Suzannesh

Hi, There are so many different stages of eating. Before you have WLS "sleeve" you can't imagine what it will be like--you question if it will work for you. The 1st month is quite an adjustment. For most of you, your 1st month after surgery is the hardest month you will ever have to do. For me it was a real learning period. I had to learn to wrap my mind around not eating very little amounts of food. This is were "head games or head hunger" comes into play. My head was telling me that I should be eating more and in fact, I didn't need to eat at all like I did before I had weight loss surgery. In the 2nd month you will learn to take tiny, tiny bites and chew and chew and chew before you swallow. You need to learn to eat your Protein for me Dr. Aceves said 70 grams per day. Then some fresh veggies and some fruit. I kept my calories about 800 per day with no more than 25 carbs per day. I find now 3 1/2 years later, that I can maintain my weight loss. I now have a lifestyle of eating healthy 99% of the time and I still need to do some kind of exercise. But I have learned that exercise really is good for me and I feel so much better when I do it. You just have to learn to MAKE time for yourself and put yourself FIRST when it comes to what ever your choice is for exercise. Not too long ago I gained about 10 pounds, so I went back to keeping track of what I was eating by keeping track of everything I was putting in my mouth. What I learned is that I was eating some wrong things because we were eating out more. We are in the middle of doing some remodeling in our house so my husband was being sweet and taking me out to eat more. You can go out and eat, just watch the amount of carbs you are eating and what kind of carbs you are eating. I am so glad that I had WLS and it has saved my life. If you are considering this, I want you to know that it will work for you too. I did lose the 10 pounds that I gained. It took me about 3 weeks to lose it. I have all the skills and know what to do and how to lose it and maintain the weight loss also. If you have any questions or need some help, I am here to help you. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi Lynda, Congratulations to you for almost being there. YES, you will be able to maintain it. You have developed a good lifystyle and that is what needed to be changed from how your used to eat. I am gald that my post was helpful to you. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, Yes you did make the right choice and it is pretty easy to maintain. It requires me to be aware of I need to exercise and eat healthy. And that is a way of life for me. I find that I like cooking a whole lot more now than I ever used to. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi I have been thinking about some of the things that many of us have talked about on this board. We have talked about price shopping and I have said “this is not the time to price shop” This is about your health and what is best for you. I had a lovely lady write and tell me that $5,000 was about all she could scrap together to have the surgery and she was going to take her “chances” and go to one of the doctors who charges less. She was single, had children, and was sick and tired of her back hurting and just didn’t want to spend another day being fat. Believe me I heard everything she said and honestly knew right where she was. I had a time in my life where I was a single parent and was trying to make it on my own, I do know how hard money was to come by. I have been there working 3 jobs at one time and had very little time for me and had to do what I could only afford. This is what I can say about my choice to go to Dr. Aceves. When I made my choice, I was 63 years old; I didn’t have any serious medical problems –only high blood pressure. I wanted to become healthy so that I could enjoy the rest of my life. My back hurt most of the time, and I had an awful pain in my leg. I had already experienced one bad experience in the USA hospital and that was when I went in for one procedure and came home and a 3 days later had to return to the hospital because I had a serve infection that I got at the hospital—they told me that when you go to the hospital you run the risk of an infection. Well, I was one who got the infection from the hospital. So when I was doing my research I learned that many people do get infections while having surgery in a US hospital. Infections were one of the things I was looking at when I was making my choice. Almater Hospital utilizes state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. They have less of an infection rate than any US hospital. Well, that caught my attention. I can tell you while I was there they were cleaning everything in this hospital including the sidewalk out in front of the hospital 24-7. They cleaned my bathroom 3 times a day. My rooms 3 times a day, the halls and anything people were touching in the hospital. Almater Hospital has state of the art equipment and technology -Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Complete X ray Unit capable of performing CAT Scans, Ultrasound, Fluoroscopy, and other X-ray tests. Almater Hospital strives to keep updated with equipment of latest generation available. They have Hemodynamic surgical room -where they perform open heart surgery and catheterizations surgical suites (with recovery room). So many of the doctors who charge less just do not have all these things. They are using a clinic to do the surgery, they are not fully staffed and I am