Lissa

Take a picture of your face and compare it to a pre-op face picture. I first saw the loss in my face and neck. Also, take your measurements now so that you have something to compare later.

Welcome to VST, Tammie!! Good luck on your upcoming surgeries!!

You're doing great! I'm STILL looking forward to getting in a 12 and wondering if I'll even be able to go smaller. Dont' let your aunt's success sabotage your success. YOU are awesome!!!

I was told no bandaids over the steristrips, but I wouldn't put them on anyway due to latex allergies. I was allowed to shower my first day home, which was heavenly! I allowed the steristrips to come off on their own and didn't pay much attention to them even when they came off. I just picked them up out of the shower and threw them away.

Isn't it nice to be able to share your journey? Especially with someone in real life.

Very, very true!!

Perfect!!!

Yes, Diva does rock, but so do you!! You have stuck to it all through this process!! Here's hoping that all goes well and there is minimal scarring so you can do one surgery instead of two!!

Oh, THANK GOD!!! Not that you have cancer, but that you mentioned it to your doctor and they are going to treat it asap!!!! I'll definitely keep you in my prayers!

Yes, baby!!! That's AMAZING!!! Now, where's that You Tube Dance?? LOL

BBJuice, I had the same experience with a guy who was wanting to show off his sleeve the other night. I was thinking to myself "How is he gonna show THAT to the world?" Turns out it was his tattoos, too!

I'm not meaning to scare anyone, but the thought of an endoscopy to remove something from the top of my stomach didn't sound good to me either!

Red bull, hmmm? Okay, I may have to invest in some of that!

Amazing story! It sounds like your life has changed in so many positive ways!

My understanding is that the biggest danger of gum is that we might swallow the gum and it would obstruct the esophageal opening into our stomach. That would require an unpleasant (at best) procedure to remove the gum.

Thanks, Wheetsin! I'm starting to feel like a Protein shot hater around here, but they are so useless to us that I hate to see people spend their hard earned money on them. In addition, they give folks a false sense that they ARE getting in their protein, which is so necessary, when that protein isn't even usable by our bodies. I think we need to gather up all of the information about Protein Shots being bad, put it in a thread and ask for it to be pinned in both Pre Op and food and Nutrition.

My suggestion is do NOT use the protein shots. All of them I have seen contain "hydrolized collagen", which is a protein that is NOT available to our bodies. So, you could choke the shot down (I understand they taste awful) for basically no benefit. In another forum, I read a post from Tiffykins (one of the vets here) saying the same thing. She even goes so far as to say that you can only count a few of the protein grams in a protein shot, even if it says that whey protein is one of the ingredients. So, if your protein shot has supposedly 60 grams of protein, you can only count about 10-15 of those protein grams. There are MUCH better tasting ways to get that much protein.

Great job!! That scale will stick under 200 very soon! I kept waiting and waiting to be in the 250's and now that I'm there, it's just crawling towards 252, which is my 100 pounds lost mark! It seems SO slow, but I know that's because I'm so anxious for it. I am counting it from the first minute it shows up, too!

Did you have a STARR procedure or did you have traditional incisions like most of us?

Try drinking your liquids from a spoon. Some have said that gave them relief in the early days.

I love ya, Pookey, but UGH! LOL I do think it sounds like a great Protein source for those on soft foods, but I'm not sure I could do it. I hate butternut squash and two kinds of canned meat? Oy vey!! I did, however, mix a little potted meat with my scrambled egg when I was on soft foods, so I can't say much. Perhaps it tastes better than it sounds.

lisath, Once you're actually dehydrated, it's REALLY hard to rehydrate yourself. I suggest calling your doctor and either going into the office or the ER for an IV of fluids. It will make you feel tremendously better almost immediately. Then your mission will be to keep yourself hydrated.

Vent away! It's why we're all here! Good luck with your journey!!

How much elliptical did you do pre-sleeve? It might be a little early to be doing that kind of workout unless you were really used to it beforehand. Drink some water and rest and see if things calm down. You also should call your doctor. There are meds they can give you to help with the nausea.

My Cyster! I agree with you 100%. Sometimes it's just about sticking to it, something I'm learning from this journey!