Foxbins

Liquids/water will not make you feel full, so please don't worry about that. Burping may or may not be a signal of fullness for you. feeling hungry...I lost my hunger after surgery and it's still gone. I can tell I need to eat something because I feel "empty" but it's not hunger the way I felt before surgery. I could not drink as fast as you can when I was immediately post-op, but we are all individuals and as long as you aren't vomiting, getting foamies, or slime, you are doing fine.

I love White House Black Market, but really I shop anywhere I want now because I know I will fit into the sizes they have. Plus, (I was so thrilled about this) you will come to know what stores/brands run true to size. I tried on a pair of size 6 pants at TJ Maxx and although I could button the waist button, the hips were too tight and I couldn't do up the zip. Not because I gained weight, but because their size was off. The clothes were at fault, not me!

Sure, you can mix anything you want. I used to add vanilla, raspberry, banana, caramel, or almond extracts/flavorings to my shakes. Plain shake flavors got boring really quickly for me. I also added skim milk to cut the sweetness in later weeks when they became sooo sweet to me.

I order soup or an appetizer as my main meal. Nobody ever says anything, I've been doing it so long--8 years in January.

My sleeve doesn't tolerate bready things or pasta very well, but other than that I eat what I want.

I'm 7.5 years out from my surgery. My surgeon died but because I had my surgery in Mexico I knew my followups would be done in the states by someone else. I had quarterly labs the first two years, then annually since, from my PCP.

Yes--20 mg of omeprazole in the am and 20 in the pm and I'm fine.

I had my sleeve in 2011. I didn't have GERD before the sleeve, mine developed about 18 months after surgery. However, I still don't have any hunger and for me, the tradeoff of no hunger + GERD was worth it.

I order appetizers as my main course a lot of the time. I order shrimp quite often as well, restaurants never give you very many. I tend to concentrate on eating whatever protein I ordered and let the sides go uneaten. If they look particularly good I'll get them in a doggy bag.

CrowleysFan, just take a carryon, CPAP and a big purse. Wear the same clothes on the flight and home. Don't take a computer in a checked bag because if you do, TSA will open it because the circuitry looks suspicious on X-ray. I was fine in a regular Economy seat, but my flight was only 3.5 hours. Your hotel should have toiletries and such, and none of us are going to win any beauty pageants immediately after surgery. If you pack light and absoIutely need something, you can buy it where you are or borrow it. I was not in any pain coming home, but I felt tired, so although I walked slowly I got around okay. I would opt for the direct flight with the drive because connections can get delayed (and I'd want to save the money.) You'll do fine. Airports are very well marked and flying is pretty easy these days.

Seven and a half years out. No revision, no major miserable side effects, no issues, no permanent weight gain. I had to have my gallbladder removed a year after my sleeve and I have GERD that I take a PPI for. I lost 100 lbs and gained five over the first two years. Stable at 137 since except for a 7 lb gain last year due to too many Frappicinos. The seven pounds are gone now. I would have sleeve surgery again in a second. I am skinny and happy.

Like MattZ said, you become accustomed to the feeling of your new stomach, but yes, seven and a half years after surgery I still have restriction. If I eat too much, it's just as uncomfortable now as it was when I was eating whole cakes and bags of potato chips when I was fat. Now the uncomfortable feeling comes at about 4 oz of dense protein or 1 cup of vegetables, but it's still that feeling of "I ate too much." I don't like that uncomfortable feeling so I have learned not to eat so much. Better two small meals than one big one.

Seven and a half years out. My teeth are fine.

A couple of years post-op I went on a culinary vacation, where the highlights of the trip were the ingredient selection, preparation, and then the presentation of local specialties for our meals. There were some comments about how little I ate and finally I addressed them by saying I couldn't eat more for medical reasons. That stopped the comments. I had a wonderful time, though I ate just a tiny bit, like a half-tablespoon, of every dish at each meal. (Multiple dishes for each dinner.) I savored every bite.

Seven and a half years out and only my physicians know.

What Russ said...sometimes my stomach just gets sensitive and anything going in irritates it. Over the long haul, missing your nutritional goals a day or two here and there won't do any harm. Try liquids only tomorrow if you can, and go back to your purees the day after.

Things are very saggy without clothes, but that's what Spanx and good bras are for. I would rather be draped in loose skin that be fat again. I hated how I looked and how I felt.

I didn't have GERD before the sleeve, I developed it about 18 mos. after. Now I'm taking 80mg of omeprazole daily (normal dose is 20mg). I can't have a Nissan fundoplication to fix the GERD because I don't have a fundus anymore, and I don't want an RNY because my BMI is 21 and I don't want or need malabsorption. If I had had GERD before surgery I would have chosen an RNY. Also, every surgery leaves adhesions and scar tissue that make later surgeries more difficult. Just a thought...

I didn't have laser skin tightening, I had IPL (intense pulsed light). At age 57 after a 100lb weight loss, there was so much loose skin on my face I had a facelift, but I 'll bet if I were younger I could have gotten by with IPL. Around my eyes, where I had IPL about 18 years ago, the skin was tight and my facelift surgeon asked if I had had my eyes "done." Nope, just IPL.

Are you feeling better? Bruising mostly gone? Liking your results?

The answer is, it depends. Aleve is an NSAID and some surgeons say sleevers should never take them again, other surgeons say they are okay a few times a month, and other surgeons say no problem. Call your surgeon's office.

My surgery was in 2011. I'm in maintenance.

I eat about 1400-1500 a day, sometimes a little less.

I had a neck/facelift, but no eyes. It's true that your movements are limited for a while, I don't remember it being very long--maybe two weeks. My surgeon said he wanted me to turn my upper body as a block, from the waist, so as not to ruin my neck. Things are pretty tight, too, for a while, so you are reminded by the tightness that movement is limited. Yawning can be accomplished without opening too wide. I healed well, looked awful the first 3-4 days and mostly slept and binged-watched The West Wing.