BigDaddyJoe

I would check your Blood pressure. Even if it is good, have them take it while sitting, then stand up and have them take it again. I play the trumpet, and was having issues with getting dizzy while I played. My doctor ended up taking me off my blood pressure medication, because it was dropping too low when I stood up, and when I was playing. It is now perfect at all times.

Oh, I couldn't stand any of the shakes after surgery that I liked before surgery. I'm 5 months out and still have big tubs of it in my cabinet. I tried a bunch of different ones to finally find the ones I like. I don't like any of the chocolate or vanilla ones that you make with milk. I found the Isopure ready-to-drink ones in the bottles, used them for a while, but they are really expensive. I'm now using the Syntrax Nectar. They have fruity flavors and you mix them with water, not milk.

To be fair, she didn't make the statement to me, she said it to my wife, and probably didn't expect it to make it back to me. It was still hurtful.

Thanks everyone. I knew I had a distorted image of myself, but I didn't think it was THAT distorted! Cajunlady, my wife was the first one to start telling me I needed to stop, but she never said I looked older. In fact, we were 'intimate' the other night (for the first time in a couple years, but that's a whole other story!), and she said that it weirded her out because she felt like she was with a 12 year old boy because there was nothing to hold onto! TMI, I know, but I thought it was funny. Bluto, that does make sense. It has been a big change in such a short period of time for the people around me also, so their image of me needs to change as much as my image of myself needs to change.

Interesting, my wife is an ICU nurse who homeschools our 3 kids.

Too much soy scares me. It boosts your estrogen levels, and can have negative effects on females and males. Just make sure to do your research before eating too much of it.

I second Butterthebean's question. The only protein there is a little bit of fish at dinner time.

Wow, guess I've been doing it all wrong! I still do 2 shakes a day, eat cheese sticks pretty much every day, and beef jerky occasionally. Pretty much all I eat is protein. And there's still no way I'd get enough protein without the shakes. Hope it works out for you.

Nah, don't be nervous, get excited for your new life!

He and his entire staff are awesome. I can honestly say that since my surgery has been nothing short of amazing, and life-changing. My surgery was on March 8. I started at 274 lbs. As of this morning, I weigh 187 lbs. That is 3 lbs lower than Dr Strom's goal for me of 190, and only 7 away from my personal goal of 180 (which I may need to re-think because several people have told me I'm getting too skinny!). In 5 1/2 months! More importantly, I am off blood pressure medication, and no more sleep apnea! I am in size 32 waist pants for the first time in 20 years! My brain still hasn't caught up with the weight loss - I pick up the pants to put them on and think to myself "there is no way these are going to fit". But of course they do, because I just bought them. My wife also had surgery with Dr Strom at Bayshore, and she is also doing great. Her surgery was on April 19, 6 weeks after mine. We wanted to do it closer, but she had problems getting off from work (she is a nurse at Bayshore). She has lost about 50 lbs, and is 20-25 away from her goal. Good luck with your journey, hope it is as successful as ours!

I used Dr Strom also, and had surgery at Bayshore. He is awesome.

That is awesome!

Sorry, I misunderstood.

OK, I'm down to below my surgeon's goal weight in 5 1/2 months (yay me!). For the past few weeks I've been getting this strange discomfort by the lowest rib on my right side. It is kind of hard to describe, but I'll try my best. It is almost like a muscle or tendon or something is resting on my rib, and when I move a certain way it slides off the rib and almost 'pops' into place. It doesn't really hurt, but is uncomfortable and gets annoying. Any idea what this is, and if there's anything I could do about it?

I really doubt it is the gall bladder. It really feels like a muscular thing, like it is moving. And it is only when I am changing positions. Maybe it's just one of those things I'll have to live with now that I'm not fat, like the tailbone pain when sitting down for long periods of time now.

Ok, but if she is already looking for the minimum amount of time to quit, that just shows she is not serious about quitting.

I'm a computer programmer, and musician. My wife was also sleeved, and is an ICU nurse.

Sorry you had to deal with all of that stuff! Hopefully the complications are over and you can get on with your sleeved life. I was sleeved on March 8, and am down 86 lbs, and 2 lbs below my surgeon's goal. I couldn't be happier with the whole experience, and wish you luck and success!

Well, I didn't let myself think that I couldn't do it. Not doing it wasn't an option, as far as I was concerned. I know people who didn't even do the pre op diet, and went out to Red Lobster the night before surgery. Needless to say, these people have not done too well with the surgery, because they obviously weren't prepared mentally to do the things they needed to do to make it work.

If she is gonna quit, why would she ever want to go back?

My wife and I were sleeved 6 weeks apart (me 03/08/13, her 04/19/13). We wanted to do it closer together, but she had issues with getting time off from work.

Well, if you have had trouble dieting in the past, why would you try to do it longer than your doctor requires? That is just setting yourself up for failure. One week was doable for me. I got bad headaches around the 2nd or 3rd day, probably from detoxing from sugar, but once I got through them it was fine.

I wouldn't say I'm normal, but at least my BMI is

I would think it would be virtually impossible not to lose SOMETHING, but results may vary. It all depends on how serious you are and how willing you are to make the necessary changes. You are not guaranteed to KEEP it off either.