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I made the switch about 6 months ago and I feel great. My protein, calcium, and iron levels are fine, as are all my vitamins .... except that pesky vitamin D. The best part is that my cholesterol dropped 70 points! I am now at 153 - the lowest ever for cholesterol for me. My HDL, LDL, and triglycerides are phenomenal. Even losing all my weight did not alter those numbers much, but giving up the animal based foods sure did. I have lots of energy, recover quickly after workouts, and NEVER get sore anymore, even from very strenuous activities. Inflammatory markers are down, and I really do feel great. I can eat as much as I want and do not have any problem maintaining my weight. I have now decided that I will have a very limited amount of animal products once a week - some egg or chicken from my own homegrown flock. I know where the food came from, what it was fed, and how it was treated. This gives me a little more flexibility with the family Sunday meal or going out. I love the whole food plant based way of eating. I focus on incorporating as many superfoods into my daily meal plan as possible. There is no junk. I know it is healthy and right for me, and it has been a great adventure exploring new foods and recipes.

Hi Heather, I take Trazodone every night. I’m 16 days post op and I finally started swallowing the entire 100 mg tab. Before that I was just crunching them between my teeth just one so they broke up into like 3 pieces. It doesn’t taste bad bc I would barely bite on it. Just enough to get it to break up.

Lol. Actually my surgery was yesterday and I took the traz last night. I have not slept since I came out of surgery. I've been laying in bed awake all night. I'm in way too much pain to sleep. I hope to switch pain meds tomorrow, bc this Percocet isn't working.

To me, that was my tipping point so to speak. Crying on the toilet bc I could not wipe my ass was the final nail in the coffin of the old me. Peace out old Camille! Hello new Camille! Every day is getting better.

Thank you guys, for your positive responses to date. I had a really rough day today, as it was the beginning of week 2 post op, where I have to incorporate protein drinks in my liquid diet. My first two sips made me feel so ill and really, I felt so terrible that I was in bed most of today. I forgot and took two large mouthfuls of my first protein drink and that is what made me ill. Thanks for the support with regard to my best friend's comments, who up to today called me to carry on with her rhetoric. They do extreme regimes of marathons, triathlons, 60 miles cycle runs, Tough mudder, year after year and believe that everyone should be like them. They are very wealthy and can spend a lot of time on themselves (self indulgence) and have no worries at all. Self righteousness plays out and always calling anyone who is a size 12 or more fat. I have lived with that for 3 decades plus and it really impacted on me psychologically. My main reason I decided to do the sleeve was that I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure in 2017. Added to that I have sleep apnea and asthma. I researched the option I took to have the sleeve for a few months and made a final decision to have it. The weight loss is a plus, but I have now been provided with an opportunity to have my diabetes reversed as I lose the weight and I am already getting a better night's sleep since my Op last week. Prior to that I have not had a good night sleep in over 3 years, which fed my high blood pressure. I am so glad you guys are here to support me and rest assured, I am here to do the same. Thank you all so much for your kind words.

my old one seems a bit more ticked off...I think it realized that it ain't gonna get fed again!

@Margaret 5161 I’m day 14 and I’m still only down 10 pounds. I posted about this on day 12 and all responses talked about the dreaded 3rd week stall. I was perplexed bc I wasn’t even two full weeks and already stalling!! Some people said they experienced their first stall at two weeks so it sounds like we’re right on track as it were. I’m gonna keep on keeping on with my diet and walking and hopefully I’ll see some movement on the scale within the week. I wish you best of luck!

@JA Lenny I’m two weeks post op today and down 10 lbs. not sure what that is in metric. I think 6 lbs in 7 days is great! And yes, I am hungry too. Especially during the liquid phase. I’m eating mushy food now like eggs and beans, but still kinda hungry. I was googling pouch too big?? Lol. I think a lot of think oh this is too easy to drink liquids or I’m still hungry so it didn’t work. I know I did. I def know now it did bc I def cannot eat like before surgery and it’s nice. I wish you a great recovery. as far as your “friends” go that are not supporting you....well it’s not a scam! Some say this is the easy way out....WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!! This is major surgery and what we endure leading up to it as far as all the tests and the liquid diet is so hard not to mention the recovery and adjusting to having our insides rearranged and getting new tummies. I call my new tummy “Gurgly Gail”. You know what let them talk all they want and you have nothing to prove to them! You did this for you as I got my sleeve for me! I’m ready and want to be healthy again. I hope your “friends” get explosive diarrhea. They sound mean. Sorry. Not sorry. But I do hope you have a great recovery!

Hi MeInLondon, Dr. Illan uses a 34 bougie. He performs all surgeries at Hospital BC, a Center of Excellence for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeries. Oh! By the way, Dr. Illan is a Surgeon of Excellence and a Master Surgeon in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeries. Let me know if you need more info.

