SpaceDust

I'm sorry that you had a stricture, but I'm so glad to hear that it was fairly routine and he could stretch it without needing to put in a stent! Hopefully you'll have much smoother sailing now! Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using VST

Hey, to me it's soda pop, and I use both shortened forms interchangeably. I'm a native of the Pacific Northwest, too. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using VST

Excellent! You look fabulous!

Hello, Ashwini! It's nice to meet you! I'm also still pre-op, with a confirmed surgery date of July 24. I've been hanging around this site and these forums for well over a year now, and it's a pretty supportive place, with lots of information already posted in many of the forums, but don't hesitate to ask if you have questions!

Instead of trying to get it in at one go, try slowly sipping - that gives the water a chance to get through all the swollen bits in a small, steady stream rather than trying to force through. Keep in mind that your stomach just had major trauma, and it is almost certainly extremely swollen. As it heals, the swelling will reduce and it will become easier.

Alex, I really like the book! I did notice there are a few editorial sorts of issues, though - mostly the sorts of things that a good proofreader with knowledge about WLS might have caught (hey, I can't help it; I'm a test engineer by trade and a proofreader by nature ). Did you want/need any details, or do you have someone going through the book for the next edition?

I found I couldn't tolerate the nose pillows well, but I can stand the nose mask to some degree (I don't sleep the whole night with it on, as at some point I am apparently annoyed with it and fling it off my face in the middle of the night). PhatKat - if you snore a lot and wake up tired, you quite probably do have sleep apnea. While there will likely be great improvement in sleep apnea after weight loss and it may well be resolved, there's no guarantee that it will be fully resolved. I've been told mine will probably be resolved because it's pretty minor and it's pretty clear that the onset was weight related, but that's not certain, just likely.

Suko, first off, congratulations! It sounds like you're doing great! Now, for your concerns: stalls are perfectly normal, and they don't mean that you have failed in any way. You've probably hit the infamous 3-week stall that happens to a lot of people. If you track your measurements, you may find that they are still going down even though your weight isn't changing. If you aren't tracking your measurements (and you really should - other stalls will probably happen!) you may notice your clothes are getting looser or fitting differently. Your body is basically catching up right now. Be patient, stick with your diet and the exercise you're doing, and keep drinking. The stall will break, and all of a sudden your weight will start moving again. Good luck!

Globetrotter, did you try the drill with boosting your calories for a couple of days, and maybe complex carbs? Some people swear by that for breaking a weight loss stall.

Thanks, John - make no mistake, I'll probably be here whining, but it won't be because I'm suddenly surprised unless I get some whacko complication that no one saw coming In fact, today I am a big boo-hoo of a baby because my widdle leggies hurt. Leg day at the gym, plus cardio. Waaaaah! I'm with you about not letting it define everything about me, though. I'm doing this because I have to fix the health problems I've caused by not paying proper attention. I'll always have to be mindful of what I eat, but that's okay. Mindful is good, as long as I don't let it turn into obsession.

I get to have 3-4 protein shakes a day, then a meal that makes up whatever is left of 870 calories for the day. I only have to do it for a week, though I took it for a test drive a couple of weeks ago (no restriction on the evening meal except for it to be high protein and healthy, but otherwise 3 protein shakes for the day) And you know, I'm good with that.

Love the new response, and I'm glad you had the chance to test drive it here Seriously, I guess that some people either weren't listening or chose to believe it wouldn't apply to them when they were given their eating guidelines and what to expect post surgery talks. I feel sorry for them, because it has to be a real shocker to find out that, yes, indeedy, you will NOT be eating steak 3 days out, and that drinking party you were planning to go to the next weekend will be you drinking plain flat Water, no booze. Oh, and by the way - the sleeve isn't a restriction you turn off when you want to randomly pig out, then turn back on again to be virtuous. This surgery scares me precisely because it's so permanent. And you know what? I'd be worried if that DIDN'T scare me!

Khloé, I've wondered if that was the reason, too, although my diet does allow for one low calorie meal (around 300 calories) that isn't required to be particularly low-carb. I can even have things like Healthy Choice entrees from the freezer.

I think if you don't have a few doubts and a little bit of cold feet, you're extremely unusual. This is a major surgery, there are some dangers involved, and it will change your life forever, regardless of how successful it is. It's a very human response to have some "What am I DOING?" moments. I posted yesterday that I was having my fair share of second thoughts now that I'm approved. I get to have a little over two more months to freak out about it periodically. But when I think it through, I know this is the right thing for me to do. We'll get through this. That's what we do here

My date is tentatively scheduled for July 24. I start a new job soon, so it may move depending on what's going on with work, but that's what we're gunning for right now.

Outstanding! Congratulations on making the sleeve work for you!

I've seen lots of posts about this, and people are heading back to work anything from 5 days after the surgery to 6 weeks later. I think it really depends on your surgeon, how you tend to heal, and what kind of work you do. Since you're in a pretty physical job, relatively speaking, I would think you would want to take at least 2 weeks off - after all, you don't want to be taking appointments and then be too tired to do the work! I wonder if your surgeon doesn't realize how physically demanding the job can be. On the other hand, I have a very sedentary desk-bound sort of job - I happen to know I heal well from major surgery and don't generally have more than minor tiredness after the first 5 days or so as long as I'm not overdoing. I plan to be away from work for a week (fingers crossed).

The insurance coordinator called and left a message that my insurance has approved me for surgery, first submittal, no issues. So, next steps are getting the last of the surgeon's pre op requirements done and choosing a date, as well as ensuring I can cover my copay. I'm feeling very nervous all at once. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using VST

So, I'm going to have this surgery in a couple of months. Can I go out for my birthday dinner at John Howie Steakhouse three days after the surgery? I'm going to have the Porterhouse for Two by myself, and I want one of the flaming desserts... Cherries Jubilee or Bananas Foster - I can't decide which yet. Oh, yes, and the tempura bacon for my appetizer, please. That will be okay, right? I'll chew it up really well!

Laura, posting that picture is evil. Evil, I say! I knew there was something I liked about you!

Yikes, stay OUT of the triangle! Danger, danger Will Robinson! I need to go to Central Market tomorrow, heaven help me, and the triangle is RIGHT ACROSS THE PARKING LOT.... I do NOT want to know what Frost's special flavors are tomorrow, and nope, NOT going to Cold Stone. Top Pot is almost far enough from the doors of the market for me to ignore, but that brown and pink sign... it calls....

Hehe, that's one of the problems with the "Recent Posts" section - there's no filter on it at all, and it's really easy to miss that this post is in a section specifically for ranting. Honestly, I wonder if posts to the Rants and Raves forum should be included in "recent posts" or just left as gems for those who poke around the site and hopefully KNOW they're in this section! I do think that most experienced forum folk (and I'm talking forums in general, not just here) do spend a little time reading the site before jumping in to ask potentially redundant questions just to make sure they understand the forum culture and maybe see where questions like theirs might go in the various sub-forums, but it's not as common with people who don't normally hang out on forums.

Thanks, all - I'm excited but I'm also hitting that wall of second thoughts. You know the ones - should I just give it one more try without surgery? What if it doesn't work? I just need to get my head back in it and remind myself constantly that I've DONE the "one more try" thing, and it *will* work at some level, even if I don't lose all that I want to.

Trust me, I have, and it's just fine that way, too I still have a month or so before I have to TOTALLY get on the pre op wagon - my date won't be until mid July at the earliest. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using VST

I have some of that here, and yeah, it tastes like Orange Crush to me, too. I put a little dose of it in the sparkling Water from my Sodastream and it's tasty! And yup, it's fake sugar, but I'm okay with that now and again!