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Hey Steph, I use isopure from GNC. I use eight ounces of milk (around 10 grams protein) and then the appropriate amount of shake (25 grams protein). So with two protein shakes/day I get in 60 grams of protein. Did you just get your surgery? You can try walking around with a pillow around your tummy, just press it in. If you're just out of surgery (I'm sorry I don't know where you are in this process), it gets better in only a few days!! About a week after surgery I was able to drink a lot more. I always have water by me and take two big sips (prob around 2 tablespoons total?) and then I do it again in like five minutes. I don't time it or anything, I just try not to overdo it. With the protein shakes I am able to get in around 8 glasses of fluid/day. It was hard the first week though. Linda

I was having this same problem and spoke with the NP yesterday. She said to take Prilosec each day for 7-10 days, to have full liquids for a couple days and to limit spicy foods, caffeine and alcohol for a week. The Prilosec has made a HUGE difference. I haven't had any heartburn since I started taking it a couple days ago. She said the stomach lining in the pouch can become irritated and these changes can help it settle down. Good luck! Joan

Comparing yourself to others is a recipe for frustration and misery. I know it's really hard to get your head around in the early days post-op, but your sleeve is forever. You will never be "done" with it like the diets of your past. I promise you that 10 years from now, when you are happy and healthy and maintaining your weight, how much you lost in the first month post-op will mean jack squat.

HI There I had surgery on 3/5/19. Everything has gone well, the only thing they recommended at my 2 week appt was increasing my water intake. The last 3 days I have had zero energy! Did you experience this?

Hello everyone... I was sleeved on 10/31/16 so I'm 6 days out and I am experiencing these wincing pains in both sides of my torso if I take a slightly deep breath. This has been happening ever since surgery. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if so what can be done about it. I do have COPD so I am wondering if it has anything to do with my lungs. Aside from this issue, I feel great. No other pain at all. Sent from my VS986 using the BariatricPal App

I need to see what the latest pre-op appt is that day so that we can make sure we don't schedule it too early to include everyone I can find on the site. I would think we should be ok to eat at 5:30 or 6:00 so that we are well under our curfew :frown: hee hee It says light snack before 10 so you best be assured that I will eat dinner early and my snack at 9:55pm! I'm finding a few more people that are on our same day so let me check with them and then I'll post a few choices of places and times and we can all vote. Does that work for you? Where are you staying when you're in town? I think it would be cool to bring our support people too. I know it would be nice for my husband and mom to have someone to talk to so if they are waiting in the waiting room at the same time then they will know someone...ya know?

The hospital billed my insurance like $64k for my surgery - the kicker is that insurance actually only paid $4000 - they write off the rest - makes no sense - but I guess that's the way it goes.. I'm not a big risk taker either so I understand ... My commercial has been delayed until 10/1 - the others who are in it couldn't make it last week

I was 55 when I got banded. I fought the insurance, the first two trys they denied me the band and finally I had it done 2 1/2 yrs ago. I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, border line diabetic and severe arthritis in my knees and feet that hurt so bad every day at work. I was a size 22-24 and have lost 90 pds and am now a size 10, even though I have gained 5 pds over the winter that I have been battling over the last 7 months to get off, I feel great. I am off all meds and the family Dr said I am a glowing tribute to how a person can turn their life around for the better health wise. You are never to old to change and make life better. The best decision I did and that you can make also.

If it's going to happen it's going to happen no matter the rate of weight loss. Take advantage of the "honeymoon" stage, which is the first 10 months to a year after surgery where the weight drops rapidly. After that you will have to work much harder. Personally, after losing almost 60 lbs in 2 months, my skin seems to be a bit squishier and my stomach is still hanging a little low. My arms have always been big so I know for a fact I will have a lot of skin there. I am 25 years old. I'd rather have loose skin than have it full of fat. Bring on the skin!

