Beck90

It's a common thread I see running around this forum.. people asking why they didn't do this years ago. I'm even young and I'm finding myself asking the same thing. Though I'm only 25.. I wish I would have done it at 18 or 20.. admittedly, maybe I wasn't ready then.. maybe I still needed time.. especially because part of my story is finding out at 24 that I had bipolar II without the usual "standard" symptoms of women docs normally see in their 20's so I was very hard to diagnose and went through a period of about three years where I alienated everyone but my very closest friends because I was so hard to be around -- with a low of winding up needing to be admitted to a psych ward to get it all figured out. I definitely learned who my friends were (and who, surprisingly, weren't...) I am also social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and depression.. so I spent the last year and a half in counseling trying to get my mental self to match the well-put together self I present to the world thanks to years of being on stage growing up. I learned to show myself as put together - graduating magna cum laude and being responsible even if I was falling apart inside. So I needed to deal with all of that first before I felt ready to confront my weight. But finally I was ready. It started about 1 year ago. I had been feeling bad about my weight for a while. I was overweight during my childhood. My grandmothers both grew up during the Great Depression.. so for them.. giving me food was the same as giving me love.. especially high calorie foods. For them eating wasn't about hunger.. it was about enjoyment and thankfulness to have food to eat. (One was thin, one was overweight). But from them I learned to love all the wrong types of food and to love them in gigantic portions.. My stomach was already way stretched by the time I was 7 or 8. I remember weighing 85 pounds in 2nd grade because we did a math thing where we all weighed in front of the class. There was only one student, a boy, who weighed more.. during school I dealt with a lot, I mean a LOT of bullying because I was mature and just different - I'd rather read a book or write a story than go out for recess and I was reading Romeo and Juliet while they were reading Junie B Jones (For the Record I like her too even though she's a huge spoiled brat). Basically I had a generation gap with my peers since my parents were born in the late forties and early fifties and their parents were much younger.. so I was already -extremely- bullied. I didn't make my first non-internet friends until college.. and those were some of the people I found out weren't true blue friends when I went through my emotional break down a couple of years ago... So yeah.. and it didn't help that I was overweight.. that was just something else to give them to make fun of me about. As it turned out.. even though I wasn't doing even as good as I am now in therapy one year ago.. I was doing better than I had been in years and that gave me time and energy to turn my thoughts to the weight I'd been unhappy to be carrying around for years. Before college it bothered me.. but I didn't think about it a lot.. it was in early college when I hit 200 and started having trouble finding clothes that would fit me in your typical stores both like Macy's but also stores that people my age like - Aeropostale, Am. Eagle etc.. that I started to have a personal crisis about my weight and be super unhappy with it. Shopping became my least favorite thing because it was an exercise in taking whatever would fit rather than whatever I liked. And by a year ago I had started to notice I couldn't do or keep up with the same types of activities most people my age do. I love showing my dog Riff in conformation and was learning that I couldn't keep up with her jogging on our down and back (jogging beside the dog so the judge can see his or her movement properly) and that getting on my knees to present her not only hurt but was nearly impossible. I started to be even more unhappy because I couldn't do the hobbies I loved that people my age are doing. And in the meantime for the past 5-10 years I'd been trying every diet known to man.. I didn't feel like any of them were sustainable for a life time because I was unhappy with them. And rather than yo-yoing I just didn't lose. Didn't matter how well I stuck to a diet, I'd find myself losing maybe 5 pounds in 7 or 8 months of hard work.. and finally I gave up.. I was near the point of accepting I was just going to be overweight forever and that was how it was going to be. I knew my issues - I don't eat for emotional reasons, I don't eat when I'm not hungry.. but my stomach was super stretched from years of eating too much and I like big portions and the wrong kinds of things. I could go and polish off a huge plate of food enough for three meals and feel "Just about right" and I didn't have the self control to starve while I waited on my stomach to shrink naturally.. I just couldn't do it. I had heard things about gastric bypass that made me say no way never.. things like "You'll never be able to have any sugar again." or "You'll never be able to have fried foods again." While I'm happy to make lifestyle changes, things like "Never again" aren't something I'm capable of. So I ruled out surgery for a long while. Finally, a year ago I looked into it again and read about gastric sleeve for the first time.. and it was a fit.. not as serious as gastric bypass.. less prone to things like dumping syndrome.. and all about moderation rather than "never agains" more healthy choices.. less bad ones.. but I didn't have to promise I was never eating Pasta or never having a fried chicken leg again - which was something I knew I couldn't agree to. There was less risk of serious complications and it was a plan I thought I could actually live with and be happy and it went right to the root of my issue - shrink my stomach so I can get used to a normal portion size again without having to starve. Something I haven't had since I was 6-7 years old. Within two days of researching I was ready to commit. But of course getting my medicaid to pay for the surgery wasn't as easy as deciding I wanted it - even though I looked over the