MissyG

I was just sleeved on Wednesday and I have had a litlle trouble bouncing back but one thing has totally surprised me. My attitude about food is so different, it is like a switch was flipped in my brain. I LOVED food. I was raised on delicious gourmet food. My dad, who is also overweight, did all the cooking and we ate well. I would often accompany him on business dinners and tae in some very high end restaurants. I loved lobster, filet, and oysters Rockefeller by the time I was ten. Any celebration meant a trip to a great restaurant and this carried over into adulthood. I could not imagine that this feeling would change. Now, the thought of food holds no pleasure whatsoever. Food almost disgusts me. I am only excited about advancing to soft food on Thursday because I want more protein without having drink awful protein shakes. I know I will eventually get a "taste" for food back, but I absolutely feel set free. I was a slave to the pleasure of eating. I feel absolutely liberated and can't wait to not be "the fat girl" with my group of friends.

See I can have full liquids and the thought of anything thicker than milk terrifies me. I am scared to eat and it's everything I can do to get my liquids in. Milk is heavenly though. Ice cold it feels wonderful going down. I was sleeved on Wednesday.

I had my surgery on Wednesday and I definitely feel like a wimp compared to some here. I did have nausea which resolved with meeds. I have been in pain, especially the first couple of days and it was mostly from gas, which has not yet fully resolved. Iam working to get my fluids in and it is very hard. I can have full liquids but the thought of soup even injury chicken soup is gross to me. I say have realistic expectations and don't compare yourself to others. I have felt a bit like a failure because I am not bouncing back as quickly as others, but know that everyone is different.

I wad sleeved on Wednesday and came home Thursday. I already feel I was a little behind because my surgery was pushed back very late in the day so did not get much recovery time that day. I did manage to drink the next day and had one ounce of cream soup. Since I got home I have been working on my fluids and I love milk and have been drinking that too. I also still have some lingering gas which makes me feel full and bloated. My problem is I am really scared to try to eat anything more solid. I get so full just on liquids and the thought of food almost repulses me. I think I am hungry because my stomach rumbles all the time, but I know that can be acid. I got sent home with a PPI but it is huge and I know I can't swallow it. I have a call into my doctor about it. I know it is irrational to be scared of food, but I am. Just really needing some encouragement.

I can have full liquids right now. I tried sipping injury chicken soup but something about the smell turns me off. Smells really bother me now for some reason.

Tomorrow is the day! Pretty nervous but also excited. Clears were not too hard today but the magnesium citrate was pretty nasty. Praying for a smooth surgery and a easy recovery!

My surgery is tomorrow morning and I was really hoping you would post today! You give me confidence because I am getting a little but of the willies tonight. So glad you are doing great!

Going horseback riding (never done it, always wanted to). Weighing LESS than my husband again! (he lost 217 lbs with RNY) Running! I have always wanted to run/jog for exercise, but I can't get more than a few feet now. Wearing a dress, and feeling comfortable. Buying my bras and panties from Victoria's Secret instead of Lane Bryant. Finally getting pregnant after 11 years of trying!

In Birmingham. Trinity medical center used to be Baptist Montclair.

Sychadelic, where are you having your surgery?

I live in Pell City and work in Hoover. I am getting sleeved at Trinity on Wednesday!

When you came come from the hospital what was the most comfortable position to sleep/rest in? My father has a foam wedge pillow I can borrow and I was wondering if that would be beneficial. Normally I sleep the best on my left side and I was wondering if I will have to sleep on my back. Sleeve is a week from tomorrow....so excited!

I actually do not have a recliner. I will not have a drain so I think I am going to try the wedge and some pillows. I have a high bed so hopefully I can just roll out to the side without much pain. My biggest challenge will be kicking the cats out of my room just in case one decides to jump on my stomach. Pre-op class and pre-op blood tests today. Surgery one week from today!

I am in Alabama, just east of Birmingham!

Great News! I am approved for surgery and my date is March 9th! I was so down yesterday because there were snags with the insurance company and they weren't calling us back to tell us what the problem was, well this morning they called and I am approved! I went from being resigned that my date was going ot be March 23rd and planning my "last meals," everything that I would eat and drink before surgery, to being thrust into my pre-op diet today. I had to go to the doctor on my lunch break to purchase the Meal Replacements I needed. I am so excited but my head is also spinning that this is FINALLY happening after waiting so long and watching my husband get skinny before my eyes and being so jealous. The date is REAL now and now the nervousness kicks in, I hope I am one of the lucky ones that sails through with minimal pain and not too many side effects.

March 9th with Dr. John Touliatos in Birmingham, AL!

