BrickHouse

Eat a sugar free purple popcycle, if you see purple in your drain bulb....issue time. That is what my doc had me do...also if you have the drain bulb that you squeeze after you empty it...don't worry it may looked clogged but I bet in a few hours it will have cleared itself. I had my drain in for 10 days, it was too long and I developed an abscess. So just pay attention to the way you feel, that is the best indicator.
Good luck in your journey! You will be "rockin your sleeve" in no time!!

Two words: Slippery. Slope.

Two words: Slippery. Slope.

I asked for the same guidance and direction and here I am. I've begun the process with all these appointments and my surgeon thinks I can be on the table by early October. I'm planning to Celebrate my surgery date every year just like my birthday. Now if I can get my family on board with gifts...

fellow sleevers
getting smaller
cool looking new haircut/ hairstyle
Got my 1rst tatoo
3 grandkids initials w/three little hearts
right wrist
healthier
happier
self-confidence going through the roof
head up high reaching past the stars
sky is the limit
what is next?

Mine was my daughter , I had my 2 nd child when I was 38, I'm 39 now , and I want to be there for her, I want to be able to be active for her and my son . I am nearing 40 and I had this great need that I wanted to make a major change in my life, I want to be the grandma that zip lines :-) not wheelchair bound because of her weight .

Mine was an inspirtation. A friend of mine (and past diet buddy) ran the NY Marathon. She had been around the same weight as I was and had bypass surgery about four years ago. I had always marveled at her weight loss, and even met with her several times to discuss the surgery. I kept thinking I would try to do it on my own, rather than undergo something so drastic. Well now, here I was at my highest weight ever, feeling tired, disgusting and miserable, and there she was running a MARATHON!! That was when I decided I had put my life on hold long enough and immediately started steps to get the surgery. It took me nine months from that decision to the actual proceedure, but now I am finally on my way to being a happy healthy person like she is. I do not really see the NY marathon in my future (I hate to run and always have, even when I was thin) but who knows. Either way, I know now that the future now looks bright for me and I will have my own "marathon" moments as a new, healthier, lighter me!

everything especially loosing 60 pounds only to put back on 80 over the next year and a half.... then when I heard about the Sleeve, I knew it was for me. A couple years of looking into bypass and not being able to do that to myself. Talked to Sleevers and researched it and was ready to go.... while waiting the 6 months for surgery a 4yr old asked, "Why are your legs so big?" that sealed the deal for me.

I can't wait to NOT have sore feet. And sore ankles. And sore knees. And sore hips. And a sore back.

I had my first appointment with my surgeon today and I am on my way! I have already met several requirements and my particular insurance plan is one of the easiest to get approval through. My surgeon was great. He answered all my questions and, believe me, I had many! He explained everything in detail and said that normally the process, from first visit to surgery, takes about 3-4 months. <Big frown and exhale> ...BUT since I have the plan I do, it will go much more quickly for me! <Resume goofy grin> I am on track for a late September/Early October date! I've scheduled the first of two appointments with both the PSYCH and NUT. My upper GI is Tuesday. The rest will be scheduled through the surgeon's office (sleep study, pulmonary, EGD). I am officially a bariatric patient and I couldn't be more excited to get my life back!

Hi,
Thanks so much. I just want people to know that they can be successful too!
Here is something I wrote and I am sending it to you. If you want more information after reading this, just send me an E-mail: Suzannesh@aol.com
Hi Everyone,
I decided that I would make a list of things for new people who are thinking about having WLS that might be helpful to them. This is long so please PRINT THIS OUT TO READ if you don’t want to read it all at one time.

First thing is to start asking people on the board you are on all kinds of questions—make of list of things you want to ask and keep coming back and ask more questions as time goes on. The more questions that ask the more you educate yourself about WLS and the process and what doctor they liked. Don’t rely on just one source of information. It is really normal to have all kind of feeling and emotions when trying to decide if you want to have Weight Loss Surgery. I must have talked myself in and out of doing this at least 50 times during my 6 months of research. My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. This is a big step. But if diet and exercise worked for us then we still wouldn’t be fat and would have lost the weight a long time ago and never regained it. It takes a lot of courage to have Weight Loss Surgery. I am very proud of you for looking into this. Don’t give any more days of your life being overweight, and your body hurting along with being unhealthy. WLS really is your answer.