qualifications and knew I met them - I still had a lot of hoops to jump through. In October I started my 6 month phys supervised diet which only convinced my doctor and I that I needed the surgery even more. I ate 1500 calories a day and walked my dog most days for 30+ minutes (which was a significant step down from what I had been eating and step up from my sedentary lifestyle) and lost only 11 pounds in all that time. And part of it came back! Getting cleared psychologically was a battle too. They wanted a psychiatrist who didn't know me to evaluate me even though my own had already sent a letter of approval.. and the psychiatrist who I did see didn't really want to clear someone who was bipolar.. it was a battle, but finally I got cleared. That by itself took over two months and delayed my surgery which should have been in March 2016. I also had to have blood work, a number of physician check ups by my program's docs and so on. But finally all the hard work paid off.. on the first submission to insurance, I was approved within a week! How excited was I! And my surgery was set for May 31st 2016. However, the roller coaster wasn't over.. I had little contact with my bariatric program from the get go... they share a department, nurses, etc with general surgery.. so calling to talk to someone there is always a nightmare.. it's a 30 minute wait to get a human on the phone, calling to talk to a nurse means a 5 hour or more wait for a call back.. and it also means a very unpersonalized approach.. they're so busy and have so many people through their program that they want everyone to be a cookie cutter mold and don't want to offer people any individualized advice because "others in the program might want the same advice." Well number one - others in the program shouldn't know what -I- discuss with my doctors so how could they want it and number two healthcare isn't supposed to be about squeezing people into a mold and making the exact same treatment work for everyone... so I began to be unhappy with my program from early on.. especially when their psychiatrist and my psychiatrist got into a fight over the phone about whether I was going to get cleared. Their psychiatrist had met me only once and knew nothing about my case history while my own psychiatrist has been working with me for about a year and half.. who do you think was more qualified to say if I was stable or not? But aparently their program couldn't understand that.. However.. I was stuck.. Medicaid wanted me in state and this program was the closest to me and already an hour and a half away.. the only other options were double or triple that commute time (Chicago). So I just kinda had to stick with it.. I've gone on to be further disappointed by them at numerous occasions - namely when my surgeon said that Water aerobics is a joke of an exercise program and only for people who can't do anything else and that I couldn't hit my weight loss goal of 130 pounds doing water exercise of any kind (there's a thread floating around about that). Clearly he's never taken a hard core water exercise class or he would know that is so not true. I took my first one Friday and I was sweating in the water! Finally I did get to have my surgery though! Before surgery I had an 800 calorie diet for two weeks focusing on Protein and lean meats and veggies and reasonable on carbs. It wasn't too hard of a diet to follow beyond getting hungry because my stomach was huge. Surgery day came but I was excited rather than nervous. especially because all of us May 31st sleevers from the forum (there was about 10 of us) made a facebook group so we could keep in touch and that really helps to have other people who are exactly where I'm at in the recovery stage. I didn't have much trouble recovering from surgery. I never had any gas pain and even though I was in pain in general the first three days they gave me lots of morphine and kept me very comfortable. While my program as a whole is somewhat disappointing - I do have to say that the nurses who took care of me in the hospital couldn't have been better. They helped me walk. They helped me get up to go to the bathroom and helped me adjust positions in bed since I needed help doing all that for the first 2-3 days. I brought my laptop to the hospital with me and spent time here on the forums and doing other stuff I like -- even played some Sims. My recovery was uncomplicated and three days later I was able to go home. My internal swelling went down fast and by a week out I was so sick of liquids that I couldn't help but try a little puree and it worked just fine to help supplement and keep me from going nuts. One thing that's been very helpful to me is Fairlife Milk. it's heightened protein milk with 13 grams of protein for a cup. I drink it straight and also add it to my Soups. It helps a lot in getting in my 64 oz of liquid and my 60 grams of protein. I've been using an app called Plant Nanny which lets you grow plants based on how much Fluid you consume then you can plant them in your garden and harvest their seeds to get more diverse plants.. it makes drinking at least slightly more fun. I also wear a fitbit flex and it's synced with My Fitness Pal. I log my calories on MFP and my exercise syncs there from my fitbit automatically and tells me if I've earned extra calories from exercise (though I rarely use those). I was never given a calorie goal to shoot for but I set a goal of 800 for myself based on the pre-opp diet and what I can eat and get in 60 grams of protein without feeling too stuffed/ too deprived. I'm on my own for a lot of it because I've only met with the NUT once for 30 minutes pre-opp about 2 months and I won't see her again until in July so... I just read and do the best I can. So yeah I'm 3 full weeks out from surgery on Tuesday and also down 20 pounds since May 18th (the start of my pre-opp liver diet). I faced the three week stall at about week 2 instead of three and I was down to a new low for the first time in a week today so I'm hoping that it's broken and I'll have a bit of smooth sailing for a while from here. So.. that's my story so far. I don't know if people post in these to update but.. every once in a while I'll post back and let you guys know how I'm doing.

