NtvTxn

I did not like the liquid Hydrocodone, aside from the chance of addiction, I didn't like the way it made me feel. Anyway, the pain, for me, was not worth taking the 'big boy' meds during the day after I was discharged. I took liquid Tylenol and used a heating pad during the day and got Tylenol #3 and took it at night. I sleep on my side and when I'd turn over, it was a little painful. I only took it for not quite two weeks. I had problems with one incision, the one right by my belly button. The others healed nicely but that one fought me every step of the way!! They had me put triple antibiotic ointment on it and it didn't take long for it to be all better!!

I'm a grazer and I like sweets. Ugh, what a curse. I must graze throughout the day to get in all the calories I need to maintain, otherwise, I lose weight. Who'd have ever thought this would be an issue??!!! The thing is, now I do have SOME self control and I get more than enough protein in every day, so I'm not too obsessive about this.

I'll be at three years this June. I think I will always track, I use fitday.com. Like weighing every morning, it's a game....and I'm always amazed at how quickly calories can add up, then some days, I'm under. This is my new life.....and I like it, a LOT!!!

I agree, had mine not used a 32, 34 MAX - I would have left Davidson and used one of the other 'Center of Excellence' physicians here in Dallas. It does 'stretch', or relax, as you heal. By 18 months it should be what it is going to be. At least that is my experience. The first month I could sip my soup, eat SF jello or whatever, and only consume about an eighth of a cup at a time. Of course we are swollen and it takes quite a while to totally heal. Now, going on three years, depending on what I am eating, I can eat about 1 cup of food at a time. I am always asking my husband, "Did I eat a lot?" To me, it seems like a LOT of food....of course, if I try and picture what I could/did eat pre-op.....it is not much food. I still have great restriction and if I eat to much, it is NOT comfortable. I still don't get hungry, I will feel empty, but not true hunger.

They call the first year the 'honeymoon period'. It is when you can lose the most....but you must stick to the program. No cheating. They told us at the seminar, this is not a diet, it's a new way of life. That is fine, BUT until I reached goal, I treated this as the most important diet of my life. NOTHING sweet, nothing fried.....touched my lips!!! Carbonated drinks....NEVER. Alcohol, every so often AFTER reaching goal. I didn't touch a thing until after I'd been at goal for a good six months. I reached goal quickly, but I was, as my nurse said 'rigid'. It worked for me. I weighted or measured everything I ate when we were at home, I still do most of the time. I still keep an on line food log. Now at almost 3 years out, I feel like I live like a naturally thin person. Life is good, and I never feel deprived. Sometimes I have something sweet more than I should......but with little or no hunger, it is easy to lose a few lbs after vacation or Christmas!!! (still no hunger but my 'new' hunger is more of an empty feeling!!) Good luck!!

BTW. There is a doctor here in Dallas (Dr. Jay I think) he does a 30, but some folks think there are a few problems with that size, which is the smallest that I know of.

Mine is a 32. Dr. Davidson apparently makes the decision when he gets in there, but it would either be 32 or 34. His nurse had this surgery by another physician approx. 8 years ago, it has since been perfected, but hers is a 36, she said she thinks the smaller ones are better, in her opinion. She lost weight but not as successful as she is seeing with the patients with the 32's.

I'd say the first, most exciting thing that happened to me after surgery, was seeing my collar bone. It looks great, I am going on three years out and I STILL like seeing it in the mirror!!! Congrats!!

You should avoid Margarita's, they are loaded, LOADED with sugar. Kind of like Pina Coladas. Sad, sad!!! Take a few sips of someone else's. There are other things that are not quite as bad, not loaded with sugar. the good news is......you WILL be able to have Mexican food again. Even when I was in my losing phase, we'd go get TexMex. I'd get a grilled chicken enchilada and eat the chicken out of it. Or easier yet is fajitas....chicken or beef. Some places here in TX they'll put a small scoop of butter....ask, and ask them to leave it off. I'd have a couple of bites of a steamed tortilla dipped in the salsa. You don't have to have a chip to dip, the salsa is the good stuff.....corn tortillas are much 'safer'. A bite or two...small bites, of Beans and/or rice. You'll get the stuff you love and get some Protein too. Now that I'm in maintence and my tummy is healed and has relaxed, I can eat a whole cheese enchilada if i want, with about 2 T of beans and 2 T of rice. I may or may not eat three or four chips. If I do, I always either choose a sm broken one or will break up a full sized and get several bites out of one chip. You can't eat many or else you cannot eat the meal. When we get fajitas, i just eat the meat and guacamole...a few bites of the beans and rice. I do not feel deprived at all, ever. There are things that I USE to get that I CHOOSE not to eat.

