good to hear i'm not the only one who thought it might feel that way.  it's so hard to imagine something you haven't done yet, even with hearing stories after stories.  i always wonder about the weird stuff no one talks about lol.

i know people have to sip their water.  i am asking people to explain to me how it feels.  i have a real phobia of choking/suffocating and i'm imagining that you can't drink too much water or you will choke and that freaks me out.  can you tell me why you have to take small sips and bites?  is it because it gets stuck?  does it come back up?  does it hurt in your throat or your stomach?  can you not swallow well because your esophagus is swollen or something?

i have no problem with taking small sips and bites.  i can do it now and it's okay, i just want to know if you ever feel like you are choking so i can prepare myself and not get a big suprise when it happens.

 biggest thing that i noticed is that vsg people look a lot healthier and younger post op than people who lose weight the old fashioned way.  i think that has so much to do with our protein obsessions lol.  i've never met someone on a diet who was so concerned with protein and i think that really screws up their skin and muscles (so their faces just look gaunt and old, where as ours are glowing and round still, which as we know that apple cheek thing makes you look so young)

peppermint tea
licorice tea
tummy tamer tea and pretty much any tea for indigestion should be okay?

not sure about how this would totally effect your kidneys but i take a tiny bit of baking soda with water to neutralize acid.

 can't you gain weight more from eating too many starchy carby foods and sugar etc.  rather than too much to stretch your sleeve?  i mean slider foods etc.

so your stomach would still be the same size but you have to change what you are eating, more dense protein and low carby stuff and less potatoes etc.

just curious for those who have gerd.  do you use ibuprofen or naproxen?  i get gastric erosion and ulcers from those meds.  when i don't take them i feel pretty good.  so just wondering if those types of meds irritate gerd too.

 did anyone ever see that episode of flight of the conchords where murray answered the email for the nigerian scam and got his money back plus interest?  and the guy came down to visit him?  it was funny as hell.

 i've had many many surgeries too, and i always get like an alley cat after.  swearing at the nurses, making inappropriate jokes, crying, thinking i'm dying, barfing, you name it.  

it will pass.  

http://www.picmonkey.com/

 if yours was real real real high it could be inflammation from arthritis or infections.  

unjury must be the default ad, as i've never searched protein powders online and that is the one i see right now.  pizza ads is just cruelty!

this is probably a silly question but i'm kind of paranoid.

i had my daughter in 1997. the date of her birth i weighed 209 lbs. when i got pregnant i was 160lbs. exactly what i weighed when i had my son in 1993 (when i got pregnant with him i was 120lbs). so you could say my weight gains have happened through pregnancies (hormonal? metobolically?) this runs in my family too. the ladies have babies and get big. the more they have the bigger they get. lol

soooo... for the last 15 and a half years i've fluctuated from 190 - 210. i gained 24lbs over the last year after trying to quit smoking and other weird reasons so i went from 204 to 228 from nov 2011 to a couple months ago. i started taking protein drinks and cutting carbs and am down to 213.

there are some financial issues since i'm self pay, and i would have loved to have had the surgery in february, but issues keep coming up and i am not sure when i will be able to have it. you see my mom is going to get the medical loan for me cuz my credit is borked, but she's laid off right now for the season, and they haven't called her back yet. so until she gets called back we don't qualify for the loan. could get a call back tomorrow, might have to wait till sept or oct. this is actually a blessing in disguise as i have been going to counselling and have really worked on my eating habits and why i have stayed overweight. i realize i'm addicted to starchy carbs and have cut them out completely.

but with that out of the way, i was thinking of losing weight to get down to my bottom weight of 190. when i try naturally to lose weight i just can't seem to get below the 190. it's soooo weird! like my body wants to stay there. i figure if i get to that 'point' where my body seems to like to be set at and i get the surgery then i might be able to break that point and lose more. is this a reasonable assumption?