dragon

the stars were supposed to be a word for pus - filled, I put a "sy" on the end without realizing that that made it a very different word ! *grin*

I had it. The results were good: I have a belly button, plus one tiny scar (about the size of the head of a pin) on my abdomin. No-one looking at me would think I had surgery, and I had no real problems with it. (I can't speak to if the pain was more or less, as I only know my experience.) I went back to work after a week. If you get it, there is one thing to keep in mind, so you don't freak out. Small cuts in the abominal muscle (the standard method) close quicker than the slightly larger incision hidden in the belly button. That means that you will probably have light bleeding from the belly button for about 2 weeks after surgery. My surgeon didn't spell that out for me, and I was panicing, because no-one ELSE on the board was bleeding a week and a half after surgery. It's normal with this method. At my two week check-up at the surgeon, the PA swabbed the area with a bit of silver nitrate, and it totally closed up, no problem. If you get this, stock up on some gauze bandages and tape before hand, and don't worry as long as it's not ***** or smelly.

Your surgeon will make the size of sleeve he is comfortable making, and you wouldn't want it any different. Ask him about the size, and the volume that patients a year or two out can eat, but don't worry too much. Before the sleeve, I was ALWAYS hungry. I could eat amounts of food that would be positively gross to list, and still feel hungry. Now, three ounces of Protein, and I feel FULL. There are new physical signs telling you to stop eating with the sleeve, and you will learn to listen. (And you will, because the one or two times you think "aah, this is so good, I just want one more bite", you may be regretting it for hours). If over-eating is your big problem, this surgery will work really well for you. At 5 months out, I am down 65 lbs from my high, and I can still get full on a half of a small chicken breast. What's funny is how different portions begin to look after a while. The thought of a full plate of food is gross to me these days.

It's funny. At first, I was considering RNY for the same reason. Eventually, I decided to go with the sleeve. As fate's sense of humor would have it, I'm one of the tiny percentage of VSG people who dumps on sugar. The docs don't know why, but about 1/3 of the time, if I eat something with sugar, I will be sweating, shaking, heart palpitations, and eventually, after an hour or two, I will slimy up everything I have eaten in hours. You don't want to dump. Trust me. The beauty of VSG is that it changes how you feel about food, what you crave, and how much you want. I can eat one occaisional peice of something sweet, and be satisfied; I can leave the rest sitting on my plate (Really!) without wanting to finish it. And it pisses me off when I take one flipping bite of cake, and feel like crap until it all comes up. (It doesn't happen every time, and I am stupid, so I do try to eat a bite of sweet or two about once a month).

sn...................sw.......................cw.....................goal.................lbs to goal dragon ...................... 217....... 156................144 ..................... 12

Hi; I was sleeved may 9th; down 47 lbs, and feeling great. I have placed in a 5k (near the back is a place , I am 2 lbs away from officially not being obese, and I just bought a wardrobe full of size 10 / Medium clothes to last me for the next few months (Thank god for consignment stores!). The most amazing part is, I feel absolutely normal. I ate lunch with a friend today; I had a 3 oz salad with chicken, Spinach and Feta (also love the $2 lunches at the salad bar ; my friend had 5 times the amount of food - but it took us the same time to eat, and I would bet we were equally full. Before surgery I was warned by foolish friends that I "Would never eat a full meal again - the horror!". Well, I can eat a full meal now - it's just that my definition of a full meal has changed . As a side note, my husband was ambivilent, but he really seems to like having me back at the size I was when he met me 17 years ago. He does miss "the girls" in their previously huge glory, though

SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal Dragon.....217..................173.6*............152.............21.6 Weight as it was on 7/5 - as of 7-27, it's 167.

I had the same fears (although more with Peanut Butter and chocolate than burgers before I was sleeved. I am two months out, and almost 40 lbs down. It's different. You aren't hungry, which makes choices much easier. You are focused on fitting in enough of the right food (Protein, fluids), which is a new mind-set. And, if you eat something non dietetic, it's a much smaller fall. I let myself have some icecream about once a week - I generally have about 5 licks of the baby-cone I am sharing with my daughter. And I am satisfied. Don't judge how you will do based on how you are doing pre-surgery. The surgery changes more than just your stomach; it changes your mind, your attitude and your behavior. You still need the determination to work (anyone can suck down chocolate shakes), but if you have the desire, you will find you have the will-power and ability.

