BlueLotus77

May 7th here too! Down 12 lbs since surgery. Looks like I'm not alone in the weightloss stall. I lost pretty quickly right after, but have been lingering around the same pound for the last few days. My period doesn't help. I'm thinking once we all start eating more regular food, and get our energy back, we'll see the weight start to fall off again. I can't wait until next week when I'm moved on to mushed foods. I'm currently still on a modified liquids diet.

I forgot to mention... Everyone's bad breath is being caused by "ketosis". It's when your body is in fat burning mode. I'm not an expert (LOL), so check it out on Google.

May 7th here! I'm out two weeks today! I'm doing pretty great. The first few days were difficult. I spent 3 nights at the hospital because I couldn't get anything down and they wanted me to stay hooked up to the IV. The doctor required that we get 1oz Protein and 2 oz liquid each hour before we could be released. (This was a military hospital, so I don't think it was as big of a deal that I was there for so long). I was also very nauseated, I'm thinking partially because of my pain meds, because I remember that with my c-section. So I got them to give me a dose of Zofran by IV with each dose of medicine, and that helped a lot. After I got home things turned around quickly and I felt better and better each day! I'm now to the point that I sometimes feel like I didn't even have surgery...until I drink something too fast. LOL I'm still on the modified liquid stage. One more week and I'll be moving to the mushed food stage. I can't waiiiiiiit! haha I miss chewing on my food. I've been walking a lot, since day 1. Even if I needed help, I was up and about. I try to take atleast one walk around the block each day with my son. My fitbit flex helps me keep track of how many steps I'm taking, and motivates me to keep moving. I've had a few moments of bereavement over food I couldn't eat. I mean, did my family REALLY have to order pizza? haha The last few days have been a little more difficult. I think because I'm just so over shakes, and because it's "shark week". Lost 32lbs overall, 12lb since surgery. H: 5'4" HW 260, SW 240, CW 228

@@talkalot1981 Are you at JBER or up in Fairbanks? They might. Dr. Clark has a seminar semi-monthly to talk about the procedures that he does. You'd be able to find out there! Dr. Clark is really awesome, and super nice. Very easy to talk to. Plus, if he approves it, it will be covered, since he's doing everything in house in the hospital. There's no jumping through hoops or anything. Hope that helps!! If you need any other info, feel free to message me! - Carolyn

Having a hard time today...I guess I'm going through the normal pre-op motions, and my emotions are getting the best of me. Is the wait killing anyone else??? It's the worst! I think the worst part, that is giving me doubts about myself, is that I'm following the pre-op diet (low carb, low fat, high Protein, Water, tracking everything), and not losing any weight! I guess that's why I'm here in the first place, right? LOL In the words of Elsa, I just need to LET IT GO!! hahahaha Since I know I'm doing everything right... Praying for patience during my last two weeks!!!

Hello everyone! I was originally a Feb/March Sleever, but I'm now scheduled on May 7. My surgeon is at a military hospital, so we've had to work around exercises, TDY's, and other unforseen things the military likes to think up. lol I started the whole process last August, so I'm definitely ready to go! I had my pre-op appt on April 8, and pre-admission with the hospital last week!! Everything is ready...just waiting for surgery! I don't have a liquid diet to follow before hand (besides the day before, obviously). But he has me on a low fat/carb diet now until my surgery. He said to basically do whatever I did before to try to lose weight, because obviously I'm the pro at trying. lol The week prior needs to be more strict to decrease liver size, but since I'm doing what I'm doing now, it shouldn't be so hard. Everyone has been really supportive. My sister and mom are flying up to Alaska, where we're stationed, to help me after surgery. I've been blessed. I don't think I've really met any negativity about the procedure. I like to tell people I'm having an "he" (high efficiency) stomach installed. LOL! Nice to meet and talk with you all!

I know exactly where you're coming from. I really hate the hurry up and wait game!! Knowing everything is going to change, and not knowing exactly what it will be like. I have to put it out of my mind and focus on just keeping myself healthy and eating well. I don't think there is any way to feel completely prepared until you're actually DOING it. I'm so afraid that I'm going to mess something up. It's hard to not let anxiety get the best of you.

I guess I was lucky when I had my test. They had brand new rooms, so it was like a cross between a hotel and hospital room. I was exhausted so I fell asleep right away, even with all those wires on. lol Honestly, I got more sleep that night because there was no snoring husband and no little kids coming in my room waking me up. When I got there the tech said that she would come in to put on the machine if she noticed that I wasn't breathing enough. I remember her coming in...me thinking that she was setting up the machine in the middle of the night. Nope, it was morning and time to get up. LOL I was so afraid that I was going to wake up and have to go to the bathroom. But I didn't even do that. Hopefully not everyone has such a horrible time with this test! I'm sorry that some of you had such bad experiences!! That stinks.

Mine was about that long. I went in at about 12:30, thinking i'd be done with plenty of time. i didn't get home until almost 4pm to go get my son from the school bus. They had me filling out questionairres, and it took them awhile to evaluate them. The part of actually sitting in with the psychologist was maybe 30 minutes? They were very throurough. lol I guess not a bad thing...they wanted to make sure that patients are mentally sound enough, in the right place in life, and knew what to expect afterwards. It was a military treatment facility.... if that makes a difference.

I was wondering, for those of you that had to be on the monitored diet before hand, how much weight you lost during it? The holidays totally derailed me of making progress with this (but that's why I'm here, right? lol) Anyway, I've only lost 10 pounds so far, in the past 4.5 months. My doctor hasn't given me a set amount to lose before the surgery. I guess I just feel like I should be doing better! lol

I also have Tricare West, but we have a big giant miliary hospital here at JB Elmendorf/Richardson. The bariatric surgeon here actually mostly performs the gastric sleeve. But he is a military surgeon, so there is no jumping through hoops with insurance. I know where your confusion comes in though, because Tricare actually says it doesn't cover the vertical sleeve gastrectomy. So...i dunno! The best thing to do would be to go and talk to your PCM and see what they say. They'll refer you to a surgeon and you'll go from there! Good luck!!

I should also be getting sleeved sometime in March. I'm up in Alaska and will be getting it done at a military hospital where everything is just kind of in house. Next month will be the end of my 6 months of monitored weight loss. I've done meetings with my surgeon, NUT, a weightloss group, psych eval, sleep study, submitted past endoscopy/colonoscopy results, bloodwork, so I'm really at the tail end! I get butterflies when I think about it coming up. I'm so nervous, but excited at the same time! I won't find out my exact date until next month when I meet with the surgeon again. My sister, who is a Nurse Practicioner, and my Mom, a Registered Dietician, will be coming up to stay with me when I get it done, so I feel a little less stressed/anxious about the procedure and recovery. My surgeon was pleased when i told him that, to say the least! LOL!