Paul11011

What's the upside to going back to having carbonated beverages? I know it's acedotal, but of the people that i have spoken with that had significant regains, the first thing they talk about doing when they "went off the wagon" was starting to drink soda again. I have read so many reports about the determental effects of carbonated drinks, even those that are sugar free, It also makes perfect sense to me that there is the potential for sleeve expansion with the increased gas which will be in the stomach. Additionally be very carefull if carbonated beverages and soda where something you drank alot of in the past. Testing the waters with it now may very well lead to a place you don't want to be. Don't make it a trigger food.< /p>

Welcome to the fun side of WLS, relationship issues. The first thing I want you to know and I mean really know, is that you have not done anything to him nor done anything wrong. Got that, good, it's not your fault.

What is most likely happening is that his underlying insecurities, that he has always had, are now coming to the surface because of the increased attention coming your way (again not your fault). He had previously been content with his insecurities because after all he had you, but the heavier, not likely to leave him you. Now the new you, in his mind has so many more options, that his insecurities are telling him that since you have the new found options, you MUST want to be with somone better than him. Irrational or not (which it is) this is what he is thinking.

He is going to have to learn how to deal with his issues, which will be helped by you being supportive and encouraging, but ultimatley he will need to solve for himself. One suggestion I would have is for you to remind him of how great you two have always been, even when you were heavier, and that he deserves to be with the new you, and that the other "options" you have now would have never before been interested.

Good luck, but keep in mind this is also a process and will not happen overnight.

I was going to post, but Becca said everything for me.

Absolutely amazing! You already know that I think you are such a phenomenal success story....I guess I didn't realize you are so close to goal. WOW WOW WOW! Are you going to change your goal and go lower or do you have a plan in place to slow down the loss? Just wondering, you seem to be one of those sleevers who are actually going to have to work at stopping the loss. Pretty cool place to be!

Congrats on all of your success!!! How about some goal pictures pretty soon?

Thank you. Yes, I'm 10lbs away from the goal that I originally set at 220lbs. When I sat that number, I never thougth I would get to it. I was thinking if I could ever get under 250, I would be totally happy. Such a strange view of things I had at nearly 500lbs. Now that I am so close, I am really looking for some input. I don't know where I should shoot for. My wife would be content if I stopped now. I want to look and feel my best. I don't know how I would look sub 200. I will post some more current pictures and please give me your thoughts. If you think another 30 would be good, or more or less, let me know. I have not been this weight since I was in the 6th grade. I have no idea what I should look like.

As long as I have the keyboard warmed up, the clothes sizes I'm buying now almost scare me. I'm wearing Levi 33 inch waists and buying button up shirts that are larges. I bought some new underwear the other day, mediums. I could have bought a small....a small I tell ya. Unfreaking believable.

Thanks again for all the supportive comments.

Well done Paul - you put it beautifully! It's an incredible achievement. If you're on Facebook, there is a 'achieving through sleeving' group you might like to join.

Congratulations

Thanks for the Facebook suggestion, I'll look into it.

A-freaking-mazing!!!! WOW!

What is your secret for losing it so fast?

It must feel so good to live life so much differently now. Congratulations on your success!

Thank you. I feel terrific! The only secret I have is that I've stuck pretty religiously to the nutrition structure I was given to follow. I have increased my activity and exercise too, but I could really be more dedicated to getting in more exercise. I have to believe it is simply a blessing from God that I have been as successful as I have been.

Man, you certainly take the prize for #1 in fastest weight loss! Pretty soon you will LITERALLY be HALF the man you used to be

Keep going buddy!

Already am my friend. Currently sitting at 46.7% of the weight I was on Nov 23, 2010 (my initial consult with the surgery center).

Thank you all for your encouraging words and support.

Congratulations to you. One question I have is: Did you ever get stuck in a stall? and what did you do to pull out of it and start losing again? Thanks

Sorry I'm just replying to your question. Ok, don't hate me now. The closest thing I have had to a stall is one 1 week period of no loss. Yeah I'm an oddity.

I can not believe it has been 9 months already. I am still incredibly thankful for the progressive I've seen. I can only equate my nine months with the much more famous 9 month period we all know, the progress towards birth. I feel that my journey has very much been a rebirth. I am no longer the person I used to be. Not only am I physically smaller, so many other things are different about me. I have a better attitude about life, feel more confident and resolute in who I am and what my capabilities are. I no longer look first for reasons I can't do something, rather now I'm wondering what can I do. My loss of the emotional crutch I had in food has caused me to be more emotional and deal with those emotions. It has been a wonderful and eventful journey. Here's a wrap up of where I am today:

Total weight lost since initial consultation (Nov 23, 2010) -256lbs

Weight loss since surgery (Jan 10, 2011) -220lbs

Current weight, lowest since 6th grade 236lbs

Current weight as a percentage of my beginning weight 48%

No longer taking blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds and no longer wear a CPAP. I have shed all the co-mobilities I had at the beginning of this journey.

