't want to do that. I wanted my body to have it's natural progress. Around Day 13 it left me and I was able to go back to my Optimum Nutrition Rich Chocolate Shake.

I like to add some Toriani SF liquid to my chocolate shake to give it a little more flavor. also like to use 1/2 unsweeted soymilk and 1/2 Water to give it a little more substance. I like my shakes best when I put them in the blender with some ice to make them a little creamier. Toriani has a lot of different flavors. I have chocolate, caramel, vanilla and strawberry. What about trying some different brands of shakes? GNC is good about letting you return ones that you don't like. I recently got a canister at Whole Foods that I returned the next day because it was vile. I like Bodytech Dutch Chocolate pudding as a change from shakes. You can get it at Vitamin Shoppe. Mixed with 5-6 oz of water it has 25 grams of Protein (if I remember correctly) and around 145 calories. Nice change of consistency.

I'm delighted that you liked your first shake! Please let me advise you to wait until after surgery for some of those samples. Many of us have found that our tastes changed post-ops. For me I became lactose intolerant on days 5-10 and had violent issues in the bathroom when having anything with lactose. I then found that I could do shakes with 0 lactose. It's gotten better now. Also, everything that was sweet pre-op is now doubly sweet post-op. I'd save a few samples until after surgery and give them a taste then. Good good good luck on your surgery!!

I too did not have a drain.

I too started pureed foods at two weeks out. I will start soft foods at 4 weeks. I can really relate to that wall of fatigue. During week two I worked in my office and on Friday I worked from home. Friday afternoon I hit that wall and stayed in my jammies watching movies until Sunday morning. During week three I hit that wall one day after lunch in my office. It passed the same day.

Try no sugar added fruit popsicles (25 calories). They work great in the clear stage. I personally didn't have pain when sipping slowly, but I really forced myself to get in 32 oz by day 4 so that I could move to 64 oz on day 5 as required by my plan. Everyone is right, you'll feel so much better if you can hydrate. I immediately had more energy when I was getting in fluids. The popsicles were cold and felt great to my swollen sleeve. They each are 2 oz of fluids so I'd put the sticks in a glass and add them up at the end of the day. I found that I loved Sobe Lifewater 0 calorie in the fugi apple pear flavor. The pomegranate was too sweet for me. The Lifewater is 0 calorie but has around 15 carbs per 20 ounces and I found the carbs helpful in giving me some energy. Find what you like and then focus on that. Today at three weeks out I can gulp tea or Water with no problems.

Congratulations on making it to 100!! That is an amazing task that you have accomplished. Bravo!! My surgeon gave me a goal of getting to a BMI of 30. He said that at my age that would be perfect and he would consider the surgery a huge success. He said that a BMI of 25 would be phenomenal. I want to lose 100 pounds just because I would consider that an amazing accomplishment.

Ladies, Please trust your decision. Know that you will be so happy post-op. I am three weeks out and wearing clothing that I haven't worn in 3 or 4 years. I move more easily. I'm so much happier. The obsession with food has passed. I am not hungry between meals. I drink tea and Water as I did before surgery. My visit to my surgeon yesterday was perfect. He removed my label of Morbidly Obese. Have trust in your surgeon. The greatest odds are that you will survive the surgery and flourish and your children will be so much the happier for it. If you do not trust your surgeon, find someone that you do trust. In the week before my surgery I had only calm and delight at the upcoming event because I trusted that I was in the best possible hands and that my surgeon would not let anything happen to me. Find your peace and hold onto it. Visualize yourself as you would like to see yourself in a month. Down on the floor playing happily with your children perhaps? I am happy to take any PM's if you would like to give over your fears. I will hold them until after your surgery and return them to you afterwards if you want them back. My mantra preop was "everything always works out for me... everything always works out for me". Visualize the best possible outcome and keep it close to you.

Big hurrah!! That's is a terrific story! Did you dance your way out of the store?

That's great news! 24 hours in the hospital was quite enough for me!

Brenda, I loved every word of your post. I know that you think that your journey is just beginning and I can relate to that, but I think it's our journey thus far that has brought us to this place. You're going to be just fine!