Stacy160

I've never heard of anyone having that. FWIW, I had no gas pain, just a little bloating for a few days and an occasional very mild jab at my left collarbone for about a week after.

One week, and only because I had a drain until then.

A lot of it depends on your age and how long you've been overweight. It also depends a TON on the type of skin you have...pale, thin Anglo skin (like my own, unfortunately) won't have the same resiliency and bounce back as darker, thicker (usually oilier, but by that I don't mean greasy) skin. Once the skin is stretched, it's stretched... it won't ever look like it did originally, but so may variables play into how much it'll tighten up during and after weight loss, it's kind of hard to call ahead of time.

How awesome that you've been able to lose so much on your own... you'll do great after surgery!! And I think it's absolutely WONDERFUL that you're able to do this at such a young age.... so many of us wish we could have done it 15-20 years ago (or more!) ourselves. You have soooooo many things to look forward to--I love seeing young people here, I"m so excited for you!

Welcome! I had mine 45 minutes away from me in Pontiac, Michigan. I'm glad to see you pursuing this instead of throwing your money away on the band... you'll see as you research more what a humongous failure rate it has and what a high complication rate there is. The sleeve rocks!!

Mine's 21 (20 when I had the surgery) and totally understood it... he's watched me struggle for years and struggles himself. My stepkids (almost 10 and 13) live in Florida with their mom and I'm not sure they know that's I've had it or not, but they knew when they were here at Christmas that I was looking into it, but--I'm just the stepmom, and we get along great, have lots of fun, and they like me, but are kind of indifferent most of the time when it comes to the emotional attachment. BUT, huge congrats on getting your approval, you'll be so glad you're doing this!

Yes it does, I put a big ol' heaping spoonful of it in my chili!

Very happy this morning, almost 6 lbs. this week! But that was after less then two pounds over the two weeks previous...still, I'm stoked!! HW - 258 SW - 246.4 LW - 216.4 Today - 210.6

I'll be 3 months out too, on the 25th, and the last couple of times I've been in the shower and doing my hair afterwards, I think I'm losing more hair. Mine's super-thick too, so I'm used to having a lot come out in the shower, but now there seems to be more, and much more sticking to my hands and falling in the sink (and on my shoulders) when I'm putting stuff in it, combing it, etc. Like you I'm not too worried because it is so thick (and curly on top of that) but I don't want to be shedding all over my clothes either!

Pasta is nothing but carbohydrates -- HIGH carbohydrates -- and simple ones at that. It'll spike your insulin levels and make you feel hungry, and help you greatly in not losing weight. Just remember that when you're making choices! Now, that said, and so I don't sound preachy, I have had a teeny amount of spaghetti noodles with sauce and meatballs twice, and while I did feel more hungry sooner afterwards, it didn't seem to slow me down either time... I assume because we're still so calorie-restricted overall. And I have to admit, I enjoyed the heck out of it both times. :biggrin2:

My friend was talking about having broccoli and cheese with dinner the other night and I thought "OOOOOhhhh, that sounds good!" Haven't had broccoli since surgery and I'm not sure why, because we used to have it all the time and I've had all kinds of other cooked veggies since, and raw lettuce, with no problem. Well, I kinda forgot about it for a few days.... ....and then when I saw this thread this morning, I asked my hubby to cook some broccoli with the pork chops tonight (I don't get home from work until almost 8:00 three nights a week so he cooks those nights). I was so excited... I ate my little bites of pork chop until I was almost full, then had maybe a quarter cup of broccoli with Olivio spray on it. Tasted soooo good... ....until about 20 minutes later when my stomach went "Oh no you di'ent," and up came ALL the broccoli... not just a little bit like has happened before when I've eaten too fast. So I think it was the broccoli that did it! Dang it, all this time I've been thinking I didn't have any problem foods LOL. Anyway, you're not the only one! :scared0:

I've seen some people say that their doctors say NO straws because of swallowing air, and I've also seen some people say that their doctors advised using straws in order to swallow less air. Haven't tried a straw yet (used to always use them!) but I think I may soon, 'cause I sure do seem to have a TON of air moving around inside me these days! :scared0:

NSAIDS are not off-limits with the sleeve, thankfully.... I get headaches very rarely, and a migraine less than once a year. Just so happens that a couple of weeks ago I started getting one, so as SOON as I started getting the warning signs (I get the visual auras, with the flashy-light thingies and blind spots) I popped 800mg. of Motrin and had no problem at all with it.

In the same vein, they can also be excellent but not be "Centers of Excellence", which is a title I'm sure they have to pay for in some way. :lol0:

a) We don't have a pouch. We have a normal, but very small, stomach. The RNY pouch is made from the stretchiest part of the stomach and WILL stretch. The VSG sleeve (normal stomach) consists of the most muscular, least stretchy part.... the stretchy part is gone. It's like shoe leather in that it has some give, but doesn't stretch like a balloon. Whatever bariatric site listed "pouch stretching" as a disadvantage to VSG, sounds like they're woefully uninformed!

I don't know what kind of work you do, but most people seem to be able to go back in about a week. My work is somewhat physical, so I planned for two, had an extra week available, and wound up going back for a couple of 5-hour days at 10 days out with no problem at all. Most people also seem to be able to sleep in their own beds right off the bat. I couldn't... I came home with a drain, and the tube and bulb were just in the way, so I slept very comfortably in the recliner and loveseat. For the first few days you'll have very sore abdominal muscles, and moving from sitting to standing, or lying to sitting, or rolling in bed, might cause you sharper pain... it's nice to have someone there to help pull you up from a chair, but not necessary. You may have some pains from the gas they use to inflate your abdomen... I had very little, some people are significantly bothered by it. You'll probably not want to vacuum for the first week or two either, but other than that you shouldn't be too limited with what you can do around the house. Keep on asking questions, it's the best way to get yourself mentally prepared for the whole amazing thing! :001_rolleyes:

I haven't had issues with anything so far, but I have found that I'm not loving salmon like I did pre-op. It still tastes good for a few bites, but that's about it.... that's the only change I've noticed since surgery too.

I don't know about men, but lots of gals report it. I'm 2+ months out and waiting impatiently for it! :laugh0:

Well, that includes 11 1/2 before surgery too, so it's really 30 since surgery. Which is great, I know... I've just been feeling down and draggy and mopey and whiney the last few days lol...I'll snap out of it! :laugh0:

Not a banner week for me either. Sooooo hard not to compare with how quickly other people who started near my weight are doing. :001_unsure: HW - 258 SW - 246.4 LW - 216.8 Today - 216.4

I drink right before eating as well, but the couple of times I've unthinkingly taken a drink right after eating, ughhhh.... it suddenly felt like I had twice as much "stuff" in there, got really uncomfortable, and felt like I might have to bring it back up. :confused1: And that's not with huge gulps, either.

Not to go too far off-topic, but where do you find your bison online, and is it as crazy-expensive as it is in the health-food stores? Thanks! :confused1:

They may choose to, but I didn't have one...

I'm not sure about the rate of absorption, but if I understand things right, you want to look specifically for whey protein isolate, vs. whey protein concentrate. The isolate is better absorbed by the body (again, if I'm getting it right) and contains complete amino acid chains.

Some do, some don't. My doc doesn't use one routinely, but I woke up with one, which was in for a week (until I saw him again). It was not a big deal at ALL... didn't hurt, just kind of bulky and lumpy under clothes. When he took it out I literally did not feel a THING... didn't even realize he'd removed it until I saw it in his hand. If you have one, it's nothing to worry about, I promise!