DeniseM

We might not all have had one last beer, but we all had one last something! I know I had several "last" foods! I think it is completely normal, but I do recommend saying your goodbyes before you start your pre-op diet.

Yes! I had lunch today at Joe's Crab Shack. I ordered a crab pot, ate about half and took the other half home, which I just finished as my snack. I also had a few bites of corn, but no potatoes. When I eat out, I usually order a salad, and just eat the meat and toppings. My favorite salads are Ruby Tuesday's grilled salmon salad and Panera Bread's greek salad with chicken. I am also loving Carrabba's Chicken Bryan lately. The other day we went to a steakhouse and I ordered prime rib. I had that and two bites of my loaded baked potato. I don't eat appetizers or bread because then I get too full for my dinner, and just as I do at home, I eat my protein first and just a bite or two of all the other things.

I cook with it, but can't imagine rubbing it on my skin... is there a skin care version???

1. What all are you eating now? I have been doing primarily Paleo and avoiding dairy and gluten, I eat mostly eggs, meat, fruit, and veggies. 2. How many calories are you eating? 800-1000 per day 3. Are you still drinking Protein shakes? No- I get all my protein from real food 4. What are your stats right now? Down 80 pounds as of this morning.

I wish I could have done an in-home study!!! I HATED doing a sleep study- I've done two and both times were terrible! You will be SO much more comfortable in your own bed!!!

Yes, you can die from VSG- death is a risk with any major surgery. This is one of the reasons why the pre-op process is so long and so many tests are required. Some people, like myself, feel that the risk is worth taking, and it was a good call for me. Other people have decided that it was not worth the risk and have decided not to go through with the surgery. However, it is completely normal to be nervous before surgery and even consider cancelling it- I know I did. When your surgery day comes, you will know in your heart what the right choice is for you.

This is like the one I used: http://www.amazon.com/Contour-Style-13-Abdominal-Binder/dp/B007WTNX7Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380836911&sr=8-1&keywords=abdominal+compression+garment

I was given mine from my surgeon's office, but they sell them on Amazon and at any medical supply store.

IV antibiotics while I was in the hospital, nothing when I went home. No post-op infection for me

I wore one the first two weeks after surgery- it helped SO MUCH with my pain, especially during week 2 when I was moving around more. By week 3 it was starting to rub and bother me so I stopped wearing it.

You will get a lot of different opinions on this. My NUT told me absolutely no alcohol ever again. However, my surgeon told me that one small drink here or there will not do any harm. I think the main concern is the empty calories in the alcohol, and the fact that you will get drunk much faster because the alcohol will be absorbed quicker so you need to be careful with that. I have not had any alcohol yet since my surgery, but I can't say that I will never have a drink again. I used to have a drink with dinner all the time before surgery, but now I can't drink liquids when I eat so that pretty much eliminates that.

I have no problems eating bread, rice, pasta, or tortillas. I do have to be careful with these types of foods because they fill me up quickly and if I am not careful then I can't eat enough protein.

It is a life-changing decision, and it is normal to be weighing the pro's and con's. For me, the pro's outweighed the con's and I decided to go for it- I have been so happy with my decision. I have had a few minor bumps in the road, but nothing that has ever once made me regret my decision. For me, it was what I needed to do to get my health and my life under control.

I was told the first month is when you are most likely to have a leak. It can happen the first few days after surgery if the staples in the stomach are not placed precisely and it can happen if you overeat or if you do not follow your post-op diet and progress too quickly through your food phases. Of course, it can just happen randomly for no apparent reason- just because you have a leak does not mean you did something wrong, but I was told that you can cause a leak if you are not careful with your diet the first month. My doc told me that usually by 30 days, your stomach has completely healed and scar tissue has formed around the staples to seal it completely so a leak after 30 days is rare.

In the beginning I was having weight loss like that, but I have hit a stall since having my gallbladder out and have only lost 3 pounds in the last six weeks. The past two weeks I have been doing very intense workouts with my trainer four times a week so I am hoping I will start to see the scale move again. BUT, my clothes are a bit looser so even though the scale has not been my friend, I know the exercise is working and I am losing fat and gaining muscle.

You might be able to go on roller coasters and water slides at six weeks, as long as you don't have any surgery complications, but that is definitely a question for your surgeon. I wouldn't have been able to do either at week six because I had an incision that had still not healed so I would not have been able to go in the water plus I was still having a little pain from my large incision so the rollercoaster would have been out. As far as feeling like yourself again, we are all different. I was feeling "normal" by week 6 because I was finally able to eat enough calories to have energy to do all my daily activities without any issues.

I was drinking it without any problems my first week- try just a few sips at first and see how you do.

My large incision hurt like crazy for three weeks- felt like a knife in my side- but by week four, it was much better and I was just feeling twinges of pain every now and then. When I went to my one-month post-op visit, my surgeon told me that it was completely healed and what I was feeling was the nerves on the inside repairing themselves. I had the same thing when I had by gallbladder out- my main incision hurt really bad for about two weeks, but it still hurts every now and then now at six weeks, and there are certain types of sit-ups that still bother me. Again I was told this was normal, and that it is healed as far as the abdominal muscle is concerned, but the nerves on the inside can sometimes take a few months to heal completely.

If you are asking how long to wait to exercise after surgery, you should follow your surgeon's advice because they are all different. I could do only walking and no lifting anything over 10 pounds for four weeks, then I was cleared for all exercise.

My gas pain lasted eight days- it was the worst on days 3-5 and then got better each day after that.

I had mine removed two months after my sleeve surgery. My surgeon told me that if she has a patient with gallstones before surgery she will always take out the gallbladder at the same time because she says they always have issues. I did not have gallstones before surgery, they developed after surgery, so I was lucky enough to have two surgeries in two months... ugh!

If it only happens right after you eat, then I would think it might be what you are eating or how much. However, any type of chest pain with weakness in your arms could also be signs of a heart condition, and REALLY needs to be checked out. The next time it happens, you should go to the ER to be evaluated.

Does it happen when you are eating something or right after eating something?

I have had no issues eating any foods, except when I was having gallbladder problems. I have never thrown up, but I have been nauseous a few times, right now anything with mayonnaise does not sit well with me so I try to avoid them. As far as the gas when you swallow, yes that goes away. Occasionally I have gas bubbles when I am drinking, but no longer when eating. As far as the food insecurity, for me, I am just now getting over that, almost at month four. For the first two months I refused to eat a new food at work for fear I would get sick (I never did) and I was also afraid to eat out for the same reasons, and took most of my restaurant food to go. Now, I have no fears eating out- I order what I like, eat my few bites, and take the rest home. I also know now exactly how much my stomach will hold by sight, so I do not need to measure anything, and I know the signals of when to stop eating so I do not get too full. That has happened during month three.

I can eat the inside of a 6" as long as there were not too many veggies, but not the bread. I am physically able to eat bread, no problems with it at all, but since I get full so fast, I eat my protein first. When my co-workers order sandwiches and such for lunch, I order too, and sometimes I take a bite or two of bread, but usually I just eat the insides. The other day I got a sandwich from Honey Baked Ham (YUM) and only ate the ham, cheese, and tomato, which filled me right up.