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LOL Amanda Rae, good idea, but I get a sunburn just thinking about the sun, and two of my family members are now fighting skin cancer, including our (formerly) sun-worshipping 25-yr-old niece who just had her fourth recurrence of melanoma. So even when I go on a walk in the winter, I wear City Block, and in the warmer weather or on vacations, I really slather on the sun block. The supplements have found to be just as effective and my numbers are coming up. No one at the medical practice seemed alarmed and they have me on the evidence-based protocol to increase my Vit D levels.

Congrats! I've always heard that it's fairly normal for well-trained runners to have a resting heart rate between 40-60. Maybe you've become one of those? Good they are checking it out anyway.

I never said that it wasn't an issue just bc most other people have low Vit D, and neither did my RD/LD. In fact, my RD is absolutely amazing. She has been the most pivotal person in my journey--I give her as much credit as my surgeon. I love that my surgeon's office and RD are so great that they check your Vit D when you first start seeing them...in my case, 6 months before surgery. As I mentioned, my levels are coming up, but they are still too low. I'm confident they will continue to come up, but it doesn't happen overnight. I mentioned that most people's are low in part to increase others' awareness about Vit D if they haven't already been tested. I'm a medical writer/editor and low Vit D is increasingly being tied to many medical conditions. It's not as major of a factor as once was believed based on many of the recent trials, but it is still very important.

Pureed food depends on your doctor's plan, but you should be able to have yogurt with PB2 (dehydrated peanut butter), pureed oatmeal and SF peaches, greek yogurt with pumpkin, pureed veggies, all kinds of pureed soups and pureed chili, refried beans with cheese and pureed salsa and a spoonful of greek yogurt (like sour cream). Google world according to Eggface--lots of great recipes, like one with ricotta cheese and eggs that I've heard tastes like the inside of lasagna. I microwave ricotta cheese with parm cheese and tomato sauce plus veggie m-balls (you won't be able to do meatballs yet but could do the rest)...tasty. You can add unflavored protein to soups. Imagine has a line of cream soups in a box that are sooo good--like cream of brocc and cream of potato. Good for puree--add protein powder.

You are probably in ketosis (a side effect of fat burning mode), which could be giving you that blah and maybe even an anxious feeling. You could have 4 oz of juice diluted with 4 oz of Water and if you are in ketosis it will probably knock you out of it and could help you feel better. Or try some kefir (liquid yogurt). Ketosis is actually good bc it means you are burning fat, but at this point, if you feel really badly, it might help. Or try a TBSP of Peanut Butter in a Protein shake. You also may be dehydrated. I know it sounds like a broken record, but you must must must get in your Fluid. Even if it feels like a chore. I would just do the best you can. Hope you feel better soon. Once you are in mushies, you can pretty much eat a regular meal with your fam. I know that this phase really sucks. It will get better and you will be really happy you suffered through these days.

I was told as long as I wasn't on pain meds it was okay--but to be really, really careful bc an accident very early post-op could rip your stiches and/or staple line. That sort of freaked me out, but I had to be at a meeting downtown 1 week post op and I did fine. I was more worried about my stomach making crazy noises around other people or getting sudden diarrhea at that point but it was okay. It felt good to get out, too.

Thanks, that is a good suggestion too. I do have my vitamins checked regularly. My B12 is normal, for which I'm thankful, since I've been a vegetarian most of my adult life (I'm middle-aged). I take a supplement daily. Also, my vit D was low and I'm taking a supplement, though my RD said basically everyone's is low. Mine was really, really low, so I'm hoping I feel better with the supplementation. I started it pre-op and it came up a little.

My surgeon said that he repairs hiatal hernias in about 90 percent of his patients. I was surprised that it was that high, but they are pretty common in people who are overweight, and the repair really helps us do better post-sleeve since it decreases acid, etc.

I think this is a great point, though in my case, what I feel is definitely physiological hunger--lightheaded, can't concentrate, a little weak. It comes on quickly and passes quickly when I eat a little bit. My RD said that adding a few smart carbs, like sweet potato, might help here. I just want to stay as high protein low carb as I can though. I think when you have head hunger, it's more like a feeling of--I'm stressed or bored or just craving a specific food or type of food. Not an actual physiological feeling. I agree that it can be difficult to differentiate sometimes though, especially if you have only felt the head hunger post op and don't have the physiological hunger to compare it to.

