Lissa

Glad to hear that you are being treated, but it seems weird that your doc's first suggestion to heal the leak was a gastric bypass. Have they placed the stent yet? I hope that goes quickly and easily for you. Praying that you will heal well and quickly. And, no, I don't believe that one nacho created a leak in your sleeve either!!!

Bcole, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, if you ARE dehydrated and you're dehydrated enough to feel light-headed, it's already time to call the doctor. You will not be able to re-hydrate your body on your own. In fact, if you go today, it may be a simple matter of an IV. If you wait, you may end up hospitalized for days, or you could have other health problems that are triggered by the dehydration. Please call your doctor this morning and let him or her evaluate you.... and let us know what s/he says. Please?

You're looking great!! I know what you mean about not being able to see the changes like others can, but, believe me, those side by side pics REALLY show off the new curves!!! Here's hoping you make that six month goal!!

Amazing! I see so many positive changes already! Now, are you tying a rope around your waist to hold up those pants? They look like they are ready to just fall right off you! I can really see the results of all that exercise! Great job!!

Congrats, Tenna!! Welcome to the loser's bench!! Now, here's hoping that the nausea gets controlled quickly!

How are you doing on Water and Protein intake? Are you walking or doing some form of exercise daily? Being dehydrated and not getting in enough protein can cause you to feel sluggish. Also, exercise actually increases my energy level. If I dont' do some kind of exercise, I feel blah. What Vitamins are you taking? Do you have allergies to any of the vitamins or to any kind of food dyes? It might even be time for a call to the surgeon or a visit to the PCP. Perhaps ask them to run some labs to see if you need to increase or decrease vitamins/food/liquids. You're also still pretty early post-op and all of the above could be irrelevant because you're healing, and healing takes a lot out of us. Good luck!

You are really transforming! And, although they are a pain, I bet the braces really help with your self image!! Congrats on working that sleeve!!

"Hungry" post surgery for me means I haven't eaten in too long. Usually a mini babybel cheese or a couple of ounces of chicken fixes me right up. During the pre-op diet, all I can tell you is that you may have to dig into your willpower for the first couple of days. But, it's SO worth it!! Good luck!!

Octavia, It seems like everyone hits the stage you're at just before surgery. They think "Why don't I just do this myself?" and it's a valid questions. But, if you can NOW do this yourself, why couldn't you do it before? WLS surgery in general just gives us a tool to use to help us make it to our goals. The Sleeve in particular makes it possible for most of us to overcome the food issue and be able to work on the head issue. Dr Oz has a quote: "Being 100 pounds overweight at age 50 is like having a major cancer. You'd operate to remove the cancer". No one tells someone who has been diagnosed with cancer to use their willpower to get rid of the cancer. Being obese, or morbidly obese, is a death sentence...and it's one that it's almost impossible to escape without WLS. We've all dieted and tried, sometimes even succeeded, at taking weight off. The problem is that we've all regained that weight, either slowly or quickly from complications of other illnesses. I, myself, lost 50 pounds on Atkins in 2010. It took me a year. Then I got pneumonia in May, 2011, and it took less than a month to put that 50 pounds back on because of antibiotics and steroids. I was told lose weight NOW or I wouldn't live another year. I'm almost 5 months post op and down 81 pounds...and I"m "almost" out of the danger zone according to my surgeon. You should make your own choice about whether to have surgery or not, but I think you're having an attack of nerves like most of us do just before surgery. If you do decide to postpone or cancel, I hope you'll let us know when you come back and are actually ready to move forward. Meanwhile, we'll keep your seat on the loser's bench warm for you. Good luck, whatever you decide!

Awesome! Keep rocking that sleeve!!

Awesome!! You're rocking your sleeve!! Keep up the great work!!

SO sorry to hear this! When/How did you find this out???

WOW!!! Great job!! I know you're thrilled...I would be!!

Yes, broth and protein shakes count in your liquid totals.

I agree. Call your surgeon. Please don't put more alcohol on it. That just sounds painful! Ouch!! IIRC, alcohol actually prevents healing. I was told to leave my drain incision alone, although they did bandage it after the drain was removed.

Well, Sleeve2B, I was told that I either had to lose weight or I'd die, by my doctors. I'm not quite out of the danger zone, according to my surgeon, but I'm very close. I want to live past 46, past 50, past 56 (the age my mother died). I'd like to live long enough for my kids and grandkids to call me a senile old lady...or a spicy one, I don't care! Good for you for doing this for your health and for your self-esteem in general!! I can't wait to see your goal pictures!!

Even 32 to 48 is less than the word millimeters.

