Eureka-C

That is so great. It's wonderful to be able to buy clothes like everyone else. Congrats on your exercise. At 9 months out, I am just starting to really exercise.

I was terrified of throwing up. I let them know and the anesthesiologist gave me something, then they put something in my iv, then I took an oral anti-nausea medicine. He even gave me a bottle to take home. No catheter, no drain. My iron was too low and I had to have an iron supplement iv. He came to see me after the iv at like 9 pm that night and signed the papers so I could go home. I don't know if it's normal for a surgeon to be there from 7 am until after 9 pm. I liked him.

you may have already gone. I hope it went well. The bread fills me up. Early on, I only ate thin crust pizza. Now (at 8 months out) I can eat one and a half slices of regular crust or 2 slices of thin crust. I always pick the smallest slices.

So, here I was waiting for the call. The one from Dr. Davidson's office (Bariatric Surgery Center of Dallas)to let me know that I was officially approved. When I answered the phone on Monday, I was soooooo happy to hear her say, "This is Dr. Davidson's office" and then WHAM! She told me that although I met the qualifications for both gastric bypass and lap-band surgery, my insurance (Blue Cross Blue Shield of California) does not cover the sleeve. I was overwhelmed by an intense disappointment. I don't want the other two surgeries, and this (the gastric sleeve) is the best one for me. I told my hubbie that I would just go without, but he knows me and said to find out how much self pay is and we will just find a way. So I did, and here we are. I think we are going to get a loan and pay it off.

Wow, that was almost a year ago. I won my appeal, and had the vsg Nov 22nd. I have lost 83 pounds since I first started the process last July. I am very happy with my weight loss so far. I went from a size 26/28 to an 18/20 now. I want to lose 67 more pounds, but would be happy with 25.

At 7 months, I eat anything that I want. To keep losing weight, I try and choose Protein first, then veggies, and grains last. I drink at least 2 servings of milk a day, and avoid slider foods. That is one reason I chose the sleeve. I believe a balance of food choices in important to good health and I didn't want to be restricted on anything. I have been on and off diets since I was 8 years old. I refuse to be a dieter any more. I find I can easily pass up on rice (no desire), have to be careful and chew sandwich bread and flour tortillas well or they stick going down, and cake/cookies/chocolate are way to easy to eat. It seems like forever when you are healing, but it is only a few months. It also allows you to develop new habits. Use that time to focus on the new habits, and it will be easier when you are allowed to eat whatever you want again. As for the restriction, I still can only eat about 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups food total. I am finally getting used to serving myself appropriate portions, throwing away leftovers, and feeling okay about leaving behind restaurant food. Best of luck to you in your journey.

poor hubby. Its a good thing he is so understanding. I know the feeling. I get teary eyed and cry over everything myself.

what a horrible learning experience. Sorry to hear that happened.

That's how I think of it too. A lot of times it seems people just want reassurance, a high five, or a feeling that someone out there gets them. That's the majority of what I use it for. As for information, it's on here too, and some people just want solid info, but if you look at the tone behind many question, I think it's more the former than the latter.

I began to gag at the smell of cream soups and broth, so I just took a normal can of soup I liked, blended it and strained it. My doc said that was fine.

I use the myoplex lite. I don't like the taste of most others, 190 cal., 15 g protein, 28 g carb ( 4 g fiber, 15 g sugar). I also liked the Costco bars, but the alcohol sugars gave me a low blood sugar rebound affect. Sweating, shaky, nauseous, light-headed.

I am really hating the hair loss. I was looking at some vitamin info and overdoses of vit A as wel as (I think) selenium can contribute to hair loss. There are just too many factors. Sigh!

To reach goal, I need to lose a total of 150. I have lost 80 at 6 month. The last 3 months have been slow. I wanted to have 100 lost by 4th of July, sadly I won't make that. The total includes my preo-op diet. I have lost a little over 50% to goal.

Do they say only 3 shakes a day? I was allowed as many shakes as I wanted. My chocolate shakes were only 170 calories, and the Syntrax drinks were 100 calories so three a day was too few. I would have been shaking too from low blood sugar. As for the tired of it. Well that wasn't bad the first week after surgery as I couldn't even imagine anything else. The second week I was imagining other things. The third week of liquids after surgery and I wanted to throw a tantrum like a two year old who has been denied a toy at the store every time I saw someone else chew. Antibiotics should be fine. just be sure to tell them what you took when you are doing the preop check in.

