M2G

Not quite 4 months out and I've been taking Biotin since a month before surgery, so far it is thinning. I pick hair off my clothes a few times a day and have to clean my brush more often. I do think the Biotin is helping...a couple of months after starting it my hair grew pretty long and my nails got wicked long! (You can click on my blog in my signature and see some pictures of the hair and nails.) I just recently had my hair cut and my hairdresser agreed that it was thinning slightly, but not bad yet. So here's hoping that I don't lose a ton. She gave me a cut that gives the appearance of more volume.

Welcome! You will find a ton of information and friendly people here.

No catheter here. Def. talk to your surgeon about your concerns.

Congratulations!!! You are looking fantastic, and I'm SO happy that you are so young and getting a chance to have that "do-over" when you have so much of your life ahead of you. It must be so exciting!

Congratulations!!! You are so close to goal! Woo hoo! Like Rootman, I can't wait for my one year...hoping to lose 100 by then, but I will take any loss I can get to. And it definitely doesn't end at 1 year...just such a big milestone. So congrats on being ONE YEAR OUT!

Not for one single minute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wasn't crying going into the OR, I was like "let's get this going, I've been waiting so long to finally have something to HELP me lose the weight and keep it off!" I love my sleeve!

EAS makes quite a few different RTD shakes. They are pricey though. I have found coupons for them and they are often on sale. But they just can't compare cost-wise to Premier. Also I know everyone is different (different surgeon's different guidelines, etc.) but my surgeon wants all WLS patients OFF shakes by 6 weeks post-op. I can almost always get my 70-ish grams of Protein from food, no shakes. I do on occassion grab a shake if I'm headed out the door and don't have time for a proper "meal", but that is something you might consider...weaning off the shakes. Just food for thought.

Welcome! You did your research (like many of us) and picked the sleeve! YAY!! Congrats on your loss so far! It sure is exciting to see those numbers drop. I can't imagine being on CLEAR liquids for 3 weeks, but I am sure there are others who have done it. The best advice I received was to "follow your surgeon's recommendations" so that tends to be the advice that I give others as well. I use Celebrate Vitamins but I don't know off the top of my head whether or not they contain sorbitol. I do know that several Vitamin sites will send you free samples (both Celebrate and Bariatric Advantage do, because I signed up for a free sample kit and there was a lot of variety in each kit.) But keep trying until you find what works for you, you do not want to skimp on your vitamins. Again, welcome ...to the losers bench!

I am not a dr. but I think you will find plenty of women's testimonials about getting their cycles messed up by having surgery. I don't know if it the anethesia or what, but a lot of us ended up with a post-surgery goofy (off) cycle. I think if you are extremely concerned you should call your dr. or go to an urgent care. But from the sounds of it you are just experiencing what a lot of women do post-surgery.

I just found a review on this T, and it is a pretty acurate description. http://www.viewpoints.com/Flexees-Fat-Free-Dressing-T-Shirt-review-11a03 I think it is usually priced right around $30 but I did see a website selling this exact T for $100...what the?

Congrats! I had a good experience overall using UHC. They did a lot of follow-up phone calls too, post-op. I was surprised by that.

:rofl: Mine aren't shrinking as much as I thought they would, but they definitely are not pointing in the right direction. I think my DH was more worried about what was going to happen to the girls post-op than I was!

That sounds very extreme to me. I don't even think RNY's are on liquids that long. I would ask for clarification in WRITING. My doc gave me a huge 3-ring binder with TONS of info regarding pre-and post-op diet, and it was extremely detailed. Not eating food until 5 months out...that sounds pretty far off the "norm" from what I know personally and what I've seen around here.

I think about 10 days post-op I resumed my drinking from a straw "habit". Almost everything I sip, with the exception of hot decaf coffe/tea is from a straw. I have zero issues with it. I don't have any trouble with getting extra "air" in my mouth from using a straw, plus it might help you with sipping, instead of gulping. Give it a try!

WOW! Incredible, that is the speediest I think I've ever seen as well. Congrats and you will love your sleeve, your dr. did you a favor by telling you about the sleeve!

Congratulations! That is fantastic news!

Congratulations on the "official" word from the doc. You wouldn't think that it would take work getting used to sleeping without (because it sounds so horrible) but I imagine as with most things that involve change, it will take time. Hopefully you will be sleeping peacefully soon!

You are doing awesome!

Looking wonderful! You lost more than almost 100lbs, you lost about 10 years somewhere along the way too! CONGRATS on your success!!!

Please call your dr. asap....you are having many, many issues and you need to figure out what is going on.

I don't seem to have a problem with chicken, but I usually dip it in something (BBQ sauce, ranch, etc.) I think it was Tiffany that said she lubes her meat well, and that has been really good advice. Usually my go-to order for a restaurant is a chicken sandwich and I ignore the bun, and take 1/2 of the chicken breast home or share it.

That is great that you have not allowed any "treats" since surgery. I know for me I have had small treats (and enjoyed them too!). My bday was in Jan. and I had a small piece of cake and loved it. Same for at Christmas, sampled my favorite pie, etc. You are right about it being a slippery slope, but this is not sitting in your kitchen eating cake when no one else is around just to eat cake. This is a very special event and I think you should enjoy a few bites of cake with your daughter. Then make your very next meal a sleeve-worthy meal.

Welcome! I, too, thought about the lap-band. Then my husband decided he wanted WLS also and begged me to research the sleeve. I am SO happy that I didn't get the band. I just can't imagine being 90 years old and having a plastic device inside of me. The more I read about the down side to the band, (the PB'ing, getting stuck, sliming) the more I knew that it wasn't someting I was willing to live with in order to lose the weight. So now I've been sleeved 3 months, hubby is getting sleeved soon and I love my sleeve. I have not once had sliming or vomiting (even while in the hospital!) There are no fills/unfills, the first 3 weeks are the hardest (food-choice wise and just healing in general) but after 6 weeks your food choices increase and you can start having more variety. Keep reading, keep researching, and only you can make the decision about what is right for you, but I'm so happy with my sleeve, can't imagine doing any other type of WLS surgery from what is available today.

Call your insurance and find out specifically what is expected of you. My insurance guidelines were approval based on a BMI of >35 WITH a co-morbidity, or a BMI >40 (no co-morb required). AND MY WEIGHT AT THE LAST 6 MONTH VISIT WAS USED TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY. Your insurance may take the weight recorded at your first visit. So it's imperative you call and talk specifically to the person who will be making the decision (like a Nurse Case Manager, or someone similar will probably make the decision.) I did all of my 6 month evaluations with my surgeon's in-house NUT (nutritionist) and she did not have me do any type of pre-op diet. Instead we spent the 6 visits talking about life AFTER surgery, what to expect, food options and choices, etc. My weight remained almost identical each month. I used the 6 months to start taking vitamins, focus on less carbs, increase my water intake, experiment with food, and practice eating and not drinking at the same time, etc. If my BMI had slipped below 40 at my last visit, then I would have been disqualified. Lucky for me my BMI hovered around 44 the whole time (and I have no co-morbidities), so I really wasn't at "risk" of going too low. Plus my surgeon didn't make me do any type of Pre-Op diet, just clear liquids 24 hours before surgery. Find out all of the details before you make your decision!

Morning Star Veggie Patties (original is what I like). They are 80 calories and 10 grams of Protein per patty. I can usually eat about 1 and 3/4 in one sitting so it's almost 20 grams of protein. http://www.morningstarfarms.com/products_veggie-sausage-patties.aspx