Malaika

Lan - give the prilosec time to work. Also do not EAT or DRINK ANYTHING for at least 3 hours before bedtime. I am sure it has nothing to do with eating the cottage cheese or any other soft mushies you are eating. It also may be that the Prilosec may not work for you - I was taking Nexxium, which worked great; however my insurance no longer covers it and now I am on Prilosec - I find that it does not work nearly as well as the Nexxium and that I need to take Zantac (2 OTC) along with it most days to avoid acid reflux.

I've never had a c-section; however, this was my first major surgery and I didn't find it bad at all - the only pain I had and I wouldn't even call it a pain so much as an ache (like sore muscles) was where the drain was - once it was removed, the incision was still tender, but there was no pulling feeling like when the drain was in. I was up walking within hours of the surgery and only had pain medicine the first night - and that was more so I could be sure to sleep. I didn't have any other pain meds after the first night. The heating pad helped with the gas pains from the CO2 given during surgery. Everything you're experiencing Lan is normal and it will pass and you will be happy with your decision ... I thought the same thing as you and that is passing!

Thinoneday - doesn't sound desperate or dumb. Just be very careful NOT to become anorexic - that's a whole other set of problems. You will do well with the sleeve if you follow your doctor's order post-op.

It's on here somewhere, but I have it memorized so will post it here: 16 oz. container ricotta (I use low fat) 1 egg 1 C parmesan cheese (freshly grated is best) 1-10 oz. pkg frozen spinach - thawed and squeezed dry Mix altogether, put into a 1 qt. casserole dish. Top with another cup of parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes - until bubbly. (I spray the dish with Pam Olive Oil so it doesn't stick) Serve with spaghetti sauce (heated) ... it's really yummy and is good the 2nd and 3rd day too. I've also made it with canned chicken (well drained) and asparagus (that didn't work too well -- too much moisture) Enjoy!

Welcome Cattster - and of course it's PERFECTLY FINE that you join our family - doesn't matter what country you are from - we have Canadians, Ozzies, I think there is one from Saudi Arabia ... so we don't care where you're from - we all share a common problem and a common goal. We'll look forward to hearing about your progress!

Welcome to the family Amanda. There is a group on here of 20 y/o sleevers, so you will find others there that are in their 20s to share with. I was a self-pay - $9500 - I went to Mexicali and Dr. Aceves performed my surgery - the $9500 included everything - pre-op tests, surgery, anesthesia, hospital, 3 days in the hospital, 3 leak tests and post-op tests. I was back to work in one week. I had my surgery on 6/12, so almost 4 months ago, and have lost 47 lbs and gone from a 20/22 to a 16. I am sure you will get many more responses - everyone on the site is great!

Thank you all, again. :001_wub:

As you told me the other night .... HAPPY HUMPING! SO happy for you all!

You need to get in at least 70 gms of Protein, less than 30n gms of carbs and 600-800 calories - otherwise you may have stalls; plus you may start burning muscle instead of fat. If you have trouble remembering to eat what your doctor has suggested, set an alarm on your cell phone or on your outlook at work to remind you -- you should eat/drink even if you aren't hungry. If you can't eat/drink all that your doc recomments, but you are drinking Water - then add some protein to it, so you're at least getting your protein in at the same time as your fluids. You should wait 45 minutes to 1 hour after eating. You can drink up until the time your start eating, then wait afterwards. The reason being the water causes your stomach to empty faster as it washes it out of your stomach. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

That's great Cajun -- I think it took me 2 weeks before I could sleep on my side. Bearded was sleeping on his side in the hospital - I so hated him for that! LOL You can't sleep on your side because the incision where the drain was is extremely tender - like a pulled muscle - and it hurt to lay on that side ... at least that is why I couldn't sleep on my side - guessing the same for Susan and Cajun.

OH that's a GREAT idea -- everyone start giving it some thought ... I will for sure ... that's awesome Judy! ... what do you think Chancie?

