seattle sleeve

Exact same here! Maybe it's nutrition or maybe it's that I haven't had any caffeine since my surgery! I was definitely not an addict but I'd make chai with black tea and have a cup a day and have a french vanilla Cappuccino from mix sometimes. i definitely want to have both in the future, if I start waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom again afterwards that will probably pin it down!

just say "my doctor is fine with it and so am I!"

I'm at a stall too...didn't lose any weight from week 2 to 3 which was very frustrating. I've decided to do low-carb for the week to see if I can kick myself into gear. Also I've adjusted the incline on my treadmill so my walks are more strenuous. Your body can't maintain on the few calories you put in, so have faith that you'll break the plateau, but you do have to put a bit of effort in to do it!

so I made the mistake of ordering the vanilla ice cream flavor without really analyzing the nutrition content...it's200 cals per scoop, 6g fat, 22g of protein and 13 carbs per scoop! yikes! i want good taste but that's too much. i just bought a bag of cytosport muscle milk 100% whey from costco, 6 lbs for $30 so it was a great price. it's got 130 cals per scoop, 2g fat, 2g carbs and 27g protein per scoop. i've heard it tastes good and i'll put some instant coffee powder in it in the morning, so i'm happy

if I may plug what is in my opinion a far superior (and cheaper, and healthier...) Pasta swap: zucchini pasta http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/health/22recipehealth.html I made this a while back, sprinkled just a bit of salt and pepper on it, saute in a bit of olive oil (I use a bit less than what the recipe said) and I put some feta cheese and diced tomatoes on it. Better than regular pasta actually!! I love the nutty, sweet taste of zucchini and it really has a pasta-like consistency. I bought shiritaki noodles on the recommendation of hungrygirl a while back (I think she is a sponsor/getting paid to plug them so I would take her ravings about it with a grain of salt) and I was unimpressed. We can put a man on the moon but we can't make fake noodles that are halfway decent? There are other veggie imitations that are healthier and tastier IMO.

I did it outpatient, went in the morning for surgery, went to the hotel later in the day, then went back the next day for IV and a check by the dr.

Hello everyone! I have been lurking on on this forum for about a year or so, and it's been invaluable for learning about the procedure so thanks to all you that have been contributing your experiences and ideas. I was sleeved outpatient on Thursday and went back Friday for a quick check-up, and it seems my progress is so far so good. I'm excited to have my sleeve, but at the same I don't think I have fully processed it yet - it's not like getting a boob job or lipo, you can't process it immediately but I'm sure when the lbs fall off I will "get it" I was on clears Thursday, mainly ice chips on Thurs since even swallowing Water was very uncomfortable. Due to the anti-nausea patch I also had the world's driest mouth, it was disgusting! The hotel i stayed at overnight had a free continental Breakfast so I decided to have some heavily diluted apple cider, it was nice to have something that tasted nice after only tasting the disgusting liquid oxycodone the day before. I also grabbed a few skim milks, caffeine-free tea bags and light yogurts to bring home for the next week Today I just had my first Protein drink, a scoop of Optimum Nutrition Double Rich chocolate in 8 oz of skim milk, it's relatively tasty so I'm happy with it! The worst part of my experience are kind of random: it took about four people to get an IV in me - I've known from having to do labs that I have the world's worst veins, but apparently securing a vein for IV is a lot more challenging. They brought in the anesthesiologist and fifth time was a charm, he managed to find a teeny tiny vein in my right wrist that worked for most of the time. I went back the next day to get more fluids and unfortunately the IV popped out a couple of times. The first time they put it back in but then when it started leaking again they spoke with the Dr, who said that I was healthy enough to just get my fluids the old-fashioned way (thank goodness, I hate being a pincushion). Also, I have gotten a few bouts of hiccups, which are very aggravating and painful when they come right after surgery...the Dr I spoke with suggested that I take my valium and alternate between sipping hot and cold liquids. Don't really know the science behind it but I've been hiccup-free today so I'm happy. So anyway, I'm very excited for the future! I had some second thoughts when I was thinking about the sleeve...food has been such an important part of my life (which goes for many others here I'm sure) so I went though almost a mourning period thinking about all the things I couldn't do, like each a McD's happy meal, Indian buffets or an entire Chipotle burrito. Then I guess it clicked with me that I did have a choice - I could eat all that stuff if I wanted to, the tradeoff would be that I would die early from health complications or maybe develop diabetes which would restrict what I could eat anyway. So why not get out ahead of all these things and take the initiative to lose the weight before life forces that upon me? I'll try to participate here more, there's so much insight about post-op care, sustaining weight loss and activity, can't wait to be a "loser" with the rest of you!

I guess it depends on the dr, mine does it outpatient w/ a follow up the next morning.