worried about where they send you to recover. This is how they can afford to charge less for their surgery. :tongue2: I also wanted a HIGHLY qualified doctor who had an enormous amount of knowledge when it came to “sleeve surgery.” I checked on the number of surgeries that Dr. Aceves had done, and he was rated as a highly qualified doctor who had only one patient who had developed a leak. I also understand that the “one” patient who did develop the leak was because she did NOT follow the directions given to her about what she should be eating the first month. :wub: There are many qualified doctors who do “sleeve surgery.” And I can’t speak about any experience other than what I had. I wanted more than just a qualified doctor. I wanted a HIGHLY qualified doctor who had a team of highly qualified doctors and nurses on his staff who would be taking care of me. That is just what I found in Dr. Aceves and Almater Hospital. I also know that I had the highest quality of staples and surgical materials used in my surgery along with have a staff of nurses 24-7 there during my recovery. I know that many doctors are charging less for “sleeve surgery” and if you only have a certain amount of money to work with that is why you are looking at these other doctors. Give this some thought; you can get loans for the balance of the money. You know we never stop and think twice about making a car payment when we need a new car. Well, how about making a new “body payment?” You are worth it. This is ALL about you and no one else. I have sat here on these boards for 3 ½ years watching and listening to all of this. I can only say what was best for me. I know that there are other doctors who do this surgery and they are OK. I wanted more than just OK. I want you to be very successful at your WLS and your journey to a new and better life along with great health. I wish you all the success in the world. If you have any questions for me, please feel free to ask away. Suzanne Sleeved 10/21/2008 Lost 105 pounds

Hi, I hate Isopure. I call it Isopuke, or pond scum. I hope that helps you! Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, Very well written, and I enjoyed all the things you had to say. It is a great site that you talked about and a place that people should be checking out. Thanks for you input. Hugs, Suzanne

Hello, · The next time you decide to un-clutter your life and clean up your space, start with the things that are truly useless: like regret, shame, and anger.—Sandra Kring Author. When we have weight loss surgery we need to start by un-cluttering our kitchen to get rid of food that we should no longer be eating—if it is gone it will not tempt us. We make space for the new healthy foods that will make us successful in our weight loss journey. I don’t ever want you to have regrets or feel shame or be angry because you have not been successful before. It was not your fault—we have a disease and it is called obesity—Weight Loss Surgery will give us the tool to overcome this. You are doing something that is going to save your life and add years to it. You are being your very own HERO because you have taken control of your life for the first time in a long time. I know how you feel because I went on this journey 3 ½ years ago and successfully lost 105 pounds and have kept it off. Please believe in yourself enough to do the same thing for YOUSELF. If you don’t believe in yourself or on the fence about doing this I am here to help you and support you. One thing that helped me so much was having the right surgeon. My choice was Dr. Aceves. It took me 6 months to do my research and Dr. Aceves was the name that kept coming up in all my research over and over. Hugs, Suzanne Sleeved 10/21/2008

Hey, None of us are perfect. We have a lot of good days and once in awhile we have a not so good day. We are always here to help and support each other. Keep doing all the things that work for you. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, My mind is always going and when I read this quote I saw how it could apply to Weight Loss Surgery or making the choice to have it. We are all in this together and sometimes some of us need a little extra help. That is what I try to do. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, It is my pleasure to help and support others. I had some wonderful people who were there every step of the way for me. You can be successful if you want it bad enough. Hugs, Suzanne

I had surgery 3 1/2 years ago. NO, I eat small amounts of food. I can eat almost anything I want, but only small amounts of it. That is how I lost 105 pounds and have kept it off. I never feel deprived at all. Having the weight loss surgery was the best thing I have ever done for myself. I will never be able to eat large amounts of food because I only have 15% of the stomach that I used to. The was the purpose of having sleeve surgery,change the amount of food you eat. Suzanne

