Oakleygirl

I suspect I am would be like you TD41... especially the coming home and needing to eat... I have learned that my problem is that I really want to relax but don't have time so eating seems to have become my way to relax... I have 3 kids, a busy household, a full time job, etc... so I never really get to just stop and have a break/nap when my body needs it... food is always there and i seem to have made that my way to take a break. I wish I could just lay down and take a nap when I want to eat b/c I think that is what I actually need at those times. I am not sleeved yet, but I am going to start working on this now so that I don't have to battle it once I am post op, but it will likely be a long journey... so much of this is mental... like everyone keeps saying, the sleeve is just a "tool" - they can't operate on your head!

QUEST protein bars are AMAZING and fit your specifications exactly! Chris Powell of Exteme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition suggested them on his web site since he is gluten intolerant. They have 20 g of protein and about 5 g of carbs, low sugar. My faves are the Peanut Butter and also the almond vanilla crunch. Pricey... about $3.50 per bar, but so worth it!

So how do you manage the constipation then? If it is invevitable, how do people cope? I did watch Dr. Alvarez on YouTube on his segment about constipation... he said of course you are not pooping b/c you are not eating initially... there's nothing solid to pass through! However, he said it should become normal or regular again once you introduce solids. Is it like a newborn baby then? Soft BMs until they start solids? I'm not sleeved yet, but being constipated would upset me a lot so trying to think ahead about what to do to prevent it.

I'm there with you in being fearful... have now gone through several "rounds" of being so terrified of complications that I can't see all the GREAT outcomes people have had! I have to remind myself that it's like driving a car, crossing the street, or flying an airplane - probability is on my side and if I do everything I can to encourage good odds, like choosing a good dr, following the plan, etc..., I should be okay... but then the old "$h!% happens" nagging voice gets in there and stirs it all up again... ugh. I think it's a healthy response to something so serious and with each bout of fear, you will work through what worries you a little bit more. Let's hope we can both find the comfort level we need to get this done for our health!

Bree and Jesser... Dr. Aceves is one of my top 2 picks... I will be watching your posts about your experience with him... There is a really excellent series of YouTube clips by a lady who went to him, but no date... her YouTube tag name was BusinessofHope... she had everything in it, even the van to the hospital and the hotel for the night before surgery, etc... Worth watching! What made you both choose Dr. Aceves if you don't mind sharing?

Wow! Looks like they cut you in half and sewed you back together! However, what an amazing and lean bod you will have/have for this summer! You SHOULD smile every time you look at yourself - what an awesome accomplishment!

I will be following you... I thought I had chosen my dr. but now hearing so much good about Dr. Alvarez... I would be going alone and know myself well enough that I would appreciate the "hand holding" offered by staff and sleeve companions... how long do you stay in the hospital? How long is your stay overall? Good luck!

This is exactly the type of reporting that we, other prospective sleevers, are grateful to hear... while I am horrified that your experience was what it was, I am grateful that you are willing to be entirely honest because it merits no one to allow this type of sub-par treatment to enjoy continued "unquestioned" business. I am sooooo glad you are feeling good, despite the conditions, but agree with the recommendation to get a Hep test, just in case. I know, from time to time, I have read on this board some critical opinions of different drs and clinics and those posters got some heat from other posters... I hope this is not the case here... there is nothing to be gained from holding back this kind of information if it is indeed all true... but there is much to be gained for those who will go after you - you can still choose this clinic based on your "informed" status of it OR you can choose to go somewhere else, heeding the warnings of those who have actually been there and experienced it - that is, IMHO, better than ANY research I could do on my own! Thank you and sending prayers for continued healing and wellness as you work towards your ultimate goal!

Hi all, I am still pre-op but have been reading the forums about healing times and how long inflammation can last. I am curious if anyone has heard about using hyperbaric oxygen therapy to promote healing/reduce inflammation? Iti is becoming a fast recognized aid in healing injuries and post-surgically and for chronic open wounds (as in diabetic sores) - even athletes use it to help recover from strenuous physical exertion and impact on the body. Just curious!

Morbidly obese???? With your height at that weight? Doesn't seem to follow the BMI chart, but as you say... what does it really matter now? Glad to hear you got a thorough work up and that you are doing great!

