Lissa

Skinny, How old is your friend? That filter is only supposed to stay in for six weeks if they plan to remove it. My venous doctor said I am way too young to keep that filter for life. I had just turned 45 when I had surgery.

I have those days. I just try to concentrate on my protein and I'm learning to use high protein foods as snacks instead of carby junk.

Justine, It really isn't that big a deal. My conscious sedation made everything really warm and fuzzy and I literally would do it all over again if I had to do so. It is like being high, truthfully. My c-sections were both a MUCh bigger deal and scared me way worse than the IVC filter install/removal. I do remember that the doctor doing the removal kept telling the nurse to give me more phenergan (spelling?) because I was entirely too jovial. What she didn't realize is that I have issues with anesthetics and the more you give me, the more aware I become of what's going on until I'm unconscious. Nothing hurt, my memory became clearer rather than fading like Versed usually causes. IF you have to have one, do not let it intimidate you at all. I'm considering plastics once I reach goal and there's a real possibility that I'll need another filter. I'll still have my plastics even if the filter is required.

I have only told one guy I've dated since being sleeved, but it came up while he was telling me how much he likes BIG girls. I let him know that I'm on my way down the scale, not up. We haven't been out again, but it's not a big deal. Usually, I just order something small, and I've been lucky that most of my dates have been with guys I've known for a long time, so they already know about my sleeve. Most of my friends, male and female, already know about the surgery and call my sleeve by his name, Rex. So, we have three way conversations, me, them and Rex.

I've increased my food intake because of exercise, mostly by adding good carbs (bananas, protein bars) to my diet just before I hit the gym daily.

Justine, It's not that bad. I was awake for the placement, but I had such good drugs, I was joking around with the doctor and staff while they were doing it. I didn't care what they did to me... Versed is a great anesthetic!

She must have actually had a blood clot. I had an IVC filter placed before surgery and removed after surgery to prevent blood clots from forming and killing me by lodging in my heart, lungs or brain.

I think you're doing great! I started out walking 5-10 minutes at a time on the treadmill and couldn't get much over 2.5 mph for a long time. Now I skip the treadmill and kill the elliptical and recumbent bike instead because of knee issues. I wasn't allowed ANY weight-lifting until I hit six weeks out, so you're doing great! I do cardio 4 days a week, (M, W, F, Sat) and weights the other three days (T, Th). Two days a week I do circuit training (combo of cardio and weights), then, on Sunday, I do every weight machine in my gym (Planet Fitness). I am a firm believer in the low weights, high reps method and I'll do 80 reps of 10-20 pounds for my arms. For my legs, I do 60 reps at 30 pounds of the hip abductor and hip adductor machines, and 45 reps at 100 pounds for the leg presses and squat machines. On ab machines, I stick around 50 pounds for front muscles and 75 pounds for back muscles, but I do 50+ reps on those until my muscles are DONE. You will figure out what works for you and, if you have a difficult time, there are personal trainers who specialize in working with those of us who aren't perfect to help us get into shape.

Yee Haw!!! Congrats!!!

I'm still dealing with those insecurities. I'm always surprised when I get attention from people/men especially, because I'm SO used to being invisible.

I'm actually crying here for you!! I remember when you posted that your goal was to get out of that wheelchair! WOW!!! I'm so thrilled for you! That's an amazing NSV, just totally amazing!!! (((Hugs)))

Wow! I'm so sorry you're having problems! Hope they get cleared up quickly!!

Great job!! It's amazing how fast we reach that 50% mark and how much better we feel! I can remember when my ticker showed just a few pounds gone and over 100 left. It wasn't that long ago. Now, it's just a few pounds left, under 60! I know you're happy dancing and I'm boogying right along with you, if only for the extra calorie burn!

Well, it works great for working out! Here's a picture of the sweat bib it helped me earn!

Dooter, I won the iPod Touch contest for being the biggest mouth on here during a specific time period. It's nice to win something for being myself! LOL

BTW, Thank you, VST and Alex!!

On this issue, my best friend is home on R&R from Iraq. She came over yesterday and I could see the shock on her face! She told me that she "knows" it's me because I sound and act like me, but that I don't really look like the Lissa in her head because I'm so much smaller than I was when she left 5 months ago. We spent the whole day together, including spending some time playing pool against my workout partner and the WP's hubby. In my mind, I'm much bigger than my WP, but my friend says that I'm a good bit smaller than WP is overall. Bestie says that I am way more toned, too, which I don't see. I guess it's time for me to take a picture with WP and look for the differences between us because I seem to be able to see the changes in pictures much more easily than in the mirror.

My PCP knows nothing about the sleeve and "doesn't believe" in WLS. @@ I'm shopping now for a new PCP, obviously. I definitely understand about having to educate medical professionals about your medical condition, but it's not new to me. I have something called Sturge Weber Syndrome, which is a congenital birth defect that appears both on your face and affects most people's brains. I should be retarded and epileptic and have glaucoma. So far, the only one I know I have is glaucoma! I educate doctors/nurses all the time about my condition, so passing along information about the sleeve is second nature to me. I have information about both listed in my ICE on my phone, in case I'm ever taken to the ER.

I have to say that Fit Bit has awesome customer service, too! I have been using mine since April, then it died about 3 weeks ago. I contacted them after I got home from vacation on the 9th of July. They asked a few questions, suggested some things to try, then replaced by Fit Bit free of charge when those things didn't work! Even better, I had the new Fit Bit in the mail within about 5 days! I loved my Fit Bit before, but knowing that it's backed up with such awesome customer service makes it even better!

I agree with Dooter, 50 pounds in six months may not be slow if you started out with less to lose. As for someone being a year out and only losing 15 pounds, WOW! I can't imagine that, but I have to believe it does happen sometimes.

You'll have tons of sleeve sisters and brothers! December is a very busy month because folks are using up their flex spending accounts and wanting to make a change just before the New Year begins.

Welcome to the loser's bench both of you! Yes, it will definitely be worth it! In a few days, you'll feel much better. In a few months, you'll be much lighter!

I was told that I would for sure become an alcoholic after surgery during my pre-op psyche visit. Here I am at 10.5 months out and, while I do drink alcohol sometimes, I'm not an alcoholic. I am working very hard to transfer my addiction to exercise instead!

Nope, not too good to be true, but be aware that some of that weight is probably water weight and you may bounce a little bit. Enjoy your journey! You're on your way to a happier, healthier life!!

Thanks, ladies! I get just as much out of VST as I put into it, maybe more.