thinoneday

Well welcome and Congratulations to you! You're going like this sleeve thingy once you get used to it. . .it wasn't a walk in the park like they make it out to be, you have to relearn all your eating habits and exercise plans . . . ( I hate that E word!) but you'll do great! Just like the rest of us . . . good luck and keep posting your successes. . . one really good tip from a veteran here. . . DON'T WEIGH EVERYDAY!!!! Once every other week is plenty . . . I actually threw my scale away after surgery and used only the doctor scale each time i went for weigh ins . . . kept me sane! good luck!

I have about 1 - 2 cans of diet soda per day. . . i started drinking it when I was about 6 months out and at 1 + years out I still defizz it first otherwise it really hurts if you don't!

YAHOO!!!!! Soon you'll be right over here on this side with the rest of us! Yippee!!! cyber hugs (((())))

cyber hugs from me to you!!! ((((()))))

Hope you get to feelin better soon! Migrains are a major pain (no pun intended) B - homemade bun with butter and cup of coffee (it was soooooooooooo yum) L - hormel chicken w/dressing and gravy D- not sure yet S - 1 cup red grapes Vitamins (all chewables so they are my candy) diet soda 1 - 2 oz chedder cheese

NO NO NO NO NO you do NOT miss the insulation not matter how chilly/freezing you are! :lol: Get thermals! wear them under the size 10 pants that should give you extra insulation! Congratulations and keep up the excellent work! and where in the North Pole are you? Alaska, Yukon, NWT's? Literally the NP?

How fabulous. . . congratulations to the both of you. . . not only is this uplifting to the class you showed and to us, but also to you and sophia. . .it's a visual of your success and it just shows how we can succeed if we really really try and keep going! Congratulations again and keep going your both doing fantastic!

Isn't it amazing how we look at food now! I'm the same way and I was commenting about certain things and was called a hypocrite! Can you BELIEVE THAT!!!! I can't handle going out to eat much either so what i've started doing is learning to cook what my husband wanted to go out for. . . for example I made black pepper chicken stirfry, white rice and egg rolls for him on Friday, of course we're still eating off it cause it made alot and of course with our surgeries I'm lucky if i can even eat 1 eggroll! But i degress, the point is its cheaper to cook it at home then go out. . . I bought ALL the stuff to fix this meal for $14.00 and we still have left overs, if it was go out we'd spent about $25/30 dollars. . .

I've worked in surgery and as an RN, I can safely say that as long as general anesthesia is involved, the patients are intubated.

I know, I know, vanity is one of the 7 deadly sins, but you know what I don't care I look more younger now then I did when I was fat. . . actually I have a brother whose 10 years younger than me and a sister whose 2 years younger and I was asked if i'm the youngest! I loved it. . . then my daughter whose 21 and I were taking pictures which she posted on her facebook and one of her friends who doesn't know me from adam, asked her if I was her sister???? SOOOOOOO I guess it's all in how you take it. . . but girl I'm glad mine turned out this way. . .my hair now on the other side well thats another story, but i'd rather be thin and beautiful and have extremely thin hair then obese, and thick hair. . . good luck! No your not weird. . . very good question! PS. . . oh by the way I'm 50

Ok so i'm ticking along, losing weight and feeling great. . everytime i have gone to the doctor for follow up she has drawn blood and has found vitamin D deficency and has prescribed Vitamin D 50,000units x 13 weeks. . well I have had this x 2 and now the last time she took blood and she has said that I have the most severest Vitamin D deficency she has ever seen and doesn't understand why. . . my PTH (parathyroid hormone) now is elevated as well, however, my calcium levels are perfect as is everything else except for the liver enzymes which are elevated but she attributes that to the surgery. . . so here i am taking Vitamin D in large doses Prescription once a week along with Vitamin D3 gummies every day. . . my bone density test is fine with just a bit of osteoartheritis noticable. . . what do you guys think? She says that if after this 3 months if the vitamin D has not gone up significantly, she'll have to do something else. . . what else is there? IV vitamin D??? anyone know?

Wow I just have to share this with y'all. . . I am sitting on my couch this morning (7:30 AM) watching this TV show called Extreme Pigouts. . . if any of you need a reminder of what we used to do to ourselves, watch this show. . . i started watching it and literally got ill at ease at the amount of food people actually consume. 10 oz of hamburger x 3 patties on a bun, plus fries, coleslaw, cheese stiks, etc . . . to give you a picture of how it affected me, I literally got diarrhea about 30 minutes into the show ( I hadn't had anything to eat yet this morning except for coffee) and now I don't know if i'm interested in having anything either. . . It was so gross i couldn't believe it. . . and to think just 1 year ago i could have been one of those people. . . my goodness. . . sorry if i offend anyone that is not my purpose, but i just needed to share this today. . . does these shows affect anyone else like this? just a question

Good girl! You'll be doing yourself the biggest favor by not weighing all the time. . .your going to do so well. . .trust me, just stay off the scale for about 2 weeks no matter how hard it is (get someone to hide the scale) then weigh and rejoice with the victory! Good luck and let us know ok!

Ugh I'm so boring! But here it goes B - instant oatmeal - blueberries and cream L - chicken breast with gravy and mashed tators Hormel compleats D - lean cuisine Asian potstickers S - small red delicious apple 5 oz canned ham 97% fat free diet soda vitamins!! Don't forget them! I will have about 2 rum and diet coke this evening as well! TGIF!!!!!!!!! Have a blessed weekend everyone!

