SunnyCox

I got the Mirenda when I was 25, and I have had no pregnancies. When I was 30, I had my second one placed with no issues. When you have children, an IUD is easier to place because the cervix is slightly more open than when you don't have children. Find an OBGYN that is comfortable inserting one for you. I can honestly say that I have never been more happy with a form of birth control. I haven't had a full period since I had it placed. I usually have enough spotting to wear a pantyliner a few days a month. I have no cramps, no period symptoms. I have tried the Depo shot. I gained 15lbs with each one. It was the reason that I switched to the IUD. Some people do have abnormal bleeding with the Mirena, but if you talk to a lot of people on the forum, you can find that many of us had more than one period at abnormal times immediately after surgery. I've had 3 since I was sleeved on 6/28. I have had a Mirena IUDs over the last seven years, and I have never had a period that lasted longer than 2-3 days. Since surgery, I had one that lasted a week. It is the hormone flux that occurs after surgery. Consider giving the Mirena a little more time.

Everyone is different. I took one week off, but I didn't need it. I had surgery on Thurs. I could have gone back to work on Monday with no issues. I am either at my desk or see patients at the bedside. No heavy lifting involved. I took my time off to coincide with the July 4th holiday, so I got an extra day off. Maybe you should plan for the Friday before Labor Day? It gives you one extra day.

When I overeat, I feel hot, sweaty. It takes 20 mins to go away. I don't actually have a temperature. It is more like a hot flash.

I wrote on another thread that being the friend to leave food behind is one of the greatest feelings. I used to feel the slightest pang of jealousy when I would see my thin cousins leave half their food on the plate when we went out. I always finished my entire plate (not to mention 2-3 rolls from the bread basket) and was often looking at the dessert menu. Now, a little part of me thinks my friends are secretly jealous when I eat my child size portion off my plate and leave the rest! Whether they are or not, I'll never know. It is my secret fantasy on my night's out! hahah The hardest part of eating great food for me is knowing when to stop. You can certainly over eat, and for me, it is just a bit more uncomfortable than over eating pre-sleeve. My head gets in the way, and I want just one more bite of something that I LOVE, and sometimes, I take it. Then, I realize that one little bite is going to make me uncomfortable, and I spit it out in my napkin. Before the sleeve, I could eat one more bite about 25 times once I was full. Another great thing is that I can recognize when I am full. There is a very distinctive feeling that wasn't always present pre-sleeve.

I didn't think it was for more, but 7 more years of being overweight changed my mind. I needed help, and I realized it wasn't the easy way out any more than taking insulin was the easy way out for someone with type II diabetes.

Awesome. I can't weight to weigh less than my SO. He is at 175. I started at 279. It is coming... I'm already down to 245!

This is what happens with the normal sized sleeve. No matter size you end up with, you are going to have issues in the first 1-2 months. You had major trauma to your stomach. It is swollen and needs to heal. I had surgery 6/28. I am not even two months out, and I can pretty much eat anything I want in small portion. I do make an effort to get more Protein and less carbs. I keep my calories low and my Fluid intake high. These were things that I knew I should do before surgery, but I couldn't stick to it. After surgery, it is so much easier. The sleeve makes me more accountable for my actions, and for that, I'm grateful. If I get off track one day, it is so much easier to get back on track the next day instead of blowing it all together. You'll still be able to have plenty of dinners with your husband and family, but you'll probably never be the person who cleans her plate, plus an appetizer, plus a dessert. You'll eat a few bites of the appetizer, a portion of your dinner, and a few bites of dessert. I can't tell you the last time my SO and I were able to share a dessert and be satisfied until now. We are saving a ton of money dining out, and we both walk away from the table fully satisfied. The day before my surgery, my SO asked the surgery why he had to reduce my stomach so drastically. He actually asked if they could remove half maybe three quarters. Dr. Kelly told him that they found that people were not as successful with larger sized stomachs that stretched out again. Now that I am a bit removed from surgery, my SO thinks the sleeve is a great choice for me. A lot of his fears about me being unable to eat properly have subsided. The hardest part is the first month when you are healing and adjusting. As far as mushy foods, it isn't as gross as you would think. I simply went to cream Soups, thinly sliced deli meats and cheeses, eggs, chicken salad, finely ground hamburger meat, really thick shakes, or added Protein powder to more normal foods. Every diet is different.

