DogMom3

Congratulations!!! Will see you on the losers bench

I am about 5 weeks post op and all of a sudden these past few days I can't seem to tolerate milk either but cheese goes down fine too....doesn't make any sense to me, but I do remember my Nutritionalist saying that if something doesn't agree with you, try it again in a few weeks. I have switched over to Vanilla Silk milk light in the meantime and it goes down fine. Strangest thing. Good luck to you!

Patrick Curl nailed every single reason for me as to why I chose the sleeve over gastric bypass. I work in an ER and have seen several complications for Gastric Bypass and the Band, but have only seen 1 complication of the sleeve and that was a truly non compliant patient who didn't feel you had to be accountable for the amount you can eat after the surgery. Another HUGE factor for me was again exactly what Patrick said: I want to be able to enjoy my favorite foods in smaller amounts of course. I'm not one that can handle the "you can never have that again" mentality. I know some nutritionalists are telling people that there are certain foods you can never have again, but I belong to a group of Nutritionalists and they all same the same thing.......moderation! Second: the mortality rate is much higher with gastric bypass Third: The weight loss was the pretty close to the same as Gastric bypass And last but not least.....recovery time (bypass is 6 weeks...I was back to work in 10 days after my sleeve) Do your research...write down all the pros and cons to both surgeries and see what you feel is best for you! Keep coming back here for any support you need, this is a great site. God Bless and good luck to you!

I work in an ER as a secretary so not very demanding for me. I went back after 10 days. For someone with a demanding job, I would say at least 4 weeks. Good Luck to you

Great information Sandi...Thank you for sharing

Congratulations Mike! Looking forward to watching your vlog.

Congratulations on getting home so fast...I had to stay 2 nights! Keep moving around and you will feel better soon

I had to have a gallbladder ultrasound before my surgery to see if it was functioning ok and it was, so I did not have my removed. Your surgeon may require the ultrasound just to see if it shoud be removed or not. I would think if you're self pay, it would definitely not cut the price down, but could go up a bit or just stay the same depending on the surgeon.

I actually have moderate sleep apnea and wear bi-pap everytime I sleep or else my oxygen drops to the 70's. My surgery date was 4/23/12 and I did just fine with the anesthesia. Remember, there is a team of professionals monitoring every aspect of your vital signs when you are under anesthesia, so no worries.

I say GO FOR IT!!! Who cares if there are people out there that aren't supportive....one click of the "delete friend" will take care of that. I have absolutely no space in my life for unsupportive judgemental people. You did this to give yourself a new life....this was not an easy way out and you should be very proud of yourself. Tell the world girl and best of luck to you!!!

Sheila, I am so sorry to hear that you''re not feeling well. I haven't tried salad yet and am/was missing it. Think I will wait a bit. Thanks for sharing..... Get better soon!

So sorry to hear about your struggles...hope you get back to feeling great again soon. How about some broth? I did the "Better than Bouillon" broth heated up to no hotter than 130 degrees and added in some unflavored protein powder from Unjury.com You just can't heat it up past 130 because it changes the texture. Also, are you on clear liquids or full liquids? If it's full liquids, you can put a can of chicken noodle soup with water in the blender, it's very satisfying. Good Luck to you!

I was told pretty much the same thing except for the avoiding of anything. They said that unless I like my rice overcooked and squishy (which I don't) then that may be something I wouldn't want to reintroduce for several months since it will expand in my sleeve. The pasta I like overcooked, always have so no problems with that. The crackers I have already been cleared on and the breads need to be low moisture (pita, flatbread, etc). My surgeon and NUT both are pretty adamant that nothing is off limits. The more I read the posts throughout this site, it's amazing the difference of opinions and/or techniques with each surgeon and NUT. It would seem like everyone should be doing the same thing since we all have the same surgery. Even some of the pre-op & post op testing is so different between surgeons too. Hope everyone is having a great week. I am off for 4 days and very thankful for that

I too had to quit smoking or I couldn't have the surgery, but I'll tell ya, I didn't quit for the surgery.....I quit when I could barely walk into the ER when my oxygen sats dropped soooo low. I ended up being admitted with bilateral pneumonia. At that moment I looked at my husband and said " I will NEVER smoke again" I know that anyone can get pneumonia, but it was the not being able to breath that scared me to death. I work in the ER as a secretary and I have seen people come in on high levels of oxygen and bi pap and still struggle to breathe, it didn't click for me. My father died of lung cancer and it still didn't click for me. It took not being able to breathe myself to make it finally click. i really thought it would never happen to me. I was up to a pack and a half a day after amoking for 26 years. I have been 100% smoke free for 8 months. I was sleeved 1 month ago and that was my gift to myself for giving up smoking. I gave it some tome between giving up smoking and getting sleeved because I knew I would need to replace the smoking with food for awhile to get past the addiction (my primary care Dr. supported that he would rather have me eat than to smoke to get me thru the hard days). I also used Ativan as needed for the hard anxiety days (Wellbutrin & Chantix don't agree with me). So I ate for a couple months then spent the rest of the time jumping thru the usual hoops with my insurance company to get the sleeve done. I feel so good about both of my life saving decisions and you will too. I think giving up smoking was the hardest thing to do but if I can do it, you can too. I never thought I could call myself a non smoker! It also allows me to work out without feeling like my lungs want to explode too. You are in for alot of amazing changes, but you will enjoy life so much more! The best of luck to you..............You have my support!

so weird...I get hiccups too

I made them Joni....I just followed a recipe from Allrecipes.com and them stuck a cube of mozzerella cheese in the middle and then baked them. They were wonderful!

