Lissa

Cheles, I think you've got the right attitude. This is a rebirth for you. The sleeve gives us a tool to help us lose the weight and to recreate our bodies and body images. I hope you stay in the not scared category. If it does hit you closer to time, just remember that it will soon be over. But, it sounds like you've done your homework and have looked into what to expect. You should do great!! Good luck!!

I agree with longer life and pookey!! Order soup, but don't make a big deal of it. If he asks and you're not comfortable with mentioning your surgery yet, then just say you had a big lunch or Breakfast or that you're just not really hungry right now. Say it with a smile, not a doom and gloom attitude, and he won't think a thing of it. We work ourselves up over how much we eat in front of guys, but most of them don't notice or care unless we really make a huge deal of it. My "wonderful" husband didn't really notice the change in my eating habits when we went to breakfast a couple of times after surgery. I've also been out to eat with a couple of male friends (former co-workers) since surgery and neither of them said a word either...and they have definitely seen me eat at my heaviest! If you're really worried that soup isn't enough, order a chicken salad, like Pookey suggested, eat the grilled chicken and push the lettuce part around on the plate. I've watched plenty of thinner girlfriends do that and you'd never realize they didn't eat much. Enjoy the date! He's out to prove to you that he's worth you spending your time with him, so let him be a gentleman and audition for your time. Good luck!!

(((PeaceQueen))) and (((DogMa))), Thank you both for sharing your stories. Knowing where we come from as it relates to food makes a huge difference, IMO, in dealing with "why" we became overweight. I'm thrilled to hear that you are seeing a therapist for help with your food issues. It's important to deal with the underlying causes so that we don't have further problems or crossover addictions. I applaud those who are being introspective and working to deal with the past. It definitely affects the future! Good luck to us all!

Oh, (((Ladies))), it is perfectly normal to be scared, nervous, anxious, and excited, ALL AT ONCE just before you take this huge step to make your life better. It's also perfectly normal for our minds to start telling us all kinds of crazy thing "I can do this without surgery." "I don't need to have weight loss surgery. I've got enough willpower to do this". Yeah, everyone's minds seem to play the same recordings for us. I was scared of the surgery and terrified not to have the surgery. Finally, I made a list of everything that was swirling through my head and did what I could about it. The rest, I prayed about and let it go. I was totally convinced I'd die during surgery and that would be that. BUT, I had a death sentence anyway from my docs. Either I had the surgery, or I'd die. So, I figured I may as well take the one chance I had open to me and I am SO glad that I did!!! I read something that really helped me get past my fear of surgery, and my fear of the stigma that's still somewhat attached to WLS. The quote was "If you are 100 pounds overweight, it's like having cancer. You'd have surgery for cancer and not think twice about it." I'm paraphrasing heavily and I do not, unfortunately, remember who said it. I think that's a quote of another poster's doctor, but it's very true. Once you hit the kind of weight we all have to lose, it's all but impossible to lose weight without an intervention of some kind. This surgery just happens to be the best available option for ME... and possibly for all of you as well. Good luck on your journeys! Yes, it's normal to be nervous, but what you do with it is up to you.

Quit watching the scale so closely! Or, at least, quit letting it ruin your day. Yes, it's common to fluctuate from day to day. As we drink more, or eat a little more, it's going to bounce up and down. However, the overall trend WILL be downwards, you can't eat enough NOT to lose weight. Now, with all that said, I am guilty of looking at the scale every day. I just have to make myself not care when it's bouncing up and down. Look for the NSVs and concentrate on them. It will keep you from making yourself crazy. You're rocking that sleeve!!!

Well, welcome to the loser's bench to all of you!!! We're gonna have to slide WAYYY over to make room for all the new people! BTW, Frumpy, you're gonna have to change that name pretty quickly to "Fabulous".

Congrats on being sleeved!! You've already been welcomed to the loser's bench, but I'm sliding over a bit anyway!! Good luck!!

Well, this is the place to find all the information you could ever want about the sleeve!! Welcome ladies and have fun searching. If you have specific questions, they'll certainly get answered here!! Good luck!!

I don't prefer dill pickles; I like sweet gherkins. The sweet pickles have sugar in them, but it's not overwhelming. I like to eat one with a slice of roast beef or turkey. Usually I roll up the meat with a slice of cheese and a pickle in the center. Delicious, quick and easy. I was given a bento box with it's own freezer pack and sometimes I'll pack the above for my lunch when I'm out and about. It's pretty cool to have something I know I can eat without having to find a restaurant and worry about what they are adding to the food. I also like olives (Queen stuffed olives are YUMMY), but I can only eat 1 or 2 before Rex complains about the vinegar. Sometimes, though, I just want a little salty snack in my belly!

Happy, Congrats on your approval!! Yours is a story of what can happen when you advocate for yourself!!! I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself and sticking to it. I'm sure it would have been so easy to say that it wasn't meant to be and throw in the towel, but you, instead, kept pushing for what you needed !!!! Can't wait to welcome you to the loser's bench!!!

