Bubbaloo10

I'm six days out and this morning I barked at my wife for the first time since surgery. It surprised her because she thought I was doing great, and I was, up till this morning. I don't feel in a particular bad mood, but for some reason, she said something that just hit me sideways....don't even remember what it was, so it was probably my crazy talking. Don't fret about it...we all knew it was gonna happen eventurally and it will get better.

Had my surgery on 4/16 and feel great. It's true what they say how things you liked before, you may not like afterward. While on the two week liquid pre-op diet I thought the various brands of protein shakes I had were just wonderful. Now, I can hardly stomach them. Guess I might be looking forward the mushy stage. Refried beans.....YUM!

You go girl!! I didn't have much resistance from friends and family, probably because I didn't care what they thought. I was going to do it no matter what. I can certainly relate though. Had I been as young as you, I probably would have encountered some opposing opinions. This gray hair seems to garner a little more respect, I think. Keep you eye on the prize. You're gonna love your sleeve. I got mine last week and love it already.

I'm 63 and just had mine on April 16. The Canadian health care system may put restrictions on age, but you should be able to get it done somewhere else....Mexico seems to be a good choice.

The two week liquid diet is something that some doctors require and others don't. I had to go two weeks and it was miserable on the first two or three days, then smoothed out. The biggest problem I found with it was that your social life doesn't stop just because you're on a liquid diet. We went to a community potluck dinner for Easter and it was hard to watch others feast while sucked on my little protein shake. A couple days later, we went to a western dinner show and BBQ and it was the same experience. If you can control your environment, it is more doable than if not. It is tough, but you can get through it. If nothing else, it shows a commitment to this process. I lost 11.6 lbs in 14 days before surgery and I honestly believe it made a big difference in how well I bounced back after surgery. I'm only 5 days post op and I believe I had fewer aches, pains and problems because of it. Don't stress over it. If the doc requires it, just do it. If he doesn't, all I can say is LUCKY YOU!

I just had my surgery on April 16. Here's what they told me prior to approval. BMI must be at least 35 with co-morbidities (HBP, Diabetes, Respiratory problems) or 40 without co-morbidities. Here's something to cheer you up: my doctor's insurance girl told me that BCBS is one of the easiest to get approval from. I had only joints breaking down and severe sleep apnea with a BMI of 41.6. I got approved in six days after submittal. Don't let anyone in the doctor's office tell you that you don't qualify. They are there to make money and your money is as good as anyone else's. Keep pushing, put your b***h hat on if you have to and stay in their face. You will be approved eventually.

Thanks Nancy Jerry. That did the trick.

I have had no trouble posting my avatar pic, but no matter what I do, I can't get a picture to post to the before category. I don't really have enough photos to create and album. I'd just like to get the picture to show in the before block. Can anyone help?

Tomorrow is opening day for the 16th sleevers. Many of you wiho are having surgery on the 16th and 17th are already on my friends list. Please stay in touch and post to this thread as soon and often as you can. We have a unique opportunity to rely on each other's experience and make this a more comfortable adventure. Good luck and good health!!

I got 'em too!! I don't know what causes them and they don't happen every time I eat of drink something, but they sure don't feel good at 2 days post op.

Protein shakes are important but there is much more out there you can have. Broths can be boring, but they taste so much better if you mix chicken and beef together. Tomato juice or V-8, jello. Try different brands of protein shakes; they do taste different. You don't have to stick to chocalate, vanilla and strawberry. Try vanilla and mix about a 1/3 single packet of Crystal Light, any flavor you like. Or flavor it with food extract. I have coconut, pineapple, banana and orange. Vanilla with orange extract tastes like a Dreamsicle....remember those? The vitamin and health food stores sell hight protein soups. I got a very good tomato and a mushroom one (no lumps). I lost 11 pounds on my 14 day diet and the doc said my liver was nicely shrunken. I think this is why I had an easier time in surgery and came home after only one day. Rebecca, PM me if you need to...I can help....I just completed your journey to surgery.

I had my surgery yesterday and got out today. My surgeon told me it would stretch some over a period of time but would probably never be able to go more than 8 oz at one sitting (two decks of cards). This is because the part they leave behind is mostly muscle that moves the food through. If you try to stretch it more than that, it's gonna hurt.