How do you select your surgeon? First of all this is NOT a time to price shop for the cheapest doctor to do your WLS—that is just the wrong way to go at this. There are a lot of doctors who advertise on the Internet doing sleeve surgery for a lot less than some other doctors. I found one posting from a person who had the following concerns after having surgery in Tijuana, Mexico. (a) They put NO name band on her to be able to ID her when giving medications or anything else. ( NO one asked if she had any allergies to foods or medications—thank goodness this person didn’t have any. ( The lab did NOT label tubes of blood with the person’s name on it—very dangerous. © Day after surgery they gave this person ice chips, tea and apple juice. The next day (day 2) they gave this person NOTHING so this person asked why and the nurse said this person wasn’t allowed to eat anything. Well, this person then said I had Clear liquids the day before and they wanted to know WHO gave it to this person?? (d) This person was told that they would get a copy of the operative report on their discharge to take home with them—This person has not received it yet and that was about 2 weeks ago. So make sure have positive feedback about the Surgeon and Staff and Hospital that you choose. My choice after 6 months of research was Dr. Aceves in Mexicali, Mexico. What I can tell you in my opinion is that he is the very best you will ever find to do your surgery. I can only speak about my experience and my research that I did before I made him my choice for a surgeon.


Pack lightly for your WLS. So many of us have gone to Mexico, so you want a small suitcase with wheels, a laptop & a cell phone. The clothing that you wear to Mexico are the same ones you can wear home—slip on shoes work great too. Make sure that the clothing is loose fitting. Something just comfortable for your ride home. While in Mexico—that is if you go to Mexico for WLS make sure you take GAS-X. They have nothing in Mexico that they give your for gas, and the use gas in your abdominal area during surgery. It is painful after the surgery, so GAS-X STRIPS are easy to use by just placing them on your tongue. Take a couple of boxes with you—you will be glad you did. If you are going to use a credit card make sure you tell your credit card company and your Bank if you use your debit card or credit card. Sometimes if you DO NOT let these companies know you are outside of the US they block your charges. Use a credit card or debit card vs cash it is much easier to use. Take small amounts of cash for tips—I took $45.00 in 1’s for tip money for various things. If you go to any hospital anywhere leave ALL jewelry at home –just a watch and no rings or other jewelry. I never had any problems at all leaving my purse and computer& cell phone in my room while I was in surgery, but they recommend that you leave all jewelry at home. If you are a lady please remove all nail polish—they need it removed to see your nail beds during surgery.


The first month you do after surgery is the HARDEST month you will ever have to do. You do 10 days of nothing but Clear Liquids to start with—that means you have to be able to see through the liquid. Do not panic if you can not get the Protein they want you to have the 1st 10 days—I couldn’t find anything I liked that was clear during the 1st 10 days. They want you to try to drink 64 oz each day, and I don’t think I could ever get that much Water drank—just do the best you can. Your new stomach has just had major surgery and it is swollen and will only hold something about the size of your thumb. The next 10 days gets much better—you are now on creamy liquids for these 10 days. You can now have some creamy Soups, yogurt, and pudding—sugar free and find a Protein drink that you like. For me it is Premier Protein Drink and I get mine at costco. When looking for a protein drink, make sure they are low in calories, high in Protein—Premier has 30 grams of protein in each drink box and make sure you have low carbs too. I know there are a lot of other Protein drinks out there that people like. When it comes to carbs I tried to keep mine at no more than 20 carbs per day. Ask others what kind of Protein Drinks they liked and where they get them. The last 10 days are mushy foods. So this is a bit of a challenge. How many foods can I make mushy? I even considered using some baby foods. Start thinking about what will work as mushy foods for you.


