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That is awesome Brenda!! I travel alot, and while I wasn't quite at the point you were, I was feeling squished into the seat and always had to let the seat belt out from the last person who used it! I am flying again this week and hope to feel "little" in the seat! Went shopping today at Old Navy. Tried on large and medium shirts, had to go back for mediums and smalls!! Also bought skirts in small. Very amazing! Thank God for sleeve surgery!

wishing both of you uneventful surgeries and smooth recoveries! it is amazing "on the other side"!!

Congrats to you! I am glad that you are putting yourself first for a little while . And I am sure your husband would totally support your decision, if he is not able to now. You could easily have 20 or more years left in this world and definitely deserve to enjoy it to the fullest! Three out of my four grandparents lived into their mid to late 80's ... so I am hoping for the best for myself! BJean ~ my 2cents. We all kinda grab a goal weight when we go into this surgery. I did try to use some average weight charts for someone of my height and a medium build, and a healthy BMI to pick 128. Will I get there? I have no idea. My goal before I ever considered surgery was just to get back into single digit jeans. I bought 8's yesterday and currently weigh 153. I would love to get into the 130's or 140's. I picked 128 because it sounded exciting. LOL However, I also look at friends who have either lost weight to get that small or have always been that small - and many of them don't look very healthy and/or have lots of wrinkles. I don't want that and will stay a little heavier to avoid it. My point. Maybe losing 64 pounds is where your body is healthy and happy. I also have Snacks when I want them. I think that is mentally healthy : ) 60+ pounds is great! :wink1:

very good advice! I remember doing that!

more awesome news Carrie!! congrats!

Hi Lee! haven't talked to you forever!! and you are kicking my butt with weight loss!! LOL and with your amount of exercise, you are probably in lots better shape! : ) good for you! :001_tt2:

Can you confirm "folds it in on itself"?? Do you mean he tucks the extra inside the stomach?? If so, interesting. And the flap that would then be inside the stomach doesn't cause any issues?? Will try to find it on youtube.

I think his basic list of things to change is good and is similiar to changes I have made to reduce my stomach pain. I can't comment on the raw milk issue and would overall say that moderation is typically the key. You could try most of the things on the list and see if it helps. I was taking 1 or 2 20mg omeprazole prior to surgery. Now I am taking only 1 and rarely feel like I "need" to take it. Not ready to wean off of it yet tho. There are times that "regular" milk is calming for your stomach and other times will upset it, depending on the issue. I drank very little milk prior to my sleeve, mostly because I was usually lo carbing. Now I drink it and have no issues at all. Regardless of what you do with the natural remedies, I definitely think a new medical dr is a good idea. I would want to slap him. In fact, I haven't chewed anyone out for a long time and am probably overdue ... what's his name and number?? LOL Be proactive : )

It is finally officiall!! I am down 40 pounds exactly since surgery day! The last week or so the scale has been teasing me for sure! Has been bouncing between 153.6 and 154's. After having two really good BM's yesterday (LMAO), I just "knew" that today would be the day! The scale didn't disappoint me and I was so happy to see 153.0 this morning! I am flying to Alabama on Monday night; will go to my son's family day at the airfield on Tuesday afternoon; and then to his flight school graduation on Wednesday morning. He had better notice or else! LOL On Wednesday night, I am having dinner with Samantha! Will give her a last minute pep talk, it will be ok, don't be nervous chat. :wink1: sleep thru the first two days ... then all will be good. LOL I have been eating green salad now for about a week. I am so very happy! I have missed salad so much! It will make lunch so much easier! And also going out to eat. I can get a side salad and then just sneak bites from everyone else! Clothes ~ Size 8 !!!! Went shopping yesterday for clothes for the trip. I must say tho that I am not excited about 100 degrees!! Only bought one pair of capris. Can dress them up or down for the 2 events. I also bought several nicer tshirts in mediums and larges. I have been going to Curves. So far so good! My upper MRI came back with minimal issues. Dr is hoping that strengthening of the upper back/shoulder muscles will help. The lower back is doing great! Altho, history shows it only takes one bad move and it is out. I am being careful tho, squatting and not bending, not twisting, and not lifting anything heavy. So, life is good! :001_tt2: I will be spending most of July in a swimsuit so hoping for a little more firming in the hip area but other than that, all is well!

Sorry Bryan, I have not been online very often lately! I think it is Mini-Me who goes to a support group up in Everett?? I will do a quick search next and then send you a pm. I actually live south of Seattle.

