bugwitch

You'll be fine. No one, and I mean NO ONE, wakes up in the recovery room and think to themselves...this feels lovely!

I've never used those 5hr energy things (or any energy drink). I imagine you would have similar withdrawal symptoms, but I cannot be sure. I just know that those things (red bulls, etc) are horrible for our bodies. So was that mocha (non-fat, no whip) I had though....oh well. You're going to be nervous and guess what...you'll continue to be nervous up to that moment you wake up from surgery and realize having surgery sucks cause it hurts like a sonofabytch. And you'll question yourself and your decision when that pain is gone, but when you are only down ten pounds, twenty pounds, thirty pounds. But, once you pass "that" point (it's gonna be different for each of us; for me it was 250 and then 230) you'll finally begin to accept this as the most amazing and best decision you ever made. Sorry, I'm not good at fluffy talk. I tell it like it is. Surgery sucks. Not eating our favorite foods sucks. But heart disease, diabetes and premature death suck a bit more.

Don't go overboard with your "last meal's". I'm not talking about the night before...I'm talking about the weeks leading up to it. After all, these are not really your "last meals". They are (or should be) the last opportunities for you to gorge yourself...which we shouldn't be doing anyway. Quit coffee/caffeinated beverages a week to two weeks prior to surgery. This helps prevent withdrawal symptoms from occurring during your recovery period. Do not judge your weight loss success against anybody but yourself. Some lose quickly, some lose slowly. It has a lot to do with how much you need to lose (i.e. someone who has 200+ pounds to lose will drop the first batch more quickly than someone who has 100 or less to lose). Also, our individual genetic makeup will dictate how fast we lose. If you only lose 5lbs a month, good for you! Were you doing that before the surgery? Probably not. Take your successes where you get them. Be honest with yourself. Why are you eating that? Hungry? Bored? Depressed? It just tastes so damn good? I didn't do the counseling stuff because I was self pay and had a pretty good handle on what I needed to do, I just had trouble doing it. I think, for many, the counseling is ESSENTIAL and should be taken seriously. And finally, RELAX! You'll be fine. Remember, slow down, not just eating, but slow down your mind and what you're doing in your life in general. It's not a race and there's no finish line. Take your life and your weight loss journey in stride and at a comfortable pace.

There's this thing that has a tube with a mouthpiece, attached to a plastic device with three chambers in it. Each chamber has a ball. You inhale and the balls go up. The goal is to work up to being able to do all three. This measures you lung capacity and helps keep you breathing deep breaths and replenish your strength as well as keeps your Oxygen levels up.

10 days Clear liquids (broth, tea, Water, etc) 10 days full liquids (above, plus Soups mostly) 10 days (I think) soft foods (above plus: mashed potatoes [bad idea], thicker soups, puree'd items and smoothies) After the last ten days I worked my way up to "normal" foods, though it took time to make it to some things. I am also a vegetarian, so you will have more options than I did (i.e. tuna during soft stage, etc). Go check out the Mexico Surgery forum. The first topic is Dr. Aceves info. It should contain a lot of the diet information he advises. Each doctor is different, but, after doing a lot of reading in the primary literature (stuff actual doctors write in peer reviewed journals), I would not recommend following a diet suggested by a doctor which has you eating any soft (or even full/normal foods) earlier than 14 days for soft and 20 for others. Basically, you start clear and work your way up from there. If you have trouble with a particular stage or type of food, go back a step for a day or two and start again with something after that with something else. For example, I tried scrambled eggs early in the soft food section. That didn't sit well. I did not throw up, but I definitely did not have a happy tummy. So, the rest of that day I just had fluids to give my system time to recover. Next day, I had some instant oatmeal and that went down fine. If I had tried the oatmeal later that day, it probably would not have settled well. I hope that helps. Keep em coming.

Pretty fine. I had pneumonia for a few weeks post surgery (got exposed to crap on my trip back home) but since then everything has been fine. I find some foods are processed and settle better than others. Really rich and/or sweet things make me sick now. Go figure.

Pneumonia is not uncommon, but it is not common either. As as you have access to antibiotics you should be fine. It is definitely nothing to play around with. If you start to get sick, get yourself to a doctor! Yes, I believe it was simply from the traveling. When you compromise your body's defenses (i.e. have surgery) your immune system is thrown out of whack and is gonna be working hard to fix what you just did to it (i.e. removing part of a vital organ). This opens up your body to opportunistic infections caused by all sorts of stuff, such as fungi, bacteria and viruses. Airports and airplanes are some of the most germ filled, nasty places you can find. Almost as bad as a college campus when all of the freshmen come back from christmas break. For information on Pneumonia: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001200/ It is possible that I became exposed while in the hospital, after all...it's a hospital. People do not typically go to them when they are healthy right? I also believe it was partly my fault for not using my breathing thingy-ma-bobber like I was supposed to. I misinterpreted the instructions and wasn't doing it enough. Be sure to do your breathing exercises at least 10 times per hour. Not ten time per day. oops.

I flew back to Ohio from San Diego (Dr. Aceves in Mexicali). I slept for a good portion of the trip, if not most of it. I wasn't in any real pain, just uncomfortable. My tube hole was leaking so I was kind of nervous about that, but it had slowed down by that point. That flight was the first and ONLY time I have ever had to use one of the seat belt extenders on the airplane. Use that if you need it. One thing I would recommend is to have a face mask on for your trip home. You just had surgery, your immune system and bodily responses are therefore comprimised and you are going to be exposing yourself to some of the nastiest places around, airplanes and airports. Tons of germs, bacteria and viruses. I got exposed to something and developed mild-moderate pneumonia after surgery. If I had used a mask, I bet I would have been completely fine I think. And dress comfy. Who cares if you don't look your "best" while you're flying back. You're gonna feel bloated, exhausted, sore and just downright icky. Plus, you're never going to see these other people on the plane/airport ever again.

Hey there. I had my sleeve done in March and currently live in Columbus. Feel free to message me if you want to chat.

I'm a bit late getting here, but I'll get in on this. SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal LilMissDiva.....293...............213.8.............199...........14.8

Don't worry about your actual quota's at first. Just shoot for the best you can do. You really shouldn't be able to drink that much, with all the swelling and everything. After a month or so, you should be getting there. I think the 64oz goals is for when you've passed through all of the different stages and reached your final stage. Just always keep in mind the drinking as much water as you comfortably can until then.

Possibly dumb question....what is the difference between "grazing" and eating those 3-5 meals a day with snacks?

So, I have never liked having my picture taken. I only really like looking at myself while I'm performing, so I'm okay with pictures of me in costume or during a performance. The first picture here is of a performance May 2010 . I really didn't lose much if anything from that point. My surgery was March 2011. The second picture is of a more recent performance, June 2011. I've lost another ten pounds since then.

I had this realization yesterday of a major NSV. I had a date last night and I needed to shave beforehand. Well, it was much easier to shave certain places than before. Thank you sleeve!!!

I was sleeved back in March. I live in Columbus.

I have the Slim in 6 DVD's but have not used them in a while. I should put them back in. In the past, when I've stuck with them, I do tone up very well.

I'm glad this is being discussed. I've been pricing different procedures so I have an idea of what I might be looking at when I reach goal. I know that there will be a long scar. My plan had been to just get tattoo's to cover them. One arm I am planning on being a 1/2 - 3/4 sleeve anyway. The other arm wasn't going to have much in the way of tattoo's, but if I have a big scar, I might have to change that. It's similar for tattoos. One of the more painful tattoo locations is the underside of the arm. I cannot remember why (nerves, sensitivity, something like that).