Rootman

Calories ARE calories - but like MASS a ton of feathers is a whole bigger than a ton of lead. Sugary stuff has MORE calories so 1000 calories of donuts is a whole lot LESS food than 1000 calories of chicken. If you are at an appropriate weight and a body is not losing or gaining weight on a steady diet of 1000 calories and you are getting sufficient supplements, e.g. Vitamins and minerals and enough Protein then 1000 calories a day is what you need to live. For a short woman this is probably sufficient, me being 6' tall and male 1000 calories is probably not going to cut it. I will find out when I reach my weight goal. Not everyone needs more than 1000 calories, a smaller woman may not, a larger male will. It depends on your BMI and your bodies ability to process calories. Some people have amazingly efficient metabolisms and can actually GAIN on what is too few calories for someone else. We're all different. It will take some experimenting to find out how many calories you need to maintain once you've reached your goal.

Caloric intake is determined by more than height / weight. Activity and natural inclination are factors as well. The TPE of calories matter too, 1000 calories of mostly carbs is a lot less food than say 1000 calories of protein. Whatever caloric intake you settle on will be enough to maintain your weight without gaining or losing. If it's 1000 calories than that's what you need to take in, if it's 1500 then that's it.

Well, we are certainly not doctors or physiologists here but it sounds like to me that someone IS nuts - and I don't think it's you. If you are super obese, have 4 co-morbidities you list then by all means it WILL effect your personality and even your mind. It's not going to do you much good to be all perky and happy laying in a hospital dieing from a stroke bed or worse yet a casket. What is your BMI? Can you get a second opinion or ask for a appeal? I think if you are honest like you seem to be here they may wave the psych eval and move on. Check it out.

Quite often it is the OTHER way - diarrhea. Just goes to show how different was all are. Try the pepto, it is mild and pretty harmless. If it continues I'd advise seeing the Dr. again before trying something else.

I was desperate last fall and having all kinds of health issues. I quite suddenly decided to not even try to get insurance approved surgery but go ahead and move forward with the self pay option. Consequently I did not include my family doctor in my decision. I decided that it was finally time to go back to him - I was due for some blood tests anyway. I was nervous as I had never discussed WLS with him before. To put it bluntly he said that I "made his day!" He was so impressed and happy for me that I had finally done something serious about my weight. He said that had I asked him he would of suggested it and even go as far as suggest the VSG over a bypass type surgery. He said that he was happy and that after a tough day of listening to everyone's complaints he was so pleased to hear someone's good news. He was even impressed that I went self pay and could tell it was because of my determination to get things done FAST! He wished me luck and suggested some additional blood tests and wanted to see me in 3 months. I was worried he would be upset or criticize me. He was happy and so was I!

How noisy it was. Seems that everyone spoke at the top of their lungs no matter what time of day or night it was, this despite nearly every door having a SILENCIO POR FAVOR (Quiet Please) sign on it.. I should of brought ear plugs.

I too had the same issue, it seems like for a few weeks. It let up after a while. I still hiccup pretty hard when I get a little too full.

We all wish you the best! God speed!

What many presume is "gas pain" is not really gas at all, it IS however caused by the gas that is used to pump up your abdomen in order to get working room to do the surgery. Most all the gas was sucked back out and what little is lurking around inside is defused back into the blood and gone very quickly, within hours. What DOES happens is that the gas has irritated nerve segments that run through the abdomen, Quite often is is the nerve that runs up to the left shoulder or neck but may be nerves sympathetic to areas around the belly organs or chest. It's weird but a common side effect. I guess it didn't happen very often when they used to use oxygen as the inflation gas, but then a few patients caught on fire when electro cauteries were used in the oxy rich atmospheres, so they switched to CO2, the same stuff you breath out with every breath. So take it if you want but Gas-X and the like usually don't help much at all. Any true belly pain you feel is typically the swelling of the traumatized stomach. Getting up and walking around brings relief just because of the distraction and the exercise stretching out the muscles and the nerve groups that are carried within.

Been there done that, luckily (or not) I had surgery in Mexico and simply did not bring the CPAP machine. They asked about it but didn't pitch a fit and just left me alone. Didn't sleep worth a dang because by that time I was just the opposite, couldn't sleep WITHOUT it. After I've lost 100+ pounds I just could NOT get it to fit right, the shape of my face / head was so different. I had to put so much upward pressure on it the upper band cut right across the corner of my eye - bugged the hell out of me. For a while I would sleep with my hand on it and wake up with cramps every few hours. Recently I decided to go cold turkey and stop using it, I've dropped to a weight level that I probably don't have apnea any more. I really don't want the expense of another sleep studdy, the original I had ended up costing me like $800 in co-pay, deductible and out of network overages. PLUS the monthly co-pay for the CPAP "rental" for 12 months. These sleep doctors like to make the big $$$'s and they stay out of network so they can grab all the cash they can. I was seriously considering this mask : http://www.directhomemedical.com/masks-cpap-bipap/fitlife-fullface-cpap-mask-respironics-mylife.html or this one http://www.directhomemedical.com/masks-cpap-bipap/total-face-mask-cpap-bipap.html , they both look like something from Avatar The best solution I can suggest is to ask for a sleeping pill, the pain killers they give you should also help. Sleep away and let the air spray out where it wants.

The Miralax is almost a guarantee of NO gas, it's pretty benign, I suppose there is always the exceptions though.

The child plate idea is good, I personally eat most of my stuff out of a coffee mug, and while I can eat fast enough now to not need it - I would imagine one of those coffee mug warmers would help keep it toasty.

