MrsRaychJ

Hi Everyone! I haven't been on in over 4 months, it feels like coming home! Just a quick update: Surgery 8/15/13 and down 70 pounds. Ended up with kidney failure (not WLS related) Pancreatitis and spent 5 weeks in the hospital without eating, living on a PICC line. For 2 months after that I was unable to keep ANY food or drink down. After my 8th ER visit they finally got my electrolytes balanced (my potassium was so low my heart could have given out at any moment) Once they were balanced I FINALLY could eat something! I am at home (after 4 months of back and forth from the hospital) and doing great but have lost lots of hair and lots of muscle. Ok, enough of an update, here's my question How do you workout without using all your calories? I find I have to set an alarm to remind myself to eat because there is NO desire whatsoever and I am focused mainly on Protein. I want to start (very slowly) working out to build up some of the muscle I've lost and help with the last bit of chub on my belly. Does anyone have any very low calorie burning workouts that still help build up muscle? Maybe just light weights? Believe me, I know how ironic it is that I'm trying to find LOW calorie burning activities, when just 5 months ago I was trying to find the HIGHEST calorie burning workouts.

Just an update for everyone, I ended up with another kidney stone and pancreatitis. I was in the hospital for 5 weeks straight. If you know something is wrong even if your surgeon says you're fine, go with how you feel!

I am 3 weeks out and about 2 weeks ago I started passing a kidney stone, I'm used to throwing up during that process but it's been a week and a half since it passed and I still throw up after drinking or eating anything. I haven't eaten in almost 2 weeks. I am getting very weak and really can't do much. Has anyone been unable to eat or supplement? What did you do?

Hey all! Sleeved on the 15th and finally feel a little better. As soon as I got my drain and IV out I felt like a brand new person. The first hours after I woke up I was begging for meds or just to die. Now I'm pacing around the hotel room trying to get in liquids although since 6am I've been able to get down about 3 oz. Anyone else have to stand up to drink?

Hey ladies! I didn't really know where else to post this, and since women are the ones that will most understand how emotional I've been lately, I thought this was the perfect place! I had an incident with crying in a Chinese restaurant today. I wrote about it in a brand new blog I'm starting, it's the first post actually. Please read it and let me know what you think, and if you can relate. http://mrstinytummy.blogspot.com

Don't rub it in!

Hey all! One week out!! I am officially starting my liquid diet although I was wanting to do it yesterday, but ended up crying in a Chinese restaurant instead. I was going to just journal about it but thought that some of my fellow VSG ers would get a laugh out of it so I started a little blog. Please check it out and let me know what you think, and if you can relate. http://mrstinytummy.blogspot.com

Hey everybody!! One week to go and getting excited! I started my liquid diet today and ended up crying in a Chinese Restaurant. I was going to journal about it but decided to start a new blog instead! Please give it a read and see if you can relate! http://mrstinytummy.blogspot.com

Believe me, if I could have eaten it, I would have!! It was completely inedible. We even had to throw it away as soon as we got outside because the smell from it in the car was making me sick. I haven't had too many "food funerals" but Chinese food definitely is one I'll never be able to eat the same again. (The rice is my favorite part!) The lady I'm renting from just got the surgery 3 months ago and every day she's been telling me "eat what you want now! Food will never be the same!" So, while I haven't overindulged in anything, I haven't been dieting either! It was very strange after a life of perpetual dieting not to be counting anything. And wouldn't you know it, I didn't gain a single pound.

Thank you I'm glad you liked it! I was just writing this down in a journal and decided to share with others who might be going through the same thing.

Thanks, I think there is one there too, but the one I'm part of is under Monthly Support Groups and then you choose your year (2013) then month. It really doesn't matter, I just know that it gets really overwhelming for a newbie trying to navigate this site for the first week or so and having multiple support groups for the same things adds to that. I will be part of as many groups as possible for the most support and ideas as possible, but it would be nice if we could all be part of one so we can all get each other's advice and knowledge.

Hey everybody! August 15th here! I was just wondering why we are duplicating groups? Isn't there already an August group made by the site? Just curious.

Hey everybody! I just found out that with Dr. Garcia through Ready 4 A Change if you write down who referred you, they get a little bonus check. I don't know how much it is, but the woman who referred me just texted to say thank you. If someone on here has referred you to them, be sure to write down their name! It's a small and nice way to thank each other.

