Foxbins

If you post what you are eating each day it will help. Are you measuring your food? Counting calories? Exercising?

Your itchiness is probably because you were shaved as part of the pre-surgery prep. I also itched until I figured out that the little hairs were trying to grow back--plus, whatever antibacterial solution they swabbed over my stomach/belly area was irritating. I washed it off really well and most of the itchiness went away.

How could you omit "Pretty Woman?"

I didn't start counting carbs until I could eat real food and I keep them under 30 most days. I count all carbs but concentrate on getting them from good sources--dairy, green vegetables, small amounts of berries. I think during liquids and mushies you are eating so few calories that unless you are sucking down milkshakes the carbs probably don't make that big a difference.

I tried on a bunch of pants in my closet that I haven't worn in probably 10 or 11 years and they all fit! Size 14...too bad that of the ones I need to wear most all are "Mom jeans." They are really high-waisted and make my upper body look really short, and the rise is funny, too much fabric. Also, I don't have a butt anymore and most of them flatten what is there down to nothing. Looks like I need to go shopping for jeans. On a somewhat related topic, I find myself putting in the "donate" pile MOST of my large size clothes, but holding on to one or two things. It's true I discarded all the size 24, 22, 20, and 18, but I found myself hanging up a couple pairs of size 16 pants today even though I fit a 14 now. Could it be that I secretly think I might need the larger size again someday? Or am I keeping them because they are looser and more comfortable? I will have to think about this.

I second the labs. There are a lot of things that could cause cognitive fuzziness and labs would be a good place to start narrowing down the field.

In contrast to a lot of people, I had no nausea or vomiting and very little pain; the pain I did have was mostly from the CO2 gas from surgery that made my neck and left shoulder ache. A heating pad helped but it was nothing that I couldn't handle even without the heating pad. I slept all of the first day, most of the second, and about half the third day post-op. It's true I couldn't drink much either, but I wasn't hungry and I didn't really want anything to eat or drink until the 4th day. My stomach also made growling, gurgling noises and I burped after every sip the first three weeks. I felt tired after I was up a few hours and took an afternoon nap most every day the first two weeks. After that I seemed to bounce back pretty good.

What Meg said--You're not going to feel full on liquids. Since you won't get a full feeling, I suggest you start measuring your food, and keep measuring as you move to mushies. Measurement and listening to your body will help you not to overeat, get foamies, or vomit. When you start to eat solid food, you will figure out what your "full" signal is. Some people burp; some hiccup; some people get a runny nose. As far as the weight loss, this is the golden time for you. You will never lose as much as fast as in the first month, and it will slow down pretty quick. I lost 17 lbs the first month (started at 232), 9 the second month, 7 the third month....five and a half months out and I am really happy I had the 17 lb bump the first month. You will be fine, and really grateful that you dropped a lot of weight early on when in month five or six you lose lots less.

My doc said 600-800 in the losing phase and I'm not at goal yet so....I'm between 600-800. I don't get hungry so it's not difficult.

I can tolerate spicy. I like my nose to run when I eat peppers. But I waited to eat them until about 3 mos after surgery.

If your surgery is July 18, you should be right around my surgery weight (232) by then. I have been low-carbing and exercising. I mean really low carb, under 30 a day. I go swimming for 45 minutes twice a week and run for 30 minutes 3 times a week. I am 56, post-menopausal, and have hypothyroidism, so you should be able to do AT LEAST as well as I have, and I expect you'd do better. I had a knee injury that restricted movement in May and the scale showed it--only 4 lbs for the month. Good luck, and Aruba is beautiful! Go diving or snorkeling!

I chose Dr. Aceves due to his surgical expertise. My surgery was 8750, so maybe more than you want to pay, but I stayed in the hospital for three nights and the nurses checked on me every hour. I saw Dr. Aceves or Dr. Campos at least once daily, and I had no pain, no vomiting and no complications. There's a bunch of threads about him on this forum, and I'm sure more of his patients will chime in.

Have a great holiday!

Go, go, go! You're back in the groove again--We can all achieve our goals, I just know it.

