NtvTxn

Thanksgiving full.....that is funny, when I'm stuffed, that is what I say!!! I have three things I do, that I started at week #2 after surgery....and I'll be three years out on June 11th!!! A) Weight every morning I weigh and/or measure my food when I am home C) Log my food on line Like you, I don't know I'm full until it's too late, but I DO know how much I can hold, so I measure or weigh my food.....it's habit, it's just part of my new life. I also under eat my sleeve. Meaning, I know I can eat a little more, but I purposely don't. Less calories plus when I stop, I am comfortable. The only time I get that Thanksgiving full feeling now, is if I am not paying attention when we are eating out. I really do highly recommend doing these things!!!! Good luck!!

I am thankful that Dr. Davidson does not worry about carbs unless a patient is not losing. I read a book on carbs prior to surgery, thinking it would be something I needed to learn. OMG - it was overwhelming to me!! At this point I don't even know what is low carbs, as far at total carbs per day!!!! Good protein vs not good protein and calories, THAT I can keep up with!! LOL We have so much to learn, but it becomes second nature. I never did have anything sweet while I was losing, not even a bite. In my mind, I had this 'honeymoon' period and I was scared it would come and go and I wouldn't have reached goal. Now, I eat sweets, not a lot, but a couple of times a week I'll have something. Like you, I log it and it's counted. Honestly, overall, I think I felt better during the losing stage when I didn't allow myself anything sweet and not even one French fry.....it just isn't reality. Dr. D said 'This is not a diet, it's a new way of life'. That is what makes this surgery so great in my opinion.

Shoot, I don't know. I know at the support groups the professionals say you can drink your calories and gain. I suspect that if we were to drink margaritas, milkshakes and eat ice cream and Little Debbie's then we could gain weight, even if we didn't go over 800. What do you think? I'm not sure, I'm just guessing!! I always took comfort in knowing, if I wasn't eating anything that should be off limits while I'm in the losing stage, then even when I was doing the up and down thing.....I would lose just because, how can we not!! Right? That is just the way I did it, the entire five months, up and down a pound or two....the longest time I did it was ten days. LoL It was crazy!

At your stage I could eat one slice of Canadian bacon and mushroom pizza.....but could not eat the crust, unless we were eating a sm pizza. Read up on pepperoni, calories and fat, DON'T eat it!!!

What is your caloric intake? At this point, taking in less should be no problem, you probably have to remind yourself to eat. I have weighed every single morning for three years. I'd go up and down, up and down (a lb or two) during my entire losing stage, then I'd finally LET GO OF IT and on to the next couple of pounds. I never had a real 'stall', at least I never thought I did, there was one time that I did the up and down thing for ten days before letting it go for good, but that's it. My caloric intake during my whole losing period was never over 800 calories. In the beginning, the first couple of months, it was 350 - 450 calories. I was healthy, felt good - it was like being on a new adventure!!! Don't worry, it WILL go the other way. Do you keep an on line log so you know for sure what your calories and protein are? (up your protein a little if you can and drink more liquids) I have logged my food and I still weigh and/or measure my food when I'm at home. Good luck and don't let it get you down.

I hate to hear this. My question about the pizza was just trying to get an idea of how much you COULD eat, had you chosen to, prior to surgery. Wondering if you are feeling any restriction or feeling any different. For me, now....I can go eat Mexican food and eat one enchilada and a TB of refried beans and about the same amount of rice. Prior to surgery, I could eat the entire entrée. Two enchiladas and all the beans and rice, not to mention, my husband and I would go through at least one and sometimes work on a 2nd basket of chips. Now I will 'pick' at a corn tortilla and salsa, rather than chips. To me it seems like a LOT of food until I look at what other people are eating and remember THAT use to be me!!! Talk to your doctor and dietitian.

Remember, just because we can, doesn't mean we should!!! A couple of questions; Do you experience hunger? How much pizza could you eat prior to surgery? I could split a large pizza with my husband. Now, at three years out, I can eat two pieces of a 12" pizza mushroom pizza, MAYBE. I might have to leave the second piece of crust. Make it a habit to under eat your sleeve! If you aren't hungry, it will not be difficult.