Hi Everyone, What is your greatest fear about having weight loss surgery? I have thought about his over and over. For me it was spending the amount of money it would take to have the surgery and fail again at it, and it was quite of bit of money to fail again at another kind of weight loss. I am here to tell you I was 63 years old when I had weight loss surgery and I had been on more diets and failed at them then a lot of you have been. I can’t count the number of times I joined and rejoined Weight Watchers—maybe 25 times. I was pretty successful at Weight Watcher and I still to this day think it is one of the very best programs out there to do. Nevertheless I wouldn’t lose the weight and get discouraged because I would plateau and get frustrated. I would also think “Oh I can do this myself” I know that plan and program so why spend the money to go to their meetings. So I would end up gaining some of it back then I would be so upset with myself that I would go right back to eating what I shouldn’t eat. I NEVER consider myself on a diet anymore. I have made a permanent lifestyle change. It is a way of life for me. That is why having WLS has worked for me. I think the # 2 thing that scared me was the unknown. We have no idea what WLS is really going to be like, sometimes for some of us we travel outside the US, and for many of us we have never met this doctor that EVERYONE is tell us is so great. We have a million and one questions. For many our families are not very supportive of our choice for having Weight Loss Surgery. Here is what I want you to know. It is a very safe surgery to have. Do your homework and find the doctor that is best for you. For me after 6 months research I pick Dr. Aceves. I can only speak about how wonderful and great he is because that is all I know. I can tell you NOT all Weight Loss Surgeons are great and wonderful. I would NEVER trade one day of my life after I had weight loss surgery for anything. I am healthy and happy and I am NO longer dragging around 105 extra pounds. DO NOT let fear control your health or life. Take back the control and do something that is going to change your entire life for the rest of your life. I wish you great success. I had “Sleeve” surgery 3 ½ years ago and have kept it off, you can do this too. Hugs, Suzanne Sleeved 10/21/2008

Hi, Are you asking how long it took for my surgery? If that is you question it lasted about 2 hours I beleive. If you are asking how long ago did I have sleeve surgery that was 3 1/2 years ago. Suzanne

Awww you don't know how good reading your post made me feel. You said such nice things about me and I truly appreciate them. And I loved it that you "GOT IT" about making body payments. Geez you are worth every dime you are going to spend to become healthy and thin, and happy. One down side you have to get rid of all your "fat clothes" and buy all new clothes. DO NOT save these clothes--only on pair of pants so you can always go back and look at them and see just how far you have come. I am here cheering you on every step of the way. You know us "old" people need to stick together. Thanks for all your compliments. Every time I get something back like you wrote, I know it has been worth my effort to keep telling people over and over that yes, they can do this too and be successful. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, Not to worry, I am always here and check my E-mails 2 and 3 times a day. Prilosec is what I also take. I take it 2 times a day and it resolves any acid reflux that I have. I also try not to eat much anytime close to going to bed and that is helpful. It is a relearning and retraining of our brain. Then all of a sudden our new stomach and brain actually start working together. You are going to be just fine and very successful. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I can tell you not to worry, but you are still going to worry. You will not have any complications. I am so excited for you and know that you are going to have great success. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I am always willing to share my experience and for new people starting out this is usually good and helpful information. I am glad you liked it. I have more if you ever need anything. Hugs,' Suzanne

Hi, I am sorry you had a leak. For me I had a Highly Skilled Doctor and knew I was going to do just fine and have NO leaks. I had Dr. Aceves in Mexicali, Mexico do my WLS Sleeve surgery. Who is your doctor? I wished you great success in your adventure of changing your life. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi Vicki, You are NOT going to fail at this WLS. In fact your are going to be very successful. I can understand how you must feel. I think you said it best. The Lapband failed you. What you are about to have will change your entire life and it will last for the rest of your life. It will be sooooooo much easier to live with the sleeve. I am always out here if you have any questions or just want to talk. Thanks so much for you sweet word. I am a regular person just like you are. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I will be hear for you. It is very normal to have feeling and emotions all over the place. I have been there and had all the same ones you are having. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I am not sure where you are going to have your surgery. No, you will not fail at this--we all think this and that is a normal feeling and statement. Just follow the rules they give you. You can't imagine what it will be like to NOT feel hunger. After the WLS you eat because you need to eat. There will no longer be a feelings of hunger--I know that is a strange thought but a true one. You will have to deal with what we call "head hunger." The "old thinking brain" has been in charge for your entire life. NOW YOU have to be in charge I will send you something I wrote about a few things and they should help you quite a bit. You honestly should not require little of any after care. I had complete blood panels run because I felt pretty weak and I found out that my potassium level was low, they gave me medication for it and that resolved