Starting the 2nd month is quite an adventure. You can eat regular food. Here is where the relearning process takes place. You now will take tiny BABY BITES of food and chew each bit about 30 times or until it is like a liquid. From here on out you will need to take small bites of food and chew and chew and chew. I found out that chicken and fish were a lot easier to chew up. I don’t eat much red meat—your tastes will change and things you didn’t like a lot might taste good and something that you used to love don’t taste that great anymore. Keep track of what you are eating and keep your calories at about 800 calories per day and no more than 20 carbs per day—whole grain carbs are the best to have—NO white or refined carbs. I highly suggest that you keep track by writing them down or using some of the Internet sites that offers you this. I suggest this site it works great there are other sites to use this is just a suggestion. http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/ It really is good to write down and track everything you put in your mouth to start with—that is how you know that you have not had more than 800 calories per day.


I want you to understand weight loss surgery is just a tool. The fat does not just melt off of you—they is NO miracle cure. Now you have to put a lot of effort into eating healthy and starting to exercise. Everyone has some kind of exercise that works for them. I love walking and try to walk about 5 days a week.


For many of us we started to lose some of our hair 3 or 4 months after having WLS. I would find a lot of hair in the shower after washing my hair. That is pretty normal for a lot of us—this does not happen to everyone. There is no magical cure for hair loss—some people use different shampoo’s or take Biotin. It happens and you live with it. YES, it will grow back. For me I had pencil straight hair and mine grew back natural curly and I love it now. I already had thin hair so for me, I got some cute wigs and wore them for about 9 months until my hair looked a lot better. It was worth the Hair loss to lose 105 pounds.


Because we eat a lot of protein we suffer from Constipation. You need to have at least 70 grams of protein EACH day. So I mix my protein drink each morning with Miralax. It is NOT habit forming and is tasteless and it is just a good way to start off the day. I put the protein and a cap full of Miralax in the blender with about 5 small ice cubes and that is my breakfast. 3 years later I still have this for breakfast and nothing else, it just works for me.


You may have periods where you have what we call STALLS. You may be doing everything right and eating and exercising and you have NO weight loss for a week or more. This is normal—mine lasted 9 days. Don’t panic the weight loss will start up again, just keep doing what you are doing.


Our heads play games with us sometimes it is ugly what our brain tried to convince us of—We call these “Head Games” and they really are tough times to work though, but you can do it. Your head is still thinking with your old brain and way of thinking that you have been doing for most of your life. You now are eating VERY small amount of food, but your head is used to you eating LARGE amounts of food and that is what your brain wants—so it tries to tell you the you should be eating more—NOT true at all. So you need to have a talk with yourself. Do I just WAN T to eat or do I really NEED to eat?


You are not on a diet, but you are making a LIFESTYLE change and that is good because you can do this for the rest of your life. You will NEVER be able to eat like you used to. That is good because that is how we got fat. You will morn the loss of food—you will look around and see others inhaling all this food and you think to yourself—I used to eat like that. You will notice how fast people eat and inhale their food and talk and hardly chew what they are eating. That is pretty normal feeling to have—because you are now eating such small amounts of food and chewing and chewing. You will never be able to guzzle a bottle of Water again—that is OK too. These are all good things. In time you will look at all the food people are eating and thinking to yourself oh my gosh I could never eat that much again—it is way too much food.


When you have issues or problems come back to the board and ask others who have already done this. We are here to help and support you.


Give or exchange all your fat clothes away. You will never need them again after they become too big for you. This weight loss is something you will be able to maintain for the rest of your life. You have earned the right to have new clothes.


Make sure you have the VERY best doctor that has had a lot of experience with sleeve surgery and check his success rates out. Check the doctor for HIGH patient reviews from the people who have gone to him or her. I can NOT STRESSS this enough. Make sure that your surgery is being done in a hospital NOT a Clinic. One clue that it is a clinic is if they send you to a hotel room to recover—that is why they cost less, this is also dangerous too. YOU are worth the extra money that it cost to have this WLS in a Hospital and by the best Doctor you can have. You want to have a happy and GREAT life and having the RIGHT Doctor and Hospital are the key to this.

