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Today was a good day. My father in law stayed again to take care of our baby, and my husband is getting better from the novo virus which is going around. Red alert, ladies, this novo virus is vomit and diarrhea and is VERY prevalent - would be torture to us newly banded people!! Needless to say, husband sleeps on the couch and we disinfect the bathroom for each other before and after each use. So far so good...neither me or the 3 month old need to share this experience with daddy, lol. I am moving around very well. I'm not risking lifting the baby out of her crib, but picking her up from the changing table or her rocker is easy, and not painful at all. Father in law left this afternoon and DH and I are working in shifts, so he will watch DD while I nap, and then I'll watch her while he naps. It's working out well. I miss my bathtub but will tough it out. Already I am having hunger, but once I start drinking I'm pretty discouraged from solid food. I'm looking forward to the pureed diet (remember, I totally suck with liquids) and am focused on staying on liquids as long as I can. For dinner tonight I mixed 2 TBSP Peanut Butter and 1/2 banana with my chocolate Protein Shake. I not only need the calories but I needed the weight of food. I think I got in like 800 calories today, way better than the last 2 days. Gas X continues to be my hero, and I'm hoping tomorrow I'll start having bowel movements again. (Sorry for TMI, but this stuff becomes necessary lol) How's everyone else doing? Susan, BTW, I'm in the same boat with the scale. I peeked, it hasn't moved. In fact I'm 1 lb up. I'm focusing on protein...pretty sure things will loosen up and weight will drop in the next few days.

I know TMI but what about looking down and being able to see your own genitals. No mirrors, just looking down.

My fingers have slimmed down some - not much. I really notice my face has slimmed down a lot! Which is a good thing. No change in the upper arms - aka bat wings. Boobies have shrunk a lil = uber bad thing LOL Tummy - definitely looks flatter but has developed an ugly FUPA roll.. TMI I know.. :cry_smile: Butt - all but gone LMAO Thighs - still thick as all get out!! Overall - I don't where the 30 lbs was lost at LOL Just staying positive! That's all we can do! Hugs!!

OMG today is day 2 and I've spent most of it in the bathroom! Sorry for the TMI. Has anyone experienced this? Is it going to last for the entire 2 week liquid diet? Oh I hope not, I'm sitting at my desk at work and you can hear my tummy rumbling. Ugh

I had the same constipation problem as not my name. Suffered for a week after surgery. TMI time - I could feel the plug through my vaginal wall. Laxatives only caused me to pass new stool around it. I had to clear up the problem as my husband was having brain surgery and I would shift from my surgery recovery to his. I had no pain from the surgery, but had Rx for gabapentine (blocks nerve pain) and a muscle relaxer. The combination of the two got me to pass the plug. I still have occasional problems with constipation and even after 6 months I take a stool softener daily. Second is you don’t know what you’re restriction will be like. While my meal size is substantially smaller than before the sleeve - I eat way more than many people on the board. And I can eat anything except over cooked dried out meat. I joined Noom after the new year to help me eat healthier. This has helped tremendously, A nutritionist visit every three months was not enough to help me eat properly.

I will be traveling alone flying from Dallas to Mission, KS. Were you OK with wheeling you luggage around? I plan on packing as light as possible to keep the weight down. What kind of stuff have you been eating? I feel so much better today. No naps so far and my Creamy Soups are going down much better. I was able to take a full 8oz in one sitting. Gotten in 32 oz of Water so far today. I may try for one more water bottle before hitting the sack. It sure is good to hear that you are doing well. The Milk of Mag. worked, OMG, won't do that again. Crap, my intestines are rocking and rolling. Next time 1/3 the dose for sure. I know, TMI. Thanks for the post and have a good rest of you trip. Any trip suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks, D:D

Well, I'm back to "almost normal"........feeling pretty good again, the drippy nose is almost dry (TMI)............ Got to NIA yesterday, but this morning I stayed home to wash clothes and clean up after our gang from Sacramento's trip to visit this week-end.......................we had so much fun with all the kiddies...........had all 8 grandkids over most of the time..................I'm pooped, but with a happy Grammy glow! I now have to think about our trip to the east coast............getting excited about that! Hope you all had a happy Mommies Day! Will get back to being serious about exercise starting tomorrow......not sure if I'll be able to make the my goal this month, but I'll give it my all.

