Sambrettsmom

Our stories are so similar! I had my first consult 4/21/11 and had surgery 9/27/11 and have lost 40.5 pounds today! I know the feeling oh so well. It is WONDERFUL! I am 1 pound from Onederland and am so excited! I also have about another 40 to lose! Great job and it is so nice to see someone so close with the same success!!!

Hey, I also had a cold the week before my surgery and was frantic, I had everything in place... Miraculously the day of surgery I felt pretty good. My only advice is to have Vicks 44 cough syrup at home waiting for you. I went 3 days of coughing after surgery and was about ready to throw in the towel my belly hurt so badly. Finally it dawned on me I could take cough syrup. DUH! That helped tremendously and also helped me sleep! Good luck and hope it all goes well. I had my surgery 9/27 and am 5 weeks out. Down 32 pounds as of today!! GO GET EM!!!

Thanks for the encouragement and the stories. I got my first "Wow" today from my hair dresser. She didn't know anything about the surgery and wanted to know what my secret was. It is realy fun when people start to notice... Good luck to you too, I am sorry for your rough start. Mine was just pain! I am enjoying the clearance racks too, hate to buy too much, but you want to show off so bad!!!

Hi All, I am Tammy! I was sleeved on 9/27 at the University of Minnesota with Dr. Ikramuddin! For 3 days I thought I made the biggest mistake ever. I had so much pain etc... I didn't notice a big difference until about 7 days out. It didn't help that I had a cough, that may have made things worse. OUCH! Today I am so thrilled so far with my sleeve. I have lost 31 pounds today, 9 pre op. I couldn't be happier and already feel so much better and have more energy. The weight is starting to slow down which is depressing, I want it to all fall off today... I am just so excited for the future and for every morning to feel a little lighter. So anyone out there with surgery coming up or just thinking about it, GO FOR IT! I have been starting on my normal diet and trying to get Protein in. Thank goodness I love meat and cheese and yogurt. We have been getting really clever with meals! I took 5 weeks off from work and have this whole week left. Last week I finally felt back to normal and started walking etc. I have had quite a bit of heartburn though, so taking Prilosec and have Pepcid and Tums on hand. It seems to take the heartburn away really quickly so that is good! Anyways, I just wanted to share my story so far and introduce myself to this site!!!

Hey, I am only 4 weeks out tomorrow and have lost 31 pounds. It has slowed to 2-3 per week, I think we have such high hopes that the weight is going to fall off of us with no effort. I have just started walking about 2 miles every other day, I am still off another week and trying to incorporate exercise, but I am not an exercise lover. But I know I need to do something for the rest of my life to maintain this. I already feel better which gives me incentive and I eat a fraction of what I was eating, so overall we are going in a great direction. I have to remember it is not a race and my body and metabolism are different from everyone else. It didn't take me 6-9 months to put on the weight and it will probably take longer to get it all off. Just keep at it and keep a positive attitude. You already must look and feel better, we all just want everything yesterday! Hang in there, your not alone. P.S. I got home from the hospital and my son came running out, he is 12, to hug me, he thought I would come home skinny. Ha. If only that were the case!!! Hang in there!!!

Hang in there, you will be so happy you did. It is easy for others to say you can do it on your own, they probably haven't been where you have for the last 12 years. I had my surgery 3 1/2 weeks ago, 9/27, and was feeling the same way you are. I almost walked out of the surgery center after being admitted. But I stayed and I am very thankful I did. I did have a lot of pain for about a week, I see others that are pain free after 4-5 days, mine was much more than that, but everyone is different. That is long gone now and I am feeling back to myself and adding in different foods. I am already down 31 pounds, 9 pre-op and 22 the last 3/12 weeks, almost a pound a day. You will feel so good and the results are awesome. It is so cool, today I had a chicken pot pie, a small one from Swansons, ate almost all of it, took my time to chew and swallow, but was full for 4 hours. You can do this and you will be very happy you did. I was there and it is still very fresh! It is still your decision, but I say GO FOR IT!!!