I think I have entered what my surgeon called “the tunnel of misery”. I bought so many different broths and soups so I’d have a variety, and the idea of ANY of them makes me nauseous. I also can just BARELY stand the thought of any of the shakes. And I desperately want all the food my husband is cooking for my family. I know I’ll get through it, and it’s worth it, I just needed to share with people who would get it. Also, I’m so sorry to the people who are getting canceled. From my perspective, I am terrified right now about developing complications that could send me back to the hospital in the midst of chaos. For example, I developed a little respiratory rattle in the hospital bc I can’t breathe deeply bc of the pain, and I’m so scared it will develop into pneumonia. Also I feel like while I’m healing my immune system is compromised, so I’m nervous about that too. I don’t mean to devalue the experience of getting your surgery postponed. I would have been devastated. But there are some pros to it. Now will someone help me get out of the Tunnel of Misery?

I’m 12 days post-op sleeve surgery today and feel terrible. I have not been out and about to get covid-19. I’ve been meeting my water and protein levels daily. I’ve incorporated some soft foods into my diet. I’ve tried Refried beans, eggs, creamy butternut squash soup with protein powder and prunes—all of these chewed very well. I’ve been walking a lot. I got my 10k steps in on Friday. Yesterday I started feeling tired around 4-5 pm and laid down so I only got around 7500 steps in. This morning I’m lightheaded and sipping my water again. I’ve been taking my vitamins like clockwork. I’m also down bc I haven’t lost any weight in two days and I’ve been more active and hydrated in the past two weeks than I’ve been in years and I’m not kidding. I know I’m going to be told to stay off the scale, but I just want the number to go down so bad! I’m so F*%#ing tired of being fat!!! I’m weepy. When I stretched out a few mins ago I almost passed out. I’m so tired and have been sleeping very well. I’m on day 11 of my cycle so that’s not it either. Why do I feel so bad when I’ve been doing all I can to feel better!?!?

I'm in the DC area, so we have had a ton of confirmed cases this far. Always annoying being in the middle of a local state government/federal government fight, but hopefully feds will get on board soon and actually do something to help. Schools here are closed for the time being, the DC mayor has declared a state of emergency, and courts are starting to close. Plus, no sports to watch!

Hi DORI1130 and AJ Tylo, You should consider Dr. Selim Jalil Illan Fraijo, MD, FACS, FASMBS at Hospital BC. He is a Master Surgeon and the Hospital is a Center of Excellence. Contact me if you have any questions.

Garden of Life Sport Certified Grass Fed Clean whey isolate, has no Sucralose. Just Stevia. https://smile.amazon.com/Garden-Life-Certified-Protein-Isolate/dp/B01NAEHLFO/ref=sr_1_101?keywords=protein+powder&qid=1583950538&sr=8-101

I was drinking ensure max protein pre-op and it’s still good, but I prefer to make my own drinks now with water and premier protein chocolate. Sugar free jello and I am surviving on sugar free popsicles. I’m one week Post op today! Also Bone Broth as it has protein. I got this broth at Kroger and it is sooo good! It smells good and tastes much heartier than a regular bone broth, but still has that delicate broth consistency for our recovering tummies. I can’t stomach any other bone broth bc to me it smells like dead meat. Yuck! And this has 10 grams of protein. It’s about 4 bucks more but is great!

@mooki I’m feeling better today after I took my vitamins and some iron, vitamin C and b12. It really helped bc I was so weak when I woke up this morning. How are you?

Wow guys. These posts really resonate with me: I gained 110 pounds when I was pregnant with my daughter (2nd child) and the abuse I took from their father still haunts me. That’s the baby that changed my whole metabolism and all I got from him was quiet disappoint and criticism In the weight gain and subsequent PPD. By the time she was 3, I found out that their father was having an active affair with one of my coworkers and that basically everything I had been struggling with had been used against me and that the 2 of them were plotting to try to get custody of the kids. They were actually using my new-found Morbid Obesity as a weapon against me to “prove” that I didn’t have the self-control necessary to raise 2 kids under the age of 6 as a single mom. I fought sooooo hard that year and in years after, trying to fix what was “broken” in me only to fail over and over and over again. Thankfully I had enough of a career and enough self-esteem to survive that onslaught and make it through. Those were several tough years where I was reminded painfully over and over that I wasn’t good enough-or desireable enough, smart enough, or like able enough to be considered a “good” parent and I was reminded on a monthly basis that it was going to be a a WAR of 2 vs 1. I somehow persevered and got those kids raised. I spent over 13 years single and afraid to even think about having a life of my own. I survived breast cancer as a single working mom. At that point, my biggest fear was dying before I could finish raising those kids— aged 16 and 12 when I was diagnosed. The kids dad stopped paying child support after our first year divorced and I was afraid to even take him to court bc I didn’t feel worthy enough to raise my kids as a MO single mom in her mid-30s. When I think of the years lost due to my feelings of inferiority, it almost makes me sick. I wasted almost 13 years of my life feeling like a sub-par human and thankfully my current husband saw me— the true me— underneath all of that baggage. He loved me— plus sized and all— in spite of me not loving myself. It took that brave and kind man’s love to realize that I could be so much more than the reality that I was currently living. With his love and respect and complete acceptance, I was able to start this journey that has led to where I am now. Ironically, my ex is a mere shadow of the man he once was— he won’t call or reach out to his kids and I’ve heard that he and that woman live a very small and petty existence where neither of them are fulfilled or even remotely happy. If I were a better person, I would feel pity for them, but I must honestly admit that I do derive some satisfaction from their misery. At the end of the day though, my best revenge is to live my best life as happily as possible, and I plan on doing that every. Single. Day.

