PdxMan

Yup, same story here. Tried several. Isopuke, Muscle milk, several powders (all too sweet). I like the Premier Vanilla, but you have to either drink them a little quicker or continually *shake* them as there is a bit more grit. If you leave it sitting for awhile, the last drink is unsavory. Love the chocolate. Supposedly there is a strawberry, but our costco doesn't carry it and I have never read a review about it, so ... either it must not be that good or there is something unstable about it where distribution becomes an issue.

I had issues with reflux prior to my sleeve, but I also had a hiatal hernia repair during the sleeve surgery. Was taking PPIs almost daily. Now, post sleeve, I have not had any issues. Haven't taken a PPI since surgery, almost one year ago. As far as swallowing issues, imediately post surgery, there is some issues, but there is also a lot of swelling internally, so ... after a couple weeks, all was well in that department. No long term effects at all.

Good to hear. Just keep him moving and sipping. It will help a TON.

Milk of Magnesia was my best friend for the first 6 weeks or so. Take it daily for a few days. Even if you don't *need* it. Keep yourself regular for a bit to get everything moving and balanced.

2 pounds? OMG, that could be almost anything, but I can pretty much guarantee you it is NOT 2 pounds of fat. Think about it. 3,500 calories = 1 pound. That means you would have had to consume 7,000 calories more than you burned exercising and well ... just breathing. With the sleeve at 2 months out ... I don't think that is possible. So, what is it? Most likely it is water. At 2 months out, you are able to consume a little more than a month ago. You are also exercising. Calories get converted to glycogen for the body to use later for energy. They first get stored in the liver, then in the muscles. To be stored in the muscles, glycogen must bond with water with a 4-to-1 ratio. Meaning, if your body was able to store 1 pound of glycogen in your muscles, it would also need 4 pounds of water for a net amount of 5 pounds. This is a good thing. You're doing nothing wrong. Just keep doing the right thing. You are not gaining fat. How do your clothes feel?

Who said you have to give up the foods you love? It takes awhile, but now at almost a year out, I eat anything and everything I want. Nothing is off limits. There are two major differences, though. I cannot eat the massive quantity I used to, which is a good thing. Did I really need to eat the entire burrito? No. Now, I get to enjoy the flavor, feel full and enjoy leftovers tomorrow. I conscientiously make better decisions. Where I loved my Snickers before, I really have no desire to eat them now. Yes, there are other chocolate delights that I do enjoy, but the point is, many of the foods I loved before, which were not good choices, have no role in my life now. Sure, I could eat them, but I just don't want to. I've worked too hard to be where I am now and don't want to sabotage myself. It's a good thing. Fear is good. You should be questioning yourself and your motives. If you think you can do it without surgery, then go for it. But if you have exhausted those routes as I and many other have, VSG is a great tool to help you meet your personal goals.

Well, you can take the car seat on the airplane and buckle it in. I'm guessing you already have the medipacks which allow for keeping the meds at temperature, otherwise, you would have the same issue driving. It would be even more so exasperated by the duration of the trip. Nothing a little dry ice couldn't handle. As far as the pump, seems it would be easier to deal with on the plane than in a car, so ... Of course, you have to do what you feel is right. If it is absolutely impossible for your husband to stay home to care for your little one, I don't think traveling by plane is a big deal. Driving, IMO, would be FAR riskier for you AND your daughter. Airlines deal with far more complicated situations, for sure. Contact the airlines and explain your situation and needs. They will work with you, no problem. You will be the first board and allowed time to get everything in your area exactly as you need it before other passengers load.

You need to contact your insurance company. They are the ones who write the rules. You would hate to do something wrong and then end up having to wait ... Contact them. They will tell you what they need you to do. Document who you talked to. Document everything.

Wow ... 36 hours ... the drive back would be brutal. The reason I say this is my surgeon advised me, for the flight back, to walk around the plane cabin 15 minutes every 30 minutes to avoid blood clots. You'd be turning a 36 hour drive into a 54 hour drive ... If you don't mind sharing ... what is the medical condition which would not allow you to fly with your daughter? I have friends whose young child cannot eat and has a tube into his stomach. Also gets shots every few hours. It is more difficult, for sure, but they set themselves up for success. I'm sure your situation is different, but is there any way you could fly? Red-eye flight so your child would sleep, perhaps?

Welcome to VST. It is a great community. I am glad to hear you are starting a cardio class. It will DEFINATELY make a difference. Not only with weight loss, but general attitude, too. I feel soooo good after a good sweat session. I had good sweat sessions when I was morbidly obese, but never felt good about myself. Now, I do. I hear you about moving off of liquids. After not eating anything resembling solids for so long, the thought of challenging your new tummy can be a little daunting. My advice is to just take things slowly. I think it is inevitable to push yourself too far. At some point, I think we all did at least once, just to see where the edge of the envelope is. If something doesn't feel right, stop. Be sure to chew slowly. Put your utensil down between bites. Don't drink while eating ... ya know. You just want your tummy to heal completely. Good luck and let us know how things progress.

Your body needs carbs, even more so if you are exercising. It is a balance, though, for sure. I eat a TON of carbs compared to everyone else here, but I also exercise a lot, too. I found that I cannot maintain a high level of activity without carbs. So, there's the rub. Yes, eat your sandwich as long as you are exercising. If you are not exercising, then the, "wait until 75% excess body fat gone" is a good idea.

You might be surprised that post-op, you don't want the slurpee. I have changed my eating habits dramatically. I question myself as to whether I really want to put something that contains that much sugar into my body. Getting the sleeve has brought about a total change in my relationship with food, which is what I needed. Why get the sleeve if I am just going to do the same old thing. It just didn't make sense to me. Do I always make good food choices ... no. But compared to my choices pre-op, it is night and day.

