Penpen

You look awesome!

I know exactly how you feel. I started at 280 lbs and am 5'4". I have lost 51 lbs. I was wearing a very tight 24w pants and am still in them. The only thing now is that they are super lose. I tried the next size down on last week. They fit but was still tight and uncomfortable. Oh by the way, I'm definitely a pear shape.....large legs and butt. I have lost a lot on my top half and ame down 2-3 sizes in my shirts. I guess my top half will lose first. Sigh! If you haven't taken your measurements, take them. I took my measurements right as I was starting preop. Then I took them again a couple of weeks ago. I didn't think I was losing down below but I was, just slower. I had lost 2 inches in my knees ... I think that's what it was...and like 1.5 inches in my calves. All together I'd lost 19.75". So the weights coming off just not the way I'd like it to. I blogged all about it and my measurements if you are interested. My blog address is in my signature.

Okay, well, I'm almost 9-10 weeks out and I have 3 incisions that still leak and itch. I was told by my doc's office that this is normal because there's no pus, no foul smell, and no fever. I was told that at 5 weeks it would be completely healed and that after that I could go swimming, etc. Nope, didn't happen. Sigh!! I have my 3 month appointment next week and I will be mentioning this forsure.

Wow! That does seem like a lot! I don't know but I'm really curious as to what others have to say about this.

I had my surgery at Texas Health/Presby and possibly by the same surgeon. I have UHC and they wouldn't cover Forest Park. But after all the bills have come in, they charged somewhere in the upper amount of $40,000+. My nutritionalist works both at Presby and Forest Park. She said that they are actually adding another wing to Forest Park. And get this, the facility is only around 2-3 years old and they are getting ready to do an update on all the already existing rooms. What? Then she said that they are adding an ICU but are not and will not be equiped for a true ICU. That they were doing it so that when a patient complains they are feeling a bit off, they can send the patient to ICU to be watched. We asked her why they would do that. She said because the insurance companies will pay more if the patient has to be put into ICU vs. a room where a patient may get a little more attention. It's all about the money! She even said that it made no sense, EXCEPT to make money. So, sounds like they are trying to pay for their new building, make lots of money, and have the tax write off. It does make you burn inside just thinking about it. We're the ones that suffer with our insurance cost or lack there of because it's not affordable.

You are doing awesome! And it sounds like your health is turning itself around. Keep up the hard work. Doesn't feel great to shed the old self and gain the new?

Congrats to her! And your turn will come soon. Let us know how both of you are doing.

Here is the link to that post: http://sliceofhealthyplease.blogspot.com/2011/08/excess-weight-and-goals-and-am-i-really.html

Hi! This isn't an unusual occurance unfortunately. Please read what I posted in my blog...I think I posted about 2 days ago. I thought I was a slow loser also and was very frustrated. I even went through a 3-4 week complete stall out. I thought forsure that the surgery hadn't worked. But then I was enlightened by my nutritionalist. Please stop by and read what I experienced and what I learned. Hopefully it will give you a knew perspective. My blog is in my signature below. Hang in there! You will lose!

Welcome fellow Texan! You will be so happy once you're on the other side.....AND I'm not talking about what your hubby is talking about! lol

Just wanted to stop in and say that stalls this soon after surgery seem to be pretty normal. I lost 25 lbs. during pre-op. Then the first 2 weeks post op, I lost another 10 pounds. Then nothing for the next 3 or 4 weeks. And I mean NOTHING at all! I was so frustrated. I weighed almost every morning and there was NO movement at all. Then one day the scale started moving again. In one week's time, I'd lost another 10 pounds. Then it stalled out for a few days to a week. Then a couple of days ago, I dropped 5 more pounds within 2 days. This morning nothing again. It's just a slow process but it will happen. I blogged all about my experiences. I blogged when I was down and I told the whole world about it. Then I blogged again when things have been awesome and it was fun to share what was/is going on right now. But I'm sure, just as the staff at my surgeon's office said, this journey is like a flight of stairs. You'll drop down a step and then nothing...then another step or chunk of weight...then nothing. Be encouraged! You're weight will come off and the stalls are perfectly normal....whether we like it or not.

Yes, I had this pain. It hurt to breath in, to laugh, even to move sometimes. It felt like a really bad running cramp and lasted for days off and on. I blogged about it when I was having the pain. Here's what I was going through that day and what the doctor said (last paragraph of my speech that day..lol): http://sliceofhealthyplease.blogspot.com/2011/07/27-days-post-op-pain-under-ribs-and.html Then, here is what I finally figured out my problem was: http://sliceofhealthyplease.blogspot.com/2011/07/30-days-post-op-lemon-juice-and-pain.html I hope this helps. I would still talk with your doctor and just make sure that your pain isn't something else.

Hi! Does anyone know if drinking liquid can stretch your sleeve? I've been downing a lot of liquid lately, trying to keep up with my needed intake. My husband asked me if I happened to drink it too fast and too often, would it stretch my stomach. Good grief, I don't know! That just gave me something else to worry about. Just so you know, I'm not talking about carbonated drinks. I'm talking about water, tea, skim milk...etc.