that issue. If you have a Highly Qualified Doctor for a surgeon you should never have to think about or worry about a leak. I had Dr. Aceves in Mexicali, Mexico and he is one of the top Weight Loss Surgeons in the world. So I knew this going into my surgery and had NO worries about any kind of a leak. I had NO pain when I got home. I went shopping 3 days after I got home for groceries. They sent pain meds home with me, but I did not need any. I think you will do fine. The first month after the surgery will be the hardest month that you will ever have to do. It is only for 30 days and you can do this--it isn't a lifetime. I am always here if you need help or have any questions. Here are the things that I wrote about and you might find them useful. Sorry if I sent you too much information, but you might find this helpful. Print them out so that you can read them later. Hugs, Suzanne *********************************************************************************** Volume 1 I decided that I would make a list of things for new people who are thinking about having WLS that might be helpful to them. This is long so please PRINT THIS OUT TO READ if you don’t want to read it all at one time. First thing is to start asking people on the board you are on all kinds of questions—make of list of things you want to ask and keep coming back and ask more questions as time goes on. The more questions that ask the more you educate yourself about WLS and the process and what doctor they liked. Don’t rely on just one source of information. It is really normal to have all kind of feeling and emotions when trying to decide if you want to have Weight Loss Surgery. I must have talked myself in and out of doing this at least 50 times during my 6 months of research. My only regret is that I didn't’t do it sooner. This is a big step. But if diet and exercise worked for us then we still wouldn't’t be fat and would have lost the weight a long time ago and never regained it. It takes a lot of courage to have Weight Loss Surgery. I am very proud of you for looking into this. Don’t give any more days of your life being overweight, and your body hurting along with being unhealthy. WLS really is your answer. How do you select your surgeon? First of all this is NOT a time to price shop for the cheapest doctor to do your WLS—that is just the wrong way to go at this. There are a lot of doctors who advertise on the Internet doing sleeve surgery for a lot less than some other doctors. I found one posting from a person who had the following concerns after having surgery in Tijuana, Mexico. (a) They put NO name band on her to be able to ID her when giving medications or anything else. ( NO one asked if she had any allergies to foods or medications—thank goodness this person didn't’t have any. ( The lab did NOT label tubes of blood with the person’s name on it—very dangerous. © Day after surgery they gave this person ice chips, tea and apple juice. The next day (day 2) they gave this person NOTHING so this person asked why and the nurse said this person wasn't’t allowed to eat anything. Well, this person then said I had Clear liquids the day before and they wanted to know WHO gave it to this person?? (d) This person was told that they would get a copy of the operative report on their discharge to take home with them—This person has not received it yet and that was about 2 weeks ago. So make sure have positive feedback about the Surgeon and Staff and Hospital that you choose. My choice after 6 months of research was Dr. Aceves in Mexicali, Mexico. What I can tell you in my opinion is that he is the very best you will ever find to do your surgery. I can only speak about my experience and my research that I did before I made him my choice for a surgeon. Pack lightly for your WLS. So many of us have gone to Mexico, so you want a small suitcase with wheels, a laptop & a cell phone. The clothing that you wear to Mexico are the same ones you can wear home—slip on shoes work great too. Make sure that the clothing is loose fitting. Something just comfortable for your ride home. While in Mexico—that is if you go to Mexico for WLS make sure you take GAS-X. They have nothing in Mexico that they give your for gas, and the use gas in your abdominal area during surgery. It is painful after the surgery, so GAS-X STRIPS are easy to use by just placing them on your tongue. Take a couple of boxes with you—you will be glad you did. If you are going to use a credit card make sure you tell your credit card company and your Bank if you use your debit card or credit card. Sometimes if you DO NOT let these companies know you are outside of the US they block your charges. Use a credit card or debit card vs cash it is much easier to use. Take small amounts of cash for tips—I took $45.00 in 1’s for tip money for various things. If you go to any hospital anywhere leave ALL jewelry at home –just a watch and no rings or other jewelry. I never had any problems at all leaving my purse and computer& cell phone in my room while I was in surgery, but they recommend that you leave all jewelry at home. If you are a lady please remove all nail polish—they need it removed to see your nail beds during surgery. The first month you do after surgery is the HARDEST month you will ever have to do. You do 10 days of nothing but clear liquids to start with—that means you have to be able to see through the liquid. Do not panic if you can not get the Protein they want you to have the 1st 10 days—I couldn't’t find anything I liked that was clear during the 