So I'm down from 337 to 196. And that's been great. But there are constant adjustments. Some of these adjustments are... awkward. This is straight up male TMI info coming up so you have been warned. For instance, my entire adult life, my uh, business, let's call it, fit into underwear and pants a certain way, and sat a certain way. It was weird enough when I had to switch sizes on underwear over and over, then switch styles, finally settling on medium sized Adidas boxer briefs that manage to keep everything where I'm used to/comfortable with it, even without the help of a bunch of excess body fat pushing it outward... while I am standing anyway. But the latest thing--and I am truly sorry for bringing this up, but where the heck else am I going to talk about this?--is that it turns out that the change in my body shape now means I am sitting on my family jewels. Well, not on them, but they rest on the chair/seat now. OK, well not on the chair, but resting much lower than I am accustomed, such they they feel like they are. They used to sort of rest on my fat/splayed out thighs. This is truly weird and I'm still not used to it. It's making me think I need to find another kind of underwear again.

Hi all..New to this site. Let me introduce myself. My name is Elizabeth and I am 48 years old. Been married for 30 years (in April) I am a night L&D nurse. Have struggled with my weight all my life..I know just like most of us have LOL! Today is the beginning of week 2 post op for me. I have my sleeve placed on 8/29/12. I was in the hospital for 2 very long nights. It started of as a early day getting to the hospital at 0530, surgery start time was 0730. Met with my surgeon and my anesthesia guys that I was fortunate to pick ( I am a nurse at the hospital). So I know I was in good hands. Being a nurse does have it advantages but in my case I was really nervouse because I know just a little to much about what goes on LOL. Anyway, I was given Versed before going to the OR..It is a med used to relax you, which I needed. Only remember being in the OR for maybe 3 minutes and the rest is a blank... Woke up in recovery with only a quick second of feeling nauseous and that was it. I was in recovery for about 5 hours while they tried to get the previous patient out of my room hehe Why would anyone like to stay longer than they have too? Moved to my room and did really well. My doctor does not believe in his patients being in pain and gave me meds round the clock and then extra was available if needed. After day one I had to do a swallow study and I passed thank heavens..My mouth was as dry as a desert. Started off with 1 oz of water for 4 hours, then 2 oz for 4 hours then I could drink as much as I could tolerate...I have to say that first sip of water was the best water I have ever tasted.. Been doing really well the first week. Kind of tired from no rest at the hospital ; / Still sore but getting better by the day. Have had no problems with nausea or vomiting. I do have to say that yesterday I had a weird experience. I took my dog to training for the first time since surgery. I was there for maybe 10 minutes and all of a sudden I got the worst stomach pain, broke into a cold sweat and had to leave. I didnlt know if I was going to be sick or worse...the other end...TMI? Barely made it home and since I have been kind of queazy. had some SF pudding last night and I tolerated it well..This AM I am feeling the same, just kind of queazy, crampy like... I am so looking forward to eating a soft diet, I go back to work next Wed night. I want to start eating a little before going back to work to make sure I tolerate it OK.. Looking forward to getting to know everyone and sharing their VGS journey with them... Much love, Elizabeth

Great thank you guys. Yes i will need to start getting in my fiber intake. I get chronically constipated (sorry for TMI) even if i take laxatives, and rely on my fiber intake. Do you know about when or what stage the stomach is healed enough to incorporate wheat bran into something like oatmeal? I want to keep it a "soft" food, but don't want the bran to get stuck like you said. You think around 5 weeks out i am okay to start slowly adding those things back in? I am not yet to that point yet but would like to start planning and preparing for it when i do get there.

I am a month out of vsg and am dealing with very hard, dry bm. Any advice?

I find that I do best when I eat one to two times per day. I focus on the Protein first and have a few nibbles on tastier things with carbs. I'm five weeks out and still have never reached more than 500 calories and 30 grams of protein a day. It's a struggle for sure. I gave up on Protein Shakes weeks ago. Barf. Tmi but I used to be anorexic and bulimic. I went for months without eating at times and I never lost my hair or or got sick. On one level this worries me because I don't have a lot of fear of what could happen. I'm not very good at following rules. On another hand I am not really worried because I know it's going to get better and in three months I can swallow Vitamins which will make taking my vitamins much easier. I have so much naseau and pain in my stomach at times, tastes make me sick and I really struggle with the supplements and portions. I would rather not deal with food at all most of the time! I have lost 35 pounds since surgery and I have pretty low energy. I'm going to start working out this week because I think that will actually help a lot. It takes time! I'm happy to see you all doing well!!

