Oregondaisy

Yes, Refined sugar! If I go to my friend"s house, she is always baking cookies. If I have one, soon after, I am tooting. Today is my bf's birthday and I had some german chocolate birthday cake and I have been tooting ever since.

Experiment with different temperatures. Some people like things really cold. for me, it always has to be room temp- not hot- not cold. Take a shot glass and drink from that. Try Crystal light or poweraide zero ( you can dilute it if you need to) if you're not drinking much Water. chicken broth seems to soothe the stomach. If you have a blender, you can make an icee by blending ice up with a little juice . You need to experiment, and definitely walk as much as you can. It helps with healing. If you are nauseous, call your doctor for a prescription. You won't regret this after you get over these hurdles and you're buying smaller sizes all the time! Keep checking in here for support and we will all help you through this.

It's normal to be nervous even though this is something that you really want to do. Just know that they will take good care of you and that your life is going to change 100%!

Sugar gives me gas. It happens pretty quickly if I eat anything with sugar in it at all, and seems to last for hours. Drinking milk is also a problem. You said it didn't matter what you ate or didn't eat, but you will have to experiment with removing certain foods from your diet and seeing if there are any changes at all. I haven't found anything that will get rid of it, (like Beano is supposed to but doesn't work) but for me, not drinking milk or eating anything with sugar in it helps tremendously.

You don't have to go through anyone besides Dr. Aceves' office staff. All you have to do is call them. As Suzanne said, I did not feel safe having my stomach operated on and then recover anywhere but in a hospital.

I hate to say this but I lost a lot of hair. I came out for months. Everybody is different. I have heard of some people who lost very little hair. My hair started falling out at 4 months post op didn't really start growing back in until I was at about one year. It will grow back, but you may want to look into alternatives, as you said. I can tell you that nothing worked for me or many others. I started Biotin which was recommended before I had surgery, and I got in all my Protein from the day I could start drinking. There's really nothing you can do to stop it, but you may just be one of the lucky ones who experiences very little hair loss. Fingers crossed! :biggrin2:

A lot of people just assume that because there are band problems, that we did not follow the rules. They claim they are doing better because they follow the rules. I followed the rules. I did lost a lot of weight with the band. I would have gained all of it back too, when I started having band problems. I gained back 15 lbs in a very short time, waiting for my revision. I did that following all the rules!

I went to my IRL support group the other night. I asked my lap band surgeon's nurse if he is going to stop doing bands. She said he is really encouraging people to get the sleeve rather than the band. He tells everyone off all the band complications he has had to deal with. The problem is that insurance is still paying for the band, and a lot are not paying for the sleeve. I do think eventually, surgeons will stop doing bands. The only words of encouragement I can give is you've made the right decision getting the sleeve. Living with the sleeve is pretty much effortless now. I feel like it's a miracle surgery. I can eat anything I want and I mean anything! My portions are small but I really feel that I eat very normally now. If you're stuck on a plateau, you need to change things up some. I did a year with a trainer, and over and over again he told me not to do the same exercise all the time. He said that this is extremely important! After awhile, our bodies just adjust to that exercise and it's not nearly as effective. Same with calories and carbs. Our bodies get used to what they are getting. Add in some healthy fats and eat more calories for a few days to a week. Use the thread search above and read all the threads on breaking a stall. There's lots of info on that subject and you will be able to find out what has worked for others.

Where to get Protein foods and samples Here is another list of where to get samples: 1 Chike Nutrition - will send you a sample of each flavor they make for the cost of shipping unjury - sells samples of all their flavors. Vitalady.com - Protein supplements, Vitamins & Minerals, and Safe Snacks! - will make up a sample baggie of any protein they sell. Also has pre-packaged samples from the manufacturers that make them Nashua Nutrition - Protein Powders :: Protein Powder Samples (1 Serving) - sells many protein samples from many companies include Optimum Nutrition and Syntrax (makers of Syntrax Nectars, which are very popular) Protein Sample Starter Kit - Our bestselling RTD's & Powdered Proteins PLUS - a starter pack to get you through the first few weeks. It's not all Protein drinks. Special Discount Packages : Laparoscopic Associates: new eStore - my surgeon's starter packs. Includes some protein Soups and other "bariatric" foods. Netrition Protein Sampler Pack - sells a sample pack of their "Most popular protein products". But this is not a WLS site, but a general nutrition site so some of the samples may not be appropriate for us. (Most in the picture looked fine though.) In terms of buying protein in stores, GNC sells many of their proteins in individual packets and in smaller bags. They will also let you return any protein powder you buy from them even if it's opened. So you can try it and, if you hate it, you can return it. Jay Robb makes single serving packets of their proteins. I bought them at Vitamin Shoppe.

I have had more than one surgeon tell me yes, you can dump with VSG. If too much of something ( sugar or fat) goes into our blood stream, we dump. Things are not in our stomachs as long because it's so tiny. I used to have that problem . Again, like lactose intolerance, it seems to be going away. Darn!

In the beginning, I could not judge by feeling full. If I ate until I felt full, I was in pain about 20 min. later. I had to judge it by the size. I knew I could eat one of those tiny cans of chicken salad. I pictured my portion fitting into one of those little cans. Now, I feel full like I did before surgery, but on a tiny amount. If I eat one piece of pizza, I feel like I have eaten the whole pizza.

I can't answer that because I was still on liquids at the point you are. I did 10 days of clear liquid and 10 days of full liquids before progressing to mushie food. I do remember when I first moved to mushie food that I could only eat about 3 bites. It took quite awhile to be able to eat more than that. I still had Protein drinks because 3 bites of food did not satisfy me. Eating was more of an experiment at that point. The Protein Drinks really did satisfy me. If I made them in the blender with crushed ice, they were like a milkshake.

I must be in the wrong threads. I've never seen any arguments other than the one in one of the doctors threads. There is always a lot of controversy surrounding that surgeon.

I was really lactose intolerant after surgery for a long time. I'm at 2 1/2 years out now and I can finally drink milk again. I am not really sure when it even changed. I know for the past few months I would only have sips of milk because I was afraid to try more. The past few weeks though, I've had more than that without problems. So it seems like it's going away. I wasn't lactose intolerant before surgery.

Where do those reputation points come from? I see who the top point holders are, but I don't get where the points are coming from . What is the reason for this anyway?

I'd still like to know the reason for this. It makes it seem like some sort of competition! dislike!

Yes, I have spent a small fortune on myself. 10,000 for the lap band, 10,000 to have it removed and get sleeved, and now 5,000 for my face lift. Thank goodness I am all done with all of this. I am done spending my kids' inheritance! :tongue2: :biggrin2:

Thanks! Since i never post pictures, I guess I'll never get any points that way. Not that it matters. At 2 1/2 years post op, I don't have a lot to post about, but I do love to help if anyone is struggling!

What is with these reputation points? I see the box over there showing who has the most points, but I don't get where these points even come from. I don't see anywhere on here where points are given.