WLS Veteran's Forum

Okay, where do I start? I had the Sleeve on Jan 9th of this year. Reached my Goal in 8 ½ months, now below my goal. My stomach hurts, I am never hungry, and I CAN’T eat. At first it was great; I mean I reached my goal. I am thin. But MY stomach HURTS. I have been Reading your post about when hungry hit around the 6th month point, and have waited. But nope not hungry, Cause tummy hurts, (ok, I have said that point enough). So, I went to My Surgeon today, he put me on some MORE antacids, and did more blood work. He said to give Meds 2 weeks and if blood work looks okay he wants to do a “Gi~Scope” test to look for bile and acid in my stomach. And if it IS present…

Hi everyone. I'm 5 pounds from goal and therefore starting to stress a little about maintenance. I'm even considering losing another 5 pounds for a little safety. I'm curious when you all first got to goal, what did your maintenance calories get up to? I'm 5'2", female, and my goal weight is 125. When I google maintenance calories for this, it says like 1600 calories. That seems like an awfully lot. Help!

I have just had my fifth fill. I was banded 10 months ago, December 6, 2012 and haven't lost any weight. My history is that I have a great restriction for 1 to 2 weeks after each fill, and then the restriction slowly decreases. I think I am currently up to around five –-ish cc in my band. I am currently on my 8th day post-fill and I have GREAT restriction. It's a challenge to get 800 calories in. My question is: what if I lose restriction after this fill as I have on all the others? My nurse removed all of the saline during the last fill to ensure that there is no leak. Some of the saline did not appear to be there, but she chalked it up to two things: 1. It's virtually i…

Hi, I've been banded almost 18 months. I think I'm in my green zone and pretty tight now. I feel all is working well but I've noticed now when I go to bed (many hours after dinner) I gurgle and have burpy gas for quite a while (maybe hour.. Haven't really timed it) which keeps me up. It's not painful but I worry it can lead to slippage or if only happens if too tight. Only happens when I'm laying down and kind of weird to me as I would think food is well past my stomach by then (could see if right after meal). Anyone have insight or experience this or if normal? Thanks

Was surfing about and came across this and love it - for any and all of us working with body images issues (which is most likely all of us) this is a beautiful read. http://dalefavier.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/what-people-really-look-like.html

Hi Everyone, I'm 10 months out, down 123 lbs and only 10 away from my final goal. I have had no issues with gaining at all, only some small stalls, which coincidentally enough, the only thing that broke them was giving in and having something sweet! I am at the point where I am finding myself REPULSED by the amount of excess skin I have. Particularly my stomach and inner thighs. I was wondering what people's experience has been with getting this skin removal covered by insurance? Are there any tricks or things people have found helpful in getting their plan to agree to pay? I don't want to have to wear shapewear everyday for the rest of my life lol

I just checked it out on Amazon and it's only $2.99 for Kindle or you can check it out for free (like their rental thing) if you're a prime member. I'm going to check it out for free to see if its something I can do or not.

I used to be on here all the time - back when I first had my surgery and a few months post op. I've slowly started coming back due to the realization that I haven't lost anything for at least 5 months and it's because I haven't been in the game at all. I am seeing posts from people that had surgery around the same time as me or much later, that weighed more than me at date of surgery, and they have reached far and beyond my wildest expectations for myself. I just wanted to get below 200 and if I had stayed on plan, I would've accomplished this. The thing is, I can eat almost exactly like I used to and I do feel hunger and I am addicted to sugar/carbs. It is nothing for me…

I've been able to maintain between 134 to 139 for 1.5 years. I do have a lot of sagging skin on my inner thighs afraid to wear really short, shorts or a bathing suit because its visible. Received a quote for plastics in Mexico for a thigh lift for 2500 not a bad price. Anyone suffering from this and what's working for you?