Stay focused. I had a lot of support and was an open book, some people were against it, but I figured it was ignorance that was their fear. I had researched and then researched again. I am 3 weeks out and am down 10 pounds pre op and 17 as of today post op. I really feel great this 3rd week, strength is back, eating some more Protein and foods. Keep your eye on the prize and don't let others talk you down. I was in the pre-op room and my surgery was delayed over 3 hours, it took everything I had in me to stay there, but something kept me there, and today I am very glad I did. There will be pain the first 4-5 days, but don't get discouraged. Once you are past the 6-7 days of liquids you will be in great shape. Be prepared for some self pity, pain and lack of food! But you will get through it and on the other side is a whole new world for you!! Good luck and keep us updated!

I posted this on another gals site, but wanted to post it for you too. Hi! I just wanted to reply and let you know what you have to look forward to. I am 14 days post-op today. I am 45, just turned, and was 241.5 pre-op. I had my surgery on 9/27/11 at the University of Minnesota. It was a 3 hour surgery and all went well. I had previously had my gallbladder out and they also cleaned up some scar tissue, so they said. I was admitted about 11:00 a.m. and surgery was to be at 1:10. Surgery ended up finally being about 4:00, I was about going crazy... I got to my room about 8:00 p.m. and was pretty out of it the rest of the night. I do have high anxiety and was pretty nervous the whole night with all that anesthesia on board. They said it takes about 18 hours for all the anesthesia to wear off. The next day I pretty much laid in my hospital bed, got up for a couple of walks and to go to the bathroom. They took my catheter out in the morning. I was then able to order some broth, Water, juice and popsicles. I couldn't eat much and was just sipping on stuff to see how it felt. It gurgled a lot, but really wasn't any pain. That night I was up a little more and my family came to visit and I pretty much still just laid around. By the 2nd morning I was ready to move a bit and get a shower. All went well. They had a chair in the shower and it felt nice to have the warm water run on me. I had quite a bit of stomach pain with 5 little incisions, 3 were 5mm and two were 15mm, the bigger were about 2 inches above my belly button. Those are the two that hurt for pretty much 5-6 days before the pain decreased by half. I also had a cough and it hurt very much to cough. Be prepared. I finally took some Vicks 44 cough syrup all day and evening for 3 days until the pain lessened to help subdue the cough! It went down just fine. I was discharged on the 2nd day then about 2:00 and came home to hit the couch for another 2-3 days and also slept on the couch as it has recliners on each end and was much easier to get in and out of. By about 6 days out I was able to lay in my bed, I didn't move much and couldn't really get on my side for another 2 days, but was able to sleep well in my own bed. On day 9 I was able to wear my CPAP again, I might have been able to wear it sooner, but I didn't try til this day. I put it on and thought if there was extra air going in with pain, I would remove it quick, but I must have fell asleep as I woke up in the morning and still wearing it! I am now on day 12, drank Clear liquids and Jello for 6 days and then added in some cream Soups, pudding, mashed potatoes etc... I have been trying a few other things, just really chewing it very well. I am to be on pureed for 2 weeks now, and then have my 4 week follow-up on the 26th of October. I ended up taking 5 weeks off of work, wanting to be good and ready to go back and know about my new diet, plus I love this time of year! Well as of today I am down about 24.5 pounds, 14.5 of that post-op in 12 days. It is amazing. I was really feeling sorry for myself the first few days in the hospital thinking what the heck I had done, but now am feeling better and have more energy already and feeling so good! I was very lucky also that my insurance covered this procedure. Good luck to you and I hope that all this information helps you! If you want to know anything else, feel free to ask me. You can use my private email too: peines4@comcast.net.