During full liquids, I wasn't drinking much water. Pretty much 3-4 protein shakes plus one bottle of water a day. I was shooting for 60g or protein a day. Now that I am on solids, my protein intake is higher.

You look amazing! Be careful with the gallbladder. Putting off my surgery landed me in the hospital with pancreatitis

Agreed. I always look for whey Protein, and very few of the shots have it.

Such a big change! The pictures really help me when I can't see it in the mirror. Congrats!

While I technically still fit in their clothes, I was able to shop at Pennys and find some thing I actually liked today. It is the first time that I found things outside of Lane Bryant in years! LB charges so much for their clothing. I bought two pairs of pants today for the cost of one LB pair (even with LB's $25 off a $75 purchase coupon)!

For the first week before I started drinking Protein drinks, I was drinking regular gatorade, fresh juices, bottle juice and sweet tea. I would Water down anything I thought was too sweet. I've always enjoyed juice, but I found that I needed to use a half bottle of juice and half water. I would sip it all day. This will help you from feeling weak until you get to Protein shakes. These things are no longer part of my diet. I was consuming less than 500 calories per day and dropped weight. I didn't like plain broth. I would order Soup and just take the broth off the top with my spoon. I would also drink the broth from Campbell's chicken noodle or just the mix from Ramen noodles. It helped to give the broth a little more flavor.

Mine is SunnyCox. I just started using MFP this week. There is an official MFP thread: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/22264-official-my-fitness-pal-friend-add-thread/page__st__400__hl__+mfp%20+official#entry357883

Yes, and it happens faster and easier than it did pre-op!

I dump two scoops of Protein powder into my coffee or use ready mixed Muscle Milk as creamer. It starts my day off right. I make a lot of the recipes from this site: http://bariatricfoodie.blogspot.com/p/favorite-recipes.html She has great ideas for increasing protein. When I was eating a lot of sliced deli meat, I found that experimenting with different types of meat really helped. I would wrap a piece of salami around a piece of ham made a big difference.

I struggled with the decision too. Post op, it is easier to know that you made the right decision without any doubts. Here is something I posted a few days ago about still being able to Celebrate food: You'll still have food. It is never going to go away. Within a week post-op, I was sad about cooking spaghetti for my family. I kept thinking that I would never be able to eat a big plate of spaghetti again. Then, it hit me. I will be able to eat spaghetti again. I'll have a child's size portion one day, and I'll be satisfied like I was never satisfied before. I won't be eating two huge helpings, four pieces of garlic bread and two cokes in one setting. I feel good about what I eat. I am not gorging myself on huge restaurant portions. It is kind of nice being the person at the table that eats the petite portion. I like to secretly think that the other women are jealous of me because I eat so little (because I used to feel a twinge of jealousy that all my thin cousins would eat half as much as I did at a meal!) I no longer feel as though I am wasting food when I can't eat an entire portion. I don't have the desire to finish off every last little bit. I also don't need dessert. My tastes are already changing. I'm not stopping for fast food. I'm searching out fresher, tastier foods that I didn't appreciate as much pre-op. I have become a food explorer. I've been trying new fruits and vegetables from the frou frou grocery store with all the fancy food! I'm cooking Thai food at my house - something that I've never done before. I want to play with spices and fresh herbs. Don't be afraid, a whole new food adventure is coming! How will your friends feel about your restrictions? My friends don't even notice. I have told very few people about my surgery. I've had a few people mention that I wasn't eating very much, but when I said that it was all I needed right now. There really wasn't any one who pushed me on the issue. When I go out to eat with my friends, I can always find something on the menu that fits my new lifestyle. This may be a little harder while you are on the liquid phase, but you can order a good Soup and just eat the broth. Those around you won't notice. I stayed with Soups when I was on soft foods. Once I got to solid food, there were no issues. There is something for you at every meal to eat out. On the other hand, if you complain about your portion or your meal constantly, I am sure that your friends will notice. Sounds like you have a lot of signs. You just need to embrace those signs, and realize that being anxious is part of the process. Come here for support from people who have made it through that part of the journey.