Hi, I got to my goal and was doing well. Then Oct 15, I started to get sick. I thought it was a cold but it turned into bronchitis. My doctor put me on an antibiotics which has ended. I am still coughing and tired but they say that can last for 3 weeks with bronchitis. Here is the thing, I hate being sick and it is wearing me down. I don't want to fall into the old habit of comforting myself with food. I already slipped up a couple of times. I know it isn't going to help me get over the bronchitis soon. I am just tired of being sick and tired. How have any of you handled this kind of thing. I know in the past, getting sick is one of my triggers for lousy eati…

My surgery was Dec. 11, 2011. You can see my stats below. Life is great. This summer I got back from a trip where I had to hike 13 miles in and then back out of a canyon. I'm climbing mountains and loving it. The only problem I'm having is the extra skin which is bad, but not bad enough to be covered my insurance and these last few pounds I would like to loose. I am afraid that I've gotten my body into a metabolic syndrome by restricting calories for so long. I'm short and don't seem to need much, but am still at 800 calories. If I add carbs or more calories, I gain rather fast. To loose I'd have to drastically cut back, but what will that do in the long run? Anybod…

And this is the time of year I did my "best" eating In the past... I think I may have been a bear in a past life, Trying to fatten up to slumber through the cold months The last couple of days I'm feeling the chill, having a harder time taking in my 70 oz of freezing cold liquids.. I'm a creature of comfort and got used to my cold cold drinks everyday and my almost frozen Greek yogurt frozen blueberry combo. With the chill my mind wants to snuggle up to something warm and comforting. I have a feeling that I'm not alone on the old patterns of putting on the weight over winter? How do you get through the weather transitions? I would love to know as I sit her…

Finally, I can post in the vet forum. I read these posts nightly and are all inspiration. I've recently gotten back in the game. After surgery in NOv 2011 and losing 75 pounds, I'm ready to keep it moving again. After struggling with my weight for years and years, the surgery was a blessing for me.. got me down out of the 300's.. I'm proud of myself for keeping the 75 pound off, but its time to use the tool, focus and get out of the 200's .. who's with me?

So I am 5 lbs from goal. Well, to clarify, an initial goal that, 100 lbs ago seemed like an incredible dream. It is still about 14-15 lbs above the top of a healthy BMI (I am 5'4 and the goal is 160). My thinking in picking this weight was 1) I thought I might be happy at that weight; 2) it seems like a higher goal weight might be easier to maintain and 3) my doctor was/is happy with this goal. What I figured I would do, ultimately, was get to 160 and then focus on reducing BF% rather than a number on the scale (which would probably result in a little more weight loss). Now that I am so close, I am wanting to revise that number down. Like maybe I want to go down to…

So thrilled to be on this site. Don't usually add much. But knowing I could join seasoned bandsters made me try more. Thank you. Looking forward to more happy years

How can one measure happiness or measure ongoing happiness? Making good choices in life. Major step taken 3 years ago yesterday by self paying for VSG surgery as an outpatient in US (after being denied by insurance) and had over 80% of my stomach removed. Sleeve gave me a great tool to battle my obesity. So at three years out, I can assure you I made a good or dare I state fabulous choice. Today weighed in at 6 pounds below surgeons goal still well in range of healthy BMI. Yes, I am healthy & take my suppliments & follow up with surgeon annually while still attending a bi-monthly support group here in SoCal While I can babble on about the bene…

I find my self examination on this topic to be very interesting. In January, I had my 1 year follow up with my surgeon and he declared me at goal (20# heavier then i am now) and that I should consider plastics, I had a fit body under the skin etc. I hadn't really thought about it until then, like I never thought about myself deserving to look good. I got surgery to save my life, not for vanity reasons ... but his thoughts intrigued me so I went for my first consult. I cried my eyes out... they photo you nude, pull and prod on your skin and point out flaws you didn't know you had...LOL the first one I think is a little trauma for most people. anyway, i started to de…

Just need some opinions....I had the band and bread, rice, pasta, tortillas, wraps or anything of the sort was an absolute NO because it would get stuck and be ugly.....is it the same with the sleeve....I'm not asking if I can eat a plate of spaghetti or anything but I made a chicken rice casserole for the family and was scared to death to have a small amount for fear that the rice would hurt me.....any advice would be appreciated