Thank you all for reading and for providing me a very valuable outlet and support on my journey.

Well said Mike. You give an accurate picture of what to expect as one continues forward on this journey. It is so exciting to be a little ways out and look back on what the path has been. Congratulations!

If stomach is relatively empty, Water will pass relatively quickly and pobably will not cause expansion of the stomach which is more likely caused by overeating as the digestive track has to break down the solids.

Good point. From what I've found and this is in reference to a normal stomach, it takes between 6-8 hours for the contents to move into the small intestines. If we can evaluate that time purely on a proportional reduction in capasity for our new sleeve that would mean the food is still in there for 1-2 hours. So as long as one is drinking when they are supposed to be, 45-60 minutes after eating, maybe there wouldn't be a concern with Fluid pressure expanding the stomach.....where's my physiology professor when I need him?

The sipping will go away and you can resume normal drinking. As a previous big gulper I would ask that we all really think about that prospect. Most sleeves are designed to be about 4oz in capasity. Really think it's a good idea to try and flood as much liquid into that space in as little time as possible? Ever see a Water balloon? I don't think pushing our stomachs to their limits and the repeating will yeild favorable results. If one wanted to stretch their stomach back out, what would be a recommend way to do it? I seem to think, fill with water, stretch to limits, empty and repeat would be pretty darn effective.

I am going to be sleeved within the next couple months by Dr. Kemmeter, Grand Health Partners. I am in the Jenison, Michigan area.

Howdy Neighbor! :wave:

Thank you all so much for your kind words and encouragement. I wish I had a secret to tell. I'm following the instructions I've been given and trying to make sure I live my life thinking of food as required energy. It's not emotional support, entertainment or a friend of any kind. Thanks again y'all!

So this last Saturday (Sept 10) marked the 8 months post op point for me on this journey. I am still amazed at what a process it's been. I have had success well beyond my wildest dreams. As is often the case nothing is ever completely positive. There have been some bumps to work through that I never would have predicted before surgery. Primarily dealing with relationships. Relationships with both people and my relationship with food. It has been a learning experience in so many ways.

In snapshot form:

I've lost 242lbs since my first consultation on Nov 23, 2010.

I've lost 206lbs since my surgery on Jan 10, 2011

I'm now smaller than I have been since the 6th grade. I have never been this size as an adult.

I am in the smallest pants and shirts I have worn since who knows when.

I have cleaned out my closet of the old clothes and this time instead of storing them in the basement to use when the weight returns, I am getting rid of them.

I'm beginning to feel on the outside like the person I have always believed I was on the inside.

I am so fortunate that I'm still seeing benefits and confirmation, almost daily, of my choice to have the sleeve .

Thanks for reading. Take care y'all.

Thank you all for your re[lies. We are in the process of working through the issue and have had some good conversations.

Thank you all for your comments and support. My wife is not a surgical candidate since she has lost the 50lbs on her own. She originally had about 100 lbs to lose and since she's lost 50 already, she would not be a candidate based on BMI, lack of co morbidities, etc.

I met with the behaviorist at my surgical center today and he was very helpful. He provided some very valuable insight and some great suggestions. Ultimately though he helped me to realize that the feelings she is having, while connected to my choice to have surgery, are not my fault. I full understand the struggle she is having, I just never imagined it would happen.

Meg, thank you for sharing your view with me. It's encouraging to know that this does happen with others and we're not an isolated case.

I have an interesting predicament. My wife was fully in favor of me getting the sleeve. She had been trying to get me to have WLS for a year before I finally admitted to myself that it was the right thing to do for me. Every step of the way she has been supportive and encouraging. She has been the one that has taken my progress photos and seen how incredibly life changing this has been for me. She is very happy that I had this surgery.

She is also trying to lose weight. She determined that she would not be the fat wife. We had always been a heavier couple, me much more so than her. She has done a terrific job following a better diet and exercising. She has lost approximately 50lbs in 8 months as a result. She is also right by my side when I meet people that comment on my weight loss and want to hear about my story. She is there for the excitement such as was expressed by a lady at church this morning that was so happy to see me "melting away" while ending the greeting by telling my wife that she "looked good too". She has heard me talk about the loss of cravings, how even when I want to eat more I'm limited physically and how what I call "hunger" now is no where near what it was before surgery.

She is supportive and would not wish me to fail, yet she is struggling with how successful I've been, with the attention I am getting and feels cheated that she, in her opinion, has to work so much harder for the loss she sees. I do everything I can to reinforced to her how wonderful I think she is and how great she has done. It is little to no comfort for her. She has told me that seeing me be as successful, with no real difficulties, has made it that much harder for her as she tries to lose. She has become resentful and jealous of how well the sleeve has worked for me.

