Donna4545

I think either my co-workers are thick, or I was so huge that 50 lbs was a drop in the bucket!

Anything they can do you can do at home better and probably with less calories!

You should be on mushies by now--throw some of those fresh tomatoes in the blender with onion, cilantro, and avocado!

5 days in 9 to go--and I'm hungry and can't stop thinking about food. Arrggh. My doctor's diet: Breakfast: Atkins Advantage low carb Protein shake or Isopure Snack: 1 oz string cheese Lunch: Atkins Advantage low carb Protein Shake or Isopure Snack: 1 oz string cheese Dinner: 4-6 oz lean meat and 1/2 cup non-carby vegetable. 64 oz water/day I'm doing exactly what's written and I feel like Shoot Me Now how am I going to do this for 9 more days!

It depends in the doctor. I was giveb 3 days clear, 10 days full liquids, the two weeks mushies, the 2 weeks soft solids and then 2 weeks solids.

I googled to find the research, you could do that to find it. I don't remember the specific medical journals, but like I said if you google "vertical sleeve gastrectomy weight regain" you will find it. I think it has to do with increased stomach size/capacity at that point, from what I remember. Since people are less restricted, they start to eat more. The same thing happens to RNYers. With time, the sleeve can stretch, even though it is the least stretchy part of the stomach.

Well, I think we can say your surgeon was irresponsible, but your main concern is your weight gain--well DUH stop eating sweets and whatever you want to! Get on a diet. You aren't restricted. Your stomach will stretch. Normal sleeve procedure is to remove 80% or more of your stomach, leaving the relatively un-stretchy part. You are more like a regular person than a sleever, and there was no point to having your surgery. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but it's the truth. Just get on an Atkins-type diet and start exercising. You aren't sleeved, you just have a small stomach which can and will stretch.

Do what your doctor said--your life is worth a small inconvenience of going to the hospital.

I didn't have any problems with constipation, but I bought some Benefiber powder just in case. I did have a bit of a liquidy stool during the liquid diet post-op, but I think that is to be expected. Now that I am on mushies everything is back to normal, just a smaller volume.

I'm doing great! I started a blog on blogger, Gastric Sleeve Foodie you might find it interesting for nuts and bolts of what to do/get for pre-op and post op diet. I'm sure you will get a lot of good info from Tiffy, she's the "wise woman" of the boards lol. Mine is more of a newbie perspective. If you put us all together, we're a genius, lol! Let us know how you are doing. I'm really excited for you! Donna

I don't know what the prices are for self-pay, but I have had such a wonderful experience with my surgeon/hospital, that I just have to recommend them. They really know what they are doing. My surgery was a great experience, and they knew their stuff (scopolamine Patches so no nausea ever; really caring nurses who knew about sleeve surgery and the difference from RNY; even the minister who visited me unasked because they knew I was there alone with no friends/relatives). They have two nutritionists who are both great and know "all the tricks". North Dakota might sound like a weird place to travel for surgery, but I think it would totally be worth it. I stayed in the local Radisson hotel after surgery. They have a shuttle that will bring you/pick you up from the hospital and a special hospital rate of $69/night. My Flex account reimbursed me for it. I drove myself home on Day 4, and felt great. Even the people in hotel are really nice, especially when they find out you are there for surgery. This was really important to me because I was utterly alone. The housekeeping lady was really neat and checked in on me every day I was there to make sure I was ok. The surgeon has a zero complication rate, and the Bariatric Center has done over 1,000 surgeries. So his name is Dr. Brandon Helbling at Mid Dakota Clinic is Bismarck, ND. They are so accommodating, I'm sure they wold work something out with self-pay people. For people who have insurance, they are part of a special pilot program with BCBS, so insurance approval is really easy. I hope everyone finds the surgeon they need. If you do end up in North Dakota, let me know, I will support you! (Well I would support you no matter where you were, but it's easier when I can physically be there lol)

AnonFemale- I hope you keep coming back and let us know how you're feeling (even if you don't want to share your relationship status)--you have a lot of support here. I think everyone here is really rooting for you to come through this and have a happy life.

Deb-I googled the syrups and the supplement warehuouse was the cheapest place (under $5 each for 750 ml bottle). That might change in the future--just keep googling if in doubt! I can't wait to start blogging about the mushies stage--people seem to find it boring but it's really wonderful compared to full liquids.