One year seems like a long time but it has come and gone so quickly! I am celebrating my one year surgiversary on Thursday, October 3rd. I am grateful for the 84 pounds I have lost but somehow feel like I should be further along in my weight loss journey. That is only an average weight loss of 7 pounds per month. I don't want to diminish my accomplishments thus far but feel like I should be further along. I have REALLY struggled with getting the weight off in the past 5 months. It seems like it came to a screeching hault around 8 months and I have struggled to get that scale to move hardly at all in the past 4 months. I am very discouraged and frustrated! I don't …

I am getting close to my goal (5-8 lbs. to go) and Im wondering how that works out. I weight train 3 times a week, and cardio 3 times a week, and if I continue this rate, I will lose to much weight. Any suggestions?

Hello Vets! Today is my first fast day for the 5.2 diet plan. So, only 500 calories for fast days and 1200 to 1500 for the feast days? Right?? I was wondering if it is ok to have coffee? I'm so excited to try this diet and new way of eating. I'm so ready to get to goal and I'm praying that this will at least get me started in the right direction. I've gained 3 pounds recently and now am back up to 170 and I'm scared to death. I realize that weight flutuates but also I've not been doing as well as before and I can eat more usual. I know it is up to me to keep this weight off! I never want to go back! NEVER! I've been back and forth to many time in my life. …

Hey everyone, I'm starting day 5 post-op tomorrow. I want to know if anyone had complications with SOB or hyperventilating? I had to be admitted back in for those two and was also borderline dehydrated. And how long is this gas or pains in my abdomen going to go away? I also have bradycardia (slow heart rate) and palpitations. They released me today after a two day stay but, told me to do follow up with a new primary doctor and cardiologist as I have moved to a new city in the same state. Any input would be nice, hoping to find someone who has experienced close to what I have experienced. Thank you

After the talk on here I decided it was worth the investment. It is a weight watchers scale from target, not sure how accurate, but I figure it will measure trends. It kind of hit me that at maintenance, having goals that focus on getting fitter/reducing body fat a bit might be good to track. I am also very curious how plastic surgery will impact these measures. I mean, does the skin count as fat, Water or bone density...LOL. anyway, we shall see... my initial body fat % is 29% which is what I expected based on photos I looked at of other women and is range of normal for my age. I could see working to get down to 25% though... I think the % on these scales is impacted …

Its been a tough week. Do u get hungrier when a little under the weather?

Struggling. I am also a tad bit depressed in realizing with full force that VSG was never a cure for what's going on in my head. All is well in my life for the most part. I have a great new job that more than pays the bills, hubby's got a good job, we have excellent benefits, basically life is improving every day (the last few years have been rough for us financially, just like 90% of people, I'm sure). My son still has Autism Spectrum Disorder, but is doing very well at home and in school. For the most part, everything is fine in my life. So why did I eat almost 2000 calories yesterday? Why was yesterday such a battle? I am 5 freaking pounds from goal...just why? Ugh. Ju…

I had my vsg jan 29,2013 and I was 322 at my highest. Since my surgery I have lost an incredible 120 pounds in 8 months I had my plateaus and my rough patches but I am still rocking it out. But OMG I am 4 pounds away from onderland garg its like it might ad well be 50! I want to laugh and shake the scale til it gives in to my demands LoL! Anyone else get so close to a scale goal and its like the scale is mocking you? Best of luck y'all!

I am such a sugar addict that I found this to be of help in some ways. Hope you enjoy it... Addicted to Sugar? 7 Steps You Need to Take Before You Can Break Free Last month, I devoted my blog to reviewing some of the more surprising adverse health outcomes associated with excess sugar consumption. While most of us know that sugar is not the best substance to load our body with, many individuals struggle with tactics in actually breaking free of their addiction to sugar -- and yes, it can truly be an addiction. In fact, the results of one study showed that a greater neurological reward was provided by intense sweetness than by the drug cocaine. Similar findings occu…

