It's all new

I am sorry to hear that your arrival to the sleeve wasn't smooth! I hope you will find that you are much happier with it than you were with your band - I'm sure those who have had the band can speak to this better than I. However, I will say that I have been very happy with my sleeve, I worked very diligently to lose the weight, and while I still watch what I eat and count my Protein - I am not on a restricted diet. I choose to eat pretty healthy foods, but my sleeve tolerates absolutely everything. It sounds like you have a big learning curve on the diet progression too - but obviously you did it with your band so it will be easier for you than most. If you have questions about sleeved life send me a PM - I was sleeved in May (from 255 down to 142) and my husband was sleeved less than a week ago. There does seem to be a fair amount of pettiness on this site lately, I'm sorry that it was sent in your direction. There are many people who are here to provide support and encouragement though. Hang in there!

You look great - and it's so nice that you added all the info for those new to the process!!

I know that as of about a month ago he was down 170lbs... but nothing more recent!

I had my sleeve with Dr. Michaelson of Northwest Weight Loss Surgery in Everett, WA. I would recommend him. Good experience, good results. My husband was sleeved a few days ago with Dr. Almanza in Tijuana - I would not recommend going to him. My husband may have great results, but I would definitely say to look elsewhere if you are going to TJ and spend a little more for a better experience.

I aimed for 20-30, maximum 40 for the first 5-6 months. After that, I relaxed some (50+) so that I had more carbs to support my long workouts (2 and sometimes 3 hours per day). Now that I am pretty much at goal I am not counting carbs but just focus on protein and let it fall into place from there. In addition, I stay away from the more processed carbs. By 8 months I was down a little over 110 lbs to my goal-ish. Turns out my goal is a moving target and it's been a harder decision than you might think!

You look great! I have started my plastics journey as well and will get a lift/aug the same month as you. We will have to correspond about how it goes!

It's interesting that you "couldn't make it" through your birthday 1 month out without drinking and that you find drinking "Awesome!". Those are words to evaluate and consider. It's pretty irresponsible to encourage other people down the same path IMO, but not atypical in the case of people who have addictive issues - whether with food, alcohol, or substances. Perhaps you have none of the above. It's not that I think everyone with the sleeve must give up ETOH 100% - but those whose doctors have told them to abstain ought to, as should those who have addiction issues - and those who find that it affects their weight loss should probably consider it. Several other people have made very good points about the problem of crossover addiction and health issues (like liver damage). My guess is that most every reader of this will know better - but some are just looking for someone to tell them that it is a good idea to indulge their urges 1 month after surgery.

I think it's not "no NG tube" it's that the placement has to take into account the tiny tummy - something like "no blind placement of NG tube" is the phrase I heard. And NG tubes are very hard to tolerate so if there is an alternative I would take it. If not, I watched my mom have one and we had to keep her on a heavy dose of Ativan every 4 hours to keep her from pulling it out - and she is a perfectly reasonable person. Good luck I hope you get nutrition successfully one way or another!!

DON'T get your scars in the sun or under a tanning bed for 1 year!!! You will really regret it - it makes the scars turn very dark, permanently I think. I went tanning three times a few months after surgery, that was over 5 months ago now. And my scars are still completely discolored from it.

You should talk to your doc. For one thing, not all PPI's are created equal and a different one might work while what you are taking is definitely not doing the job. Also, I am going through something similar and they are giving me an endoscopy to check out the damage and look for a cause - perhaps an endoscopy is in order. Also, my surgeon thought that my symptoms were the sign of a mild stricture and they sound pretty similar to your symptoms, so maybe a barium swallow could tell them something... It's all guesswork, but sounds very familiar to me!

I have a stash of food in my own little cupboard just for that occasion. Several bags of beef Jerky, some small Peanut Butter containers (sometimes I need a treat or I get to the end of the day and need extra calories), some mini cliff bars (true emergency only, they aren't filling), Protein shakes, 100 calorie packages of nuts. I also keep Greek yogurt on hand - the Protein Shakes and yogurt go in the cooler. That will get me through all but one meal per day while traveling and then I eat out once daily - it's easy enough to find a sleeve friendly dinner. I'm going to Mexico next week with my husband who is getting sleeved (woohoo!!!), and in my carry-on I am bringing all of the above other than the yogurt to get me through the entire trip.

Amy, you look fantastic! So young! Congrats.

Sounds like you are wondering about the pain of a tummy tuck compared to a caesarean? I can only tell you from what I've heard from others, but it looks like a TT is much more painful. I'm not sure about the hysterectomy. I had open surgery to remove my kidney, including cutting out part of a rib. I really thought there could be little out there that would be that painful but my doc has told me a TT is worse.

