seniorsleever

I actually had the shakes in the hospital from caffeine withdrawal! I drank lots of iced tea every day before surgery. The doctor told me no caffeine for two weeks after surgery, but when I started shaking uncontrollably, they fixed me a cup of hot tea and it went away, so the doctor relented, and told me to just cut back to one or two cups a day. Odd thing is that since surgery I've made maybe, one pot of iced tea and that was it! It just doesn't do much for me anymore. I do have a cup of flavored coffee with a cup of milk and two sweet n low packets for breakfast every morning with a few strips of bacon. I loves me some bacon! I'm still losing, too!

Your muscles are bruised and it takes awhile for a bruise to heal. Sometimes they may go into spasm as well. A heating pad may help, but time is the best healer. Continue to move, though--using the muscle will keep them from stiffening up. Good luck to you!

I just want to add that we all went through a stage after surgery when we wondered if we had done the right thing. It's only natural. Believe me, it does get better. We are here to help you through the bad times and to rejoice with you at the good times. We all wish you well. Just keep positive as much as you can, and things will improve. Good luck to you!

Good for you! I think you handled your family in just the right way. I haven't told my siblings yet, and I'm 10 weeks postop. But then I only see them once every two years at our family reunions (they all live long distances from me.) I didn't tell them because they might have reacted the same way yours did. I am hoping to really surprise them next year when I see them again! Good luck on getting a date set!

Tell them you didn't ask for their approval, you wanted their support. Maybe they will turn it around and surprise you. Some people don't realize how negative they sound until you tell them.

Before you had surgery could you have lost 25 pounds in a six week period? Would you have kept it off? I think not. Your expectations may have been too high going in. You didn't gain it all in one year, did you? Don't expect it to all come off in even less time. I am almost 10 weeks out and have lost "only" 40 pounds. I thank God for it. Count your blessings and follow the suggestions above. I'm sorry to sound less than empathetic, but you need to look at the good things about your sleeve instead of dwelling on the scale. There are no weight loss fairies that I have been able to find, but the sleeve will work for you if you keep your thoughts positive and keep working at it.

Some people feel that eating carbs is a slippery slope and leads to more dangerous eating habits. Some feel that carbs make them feel sluggish and uncomfortable. As for me, I intend to follow my doctor's instructions as much as possible without being anal about it. I didn't go through this to have to watch every bite I eat for the rest of my life. I don't count calories, carbs, or protein grams; I don't keep a food diary; I don't use an online food tracker. I eat a high protein, low carb healthy diet in smaller portions. I use as many SF products as I can find that taste reasonably good. (I love SF Jello and pudding!) I don't eat yogurt or skim milk or other rather disgusting (to me) foods. I had surgery for portion control because I was an overeater. Whenever I start to think that I will never have pizza or pasta again, I become depressed--so it is counter-productive to think that way. When the doctor says I can expand my dietary choices, I will have a small slice of pizza, without the thickest part of the crust. I will have a few bites of fettucine Alfredo or lasagna--just not a whole plateful. Personally I like eating protein first. But that doesn't mean I can honestly live that way forever. For now I try to be good for my doctor. Later on I will try to live well for myself. I know this will not be a popular attitude--but what can they do to me, repossess my sleeve? LOL! The sleeve is just a tool, but not a bludgeon. How you choose to use it is up to you. The first year or so is the restrictive part--after that you must live the life that is healthiest for you.

According to the BMI charts, I should weigh 140 or less to not be overweight. Ideally I would like to weigh about 135, but that seems to be unrealistic for me. 150 seemed to be a good round number for someone my age (55) and build. I still find it hard to believe that I will ever be that small--but only time will tell. I'd love to be someone who has to work to maintain a healthy weight.

Mine is a Pro-Form Crosswalk Sport that I bought on sale at Sears. It has the arm extensions, 8 pre-sets for workouts, a kill switch and a built in heart rate monitor. It is very quiet. Although it is rated for 250 lbs, I bought it weighing 265, and had no problems with it. It has a wide belt, and the normal speed and incline controls. I am well satisfied and recommend it.

