gmanbat

As I remember it through the chemical fog in recovery the nurses were "strongly encouraging" me to breathe as well. I am out about 3 weeks and my belly still growls a bit when I drink Water. I try to burp when it does that and in my mind at least it seems to help. I am puzzled why they did not give you Lortab or some other liquid pain killer. It is quite a friend, no problem consuming. The advice already given is very good. You may have tough times as I have but the sense of victory you recieve when buying new clothes makes it more than worth the struggle. You will notice many empowerments returning to you. If you were once slim it will be like going back in time without a Delorean !

My wife got my wedding ring out for me and I put it back on, (we had taken it off for the operation). It is just barely staying on, another 10-15 pounds and it will be falling off. My belt, which I had to put another notch in because the regular holes didn't allow enough slack, is now too big. I went through all the notches quickly and will have to drill again or get a new belt. My watch was painful to wear and left marks when I took it off, now slides up my arm and I can easily put a finger between the watch and my wrist. All my shirts are either too big or fitting fine. I can now shop somewhere besides Goodwill. I think the fat is coming off everywhere. The belly is the last to go because there is just more there.

Hi, there. Hey, I live in a household with my wife, daughter, and two granddaughters. The only males here are three of our four cats: Coco Puff, Tigger, and Spoticus. Cleocatra rounds out the females.

How about a Grinch? :ack2:

Good for you, Mater! I had my gall bladder out too. Unfortunately it flaired up bad about 3 weeks before my sleeve surgery so I got 2 operations. I had a rough night last night and today but I am pretty sure it is not related to the sleeve. I caught a stomach flu that is going around and so did my 2 granddaughters and my daughter who live with me. We are all bazookas, out both ends, quite unpleasant. A bunch of sick puppies here.

Prayers for you, Mater.

Thanks, sleevers! I did an intense workout last night at the Rec Center. Walked briskly 25 minutes with 5 pounders in hands, even did some running. After that, a full body workout with machines and free weights. Only problem was I was so revved up it was difficult to sleep. I must endeavor to workout earlier in the day to allow myself time to ramp down. I am amazed that so little food could produce so much energy. I discover that I have completely misunderstood the nature of food and energy all of my high-volume-intake life.

Just hit the 50 pounds loss mark! I am pulling out shirts that my wife wouldn't let me wear before because my big belly pulled the shirt up and the bottom of my belly was exposed. Now it tucks in nicely in my new size 42 pants, down from size 50. Now I can tie my shoes without my eyes bulging out like a frightened frog. I can't wait to go back to Universal Studios and get right on the rides without worrying if I would be turned away because they couldn't get the bar down. This is hard at times but the benefits outweigh the liabilities by a huge margin. 60 more pounds to my goal of 220 pounds of ripped-ness!

I am not necessarily recommending this for everyone and experts on these ingredients please chime in with any objections . I have a cure for the frequent constipation that seems to occur after surgery. We bought some Herbal Slimming Tea at Big Lots, very cheap. The active ingredients are: Senna leaves, Malva leaves, Panax Ginseng, and Stevia leaves. A cup of this and about 6 hours later it's show time. Takes about a half hour before the sessions are over. I suggest a half cup to start with. If you go this route be sure to set aside the time, don't make big plans somewhere, could be embarrassing. I only do this every few days out of fear that it may be habit forming.

Not unless you go through areas with lots of gas stations and you are a pretty good sprinter.

Thanks, I figured there would be some cautions with this, pretty effective stuff. I will only use it if I have to and not in on consecutive days..

Amen!

I am 63 and got sleeved a couple of weeks ago. I had a pot gut but otherwise folks thought I didn't look THAT overweight. Even some medical people told me I just needed a good diet. The fat distributed over my body and I didn't look THAT bad. But I was miserable. No energy, hard to breathe, diabetes, many aches and pains. I Tried diets, I couldn't lose the extra 50 lbs. that hormones and steroids put on me after the prostate cancer treatment. I was 330 6 months and 2 weeks ago. I am now 282 and falling fast. I can't express how much better I feel. Energy, outlook, everything goes up as weight goes down. Wife got Roux N Y and is doing great. We plan on living out our lives by having a whole lot of fun in Florida as soon as we can manage to move. No going gently into that good night for us. If our acting and dressing young annoys people...toooo bad!

Us men can be stubborn knot heads sometimes. Especailly if it is not OUR idea. I raised the dickens with my wife for wanting a Roux N Y. I had many arguments and they all sounded logical to me. Then I went to a couple support meetings and somehow I melted down. My wife was shocked when I said I was interested for myself! Wife is beaming from buying new clothes and her new energy. We are finding out we weren't that old after all!

I went through the 6 month diet and was denied anyway. The reason was the psych reported that I told him I was a drug taking hippy in the 60's. It was for 1 1/2 years, I quit and have been clean since. My doc immediately appealed and they approved. It probably was a delay to get us into the new year and higher co-pays.

Levi's Jeans, 501 Original, Medium Stonewash ...when I get my hipbones back.

Egg drop soup goes down so easy that it is easy to eat too much. Be sure to put the portion in a lttle bowl and don't go back and get more. I can get a quart for $2.75 and it lasts for a week. Gets you out of the Cambells rut.

Egg drop is a friendly soup. Hot and sour is a little antagonistic. I just brought it back up, my first rejection since my surgery, It could be that I ate it too fast, though. Hot and sour was my dear friend during chemo therapy, the only food that tasted right.