I'm only 2 days out of surgery and I don't have patience for BS. I think I'm possessed with gas pains, my commentary is different. I'd prefer to be left alone until this gas passes and the puree phase. I'm mentally exhausted and trying to get a little rest, but I can't because of this gas. I'm going to meditate and try to get my self aligned emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually. This is a lifelong commitment and coping skills need to be developed now...Attitude is everything.

Okay so I want to urge caution and patience here. I too got freaked out a few weeks ago with my continued loss and then I finally realized that should embrace it I mean, I’ve been fighting a war with my body for over 2 decades and I’m sick and tired of it. So for 20+ years I couldn’t lose enough and now I’m gonna stress bc I had WLS and I’m losing “too much??” Nah, instead I’m just gonna relax and see where this ride stops. I talked to my NUT last month and she reassured me that my body won’t let me die, and I just had my 1 year labs done and they are BEAUTIFUL! I have zero deficiencies and personally I feel better than I’ve ever felt before. I now that I’ve spent almost 2 months

5’7”, female, 51YO, 13 months post VGS. HW: 262 SW: 246 GW: 155 CW: 134-137 MANY of us who are WLS all start in different places and have had different routes getting there. I personally think that the human body is a wonderful and mysteriously frustrating thing. As an adult, spent many years “normal” or slightly “under normal” body weight. It was only when I hit my late 20’s that I became MO. And stayed there for 22 years. When I had WLS, I had to maintain my BMI (which was hovering right at 40) for 8 months so I could stay qualified. I’d love to see insurance companies lower that number to 35, because I could’ve been practicing healthier habits in the months leading up to WLS rather than INTENTIONALLY trying to keep my weight >252. My point here is that I hit a “normal” BMI fairly rapidly-within 8 months of WLS- and I’m now struggling to keep my weight over 135. I feel like most of that was because I had a lower-than-typical SW, and that my body “remembers” being a skinny girl as a teen and young adult and therefore when I got my resetting from WLS, my body adjusted beautifully. I’ve lost >110 pounds from my surgery date, which is way over 100% EBF. I’m not a super-hero, I just happened to be a girl who (mostly) followed what her team recommended, worked out, and did my homework daily,weekly, and monthly to get and stay on track. Honestly it take me getting creative some days and I still struggle trying to get in >1000 calories sometimes bc I refuse to eat crap. Other than dealing with a weird tomato and Kimchi craving right now, I’m not feeling deprived at all.

I encourage you to walk because you got no choice, if you try to lay down it’s like the Jolly green giant sit on you 😥 the nutritionist was super nice. Trying to decide who to do my psych (let’s just say bc of what I do for a living I may have to go out of state or something (those details for a PM 😆). My scope (and colonoscopy) is a Friday.

Hello I just received my surgery yesterday for the sleeve. Has anyone else experience when they drank water it hurt the top of their stomach. I keep getting spasms at the top of my stomach. I'm Nervous about going home if I'm unable to drink properly. I've been walking pretty often but the gas is still there. Also my incisions hurt and I tried not to take the oxycodone but the tylenol doesn't do anything. I was trying to complete the fluid intake amounts but think I overdid it bc now I cant drink anything without sharp pains. Any advice on what I can do or does this just pass on it's own? Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

Hi Bethy1234, Have you considered Dr. Jalil Illan at Hospital BC? He is a Master surgeon and the hospital is a Center of Excellence! Let me know if you have any questions.

Hi sekesterson21, You might want to consider Dr. Selim Jalil Illan Fraijo, MD, FACS, FASMBS at Hospital BC in Tijuana. He is a Master Surgeon and the hospital is a Center of Excellence. https://hospitalbc.com/ https://drjalil.com/

I added that because every so often a Social Antagonizer shows up asking about coke starting a new moral war. I thought we should not have to fall victim to the BS 😅