I remember asking probably 3 months ago (LOL) about shirts. I figured I would need smaller pants sooner than I would need smaller shirts. WRONG! I need both. Everything is hanging. I don't even want to spend much on clothes at thrift stores, but will if I have to. Would rather wait another month or two and then go shopping :lol0: I used two tricks this past week. Used clips at the office (not paper clips but those nifty fasteners??) to tighten my shirt in the back. Had to go to a memorial service and putting together an appropriate outfit with pants, etc that fit was a challenge. I did have to leave my jacket/blazer on which was fine. Today - some of my favorite TShirts are soooo loose and hanging! Did the teen trick of using a hair tie to do a "pony tail" in the back of my tshirt to pull it snugger around the waist. and then tucked it up under the bottom of the fabric. Yep - will need to keep my jacket on, but heck! This is a holiday weekend in Seattle which means it is cold and rainy!! :lol0: And I could take the coat off. The teenagers do! Anyone have any other ideas??

More good ideas! thanks! I had to buy something yesterday to wear to my son's graduation on Wednesday. I ended up at Walmart ... bought a size 8 pair of capris ($7) and several nicer tshirts ($3.5-$7). The shirts were all Med or Larges. Darn bust line is not getting smaller at all!!! LOL I also got a new pair of danskin workout capris and a matching tank top. Anything that was looser, I got in a medium. The tighter shirts I got large. My teen daughter is very adamant that I will need a reduction. LOL Funny, as tight as these young girls want to wear their shirts and show off cleavage!! Not ok for mom tho! haha! Stephanie ~ good idea about the slits! I am thinking that would be cute for summer!

Hard question - one reason is even if ABC Insurance has covered it for one person, another person might get turned down even if they have the same insurance because their specific policy is different. When I was choosing insurance coverage for our employees, I had the selection of many different programs offering 100 (almost literally) options. It was a huge headache. You might try finding people locally to you who have had surgery covered by their insurance, and then find out where they work : ) Alot of local surgery providers might have websites with success stories. That might be somewhere to start?? Good luck! Be creative and it will happen!

I am not strictly monitoring my food at this point. I have done lo carb for so long that it pretty much comes naturally. LOL I eat decent 95% of the time, very little bread, potatoes, rice. Happily getting back into salad now! yea! I do have a treat when I want it. Hasn't affected my weight loss that I have seen. I stick around 500-700 calories, 60+ Protein, under 40 carbs and <30 fat. However, after starting to exercise last week .... I have only lost .4!! ugh!! and who said exercise was good????? LOL Probably just a coincidence, I hope!

At two weeks, I was definitely sticking to 2 ounces at a time, not going over at all. Eating alot of mashed potatoes with shredded cheese on top (nummy), cottage cheese, potato Soup. Warmed up peach crystal lite or decaf tea. Premier chocolate shakes (Costco). They are 11 ounces and took me 2 hours to drink. Fish was good; also did deviled ham and chicken - altho they are a little spicy. I think that's about the time I started hard boiled eggs - deviled egg style. I love the fake crab with a little cocktail sauce. Also found some seafood dip at costco that is only about 60 calories for an ounce, a few Protein and not many carbs. It was in the speciality meat/dip/fish fresh area, near the artichoke dip?? oh! sugar free pudding and Jello. good for those times when you just want something in your stomach : ) I still eat about every 2-3 hours - even if it is just a few bites.

congrats on your date! it seems far away but will go by quicky : ) and think positively, you have plenty of time to enjoy all of your favorite foods one more time before then! LOL

wow! you are really shrinking!!!! you look great!! I think trying on clothes is almost as good, and sometimes better, than getting on the scale! I spent almost an hour tonite trying on old clothes - you know, the kind that still have tags on them cause I was gonna loose weight and then they would fit?? LOL Tonite most of them did! Couldn't zip up a few but got close. I don't need them until the end of July so there is still time! : ) You will look fabulous for the wedding! How exciting!!

