SKCUNNINGHAM

I can't get the blasted picture attached. D**N it! It is in my album if you really want to see. it. How is the easiest way to add a picture to a post?

Dr. "Nick" Nicholson in Plano / Dallas accepts self pay, and they offer a finance plan. I had my procedure done with him 2 months ago, and I couldn't be more pleased. You might check out his pricing / finance plan.

Good luck! I am two months post-sleeve and haven't regretted it for a nano-second. Best thing I have done for myself in years. Get a support belt and with a heating pad and use them. They help a lot to help you feel better after surgery.

I had that reaction (dumping syndrome) before my sleeve if I drank milk or ate ice cream. I can tolerate cheese, cottage cheese and yougurt in small amounts (14 - 1/2 cup). I imagine if I did milk or ice cream, I would get full blown dumping syndrome. Good reason not to eat that stuff.

I am 2 months out from surgery today. I have lost 30 pounds post surgery, 13 pounds on the pre surgery diet - for a 43 pound loss total. I am 5'4" and my starting weight was 253.

I am not a vegetarian - I am a happy omnivore - but love fresh veggies. I agree with the person above that says your stomach can't take it for some time. I tried steamed asparagas at 3 weeks post surgery - and it caused intense stomach pain all evening and half the night. Now, at 6 weeks out, I can have steamed asparagas, steamed yellow squash, raw tomatoes, and raw cucumbers. I have eaten some salad greens, but have to severely limit my quantities.I am doing a lot of the milk based Proteins (cottage cheese, yogurt, low fat cheese) and the prepared proteins (nectar brand is great, as is Isopure PLUS). The only meat I am eating is chicken and shrimp - ground beef isn't setting well yet. Good luck.

You may find a book I am reading helpful to you. It is the "Complete Idiots Guide to Eating Well after Weight Loss Surgery". If you are not familiar with the "Idiot's Guides" books, they are very similar to the "Dummies" books. I have learned a lot, and I thought I had been on enough diets that I really didn't need to get it.

I am taking the One a Day brand chewable vitamins that are the consistency of gummy bears - assorted fruit flavors. They don't bother me at all. I get the chewable calcium from Wal mart that is like a chocolate or vanilla piece of soft taffy. I also get my chewable C there. My iron supplement is the Bariatric advantage lemon lime chewable. I talke a B12 that is sublingual - dissolves under the tongue.I have gotten it from Bariatric Advantage and also from Wal mart. I take liquid D from Bariatric advantage, Viatmin Shoppe has a liquid multiple vitamin that I was planning on taking if I didn't like the One a Day brand. You take a capful of it, either drink it like a "shot" or put it in your crystal lite, etc.

For those of you that are still producing estrogen, the female body produces estrogren amounts based on your weight - the more you weigh the more estrogen the body produces. But as you lose weight, the body doesn't adjust the levels on a nice steady decrease. Mine would hold my estrogen level the same, then "notice" I had lost weight and drop my level suddenly to "catch up" to my lower weight. I could have hired myself out as a hit-woman! I never figured out how to compensate except for taking Prozac. Now that I have had a hysterectomy, I can control it through my HRT dosage. Good Luck, ladies.

I bought a binder at Wal*Marts. The one I got was the kind that is used to protect your abdomen when you lift heavy weights. It is black with Velcro. It was great after surgery. I wore my day and night, only taking it off to shower. Watch out on making broth a month ahead. Even frozen chicken broth has a short shelf life. Good luck!

CONGRATULATIONS! I AM HAPPY FOR YOU! RELISH THE MOMENT! GO BUY YOURSELF SOMETHING WONDERFUL.

I am six weeks post-sleeve, and have lost 36 pounds. I had my mammogram yesterday, and (surpisingly) it hurt less than usual. Same facility - same equipment as before. I mentioned it to the tech - who I had filled in on my surgery (like she wouldn't have noticed the five healing incisions on my abdomen). She explained that with less fat in my breasts from the rapid weight loss, the breasts were easier to compress than before - thus the lower level of discomfort (they never say PAIN). So I guess that is a positive for my less full breasts. I have lost 3 1/2 inches through the bust already. I hope I still fill a B cup when I hit goal. Anyway - thought I would pass on the good news to any other sleevers that need their mammograms done.

