anniebanana

@@Shaunie I'm doing pretty good, still trying to figure this whole thing out. I definitely am overdoing it physically at times because we just moved into our dream house and I just want to unpack and make it my own, but I just don't want to cause problems with my incisions and new stomach. From what I gather, everyone has different post op eating instructions. Mine is to get in 56 ounces of Fluid and 30g Protein. I am really limited on my eating to broth, pureed Soup (non cream based) and yogurt. The yogurt...whoa, I feel it going down into my stomach, not a great feeling yet! How about you, how are you?

I was sleeved 7/5 and nope, not a thing, and I'm sure it's not helping my new stomach! They prescribed Miralax which has never worked for me. I'm going to ask tomorrow about trying Milk of Magnesia which always does the trick!

Except for traveling to Mexico to have the surgery, you sound very much like me. I am 51 years old and just had the sleeve done on Tuesday the 5th. I understand it is very scary because you have no idea what to expect in terms of outcome related to surgery and risks associated with that, but also with how you'll physically feel afterwards and down the road. I can't answer the part about down the road, but physically right now I can tell you 5 days post-op, my abdomen is sore, I am not supposed to bend or lift anything heavier than 10 pounds. I am on a liquid diet and my meals these past two days have been mostly Water or beverages in addition to 4 ounces of pureed Soup and 2 ounces of yogurt. I am not hungry for more. Even smelling yummy foods...they smell good but it doesn't somehow make the connection to my stomach and me wanting to fill it with whatever I'm smelling. It's a really weird feeling for sure. I can't drink very much liquid at a time, and it's a struggle to get in the required 56 ounces of Fluid, though I'm trying hard because one of the biggest complications early on is dehydration. Oh, and I lost 4 pounds yesterday! Surgery always comes with risks, and I went into mine worried about not making it through to the other side. The admitting nurse made me feel instantly at ease, though, and talked about the things I needed to do post-surgery, which made me start seeing past the actual surgery. She was a godsend. I would be very nervous if my plan was to do this in Mexico, but I admittedly know very little about having it done there. I do know that my patient coordinator got a bit annoyed with my questions at times, and that irritated me! Your obesity will impact your family one way or another. 54 is not too old to do something to get yourself to a healthier place. I wish you the best of luck in your decision

Definitely agree, wish I had done that. Especially the ride home from the hospital, ugh!

Same goes for me! I have clothes from size 8 to size 22. I managed to have a good weight loss in 2011, so the only clothes that aren't dated are size 16 and up. I haven't been a size 8 since 1990! I'd like to think I will force myself to get rid of it all at some point. I like the idea above of keeping just one size about your current one. I will start over if I have to (and I hope it never comes to that.) I've been dreaming of the styles I hope to wear when I get back into non-plus sizes, and I don't have any of those in my closets! Can't wait to go shopping (and to be able to tuck shirts in!!!)

I had one and was oh so glad, almost sad when they took it out lol. It hurts getting up and out of that bed!

My surgery was on Tuesday. I think I'd eat as many real foods as you can, while you can! My personal favorite is the Atkins Dark chocolate Royale shake. It has 15g of Protein, which is half of what is in a Premier shake but tastes so much better than the Premier. You might want to just buy a few samples now so you can get an idea of what you like, though I've heard tastes change after surgery. Mine haven't. I still love that shake thank goodness! There is also a product you can buy at the Vitamin Shoppe called Syntrax nectar, and I HIGHLY recommend you check into it. For some reason, Water is much harder to drink in large quantities after surgery, and the nectar makes it easier to go down. Please feel free to ask and I'll help in any way that I can!

