FocusOnMeNow

I am familiar with the difference between a DVT and a PE but as was mentioned the former can easily become the later.

Bod Smith Liquid Prenatal you can find on Amazon. Also BOD Smith has liquid calcium that goes really well with orange cream shakes.

You also could have a structure forming so call your doc who may order you an upper GI. If it's the same pill that does it every time and it never happens with any of the others then see if there is any alternative to that particular pill, formula, or capsule etc.

I did not go out to eat for three weeks, and then I was on mushies and had mashed potatoes. If you must go just bring your protein shake with you or order a glass of milk (if you are allowed milk).

Was somewhere between 6-8 weeks for me but as stated above everyone is different.

I showered with Hibiclens every day for two weeks after my surgery. And three days beforehand. Definitely no scrubbing my tummy till the scabs fell off though.

I am thankful for my sleeve, thankful for my great surgeon Amir Moazzez, grateful for my wonderful NP Kim Hohendal, grateful for my supportive friends, family, boss, colleagues and especially my sister who literally was holding my hand when I woke up from surgery. I am also grateful for all of the wonderful warnings advice and acceptance that I have found here from @@Babbs @@Elode @VSGAnn @@LipstickLady @@proudgrammy and all the countless other wonderful and insightful posters on these boards. All in all I am grateful for my new life, the chance to start over in mid life, and the wisdom to make the best decision I have ever made for myself. Of course I am also grateful that I am over three months out so that I can enjoy some turkey today but for those of you who can't because you're still on liquids, please know that you will be able to enjoy MANY more Thanksgivings in your life now that you have the sleeve, that you have the compassion, love, and acceptance of everyone in these boards, and that you've GOT THIS. You made it through the sleeve surgery and you can make it through Thanksgiving. It is a small price to pay for a lifetime of health, and you have our full support! ????

I did the Bariatric advantage shakes pre-op but for the first two weeks post op those were actually too thick. So I just resorted to premier protein vanilla (I could not fathom chocolate at that point). I drank about 4 oz at a time over the course of an hour in my little medicine cup shot glasses. Good luck!

Sometimes feelings that we have been stuffing down with food for years kind of "bubble up" when we stop stuffing them down. Try journaling, a nap, a long bath, talking to a supportive friend (and please avoid those who are not supportive at least till you feel stronger). I hate to sound hokey but let yourself feel those feelings, embrace the tears, be kind to yourself. A lot of what we do with food and other addictions is try to avoid pain, but we wind up only causing ourselves more pain in the end. So know that this is just part of the process of letting these feelings, as painful as they may be, wash over you, feel them experience them, embrace them, and then let them go. I like to russet it to popping a painful zit that has been brewing and causing you discomfort and pressure just below the surface of your skin. It can be temporarily painful to pop it but such a relief to purge that pore. Emotionally there is quite a bit brewing just below the surface as well. When you are healing from surgery, it is important to work on healing your emotional issues as well. Many of us work with a qualified therapist to help us through this process and it is something to consider. Telling your story whether in a private journal or here in a blog is helpful as well. Take care of yourself????

Those bumps on your leg could be a pulmonary embolism, the numb tongue could be first signs of a stroke. Both could be caused by a blood clot. Please proceed to the nearest emergency room!

I had absolutely zero of the complications even the credible common ones you hear about on this site. I did not take a single pain med other than Tylenol from the moment I woke up from surgery. I never regretted it for a second. In fact I almost had a high in love with myself feeling because I was so happy that I was finally taking such good care of myself after letting myself go. I do believe that an oz of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I have heard more people say that their only regret was waiting so long to get the surgery, than I have heard of complications. This was the best decision of my life and the best thing I have ever done for myself. I paid out of pocket 100% and was happy to do so. I took back control of my life and will never go back. You have to make the decision that is right for you. You will have a lot of support here to guide you. I also highly recommend you tube videos ... Just search Kstar VSG and Clusie VSG and you will see amazing results and some pretty cool Chics.