Okay sleevers I'm still pre-op and I'd like to know how good YOU are at not drinking anything while you eat. This is one post surgery rule I'm not sure I can manage in the entirety even if I come close. I have always been very thirsty while eating. It doesn't matter how much I drink before I eat, my throat gets dry while I eat and then I must stop eating until I can drink or I get nauseous. I'm super super super worried I won't be able to stick to this rule. :\ I know the REASON behind it -- not washing food out of your pouch .. which makes perfect sense.. but a lot of people talk about it like it is a choice.. TBH I'm not sure it's truly a choice for everyone.. I know I personally can't do it well. So my personal plan as of now? Drink -tiny- sips.. just enough to wet my throat and stop the nausea. But hopefully not enough to wash out my pouch once I have surgery. I heard someone say their surgeon allowed an ounce of liquid with a meal for this purpose. So was this/ is this an issue for you? Did you struggle with it? Did you overcome it or do you drink with meals and just try to do your best regardless not to eat around your surgery or wash out? (( PLEASE do not tell me I'm just "choosing" to need to drink while eating even if it's only a small sip here and there. I have super sensitive gag reflex and trust me when I say.. it's not a choice thing. If I get extremely thirsty while eating and try to ignore it.. I -will- find myself in the bathroom retching. I've had it happen when we had poor wait staff at restaurants who didn't keep our glasses refilled...so needless to say I'm worried about this lifestyle change and need to hear from others who struggle with it how they handled it. Especially those who couldn't follow the rule to the T.))

Well. I made an unwise food decision today. Sigh. And dumped. Like badly. An hour on the toilet and then having it come out both ends at once (more embarrassing still I'm at a relatives house not at home so they all know!) but what I want to know is what's normal after dumping. Now that I've dumped. I feel exhausted. I don't want clothes on. I feel hot all over my body. I just want to lay naked with ice on me. Is this normal ? Those of you who have dumped what feelings physical sensations did you have after the dumping ended? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