This is one of my favorite responses to this question (from one of my favorite WLS Blogs, lessdangerouscurves.com: What do you say to people who think you've taken the easy way out? I tend to agree with them. I ask them why they wouldn't take the surest and quickest route back to good health? Because seriously i've got better things to focus on in my life, like my family, and i'm doing this for them as much as I am for myself. I wanted to get myself back to good health in the quickest, safest, most effective way possible. I'd rather get on with my life than spend miserable months dieting and slogging it out at the gym and then trying to maintain that for the rest of my life. I didn't personally know anyone in my life who had lost the amount of weight I needed to lose and more importantly... kept it off for good. I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm just saying there's a good reason for not wanting to stuff around for another 10 years trying to do it the "hard way" when I could take the supposedly "easy way" and just get on with my life. And really, unless the person who criticises you for taking the easy way out hunts their own food, grows their own veggies, sews their own clothes and washes them by hand at the river, never takes pain relief, home schools their children and gets about on foot or with a horse and cart I don't think they are in a position to judge. If they do all those things I also don't think they are in a position to judge because, well... back away slowly and nod. Try not to make eye contact. We aren't talking about 10 or 15kg here. We are talking about people who are obese and specifically - morbidly obese. Morbid obesity is a serious health concern. If you are morbidly obese and don't have any chronic or serious health conditions - you are lucky. It's only a matter of time before you do. This isn't a lazy decision. This is a positive decision to take back control of your health and do it with the greatest chance of success and as quickly as realistically possible.

You don't sound silly, it's normal! Very happy for you. It's hard for me to suggest anything because every program is different. We had to do 3 shakes and one Lean Cuisine type of meal. I'd just suggest that you stay away from carbs (no bread, potatoes, rice (unless it's brown), etc. You should be fine! Good luck

My insurance required 6 months of weight monitoring by a physician. My surgeon did not require any weight loss. My nutritionist said "that doesn't mean you can't try." My insurance wouldn't pay if I fell below a certain BMI. It is definitely a quandary. In the end, I lost 18 pounds during those 6 months (just 4 on the pre-op diet.)

@@shawnv1 The closer I got, the more I questioned my decision. I am 4 days post op right now and I feel like I made the best decision for me. I think I will ALWAYS wonder if there wasn't some other solution out there that I hadn't tried in my 51 years. Every time a new book comes out with a new diet that is a "game changer," I will wonder if it would have worked for me if I had just waited long enough. Meanwhile, life passes you by as a fat person who can't engage in life. How long is too long to wait to make a change to improve your health, particularly when it's right there for you now?

It is such a personal decision, nobody can really help someone else decide. It definitely helps hearing stories and using that information and other research to decide if you are at a point where it's your best option for a healthy life. You had some really good responses on here. I think if I was your age, it would be difficult for me to conclude that this is the best solution, but at 51 I have definitely started seeing (feeling) the toll of the excess weight on my body. I think we are all emotional eaters...I just think the driving emotion is different for us all. I committed to surgery in 2011 and, after jumping through all the hoops, I freaked out when I got final approval and decided to do it on my own. I hired a personal trainer and worked out 10 hours every week and managed to lose 72 pounds in about 6 months. I was still about 50 pounds over my goal weight when I broke 3 toes on one foot which impacted my ability to do cardio, and the weight came back so fast that i didn't even see it happen. It was devastating. I felt I had dodged a bullet by losing on my own. I felt I had found the "secret." Unfortunately, the secret is unrelenting drive and determination that lasts FOREVER. Sometimes life happens and it prevents you from doing what you need to do, and that's what happened to me. I was unable to work out and didn't even see or feel how fast the weight was piling back on my body. Why don't you just try eliminating everything from your diet that a bariatric patient has to, and make appointments with someone who counsels people with food addictions, and see if you are able to turn things around before jumping in to a bariatric solution? And you have to stay dedicated to it....there's no wiggle room once you go through with surgery, so get your head in the right place now and see what happens? Good luck!

Keep following up with your insurance provider if you don't trust your insurance coordinator. I called my insurance company and they told me they never received it. When I passed that on to my insurance coordinator she insisted she had sent it, but my insurance company somehow ended up with the paperwork within 24 hours. Good luck!