I'm glad you're both taking Acid Reducers. Are you also watching the temp of what you are drinking? I couldn't stand really cold or really hot drinks when I was early post-op. Try drinking things at the lukewarm to slightly warm temp and see if it helps with the spasms.

Congrats!!! You do look wonderful and happy!!!

First, Crawford, welcome to the loser's bench!! I am amazed that you were sent home so quickly!! I suggest sticking to clear liquids for at least the first week, and asking your doctor about an acid reducer and some eating guidelines. Who is your doctor? Second, 5DogMa, Glad to see that you're home and feeling better!!! Good luck to both of you!!!

So, tomorrow I have a full day planned of ME time! I'm going to meet a good friend for lunch and girl talk. She's been out of town training for a new job for over 3 weeks, so we have lots to catch up on. Then, we're going for the full spa treatment: waxing eyebrows and chins, pedicures, manicures, haircuts. Ahhh, it sounds so relaxing. For me, it's a combination of rewards: Hitting 1/3 of my weight lost, losing 180 pounds (DH, not dear), making my Christmas challenge and getting rid of my bi-pap machine. I haven't made ALL of them yet, but I will within the next week. Besides, I've had a stressful week and this is my Christmas gift to myself. I think the ladies will agree that this sounds like a wonderful day, no?

Well, You're all invited to join me!! The more the merrier!!!

I really can't start the C25K program yet, based on some advice I got here and from my breathing doctor. However, I'm here to cheer all of you on, while cadging tips from ya'll on what the challenges will be when I start!

You're FINE. Our staples are titanium and, as you found out today, don't react to the MRI. That was one of my first questions because I have to have fairly regular MRI and CT Scans because of a birth defect in my brain. I've read that titanium is a naturally occurring metal in our bodies, so it shouldn't react to the MRI. I had to LOL at an episode of House several years ago. They showed a man (maybe a prison inmate) who had many metal-based tattoos which reacted to the MRI by having the ink start jumping out of his skin. I'm not sure it's THAT dramatic, but it was an interesting story.

Great job, to both of you!!!

So, I got a text message from my DH last night (and that doesn't mean Dear anything!). Text message said, basically, "File our divorce papers now!" We've been separated since June. I came home from the hospital June 3 on 3 kinds of oxygen. He got ticked because I didn't know what was for dinner that night @@ and broke every dish in our house. I moved out a few days later. I've been doing everything I know how to a. get healthier mentally and physically and b. have even gone to marriage counseling with him, which was useless because he thinks everything is ALL my fault. He's an alcoholic, which he hid from me till after we got married. Now he's in full bloom again. I guess we just weren't meant to be. So, to keep this on topic, can I count this as losing 180 pounds of unnecessary crap in a hurry?

Thanks, again, for all your support! I'm wrapping my head around it and I just got some more news. Apparently, he decided to quit counseling. I just wonder if he quit his job as well?

Faboolous dahlink!! I'm thrilled for you and doing my own happy dance here!!!

I sure don't feel like I did before surgery. From day 2 after surgery I have had more energy and felt like a new person. Before, I couldn't imagine getting up and walking to the fitness center here and then walking more than a mile on the treadmill. Now, I do it regularly. I don't remember the surgery causing me to feel down at all. I was convinced TOTALLY that I was going to die during surgery. Waking up from it was like a whole new life given to me by God. Unpleasant things have happened, but they can't take away that one major blessing that He gave me. I, too, promise all of the newbies that your physical and mental condition gets better and better. Losing the weight is a side effect!

I could have written some parts of your story! I'll add my feeble prayers to the list. All I can say is good luck on your journey and stand up for yourself. Your PCP sounds like a control freak to me. Let your surgeon's office know what you have told us. Perhaps that will help to get you in for surgery faster. Believe me, if VSG is in God's plan for you, it WILL happen, no matter what obstacles you are facing in your life. Mine did, and I certainly had no idea how it was going to occur.

Yay, hair Lovin!! I'm glad you have your date. Nervous is to be expected. This is a BIG step, but it's a BIG step in the right direction for all of us. Good luck!! You'll soon be on the loser's bench.

Leslie, I'm sorry that I missed sliding over for you on the loser's bench!!! I really do try to welcome everyone to the bench! Italianlady, I read the thread you posted about and I really think that sometimes we don't need to be all sugar and sweetness. However, I try to not be actively mean. There's one thread that is giving me heartburn, but I haven't posted on it because the subject is SO hard for me. (Chewing and Spitting) I have food issues that I'm working on with a therapist and I cringe every time I read one of those posts. For some reason I keep thinking that it's a step in the wrong direction after being sleeved, but I can't find any hard evidence about that. I actually have it as one of my things to talk to my therapist about next week. I certainly hope you didn't feel that I was attacking Rosy on that thread, though. I didn't see anything that was said with any malice on there, but maybe I'm a pollyanna when I'm reading it. I "assume" everyone on this board is nice, so I maybe only see people trying to help. I've definitely been on some boards for other subjects that were not so nice. Anyway, I'm sorry that you felt attacked, or if the OP felt attacked.