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Hello fellow sleevers. I am now three months out since all of my surgeries, both planned and emergency following my leak. When I was discharged from hospital at the end of October, the leak test had showed the leak had healed but I was always worried that something would happen and it would come back. I had my three month consult with my surgeon today and she said that given my overall improving health, fitness, weight loss etc that she is convinced the leak is totally healed and best of all, she has NEVER heard of someone getting another leak, particularly after three months. Which is the greatest!! It has given me such a confidence boost, and just what I needed!!! The thought of getting sick again and going back to hospital really bothered me. Now, I feel like I am going to be right and my Dr's confirmed it for me. I am just so damn happy! Oh, and I lost another two kilos this week. Now I am in the clear I can start exercising, so I am going to start heading to the gym soon! I hope it will help tone up and let the weight loss continue. Not that losing weight's been an issue so far, but after 40+kg (about 90 pounds so far), I figure it's going to slow down or even stop soon...just seems to be what other's experience. Thanks again to all of those who have supported me and who have sent kind messages on this blog. I really appreciate it!! Cheers, Lila

Hello fellow sleevers and sleevers to be! I am officially in one - derland weighing in at 196. This is a very happy day for me and I am proud of my efforts. Next week will mark my six week milestone and I can begin exercising. I've starting doing a little exercising already but I am ready to hit the gym and buy a bike to ride through the neighborhood. I have not been under 200 pounds in years. My blood pressure has been normal and I feel like a million bucks. In early December, I bought a pair on slacks from Kohls (size 18) and they were tight! Well, I put them on Friday and they were good and loose! I ordered the Cytosport Whey Isolate protein drinks from Vitamin Shoppe to supplement my diet and they are sooooo good. Not a shake and not thick and yucky but they remind me of crystal light or a good tart Kool Aid! Earlier this week I went to Wal-Mart and discovered Great Value brand chunk white chicken. They come in different flavors and for lunch I am eating the lemon pepper flavor. It is a subtle flavor and very good - I can't wait to try the others that I bought. Good Luck to you all! I am happy happy happy that I made this change in my life!

Submitted to insurance today! Fingers crossed! (By the way, in regards to the last post, my primary doctor said he will still clear me for surgery

o for the past few days, well weeks, I've been nonstop thinking about what's wrong with me medically and thinking about how this is the worst time to not know...because it's going to hold up surgery next month. I've been crying and unable to stop thinking about everything. I feel forgotten about. It was 3 weeks ago that I was told I was bleeding internally. I was told to have a colonscopy. My referring doctor, the hematologist, was to fax over a script before I can schedule the procedure. My hematologist will not fax over a script without first talking to the GI doctor before scheduling the procedure. I don't know what's so important that he needs to speak with him. There's a reason why though. He's looking for something in particular. So the doctors have been going back and forth and playing phonetag for 3 weeks and unable to get each other on the phone, while I sit here and wait not knowing wtf is going on and not knowing what becomes of the surgery in a few weeks. At this point I'm like just let me please fucking schedule the procedure...please. I don't have much time between now and surgery...nor do I have much time in my schedule as it is to set up this procedure with interning and graduate school and all the other crap I have going on. I just don't want to wait anymore. I'm scared one minute, then I'm not, then the next I'm terrified to think I'll be stuck in this shit body for longer than longer than January. Here's the shitty part too... My surgeon's office is faxing my file to insurance to be approved or denied this week. I could be approved fairly quick (which at this point, I hope it doesn't go quick) and then I'll receive a surgery date. I NEED A COLONOSCOPY and some ANSWERS between now and the proposed date, which will probably be in the first few weeks of January before I can GET this surgery. I will probably go to pre-surgical testing ANYWAY and fail the blood tests miserably...which in turn will put off the surgery...which is turn will make my insurance approval EXPIRE causing me to have to explain this to the surgeon's office and again RESUBMIT and wait LONGER for a date or at least wait until this whoel colonscopy thing is resolved...which at this point, seems like the doctors will never fucking get in touch with each other and stop dicking around. So that's where I stand. The stupid amount of money on vitamins and herbs and supplements I've bought and will be taking will probably mean nothing in terms of effecting my blood results. So really...insurance will have my file this week, and yet I can't do anything until this stupid colonoscopy is scheduled, which at this rate, will be in 2014. I can't explain how I feel. I feel crushed. I feel like giving up. I feel lost in this. I want some answers. I'm exhausted all the time. I'm losing blood quick enough that I'm a step away from anemia...and yet no one knows why. Still this post doesn't even begin to do any amount of justice for what I'm feeling. I'm so close to getting the surgery...done with 8 months of everything...and now this happens? How? I just can't...