Our psych eval was $100, refunded us $30. As we saw it the eval was for the sake of the insurance company, nothing to do with helping us cope, no advice, no help. He just delved into our past and made us answer hundreds of questions on a computer. My wife was promptly approved by insurance, I was promptly turned down. I was turned down because I told him about the short period in the 60's that I was a hippy and smoked dope,(erratic lifestyle). I would advise not just blabbing everything no matter how friendly they seem. I was later approved, after the first of the year and we were into a new copay period

I have been treated for prostate cancer and have had diverticuitus a number of times. My urologist, who is lead on my prostate cancer treatment, was less than enthusiastic about my sleeve, saying it was hard on kidneys, but grudgingly gave his approval, (my sleeve doctor said that the urologist may be going on old information and that with proper water consumption, kidneys are in no danger). My doctor who was in charge of my chemo was supportive saying that losing fat will help keep the cancer away. My family physician was enthusiastic forseeing an end to my mild diabetes and high blood pressure brought on by obesity, (the diabetes is gone and there is a marked improvement in blood pressure). What has not been addressed at length is diverticulitus. The normal way to handle diverticulitus is to ramp up the fiber, pretty difficult to do in the early stages of recovery. I am afraid to take Metamucil, the gold standard for fiber, because of my knowledge of how it swells up. I am on my second week of recovery on full liquids and haven't had any diverticulitus symptoms, in quite a while come to think of it, perhaps due to my reduced diet on the way to insurance approval. . I am hoping the reduced volume of my intake will in itself keep the divers away. I have been deficating but with much less volume than before. I have lost 14 pounds in one week after my surgery and am surprised at how much energy that I have for my walking. I have gone from pre-program weight of 330 down to 286. My tentative goal is 220 but we will see if further loss is needed when I arrive there. :smile1:

Just got home a couple of hours ago. Surgery went well. They weren't kidding when they said you have to watch how you eat. So far just Water and crystal light type drinks. Tomorrow I go on non-Clear liquids as well. I have adjusted to the fact that I will never eat the same. I was a 2 mountain buffet buster. No more. Wife and I will order one meal, split it into fourths, eat 2/4 and take the other half home. There is much more to life than eating. Eat to live, don't live to eat, that's our motto.

My stats and yours are very similar. My surgery is tomorrow. I hope I do as well as you have been. I have been working on head hunger since my liquid diet started. I have been examining my philosophies about eating, too. The recreational part of eating will be nearly non-exsitent. Eating will be to live and be healthy and strong, recreation will be experienced through my interests and activities. I must become the master of my body not a slave to it's urges. My wife is a lttle over a month post RouyNY sugery and is doing great. We will support each other and never return to overweight misery.

Aetna must be a pretty good company. My wife and I submitted to Med Mutual Ohio. She was approved pretty quickly, I was turned down...get this... because the psychiatrist told them I did drugs in the 60's! Pot and acid, off and on for 1-2 years, over in 1969. I became a born-again Christian and eventually a preacher, living quite a drug free life. The doc sent in an appeal and I was approved, surgery on Monday. They are wondering if the turndown was a delay tactic to wait until the new year for bigger co-pays, we had just about maxed 2011. Just saw your new post. Good for you!!!!

Well, it looks like I'm the first man to chime in here. Be gentle with me ladies. There is a famine in this world for men who act like men. Real men are not abusive, insensitive, self-centered, and mean. That is just being stupid jerks. Many men have the emotional maturity of a 3 year old. A real man is strong and knows he is. He doesn't have to prove it to himself by pushing a woman or kids around. His knowledge of his own worth and power frees him to be gentle and kind. He knows he's a man so he is secure enough to cry, feel love, give love, and cherish his wife and kids. He doesn't have to have phony machismo. A man isn't a man because he is an ignorant barbarian. I have been married for over 40 years to the same sweety. We've had our hard times especially during my "mid-life crisis". But our deep love for each other and our faith in God pulled us back together. She was so loving to me during my cancer treatment and has proven herself to be the best thing that ever happened to me. Picking on a woman because she is overweight just shows what a dredfully shallow, insecure, weak man you are. I pray that your husbands will get a good look at themselves and join the ranks of real men. My sweety is 4 weeks out of RouxNY and is beeming because of her new body. I am crying as I write this because I a SO happy for her! I get the sleeve surgery on the 16th. We are going to live out the remainder of our days just as we started together; two very much in love, slender, healthy people walking on the beach and thanking God for the gift of our marraige.

Hi all! My first post here. I was treated for prostate cancer in 2009-2010. I recieved external beam radiation, chemo and was put on lupron, the testosterone killer. I was given steroids to help me with the chemo and them added to the lupron put 50 pounds on me very quickly putting me up to 330. I am a 6'2" man. The doctor predicted the added weight would be hard to get off and he was right. I have had acid reflux problems off and on for quite a while and my surgeon, who favors the Roux N Y warned me that I could be on Prilosec the rest of my life after the operation but the RNY folks don't have a problem with it.. I can see some here do indeed have reflux problems. Any advice would be appreciated. I am still going through with it. The surgery will help with my mild diabetes and the weight loss will lessen my chances of the cancer advancing again acording to the doc. My psa is at 0.3 right now. I have after-effects from chemo; numbness in my feet. In the past if I laid off the coffee and took Prilosec for a few days the heartburn went away. I am hoping the VSG will not put an eternal fire in my belly. My wife had the RNY recently and is working me over for new clothes. Doggone Macy's gives out charge cards mighty easy. Oh, well, I will be looking forward to running it up myself soon. It will be nice to have hip bones again so I don't have to wear my pants at my belly button.