jh5497

I flew 5 days post op, approx 4 hours, then a 3 hour layover and another hour long flight. I was fine. I bought a few drinks after security (Water, sugar free iced tea) and since I was still in the "sipping" stage, I didn't need anything extra from the airline. On other flights, I have noticed the US has muscle milk after security so you can buy Protein there. I had no problem getting my liquids in. I didn't find travelling post op that different than flying any other time in my life. You may need help with your carry on as you shouldn't be lifting anything heavy. My seatbelt was fine. I flew wearing sweatpants and didn't have a problem with it digging in or anything.

I look at myself in the mirror only a few lbs from goal, and I honestly don't think I look that different until I look back and do side by sides. It takes a while for your brain to catch up with you body changing.

Dr Garcia and I have 2. He told me that he didn't need as many because I had done so well pre-op shrinking my liver!

I went alone to TJ and was fine from flying to surgery to recovery. I was just bored. I made friends with another patient and that helped tremendously -- found her on these boards!

You just had surgery 2 weeks ago and went through with a decision to alter your life. If you didn't have moments of regret, sadness or panic you wouldn't be normal! Do not base your future on how you feel right now. You put your stomach and body through a painful, unnatural thing, and readjustment takes a while. Right now, you don't feel good, but in 6 months or a year, it will be different. If you don't believe me just read a few posts on the Veterans board. They were all here once too and now look at them!! Also, as our bodies burn that fat, it releases hormones that take us on an emotional roller coaster. I cried because 13 years ago when my sister got married , I was 15 and I couldn't go to her bachelorette party. Ohhhhh hormonal emotional roller coaster! On top of that, if you were an emotional eater, you just lost your best coping skill. You can't eat to deal with feelings effectively anymore. You changed your life -- there is a certain greiving process that goes with that -- it's not easy. Going back and forth between "awesome" and "oh crap" is part of that greif. Next, I want you to be prepared for the stalls that are going to come because they will come and if you are already down, the kick of a stall will hurt that much more. A stall is your body playing catch up and will pass - no one stays stuck in their 3 week stall!!

I bought all my post op food from Nashua Nutrition online and I LOVE the Protidiet Vanilla Pudding. It's delicious.I bought their (Protidiet, Proti Thin or Health Smart brands) beef vegetable soup, hot cocoa, and fruit flavoured protein packets. It's all been tolerable with water. Once I moved into foods, I bought their protein bars and it feels like a treat some days eating them because they are so good.

I went to Dr. Garcia alone in TJ and was fine. I made friends with other patients and that helped because my biggest problem would have been boredom!!

Ok - you recognize all those thoughts!! That is a huge major awesome accomplishment. You understood why you were thinking it and what was motivating you to make your choices. All of that is going to make for a strong VSG journey. Changing our unhealthy "makes you wanna eat" thoughts into healthy thoughts is a big hurdle on the emotional side of the journey. You are on your way there! Um, the lose weight/make the most of stomach ideas are totally normal!!! I pigged out until I started my pre op diet.

I have Blood Pressure problems which pushed me into considereing it (and the BP became my scapegoat because this was a lot about appearance for me). I still have my high BP. It was never because of weight, but genetics according to my doctor. He can figure out why I still have high BP when I do everything perfectly! I feel hot. I love the attention I get. I like the way I look naked. I love how clothes look. I have more confidence than I can contain. It pops out all the time. I feel like I'm a Barbie doll. All I want to do is have fun and be active now. My weight stood in the way more than I thought. I was unhappier than I ever thought because of my weight. I didn't know that until I became "skinny". I find people treat me better -- hold open doors, offer to buy me drinks. My relationships improved, like my brother isn't embarassed or ashamed of me now. I don't worry about fitting in vehicles or chairs or if the cashier is judging me for buying cake mix. I feel soooo normal now. And hot. I can not repeat enough times how hot I think I am. The rest of my life is the same. I have the same work stress. I have the same family drama. I still feel lonely sometimes. I still wish I had more money. All my problems are still there, but I like myself now and I think that's a huge accomplishment.