Well I turned in all my documentation to the surgeon last Monday, it was faxed on the 15th. We waited, nothing from UHC. My bariatric coordinator calls the nurse case manager Friday, no call back....Monday, no call back...Tuesday, no call back. Today I call the original person I talked with at Bariatric Services to find out two of my documents are magically missing and that my case manager was out on Monday and is now training a new employee and that is why she has not bothered to call us back. I was so excited yesterday because we were so sure I would have my approval by then and I had my NUT, Counselor, and Exercise guru meeting yesterday. I could have had a March 9th surgery date, now it looks like I will have to wait till March 23rd because my surgeon is out of town on the 16th. I am SO disappointed. When I talked to my nurse case manager the first time she was so positive, said if I had my stuff together it would be a quick approval and now she can't even be bothered to return a phone call. I know it's only two weeks later, but that seems like an eternity. I just feel like crying, I have worked so hard to make sure all my stuff was ready and together so things would go smoothly and now this is happening. I have gone through losing the job I loved (5th grade teacher on her tenure year, proration is just GREAT, huh?) which prolonged my ability to get surgery due to having to change insurance, FINALLY getting a new (much lower paying) job to have to wait more because I had no sick time and a horrible schedule that would not allow me to do my 6 month diet. I finally see things coming together and this two week delay feels like a year. Sorry to be such a downer today, I am just so, so disappointed. With losing my teaching job and also continually dealing with the disappointment my infertility causes, this next disappointment is just hitting me hard today.

Hello all! Went to my initital surgeon visit on Monday. The surgeon was very impressed in my overall knowledge of the sleeve and he answered all of my questions and I feel very good about him performing my surgery. I got LOTS of good news like....NO catheter and NO drain. He said my surgery will be 30-40 minutes long and I should be able to go home the next day. I had already done my 6 month weight monitoring and compiled my 5 year weight history. I gave those to the bariatric coordinator and she said she would fax it the next day (which was yesterday). She feels very confidant I should have a quick approval. My next appointment is Tuesday where I meat with the NUT, the exercise guru, and the counselor. The coordinator is hoping I will have my approval by then and we can schedule my date, so its looking good that I will be a March sleever! I am so excited and I think my brain is preparing me for what is about to happen. Over the past couple of weeks food has just started to taste...off. Things I used to like I have trouble eating a few bites of. I think my brain knows that my eating habits are about to drastically change and it preparing me. I still anticipating being very hungry during my two week pre-op diet, but I know it will be worth it. I am so excited and can't wait till Tuesday. Prayers for a speedy approval by the insurance company! Missy

Thanks, I am very familiar with my diet, I am lucky in that I watched my husband go through it 18 months ago. He had bypass because our insurance at the time would not cover sleeve and his bmi was over 50. I was the keeper of the food for him and he did great. He hated his 2 week liquid diet though. I am glad I had the experience with him so I know what to expect.

Hello everyone, I am hopefully having my sleeve next month and I have a question for those of you that are 8+ months post op. What are your food tolerances now? Are you able to eat most foods but in much smaller portions? Are there some foods that you just cannot eat at all? My husband had gastric bypass 18 months ago. At the time the insurance we had did not cover sleeve and he had a significant amount of weight to lose so he opted for bypass. He has lost 215 pounds. He was VERY strict on his food during his losing phase, but once he reached goal he has added back some foods he enjoyed before but in tiny portions and every now and then. There is nothing he cannot eat, he does not get dumping syndrome from sugar at all. The only thing he can't eat is salad, as it goes RIGHT through him if you know what I mean, lol. I was just wondering if my experience will be similar. Thanks!

Hello! My name is Missy and *hopefully* I will be getting my sleeve next month. I am not new to weight loss surgery, my husband is 18 months post op from his gastric bypass. He started at 457 pounds before his pre-op diet. He lost 16 pounds in his two week pre-op liquid diet and has lost 215 pounds total. He is a new man and it has been so inspiring watching him transform into the man I met when he was 19 and I was 16. I was actually supposed to go first, we started investigating surgery at the same time, but due to my job at the time, completing the 6 month physician monitored diet was a struggle, so he got to be the guinea pig! He had absolutely no complications, has no real food intertolerances, and has been the picture perfect bypass patient. Not going first through may have proved to be a blessing, because our current insurance covers the sleeve! I am thrilled that I have this as an option. I have been overweight my entire life. My father and other relatives have always been overweight. No matter how I have tried, I cannot seem to take this weight off. My weight issues are also coupled with infertility. I am 31 years old and have been married for almost 13 years. We have not used birth control for 11 years. I have been through every test and it comes down to ovulation, I do not ovulate. I have regular mentrual cycles but do not ovulate. My doctors think that losing weight is my best shot for conceiving. Even if I can't conceive, I want to be healthy, I want to jog with my husband, I want to shop for clothes in a "regular" store. I want to wear shorts at the beach, I want to ditch my hypertension medicine. I am very excited about having surgery. I have done my 6 month weight monitoring and have all the paperwork I need for my insurance. I will go to my first appointment with the surgeon Monday wilth all my stuff together so hopefully approval should only take a couple weeks. I am thankful that I have had the experience of being my husband's food warden for the past year and a half, so I know exactly what I am getting into and how I need to eat. I am so thankful that I found this board too. I have had some restance from some thinking I should have the gastric band, I mean, I only have 100 pounds to lose right? Finding this board just reaffirms my decision that the VSG is the best option for me. I look forward to "meeting" all of you!