Lake Tawakoni, TX.

I used ISOPURE PLUS after surgery. It is a fruit flavored protein, very lightly flavored compared to other brands. Each 8 oz bottle has 15 grams of protein. It comes in a punch flavor and a grape frost flavor. I had tried it at my dietician's and liked it. I couldn't find it easily in a store (I live in the sticks of east Texas), so I ordered a supply online through Amazon. It is the cheapest place to get it. I also liked the Myopex light vanilla flavor - purchased at WalMart. Again, not super sweet. It has 20 grams of protein in 11 oz.

You are right - If you get a padded seat cover and padded bike shorts, you won't crush your private parts. I used to spin twice a week (prior to taking a job where I traveled all the time). It is outstanding cardio, and the best exercise ever for your legs and but. Good luck!

Another safe chocolate that you can have is the chocolate chewable Calcium supplements from the Vitamin Shoppe. That might meet your TOM cravings.

I am 3 /12 weeks post surgery, and started on soft foods this week. So far so good until yesterday evening. I had been taking it pretty easy with food this week - yogurt, cottage cheese with applesauce, chicken salad minced really fine, mashed black beans with mild salsa, and pureed soups. Yesterday at lunch I steamed myself 3 oz of asparagus until soft and cut it into small pieces before I ate it. No problem there. Last night I browned some lean ground beef with diced mushrooms and onions in broth, and mixed in a few warm mashed potatoes at the end to make an applesauce like consistency. Tasted fine going down - but I either ate too much or something in the concoction didn't agree with me. I had bad stomach pain the rest of the night. I did sleep about three hours, but was up again at 1 am with the bad stomach pain for another three hours. My temperature and BP are fine - so I don't think I have a leak. I am fine today, am am going back on liquids for today to make sure I give my sleeve time to recover. Have other people had this kind of pain from eating something innocuous? Anything on my list of what I have been eating I should stay away from?

Thanks for the good hints - I will stay away from beef, onions and asparagus for a while. SInce I had all three yesterday, no wonder my stomach hurt!

One of my all time favorite quotes is by Robert Heinlein - the great science fiction writer "Nevery underestimate the power of human stupidity". I started out not telling many people at work - but got more open as time passed. Now, if someone asks, I tell them. Haven't had any negativity (to my face) yet. It is hard for people to tell I have lost from baggy clothes, as I am "shrinking through my closet" of multiple sizes.

I agree with the other respondents - be honest. If the counselor that meets with you is worth their salt, they can tell if you are lying, and I think that would be more damaging than anything truthful you could say to them. My exam didn't include the hundred of multiple choice questionairre (most likely the MMPI test), my counselor just talked to me after having me fill out a six page questionaire (a history, not multiple choice). The one thing I remember saying to her was that I didn't expect getting sleeved was going to make me model-thin, or make all of the problems in my life magically go away. I more view the procedure as a tool to help me get more healthy, so I can have an easier time doing the things I enjoy. I think they want to identify what your expectations are, and how you see yourself living with the sleeve. Good luck - don't worry - those counselors really are on your side to help you.

I was out about 2/12 weeks, then went back to work half time for one week. I have to drive 2 hours each way to and from work on top of working an eight hour day - so that was the reason for the half time for a week. I am going back full time next week. My only issue is my energy level isn't what it was before - but it is better each day.

I agree with the above response CALL YOUR SURGEON TODAY. The hungover feeling is probably due to the anesthesia, but could also be from dehydration. Let us know what your surgeon tells you!

I haven't had it as bad as you, but anything that drains from my nose / sinuses into my sleeve doesn't get a welcome reception there. I normally cough up the drainage material, but have vomited it once. No foam, though. When it is bad allergies for me, I have some Claritin that is sub-lingual. I take one each morning.

I got the OK to start swallowing pills at my two week followup earlier this week. I swallow the little ones whole and cut the bigger one in half. You may want to talk to your primary physician, not your surgeon about what pills to take and what not to. There are certain things your doc may not want you to take after surgery. (For instance, any diuretics for blood pressure). Also, some things aren't needed (like statins for cholesterol). You may want to drink a few sips of something warm (tea, broth) before swallowing a pill then follow it with a sip or two of liquid. Wait a few minutes between pills, then repeat the process above.