So I'm Beck. I'm 25 and have been overweight most of my life. I started considering gastric sleeve last June and have done a great deal of research. I successfully did all the things I was supposed to do and am now scheduled for May 31st. I could really use a mentor to keep me accountable and help me as I go through this process. I am bipolar 2 and have anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder so I know I won't be able to do real life support groups so seeking out help here is the best thing I can do for myself. I feel more comfortable making friends online anyway. That said.. I'm looking for a mentor who has an open mind.. I have always been the sort to kind of march to the beat of my own drum. I question things, I make up my own mind about things and don't tend to blindly follow what I've been told. So far I've been pretty successful with that strategy in life.. and it's just who I am. What that means is that I may not always approach my WLS the way some people would or always do -exactly- what my surgeon says. Now that's within reason.. For instance I would never not take my Protein or my Vitamins.. I would never not exercise.. I would never not follow pre or post opp diets.. but things like diet pop.. my surgeon says to cut it out but after careful research and hearing from other surgeons that that's not necessary, I may choose to go ahead and have that.. So I need the kind of mentor who can handle the fact that - though I'm usually a rule "follower" there's something I have to be flexible about to make this new lifestyle work for me.. Another one, for instance, is that if I don't have some liquid with meals -- food gets stuck in my throat and I gag because I have a high gag reflex.. so my primary care physician has suggested I just take tiny sips of liquids with my meals to alleviate this. For the most part I follow the rules.. and I'm super serious about this surgery and about losing the weight and about this being a lifestyle change.. but there are some things I just have to modify for my own sanity and success and I know that because I know myself well.. and I need a mentor who can respect and support that. My mentor can be any age and live anywhere. Here's some more about me. I LOVE animals.. I have a Welsh Springer Spaniel named Riff who I show in conformation and agility trials. She's my world. I hope to be a published author one day and maybe even make it my career. I have a degree in English teaching but right now I'm focusing on trying to get a job as a 911 operator because I'm not sure teaching is really where I want to be with the politics in education right now. I live in Illinois right on the state line by Indiana I love to bake and cook I'm a Jamberry nail wrap consultant (ask me about it if you like!) I love studying psychology and medicine and have a minor in psych. I enjoy scrapbooking, painting, and photography and photograph editing. I also play Sims and Neopets (yes I'm a geek and that's okay with me) I have always had a mind of my own and I've been known to be stubborn but that's also gotten me through some of the hardest times of my life. Would anyone be interested in mentoring me? I'd like to find one or two solid relationships where we can connect her or on facebook and talk very often even daily and share recipes and just help each other and that I will be supported even though I know some modification will be in order for my success but for the most part I DO follow the "rules" I feel like I'll do best with a couple of dedicated friends I can turn to.. anyone "want" me?

So I know there's a whole forum for people who have used the connections this forum has made to reach out to do all inclusive packages in Mexico when they needed to self-pay for gastric sleeve surgery and couldn't afford to do so here in the states. Now I'm a long long way from this because I'm still pre-opp.. but I was wondering if this forum has such relationships also with plastic surgeons anywhere.. the reality is.. as overweight as I am I'm probably going to have a lot of excess skin and I'm going to want it gone.. and insurance rarely pays for skin removal surgery.. so do we have connections for self pay plastic surgery with good doctors in other countries via the forum like we do for the GSV itself? @@Alex Brecher ?

An update Well.. surgery was about six months ago now or a little more! I'm still doing well and in the six months, I've lost 80 pounds. I still have about 50 to go to get to my goal, but 30 would be within the goal the doctors set for me (I wanted to aim for the lowest possible healthy goal which was 130). Most all of the surgery issues I had have gone away. I don't really experience dumping anymore. Occasionally rich food still churns my stomach and I toss my Cookies so to speak... but other than that.. no complications.. my constipation resolved on its own with time etc. I'm still losing hair even though I meet my Protein goals, but I've heard that can last quite a while. I don't measure my food, but I also only take tiny portions when serving myself and I stop before I feel full - there's a happy "comfortable" feeling right before full that I've learned to identify that tells me I've eaten enough. I figure as long as the scales are still steadily going downward that I'm eating correct portions I no longer have any temptation to over eat. My sleeve is perfect at telling me exactly how much and when to eat! Hopefully that will never change I don't notice much loosening in my restriction. I eat high protein and moderate on carbs with a lot of fruit and veggie. I found that eating very low carb made me lose energy, so my dietician said it would be fine to be more moderate on carbs. I don't aim for a number.. I get my protein in first and veggies and then carbs can happen. I get my protein in using a lot of dairy and also some meat (lots of chicken and seafood) I do drink diet pop without any issue. It doesn't cause me pain or make me tempted to eat other sugary foods. I do sometimes eat Desserts, but a lot less often than I did.. I don't feel the need for them the way I used to. I can pass up a cupcake sitting on the counter and just not care.. which was never something I could do before. I regularly exercise, which was something I never did before and I feel good about that. My energy is huge now and I've gone from a size 22 to a size 13 ish. I can wear skinny jeans for the first time and feel great about it and I feel healthier too. I can do so much more than I was able to once upon a time