I have been posting in the forums for several years and never even noticed the blog feature... but recently I am seeing that everyone is blogging.. so thought I would try it out. This week my patience has been tried on the forums so maybe I need to be more selective in replying to certain posts and use a blog to vent... something to think about.... Have to go to my office Christmas party in 30 minutes.... I will stand around with my pretty glass of water with lemon and watch everyone stuff their faces on rich fatty appetizers... And tomorrow I will still be in my new found size 8s and they will be thinking of how to shed the bloat from their over induldging. Life is good!

Hi All, I am almost 6 months post-surgery (6/19/12) and have lost 87 lbs. I am now beginning to have trouble finding good low fat high protein foods to eat. I do get weak and light-headed especially when i exercise, so i question my protein intake levels. Just hoping some of you experts had some recipes or good ideas on what to eat. I am not drinking any protein shake just trying to get in by foods. How many of you who are at my stage still drink protein shakes? Thanks for any info?

Kind of a sucky day for me because I was told by my surgeon that the pre-op diet was to begin 1 week prior to surgery.. Get a call yesterday evening, and of course they made a mistake, and it's 2 weeks prior. Needless to say, I had to officially begin this morning on liquids. I wasn't even mentally prepared for this. I had made plans to go have my "last meals" this weekend, as I love pizza and Olive Garden and knew they would probably never taste the same again. They also restricted tea and coffee, but as I arrived to work this morning, I could smell the Keurig brewing and I just couldn't resist. Yes I had a cup of coffee .. Already off to a bad start. I ended up going to buy a 1.5 liter of water so that I can drink to the point of fullness so as to ward off the hunger pains today.. gonna be a long 13 days ahead of me... Sucks

I'm new to VST, but definitely am ready to share this amazing experience. I decided to have the sleeve in September of 2012. I've gone through 3 months of nutrition, psych evaluation, and an endoscopy. My surgery was approved this past Monday and my surgery date is set for December 20th. Boy I'm nervous. Needed a few forums for some extra motivating support (VST did not let me down!)... I'm from Carson, CA and my surgeon is in Beverly Hills, Dr. Feiz to be exact. It was a smooth, but confusing process. Finally got after 2nd review because AETNA said, even though my BMI is over 40, the photos don't appear to make me look like surgery is needed.. What?? Are you serious right now? Anywho, the small battle is over. The real war starts Dec 20th. Looking forward to my new relationship with VST and I pray this journey is one of peace, fulfillment, and most of all enjoyment! xTia

