PdxMan

I trust you are doing well, but you may want to hold off for awhile. You just don't want to have one of those pinched in that seam. If you're talking to your medical team, you may want to mention it, but if you aren't having any problems now, you are probably fine.

Janerose, you can do this at home. Just give it a try. This Sunday afternoon, before the Super Bowl, run to the grocery store and pick up: 1 pound ground turkey 1 onion 1 green pepper 2 carrots 2 cans of diced stewed tomatoes 2 cans of kidney Beans Chili powder 1 case of canning pint jars with lids (one time expense, but then you'll have them forever) Dice the veggies Heat up a pan (5 qt) Add turkey and brown Add 2 Tbsp chili spice stir Add veggies, tomatos, beans stir cook on low for an hour stirring occassionally Rinse jars, fill and toss in the freezer. Grab one on the way out the door. I do this every other week. It costs me about $5 and I have healthy, tasty lunches everyday. The prep time is around 10 minutes. That's it. Do it once and you'll see how easy it really is. And, you can do this with many other soups/foods as well. I love my little pint jars.

What stage are you in? When was your surgery?

Dooter, I was told to avoid strawberries and things like that just for that reason for 3 months.

^^^ I was thinking the same thing, BedHead. My wife was so supportive of me and knows she can't possibly understand all of my reasons for wanting this, but she supported me. She is getting whatever she wants tonight.

If you watch those videos, the instrument they use is kind of like a surger. I'm guessing it takes care of that.

The staples are titanium based and do not disolve. They are in there forever. They will not trigger any metal detector and are safe around microwaves. I asked my surgeon.

I just bought some 'Scar cream' at Walgreens. I put it on, put a band-aid over it and called it good. Next morning, repeat. I believe, and as someone who works in skin care, you would probably know better than I, the concept is to keep the skin moist and pliable while the scar tissue develops. I'm sure the Vitamin E in there does something, but I have no idea what. So, which product you use would just have different 'things' in there whilst the scar tissue develops. Mine look pretty good, I have to say. Not even a week ago my kids were trying to locate them. After a bit, they were able to find 3 of the 5.

First off, good job recognizing this and keeping your sobriety a priority. I am 12 years clean and sober, but I think once a person gets past a couple years, they have most of the tools to stay sober. Folks with additictions are an interesting group. The behavior can continue after freedom from one of their vices in the form of another one. There is a forum on here that talks about cross-addictions. You give up one, and pick up another. I gained a lot of weight after geting sober and talked to my sponsor about it. He asked me to make a choice, be fat or dead. If I kept drinking I knew I was going to be dead, so ... So, now that we are dealing with substance abuse, how do we add food to the mix? For me, it was to get the sleeve. I know several folks do not believe that food addiction is real, but I do. I believe food and the satiety of food does alter my brain chemistry. To get sober, we elimanate the substance all together. I know if I have one drink, I'm lost, but I have to have food. I've tried the 12 step philosophies with food to no avail. Now, 7 months out, I am dedicated to my plan, which includes: Eating Proteins first with most meals (feel restriction better) Do not drink just before/during/right after eating Exercise - Run, Tabata, Spinning ... one day rest/week With this plan and the sleeve, I can't lose control with food. It is not an option. The restriction keeps me under control and if I push it, you pay a penalty that you don't want repeated. That being slimes or feeling like cr@p. Is it possible to cheat? Sure. Ignore the list above and you can actually gain weight, thought difficult to do. You can still make your diet with Taco Bell burritos and KFC. When I got sober, I had a moment of clarity where I threw my hands up and said, "I can't do this anymore. I'm going to die if I don't do something." Same thing happened regarding my WLS. My doctor was ready to put me on medications for diabetes and high blood pressure. I had sleep apnea and ... well, I had issues. I threw my hands up and said, "I can't do this anymore. I'm going to die if I don't do something." So, I have approached this the same way I did 12 years ago. Knowing that failure means a casket, and my wife and kids don't want that. (I'm not a fan of that, either) That is what keeps me on my program and keeps me dedicated to my recovery. This forum is my support group where we fight, love and learn. Good luck and let me know if I can help you in any way. You don't have to white knuckle this alone.