I was self pay and the cost included up to two nights in the hospital, I only stayed one. I CHOSE to stay one. Like you, I had surgery at 7 AM on a Friday and I stayed until about 4PM on Saturday afternoon. I felt good enough to leave. I rested better at home and I had NO concerns, or else I would have stayed another night. I had been able to use the bathroom, sip broth and water and passed the leak test. I had a one week check up at Dr. Davidson's office, he took part of the staples out and then I had another follow up at 2 weeks. That is when he took out the rest of them. I hope this helps!!!

Thanks for the information! What all is on it? Would you get it again?

I love veggies and fruits, but they don't play a big part in my diet now days. Typically for dinner I'll eat 2.5 - 3 oz of protein; red meat, chicken or my new favorite, grilled Cod or Haddock! Along with that I like to eat 1% cottage cheese, an eighth of a cup and then about that same amount of whatever veggie I've prepared. Some times we'll have two veggies. I was told to treat fruits as a 'treat' and I do. I'll usually eat something once or maybe twice a week. A small banana or apple, sometimes I go a few weeks and don't have any fruit, but that isn't abnormal, I did the same thing prior to surgery.

Actually I said I do not know if it makes a difference or not, but a 32 is what I wanted. If it does make a difference then I will have no regrets five years from now. Erring on the side of caution. I did say that Dr. Davidson's nurse thought it made a difference, she has a 36 Fr Bougie. That is her opinion, basically hearsay with me just repeating it.

Yes, of course we still have to work at it. This is not a magic bullet. We still have to make choices. If we choose fried food, ice cream and Twinkies (are they for sale again?) over eggs, broiled Cod or a lean cut of beef, then we can surely 'eat around our sleeve'. Someone else said something about worrying about once again, failing. I really don't "worry" about failing but weight gain does cross my mind and I am MINDFUL that just because I've lost all the weight I wanted to plus 5 lbs and just because I've been maintaining for almost 2.5 years....that does NOT guarantee that I cannot gain weight. I NEVER want to forget that failure is possible if I choose poorly time and time again.

As Doctor Phil would say "How's this working for you? Kick that boy's a$$ to the curb" 'Nuff said.

This surgery is the most exciting thing I've ever done for ME. It's been a wild ride but I've loved every single minute since I woke up in recovery!!! I had NO health issues, I'm not sure what difference that made with recovery, but I had no problems. I took pain meds only at night after I left the hospital, and only took them for ten days total. From the get go, I logged my food on line and weighed or measured my food when I'm at home. I still do this, it is habit, my normal. My new life.....and to me, it's fun. Get a disposable camera, have someone take a picture of you the night before surgery, then on your surgery 'date' every month for the first year. After the one year anniversary picture, take the camera and have it developed. Laying the pictures out, side by side and SEEING the transformation will take your breath away!!!! The most exciting thing for me is when I could see my collar bone!!!! I love to shop for clothes now, I can walk in and find cute, cute clothes, it is sooooo fun to shop now!!! Good luck!

It did matter to me, a lot. I knew I wanted a 32, after reading threads on this forum and after talking to professionals for six months. I was self pay and wanted to get more bang for my buck. The difference in a 32 and a 36 may be miniscule, but we all know, size DOES matter!! There were too many doctor's here in Dallas, 'Center of Excellence' doctors, so I had several choices. My doctor's nurse had this surgery 7 yrs before I did, that would now be 10 years ago. Really a new procedure for weight loss back then. Her's is a 36, and SHE said that from her years in working with bariatric patients, the patients with a 32 seem to be the most successful. Not too small but small enough. She wished hers was a 32 and had even considered a re-do. Whether or not it's a big deal, I'm not sure, but to ME it was.

I am from TX but was living in Wisconsin when I decided to have surgery. I knew I wanted to come 'home' to have surgery. I went to my PCP 'up there' to let her know my plans and see what she had to say. She gave me two thumbs up and her only advice was 'Find a Center of Excellence physician'. So that is where I started. I narrowed it down to two doctors here in Dallas and ended up going with the one that had been doing it longer. It didn't hurt that he'd been voted a 'Top Doc' in D Magazine by his peers for seventeen years. He did the 'size' (32 French Bougie) I was hoping for.....all in all, I found the perfect doctor for ME. I'd use him again.