I started this journey at 290 pounds, and promised myself that when I reached my first major goal, I could buy some new clothes. Today I weighed in at 250! Mission accomplished! Guess who gets to go shopping this next weekend! New underwear first--the old bras and panties are way too big. Next goal is 225. I'll actually think about getting some new jeans and tops then. BTW, I went to the thrift store this weekend and bought some broomstick skirts. I didn't even check the sizes. If they are too small, I'll fit into them someday, and if they fit now or are too big, I'll put a drawstring through the elastic casing. I'll be able to wear them until I'm almost at my final goal weight! That will help with my clothing budget. I now have 8 of these skirts, probably spent no more than $50 on all eight. New they cost $35 apiece or more. Now, I'm not a skirt person, I never liked shaving my legs that often, but these are long skirts and are great for traveling. Just roll them up and stuff them in the suitcase. Just an idea I thought I'd pass on.

Could be low Vit. K, which is essential for blood clotting. Did you take blood thinners post-op? Sometimes they take awhile to wear off, too. I would think your clotting factors would be back to normal by 5 months, though.

Geez, I'd forgotten about turnstiles! Medieval torture devices! I want to weigh less than my husband, wear pretty clothes again, and never again feel embarrassed about my size. I'll never be able to run again because of my bad knees, but it would be nice if I could walk the mall without having to sit down several times. It would also be nice to quit getting diet and exercise tips that are unsolicited.

I'm 8-1/2 weeks out and have not vomited. I did come close a couple of times from eating too fast. Burping helps me, too. Also I discovered that if I ate a bite too much, taking a Tums Smoothies tablet helps a lot.

I'm an RN, and I have to tell you to call her surgeon and let him know. However, 99.7 is not unusual in the few days after any surgery. A fever is just your body's way of killing bacteria. Is she feeling bad? Does she have more pain than you think she should? Are any of her incisions red and hot? That's more of a sign of a problem such as an infection. If the fever doesn't go down soon, she should definitely be seen by a physician. But if you can call the surgeon, that would be the best way to go.

Well, you see, he was diagnosed with a slow-growing cancer after the surgery (that's what had caused his appendicitis) so he had a long recovery time. He was already in a lot of pain from the surgery, so he couldn't tell when the infarct resolved. He was up and around in a couple of weeks, but still in pain for a week or two after that. I know that doesn't help much. Hope yours gets better real soon.

Oops, sorry! Wasn't paying enough attention! LOL!

Has anyone here had laser hair removal treatments? I'm wondering if they really work. I have to shave my chin, neck, and cheeks every day and I hate it! Depilatories break me out. I haven't tried waxing--might have to, though my hair is so coarse I'm not sure how it would work. I had PCOS when younger, I had hoped after menopause it would get better, but no such luck. Bummer.

A splenic infarct is a blood clot lodged in the splenic artery or in a vein in the spleen. It causes tissue death in the affected area, the size is dependent on the size of the clot and where it lodged. Since you can live without a spleen it is not life-threatening, but it is painful. I don't know how long it will take to resolve, Rootman, but I do sympathize with you. My husband had one after his appendectomy, and it still shows up on a CT scan as a scar on his spleen.

Not a good thing for your feet. Believe me, I'd love to go barefoot, and used to a lot, until I developed bone spurs in my heels. Now I have to wear Z-Coils at $250 or more a pop! My podiatrist told me to never go barefooted, never wear heels lower than 1" or higher than 2" except for the Z-Coils which have higher heels but are springs. Even at that I have constant pain. It was one of my co-morbidities for the sleeve.

I think at this point I would go in, demand to have it submitted, and when they say you need more review, just tell them you believe they are after more money! Maybe that will get the ball rolling. Geez! What a racket!

Good for you! We have all felt like you feel, before our sleeves. It's not the "easy way out" that some people say it is, it still takes work and commitment, but it works! We are here for you through "thick and thin!"

That's wonderful news! The pregnancy will be that much more enjoyable because your weight is under control. Enjoy each wonderful moment!

Sounds like a vagal nerve response to a stomach that's too full. I get that if I eat too fast or too much. It settles down as the stomach empties. The vagal nerve affects both heart and stomach. It's not dangerous, just scary. I'm not sure why you would have it after just a bite or two, though...

As an RN, I can confidently say take them off. At 8 days postop you should have healed enough not to need them anymore. They are just there to hold the incision together until it starts to heal.

I tried adding sweet n low to the Isopure Plus--the protein particles all clumped up at the bottom. Yuk! I didn't try Splenda--it might work differently.