Stacy160

I HATED red wine before surgery... partly because of the taste and partly because it always turned my stomach into boiling acid....yuck. But now I've found one that is so good (Mogen David Concord) that it could be dangerous for me to keep in the house all the time! LOL... and I'm not sure if it's because of the sleeve directly, or because I'm so much smaller now and really don't drink much, but whereas before, sometimes I could drink all night and not feel much, it's definitely different now. I can feel one glass, and I'm buzzed after two. About a month ago I had four glasses while sitting in the living room with my hubby, watching a movie in my jammies, and wound up DRUNK, weaving and bobbing down the hall to go to bed. So yes, it definitely affects me different now!

Nice lists gals, and here's the REALLY cool thing: Not only will you achieve all those goals, but you'll do them a lot sooner than you think!!

Filosophia, THERE you are!! I can't add anything new to your answers, but I've been wondering about you, where you'd disappeared to and how you've been doing. So.... how have you been doing?

Hi from another Stacy (in Michigan)! No, you won't look deformed LOL... and yes, you'll adjust! Well, you kind of pretty much HAVE to, there's no choice, but it's easy and you'll welcome the changes as they happen. Welcome and good luck!

Right here! HI!!

If you're up to almost 3 miles already, you're probably past C25K. Jeez, I'd be so happy to hit a 10-minute mile consistently LOL.... my first 5K time in September was 39:39! One thing you could to is every 5th minute, pick up the pace noticeably, then drop it back down after a minute...then every 4th minute, etc., kind of doing intervals that way. Are you on Facebook? Look for C25K on there, and also Cool Running. Both post little daily articles about increasing distance, speed, etc., and although they can get repetitive, it's good info. Coolrunning.com is a good site by itself. Gotta get back on the horse myself!

You might have to look the trainer in the eye and sternly say "LOOK--I'll tell you again that I've recently had MAJOR stomach surgery and my diet is VERY strictly controlled right now to prevent life-threatening complications. It is not up for discussion at all, so let's please move on with the workout and not bring it up again." And if he insists, then find another trainer.

Tell the truth... just omit the crucial element! You're eating low-carb, getting lots of Protein, drinking lots of Water, watching your calories, and exercising. Getting through the first couple of weeks with the liquids and stuff will be trickiest, but you can tell them (if anyone notices) you're doing a detox thing or something (which basically you are--they don't need to know it's surgically induced! LOL). After that, don't try to hide that you're eating small and healthy or it'll look suspicious...and make sure you drop your exercise habits into the conversation on a regular basis. It can be done! I'm lucky, my work crew is like a second family to me and I told them all everything beforehand, in detail, and have received nothing but support all this time (and they even remember not to mention the surgery itself in front of patients!).

Right there with ya!!

I'm the opposite... I had bad reflux before surgery, and haven't had it at all since. My hernia was found during surgery and it added about 10 minutes to the surgery itself, and I had a very quick, easy recovery overall.

First, Welcome!! Keep researching, you'll see lots of people who have lost over 200 lbs. with the Sleeve alone. It totally can be done! Here's a shining example: I don't know if you're on OH, but here's a guy who's lost more than I weighed at my highest. Click on his name underneath his picture to see his before and afters (durings?)...he has totally rocked this thing. http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4319622/Jimbovsgs-pics-Finally-Pre-ops-take-note-285lbs-GONE-long/ Good luck with your research, and ultimately go with what you feel in your gut is the best surgery for you!

Hi! Did you make it to the VSG-specific board at ObesityHealth? Their main boards are scary and ugly, but the VSG board (and the lightweight one) are just great 99% of the time. Once in awhile you'll get the odd #(*&@(# but that happens everywhere in life LOL.... you're right though, this place is wonderful!

My son is almost 22 and I'd love for him to be able to have VSG now!! My only concern with someone your age(s) is, if you hang out with a group that likes to party a lot (drink, smoke and get the munchies), or hang out in fast-food places a lot. THAT might make things tough but other than that, I think it's wonderful that you want to take control of your life NOW and insure yourself a better future all the way around!!

AHHH!! This is a smack-your-head, "Why didn't I think of that??" moment! What a great idea, substituting cauliflower for rice. I mean I know people do it all the time, but it never occurred to me to try it with stuffed peppers, which I LOVE but rarely make. I have made them with out anything but the ground beef and tomato-oniony saucy stuff, but that's a LOTTA meat post-op. Thanks for the idea!!

You might want to plan on having someone stay at least that first day/night home with you. Personally, I had a very easy recovery with very little pain, and was out shopping by myself on Day 4, BUT... what pain I did have occurred when moving from lying to sitting, sitting to standing, etc... it was not unbearable by any means, but I sure was grateful to have my hubby and son there to toss me a blanket, grab a bottle of water, or a book, stuff like that. I could have managed by myself, but it was so much nicer those first couple of days not having to.

I agree, that can't be right...I had two weeks of full liquids, two of purees, two of mushies, two of soft solids, then on to whatever I could tolerate at 8 weeks. Actually, by then my surgeon wanted very little in the way of liquid protein. There's got to be miscommunication there somewhere... let us know what you find out!

