M2G

That is exciting. I would keep putting off plastics a little longer, lady! You rocked your sleeve during weight loss and are kicking a$$ at maintenance, woo hoo!

Ouch! Doug, that sounds awful. Can you get a hold of your dr. asap? I don't think that sounds normal (or fun!) I hope you are ok. My NUT's advice during mushies was only to replace one or two shakes a day with a new food, and only introduce one new food a day. My mushy list was REALLY small. It was refried Beans, cottage cheese, yogurt (I always do greek for 2x the protein), egg beaters (NOT real eggs yet) and SugarFree pudding (that you can add Protein Powder to for more protein.) I did those 5 foods for two weeks, before moving on. Keep us posted...

I am not sure, but here is my thinking. Bread at almost 4 weeks out was NOT on my plan. Therefore I wouldn't eat it. In my opinion you are not far enough out yet...sorry if that wasn't the answer you were looking for!

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I agree with Julie...the mini goals that we set (and are sometimes emotionally tied to) are the BEST by far!!!

WOO HOO!!!! I am so happy for you!

I'm going for a healthy BMI, and my goal weight was set by my surgeon. I haven't weighed my goal weight since I was probably 15 years old. But now that I believe in the sleeve I do think it is attainable. Might take a while, but I'm determined to get there. I didn't go under the knife to still be obese. I might be happy with "overweight" but I really do want that healthy BMI.

Woo hoo! :thumb:

Yep! I stalled at the 3 week mark too (for about 10 days.) I've also noticed a trend around the 3 month mark here where a lot of us have had a BIG stall (22 days.) So just be prepared. Even though will all *know* they will happen, and that they are mostly unavoidable, they still suck.

Fingers crossed that she recommends you as a candidate. I am so thankful that I wasn't required (by insur. or my surgeon) to lose any weight on my own. If I could do that, be successful and keep it off would I be looking at surgery? Aargh!

Self-pay means you only have to satisfy one person's requirements: Your Surgeon And I think a lot of good surgeons require a lot (labs, pulmonary, cardiac, psych eval, etc.) because a good surgeon won't operate on just anyone.

Ask specifically what your insurance requires. I had a very long phone visit with my Nurse Case Manager before I started down the path of the 6 month required weight-monitoring. I asked her specifically "do I need to lose weight" and the answer was "no" BUT (with insurance there is always a catch!) my approval would be based on the weight that was collected at the END of my 6 month visit. Since I had no co-morbidities, I could not have a BMI lower than 40.0 or I would be denied. (I really wasn't at risk of going too low as my BMI was 44) but I was double lucky that my surgeon didn't require me to lose any weight before the surgery. So I did my 6 consecutive months of weigh-ins and while I wasn't losing weight, I was preparing myself for surgery. The mental aspect, lowering my carbs, trying different Protein shakes, learning to not drink when eating, etc. It can be a tricky balancing act, doing what your insurance requires and also what your surgeon recommends. I didn't want to be a self-pay so I played along and followed all the rules to get approved. Good luck!

My dr. is very much against protein shakes past the 6 week mark. I still use them a couple of times a month, just when I'm running out the door and don't have time for a proper meal. I do get 60-90 grams of protein strictly from food. I use greek yogurt, lots of tuna, chicken, steak, egg beaters, etc. I eat about every 2-3 hours just to fit it all in, even though I'm not hungry, but it's the only way I can get the required amt of protein in one day.

I can't help you with the sour stomach (but from reading others experiences, I think it is normal and can be controlled with a PPI), but I can answer the fuzzy teeth thing. OMG. I hated that. It is a mixture of being in ketosis (your body burning fat) and doing protein shakes, and IT WILL IMPROVE. When your diet becomes more varied, it will gradually disappear. I found that breath mints were my new friends that traveled with me everywhere.

Welcome! First, do you get enough Protein post-op to retain muscle? Yes, that is the goal is to burn fat, and not muscle. Secondly, in the first few weeks, is there a lot of nausa and/or vomiting? I have yet to vomit, not even one single time (even in the anethesia-induced-notorious-for-making-you-sick environment). I did have a nausea patch before surgery that lasted a few days so I think that helped combat the anethesia stuff. Thirdly, do you have poopy problems as well, constipation and/or the opposite? I am doing a high protein, low carb diet (this works well for me) and that type of diet is notorious for giving people constipation. I drink a glass of benefiber almost daily (it is clear or orange flavored powder you mix with water) and that helps combat the lack of Fiber in my diet. I don't generally have bowel issues (before or after) so I think some of how you react to the change in diet is dependent on your body chemistry.