ONLY 8 lbs???!!!! That is wonderful and that is 8 lbs that is forever lost. Not one of our yo yo things!! Enjoy the ride, it's wild. You'll lose weight faster than your head can keep up, I promise you!!! It's also normal to lose 2 or 3 lbs, then gain it back and then lose it again....up and down several times and then all of a sudden, it's gone for good.....on to the next 2 or 3!!! This is very common, don't fret. If you are doing what you are suppose to do....you will lose at a nice steady pace. Approx 85% of your tummy was removed, it's forced portion control. You're doing good!!

You can do it!!!! I lost 23 lbs in 2 months by making changes in my diet mostly!! I cut out ALL bread and chips and ALL Snacks. I ate several a day, so it was a little difficult at first just because of 'habit' not because I was hungry, I was NEVER hungry. I rode my husband's stationary bike three times a week, but only for 10 minutes. I was NOT working up a sweat!! It was the food changes that did it for me. I was never a 'coke girl' so soft drinks weren't an issue. If you drink them.....STOP. Good luck, enjoy the ride, it's wild!! One year post op you'll look back and it will be hard to believe, I promise!!!

My highest ever was 232, I have all but blocked that from my mind. I'm 5' 6.75" and weighed 228 at my first appt., the day I attended the bariatric seminar. That was 2 months prior to surgery, I lived out of state at the time, so I didn't have to go back for the 2 week pre op and do the pre op diet. Air fare would have killed us on top of everything else! Yay!! I DID have to lose between 10 and 15 lbs....he likes to make sure the liver isn't fatty. I lost 23 lbs, and weighed in at 203 the day of surgery. June 11, 2010 I reached Dr. Davidson's goal of 150 the first week of Nov 2010 and MY goal of 145 in Dec., a month later. I am maintaining between 144 and 148. I still weigh and measure my food when we're at home and I weigh every single morning! I think I'm a little obsessive, but it works for me. It's like a game! Food wise, nothing is off limits except carbonated drinks. There are things I CHOOSE not to eat but if I wanted cotton candy of something horrible like that, I'd have a bite or two. I was wearing an 18 - 20 and 1x or 2x shirt. I wore men's jeans most of the time....and it was a real wake up call when I got a 38x34. Ugh. Now I wear a size M shirt, my dresses are a 6 and my jeans range in size. I have 4's, 6's and one pair of 8's. They are all from the Gap, but are all three different styles. Go figure. I still cannot believe I can wear ANY of those sizes!!

It seems like a lot of people 'know' but I do NOT broadcast it. I do not talk about it on Face Book.....I pick and choose who I tell and I expect whoever I tell, not to tell anyone else. Make sense? I've been on so many diets, taken so many pills, attended so many meetings.....I know my metabolism is beyond screwed up. This forced portion control is perfect for me. I love it.

Southern girls.....we just can't help it, can we??!!!! I was 50 when I had surgery, I only wish it had been around and perfected 20 yrs ago!!!!

Your post made me giggle. Your are right, we have nothing on Cali girls when it comes to vanity!!! LOL Oh to be a plastic surgeon there....of course those docs are on every corner here in Dallas too!! Anyway, welcome to Texas, I was born in San Antonio, Lackland AFB. It's my dad's favorite city. It sounds like you are well on the way to the 'new' old you!!! Congrats. I love my life, I wasn't miserable before, but being overweight....being downright fat.....was always on my mind. I hated being the biggest girl in the room. A year from now you won't believe what your life is like!!! Enjoy the ride, it's wild!!!

Wow!!! You look great! congrats to you pretty lady.

I have the same regret, I wish it had been available and perfected ten years ago!!! I love my sleeve, but it does NOT stop me from obsessing!! I still think about food, but I no longer mindlessly eat, I think about gaining weight, what I weigh and how big I am. The size 6 tells me I am pretty small, but I don't see 'tiny' when I look in the mirror. I no longer see 'fat' but I still, like most people, women anyway, pick myself apart. The difference is, I am HAPPY with me, how I look and where I am, but I don't think the obsessive thoughts will ever leave. Do y'all??!!!!

