Allan Cameron

I have to agree with Arts 137, I had set a goal in accordance with the BMI charts, my doc told me to be a little more conservative...I'm just trying to lose the weight, goals are just that goals...I pretty much have new goals every week with the sleeve, lose 5 lbs, then lose 5 more lbs, I figure when I've lost enough weight I'll know...still a long, long way from getting there...learning to exercise and eat right are huge right now. That and staying healthy, which goes right back to learning to exercise and eat right...

Your tastes are going to go thru cycles, and not just once, but many times. I try foods sometimes weekly, and some times my tastes will change that quickly (though not too often). I haven't found too many foods I didn't like that I now like (then again I don't usually try foods I didn't like before) but I've had foods I like, go onto the not so much list. Even chocolate, especially chocolate Protein Shakes have move into my not so great catagory. Eggs have been off the menu but are back on now... Couldn't eat chicken for a time, but tried it again last week and my sleeve didn't have a negative reaction, and it tasted just fine. Sometimes the taste is now great, and sometimes my sleeve tells me not to eat that again (or else).

As a guy (with no kids) I think this type of surgery is much harder on women and especially mothers. Everyone else in your house is eating normally, and you've got to go thru the liquid diet, then the pureed food and finally you get to start eating normally. But even then it is in such a reduced quantity as to be noticeably different. I have great respect and sympathy for all of you Mom's that go through this surgery.

Three months post op, can't eat in large quantities like I used too, but small ammounts, eating slow, and limiting the rice, it's just fine (so far).

There is another side to the scale as well. I'm one of those that lost too much weight too fast, 80lbs in two months landed me right back in the Hospital with kidney issues and gout in both feet and a knee, couldn't walk or stand for four days. Now I'm taking drugs to protect my Kidney, drugs for gout and on top of all the meds and vitamins for the sleeve, not fun. We've heard it all our lives, but as in most everything we do we don't really believe until it happens to us, moderation people. Find out what your body can handle and go with the flow. Gaining weight too fast is what got us into the situation to be sleeved but loosing too fast can get you into even more trouble. I'm in search of a stall to allow my body chemistry to get back to something resembling normalcy...

You're on the right track for calming down. Support groups, either here on-line or in person are great for letting us voice our anxiety, which all of have if we allow ourselves to admit it. I went to a support group meeting at my Hospital three days before my surgery (they have a weekly meeting for a bariatric patients) and it did wonders for me just letting me talk to others getting ready and those that were figuring out their new lives. I wish you nothing but good luck with your surgery, and many, many good healthy years to come...

I'm Al, married to a retired Air Force vet (Lori) and then again I too am a retired Air Force vet. We live in Olympia WA and I got my sleeve done at Madigan on Ft Lewis (JBLM) Jun 7th. I'm civil service working on McChord Field for the Air National Guard. Gained over 200lbs when I retired from active duty, so now I need to loose all of that (and then some) so I can have a healthy retirement with my spouse.

I'm on the other side of the country, but I had my sleeve done at Madigan on Ft Lewis (JBLM) and I've been very happy with the support groups, doctors and care while in the hospital.

Daydra, I just had the sleeve in June at Madigan, since it is a Military Treatment Facility TriCare covered all of my costs, no out of pocket expense at all...just had to go thru the MAMC Education Pathway (took about three months) and then the surgery.

Hi everyone, thanks for the notes, back at work, got my water bottle with me at all meetings. And Arts137 the baby spoon is oh so cute, but it does work. Did my yoyo thing on weight this week and actually saw a gain back to 378 for a day, but I'm back down to 374 and still loosing. Go Team Sleeve (please play nice)...

I consider my surgery to be a great success. I gained over two hundred pounds after I retired from the military in 1994, and no amount of diet and exercise was going to get me back down to a healthy weight, so on June 7th I had sleeve surgery. Long story a little shorter, I lost weight too fast and had one of those weeks at work were I was in too many meetings and didn't keep up with my hydration. I ended up unable to stand or walk and had to be hospitalized for three days due to acute polyarticular gout. The sleeve is a wonderful tool for us to loose weight, but always remember you need to be sure to manage it and everything that goes with it properly.

For me anyway, running and walking goal setting has not been all that different. Go out and run or walk to a location that is comfortable. Keep that up for a couple of days, then add another block or lap on the track or whatever (wherever) you are. Once comfortable with the new distance repeat, add a little more. Eventually you'll be going farther than you ever thought possible when you started. The hardest part is that first step, you have to take those first steps and get going...

And DO NOT be in a big rush to loose really fast, I lost weight too fast and just spent the weekend in the hospital getting treatment for acute polyarticular gout due to rapid weight loss and dehydration. Keep drinking fluids, ALL THE TIME, and let the weight come off gradually. Gout is no fun, I could not stand or walk at all for three days.

