plmelquist

My husband and I make beer and love to drink beer. We live in Albuquerque, NM and the craft beer scene is exploding here right now. I drink beer every weekend, 2 or 3 each night. The carbonation hasn't hurt my stomach (I also drink diet soda) and the calories haven't slowed me down. Everything in moderation is key to…

Hi there, I had my surgery on 4/28 and my first full day home I struggled with "what have I done?" Not that I felt bad, just shocked that I had made such a radical move. I was back to normal by that night and haven't looked back since. I can tell you that as of today I'm 9 weeks out, I can eat anything and drink anything.…

My Dr. won't even let us weigh in until 2 weeks after surgery because of this. They pump you full of fluids and air during the procedure and after. Your body goes into shock. You'll be plenty pleased at the 2 week mark, trust me! :drinker:

Hi, I had my sleeve on April 28th - dumped blood pressure meds after 2 weeks. I feel fantastic and am giving oodles of clothes away (donating to Goodwill). My size 3X scrubs are now size XL scrubs! Down from a 24 to 18 in other pants! Down just over 40 lbs after about a 3 week stall! Glad you're doing well! Patty

You won't be hungry after the surgery, at least not for awhile. Trust me. It's hard to imagine but it's true. Hang in there, you'll do great! See you on the other side!!

Thanks, MangoPickle. I threw out my scale (it was old anyway) because I was becoming obsessed with weighing myself. I can cross my legs now, sit indian style and reach my feet when I want to cut my toenails. My scrubs at work have gone from 3X to just XL. I will start weighing my food, too. I don't feel like I'm eating…

Woo hoo - I also have stopped my blood pressure meds. At about 3 weeks I was feeling dizzy one morning and checked my blood pressure at a pharmacy. It was 90/60 and it occurred to me that when I weighed 260 I was on the same dose and was down to about 215. I weaned myself off and kept checking. I was taking…

With my surgery there were a few things that were required by the insurance. One was a psych eval. I think that the surgery is big money for the surgery center and I would imagine your surgeon won't let those non-recommendations scare him off.

Mine was a brief discussion with a psychologist and then 600 questions on a laptop. It was clear this was just a mandatory thing that the insurance was behind.

Didn't take a pillow for the ride, didn't need pain killers, either. I was there 2 nights .... glad I had my iPad and my iPhone. Wore home what I wore in. You'll be great! Congrats!

I am very blessed to be working with veterans every day. I am a respiratory therapist at the VA Hospital here in Albuquerque. It's amazing to see the respect and hear the thanks being exchanged every day between the veterans. It's a special group of people and anytime you see one, even in a restaurant, wearing a "Vietnam…

Surgery day, nothing to eat or drink. Day after ice chips then water. Home on second day only after able to drink and tolerate an Opti-fast shake. Optifast shakes and soup first week -- > mushies for one week -- > fish for 2 weeks --> shrimp and other seafood one week --> chicken --> steak. I'm in the fish for 2 weeks…

I've been taking blood pressure meds for years and last Saturday I decided to check it at a pharmacy. It was pretty low so I've halved my dose. I may discontinue it altogether. Are you on meds? My heart rate is now very low compared to what it was. In the hospital it dropped under 40 while I slept and now, sitting here,…

I'm 14 days out today. I haven't really had any issues drinking or eating - I'm just on mushies, though. I start fish tomorrow. I find I don't have to take smaller than normal sips. However, I do struggle with the fact that I have to decide when I'm full; this is tough when I'm not hungry to begin with. I have sort of…

Congrats! I am day 12 today and feel like nothing happened. I returned to work yesterday and feel absolutely energized and fantastic. I am able to drink normal sips of water, am on mushies and notice only a little "bubble" in my chest when I have that one extra bite of food. It's so strange not feeling hungry that it's…

I am 10 days out and craving spicy like crazy. Luckily, they taste delicious. I bought some refried beans with green chile and lime and add Frank's Red Hot sauce to it. Yum!

I started mushies today and had a yogurt this morning, some re fried beans for lunch and now a small portion of sweet potato for dinner. I've found myself thinking about food all day, which isn't what I want. I really don't know what to eat or how much, just that I can. I bought all things that are high in protein and had…

I bought a juicer and that has helped me get through this shake phase. I start mushies on Weds and I can't wait. Cottage cheese will never have tasted so good! The fresh juice is such a treat and a great way to get some natural vitamins instead of choking down another shake. I have a shake for breakfast, juice for lunch…

I felt pretty tired days 3 and 4. I'm on the end of day 6 right now and feel totally normal. I am exhausted by bedtime, though. So I sleep really good at night. I'm heading back to work on Thurs 5/8. Congrats!

I planned on returning to work at one week but decided to take off 3 more days - I absolutely feel well enough, just decided to milk a little more sick time and take the mental time off. Like everyone said, everyone is different. I didn't use and pain meds and have felt pretty great since about 5 hours after surgery. I…

Congrats! Mine was last Monday, the 28th. You'll do great! If you haven't already, buy a juicer!

I just was sleeved this past Monday (6 days ago) and I feel great. I think we all struggle with this decision and for me, I felt like people would think I was taking the easy way out. I told everyone via Facebook the morning of surgery, before I left for the hospital. Everyone seemed supportive, at least those that…

I was sleeved this past Monday, 6 days ago. I feel great. I had one day (Thurs) where I bottomed out on energy and felt like napping all day. That gave me pause and made me think "what have I done?" but it lasted only that day and by nighttime I was back to feeling good. I've played pool this week, spectated at a baseball…

My pre-op diet was only Optifast. Shakes, soups and bars. Appreciate the "real" food you get to eat along the next 2 weeks and savor it, lol. Drink lots of water!!

Ok, onto day three. So far have gotten down one Opti-fast shake, a little water and have taken a shower. All this in 3 hours! One question I have - did anyone experience a radical drop in heart rate after the surgery? Here, at 3 days my resting heart beat is 47-50. Little concerning.

My surgery is tomorrow! Woo hoo! I have struggled with who to tell. My husband and I made the decision together so he's been involved the whole time. I told my boss a few months ago because I needed the time off and didn't want to take vacation time. I haven't told anyone else until today. I told my best friend and my…

Mine is Opti-fast only but can choose bars, shakes or soup. Then for the first week after surgery it'll be soup and shakes only. Day 2 was today and it wasn't bad. Weekend might be a little different story. Thanks for the feed back!!

My surgery is scheduled for the 28th of April and I'll return to work on the 5th of May. My job isn't terribly strenuous and I think I'll be bored out of my mind by then :D

Thank you, everyone. I'm in the home stretch, the month of surgery! I'm looking forward to the week off from work as much as I am the surgery! Lol.

Ditto on everything above. The drugs are awesome! You will see them when you go in, before you know it you wake up in recovery. I think the EGD takes about 5 minutes. The most time is pre- and post-. Nothing to be worried about! :)