Maddie

My dr said between 600-800 calories per day. I found I lose better if I stay right at 700. Every person's system has a place where their body metabolizes better. When you are only talking about adding such few calories, I say listen to your body.

I had my gb taken out 7 wks after VSG.

Glad you feel less anxious, hope all goes well.

Here is the link for Blender Bottles. They rock. http://www.biossential.com/blender-bottle/best-protein-shaker.htm

Welcome and gratz on deciding on the sleeve. As far as your surgeon goes, he may not have done sleeves, but he is obviously an experienced surgeon. I email that nurse again and ask if your dr had done any bypass surgery or any duodenal switch surgery. If he has done bypass, he is an experienced bariatric surgeon. If he has done a DS, he knows how to make a sleeve. If however you are really scared, see if you can change surgeons. You can go to youtube and do a search for "vertical sleeve gastrectomy" and actually watch a short video of the procedure being done. It's a fairly simple procedure for an experienced surgeon. Best of luck to you, keep us posted.

That is a HUGE thing. As much as we all want to get skinny, getting our health back is the most important thing. You have done so well to get your BMI down. Keep up the great work and I look forward to the post you make when your BMI reaches normal! So proud of you.

I had a drain put in a few wks after surgery. The nurse came in to take it out and tugged a few times and I finally had to tell her to get someone else to do it. The charge nurse from that shift came in and gave it a few tugs, and I was in such pain, she went to get a dr. The dr tugged once, the pulled some slight tension on it and could see that it had been stitched in on the under side of it. Once the clipped the stitch, it slid right out. But, I had some other stuff going on is why they stitched it I guess. So it's probably not common to have it done that way. Besides me, I have never heard of anyone really say it hurt. The reason I told you all of this, is on the SLIGHT chance it doesn't want to come out, tell them to check for a stitch, LOL.

I hope it works out for you. Good job of keeping your chin up. WTG

I'm so happy to hear you are getting this taken care of. Best of luck to you.

I guess I misunderstood. Sorry, thought you were talking about right after surgery while u were still in the hospital.

So glad you got a date. That's so exciting. Best of luck to you.

First, I have to say that I hope you can relief from your stress. It's a scary time especially when you don't get the support that you so need. There are SEVERAL peeps here who have had the revision from the band to the sleeve. They are all so happy they did it as they are very successful with it. You are the only one who knows what is right for you. Sometimes you have to tune out those who don't agree with you, so you can make your own choice. There is tons of info here that you will find helpful. Please ask any questions you have. We are here to help and are pulling for you. Best of luck to you. Keep us posted.

Oh Girl, what fun reading your post. You're hilarious. What outstanding progress and soooooo many NSV's. WOW. I am thrilled for you.

I know how you feel. I finally weigh less than my hubby. And boy does it feel great. So proud of you girl. Great job.

YAY for breaking the stall. WooHoo swimsuit pics.

How cool is that? WTG

I am thrilled for you. You have come a long way. I always look forward to your posts regarding progress. Keep up the good work.

It's called a "leak test". You swallow liquid so they can look and make sure you don't have any leaks.

Hope you shake the bug SOON. The emotional roller coaster you are on right now is perfectly normal. I sure know I went through it. It'll be here before you know it and you'll be on your way to a new wonderful life. Best of luck.

Ouch, that is horrible. But, Tiff made a great suggestion, get on the cancellation list.

IF and i mean IF you have ANY memory of it, it will be a very foggy memory. Very few even know when it happens. Welcome and best of luck to you.

Aww that's gonna be a bit rough for the weekend, but I am thrilled that your nutritionist has a good plan to get you on track. Hang tough, gf. You'll get there.

It only happened a few times and I was eating carbs at the times it happened. I also had the shakes, weakness, and sweats.