I was self pay cause my insurance didn't pay for this surgery I got a really good rate from my bank 3% so I borrowed the money. . .sure it's like buying a car but at least I'm not fat anymore! Good luck

Isn't it wonderful! My mom came to visit me this past Thanksgiving I went to pick her up at the airport (I had lost about 145Lbs by then) and my own mom didn't recognize me. . she just wandered away as i galloped behind her, coffee in hand yelling ma!!!! When she turned around and saw me there she just stared and asked "is that really you" Then of course in the next breath . . "what happened to your beautiful hair" ugh gotta love em! Congratulations to you! You're doing wonderfully, keep up the good work! Only don't shave your head! leave that to Brittney Spears! :lol:

Excellent! My stepdad had part of his stomach removed back in the 1960's due to ulcers, but to me he always was thinner, he lived well into his 80's, smoked like a chimney, and had no real problems. . . he ate like a trooper too, no holding him back from food! I remember him eating all his fish and chips dinner plus desert and coffee, go home and still have a sandwich and coffee with cake for later. . . no problems there! Rest his soul

I know but it would be interesting to hear and i'm finding so many "different" things occuring at amazing rates now. . .I realize that the sleeve was experimental and that there are not too many long term outcomes recorded because of this, but i would like to know what happens when you are elderly and as we know the elderly don't eat much WITH stomaches, what happens to those with the surgery? If we are having malabsorption problems now what will happen when we're elderly? I've heard of those folks losing way under their goals even while trying to maintain, the "cold" factors? It's all just reality and it would be good to know fear or no fear. . . I think alot about these things now and am kinda worried about my golden years? This isn't like a tattoo that just sags south when we're older? Just a thought to throw out there. . .

Well it's takes a while after that hospital visit to actually see any thing happening. . . but here is a suggestion that may be hard to take. . . GET RID OF YOUR SCALE! The scale is what will depress you because you're jumping onto it all the time. . . i didn't weigh myself at all at home. . only at my doctor visits and at 2 weeks when i went for my checkup and had lost XX amount of weight and then XXX amount of weight at 7 weeks I was so happy that i just didn't weigh anymore until my next visit. . . now at 1 year out I have a scale but only weigh myself once a month. . . this is just my suggestion, take it however you wish but know that it will happen, just be patient and good luck. . . .

Here come some of my lame suggestions, but they are here none the less. . . I went through that for a bit, but I started taking SAM-e complete (found at Walmart or wherever) and increased my Vitamin B12 . . . after about 1 - 2 weeks I felt so much better. . . the world "looks" different and I don't sweat the small stuff anymore. . . You'll find somewhere to live. . . don't you have family or a friend who can help out for about 1 - 2 weeks til you find something? girl, don't worry about the "your still fat" that will come off you have a great tool working with you! It'll happen! Well only you can do something about your job. . . if it's a really pain in the glutteous maximus, only you can do something about that. . . there are other jobs . . . You'll do fine, like the others say, sounds like a bit of depression and anxiety (probably mostly anxiety then depression) but everything will work out. . . good luck!

Well you may be one of the lucky gals where the hair isn't affected at all. . . you never know how your body will react to this surgery. . . as far as color? I don't know, I have never did anything with my hair ever and now am thinking about coloring it myself because guess what color the hair is that is growing back? You got it GRAY!!!! ugh!!!!! Are you serious about forgoing the surgery and losing the ability to finally get out of obesity versus hair that will eventually grow back?? The Protein Shakes aren't that bad. . . I think most folks make a mountain out of a mole hill when it comes to these. . .sort of like hospital food. . . you'll hear people gripe about hospital food all the time, but in reality it's NOT that bad. . . good luck with your choices , whatever you choose you will do fine! Good luck with your future endeavors!

I was self pay, $15,500

Hi, well I had my surgery Dec 29, 2009 and my hair started falling out in March 2010. . . and it hasn't stopped! Ugh, my beautiful thick braid is now the thickness of my pinkie! and my hair is so thin on top you can see my scalp. . . BUT!!!!! there are little sprouts of hair coming up here and there. . . looks like a rat chewed my hair though, it looks funny! But it's still dropping out. . . oh well, I gave up one thing for another I guess. . . can't have it all. . . but why not??????

Hey Tiff, where have you been? I've missed you! Are you ok? Is everyone ok? Glad your back.

What an excellant post Mini Me! Wow can you believe it's been a year! I had my surgery Dec 29, 2009 so it's been 1 year and 1 month for me. . . I am simular to your experiences too. . . I can do 6-8 oz of food but give me sliders and man you'd never know i had surgery . . . i have eaten 1 whole 7oz bag of black licorice before over an afternoon, but realized really fast that i don't want to do that very often or at all. . . (1 bag = 550 calories) Would I have the surgery again? perhaps. . . would i advocate this surgery? YOU BETCHA!!!! I see my daughter struggling with her weight right now and i have suggested this surgery. . . she states "No mom, not now, I want to do this on my own first" . . . bless her heart . . . but she goes to the gym and works out about 2 hours 3 - 4 times a week and has started eating healthier. . . I myself right now am 12 lbs away from the goal the doctor has for me and about 25 lbs from where I want to be at. . . I look good and feel good. . I can do things i had not been able to do as a morbidly obese person . . . I can fit into a plane seat, tighten the seat belt with about 8 inches left over, i can go up the stairs without thinking i need a respirator or a crash cart . . . I still hate shopping and exercising but that will come with time. . . To the newbies, you will get there just like Mini and Me! Its a lot of work, but it's a work in progress. . . together we will all get through this and get to where we thought we'd never ever get too. . . the journey is long, rough, and wild, but it's so worth it in the end. . . To the seasoned group CONGRATULATIONS! your all getting there . . . in no time it'll be your year! Keep up the excellant work! Keep encouraging those who are here to learn from you, you have no idea how important your experiences are to those who need the words! And finally Good luck to all and everyone. . .your all beautiful inside and out !