Now that I have made the decision to be sleeved and I have approval from the dr. (Mexico/self pay), I just feel like I can't wait another day! The somewhat acceptable image I had of myself prior to deciding to do VSG has turned into a real self-loathing... I don't know how I will stand myself until July?! In some ways, feeling this way has helped to reassure me that this is the right thing to do and perhaps it is the first time in a LONG time that I have actually really "looked" at myself - I hardly recognize the very big and square middle-aged woman I have become... I had always felt younger than my age, but this weight is turning me into someone I don't even know and I don't like her! I work in a very "visible" profession and have to dress up each day, but I only have 3 outfits that fit me now... now that I am not ignoring my size, I can see how my size affects my confidence and my desire to wear anything other than black. I hate all my clothes feeling tight and just not being able to move the way I want to. I am just DONE with being obese... and I can't wait! Sadly, my job has rigid vacation time frames so I have to go in July or else I would be on a plane tomorrow... Anyway, sorry for the natterings of an impatient "pre-op" sleever... did anyone else feel this way?

What is it and why is it so great?

My question is do you still CRAVE simple carbs/processed carbs/"slider" foods after the surgery? If I still have the same type of cravings for them post surgery, I will never succeed! Does the sleeve help change your cravings/appetite? Also, I wish I could live by the "Four Rules" without having the surgery... would likely help me lose weight, but I just have such a large appetite and I can consume large amounts of food without feeling full. Thanks for the great information!

I am soooo happy to have found this thread... I am a 30.8 BMI and have never been out of the overweight to obese category my whole teen to adult life... I am tired of fighting my body and know the sleeve us the right thing... I want to lose 50 lbs... Still catch myself thinking this is so extreme for 50 lbs but that 50 might as well be 100 for how it has plagued me! Would love to hear about your surgeons... I have it down to 3 with one front runner! The words that resonate in my head are every time someone says " I wish I had done this sooner!"

I am soooo happy to have found this thread... I am a 30.8 BMI and have never been out of the overweight to obese category my whole teen to adult life... I am tired of fighting my body and know the sleeve us the right thing... I want to lose 50 lbs... Still catch myself thinking this is so extreme for 50 lbs but that 50 might as well be 100 for how it has plagued me! Would love to hear about your surgeons... I have it down to 3 with one front runner! The words that resonate in my head are every time someone says " I wish I had done this sooner!"

In an effort to lose weight using Chris Powell endorsed Bod-e products by Vemma, I discovered the protein drink called Bod-e Burn. Has lots of good vitamin stuff in it and boasts 20 g of protein for 6 oz... comes premixed in a can. Really pricey, but I loved the taste (sort of mango/orange/little bitter). However, I am not sure it would be considered a "clear" liquid... tastes like a juice but can't see through it... anyone know what is a "clear" liquid? Also, it is slightly carbonated... would that be a no no?

I have been approved for surgery and am considering a date, but am having a hard time justifying cutting a perfectly healthy and functioning part of my body into pieces... I know the sleeve would certainly help me with my appetite control efforts, but I also think of all the people who HAVE to lose a body part or part of one b/c of cancer or disease and here I am CHOOSING to cut up my healthy stomach. Has anyone ever struggled with this? On one hand, it feels really wrong to do it and yet on the other hand, I know it would be a good thing for me otherwise I wouldn't have started looking into it? Do you think this is "cold feet" or is it perhaps not the best choice for me? Worried I won't get over this debate with my conscience and then regret it all. Any advice would be really welcome...

I am also finding that I'm having a food panic, worrying about never getting to eat certain foods again or ever really having a full meal! I like the term the other sleevers use, calling it a "food funeral"... just can't wrap my head around the fact that I likely won't WANT the same foods... my head keeps thinking it will just be the same old me, cravings, desire to binge, big appetite, just with a smaller stomach! Every time I read a post from a sleever that says they no longer want to eat certain foods or food just doesn't thrill them, I start to believe it a bit more b/c that many people who have done it can't be lying!!!! Then I wonder if they are happy about it, but then I think that I've used food for my happiness for too long and I should eat to live... not live to eat. So indulge now b/c that is what you feel you need to do and be prepared for you new "tool" to help you manage what you are worrying about... that's how I am looking at it! Good luck to us both!

This is the best thread I've read here yet! I, too, was so frightened by the leak stories that I wondered why anyone was doing the sleeve at all since every one of them was going to spring a leak and die a horrible, painful, sudden death! I have been consulting with two surgeons' offices and I doubted them every time they said that leaks are very uncommon ... simply could not believe that to be true since I read so much about the leaks here. I don't want to be overly confident that leaks never happen, but this site made me really scared! Thank you Frank for your candid post and to everyone else who followed with their success stories! I needed that!