I have no clue what the size of my bougie is. I never asked because I don't care. Alex posted a study a couple of weeks ago that seems to suggest that a smaller size bougie may be a factor in sleeve leaks. Besides, the difference between a 36 bougie and a 40 bougie is literally millimeters. Maybe 4 millimeters times the length of my stomach might make a slight difference in how much food I can eat, but I somehow doubt that, for me, it would be enough to cause me to regain. I think maybe we get hung up on how much "restriction" we have rather than doing like you do and making sure we under eat the sleeve. That's the best way to do it anyway.

Sleevie, and anyone else who wants to, I'm Lissa912 on MFP. BTW, Favoredone, are you allowed to have nuts yet? I will snack on a small handful of almonds in the evening if I'm feeling munchy. It takes awhile to eat them, and a huge bag of them is around $9 at Sams.

I can eat more now than I could right after surgery. I'm almost 5 months out and I can eat 3-4 oz of meat at a meal. However, if I do that much, then I'm restricted on how much veg I can eat. I've found that steamed, boiled, moist veggies go down easier than raw veggies do. I can do about 2 oz of the former and about 2 small bites of the latter. Since I love raw broccoli, this is a big deal. I've also found that any time I do straight carbs, it restricts how much other food I can eat. I had brown rice with dinner last night (lean cuisine dinner) and that rice made me uncomfortably full for most of the evening. However, on drinking, I can drink a regular glass of decaf tea, Water, or Protein shake in under 30 minutes if it's not near a meal. Even after 30 minutes, I have to drink more slowly than I used to and do the sip, sip, sip. I've been working in the yard this morning, though, and I had finished off two glasses of tea in less than 45 minutes. I ate at about 11 am. The first glass took awhile and I refilled it 10 minutes ago. The refill is more than halfway gone. You will get there. It just takes a little while. Go easy on your sleevie and it will serve you well!

Free2Be, Please check in and let us know how you're doing after surgery!! Good luck and here's hoping you will get the mobility you need from this surgery!! Isn't it amazing what medical science can do for us today!!

Thanks, Favoredone!! You STILL inspire me to make sure any pic I put up has a smile on my face!! As for shoe shopping, you GO girl!! Just remember that you will probably lose weight in your feet and they might not fit after a while! Of course, since I have a huge foot, I'll be happy to help you out with that!

AfroCyster, Your sleeve will start accepting more food the further out you get. It takes some time for it to heal and allow more food in there. Just keep working on getting in your fluids and Protein and it will happen! I second SleevieWonder's suggestion of My Fitness Pal. I keep my food diary public for accountability, but I've been known to look at other people's food diaries when I feel like I'm getting into a rut on meals. The blog (google it) The World According to EggFace is great as well because she shows her daily food intake as well. She calls it "A Day In My Pouch" and she often makes herself bento box lunches, which are very inspiring. She's the person who taught me that cucumbers make great crackers!! She also talks about the importance of moisture to get our protein in and she has tons of recipes for dips and sauces that are WLS friendly. Gee, I should get a commission. For lunch today I had some thin sliced honey ham sandwich meat, 2 pickles, a cheese stick and about 2 oz of cottage cheese. I'm trying to see if I'm still lactose intolerant, hence the cottage cheese. I rolled up the sandwich meat, pickles and some cheese together to make a sandwich roll. For me, 1 of the small packs of Buddig sandwich meat (2 oz), along with the cheese stick and a pickle is a perfect lunch. Others may be able to do something somewhat spicier, but Rex (my sleeve) won't accept that yet. Good luck!! You will find meals that work for you!!

What wonderful news!! Obviously, there was a reason that you had to wait for surgery. I'm sorry it took so long, but I know you're gonna really rock that sleeve when your turn on the loser's bench happens!! Congrats and let us know when you get a date and how you're doing afterwards, please!!

Gman, it sounds like you are doing a great job of keeping everything straight already!! I have several doctors as well and all of them except my PCP were totally on board from square one for my surgery, including my neurologist and pulmonary doc! I keep track of each doctor's current instructions on my iPhone, in the notes section. I also have a separate note for my meds and I go over it with the pharmacist every time I fill a new Rx. That's how I found out I couldn't take omeprazole (generic for Prilosec, I believe) because it interacts with coumadin negatively. If I get orders from one that conflicts with what another doc has told me, then I ask both docs to consult and make up their minds. If it's my PCP giving me conflicting instructions, I pretty much ignore him. He's been my PCP since I was 12, so his ideas are a little out of date. LOL Good luck with your journey! It sounds like you're rocking your sleeve!!