SqueakyWheel&Ethyl

I'm on day 18. I feel tenderness on my left side when I lay on it. Just started last night, but no burning sensation. It might be the healing process for you, or it might be an infection brewing (inflammation from what?). I concur. Call your surgeon. Err to caution.

You just love dangling carrots, don't you. Fill out your profile, woman! Let us share in your celebration! We all want to compare notes, as you surely already know! Congratulations on your blue ribbon! Now, let us have something to aspire to!

Of my five sibs, only one brother knows. If my parents were still alive, they would have been worried and resistant at first, but I know they both would have been supportive, since my doctors recommended it. My other sibs probably would be okay with it, but I don't want the "she took the easy way out" attitude. Since your family already knows, I recommend you stay strong in your resolve that YOU, unlike most of the overweight people around you, chose an appetite suppressant THAT ACTUALLY WORKS and never stops working. Personally, I believe that choosing a product with close to 100% success rate over a product with less than 20% success rate is a pretty SMART choice. Don't you think? Let the naysayers be. And be an example to them. I bet they will have more respect and admiration for you when they see how much better you feel and how much happier you are.

Be mindful that you are amped about all of this. You are doing great, and might think you feel like doing stuff you probably shouldn't. So, pace yourself. And, EXPECT to hit emotional lows and will need to have a pity-party. If you feel that way, I'll come to your pity-party. . It will be a short party. And, you will be happy again. Its a roller coaster of joy, frustration, thrilled to do it, and maybe wondering if you should have. You will be strong and energetic, and an hour later, weak as a kitten. But it won't always be this way. This is just recovery. Today is my Day 17. I power-walked 2 1/2 miles this morning in 45 minutes! I've NEVER been able to do that! Now, I'm resting on the sofa, worn out. But, I'm happy! Be your own best friend and tell yourself what you would tell your best friend, if you watched her go through all of this. And, congratulations on your new life!

Try Almond or Rice Milk, too.

I'm April 17 too. I didn't have a hernia, but it sounds like your rough time has more to do with the hernia repair than anything else. And "just 20 lbs?" That's great! My doc said we've lost more than average at two weeks. I've lost 21 according to my scales. 15 according to his. I really believe your hernia is the cause for not being able to keep fluids down. 60 gms of protein at this point is right on track! My doc has me on Full Liquid diet for three weeks because the surgical site needs this much time to "knit" securely (heal) and he doesn't want anything but liquids in there. Just keep doing what you are doing. Keeping up with kids... Going shopping... That's tough!!! You had TWO major surgeries at once! TWO! We are supposed to feel physically weak and wobbly still. Pace yourself. Don't run yourself into the ground. If you have a support system around you, let THEM take the kids out and let them do the shopping. I'd say give yourself another 2 weeks, at least, to start feeling normal again.

We ALL felt all those mixed emotions at the start of our journeys,, too. ALL of them! The great thing in all of this is that FIRST STEP. It took me a year to decide to go for it. I took another 2 months to get my insurance company to ADMIT they would cover me (they tried so hard to keep it a secret from the employees where I work)! And, another 6 months (insurance requirements) before it was finally approved. When they wheeled my gurney into the Operating Room with the silly paper hat on my head, I felt ZERO fear, anxiety, trepidation... I made a fist in the air, and yelled out, "YES," as I pulled my fist down to my chest, as a celebratory cheer that broke everyone in the OR out in laughter. I was FINALLY in the room I worked SO HARD to get in! When we make the decision to alter our bodies and our way of nourishing ourselves for the rest of our lives, we usually make peace with it all by the time the Surgery Date arrives. Just make sure you do that. Once you are totally on board, DON'T second-guess yourself and never look back. That is a life in your past. Look forward to your new life! Ever dream about what you would do with all that money if you won the lottery? The sleeve is your health lottery! Start dreaming about what you would do if .... The bikini.... The skin toning.... The ENERGY! The complimentary smiles and comments from strangers. One by one, the medications go away! A new wardrobe... A new hairstyle.... SHOES!!! Being able to sit comfortably in an airline seat. The list goes on and on! Start DREAMING NOW, because everything you really want out of this can and will happen if you strengthen your resolve. You can do this! How do I know that? Look around you here. Everyone is doing it! If they can, WE CAN, TOO!

If I shave my head, I can brag that NONE of my hair fell out, right? AND, it will be a bigger novelty to gossip about than my sleeve! .....hey..... I'm onto something ....

