Today was my one-week appointment to have staples out, etc. My surgeon does four surgeries on a given day, so he does classes for the four patients who share a surgery date at intervals preop and postop. It was fun to see everyone since the last time I saw them we were all walking the hospital halls.

We also each had appointment time, and my incisions were healed well and the staples came out, no problem. Then I was weighed and... I get to update my profile! 9.4 pounds gone my first week! I weighed in at 223.2! I didn't lose the most - one of the guys lost 11.2 - but I did really well, and I'm proud of myself. My face already looks thinner.

I'm okayed to swim now, and to start driving this next week. I still have to stay on my Stage I diet, but I can add lactose-free protein shakes (I asked for that, since I'm not digesting yogurt very well and that's a mainstay of my doc's stage one diet.)

My surgeon and I had already worked out my blood pressure med dosing (none as of yesterday, but daily monitoring and call his cell phone if it exceeds parameters), and he's letting me stay off the Citrucel most patients take because, again, my gut didn't like it. I can also add V-8 and strained soups this week. Getting my fluids and protein in has been hard for me, but my surgery buddies all said the same thing. It's just tough to do that first week.

I feel good. Still tired - I just lose steam a couple of times a day - but I'm not having any real pain to speak of and my nausea is pretty well resolved. I'm already learning that my body hiccups when it's full. Heh.

thanks for the update - sounds like you're in good hands. now a couple of words from the voice of experience - don't compare your weight loss with anyone else's - especially a man's. as long as you stay on your path and do everything you're supposed to, you'll be fine. men lose weight so much faster than we do [not fair!!!], so just keep your eye on yourself.

and losing steam? hun - you've just had some pretty invasive surgery. you're healing, and that takes time and energy. so just keep on doing what you're doing, and rest when you're tired. your body will thank you.

and i know about the weird things our bodies do to tell us we've had enough. i often SNEEZE!!! and i didn't notice it until i spent a weekend with some girlfriends, and one of them noticed it. and she was right!

I went and got a pedicure yesterday. It was heavenly, but by the time I did that and went to the store for V-8 (my new stomach likes it), I was finished for the day and had my mom drive me home. She seems to think I'll be able to drive myself and my son to church on Sunday (hubs is working.) Possibly, but we'll have to see. Today is laundry and go nowhere except out to the pool (mayyybe) day.

I weighed this morning. My scale says 217. My surgeon's scale weighs two pounds heavier so we're calling it 219. I'm down 13 pounds in eight days. That's crazytown. I love that. I'm not going to weigh every day, but I liked seeing that number.

By contrast, a friend of mine has been doing WW for almost two months. She is now down 13 lbs and one pants size. I'm really proud of her, and I know she can succeed - but I also know that she, like me, has run the weight loss program gamut. I want so much to tell her about my surgery, and how she too can get off the roller coaster, and how it's not "the easy way" (and so what if it was, really), but it *is* an incredible tool that can assist with permanent weight loss. For now, I'm keeping my peace. If she wants to ask, she will let me know. For now, it's not for me to tell her what to do. She's doing great and I know she's working hard. So I'm just not mentioning how much I'm losing to her. I want her to succeed, not to feel competitive with my 4 ounce sleeve and six-foot bypass.

It's just that I feel confident that I will not see 232 again. Ever. Each pound I lose is a pound I can kiss goodbye like a bad old boyfriend - glad to be rid of it, won't see you again.

But for today, I focus on me. I am not loving Muscle Milk Light. My stomach likes it, I just don't love the taste. I'm reminding myself that each shake is 15g protein and that much more hair I might get to keep. Sigh. I could live on V8, though.

Oh, and within the next couple of weeks, I'll have to euthanize my beloved pug dog, Max. He's been sick for two years. He's in pain. He can't use his hind legs. He's incontinent most of the time. It's time.

I cry every time I think about it - I couldn't do it before surgery, and now I can't do it until I can pick him up and hold him. Last night hubs put him in the chair with me for a couple of hours. I think Mr. Imp is going to make the arrangements so I don't have to sob on the phone to the vet, who is over an hour away. Off-topic, yep, but it's a thing. And I'm wondering if waiting until after surgery was the best idea, now that I get emotional watching puppy food commercials. Sigh again.

Off-topic, but has anyone ever told you that you write really well? I've been a freelance writer for 18 years and think you'd be a natural at magazine writing.

F.

(hoping it's OK that I'm lurking on a sub-forum where I don't really belong)

Thanks, freelancemomma

I've never done actual magazine writing. I've blogged true crime for a number of years, and now I'm a starving novelist. My first novel is just starting to pick up a little steam, and the second should be coming out this fall (or sooner, if I can get my brain back to work!)