She tells me that another compounding effect of this comes in that i have a surgical support group I attend weekly and a couple great outlets for on line support, where she feels left alone in a situation that not many can relate too. Even on the forums that I frequent, there really is not a great spouse support structure, let alone a spouse trying to loose weight while seeing her husband virtually disappear. I have known for some time that she was getting sick of hearing my stories and being around for the "OMG you look so good" comments so I have not been sharing some things with her. I see no use in "rubbing her nose" in my good fortune. This is yet another thorn in her side because I now seem to want to "keep this part of my life separate". Well yeah, duh, you don't want to hear about it and it makes you feel worse about yourself and makes you resent me. No **** I don't want to tell her about successes. Oh and as a side note I really enjoy talking to others about this process, love helping other WLS patients with whatever information I can provide for them and would like nothing more to be able to have a career working with WLS support groups.

I feel like I'm living in the quintessential catch 22. I don't know if there are any answers or anything I can do to make the situation better, but I'd sure love some input. Thanks for reading my rant.

In addition to the shrinking of the stomach and liver allowing for more room for the surgeons to physically operate there is one even more important reason for the pre op diet. A reason that causes me to believe that those surgeons not requiring it are damn fools or are looking forward to doing your revision work. By following a pre op diet you demonstrate that you can actually follow a diet. This is an absolute necessity for continued success after your WLS.

I just recently encounter a prospective WLS surgery patient that was dropped by her surgeons. She gained weight during the preop diet and admitted to not following it. She's now trying it again with a different group and I'm pretty sure she learned her lesson. This aint the easy way out folks.

I am beyond thankful for the success that I've experienced thus far and praise God for this opportunity to have a longer healthier life.

The dilemma I have recently discovered is I've begun to question myself about the amount of enjoyment I get in talking about my WLS journey. I have always enjoyed sharing my story with others for a number of reasons. The most predominate reason though is that I have found so much encouragement form others as I was looking into and beginning my journey and I hope to be able to provide that encouragement to others. I really love sharing the adventure with others.

With weight as the topic I feel I have been to the near extremes, I was never on a public service special but I had gotten to the point where some of the basic life functions where cumbersome to say the least. Maybe the depth of sadness I felt at those times in my life are now being counterbalanced by the happiness I now feel. I've had better than average success with this WLS surgery and I feel like I'm in the best possible position moving forward with the rest of my life. I'm still seeing scale and NSV regularly and feel badly that others have struggled where I have not. So my question is this justified, is it ok to still be so happy and excited. Am I providing any value by continuing to tell my story or am I an attention ***** destined to turn into a daffodil?

Awesome that you're getting the attention you deserve for your success. Now the package that the attention came in....well I'll leave that up to your interpretation. Congratulations on a huge NSV!

Thank you all for your replies and support. It's sharing this journey with amazing individuals like yourselves that makes the successes another level of wonderful.

My wife and I went away for an impromptu weekend away to one of our standard get away locations. Birch Run outlet mall in Birch Run MI. This was the first trip we've made to the mall since my having surgery. I was eager to go to some of the stores that my presurgery self would have never been able to shop, Tommy Hilfiger, RL Polo, Izod, etc. Let me also tell you that I am incredibly cheap and the only way I would ever buy anything at such stores was if it were on clearance and I had a stack of coupons. The clearance shopping gods were smiling on me this weekend!

Not only were there some great prices, perfectly caught the end of summer season polos, jeans, shorts, etc but I was able to fit in sizes I would have never before dreamed. All of my new polo shirts are XL with the button up shirts XXL. What a dramatic difference from the 3XLT polos and 4-5XL button ups I would have had to previously purchase. Now the really exciting stuff...pants....I'm wearing 34 jeans from Levis, Tommy, Gap and Nautica and 36 dress pants from the same places. This is an area I would have NEVER imagined I would be. That takes my jean size change from 48 to 34 and dress pants from 50 to 36, unfreaking believable!

My PCP had never heard of it either. She is very opposed to WLS anyway. She told me if I wanted the bypass she would not refer me or any patient in her practice. At that point I sort of glossed over what is was and tried not to be too informative as I did not know which way she would jump. She said if I could not lose weight without it... why would I lose weight with it? Because of that and other reasons, I switched PCP's. My current PCP is supportive of my decision to do this. Actually I think he is looking at me as a kind of guinea pig to see if he should recommend it to some of his other patients.

Khy

In every profession there are those that are arrogant and ignorant. Too bad you found one that was both. Good decision getting the hell away from her.

What scares me the most is not that there are many PCP that do not know what the VSG is, it's that they have patients that are relying on those PCP for follow up care. I am so thankful that I have a dedicated circle of excellence center to work with me both pre and post op.