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In my 30 + years of working in healthcare, I have rarely run across any two doctors that have the same way of practicing medicine. This is also and more so true with bariatric surgeons. What my doctor said is okay to eat pre op will not be the next doctors choice. What my doctor has me eat post op no other doctor may agree with. All this banter going on to other members of this forum to not listen to your doctor or nurses because they are wrong is not in any way something anyone should say to another person in this forum. Just because I was on clear liquids post op, does not mean every doctor makes their patients take in clear liquids. Some go right to full liquids and then on to regular food. It all depends on what that doctor chooses for his/her patients. If someone is eating yogurt the day after surgery and their doctor said they could then they can. If your post op and on clear liquids but want a glass of milk I would say call your doctor but I highly doubt that a glass of milk would hurt anyone. No two surgeons of weight loss surgery will give the same pre op or post op diet so if one doctor says its okay to eat food after a fill and another doesn't then neither is wrong its just what they prefer. Do any parents raise their kids identically? No they don't. Do all nurse give the same care? No they don't. Is every college student going to get straight A's? No they are not. So no one can say your surgeon is wrong because that is farther from the truth. Follow your doctors advice and his/her plan for your surgery and yours alone. They have invested their time to be bariatric surgeons and it all depends on what they were taught. Even though it makes it hard to have a community of people who have had the same surgery try to come together, no ones doctor is wrong unless he is being brought up charges of medical mal practice and since no one has said theirs has, then please follow your doctors orders and not what we are doing.

Hard to believe that it has only been 72 hours ago that I had my surgery. I feel remarkably good, almost normal. I walked the dogs with my husband this morning and it felt good to be out and moving. The scale went back down to what it was the morning of my surgery. When I came home from the hospital I weighed 219 up three pounds. I am guessing it was from all the fluids that they pump into you. I was glad to see it go back down to 216. I have been doing well with getting my proteins in. I went into the office this morning to do a couple deposits while no one was around. I still haven't driven anywhere, but I am not taking any pain meds so I suppose I could drive if I wanted to. My husband usually drives me around anyway. For all those September sleevers that haven't gone yet, I wish you the best and pray that you have a good post op too.

If I compared myself to anyone else I would not be happy. Be happy with your results even if they are slow. Keep it going.

At 3 months out I have lost 62 lbs: Starting weight: 240 Current weight: 178 I still have quite a bit to go (as my height is 4' 11"). I'm so happy with this progress! I LOVE LOVE LOVE my sleeve. I've learned and lived through quite a bit in the last couple months.... THE GOOD: - Doing 175 squats will not kill you - I can see my clavicles! (This was a very happy NSV for me) - Eating at restaurants and parties is more manageable than I thought (just remember: protein first) - While shopping one day, I looked down and realized I couldn't see my belly, just boobs - I reached my surgeons first goal on 7/22/13, which gave me even more motivation to keep on track - NSV: I can wrap a bath towel around me! - I entered ONEDERLAND on 7/31/13 - This, to me, is by far the most exciting... My resting heart rate went from 120's- 130's down to the 70's!!! THE BAD - "Hunger" during your time of the month: oh wow, I feel like a monster! Lol. Just a tip: don't weigh yourself during your period, it'll just lead to frustration that isn't needed!! - I've come to terms that negative people will be negative. No use in trying to please or understand these people. THE UGLY - CONSTIPATION... Def never had this as an issue before surgery. My norm before was a couple times a day. Now, a couple times a week. Um, ouch. But I recently starting taking Colace. Hopefully that'll help. - Hair loss: Ok, I knew hair loss is a side effect, and it usually happens around month 3 or 4, BUT I wasn't really prepared for what it'd actually look like... Like a horror movie! It's quite disturbing to look have hand- fulls of hair while washing it or to look down in the shower and have a hair ball the size of a chinchilla near your drain! I'm lucky I have such thick (and long) hair to begin with, which is why I think it looks so disturbing. WHAT I'M DOING: Well, what I'm supposed to be doing. Protein first, lots of water, low carbs, and exercising. I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I find following this plan pretty simple. I don't feel deprived and I rarely feel hungry. It requires work, but the results are so worth the sacrifices. Just working towards and hoping for continued success!!!

