KathyM

LOL too funny!! But I know exactly what you mean - I can't stop feeling my ribs when I lay in bed - they are awesome haha

Thrift stores are the best when you are going through sizes so fast. I totally scored a pair of Eddie Bauer jeans for $3 the other day lol. I am planning to stay cheap till I hit goal then look out! I will be a shopping fool! Kathy

I worked yesteray and we all brought in food to make a feast. I felt really guilty because I has small bits of everything that I wanted to try and I also grazed a little all day which is an old habit I DON'T want to go back to. But, I never ate to the point where I felt overfull and when I got home and thought about everything that I had eaten throughout the day, it really wasn't that much. I figured the scale would be mean to me this morning, but I actually lost another pound lol. First major food holiday since my sleeve is now behind me! Kathy

Congrats!! I am so happy for you! It just gets better and better each day. Keep walking and moving around, those pains will go away soon. Kathy

Hi! I am a nurse in a busy ER. I had surgery on July 16th, flew home on the 19th and was back at work on the 24th. my energy was great and I had very little pain other than the first night after surgery. Congrats on your decision to do this, I am so happy for you!! Kathy

I had this surgery 4 months ago and am almost to the halfway point of my weightloss (woo-hoo!), but even if I didn't lose another pound the surgery has worked! I feel better, I move better, and I AM HEALTHIER!! The choices I make are now and have always been mine. The consequences are a little different now - as said in an earlier post - if I eat too much I will throw up. Do that a few times and you will figure out how to stop before that point. The consequences before - HUGE! None that I could see while I was stuffing my face then lazily laying around on my couch in that warm stupor that followed a good binge, but I was silently shaving off years of my life. Arthritis, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, facing an indeniable future of diabetes. I was tired and miserable all the time. It will work! Yes it's a tool, but you can do it! Take your life back, it's a wonderful feeling. Kathy

Are you napping during the day? If so, you might want to try not letting yourself nap to see if that helps you sleep any better at night.

I have had some trouble with reflux as well and am also on Protonix once a day. For me it is worse at night, occasionally in the afternoon when I am napping. Here are some things that I am doing that seem to be helping....... Take my Protonix in the evening (I have more trouble at night than during the day) Nothing to eat after 8pm, but I will continue to drink water Make sure that the last meal I eat for the day is not too acidic - no tomato sauce, etc. Do not lie down for at least an hour after eating - this increases the chances of refluxing. 2 hrs is better if possible, gives that tiny tummy more time to process the food through I hope some of these will help you too, reflux can be a nuisance. If it doesn't get better, talk to your doctor. Kathy

Yaaaay for you!!!!! I totally laughed about the donut - I have always thought that was crazy!!!!

Tracy - Again, I can't speak for everyone, but for ME the surgery was a breeze - don't get me wrong, I was terrified but with the exception of a few hours immediately after the surgery I didn't think it was painful at all. I had surgery about 6pm and didn't take anything else for pain after about 11am the next morning. I did have some nausea during the first night as well, but it subsided pretty quickly. I was lucky and didn't have problems with gas like some do. The day after my surgery when I was drifting off and napping alot, I forced myself to get up and walk the halls 3 times every time I woke up then went back and napped some more and I think that might have kept me from having problems with the gas in my abdomen. I had surgery on a Thursday, flew home from Mexico on Sunday and then drove an hour home from the airport when I got back. I was tired when I got home, but I was not in pain. It was the first time I ever asked for apple juice on the plane and not soda lol. As far as the weight loss, it has been unbelievable. There are lots of thoughts out there as to how often you should or shouldn't weigh yourself, but I could NOT stay off the scale!! Every time I stepped on it, it was lower and I was blown away! I have lost over 70lbs all together and I still have those "ah-ha" moments when I realize that I will never see those 70 pounds again and it feels incredible! I used to come home from work and flop down in my chair, graze on junk all evening then go to bed. My sleep was horrible, I tossed and turned all night. Woke up about 4-5 times and used the bathroom. Now I feel GOOD! I have so much more energy, my flop down chair was just removed from my den last week and an elliptical trainer is in its place - sure I can only do about 5-10 min on it at a time, but the point is - I AM DOING IT. When I go to bed at night I sleep good and rarely wake before my alarm goes off. I now don't care where I park in the lot, because I don't have to worry about how far I am going to have to walk, and I don't care if I have to walk all the way to the back corner of walmart to get milk lol. There are a million things that I can tell you about how much better my life is, but I don't want you to nod off. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask or private message me. Do you have a date for your surgery yet? Where are you from and where are you planning to have your surgery? Kathy

Tracy - Welcome!! I didn't have to have a psych eval but the reasons behind them are very valid. Many people who are overweight have a long relationship with food as a coping mechanism. Once you have the sleeve done, it is physically impossible to be the emotional eater you were before. What they are looking for is whether you have a means for coping once food is no longer an option. I can't really speak for others, but I know for myself I did have a little bit of mourning for being able to stuff myself with pizza or something to that sleepy, comfortable I just want to lay on the couch and veg feeling. I was also somewhat surprised at what a behavior my eating patterns were, something that I would have completely denied before surgery. Now....don't let all of this scare you, new behaviors and eating patterns are learned and your relationship with food will become much healthier. It is often said on this site that you will be eating to live and no longer living to eat and that is so true! Hopefully your nutritionist will be able to answer your questions about pre and post op eating, but if she doesn't then come back here. Everyone is more than willing to share their experiences, what works and what doesn't. I am happy for you that you are making steps towards a healthier you. I was sleeved in July and it is the best gift I could have ever given myself (and my family!) Kathy

I do photography for a hobby and yesterday I was out at a farm shooting some family pics for someone - we hiked around, across a field and down into a a dry creek bed then back up to the farmyard. I totally crawled around all over, not huffing and puffing and feeling like I would pass out if I walked another step. Sounds small, I know but before I could have never climbed down in there and if I had gotten down there, I wouldnt have been able to get back out.