Hey Angelakay2, I was sleeved April 23rd, I am 42 and it was the first surgery I ever had as well. I'll tell you honey, I was scared to death. The staff came in to talk to me beforehand and they were all so professional and nice to me and then when the anesthesiologist came to talk to me, his experience and kindness came thru and I felt a bit more relieved and when he said "I'm gonna let you get some sleep honey" I remember waking up and seeing my husband smiling down on me and was astonished that I didn't remember anything. No dreams, no headache, just sore like I just had surgery..lol. I figured that when I woke up that I would be in severe pain and not able to move but that wasn't the case. I was just sore and sleepy. I was nauseous and did vomit that first day but you told hold a pillow kinda firm to your stomach and that gives you some support while you vomit...I remember my surgeon telling me that the first day I may vomit blood and to know that's perfectly normal....that's due to the fact that you have blood in your stomach from the surgery and you're on blood thinners. He was right and I was glad he told me that ahead of time or else I would have freaked out. You will be fine and then after it's all said and done you will find someone's post on here and give them the same support from your experience. Wishing you all the best on your new journey!

The cheese filled turkey meatballs were amazing by the way! Notime....sometimes I don't know how I pull off those shifts either, but I've been doing really good and thankful to feel like I'm back to normal (as normal as I can be). Sheila, I can't imagine your surgeon being disappointed with your 20 lb loss......I think that's amazing, you should be proud of yourself! How is everyone doing on exercise? I am up to 1.5 miles in 45 minutes on the treadmill and I feel like I should be doing more and am curious how you all are doing.

My Nut & surgeon also said no white fluffy breads too. They recommend wheat and to toast as well but not due to carb content but to remove more of the moisture. The white fluffy breads would be harder to digest. They don't feel in the slightest that carbs hinder weight loss since we can only hold about 1/4 slice of bread or 1-2 crackers. I actually got told I "need" to have half of my meal as protein and half as carbs. I was shocked when she first told me that but my "no energy level" at the time was thankful she said it because now I'm not having that issue. I remember my surgeon telling me pre-op that nothing is off limits....it's about reteaching ourselves moderation, to eat slowly and listen to our stomach. I think every surgeon and every Nut has thier own way of doing things....for example, I forgot who said thier surgeon cleared them for soda...that's something I was told by my Nut that you can never have again, but my surgeon says "Never" doesn't exist. Interesting the differences

Hi everyone! Well I go thru another 3 day 12-hour work stretch...Sooo tired, all I did today was sleep! Hubby woke me to have me take my supplements and get some protein shake in, now thinking of staying in bed and watching a movie on the laptop. I got to order Chili's with my coworkers the other night and I had a kids meal of a cheese quesidilla and mashed potatoes thinking it would be a couple meals worth and was pleased to see that it actually lasted 4 meals! It was nice to feel normal and order out with everyone again. I have been cleared for crackers, low moisture breads (pita,flatbread,grilled tortilla,toast). The tortilla from the quesidilla make me full really fast and I haven't tried any other breads yet, but I did have whole wheat ritz crackers with some chicken salad (2 crackers) and it was wonderful and went down without any problems. Joni...I have been craving a cheeseburger & fries too and have been contemplating having a kids meal from the golden arches too, but I'm very thankful that they tore ours down to do a complete rebuild so I am in luck for a couple more months Thanks for sharing your experience with that! I'm gonna make some homemade cheese filled turkey meatballs and see if that helps with the cheeseburger craving.

Hmmm...this is day 4 of no BM for me also! LOL, looks like most of us are on the same schedule...getting worried though and hope to have one today. Back to work tonight for another stretch of 3 in a row. Will talk to you all in a few days.

Happy Mother's Day everyone! I hope you're day is great....We don't have children by choice but I have 5 animals & my 4 legged furry kids gave me kisses (like usual) and it made my day Joni, I have been doing decaf hot tea and it goes down soooo nicely. Today I am having Chai Spice Tea and I add some splenda and skim milk and it's wonderful. I can get a 16 oz cup of tea down in about 30 minutes yet it takes me a few hours to get down 16 oz of water I have also been doing crystal light but lately it seems too sweet. The tea has been my best bet.

Let me know how that hot chocolate is.....that sounds wonderful right now since it is still rainy here! No complaints though, we needed the moisture. Off to meet hubby at the gym. Have a great weekend everyone

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't checked in......those first 3 shifts back to work kicked my butt and I spent a couple days sleeping on and off to recoup only to have to pull another 3 shifts (1 more then I have a couple days off). Work has been going good though and I feel pretty good so no complaints on that. I am only having one protein shake a day (28 grams of protein) and trying to get the rest from my food that my NUT suggested, but it sure can't amount to much when I'm only able to eat about 2 Tablespoons per meal. My energy level was really low and she told me to do 1/2 protein, 1/2 carb at my meals, so I have been doing Smoked Salmon in the pouch with mashed potato or canned peaches or pears. Chicken Salad goes down wonderfully and I did try the ricotta bake also, but it made way to much...will have to work on that cooking tiny amounts thing! Some of my friends at work have been bringing me things too....slow cooker pot roast (they will bring me a bit of the potato, carrots and sauce with a tiny piece of meat)....they think they're being funny with the amount they bring me, but it's perfect and it turns out to be a couple meals! One friend made me some sugar free chocolate mousse that was wonderful. I'm so glad to hear that everyone is healthy and doing well.....gonna get some sleep, talk to you soon

Cold, windy, rainy day here in Colorado....What's the weather like where you're at?