The hospital gave me Oceanspray Diet Cranberry, so I imagine that is acceptable? Crystal Light is really good too.

Why is it that every post that stands out to me right now is related to the sleeve failing, weight regain, complications, struggles with controlling appetite a year post surgery, etc? Maybe I'm subconsciously looking for a justification to call the whole thing off. My surgeon is a HUGE proponent of RNY surgery versus the sleeve. Just the thought of having that surgery makes me cringe, yet I can't help but wonder if it's the better choice long term. Am I going to be any better off if I drop 40/60/80 pounds and then I begin to struggle with controlling my appetite? ARGH!!!

Try lemon in warm Water...electrolytes help with some headaches. Sent from my SM-G900V using the BariatricPal App

@@silverthreads thank you! So happy to have followed through with the sleeve!

@@gina171 I am in Bellevue, Washington at Overlake Hospital and I am being pampered beyond belief!

Surgery went great. Started at 7:30ish and I woke up at 2! I was in a lot of pain in the drain area on my right side and of course at the incision sites. Sore throat from anesthesia. Pain meds have me very drowsy. They had me up and walking around an hour ago, just a little dizzy. Most pain comes from getting up and down, but got to brush teeth and feel so much better. Chewing ice chips and swallowing no problem. Gas pain went away as soon as I started self medicating. They are having me use a breathing device 10x per hour to help lungs recover. The hospital staff here is amazing!

@@MissKay Thanks MissKay, and hey neighbor! @@VSGAnn2014 You always know the right thing to say so I went through your list: * Smarts - CHECK * Incredibly positive attitude * Sense of humor - CHECK * Self-awareness - CHECK * Supportive family members - CHECK (the ones that matter) * A sense of self-reliance - DOUBLE CHECK * Curiosity to learn and identify patterns - CHECK * Willingness to change - HALF A CHECK * Eagerness to comply with post-op instructions - PRE-OP I CAN SAY CHECK * Ability to visualize a much better future -CHECK * Self confidence (that grew as their successes grew) * Gratitude for the opportunity to have WLS - CHECK Just need to work on that positivity and self confidence I guess!!

@@GSleeve822 Some great advice, thank you!

@@Laughkc11 I did the exact same thing until the pre-surgery diet started. It's a real eye opener! I haven't been perfect, but the times I have failed have been "good" failures, if that's possible (string cheese or a bite of fruit). It's crazy how often I subconsciously reach for something because it's there....be sure to stay hydrated, get a lot of electrolytes...I made it through this diet without a single headache which is remarkable because I get headaches a LOT. Day 3/4 was the worst. Good luck to you!

You are all fantastic, truly. This incredibly long wait from the seminar until surgery has somewhat made me forget why I started the process to begin with. This 2 week pre-op diet has most definitely made me see how mindlessly I can reach for something...the WRONG thing. It hasn't been as hard as I thought, but it happened to come at a very tough time (day 11 we had to move into a new house YAY but had no help BOOO). I haven't gotten on the scale, but I have been lifting boxes and moving moving moving from 6 am until 10 pm for 3 days, and I think that's taken a toll with me living on so few calories. Thanks to everything I have learned from others, I feel pretty prepared for the challenges of the first several months, the pain, the stalls/plateaus, hair loss, hormones, etc. I have a lot of help, I have friends and family who are excited for me, I am trying to be positive. The thing that scares me most is long term, and you're all exactly right...that's on me. And that scares the hell out of me lol

I guess all I can do is my best. I've got a shrink and some good books...I guess that's a start!

I'm no doctor or expert, but I am fairly confident that it's the surgery and weight loss. Your body has gone through incredible changes since having the procedure done. I've even read that women in menopause can start having periods again as a result of the changes caused by the surgery. I certainly wouldn't panic about it...just take a deep breath and wait until you talk to your doctor on Wednesday.