Tiffykins

Hi Liz and welcome to the forum. I hope the appointment goes well today, and you get your surgery date. It can be overwhelming, and exhausting thinking about all the "what ifs", but arm yourself with as much information as you can. As for your husband not being supportive, is it just he's nervous for the procedure, or does he not want you to do it at all? My husband was super concerned with me having my band placed last year, and he was even more concerned when I had to revise to the sleeve, but he was supportive because he knew how much I needed to have this done. As for the surgery itself being scary, I've had 6 surgeries in my 32 years. 1 arm surgery, 2 knee surgeries, a c-section, a lapband and a revision to the sleeve. The revision to the sleeve was by far the easiest and least painful. Keep us posted on your journey, and we'll all be here to walk by your side.

Hi Cookie, and welcome to the forum. I can only imagine how frustrating it is to wait on insurance. I hope you get good news soon on an approval, and we'll all be here to support through this journey.

Yeah, it happens. If they stretch out their little stretchy pouch over time. They don't change their eating habits, and any of the surgeries have be "cheated", but I have found between the band and the sleeve, that the sleeve is more restrictive, plus, I'm never hungry. I have to set a reminder alarm on my phone so I remember to eat.

That's amazing Linda, congrats ! ! ! I have 10 more pounds to lose before I am no longer considered "obese". I really hate being so short. Keep up the great work and have fun at DW ! ! !

I am so glad to hear about all of your accomplishments. Thank you for giving a glimpse into your world ! ! ! Congrats on your amazing results thus far.

If I remember correctly, I lost close to 35lbs the first 30 days post-op. I'm 5 months out today, and have dropped 91lbs. I started at 263 at 5'2", and in a size 22/24 pants and 24/26 tops. Today, I'm in a regular Large shirt (11 in juniors/12 in misses), and in a size 14 -16 pants depending on the brand and cut of the jeans.

chicken salad or Tuna salad soft cheese (laughing cow is my favorite) I still can't tolerate rice. It causes major cramping for me. I didn't eat noodles/pasta of any sort until I was almost 3 months post-op. Anything that expands hurt way too much early out for me.

I can see and feel my collarbones ! ! ! I can't even remotely remember the last time I was able to see my collarbones, maybe junior high? ? ?

Thanks a bunch. It's finally starting to slow down this last week. I was happy to see the scale only move about 1.5lb.

I'm sooooooooooo elated for you, and you inspire me to try harder every day. Keep up the amazing job ! ! !

My insurance paid so I have zero personal experience, but I know some people go through Care Credit for medical necessary loans.

There can be some minimal stretching, but from the stats I've seen it's no more than 8oz. This will also depend on what size of boughie your surgeon uses. Your stomach will never get as big as it was pre-op, nor can you stretch it out that much because the stomach tissue that is left is the muscular part, the part they remove is the more stretchy portion of the stomach. It's not like with the band or RNY when people stretch their pouches out and can eat 6 slices of pizza again.

I don't know if it impedes healing, but stuff that's high in sugar typically makes my stomach cramp. Once I was on full liquids, I did mix 1 tsp of honey with about 1/4 cup of greek yogurt, and I paid dearly for it. I haven't had any honey since that day.

So, Caysen threw a fit this morning about me taking him to school instead of letting him ride the bus. I wasn't in the mood to fight with him so I let him ride the bus. I stayed in bed until 9am then got up, and went to the Y. Boy, let me tell ya it is was pretty intimidating. I just walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes then left. I don't know how to use half of the equipment in there so I felt pretty clueless. I really hope the training coordinator calls me today or tomorrow. If she doesn't, I'm calling her on Friday so I can go in and get set up to have a real work out. I didn't eat before I went so I felt pretty crappy just after 30 minutes. I have got to quit giving Caysen options. He has to learn that life isn't all about him. Sometimes we all make sacrifices that we may not like, but it has to be done. Tomorrow, I have bowling so I won't be going to the Y, but Thursday morning, I'm definitely going earlier in the morning. I know that I'll feel more comfortable the more I go. I really want to be successful so I have to keep at it. One day at a time. . .

Thanks DeeDee, I laid down some law today. We devised a new homework/study schedule, and I made up a chore chart for him. He's gotten a bit "big for his britches", and I am done fighting with him. He still rides the bus home Wednesday morning since I'll be bowling instead of going to the Y. Tomorrow, I meet with the training and wellness coordinator at 3pm. I told her that I am not sure how to use the machines, or what would be best for me. She told me that they will go over every machine, and set up my program tomorrow afternoon. I'm totally stoked now because I know once I have a plan/routine, I'll be able to successful. If y'all haven't noticed, I'm one of those "planner" type people. I make lists, I have reminders on my phone for important events, and enjoy a lot of structure. This whole working out thing is so new for me because I've always just done it at home. But, now I'm going to do some serious toning, and strength training to get my arms to look decent. We have a military ball in May, and I want to look smashing. Most ball dresses are sleeveless so I have 6-7 months to try to look amazing.

I agree with contacting your surgeon. Pus is definitely not a good sign, and you don't want to let an infection spread. Keep us posted on what the surgeon recommends. I did a lot of hydrotherapy (used my shower head with different massagers) on all of my incisions.

Ohhhhhhhhhh JoAnne that is good news. Sending you good vibes for even better news next week.

Thank you for sharing your story with us "newbies". It's always great to hear from those that have been doing this much longer than most of us. Congrats on your success and good luck on your continued maintenance.

I would have to say it's fairly normal especially if you are using those ab muscles to get up and down from a sitting position or out of bed. It will get better, but I would recommend no pulling, tugging, and limit your bending over as much as possible. Also, make sure you aren't lifting over the amount that your surgeon suggested.

I had my period smack dab in the middle of my revision in June. I was NOT able to wear my normal panties, but the hospital supplied these super stretchy undergarments, and I was able to change my pads. During the surgery, the OR staff/nurses, made me extremely comfortable, and I was not embarrassed at all. They deal with these type of situations all the time.

It's happened to me a few times. It is creepy, and the dry heaves make it worse when it won't come up. I feel miserable, and just know if I could get it to come up, I would feel better. I still struggling with getting a "full signal". I honestly think it's related to the fact that I have never felt true hunger. So, I eat because I know I have to eat to feed my body, but I am not hungry.

That is incredibly frustrating. I can tell you that this surgery completely changed my "behavioral" issues with eating. Do I treat myself occasionally? You bet I do, but I don't overindulge. I don't volume eat anymore because I simply can't do it, and believe it or not, my mind has completely "flipped" on how it thinks about food. I don't stand in front of the fridge, and think about what I can put in my mouth that will make me feel better. I rarely have head hunger, and have been able to completely change my relationship with food. I'm really saddened for you, and hope that you get your surgery.

I go to lunch with a bunch of other Air Force spouse's on Wednesdays after we go bowling. They all know about my surgery, but I get those kinds of questions asked by the servers as well. The one thing I've done to help combat any comments from anyone is, I order an appetizer, or Soup. I've also learned to kind of "move" food around to the edge of my plate to make it appear that I've eaten more than I really have consumed. My husband, son and I go out to dinner once a week, and what we've started doing we order 2 regular meals, and I share one of them with my 11 yr old son. I also get a to-go box at the beginning of a meal and put half of my food in there. That way I don't have to look at it, and the servers don't know how much I've eaten.