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You went through the wringer it sounds like......but you made it !!!!!! We had the same surgery date. Cool. I'll bet you'll give your very best after having to go through so much to get the surgery and then have the extended hospital stay. The Diva will return.

Poor choice of words on my part. I truly love my dogs. They've brought a great deal of pleasure to every member of the family and are great pals. They wouldn't have known any better and it would have been 100% my fault. That being said, it's been easy to take precautions for small dogs. A large cat that can jump........that scares me as sore as I am now. That's why I suggested a crate for those times when your guard is down and you are resting.

Man, that is awesome. It sure is mighty refreshing to read posts like yours where you aren't asking when you can have pizza, doughnuts and Twinkies....... So refreshing to read about you passion for exercise. There is no doubt that you will kill it !!!!!!! Keep posting on your progress. Great motivation for the rest of us.

I have two dogs that I love dearly. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for those two dogs. That being said, I would have choked the life out of either/both had they jumped on my abdominal area during recovery. Sad, because it would have been my own stupid fault they had access to my anyway. I've simply ensured they were on the floor or safety situated. Most of the time when seated or laying down I've had a body pillow over my abdomen. A crate may be a wise investment during your healing up time.

Different bariatric centers, different surgeons and most importantly different patient circumstances. Stick to your surgeon's plan and you won't get barked at by them. Go in there and tell them that you deviated to something you saw on the internet........and you'll see their blood pressure rise.

Most of them have a ramp feature that will start out at a low level and over the next 20 minutes will reach full force and stay there. The difference with and "auto" machine as I understand it is that there isn't a preset max. It fluctuates as needed. My two machines have pre-set maxes that I can't tamper with. As I grew older additional sleep test showed I needed a stronger machine. I want to get a new "auto" machine so I can be done with the aggravating sleep studies and it can fluctuate down as my weight drops.

Thank you. My spelling sucks and spellcheck software seemed to be toggled off when I typed the above post. I'm not kidding about the local food. South Carolina has it all and they pride themselves in killing you one bite at a time. No offense South Carolinians, please. I only poke at you. I mainly grew up in North Carolina and now live in Georgia. At least I didn't get started on 'nanna puddin'. Kool aid didn't kill me as a kid........all my favorite foods didn't kill me as an adult........I was fortunate. Maybe there's hope for me yet.

Outstanding !!!! I'm going to schedule a visit with my regular doctor soon and see about getting a new sleep study scheduled and getting an updated auto machine. I snored horribly since my childhood so I'm under no illusions that I'll be able to give it up in a few months.

Keep focused on the progress. The truth of it for me was the food no longer tasted good nor was enjoyable when I was grossly overeating. Maybe it's just lost it's importance for you. I mean, you need it to live......but you it doesn't have to be something that you hope to get great enjoyment from. Sure, some is good. Some is great. And some is bad. I'll bet your tastes are in a state of change and you'll get dialed in to what is both tasty and healthy really soon.

