lyndynojo

I had my surgery June 24th with Dr. ZiZi in West Monroe. His cost is 12,900.00. I am very pleased with him.

I totally agree with you Cheri. That is my exact reasoning for having the surgery too. I think that feast or famine diet mentality is what got me fat in the first place. I eat what everyone else is eating just way, way less of it.

I have never counted carbs. I just stay under 1000 cal a day.

Every topic I try to read had a pic of a woman in scrubs taking her own pic and I can't read the post cause the words blend in with her scrubs. Is this happening to anyone else this evening?

It's gone now. Guess it was just a glitch.

I just wanted to scream out that today I wore a size 9 blue jeans to church!!! SIZE 9!! not stretchy ones either! just a few months ago I was lucky to squeeze into a size 20. I'm only 17 lbs from my goal and I LOVE MY SLEEVE!! This summer is going to rock cause I will get to wear some cute, cute clothes. Also my cousin had VSG 3 weeks ago and one of my best friends told me at church today that I have inspired her to have surgery too. Who knew!?! Have a great day guys.

Yes! I'm a big ole loser! Lol. Thanks for the kind words everyone.

Thank you all. My surgery date was June 24th.

Your swelling from the surgery is probably going down. No worries.

Hi, I'm Linda. I'm 51 and have been married to my husband 28 years. We have 3 sons, Jordan is 25, Joshua is 21 and Jacob is 18. A beautiful daughter-in-law and 2 gorgeous grandsons age 2 and 8 mo. My two oldest sons are in the military so we've been through one being deployed to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. That was a tough 2 years. We live in northern Louisiana. I am a cardiovascular sonographer and have been for 28 years. I love spending time with my family and reading every book I can get my hands on. I never had a weight problem in my younger years but found the more I dieted and lost the more I gained back until I had gotten up to 245. Last year I lost 40 lbs on my own and then within 6 months had gained 30 of it back, that's when I decided I need something permanent and learned about the sleeve. This surgery is the best decision I have ever made regarding my weight. I feel so much younger and more healthy than I have in years.

I was sleeved on June 24th, my highest weight was 245 I was 239 on the day of surgery and today I weigh 167. I was in a tight 20 and now I'm in a 10. My weight loss has slowed in the last month or so to about 1 lb a week but I'm good with that. I eat about 1000 calories a day and don't exercise much. If I never lose another lb I won't complain, it is so worth it to look and feel this much better.

I tell anyone who sits still long enough. Lol. I found out about the surgery from a friend who had it and can never thank her enough. Since my surgery 6/24 I've lost over 70 lbs and my cousin just had the surgery and 2 other friends are getting it also because they've seen how well I have done. I love that I have helped people that have the same issues I have.

I also felt very weak until I could start eating some real food. I dont know what your plan calls for but maybe some chicken broth or beef broth would help. sorry I just saw your post about broths. I also did sugar free popcicles, no sugar added fudgcicles and regular jello ( i hate sugar free jello and I don't think it hurts at first just to help you keep something down.) I also used my snow cone shaver and make shaved ice with lemon juice and a little salt on it.

I was cleared for anything at 5 weeks. Not everything set well the first time I tried it and my doctor said if that happend to try again later. So far the only thing I really don't eat well is oranges. My doctor says the no drinking is to not take up space you need for solid food so I would think that the soup broth is as nutritious as the solids so I do eat soups. I have had no problem losing the weight either. Only 19 lbs to goal! yay

I was on Wellbutrin a year ago for stress when my son was in Afghanistan and I did notice that it decreased my appetite and increased my sex drive. I felt like a 20 year old again. I quit taking it when that stressful situation was over simply because I don't like to take meds if I don't need them.

My personal motto is " all things in moderation ". This has worked very well for me so far and I feel normal as can be.

Wow! You look great! Keep up the good work.

I was cleared for all foods at 6 weeks. Like Amanda, I can eat rice, but don't like how it feels. I find the same with oranges and french fries, they feel really odd in my stomach so I don't eat them. Salads I love.

I made a medical withdrawal on my IRA. My surgery was 12,900 for everything and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I know I would have never lost the weight without it and I don't feel that I will ever gain it back. I can't imagine with only 15% of my stomach left how I could eat enough to do that. I still have 20 lbs to my goal, but if I never lost another lb and maintained my present weight it would be well worth it. I haven't even started exercising yet ( I hate to exercise. LOL)

I can totally relate!! I am 6 mo post op and remember crying for the first 2 weeks as I watched TV with all of the yummy comercials and food network shows. lol I didn't realize until then how much I really loved food. I have no deep seated issues or feelings that I was eating away, I just loved food! Real food, sweets, cookies, chips, steak you name it I love it. It really does get better as you get farther along. You can eat some of the foods you love just a whole lot less. The weightloss makes it all worth while. I feel just like I did in my 20's before I had a weight problem and I'm 20 lbs from goal. Just hang in there it is so worth it.

OK never mind LOL. Even though I have lost in the boob area I'm still a 38DD or 38D depending on the bra so I need some support. Since I only have about 20 lbs to goal I probably won't lose too much more there and don't want to spend even 20 bucks on something I can't use. Thanks for the additional comments.

Thanks for posting this. I saw these at wal-mart but read consumer reviews online and decided not to try them but now I'm gonna go get some this afternoon. I can't afford to keep buying bras every 6 weeks. lol. Thanks again.

I was 5 mo post op on Nov 24th, I know I'm really late with the pics but just got photos uploaded to computer. first one is at my son's wedding at about 240 lbs, next two are about 2 weeks ago at my grandson's baby dedication at church

Hey Chell, welcome to the board. I am 5'7 and started at 239 and everyone said the same thing to me when I got sleeved. Even the nurse taking me back for pre-op told me that I didn't look big enough to be having surgery. I have lost almost 70 lbs and the comments from these same people are astonishing. They say "wow you look so great, I almost didn't recognize you." "You look amazing!" "you look soooo much younger!" so apparently I did look like I needed the surgery they just didn't know it. LOL It is perfectly normal to have some doubts, this is a major surgery and will affect the rest of your life, but don't let other people's comments sway you if you really feel like this is what you need. I am so happy I did this for myself and my loved ones. I am happier than I have been in years and it's because I was so miserable with myself. Good luck with what ever you decide.

My Dr. recommended these after surgery. The sugar free ones are good and they do have other vitamins and minerals in them. I have never counted carbs only protein and calories so I don't even know how many carbs are in them. they are good tasting though.