While weight has a huge impact on sleep apnea, it is not the sole determining factor. I work with a couple of people I consider to be on the thin side of the world, not exactly skinny but not exact fat either. Both are active duty GIs and work out regularly, however they have sleep apnea. My Doc and I talked about it, and my sleep apnea was diagnosed after I gained way too much, so both he and I are looking to see if weight loss will have any impact, but he specifically warned me that it may not cure my sleep apnea...oh well, the high blood pressure is definitely going down.

Many of the things we get addicted to the answer is to just elminate them all togehter, obviously with food we can't do that... I've quite smoking (haven't had a smoke in probably 30 years, can't even remember when I last smoked). I got way too close with drinking, but was able to turn that one around without eliminating it, then again I haven't had anything alcoholic since well before my surgery. Food so far in my early stages of this process has been easy to manage, I'm still only in my second month, so I have a long, long way to go. People are here to help and support you, but you are the only one that can truley help yourself. You have to fight the cravings, find healthy alternatives, and keep moving in the direction YOU want to go. It is YOUR choice. Then again I'm an old fart, what do I know...making bad choices is what got me here, that is about all I know.

When I first went back to work I asked my boss if I could work a week of part time at the office and part time sick leave (I happen to have had lots of sick leave I could burn up). I spent the first two weeks back only working part time, it really helped with the transition...

While I had not yet gotten diabetes, my tests showed I was on the edge, just went it for my first round of post surgery follow-ups and still don't have any blood work back, but the high blood pressure has already turned so my Doc is having to adjust the meds, I hope the blood work will show similar improvements in other areas as well. I really have to worry about my Kidney, as I had to have one removed last year due to Cancer... Not looking for the sleeve to be any kind of silver bullet, but I needed to do something and this seems to really be working. Lost more weight in a month than I did in two decades of dieting and exercise.

My ultimate goal is to lose 276 lbs, I've given myself four years (aprox) to do this. I know it won't just happen. I expect to have to work at it. What good is a goal if it is just given to you? When I was young and thinner I liked to run, I hope to someday be able to run again, at over 380 right now, I'm not going to run more then one or two steps. This is a long term road, and even at age 56 I plan to stay on this path for the long term. I've lost more weight in the last month than I was ever able to dieting and trying to exercise for the last 20 years...go sleeve!

After my surgery my blood pressure and pulse rate have dropped, which my Doc thinks is part of my being tired...we are working to adjust my meds to find that happy place.

Gotta love the sleeve, semi normal eating habits (eventually) and no "dumping" that's why I didn't choose a bybass method as my Dr recommended. Now I just have to keep at this and I too can get back to the size I was years and years ago...I hope.

It must be that time of the morning

MMOL, No lecture here, you and I are on a very similar path. I can only let you know what I do, as your screen name implies, you have to do for yourself. Like others have said, I notice that I can now sit in chairs I couldn't, I can reach my feet to put on shoes and socks without falling over. Sure I'm still really really big, but I'm getting smaller than I was and that is what this journey is all about. Granted I'm a guy and guys and gals look at ourselves in different ways. With all that we had to loose from the get go, only having to loose 200 more is a milestone to celebrate. I hit 390 this morning on the scale, way too damn heavy but I'm happy I can't remember the last time my scale only said 390. Heck even the reading glasses I have to now wear because I'm growing older fit my face better. Yes I'd like to have a small waist and be farther along, but this is a long path we've chosen, sports metaphor coming up, this is a marathon not a sprint. You've done great so far, keep going the end is a ways away, but you're on the right path, alway remember that...

I live on these things, buy em 20 at a time at our Military Commissary (5 of each of the four flavors they carry here). Grape probably tastes the best, but the green one smells the best (then again it has the strongest after taste). Blue is almost flavorless, and the red punch is okay. Only $3.39 ea... The Hospital had them in little 8oz plastic bottle...never seen that size outside the hospital.

I'm from down Olympia way, got my sleeve surgery down at Madigan on JBLM. Got to loose the weight so my wife and I can enjoy our sailboat once again... That and travel around the country. The military sent us all over the world, to the point that we've been to more countries than states here in the good ole US of A, now is the time I choose to lose the weight and start a wonderful retirement.

I was born in Seattle (Ballard Hospital), lived there till 1st grade, family moved to Puyallup where Grandpa had a farm near the river, loved the Yakima Boys fruit stand...then moved down with the fruits and nuts in San Rafael. San Francisco in the 60's was one really weird backyard to grow up near. Luckily Mom and Dad moved back up here to Olympia which I've called home now for more years then I want to admit even though in the Military I've lived all over the world, Spain, then Guam, onto Germany, and some really weird place called Louisiana, back to Olympia, out to Hawaii and once again back to Olympia. Hopefully my wife and I'll retire to Hawaii with our boat and call it quits to all this traveling about. But first I've got to get this weight off, which is what this web site is all about...one month and over 40 pounds down from my day of surgery weigh in, go sleeve!