*susan*

Maria, I am so sorry that you have had such a scary, unpleasant experience. Please know that you are in all of our thoughts and prayers. I hope they get to the bottom of this quickly so you can be well and return home to your children. Please keep us posted on how you are doing.

Amerigirl, your comment about the butt made me laugh. The hubby and I were talking the other day that I no longer have the convenient built in shelf on my behind anymore. I sure don't miss that!

I can definitely attest to once it slips, it continues to slip. Mine slipped three times. After the first slip, it was never right. Even with very little or no fill, I wouldn't be able to get anything down. The last year I had the band, I lived on ice cream because it was the only thing I could get down, and still managed to slip the band again!

Judy, the symptoms you are experiencing are very similar to what I experienced when I became severely dehydrated. I ended up in the hospital three times on IV liquids as a result. Definitely up your liquids, no matter how tough. Keep water near you and sip on it all day long.

Hi Dana, and welcome to the forums! We are so happy to have you join us. I look forward to following your journey.

Thanks for checking in and letting us know how you are doing. Take care of yourself and let us know how things are progressing.

I love salads as well. I started eating them around eight weeks out without any problems. I have two or three a week, at least!

Kelly, glad to hear you are sleeved and doing well. I had the severe nausea as well. They kept telling me to get up and and walk, and every time I did, I ended up vomiting. It wasn't pleasant, but it did pass. Continue to keep us posted on how you are doing.

Growing up, my parents owned a very nice steak house, so I was brought up on filet mignon and it is definitely something I could never give up. I have been eating it since about two months out without any problems. I can't eat a lot of it, but I do enjoy it. I am pretty much able to about the same quantities as netherfield.

Deb, you really don't want to look for shakes before surgery. Most of us have found that our tastes changed quite a bit after surgery and things we liked before, we don't afterwords. I never could tolerate the Protein shakes, I just make sure I get enough protein in with the foods that I eat and I have done fine. If you would like to chat on the phone, let me know and I will pm you my number.

Thank you so much!

Good luck, Theresa! I am sure everything will go wonderfully. We look forward to hearing how you are doing.

It is weird for me. When I got the band, I told everyone. When I revised to the sleeve, I told everyone. But, last week I started a new job. I always take my lunch and never go out. The first day I sat in the break room eating my lunch, I had several people ask me if that was all I was going to eat, pointing out where the snack machines were, etc. I started to tell them, then all of a sudden just found myself telling them I was trying to lose weight, with nothing in there about having had the surgery. I don't think I was trying to hide it from them, and normally I am comfortable with telling people I don't even know that well. I think, for me, I suddenly realized something. This is the first time in my adult life I have started a job where I did not feel incredibly uncomfortable because of my weight. For once, I wasn't being introduced to my new coworkers and thinking to myself, "I hope they don't notice how fat I am" and other things along those lines. I don't know, I can't really explain it. I guess, for once, it is just nice not being known as the big girl who is trying to lose weight again. Gah, I don't know if this is making any sense or not. Does anyone understand what I am saying here?

I was never concerned about losing a portion of my stomach, especially knowing it is still a fully functioning one, just smaller than most peoples. I sure as heck don't expect to wake up some morning and think, "gee, I want to be fat again, I sure wish I had my stomach back." Also, I wasn't worried that I would ever need it again because back in the early seventies, my mother had major health problems and actually ended up having 3/4 of her stomach removed due to a medical issue. That has been over thirty years ago and she has never had any issues resulting from only having 1/4 of her stomach. So, I figure I will be just fine without mine.

I also started out at 283. Currently, I am 198.8 and would be very happy to get down to between 140 and 145. I have no reason to believe I cannot reach that goal, and when I do, look out world, I will be shouting it from everywhere!

Katrina, I hadn't even thought about how those numbers matched up that way. You are right, that is totally cool. Thanks again everyone!

Haley, congratulations, it sounds like you are having wonderful success with your sleeve. You have lost an amazing amount of weight already and have much to be proud of. I am especially happy for you that your pain has gone down so much, that right there makes it worth everything.

Hi and welcome to our forums! Congratulations on your decision, I am sure you will not regret it. Keep us posted on how things are going with you.

It won't be long at all now. Best of luck to you and we look forward to hearing how you guys are doing.

Thanks, guys! I am so excited I think I am literally walking on air today.

Yep, definitely a case of the foamies. I never could tolerate any of the protein drinks out there.

OldAv8tor, I wanted to take a quick moment to first welcome you to our forums, we are so glad to have you join us and happy to share with you our reasons for going with the sleeve. As Deedee said, everyone here has already pretty much touched on the reasons why I chose the sleeve as well. I started out with the lapband. For those it works for, it is a wonderful tool. Unfortunately, for some of us, we just seem destined to have problems with it. So, when I had the opportunity to revise to the sleeve, I jumped on it. For me, the sleeve is almost effortless for me. I am the first to admit, I am bad about counting calories, etc. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life counting and monitoring every bite I take. With the sleeve, I honestly don't do that. I try and make healthier choices, but have no guilt when I treat myself either. I just stop eating when I am full. That is all I do. I have been doing that since I got sleeved on April 2nd and have been thrilled with my weight loss to date. Whatever surgery you decide is best for you, I wish you nothing but the best of luck.

I am with cajun, I have never heard of the pain ball either. But, I do think your plan of following up with the doctor on Monday if you are still having problems is a good idea.