I have "mouth hunger," shrimp tacos from Taco del Mar have been on my mind for some reason and when I think of them my mouth just waters. But unlike before when I would think of something delicious and try to eat something to compensate for it, I think about those shrimp tacos and...do nothing really. Continue to sip on my protein drinks and g2 gatorade and think to myself that I'll get one as a treat for myself once I'm on regular foods. Before I couldn't stop myself with food, I thought of something and had to get it, if I couldn't drive I'd take a taxi, now I'm like "mmm, that would be good" but I'm able to table it, not just because I'm still on full liquids and now that I physically can't and shouldn't eat them but because I don't have that same drive for them.

thanks for the reviews, i'm definitely going to pick up the caramel latte one and the strawberry milkshake one! i still have some chocolate powder, maybe mix that half-and-half with the strawberry powder? that sounds delicious

You hear horror stories about people having the wrong limb amputated, good thing you didn't wake up to have a lapband! I would call them and give them a piece of your mind and say you demand to be rescheduled ASAP. What consultations have you had so far? I had met my dr a couple of times before my surgery so there was no mistaking what was going to be done and by whom. How did you get a random dr who doesn't do sleeves?

I bought some G2 Grape Gatorade (tastes really yummy, 5 carbs/20 cal a cup) a few days ago to "stock up," I have been trying to avoid anything with carbs but I have been so freakin exhausted that I really feel it's worth it, I'll add some to my diet. I quit the pain meds and valium on Monday but have still been really tired, so maybe it's also the residual effects of the anesthesia...

I was sleeved on the 11th, it was uncomfortable for the first few days after surgery to drink anything, I'd feel this uncomfortable feeling in my throat and there would be this grumbling noise that was even audible to people a few feet away! It helped to start sucking on ice chips, I think we are so used to gulping down water that it's hard to get used to those microsips we need to start taking. When you suck on ice you can't drink THAT much at a time, it forces you to pace yourself but it allows you to stay hydrated. If you want to keep things interesting you don't have to just freeze water, you can freeze diluted juice, broth, gatorade (try the g2 which has a lot less sugar) and have some sugar-free popsicles.

aren't you working with a nutritionist or a Dr on your recovery? They should tell you exactly what you should be eating and when. You don't want to follow random advice from people (not that the guidance here is bad at all) because every doctor has developed their own unique post-op plan and if you don't adhere to it and there are complications you might be the one blamed. For example I only had to do clears for two days, including day of surgery, while I've seen others here have to be on clears for a week plus. Get the official word from your doc, you'll feel more comfortable that way.

I purchased "Optimum Nutrition 100% whey Gold Standard - Double Rich Chocolate" from Amazon since it had very strong reviews and was one of the best deals (if you sign up for Subscribe and Save you get 15% off so I ended up paying about $33 for 5 lbs. It will last about a month if you have two scoops a day, each scoop has 24g protein, and if you drink it with 8oz of milk each time t will give you 64g of protein for the day at the very least, plus some additional Calcium. I would recommend it to someone starting out - Although calling it "double rich" is stretching it a bit, it's definitely chocolate and I enjoy it quite a bit. As time goes on and I can move to different foods I definitely want to play with my shakes, maybe add some pureed banana, espresso or some flavor syrups, but while I'm just getting the hang of things this powder is great.

I think it's a misnomer that exercise programs with the Wii start and stop with Wii Fit. There are LOTS of programs that encourage activity - Just Dance and Just Dance 2 are so much fun, Grand Slam Tennis makes you play really hard, and the Gold's Gym has really great reviews. I personally got Walk It Out to start with while I'm still just a few days off surgery since walking is a nice, low-impact form of exercise. And the good news about the games I just mentioned are that they don't require you to purchase a balance board, which can be quite pricey. I would definitely suggest all of those if you're looking to shake things up!

wow, your first dr sounds like an ass! When my surgeon asked me about what meds I took and I mentioned I took metformin for PCOS, he laughed and said that after this surgery I wouldn't need it anymore, he said he's seen the PCOS problems reverse in many women, so I am very much looking forward to seeing that!

I just got sleeved two days ago and got some hiccups that lasted for an hour at a time. Doesn't seem like a big deal but every hiccup stresses my abdomen a bit, which is no fun when the incisions are nice and fresh! I called the on-call dr and he said it was pretty normal and didn't have much to do with what you eat/drink, he said it was something about general stresses on the esophagus. I was prescribed valium before my surgery for help sleeping and keeping by body relaxed and the Dr said that would help get rid of them, he also mentioned that alternating between sips of something hot and cold will help. I tried both and they seemed to work...hopefully if they are bothering you, one of those options might work for you.

Sorry to hear that! Wouldn't it be more efficient to redo the EKG with another doctor nearby instead of going to Mexico to have it done there and potentially "failing" it again after paying for the trip? There is room for error and I would suggest you ask for a second EKG, maybe from a second person/office. My EKG was done by a nurse and I think something went wrong the first time but he noticed it right as he looked at it, so he did it again right there and it was fine. I hope that yours is just a product of nurse/Dr error and that once redone everything will look good