Dub

coffee helps me kill any cravings. Then some exercise will finish it off.

The sleeve is an excellent tool.

The folks that want to do their part to ensure a safe surgery follow it to a tee. The ones that find they can't would be best served to delay their surgeries as they simply are not ready and need more time to get their mental game ready for the changes needed.

Here is another brand that is even better: http://www.bumblebee.com/products/tuna/?page_num=2 do you mix them with anything else? is one packet enough? Thanks! Nope. Simply rip the top open and grab a fork and go to town. On pouch was a meal for me up until I hit the 6 month point. Then I started having two. Those look amazing, especially the buffalo-style pack. Can you eat it from the pouch, or does it have to be mixed with anything? I eat them right from the pouch.

My thoughts....?????' Get yer man to provide something more interesting.

"We are going through so much right now" ^^^^^^^ all the more reason to proceed and do this for YOU. He'll likely come around and support you when he sees how much better you feel after your weight loss starts steamrolling in the right direction and you realize that you now have complete and total control of your weight. You can drive it to any body size you wish to drive it. It takes discipline, work, planning and dedication.....but YOU will be in control. It's an amazing process and one full of self discovery. It may feel a bit selfish now....when there are other problems in the mix....but trust & believe that taking a couple weeks to have the surgery and recover is absolutely going to show improvements in every single aspect of your life. Rock this surgery and rock your new self. Have fun and have no regrets.

I was told to expect 7 months using my insurance to cover. All sorts of bullcrap was pulled by them. I wound up telling insurance company to kiss my ass and I self-funded after two months of supervised weight loss. I was sleeved a few weeks later. That is outstanding that you were able to get 100% coverage.

Well done. Took my 17 year old and several of his friends to Carowinds two weeks ago. I was suckered into riding a beast of a rollercoaster with them. Scared my old arse to death. Crazy times, but fun times. I'm not into rollercoasters....at all......but I couldn't resist the urge to sit in the seat and buckle up and slam down the harness lock with vigor and fit in there just fine. The near 100 mph freefall a couple minutes later.............aw hell no.....never again, lol.

These little bad boys are the ticket !!!! I keep my desk drawer at work stocked with them. http://starkist.com/products/pouches

I tend to take a non-verbal approach with idiots like that. A deep breath.....inflated chest cavity.....cross my arms and give 'em a squinty eyed stare. A slight nod of the head back and forth is my clue to them not to push things further. Some don't get it though.....they thrive on being stupid. One....a younger upper manager at work (who's on the fast track for world domination with my employer)......kept on badgering me about my weight. The last time he did it was at the salad bar in our cafeteria. I had just finished a fast lunchtime workout in the gym and was grabbing a Protein loaded side salad from the bar. Minding my own bidness.....just trying to get what I needed.....grab and go. So he comes over and asks me, "Well, well, well.....look who we have here. Salad huh? So, guy, what are you up to now ? What's your weight up to now ?" He keeps on with this while getting my eggs and chicken chunks. I should add at this point that he's one of those pencil necked nerdy types who thinks that cross country running is the only fitness that matters. Again with the questions about my weight. I turn to him....lean over so nobody else can hear and say, "Why don't you ask your wife what I weigh, Michale.....she's felt all of it". Then I go back to my salad. He slammed his dayplanner down on the counter and made an odd noise with his throat and walked off. We have yet to speak again. A little more to the story is that this guy is on an unprecedented career trajectory.....My boss reports to the person that reports to this guy. His wife, who I've never met, is a saint of a woman. She's very active in their church and plays in the local symphony. They are puritans and live a clean life and are great family people. I probably should've handled the situation differently....but I'd enough of his badgering. Clearly he pursued the matter because I was asked by a member of HR about any "conversations" between us. I couldn't recall any real specifics and stuck with that. Seemed to satisfy them. I'm probably screwed, but I'll certainly not be bothered by his stupidity again.....at least not in the area of my weight.

Crappy knees? Check. Hurt to bend? Check. Knee replacements in the fairly near future? Check Ongoing need to exercise to help with weight loss and overall health? Check, check, freakin' check !!! I'm in the same boat. Sometimes it feels like the boat is taking on Water and the sails are shot full of holes. I have zero medical training other annual first aid, CPR and the like. So take anything I ever say with a grain of salt.......and extreme skepticism, lol. I'm just a fat guy trying to get less fat, more healthy and stay active up through the nursing home years and beyond. When I was pre-op I was told, "Great news, fella, you have a high enough BMI that there's no risk of you falling below the minimums for insurance to cover the surgery......so....we need to see you lose some serious weight prior". Lucky me, right ? The fact that I never used insurance due to their bs delay tactics and shenanigans is an entirely different story. I did engage in the pre-op challenge of losing weight and dropped 55 lbs prior to surgery. Due to a back injury (the final catalyst that helped me make the decision to have wls) I was sorta hemmed up and not really able to do much in the arena of exercise. My only real hope at weight loss was to work on the other side of the equation.....reducing caloric intake. I began with their recommended low calorie diet, but soon moved into more of a low carb approach and did so with an eye on total calories, too. The scale began to move along nicely, even though my own movement was minimal. Once post op the weight loss continued at a better clip and exercise was easier to do. The more progress I made.....the more progress I could make....and so forth. Knees suck, though, and I didn't heed my doctor's warning. Gym work was too fun and I continued to pound the treadmill and elliptical like a beast. Enthusiastic newbie overkill occurred. Now.....ten months later I'm having significant daily issues with the knees....both are beyond the timeframe the ortho docs said would be my" replacement age". I wish I could go back to the month after surgery and approach it differently.....I would have joined a different gym....one with a swimming pool and used it for frequent lap swimming. As it is, I've been sidelined from cardio for over a month and it sucks. The stationary bike is about it for the time being. I may still do the swimming pool, however, that spot is miles out of my way and has a prohibitive lap swim schedule. My work hours over the next few months are amped up as well. Careful weight training and stationary bike as well as much walking on the job are the ticket for me know. Please.....please.....carefully consider the recommendations for aqua fitness. The water is where it's at in terms of safety.

