MyGastricSleeveLife

Good luck! My pre-op diet was about 650 calories for 2 weeks. It was hard, but I survived & lost 12.6 lbs!! I'm now a week out from surgery & have lost 7.4 lbs in 8 days! I couldn't be happier with my decision. It is an elective procedure, but it is helping me get healthy so I can be here for years and years and years to come for my children! Hang in there! Good luck on the pre-op diet!!

I don't know as far as actually controlling the craving coming on, but the best thing to do to avoid giving in is finding something else to do. Take a walk, call and talk to a friend, go to the mall, go for a drive, read a book, play a game, find something else you enjoy besides eating.

Good luck with your journey!! I just had my surgery a week ago & couldn't be happier with my decision! Feel free to check out my blog (listed in my signature) if you'd like.

Many patients that go to Mexico go because their insurance won't cover it and most of the surgeries in Mexico are around $5000 instead of upwards of $10,000 - $15,000+ here in the states. There are some well-qualified doctors there, so it is a good choice for some people. I am a self-pay patient, but I decided that I felt more comfortable with a local doctor even though I had to pay more simply because I felt better about having a local doctor for followup care and in case of any complications. However, some people are comfortable with going to Mexico to save money.

Many patients that go to Mexico go because their insurance won't cover it and most of the surgeries in Mexico are around $5000 instead of upwards of $10,000 - $15,000+ here in the states. There are some well-qualified doctors there, so it is a good choice for some people. I am a self-pay patient, but I decided that I felt more comfortable with a local doctor even though I had to pay more simply because I felt better about having a local doctor for followup care and in case of any complications. However, some people are comfortable with going to Mexico to save money.

there are a ton of places online that sell them. I looked into a few places and ended up ordering this one http://www.n-styleid.com/medical-id-alert-bracelets/rubber-bracelets.html - because I felt it fit what I wanted and didn't cost a ton. This site has a lot of different options for different kinds of bracelets with different chains and styles depending on what you want. I'm pleased with mine so far and it was shipped fairly quickly. If you Google "medical ID bracelets" you can find lots of other sites to look at also. Some were outrageously expensive though.

I was told no gum early on because of threat of swallowing it, but I'm not sure about long term. I was told no straws for 3-4 months because of swallowing extra air that curse gas bubbles to form mad can just be uncomfortable. However, I'm thinking of asking if I can try a straw because I actually think I might take up less air with a straw than with the way I sip stuff. Since so many doctors are different, I would ask your doctor.

I just got little gel pills at Walmart in the vitamin isle for biotin.

Congrats! How far out from surgery are you?

Oh - I hope to never need it, but I'm wearing it now & it just gives me more peace of mind whether it is actually necessary or not. :-)

I got one just for my own peace of mind. I had forgotten to ask my surgeon about it, but just decided to get one anyway. Then when I was discharged, the Bariatric Coordinator was going over everything, he mentioned how we can't have blind feeding tubes inserted & I mentioned how I got a medic alert bracelet & he said it was a good idea. The place I got mine was limited in the number of spaces you could have so mine says: Gastric Sleeve VSG No Blind NG Tubes No NSAIDs Someone here had mentioned before that in an accident situation the NSAIDs thing wouldn't matter because if they gave you anything it would be through an IV, which wouldn't irritate the stomach, but I put it on mine anyway. I read someone else's comment where they said they put the name & number of their surgeon. I didn't do that, but do have his card in my wallet. I think the most important thing is the name of the surgery & the feeding tube thing.

My surgeon says to aim for 70-100 grams of protein per day, but some doctors are different. I'm not sure how much would be too much protein though.

Woo Hoo!! That's awesome!! Congrats!!

I would really ask your NUT how she expects you to meet your calorie and protein goals without protein shakes. My dietitian and surgeon encourage eating only 3 meals per day with no actual snacks between meals. They expect me to get all my fluids in between meals and include protein drinks in those fluids to get in 70-100 grams of protein & 800-1000 calories once I'm 12 weeks out.

Depending on the medication, you may have to see if they come in liquid or chewable form. Some are not as effective if crushed or cut. They absorb differently if altered. However, some are fine crushed or cut. You need to check with your doctor to find out about your specific medications.

I disagree. You are an inspiration because you chose to change your life - whether by surgery or another way - and you lost weight. The surgeryade your stomach smaller, but you are an inspiration becaus you chose to follow your diet plan andose weight. Even with a smaller stomach, if you had chosen to eat horribly, you would not have lost or wouldn't have lost as much. You should embrace the fact that you can be an inspiration for others and cherish the choice you made to be healthy, which encourages those around you to be healthy too - no matte what road they choose to get healthy!

KZBen - just wondering what you saw wrong exactly with the Chike shakes? I love them & actually got them from my surgeon's office so I know my surgeon thinks they are okay.

Awesome!! That's great!! Congrats!!

There are a lot of factors that go into us losing. Your body could be hanging on to some surgical gas still and is probably still somewhat swollen from surgery. Just keep following your diet plan and things will happen soon! Everyone loses at different rates.

Make sure you get whey isolate & not concentrate. Isolate absorbs better. As far as medicines, you can normally take medicine just fine with your Protein drink or take medicine with Water & then drink your Protein Drink.

It depends on your guidelines. My progression is really slow & I can't have tuna until at least 7 weeks out! Follow your doctor's guidelines.

Congrats!! Awesome accomplishment!!

Mine is minimum of 70, but they said it was okay to work up to it the first couple weeks after surgery. Ultimately, my guidelines are for 70-100 grams of protein a day.

Good luck!! I'm a week out from mine today & couldn't be happier!! I hope all goes well for you too!!

I'm glad you found this site! I hope all goes well for you & you can have the surgery. I just wanted to suggest a blog you might find interesting. I love it and it is very inspirational for me even though I don't have as much weight to lose as you do or as this woman does. She is truly amazing - http://www.300poundsdown.com/ - her blog encourages me to keep going in my own journey. I just had surgery last Monday & couldn't be happier with my decision. I was a self-pay patient since my insurance doesn't cover bariatric surgery, so I didn't really have any hurdles to get through as far as approval goes. Good luck with everything! Surgery is definitely not the easy way out, but I truly believe for some of us it is the best way to get healthy. It still involves a lot of hard work though!