To add another note... I remember being that person with a 32 BMI; it was 2002, and I was trying my hardest to take it off. Never thought about surgery at that point. Fast forward to 2011, life has continued, I have had a wedding, stressful job, and two kids, and then had a BMI of 40 when I finally got the surgery. I am thrilled with how the first two months have gone (down from 206 to 168 this morning!), and I wish I could have had this bak in 2002. Doing it at a lower BMI means you most likely won't ever hit the higher BMI; you won't have half of the skin issues, because you haven't stretched out your skin so much in the first place. You have more of a chance of keeping your private business private, because it's awesome, but not so suspicious to see someone drop 40 - 60 lbs than it is to see them drop 100. If it were me, and I could time travel, and bring this surgery back with me, I would do it before the problem became so severe.

I'm right there with you at a month out, but having pretty good success at getting my Protein. Make sure to get your fluids - if I don't, my stomach will start to go wanky. Whatever you eat, make sure it's moist, eat slow, and stop 2 bites before you think you should. If you eat slow enough, and little enough, the bad stomach feeling should go away - does it hurt when you have a cheese stick? If not, start measuring out 1 oz, and try that amount for other foods. The amount you are eating sounds similar to me; That's the point of the surgery, to make us eat small. If you qualified for the surgery, I'm guessing it will be a while before you stave to death. Later, we'll be able to eat more normal amounts, and miss the amount of restriction we have now. As to the Protein shakes, if you can't stand the ones you have tried, keep trying. I tried unjury (which a lot of folks rave about), and it made me want to hurl. I can stand Isopure, but I know a lot of people think it's utterly disgusting. Keep trying new mixes - if you can find one you can tolerate, it makes getting your 60 - 80 Proteins much easier.

I just had my surgery at NYP on May 9th; I'm in Yonkers - hi!

Hey all, I was sleeved on the 9th, got home from the hospital yesterday. I was lucky to have little to no nausea, and more aches than actual pain. A couple of things that are worrying/bothering me that I wanted to run by you: 1. slight incision bleeding - I had the super 2 incision, mostly through the belly button surgery. I have very little or no pain in my stomach, but I have some periodic, slight bleeding from my bellybutton, usually in the evening. I had this in the hospital, and it has continued after release; it is getting less each day; today, I would guess it was about 5 drops of blood; yesterday was probably a teaspoon full, Tuesday soaked the gauze.... Has anyone else had this? Should I be worried (I will call the DR tomorrow anyway). 2. Nightmares - I have now had 3 really impressive ones; it's actually why I'm awake at 12:20 at night; the last one left me not wanting to go to sleep; anyone else with sleep probs? I realize that as complaints from a major surgery, these are pretty minor. I am happy to say that I am keeping fluids down with no problem (just sipping slow and burping), and have handled some cream of wheat, apple-sauce and sweet potatos (My Dr is a start mushies while still in the hospital kind of guy). But, I have felt hardly any hunger, and what I had looked nothing like the old hunger, which was cool. Has anyone been brave enough to step on the scale yet? (My best friend told me that each of those IV bags gives 3 lbs of Water weight, so I am holding off!)

Well, since surgery for me is May 9th, I'm going for 180 - it's 24 pounds in just over 2 months; Here's hoping! ____________________________________________ SN..............Starting Wt..217......Current..204.....Short Goal..180.....Lbs to short Goal 24

It may be hard for her to verbalize her fear -- I was trying to put myself in her shoes, and I would be thinking about what your decision says about you as a couple, and about how you see her: From her view, you hate being overweight enough to HAVE YOUR STOMACH CUT OUT. She is overweight...... It has been ok, because you're in that boat together. Now, you tell her you are going to shore. Will you start feeling disgusted at her size? Impatient of physical limitations that you no longer share? What if you don't love her anymore? If this is in her thoughts, from her view, nothing good can come of this - you can die, or live and be disgusted at her, and probably leave her for another woman. The only way to reassure her is to do it, and continue loving her; if she follows in your footsteps, great. But I can see why she would feel afraid, especially if she's sure she won't get surgery herself.