Hi Rachel! This forum helped me make the decision to have surgery. Best decision I ever made. To answer your question about the weight staying off - it is up to you. You'll have to learn to change your eating habits. The sleeve is a tool to help you make the diet changes that you've been unable to do before the sleeve. My hunger is reduced, so it is so much easier to eat healthy food. You'll have to make those choices. Portion control becomes easier, but eventually you'll be able to eat most if not all the things you ate pre-surgery. You'll need to chose not to graze all day nor have tons of sugar filled drinks. While it takes some work, I find it to be so much easier to do the things I knew I should have been doing pre-surgery.

There are 22 community centers spread throughout Tarrant County. The family membership is $40/year. Many of the community centers have a small gym. In the two that I frequent, it is mostly older people. They don't let kids on the equipment. I don't like most gyms because of all the buff / skinny people, but these gyms are so small, they attract people of all sizes. I feel very comfortable there. Before surgery, I was trying to walk in Fort Worth, and I couldn't make it very far. I was a little disappointed with how little I could do. In June, we went to Ireland where the weather was in the 70s every day. I could walk for miles. It made me realize that I needed to get out of the heat (at least for now), so I could establish a good routine. I put some shoes in my car and go to the gym in my work clothes immediately after work. It has worked well for me for the last two months. They even have some free yoga classes during the week. They also have other classes that you can pay ~30$/month.

Hi Toya, I'm in Fort Worth. I recently found out that there are a group of people from the forum who meet up once a month for lunch in Dallas if you want to meet a supportive group of friends!

I was sleeved by Dr. Kelly as well. I get my Rx from my PCP. I simply told him that I had surgery in Mexico, and the surgeon told me to take it for 6 months post op. He wrote me out a six month Rx. I figured I would readdress the situation at my six month check up.

I mix almond milk with a scoop of chocolate protein powder. It's great.

Think about putting gas in your car. You burn the gas in order to fuel your car. Fat is basically fuel or stored energy. You burn fat to meet the metabolic demands of your body. There are a complex set of metabolic reactions which convert fat into energy to fuel your muscles and other processes which causes your fat cells to shrink. This conversion also generates heat which helps to maintain your body temperature. (Your car gets hot when your run it, and burning a log is just a conversion of energy as well). The conversion also generates waste products (water and carbon dioxide) which are excreted through your urine, sweat and lungs (exhalation). For a more complex, scientific answer that may bore you, but I find it to be very fascinating, I'll try to type up a brief explanation.

Some people can tell they are in ketosis based on a taste in their mouth or breath or the smell of their urine. There is a test for it. You can buy ketosis test strips or ketone test strips from a drug store or probably even from Wal-Mart. You dip the stick in your urine. They are not expensive (50 strips for ~$10). You can test your urine once a day preferably the first time you go to the bathroom in the morning.

Who does that? Pretty much all of us. It happens, and it is much better to learn to put yourself back on track now than have this issues after surgery. You've beat yourself up. Think of how you will better prepare yourself the next time the cravings start, but most importantly learn from your mistake and forgive yourself. Four days before surgery, I was at PF Changs eating another 'last supper,' because my doc told me that the most important part of my pre-op diet was the three days before surgery where I was restricted to Clear Liquids.