Rootman

If anyone else was wondering what the heck an IVC filter was : https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Inferior_vena_cava_filter No, I don't have one.

I had no appreciable hair loss beyond that of most 50 YO males do. It seems that it's the same now as it was a year ago. And I know I will get boo'd and hissed at but there is NO supplements that will help the loss, while all of them "sound" good they are all snake oil and do not work. Give it time and the shock of the operation and the massive loss of caloric intake will subside and the hair will begin to grow again - sans what you might lose due to aging anyway.

You were beautiful by any standards before and simply stunning now. Did you run the 5k with that monkey on your back?

It is likely one of two possible things, referred pain or pain from irritation of nerves due to the CO2 used during the operation. Referred pain is sort of a phantom pain, the internal organs are largely devoid of regulr pain receptors, so when they get irritated the "borrow" pain receptors from other areas of the body, usually those closer to the surface. The gas used to bloat up the body and give the surgeon more room to work can sometimes irritate the nerves running through the abdomen, this pain usually presents as a throbbing or sever ache. Unfortunately the only "fix" for either of these issues is just time, since neither of them can really be addressed with pain killers, as the "pain" is not really there. If it persists then see your doc, if it becomes sever then go IMMEDIATELY to an ER.

Yes, as previously described, you need to walk as much as you can IMMEDIATELY. This will ultimately make you feel better. If all you can do is 5-10 minutes than do that, stop and rest then pick up again.

Tapatalk is an app to make access via mobile devices easier. I use an Android pad and posting is sometimes difficult. The app must be setup on the forum. Tapatalk.com Baring this is the Android app discussed elsewhere even going to come into being?

Congrats! Ain't it great! Keep up the good work!

Woot! Great pics and such a wonderful outcome! I'm a few months behind you and share in your success. Keep it up girl! Or should I say "keep it OFF"

Congrats! Keep us filled in on your exciting new adventure! All the best!

I think that it actually made a mysterious ANTI-GRAVITY field around me - people would avoid me and give me wide berth when they saw me coming, it was proportionate to how attractive the other person was too

Congrats! I know what you mean about the chairs - I've ripped more than one of those things up in the past. The cheapy vinyl plastic chairs always scared me too, not only have I broken a few of them but they stuck on my butt when I got up! No more!

Try horseback riding - talk about butt hurt - yeouch! I never remember saddles being that hard.

Congrats on the progress. I too have had more than my share of comments from negative to positive. People can come up with the most insensitive stuff at times. Many things can be attributed to this behavior, as already pointed out jealousy can be a big factor, ignorance and plain rudeness for others. I just let it roll and live my life the way I want to now.

Yes, it IS a tad early, just because the stomach is not fully healed yet and alcohol might be quite a shock for it so soon. Whether you choose to do so or not please remember to NOT drink to excess, for health and safety reasons. I started out on 3 oz of wine at about 8 months out and had no ill effects. I take red wine for it's purported health benefits.

Wow! We all wish you the best and a speedy recovery. Presenting NO symptoms is unusual AND scary to say the least.

It really won't be too much of an issue, at 6 months you really start to pick up more of an appetite as the stomach is about as healed as it's going to get. You will then be able to eat more. As the difference in what you NEED to eat to stay at the weight you are and the amount of calories you are consuming narrows the weight loss will slow then stop. It is surprising how just a SLIGHT increase in calories can keep you from losing and actually put a few pounds on. A few hundred calories a day is all it takes, that's a candy bar at worst or a few pieces of bread at best. I too was worried after by weight just flew off for 8 or 9 months. I've been stuck at 210 pounds now for about 2 months. I am comfortable and I look good and after some soul searching and whining on the forum ( ) I just made a decision to not even try to lose any more. I am technically overweight by 20 pounds and 10 more pounds beyond that to my initial goal. I'm just going to sit here and watch my diet and maintain my exercise regime, if I lose more than OK, if not I am going to force myself to be satisfied at the tremendous progress and success I have already achieved.

I suggest looking at the self pay route. I didn't try to get through my insurance, 2 people I heard about from my company gave up after getting the run around for about a year, one gal I know personally is sitting at 9 months after she started to pursue the insurance route. It wasn't easy to get the money but it was the BEST investment I have EVER made. There are a lot of sites in the USA that will do self pay for a cash discount, there are many sites in Mexico that offer it at a very steep discount. I had mine done in Tijuana MX last December for ~$5000. I hesitate to recommend the site I went to any more due to safety and health issues that have cropped up recently. Look around the forum, there are lots of posts about self pay.

LilMissDiva has a great tutorial about the ticker. Sorry, not sure about the picture. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/13516-ticker-tutorial-for-vst-lbt-with-pictures/

Yes, ONE bite is nausea, TWO bites is MISERY. It DOES get better as the stomach heals although you can still get "dumping" when you over eat - the heart races, you sweat profusely and get nauseas, sometimes barf - been there twice in the last 2 months - not fun. It sure beats the way it used to be though scarfing down everything in site, burping and then packing in more and just adding the pounds on and on. We need to pay very close attention to the FULL signal we are so used to ignoring.

165 LBS in 9 months, the results have FAR EXCEEDED my expectations, I was accepting the fact that it would take me 2 years to get to where I am today. I seem to have reached a plateau thought. I am technically still 20 lbs overweight at 210 lbs (NOT obese though) and having problems breaking though the 200 lb barrier. This is a FAR cry from the 375+ lbs I weighed this time last year. It's worth every dime and all the relatively minor misery I put myself through - and looking back I was FAR more miserable being fat and having all sorts of health issues.

LOL! Ain't it a wonderful feeling? I am finding now that I can't find many things in a SMALL enough size to fit. Many shirts start out at LARGE and I need a medium for most of them.

Nope, and I've not heard of anyone else that has either - not to say it isn't so in your case. food was, well, EXQUISITE after the long pre-op diet, liquids and mushies. Things tasted FANTASTIC. And at about 6 or so months out I really started to appreciate the flavor of food and my tastes have been dramatically altered. For instance I used to HATE black pepper, now I love the stuff. Hope you get over this. Be sure to sip liquids a lot, it is very easy to get dehydrated when you're not eating too, we get a lot of moisture from our food.

No not exactly, could this actually be excess acid? It is a common enough experience for sleevers. While MOST of the stomach tissue that has the proton pumps is cut away, what little is left still produces to much acid for the are of stomach that is left. Have you tried a PPI yet? Prilosec OTC here in the USA is one common one.

The main reason is cost, and for many with no insurance it is the only option. The total cost can be as low as $5000, most times in the States the cost can be $20,000 or more. While I have insurance I did not want to wait, many from my company have waited for up to a year for approval, quite frankly I think I would be dead in another year if I had waited.

I was 10 months ago. With the recent problems that have cropped up with the site I went to - a robbery, a couple of bad complications and the founder going spastic on a few patients - I can't whole heartedly endorse the place I went. It worked out fine for me and hundreds of others too. You decide for yourself.