Mine too, that seemed to be the place I put on fat and the FIRST place I started to lose it. It was a huge collar around my neck and was starting to pinch some nerves as I hunched over because of it. Mostly gone - I actually have a neck now!

Congrats and good luck! You are starting down an exciting path!

Yes, I think it's 2 things. Your testosterone levels are effectively higher as there is less YOU to dilute the test. around in. Exercising (if you are) FURTHER raises the test. level. I think that our skin is also not a tight and the hairs might actually be bunched closer together too, which may make it appear that they are coarser. A high protein diet also may nourish it better, rather than one rampant in carbs like we used to eat.

Just be careful, YES it MIGHT trigger sugar cravings - IF your inclined to them. YES, carbonation will give you gas - which you will most likely just burp back up harmlessly. YES, caffeine is a diuretic which may cause a net LOSS of fluids as it flushes more liquid OUT then you take IN - but a little bit won't make you dehydrated. So folks, it's the old mantra - EVERYTHING IN MODERATION. A can of pop a week isn't going to hurt, a few cans a DAY just might. BTW, I didn't see a warning about sodas REAL problem. The typical soda is acidic and constant intake of acidic drinks can erode your tooth enamel. Again, moderation and brushing your teeth can mitigate that. So if you like it, won't get the sugar heebie jeebies from it and the carbonation doesn't hurt your tummy then enjoy a can or glass and go for it.

Sniff, sniff, smells a little like BS here. Yes, I suppose it is technically true but perhaps the truth is something a little different. YES, the stomach, even the little bit that's left with the sleeve can stretch, it IS made out of stretchy stuff for just that reason. In eons past man only ate once a day or several times a week perhaps, certainly not "3 squares a day" like we do now. The stomach would stretch and people would gorge themselves to carry them through. The sleeve will stretch but even if it did so 100% it will only go from a capacity of 4 oz to 8oz, not the old full stomach capacity of 30 oz to a whopping 50-60 oz. The amazing thing is that this stretchy stomach can retract back to its original shape pretty rapidly too. Yes, I suppose you should be careful and take the doctors word, but eating a few more forkfuls of food is not going to permanently stretch your sleeve back out to its original proportions. BTW, if your the average sleever eating that 1 or 2 forkfuls of food is going to make you wish you hadn't, your going to be miserable and feel like it's going to come back up - and it just might! We always advise caution here in this forum. You CAN fail the sleeve, by eating too much, too often and effectively "ruin" the benefit the sleeve provides. Because after all it's not the SLEEVE that loses the weight, it's YOU and your ability to restrict your diet with reduced caloric intake that's going to lose the weight. Sit around all day drinking sugary pop, eating ice cream and small candies, stuff that slides right through the sleeve and you might just GAIN weight. Just take it easy - like your doc said.

Yeah, fight it! I've never heard of a lower limit of 50, you are very, very dangerously obese at that level - I know because I was over 50 myself. I've heard of a limit of 40 but 50 is way, way too high of a requirement.

I think that MOST of us DON'T eat "enough" at first, it just goes with the territory of having 85% of your stomach taken out. It gets better and you'll be able to eat more after a month or so. We all have plenty of reserves to get through this initial phase. Just stick with it, as long as you are still losing, have enough energy and are satisfied you're eating enough.

You go girl! Men usually won't notice or say anything, by far the people who have noticed me and said something are mostly women. It takes like a massive drop for most guys to even notice, "What did you cut your hair or somthin'?"

I was pretty much the same way and it cleared up soon after maybe a month? I would take small sips, small bits and nurse everything along. I found that eating from a mug helped keep the foods exposure to the cool air room to a minimum and kept it warmer longer. Put a piece of tin foil over the top if you stop for any more than a few minutes. Of course you can nuke it again to warm it up. A DULL pain should that I described as VERY uncomfortable is probably normal. Of course if you are having sharp or stabbing pain see your doc or emergency room ASAP. It gets better as the stomach heals. You will STILL get a lot of discomfort and downright pain when you eat too much still, like eating a complete Thanksgiving dinner and then some, but this time it's only a few ounces.

You ARE doing great! You are headed in the right direction and succeeding at this by anyones definition of success. You are far closer to your goal than I am. You WILL do it!

A few things spring to mind, one of them was already brought up. We have a tendency to revolve our social lives around meals, and your friends may want to "help" you by not tempting you with food, and therefore not want to socialize with you. In the same vein, maybe they don't think you would want to go and tempt yourself by going out to eat? Perhaps your friends are jealous? Are they typically overweight and feeling you are leaving them behind? Are you sure you're not over reacting? Fat has a tendency to store away hormones, which are then re-released when the fat is burned up and lost. Could it be you are just being a tad over sensitive and people are just busy and not doing much socially. I'm a guy and have been a basket case emotionally recently. I watch a sad TV program or some and start bawling like a baby. Are your friends resentful? Maybe you didn't tell them about the surgery beforehand? Maybe ALL these points are wrong, just food for thought.

Your surgeon seems to also have a difference opinion as to when leaks occur, the opinions that I've heard is that the FIRST few days are when they are likely to happen.

I would say #4, then #3, then #1, then #2. We all seem to know someone who went in for a routine surgery and came out nearly losing their life or limb. My bro went in for bunion surgery - the same thing my wife and I both had without an issues - and nearly dies due to MRSA bacterial infection. He was in the ICU on IV antibiotics for days before they got it under control, they feared it would effect their heart. Someone I know knew someone who died from complication from wisdom tooth extraction, got infected, threw a clot and bam! Stroked out. It DOES happen, just trust the Lord will protect you, choose a competent Dr and try and get as healthy and strong as you can before you go under the knife.