Tufflaw

I just bought some gummy ones at Walmart, I actually would prefer pills but the PA told me to start off with gummies.

My main incision is still bleeding a little bit and I had my surgery on 12/21! The PA checked it on my one-week checkup and said it was fine. I called back a few days later and they said it's fine, that means it's healing? It doesn't hurt and doesn't look bad, I just keep a bandage on it so my shirts don't get ruined.

I was worried pre-op as well, and during the two-week liquid diet I was CRAVING my favorites, in particular chicken parm, oh man I was craving it every night, I was miserable. And then after the surgery it was like someone flicked a switch in my brain, and I have absolutely zero cravings for that stuff. I used to get a chicken parm with angelhair Pasta from my local place and eat the whole thing (and it was big) plus the half a bread loaf they included. Just thinking about it now makes me feel ill. First, there's no way I could physically eat more than a few bites with my smaller stomach. More importantly, I just don't have any desire for it. It's weird, but I definitely don't miss my favorite foods the way I thought I would. pizza is another one. I used to eat pizza all the freaking time. All my life. One year I think I ate pizza for lunch every single weekday. Over the last few years I'd probably eat it a few times a week. Now, I don't miss it at all. I'm sure in a few months when I'm cleared for regular food I'll try a slice just to see how it tastes, but I have no urge for it. While you're worrying now, just say to yourself - Nothing, NOTHING tastes as good as skinny feels.

Sounds like she's worried that instead of 20 pounds heavier than you, she'll be 120 pounds heavier. Hopefully she can educate herself about this surgery and maybe she'll join you.

I have but I have not "acted" on it, if you know what I am saying. Within the last two years, I had ALOT of emotional, unfortunate events happen and I am an emotional eater and also BIG time binge eater. I haven't pulled the trigger on the revision just yet. I got a script from my PCP for the GERD so we will see what happens. I am at a crossroads right now. I just may try the pouch reset, etc. I dont know.... Well, I wish you the best of luck! Re: the GERD, once I started taking Omeprazole it was like magic, all symptoms immediately stopped.

Ah, makes sense then. I have GERD too, have you tried Prilosec? The generic form is Omeprazole, I've had a prescription for a few years so all I pay are co-pays. Re: The revision - have you looked into some type of support group or counseling to work on underlying issues? If you "went back to old habits" after the sleeve, the same might unfortunately happen after a revision. I know a few people personally who have had bypass surgery, lost a ton of weight, and put it all back on a few years later.

I'm not familiar with the sleeve to bypass revision. Looking at your numbers on your profile you've been extremely successful with the sleeve, what is the benefit of a revision (NOT judging, just genuinely curious).

For me it wasn't that bad. Had pain in my shoulder and neck area for a couple of days, but it went away with the walking. Think of it like this: It's not injury pain, which is different. It's not like you got stabbed in the back and you have to worry about internal injuries and infections etc etc, this is pain that hurts but won't hurt you, if you catch my drift. It's pain that will absolutely go away, and you'll be done with it. There's a quote I heard, I think JFK said it, to paraphrase - "I can withstand any pain as long as I know it will end." That's gotten me through many times in the dentist's chair!

I was sleeved on 12/21 and my schedule now is like this: Morning - 2 scarmbled eggs with 1 oz of shredded cheese One Premier Protein (11 oz) on the way to work 16 oz of Water at work, sip until lunch Lunch - Last several days it's been Shelly's Ricotta Bake as described above 16 oz Diet Snapple 16 oz water, sip until I get home dinner - Various, either chicken salad, refried Beans, tuna, egg salad, turkey salad 1 or 2 sugar-free popsicles, or maybe a Yoplait light yogurt (6 oz - Boston Cream Pie!) 16 oz water That puts me at just about 900 or so calories a day and I never feel hungry and it satisfies my liquid and protein requirements.

Don't waste your time with negative people, even if they're family. I was lucky and got very positive responses from my family and friends. My wife's aunt was very negative and got on the phone and started telling me how I shouldn't do it, it's dangerous, I was going to get sick, so I just hung up on her and haven't spoken with her since. Life's too short, you know?

Weird dinner night tonight. I wanted to mix it up and I was thinking about SARDINES. I've eaten them a few times in the past, mashed up and on ritz crackers. No crackers for me now, so I figured I'd mash them up and mix with some mayo and just eat it. Went to Walmart to pick up my new MINI food PROCESSOR which is so cool and it was 9 bucks. I want to be able to blend small meals without having to wash my large blender. Found the canned fish but no sardines. In a similar type of tin I found Kippers, which are smoked herrings. I figured they're similar and so I got them. Mashed them in the food processor, added some mayo, and - not so good. Very fishy, VERY salty, just not really enjoyable. I started getting a headache so stopped after eating only about 2 ounces. I nuked 3 oz of refried Beans and put on some shredded cheese and that was yummy. Live and learn!

If you're looking for a more social experience that mixes up workouts, there are lot of class-style places out there that are supposed to be very good. I've heard good things about Orange Theory and Pure Barre, both have lots of locations and look like they give you a very good workout. It takes the thought process out of it, just go in and do what they say. Someone else mentioned Zumba, I haven't tried it but my wife absolutely loves it.