I have been working diligently on managing to get my 64oz of fluid & actually have worked out to get 74oz, the liquid includes 3- 17oz bottles of water & 3- 8oz protein shakes, I have found routine & drinking the same thing work the best for me & I also divided it up into 1/3's throughout the day. yet I feel I always have a bottle of liquid in my hand. by night time I am so happy to not have something in my hand, but my nurses scared me about dehydration. so every-time I go to the bathroom I am always looking at what color it is. yes I do that. I have been hitting my goal of about 70 grams of protein. & the last 2 days I have also had about 1/4Cup broth, with a shake of Mrs Dash (my new best friend) I don't add that total to my fluid counting even though I could the last 2 nights my family has had hearty meals, like lasagna & ham & tater casserole. (I made these ahead of time to help if I had problems with surgery) I haven't so much wanted to eat them, more I have a horrible habit at the end of the day of snacking. That's where the soup came in. I have some mixed feelings I need to work thru before I do eat real food. I have a few idea's like changing what my evening pattern is, I have some projects to start as soon as I have a bit more energy & my incisions heal up a bit more, I don't want to ruin anything I have worked so hard to do. Today I had a great couple of personal victories, 1- my oldest was mindlessly eating a big muffin for breakfast, & I thought, I use to do this, now that kind of repulses me. 2- I got to drive to do an errand. I felt so free, where I haven't hd pain med's I knew I felt good enough to do it. Both of these put me in some deep thoughts about how my life was going... I could have eaten 2 of those muffins before, & if I don't get my health under control, then I might have to rely on others to get me around. it just helps me know I have made one of the best decisions of my life. I promised myself on New Years this year I will take back my life! I am on my way!

Once upon a time many years ago. 7 to exact. I lost 40 pounds. It was a rough time in my life, I was getting a divorce, starting a new job, sick and broken. (No really I had a tumor on my ovary and a broken foot!) So many things were happening in my life at one time, that food and eating it didn’t seem to matter much to me. Having a broken foot I was hopping around on crutches everywhere I went. I got my cast on and started that new job that Monday morning. I had no choice, I was getting a divorce after nearly 20 years of marriage and I had 3 kids to care for. There was no time for self-pity!!! (Truth be told there is always a time, and you find it locked in your bathroom or your bedroom and you cry it out and steel yourself again to get through the next day.) Wonder Woman didn’t cry, she battled and battle I did. Then a few months into it, I met the most amazing guy. He seemed to understand me on a level that no one ever had, and as time went on we grew closer and closer. We have been through so much in our lives, and so much more in the last 7 years that we have gone through together. Finally this last year on 10/11/12 we said our vows and married each other. So happy, in love and satisfied with my life my love of food and all things SWEET returned with a vengeance. My Sweetheart shared that love with me and together we gained weight. I gained back the 40 pounds I had lost and then some! At the time I was married last year I was at my heaviest weight ever. I did not let that stop me from buying a wedding gown, or two OK so I had 3! (We had 2 weddings and one celebration brunch when we returned) I never felt out of place in my skin, though I did feel bloated and uncomfortable, even a little sick and lethargic at times. I was happy, we were happy. Today, as my 1 year anniversary approaches and I am 30 pounds lighter, I looked in the mirror as I got ready for work this morning. I put on the diamond necklace my husband bought me as an anniversary gift. It came on this short 16” chain and when he bought it for me I thought that will never fit my fat neck! I’ll have to get another chain when he’s not looking. I put the box away until I could get that chain, but today I slipped it on and it fit great! It sits right at my collar bone and it looks amazing. I looked in the mirror, and I felt “thin”. Don’t get me wrong I still need to lose another 100+ pounds, but for the first time…truly the first time even though I had lost weight before, this time I felt I might really be thin again. I have truly lost the weight! Well and truly lost it! Those extra 30 pounds of me are gone and gone forever. I feel as though a layer has peeled away. I feel lighter, in body and in mind. I am looking forward to shedding more and more of myself in the months ahead. I am ready and committed to losing it. I’m ready to break free of all that has weighed me down all these years. I still love my sweets, as does my hubby. Only now we take the time to make better choices and substitutions for those sweets, and make the space to enjoy a little indulgence on occasion. The sweetest indulgence for me today is the diamond necklace I wrapped around my neck that sits so perfectly and winks at me from the mirror with the knowing that it’s only going to get sweeter and sweeter!

Source: What nine months and 152.5 lbs down looks like. I wanna look at this later when I'm losing my mind.

