LilMissDiva Irene

Yayyyy!!! I'll keep a seat warm for ya right here! Congrats on your big day!!! Whooohoooo!!

My family gave me some heck too, but yeah they get used to it. Just keep doin you and do what makes you happy. Just a word of caution, lipo hurts BUT the results were worth it.

Oh thats awesome! You will love him/them... they're the best (imo but I'm biased I guess, ha!)

Yes Protein powder should be discarded once it expires. Not only does it go stale but it also loses its potency, like anything else in our kitchens. Especially anything that expired last year, definitely do not use that. Not only that your stomach will be healing and you don't want to chance any kind of bad food going in it. It will be sensitive enough. Good luck!

Everything you're feeling is VERY normal. Take a deep deep breath, meditate if you have to. Maybe you can find something to do in the mean time to take your mind off the fact you're going in for surgery in a few days. I came here a LOT while waiting on mine and I think I read every success story and viewed every photo album there was to look at... LOL Just know you may come out feeling some pain, some nausea, fatigue and yup... might even regret it or wonder why you had this done. DO NOT PANIC!! These will all pass in time, promise. Stay head strong, walk as soon as you can get up, sip your fluids every chance you get and definitely get your rest. Your body will need that for proper recovery. *hugs*

Soooo amazing! And this is what this is all about... congrats on your awesome success and your lovely NSV!

Peacequeen I'm sorry to hear you're still not doing too well!! Please let us know how your getting on when you can, and I do hope you're calling your Surgeons office ASAP because what you're experiencing isn't all too normal. Big big hugs!!!

fern, watching Dr. Oz yesterday was such a huge eye opener for me. The psychiatrist on his show asked the guests (that were still there...) "Who told you that you were worthless". This made a few of the ladies cry and several others looked around like a deer caught in the headlights. Of course the ladies with the deer eyes pretended or refused to acknowledge that this could be the case for themselves. I don't think they were really "listening" as much as "hearing" what he was saying. Someone doesn't LITERALLY have to call you worthless to make you feel that way. So, in feeling this way - we eat to fill that void... or at least we used to. It is so important to recognize the underlying factors on why any of us used to or currently over eat. What are we truly satisfying? It's definitely not to nourish our bodies if we consume far greater calories than we need to survive. No, its surely something we refuse to accept or are trying to numb by satisfying our taste buds. I still struggle with this, and for the most part I believe I'll always have that notion in my mind to go eat when I'm feeling any kind of emotion that I can't seem to handle. Good for you on working out instead of consuming unnecessary food and calories. I love to workout too, and I also use this as a new means to get out aggression.

I'm so glad I could help out! I know how it feels to be a band "failure" but just know this - if it really was ME and not how the band worked for me... then why did I do so well with the Sleeve? I always think about that. *hugs*

The best remedy for food getting "stuck" is to avoid it all together. First, be sure to measure all your portions before cooking and eating. Next, always take tiny bites, chew many times and eat very slowly. Put your fork or spoon down between bites, let each bite settle before taking the next one. Also, listen to your sleeve intently in the very beginning. You will know after the first bite or two if your stomach doesn't like it. Stop immediately if you get any notions, then avoid that particular food for another week or so. It just may not be ready for it, and that's ok. Everyone heals differently. Lastly, ALWAYS under eat your sleeve. Eating too much is the worst feeling for me, and I feel bloated and gross. Even being this far out I feel like that, so I have to learn what portions work best for me. No matter what it's never really a lot, but less is always more. The short end of it is, if it's not working or fitting, stop right away. Never force things! If you do get that stuck feeling, here's what works for me: Get up and walk around. Go for a walk outside even. I'm not sure why but this really helps me a lot. I usually end up giving a good "burp" and it helps subside the pain. Avoid drinking anything to help it go down, it will only swell up whatevers in your stomach. It will help flush it out faster in the long run but likely you will be sorry for filling more of anything in your sleeve in the short term. Hope this helps!!

That is fantastic!!! Great progress and CONGRATS on hitting such a major milestone!

Agree with Circa here, dehydration will make us feel pretty darn awful. Please go to the ER, get some IV and I'm willing to bet you will begin to feel a lot better quickly. Dehydration is not something to mess with. Get well soon!!