I'm 53 years old. I am married to my highschool sweetheart. We met at a football game in 9th grade, I'd just turned 15 and he was still 14. We have two daughters and three 'grands'. We will celebrate 34 years this coming July. I'm a Native Texan, and after having lived in Denver and then Wisconsin....I'll never take sunshine, warm weather, good food and good manners for granted, ever again! I'm a 'kept woman' - we moved back to TX summer before last and are living in the Dallas area. We love the beach. There is no place we'd rather be than in a beach house on the west end of Galveston Island being beach bums! I've struggled with my weight since about age 18. I've taken pills, gone to WW, Medifast......the list is endless. I've lost 50 lbs two, maybe three times in my life. Of course I gained it all back, and then some. I've lost 20 and 30 lbs more times than I can count. After the phen/phen scare I promised my DH I'd never take another pill, and I never did. Luckily I escaped that without damage to my heart. I envisioned being like several paternal aunts who are well over 300 lbs. I struggled to 'maintain' 228. I knew it was bad when I lost down to 200. Ugh.....but now, life is great, I feel great and look pretty darn good. My BMI was relatively low, I had no health problems. The surgery and losing was a breeze. Maintaining isn't difficult either, although I committed to lose an additional 8 lbs as of this morning. Just because.....I want to see if I can do it. I am a lb below the doctor's goal, but four lbs above mine. Last week I was three lbs lighter, then we had out of state company for three days. It is so easy to gain a few lbs, but it is pretty easy to lose it again. I am just going 'lower' to see how easy it is to do!! Fingers and toes are crossed.

This is so weird when I think about it, the 'I am going to do it' moment. It was about 2 AM, December 2010. I had gotten up to go to the bathroom and I was disgusted that my tummy was in my lap. I knew then I was going to have surgery. At that particular time, I was thinking 'lap band' because a friend of mine had it done about two years earlier. She was alive and healthy and had lost 60 lbs. I had a low BMI, 36 at the highest and just under 36 when I had surgery the following June, but that is when I KNEW. I was obsessive about learning all I could and early on I learned about sleeve surgery and decided it was a better choice. I was self pay. It was by far, the best decision and I've ever made for me and it was money well spent. A couple of days later (after making sure this wasn't a fleeting thought) I told my husband, who hated that our friend had 'risked her good health' to have surgery. For me, it was all about vanity, I had NO health issues....not at age 50, but we all know that at some point, it was bound to happen. There you have it, the last straw happened for me in the bathroom at 2 AM!!!

I don't know about 'caloric dense food' but when I couldn't quit losing weight, my dietitian just had me add a couple of Snacks during the day. I had gotten down 18 lbs below my physician's goal. I started adding calories and was able to gain back up to where I wanted to be. approx 5 lbs below my doctor's number. I know I could cut calories and lose back down again, so that is a pretty powerful feeling. I feel in control. Don't worry, they were not lying to you. BTW, I had no health issues, just vanity!! BMI was just shy of 36. Easy surgery, no problems. No buyer's remorse, EVER, not one minute!

I know EXACTLY what you mean. I was obsessed with being overweight....always on a diet or thinking 'forget it, it is pointless' and I'd eat and eat!!! A vicious cycle. I still am obsessive with food and weight, but NOW I have it under control. I do not mindlessly eat, I am aware of every single thing that goes into my mouth!! I am a little confused, you got banded, have you had that revised with a sleeve? Congratulations, I see you're FOUR lbs from goal. Wow....isn't it a great feeling??!!!!!!

My highest weight was 232. The last jeans I bought prior to surgery were in the men's dept. 38x32. Dress size 18 - 20 and my tops were 1X but a 2X was more comfy! What a horrible time. I shopped when I HAD to have something, never just because I saw something pretty or wanted a new dress for church. I am 5' 6.75" - I now weigh between 144 and 148, depending on the day. My jeans are 4's and 6's. My tops are consistantly a medium and my new dress size is a 6. Of course this all depends on the brand, some run a little bigger, some run a little smaller. I lost down to 133, but that was too low, my face was too thin, I had to gain a little back.

LBD?

It takes quite a while to by pass the women's dept., but eventually you'll just glance as you walk by and remember. Shopping is so fun, some times I just go and try on clothes, not to buy, just to have fun!!! I walked by a store at one of the malls here in Dallas, just last week. I've never bought anything at this particular store, but I thought to myself.....I could go in there and find clothes if I wanted to. It's an amazing feeling!!!

You're going to love this surgery!!!! I still hold up my jeans and think 'NO WAY' but sure 'nuff, I can slip into them!!!