sasicas

It is very wise to start saving for it regardless of whether you will need it or not. Just think, if yours somehow goes back to normal, which for most of us is very unlikely, you can use the money for a different surgery or for shopping Mine still has fat in it, the part that folds over has a good bit of it. It's enough that I can pick up the roll and it completely fills my hands and then some. And like I said I am almost at goal and still dealing with it. It has shrunk back some but it still has a lot of fat in it. I think a lot of how much it will shrink up depends on how much you need to lose, the type of skin you have, how much you work out and your age. I am in my 20s still so I had hoped I had age on my side, yeah, that didn't work out lol.

I wish I could say that my my stomach has bounced back but it has not and I'm almost to goal, the fat has shrunk obviously, but the skin is not getting any better. I had 3 c-sections and carried twins in the last pregnancy sooooo that probably has a lot to do with it.

My husband is not overweight, however I find myself watching what he eats far more carefully than I did before. His addiction to soda drives me batty. I rarely see him drink anything other than a soda. He eats way more than he should then complains that he is gaining weight. Duh. If you live on HUGE portions and tons of sugar from soda you are just asking to gain weight and become diabetic. He thinks there is nothing wrong with it and doesn't understand my concern. My concern is for his health though, not so much his weight, with the way he acted towards me when I was fat has made me vow to not treat him the same, even if he continues to gain weight. As I have lost weight I have found myself more annoyed with how he has changed towards me. Part of me is glad he pays so much more attention to me but the other part of me is mad because he pushed me away when I was fat. He would make me feel like I was too disgusting for him, it wasn't said verbally but the way he acted made it obvious. He wouldn't hold my hand, hug or kiss me around anyone else, well he really wouldn't do any of that in private either. He broke me and made me feel useless and not worthy of him by his actions, like he couldn't love me the way he promised because I wasn't the skinny girl he wanted. Now that he is all over me it upsets me that he would change so drastically towards me. He is all of a sudden protective, he wants people to know I am his wife, he doesn't keep me hidden anymore. If I get any attention from someone else he is right there to make sure they know I am with him. It just hurts.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks! I love all the support this group offers

What a wonderful transformation! Keep up the good work!!

You look amazing! And I so get what you are saying about the skin and having had twins I understand even more so. My stomach was bad enough after the first two children and those 2 c-sections but the twins and their c-section really did me in lol.

I had a similar problem. Mine was due to several different issues from a stricture, to a minor hole in my sleeve, as well as a kink and excess swelling. Some of us end up with more swelling than others, no one knows why though. Are they doing a scope? A scope is a pretty easy procedure. They knocked me out, put a tube down my throat and looked through the camera to see what was going on. When the stricture was done, they ballooned it open.

Many of us deal with this. I have found many things that I used to love that I no longer can stand and some things I disliked before I now love. Like bacon. Hated it before, not I want it all the time I cannot stand juices anymore either, things are much sweeter to me now too and I can't handle them.

Most everyone gets nervous and has the same concerns. I considered backing out completely a week or so before my surgery and even on the day of surgery I was ready to walk out. Every body will react different. I have no food restrictions whatsoever. I eat what I want just in very small portions. I physically cannot get in more than what my sleeve can handle and you will quickly learn from discomfort when you have gone too far. I have Protein supplement intolerances. I cannot handle any supplements, I have tried several brands, I have tried hiding them in smoothies, pudding, Jello, my sleeve simply cannot handle it and I have done fine. Yes it is important to try them, especially in the first weeks when you are restricted on what you can eat BUT if you cannot handle it, you will be fine too. With stalls-it's just part of the program. Most people stall at 3 weeks, some later, some earlier, some for long periods of time, some for short periods of time, some don't experience stalls. The important thing is to not stress over the scale. It will move, just not always as quickly as we want.

Take a pain pill before you go to get your drain removed! For some it doesn't hurt and just feels creepy. For others it hurts a great deal, mine was not fun at all, it hurt and was beyond creepy.

Ibuprofen already? I know every place is different but most surgeons I have heard of expect patients to stay away from it for a few months at least. My surgeon won't let me take it at all. Anyways, good idea going to see the doctor in the morning. I had pain for months at my largest incision, it was enough to put me in tears many times. Never had any pain at my drain incision though.

