Rootman

Well 2 guys who worked at the site where I had mine done both said they went hog wild the EVENING before their surgery and they lived to tell about it. Nachos, buffalo wings and tequila shots, YIKES! They said they got real sick but didn't define it exactly and I was reluctant to listen to the gory details as my own post-op tummy wasn't up to hearing about it. I would be very concerned about post-op constipation too, having your gut packed with waste when anesthesia sometimes hangs up the colon might be pretty painful. Whatever you do fess up to it and take the consequences. Better safe than sorry. BTW: I was on liquid diet for 10 days, just wanted to make it as easy as possible and wanted to jump start the weight loss.

Yep same here at abut 8 months out, I get the burps and burp a few small burps in a row and it subsides, there are times when I can't talk till I get the gas out. It doesn't happen very often and seems to be more prevalent after a "big" meal that I ate too fast. Of course a BIG meal now is just one small portion.

I am nearing 8 months out and am just about at 150 pounds LOST, that's one whole skinny person LOST! I too was anxious as things (not just diets) typically just don't go right for me, I must be a real schlep . Post-op I was not hungry EVER for 6 months and then after 6 months I have a real genuine mild hunger just before SOME meal times, especially if I've worked out or done a lot of physical labor. Now this is a little signal my tummy send me saying "Don't you think it's about time to eat?" not that BIG signal it used to send me "FEED ME . . . NOW!" Pre-op I used to NEVER be full and ALWAYS had room for a little more. Pre-op I can remember just a handful of times when I was uncomfortably full, and that was after MASSIVE meals. I get full now after just a small portion. I wrote all the above to say this - if it worked for me - Mr. Eat-Non-Stop and ANY reason is a Good Reason to eat, then it WILL work for you. Now ther HAVE been failures and there always WILL be. As long as man has a will then he can use that will to subvert ANYTHING - including having %80+ of his stomach removed. If you eat constantly post-op and eat too much of the wrong things then you WILL subvert the sleeve and not lose or even gain, but this tool is pretty darned effective of curbing the amount as well as the desire of food. No one can say for certain but the odds are MASSIVELY in your favor, a whole hell of a lot better than ANY odds in Vegas.

Well if you're in the USA any drug store or department store (Walmart) should have it. You can buy online too but if you're not in the USA it may be dicey. http://shop.emergenc...CFZBU7Aod-F5JzQ It also has a lot of B12 in it too so a separate B12 may not be necessary.

I suppose they do but I would disregard them, you aren't going to get fat off vitamins, and the 120 or so calories extra is NOT going to sabotage your diet.

Another guy here, I held it in till just after the surgery then had a massive cry, you know one of those kids get and can't catch their breath? It's natural, your facing a veritable unknown, a MASSIVE change in lifestyle and the removal of something that's given you comfort ALL your life - FOOD It's natural to have a LOT and conflicting emotions about it. It's hit me a couple of times since then too, I suspect that the sudden and tremendous changes my body are going through have upset my body chemistry pretty severely.

I for one would NOT have a plastic gizmo (band) floating around in my gut for love nor money. That and the cost of upkeep, did they tell you it's $200+ each time you get a saline fill / removal to expand or shrink the band? YES, the sleeve is more invasive and perhaps a tad riskier as there is actual removal of tissue. But you'll have to make up our mind and then stick with it. While it's nice that others support you ultimately the ONLY opinion that counts is YOURS.

One thing that has helped both the wife an I was to start drinking a EmergenC brand Vitamin C drink 3 times a week. It's no mystery, it's principally ascorbic acid which passes through to the urine one the body adsorbs what it needs, this acidifies the urine and makes it inhospitable to some infectious bacteria, and the increased Water helps increase the urine flow too. I mix mine with 12 ozs of water rather than the described 6, makes it easier on my tiny tummy.

I'm with Megin, chili NEEDS beans to be more than a thick "meat soup".