You should have had an upper GI at the hospital for your LEAK test before they released you. I would contact the radiology department and get a copy of your findings or look for it on "my chart" or similar patient portal with your other test results. The radiologist is the second opinion. Mine said "findings of surgical defect consistent with sleeve gastrectomy", no leak, no obstruction. Do NOT tip off anyone from your surgeons office that you are looking for it or else it might "get lost". They may have even recorded your upper GI. Mine even saved mine to a dvd for me. Not because I was investigating my doctor though who was brilliant and wonderful and literally did everything right but just for fun. Good luck!

I waited about 10 weeks and only could manage about 1/2 glass which made my sleeve unhappy (not quite nauseous but similar). Of course I got no buzz. My doc said to have NO alcohol for one year, and I am going to TRY to pretty much stick to it. Again I will likely have my requisite half glass with Turkey. I would really stay away from beer bc I would not want the carbonation to stretch my sleeve. I used to drink about two drinks per evening on weekdays and much more on weekends.

I'm in a PPO which unfortunately did not cover bariatric surgery but I also don't get how a PCP would "supervise" you. I went to mine to get cleared for surgery and gave them the list of labs and x rays that they needed to order and review in order to clear me for surgery. I got this list from my surgeon. Beyond that my PCP had nothing to do with the surgery but I'm sure will be pleased when I go back for my annual physical next year and I have dropped weight. @@DivaSoBlessed congratulations!

@ nope you've got that wrong. You should follow doctors orders if you don't want to plug up your lungs with a blood clot. In most cases mobility will decrease risks but in morbidly obese or anyone who was previously sedentary movement can actually shake a clot that was starting to form in the leg loose and it can circulate to your lungs and kill you. This is not a trivial matter and if you think it is please read the rest of the thread and note how many people have lost someone to a clot. Please get up with your doctor in this one.

BMI is supposed to be a surrogate for percent body fat. I recommend that you actually get your body fat professionally analyzed. I have done this and luckily it accurately matched the same results that I get with my tanita scale which gives me not only lbs but percent body fat. Weight and BMI are not the only indicators of health. You can be ripped strong and healthy with a high BMI or you can be skinny with a high percent of body fat. In that example the higher BMI might actually be healthier. Also important to understand is that you lose lean mass right along with your fat. And of course you actually want to hold onto as much lean mass as you can because that is what will help keep the weight off. Even though my BMI has dropped from 42 to 35 (sounds good right), my actual percent body fat has only dropped from 51% to about 48% (not so good). Take home message: I need to get my butt to the gym and pump some iron and build that muscle mass up. Also building up muscle is a much better way to "fill out" some of that "loose skin" which is where we are all storing some of that last to go fat. My goal is to get my BMI to "normal" aka 24 and also to get my body fat to 24% or less. Since I have already lost 19% of my weight but only 3% of my body fat, I have a feeling that I will hit the BMI & weight goal before I hit the actual body fat goal. But let's get real here... I did this for my health, not just to fit into a certain pair of jeans. I think that if you are meeting your health goals that is way more important than either your weight or your BMI. If you're strong and healthy then go for the higher BMI, but if you're flabby and weak a lower BMI doesn't necessarily equate to better health so get to the gym and get strong and healthy.

It's unconscionable to me that they would discharge anyone without nausea meds. The zofran also comes in a dissolve able format so that tab dissolved in one medicine cup of vitamin water zero rise orange was the first thing down every morning. If you wake up throwing up try a phenergan at night before you go to bed.

I added BOD Smith liquid prenatal vitamins to my vitamin water zero of various flavors. 1 Tablespoon is a full serving of vitamins and initially I could only tolerate 1 teaspoon at a time in a 20 oz vitamin water. I did three vitamin waters a day with one teaspoon liquid vitamins each

Your weight loss will slow to 2-4 lbs a week. This is natural. I only lost 12 lbs in the past month and was in a panic at the Drs appt I had on Friday. The doctor said just think about it. Losing 12 lbs in a month is a lot. I would have been thrilled with that pre WLS. So take your time, your skin and hair will thank you????

