LindaS

I was sleeved August 9, so it will be 6 weeks tomorrow. I'm down 36 pounds. Today I had to buy two belts, so I can quit pulling my pants up. I'm not yet ready to buy smaller sizes, and when I do, I plan to buy mostly second hand until I am at my goal weight. I was excited because I was able to buy a "large" belt instead of an "extra large." I haven't had any problems with eating. I am still on mostly liquid diet with cottage cheese, yogurt and pudding as well. I also drink a lot of Protein shakes. I am sleeping through the night, and my husband reports that I haven't snored since my surgery. Woohoo! I was very tired after I went back to work. It was about four weeks after my surgery and about the second week back to work. It seems to have corrected itself now. I take my Vitamins, but the only real exercise that I am getting is walking/dancing/stair climbing. My doctor still doesn't want me to do much more than that since he fixed a hiatail hernia when he did my surgery (spelling of that? I don't know.). One of the great things -- the weekend of Labor Day my family went camping, and I went tubing for the first time ever. I had a blast, and I wouldn't have done it before because of my body size. I realize I was still pretty big when I went, but I thought to myself that it will change so why not? The gurgling of my stomach doesn't happen as often as it did. My scars are healing nicely.

My doctor told me he looks for 2-3 pound loss a week. You are at about 42 weeks, which is right at 2 pounds a week. That is right on target.

I just bought some Protein Soups (bariwise) and oatmeal, which I hadn't tried before. I liked the cream of mushroom Soup, but the cream of broccoli soup seemed too watery to me. I think it would be better if it were mixed into normal cream of broccoli soup. Today, I tried the oatmeal. I didn't like the texture at first (too runny). I added a third of a packet of sugar free instant oatmeal, and it was much better. I put the rest of the packet in a Ziploc bag and will store with the bariwise oatmeal. I love the Bariwise Fruit drinks. I use a shaker cup to mix them up. The lid also cuts down on the smell. I have found that I need to carry sugarfree mints or hard candy with me since the protein tends to give me bad breath, and I don't like having protein breath at work. I've also made a lot of smoothies. I use one of the sugar free carnation instant breakfasts and add milk, greek yogurt (plain) and about 3-5 strawberries. I also add a scoop of Protein powder. It makes a very filling Breakfast that is very high in protein. Linda

I take Biotin 7500 mg a day. I bought it from Puritan's Pride when they were having a buy 1 get 2 free sale. It's a small tablet. I've been taking it since right after my surgery, and I haven't noticed anything with my hair. I have noticed that my nails are growing very fast and are very strong. I've always had good nails, but they seem to be even better lately. Linda

Sometimes all of the antibiotics you get during surgery can cause problems. I had a yeast infection right after surgery because of the antibiotics. I got treatment, and it cleared up quickly. I'd never had that before. I don't get flu shots, so I can't help you there.

Congratulations!

I am so glad they found this in the first stage! Hugs and prayers go out to you.

I felt great two weeks after surgery. I went back to work around 3 weeks, and the fourth and fifth week (current), I've felt tired. I work at a university, and I do a lot of walking when I work among various campus buildings and up flights and flights of stairs. The biggest thing I've found is that I need to have my drinks and foods around. You don't want to have to find things in a strange store. I'd stock up on some of the protein-rich food. I like Bariwise products. They come in an envelope and just need Water added. I have a couple of shaker bottles. I went camping about two weeks after my surgery. It involved lots of meals I couldn't eat. I didn't mind. I did try to time my most "meal like" food with the time other people were eating. I'd have cottage cheese or pudding mixed with Protein. This let me sit down and eat with them and socialize without any problem. Linda

Congrats!

I'm not at 7 weeks yet, but my diet plan says absolutely no corn for a year.

You take the amount you've lost and divide by the amount you need to lose. It gives you a decimal number. Move the decimal two spots to the right and that is the percentage. For instance, I've lost 30 pounds. I want to lose 115 pounds. 30/115=.2608 or 26 percent.

My surgery was August 9. I started teaching August 23. I just finished my second week back, and I was tired when I came home. I still am. I hadn't had any energy problems before that. It's just an adjustment. I am also making sure that I opt to walk whenever possible and being tired may be because of that as well. Linda

I'm 4 weeks out, and I'm eating between 400 to 600 calories. I usually get between 50 and 60 grams of protein in. I'm still on a mostly liquid diet.

Congrats! I hope you get over the fatigue too!