Well you all know it.. the struggle of getting in enough oz of liquid during the liquid post opp phase.. I've finally made it there and I'm living on tangerine and strawberry flavored Outshine no sugar added popsicles. I LOVE them.. the problem is.. I can't figure out how many ounces of Fluid they are.. i'm eating the ones that are single bars (as opposed to a double bar with two popsicle sticks) can anyone help? What ounces did you count these as... ?

I'm a cheese freak lol. It's definitely on my top five favorite list of foods. I eat it every day. I don't eat the low fat ones but I do watch how much I eat of it carefully. Love Baby Bel. I still get a whole lot of my daily Protein from dairy sources. Luckily, I did before surgery too so I think my body is used to it. I had constipation at the beginning but now I'm over it All you people who love the hot stuff just aren't normal (I just can't tolerate spice and never could, I'm secretly jealous)

Hell on earth? Basically.. some people's sleeves (mine included at least right now) cannot tolerate certain foods and when they eat those foods it causes immediate and severe diaherria, nausea, (and at least in my case vomitting). I'm talking where you're in front of the toilet and it's coming out both ends for several hours - at least that's my experience with it. However, you can avoid it by avoiding the foods that cause it if you ever experience it. For instance, Right now that means I can't have any ice cream (which is very sad as I love ice cream). I dislike yogurt but I found out that I do like frozen yogurt so I've been eating that to fulfill my ice cream craving (once in a while only!) and it's made it bearable lol. Sometimes dumping syndrome and the foods you can't eat fade over time post surgery for those who have it and sometimes they do not, but it's less common in sleeve patients than in gastric bypass patients. Foods that are likely to cause dumping syndrome include: any sugary foods or drinks, pastas, breads, rice etc.

I was gonna say I tried all these meds but what wound up working for me was peppermint candies.. I eat them BEFORE I know I'm likely to get nauseous (i.e. I lay there and eat one before I get out of bed and only after it's down for a couple minutes do I try to get up.

Okay.. So.. I am 7 weeks out from surgery and cleared to try anything I'd like to.. most things go down well. My friend's birthday is tonight and we're going to go to a Chinese buffet. Needless to say.. I cannot eat at a buffet the way I used to but the price is not going to change (unless by some miracle I can explain and they'll let me eat a child buffet but let's assume I won't get that lucky). How do you guys make the most out of a buffet? In general I don't eat around my sleeve and I'm doing good on weightloss.. but if I am going to go to a buffet.. I'd like to make it count and it's not like at a regular restaurant where I can get a normal portion size and just take home what I can't eat either... So what are your tricks and tips for getting the most out of your money at a buffet after sleeve surgery. ----- PS I'm just going to say I can see this becoming a hot topic.. but I'm doing well. I've lost 35 pounds... my doctor says I'm well ahead of the curve for his patients on loss. I'm exercising regularly. I'm making better food choices than I ever have and "slider foods" aren't a thing for me.. I just don't have a problem with them... I'm seeking information from those who've been here and not a debate about whether I should be going, whether this is a slider food, whether I'm going to mess up my weight loss or any other hot topic. -thank you-

So the incision that's on my left side was like this - it was basically like a crater it looked like.. slowly, skin filled it in and it healed up just fine. I was told it did this because that area is more manipulated during surgery and because I had a bad reaction to the gastrographen they did to test for leaks and did a lot of dry heaving about 18 hours after surgery so it opened a bit. But 2 months out it's all filled in.. I can tell the skin there is thinner than other skin as it's still filling in beneath and it's definitely the nastiest looking of my scars, but it seems to be healing! If in doubt give your surgeon a call and ask , especially if you're in pain.