Frumpynomore I've really enjoyed following your improvement and recovery. I had a facelift two weeks ago and have been in recovery mode myself (although a facelift is NOT as painful as a TT my pain control was not good for the first 4 days). I'm having a TT and thighplasty in three weeks. As you have mentioned, the TT alone is a very difficult recovery, so I'm expecting it to be a living he||. The surgery is about 10 hours - none of that twilight stuff for me (I'm sure it works fine for people, but I don't want any chance of waking up). I'm having a lift/aug last, once I've recovered - mid May probably. Do you have any advice about the TT? Will I wear loose sweats as I recover or will even that hurt? I have a hired a caregiver for the first week who will stay at the house. Is there anything you recommend having prepared ahead of time? I know I will seriously stock up on my bottled Water and Protein drinks. Other than that, I have my phone, iPad, and TV. With my facelift though I didn't feel well enough to watch TV for the first week. What else do you recommend preparing ahead of time? Thanks for any advice!

I had my sleeve May 2012, was cold before and am even colder now! My husband is getting sleeved next week. He runs warm and has always considered my cold nature a... weakness, like if I just would make up my mind it wouldn't bother me. I am a little evil, but I CAN NOT wait for him to find out that being cold is not something you can control!!! I want him to be cold too - which does seem a little mean spirited...

One hot mama! Great job!

Well, I met with a surgeon yesterday and I really liked her. I am a bit unusual - I am only 7 months post VSG but am already headed for plastics. Due to my life circumstances this is the chance that I have to do this (financially, also ability to take recovery time). When I met with the surgeon she felt the timing was just fine - I know that most people here believe in waiting. I am not looking for input on the timing as my only two options are to not have the procedures at any point or to have them in the near future. Back to the more exciting aspects! I am starting on New Year's Eve with a brow lift and lower eyelid lift. I am thrilled to ring in the New Year with a whole new me. On Feb. 6 I'm going for my tummy tuck and thigh lift. The tummy tuck incision will extend all the way to the hips, almost to the sides. The thigh lift incisions will be along where your underwear would normally hit in your inner thigh - I won't have an incision down the midline of my leg. Due to the sutures the recovery sounds very tough - no sitting for the first 2 weeks except if you have to get in a car or when you have a BM. To pee you even must stay standing - now that will be tricky!! Finally will be the breast lift and augmentation. I am getting the gummies. I currently wear a 34 DDD - turns out that I'd be left with a "full B". Is there a full B? In any case, I'm going to get a full D. I'm 5'6" and 153, down from 255. I may lose a bit more before surgery. My plastic surgeon felt that I don't need to lose more to improve the outcome. The hardest part will likely be that I currently exercise 1 or often 2 hours per day, and really enjoy it. My plastic surgery journey is just beginning!

Here goes! Tomorrow morning I go in for 9 hours of surgery. I decided to add an extra procedure. I'm basically having a face lift - a brow lift, a neck lift, and a lower eyelid lift. Pretty big way to ring in the New Year.

I know this wasn't the point of the thread - but that dress is gorgeous!! I wouldn't have even given a second thought to whether or not you carried extra weight, and that is an incredibly difficult feat to pull off in my experience. You looked absolutely amazing. You are doing really well - keep up the good work!

I'm having a facelift tomorrow, a tummy tuck and thigh lift in Feb, and then in May will have a breast lift/augmentation. It sounds like a whole lotta surgery at this point, but I have a whole lotta loose skin. I'm not the usual age for a facelift I wouldn't think (37), but I used to hold a lot of weight in my face and without all that fat in there I have just baggy saggy skin. If I couldn't have any of the surgeries I would still love my body now far more than before I lost the weight - but this just completes the package for me.

I was a major coca cola addict - I had it for Breakfast, throughout the day, at night. It was a source of comfort for me, more so than any other food. I actually cried about giving up soda - which sounds pretty ridiculous, but whenever I was stressed or sad coca cola had always made me feel better. Since surgery I have had nightmares about once a month that I have forgotten that I can't drink soda and have had one anyway. The problem is that I know it would just take one sip and my addiction would return instantly. I can't imagine drinking flat diet soda, as I don't think artificial sweeteners are healthy and it would be a "gateway drug" to my addiction! But yes, I miss my soda too. And pre-surgery I might have chosen soda over sex. Now, at about 110 lbs down, the sex is so much better it would be a much easier choice!

Sounds like an awful lot of applesauce! I hope you have others in the house to share it. Applesauce was something I ate in the first few weeks, maybe two tablespoons would make a meal. After that, it had too many carbs for me and slid right through my sleeve without making me full. It was hard for me to imagine before surgery exactly how small my portions would be!

Hunger and acid are very easily confused. If you are feeling hunger it is more than worth trying different acid controllers. I did not lose my hunger after the surgery. However, it turns out I was also having major acid problems the whole time - it was a combination. I've been taking prescription Prevacid three times per day, thinking that it kept the acid under control. WRONG. Switched to Nexium and the hunger is not nearly as bad - not that it is gone. Also, if you are having hunger for specific things, that is probably head hunger. If you are hungry for something sweet, or salty... it's at least partly just a craving not true hunger. True hunger can be satisfied with anything - plain chicken breast works very well.