hsirk

I had the vertical sleeve performed by my surgeon on Monday, October 1st, 2012. That is a day that I will always remember, because I know it has changed my life. At my highest weight, or at least the highest weight that I ever saw recorded, I was a total of 413 pounds. I was losing my life because I couldn't get the weight off, no matter what I tried. I had been previously diagnosed with lymphoma cancer in my lungs, I had been treated for chronic lung issues, and then there was the issue of my immune deficiency that was causing me to spend a few days in the hospital every year with pneumonia. I literally was fading away every day. Surgery was not a popular decision. My family refused to talk about it whenever it was brought up into conversation. They would tell me to work harder. They would tell me to eat less. They would tell me that my inability to lose weight was my own fault for just not trying hard enough. That really wears on a person to have to go through that. It was just ridiculous to know that I wasn't supported by the same people who I loved with all of my heart and supported with every bit of my soul. The best thing I ever have done? I learned to block that part of what they were saying to me from reaching the cognitive part of my brain. I didn't care what they had to say anymore. I went through with surgery for me. Maybe a little bit for them, too, but mostly for me. What is this major victory I allude to in my topic title? I sit here, a little over 100 days after surgery, and I am 100 pounds lighter. I still have a LONG way to go, but I have come so far that I am strengthened to continue on the journey. I hit 100 pounds on Friday by the scale at the clinic and I was so excited to see the number that I probably could have hugged my nurse. The moral of my (so far) story? Listen to your heart. Outside sources be damned. Do it for you, because in the long run, "you" is what really matters most. I hope all of my sleeve siblings are well! <3

There are times where I would like to say "yes! they are supportive now!" But I think I would probably be telling a lie. I am not married and I don't have kids. When I speak of my family, I speak of my father and two sisters (one older, one younger). I know that my father is happy that I am starting to turn myself around and is happy that there is less imminent danger of my premature death. I am still stuck in that unrealistic belief that I have to make him proud, even at 27 years old. My little sister is very happy for me. She has never known what it has been like to be overweight so she is blindly accepting of the changes I have been making. My older sister, however, is not so supportive. I told her of my milestone on Friday night before we attended a movie and I got a shoulder shrug and a change of topic. Not what I was expecting, but what can you do? Thank you all for being so supportive. This forum is a lot of the reason I have been so successful thus far.

I thought that Christmas was going to be a challenge for me because i went to Grandma's house. EVERYONE should have a grandma like mine, unless of course they have issues with their weight... LOL! I had a great time, though! Before I left last Friday, I went to the clinic just to be weighed. The lady at the counter thought I was nuts for asking to use their scale, though. haha! I don't trust my scale, so it was worth the trip and skeptical look! I had lost 93 pounds since 9/9/12 at the start of my pre-op diet. 43 of those pounds were since my surgery on 10/1/12. I got home last night and before showering this morning I hopped onto my home scale. Even though I don't 100% trust it (I should really go get me a new one...) the scale reflected a lower number than when I left! Unfortunately, I don't have another clinic visit for about 2.5 weeks. I am going to have to just suck it up and deal with waiting! Hopefully I will have lost 100 lbs by the time I go! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! We have so totally got this!

I don't know if I am just having dumb luck or what, but I lost 50 pounds pre-op and have lost almost another 40 since (10/1/12)! I don't feel like I am ever doing it right, but I seem to be putting some numbers up there! I go to the NUT tomorrow for an official weigh-in! Granted, I started out with a lot more than some people here, but I just feel so good about what I have seen so far!! HW:413 SW: 363 CW: 333(ish)

I talked to my NUT about the gum/straw issue today. She said that the reason their office recommends against the gum is because it can create air pockets in the stomach that make you feel full, but then dissipate and you will then graze more which will counter-act the reason for the surgery. She said some people can tolerate straws just fine, but there is less instance of air pockets and nausea/vomiting if you don't use them. I say to each their own - we have to make the mistakes that will determine what is right and wrong for us. I, however, am going to follow my surgeon's instructions because this is just too important to my life in the whole to mess it up with a piece of gum here and there. I hope you all are feeling good and dropping pounds!

I am three weeks out from Surgery today! Saw my Nutritionist this morning and we made a plan to progress on to pureed foods for this week and then she feels as if my surgeon will progress into softs next week. I was so happy to go to the grocery store and buy something non-protein shake related!! So, cottage cheese, scrambled egg, greek yogurt, and pureed soups are ahead of me now! Makes me happy!! haha! I hope that all of my sleeve-siblings are faring well. From what I have been reading most everyone has gotten away with few side-effects. Thanks again for being my support through this all!!

