educationrulz

Please don't take this as criticism, but if you don't want to take medications that are medically necessary, like PPIs and antidepressants, then why would you want to take something that's NOT medically necessary like an appetite suppressant? I too am struggling with cravings lately - but I know it's not real hunger 99% of the time. As someone who tried plenty of weight loss drugs before surgery, I just can't see putting that in my body after doing something as drastic as WLS. I'm SLOWLY getting myself back on track and it's taking me one day at a time. You can get your head back in the game without the drugs. One thing that helps me is to increase my Protein supplements. The more Protein drinks I get the less unhealthy food I take in. Increasing your protein might help balance out some of the carbs you're taking in until you can gradually decrease them. Good Luck - to both of us!

If you had a hernia repaired during surgery, that's the most llikely suspect. Mine was a surprise addition to my sleeve surgery and it hurt like HECK! It took several weeks for that pain to subside totally. If you didn't have a hernia repair the other two possibilities are acid reflux or pain from general swelling that occurs postop. If it's swelling, it will probably subside very soon. If it's reflux, you're going to be suffering. I would definitely keep trying to contact the docs office to find out what they would want you to take for reflux. (Seems odd that there's no one on call even if they're on vacation.) My reflux still hurts like crazy when I try to wean myself from the Prevacid. I won't be doing that again for a while. If they gave you something for acid in the hospital and you're not still taking it, you could try that until you get in touch with someone.

I totally know what you mean. I have lost about 70 pounds but am in no way seeing myself in the mirror as I really look. If it were not for my clothes size dropping drastically and positive feedback from friends and one close friend in particular, I might be questioning if this is even working. But, I keep telling myself that I have no choice but to deal with the positive changes and accept my new self. Not that I don't want to. As you said, when you've been one way all your life, it's unimaginable to see yourself differently. I look in the mirror and I can KIND OF see the change in myself but not really - you know what I mean? Every now and then I'll catch a glimpse of a body part at a certain angle or something and I can clearly see the change. But it's hard to see the overall change. I still struggle with accepting general compliments about my weight loss and positive attention from men. How wierd! But, I survived this surgery and the initial postop difficulties, so I've decided that the rest will fall into place. I think by the time I reach goal, I'll be much more aware of and accepting of the new me. An important part of this is to maintain contact with the people who provide encouragement post op and to decrease contact with the haters and negativity mongers - even if they're family members. This kind of interaction can make you doubt yourself even in the face of obvious weight loss. Who needs that?!!

I got my money within a week for both claims. But that's always been my experience with AFLAC. Can't beat it...

I have also received some followup calls from the UHC Nurse. They had told me they would do that and I thought it was going to be a pain, but it ended up being a nice conversation both times. They were giving me a lot of info that I already had because I had done so much research, but it's a great policy because some people don't do as much research and may need more post op support and followup. They asked a lot of questions about my post op habits and reminded me that I needed to get my labs done. That was something I hadn't thought much about. Our conversations also triggered me to stay on track with some things like water/fluid intake and excercise. I know they are doing their job but it's a nice touch and good business also.

Is this available at GNC or Vitamin Shoppe?

Where's Jay Robb? His stuff is great and it's whey protein isolate. I especially love the tropical dreamsicle flavor. I mix mine with part water/milk or part water/OJ. Sometimes I do OJ with water and milk. I just use the part water to help disolve the powder a little before I add the milk or OJ. I usually let it sit over night in the fridge so the powder is totally disolved. It's yummy! You can also get chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and pina colada. Vitamin Shoppe sells the single serve packets that you can try out to see if you like it. I'm sure GNC has them too. It has 25 gm protein per serving, 1 gm carbs and 0gm sugar, and is made with Stevia.

This is a goal I definitely want to achieve. I guess I'd better find a boyfriend now. Congrats!