I too was originally interested in the band. My insurance forced a 6 month nutrition and weight monitoring routine upon my desired plans so I spent a LOT of time reading. Blogs, posts, stats on the band, etc. My husband decided he wanted WLS also a few months after I started my journey. He wasn't convinced about the band and begged me to research the sleeve. After a few weeks of intense research, we both decided we wanted the sleeve. He is due to be sleeved next month. I don't know much about plication, but I know for me I wanted something permanent. I agree with Go Kart that a huge piece of my success lies in the fact that I am never hungry. It's really impossible to tell someone how it feels to not have hunger. In my previous life (pre-sleeve) no hunger meant that my tummy was achingly full. But being sleeved doesn't feel like that. There is just not an interest in food like there was before. I like the taste/look/smell of food but to be able to eat a small amount and know that I'm done, is just life-changing. I don't think you will regret your sleeve one bit. I know I don't!

I was the opposite, I needed liquids only for 1 week post-op and I waited until 10 days out to start mushies because I was SCARED. lol And I remember being SO excited for mushies but at the end of 2 weeks (my surgeon only allowed 5 foods for the mushie phase) I was so sick of refried Beans, cottage chesse, etc. I was ready for soft food, but again was scared. Just take it slow and easy you will be fine. 3 full weeks of pure liquid sound like = pure torture. I feel for ya!

I have been eating greek yogurt since May 2010. My NUT recommended it and I switched. Well, my girls still like my "old" yogurt which was Yoplait Light (the ones in the white and light blue containers, pretty sure they are top sellers for Yoplait because they sure do sink a lot of ad money into this particular yogurt...it's the one with all the "flavors" like pineapple upside-down cake, and boston creme pie, and lemon cream pie, key lime pie, etc.) So anyway, tonight my girls wanted yogurt and fresh strawberries for dessert. I split the container of vanilla into 2 small bowls, added fruit and then I licked the spoon from the yogurt container. ICK. Totally nasty disgusting stuff. It tasted sooooooo sweet, and so, well, chemical. I can't believe I used to eat that stuff. Time to get my kids hooked on greek yogurt as well.

Welcome back. WOW!!! Amazing pictures, you look fabulous! I was wondering where you disappeared to...glad to have you back.

WOW!!! You look amazing! You've not only lost weight, but years off your face and body! Congratulations!!!

Ooooh, I hate to throw up. I'm almost 4 months out and never once has something come back up. I did eat one bite too many early on (homemade turkey meatballs) and I experienced the sweats and lightheaded, and *thought* for about 20 minutes something was going to come back, but it never did, and my sleeve pushed everything through. I don't think it is too rare to find a sleever who hasn't tossed anything up the tube yet. I am pretty sure it is a very common experience with the band. (Just from reading, not from experience!)

Myori did a good explaination. I had a JP drain (that is just the name for the type, but maybe you can google it for a visual) so I had a hole in my upper stomach, with a tube coming out of it (where the tube was coming out my surgeon had stitched the tube into place) and the tube ran down to a little bulb (about the size the bulb used to squeeze air into a blood pressure cuff). The bulb attached to an adhesive strip on my lower tummy that had a clip on it. So every couple of hours I would unclip the bulb and empty the drain, and then reposition it. I had my drain for 6 days post op. I don't want to scare you, and everyone's experience is totally different, but in my opinion, that was the worst part of surgery. (I had a super-easy recovery with zero complications, so hey, I had to find something to complain about!) Having to live 6 days with the drain and emptying it (yuck). When it was time to come out my surgeon snipped the stitches around the tube, and pulled the tube out. He left that hole open (no glue or stitches) and it finally closed on it's own (last of my scars to heal.) But even though I wasn't a fan of the drain I was glad it was pulling excess Fluid out of my body cavity.

Julie, I watched your video yesterday and I *almost* had tears listening to you. Beautifully done, I'm SO glad that your extended family and friends are being supportive. You are looking gorgeous and skinny too. WTG!!!

Tomorrow will be day 22 of my latest stall <sigh> and yes before the sleeve I would have totally given up. If the scale didn't move down then I would have thrown in the towel. But not with the sleeve. This stall sucks and don't think that I don't hate it (because I do) but I keep putting good healthy choices in my mouth, I refuse to let the scale be the only indicator! I did the same thing and tried on a pair of jeans that I had previously been to big to wear. Guess what they fit. Even in the midst of this bugger of a stall, things are a changin'.

Irene you said it best (as usual!) I have told a limited number of people about my sleeve and no one has asked me point blank what exactly I'm doing to lose the weight. If they did, I would probably tell them. This is my private medical information, and I don't need to tell people all of my "business." Again if asked, I tell. The other thing is that no one else is as "interested" in what I'm doing, as I am. That is why I love VST b/c we all have a common thread and we "get it" when we complain about stalls or get excited about new food. To other people, it just isn't that interesting (from what I've found) and so I tend not to blabber on about VSG with just anyone. I get all my blabbering done right here. :lalala:

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1