So has anyone heard or seen anything about who won the IPOD? I thought the "competition" ended on 7/31 and it's nearly 8/31 with no announcement? Curious - what's up with the event - Alex? Susan? Mac?

It's part of life, Tiff, nothing to be embarrassed about. Is John due home today or tomorrow?

I thought the same thing to Daisy; however, if he used a 32 and then overstitched - we'd end up with like a 28 and wouldn't be able to eat anything. So a 36 with overstitching - we still end up with a 32, so all is good.

Try the ricotta bake, too, Lan - it's really easy, tastes GREAT, and makes enough for several meals.

Dory - welcome to the VST Family - you'll find lots of support here and lots of answers to any questions you may have -- you will be happy with your decision to have had the sleeve... we look forward to reading about your journey to a new you!

Yes, and I've found that they never mean what we think they do -- maybe your ex husband signifies your addiction to food and that by kicking him to the curb you are taking control over not only your choice of food but your new life as well. Who knows, but as you said, I'm sure it has a lot of meaning on a lot of different levels. Glad you are feeling a bit better today.

Steph, I am so sorry about your kitty. It is so tough to lose a pet. I can relate to what you are going through with the food - I turned to food when I was married and got the heaviest I'd ever been - I was miserably unhappy so I ate. Once I made the decision to get out of the marriage, I changed the way I ate and started going to the gym -- I didn't need the food anymore. I dealt with those demons; however with some of the issues I have had with the sleeve - I at times wondered "what the hell" did I do. I do not feel that way any longer. If you are not able to work through these issues on your own, seek help to get through them and you'll be a much happier person and happy with your choice of the sleeve. We're here for you whenver you want to whine or vent! HUGS to you

Welcome Slimgranny and Dybarra - thank you for sharing your stories. Slimgranny you are doing great - keep it up Dybarra - you have made a good decision and will be happy with your decision - keep us posted on your progress. We're here for you both anytime you need us!

Welcome to the forum AnnaBanana - and what a goal you've got! Good for you We look forward to hearing more about your WL journey. Feel free to ask any questions you may have!

As Mac posted on another thread - it's hard to overload your stomach with fluids since as soon as the fluid hits the pyloris valve, it opens and the fluid starts emptying out of your stomach - just don't drink so much at one time that it hurts.

Great news MDGibbs - keep up the good work and make the treadmill a regular part of your day -- if that isn't fun, find some exercise that is! Keep us posted on your progress.

Welcome Rick (and Rick's wife) - that is great that you are both having the surgery. My fiance, BeardedItalian, had his surgery on 7/11/09 - mine was on 6/12/09. I've lost 47 lbs. and he is close behind me at 40 - being a man, I am sure he'll pass me up before too long; however that is okay - we're both in this for the long haul and are one another's biggest cheerleaders. It makes it nice, too, that you'll both be eating the same things - and you'll see a drastic reduction in your grocery bill once you get through the "experimental" stage of figuring out what you want to eat and what you can eat. WELCOME we look forward to reading about your journeys.

You're not alone Shanda. I am very restricted in the morning, so I start every morning with something warm - first it was herbal tea, but now I drink coffee - I'm able to get one cup down between the time I get up (6:15) and the time I leave for work (8:00) then when I get to work, I generally have a hot tea. I don't even TRY eating anything until at least 10:30 - generally I just wait until lunch at 11:30. It takes me quite some time to eat lunch - generally an hour - sometimes longer -- I don't even try to drink anything cold until about 3:00 ... I don't know if part of the problem is my spasms or if it's just restriction. I am nearly 4 months out ... so every day is still an experience, I've just finally found something that seems to work for me -- the warm helps reduce the restriction.

Lan - one thing that I found I could get down - and turned out it was good - even Ruthi liked it and ate it alot, too - was to blend a hard boiled egg yolk with some cottage cheese - I have a stick blender and it blended it very creamy -- it was high in protein and was easy to eat -- You could add a little low fat mayo if need be and some pepper ... just a thought! Glad you did well with the cottage cheese and applesauce ... each day will get easier!