I did notice some change in my hair (wierd textrure) the first few weeks and some skin dryness, but it settled down pretty quickly once I started on mushy/soft food. I don't recall it ever being chalky. I bet it does have to do with malabsorption that bypass/DS patients deal with. Your stylist probably has very few people who have had a sleeve, so most of what she's seeing are bypass and lapband patients. I would imagine the band folks probably look healthier because they're absorbing more nutrients. I've stumped alot of people with my surgery because they seem to be shocked about how healthy I look compared to their expectation of people with WLS. Since I refuse to tell anyone what kind of surgery I've had or any other details about my surgery, they don't know what to make of me. I'm still struggling with my daily Protein totals and monitoring my Fluid intake but I still feel and look healthy, so I guess my body is getting the maximum out of what I'm putting in. That's why I feel that this is perhaps the superior WLS for maintaining a healthy look and feel postop. BTW, I don't tell what kind of surgery I had because I think it will open the door to personal questions that I don't want to answer. I'm ok with people knowing that I had WLS, but that's it. My strategy is working because once I refuse to tell my surgery type, I get no further questions.

My surgeon's offcie suggested that I not spend a lot of money on vitamins. They said the store brands would be just as good as the expensive ones. I don't know how true that is but I've always bought store brands (usually Wal-Mart). I just make sure there's as much iron as possible in the multi. The one I'm taking now is the store version of Centrum. Not long after I started taking the chewables I knew I would need to transition to the regular version. I didn't like the chewable taste and wasn't interested in the gummy versions. So, when my stomach could handle it and the doctor cleared me, I started swallowing them. The first few times they made me really nauseous. But I got used to them and now they don't bother me at all. I make sure I take them right after a meal as recommended. I know that my iron level is fine but I still need to get the results of the other blood work I had done. I guess it's ok since no one called me from the doc's office with abmormal results. The citrical petites are a good option for calcium and you can take them without eating if need be.

The Protein thing is definitely trial and error. For a while after surgery, I couldn't even taste any of them it was so disgusting. I ordered the unjury unflavored powder samples and the smell coming out of the packet was overwhelming - for me anyway. The taste was just as bad. That was totally unexpected! Other people don't smell or taste it. I finally settled on the Jay Robb powders and the Isopure RTD fruity drinks. I was gradually able to tolerate some of the other RTD shake type drinks, but never to the degree I could before surgery. I sucked the Atkins shakes down for my low carb preop diet but they made me puke post op. Focus on buying samples and trying individual servings until you find what works. Go into Vitamin Shoppe or GNC and buy a few things at a time. Don't buy any big containers of anything until you're sure. DON'T GIVE UP ON THIS! You will need your protein supplements for a while.

I agree with Deb. It may be rough at first but you'll be back to normal soon. I woke up feeling like I had been run over by an 18 wheeler. But it gradually got better. Now, life is great! Enjoy your new life and let us know how you're doing when you're able to.

Hey Breezy! Congratulations on being so close to goal! It's funny how it seems to take a while for us to get to goal as the pounds come off but when you periodically look back every couple of months or so, you realize that you're constantly progressing toward goal. It's been an interesting journey. I've been a little complacent lately and need to kick it back into gear. But my sleeve isn't letting me get too out of hand, thank goodness. This little caveat totally validates me getting this done in the first place. I NEED the help. I'm looking forward to getting within 30 pounds of goal. I can hear the excitement in your voice when reading about you getting close to goal and it's encouraging to those of us who have a little further to go. Keep up the great work!

I'm surprised you're having a problem with jeans since 90% of the ones I've tried seem to have way too much room in the waist. As far as jeans and pants go, I have had a lot of luck with the JCPenney brands. Worthington for pants and St. John's bay for jeans and cords. My stomach/abdomen has been a problem area for me since my pregnancy and Csection, but my waist is a little smaller in the back so pants tend to gap on me a slight bit in the back. That extra room in the waist may work well for you. But I still think these brands would fit a variety of body types. I tried some of the custom type jeans from Lane Bryant years ago, with the different waist to hip ratios, but still struggled to find the right fit. But, there might be something there that works for you. I've also had a lot of luck lately with the George brand of dress pants at WalMart. These tend to work very well for me in the waist so they may not work as well for you if you need more room in the waist. But, at 16 bucks a pair for the dress pants, I'd say it's worth a try. I just went down to a smaller size but I'm going to take Lil Diva's suggestion and get a belt since the George pants have loops and I'll be able to wear my larger size a little longer. Overall, JCPenney Worthington pants are my go to piece of clothing. Once I am in a stable size, I can get a pair of those in any style and guarantee that they will fit right on my body. They always look nice and I can get away without ironing the dressier material ones if I take them right out of the dryer and hang them up immediately. I highly recommend Worthington pants to anyone needing nice slacks for work and socializing.