Sorry if this is long, but it is intended to have as a reference and answer a lot of your questions that you might have. For some of you, you are very lucky because your health insurance is now starting to pay for Weight Loss Surgery. For many of this, we did not have your luck, so we are self pay patients. There are companies that loan money for this surgery—be aware that their interest rate is high. Once you pick your doctor ask them about these companies that give loans for surgery if you are a self pay patient.
You know we never think twice about making car payments. If you have to borrow the money for this surgery just look at this as “body payment.” It will be the best money you have ever borrowed. Please PRINT this out to read later. If you have any questions for me please feel free to contact me. I had surgery almost 4 years ago, so I do have quite a bit of experience. I really am here to help you along your journey. It took me 14 months to lose this weight and I was 63 when I had the surgery, so it is NEVER too late in life to do this.
Hugs, and I wish you great success
Suzanne

Hi Everyone,
If you are sitting out there with a lot of questions like I was 4 years ago, I want to tell you that I was 63 when I had my surgery in Mexicali, with Dr. Aceves—I believe he is the very best you can find to do your surgery. I lost 105 pounds and YES I have kept it off for 3 years now. It took me 14 months to lose 105 pounds.

My ONLY regret is that I didn’t have it done sooner. It is unquestionably the very greatest thing I have ever done for myself! I will be honest and tell you that the 1st month after surgery will be the hardest month you will ever have to do. During the 1st month you will be making lifestyle changes, letting your body heal, and start to retrain your “OLD” thinking brain to the new ways in life—this is a struggle because you “Old” thinking brain has been used to ALL the food you have been eating all your life. But, it is only 30 days and you can do this! It is NOT a miracle cure, it is a tool to allow you to lose the weight and maintain it for the rest of your life.

What is a typical day in my life like now? I want you first to know that I do not ever really feel hunger anymore—again your old brain will try to tell you that you are hungry—we call this “Head Hunger” because it really isn’t real. Now I just know that I need to eat small amounts of healthy food during the day. I have now changed how I cook and I now crave healthy things—I know it is hard to imagine that you will do this, but it is true. Yes, I do have desert –but I have learned how to bake in a healthy way. I have a great Low Carb Cookbook that allows me to eat a lot of things I loved in my past life and they are healthy now.

So this is what my day is like:
· I get up about 7:00 am put on my walking clothes and shoes and go for a nice brisk walk for 2 to 3 miles with my husband. Believe me I didn’t start out walking brisk or this far. Do the best you can, but do SOMETHING for exercise. Sometimes in the evening we will walk 2 more miles.

· I return home take a shower and for Breakfast I have a Premier Protein Drink. I still to this day have a Protein Drink for breakfast and that is all I need.

· I do all the normal things anyone else does during the day, like clean the house, grocery shop, laundry, and plan the meals, work in my yard. I am also own my own business where I am an Instructor in 1st Aid, CPR and AED to people in my community.

· lunch usually is some kind of a salad or I have some protein—usually chicken, with some fresh veggies, some fresh fruit.< /span>

· I have an afternoon snack, maybe something that I baked from my Low Carb Cookbook. There are some great products that are healthy to have too. There are all kinds of things you can snack on that are OK
· dinner is always about 2 oz of some kind of Protein. I eat, chicken, fish, or Pork. I eat very little red meat—and I always loved red meat in the past, but I found out that my tastes have changed a lot after I had surgery. I always have some kind of fresh veggie, maybe in a form of salad and then fresh fruit. I eat about 1,000 calories a day sometimes a little more depending on how much exercise I do. I NEVER feel deprived.

Part of keeping the weight off is finding ways to cook that make it taste good. You can learn to convert some of your old recipes to being healthy too. I do have desert, but not every day. Sometimes just the taste of something will satisfy your need for it. Food NO longer controls me I now control the food and the amount.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask me. I just want you to know that you can be this successful too. I have written a lot of things over the past 4 years, and I have information for those who are thinking about having surgery if you want any of it. You can be successful too.
I remember thinking what if I am the ONE person this will not work for, because I failed at everything else. So you are not alone, because many of us have thought all the same things that you have. I think the best things that you can do, is ask all kinds of questions. Check on who is doing your surgery. Like anything there are good and bad doctors out there, and I want you to be safe and have the very best you can have.