Do you recall having bowel movements. .. I have so much as passed gas since Saturday afternoon ....tmi...I know...I'm sorry. ..but this is horrible....ugh

Now this is TMI here. But..... I've noticed a difference 'down there'.... In a good way. Lol. I think it's the diet change and I'm drinking much more than I've ever drank.

Thanks Cazzy! The fur makes sense. (Ewe!) never knew! TMI, but I brush my tongue.... Guess it's time to bust out the tongue scraper I never thought I'd use. Lol.

I posted this in wrong forum, my bad, but wanted to share with fellow sleevers for advice. ., Hello, almost week 4 post-op. Have been off and on but mostly "regular" enough. But after, let's just say an event, where I weighed myself because at day 3 of having not gone I thought, "that MUST be a pound lost!" (No such luck btw). I thought I cannot do that again, I mean I have not given birth but that must have been close. So not to get too detailed (fleet). Let's talk prevention. Anyone doing the Fiber mix that you can supposedly mix in Water with no taste? How are they are non-fiber carbs? Thanks!

Sorry for the TMI post that follows.... I was Sleeved two weeks ago. The first few poops were bad! Solids and difficult to pass. I'm not yet regular, but hopefully getting there. I use to be daily like clockwork, no coffee or help needed. Tonight I had a pain in my lower tummy, figured it might be time to poop. Made it just in time. Sadly explosive poo is not something that I enjoy. Hubby thinks I need to up my protein, so I'll try that. But I agree, this is not something that can be brought up amongst polite conversation with most people.

Okay so I literally JUST realized that I am one pound away from losing half of what I need to lose! OMG! That's a crazy thought! In less than 4 months!! I hope to keep going at this rate, but I'll be realistic. I know weight loss tends to slow down as you go along. On top of that, I have 4 more pounds to lose to finally be under 200. That's totally awesome. I love my band so much! I mentioned in the title "problems." Some of this is TMI, so if you don't want to read it, you can click out. However, I wanted to share to see if anyone else has experienced something similar. I often found myself stuck on in the bathroom trying to have a BM. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. This morning, it was for 40 minutes and I was unsuccessful. LOL. Sorry, I have to laugh or I'll realize how disgusting this really is. Anyways, I was late to work by 15 minutes because of my issue. This isn't the first time either. It's just kind of ridiculous. I eat prunes and I've been trying to drink more water. I'm trying to take the natural route before I implement any kind of medicine. Tomorrow is my next fill appointment. My doc usually leaves me the option to choose whether I want a fill or not. As always, I'm not sure! I usually fill out a chart, but honestly, that doesn't really help. It asks me what I eat. I purposely choose not to eat sweets, pastas and bread, so me checking no on that doesn't necessarily mean I don't need a fill. It just means I know how to make better choices. Anyways, last week, I did get stuck a little bit and had to throw up. Also, Saturday, I was not able to finished my broiled crab cake. I've also lost 12 pounds this past month. However, there have been meals where I know I could have finished it if I wanted to. Meaning, no restriction. I still feel restriction every so often, but not enough that I feel completely confident in telling my doctor I don't want a fill. I am leaning more towards getting the fill. The way I see it, if I'm too tight, I'll just go back for a little unfill. I want consistent restriction, not hit or miss. Oh I've also noticed that I haven't been as hungry or been thinking about food as often. I have to remind myself to eat sometimes. Just my rambles! Feel free to chime in with any opinions or advice on anything I mentioned. Thanks!!