Thank you!! I know it shouldn't matter, but it DOES!

I am getting sleeved the 15th of this month! (My 4 year wedding anniversary, best gift ever!) I will definitely let you all know how it goes with Dr. Garcia.

I chose Dr. Garcia because of a friend's experience with him. She is an RN and knows what she's talking about! She has lost 60 lbs in 3 months and looks and feels great. I have been able to see her from surgery through recovery and now finally into a bit of a normal life. She said the staff was excellent and very accommodating. Alma is wonderful and replies to my emails at crazy times of night! She once apologized to me because she had stepped away from the computer for an hour. I had only sent my email 20 minutes before. Plus, you can't beat the price!

Hey All! I'm posting this in the Post Op section so that I can get some VSG Veteran advice. I am being sleeved on 8/15/2013 and having a family reunion/vacation on 11/5/2013. I will be almost 3 months out but still nervous about food and drink restrictions. Are there any specific things that I should bring with me to make sure I have a great trip? I already know I should bring some sort of protein powder and try to keep up with that. Also, none of my family knows that I'm getting the VSG. What should I tell them and how do I keep it on the down low? Thanks in advance!!

I don't want people to know because in my immediate family all the women are pretty overweight and try their hardest to be "body positive". This is great, but I have never been able to accept my body the way it is or to accept the infertility that comes with it. I'm afraid that by telling them about the surgery they will see it as a judgement about their body and lifestyle. I am quite a bit smaller than them, so the fact that I'm having the surgery would be pretty offensive to them. I know that the surgery is a very personal decision and isn't right for everyone, but after struggling my whole life with this, it's the path I've chosen. On the other end of the spectrum my husband's family is very healthy, skinny, and in shape, and really like to let me hear about it. Most times we see them weight is brought up at least once (not by me) and how it's sad that people can't just exercise and eat right and be healthy. It's not that simple for me with PCOS and I know that if they know about the surgery they will have a constant critical eye on my body for the rest of my life, and they will also assume I took the "easy way out". Maybe in 5 years I won't care if they find out, but for the first few I feel that I need it to be about my journey and not about other people's judgements. That's why forums like this are so great! We understand each other, and we know we're making this life-altering decision for ourselves.

I have told my mom, my husband, and my best friend. Other than that I'm not thrilled with having to deal with everyone's reaction. I know that after surgery it will be less of a problem since they can't try to talk me out of it by then. There are honestly only a few people that I really don't want to find out, maybe I will find a way to keep it from getting to them. Thank you both for your responses. I know that getting out of my routine is going to be very difficult, but I think it will be worth it to get the surgery before the trip. I have always been very self-conscious about what I eat or put in my grocery cart, but you're right, no one cares but me!

Thank you Arts137. It's great advice to only eat things that my tummy is familiar with. I didn't think of that. It will be even more important while walking around amusement parks all day long. No one wants surprises in a crowd!

So this is kind of off topic but not entirely. I've been realizing lately that I notice my fat a lot more. I think with my surgery date approaching (Aug 15) I am letting myself see what my body really looks like. After so many years of being unhappy with my body I think I created a kind of mental block to what it really looked like. But now that surgery is fast approaching I keep noticing how tight my clothes really are, how far my tummy pooches over my jeans....stuff like that. I think it's a healthy thing, so I can see where I'm truly coming from, and hopefully in a few months, see how far I've come. Is anyone else having this kind of reaction to upcoming surgery?

My husband and I plan to "prevent" for 6 months (which will be new to us!) then not prevent for the next 6. If I am not pregnant by then we will be consulting a Reproductive Endocrinologist and starting on fertility meds again. If I have lost the weight and am still not pregnant there is probably another underlying issue, it would be nice to figure it out! Please everyone keep us updated after you lose the weight!

I have PCOS and have since I was 15. My husband and I have been trying for 4 years. I am going in on the 15th for the VSG. I hope that it will help me get pregnant, and if not, at least make the doctors take me seriously instead of telling me to "just lose weight". They detected something that could be wrong on my HSG test but told me to come back after I lose weight and then they'll decide if there's something else preventing me from getting pregnant. I'm sorry I can't answer your question, just wanting you to know there are others out there! How long has it been since your surgery? How long did you wait to begin trying again?