I started a new blog on Blogger called Vertical Sleeve Foodie, where I'm posting recipes because most recipes for WLS out there are for RNYers, who don't absorb calories like sleevers do. I'm still on pre-op recipes but I'll catch up. Myself, I just started puree/mushies today and I am thrilled! I will be posting mushy recipes soon! My doc told me to stop stressing over weight loss and relax and just heal (while getting my fluids and protein in). He said to stop counting weekly losses and think about it as a long term process--I will have ups and downs, but the weight will come off--as long as I'm eating like I'm supposed to not worry about the timetable. He was right, I was treating weight loss like it was a race I was running, and that will just lead to frustration and burnout. The nutritionist said not to be so carb paranoid--carbs from milk, yogurt, and berries were fine--just get the protein in first and stay below 15 carbs/serving. That's a major worldview change for me since I was doing 5 carbs/serving. She did say to avoid the "white carbs"--potatoes (ok in small amounts only), rice, pasta, and bread. That's doable. I am so happy to have such a smooth surgery without any complications, nausea, dehydration like I have seen people talk about on here. I feel great. Not tired, not scared, not regretful, actually comfortable and optimistic. I'm off of 4 prescriptions because the co-morbidities are gone or under control. This sleeve surgery is a great thing! The difference just 30 lbs makes is amazing.:thumbup:

The part about eating all the cookies was a red flag, too. But I think I understand now. I was just afraid you were going to go on some kind of feeding frenzy because you knew you were going to have surgery anyway-people do it! I'm glad you're ok and you feel good about yourself. Fat acceptance is really about accepting reality and not letting the outside world drive you crazy with their judgments. I've always felt acceptance like that, I think I would have gone nuts if I didn't. Good luck on your surgery!

Hi Susan- I sent you an email. I'm happy to talk about it in detail with you.

Yesterday was my birthday--what a weird birthday, on full liquids! I usually have champagne and dark chocolate. I settled for a cherry chocolate protein shake. The scale says I've lost 40 lbs, but I still can't get into my old jeans. Where am I losing it from--my toes? I swear I can't tell the difference. 18 lbs pre-surgery and the rest post-surgery. It's kind of depressing to know that I have so much weight that 40 lbs is a drop in the bucket. I feel fine. Recovered, really. I'm not hungry or anything. I'll spend the rest of the week cleaning the house and then I'll go back to work, I suppose. The cleaning is a big job. At least it's exercise.

What Maddie said--sip, sip, sip all day long. You don't want to end up in the ER with dehydration!

Best of luck to you and your mom!

I hope you have an uneventful, normal surgery--good luck!

That's not really fat acceptance. You are actually punishing yourself by trying to make yourself fatter (2 entrees? Why? Because it's "ok to be fat"?). It's self destructive to try to make yourself fatter. To accept yourself the way you are, imperfect, and resolve to solve the problems is fat acceptance. Making the imperfections bigger isn't. I don't mean to sound insulting or anything, but you might benefit from seeing a psych who specializes with bariatric patients. Getting a surgery date doesn't mean giving yourself permission to eat irresponsibly. That's just unhealthy. I sincerely hope that you find some way out of this kind of thinking. And I know I'm not perfect, and I'm really not trying to get condescending so please don't take it like that. It's just that what you wrote really concerned me.

It's not enough that he doesn't abuse you like an addict would. Listen to him. Listen carefully. He. Doesn't. Care. About. What. Makes. You. Happy. You deserve better. Read a little bit about codependency and see if it rings any bells with you--hanging onto a relationship which will have no future is no good. As scary as it is, move back home if you can and start over. The good news is that you recognize your own needs, but the bad thing is that you're not taking yourself seriously enough. You need support, your significant other won't give it--game over. Recognize it and move on. I was with an addict myself, and then with a "at least he's not overtly offensive" guy--but when he makes it clear that he doesn't think enough about you to support your decision, he IS offensive. It's just harder to see. My one regret in life is that I wasted so much valuable time with guys that didn't care about me when it came down to it.

That sounds about like how I was doing one week out. By 2 weeks all the incisions were completely healed and the soreness was gone. I hope your post-op visit goes well!

Mushies are a wonderland--if you can get protein and liquid in a blender, it's dinner! Try to think about stuff that will food process but be delicious, like a hearty stew, split pea soup with ham, or deviled eggs, refried beans with cheese (no blenderizing needed), chili. I wouldn't try doughy stuff though--there's just no need with all the great protein-based options you have. Yummy chicken salad, food processed!