M scheduled for my surgery April 26th and I was curious to see who else would be walking in the shoes of April with me. Tell me how you feeling? What's on your mind? Any worries? Second thoughts?

Do I brought my own Pepcid AC MAX STRENGTH because what the doc have me was the generic cheap kind that insisted I take it 3 - 4 times day. They will not work for me lol... Now I old gotta take it once a day...

I actually when into GNC and brought myself a pill container. now when I drink my soup and I pull it out and start popping pills like a addict everyone jus stares and laughs lmao

So with NO appetite all I find it extremely easy to look at at food w/o craving it. It's an awesome feeling. My family order pizza the other day with all the works and it looked delicious. I mean it would be selfish of me to tell them "NO, you can't bring that in house cause you know what I'm going through and what I need to do to get where I need to be"... I mean this decision was mine and MINE ALONE. They did ask for it but they said they would support me. So I already knew deep inside that my burdens shouldn't be theirs. Then I came to realize that the point of surgery was not only to lose weight but to actually learn how to control yourself around food. This was a test for me and I passed with flying colors. Even though the pizza was delicious I used my WILL to negate the thought and in the process used my selflessness to allow my family the meal they so desired w/o having to walk on egg shells around me. This was definitely a win/win situation for me and it felt great...

has anyone else had a similar predicament?

To Jimmygotsoul, I went to a cookout Saturday and Sunday. The food was smelling so doggone good. The people kept asking me don't you want to eat? Fried fish, bbq chicken, ribs, hamburgers, hot sausages and baked beans. People was eating and getting their drink on and I was drinking my protein shake. I felt so good because I didn't have any regrets. Oh, I was the designated driver Saturday night! I have never, never ever played that role! I'm so very proud of me!

Have anyone experienced a change in your breath? My sister told me that my breath has a strong metallic smell that was definitely not there before surgery. Very embarrassed to be walking around with stank breath! LOL

The binder my doctor gave me describes reasons

May be related to rapid weight loss and fat being broken down into ketones or not getting enough fluids

Yes I have too had same problem with breath. I carry a toothbrush, mints, gum go to doc on thursday was gonna ask , the kids say I am killing then,lol

I also have bad breath. I make sure I have breath mints at work. Glad everyone is doing do well.

Sent from my iPhone using VST

To jimmy yes I been going threw same things .saturday cookout for the fight being hispanic that ment it fajitas, chicken, tortillas,chips ,salsa all that good stuff and guess who was in kitchen cooking me that was hard but stood my ground.Sunday was worse we always have sunday dinner and it was kids turn and of course it was allll nono food, bacon cheese burgers, cheese fries and I had to cook it ,sit at table with kiddos having a protein shake. If their is a will their will be a way.

the bad breath thing is due to your body being in Ketosis, it's due to not eating carbs or sugars and your body burning fat instead of carbs for energy. I find sugar free "breath savers" work pretty good but you have to be careful how many you use a day, the sugar substitute they use will give you the runs.

4 weeks post op and down 32 lbs!

I've lost 21lbs so far, 8lbs pre-op diet and the rest post-surgery & I hit my two week mark tomorrow.

I have to say I seem to have been very very lucky. I haven't really had gas pains as such, although I did get the pain in my left shoulder/neck off and on for a couple of days around day 3-4. Other than that I just get waves of tiredness and have one scar that's sore rather than painful. I had my 10 day post-op check on Monday and they said that the larger scar on the left hand side is not only where your stomach is removed but it is also where all the larger instruments were, such as the camera, and that there will be a lot of internal bruising and swelling in that area in particular. It will go and is getting better day by day:)

I too having a horrible taste in my mouth and have been informed by my lovely kids that me breath "stinks", this is usually accompanied by a frantic waving of hands in front of their faces! At my appointment on Monday they said that this is very common and that I should use a mouth spray called retarDEX which really works.

Isn't it amazing how your taste changes though? I have a friend who was sleeved in September 2011 and said that she is drawn to healthy options and a lot of her go-to comfort foods she now can't stand! Never thought it would be me, but I have been given the go ahead to eat mushies so I tried instant mashed potatoes with grated cheese and butter (I know, sound gross but I used to love it!) in my ramekin dish and it made me feel sick - it tasted synthetic and just awful - so I won't be having that again!

Just look at how much excess weight the April Sleevers have lost already - amazing! Well done:)

I have lost 27 pounds in 4 weeks stuck on a stall at the moment

I have lost 27 pounds in 4 weeks stuck on a stall at the moment

27lbs! That's fantastic, well done!

Step Away From the SCALE! I am 3 weeks out and I only touch a scale at the Dr.'s right now.

You are so right on this front. I am a scale addict!! I find myself checking my weight at least once a day. I have always been a scale addict... not that it has helped me at all in the weight department!! I was down to 302 yesterday and today 305. I had more salt yesterday, so I am sure this is what it is, but mentally, I need to start only weighing myself once a week. I am going to make myself a chart and pick a weigh-in day and have that be it. I am making myself crazy over this. It is silly and so counterproductive.

Even though the pizza was delicious I used my WILL to negate the thought and in the process used my selflessness to allow my family the meal they so desired w/o having to walk on egg shells around me. This was definitely a win/win situation for me and it felt great...has anyone else had a similar predicament?

Yes. Saturday I went to a gathering and there were so many foods. I took fruit and a really good friend of mine made salmon. I ate the salmon. I just chewed it to mush and ate very slowly. It was very moist so by the time it went down, it was no different than if I had blended it in the magic bullet. I also ate some melon. Chewed it to death also. It tasted great and sat well in my sleeve. The extra fluids from the melon was a plus as well. Yes, I know the fruit has sugar in it, but at least it is natural sugar. I am one of the rare ones (I think) that does not want to be in a state of ketosis. I don't want to start burning muscle and my doctor does not want me in that state either.

Am I the only one who feels this way or whose doctor feels this way? I know my loss will be a bit slower, but I just don't see any health benefits to losing muscle. My mother did a high protein diet way back when. She ended up burning muscle on her lower arms and she has never been able to get it back. Her arms are flat and not attractive at all because of this.

I would love to hear from others on this issue. Don't worry about offending me. I really am curious about what others think or are being told about this issue from their health care teams. Thanks much in advance and Jimmy, I am ok with whatever anyone else eats around me. I find I don't crave what they are eating. Most of the junk food stuff - cookies, chips, popcorn (which someone made here at work in the microwave just yesterday - smelled wonderful, but I had no desire to eat it) just does not appeal to me. I miss fruit and veggies at this point. I was a big salad eater. That is what has gotten to me... no salads

I had surgery on 4/11. I am cleared to try ground beef and lettuces this week. Yesteray I had Wendy's chili for lunch. Was able to eat 3 spoons of it. I was stuffed!! Had 3 more spoons for dinner (wasn't as filling as lunch). It went down smoothly and tasted delish!!! Guess whats for lunch?? LOL That $1.25 is going to go a long way.

I have my 3 week post op appt tomorrow. Anxious to see what dr office scale says.

Everyone is doing a great job!!