I didn't know there was a vet board...nice!! I posted this earlier on a different board and it was mentioned that I ought to throw it out here as well. Here's the original post....hope this finds you all well! :-) Hello all!! It's terribly strange for me to say that in just a few weeks I'll be celebrating my 2 year sleeve-aversery! In some ways it feels like I had my sleeve done years and years ago, and other ways it feels like just yesterday. I thought I'd pop back on because I remember reading these posts before my sleeve and wondering what I was in for. I also remember wondering why there didn't seem to be many veterans on here. If I may, …

As a vet and am close to or have reached goal already, how many of you find yourself making mistakes and unintentionally eati g certain things? Unintentionally may mean too large a portion or the wrong foods despite best intentions and planning. Does being a vet cure us from unintentional eating? No for most I am sure. Not a very deep survey question, but it would be interesting to see the spectrum of answers. You would think being a vet means you have these issues under control. My answer is about once a week I will get the carb cravings and give in to some unintended carb snack. Not anything to derail from, but gives me pause to consider the trigger. For me, I thin…

I have just been diagnosed with Diverticular Disease. Until this morning, I had never even heard of it even though it is apparently really common. From what I can gather it is the result of a low fibre diet. My doc didn't know whether this would be a result of the sleeve or not. Though he was clear it was likely diet related. I am curious if others who are sleeved have developed this, and, if so, how it is managed with a post sleeve diet. I struggle with recommended fibre intake and have been slack in taking fibre supplements (though this has shocked me into re-examining my slackness on the supplement front).

So I am about 7 months post op. I have 14lbs to my personal goal of 154. My weight loss has slowed so much, which I knew it would. I try to do yoga and other exercises but I fear that may not get me to goal. I don't think the 5:2 would work since I haven't stopped losing. But since my other health issues prevent me from getting too crazy with exercise I am wondering if you guys have any tips on how I can try and prevent stopping in my weight loss. I know I can't sustain the dramatic calorie reduction and when I start upping my calories I worry I won't lose those last 14. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I just don't want to almost make it. Also my final dress fitting is t…

I'm 14 months post op. I'm at goal and YAY!! So I have a miserable cold, really really sick. I took a half a teaspoon of phenergran/codeine cough syrup and thought I was going to DIE! Right in the center of my chest below my girls it tightened and the pain brought me to my knees for about 40 minutes. Does anybody know or have an idea of what that was? Something tells me I need to go back to my pre op notes and see if the above was a no no.

A few years ago some friends came to visit. We live about 5 minutes from Six Flags and our families went to the park. I wanted to ride the Batman ride. I get on and could get the seat all the day to get the buckle to work. The guy was rushing to make sure everyone was set and I had to get off because I was just too big to fit. On Friday night my daughter, her friend and I went to Six Flags and I rode Batman! (and Superman!) It really meant A LOT to me to say I can do anything a normal person can do again! And then I said, "Why am I riding a roller coaster?!" I "cheated" death on those two roller coasters LOL and now I am done with roller coasters, I think, b…

Hi all, I consider myself a veteran, but I'm clueless about what is going on now. I'm good about knowing when to stop eating. But the last few days, a couple of minutes after I finish eating I get hit with an extreme bout of nausea and I have to really focus and concentrate on not vomiting. It usually passes after a minute or two, but it's a tough couple of minutes. Any idea what's causing it, or anyone else experience the same thing?

I'm 8 months out and I've forgotten what does drinking with meals do to us. Does it cause weight gain or just flush the nutrients out? I haven't mastered not doing this.