I have been on this site for 5 months and have noticed that post can sometimes get a little heated. I sometime get heated - when someone tells me I am doing wrong. Well, if I am doing wrong them it's because my surgeon told me to. I have met with and emailed my nutrtionist with every question I have had to make sure I am on track. I go to my surgeon monthly for a fill and discussion about my progress. From June 22, 2012 until Dec. 2, 2012 I have gone from 244 lbs to 199! I have gone from wearing a 20/22 to a 14/16. Obviously, I am not do that much wrong because I am losing lbs and inches. I eat healthy, good foods - do I ever eat something that would be considered unhealthy- yes, but not daily and not even weekly. I talked it over with my doctor and nutritionist and both said do not totally deprive myself, but limit. Guess what I want to lose so I limit!!!! When I am dying for a cupcake when I am pmsing I go get ONE cupcake and eat it- no more, some times it's only 2 bits and the hubs finishes it. It took my craving away and did not drive me to ruin. I appreciate all the hard core banders who can preach ya da ya da is the end all be all and if you aren't living banded this way then you are wrong. I am sorry, but get off your high hourse and build a bridge, if you are not a bariatric specialist then do not tell me how I should live banded life. When I answer questions I answer from my perspective, from what my doctor has told me, I do not tell people they must take my advice I just put it out there rather than trying to choke them on it. I have an excellent line of communication going with my team doctors (family doc and surgeon) and my nutritionist to make sure I am doing what I am suppose to and getting the right result in a healthy way. Last month I hit a plateau and didn't move for a month. My surgeon sat me down and told me to calm down, the month before I had lost 8lbs, he said likely my body was taking a break, that unless the plateau last 3 months to just breath and stick to the plan. Well in a few days I was headed down and hit 199. Bottom line is we are all on a journey, each journey will present with different pot holes, curves and hills - it is up to us to seek guidance from our professional team to know how we need to navaigate those issues. On here people need support and need to know how your journey is going - the way you got around your curve may be different from who someone else gets around theres. Tough love is needed- if a person admits to eating crap and gaining the yes it is there fault they are gaining. But until the facts are known please do not just down a person throat.

Hello fellow sleevers, I hope this blog finds you all well. I am almost 7 weeks out since my leak was confirmed to have healed. Yay. I should get clearance from my surgeon soon to start going to the gym which I think will help with my over fitness (or more to the point, lack thereof). Generally things continue to improve. I still struggle (some days more than others) with a faintly sick feeling and a gurgling in my tummy. This usually means I am not eating quite enough or regularly enough. The less I eat at a meal, the more frequently I have to eat - and that depends on the day. So this blog is about the stupid things I have done, repeatedly, since going back on normal foods. In no particular order (I decided not to rank my stupidity as these are all, quite frankly, ridiculous) are: Drinking soft drinks (soda): Okay so this is mostly my several attempts to drink soda water. I've had a little lemonade and coke but it's so sweet I only did this a few times before deciding it wasn't worth it. What I have been slower in giving up is soda water (sparkling water). I keep stupidly thinking something would change and it would be okay to drink soda water but I've finally realised (after several uncomfortable and frankly painful experiences) that I should leave it well enough alone. Duh. Eating Bread (of any kind): So being the genius that I am, I decided to try bread. I always feel kinda ill afterwards. And yet I continued to try it. White, multigrain, soft grains, wholemeal, sourdough...always left with the same feeling of discomfort and just generally a bit yuck. Thank goodness I have finally decided to LEAVE IT ALONE. Eggs: Oh little eggies, how I loved you before surgery. I could have eaten half a dozen of you little buggers preferably poached, although I wasn't all that choosy. Now you have turned on me and make me very VERY ill. I no longer try to come to some kind of understanding with you...sometimes when you love something, you must set it free. Bye little eggies...you will be missed. Milk: Another before surgery love. Now, to highlight my stupidity, I need to give a teensy bit of background - I am Lactose Intolerant. Have been for years. And depsite this, I would guzzle a 750mL Iced Coffee three times a day. Yes I'd get the runs. Yes, I'd feel pretty darn sick. But I'd still do it. Post-surgery, I am lucky to be able to have the lactose free milk on my cereal for breakfast. Milk (of any kind) makes me sick. As does icecream which is just wrong. No more yummy iced coffee's or frappe's. Gone for good... Although it is taking me a while to work out what my sleeve needs, I feel I am making progress. It's slow. But I am learning to listen to what my body is telling me. Quick weight update - I am 40 kg down from my surgery weight And this Monday (03.12.12) is offically 3 months since the initial surgery date. I am really happy with my weight loss so far and hope to lose another 5kg before Christmas. Hope this finds you all well, sleevers! Talk soon, Lila