1st 10 days. They want you to try to drink 64 oz each day, and I don’t think I could ever get that much Water drank—just do the best you can. Your new stomach has just had major surgery and it is swollen and will only hold something about the size of your thumb. The next 10 days gets much better—you are now on creamy liquids for these 10 days. You can now have some creamy Soups, yogurt, and pudding—sugar free and find a Protein Drink that you like. For me it is Premier Protein Drink and I get mine at costco. When looking for a protein drink, make sure they are low in calories, high in Protein—Premier has 30 grams of protein in each drink box and make sure you have low carbs too. I know there are a lot of other Protein drinks out there that people like. When it comes to carbs I tried to keep mine at no more than 20 carbs per day. Ask others what kind of Protein drinks they liked and where they get them. The last 10 days are mushy foods. So this is a bit of a challenge. How many foods can I make mushy? I even considered using some baby foods. Start thinking about what will work as mushy foods for you. Starting the 2nd month is quite an adventure. You can eat regular food. Here is where the relearning process takes place. You now will take tiny BABY BITES of food and chew each bit about 30 times or until it is like a liquid. From here on out you will need to take small bites of food and chew and chew and chew. I found out that chicken and fish were a lot easier to chew up. I don’t eat much red meat—your tastes will change and things you didn’t like a lot might taste good and something that you used to love don’t taste that great anymore. Keep track of what you are eating and keep your calories at about 800 calories per day and no more than 20 carbs per day—whole grain carbs are the best to have—NO white or refined carbs. I highly suggest that you keep track by writing them down or using some of the Internet sites that offers you this. I suggest this site it works great there are other sites to use this is just a suggestion. http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/ It really is good to write down and track everything you put in your mouth to start with—that is how you know that you have not had more than 800 calories per day. I want you to understand weight loss surgery is just a tool. The fat does not just melt off of you—they is NO miracle cure. Now you have to put a lot of effort into eating healthy and starting to exercise. Everyone has some kind of exercise that works for them. I love walking and try to walk about 5 days a week. For many of us we started to lose some of our hair 3 or 4 months after having WLS. I would find a lot of hair in the shower after washing my hair. That is pretty normal for a lot of us—this does not happen to everyone. There is no magical cure for hair loss—some people use different shampoo’s or take Biotin. It happens and you live with it. YES, it will grow back. For me I had pencil straight hair and mine grew back natural curly and I love it now. I already had thin hair so for me, I got some cute wigs and wore them for about 9 months until my hair looked a lot better. It was worth the hair loss to lose 105 pounds. Because we eat a lot of protein we suffer from constipation. You need to have at least 70 grams of protein EACH day. So I mix my protein drink each morning with MIRALAX. It is NOT habit forming and is tasteless and it is just a good way to start off the day. I put the protein and a cap full of Miralax in the blender with about 5 small ice cubes and that is my Breakfast. 3 years later I still have this for breakfast and nothing else, it just works for me. You may have periods where you have what we call STALLS. You may be doing everything right and eating and exercising and you have NO weight loss for a week or more. This is normal—mine lasted 9 days. Don’t panic the weight loss will start up again, just keep doing what you are doing. Our heads play games with us sometimes it is ugly what our brain tried to convince us of—We call these “Head Games” and they really are tough times to work though, but you can do it. Your head is still thinking with your old brain and way of thinking that you have been doing for most of your life. You now are eating VERY small amount of food, but your head is used to you eating LARGE amounts of food and that is what your brain wants—so it tries to tell you the you should be eating more—NOT true at all. So you need to have a talk with yourself. Do I just WAN T to eat or do I really NEED to eat? You are not on a diet, but you are making a LIFESTYLE change and that is good because you can do this for the rest of your life. You will NEVER be able to eat like you used to. That is good because that is how we got fat. You will morn the loss of food—you will look around and see others inhaling all this food and you think to yourself—I used to eat like that. You will notice how fast people eat and inhale their food and talk and hardly chew what they are eating. That is pretty normal feeling to have—because you are now eating such small amounts of food and chewing and chewing. You will never be able to guzzle a bottle of water again—that is OK too. These are all good things. In time you will look at all the food people are eating and thinking to yourself oh my gosh I could never eat that much again—it is way too much food. When you have issues or problems come back to the board and ask others who have already done this. We are here to help and support you. Give or exchange all your fat clothes