Thanks to 5:2 and upping exercise, I am losing weight again (slowly). I initially started doing 5:2 because my weight had bounced back up to the low 160s, and I easily got back to my goal range of under 158, but had been stuck there awhile. I can't believe it - I finally broke the 155# barrier and now weight 154 - several days in a row...haha. Anyway, my starting weight before the 2 week preop diet was 308 - so that is half! My lifetime high weight (that was ever recorded anyway) was 332, but that was several years before my surgery so i don't count that. Wow. Just wow. As you know, I am getting ready for plastics and I would say 6 months ago I had a certain...…

So September 14th is my 2 year sleeve-aversary. I've gone from 323lbs to 195lbs, but gained back 15 lbs. Long story short- I'm right back where I started 2 years ago with being frustrated with my weight. My good habits have completely fallen off and I've reverted back to all the things I know to be wrong and that made me gain weight In the first place. The only saving grace is that I can't eat as much. I've renewed my gym membership, but I've yet to go. Just feeling disgusted with myself that I'm not at goal by now (145lbs), but I know that I'm the cause of my own problem. Need some tough love from my VST friends. HELP! Tell me what I already know, but can't get …

I feel like I'm losing slow . Sleeved aug 7th High weight 217 Surgery weight 203 Current weight 180 But it seems like I take forever now to move scale am I alone or are all light weights going through this

This whole weight loss journey has been way "bigger" than losing weight for me. I have shared many self discoveries, new found interests, made new friends, had new adventures and a terrific new wardrobe.... really in some ways a new life.... What has been a more recent discovery for me is understanding in a deeper way the role the food and weight played in my life... for decades. I have read on these forums people who get very emotional over the food deprivation post surgery, but I did pretty okay with that. I had a few "binge attacks" or emotional eating episodes, but in general, I have done really well with all that. i didn't miss overeating, I didn't miss favori…

Why do they say not to drink from a straw??

Have anyone ever constantly burping with or without eating or drinking anything??

I was banded 11/07 went from 358 to 168...back up to 194. Now having issues, gurgling stomach, vomit during sleeping once in a while If I have over eaten. Somedays can't eat much others can eat a lot. Last night was bad I over ate at dinner and stomach gurgled all night and still this morning. Still feel full, yet I know there is nothing left in there. Trying some coffee for something warm And just making more noise and burping. Don't want to call my dr office because I am VERY unhappy with them. Any ideas or suggestions? Anyone else have gurgling after all these Years? FYI dinner was a hot dog(no bun) and about 4 TB rice a roni. Thanks!

Hi there! I'm 19 months out from surgery and doing very well in all aspects of post-surgical life except for one thing - Water makes me slightly nauseous. Does anyone else deal with this? I've tried it flavored, room temperature, ice cold - it doesn't seem to matter much (although warm to Hot drinks are fine). It's not anything I can't handle, and I still get most of my water in, but it's odd. I can't remember if it used to happen when I took my ppi, and I'm wondering if I should start my ppi up again...any advice? Thanks!!

I finally packed up most of my old clothes...y is so hard to let go??? i still kept a few of my favourites...maybe i need a few as souveniers... Did anyone else get this emmm 'emotional' at this point?? Sent from my GT-I9100 using VST

Hi all, For those of you two years out or further, do you have more heartburn? I have recently noticed an uptick, and I'm not sure if its time related or because I've become a little more adventurous in my post-op eating. Today I had a small serving of spaghetti sauce, noodles (not whole grain), and a bite of garlic bread. I am paying the price! Not sure if it's the Pasta, which I rarely eat, the spaghetti sauce (ditto), or if I am just more prone to heartburn as time goes by. I don't think it's the bite of garlic bread, because I have had that without problems many times. Lynda

Is it reaching goal? Is it being six months out? Is it being a year out? Just curious

http://www.obesityhelp.com/articles/6-things-i-wish-id-known-about-weight-loss-surgery/

Has anyone had this happen. I am allmost 13 months post op and my hair has been comeing out. Much worst then it did early on .

How many of you vets still encounter the old binge behavior of pre sleeve? Here I am at 13 months post op and have been maintaining now for 6 months. Yet yesterday, the old binge behavior of eating senseless until discomfort hit me. I had gone on a hike yesterday and that may have triggered a need for carb inhalation combined with some stress from another part of life. And I did carb up before the hike with Protein infused steel cut oats and a couple energy squares. Hike was a joy. I was able to hike to the top without any fatigue. No soreness or out of breath. It felt like the end up a cross fit warm up. I ate about 12 energy squares which would be about 720 calori…