Last night I attended the introduction seminar for a running group to train for a half marathon to be held on July 4th. It was pretty exciting, I have to say. There were over 150 people there. We got a cool tech shirt and socks and a brief intoduction to the program. We will get together twice a week, Wednesdays at a track to work on speed and strength and on Saturday mornings for a long run. These runs will be all over town and in Vancouver as well, each week somewhere new with varying distances going up to a max of 12 miles. I bought a Garmin 405 GPS watch today which has a heart rate monitor. Last weekend, I bonked after 4 miles going at a 8:15/mile pace, so this morning, I slowed it down to a 9:00/mile and ran just shy of 5 miles and felt fine. One of my struggles is pace, so, instead of trying to pace based on time, I am going to pace based on heart rate. We'll give this a try so I can try to get a basic feel for a pace. Nutrition is also going to be one of my struggles. I am finding it difficult to eat enough. 1,200 calories isn't going to cut it running 4/5 miles per day. Just think when I am running 8/10/12 miles. I tried an energy gel this morning before my run, so that could be why I was able to do this morning bonk-less. It is going to be an experiment, for sure. I have some whole wheat spaghetti with chicken for lunch, so we'll see how I feel and recover. Also, I am running in the Valentine's Run on the 12th. I signed up for the 8K, which is 5 miles, so I should be OK with that since I am running that distance in training, now. I will continue to post on my training over the next 20 weeks or so leading up to the half marathon, so click on the Follow just above to the left if you want to stay tuned. I will post everything I learn about this training as it relates to me and my sleeve.

I always order soup as an entree at these things. If anyone asks, depending on the time, I tell them either I had a huge/late breakfast and not really that hungry or that I am going out tonight to some fancy place and don't want to spoil it. I'll also throw in some comment about how I am trying not to eat when I am not hungry, which gets them thinking about their eating habits and all questions immediately end!

I was on Prilosec, tums, baking powder ... pre-surgery. I didn't know it, but I had a hiatal hernia, which the surgeon corrected. Ever since the surgery, I have not had to take anything. Is it because of the surgery or the eating better ...? Don't know for sure, but I feel pretty confident a hiatal hernia is not going to help.

Well, this has to be a first. I have actually lost weight over the holidays. About 10 pounds! It isn't like I tried to lose ... I actually cheated quite often. I made at least a couple dozen batches of english toffee and sampled all the goodies brought into the house as well as the office. But, there lies the difference from this year to years past. Sampled. Not overloaded. Not engourged. Plus, I am exercising more and not overloading at mealtimes, either. I just wonder how much I would be down if I hadn't sampled. Which makes me wonder ... I am now in the 180's weight-wise. I am working out and lifting weights, but I am suprised that I am still losing at the rate I am. I don't want to turn into some whimpy looking dude with a bunch of extra skin dangling all over the place ... But, I can still feel fat around my body, so ... I guess there is more to lose. I can pretty much eat anything I want. Bread still feels lumpy, so I have one bite every few days.

Andy brings up a good point. Another new option this year was to donate instead of actually purchasing Cookies. Hey Andy, I thought you were from Altoona or Fredricksburg, although Altoona isn't that far from Des Moines ...

Mocha, you can still do white blood cell or plasma, and I believe they test for that antibody, so having been pregnant doesn't necessarily automatically exclude you if they are looking for platelets.