I can say one thing.......you live in a tough area. I, too, live in this tough area. I'm a two hour drive from almost anywhere in the state of South Carolina. Why is it tough ? Because South Carolina has the best tasting food in the world. Hands down, no kidding, real deal best tasting food I've ever had. Best tasting.....but not best-for-us. Everything that Paula Dean used to cook.....South Carolina's got all that and more and more and more. The good news is that there ARE healthy versions of the state's classics. Paula's son wrote a book, titled something like, "From Momma's Kitchen to Mine" or close to it. He takes her artery clogging recipes and rewrites them in a much lower calorie, healthier way and retains great flavor. Sweat tea. Good Lord.....sweet tea. Who in the heck thought to add 19 cups of sugar to a gallon of tea ?????? Local folks, that's who. That stuff is good as heck, too. I haven't been able to drink it or regular soft drinks for years and years, thankfully. Once I switched over to Splenda & Stevia there is no way I can handle that sugar poison. Even the cocktails down here are highly caloric. It's like they take a sugary child's drink and then spike it with the most sugary based alcohol. Fortunately there are tons of ways you can enjoy a cocktail or two down in due time that don't involve sugary poison. Our age old family recipes......another source of death. There isn't a single older family recipe that I grew up with that is healthy. Even the Soup is death in bowl. I'm grateful that my parents adopted very healthy eating and will be here much longer as a result. The Grandmother's and Aunt's recipes, though......taste great....but you'll die young eating them. Golden Corrals and the like are on every corner. All you can eat death. Now they advertise to-go boxes. What the hell ? All you can eat garbage....with a to-go box thrown in. Our only decision is burial or cremation. For me it was getting to be an easy choice. My prospective pallbearers were all going...."No way, bro. We can't carry yo big arse". "Those freaks that go to the gym". That is how a close family member described a couple of their friends who'd become health conscious. "Freaks" they became. Sadly, it is true. Not many folks in my family and only one in my wife's entire family go to a gym with any regularity. It's the norm among many families around here. Why go to the gym when we can stay at home and have sweet tea ? Bojangles. The folks around this site that don't already know about Bojangles have a distinct advantage to the weight loss game. I know for a fact that I've gained hundreds of pounds in my lifetime from the fuel I"ve chosen to eat form Bojangles. Lawd it was like fried crack rock. So good you wanted to slap yo mamma. Home made ice cream. I don't know if this is a Southern thing or not....but it seams that way. Somehow my dear Grandfather could take something wholesome like peaches or blueberries......and turn them into a semi-frozen treat that was loaded with sugar and fat. It was so good that my cousins and I would sit there an drool while we spelled him cranking the handle on the ice cream maker. Drooling like the little addicts we were. Fried chicken. My Grandmother could fry chicken that would have me eating the bones and all it was so damn good. I can still remember seeing her adding salt into the batter bag......... Homemade pickles. My Grandfather used to make watermelon rind pickles that folks begged for all year long. "When are you going to make another batch, J.D. ?". No kid should like pickles as much as I did. It's because he loaded them with sugar. Seafood. Only around here can we take an inherently healthy food and go screw it up in the name of flavor. Broiled grouper is great......but fried grouper is something else entirely. Flavor for days. her battered catfish.....oh yeah....almost every week. Shrimp 'n grits...........death, death, double death. I"m sure every region has it's share of culinary pitfalls....I'm just familiar with the local versions. Way too familiar Guess what ? All that above are the sins of other people and don't have to be ours. We can have fun through other means than poisoning ourselves just because our ancestors and locale restauranteurs want us to. There is a new theme that is going on in restaurants......virtually every local one, too.....a healthy theme. Bariatric friendly meals can be had anywhere Breakfast, lunch and dinner. The grocery store even has easy microwave bariatric friendly meals in the freezer sections. Convenience can be had. There is nothing fun about food addiction. By definition food ceased being fun is a source of pain, self loathing, resentment, etc. By taking charge and losing the weight you want to lose and living in control you will be able to once again have fun with food. You'll have zero guilt. You'll enjoy the preparation and the partaking. Many new healthy recipes await you. The spice world caters to us now more than ever......sugar free......sodium free.........wonderful tasting spices. We'll be able to get it right. We'll be able to teach our kids a healthier way and they will do it without thought. Imagine how much fun you can have when you are living at your goal weight. Mobility up. Pain down. Looming health issues averted. Imagine how much more appealing you'll find shopping for clothes and how great it will feel to wear the clothes that you've always wanted to wear but were not able to. You are just a couple days away from the rest of your life. Think about how much longer and more fun this life will be at goal weight. You've got this !!!!!!!!!!

5th day out here. I take my time and work through 3 a day. I'll sip on i for a while....pu the lid back on and it goes back into the fridge for a while. I'm sorta behind today. I've had 1.5 of the 3. I've been more pushy on my Water.

Are you supposed to be eating solid foods now? Many of these bars are very dense and not only take forever to chew, but I suspect would work a new stomach really hard.....thus the reasons we are put on shakes initially. There is also unflavored Protein powder that mixes fine with Water. Please be safe. Don't push your new stomach beyond where your surgeon has planned.

I agree! I haven't had surgery yet (3 days away) but I've already canceled my one week post op plans bc my dr said for the first 3 weeks my only job is to get outta bed, sip, sip, sip, and heal! I think that's wise. Plus you'll still have sutures that are healing. The last thing you want is unnecessary exposure to germs and folks with colds, flu, pneumonia, etc. There will be tons of time in the future you'll want to go out. Your energy level and desire to have fun is going to grow and grow. Good luck with your surgery next week.

I plan on losing 1/2 my bodyweight. Yes, I told. Any other cover story would have come across as ridiculous. The folks that matter will see how hard I work in the gym and know that I'm adhering to the diet plan strictly. I didn't do this to deceive anyone, impress anyone or for any other reason that to improve my health. If they want to make fun or think poorly of me for having wls then it's just Water off a duck's back. I will be the one benefiting from my health. I already know that I have the full support of my family and close friends.

There are a lot of drugs that have to work through your system. A basic headache is no mystery. Now a blood clot is a different story. Have you been up and moving around frequently ? I'm just getting through the same timeframe myself. The pain meds gave me a mild headache.