It's a lot easier to get your heartrate up jogging/running than walking. I did C25K a few year ago and I loved it. Ran a 5K for the first time at the end, although I stopped doing it after that. There are a ton of apps out there. I used Rundouble's app which is really really nice. It lets you choose whether to use a treadmill (timed) or outside (distance), integrates your music playlist, and allows for upgrades to a 10K, half-marathon, and full marathon, with training programs for all of those. Or if you're a zombie fan there's a Zombie Run C25K app which integrates a story where you're running from zombies which is also a lot of fun. Best way to burn the most fat in the shortest amount of time are high intensity intervals. Google "HIIT" for more info. My surgeon recommended a good book on exercising called "The First 20 Minutes" that I'm in the middle of right now, has a lot of interesting info on a lot of exercise "myths" that most people believe that aren't true, and info on HIIT as well.

I was told no veggies for the first month or fruits for the first two months, and potatoes were banned because of the starch. I've been eating scrambled eggs with shredded cheese every morning. I have made some egg salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, turkey salad. Also every day for lunch I eat a piece of Ricotta Bake, oh my god it's fantastic. Got the recipe here (and also there are other great suggestions for the puree phase): http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html

Update: Still noticing some bleeding from the large incision, and the other day I thought there was a piece of the scab rubbing on my shirt that was causing it so I pulled it and it was some of my stitches!! This was right before New Years so I had to wait a few days to call the doctor's office. I put some gauze on it and when I took it off the stitches came off with it (just three stitches I think). The PA told me not to worry, that it's normal to get a little bleeding, that it means it's healing. Not to worry about the stitches either, that the doctor leaves a little bit exposed and there's not a problem with it coming out at this point. So I got some large band-aid type Patches that I wear now, they're actually great because now my shirt doesn't rub against the incision. Hopefully will all be better soon. Looks like I may be hitting the three week stall though. For the first time, I had the same weight two days in a row and then this morning was actually up 4/10 of a pound. Although I still feel great and am already able to wear some suits that didn't fit me a month ago. Looking forward to being able to exercise in a few weeks.

One of the doctors told me that there's no medical need whatsoever for the six month requirement. The insurance companies just don't want to spend the money, so they make you wait 6 months hoping that either you won't complete the program, in which case no surgery. You lose interest, in which case no surgery. Or you drop dead, in which case no surgery. Any way they can save money is good for them.

I definitely recommend it, I had a lot of fun when I was training regularly. Make sure you find a legitimate instructor though, there are a lot of frauds out there. It's important to be able to trace the lineage of the instructor back to the origin of the martial art, which was in the early 1900's so it's not that hard. For example, I trained with Renzo Gracie, who received his black belt from Carlos Gracie, Jr., who received his from Carlos Gracie who started BJJ.

Wondering if anyone here trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or a similar type of grappling or MMA. I trained for several years before gaining too much weight and now that my surgery is over I'd like to get back into it. It's very high-impact in terms of physical contact, a lot of core movements, and lots of pressure on body parts, especially the abdomen. There's even a position called "knee on stomach" with pressure applied directly to the abdomen, so of course I'm worried about my incisions and the stomach itself. For those who do this type of training, I was wondering how long it took after surgery to get back into training and what your experience was like. Thanks! (I'll cross-post this to the Fitness forum too)

Wondering if anyone here trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or a similar type of grappling or MMA. I trained for several years before gaining too much weight and now that my surgery is over I'd like to get back into it. It's very high-impact in terms of physical contact, a lot of core movements, and lots of pressure on body parts, especially the abdomen. There's even a position called "knee on stomach" with pressure applied directly to the abdomen, so of course I'm worried about my incisions and the stomach itself. For those who do this type of training, I was wondering how long it took after surgery to get back into training and what your experience was like. Thanks! (This is being cross-posted from the Sleeve post-surgery forum)

I'd wait if I were you. At my first followup one week out they made another appointment for three weeks later and said they'd clear me for exercise at that time. Don't risk messing with your incisions or risking a hernia - just wait until Thursday and see what the doc says.

Does your doctor have someone in their office who deals with the insurance companies? Let them do the work for you, just call and ask them to make sure you're still covered.

Finished the last piece of that Ricotta bake today, going to make more tomorrow, it's my new lunch every day now, holy cow it's so good. Tried some mahi mahi tonight for the first time ever, also first time I ever cooked fish. Not sure if I did it wrong but it was pretty bland, just bleh. Finished 4 oz. though, lots of Protein and it was something new to try. I have another piece in the freezer, maybe I'll cook it up and then blend it in the food processor and add some mayo, make a little seafood salad. Everything is going great, although I get little blood spots every day on my shirt from the large incision. The PA at my checkup said not to worry, but at some point it should stop, right? Anyone else noticing this 10 days after surgery? Also I noticed on my little signature ticker thing that my BMI is below 40, so I guess that's a milestone, woohoo!

Statistically, the sleeve is less invasive than the bypass, requires a shorter surgery, and a shorter recovery time. The bypass has been around a lot longer than the sleeve, and all else being equal you will likely lose slightly more with the bypass in a shorter amount of time. Personally, after I did the research, I got the sleeve, which is also what my doctor recommended.

Had my first followup today. The doctor wasn't in but the PA checked me out and everything is good. She did put the kibosh on the corned beef hash though No potatoes allowed. Although I did make the Shelly's Ricotta Bake found here: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html and HOLY CRAP it was delicious. I'll attach some pictures of the whole thing and my slice. Really really good, only 200 calories a serving and I think 16 grams of Protein. It was not easy to stretch the meal to 30 minutes. I have to try some more recipes from there.

So it's after Christmas, what did the doctor say and how are you feeling?