Hi! I just wanted to reply and let you know what you have to look forward to. I am 12 days post-op today. I am 45, just turned, and was 241.5 pre-op. I had my surgery on 9/27/11 at the University of Minnesota. It was a 3 hour surgery and all went well. I had previously had my gallbladder out and they also cleaned up some scar tissue, so they said. I was admitted about 11:00 a.m. and surgery was to be at 1:10. Surgery ended up finally being about 4:00, I was about going crazy... I got to my room about 8:00 p.m. and was pretty out of it the rest of the night. I do have high anxiety and was pretty nervous the whole night with all that anesthesia on board. They said it takes about 18 hours for all the anesthesia to wear off. The next day I pretty much laid in my hospital bed, got up for a couple of walks and to go to the bathroom. They took my catheter out in the morning. I was then able to order some broth, Water, juice and popsicles. I couldn't eat much and was just sipping on stuff to see how it felt. It gurgled a lot, but really wasn't any pain. That night I was up a little more and my family came to visit and I pretty much still just laid around. By the 2nd morning I was ready to move a bit and get a shower. All went well. They had a chair in the shower and it felt nice to have the warm water run on me. I had quite a bit of stomach pain with 5 little incisions, 3 were 5mm and two were 15mm, the bigger were about 2 inches above my belly button. Those are the two that hurt for pretty much 5-6 days before the pain decreased by half. I also had a cough and it hurt very much to cough. Be prepared. I finally took some Vicks 44 cough syrup all day and evening for 3 days until the pain lessened to help subdue the cough! It went down just fine. I was discharged on the 2nd day then about 2:00 and came home to hit the couch for another 2-3 days and also slept on the couch as it has recliners on each end and was much easier to get in and out of. By about 6 days out I was able to lay in my bed, I didn't move much and couldn't really get on my side for another 2 days, but was able to sleep well in my own bed. On day 9 I was able to wear my CPAP again, I might have been able to wear it sooner, but I didn't try til this day. I put it on and thought if there was extra air going in with pain, I would remove it quick, but I must have fell asleep as I woke up in the morning and still wearing it! I am now on day 12, drank Clear liquids and Jello for 6 days and then added in some cream Soups, pudding, mashed potatoes etc... I have been trying a few other things, just really chewing it very well. I am to be on pureed for 2 weeks now, and then have my 4 week follow-up on the 26th of October. I ended up taking 5 weeks off of work, wanting to be good and ready to go back and know about my new diet, plus I love this time of year! Well as of today I am down about 24.5 pounds, 14.5 of that post-op in 12 days. It is amazing. I was really feeling sorry for myself the first few days in the hospital thinking what the heck I had done, but now am feeling better and have more energy already and feeling so good! I was very lucky also that my insurance covered this procedure. Good luck to you and I hope that all this information helps you! If you want to know anything else, feel free to ask me. You can use my private email too: peines4@comcast.net. I am not sure where to begin. I am 12 days pre-op for the Vertical Sleeve Surgery. My current weight is 238, 44 years old and hope that I don't gain any more before surgery! My Doctor is George Merriman from Shreveport, LA. I have complete faith in him and his surgery team. I am not really nervous yet, but closer to the day of surgery I may get that way..LOL.. I have been struggling with a weight problem for as long as I can remember. This is the heaviest that I have ever been! Actually, I am very excited to have surgery. I know that sounds crazy, but I have always wondered how I would feel and how I would look if I were 100lbs lighter. I am excited! I know that this will be a journey for the rest of my life and I am ready to take it. I originally checked with my insurance company about paying for this surgery and they would approve. However, I could not loose any weight prior to surgery and had to go through a 6 month period first. I decided that I would be self pay and get the surgery done before another 6 months of gaining weight hit me. I am using my extra income from my Scentsy Wickless Candle business to pay for the surgery. So, if you are a Scentsy lover and need new products, please let me know or visit my site. It is www.BeckysGifts.Scentsy.us Does anyone have any tips on how to handle the holidays? I love the holidays and love to cook for everyone. I am glad to be a part of this site and know that everyone on here is or has experienced the same things. Becky Scentsy Wickless Candles **buy**host**join Want to make extra money and have fun too? Visit my site: www.BeckysGifts.Scentsy.us

Hi all, I am new to this site. I had surgery Tuesday afternoon and came home from the hospital yesterday. I feel like I am doing really well, but have a little cough that sends me through the roof with my belly being cut up. Whew... Everything else went really well. I have had some emotional ups and downs, wondering if this was the right thing and what the heck did I do to myself, but today I feel more positive. I slept in the recliner all night and actually slept really well. I know there is no way I can get into my bed, well, I could probably get in, but never back out! I am not really starving, and everything seems to be going down and moving fine. Lots of girgling, but no pain with drinking. When I thought about this surgery I think I was thinking of the outcome, the results, how I will feel etc, not the actual surgery and pain the first week, so a little depressed about that, but time will heal all. I just wanted to introduce myself and would welcome any wisdom from those who are further out than me and any ideas for positive thinking... I started my process on April 21st and had my surgery September 27th at the University of Minnesota. Thanks for listening! Looking forward to talking with you all and reading your blogs.

The Activia Greek isn't as bad, it isn't as thick and tastes much better. Try that!!!