Disney

Sorry to hear that. Is there no other surgeon you can go to for a second opinion? I know some will leave it up to the patient. The reflux is nothing that cannot be managed with a PPI. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I know, right? Seems these days it changes on a near daily basis

Interesting article. I was surprised about #15 and the heart disease connection with processed meats. I knew nitrates weren't exactly great for you, but did not know about the heart disease risks. And I eat lots of deli meat and cured meats. Yikes. Nutrition Myths

i think you look great in your high school photo. That's about what I weighed in high school and I am 5'8". But you know, the older we get, that high school weight does seem a little low. A few years ago, I got down to 160 and I looked pretty dang good, if I do say so. The only difference was I was working out like a mad lady with weights and all. I think that weight was good for me but I would not be opposed to going on down to 140 if I can, and just seeing how I look. If I do look sickly or bad, I will just adjust my goal weight then. Good luck with whatever you decide.

It's really just semantics. Sleeved patients can have the exact same symptoms as dumping. So, really, who cares what the correct term for it is, when it happens, you sure don't care. Sorry that happened to you Sarah. Hard lesson learned, that's for sure. Good thing about the sleeve is, once something like that happens to us, we DON'T repeat it, ever. I had a similar thing happen with orange juice. I drank some after eating a bit of eggs. Not good. Let me tell you, I won't be doing that again.

I always go through Yahoo travel. They just have all the different airlines listed for your day of travel and all the different times of flights with all the different prices on one page. I know there are others, including priceline and expedia. I just have never used those. I would just take a couple sets of clothes (really loose fitting) and some lounge pants for while lying in the hospital bed. Then of course all of your toiletries and that's about it. I would only take a carryon if you can manage it. You don't want anything heavier to deal with after surgery since you are going alone. Ernesto (the driver) helps with luggage, but once you get off the plane you might not have help. I took a heating pad, but never needed it. I took wayyy too many clothes. The only thing you might need is some kind of broth or clear drinks for the plane ride home. Also, take some bath wipes to use till you can take a shower. They come in handy to wipe your face and hands, too. If you have a laptop, I would bring it. They have wifi and there are not many English speaking channels on TV and it gets old fast. Maybe bring a couple movies to watch. Hope this helps. Good luck to you! Edited to add...Sounds like Kerry and I had the same ideas about what to take.

Great job! Keep up the good work, it will only get better

Good luck to you. I wish you an easy surgery and recovery. Glad you are not nervous. It will all be over with before you know it. Update us when you feel up to it!

Congrats on a job well done.

Such a drastic change. Good for you! You look great

I think those shakes are fine this early out. Any way to get the Protein in is what you need. As far as the Vitamins, it won't hurt to wait till your dr clears you. And as for the vitamins helping with the hair loss, that's an old wives tale. The hair loss thing is going to happen no matter what you eat or take. Even Biotin won't stop the loss. It will help the hair grow back in, but won't stop it from falling out. Some very few people are lucky and don't get the hair loss, but very few. My mother had the lap band and lost really slowly. Like 70 pounds in 3 years, and she didn't loser her hair, but I hope and pray I don't lose that slowly! Good thing, though, it is only temporary.

To me, when I deprive myself of a certain thing, whether its carbs, sugar, fats or whatever, it puts me into the mode of wanting it all the more and then one day...BAM, I pig out on it. Thank goodness you didn't, although it wouldn't have been the end of the world if you did. You're just human I read a study once that said when people go on strict diets, no matter which kind, when given the chance to eat something, like say at a party or wedding, or such, they ate twice as much of whatever it was they shouldn't have than someone who was not on a diet. I have always been this way. If I was on a lowfat diet, I would get to craving it so bad that one day I would just go to a buffet or something and go crazy. Same with the Atkins diet. I would have a carb-fest after doing so well for months. I think the key is to let yourself have things in moderation, that way you will never feel deprived of any certain thing. Balance is the way to go.

So glad to hear you are recovering comfortably at your friend's home. I hope you have a quick recovery and I am with all the others, can't wait to see the pics. You are going to look like a million bucks! Have a good rest!

The kind of yogurt I get is Fage 2% and it is thick and creamy, but to me it is sour, which is why I love it as a sour cream substitute Over here, Dannon and Yoplait (unless marked as greek) are all sweet. Too sweet, in fact.

That's fantastic and such a great idea about the watch! So, even when you lose more weight, you can just take a link or two out! Good going!

A lot of people eat as a substitute for sour cream and cream cheese on other food. You might try it that way, too.

Great going, Apple! You will cruise right to that goal, no problem!

Try to buff down the sharp edges before you take it. If you are not going to be able to get them down whole, then you have no choice but to break them. You can't afford not to with staph. As for sipping Water, sometimes I do it, too. I don't think I did it much with soups and purees, but now with solid food, sometimes is just feels too dry and I have to sip. Not much, though, or I feel sick. Just enough to 'wet my whistle' so to speak!

So sorry you both are going through this. I hope you can find some relief soon. I have read on here that time is about the only thing that is going to help as far as the restriction being less. Meg,,, did you have your surgery in 2010 or this year? Your ticker says 2010, but your post reads like it was this year. Just wondering.

I was excited to read about everyone being 'cold' after surgery as I am the most hot-natured person on earth. For me, I went through the cold phase for the first couple weeks, but now I am almost back to normal. Or should I say back to being hot. It's not quite as bad as it was, thank goodness, but I was really hoping I would stay cool this summer for a change.

Great work

I have been drinking Coke since I was a toddler. I drank it all the way up until the first day of my pre-op low carb diet. I actually even had one the first day of the diet. But after that, none. Not a drop. Oh, wait. Dr. Aceves lets you eat your 'last meal' the night before surgery, so I did have one that night. Then, none. Not a drop. Keep in mind, that is all I ever drank. No Water, no tea (and I'm from the South), no fruit juices. Just every once in a while I would have some orange juice for Breakfast. That was my sole source of liquids. Sad, right? My poor kidneys. And it wasn't even the diet kind. Anyway, surprisingly I never had a headache, or any other withdrawal symptoms. I feel lucky about that after reading some of these posts. I have been reading about people drinking soda again after several months, but I am so over it, I think it would be crazy to even try it again. I just don't care about it anymore. If you knew me, you wouldn't believe that was <i>me</i> saying that My advice is to do it cold turkey. Seems like just easing off of it is kinda torture. Like teasing yourself with it. But, you might be one of those that would get a headache, so it might be best to taper off. I think what made it easy for me to do it quickly was that I waited till the very last minute to quit and I knew I had to do the low carb thing in order to shrink my liver for surgery, so there was no choice. Good luck to you and good for you for preparing yourself earlier than you have to. Hey! Remember in that movie ELF with Will Farrell, when he was drinking that 2 liter coke right outta the bottle? That reminds me of me! That's how much I loved Coke!

That is so great! One less thing, right?

WOW. You look FAN-TAS-TIC! I love the before and afters. So inspiring. One question. Did the 'dumping' resolve itself or do you still get it? Or was it because of your gallbladder? Thanks for any info!

Wow! What a change already!! Don't you just LOVE your sleeve? You look great Hey, I am 13 pounds from Onederland! We will be there soon!