Kathy, you are right. Those preop pounds definitely do count. I include them when I mentally calculate my overall loss. I guess I decided to leave them off the ticker because I kind of think of my surgery date as a rebirth of sorts and I like to ticker track my weight loss based off my new stomach. I feel like such a new person and it's great.

I REFUSE to answer questions that I don't want to about my weight loss. I have chosen to tell people that I had WLS (depending upon the person and my mood) but I draw the line there. I don't answer ANY questions about my surgery - not what kind of surgery I had, or anything. I have found that once I refuse (with a big, congenial smile on my face) to tell what kind of surgery I had, all questions stop there. It was the best decision I ever made. Now, I have no guilt about misleading people, and I don't have to answer a bunch of personal questions that make me uncomfortable. I am finding that it's getting easier and easier to tell people that I'm not disclosing my type of surgery and that I won't be discussing it. I think it's very important that we not let people bully us into talkiing about things we don't want to. It's not only a cause for stress, it also gives them ammunition to use against us when it suits their purpose - like if they want to make an example out of us. We have to hold firm with what we are comfortable disclosing and keep the rest under wraps. I had planned to share my type of surgery with people who are considering WLS but I have since reconsidered that decision somewhat. I am concerned about someone choosing the sleeve because of my success and appearance of good health and then not having a good experience themselves. I would feel awful! I think it's important for people to do the research and choose the surgery they think is best for them. But, I may reconsider that on a case by case basis - like if I run across someone set on getting the band. You guys have educated me on that one!

Up your protein and your stall will probably break quickly. That's what got me out of my three week stall. I don't say that lightly because I continue to have to work hard at getting in protein. I FINALLY found two protein supplements that I can tolerate on a regular basis (Jay Robb whey protein powder and Isopure ready to drink clear whey protein drinks). If it wasn't for those, I'd be getting about 15 gm a day. I still can't eat enough to get in a decent amount. In addition to the protein being good for your body, it also has a way of squeezing out room for the non-protein foods you might otherwise eat. Now that I can eat anything I want, I am finding myself straying from pure protein foods, like meat. Even something as simple as choosing green beans or sweet potatoes interferes with the amount of protein you can eat. I choose to eat side dishes here and there to keep my diet more interesting, so the supplements are a must for me.

Your surgeon has to have another doc taking his calls while he's on vacation. Call back and request an appointment with whoever is on call. I think you should get this checked out asap. If they won't see you, schedule an appointment with your regular doc.

I got $1000 from Aflac for my sleeve surgery. Two days for hospital and $500 for the actual procedure under my hospitalization policy. It was a great postop bonus! I submitted the bill from the hospital for the first part and had to get a copy of the OR report from medical records to verify the surgical procedure. I'm not sure about the difference between the $750 you saw and the $500 I got. I had no idea how much they would pay for the procedure and had estimated to receive $250, so the $500 was a nice surprise. I don't know about the short term disability because I don't have that AFLAC policy. Good luck!

Well, I had to finally get over my heebie jeebies about buying stuff from Goodwill. I refused to do it first but now that I am down about 3 and 1/2 sizes since surgery, it is just too expensive to have enough nice clothes for work and some casual stuff for weekends at regular prices. I have been doing outlet stores and clearance racks but haven't been able to beat what I've found at Goodwill. I'm EXTREMELY picky about what I will buy there, especially with the pants. I inspect them very closely for wear and tear and only buy them if there is no wear and tear, especially in the crotch area. Most of the ones I bought recently look like they've never been worn. Since I have many nice items in my closet and clothes storage that have never been worn, it doesn't surprise me to find unused clothes at Goodwill. You do have to have a lot of patience to shop at Goodwill, which I don't usually have but the issue of expense has forced me to take more time to look for cheap clothes. I just got 4 pairs of pants and a nice shirt that I can wear to work for about $25. You can't beat that with a stick. When I got home, I washed everything in hot water and plan to enjoy the new purchases. I still can't find everything I need there so I do need to branch out to Marshalls other similar places.