What do you mean by slow down? I think it all depends on expectations. I was losing 1-2 pounds a day at first. Of course it slowed down. No one's body could keep that up. At 6 months out, I am losing 3-5 pounds a month. Then again, I am not too careful about the carbs, calories etc. Others who stick to the strict rules keep losing 2-3 pounds a week until goal. It also depends on how much you have to lose. If you have 200 pounds to lose, it is much different than if you have 100 pounds to lose. Those who have more to lose, tend to lose faster/more those first 6 months.

I also bounce around a lot in my weight. Some factors I have noticed: TOM - I always gain about two days before, and hold onto it all week. Allergy pills make me retain Water Sodas, or too much salt make me retain water Constipation makes me stall Exercising - when I haven't been - makes me retain water - sore muscles often retain water as they need the nutrients to heal. And other times, it seems as if there is no rhyme or reason, maybe I have a gremlin in my scales.

Some things that helped me and maybe can help you too. Early out, I ate small meals every 2-3 hours. I tried to choose Protein first because it was what my body needed. If I wanted more carbs, I tried to keep it to only once or twice a day. Now I eat 3 meals and 1-2 Snacks at 6 months out. Learn about slider foods, high calorie foods that you can pack a lot into a little space, like shakes, chips, chocolates. Unlike many others, I don't totally avoid these foods, but I have to be much more careful about it. Even though I am obsessive about weighing (2-3 times a day), I only log my weight once a week. AND I have to log it or I get obsessed about the today and forget to look at the big picture. Take measurements now and keep them handy. Even when you are not losing weight, you will often lose inches. Keep the largest pants you ever wore. When you are feeling down, put them on and take a look in the mirror. Others may have good ideas too. What works for one doesn't always work for others. I am not the strictest about eating healthy or keeping my carbs down. I am more about balance. I didn't do this to be another diet, rather to be a new lifelong way of eating. It works much slower because of that, so I have to remember that was my choice when I get to comparing myself to others. Keep in touch.

You ARE doing awesome. I didn't really have anyone notice until I dropped 2 pants sizes, then the comments seemed to come from everywhere. It slows down a lot after the first month, and after seeing it drop so fast, it was a bit worrisome for me that it was no longer working, but it was. You can do this.

Welcome, its great to see you on here. I am 38 and only wish that I could have had this done when I was in my 20s. Best of luck to you.

I had a box of clothes my aunt gave me, along with a couple of things I threw in there, when she lost a lot of weight about 4 years ago. I opened that box almost too late. They were mostly 22's. Now I am wearing an 18 and have to buy clothes again. It is a nice surprise to have and a lot cheaper than having to buy new stuff.

I liked them fine pre-surgery, but post surgery, it took sooooo long to drink and they just seemed to get thicker and thicker upon sitting. It got so I was gagging whenever i tried to drink one. I use syntrax twisted cherry mixed with lemonaide.

Is there anyone in the NE Dallas, Rockwall area or Waxahachie area who would like 4 open canisters protein powder? One lemon tea, one fuzzy navel, one vanilla, and one unflavored.

Welcome and there are lots of band to sleeve conversion people that post on here. The only question I can answer is for me a big emphatic YES the hunger is so under control. Now, the day or two before my TOM are the only days like the old, when I want to eat constantly. Still I can't eat near the amount I used to, so I don't feel guilty. At 6months I eat about 4-5 times a day, 3 meals and 2 snacks. At meals I eat about a cup to a cup and half food, protein first. Snacks are usually a couple bites to a half cup depending on what I have. I eat more than others and don't worry too much about what I eat. I have lost 81 pounds. Before surgery I was eating 1400 calories and felt like I was starving. Now I average 1200 and feel totally satisfied. Best of luck to you.

Mine is almost like ferns. Lose slow or none one week b4. Gain the first 2-3 days of TOM, lose that the next week and continue to lose a pound every 1-2 days till the end of that week. Lose only 1-2 pounds or none the next two weeks, then TOM again.

I personally used Dr. davidson and was highly pleased. His staff is very friendly and personable in addition to him being a top notch surgeon. I have heard great things about Dr. Nick Nicholson, Dr. Barker, and Dr. Kim as well. They are all high rated surgeons. I would look at their programs, go to a seminar for each look at the aftercare, diet expectations, office hours, wait times, etc. And see what program fits with you. One of the things I liked about Davidson was the aftercare was all prepaid scheduled and planned to keep me on track. I also liked the info session as it included a one on one with the nurse and doc, and insurance guy, a full history, as well as the info session. I did have to pay a copayment for my insurance for the evaluation. Best of luck to you. I just reread and saw you chose Dr. Davidson.