Tuesday, April 17. I got out of the hospital today with a new sleeve. Less pain than I thought I would have, though my big incision hurts like a B...... No nausea so far, but not able to drink much at all without feeling like I overdid it, even small sips. The leak test was an adventure...YUK! All is well there and I told the tech next time I drink at his bar he'd better have some better whiskey on hand. I'm taking it easy today and glad to be home. They make it all but impossible to sleep in the hospital. If it's not somebody waking you up to check vitals and meds, it's some machine going beep alarm. I had enough energy to go 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 laps on successive walks and they still wanted to discharge me in a wheelchair. Go figure....more later.

I am on the 12th day of my 14 day liquid diet and I can relate to being birdbrained. I'm doing OK with the diet, sticking to it, but I think I'm getting stupid. Last night on a long trip home with some friends, I tried to tell a joke I've known for years and screwed it up three times before I finally got it right. Forgetfulness?.....OH yeah. I'm fortunate that I'm retired and can spend alot of time in my easy chair, but it's still hard. Hang in there, then end is near......

I got my BiPAP about 10 days ago with a size small nose/mouth mask. Being a mouth breather, I found it worked well UNTIL I started to fall asleep and dropped my jaw. At that point, the bottom part of the mask would wind up in my mouth. Not goo, so I asked the company that provided it for a size Medium, which they did. It worked well for awhile also, but I found out that the slighted movement of my cheek or jaw would break the seal and cause it to leak air. I went back to the small mask with a chin strap and it's somewhat better, but still have problems with the seal breaking no matter how tight I adjust it. They tried a nose only mask on me at my second sleep study, but it didn't work well because I didn't have a chin strap and every time I started to drop off to sleep, my jaw would drop and the damn thing would blow air out my mouth and wake me up. I think I'd like to try a nose only mask again WITH a chin strap......might be a different outcome. I'm committed to making this thing work one way or another, as you should, so keep trying, even if you can only keep it on part of the night.

When I made my initial visit to my surgeon's office, he gave me information about a support website calle RealizeMySuccess.com. It allows you to track you intake of calories and vital nutrients from the food you eat. It also allows you to track your weight lost and inches lost and present it in graph form. It is a great site, but sadly, I got notice yesterday that it will be shutting down on May 30. I would like to find a similar website that is user friendly and does what this one does. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I'll second the remark on the Body Fortress Protien Shakes. It's sold at WalMart and is cheaper than alot of others out there. It tastes as good or better than most in chocolate and vanilla. I didn't like the strawberry though. I like strawberry but have not been able to find any brand of strawberry that doesn't taste yuckee. Instead, I mix a vanilla shake and add 1/3 of an individual packet of strawberry Crystal Lite. Much better. Also, be advised that you can get flavor extracts like you use in baking and add those to any flavor shake you like to keep the variety up. Coconut, banana, pineapple and orange are available.

I've known people who have defeated the lap band, not to mention the ones who have had complications. The RNY bypass can be defeated also, as the pouch can be stretched. The sleeve, will not stretch very much because the part they leave behind is the muscular part that pushes food through. Muscle doesn't stretch very easily.

Sounds good!! I'll try it when I get to mushies.....

I'm April 16 at 7:30AM here in Arizona. Message me if you like...

I started the process on Feb 1 for my first visit with the surgeon, nurse, nutritionist and insurance processing lady. I completed all my tests by March 19. I also have BCBS of AZ, submitted on March 19 and approved on March 26. I got my surgery date scheduled for April 16. I'm going thru Banner Gateway in Gilbert, AZ. How about you?

I was approved for tomato soup. I usually like to mix a can of milk with it to make it creamy, but can't do that on this diet. I got creative and mixed in a scoop of unflavored protein powder and it came very close to tasting like I'd had it with milk. Whey is a milk product, no? And the protein gives it an added boost. Tried the same thing with chicken broth and it was palatable but not great. Again with beef both....YUK!

I'm with you....I'm on my third day too, with a surgery date of April 16. Same growling stomach, same lack of energy, and yes, sleeping alot. Headache too, but they say all that will pass in a few days. Keep your eye on the prize...only a few more days to go. We can do it.

Started my two week liquid pre-op diet today. I was doing pretty good till tonight, now starting get a headache. I'm looking forward to day 3 or 4 when, hopefully, I will level out. Surgery on April 16th.