You said "I also keep having second thoughts about not being to eat what I want for the rest of my life". This for me now is 20 minutes when I'm at a restaurant with friends until I'm at my new "full", or at Christmas dinner when everyone gorges for hours, but they all feel gross after -- I don't! And those few minutes when I'm sad about being different and unable to binge pale in comparison to the months I spend being ridiculously happy/confident, showered with cute male attention and staring at myself in the mirror. 1- Have you had any major complications from the surgery? Nope - nothing! 2- How long were you on restrictions from lifting? Six weeks from anything over 20lbs I think, I only had two incisions, so I didn't follow this too exact... and was still fine! If you are a nurse, care aide or moving/transfering people, take a good two weeks off for sure! 3- How long were you in the hospital after surgery? 2 days in Hospital, 2 days at a hotel post op 4- What did you tell friends and coworkers? I told them I was having surgery - I was vague with the nosy people I didn't like. Some got the details, some didn't. Now I think most people know. I haven't ran into a single person who has said anything negative. The important people care enough that they want you to be healthy and happy no matter what road you take. I armed myself with statistics about the sleeve, just in case I ran into a Negative Nelly. 5- Do you have any regrets about having the surgery? That I didn't do it earlier. I'm 28. I wish I would have done this at 20. I feel like I'm reliving my life the way I always pictured it to be. I have guys fighting to buy me drinks, dance with me and kiss me on NYE. I don't feel like I will have to settle on "some guy" because no one else will ever be interested -- I can actually find someone worthy of ME. I finally have the confidence I always wanted and it shows to others. My relationships have gotten better now that I'm happier too. I can hang out with my brother and he's not ashamed. I can be in the jumpy houses with my neices and nephews. Life is better.

Welcome to your 3 week stall. It happens to many many people. It's not at all about what you're eating, it's about your body adjusting and catching up. It sounds like you are doing AWESOME with what you are eating/drinking and with your tracking! Tracking is a great tool, especially when starting out. As far as nutrition, I don't worry too much about my fat, because I know it's healthy fat (Olive oil, avocado, almonds etc.). I try to keep carbs less than Protein now that I am this far out (8 months), but if I want a glass of OJ or a banana in my smoothie, I have it. I won't deprive myself of the things I want, HOWEVER, protein always comes first to me and I pay attention to my total calories.

Mio, Gatorade, Vitamin Water Zero, Clear broth, herbal tea... I had surgery almost 8 months ago and am only now tolerating plain water. Staying hydrated this early out needs to be a priority, even before getting your protein in. You will soon be 2 weeks post op, if our post op diet was anything like most, you should be able to add all liquids in tomorrow including milk, protein shakes and strained soup.

I have lost 101lbs and went from a DD42 to a DD34 in plus size bras. When I went into the plus size store to get measured for a new bra, she said "I wondered why you were in here"! I notice that my boobs aren't as full as they were and they squish into things more easily.

You won't be able to lift them. So they'll have to be able to get into and out of things like their cribs, highchairs, or bath tub on their own (or with minimal help from you). I also have to point out that if something happened to one of them, like a fall or whatever, you wouldn't be able to carry them. My nephew is 24months and loves crawling on me, that wouldn't go over well on Day 3 either. By Day 3 you will be able to walk around, I found stairs to still be easy, carry out normal tasks like showering, light cooking/dishes, but even at Day 3 I was worried about how the way I slept would impact my incisions. I also only had 2 incisions, not 5 like most people. There's also a mental aspect to being post op with greif and anxiety too where it might be nice to have an adult to talk with (but the boards are here for support too). For me, I was constantly worrying about drinking and getting in enough fluids which is huge because dehydration is such an awful side effect. So if you go ahead with surgery, make sure that you prioritize your Water. Its your call. You know your girls and your life style better than anyone. 3 days post op, I wouldn't have gone back to my desk job where I talk and type all day. I imagine your day is much more active than mine.

