CanyonBaby

I am so sorry for your pain, I sure hope you feel better soon. I know this sounds strange, but have you tried putting cold cucumber slices on your eyes? The cooling sensation may ease your discomfort. I like using natural sources as much as I can, whenever I can, and this does ease my headaches, but I don't have migraines. I will keep you in my prayers. God Bless...

I called them my "last meals", enjoyed things I knew I wouldn't have again for awhile, if at all. But now that it's over - the surgery, that is - I am glad I did it (the last meals) because now I am free of all that! A suggestion for those who are SOOO very hungry in your pre-op stage, dealing with how hungry you are: sugar-free popsicles. LOTS of them! They give you the chewing factor you need, the crunch (which you won't have for awhile after surgery), and little-to-no calories. They saved my (now disappearing) bacon!

Remember, head hunger is now playing a serious role in your life. If you can get a good grip on it now, in your newly-sleeved days, it'll help later on down the road. And acid will play a role in your feeling "hungry", too. I know with my sleeve, if I mentally "feel" how heavy my sleeve feels, I can tell if it is full or not. Also, are you feeling the top of the sleeve - do you sense it being topped-off? I definitely can feel that, especially if too much has gone in. A suggestion, if you will, would be to slow down even slower than you are eating now, so you can maybe sense that fullness a little better. Be careful for the chunks of veggies and fruit, as Elode said. You don't want to chance something getting in those staples and causing havoc. Good luck to you on your new journey!

Retiring?! Ha! The work is just beginning! But, seriously, mega congrats, and God Bless you both on your new journey!

Down 39lbs, had a few short stalls, but NUT says I'm on track. I don't want to lose too fast for fear of losing even more hair than I already am. I get all my protein, vitamins...and then some. Protein can sometimes be a battle still, especially if I've been out all day and forgot to take a shake with me. Always something!

Vitamin D is notorious for making people nauseous, and I take a lot of it for several reasons. I battle the nausea by taking Calcium with it, works great. Your multi vitamin probably has D in it, so try taking you Vitamins on a sleeve that has food in it, it should help your nausea. Just don't take your Iron with the calcium, wait a few hours between iron and calcium. Good luck to you!

Look into pea protein as another source, I haven't tried it yet, but you can find it on Amazon.com. Good luck to you!

I take a lot of vitamins daily, not only for the sleeve, but for my hyperparathyroidism, so I especially load up on vitamin D. It, in particular, can cause a lot of nausea, so it's important to take it with calcium, as they kinda need each other to work right, anyway. And if you take iron, don't take it with the calcium, the calcium will block iron's absorption. I have found that taking the vitamins right after eating (if you are already sleeved, I find to drink only a sip or two to get them down) will eliminate the nausea. So my daily plan of attack is taking most of the vitamins (minus the iron) after breakfast, then wait 2 or more hours to take the iron, then wait two or more hours to take the rest of my calcium (I do two doses of calcium a day). My dietician is in agreement with my plan, and it seems to work for me without any icky (technical term) after effects. Good luck to you!

WOW! Make sure you let us all know how you're doing, you are an inspiration with your go-getter attitude! Keep your chin up, and you're in my prayers....God bless...

Welcome, I'm sure you'll find lots of support here, and lots of folks who you'll have lots in common with. Just ask, and someone is bound to answer! Good luck to you!

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and behold, Elode! Just think of how beautiful your daughter saw you as you came out of your surgery! And with all the wisdom and compassion with which you have answered SOOOO many questions, you ARE truly beautiful, and that's not even lookin' at your lovely locks!

@@Shell88 Excellent way to put it "is worth a lifetime to me" - that's it in a nutshell!!!

@@Miss Mac Oh my. You have exhausted me! Great article!

Life is tough. Gets tougher with age. So how do we deal with it? For me personally, my faith in Jesus sees me through it all. May I suggest you ask your father (who will always be with you) to walk with you. Eat with you. Be beside you through everything you do and are going through. Ask him to exercise with you, SEE him next to you as you do your routine, eat your meals and go through your day. His spirit is always with you, you just can't physically see him anymore. But you know him well enough to know he would never leave you. God Bless you, and have peace.

