Lissa

I've had two milestones in two days. The first was trying on bathing suits yesterday. My cousin, who works at the store, kept insisting that I try on a 16 rather than the 18/20 I was looking at. To shut her up, I did...and it fit, as did every other 16 she handed me. Then she said "This won't fit you for long, maybe you should just wait a couple of weeks and buy the 14." I was stunned to fit into a non-plus size in anything and even more stunned to realize that she's right, the 16 won't fit for long! My second milestone was with my pulmonologist today. I've been on coumadin for blood clots for most of the last year. My most recent test came back still on the high side for clotting, but my doc actually told me to refuse the medication, citing my increased activity level! He's going to run a couple more tests for me, but he thinks it's a "false high" on the test and, as long as my other tests come back fine, he's cool with me staying off the coumadin. He also did lung function tests today and told me that I have rewound my "breathing age" by at least a year, possibly more, with all of the cardio work I've been doing. Oh, yeah, I had a third one today. A girl at the gym complimented my arms, saying that my biceps are looking really good. I'm pleased that someone else notices the hard work I've put into my arms, even if it did feel a little weird to have a girl be the one paying the compliment!

My late mother-in-law lived for over 15 years with a gastrectomy after stomach cancer. Her "sleeve" was smaller than anyone's here, holding less than two tablespoons of food at a time, even after all those years. She survived three more rounds of cancer, including chemo and radiation for two of those, after the gastrectomy. She didn't die of cancer or starvation, but of "natural causes" unrelated to her sleeve.

I'm working on becoming addicted to exercise. It's a stated goal of mine!

Yay!! Congrats!!!

kmbrly, The same way I do it. Do NOt have them in the house. If they are there because hubby or kids love them, then they need to be hidden. Put them away, in the pantry, in a cabinet, but do not leave them out where you can see them all the time. Since I live alone, I get to say NO to even bringing trigger foods into the house. No cheetos, no pretzels, no junk.

Yay, Neva!! And you've already hit Onederland! Now, THAT is a huge payoff!!!

If there are no other symptoms and the bleeding is minimal, I'd probably put a band aid on it for tonight and call the doctor's office tomorrow. As long as it's not red, swollen, oozing pus, hot to the touch and you don't have a fever, you're probably okay. It it's doing any of the above, I'd call tonight.

For soft/mushy foods, it was if you CAN chew it, don't eat it.

I've eaten pretzels a few times. The secret is to chew them to mush, which kind of defeats the purpose of eating them. They don't make a good substitute for cheetos either, darn it!!

Yay! That will be here before you know it! Congrats!!

Congrats! You'll be on the other side before you know it!

I ate some potted meat, but you're probably talking about sliced meat. My booklet from my doctor said "If you can chew it, don't do it."

Mine was gas pain and it was also my full signal for awhile. It feels kind of like you strained your shoulder, not super painful, but it hurts enough.

D to a C so far. Hoping they're gonna hold up, but not counting on it!

I waited 3 months for raw veggies. Most still don't sit well with me.

Someone here explained it to their kids by saying that Mommy was getting "skinny shots" that hurt some so the kids needed to be gentle with mommy for awhile. I don't know if that's too young for your daughter, but I liked that explanation. My kids are grown, so I just told them I was having WLS and that I had taken care of everything possible in case something happened. Nowadays I just send them my weekly update pictures via text message.

Congrats! Glad they found and fixed the hernia! Keeping you in my prayers for a smooth and easy recovery!

Yay!!! That first walk is the hardest! Soon you'll have it worked into your routine and feel badly if you miss a day. Great start!!!

You're going to be SO happy you did this! I was self-pay as well and I'd do it all over again, even if it was double the price! I feel like a new person! Good luck!!

I just sat and played with it, too! That's really interesting!

Congrats on Onederland!! What an incredible transformation! And check out those guns!! Great job!!!

Aren't AZO tiny little pills? My rule of thumb was that smaller than an m&m I could swallow. Anything bigger had to be crushed.

I'm only allowed Tylenol. NO ibuprofen, no advil.

Great job! You're looking Good!!

JetPilot, It sounds like you're doing well with your sleeve and what you are doing is working for you, which is great! My sleeve doesn't like bread or Pasta very much, so I avoid both. However, I'm in the camp that doesn't believe in "good" or "bad" food. I eat what I want to eat, work out religiously, and I'm at nearly 100 pounds lost. I believe that this is a lifestyle change, not a diet. I want to eat like a normal weight person eats, meaning that I can have what I want to eat, just less of it. You said we have the same doc? Dr. Domkowski did your sleeve? YAY! I adore Dr D, as I've said constantly. How does that work with you living in NY? Or did you move after you were sleeved?