away. You will never need them again after they become too big for you. This weight loss is something you will be able to maintain for the rest of your life. You have earned the right to have new clothes. Make sure you have the VERY best doctor that has had a lot of experience with sleeve surgery and check his success rates out. Check the doctor for HIGH patient reviews from the people who have gone to him or her. I can NOT STRESSS this enough. Make sure that your surgery is being done in a hospital NOT a Clinic. One clue that it is a clinic is if they send you to a hotel room to recover—that is why they cost less, this is also dangerous too. YOU are worth the extra money that it cost to have this WLS in a Hospital and by the best Doctor you can have. You want to have a happy and GREAT life and having the RIGHT Doctor and Hospital are the key to this. Sorry if this is long, but it is intended to have as a reference and answer a lot of your questions that you might have. For some of you, you are very lucky because your health insurance is now starting to pay for Weight Loss Surgery. For many of this, we did not have your luck, so we are self pay patients. There are companies that loan money for this surgery—be aware that their interest rate is high. Once you pick your doctor ask them about these companies that give loans for surgery if you are a self pay patient. You know we never think twice about making car payments. If you have to borrow the money for this surgery just look at this as “body payment.” It will be the best money you have ever borrowed. Please PRINT this out to read later. If you have any questions for me please feel free to contact me. I had surgery almost 3 years ago, so I do have quite a bit of experience. I really am here to help you along your journey. It took me 14 months to lose this weight and I was 63 when I had the surgery, so it is NEVER too late in life to do this. ************************************************************************************ Volume 2 Here are some more things I want you to know about if you are thinking about having WLS and you are having the “Sleeve.” We have talked a little or a lot about “slimming or Fleming” In case you missed it, when you first start eating regular food you have to re-learn how to eat again and chew. With your new stomach you will need to take small tiny bites and chew until the food in your mouth is almost liquid like. This is nothing like what you had been doing your entire life. In the past you eat and talk and put big bite in your mouth along with a few chews and then swallowing—this will NO LONGER WORK FOR YOU. This is a very difficult thing to change. So with your new stomach and just having surgery you may experience slimming or Fleming. First you will feel like the food is stuck, then it comes back up in a clear liquid –your saliva. It isn’t vomit, so that is why it is called slimming or Fleming. It’s a wakeup call to slow down you eating and chew, and chew and chew some more. Just go to the bathroom or have a napkin ready for the slimming or Fleming if you are eating out. If you try to overeat—which is bad you may experience this too sometimes. For me it was always about not chewing enough. What are some signs that you are full? At first I wasn’t sure, but sometimes I just got tired of all the chewing, so I stopped eating. I now get the hiccups or my noise will start to run when I am full. I know that other people have said they experienced this too. It does take some time to retain yourself on how to eating and I know that the first month it is such a process just trying to get all the food in that you need to get in because of your new restrictions. In time it does get a lot easier. Some people actually mourn the loss of food, because you will NEVER EAT the quantity of food that we used to eat---YEAH that is how we are going to lose the fat and maintain that goal weight that we want to have for the rest of our lives. If you think you are hungry and you are positive that you are having physical symptoms of hunger this is YOUR OLD thinking brain playing those tricks we have talked about. You now have to start learning to educate this OLD brain into being your NEW thinking brain. Ask yourself do you just "want to eat" or do you really "need to eat" because it has been 3 or 4 hours since you have eaten anything. It is amazing what our brains can and will do to sabotage our way of thinking. You may be challenged by this OLD brains way of thinking for many years. For me I just have to have some self-talks with myself. We have an addiction to food. There is no way around avoiding food, so we need to find the set of skills that will allow us to change our lifestyle. I eat to live, I NO LONGER live to eat! Food is not my main focus in life. I have seen so many times where people are going along and doing great with their weight loss. Then all of a sudden they are NOT losing anything—they panic—I did when it happened to me. We call these “Stalls.” We have stalled and are not losing anything. Most of the time you are eating all the same and correct things that you have in the past when you were losing weight. Our body just does this naturally--stalls. Mine lasted 9 days one time. This is really normal. I have a few suggestions. Use this site or something like it to track everything you are putting in your mouth. http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/ You might be surprised at what you are eating—that is why I say track it. Remember keep your total calories at 800 per day—if