Steeped Tea from Tim Horton's. 2 milk, 3 splenda and 50 calories that make my day wonderful! I knew it was becoming a problem when I slipped walking into work (we had gotten a foot of snow last Monday and then it melted making for treacherous conditions), slipped and spilled the whole thing. I went into my office and cried for 20 minutes. I got another one eventually, but I was devastated.

Congratulations, your body is normal and just like everyone else's! You will not ever lose 18lbs every week. Bodies react differently and some people lose consistenly and some people have bigger weeks and smaller weeks. Everyone has stalls. At first, everyone freaks out because of their stall. This is just one of many as you begin this journey. It'll pass and another one will hit a few weeks/months after, and it'll pass too. Just keep following your post op plan and have faith that the tool you chose will help you get the results your desire!

Congrats!! You are on an amazing journey. Hunger feelings are not likely physical hunger, but real despite that. I take a tums whenever I have one. Mental/Sensory hunger and cravings are something you will learn to deal with in your own way. Your stomach will be swollen a long time and needs time to heal. Around 3 months is where I started to feel normal and 6 months was phenomenal! All your worries are normal. Follow your post op plan and you will be fine. Don't stress yourself out when you stall (because it is coming and it will pass)! Enjoy your liquids for now and focus on staying hydrated!

I'm 7 months out and notice the same things. I can chug back Water so much faster now. I can eat like 5oz of meat. So when I start to worry I track. I still am under 1000 calories a day most of the time. The random tracking keeps my accountable and makes sure I'm getting my Protein (which has never been a problem for me). Sleeves relax over time and that is normal. 7 months out, I eat everything. Tonight was 1/2 serving of taco salad with ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, corn, cheese and catalina dressing. I had a mini cupcake. I also had a Protein shake after the gym and a steeped tea with milk from Tim Hortons. Honestly, if you are worried track, see where you are. Adjust yourself from there. Don't stress over it. Stress creates cortisol than prevents weight loss and makes our bodies store belly fat! Since I talked about calories, I should also mention that I have been told that because we lose the weight so fast and were so big for so long that our metabolisms aren't exactly normal (and never will be). So if one person our same size who hasn't undergone WLS eats 1500, they might maintain their weight, but if we had 1500 calories we would gain. Info I have says we need to eat 75-85% less than counterparts to maintain. If you google BMR calculator it'll tell you calories needed to lose/gain/maintain for your situation.

How far out are you? I had a cold 4 months out and took regular cold medicine (Tylenol Cold and Sinus) with a bit of food. I took one tablet, twice a day. You'll want to stay away from any NSAIDs (Aleve, Aspirin etc.) because they can cause stomach irritation such as ulcers.

I would say your body already answered that for you!

Dr Garcia in MX has stockings for my legs too and I got up and started walking right away, then I'd get nausea, a nurse would give me a shot, I'd sleep, then wake up and do it all over again for the first day. There were also doctors and nurses around all the time which I found comforting! I was really worried about blood clots, especially if they travel and cause a pulmonary embolism. That was probably my biggest fear.. and that they'd remove and sell a kidney on the black market!

I've lost 56lbs since surgery August 9, and 99 Total over the past 18 months. The only way I believe I look like this, is by staring at this picture! I have a whole new outlook on life and my happiness level is through the roof (and I wasn't unhappy before)!

You look incredible!! So tiny!

I had hip pain at my heaviest. All my pain is gone now except what I inflict on myself at the gym! It's amazing how much easier everything gets -- from wiping your butt to getting in/out of vehicles to sex! Everything is easier physically. Mentally and emotionally, I have personally found things get easier too. I am much nicer to myself, I treat myself more often, and I don't beat myself up for things food related!

I'm strategically holding my arms in a way where you can't tell they aren't toned! Haha! I do free weights and arm exercises using body weight infrequently (everything from bicep curls to push ups, I like the Biggest Loser DVDS for strength). I typically run 45 minutes 4 times a week (by run I mean 3-5 minute runs with 90 second walk breaks)