Just remember for every 10 grams of protein the calories news to be 100 or less

Has anyone else had issues breaking out in hives in the first few months following surgery? The first time it happened was about 3 weeks after surgery. It's very random, but probably 10 times or so in the last four months. I've never had any sort of allergies before (skin, seasonal or food). Nothing has changed in my skin care or laundry. I'm creature of habit so all the same soaps, etc. My primary care doc says its likely a new food allergy or something I'm eating, but I cant find any sort of a pattern. Thoughts anyone?

Hi Jill, I think my doctor had me on the pretty standard diet. It was all Clear Liquids for the first week. The second week I could add creamy Soups, sugar free Jello pudding, and cream of wheat. The third I was able to add soft scrambled eggs, liverswurst, string cheese, oatmeal, fish as long as it was soft and moist. He also said that I could eat meats as long as they were pureed. I skipped that offer. As a meat lover I found that it offended my senses. The fourth week I added vegetarian sausages to my diet just so that I could have the taste of meat without actually having the calories or fat that go along with it. Morning Star Breakfast patties are great, they have 10 grams of Protein each and they are only 80 calories each. But now I'm back up to regular foods and everything seems to be going fine.

Hi everyone, I'm hoping I can get some good advice here. I was banded on 8/14; went for my first fill on 9/24 (3 cc's in 10 cc band). Today I am still very hungry and feeling very little restriction. I called my doc's office to schedule another fill. I was told that I could not get another fill until after November 19th (90 days post op). The first appt. available was 12/4! :biggrin: Does this sound right at all? In reading the boards, it seems most docs will give another fill if the patient requires it. I'm getting a little discouraged, although I am down 30 pounds since surgery date. Any advice would be appreciated. ML sw 295 cw 270 (?? - haven't weighed in 3 weeks; don't want to get discouraged)

Hello family, well my paperwork has been submitted to Aetna for approval to be sleeved. I called and Aetna has it as received on 10/18 and noted as "pending authorization". The very helpful service rep actually put me on hold today and called over to the authorization center to see if she could get any further information. They told her that all of my papers were in order, they just have to review all 29 pages. I am so excited and nervous all at the same time. Waiting is the pits (LOL)----we are such a microwave society---we really don't know how to wait for anything----we want everything now - instantly - well, at least in this instance I don't. I just want to get my "approved" so that I can rest easy. I am scheduled to be sleeved Nov 2nd and am scheduled to have my medical clearance process done Oct 26th. In my heart I know I'll be approved, but my mind has to catch up with my heart. After MANY years of fad diets (WW, Jenny Craig, Nutra System, Alli pills, Atkins diet, fasting, liquid diets and I could go on and on), I'm ready for my ultimate change. I'm ready!!! Pray for me that I remain positive and encouraged while I wait. Blessings2u--BJ

So I did it! I have officially had the gastric sleeve and so far the results have been pretty good. I got the surgery on 1/13 and I weighed 316 pounds. As of today 1/19 I am down to 299. I've lost 17 pounds in 6 days. Talk about EXCITED ! 've NEVER lost that much weight in a month, let alone less than a week. So I have nothing but good things to say about the surgery. Body wise, I'm good. I honestly have had NO pain where the cuts were. Weird right? But yup absolutely none. I've had some really bad back pains but I've had those prior to the surgery and it was also explained to me that because I would be laying flat on the operating table that it can cause some extra back pain and boy did I feel it. I swear it hurts more than the surgery. Now those were the amazing PROS of it. Now here's the CON, and yes there's only 1. Now I haven't been physically hungry at all but MENTALLY I've been starving. I just want to chew something. Anything. I just want to put anything in my mouth and trust me when I tell you, it's driving me crazy. I'm miserable. Depressed. Anxious. Aggravated. Angry. Then when people around me eat, it drives me WILD. I wish there was something I could do to just ignore the feeling but from what I'm hearing, it's nothing possible but just trying to ignore it. Easier said than done though. That's for sure. I was considering going to a therapist for it but then I don't wanna feel like I'm over exaggerating. I've had crying spells where out of nowhere, I just break down crying because every other commercial there's some type of food in it. Or the fact that every time I close my eyes, I'm envisioning some type of food that I want to eat. I'm having cravings of foods I didn't eat in months almost a year. But it's something that I'm gonna have to learn to just deal with it. Take it one day at a time. Everybody around me keeps telling me that it's gonna be okay but they're not going through what I am. I guess I just need some words of encouragement from someone who's went through this already or has some tips to help me get through this.