Nope. Ten months out and I think I've been sick only twice.....neither times were sleeve related.

I feel the same way. Very glad my surgeon approved my using Advil at my 3 month check-in.

We have them at my surgeon's office. I never bothered. I'll order what I want, box up leftovers for a later meal or simply share at the table. Cards, coupons and such aren't worth the aggravation to me. Plus....I don't care to have to break out the "card" with the waiter.....then have to have them check with their manager.....and go through all that hassle.

You are gonna do great. The liquid diet and the post op healing period where liquids are really all I wanted worked wonders to help me forget about food. I found that I didn't miss it and enjoyed the weirdness of living off the Protein shakes. One look at the label of the Premier Protein and the Chike brand powders that I was using was enough to convince me that drinking the 3-4 shakes per day was giving me everything i needed to thrive. Even now.....I'll get in a "stall" period where the scale doesn't move to my liking for a few days......and a few days on liquid diet will resolve it and get things amped up again. It's a tool that has served me well beyond the early days and one I'll use for life. You are gonna do great.

Thanks......I'm sitting down and relaxing a bit before getting ready to go in for a long night shift. Guess what's close at hand ? Yup....a big ole cup of dark roasted Community coffee brand with Splenda & Premier Protein (vanilla) mixed in. Ah......what a great way to start my "day". Coffee is an integral part of my life. I no longer smoke cigs, even though I do enjoy a cigar on certain occasions..... I no longer drink diet or regular sodas........ I only cuss on certain occasions that arise daily........ I'm well mannered in traffic.....except I believe the speed limit is more of a suggestion than anything else..... I've made significant progress with becoming a solid citizen.........but I will retain certain vices.....the ones that bring me great pleasure and are small scale evils......such as coffee. FWIW, I'd have told my surgeon to piss off had he not okay'd me to enjoy the mean Beans again. Lucky for me he condoned the stuff once my turbo sleeve was good 'n healed. Now....were this a day off......I may even do something totally crazy.....replace the Premier Protein with Kaluha or Bailey's Irish and get this party started righteously........

The fact that your PCP is an ass is reason enough to move on to a better doctor. The fact that he is an ass doesn't mean what he said isn't true, though. I am pleasantly amazed every few weeks at the health improvements I've seen since losing some of the weight I am working towards losing.

Diet cranberry (5 calories per serving) and Tito's (or other quality vodka). Another one is the 5 calorie per serving margarita mixer and any 100% Blue Agave silver tequila.

Space out your shakes at even time intervals for when you are awake. Stay super hydrated in between. Keep in mind at all times that this is for your safety.....shrink your liver....you taking an action to better ensure a great result with your surgery. We've all been there and understand. It's a short timeframe. You will lose weight at a really impressive rate during this timeframe. Great way to glide into surgery already losing weight. It's all going to be great. You can do this....it's only a short time.

I crushed or chewed mine up the first couple weeks.

I have been enjoying strong coffee every single day since my three month postop appointment with my surgeons approval. It's created zero problems.

oSeems like a bad idea. Don't torture yourself like this.

I've had a few surgeries over the years........the days after each were sorta cruddy. It's to be expected. They were to repair torn or broken parts. The WLS has more cerebral implications, though. Nothing physically was broken.....just how I chose to use it. It took a while to get my mind wrapped around the changes I'd just made and that a better life awaited me if I chose to support my surgeons efforts. The temporary aggravation of more liquid diet didn't help my spirits, but I knew it was just a short phase while my new stomach healed. Fast forward a few weeks and my outlook was extremely positive. It's remained that way, too. This surgery has deeper commitment of action and effort for me than a knee repair or some other routine patch up of an injury. This particular surgery just prolonged my life and improved the quality of it if I so chose to follow the simple instructions. It gets better folks. The first week or two are simply that.....a first week or two where you are healing. Deep breaths and relax. You'll feel spectacular very soon.

You'll get there. Off to a great start.

Yes. I work in a manufacturing plant staffed with 1,800 people. I've been there since the plant was being constructed. Folks at work know me well. They've seen me grow to my highest weight. They've seen me limping around with one injury or another over the years. Since last October they've seen me lose weight, yet again....only this time the loss has been steady....and fast....and gone lower than with any other attempt. They approach with wide ranging comments at least a couple times a week. I've chosen to be 100% open about the wls and what it's has been like. Some of them are very curious and have desires to have wls as well. I spend much more time and follow up with them later on to help answer any question I can and refer them to the areas Bariatric Center of Excellence. Outside of coworkers, I've had similar conversations with family and neighbors. IT's a positive aspect of wls....being able to share with others and hope either they or someone they are close with can benefit from this, too.