Occasionally I don't eat a whole lot and exercise quite a bit - big change for me - and according to the caloric / exercise records I have been keeping I run up a negative caloric count. Like today I ate 994 calories and supposedly burned off 1505 with 90 minutes of swimming, 30 minutes on a stationary bike and 30 minutes of weight training. That says I not only burned off ALL the calories I ate today AND 511 calories more. I know the math but want to know if there is any consequences if I keep doing this. It isn't usually that high a deficit, typically 50 to 150 cals negative on 3 or 4 days a week is more typical. I know I should be eating a tad more but just can't seem to get any more down, don't desire any more and feel full when I do eat. So does anyone have any pearls of wisdom about this?

For the most part there is no decision involved, your stomach is pretty severely "injured" and you will most likely not WANT to eat. It also works out that you need more calories to maintain a heavier weight because it takes more energy to run and move a fat body than a thin one, therefore the limited calories you ARE consuming is more of a deficit that when you are thinner. You lose faster at first then later when you require fewer calories and can eat more due to the stomach healing.

Actually I did nothing the first 4 months and then started swimming 3 days a week and going to the gym 2 days a week on some weeks. In the last month I really started settling in on a swim routine and do 120 lengths of a 25 yard pool in 90 minutes. I am building muscle so I may be trading straight fat and weight loss for heavier muscle mass.

I eat a few saltine crackers and limit myself to a max of 3. Takes the edge off and helps me sleep. Not too high in calories.

Yes, at this stage of the game for you it will take an intolerable long time to partake. It gets better and at about 6 months out you will level out and be able to eat pretty much normally - that is a NEW normal not stuffing yourself the way we USED to eat.

Yes it is common but not universal issue with most sleevers. The stomach is reduced in size and the acid pumps are thereby reduced but the amount of acid that is produced by those remaining pumps can sometimes tend to produce too much for the small space and make the sloshing feeling we confuse with hunger.

Yes, eat at regularly scheduled times, monitor either by weight or measure you portions and keep the snacking, grazing and treats to a minimum. You DO tend to revert back to old bad habits when driven by such a strong basic instinct as hunger.

Sometimes what we have always perceived as "hunger" is actually acid churning in the stomach, you may need a PPI like Prilosec to calm it down. I know my tummy was incredibly noisy the first month or so out and it always made me thing "Gee I'm hungry" but I would stop and evaluate the actual sensations and realize I was NOT and was just using the old clue of "tummy rumbles" as a trigger to eat. I was actually NOT hungry and DID NOT want to eat, I was simply sliding back into an old BAD learned behavior.

Congrats Shanny! Woot! Woot!

Maybe, I think I still have a few left from a few years ago scar from cancer removal I have. Even the tape starts peeling on me too but the super sticky foam like stuff seems to stick for a while. I'll have to shave the area to keep ... OUCH! ... the ... OUCH! ... hairs from pulling out with the tape though!

Woot! Foxy chick alert !!!!! You look great!

There might be but considering how cheap and small Iron tablets are why bother? Just pick up a bottle of iron tablets for a few bucks and take both. ALSO: be sure you are NOT taking iron with either a multivalent with Calcium or with your calcium tablets if you take any, the two do not play well together and the iron actually inhibits the calcium uptake. I take the multi for Breakfast along with a calcium, an iron pill at lunch and another calcium at dinner. Take them at least 2 hours apart I've heard..

Nope, and the commercial ones are pretty much useless as well. Some swear by vitamin E, others use the silicone bandages which help if you can keep them on, I have oily skin so they end up coming off in a few hours.

There is no best and what seems to really matter is the taste - which varies widly and suits each person. Give on or the other a try and pick one you can stomach and stick wit it.

Congrats! Yep, nothing like being at home, soooo much more comfy.

10 minutes sounds a little long but then again I never timed it and just sucked on it till it was gone. I started out with a daily tablet and when I had my blood panel the B12 was high - pretty harmless as B12 is Water soluble and simply flout with the urine, so the doc had me go every third day. I switched over to EmergenC drink, which also has B12 in it. I was having issues with kidney stones and needed the Vitamin C to keep my urine acidic and keep the stones at bay. I take the drink with twice the water, 12 ozs as compared to 6 ozs so as not to hit my tiny stomach with that much concentrated acid. When you have a blood panel done they should measure the level, till then just stick with what the doc says, after all the vitamin people just want you to buy more stuff, the doc just wants you to get the proper amount.