@@GinaCampbell man, your story makes me so very thankful that I didn't have your complications. I'm blessed to be healthy and didn't have many problems at all with my sleeve or advancing through the food stages! I can related to your pizza hut problem. We went there after VBS to eat one night when I was 5 weeks out. I couldn't yet have salad. I wasn't brave enough to try Pasta lol.. they didn't have anything on the menu but wings and pizza so I wound up just eating the cheese and meat off some pizza crust. Your granddaughter is lucky to have a Grandma who cares so much! I think you're right - I'll never be able to eat the quantity I used to at a buffet, and that's okay with me. I don't want to. I had surgery for a reason but this thread had given me so many great tips to make buffets worth it in their own way when I do wind up having to go to one.

I'm two months out and able to drink diet pop with a straw and with carbonation - no problems and it's a big motivator for me because I don't get to have it until at least 75% of my daily liquid is down

@@LipstickLady I don't blame you there. But really... am I supposed to sit here and allow someone to make accusations about me that are untrue, unfounded, and unreasonable based on what she "assumes" based on other posts I've made.. - especially when I didn't ask for opinions in the first place... I specifically asked to know about dumping and what people experience after.. Not to have someone come in here and post that I'm making poor food decisions and now is the time for me to learn better habits. I am not here to be walked over and judged and won't tolerate it. Now if she had some kind of logical point I'd listen. Happily. But she doesn't. As a matter of fact I've been told by my entire medical team (who actually KNOW me ) how WELL I'm doing. So. I feel I've a right to defend myself.

You couldn't be more lost or off base about me if you were in the middle of the pacific ocean on a raft without a map. I am paying attention - that doesn't mean the kinds of things you're posting are acceptable or okay. Clearly you didn't get my point in the previous thread.. I was asking how to make the most out of it because I DID NOT GET A CHOICE IN WHERE WE WENT - read that again.. it was my friend's birthday.. she chose the location and because I care about her I went... right now I AM UNEMPLOYED AND MAKING ABOUT $150 A MONTH - read that again... So yes I absolutely have a right to care about and ask about how to make the most out of a buffet when I am scrimping by on VERY little money. Normally when I go out to eat at a restaurant and order an entree it's simple because I can box up what I don't eat and take it home... That cannot be done at a buffet... and it wasn't all about how to stuff the most in my mouth quite frankly.... it was about how to make the most of the experience and the amount of money spent when I don't have that much to spend... And frankly I got lots of good advice from people - like try one bite of a lot of new things, or see if they would let me do a takeout container by the pound so I don't have to pay the buffet price.. ask if I could do a child buffet... These are all acceptable... gracious answers along the lines of what I asked.. You have no business judging me or anyone else on this forum by "reading between the lines" of various threads they post. I did not "know" the idea was a disaster and it WAS NOT A DISASTER... read that again THE BUFFET WAS NOT A DISASTER. I managed to stay on program and feel like I didn't get jipped money wise based on the tips in that thread which was what that thread was about And why I spent a whole paragraph telling people what I didn't want to hear - because I wanted responses that would help - not salty responses judging me for wanting to get the most of it and have a good experience... just like anyone else would want to. And guess what I'm paying attention - maybe you should too.. I'm down 35 pounds.. PCP says I'm doing amazing, feel better than I ever have, more active than I ever have been.. hard core work outs 3-5 times a week, mostly low carb, 60 gram Protein / 64 oz Fluid a day and 800 calories... two clothing sizes down.. I AM SUCCEEDING.. Just because I'm not doing it YOUR way doesn't mean I'm not doing it the right way.. or making a lot of bad decisions read it again I. AM. SUCCEEDING. I would appreciate if you would not post judgmental comments on my threads when I ask questions from reading between the lines and ASSUMING (wrongly) that I'm not doing well or won't continue to do well.