Thanks for the compliment! If magazine writing pays, I'll try it. I'm easy like that

It's been a heck of a few days. (Are we allowed to curse here? I dunno. Anyway.)

I've been learning to deal with gas pain and my new stomach at the same times as I had to put my beloved pug dog, Max, to sleep. He died yesterday morning, peacefully, after a long illness. It was a nightmare letting him go and I didn't wanna, but it would have been cruel to let him suffer longer. Even so, my son (15) and I have been in tears for two days. Hubby handled it for us because we were too upset to go to the vet - we said goodbye at home and then hubs took Max and held him. I will always be grateful for that, but what a nightmare. We'd had Max for all nine years of his life. Sigh. He was a good boy and is terribly missed.

Which: mess with my already somewhat volatile emotions, much? I had no nicotine, no caffeine, no chocolate and no alcohol to soothe me. Before, I might have used any or all of those things - not to excess, but still. Now? None of those crutches are options. Yikes. And dealing with ridiculous heartache without my former "tools" is like, no thank you. Boo. Hiss. Etc.

So, the hubs was off work the last two days, and he spent it dealing with a sobbing family and a terminally ill puglet who he also loved. We ended up seeing two movies in two days. I did not want popcorn or Coke. I did very much want Junior Mints. Instead I had my G2 and, okay, TWO Junior Mints. They're soft, ok? They mushed up nicely and I ate them verrrry sloowwwwly. I also managed a tablespoon of refried beans and cheese at dinner.

So, today I decided to be better. I measured myself, and it helped! Today I am 13 days post-op. I am 16 pounds lighter than I was two weeks ago. And I am a total of 13.25 inches smaller!

A lot of my inches lost were in my waist (3") and hips (2")! But I also lost 1.5" off each of my arms (they had a lot to lose) and an inch off each thigh. I even lost an inch off my neck measurement, which probably accounts for my face looking thinner and my CPAP no longer being necessary!

I just realized my new measurements mean I can go shopping at Daddy O's dot com and White House Black Market soon. OMG. And I've already had to get a new swimsuit. Shopping, yay!

I liked measuring myself so much I'm gonna do it again in two weeks or a month. It's nice to see the changes!

oh imp. I'm so sorry about Max. critters give us so much love and ask so little. It's really hard to let them go, and unfortunately, that's part of taking care of them and loving them. I'm facing the same situation with my lovely 14-year-old cat. she has lymphoma. she's doing pretty well right now, but i know what the end will be.

and that whole 'can't eat your emotions' thing??? that's been the HARDEST THING EVER for me to deal with. I remember times i simply slammed things on the table out of frustration [never broke anything, thank goodness!]. with practice and attention, it DOES get more manageable, but it never goes away. at least, it hasn't gone away for me. I'm sure there's someone out there with a different experience. so, congrats to you for seeing it so soon and coming up with a way to deal with it.

you're doing great. measurements help a lot. one thing i found right after the surgery was that my body would take a break from losing weight, and i'd suddenly drop inches instead. and then the weight loss would start up again. so don't get frustrated if your weight doesn't budge for a few days or a week. as long as you're doing what you're supposed to do, it'll be fine.

and PS - there's an automatic 'forbidden word' filter on 3FC. if you wrote something on that list, you'd see ***** instead. so write what you want. if the filter doesn't like it, we'll all understand what you were going for. If for some bizarre reason you write something that's flaming, rude, hostile [and trust me, i can't imagine you doing that], either Leenie or I [the mods for this section] will do something, or one of the admins who can change anything anywhere will pick it up and fix it.

imp...what novels have you written? if you don't mind me asking.
thanks

I didn't know if we were allowed to mention things like that here, but my first novel, When The Storm Passes, came out in February. My second novel will hopefully be ready for release by September.

The first one is okay. I'd give it three stars. The second one will be better

I had my first visit with the bariatric (or now referred to as the metabolic!) surgeon and I begin the long process of the 6 months of visits with a weight loss coach through my employer. That call, in fact, will take place in about 30 minutes. I have a friend who works in the office and squeezed me in today so the 6 month point will end way before the end of the year (for deductibles and such. I am on the fence about such a surgery, thinking of it as elective, but I am a diabetic hypertensive who's mother had a massive MI at the age of 48 (I'm 53!!) so it's hardly 'elective', right? I have so loved reading about your progress so please don't stop! I'm so sorry about the loss of your beloved dog. Reading about how you coped with grief was interesting, since I was wondering about that. I have always soothed myself with food. I grew up in MO and spent most of my summers in the Ozarks growing up. It's my favorite place in the world! My TX hubby has learned to love it as well. Can't wait to read your next post!

Thanks for all the support in the loss of my Max. I'm doing better now - the first couple of days was **** on wheels, both for me and for my son. Even my daughter, who is 22 and has lived in Los Angeles since college, was sad. We're all adjusting - even our "other" pug, Sluggo, who could use a little WLS of his own. It's a process, but we are healing as a family.