You will always find people who disagree with going for weight loss surgery. I had some people initially supportive but once I went through with it and had issues, they bailed on me. Then I had people who were not supportive to begin with that are my biggest supporters now. Originally I wanted the band. I knew nothing of the sleeve. At orientation the head of bariatrics at my hospital told us point blank that they take out more bands than they put in now. Some people are very successful with the band, many are not. For me, knowing how many have to be taken out was not worth it. I wanted 1 surgery, not potentially two. I also did not want the food restriction. Now I realize some sleevers have food restrictions but I do not. I have no problems eating whatever I want, just in very small portions. And the weight has come off wonderfully! Even though I went through the initial complications, it was worth it. I feel so much better now being at a normal weight and not feeling like a fat slob like I did before. Ultimately you have to make the best decision for you and remember not everyone will support you in it. But all that matters is that you do what you need to do for YOU.

I did not notice any increase in hair loss after my previous surgeries but I sure have with the VSG. My hair is coming out in handfuls-literally. It's enough so that I had to put a strainer thingy in the tub to catch the hair. I went from washing my hair daily to only washing it 2-3 times a week because it comes out so badly. I run a brush through it and TONS comes out. If I straight, curl, blow dry my hair there will be hair all over the floor. I think it's more of a hormonal issue and the trauma our bodies go through with fast weight loss.

Thank you

It does feel great to finally fit back into those old clothes, doesn't it? I have been wearing stuff that I haven't been able to squeeze into in 10+ years lol. Where I messed up was not realizing that I was smaller than I saw myself and blew right past a whole bunch of clothes that had been sitting in a box

YAY for 70 lbs gone!! You look great!!

Congrats!!

You look great~ Congrats!

Thanks everyone I really am glad I went through the surgery. The complications sucked but it's nothing I can't deal with. I still get pain and have to take Nexium twice a day and Zantac once a day but it's nothing I can't handle. Doctors are still hopeful that things will improve even more over the next few months Now I'm just trying to push the exercise to tone up and hit goal

Oh yes, my hair is falling out like crazy! At least I have thick hair so it is not noticable unless you get up close and see the strands of hair that are constantly all over my clothing. Seriously. I cannot even wear white shirts or sweaters anymore but it's way more noticable on those. My hair has changed all together, it used to be very oily, to the point that I HAD to wash my hair daily. I now wash my hair 2 times a week, it's not oily at all. I had to put a strainer thingy in the tub to deal with the hair and it comes out like crazy if I even just run my hands through my hair, forget brushing it or straightening or curling, it comes out worse with those which is why I only style my hair on Sunday's for Church. The rest of the week I usually run a brush through once a day. And I have to put my hair up if I'm cooking because it ends up in the food. But the hair loss is temporary. I would rather lose some hair and be thin and be fat.

Thanks! With the complications, if you would have asked me during that time I did regret the surgery. It was not fun, of course not nearly as bad as some others have had it but I was not a happy camper then. Now though, seeing the difference I am glad I did it. @Weightbgone- I am 5'4 @GreenEyedMomma-Congrats!!

Thanks everyone! I'm kind of surprised by the difference myself. I never thought I would lose so much so quickly and really I never realize it til I actually take a picture and look back at the before shots. Then I am absolutely amazed lol

Thanks everyone! Texas Gal-I don't follow the norm. I have never counted calories, Protein, carbs, any of it. No diet other than eating protein first with my meals, I fill up on the protein and then try to get in some veggies or carbs. I still eat very little but try to eat every few hours. Usually for Snacks I have string cheese or nuts or some veggies. I make sure to get plenty of Water in too. Exercise has not been much. I go for walks with the kids and I have a gazelle that I just started using when I have time too. I do not eat very much at a time even now, 1/4-1/2 cup at a time which is why I try to eat more often. The more calories I get the better the weight comes off. I do not drink Protein Drinks either, those have never sat well with my sleeve.

I still cannot believe I actually went through with this surgery. I look at it now and even with the complications I am glad I went through with it. It's worth it. I am finally getting my body back. The body that for so many years I wanted so desperately but never had the will power to make it happen. Now here I am wearing normal clothes. I've gone from a very tight size 20 pants to a 12-14 and a 1x to a medium- large in shirts. The black dress I wore for Church yesterday was a size large. I don't even remember the last time I could so easily fit into a size large dress. The first picture is the day before I started my 2 week liquid pre-op diet. The picture with the pink shirt was about the 3 month range. And the picture of the black dress was taken yesterday at 4 1/2 months out