Well... I'm going to reply to this and I don't think everyone will respect my opinion but I'm going to try to do it in the most polite way possible. I come to this forum to get answers to my questions, guidance, share experiences.. NOT to be judged or run over by people. And I find that the same happens on a lot of other threads as well.. I get that the veterans here are a great asset to those of us newbies and that they get frustrated that no one seems to appreciate their expertise.. I do... but I don't come here to be judged... I opened this thread to ask people what experience they have after dumping. I did not open it to hear anything other than that.. to be quite plain.. @ Thank you for just answering my question.. no judgment involved.. this is what I was looking for. your symptoms seem to line up on par perfectly with what I experienced. @@OutsideMatchInside I'm trying to be nice here but frankly I found your post to be pretty offensive.. I have no idea where you got the information that I'm making a lot of "poor" food choices or that I'm "squandering anything" but I didn't appreciate you posting that (wrong) judgment about me - especially on a public forum for everyone to read. So I'll just set the record straight. For the most part I've made good choices. I've posted more about problems I had than successes because that's usually the way it goes.. when something goes wrong you ask about it.. if it's going right.. you usually don't mention it. Do I occasionally eat off plan when I want to try something? Yes I do.. Am I aware I could dump or have a bad reaction? Yes and I accept that risk. But I sure as heck am not "wasting" anything... I have lost 35 pounds + in only 7 weeks, my doctors are amazed at my progress, I am down two clothing sizes from where I was, My eating habits are far more healthy than they were pre surgery, I am successfully eating -fairly- low carb for the first time in my life, I am doing intense aqua aerobics that puts my heart rate in the 200's 3 times a week and lap swimming 1-2 times a week even though I never used to exercise at all, I religiously get 60 grams of Protein and 64 ounces of Fluid (which is what my plan asks for) every single day. I have upped my intake of fruits and veggies extremely. I am completely embracing the changes I need to make to succeed.. but I'm doing it in a way I can handle. Just like all of us got overweight in our own unique ways with our own unique challenges.. all of us MUST handle life after surgery and losing the weight in our own unique ways... I personally won't restrict myself from food choices I want to make as long as, overall, I'm doing the right things becuse if I feel deprived then I will fall off the wagon completely and abandon ship. That is the case whether I was two months out or two years out.. it does not mean I'm making poor choices overall and it does not mean I don't appreciate this period of rapid loss.. it means I'm doing what I believe I can stick with for -lifetime- not just a race to get the weight off. @@Dub Frankly I don't think it was well said and I'm a little bothered that you approved of it.. for all the reasons I stated above.. that poster is someone I know only casually - she and I haven't talked about my food options at any length and she had no reason to assume anything... Likewise... I don't really ascribe to the "honeymoon period" if that works for some people that's cool.. it doesn't work for me. This is not a sprint.. it's a marathon... I have no intention of "hammering down" on myself in a way I know will cause me not to succeed.. I'd rather lose it slow and steady over time (honeymoon or not) with new habits that are more moderate and I know I can stick to for a lifetime because then I know I don't have to worry about re-gaining because I don't feel I've spent the past however many months depriving myself. I am not the hammering down kind of person.. Like I mentioned above.. I'm doing the right things based on my plan (800 calories, 60 gram protein, 64 oz Water, good exercise, more good choices than bad, increased fruits and veggies and lowered carbs immensely) but I have no intention of "hammering down" anymore than that because to do so would just be depriving myself from living a natural and normal life.. I'm not going to do that now nor in the future because I know me personally and I know that won't work for me and will cause me to give up. I'm far more in danger of failing by depriving myself than I am from "slider foods" "poor choices" or other issues.. I know this about myself and am handling my weightloss with this in mind.. if the honeymoon sprint of losing weight works for some then they should do that.. but it doesn't work for everyone and I resent the idea that everyone "must" ascribe to it.. like I said before... all of us got overweight in our own ways and all of us have to get it off in our own ways.. there is no one size fits all strategy here.. and for me.. I'd rather try new foods, eat with a plan I can -manage long term-, measure my food out, keep my portions small, and stick to the things I mentioned I was doing above than deprive myself just so I can shed the pouds X2 fast and then deal with putting it right back on because I feel like I've been deprived for months. Now... if someone would like to be like @ and @@LipstickLady get back on track with responding to what I actually asked about instead of judging me and assuming you know things you don't.. I'd welcome that.