I decided that since it had been almost 30 years since I'd had a tetanus shot, due to how much I dislike needles, I don't think doing the fills would be fun! I don't know what happened to my friend, all I know is six weeks later she was back in having it removed. She wanted the sleeve, but her insurance wouldn't cover it and she didn't want RNY.

This post made me giggle, your band was fine until things went south it reminded me of the following story! Recently there were a group of people talking outside a PetSmart, they were having an adoption thing going on. Anyway, someone must have mentioned Pit Bulls and another person said, "Pit Bulls are perfectly fine dogs, until they aren't" LoL

Same with RNY or DS, theirs is the best choice - sadly, they are wrong!!! LOL I honestly believe sleeve surgery will eventually become the "GOLD STANDARD" for WLS BTW - I do not WANT my stomach back. I didn't want something I could 'reverse'. How crazy is that??!!! I have two friends with a band. One had it removed six weeks later because of some pretty serious problems. The other, lost 60 lbs, never reached goal, never below 200 lbs, and then started re-gaining. Only between 15 - 20 lbs, but still. Oh, the worst thing is she never lost her appetite, she was starving by the time she was discharged from the hospital, that first day!!

I like him, I was hoping HE would be the one who ran this time, but alas, maybe he'll give it a try next time. It may not have been a medical professional at all. It could be a friend of a friend or a family member who let it slip or 'outted' him. Of course he'd have to tell eventually, when he starts losing vast amounts of weight, people assume you've had WLS or you are sick.

Good luck!!!! You're going to be THRILLED with your new life. It's a wild ride, enjoy every single minute of it!!!!

You're in Allen?!! You are right next door. I was at the Kroger on McDermott and Alma just yesterday. I'm in NE Plano. If you aren't attending a support group, there's several of us in THIS area that are attending two or three! It's fun and it's fun to make friends there! I went to a new one last week, Presbyterian on West Parker - I'm not sure if it's Plano, Frisco but it was a really good group! Good luck - it won't be long now!!!

Forced portion control - it is what I needed. I am almost 3 years post-op and have been maintaining for about 2.5 years. I reached goal FAST, I lost 23 lbs prior to surgery for a total of 83. Never one second of 'buyers remorse'. I love my sleeve. I still don't get hungry, I have what I call my "NEW" hunger, it's more of an empty feeling. I can eat or I can ignore it if I need or want to. No hunger or my 'new hunger' makes resisting when I should, much, much easier. The doctor was sure to tell us at the seminar, this is not a diet, it's a new way of life. It is. I treated it as a diet until I reached goal. Since then, nothing is off limits other than carbonated drinks, regular OR sugar free. That was his only 'NEVER'. I can live with that. There are things I CHOOSE not to eat or not often, but I share a piece of Starbucks pumpkin bread with my husband, every weekend, almost without fail. Every so often, I will eat a few fries or chips, and when I say a few, I mean five or six French fries or Fritos. I'll eat something fried, but seldom and not much. Three or four fried pickles, ONE time in the past three years. Things like that just aren't worth it to me!! Like I said, it is much easier to make wiser choices when you aren't experiencing real hunger! I promise, you will NOT regret having surgery. Find a support group, start attending BEFORE, you'll have real live people there and you can pick their brains!!! Good luck!!!

I went for a one week, two week, three month, six month and one year follow ups. After that, we are suppose to go annually, I missed my two year, but I want to go see him in the next few months for my three year. It IS good for them to see those of us further out so stats can be kept etc.

I frequently go to the mall, Dillard's is my favorite store.....and just try on clothes. I call it window shopping. I try on cute clothes, just because I can. For all of my life, I either couldn't fit into "CUTE" clothes or didn't have the money to shop often, so I didn't. I also tended to get baggier stuff, because I was 'fat'. Looking back, I was NOT fat, just not comfortable with my size. Later on down the road, I'd have given my right arm to be 'that size' again!!! I highly recommend going shopping, just to play!!!