Going into my surgery, I was told I'd have two weeks of clear (with protein) liquids and then 6 weeks of full liquids before progressing to mushies. The day I was being discharged, my NUT told me the doctors had changed their minds, and I'd need to be on the clear (with protein) liquids for 8 weeks before progressing to full liquids. I was not happy and decided to pretend I didn't remember hearing her. I did do the two weeks of clear with Protein and then moved myself to full liquids, which was my plan and in my notebook. I have my one-month meeting with the NUT this next week. I'm not sure how that will go. I have eaten some mushy stuff like cottage cheese or sugar-free pudding. I'm still losing weight. I haven't had any nausea or vomiting. It's been a month since my surgery.

This summer, there were several moments where I couldn't do something because of my weight. I didn't fit, or I was winded doing mild things. I couldn't even do things I had done a year before. I had managed to maintain my weight for a while, but this summer it seemed to spiral out of control again. I'd done diet pills, and they didn't work anymore. I was feeling ugly, and it was impacting my moods. For a long time, my husband has teased me about my "granny shirts" that I wear to work. This summer I finally explained to him about the limited options in my size. I started talking to him more about my weight and my worries. I thought of all the painful things in the last couple of years and realized, I needed a more permanent change. I am thrilled with the results, and it has been a month since my surgery.

I also started the day before my surgery, and I've been doing it every two weeks. My one month surgiversary is tomorrow. I've lost 16 inches so far.

Heather, I feel your pain! I'm the mom of four, and in 2006, I was leaving the house at 7 a.m. and getting home around 10 p.m. most days. I was in college, working, and had all of the kid activities. It was when I gained a lot of weight. My masters degree was worth it in the end, but it has made me hesitant to go back for my Phd.

Sara, I'm so glad to hear everything is going well. I am so proud of you! I hope you continue to recover quickly.

I teach at a university, and our classes start August 29 as well. I was sleeved August 9 to give me time to recover a bit before starting fall classes. Faculty week started this week (a week of meetings), and I did OK, but I didn't log my Fluid intake as well as I did previously because I was doing other things (and I have an app on my phone). I did get my needed nutrients, but I can see where it is something I will have to really pay attention to. As a teacher, I'd be concerned about the time you are going to miss when you get sleeved. You will miss classes very early in the semester when things are being taught that you will need to know the rest of the semester. It depends on the timing of your surgery, but I would have missed a full week of classes, and it can be almost impossible for a student to recover from that. You may want to contact your professors and ask about their absence policy. You don't have to explain what you are having done. It is enough to state you are having a surgery that will require you to miss up to a week of classes. They may allow you to make things up or not. That way you can find out before the deadline. Also, if for any reason, you have complications or are having problems, you will be missing more classes. Whatever you decide, good luck!

I made the appointment for my additional consultation. It is in September.

I love the outlet malls in Birch Run! I'm glad you found so many great deals in regular sizes.

I have decided not to go back to coffee. I think the creamer was one of the factors in me gaining weight in the first place, and I don't want to do that again. I thought about buying decaf, so I could have some. I then decided not to bother. Even before the surgery, too much coffee would mess up my belly. I don't want to risk it now.

I'm on the pre-op diet. Monday night, my mother-in-law brought her leftover pizza to my house. I didn't know until Tuesday when I opened my fridge and ended up with a big whiff of it. I made my kids eat it. Tuesday, my mother-in-law brought over cucumber salad made with vinegar and another made with sour cream. Wednesday she was out of town. Thursday, she brought fudge. (Mackinac Island fudge). She didn't just hand over the box. She opened the box and cut it all up and put it on a plate. She's at my house. I was at the table eating my salad with chicken in it. I don't like fudge, so I wasn't tempted. The cucumber thing, she does do every year when she gets a bunch of cucumbers in her garden. I actually can still eat the vinegar salad ones. She doesn't normally bring over food and to bring over this much at a time when she knew I couldn't eat it.... I think she is being rude, but my husband doesn't think so. It is NOT normal for her to be at my house this much, and it is even more unusual for her to keep bringing food. I think she may be doing it to be passive aggressive. Of course, there is no way I can prove that. LOL!

I've lost 22 pounds since I began this journey. My surgery was just over a week ago. I didn't expect changes quickly. But, I am seeing my face in the mirror again. The second chin is gone. My jawline and cheekbones are showing again. It's my thin face again! My husband and kids have all commented on it. Although this morning, my husband said he was hoping this didn't mean I was going to get wrinkly in my face as I continue to lose. I don't care. I have my own face back. I'm loving it. I also did a quick measurement of my worst area -- hips/thighs/butt. I did the measurement with clothes on and compared it to my original, which was done in my underwear. Even with jeans, I had lost more than an inch in that area. Loving my sleeve!