Ok, you may be sorry you asked. LOL But you said you wanted any info! There is a lot of debate about soda being the enemy or not. It's not my desire to get a debate going as I know some peeps drink it with no ill affects. I am only providing information. Let me start off by saying: I'm not a Doctor or Nut these are my opinions based on my research etc, blah blah......... Cliff notes version: Drinking carbonated beverages of any kind can sabotage your weight loss and cause you possible severe health problems as osteoporosis. Long boring version: Carbonated drinks include most soft drinks, champagne, beer, and seltzer Water. If you consume a soft drink or other carbonated beverage while eating, the carbonation forces food through the stomach, reducing the time food remains in the stomach. The less time food remains in your stomach, the less satiety you experience, enabling you to eat more with increased risk for weight gain. Weight Gain: Soft drinks also cause weight gain by reducing the absorption of dietary Calcium. Dietary calcium helps to stimulate fat breakdown and reduce its uptake into adipose tissue. Epidemiological and clinical studies have found a close association between obesity and low dietary calcium intake. Recent studies have found that maintaining sufficient amounts of dietary calcium helps to induce weight loss or prevent weight gain following diet. The high caffeine in carbonated sodas is one way that drinking carbonated soft drinks may reduce the absorption of calcium into the body. Studies have found that caffeine increases urinary calcium content, meaning that high caffeine may interfere with the uptake of dietary calcium into the body. Keep in mind that one 12 oz. can of Mountain Dew has 50 mg of caffeine, and Pepsi and Coke (diet or those with sugar) contain 37 mg of caffeine each. Colas, such as Pepsi and Coke (diet or with sugar), may also cause calcium deficiencies from the high amounts of phosphoric acid that they contain. Phosphate binds to calcium and the bound calcium cannot be absorbed into the body. Both animal and human studies have found that phosphoric acid is associated with altered calcium homeostasis and low calcium. Carbonated beverages, then, may reduce dietary calcium because of their high caffeine or phosphoric acid content or because drinking such beverages tends to reduce the consumption of calcium-containing foods and beverages. Such deficiencies in dietary calcium intake may be even more pronounced in Freaks. Drinking carbonated beverages may further increase the risk for dietary calcium deficiencies and, in this way, hinder maximal weight loss success. For all the reasons described above, including calcium deficits, reduced satiety, enlargement of pouch,stoma or sleeve, drinking carbonated beverages, even those that are sugar-free, could lead to weight gain. Dump City Arizona: Carbonated beverages that contain sugar, however, pose a substantially greater threat to the Bariatric patient in terms of weight loss and weight loss maintenance with surgery. Sugar-containing soft drinks have a relatively high glycemic index, meaning that blood sugar levels readily increase with their consumption. The rapid rise in blood sugar, in turn, increases the production of the hormone, insulin. , that acts to drive sugar into tissues where it is metabolized or processed for storage. High insulin levels, however, also contribute to fat accumulation, driving fat into the fat storage depots and inhibiting the breakdown of fat. Soft drinks with sugar are also high in calories. An average 12 oz. soft drink contains 10 teaspoons of refined sugar (40g). The typical 12-oz. can of soda contains 150 calories (Coke = 140 calories; Pepsi = 150; Dr. Pepper = 160; orange soda = 180; 7-up = 140; etc.). Soft drinks are the fifth largest source of calories for adults, accounting for 5.6% of all calories that Americans consume. Among adolescents, soft drinks provide 8%- to 9% of calories. An extra 150 calories per day from a soft drink over the course of a year, is equivalent to nearly 16 pounds and that weight gain multiplied by a few years could equate to “morbid obesity”. Health Problems From Soda: In addition to the adverse effects that carbonated drinks have on weight loss or weight loss maintenance, carbonated beverages may also have adverse effects on health. Soda beverages and other carbonated drinks are acidic with a pH of 3.0 or less. Drinking these acidic beverages on an empty stomach in the absence of food, as Bariatric patients are required to do, can upset the fragile acid-alkaline balance of the stomach and intestines and increase the risk for ulcers or even the risk for gastrointestinal adenomas (cancer). In an attempt to keep your body’s blood pH from becoming too acidic, it uses its stored supplies of iodine to neutralize that acid. This iodine is no longer able to be used by your thyroid which in turn slows down your metabolism and thus causes you to put on extra weight. Soft drink usage has also been found to be associated with various other health problems. These include an increased risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney stones, bone fractures and reduced bone density/osteoporosis, allergies, cancer, acid-peptic disease, dental carries, gingivitis, and more. Soft drinks may, in addition, increase the risk for oxidative stress. This condition is believed to contribute significantly to aging and to diseases associated with aging and obesity, i.e. diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, reduced immune function, hypertension, and more. Although it’s tough to quit soda, there are good reasons why weight loss surgery and soft drinks don’t mix. The first is related to your new, smaller stomach size. For example, if you’ve had Lap-Band® surgery, the inflation of your stomach pouch caused by drinking even a sip of carbonated beverage can cause your pouch to strain uncomfortably against the band. Gastric bypass patients and sleeve gastrectomy also report feeling uncomfortable from the gas produced by even a mouthful of soda. In short: The gas in the drink comes out and expands your stomach like a balloon. Your new pouch can be stretched out over time if you drink carbonated beverages after your surgery. I was talking with a WLS surgeon about soda's and he told me the following: "Many patients find it hard to give them up, however. I had one lovely lady who underwent the RNY and quickly lost weight, but then she stopped losing for a while. She came back to see me, after having stretched her pouch to over 20 ounces, and wanted a revision. She admitted to drinking about 40 ounces of Coke® a day. I told her once she stopped drinking the cola we would reverse the surgery for her. She never returned........."

Nexium twice a day, really changed things for me. Keep trying different things and hope you find protein or food you like. Best of luck, feel better soon.