RedShoesinDallas

The cruise was awesome!! We flew to Ft. Lauderdale and then got on the ship and left from there. We stopped in St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortola and Nassau. We went on excursions at every port. My favorite was Tortola. It reminded me of Maui on the Road to Hanna. It was very clean and we didn't see the poverty we saw on the other islands. We snorkled, sailed, toured, and just relaxed on the ship. It was great. Now, I just need to start dropping hints that I want to go to the Mediterranean next summer:)....and I didn't even tell you about the food. I did pretty good. I had only been eating solids about a week before the cruise, so I did have some instances where I ate too much and it either came back up (immediately) or I was miserably full:). I am still struggling with trying to determine the right amount - but overall I think I handled it well. always started out a meal eating my protein, then if I thought I could eat a bite or two of something else, I would. When your stomach will only hold about 1/2 a cup, there's not alot you can do:) I am down 34 lbs since surgery on July 6th - I wish it was more - but I'll take what I can get!!! How about you - how are you doing?

I have two grandkids. I just had surgery in July and have only lost 34 lbs thus far - but I don't think the kiddos will even notice. They are in their own 'little world' and I don't think my looks are a priority for them:)

I had VSG on July 6th this year. When I went in for my 1 month checkup, I mentioned how tired I was to the dr. and he gave me a prescription for a B12 nasal spray that you use once a week. I take my B12 chewable vitamins daily and I have B12 gummy bears at my desk for a little extra, but the nasal spray really gives me the extra energy I need to stay on top of everything. Now, that doesn't mean I am exercising like I am supposed to - but I do feel like my old self:)

Who is your dr.? I was sleeved at Forest Park Medical Center in Dallas on July 6th. I am 56 years old and I am a self pay patient. At the start of this adventure I only needed to lose about 65-70 lbs to get to my goal weight. I wanted the surgery for 2 reasons: 1) vanity (yes, I admit it:) & 2) as a preventative measure so I wouldn't get some of the health issues that go along with being overweight. I've used botox for about 10 years and I anticipate continuing to use it. Without a doubt, I don't have the same elasticity in my skin as I did 10-15 years ago - so I am just taking this one day at a time - and when/if the day comes that my ta-tas no longer fill my bra, I'll be first in line to get a boob job:). I don't think I will have enough excess skin to consider surgery elsewhere - but I'll make that decision, too, if the day comes. Your VSG journey will take you down different roads: The first 2-3 weeks, you will be focused on healing your body from the surgery. Then you'll be focused on taking your Vitamins and trying to eat enough to keep your energy level up. Serious thoughts of cosmetic surgery - at least for me - are still about 45 lbs away:) Good luck on your journey!

Thanks for the words of wisdom! Since my eyes are still bigger than my stomach, I think I'll try measuring out what I can eat and moving what I am not going to eat off my plate into another container.

I had surgery on July 6th. I had no problem maintaining the liquid diet before or after surgery, but now that I am starting to eat some solids, I find that I eat more than I should and I end up miserable. Within 15 minutes of eating, I cannot even streatch out enough to get comfortable. Last night I ate about 8-10 small bites of talipa at a restaurant and I thought I would burst. I've done the same thing 4 or 5 times. When will I figure out the right amount my stomach can hold??? I haven't thrown up because I've eaten too much. I've just made myself miserable.

Wow! That's amazing. It sounds like you are on the road to 'skinny'!! Congratulations!

I had surgrey on July 6th. I started taking my liquid, chewable, and sublingual vitamins the first day I was home all day - which was July 8th. I thought I had read somewhere that I shouldn't be taking calcium for a couple of weeks, but I checked with my dr. yesterday and he said I should be taking them too.

I ordered most of my vitamins from www.bariatricadvantage.com. All are chewable except for the B12, which is sublingual. I also found chewable vitamins at Kroger and Walmart. My dr. recommends an acid blocker for the first 90 days and I even found a chewable Equate brand acid blocker at Walmart tonight. The gummy vitamins mentioned above are also available at Walmart. Bariatric Advantage has a great carmel flavored calcium soft chew, tho the vanilla flavored one at Kroger is good too. Just as an added suppliment, check out ZERO vitamin water at your local grocery store. It comes in many flavors and it's pretty good too.