My surgeon is very strict and has been since day one. Our program has two nutritionist. One seems more strict as well. I will try to direct all my future appointments to her. The surgeon has been very open with his concerns and the future possibilities. I have faith in his abilities, insight and direction. I am following his plan to the letter. It was truly sad to me in our various group sessions with the surgeon, nutritionists and others that many of the patients do not wish to put for much effort to change. We are having freaking surgery to assist us with weight loss and we don't want to make changes ? It really shocked me. What saddened me is that there didn't seem to be much "weeding out" as we progressed through our timelines leading up to surgery. Many had the same complaints and wanted to be told that doughnuts and pizza would be just fine. Some of the folks, though, some....were outstanding. They showed tremendous motivation and were very inquisitive during the group sessions. They asked very well though out questions and I must say were a benefit to the group's progress. I hope to encounter them in the future to shake their hands and thank them. I had the benefit of my own Q&A sessions with the surgeon, group sessions, reading the Big books and the session & videos from the psychiatrist. My family doctor helped me better understand what I needed to ask and be clear on. Ultimately, it came down to trusting my surgeon. He has done his initial work inside my body and now I"m awaiting for his ongoing instruction. I have faith that I will reach my goals. I am grateful for the education I received leading up to this surgery and I really feel like the phycological evaluation process should have been longer and more thorough. I still feel like the mind is our greatest tool on weight loss and maintaining it.

Thank you.

I've never used anything other than a shaker bottle, Water and ice. Vigorous shaking is all that's been required for total blending of any powder I've tried.

Big day is coming !!!! You are going to do great !!!!!!!!!!

Then only eat the amounts you are supposed to eat and on the schedule you are supposed to eat them. Follow the guidelines your surgeon and nutritionist established for you. Eating until you are satisfied isn't the goal. Getting proper nutrition is. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but it simply is the truth. It's the same truth that all healthy people live with.

Really? When do you suggest weigh ins? When I was newly sleeved, I only weighed at my doctors appointments. Now, I weigh no more than once a week. I now better understand why this is a great strategy. I should've thought it through before I stepped up on the scales. My abdominal area is still real puffy and swollen around the hernia (just like the surgeon said it would). It's obvious that there is Fluid retention in my body. I should have known intuitively that the scale would read higher. I guess I felt that since I'd had no food intake on Tuesday and only one shake on Wednesday that the scale would would reflect this. It all makes perfect sense and doesn't bother me a bit. I'm taking all my Vitamins according the recommended dosing schedule provided by my NUT and getting 3 shakes in a day along with almost 200 ounces of Water. I know that I will see some friendly readings soon. It's simply a matter of my body getting regulated and flushing out this fluid. Also began taking the recommended Milk of Magnesia today....hoping for some constipation relief. I'm still a wimp with the sore hernia region and don't want any uneeded internal pressure. Life is good. I have a fairly early appointment with my surgeon tomorrow. I'm planning on driving myself as getting in/out of my pickup is really easy. It will feel good to get out for a while. He'll probably chastise me for not running in a 5k event this weekend. He was a bit of a taskmaster in the hospital. I can hear his football coach-like voice "Get up.....get moving.....no sleep for you !!!" while I was in and out of the pain killer haze. Dude was relentless. I'm grateful for it, too. A lot of healing happened in that 36 hour hospital stay. The last two days my body has seemed to really come around more and more. Good stuff.

Well done !!!!!!

I was sleeved on the 13th and started Milk of Magnesia today. It is all my surgeon suggested for constipation. Hope it works.

Well done, Sharon. You have arrived. If we never reach that point then no amount of surgery will help.

You are going to want extra pillows....many of them. You'll need them in the hotel bed to elevate yourself and support the sides of your abdomen. That would be my top priority with the hotel.....securing these extra pillows. I'm on day 6 from sleeve & umbilical hernia repair and have only experienced pain and discomfort from the hernia. I don't know if this is normal or if I've just been lucky. I still use a crutch every time I stand up. The first 90 seconds after standing is painful and the crutch helps steady me. Once I'm walking, all is well. Slip on tennis shoes are awesome. New Balance makes a version for men & women. You can easily step in and step out of them. Very supportive during walking, too. Great comfort.....I am very, very glad to have these. Several days supply of bottled Water. it'll be easy to keep track of your water intake as well as sanitary. No hotel tap water. Pre-mixed Protein drinks. You may not feel like having to use a shaker bottle and then have to wash and sanitize it. Tossing several protein shakes in the hotel fridge will work so much easier. My tastes did not change at all after the surgery. I like the same ones I liked before. I did, however, stick to the thinner shakes. I felt these were easier on my new stomach. Loose fitting comfortable clothes. I've been chilling with UnderArmour pants and t-shirts. They are loose from the pre-op weight loss and perfect for the slight swelling I've had post op. Good books and magazines to read. An iPad and some ear buds for your iTunes has been great, too. No obligations. No appointments (other than your surgeon). No shopping or going out. Your only job is to heal. You don't want the exposure to germs. Now is not the time to pick up a cough or sneeze. Frequent sips of water and frequent standing and walking around. Whatever laxative your surgeon recommends if you need it. You don't want to be straining or having undue internal pressure at this time. Best wishes !!!!!!