you exercise then you can eat more. This site will help you figure that out how much more you can it by what kind of exercise you did. You also need to make sure that you are not eating more than 20 carbs per day. No white or refined carbs. They should ONLY be whole grain carbs—not whole wheat, BUT Whole Grain carbs—do the best you can when it comes to carbs. If you are having problems with the weight loss you can kick up the amount of exercise you are doing too. The weight loss will start back up again, so don’t panic. We all stumble and fall along the way, don’t beat yourself up over it. Move on and have a better day the next day. Be aware that your friends and family may not be supportive of you having WLS. For your family, first they really may NOT understand it and they are scared for you. This is pretty normal. You have been on the Internet, and been educating yourself and doing a lot of reading—you know much more than they do about weight loss surgery and your choice is the sleeve. They have only heard the horror stories that the media puts out there or one of their uneducated family or friends have told them. Your friends are scared they may lose you as a friend because you are going to lose the weight and they will remain fat—yes I call it fat. I know there are a lot of politically correct terms to use, but if I can say I was fat you will one day too. Some of your friends will be jealous. My suggestion is that you can try to educate them some, but take your time and effort right now and use it for yourself. After you have had WLS and they see you are becoming healthy and you are alive and well they may come around. I want you to put yourself FIRST, for the very first time. If they are truly your friends they will be there when you are skinny. The first month will be the hardest month you will have to do. You are changing everything about how you eat. I want you to keep saying to yourself that it is ONLY 30 days and I can do ANYTHING for 30 days. Once you start the 2nd month and can have regular food, it gets easier. What do you do about getting smaller clothes? One of my adventures used to be to go to Resale clothing places and sell or trade my larger clothing to them, and then finding some smaller sizes. Just buy what you need to get by for a while until you need a smaller size. It was like a treasure hunt or an adventure for me. I found some places like Goodwill that had brand name label NEW clothing that the local stores gave them. I found some great deals at these places. So consider doing something like this or getting together with some of your friends and trading clothing. I also donated a lot of mine for a tax deduction to nonprofit organizations that give tax receipts—it is really great when it is tax time rolls around and I had all these deductions. I would make a list of everything I was going to donate and how much weight I had lost. I kept that all together in case the IRS asked why I gave away 20 some dress and 10 pair of pants, and 30 tops! Make sure that you go see your Primary Care Doctor when you have had WLS if you have gone outside of the US for your surgery. I went to see my PCP before I went to let her know what I was doing—I wanted a doctor who would support me in my efforts. I had to do a bit of education and after she had time to read all of the information I left her, she was behind me all the way. She said come back in to see her after being home for 2 weeks and she would check me over and run a blood panel to see how I was doing. She did this every month for a while and started taking me of meds that I no longer needed. I did need to start taking potassium—mine was low after having WLS and I knew this when I left Dr. Aceves—they had run a blood panel after I had my “Sleeve surgery.” I loved the fact that my PCP took me off 4 of my other medications within 3months of me having WLS. Exercise is important for you in a lot of ways. Walking and swimming are the ones that work best for me. I know that there have been a few people who said they did nothing. Walking helped me lose a little faster and was good cardio too. I try to walk at least 4 or 5 times a week. When I can I try to swim on the days I don’t walk. I know at first it is difficult to start to exercise, but walk around your home then, down the block a little. When the weather is bad—I live in Oregon and we have a lot of rain, we walk inside the Mall during those times. They open up the Mall at 6:00 am where I live, so you can start early. Buy a used treadmill and see if you like walking on it. My last words of wisdom are the following Saying yes means you will do something new, meet someone new most likely and make a difference in your life. Be true to yourself. It is you, your authentic self, the one you were in the first grade, before you leaned to massage your personality into a form that would suit others. Sometimes it is hard to hear the message because of all the external voices and they are so loud. Voices that are loud are always meant to bully. DO NOT BE BULLIED. So carry your courage in an easily accessible place. Be your OWN authentic person when it comes to Weight Loss Surgery. This is ALL about you and NO one else. Last you don’t need the approval of the Bully. You know what is right for you, follow your heart and go for it. I am always here if you want to ask me more questions, or I didn’t cover something that you are thinking about.I read my E-mail daily. I know it is a BIG step to take and there are a lot of things to think about, you can and will be success.