What all the others said. And I can't emphasize enough how much talking to a counselor can help when you're going through this process of learning to rely on other coping mechanisms. Look into some counseling if you can Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Ugh. I don't have a lot of good advice beyond that I empathize. I'm bipolar II and anxiety and it was hard for me to get the psych they wanted me to see to clear me even though my own psychiatrist and therapist did right away. (Kind of the opposite of your situation) hang in there. If they're a big enough practice to have an hr department reach out to them to find out who to call. If not start by calling Medicaid itself and find out who you need to speak with because as far as I know they can't just downright not fill out forms. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

With mine I remember them trying to put ether a cpap mask or an oxygen mask on me first. And I pushed it away and got kinda upset because I don't like things on my face so then the nurse got me a nasal canula and then I was out again for a while until I woke up enough to ask for my own clothes a few hours later. Then I fell asleep again. It took many hours for my anesthetic to wear off and stop making me sleepy. I had an Iv and a catheter (that drove me insane later) and no drains Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Anyone else besides me getting sleeved on May 31st. I definitely need some people to stick together with while I go through this. I start my pre-opp diet (which is not nearly as awful as some of the ones I've heard about on here thank goodness!) on the 18th! I'm going out for Hibachi and Sushi the evening of the 17th which is my favorite just to enjoy it - not saying goodbye.. I'll have it again someday but it may be several months so I need to get a last crack at it

Oh if anyone is curious I had: Shrimp Crab salad with cheese General Tso's chicken (wiped off excess sauce as it's a bit spicy and high calorie) Sushi and Shashami with unidentified fish on top Egg Chicken & Broccoli Grilled Vegetable mix with some delicious sauce I have no idea what it was. Fruit mix with cottage cheese and for a treat I let myself have a tiny bit of noodles and a crab rangoon. Now bear in mind I only had a bite or so of each. So that sounds massive but lol it wasn't much.

Thanks you guys gave some great advice and it really helped tonight! @@VSGAnn2014 - sorry I didn't mean to come off as demanding.. More.. I was trying to avoid this becoming a debate about whether buffets should even be an option for those of us who are sleeved. And I was afraid if I didn't say something it would.. I was mostly looking for information on how to make the most of the experience and enjoy it the most even though I can't have the quantity I used to. @@jess9395 - TY this is exactly what I was looking for! I did what you suggested and went for variety rather than quanity.. I tried everything I wanted to try but only a bite of it.. it was a different experience than I normally have, but a great one! I tried loads of new things I've never tried before. @@AvaFern - Yep! I allotted lots of extra calories for going out to eat. I had low fat high Protein options earlier in the day to make sure I would be hungry and have the calories. Also I got a bit more out of my money because we sat and talked for three hours so I was able to get two plates (much smaller than my usual plates!) but what I ate when we came in digested.. I drank.. then was able to eat more in all that time. Also good point about what money I waste being a present to my friend @@LipstickLady Completely agreed! Choice of location was up to the birthday girl so I'm just figuring out how to make the best of it Best part EVER!!! They let me have a Child's buffet!!!!! They couldn't seem to figure out what my sleeve was but I asked if I could show them what I could eat and if they could give me a child's buffet and they said "Sure" so I showed them a plate and they were like "Yes absolutely ma'am We understand! You can have child buffet price!" (which was 7.99 as opposed to 14.19!!!)