I planned this surgery for a year. I dreamed about it for a lot longer than that. So, when my surgery finally got approved and scheduled, I immediately hid it from almost everyone close to me. No one at my office knows I was sleeved. Only my husband, best friend, 2nd Mom (my mom's best friend.... She stands in for my Mom), and one brother (of five siblings). Everyone else knows the "vague truth" story.... A procedure done to remove some of the fat in my liver and "roto-rooting" to discourage more fat build-up in my otherwise compromised liver. Still.... Sort of the truth. So, what's the big deal? Why am I hesitant to just say, "yeah, I got sleeved to lose weight?" Why is there shame around that? Is it because John Q Public who has always been height-weight proportionate is quick to judge it? It's the easy way out, right? More admiration and respect goes to those who lose weight on their own and keep it off. Right? Somehow, this is cheating? It's cheating to sacrifice 80% of a vital organ for the REST of my LIFE? It's the easy way out to never get to enjoy a big Thanksgiving meal with my family EVER again? I'm taking a short cut by undergoing general anesthesia and getting punctured - not once - but five times in the gut? It's just a vacation for me knowing my hair is going to fall out and I can only hope it grows back? Right. Still, I feel the social stigma of the shame that goes with. Today, I've been reflecting on this. And this is the peace I'm making with it. Society says they admire a person who loses weight "on their own." This includes people using appetite suppressants. An appetite suppressant is just a tool to prop them up, but THEY are the ones doing the HARD work. THEY are having to change their eating habits and choices. They couldn't do it without the appetite suppressant. It is a needed tool to accomplish their ultimate goal - lose weight. The sleeve IS AN APPETITE SUPPRESSANT. The difference is, IT actually WORKS, and works for the long-term FAR FAR FAR better than any prescription drug that is swallowed. And, I'm not adding chemicals to my body. I'm not forgetting to take it, or changing my mind about taking it, or dealing with unpleasant side effects. I have an appetite suppressant THAT REALLY WORKS! And, after the weight comes off, I won't rebound like most people do who "do it themselves" (according to John Q Public). So, I am thinking that we Sleevers have a responsibility to TEACH others. We have every right to hold our heads up with pride for being COURAGEOUS ENOUGH to make this lifelong commitment to change a lifelong brainwashing about healthy-eating and healthy-living. I refuse to accept any snide remarks from anyone. I will communicate pity to them for their ignorance and lack of evolving. And, I'll certainly offer to enlighten them on how one should think about their health going into the 21st Century. Sleeving isn't just giving me my life back. It is SAVING my life. I'm not ashamed of myself. I'm PROUD of me! I found a RELIABLE tool to use to lose weight. The most reliable tool available. This is the hardest work I've ever loved!

I'd take it as good. If they are seeking more info, they are not just rubber-stamping "NO" on your case. I bet you get approval. I'd call the ins co pre certification office and ask them specifically what they still need and offer to run interference to get them the data ASAP.

Acid is tuff. I have no desire for OJ. Tomato soup is acidic and tuff enough on me. Sorry, I can't answer your question. Just can't imagine ever wanting OJ again.

I did a dumb thing tonight. I decided to go get more of my nutritional supplies at the grocery store. Skim milk, tea, flavored water, Soups, Jello, pudding, yogurt. A member of my household asked me to pick up some mini-donuts for her. No problem! I have no desire for that anyway. Then, I get a text to pick up their favorite sodas. Ok. What I didn't prepare myself for was walking through the bakery and deli and produce surrounded by chewable food everywhere. Familiar foods.... Foods that I enjoyed before... And I walked past all of them to get my Soup and water.... And the other items. Needless to say, Ethyl was pretty distressed and put out with me for taking her in there! The ghosts of Eating Past swirled all around me in that store. I told myself if I ate anything, it would make me sick. I KNEW that! It wasn't that I yearned for any one item. It was the psychological impact of knowing I was surrounded by familiar foods that I used to find pleasurable. I'd say it would be like placing a NEWLY recovering sex addict in the middle of the Nevada Bunny Ranch with free passes. What did I learn and what do I recommend? If you have other members in your household ABLE to do the grocery shopping, let them. DON'T go into a grocery store when you haven't eaten solid foods in a week. Just don't do it. It is an unnecessary stress. JUST WAIT until we are leveled out on a regular diet before going grocery shopping again. Did I succumb? I'm so proud of myself. I didn't. I raced home and made some Cream of chicken soup and kicked back and enjoyed it. But, I'm not going back in a grocery store until I'm on solid foods. It is just too cruel.

FANTASTIC!!!

Cerenatee, I admire your courage. And thank you for sharing this with us.

My sleeve was Apr 17 and I went back last Thursday (because I had used all my time off I had accrued). I was too soon. I made it trough the day, barely. But I haven't been back. I am determined to go back tomorrow. Desk job and great boss and coworkers. They prop me up. So, I'm going to do it!

How did you "find out" you had a leak? What were you feeling? What symptoms? And what was done to correct it? More surgery?

<sniff> <sniff>. Ah, sweet memories.... Brought a tear to my eye. That was my favorite thing in the whole world. Last night I dreamed I was making these HUGE cylinders formed out of milk chocolate. Imagine a chocolate bunny... Only it was a cylinder that stood 4 feet tall and I was filling it with M&Ms, Kit Kats, and whipped cream. Where the heck did that come from?!? I haven't even been yearning for candy!

Good days. Bad days. High energy enough to go shopping. Next day, can barely get out of bed. A few days later, walking in the park, pushing a wheelchair, feeling really good! Then another funky day. It's an ebb and flow. The extremes get less and less, though. Our bodies are going through a DOUBLE shock, you know. Recovery from surgery is big enough. We are also piling on a huge change in the familiarity of how our bodies are nourished. Blood sugars are probably thinking, "What the hell?!?" And, that plays a part in our spirit. This, too, shall pass.

Thank you, thank you.... I'm here til Thursday. Tip your waiters.

I figured you meant me and never took any of it as snarky. You are my Sleeve-Sister! GIRL POWER!

There are credit companies that specialize in financing medical procedures. Google it.