You look fabulous!!!! Look how contoured your face, chin and neck have become!! Hot mama!!

Lol - way to go!! I have been safety pinning my scrub pants for a while at work and my coworkers are all threatening to buy me new scrubs if I don't.

I have 4. One is itty-bitty, like a puncture wound

Looking at your signature I can see that you were sleeved on the 22nd of Oct, so I am guessing you are not eating too much in the way of solid foods yet. The fuzzy teeth and yucky tongue will go away once your diet progresses. One of the things that the different textures of solid food does is help clean off your teeth and tongue. I had this too at the beginning, but hang in there, it will improve. Just keep brushing and drinking Water. If you think you can chew gum and not worry about swallowing it, that will help too. I did that alot at first and found it to be pretty helpful. Kathy

I was scared too, but I also knew that I didn't want to sit by on the sidelines for the rest of my life because I was too overweight to participate! I missed out on so many things over the years because of my physical condition or because I was too embarrassed at how fat I was to go - not anymore I agree with Tiff, this is a big and permanent change, if you aren't ready then keep researching and keep sould searching. When the time is right, you will be ready. I am just over three months out and I can eat whatever I want to but I am seriously eating to live, not living to eat any more and it feels wonderful. Read through the posts on this board, it is a wealth of information and a huge family of support. I wish you well on your journey and never be afraid to ask questions Kathy

I am just over 2 months postop and was wondering how many calories a day I should be eating? I haven't meticulously tracked my food for a few weeks like I did in the beginning and sometimes I feel like maybe I am eating too much, so I tracked what I ate today and it was 665 calories. Too much? Too little? Is it okay? :001_tongue:

I was sleeved July 16th, and this week had an appt with my primary care physician as well as my OB/GYN for that lovely yearly exam. I had to confess to both what I had done as I hadn't discussed it with either one beforehand. My GYN doc was condescending and judgmental, telling me that I had better use what I had and be sure to be careful what and how much I was eating (like I would go through all of this and not do that!) then when he was examining me he went on to tell me that my tata's would be wasting away now and when he was palpating my abdomen, he was talking about where my liver and gallbladder were, then said "this is where your stomach USED to be." I was pretty irked, but didn't care, I only see him once a year and next year when I see him I will be a knockout My primary care physician was so happy for me and extremely supportive. He had tons of question and was totally awesome about it. He decided to do some lab and see how I was doing and I just got the results in the mail today - have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.....my kidney and liver functions were completely normal (I have trouble getting enough Water in when I am working), the indicators for my nutritional status (total Protein, albumin, etc) were completely normal!!! Vit b12 was normal too. The only thing that was a little low was my Vitamin D and my good cholesterol. He suggested a Vit supplement and some Niacin to help with bringing up the good cholesterol (HDL). I am feeling so good about how everything is going! Now if I could just get my butt in gear and kick up the exercise before I start looking like a Shar pei puppy!! Kathy Did I mention that I LOVE MY SLEEVE!!!!!!

AMY!!!!!!!! You look awesome!!! I am so happy for you both! And I love your hubby's little sock tan hahaha Kathy

Don't be too hard on yourself - lots of people go through that - lordy I can't even believe how much I ate the last two weeks before I started my preop diet lol. It will be okay, don't sweat it! Kathy

Christabel - I think your husband loves you very much and I wonder if maybe he is afraid that your relationship will change when you lose weight. I think that is a normal response from a partner - you will be changing and evolving and they won't be - they are afraid they will be left behind. I think that this is a very important thing you are doing for yourself and maybe something you can say to him is that you want to be as healthy as you can be because you want to be around (with him) for a very long time. OK, I know - this is probably too cheesy for most, but I am a hopeless romantic at heart lol. I really think he is just scared, he doesn't mean to not be supportive. Let him know how much you are counting on him to be a part of this journey. Kathy

TStew - you are not crazy. The healthcare system in the US is messed up. It often will pay for the treatment of all problems associated with obesity, but not for the treatment of obesity itself - completely nuts!! My insurance would pay for a penile implant if I needed one lol, and if I would become a drug addict, it will pay for my recovery, but it will not pay for anything that has to do with weightloss. I went to Mexico as well for my surgery and don't regret it for one second!! I did not use Dr. Aceves, but there are many on here who have and I have read alot of positive experiences described. As far as going back to work. I had my surgery on a Thursday, flew back home on Sunday and was back at work on Saturday. I think I had a total of 9 days off and I felt fine. This forum is an invaluable source of information and support. No questions are stupid or asked too many times, this is a huge decision for everyone so the more you can know, the better experience you will have. So ask anything you want!!!! Kathy

LOVED pineapple juice before surgery - now it makes my tummy hurt. I am hoping this will pass in time.

You're good to go whenever you feel like it!