Well, I think you have to tell your kids. If something happened (God forbid) and they didn't know beforehand, that would be awful. Now, as for when you tell them. That's a whole other story. Let's say you call them on your way to the hospital and tell them you're on your way to have surgery. Even if they get the info to your ex in time for him to start calling you before you go under, you can simply not answer the phone. Or, talk to them and tell them you're turning your cell off. If they want and are able to come be with you after surgery, great. If the ex calls after surgery and gives you hell - oh well. Too late now! HAHA! Once the deed is done, nothing negative that people say will interfere with your surgery. It's just talk at that point. My M.O. was that I only told my sister before surgery. She blabbed to my mom but it ended up not being as bad as I thought. No one else knew until after surgery. That worked out GREAT! As for your coworkers, tell them AFTERWARD or don't tell them. Do what's comfortable for you. You can claim to be trying every diet under the sun as you progress through the post op diet. They'll see how extremely differently you're eating and that you're losing weight. What reason would they have to question you further? If the nosey coworker pushes it, show her a book or something from the web about high Protein diets. That's how you'll be eating so it's not a far stretch from the truth. I've chosen to tell people I had surgery (when the mood strikes me) but to not give details. I haven't told anyone what kind of surgery I had except my sister, one close friend, and a lady who would benefit from the surgery. I don't want people at work talking behind my back about what my insides look like, etc. All they know is that I had surgery. It always amazes me when people try to push me into telling them what kind of surgery I had. It is so pushy. But I don't give in and I think this forces them to respect my privacy about other aspects of the surgery. They know that I have no intention of discussing the gory details. Bottom line, do what works for you but don't let any of it keep you from getting your surgery.

As mentioned earlier, this is going to be a very personal issue. Everyone heals differently. I thought I would bounce back quickly as I normally do from surgery, but that was not the case with the sleeve. My hernia repair was a big issue for me, but overall my body took a long time to "get right". I didn't begin to feel like I might ever be normal again until 4 weeks out. I wasn't ready to go back to work until 6 weeks out. Luckily I was on summer vacation during that time. But, many people on the forum went back to work a week or two later with no big issues. Having said all that, I think it's very possible that even if you're not feeling great on the day of the interview, you could fake your way through it. I was on soft foods by this point but didn't have much of an appetite. Since you probably don't want to announce to people that you're out of sorts because of WLS, plan to plead a stomach virus or something similar. This will excuse you from eating like everyone else and allow you to eat Soup or sip all day. No one would think anything about it. It would also explain any appearance of fatigue on your part. Hopefully you will be able to showcase your experience during the day without having to be super energetic. I agree with you that there will likely be things in the future that will interfere with you having surgery - especially the birth of a child. If you're ready to do it now, you should move forward and not let the possibility of not being up for the interview delay your surgery. This surgery will be a huge positive change in your life that will have far reaching effects. It will benefit you far more than one interview could ever do. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

I still can't eat enough volume of food on a regular basis to get my protein in every day. I have to rely on the protein shakes and drinks for now. I wish I liked cottage cheese, but it's just gross to me.

Yummers!! Cake batter!! Good thing I don't like to bake...

Be sure to ask when you schedule your next followup if the doc will be in that day. If he won't, pick another date when he will be in the office. My first postop visit was on a day when the doc was out of the office, but no one told me that when I scheduled. Maybe he had an emergency or something but that was a time when I really needed to see him, so I wasn't happy about it. Now that I'm farther out, it's not such a big deal. I always call when a question comes up, so I don't necessarily have anything specific to address on my appointment dates. I actually spend more time talking to the nurse than I do to him because she's easier to talk to. He did a great job on my stomach, so I'm pleased with that.