Hugs,
Suzanne
Sleeve 10/21/2008
Lost 105 pounds
Dr. Aceves- Suregon

I found a bonus Skittle last week!

Oh yeah - and I'd l ike to stand up at church without pulling my dress out of my butt.

I can't wait to NOT feel guilty after every meal. I can't wait to not feel like hunger is some type of stepping stone to health. I can't wait to be able to say I'm fertile. I can't wait to not think that every little thing wrong with me is a symptom of diabetes ( I'm scared to death). I can't wait to not feel like I have to outdo most girls just to get noticed. I can't wait to not feel like every dude who likes me only likes me as a joke or because of some fetish. I can't wait to not have this faux confidence that I keep to make sure all my friends don't feel sorry for me when we go out to do things that normal people my age do.
(but seriously ... I can't wait to go out with my friends all dolled up and sexy an not feel like a mascot ... I can't wait to be these b*****s competition) I love my friends ... But it's onnnn lol
I can't wait to not feel like the guys who I think like me might be ashamed to be seen with me in public. I dread those stares so I mostly don't even go out anywhere ... Just Netflix at my home.

Ha ha! DANG! Well, you just go with your bad self!

Ha ha! DANG! Well, you just go with your bad self!

Ha ha! DANG! Well, you just go with your bad self!

Ha ha! DANG! Well, you just go with your bad self!

Ha ha! DANG! Well, you just go with your bad self!

Hi,
I read a post on here the other day that summed up my life and feelings about doing this. I'm pre-op but would have never considered this just a few years ago. Fear of surgery I guess. I wish I could remember the posters name because it made an impact on me. Being fat has stolen my life. And I mean that literally. EVERY single choice I've made for 30 years has been influenced by fat. High School, college, career, hobbies, sports, dates, clothes, vacations, love/hate food, relationships...EVERYTHING. Every single thought I have is filtered through fat and self loathing. I go to sleep with thoughts of being fat. I worry if I die they will find my fat ass and the medics, coroner would have to lift my fat ass. I think about how humiliating that would be --- I can even be humiliated DEAD. I AM DONE WITH THAT. I am 49 years old -- I want to LIVE my life, not just exist and watch everybody else LIVING. Screw it! If I die during surgery, well, it was meant to be for some reason. I have a serenity about it, which is really amazing to me. If I could do this today I would. And if I'm successful (please God, let this work) I plan to use my 401k for plastic surgery. I want the last half of my life to make up for the first half of being a shell of who I really am.
I want to thank everyone on this board who takes the time to respond and help everyone else, even when they are past their crisis or struggles. This board is an amazing resource of hope and help!
Thanks everyone!
Dana

First real "encounter" since the surgery (lots of fooling around, but yesterday was... the full meal deal). And... guys... wow. GET THIS SURGERY.
Before the surgery, I was a real "one minute wonder" (if I could even get lucky; at 338, it doesn't happen much). I would be panting and wheezing and see spots, and I was lucky to even be able to finish. I was used to the woman not... finishing, either.
Yesterday.
SEVEN. HOURS.
She had more... moments of joy than I could count (maybe 12? 15? 20?), and I had... THREE.
THREE. In one night! Guys, I'm 42. That just doesn't HAPPEN to guys my age.
And it certainly never happened before the sleeve.
Good god, men, if you have ANY problems in that area at all and are pre-sleeve, RUN, don't walk, and get the surgery.
UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE. I thought that stuff only happened in porno movies...
Ok, I'll shut up now. But... wow.
Sore... exhausted... and happy
Edit: uh, it wasn't seven hours continuously, I should mention... 8pm till 3am, but not all, uh, action. Even at my current fitness level, that WOULD kill me. Seven hours of go... rest, chat, laugh... go... rest, chat, laugh... repeat until too sore and exhausted to continue! And NOW I WILL shut up.