ShelterDog64

So glad to see you here, Maggie! I'm sorry to hear that you've been ill...I hope you're on the mend! I'll send you all my best healing mojo Please keep us up to date with how you're doing, you've been missed <3

Suzzzzz, I've started keeping a Quest bar and a small water bottle in my handbag just for those 'can't control' events. I SO often walk out of the house without my big water bottle and the protein bar has saved me more than once. And just as a ps, the day AFTER I gained one pound, I lost 3 Sorry about the disturbing jury duty, it's definitely a look at the underbelly of society at times, isn't it?

Glad to hear it moved some! I'm at 29 lbs lost....I REALLY want to be able to say "30 pounds!!". Maybe tomorrow

@@melissac79 Sending lots of peace and healing your way. Life can be SO hard and sometimes it seems like you can barely get off your knees from the onslaught of it all. Stay strong, friend <3

@@Heidijenn I read your post an hour ago and have been trying to come up with something to say that doesn't sound mean or harsh, because I don't feel angry, just kind of sad. I'm no expert on WLS, and I'm only in my 6th post-op week, but I could never have done this if I didn't have a positive attitude about the procedure and the outcome. In the endless classes and support group meetings my pathway required, I met so many people who could only focus on the food they wouldn't be able to eat. It blew my mind and continues to do so...we're all candidates for this surgery because we liked food more than we liked ourselves. It's hard to be completely honest with yourself, but I sat myself down and said "you are failing at life right now, sweetie, and someone is offering you a lifeline...are you going to refuse to grab that rope because eating 20 chicken wings at a sitting is more important that living a healthy, normal life?". And THAT is the bottom line. Do chicken wings mean more than your well-being? If the answer is yes, then walk away and go to Buffalo Wild Wings and chow down. But think about this: are there people in your world who you care about? Your partner, your siblings, your children, whoever it is that are a meaningful part of your world...can you stand in front of THEM and say "I love chicken wings more than I love you"? My weight and my inability to fully participate in my family's life has already altered the lives of my husband and children, so when I was offered this opportunity, I DID put on my big girl panties, stopped loving chicken wings more than life, and I had the damned surgery. My surgeon offered me AND my entire family a gift, but I was the only one who could accept it on behalf of all of us. So I decided that my family, my friends, my future grandchildren and I are more important that 20 chicken wings at a sitting. What are you going to choose? I wish you much peace and hope you're able to come to a point where the idea of WLS isn't terrifying, but is empowering instead. Please stay around and let us know how this all goes for you.

@@livvsmum I dealt with iron-deficiency anemia for about 6 years, I took every form of oral Iron available, ate iron-rich foods, blahblahblah. I finally ended up with a great doctor in the DC area who took my symptoms seriously and really looked at the details of my anemia vs just my hemoglobin and hematocrit. First, she addressed the source of the anemia which was my heavy periods. Once I'd had an endometrial ablation and the bleeding was eliminated, I did 3 rounds of 7 weeks of infusions, with iron dextran. My body's iron stores were so depleted that I was almost done with the second 7 week round before I started any feeling better at all. It took a few months after the last round for my numbers to stay in the normal range. I had my sleeve surgery on 6/21 and my hematocrit was great, my RBCs are normal size and shape and my iron binding capacity is finally in normal range again. I think many times moderate iron-deficiency anemia is dismissed, but I'm living proof that your numbers don't have to be at "OHMYGOD that's so LOW" to do long-term damage to your body. I spent most of my 40s exhausted, out of breath, in a mental fog and just feeling like crap. Good luck to you, I hope you're able to get your numbers back to a reasonable level.

I really like the Mio drops, but I don't add the full amount they suggest on the bottle. Less than half of the suggested amount works great for me, as I don't like the overly sweet taste either.

Here's a link to the cauliflower and egg breakfast bites I found last week. They're REALLY good and a nice change from what I've been eating in the mornings. I'm in such a food rut, I really need to shake it up a bit...these are delicious and I need to find more interesting stuff like this. http://del.sh/6006BlxyM

I'm so sorry you're having a hard time right now....I can't imagine going through a lot of emotional trauma right now AND trying to learn to live with my sleeve. Are you able to exercise? I felt like I was going to tear my autistic son's head off yesterday evening, so I went for a VERY long walk and actually liked him again by the time I got home I hope your doctor is able to do something for you and that stuck feeling as well. Hang in there!!

@@Alex Brecher It worked, thanks!

@@Dub I'm a newbie and can't comment on the weight loss aspect of reducing the pain, but I do have just a couple of things: 1. Bragg's is apple cider VINEGAR, and I have used it with some success in the past for knee/hip pain (I have weight related pain and early osteoarthritis both). I'm not sure how compatible it is with the sleeve, though. 2. I was on Celebrex prior to surgery and my doc plans to put me back on it when I'm about 16 weeks out from my sleeve surgery. Celebrex helped quite a bit and I never had any stomach upset with it. Motrin tears me up, so there's that comparison. 3. My doc prescribed Tramadol a week ago because I've got a possible tear in my right shoulder (labrum and/or rotator cuff). No concern about it damaging my stomach but there is a risk of increased seizure activity when combined with SSRIs or if you have metabolic syndrome. It's helping, but it's an opioid, so I'm only taking it at night for the shoulder. I don't think I could take it and drive/work/etc. Good luck, and I hear you about stupid games/stupid prizes, but it was a hell of a lot of fun while I was playing in my 20s and 30s :-)

If your animal is truly a service dog, not an emotional support dog, the ADA requires that the animal be allowed to be present with you in the hospital. You must have someone come in to bathroom and feed the animal, but SERVICE animals can't be excluded from hospitals. https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.pdf

@@Alex Brecher, I just tried the code and it won't work...any ideas?