I haven't been bold enough to try them. Check out this thread: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/11377-shiratake-noodles/page__hl__shiratake__fromsearch__1

When was your surgery? It can be for a few reasons. Any OTC PPI will work. Gas-x with eating for a pre-emptive strike helps some.

Do you have any friends who are runners? Or perhaps a gym that has a trainer? They could take a look and give you an assessment, I would think. Better than nothing. Shoot, you could use a camera and have someone take a video of you walking and then moving to a light job. Only need a few seconds. It should be bare-footed without socks and your pant legs rolled up so your ankles can be seen. Call a running store and tell them you are sending them a video file for analysis. Send it to me and I could tell you ... I think you could even do it yourself, if you look at the information I provided on the link above ...

I told a couple of acquaintances and received negativity back, so I decided to not tell anybody about it (except my wife). About a week before my surgery, I told my family, "Next Friday, I am ..." I let them know what was happening, but not that I was soliciting opinions. Post-op, when going out to lunch/dinner, I would order Soups. I would volunteer no information why, but if asked, I would say that I had a late Breakfast ... I have a lot of work I need to concentrate on and don't want to be sleepy ... I have a special dinner with my wife and don't want to spoil it ... I'm just not that hungry today ... I'm trying to cut portion sizes down ... All of it basically true ... no lies. After each time using one of those, there would always be someone else who would chime in, "Oh, you are so right, I should probably have something light, too." When my weight loss started to be noticable, people asked what my secret was. I told them I had been cutting down my portion sizes and exercising more. Again, a true statement ... no lies I have just recently started to tell people I don't know, if the topic of weight loss comes up, that I had the surgery. For the most part, it has been very positive. I think it is difficult if they wanted to be critical when they see me as a slender person not knowing what I looked like before. After I get a year out, I will probably take the next step and tell everybody else. I will expain that earlier on, I wasn't in a place where I felt comfortable disclosing such a personal decision. If that doesn't work for them, well, then, that tells me a lot about my relationship with that person. This is a personal decision and there is no obligation to tell ANYONE what is going on. Share what and with who you feel comfortable with.

I think for me, I just always avoided mirrors ... and being taken in photos. Part of that is just being a guy. I spend about 3 minutes in front of a mirror everyday and that is just to brush my teeth. I think most (not all) women spend more time getting ready and take critical assessments of themselves more often than men. Now, before I get flamed ... I'm not saying all women take a lot of time getting ready and I am not saying there are not men who spend a lot of time in front of mirrors ... I'm just saying ...

I am almost a year out. I run and do classes at the club. While it does not hurt to drink anymore, I cannot *gulp* like I used to. 4 oz max and I have to do it slowly. When running, I have to come to a complete stop as air will get in and I cannot continue running until I *burp*. I just drink at every break at class and am smart about drinking when I run. It is still cool here in the Pacific NW (noon-59 degrees), so, I haven't had the long runs in any heat, yet. Over an hour, I can drink 32 oz, no problem. I used to be a member of the sub 2 club. I could drink a 12 oz beer in less than 2 seconds. Yeah, not doing that anymore.

It is stickied under the Pre-op sub-forum

You know, I have wondered about this. I see so many posts from people who have either stalled or regained after some time out. One of the consistent things I see in these posts is the confession that they either are eating Cookies or sweets, or not exercising (or a combination of both). I would think if you are gobbling down sugars that your glucose levels would again be thrown out of whack bringing the possiblity of type II diabetes back into the picture. Don't know ... just conjecture.

I'm just the opposite. I never saw myself as being overweight. Which was part of my issues. Call it denial, I'm sure. So, when I look at myself now, it is the person who I always thought I was. I think we all have self-image issues to some degree. I fear mine will again allow me to cheat the sleeve rules and re-gain. I have to keep it in check, for sure. You do look great, BTW ...

One way or the other, you're going to pay. Whether it be in medical bills associated to being overweight, possible wage discrimination or having a WLS surgery. 10 years from now, it will all be the same. Choice is, though, who do you want to be 10 years from now? Someone doing the same old diet battles or someone with a tool helping them lead a healthier lifestyle? I took a loan out for my surgery and it has been paying itself off already. Restaurant bills alone are much smaller when you are sharing your spouse's meal. Grocery bills are lower, too. Not wanting the surgery for monetary reasons is a poor excuse for the spouse of a wanna be sleever. Long term, it just doesn't hold Water ...

Sorry ... I'm sooo jealous ... heat ... don't know what this is here in the NW. It is 59 and raining. Supposed to be all weekend. Oye. The Pacific Northwest can be difficult sometimes.

I would HIGHLY advise NOT just jumping in. This is a major surgery. You are having 85% of your stomach removed. The biggest challenges, IMO, are the mental ones, not physical. To do this right, you have to completely change your relationship with food. For some of us, that means facing some demons in our closets. I can only speak for myself, but this was not a quick fix to my eating issues. It helps me to eat right, yes, but it also points out a lot of my flaws in my relationship with food. Finding new ways to deal with stress which I did not have to tools to deal with before. Take the time you need. Read the forum thoroughly and look at some people's struggles. You can highlight a person's name and view all of their content. This can help you see their path of struggles and (hopefully) resolution.

Bloodwork, EKG, psych exam. My surgeon sent my PCP all the required stuff and my PCP ordered everything and then sent my surgeon the results. It was really a no-brainer for me. I just showed up when they told me to ... bled when poked, beat my heart when monitored and acted sane when questioned ...