I have to say, I am simply amazed by this journey thus far! I wanted to post my story (in a condensed version) for those of you who are thinking about getting this procedure or have just begun your journey. I have been overweight for as long as I can remember. I just ate what I wanted, and enjoyed it very much. I had little to no concern about my health. I remember in middle school, I would sit in my bedroom closet just eating a can of icing. How disturbing is that?! I finally started thinking about WLS about a year ago. My highest weight was 259 LBS. Although I didn't have any health issues, I had began to miss my monthly visitor (sorry for the TMI). This really concerned me because I desperately want children in my future and I knew that the direction I was going in would make that difficult. I went to meet with a surgeon, and got the ball rolling! My insurance required that I meet with a nutrionist for 6 months before surgery. Those 6 months just FLEW by! However, I had not originally planned on getting the Lapband. My heart was set on getting the Vertical Sleeve. A week before surgery, my Insurance Cordinator gave me a call saying that my insurance will not cover that surgery as I needed to have a BMI of 50. I was really far off. However, I COULD get the Lapband. So after crying my eyes out all day, I decided that this is how it was supposed to be and I agreed to get the Lapband. It was the best decision of my life! I stayed one night in the hospital. It was my first surgery ever, and was relatively easy. The only difficult part was that I felt more comfortable resting in a chair than I did in the bed. I did not sleep much that night. Also, the first time they got me up to walk, I thought I was going to throw up and/or pass out. It got better. Today, it is exactly 4 months since my surgery, which I got on November 21st 2011. Today, I am exactly 60 pounds lighter. Today, I am FINALLY in Onderland (199 pounds)!! It has been simply amazing! I have had 2 fills. My doctor decided to hold off on another one due to the amount of weight I have lost. My weight loss has slowed down a bit, but I am still losing about 2 pounds a week. I will probably ask for another fill when I see him next month. I know everyone says this, but the band really is a tool that YOU have to use. I believe you have to want to put some effort into this before even getting the surgery or it won't work for you. Your mind has to be in the right spot. You have to WANT to change. You have to be willing to give up some of the foods you love or at least only have them on a very rare occasion. You have to be willing to work out. I guess its possible to lose weight without working out, but you will lose more slowly and you may end up looking disproportionate. Thanks to the band, better choices, and the gym, I have lost 60 pounds. I never thought I would be here. I love to work out as it makes me feel so much better and I have so much more energy. I also do the Couch to 5K Program. I strongly suggest this program to anyone and everyone! Although I am only in the 4th week (9 weeks total) I am seeing an improvement. My thighs are smaller, I have lost inches, and I am more fit! Since my surgery, I have also lost 2 inches on my neck, 7 inches on my waist, and 6 inches on my hips. Oh, I also use myfitnesspal like a fanatic! Feel free to add me on there. My username is legnarevocrednu. Also, feel free to message me on here if you have any questions. Good luck to all of you on your journey! I still have about 54 pounds to lose, but I'm glad that I could finally post my story as a success!!

Hey guys, just wanted to let you all know that I had my surgery today and doing awesome.. Well, besides falling alseep at the tablet,, lol.. I have already been up sitting so the next action is to pee..lol.. Sorry tmi... I just hope tomorrow is this great.. My surgery was about an hour long and only in recovery few a short time.. Sorry this is not much but right now I cant stay awake.. Just having a shout out to say I am fine and thanks for all the prayers...

Salsa, you're kicking butt!!! I'm so impressed that you're running!!! Maybe I'll be up to that when I get down in Onederland myself (if my feet get happier). I had a great bellydance class last night. I've managed to finally master a step that I've struggled with for over a year, so the teacher is pushing us all by practicing that step for LONG periods of time. My hips and thighs were really feeling it when I got home, so I know I got some serious toning done. What I'm noticing is how much easier things are for me, and I actually can do some of the moves on my toes without my feet screaming in pain. That's HUGE! What really got me giggling last week is that I did a "vibration" naked last week (was goofing around while getting dressed). I know I've got the move down, but it's bizarre seeing it without the clothes to cover things. I literally had "waves" of vibration traveling everywhere - what a hoot! I know, probably mega-TMI but it did amuse me quite a bit. I'll probably have to relearn moves as I get smaller because I won't be able to rely on my jiggly bits making the appearance of the move and will have to use the muscles more. Anyway, good work everyone! Keep that motivation rolling!

@@Bronxmerci do you feel pressure on your chest when you drink. And TMI I've had my period for 10 days now.

Question. Yesterday I was constipated TMI, that's fixed but today I have been having the worst pain in my pouch feels like someone is trying to turn it inside out or something. Tried to eat one thing today and was ok but also nauseous and burping a lot. What's the deal? Tomorrow is my first day back at work and it's a 12hr shift and I'm the only pharmacist there. This is the worst I've felt since surgery...any thoughts??? Help?

For TMI purposes if your urine looks like this. Tell your doctor. mine was almost brown.

This is TMI I've always been on the heavier side of my periods and they would last 7-10days I'm experiencing my first menstrual and it's totally different. I'm barely cramping and I'm very light. I'm on day 4 and it's super light still. What has been your experience? Does it change? Should I worry? Is this normal?