I told : my Husband - you kind of have to... My best friend - she had RNY last year, was the one who encouraged me to seriously consider My sister - who was an idiot, and promptly informed me that after the surgery I will NEVER BE ABLE TO EAT AGAIN!!! OH NOS! and three girls at book club - because they don't know anyone else in my life, it felt safe to tell them. They were curious, interested, and very supportive. And, one of the girls had a personal interest, and may follow in my footsteps if I do well.. Right now, don't need the pressure of having people watch every bite I put in my mouth,ask how much I have lost, and gossip about me in hushed conversations on their nightly telephone calls (hello Inlaws, I'm looking at you!). Once I have lost the weight, I think I may selectively tell people; I only considered this because seeing my friend do it made it a real option. I think I will want to be that example for others in the same boat.

look at it this way; how much have you saved on the food you aren't eating? The co-pays you skip because you don't need medicine? You are probably just re-distributing the money you would have spent anyway without the surgery (I can't wait to re-distribute into some REALLY cute boots.... and clothes from pinupgirl.com; that will be my very expensive NSV!)

Since your starting BMI was a 43, I think you are probably with me in the "little big girl" category. Folks who have more to lose will lose faster; they just will. But, since you are starting smaller, you will still get to your goal fairly quickly. I have set my expectations at losing 10 lbs per month; If I hit something close to that, I will be thrilled. And hey, at that rate, in December, I should be a size 6. I haven't been a size 6 since I was 17 years old, so I guess I can wait another eight months. Remember, you didn't put this on overnight, it won't go away overnight either. The sleeve is a tool, not a magic wand.

In another four or five months, you will be textbook perfect; he will still be an idiot.

Totally normal; they actually have a name for it - welcome to the week 3 stall. This too shall pass.

Hi all, Well, I started this crazy thang in February; I have everything pretty much done (bloodwork, psych eval, endoscopy, sleep study, abdominal ultrasound, pulmonary function, insurance approval, dancing elephants, etc.), and meet with the Surgeon (Marc Bessler, NewYork-Presbyterian) on April 28th; Insurance seems to think my surgery is happening on May 18th, and I am very much hoping that the surgeon agrees .

My Drs. office actually filed on March 25th, after I met with the nurse practicioner. I heard today (March 30) that Empire BCBS has approved me!!!!

here's hoping mine goes as easily; I had my NUT appointment on Monday, and by Tomorrow, I will have the bloodwork, letter from my physician and psych eval all done; I am hoping they will submit next week for me

Hi all, I met with the nutritionist for my surgeon yesterday, and was told that Clear liquids were only the day of the surgery, pureed foods (not sure if this would be blended or mushies?) were days 2 - 14, and starting solid foods after two weeks; That seems quite different from what I have read others doing; am I misunderstanding, have things changed, or is this unusual? Thanks, Dragon At first Eustace thought it would be a simple task as he easily and painlessly scraped and shed his dragon skin. But soon he discovers that a new one has quickly taken its place. That’s when Aslan graciously offers to take the scales off for him. Thought it is a painful process, the end result is the healing, restoration, and transformation of Eustace into a completely different person.

When I had my children, I needed c-sections. I heard several comments about "taking the easy way out." And, in some ways, it's probably true. I had no labor pains, and I didn't find the recovery to be all that painful; You know what? Good. The kids who were born naturally don't wear shiny gold ribbons on their chests. The women who go through labor aren't better mothers, and are no more "real women" than I am. I avoided some pain, and did what was required for my particular body to be healthy. Good for me. There is a word for deliberately and repeatedly doing what is hard and inneffective when something effective and easier exists - foolishness. Bring on the "easy way".

I just started day 1 this morning; vanilla protein shakes; not as disgusting as I had imagined.