I have heard a lot of nightmare stories regarding the lapband, which is why I chose the sleeve. I also chose it so I could continue taking my n-saids for my arthritis, without the ulcer-type problems associated with the other gastric surgeries. Since you have issues with your knee(s), you, too, may have arthritis over time, and the n-saids really help my pain, so maybe your's, as well. It is definitely a lifestyle change, but is worth it for all the benefits that come with it (if you follow the rules), such as better diabetes management (if not, like me, diabetes is now gone), lower cholesterol and blood pressure. And of course, reduced arthritis pain from the lesser weight upon those joints. Both ways (doing it yourself or using the sleeve as a tool) to lose weight will work, if you stick to all the rules for each, but for me getting the weight off as quickly as I could was the way to go since my diabetes was getting out of control. Good luck to you!

Only? What were you told you would lose? Everyone will be different, but I think 1 lb a day is great, and maybe even too much too fast. If you lose 1 lb a day for a year (which I was told would be how long it would take to lose the 65 percent of my excess body fat), you will lose 365lbs. 365 pounds!! Your body may just lose every hair on your head from the starvation it thinks it is going through! Maybe talk with your surgical/dietician team. Good luck to you!

I believe we ALL have a ride on that rollercoaster, but when we get off, we realize (at least for most of us) that it was worth it. You have come to a good site for questions, advice, and commonalities! Just ask and someone is bound to answer!

It's understandable your confusion about the black Beans. Yes, they do have a lot of carbs, but if you subtract the grams of Fiber from the total carbs, that is what you're really getting in the carbs department. So, for example, if the carb count is 13 and the fiber count is 6, you're actually only getting 7 carbs! Fiber goes through the body, and isn't counted as carbs (at least in the diabetic world). So black beans, as well as many other types of beans, which are loaded with Protein, are actually a great source for protein! Just watch all the other ingredients that are usually added to beans for their carb and fat content. They can really sneak up on you! Like baked beans and refried beans. Good luck to you!

Most importantly, don't do anything that might hurt. If he was cleared to walk, move around...go ahead and do so, but don't overdo. Bending over or anything that might involve the torso should be done very gently, but again, was he cleared to do that? Did he have a full-open incision, or the typical 5 tiny wounds? That would dictate a lot of what he can and can't do. If you like, we can be bariatric pals via this site. Just let me know! And he should be resting, but get him up and walk him frequently, and for longer jaunts each time, but no race-running!

What kind of advice are you looking for? The best I can give without knowing your situation is to follow all the rules your surgical team gives you, to the "T", and if you feel you are having any complications, to call your team ASAP. Good luck to you both!

@@Donna Fay Yeah, I do that, too, but after a few months of them I am now so sick of the creamy shakes. They have their place, with the 30 grams of Protein (difficult to beat that), but they are getting hard to tolerate and I get so nauseated by them - any flavor. The Premier Protein Bars to me smell like mildew (now my husband disagrees with me about that, he doesn't think they smell bad at all, so I'm wondering if my smeller is defective!) and the granular texture and incredible density is very unappealing. I guess I must be getting too fussy. Time to get creative about protein! Have a good evening!

I can't say I know anything about this, but I can say if you have ANY questions, get a second opinion. It's your body, e only one you have. Good luck to you.

May I add that the sleeve, being permanent, will not allow you to change your mind, down the road, which is why I chose it. I know that if I follow the rules, I more than likely will not have re-gain, and I am committed to that. A good question to ask yourself is "how committed to this AM I?". After your informational seminar, you should be able to answer that without a doubt. Good luck to you!

@@bruni Thanks, I haven't tried those yet. They may be a good source for travelling! I have yet to find a good bottle that won't leak! Have a good evening!

@@purrfctangel Also look at GENEPRO, it has 30 grams per VERY small scoop (a little bigger than a tablespoon, I think), and is unflavored. There seems to be little info out there on it, but if it indeed is what they say it is, we may have found gold! I have been using it a while now, and I intend to ask my dietician on the 16th what her opinion is of it. Found it on Amazon.com. It mixes really well, compared to the other whey powders I've used. But I still use the other powder just in case the Genepro isn't what it claims to be and do. Have a good evening....