I am getting really creative with food but it takes up all of my weekend. I make this yummy pesto chicken with ratatoutille. I buy the basil pine nuts garlic olive oil parm etc and make my own pesto from scratch (you can find any number of pesto recipes at epicuious.com). Then I get a free range organic chicken around 4 lbs. rinse the cavity (remove giblets if there are any first). Add salt and pepper squeeze some fresh lemon juice inside there. Chop some onions celery and carrots. Mix several tablespoons of your pesto in with the chopped veg and stuff the bird with that mixture plus a lemon wedge rind goes in first and last. Pour some chicken broth in the bottom of the pan. If there is any leftover chopped veg pesto mix that would not fit in bird mix that in bottom of pan with chicken broth to infuse flavor. I set my bird in a little rack in the pan then slather pesto on the breast skin (which I later remove). Preheat that oven to 350 degrees F but when you actually put the chicken in turn it down to 275 degrees F and roast that bird for about 3 hours. To roast along with the bird make the ratatouille. Julienne (slice thin strips) of red peppers, zucchini, eggplant, red onions and any other veg you wish. I add about a pound of sliced mushrooms but this is not a classic ratatouille ingredient. Some folks also throw in some diced plum tomatoes (don't dare use canned here). So my 9x13 dish is completely mounded almost overflowing with veg. I put that in right next to the chicken. After 45 mins - 1 HR I stir the veg so that the ones on the bottom don't get burnt until the are fully roasted (they are fully cooked and still moist but not soupy). I reserve at least one half to one third of the pesto, which I mix and melt into the hot veg when they are done. When the chicken is done and after it rests for about 20 minutes, I gently peel back the skin and fork shred (using two forks) all the white and dark meat that I can which is quite a bit. I then mix all that melt in your mouth chicken with the veg pesto mixture. Add fresh ground Himalayan sea salt and pepper to taste. That is a truly yummy soft food. If you want some more fiber you can also mix in a drained and rinsed can of canellini (white) beans. That makes something close to 12 servings for a sleever. I store in 1 cup glass containers in the freezer. I microwave for about 4 mins heat and serve for lunch or dinner. Yum yum. Slow roasting is the key to soft meat. The chicken will literally melt in your mouth.

My NUTs advice is pretty simple: hit you Fluid and Protein goals and then do not eat anything with more then 5 grams of sugar per serving EVER. And if you are making a meal with multiple ingredients that should be 5 grams total sugar. If you are really getting in your protein and fluids you won't have room for much more. Also I would definitely limit carbs to no more than 100 a day max, even in maintenance. Lots of fold here stick to 30-40 grams a day to keep losing. That is too restrictive for me but if my weight loss slows down to much I will drop it like its hot and get those carbs down to where they need to be. Does this make sense?

Unfortunately I have been celibate since being sleeved but just think about it. Are you cleared for full activity yet? Of course not. Would you go and do sit-ups right now? Of course not. I'm not saying that you need to abstain. Of course not. But you do need to get creative and refrain from using your abs/core during intimacy. If you felt a pop it very well may have been a suture rupture. So call your Dr ASAP and just be careful. Most of us could not even lie on our side at three weeks out so just try to keep this in perspective.

If a blood clot goes to your lung and blocks oxygen that is a pulmonary embolism and highly fatal. Do you know your risks for DVT/PE? I mean besides having a major abdominal surgery which is high risk factor number one and being obese which is high risk factor number two? Also are you walking your butt off? That is the best prevention for a DVT (deep vein thrombosis which is the technical term for a blood clot). There are lots and lots of other risk factors that you should discuss with your doctor, who likely gave you the shots for a reason.

Don't know how I could possibly function without the shakes. Never heard of a doctor recommending against them. We were required to purchase a one month supply of Bariatric Advantage protein shakes two weeks prior to surgery. Sounds like you're doing good but I do not see how 160 calls from a shake would hurt you. Also keep in mind that you are losing lean muscle mass along with your fat. You will need that lean mass to keep it off. I have lost 19% of my body weight but only about 3% of my body fat. What does that tell you? I'm losing lean mass and need to step up my game in terms of exercise and protein if I want to maintain it.

I was on a mission to never throw up and made it till about 4 weeks. Also the first thing I did upon waking each day was to take zofran for the first 30 days. I was discharged on both zofran and phenergan, which they had been giving me via IV in the hospital. I also got the scopolamine patch before surgery. One last thing...narcotics make most people VERY nauseous. This is why I did not take one single dose of narcotics from the moment I woke up from surgery. So please consider weaning to liquid Tylenol if you are still on the narcotic pain meds. That will definitely help.