Thank you, Diva, for your praise, it always helps to hear that I'm doing a good job. Today, down another half-pound, and I was sure I would be up--no exercise the past three days (chained to my desk for work) and I needed to take some Miralax last night and that usually means some temporary water gain until it works. Also, I have a bicep! Granted, it's only really noticeable on the right arm (the left is still pretty flat) but I am so pleased. One of my overall goals for getting this surgery was to be physically strong. I had noticed that it was getting more and more difficult to lift a 40 lb. bag of dog food and I need to be able to do that. Weightlifting is paying off!

I was originally going with a band. Went to a surgeon's seminar, saw the skinny lady who had lost 120 lbs with her band and she just loved it, signed up for a consultation with the surgeon that same night. The next morning I went to the lap-band manufacturer's site and started reading about complications and a re-operation rate of 25%. On the MANUFACTURER'S site...so I figured the reoperation rate was probably higher than 25%...(and it is). I also started understanding the euphemisms...PB for "productive burping" which was a polite way of saying "vomiting in your mouth." I discarded the idea of a band pretty quick. I heard about the sleeve by reading about failed bands and thought, "What has my stomach ever done for me except demand food all the time? I can live without 85% of it, easily." I liked that it was a permanent, low-complication procedure with weight loss statistics better than band. So I had the surgery in January and couldn't be happier. I am one of those lucky people who lost my hunger right after surgery and I am so grateful for that, I cannot tell you. Not to be hungry, ever! And I don't miss it one bit, it's like a demon off my back. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I ate anything that I could get to the consistency of a cream soup. I put loads of stuff in the blender and whizzed it up and if it was too thick, added water or milk. I had white beans and pesto, black beans and salsa, vietnamese noodle soup, anything that I could pour through a strainer, though nothing with tiny seeds. I was craving flavor instead of all those sweet protein shakes.

Weekend of 7/23 or 7/30 works for me. I can't make Hayward on the proposed dates...

My proteins have always been a blend of isolates...some whey, some egg, some soy, some milk...I didn't use shots because I heard they were mostly collagen which is not a good protein source. What does your nutritionist say, or your surgeon's guidelines? They all have their particular likes/dislikes.

It's foamy saliva. Your stomach tissue is really swollen, and your sips are probably too big or too frequent. Tiny sips, like 1/4 of a teaspoon, worked for me until the swelling went down. Really, it was more that the mucus membrance in my mouth was absorbing Water than my stomach, because at 1/4 teaspoon, there's not much to swallow. You are losing hydration when you spit the foamies out and then have to work that much harder to get the fluids back in. Sorry you are feeling icky, but it passes soon.

I was scared before surgery but I had no nausea or vomiting post-op. I am down 54 lbs and feel great! You will, too, in a few weeks.

I have five and one was for the drain--it has healed into a little round, pink area. The biggest is just above my belly button, it's 3/4 of an inch long (I measured, just for you!) I have a second small one on the right, mid-torso, another tiny one just below my breastbone, and the last one is left, mid-torso, 3 inches away from the drain one.

It's a tube of a certain diameter in millimeters. The surgeon puts the bougie in your stomach and uses it as a guide for the stapler, kind of stapling next to it. Not all surgeons use a bougie as a guide--some use an endoscope, but they all, I believe, use something as a guide. They're not stapling your stomach freehand. Research has shown that complications like strictures and difficult post-op days (nausea, vomiting) are more associated with smaller bougie sizes but larger sizes don't give as much weight loss. So your surgeon has to decide on a happy medium.

Thank you, bookleen! Encouragement is so nice-- Today I am down another half-pound to 178. Of course, yesterday I tried chicken again and it (again) didn't agree with me, and I had a report due this am so I worked on that all day and didn't really eat. My total calories for the day were about 360. Today I am going swimming and catching up with fluids (supposed to be 95 here today) and will try to fit in at least 80 gms of Protein. It's almost like my body took a breather last month and now has reset to losing again. I may reach goal weight lots sooner than November at this rate.

Wow! You look great!