I agree with everything Trina just said.

I am post op.  I had surgery in October and I am down a total of 74 pounds including 28 I lost before surgery.  This is a lot of work but worth every bit.  I would recommend this surgery to anyone who is willing to put in the effort.  In four months I only had one moment of regret.  I was having a bad day a couple of weeks after surgery.  I had a little tiff with my husband and I really wanted to emotionally eat.  I couldn't of course because I was still on liquids at the time.  At that moment I regretted getting the surgery.  The next morning I was soo glad that the surgery had stopped me from overeating the night before.  I have not had a moment of regret since.  There are times when this process is frustrating and difficult but I know in my heart that if I did not get it done I would not have lost the weight.

Here is another website to check out.  www.verticalsleevetalk.com.  It is a US site but very informative.

Any member of the Facebook group can add you which I guess your friend did but all new members must be approved by the administrator, Jenn Deon.  If Jenn is busy it may take a day or two for you to get approved and get access to the group.

You can do it ladies! The first couple of days are the hardest.  By about day 3 your body starts to adjust and you'll find you're not has hungry. 

Yes it should be fine to call.  Raleen and Rhoda are both very friendly and it is perfectly reasonable to call to confirm receipt of your referral.

Let that excitment motivate you Terrie.  Every pound you lose before surgery lowers the risk for you and its a pound you won't need to lose after surgery.

I went to the Arts and Culture Centre last night to see Buddy Wassisname and the Other Fellers and I ACTUALLY FIT IN THE SEAT!!! I didn't have to squeeze in uncomfortably, I actually fit.  A word of advise though,  I would recommend waiting the full six weeks after surgery before going to see them. I'm just over 4 weeks out now.  I nearly literally split my sides laughing and my big cut was really hurting at the end of the night.  What a show. 

The statistics show that this surgery will help us lose about 60% of our excess weight.  The rest is up to us so hard work and willpower are definintely part of the equation.  If you think about it you had 110lbs to your goal.  60% of that would be 66lbs.  You have lost 75 up to now so you are above average at 68%.  Now the work begins.  Like you said you have a great kickstart to motivate you.  You can do it Jenn. 

Tina

Jenn,

We travel this journey one day at a time.  You had a bad day where you took a step backward on this journey but tomorrow you must make yourself step forward again.  The important thing is you realize what you have done.  We will all slip at times and we just have to work harder then next few days to make up for it.  Remember how you feel right now and think about that the next time you want to cheat.  You have done so well and come so far.  Take this as a warning that you are now at the point where it becomes work.  We will all reach that point. 

Now you are like a normal person.  You have 35 pounds to lose and will have to focus your mind and work your a$$ off to get there.  Even if you just want to maintain you will have to work at it like a normal person.  You were once morbidly obese with a slim to none chance of losing the weight you needed to.  Now you have lost most of the weight with the help of your sleeve and will have to make a real effort to keep it off or to continue on to reach your goal.  I know this sucks right now but you need to put it all in perspective.  CONGRATULATIONS ON BEING NORMAL JENN!!!

Love you,

Tina

I buy President's Choice Whey Protein Isolate at Dominion.  They have several other brands but I haven't tried the others.  Its a powder that comes in a 2 lb container.  You can get it in chocolate, vanilla, unflavoured and maybe strawberry.   Each serving is 3 scoops mixed with water or milk.  There is 37g of protein and 5g of carbs in the 3 scoops of powder.  I add 1 cup of skim milk and get a total of 46g of protein and 14g of carbs.  Works really well for me.  The vanilla is great for making all kinds of different flavours, just add in a few frozen berries.  I am not crazy about the unflavoured but it has 27g of protein and 0 carbs in one scoop and you can mix it with just about anything.  The chocolate is really tasty.  It really helps if you have some type of blender.  If you don't have one you can get a hand blender at Walmart for about $20.  You can make your shake at home the evening before and put in the fridge to take to work the next day.  Before you drink just give it a shake to mix up whatever had settled.  Another option is taking a shaker to work with you.  I bought one from Walmart called Body Fortress.  Its $5.97 and you can find it in the pharmacy section with the Body Fortress protein powders.  It has a separate container for your powder that can screw on the bottom.  You just put in the cup of milk and screw the container with the powder on the bottom.  At work when you want to make your shake simply unscrew the bottom and put the powder in the shaker with the milk.  There is a plactic screen in the shaker that takes out all the lumps if you shake it well.  Its the next best thing to using a blender.

I know premade protein shakes are easier but most of them will not get you where you need to be.  I am 2 weeks after my surgery now.  Before surgery I could have a high protein boost once a day but since then it goes right through me because there are too many carbs.  Even the diabetic boost is not staying in well.  I can drink about half of one and then the other half a couple of hours later.  I find it much easier now to stick with the homemade shakes made from powder. 

Hi Amanda,

Welcom to the board.  As Jenn said, the best thing is to read down through the posts on this page.  Under the topic "Exited and Nervous" TDR gives a good overview of the process that one must go through in order to get weight loss surgery here in the province. 

I'M BAAACK!!!

The last week has felt like a month but I'm finally home!  I guess the best place to start is the beginning.