Compared to two months out, for sure I can eat more. Probably double, at least. As far as the fast food, we don't know this fellow's situation, so ... My son love's McDonalds (of course) and maybe once a month I'll do a drive through, get him something and pick myself up one cheeseburger. I can get through about 2/3rds of it and give him the rest. Why would I stop at fast food when I know the evils of it? Sometimes, things just work out that way. Driving somewhere and he tells me he is starving because he didn't eat lunch that day (for some reason). Why do I buy a cheeseburger for myself? Because I enjoy a cheeseburger, am eating low cal and I excercise a lot, so, I can do it on a rare occassion. If you're looking to be on a diet of fast food, though, then there may be other issues which need to be looked at. You need to be able to be able to prepare food for yourself. If it is because you don't know how to cook, then before getting sleeved, you may want to take a class at a community college. If it is because you don't have time, then take a time management class. Weight loss surgery and fast food are not good bed partners, for sure.

The great thing about the sleeve, though, is that you can't eat 3 boxes of Cookies. I'm guessing I will be able to eat about two of those thin mints, judging from my other cookie intake ability, and feel the restriction. I can do that and not feel bad. Now, if I have a glass of milk with them, then look out. I'm sure I could do some real damage, but I am pretty faithful about not drinking and eating at the same time.

Since you are of the blood donation mind-set, I suggest switching to blood product donation instead. Platelet or white blood cell. Contact your local donation center and ask about it. Apheresis is the search term if you need to use. Basically, it is a two hour commitment where they put a needle in each arm. Blood is drawn from one arm where it then flows into a machine where a centrifuge separates the blood into its components. They 'scrape' off the product they are in need of, reassemble the rest and it flows back into the other arm. If you have strong veins, they have some machines which are single arm where they pull and push from one arm. And if you thought the cookie selection was good at the whole blood donation, wait until you go to the apheresis area. You are treated like royalty. (I've done it in 4 different cities) I like to do it because it forces me to actually sit and relax for two hours which is nice. They have tons of movies to watch (each chair has their own TV). During the football season, I would schedule my time to coincide with the game I wanted to watch. Wife can't bother you there!! It truly is a rewarding experience, too. These are products which are more desperately needed than whole blood. AND you get to keep all of your red blood cells, so you don't have that let-down issue post donation. If they pull platelets, I believe they are replaced within 24 hours. I'm not sure about whites and plasma, but you can ask them. Check it out.

Well, I have a little Girl Scout in the family so, not only did I have to buy a bunch, but I took her out to sell and help others in the sinful delight. To top it all off, my wife volunteered to do the cookie pick-up and distribution to the scouts. In less than two weeks, I am going to have HUNDREDS of those boxes in my house. (My daughter sold like 130 boxes alone) I'm not even going to try to kid myself ... of course I'm going to be all over those. I better up my exercise now. Hey, I didn't get this sleeve so I couldn't sin anymore! (But I also didn't get it so I could sin ... )

I'm PDXman, there, too.

Something to remember, too, is early on, until you can get your carbs up, your body may be in some varying degree of ketosis. Search the site for ketosis for lots of discussions on it. One of the by-products is a funky taste in your mouth that throws the flavor of everything off. Once I got my body out of that, things started to return to normal.

Nice job! That is an awesome time. Congrats! I can't wait to hear all about it.

Nice!! I think it is so important to set mini-goals along the way. Congrats!!

Wow!! I'm guessing as I am writing this (9:20 PST) you have crossed the finish line and feel GREAT! CONGRATULATIONS!! Truly inspirational. I start my running group tomorrow to train for a half-marathon on July 4th. I have been training on my own and have found nutrition to be my biggest obstacle. I would love to know how you are able to get in enough carbs before long runs. I will PM you. Congrats!!

I also want to commend you on your honesty and action to deal with this. One thing to note, though, is not everyone has throwing up issues. I think it might be like the review of that new plasma TV. It looks great to me, but all of the reviews are TERRIBLE!! Of course, only the people who are having problems are going to post about the problem. People who are happy and content with their TV are not going to take the time to post their happy thoughts, although, of course, some do, but by far not representative. I have not thrown up, and I guessing the majority haven't either. Might I suggest a trip over to the Success stories for some inspirational reading? http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/forum/14-gastric-sleeve-surgery-vsg-success-stories/