Hi Michele, I'll just cut to the chase and answer your questions: I am my son's only parent! -- Which is a perfect reason to do EVERYTHING in your power to give him the best Mom you can be. Wouldn't you like to run with him? Play with him? Feel confident around his friends? Have his little arms be able to reach all the way around you? Live as long as you possibly can, without worrying if you won't be able to see him grow up, get married, graduate college... etc.?? Sorry to be so blunt, but when I was Super Obese, I may have been ALIVE but I didn't TRULY LIVE until I took my life back, and took control of my disease. What if it doesn't work, just like the band? -- I was revised from band to sleeve on 9.15.10 and I went in wondering the same thing. I had many of the same issues you did... I simply never was able to find that sweet spot and I was constantly in pain, especially in my port area. I was banded on 2.11.08. It took me over a year to finally take that step to have a second WLS once I'd heard of the sleeve and how wonderful it was. I can say today that it DID work and the sleeve for me was EVERYTHING that I was always hoping my band could be. Shouldn't I try Medifast first? -- "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting different results" ~Albert Einstein People tell me it is TOO extreme, and try to help me figure out what else I can do. -- extreme yes... but sometimes that is exactly what it takes to beat a demon. I certainly don't regret doing this extreme surgery, because today I am everything I dreamed I could be, and so much more. I wouldn't give it back for all the tea in China. Besides that, there comes a time in our lives when we have to make our own decisions, be dammed of what anyone else thinks! No one but YOU is walking in your shoes, so no one but YOU should make such a huge decision on what is right and wrong for YOU. What if it doesn't work? -- See all above Maybe there is a hormonal reason I can't lose? -- Yes there is a possibility that there is a hormonal reason you can't lose. Have them checked, BUT that doesn't mean you still shouldn't take the bull by the horns. Excuses will only keep holding you back. What if it doesn't work? -- See all above With that, I'd like to formally welcome you to VST. Take a good look around. We have an entire section of Band to Sleeve stories and most if not ALL are successful in some manner or another. I have yet to see one where they weren't glad they did it. All the best to you and please let us know how you're doing! Chime in and make yourself home.

Meg, I'm so very glad to hear you've figured out your issue! It wasn't something so serious (well it might become if now diagnosed quickly)... Can I get a "Whew!!!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I personally have been obsessed with food since I was a very young child. I was tormented growing up being I was a little fluffy, and back in the 70's even being 5-10 Lbs above the normal childs weight was considered huge in comparison to other boney children. I look at pictures of me now at 5 years old and think that I wasn't really that big of a kid. A little pot belly but can be endearing in a child. Anyhoooo... again I was always berated by the adults around me for being a little chubby. I think I went on my first diet around 9 or 10 years old, and by the time I was 15 my pediatrician told my Mom that I could be considered anorexic/bulimic. She had to rush me to see him because I kept fainting and getting sick. That's when she found out I was never eating (I did binge and hoarde...) and to burn off any calories I did eat I would use laxatives and workout non stop. Yep, I had an eating disorder growing up. Once all that stopped and I finally decided to eat WITH the family instead of in spite of them, and stopped working out all the time I started gaining massive amounts of weight. I gained my first 100 Lbs in about a year I believe. *sigh* Why am I telling you all this? Well, I just want to say there is a method behind all my madness. It has come time for me however to learn to live with food. I'm always going to have to eat it, and I'm always going to need it to survive. BUT!!! I do need to realize too that it CAN be used for more than just survival. I love it, and I need to learn to co-exist in a manner where I can have my little fun WITHOUT guilt, and there is always a time and place for that. Thus, having my Freedom days. But, to keep the weight off I need to realize too there will be days where I do have to be "good". Workouts are like breathing for me however, I love it and I'll always do it as long as I'm physically able to. I'm not expecting this to work immediately. It's going to take a lot of time. It's almost like a sort of recovery for me. Learning to love ME for who I am, and learning to accept ME and look for ways to work around my faults. Food I believe in my heart will always be my biggest frenemy.

It's ok to be excited!! Don't worry the time will come, and wow in the mean time it sounds like you got things all figured out. I love the workout routine you got going for yourself... CONGRATS!!! xoxo

You got this!!! Please check in to let us know how you're doing! Also, remember to sip walk rest and repeat as necessary.

At least you had fun girlie!!! Sometimes we just need to do that, blow off some steam and let our minds go from workout workout workout, weight loss weight loss weight loss... know what I mean? One thing I've gotten to know about you in the short time is that you are a tough one and you'll get back on track ASAP Hey, and look at you !!! You're only a few Lbs away from ONEDERLAND!! Whoooo!! Get it girl!!

Haaa!!! Thats so awesome!! You're working it and having fun with it too... congrats!!

Congrats ladies on getting sleeved, and thank you for checkin in to let us know how you're doing. lovePINK I hope all is well and perhaps just a little Rx of antibiotics will help clear up the chest. It's super important to do the breathing exercises post op, for anyone else reading this. Good luck to all in the upcoming world!!