I thought that on surgery day I would be admitted to my room and then go down to surgery but I was wrong.  On surgery day we first go to Day Surgery where we will be given a surgical gown, stockings, and booties to wear and will be given a recliner to sit in.  They will give you 2 pills to keep your stomach from being upset and something to keep you calm (ativan).  If you want something to keep you calm you need ot ask for it when you see the anthesitist at Pre-Admission.  You will need someone to bring your bag up to your room afterward.  I didn't have any family with me but luckly when Jenn found out she volunteered to meet me at 6:30 am in day surgery.  She stayed with me until I went in and then brought my bag to my room aferward. (Love you Jenn!!!)  Then you will walk to another surgical waiting area just outside the OR where you will be sit in another recliner.  The antthestist will come and talk to you and then when they are ready you will walk to the OR and climb up on the operating table.  There are very friendly and when I told them I get muscle spasms in my back when I lay flat they put a pillow under my knees and made sure I was comfortable.  They will put a mask on you and give you some gas that Jenn describes as Heaven and I describe as Hell (lol).  It was very dizzying and I found it very uncomfortable just before I went under.  I barely remember waking up in recovery.  All I remember is hearing someone say she is ready to go up to her room and thinking "I'm not ready, I'm not even awake yet".  An elevator ride and some overhead lights passing by later and I was in my room.  I managed to scooch over onto my hospital bed and I remember Jenn being there and unpacking everything for me, then the morphine kicked in and I was out like a light for a few hours.  They manage your pain very well.  I slept most of the first day.  Trina came to visit and Jenn came again that evening as well.  That first day is all kind of fuzzy.  Day 2 started with going down for the leak test.  The stuff is not too hard to get down but its the aftertaste that kills you.  Espcecially when you can't rinse your mouth.  Until they tell you your leak test was OK the only thing you get are these mouth swabs you dip in water.  I scrubbed my mouth with one of those and that helped a little but the taste still hangs on.  Once you get cleared to drink you are supposed to drink one little medicine cups every 15 minutes and gradually work up to 2-3 ounces at a time.  In the beginning every sip hurt for me.  I had a lot of swelling inside and could feel every sip seep its way down.  After they take you off the IV you will be give a gravol pill every 4 hours.  The first one I bit in a few pieces.  The second the nurse said there is no need to bite it so I didn't,  it got stuck and I had to keep sipping water until it disolved enough to go down. 

For me the gas pain didn't start until the second day.  I had a lot of trouble with gas because of the swelling nothing wanted to move.  Just as the water had to seep down the gas kind of had to seep back up.  By Wednesday morning I was still in a lot of pain because the gas just wasn't moving.  I ended up spending an extra day in hospital.  That day I walked a lot.  At one time I was out of bed for an hour and a half.  Finally I was able to get the gas moving and by Thusday morning I was feeling a lot better and was discharged.  Once again Jenn came to my resuce and brought my bag back to the hostel for me.

They keep you on clear fluids while you are in the hospital so when I got back to the hostel  I drank a bottle of high protein boost and it went right through me.  My first thought was that I had become lactose intolerant which I had heard can happen after surgery.  I didn't get any more protein in that day.  The next day I had a protein shake with water because I was afraid to add skim milk.  That stayed in OK.  on Saturday I added skim milk.  It stayed in OK so I figured that I could handle the lactose OK.  Then I tried a diabetic boost and that was OK too.  I guess the high protein boost must have too many carbs for me right now. 

I'm finding it a real challenge to get in my fluids and my protein each day.  It seems I have to constantly have a drink in my hand.  I have also noticed that if I do not get my fluids I do not lose weight because my body retains the fluid.  On Friday I had gained 4 pounds since surgery because I was still swollen and was not getting in enough fluids.  Today 3 days later I'm down 6 pounds since Friday.  I still have some swelling so I'm sure I will see a big difference in the next week or so. 

I don't feel hungery although a couple of times my stomach got really rumbly.  I drank some protein shake and that really helped.  Most times the thought of putting food in my mouth turns my stomach but last night my husband and kids were having a snack before bed and I really wanted a cookie or a couple of chips.  I wasn't hungry but I wanted to eat.  Although that was really hard I'm glad that I could not eat.  It forced me to stick with the program.  In time I will be able to have a little snack although it will be a little cheese or something else high in protein.  Right now I will just have to be good and wait it out. 

All in all I am 100% glad I had this surgery even with its ups and downs.  I look forward to a healthier happier me in the future. 

My understanding is they will never return, at least not the way they used to be.  The part of the stomach that produces the hunger hormone Grehlin is removed so you no longer have that hormone to make you feel hungry.  You still have to deal with Head Hunger though.  That's the "OMG I would really like to have some of that".  That is still something we will have to deal with for a lifetime.  At least when we do give in and have some, a very small amount will satisfy us.  We must also work to break our old bad eating habits such as emotional eating.  We must try to substitue eating with something else,  It could be exercise, cleaning, shopping, whatever works for you.

Krista I think Terrie has an electronic version of the liquid diet plan.  I'm sure when she sees this today or tomorrow she will be able to send it to you.