Very, very well said, MM! I am exactly the same way. I do still feel hunger and it is more frequent...and how do I put this--more urgent--than pre-surgery. But I agree, I get full so much more quickly when I do eat, and also now think that old advice to drink a bottle of water when you feel hungry actually holds true. I do this if I'm hungry between meals and snacks. As long as we maximize the power of our sleeves by not eating junk, focusing on protein, getting in our fluids, following the rules about not eating and drinking together or near each other, and not drinking liquid calories, this still works even when we do feel hungry (I am already on a PPI btw and it's definitely not stomach acid that I'm feeling--it's more of a lightheaded "I need to eat now" feeling). Really, when the surgeons tell us we won't feel hunger after surgery, they don't know this for sure unless they've had the surgery and experienced what we are experiencing, and very few of them have.

I thought the surgeon who said that was doing the spider technique on the patient who shared the info? Might have been a language barrier thing though. Either way, I'm really glad that your spider technique procedure went well and that you didn't experience pain--that is wonderful. I think it's really important to learn about other people's experiences here. Thank you for sharing yours.

Congrats on 54 lbs gone forever! Holy crap, I hope that's not true about losing 50% of your total loss within 3 months. I don't even see how that could be logistically possible for higher BMIers. Based on posts I've seen here on people who had the VSG 1 or 2 years ago, I do not think it has to be the case if we set our minds to achieving our goals and maximizing our tool. With that said, I'm not doubting your surgeon's statement--maybe it is true in his patients.

Didn't the surgeon from Mexico say that there is more pain with the spider technique? Or did I misread it? I'm sure that it varies by patient just like traditional laporoscopy though. I didn't let myself have a lot of incisional pain bc I used the pain meds (and then Tylenol) proactively. I know some people don't need the meds though.

Looking great, Nadou--congrats!

that's wonderful, PotterGirl--I bet the weight loss was nice when you went on your recent international trip, too!

Fiddleman, in Mexico they sell diclofenac (pills and patches) OTC in Wal-Mart. It is my NSAID of choice and I was so envious that the residents of Mexico could buy it with no prescription. Though I haven't really needed an NSAID since surgery--liquid Tyelonol has been ok.

You said in another post that you aren't feeling restriction from things like oatmeal and yogurt. I didn't feel restriction with those foods either! I actually went thru a phase where I thought something was wrong with my sleeve, and I posted here. Others said just wait until you are eating solid proteins--you will definitely feel the restriction. They were so right! I will bet if you eat some solid protein like chicken and some veg that you will realize that your sleeve is working. I'm a vegetarian so I feel restriction with soy protein like veggie meatballs with melted cheese or beans with cheese. Don't do the slider foods like pizza and deep-fried fish. Those won't fill you up the same (you should be eating bread or fried foods now anyhow, if ever). Give it a try and work with a nutritionist if you can. No one is trying to bring you down but you've got to give the sleeve a fair shake and eat the proper foods before saying it doesn't work. Seriously, there are a ton of people here who when they were eating mushies and purees thought something wasn't right with their sleeve. Maybe this will get you on plan and saving you thousands in diagnostic tests. It's worth a try....

Iceberg at 6 weeks and everything else at 7-8 weeks. Haven't had any problems with any veggies, except the first time I ate lightly steamed cauliflower (might have eaten too much or too fast). Ate it a couple of days later and it was fine.

You can't win if you don't play. By play, I mean give it 100 percent and follow the nutritional guidelines, exercise, drink enough water, take supplements. Once someone does that, if they don't succeed, they have my sympathy. But that is very, very, very rare. However, if someone goes into this with magical thinking, assuming you can do (or not do) everything you did pre-sleeve and somehow magically lose weight--it's definitely not going to work.

If you're cleared for nuts, 100-calorie packs of almonds or almonds and walnuts. Laughing Cow lite cheeses (seem okay at room temp for several hours). Protein bars. Protein powder and Mio and a shaker to mix protein shakes with water. Beef jerky if you eat meat. Greek yogurt for the fridge.

ketosis! aka "keto breath." Hopefully means you are seeing the scale move!

Amy, could you get your kids involved with your new active lifestyle? I'm not sure how old they are, but you could pull them in a wagon or have them ride alongside you on their bikes, or you guys could kick a ball around in the back yard...etc. Especially with the weather getting nicer. You could do exercise videos and have them next to you doing stuff. You could make it a game and teach them great new habits at the same time....

Are you a senior citizen? My mom belongs to a program thru her Medicare plan called Silver Sneakers, where she can go to certain community centers/fitness centers and take exercise classes for free. Or if you don't have that, lots of senior centers offer things like chair exercise to get you started. You could join the local Y and take water aerobics or go swimming or do a low-impact workout. You and your husband could go or walks together. You could walk to run errands if you're near your local downtown--like to take a piece of mail to the mailbox, or walk to/from dinner or church, or to pick up something at the drug store.

Thanks, Butter.

Yes, I add almond milk to mine and shake them up to make them frothy. Figured this out my first week on liquids and it made a huge difference.