delta_girl

I was back at work 5 days after surgery with no problems.

This is the first I've heard of this practice. I did receive blood thinning injections at the hospital and while I was still admitted, but those were administered by a nurse.

Same here. Mine looked really extreme to me for the first few weeks. At about 5 weeks it is doing very well and has flattened out. Now if two of my raised scars would just do the same....

In a year from now I would love to be able to run 5 miles without having to stop and walk along the way.

I need some motivation after being in this stall for what feels like forever. 5'3" October Pre Op 216 Current 189/190 Thanksgiving Goal 178 11 pounds ..... not sure if I can make it happen, but I'm going to try really hard!

Ostrim is the GREATEST! Beef and ostrich. Very low fat and you get a lot for the number of calories in a serving. I discovered it when I was in smoothie King getting a Gladiator. http://www.protos-inc.com/

I'm 6 weeks out and stalled for a week now. It is very frustrating. After going through this we all want results. Some of us want or expect results as fast as possible. I sure do. I'm working on the positives. I have lost weight. I feel better. My health has improved. Clothes fit better. I look better. I have more energy. That makes up a whole basket full of good stuff compared to one disappointment about a number on a scale. WLS isn't a magic pill, it is one component in a much larger and more complex transformational process.

Yes. I had a small pillow that I kept at home for support when I was sitting or sleeping. I put it against my stomach to help buffer that area, or add some additional support. Some people use a binder that goes around the middle. You can get one at Walgreen's. For me it was many weeks out before all of the twinges, pains, and strange feelings worked themselves out through healing.

I tried coffee a few weeks out and it didn't taste right. I had it again while on vacation. Now I am having 1 cup when I get up in the morning (which is all I was drinking in the first place). I already have a problem getting all of my water in. In fact, that is my biggest weakness. Now I am in a huge stall and it is very frustrating. I don't know if there is some effect from the coffee with not enough water that is contributing to it (probably).

I didn't have a pre-op plan other than DO NOT GAIN ANY WEIGHT. I did stop eating solid food 24 hours prior to surgery. Though I did eat a lot of favorites in the weeks before I had surgery, I lost 4 pounds by the time I weighed in before being admitted. I'm not sure what causes some doctors to have a pre-op nutrition plan and others to not require one. It may have to do with the type of insurance vs self pay, BMI, or some other reason.

I felt the same way. A lot of serious thinking goes into this process. It is a real leap of faith for some of us. There can't be courage without fear.

My office is on a second round of weight loss competitions. I had the opportunity to sign up right when I had surgery. Nobody at work knows about my sleeve. I decided not to do it. They can wonder why I didn't sign up but lost weight anyway. That is funny to me!

You can go to your doctor's office and get them, but if you have a friend who is a nurse, you can get the vial of B12 from the pharmacy (with a prescription from your doctor) and have them do your injections for you. I suppose you could inject yourself, for that matter. My doctor's nurse said that it really didn't matter to them what I decided to do. It is $5 to get the shot at my doctor's office. I think I recall her telling me that a vial of B12 is around $14 and lasts a long time.

I'm getting mine this afternoon and so glad! I have tried sublingual B12, but getting a shot once a month is so quick and one less thing to keep up with on a daily bais. I feel fantastic afterwards.

100 calorie Isopure powder Protein shake = 25g protein 100 calorie muscle milk light shake = 15g protein 90 calorie tuna = 10 g protein Total 290 calories for 50g protein. My doctor does not want me getting much more than 50g of protein at my height, otherwise it is too hard on my liver and not realistic for my comparable regular food diet protein grams later on. (I do eat more than 290 calories a day, though.)

Mine was super, crazy heavy before and still is

Excellent! Keep those feet moving. Sit in a chair, even if you nod off a bit. The more you can move around, the faster you recover and the less sore you will be.

You and I are close to the same height, but I usually eat under 500 calories a day. You are getting great results so far. Maybe I need to up my calories. (I also have trouble getting in enough liquids.)

I tried wearing my underwire, but it really did irritate one of my incisions. Though it did not get infected or leak, it was angry and red for weeks. Do you have a big sweatshirt? Maybe you can wear that home from the hospital and try going without one for a few days. It is the same with pants (for me at least). If your waistband is hard or tight, it can irritate an incision if it overlaps or rubs against it. All of my incisions had surgical glue (no stitches, no drains). Yesterday I wore a loose pair of jeans, but the button and waist rubbed against my lower incision all day and it was slightly infected when I got home (I'm 6 weeks out) so I'm wearing something super soft today. Try to have as little contact against your new incisions as possible to allow them to breathe and heal.

I'm six weeks out and I have times during some days that I feel down. Today when I was in the grocery store, I walked by the Halloween candy and started feeling sorry for myself and wondered if any of this was worth it. Sometimes I question my decision or my ability to succeed. As I anticipate the holiday season, I also think about time with family and celebrations that include food. If any of this was easy, we all could have done it a long time ago without medical intervention. We don't just face physical aspects of being overweight, we also have emotional aspects as well. It is easier to define the physical parts of being overweight, but the emotional part can be complex and may be very different for each of us. Having support systems in place are a valuable resource that should be accessed at times like these. That depends on who you want to lean on: friends, family, coworkers, a local support group, this forum, etc. Just keep communicating and be patient with yourself through this time of personal growth.

Running Playing tennis better Hiking longer, steeper Shopping in regular stores Exploring new activities I haven't had the confidence to try before

I did this a few times during my second week, but I felt like I was inviting myself to go down a slippery slope. A few days after I chewed and spit out some crackers, I was eating some Cheetoes (chewing and chewing until they were basically liquified). Once you start giving yourself permission to do just a little, or almost (but not quite...), then where is the next fence or barrier to other things? These are just my thoughts for myself on it and not a judgement on someone else. I know that this is the type of thing that got me to the point where I sought out a surgical intervention.

Last night and this morning I am hungry. I take PPIs 2x daily and I ate several small meals yesterday. Since I track my foods in MFP, it was not difficult to find the culprit. Yesterday: 70 g carbs, 32 g Protein. It was just one of those off days where I wasn't paying attention to what I ate, though my calories were under 500.

My doctor is similar, though not quite as extreme. He is very direct, all business, hard core, shut up and listen, no play, no excuses, no rationales, get your hiney in gear, serious. It really works for me. If he were kinder, softer, and more congenial, I might subconsciously find ways to work around or discuss (argue) too many points. I respect him and feel more accountable. He isn't my parent or my friend, he is my doctor and surgeon and his professional practice and reputation are very important to him. I know he wants me to have the best possible results. We both benefit that way. I suppose that different approaches work for different patients. I prefer a kick in the britches to an empathetic hug.

I had some hot Sleepy Time herbal tea with Splenda last night. It really hit the spot. Sometimes I have the diet hot chocolate mix with Water. At 25 calories a serving, it is a very doable alternative. There are so many delicious but low calorie Soups that are perfect for this weather. Soup-a-Woman has a great recipe blog for some interesting options http://www.soup-a-woman.blogspot.com/