Sorry it took so long to respond! I have been chasing a fur ball around my house for the last coupla days! I got an 11 week old shih tzu female. She is adorable.

I am almost 3 weeks post op (Oct 1 surgery) and I have been feeling really great up until these last few days. Looking over recent posts, I realize I am probably low on the VitD, as well. Guess I better start that up again! I am in Montana, and during this time of year, natural VitD is a little hard to come by... haha! I went to the clinic for a non-WLS related visit today. 70 pounds down, on the dot, since I started my liquid diet about 40 days ago. It is so crazy because I still see myself as a fat chick. Others around me have been very positive in their feedback. We shall see if I can get into the right frame of mind to recognize the differences. I am pretty excited to go back to work, as weird as that sounds. I am ready to get out of the house! Plus, I have a puppy on the way home to me tonight. I am pretty excited to have a walking buddy. I hope everyone here has a fantastic weekend. You are all fabulous!!

My doctor and NUT said no. Something about it creates too much air in the new sleeve. I wasn't going to chance it, just in case.

I had one of those moments the other day. I went on a road trip to see some family and I picked up a pack of gum I have in my car specifically for the purpose of keeping myself busy on the trip... Only to realize that was a big "no!" for my newly sleeved tummy. Old habits die hard, but imagine how wonderful everything else will be as you start losing all those pounds! Good luck!

I am also tall, so people had a hard time seeing my actual weight, too. However - you are on the right track. I will never, ever be 140 pounds, but anything in the 100s would be great with me. I am sorry to hear about your twins. Losing someone you love with all your soul is so hard, I couldn't imagine losing a child, let alone two. Good luck with everything. You got this!

OMG! I was thinking the same thing myself today! I have been able to drink a 16.9 oz bottle of flavored water or green tea with no problems. Two or three days ago I KNEW if I took too big of a drink, but now I can take larger sips and it seems to go down faster. I am pretty sure I am going to ask my surgeon if he actually took the stomach out like he said he did...LOL! I am still on full liquids - no yogurt or soups or puddings. Here is hoping for that restriction! (And, I am really glad to know I am not the only one!! )

Oh, Eggface is going to be be a valuable asset once I get into my solid foods stage, for sure! I am especially going to look forward to the protein icecream. How much more perfect than that can you get? LOL! Here is the one I was thinking about: http://gastricsleeve4me.blogspot.com/ Also, There is another one that I liked that can be pretty easily adapted to our sleeves: http://www.emilybites.com/ Emily Bites has a lot of little protein power-house bites that look amazing! Have fun!

I have had trouble with water from the day after surgery. I have found success with flavored waters, though. So, maybe try crystal lite, Gatorade G2, Propel Zero, Mio - anything to help get your fluid in! Good Luck!

NSV= Non scale Victory. I think they are the best by-product of WLS. You go girl on not hiding the size! I am waiting for that day!!

Oh, Wolf, I am sorry that this happened. However, anything that you have done can be undone. I have faith in you. You can't expect to forego everything that you did in your "fat life" and be ok. I feel like that would spiral me into depression. I had surgery on Monday and I am craving a freaking cheeseburger SOOO bad! I keep going with Water and popsicles and grin through it. I tried to tell myself that other people didn't need to know about my sleeve, and for the most part they don't have that right at all. I started to feel lost when I couldn't talk to my friends and family, though. So, if you don't think that people in your life would understand and you need to talk, WE are here for you. Pale comparison to a live person, I know, but we care about you and your success. I hope this helps. I know that if I had been in the same boat I would have probably had the pizza and wings and then beat myself up. I became a poor excuse for a punching bag, so don't let yourself fall victim to that, either. Good luck, my friend!

Hello, fellow Octo-sleevers! I decided to pop into VST tonight and see what was happening. I have had a great weekend! Went to the mall (ugh- but it was neccessary) and to costco and just did a TON of walking around. It felt so good to be alive and able to enjoy the crisp fall air! I have not weighed myself in a week since I feel like my home scale is off a little bit. I am going to take this as an opportunity to NOT stress about a few pounds here and there. I have to go to the clinic at least once a month for an IV infusion treatment and they will be my official scale. Bummer that I can't do it like I would at home (buck naked and after the morning pee... haha!!) but I will take an accurate number over a wonky number any day. I hope that you all have a FANTASTIC week. It's good to be alive, isn't it?