I'm 37 and am now in my 8th week post op. I have no pain at all now. In fact, if it weren't for the food restriction, I wouldn't even know that I had had surgery. If that makes sense. Though, I did have some pain up until about week 4 or 5. But it was bearable. 1. Yes, right after surgery I had a tremendous amount of pain but once they got me drugged up, I was fine. Once I was home, the gas and pressure was really rough. It didn't seem like anything helped but that lasted only a couple of days. And yes, I had gallbladder surgery in July of 2008. It was a day surgery and I did have some pain with it but it seemed to me that it was under better control than my sleeve surgery. Also, just remember that the sleeve surgery is major surgery and it takes a lot more time and energy to recover than with something like the gallbladder surgery. 2. Yes, I had a pre-op diet. I started 3.5 weeks before surgery and managed to lose 25 pounds. It was a very hard process but it was necessary and important to follow through. 3. Yes, I kept up with my pain medications. I didn't like taking them because they were liquid and tasted really bad but they definitely worked. Oh, and they made me feel sleepy. I stopped taking them, maybe 2 weeks out, so I could drive again. After that, my pain was minimal and I didn't even feel the need to take Tylenol. 4. 37 I thought I'd add that for me, the hardest thing I had to deal with was the lack of energy. I felt so weak and tired sometimes that I thought I was a sickly person. I'd have to ask my husband if I would ever get better..while at the same time crying. He'd reassure me. Of course, I had lots of buyer's remorse! But slowly things started getting better and my energy started to come back. I feel 100% most of the time now and am VERY happy I had the surgery done. I'd do it again if needed!

How beautiful you are!! Great job! Thanks for sharing.

Wow! Great question! I thought it was just me. Texasmom, I've had the same problem and it seems to come and go. But when it's here, it's not good! Also, my periods are really weird now. They come on time but it looks like old blood. It's so weird and nasty. Does anyone else have this problem? It's embarrassing to even mention but hey, this is a pretty personal conversation after all.

I lost 10 lbs the first 2 weeks post op. Then nothing for another 4 weeks. Finally last Friday, the scale stared moving again. I weighed this morning and since Friday, I've lost 6 lbs. So now I don't feel like my surgery was a failure. Those stalls are very frustrating and make you so discouraged but when they break, you feel like jumping for joy. Oh and I guess tomorrow I need to update my ticker which has been stuck on the same number for so stinking long.

Hi. I'm in my 6th week also and have 3 incisions that just won't heal up. They have formed scabs many times but as soon as I take a shower, the scabs seem to just wash away. I'm not scrubbing them either, just gently rubbing my hands over them with antibacterial soap and water. I've had a little bit of clear fluid coming out of them for about 3 weeks now. When I first noticed it, I called the doctors office. They told me as long as they weren't hurting, brighter red than they had been, feverish to the touch, have a foul odor, or as long as I wasn't running fever that it was okay and that what I was seeing was nothing out of the norm. They are raised and have been since surgery, so I'm thinking that there's a "stitch" issue going on there, like yours. I've read were others have seen some internal stitches that didn't dissolve and made their way to the surface. Mine itch like there's no tomorrow. I'm constantly scratching around them. Since I'm not having any of the problems they told me to look out for and since I keep them clean all the time, I'm going to wait until my next appointment in a week. I've waited this long, what's another week and I'm pretty sure they're not infected, just very slow to heal. Let us know what you find out.

Hi! Dr. Davidson was my surgeon and my surgery was June 23, 2011. I was operated on at Presby on Walnut Hill. He gave me a prescription before surgery for one nausea pill that I took the morning of surgery. Then while in the hospital after surgery, I had a constant flow of nausea medicine. He didn't use a catheter or drain on me. If you have any other questions, ask away. My surgery went well but I did have some pain issues which they were quick to address.

What a nightmare! I'm so sorry! Keep us posted and let us know how you are doing. I can't image going through what you're going through. You seem so strong! Hang in there and let us know!

2 nights

I'm also 30 days out and have been at the same exact weight since about 2 weeks ago. This morning my scale actually moved down 2-3 pounds. I have been very discouraged and thinking that this surgery didn't work for me. The day before yesterday, I started thinking about what I was doing wrong. I've been able to get all my protein in for the last week and I have written it down. My calorie intake as been 500-700. And I really thought I was getting all of my water in because it seems like I drink, drink, drink all day long but I wasn't keeping track. Yesterday, I thought I ought to really try to keep track of my actual water intake and really stay focused...even when I thought I was focused before. So I filled up and measured a large container of water. It had exactly 32 oz. of water in it. I worked all day at getting that in and didn't finish it until like 3-4 p.m. Then I started on my next bottle. By bed time, I had only consumed about 50 oz. Wow! It was shocking to me. And I know yesterday, I actually drank more than I had been because I kept my water with me every where I went. But this morning, I weighed and I had dropped those 2-3 pounds. So, I think it is water intake. Today, I'm trying to do even more. I'm sitting here with my large glass of water again. Hope this helps!

Which incision is it? I had actually started feeling much better but then at about 2-3 weeks out, I had a burning and pulling pain right above the incision that they pulled my stomach out of. I was told that this was an area where they actually cut through about 2 inches of muscle and then stretched it to get the stapler in/out and the stomach out. I asked why it was hurting all the sudden and was told because I was starting to get more active. And I was. I was starting to do housework, driving, climbing in and out of a tall truck, more walking, etc. I'm now 30 days post op and no longer have the pain unless I'm climbing in and out of the truck but even then, it's not as intense as before. That particular hurt stopped about 3-4 days ago.

Hang in there! You'll get through this and when you do, you will be so happy for doing it. The first week for me was the worst, especially with the gas and bloating. Week two, wasn't as bad but was still bad. Week three was a lot better but still not great. Week four, almost back to normal with a few aches. I think between feeling sick, lack of energy, and lack of food and Water intake, it makes you feel hopeless sometimes. I asked my husband several times through the first couple of weeks if I would ever get better. I would be sobbing at the same time. It does get better! You'll be okay! It just takes time. It's a long process but it will come and go before you know it.

Thank you! Great information!