Oregondaisy

I got mine at Walmart. It's not a magic bullet but it looks just like one. I would be lost without it. I use it every day.

is this type of surgery even covered by your insurance?

That's what I need. I need those blinders that they put on horses so they can't see anything beside them. I also need to stay out of the grocery store.

Eating with the sleeve is nothing like eating with the band. The sleeve works like the band is supposed to. I can eat anything I want, only just a little bit of it. There are no foods that get stuck. There are some people who are taking longer to heal, and are having trouble and having to eat really slowly, and sip really slowly . That has never been the case with me. Even in the hospital, I could drink whatever they brought me, and I had to force myself to go slowly. When You feel full, you feel like your stomach is full from just a few bites. It's not in your chest.

I've been taking Biotin and I took it for a year after lap band surgery. I quit taking it because it didn't seem to help. I started taking it again a couple of months before my sleeve surgery and my hair still started falling out. I am afraid for the 4th month because that's when it's supposed to start falling out the most. Mine fell out from the 4th month until at least year or more post band surgery. That's why I started the nioxin products before sleeve surgery. I am doing everything possible to not lose anymore hair. I lost half my hair from banding and it's still not recovered.

The sleeve does take away all the hunger. I am never hungry. I eat by the clock. I eat when I get up, I eat at 12 noon and I eat at 5pm or later if I am going to dinner with friends. I am really glad I got a revision to a sleeve. I always felt guilty with the band that I was doing something wrong. I could not tell if I needed a fill, or if I was supposed to be able to work with the fill I had. When that decision was taken away from me by my dr. because of vomiting in my sleep, I am glad the sleeve was available because it's been the very best I have felt in years. It's so easy to maintain without effort.

I'm glad to hear she is doing well Judy. I hope she recovers quickly and you get to have your surgery sooner rather than later.

LBT chat is working. There wasn't anyone in the sleeve chat room.

I have pretty much decided to make my house a rental for snow birds. That way it would be available to my kids and me in the summer. We don't mind the heat because it's freezing cold here. I can rent it for one winter and make enough to pay all the expenses for the house and put some aside for future repairs. Oh I have a fb page now. I gave up myspace cause my dd wants to post the pictures of the grand kiddies on fb. I have a real estate agent helping me and he thinks I can rent it for 1700 a month. That seems a little steep to me, and if I could find some responsible renters who would take really good care of things, I would be willing to give them a break on the rent.

I just checked and chat seems to be working. Anyone want to chat tonight? I'll check back later.

Clears will be gone before you know it. Then it's onward to yogurt, drinkable yogurt, delicious Protein drinks, Soups. Egg drop soup was my favorite.

I used GNC unflavored protein powder. I didn't find it changed the taste of anything i put it in. I put it in soy slender. It's in a carton not the fridge. I also love peanut butter/chocolate why gourmet that you order from Netrition.com - The Internet's Premier Nutrition Superstore!. There are many soups you can put in a blender. I used the low sodium cream of chicken. There are a lot of things you can try once you move to full liquids.

Add me to the list. I had no band problems for 2 years. The first 2 years were great. I lost weight and I was happy. Then the complications started in, and I knew they would just keep coming. I revised to the sleeve because I knew I would just gain the weight back and I could not be happier.

I've been using the nioxin products- shampoo, scalp conditioner, and conditioner, It seems to be helping.

Thank goodness I had no trouble tolerating the liquid protein drinks. I really liked them and that made recovery so much easier.

Thanks Susan. I would imagine they are really unhappy at LBT. That chatroom is always really full!

I haven't tried to get into the chat room lately. My laptop isn't working right now because my internet provider was having some sort of problem. They aren't coming to fix it until Friday. I am at my DD at the moment! I have gotten too used to chatting and not having to sit at my desk in the wrong room. I hardly use that computer anymore.

I'd trade for a few warm days. It's always in the 60's here on the Oregon coast. Welcome Steve! You have come to the right place!

I am loving my sleeve. It's so much easier to live with than the band. We all still have to make good food choices, but that is one of the things I find easier with the sleeve. Good food choices, in small portions!

You should email nina and she will email you back a nice explanatory email telling you everything you need to know. It has what to bring to the hospital, what to buy to have on hand afterward, etc.

That's great Susan. I am happy for you. I haven't lost much from surgery because I was quick to get sleeved as soon as I started gaining. That never happens to me because of that. I know how good it feels though when people do notice, and I am happy for you that you got that NSV today!

Mini bypass is a different surgery that most surgeons won't do. The vertical sleeve is sometimes the first step to a duodenal switch, although a lot of people get great weight loss with just the sleeve and don't get the DO

Welcome Manatee. Mac gave you some good links. Just think, with the sleeve, you never have to worry about another fill or unfil, being too tight or too loose. You just have a small stomach that works like a band is supposed to.

Get your vit. D level checked. There is a link under the Vitamin section of the board. If you have low vit D. it caues sugar cravings. I just got mine back. I have been taking extra since I found that out and mine is still low. I have to take even more. Besides that, stick to no snacking in between meals. When I force myself to do that, I do so much better.

Some of my fellow sleeve sisters know I have been dealing with a great amount of stress due to my 90 year old father falling down shortly after his 90th birthday in April. He broke his pelvis at that time and was sent to a nursing home to recover. In that time, the nursing home lost his teeth and he lost 20 lbs in a little over a month. They were supposed to be watching him and taking him outside to smoke. Unfortunately, nursing homes being short staffed as they usually are, he tried to go outside to smoke by himself, flipped over in his wheelchair and broke his hip. He had surgery but the pain and suffering was too great and he died last friday. Then to top it off, the airlines would not give me a credit when I called to tell them that I could not make my flight because my dad was dying. They said I called too late to cancel my flight. I couldn't do it online, and every time I tried to call, I had to hang up after being on hold for over a half an hour. I finally had to have his doctor fax them a letter explaining why I could not drop everything and run off to the airport. I just called to book reservations for my daughter and me to fly home this weekend, and was told I still don't have a credit because this is "under investigation" The only good thing about all of this is my sleeve. I forget to eat because I am not hungry. Normally, I would be eating junk food like crazy because that is what I do when I am stressed out. My brother took my kids, their spouses and me out to a fabulous Greek restaurant (I am Greek and love Greek food) but I really was not interested in eating. It was amusing to me to watch everyone else eat and not feel like I was missing out by just having Soup. Okay that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I hope this is permanent and food is no longer an obsession for me!