Hi everyone who is having surgery in October 2014. We can start a new topic for those of us who have had surgery already.

This is the spot were we will all end up, were we'll share our stories and recovery. It will be a new dawn for so many of us. Let's stay close as united we will conquer anything that comes our way!

BEST WISHES GLADIATORS

this is the picture i wanted to share before. one from 2 days ago in stripes, one from a few days before surgery in pink. i can see the difference now but since im tall it doesnt look like the weight i have lost would look on a shorter person.

this is the picture i wanted to share before. one from 2 days ago in stripes, one from a few days before surgery in pink. i can see the difference now but since im tall it doesnt look like the weight i have lost would look on a shorter person.

You can totally tell! Look at the definition at your waist! You can see your waist! I do understand though, people say they see a diff in me and unless I'm in super baggy clothes that weren't before, I can't really tell. Congrats!

@@Bronxmerci

...and I forgot to mention the flat tummy is a dead give away also! Congrats again on feeling better and looking great!

@@freelyme they weren't closely monitoring me with the coumadin and i had like 3.5 periods that made me lose too much blood. so they completely stopped the coumadin even though i stopped taking it on my own before they told me to. they did an endoscopy yesterday and my insides looked normal, they said my black stools was from old blood. they mentioned that its weird that the coumadin did this to me because other females take it and dont bleed out but for that now i have to follow up with a gyn, hema/sickle cell, and gi doctor. they mentioned i should get an iud, something is telling me not to do it, i dont want any more procedures done on me.

@@freelyme thank you, you made me feel good! yeah i guess we are hard on ourselves lol.

Thanksgiving. Lived through it!

Made a feast for my family and was not a bit taken aback with all the cooking. My own meal was baked salmon, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and stuffing. I must add that the entire thing was 1/2 cup of food total and I didn't finish it. So we are talking a tablespoon each of the sides. Tiny, tiny meal. I ate very slow and did all that I should. About 10 minutes after my meal I started to feel unwell and for about an hour I couldn't stop burping and spiting. After the full hour, the nausea got the better of me and I threw up. This was my first nausea episode (1 month post surgery). What came up was a tiny amount but I felt better instantly. Now I know an extra teaspoon can take me over the edge. It was horrible. I am back to mashed food and only 1/4 cup. I cannot handle that again. I am thinking maybe the fish way too dry or I ate a tiny bit too much. But then I'm thinking maybe my pouch is too small. How come I can only handle a 1/4 cup of food at a time? Is that what everyone is eating?

I eat about a 1/2 cup when I eat slowly @@Beni but I wouldn't worry about eating less increasing portions slowly is better per my Surgeon. By this time next year you'll be eating a 1/2 cup.

this is the picture i wanted to share before. one from 2 days ago in stripes, one from a few days before surgery in pink. i can see the difference now but since im tall it doesnt look like the weight i have lost would look on a shorter person.

@@Bronxmerci you look fantastic! So glad your D/c from hospital and so much better. Stay on the road to health!

Hi @@Bronxmerci,

You look amazing. Your weight loss already makes you as a success story. The rest will fall into place. I knew you would feel better after the blood transfusion. As I mentioned, after the birth of my second child, I had to have a blood transfusion because I could not get out of bed, that's how weak I was. Within 1/2 hour I was walking around and felt so much better. I had a feeling that black stool was blood. This is a good reminder to everyone because bleeding ulcers are a possible complication of WLS. My understanding is there are only two circumstances in life where your stool is black (tar black). After being born and if there is blood in the GI track. I am not counting eating a bunch of blackberries because at this point eating a bunch of anything is out of our league. The bleeding can be slow and we won't notice it. Please everyone remember this.

I am over the moon you are home. Once they get this blood issue behind you, I am 100% sure you will do great. Now that your incisions are healed they should be able to reduce or eliminate blood thinners. What did the doctor say? It is so unfortunate that you got both sides of the sword. Clot for surgery and then loss of blood from the blood thinners. Heck, that's a rough patch.

I hope you feel fantastic from this point forward.

Thanks everyone for letting me know that eating less then a 1/2 cup is normal. At this point I eat 1/4 cup and maybe one or two bites more. i am not increasing my meal for at least a full week. I can't tell when i am full. Well at least not very well. Sometimes I get hiccups and that's a sign but other times not at all and it takes 2 or 3 minutes for my stomach to tell my brain I am full. That means the last few bites have to be spaced out. I am not super hungry ever but I do worry of not eating enough to survive. 3 times of 1/4 cup per day to me sounds like starvation. I guess that's what my fat stores are for. Good thing I have them, lol.

What did everyone do for Thanksgiving? I am dying to know how you all did?

Edited November 29, 201411 yr by Beni

@@Beni

Thanksgiving Day was my first day back to work. 12 hour shift, thankfully the hospital was slow. In the first 1/3 of another 12 hour shift now... I want a nap. The hospital gave us good food for thanksgiving. I ate a couple ounces of turkey and a couple bites of mashed potatoes, stuffing and green beans. I declined the pie. Sounds like you did AMAZING!

thanks ladies! @@Beni the doctor told me to go play the lotto lmao. the hematologists said the risk of bleeding out outweighs the risk of my clot not dissolving and they said no more blood thinners for me. they actually said it should dissolve faster now that my blood count is low. i just went for a walk to the post office to get my measuring bowl that i bought, i wasnt really measuring food now i am going to start. its funny i thought i was eating 2oz of cheese and after measuring it was only 1.5 lol. and i measured some salad and a lot of lettuce is like 1oz lol. beni, im on the same boat with you eating 2oz of food, it didnt concern my surgeon. i supplement with genepro and a water/juice concoction. they also want me to get 90 grams of protein now instead of 70, blah looks like 2 concoctions and 30 grams towards food throughout the day to make it.

My first full night out. I had missed my high school reunion this year. So a few of us decided to get together tonight. We went to a middle eastern restaurant called Alhambra. I stayed out until 1 something. Just had a few hiccups(issues). Started with an asthma attack to which the valet was so cooperative and had his guy run to my car and get my inhaler. I order the Tunisian Salmon and brought home more than three fourths of it. Had a taste of creme brûlée. A sip or two of a chocolate martini, some Water and pineapple juice. Pouch was okay until the creme brûlée. Had a mad dash to the bathroom but nothing came of it. Did a little dancing.

All and all I'd call it a pretty successful night out.

I tried to go out last weekend and got sick after an hour and had to leave.

What changed is that 4 days ago I stopped having severe chest pain when I drink water. Also, I had my b12 shot. I don't know if the latter affected the former. But I'm glad of the change.

@@DaronB I don't think you've posted in a while. I didn't realize you were in my doctor's practice. I had Dr. Bruce do my surgery on Oct. 23rd at Wake Med Cary. Have you gone to the support group at Rex yet? How have things been going for you after surgery?

I have a cranky pouch today, nothing is making it happy.