OMG! Yes to being cold! I live in Montana and we have gotten two snows so far this month (both have melted right away, but still!) and I have been FREEZING! I am almost never cold, either! I was at my sister's house tonight and I touched her foot and she jumped since my hands were so cold! It feels a little weird being on the other end of the spectrum! Also, I cannot(!!!) stomach water and it makes me sad! I have had to stick to Propel Zero, but I am sure the G2 is great stuff. I hate that I can't just drink a glass of water anymore.

I went over to a friend's house today just to get myself out of the house. I have this insane urge to clean and rearrange my house and I know that it is a big no-no right now. So, I just removed myself from the situation. However, it also meant going over to M's house where we proceeded to make a trial run for her son's birthday cake. Holy. Temptation. However, I have lost over 50 pounds before surgery and no cake is going to ever taste as good as my health is going to feel in 6 months. Pizza won't be out of the question, but maybe try making it with a flatbread or something to keep it healthier. There is one poster on this forum that I found that has an AWESOME food blog - I wanna say that if you google "gastricsleeve4me + blog" you should be able to find her blog. Lots of good ideas. Stay strong, sleeve sister! You are on the right path!!!

I didn't even know this thread existed! I am 5 days post op - and while I don't feel good, I sure don't think I can say I feel bad! Surgery was Monday morning, I was awake and in my room by 4 pm that afternoon, I started walking around that night and had some MAGNIFICENT ice chips. OMG were they great. I was released the next night to go home and I am finding that the most comfortable place to sleep is my chair-and-a-half in my living room. I have 5 incisions and laying flat just puts too much pressure on them. My biggest problems so far have been from gas pains. They are just horrid. A good friend of mine went to the store and bought the dissolving strips for me last night since I couldn't find them pre-surgery. I haven't taken enough of them to make a difference that I can see as of yet. Here's hoping it will get markedly better! Also, I haven't been able to tolerate regular Water very well. I am drinking Propel Zeros and they stay down pretty good, but regular water is just uncomfortable to do. Anyone else having that problem? I am trying to walk around as much as possible, but there is sure nothing fun about Montana in the fall. We were getting snow flakes today. Ugh. So, I walk as much as I can stand being out from underneath about 10 blankets.. hahaha!! Good luck all my loser friends!

There have been many times where I haven't even touched a scale because I was afraid of what it would tell me. The highest number I had ever seen on a scale in the surgeon's office was 413 lbs. 413 lbs!!! I couldn't believe it. So, surgery was scheduled and I got a pre-op diet start date of my birthday, of all days. I started three weeks before my surgery and it worked really well for me. Didn't matter who tried to tempt me with amazing smelling food, this surgery was something I had to do. So, Monday morning I was sleeved. My weight that morning was 52 lbs down in just the three weeks of high protein/low carb liquid diet. I am proud of myself, and I am super proud of everyone else making the steps toward this amazing journey. It is always a little hard to see the people making this choice to lose 100 pounds when I have over 200 to lose, but whatever the beginning number is, it's all toward one goal: health. Good luck everyone! I am excited to see where we go from here!

This is the first time i have had a chance to post, but I was sleeved on Monday morning and everything is going well! I was the second surgery in because the lady before me had a few more complications and they wanted to have a little extra time with her if needed. I saw the surgeon before going in and he praised me about my 50 pound loss that I had acheived on my pre-op diet. 50 pounds!! I was so impressed with myself that I just have to say this: If I can do it, so can you!! I have faith in everyone here. I was only in the hospital one night, I have been managing pain really well and I just sleep a lot. Gas pains were gone mostly after the walks that I had to take. Ice was A-Maz-Ing! and now I am just trying to keep up with fluids otherwise. I have one incision that hurts, but the others are pretty well painless. I am just gonna be hanging around my house for the next few days, then I am going to start walking around the block to get my activity level up. It feels good to be on the "other side" and I am looking forward to the rest of you making it there, too!! I wish you all luck and hope and all the good energy I can muster! You GOT this!

Oh, man. I am literally less than 12 hours away from surgery. I am having a few butterflies in the stomach, not gonna lie. To all of my fellow October 1 sleevers, Good Luck! I am so excited for all of us!!!

I had my PAT lab done today (Pre-admission Testing) and I think I am going to be 50 lbs down by Monday morning when I go in for surgery! I am so excited! I am also really impressed with how wide-spread the sleeve is. When going through PAT lab this morning, the intake nurse was a bigger gal (around my size) and she was really excited for me and said that she was going through the program for the sleeve, too! She hopes to be a December sleever and I couldn't wish her more luck. She made what could have been an uncomfortable morning very pleasant. I hope that everyone has a great weekend and I will see you on "the other side"! haha!

Yay! Good luck to you, too!