Thanks for link. My surgery was actually 353.1. so it appears that I am ahead of that chart projection, but only by 5.6 lbs or 10% of the projection. Sent from my XT1609 using BariatricPal mobile app

Ezma - Wow! Congrats on the success so far. Love the hair cut too. Between the weight loss and hair cut you already look 10 years younger! Anna

I plateaud at 55 lbs as well. That was before the holidays. I was really bumbed, because that's where I ALWAYS plateau, even before the band. In the past, I would finally get discouraged and start eating again. But I've lost another 10 lbs over the last few weeks, so I'm feeling good again. I am still going for a very small fill next week to perhaps get a bit more consitency of restriction. I am aware of the fact, however, that perfection can be the enemy of the very good, so I don't want to overdo it. Sounds like you are doing awesome! Keep in mind, too, that the exercise could be building muscle, leading to no weight loss, but lost inches, as you pointed out. Best of luck!

1. 49 2. Yes 3. 10/19/09 4. 241 5. 199 6. 89 7. no 8. 4 9. 8 10. I am successfully moving toward a goal, one that I had stopped believing I could accomplish. I feel good that I am having success instead of more attempts followed by failure.

Thanks Lellow! Your good wishes must have made it to the scale's ears! LOL!! I was actually expecting a gain and I lost! Last week: 189.1 This week: 188.7 Total Loss: -0.4 I'll take it! :tt2: I'm a little confused by some of you who have had great losses of a lb or more and you're disappointed but "taking it anyway." Those are GREAT losses! Average is supposed to be 1-2lbs a week. So you are right there with your weekly loss. This is NOT bypass where you lose 10-20lbs a week and have most of your weight gone in 6 months. It's really self-defeating to be speaking of a great loss like it's nothing and you feel you should have done better for yourself. You need to be positive with your losses. How many of us couldn't lose at all or very little before surgery? Or keep it off? How many of us would have started gaining at the holidays and would STILL be gaining? Probably most of us. I keep hearing how people did gain during the holidays but now they've lost that plus some since! That would never have happened before surgery! We've GOT to stop beating ourselves up! We've got to start celebrating ourselves and our achievements, not beating our heads against the wall b/c we didn't lose as much as we wanted too. Or calling ourselves losers or lazy for only managing to get on the treadmill 2x in a week instead of 7x. I bet 2x is way more than we'd done before surgery! We've got to stop talking down to ourselves and start talking ourselves up! Just my opinion! :crying:

I am pretty anxious! I literally just finished my first pre-surgery diet meals (all protein shakes). My good friend is having hers done in 2 1/2 hrs! We are 2 weeks apart. :purplebananna: She lost 10 lbs in the first week of the diet. I'm not sure about the second week. My personal goal is 100 lbs. If I loose more I'll be happy too.:Banane01:

First of all, I want to say you shouldn't get down on yourself for deciding not to have the surgery and thinking you could do it on your own. You DID do it on your own. Unfortunately, losing weight, both pre and post-op is the easy part! As you have found, it's maintaining the weight loss that's the real challenge. I like to think of my sleeve as "Weight Maintenance Surgery" instead of "Weight Loss Surgery". I was a pro at losing weight. I did it MANY times over the years. Keeping it off was always where I failed. The good news is, maintaining my weight post-sleeve has been a whole different experience. I reached my goal weight right around the one year post-op mark and have been maintaining below for almost 7 months now. That is much longer than I've ever maintained any weight loss in the past. There are a few things that make maintaining post-WLS different than maintaining after a "diet". First of all, you are never "done" with your sleeve. When losing weight through a "diet" you always have this goal weight in mind and can't wait to reach that goal and be "done". The problem is, as soon as you are "done" you start slacking on the exercise and go back to eating crap and the weight starts to pile back on. But with the sleeve, it's always there, restricting your intake. You are never "done" with it. The rules about putting Protein first, taking your Vitamins, drinking your Water, not eating and drinking at the same time, not grazing.... all of those things are truly lifetime commitments that you can't just revert away from once you reach your goal weight. In the vein of your sleeve always being there, another thing that would always happen in the past was something would happen in my life to derail my weight loss or maintenance. An injury, an illness, moving, starting a new job, etc. Anything that threw me out of my routine would send me into a spiral where I would regain weight. Now, my sleeve is there through all of that stuff. I can't just stop using my sleeve or ignore my sleeve when life happens. For example, I had a CRAZY summer/early fall. My sister and her 4 kids moved in with us when she split up with her husband. Meanwhile we decided to sell our house when we looked at a new one and decided we wanted to buy it. Well, we hadn't been planning to sell our house for a few more years, so it was a mad scramble to do a ton of home improvement projects we'd put off, get the house ready to show, show the house, and sell the house. Then we had all the stress of buying the new house and moving as well. It was complete madness. I went almost a full 5 months without a regular exercise routine and I had insane amounts of stress to deal with on almost a daily basis. I managed to maintain my weight loss for that full 5 months! Yes I was stressed. Yes I was out of my routine. But my sleeve was still there for me every single day, every single meal, and every single snack. Do I still have to WORK to maintain my weight? Of course! I'm training for a half marathon, so I am exercising every single day now. I still consciously think about everything I eat and make sure I reach my protein goal of 100 grams every day. I still make sure I have water with me at all times. I still eat on a schedule to avoid grazing. I still make an effort to avoid slider foods. I still take all my vitamins every day. I still don't eat and drink at the same time. I still plan ahead to make sure I have access to appropriate foods if I'm going to be traveling or doing things outside my daily routine. So there is a lot of effort to be made and work to be done, but it comes as second nature after 19 months.

I will throw my two cents in. I have a vague goal of 150 (I am 5; 4 1/2"). HOWEVER, I do believe the scale is such a small part of my goal. I want to look good in my clothes, not even sure what size I want them to be. What I don't want, is to struggle to be a certain weight and fight that battle vigorously. I guess when my body says "this is good" then I will do my best to accept that. Finally, I have a friend who wears a size 8 and I can honestly tell you that she is chubby. I have another friend who wears a 10 and she looks lean and trim. Go figure!

I started this journey at 245. I am now 155 and 5 pounds from what I thought would be my dream weight. I had a closet full of clothes that I JUST WANTED TO GET INTO again... that was my focus and goal. I was happy at that size, I felt healthy etc... (all thoughts I had prior to surgery and thus the determination to get surgery) All those clothes were size 14's and 16's. I am now wearing a 12 and can squeeze into 10's. I think if I loose anymore weight, I will be too thin. If I were to loose another 10 to 15 pounds I would honestly look sick. Does anyone else have any thoughts on WEIGHT and scale numbers? With the whole Keirsty Alley announcement, and dealing with my own perception, I am confused. Oprah says she weighs 150. Her goal weight. I weigh 155 and am much smaller then she is. We are both 5'4 to 5'5. Is it possible my bones actually weighs more? My organs? What?! I remember telling my doctor I just wanted to get to 150 to get into my size 14/16's and his reply was no, size 8. I remember thinking he was off his rocker at the time, and I still think so today. I would be too thin and feel frail all the time. My sister is a size 2, and she was wearing 18/20's when she had her surgery (she had RNY) and she is TOO thin. But with her surgery, she will gain back a little. (hopfully) Any thoughts anyone?