goodlife

I paid $13,600 for my surgery and that includes a year of complication coverage and office visits and also visits with the nut.

I do believe that's one way to describe it. For me it's not in my throat but right at the top of my tummy.

Welcome and I'm glad you found us. You will not regret the decision to have the sleeve! I love my sleeve!

I love broccoli and have it several times a week without issue. I also love salad and that goes down fine too. Actually I haven't come across anything at all that doesn't go down just fine.

Hi there...I'm glad you found us! I can't even imagine how frustrated I'd be if I was in your shoes...even though it's the correct way to do it. You want to be as healthy as possible to have your surgery to minimize risk and complications. It WILL happen...I know it's hard to wait. When I finally made up my mind to do it..I wanted to have surgery like THAT day...lol Have you started working on that 25 lbs or do you no longer have to do that?

Yesterday made 2 months since I had my surgery. As of this morning I'm down 34 lbs since surgery and 58 lbs since I started this journey back in the middle of March. I lost 20 lbs the first month and 14 the 2nd month. I was really hoping for 20 the 2nd month also but it just wasn't to be! At 1 month out I took measurements and I had lost 24.5 inches at that point. At 2 months out I've lost an additional 6.25 inches for a grand total of 30.75 inches. I love my sleeve and have had NO regrets whatsoever. There's definitely a learning curve and one thing I have to learn is to slow down when eating and learn where the overfull line is so I'll quit crossing it. Being overfull now is a different feeling than before. It can be quite uncomfortable for a bit. I've not ever had a single problem with nausea and I've never vomited. My stomach is pretty tough that way. I have to say it's been pretty easy so far. My husband and I just got back yesterday from an anniversary trip to Niagara Falls. I was worried about it a bit knowing I'd have to try to get all my Protein from food alone as I didn't bring any Protein drinks with me and there was no smoothie king there. I did fine. I made good choices and it wasn't hard at all. I didn't keep track though. I know I didn't get in enough fluids. Eating out for every meal for the last 4-5 days really hit home though just how little I could eat. I wasted a LOT of food. Foodwise I haven't cheated but I have had cocktails on occasion. I don't stress about it. I had this surgery to change my life and force a lifestyle change..I accept that and EMBRACE that but I plan to still enjoy the things I like and that means having a drink at dinner on occasion or when I'm vacationing at the beach with friends. Hey...I'm a coonass from South Louisiana....we drink. It's just part of who we are! lol A few observations I've made about how I've changed for the better so far. 1. When at the beach a few weekends ago, I could walk from the end of the walkway through the sand to the beach without having to stop and take a breather. 2. Hubby and I this past weekend in Niagara Falls walked a LOT...uphill and downhill...up and down steps and I handled it fine. If we had done that a year ago I would have had to stop and take breaks, my back would have been killing me and I would have hated it. 3. Sex is much more enjoyable now. I have way more energy, stamina, and uhh..mobility. We can do so much more than we could before and just feeling better about myself allows me to enjoy it more. We just "fit" better now! LOL 4. I've started trying on clothes in my closet that hasn't fit in a good long while and today I'm wearing a pair of jeans that I haven't been able to fit into in over 2 years. SCORE! 5. I was comfortable in the airplane seats and the seatbelt fit with room to spare! Things to work on and general observations. 1. Exercise. I'm barely doing any exercise but as I start to gain energy and feel better I'm finding a little more motivation to do some. Baby steps. 2. That time of the month. So I've noticed that my body seems to do better at losing weight the first two weeks of my cycle. From the time I ovulate until I'm finished my period, I pretty much stall out. Then I'll have a fairly big drop and then steady loss for the next two weeks....Weird huh? 3. I need to work on my Vitamins. All my Vitamin levels were good for my last bloodwork but I'm not so good at taking them consistently. I couldn't take those chewables anymore and my surgeon said I could start taking the regular vitamins as long as I could swallow them. Well hell yeah I can swallow them. I just forget to....sigh. It's on my needs improvement list. Well that's all I can think of right now. I was going to post a before pic and a now pic but we've misplaced the before pics. Don't ask...way too many cameras and computers. We'll find them eventually I suppose. Oh and I'm finally down to under 100 lbs to go...heehee. Thanks to all of you here for your support and friendship. I would be so lost without all of you guys!

Sheryl, you will get there and the pass it up and keep right on going. You're doing great!

LOL! That's a good goal to have!

How much do you have to lose?

Congratulations...I can't wait to get there!

No...but hi friend!

Welcome MaryAnn....best of luck to you for a smooth surgery and speedy recovery. Keep us posted on your progress!

Can you give us an idea of what you're eating on a daily basis? Are you getting in all of your protein and fluids?

What are you eating that you are already regaining weight?

I've had problems pretty consistently. I was told to sip on Milk Of Magnesia in those early weeks. That definitely works but I totally can't stomach that stuff anymore. Just thinking about it makes me want to puke. It got to the point where I had to take a stimulant laxative a couple of times. I'm doing better now that I've begun eating some veggies and salad but when I think about it I add some miralax to my smoothies. I tried taking Colace pills but that did nothing for me. If I notice I haven't gone in days and days, then I will take a dulcolax to get things moving. There is totally not even close to enough fiber in my diet!

He's doing great...and so are you! congrats to both of you and I love that you guys get to do this together!

Thanks swift....we've been wondering where you've been. Please drop into chat one night when you can. I'd love to hear about your progress!

Renee...it IS drastic but drastic is what we need! I want a decent quality of life back and I'm getting there. Before surgery, I had pretty much become sedentary and didn't like to do much of anything but sit around. It was just too much effort and I was uncomfortable and hated the way I looked. I even skipped my class reunions because I didn't want those people to see me so fat. I'm definitely planning to go to the next one though! My husband and I are going to go and play tennis this week. That's something I always loved to do but got too fat to do. I can't wait! There are so many things I'm looking forward to being able to do again...I could kick myself for allowing me to get that out of hand with my weight....back problems or not. I truly feel like this surgery has saved my life. It might be drastic...but it's way better than the alternative...which is life as a fat couch potato and likely an early death. I choose life!

Glad to hear it all went well! Congratulations and best wishes for a smooth recovery.

Congrats! I remember reading your posts when you had your surgery. I had just found this site! 4 months has passed rather quickly hasn't it?

Thanks for gracing us with your presence and posting! It's good to hear from someone 2 years out. I have a question for you...do you think you're able to maintain so easily because of portion control (please define average size meal) or is it more the amount of exercise you're doing...perhaps a combination of both. What was your diet like before surgery? Portion size? Were you a grazer? In other words...what kind of lifestyle changes (other than the hiking) have you made to be successful?

How awesome! Congratulations!

Hi and welcome to both of you. Congratulations on taking the step to a new and improved life! Keep us updated on your progress!

Hi and welcome. We're neighbors. I live in Mandeville. Congratulations on your surgery!

Wow! That's AWESOME! You've lost a whole person! I can't imagine how good that must feel!