My scale seems to have stopped for the moment, so I have stopped looking at it for the moment! My surgeon, Dr. Hargroder, was clear with me that weight loss is not going to be constant losing - it's more of a spiky graph, with fluid retention and hydration and what's in your belly and the weirdness of metabolism all playing a role. I keep telling myself that I do not have to show a loss every. single. day. Yes, I am a little OCD, why do you ask? ;P

My gas pain is much more manageable now. It's not as severe, and I can feel it coming on and know what to do to fix it. (Why hello there, bathroom.)

Today, I can drive! So kiddo and I are headed to Wally World (in Branson, in high tourist season, because we are insane) for Stage 2 diet stuff - for me, that means yet more Gatorade, and whatever looks good that is super-soft and not too chunky. Since I am handling mashed potatoes and refried beans okay, I will be looking for cottage cheese, things with protein, maybe a banana or two, perhaps eggs. Dr. H. tells me that a lot of his patients don't do well with eggs for a long time, if ever, but my dad does okay with them so I am hopeful. We shall see.

I'm still napping a lot. I seem to crash out about 2:00 p.m. and stay crashed for a few hours, until hubby gets home from work. I have skipped napping a couple of days, but not many. I'm gonna try to skip it today and see if I make it past 7:00 p.m. I think part of this may be that I am still having trouble getting in all of my fluids.

This morning I got crazy and had half a bottle of water within a few minutes. A half hour after that I got really dizzy, because, derp, I had taken in no salt or potassium. Half a Gatorade later I felt a lot better. I tend toward a little hypoglycemia, so I need to be more careful and make sure I eat my protein early and a little carbs, and get in my sodium and potassium. V8 is also great for that. Getting in 64 ounces of fluid, minimum, is a goal I have yet to reach in one day, and Dr. H. is going to smack me in the head if I don't get on it.

And, I was a little emotional again this morning. Hubby is like "please for the love of our marriage, call Robin at Dr. H's office and tell her to call you in that darn patch", and I probably will. It just seems a little early for that, but I could be wrong.

So, yeah. Things are going well, overall. If I don't go buy my kid a brony shirt he will think I don't love him, so I'm gonna go do that now. See? Practically normal! LOL

Imp-
I have enjoyed reading about your progress. I am considering GBS. I have had my first appointment with my bariatric doctor on Tuesday of this week. I see you haven't posted her for a month, so Ihope everythig is going ok. Thanks for sharing your experience and I hope to hear from you again soon

Just catching up on my old thread

I'm two months post-op now, and down 41 pounds. I'm very pleased with my weight loss so far, since I don't exercise that much. Heat waves suck, so mostly I've been swimming and that's about it. Mainly I just walk around and do things, which is still a big exercise increase for me!

My new stomach is picky. I can't do milk or yogurt, still, but cottage cheese and other cheeses are fine, so I eat those. My diet isn't as low carb as many people postop, because I tolerate some carbs well. Melba toast is my friend. Pasta and bread, though, are not, and I don't eat them yet. I probably will never eat much of them, because I need to get most of my calories from protein. Fat seems to agree with me, up to a point.

My biggest challenges remain eating enough, and drinking enough. If I manage a 48 ounce fluid day I count it as a success. A couple of times I think I've been courting dehydration in this heat, so I do make an effort to get in as much water and G2 as possible.

Right now, we're moving. I've also sent in my renewal for my (formerly expired) nursing license - now that I'm healthier, I feel like I should be working a "real" job as well as writing. The second novel has been giving me fits for months, so it's on the back burner while we move house and get the kiddo set up for school and find a job. But I can DO all those things now!

My boobs. Oh my. They were a 40D before surgery and now I need to go bra shopping, because my 38Ds are too big and the 36Bs I picked up at a sale are fine in the band and too small in the cups. Sounds like a 36 C/D will work but I'm trying to wait a week or two in case I change sizes again. I wanted to keep those!

This week I lounged around the house in a comfy size 14 capri pants. This makes me happy. Except that yet again I'm gonna be out of clothes, soon, if my "skinny" stuff is getting too big. That, friends, is what we call a First World Problem. "Oh gosh, I just had $20K worth of surgery so I'd get thinner and now nothing fits" is not a crisis. LOL

Things are going well. I'm kinda out living my life, eating when I feel like it and something looks good. My stomach is picky, yeah, but it's also pretty nice to me as long as I listen to it and feed it what it wants. I also came off the estrogen patch this last week, because it didn't seem to be helping THAT much. I don't see much difference without it, but if I need it again, I'll have the refills.

It's nice to see some new pre-ops floating around here

Thanks for sharing. I am hoping to get approved. These posts are helpful!