How To explain away my scars? OK, this is awful so don't read if you are easily offended and do not appreciate a sick sense of humor. Warning! Don't read if you are easily offended! Last Warning! Sick Humor below!!!!! Shanked in prison... Shuts them up every time! - VSGKirk Some idiot: What happened? You: I had abdominal surgery. Idiot: What kind? You: The kind that involves the abdominal area. - newat52 Tijuana knife fight. - Kristina J. I had some "woman issues " - chell1978 Texas mosquito bites I was knifed by an exotic dancer in TJ. Full contact scrapbooking injury... When you get the weird look, you can fill in that scrapbooking is getting really intense now that scrappers are trying to make the hobby "athletic enough" for the Olympics. Bears. But never mind my scar, you should check out my awesome new rug! My wife said somtimes I don't know my place. Tell them you are trying to avenge your father and ask if they have six fingers on their right hand. Two words, "Satin sheets" I don't want to go into details, but suffice to say, I won't be allowed in that Benihana for a while. The first rule of Fight Club is 'don't talk about Fight Club' They say you can't get blood from a stone - well, the IRS tried! Remember when your mom told you not to run with scissors? I was watching the DIY network and they did a show on bodylifts... A zombie tried to eat my brains and missed. Tell them as much as you'd love to talk about it you just can't because your defense attorney and parole officer advised you to keep your mouth shut until after the trial. I got this in a bar fight when I used to ride with Hells Angels. That's where the aliens probed me Don't worry about it. Because of me, they now have a to put on warning labels! Well, let me just tell you this: You should NEVER EVER, under ANY circumstances, go out with a guy/girl that you met on the internet. "I was oyster hunting." They give me a blank stare. Then I say, with a wink, "You've obviously never been oyster hunting before." I was at this party with Marilyn Manson and everyone was giving out hugs. I lost a fight with a can of tuna fish. I slipped while making a salad. I fell asleep, and the clown got me. I'll just put it this way: when they tell you not to feed the bears, it's for a damned good reason. I'm a blade sharpness tester "I had an accident with a scalpel." [person asks why] "Well, you know that guy who woke up in an ice bath and his kidney was gone? Er... this had nothing to do with it. Honest." You know how dogs chase their tails? Well it has nothing to do with that. Nor does it have anything to do with cat scratches. Or the faeries that visit me nightly *ramble on*... What was I talking about? I thought those security tags on pants just sprayed ink, but apparently they spray shards of broken glass, too. "Oh, these?" *embarrassed face* "I know they look horrible, but the sex was INCREDIBLE!" "...Are you consipring aginast me? What's with all the questions? Who wants to know the answers?" *and upon interrupting "I'm doing the talking here" and then continue to ramble until they back away. "...They'll come and get you too. Run while you still can" Knifed by an exotic dancer. Terrible. Yes, they're nasty that way. I had unprotected sex with a porcupine. I took my lizards for a walk and they held on for dear life. The neighborhood cat and I had a disagreement about the paw prints on my truck. The police didn't comply with the terrorists' demands fast enough, so they took it out on us hostages. I keep falling off of cliffs trying to catch that damned roadrunner. The voices told me to do it. I did this as a sacramental offering to my dark lord, you prick. ::Smile:: In my past life I was a ninja. It sucks having parents who are sadists. My boyfriend and I accidentally went overboard during our last S & M session. I moon light as a stunt-woman who dives through glass windows. Look at your scars and frown You mean you don’t have any? Well, last time it was an alien baby. I’m actually kind of relieved. I had a narrow escape from a firing squad. Now that is an interesting question; it all ties in with the eternal enigma: why are we here, for what purpose does life on earth exist? go on about the meaning of life until everyone gets bored and goes away Carving a turkey is harder than it looks You want me to show you? smile evily Don’t EVER give blood abroad! Well, I tend to get a little violent with the computer when it doesn’t cooperate. Oh those? Bad juggling accident. I don’t like to talk about it. I’m much better now Oh these? Hmm, I dunno, they’ve just always been there. Well, I mean, ever since I took over this body, anyway. Strange, don’t you think? Ozzy Osborne is my uncle and we have some kick butt family reunions! Those psychology experiments are soooo not worth the extra credit… Oh my god! Never, EVER try taking candy from a baby! A reminder of my Pirating days.... My trained attack dragon did before I got him trained... I had a duel. Did you know chickens aren't all soft and fluffy? Playing Slug Bug with a cat is a reaaally bad idea. Oh this? *point at scar* That's where my twin used to be attached. Lightsaber battle I kicked Chuck Norris' ass all I got was this lousy scar! Tell them you had to help Jack Bauer escape from the Russians and that's the last time you'll cover his pansy ass. Narrowly escaped a zombie attack Fell on the runway-it's Fashion Week Rachel Ray's dog attacked me. I just tell people it's a "sex wound." My husband is ... just ... a WILD MAN, what can I say? That's all folks! Really, that's all there is. No hablo the english? There isn't anymore. Stop scrolling! Ok, okay, one last one. It's where the alien burst out. What, you think they only come out of chests? Satisfied!??????????

Yes, there are a lot of acronyms here. I've listed just the ones related to weight loss surgery, not ones in common use, such as LOL (laugh out loud). Be sure to let me know of any I've missed: BMI: Body Mass Index CW: Current Weight DS: Duodenal Switch weight loss surgery EWL: Excess Weight Loss FF: Fat Free GBP: Gastric Bypass GW: Goal Weight LBL: Lower Body Lift MO: Morbidly Obese NSV: Non Scale Victory, such as fitting in an airline seat NUT: Nutritionist OH: Obesity Help, another good online forum PB2: Peanut Butter 2 (peanut powder substitute for peanut butter) PCP: Primary Care Physcian PPI: Proton Pump Inhibitor, such as Prilosec RNY: Roux-eN-Y (gastric bypass) weight loss surgery SF: Sugar Free SMO: Super Morbidly Obese SW: Surgery Weight TT: Tummy Tuck VBG: Vertical Banded Gastroplasty weight loss surgery VSG: Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy weight loss surgery VST: Vertical Sleeve Talk, our wonderful forum WLS: Weight Loss Surgery