Doctors are definitely a pain sometimes. Frustrating! I got the run around for awhile with my stomach pain several years ago and while some always wanted to call it reflux and talk about heartburn all the time, it was always only in my stomach and never any higher. I did finally get a good gastro specialist and he has been amazing. Which was good because he was also the only one who was proactive about my "liver" pain all last summer that turned out to be Oddi Dysfunction (not seen very often). He referred me to another specialist in Seattle. I would definitely visit another one before settling. When I had an ERCP last August to fix the liver duct, the Seattle surgeon also took out three polyps the size of meatballs (LOL). He was kinda frustrated because the gastro specialist (that I really like) didn't take them out during an endoscopy. Always that difference of opinion. My stomach has been so good since sleeve surgery - I have quit taking one med altogether and only take one omeprazole a day. I still stay away from spicy, citrus, etc but haven't had a burning in the stomach since before surgery that I can remember. Hope you get some answers!

good idea too! I went thru the first few sizes quickly and now have been in 10's for a few weeks. They are kinda loose but not quite ready for 8's yet.

I think my paperwork said 10-12 days. Too early - your incisions might re-open; wait too long and the skin might grow around them making it more uncomfortable to remove them. I have had that issue with staples and stitches before. My primary doctor removed mine at about 12 days and placed steri strips over the incisions. I was to leave those on until the fell off, trimming the ends as they pulled away. She did say that my stitches/incisions looked great! They are fading quite a bit. The scars from a prior lap surgery in 2004 are hardly even visible.

Used to be able to buy cute clips with a chain inbetween; seems we used those on dresses in junior high or high school. I may look at Claires to see if they still sell them somewhere. I have a couple of people locally who are getting the majority of my clothes as they become too big. I did try on a couple of medium sized tshirts (those darn snug ones the teen girls wear) and a pair of size 8 pants today! They were snug but they fit! Even zipped and buttoned! LOL I am hoping to wait to buy new stuff until we go on vacation in July : )

I had surgery on Thursday, flew home on Sunday, went back to work on Monday. Didn't have any pain and was up moving around the office throughout the day. I was tired by about halfway thru the day, and went home a few days after 4-6 hours to take a nap. I am self employed so that was easy to do. I could have stayed all day tho if I was an employee : ) I was back to work in the same amount of time after my lap gall bladder surgery - which was more painful than the sleeve. I was also on vacation 3 weeks after a vag hysterectomy. So - just depends on how you recover. For me, the sooner I get up and into real clothes, the better I feel. I also want to save any time off for traveling : )

very good! 10 lbs in two weeks is great! I am just now getting into the exercise mode - was on restricted activity but dr released me last week. It does feel good to be moving again! continued good luck!

LOL on the hot dog! I tried some turkey ones a week or two ago, and they weren't great either. Once I started soft and mushy, I was eating a wide variety. Often, whenever I tried something new, my stomach would gurgle like crazy. Everything stayed down tho! And it wasn't like a sick feeling, just odd. Try this link; it might give you some ideas for foods. This is primarily what I followed and it worked great for me. It also has some recommended numbers for calories, carbs and Protein. http://www.cornellweightlosssurgery.org/pdf/dietary_guidelines_sleeve_gastrectomy.pdf The above says to wait until the 4th month for fresh vegies and salad. I have had a little as garnish along the way. Did eat maybe half a cup or so last week and it settled fine. I will probably stay away from heavy duty carrots, broccoli, etc for now and just do mixed green salad. I really miss it! good luck!

Hello :lol0: How far out are you from surgery?? There are so many variables that can play into this - I started with a lower BMI so lose slower than someone with a high BMI. I was also on physical restriction due to a back issues, so was only able to start exercising this past week. At 3+ months, a typical day for me is: Breakfast - Premier chocolate Protien Drink (Costco) 160 cal, 30 Protein, 5 carbs Water, diet snapple, decaf tea lunch - could be leftovers (mostly protein), grilled chicken strips (frozen, Costco), chicken nuggest (breast, breaded, frozen, Costco), sometimes mashed potatoes topped with chicken, shredded cheese another round of liquids afternoon snack - depends on the day. ritz pb bits, sf popsicle, or something wrong like a cookie and glass of milk : ) more boring liquids dinner - we are on the run alot in the evenings with the youngest still at home and in sports. Usuallly a focus on protein: another shake, a bean burrito from Taco Bell, bites of whatever the family has stopped to have. LOL At home - BBQ pork from one of those handy little tubs, an egg, fake crab with cocktail sauce, frozen fish fillets, turkey burger pattie. snack - small glass of milk right before bed when taking night time meds. Try this for some menu ideas: http://www.cornellweightlosssurgery.org/pdf/dietary_guidelines_sleeve_gastrectomy.pdf I do work in vegies and a little fruit here and there. I have been taking prenatals, Super Complex B, Potassium. Good Luck!