I was like you with the Phentermine... it worked great, but I was a bound-up, raging beotch on it. My tastes never changed, I still like everything I did before surgery. Right after surgery, regarding food I felt the same as with the Phentermine, just really no interest in it for the most part. For the first couple of months after getting back into solids, eating was kind of disappointing because everything still tasted so wonderful, but to be able to only have a few little bites and not get that old over-stuffed, way-too-satisfied feeling was kind of a let down (but at the same time, THRILLING to not be able to eat to the point of barfiness!). Now, I don't ever feel deprived but still, only eat maybe a quarter of what I ate, in volume, before surgery. That's in a sitting.... I could graze all day if I let myself (which is something you have to avoid after any WLS). In buffet situations, I have inadvertently eaten to the point where I thought I would have to urp it all back up. My in-laws took us to a Chinese Buffet a couple of months ago and my mind was totally not on what I was eating, so I had a little of this, a little of that--next t hing I know, we're at an intersection and I'm looking to make sure I can open my car door to puke without having another car run into it... it was THAT bad, and right there, and miserable....soooooo, mistakes happen, and I am rambling and have completely lost my train of thought and forgotten what your original question was in the first place. I will say that a little sugar goes a long way now... especially liquid (sweet tea, ice cream, shakes, stuff like that). THAT will make me feel really icky, really fast, which is a good thing.

I've been using Bare Minerals for about 11 years and I LOVE it, but I also have oilier skin and it works great with that. When I do get little dry Patches in the winter, working that powdered stuff into those areas brings up the flakes BUT if I exfoliate well and go to bed with a good moisturizer on (I'm currently loving Bio Oil), it's fine. I'm so tempted to start trying the Olay Regenerist stuff but can't quite bring myself to squeeze out the $$ for it!

Twelve days from first consult to surgery. I did see my PCP a week before that for a physical (blood tests, EKG) and a letter of clearance, but once I saw the surgeon, I was scheduled and confirmed the next day. I saw him one more time before surgery, had pre-op testing and admission done at the hospital, and 12 days later was sleeved.

Are you someplace cold? I COMPLETELY get what you're saying. I'm in Michigan and I really, truly believe the weather is getting the best of me. I've been in maintenance for four months--well, closer to five now actually, except for a little dip down into the 160's a couple weeks ago--and I just can not get my head back in the right place and stay there. All I want to do is sit in the computer room next to the space heater, or stay under a blanket. It's all I can do to make myself get up and do the dishes, let alone change into little clothes and go to the cold basement to get on the treadmill!! LOL... It's frustrating being so close to goal. The good news is that I have absolutely NO doubt that I'll get there and beyond. I know the weather's not a good excuse, but I really do think the cold and gray and yuck make it SO hard to get motivated!

I think more people did this in the early weeks than admit it LOL!! I did it once, somewhere around the three-week mark, with a piece of steak. You know, you get so bored with the same stuff and it smelled sooooo good so I chewed and chewed the heck out of that thing until there was no flavor left, then spit it out, and it was DELICIOUS.

The higher-ups aren't even supposed to ask you specifically what you're having done, but if you need to have an answer ready, you can tell them you're having a hernia repair (which is actually fairly likely, many of us did even though we didn't know the hernia was even there before surgery), or just tell them "female issues" ... that'll shut them up, quick.

My surgeon didn't say anything, but his assistant said that I'd have to be careful about Last Suppers/Food Funerals because if I gained weight, he'd cancel it.

You know, I keep meaning to pop into chat one of these days and I just never think to do it when I'm on here at night. On a totally unrelated board, we used to get a big chat session going almost every single night and it was a RIOT. Tonight I'll try to remember to pop in and see what's happening! Might even dip into a bit of wine for the occasion.

Anyone CAN gain it all back, by eating crappy, sugary slider foods constantly, as Julia mentioned above. I'm sure it happens, but the percentage of people who do it must be SO small, and I don't think very many of them around here to talk about it. I had a patient last year who'd gotten a VSG a year before... she'd lost well over 100 lbs., but was still very obese and had at least another hundred to go, but she hadn't lost anything in months. I got the impression from talking with her that she had no idea what she was supposed to be eating, or how much of any of the nutrients, what to shoot for calorie-wise... it sounded like she'd either been given the "There ya go, good luck!" treatment with no instructions, or had completely disregarded and forgotten about them. I wrote down what my guidelines were and she said she'd try again....I wonder about her sometimes. We had her husband as a patient a couple of months ago, but I just couldn't find a way to ask him if she'd lost any more weight (plus he's really weird and I didn't exactly want to converse with him any more than necessary LOL). Anyway, she's the only person I've met in "real life" who'd been sleeved and while I wouldn't call her a failure, based on where she was I wouldn't call her a success either. OH has a Failed WLS board but I've never looked at it... partly because the other boards (other than the LW board) tend to be so nasty and partly because I don't WANT to know, ya know!?