Hi, This will NEVER be a waste of your money. It will require work and effort on your part. It is NOT a miracle cure and you have tomake good food choices, which because so much easier since you have the restriction of a much smaller stomach. Adding exercise really does help you physically and mentally too. If you are going to owe quite a bit after, have you considered going to Dr. Aceves in Mexicali, Mexico. He is one of the top weight loss doctors in the world and that is who I went to. His fee is $8,750 for the surgery and the say in the hospital and that includes everthing but your air fare to San Diego where they pick you up at. If you have any question about him, I highly recommend him and I am open to answer any questions you have about surgery and what will happen after the surgery. I will admit that I used to think people were crazy going outside of the US to have medical things done. I learned from my own experience that the care is received was 100 times better than anything I ever got in the US. His hospital has less infection rate that any US hospital too. There is a team of highly skilled doctor and nurses. I just want you to know that you are going to be successful. I had all the very same doubts as you. What if I was the "one" person that this surgery did not work on. LOL if you follow what they tell you, it will work and you will be successful and you WILL keep it off forever. Hugs, Suzanne I am always here any time you want to talk or voice the things you are scared about. I want you to be successful.

Hi Everyone, We are always talking about watching the amount of carbs that we eat each day. I keep trying to find ways to satisfy my needs to eat low carbs yet have delicious food. Well I discovered a new cookbook that I just love. :wub: This guy was on QVC and I thought to myself these recipes and foods sounds so great—but do they really taste this good. They (QVC) has a policy that you can return anything in 30 days if you don’t like what you purchased, so what did I have to lose—NOT a thing. OK, I LOVE this book. For Breakfast I made “cheese Danish Dreams” Doesn’t this sound good? It has 260 Calories Fat: 24 grams, Protein: 10.5 grams. Fiber: 0 Grams and Net Carbs: 2 grams. Prep time 5min. Cook time 2 min Serves 2 Shopping List: 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 2 large eggs 2 tablespoons Splenda 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and mix with a fork until smooth. Pour the mixture evenly into the bottom of 2 microwaveable Cereal bows and microwave on high for 2 minutes, until springy around the outside and soft in the center. Use spatula to remove Danishes from bottom of bowls, and let cool 2 to 3 minutes before serving. You can top with additional cinnamon and sugar substitute before serving, or add fresh berries or sliced almonds to the cent for something even better. I had fresh Raspberries and it was so good. The Book is called “Still Livin Low Carb and the author is George Stella. The cost of the book is $17.67 plus postage of $6.72 for a total cost of $24.39. In 3 ½ years I have never recommended a cookbook, but this is one that I thought you would really enjoy For dinner we had Flourless Focaccia Bread that was like a pizza. It is GREAT and made with Soy & Flaxseed Flour. Net Carbs: 4.5 grams. Sometimes I am just looking for new ideas and this truly was an inspiration to me to find this book. Suzanne Sleeved 10/21/2008 Lost 105 Pounds.

Hi Allie, Remember I keep saying that the 1st month that you do will be the hardest month you will EVER have to do. It is not a lifetime, and it is only 30 days. I am always out here if you have any questions or just want to talk. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, With a sleeve you really do not have "dumping syndrome" The swallowing is because they are not taking tiny baby bites and chewing is 20 to 30 times so it is like a liquid before they swallow. The was the hardest thing I had to relearn. For your entire life you have shoveled the food in your mouth chewed it about two times and swallowed. That will have to change. It doesn't stay stuck for a long time. Just put your fork down for a few minutes and you will feel the food going down. The next bite, chew and chew and chew. Heartburn or acid reflux can be controlled really easy. Nexium DID NOT work that well for me, so I use Prilosec 2 times a day and I have no problems. So I hear all the things you are saying, but there are some pretty easy fixes to the things that scare you. I am always here if you have any questions. Good luck on your surgery and you will do just fine. Hugs, Suzanne