southernsoul

I smoked for 30 years prior & I quit on March 1st for this surgery. I was never one of those folks who was always trying to quit. I liked smoking & knew that I would only quit when something was important enough to me. My insurance required me to be smoke free for 90 days, so when making the decision of whether to have this surgery, part of it was to be really sure I was committed to quitting. I used a rechargeable & refillable e-cig vape to transition from cigarettes. I showed it to my surgeon & he OK'd it. After awhile, though, I didn't even use the vape very often...maybe once a week or so. My surgery was on June 19 & I have done very well postop. I have lost about 65 lbs so far, I am exercising regularly & genuinely enjoying it (shocker!!), and last night I got into a pair of size 18 jeans. I haven't worn a size that starts with a 1 in YEARS!!! The benefits of the sleeve to my life far outweigh any enjoyment I found in smoking. Good luck to you...it's not always easy, but the rewards are so worth it!!

Pills & particles can get stuck & cause problems with the new seam sewn in your stomach. If the doc says crush them, I'd keep doing it. As for protein, ask if you can have skim milk or kefir (liquid yogurt). Both have good protein & the kefir also has good bacteria for your system. I was also allowed to add some NesQuik No Sugar Added chocolate mix-in to the milk to help the flavor. Good luck to you!

Honey, I don't want to live in a world where one cookie is the difference between "good" and "bad". Cookie or no cookie, you're doing just fine!

I have the Mirena & it stayed in. They knew it was there & said it would be no problem at all.

I didn't feel the need to know all the gory details of possible complications. I knew what the most "common" complications were, and I knew what the signs were. I asked my surgeon if it was possible to have a complication and NOT be aware of it...not have pain, or fever, or swelling, or some sign to alert me to a problem. He said not really...if something were seriously wrong, my body would let me know. I guess I tried to be informed enough, but not get overly caught up or freaked out by the details of bad outcomes. I trusted my surgeon's skills & I knew the statistical probabilities were on my side. I'm just over 3 months out & have had a great recovery. Good luck to you!

Mashed potatoes are a puree, so I made made mashed sweet potatoes & added protein powder. The soups were fine for me, too, and I often added Unjury chicken soup for extra protein. Good luck!

I think if something bad were to happen, your body would tell you. As long as you're not in pain, or throwing up, or something like that, I think you're fine. Just try not to do it again!

I think most decaf, unsweetened teas are fine, but your doctor can confirm that. Good luck with your recovery & welcome to the loser's bench!

I saw it & I couldn't believe a doctor would actually do that. I think it's awful!

I never tried the plain, but I love the blueberry, too. The raspberry & the cherry are also good. The pomegranate was a bit too tart for me, so I added a little Black Cherry Mio & it was perfect.

I had really bad diarrhea for my first 6 days postop. My doctor ended up recommending that I drink kefir (liquid yogurt) because of the good bacteria in it & it worked like a charm.

My primary reason for having surgery was the knee pain that had disabled me. I could not stand for more than 5 minutes without pain, had trouble walking, especially downhill or down steps. I hadn't been able to manage a big trip to the grocery store in well over a year. I can't straighten either leg fully, but my left knee is much worse than the right. At night I would sometimes wake up in pain when I rolled over or shifted my legs from whatever position my knees had frozen in. I was in pain every single day, but I stopped taking pain meds for the most part, because nothing ever helped enough. Towards the end of last year, my ortho surgeon told me it was time to plan my double knee replacement surgery. I was only 48, and I knew that was far younger than is ideal for knee replacement. Also, the prognosis for the life of my new knees wouldn't be great, due to the extra weight I was carrying. I knew I would be in for a second replacement at some point. On the way home, I decided to look more into the sleeve. My stepsister had just had it, and she was doing really well. I went through all the preop steps & was sleeved on June 19th. At 3 months out, I'm down about 65 lbs & my knees feel better than they have in YEARS. I can stand for about half an hour now & I am exercising regularly. Losing the weight won't make my knees magically regenerate, but I have been astonished at how much better they felt even after losing just 20 or 30 lbs. You may find that you don't need the meds like you have been used to. As you are able to exercise, you can strengthen your quad muscles, which help support the knees. Good luck to you!

Congrats on being overweight...I can't wait to join you!

I guess I'm a "hope for the best, prepare for the worst" kind of person. I tried to prepare myself and my husband for problems that could crop up afterwards, even as I hoped for a smooth recovery. By the date of my surgery, I had been around this site for about 3 months...long enough to know that everybody's experience is a little different and there is really no one way to define a "normal" sleeve surgery. I had bad diarrhea for the first 6 days, and consequently felt much weaker than I expected to feel. Once that was under control, though, I started feeling better really quickly. Personally, I have never felt buyer's remorse so far (I'm 3 months out), but I know that I might at some point. I didn't go out much in the first 3 weeks, except for short excursions. I felt comfortable at home & didn't want to push myself too much. Good luck tomorrow!

Great idea! I have a mental list, but I ought to write them down.

Wow, that's amazing!! I'm right at 3 months & down 61...but 80 just blows my mind!! You go, girl!!

I put plain greek yogurt in my protein shake every morning, along with skim milk & some instant espresso. 1 scoop of either vanilla or chocolate protein powder & shake it all up in a blender bottle. It's delish!

Oh, come on...way back at the beginning of this awesome thread we all got to watch as the love bloomed between you two frisky kids. It was a beautiful thing! :wub:

I went through the same thing this weekend. I'm just 3 months out, so I'm by no means close to goal, but I just bought a new & much smaller pair of jeans. I couldn't believe what size actually fit me, so I came home & tried on all 14 pairs of jeans in my drawer. Only 1 pair still fit...they're already a little loose, but I can still wear them for awhile. I kept the biggest pair for a reminder, bagged up the other dozen or so....and then the doubt hit. What if I regain? What if this doesn't work for me in the long run? What if I fail? I haven't even started on anything else other than jeans, but I hope I don't struggle with doubt the whole way to goal.

Pokey's back! Let the grins grow....

Great points...thanks for the valuable reminder!

Journey, there are no support groups in my town, either. I asked my NUT to pass my contact info on to any other clients she was doing evaluations for & connected with 2 women that way. Also, if your surgeon is near you, he or she should be able to hook you up with others. There's got to be some folks close by, so you might need to get creative in searching. Also, I don't think you necessarily need veterans to run the group...a few smart & motivated folks would be just fine. Good luck!!

Good luck tomorrow, Travis! Good vibes & healing thoughts are coming your way!

I posted a sweet potato Protein pie recipe here a few weeks ago that could easily be adapted for pumpkin. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/90144-sweet-potato-protein-pie/page__hl__%2Bsweet+%2Bpotato+%2Bpie Also, when I was experimenting with ideas before surgery, I blended pumpkin puree with cottage cheese & pumpkin pie spice & some maple syrup in the food processor. It was yummy, sort of like pumpkin cheesecake.

I was told not to worry about the timing of drinking water vs "food" while I was on liquids. In terms of protein, I was also told not to worry about hitting the goal so much as getting in as much protein as I could manage. Add protein powder to the things you're making. I added Unjury chicken soup powder to soups and chicken salad, and unflavored powder to purees of all kinds. Make shakes, too, as that's a great way to keep the protein high while adjusting to more solid foods. Good luck!