I don't eat that amount in one meal..that's insane..thru out the day I eat this much..small meals is the key.. You've said that you throw up? How often? I'm in my 5th post-op week and I've never thrown up, even on full food. Well, there was one incident where I chugged a glass of Water without thinking, but....

Good luck tomorrow, I'll be looking for a post from you about how it went ????

@@Seastars You said "I just didn't think losing weight with the sleeve would be this hard. I read posts about the three-week stall, but that's AFTER someone loses, like, 30 pounds or so!" My 3 week stall was at 23 lbs, and I started with a BMI of 41 and no pre-op diet so no weight loss. My high weight was my day of surgery weight. I'm in my 5th week and still not at 30 lbs lost. And don't forget that men tend to lose faster than women, especially if they start at a much higher weight. Hang in there...I'm still eating 500-600 cals/day, I can't get to 800 and I think it may be inhibiting my weight loss. I'm walking, using the elliptical, doing some arm and leg weight work, etc...it'll come off.

It seems like many people with lower BMIs lose more slowly than those of us who start at 40 and above.

@@shotgun72000 I lost 23 lbs in almost three weeks, then nothing for a week. Then I lost 2 lbs one day, then nothing for a couple. Now I'm down 1.5 one day, back up one the next, down one the following...it's crazy. I'm not panicking, because I KNOW I'm on plan. I measure and weigh all my food, track it religiously, I'm getting at least 48oz water daily and walking my butt off (literally, I hope!!). I'm going to ride this out and be in a single digit size by January, I hope! I have a couple of friends who've had the surgery (both RnY) and they've been very reassuring that it's normal to have a little plateau every now and then. Donell1000 posted a link in this thread a couple of weeks ago about glycemic conversion and how it affects weight loss. It would be worth going back and finding it, it was a very good read.

The BP meds got me as well. I would stand up, get light-headed and pass out. My BP was 80 over 35. I asked my surgeon "How long will it take for me to no longer need my BP meds?" He told me immediately. Wow. Yep! I was told to suspend my lisinopril the day of surgery, and never took another one! My pressure is consistently 120s/70s now. It's magical!

I was on Lotrel, which is a combo of a Calcium channel blocker and an ACE inhibitor. It took about a month, but I developed a dry hacking cough, kind of like kennel cough It resolved immediately when my doc took me off the Lotrel and put me on an ACE inhibitor alone (lisinopril). Did your doc make a change for you?

I never thought I was a foodie until I got sleeved. Things that I just did subconsciously are blatant and they are wrong. When I am tempted, a little voice pops into my ear and asks "How long will you be dead?" This is just the beginning of a new life. Life will open up in so many different wonderful ways. We will say to ourselves "So this is what is meant by "When you have your health, you have everything" I need to trade my evil little voice for your angelic one, Donell1000! You know, when I was doing my research about having WLS, I read so much about 'starting a new life', etc and kind of brushed it off as melodrama or being overly 'feely' about things. I'm a pragmatist, so I looked at the surgery as a tool to help me lose weight, nothing more or less. But some of the changes that have come about are truly life altering and are making me look at the procedure as more of a global change in my world than just a restriction of my stomach size. I LOVE the way you always have something spiritual and positive to say!

I was discharged on post-op day 2, no drain but I was on liquid narcotics for a few days. By day 5, I was walking over a mile (flat ground, not San Fran hills!) with no issues at all. But everyone is different...3 of us had the sleeve surgery on the same day at my hospital, another woman and I were up walking within an hour of arriving from PACU, the other patient didn't walk at all for 2 days, he just didn't have the energy or desire. Someone mentioned a hop on/hop off bus tour option, that could be a great option...if you find yourself feeling great, hop off, if not, stay on Best of luck and I wish I was flying to Australia too!!

I'm in my 5th week post-op and water continues to be my biggest challenge. I'm using water enhancers like Mio drops to help, I've found that even a few drops adds enough smell that the water is more palatable. My sense of smell is off the charts right now...I'm about to turn 52 and my sense of smell had deteriorated a bit in the last few years (I think my CPAP nasal cannula contributed to it), but it's BACK!!

One more post and I'm done, I promise! This one is a rant/lament. I went grocery shopping with my son this afternoon, and I had the WORST time seeing all the chips and Cookies and baked goods. I'm over a month out now and this is the first time I've really wanted something junky...of course, I didn't allow myself to buy any of it, but MAN, I could have chowed down on some donuts from the deli! Now I'm at home, I had half of a Syntrax nectar and I'm fine, but....it was hard. I told myself that I've broken the sugar monster and that it would be stupid for so many reasons to even consider a BITE of something like that, but the other voice, the BAD voice, was trying very hard to sway me! I'm thankful my son was there (he's on a high protein/low carb diet getting ready for college soccer season) to help me through it. Have any of you had a craving that strong? I've barely been hungry, so it totally shocked me to have such a strong gut reaction to seeing crappy junk food.

I'm using PatchMD, too. Have you had any labs done yet? My dietitian is very skeptical about the efficacy of Patches, which has me a bit concerned, too. I just can't tolerate any oral Vitamins except some Disney Princess kids gummies but they're full of sugar and I have to eat a bunch of them to get what I need.