SKCUNNINGHAM

I had this happen to me, too. I was taking my B12 too often (3X/day vs 3X/week), and the B12 I was taking was a larger dose than I needed. I backed off on the frequency, and now pay attention to what strength of B12 I am purchasing. Having a too high level of B12 is not a bad problem, just back off on the total amount you are taking in (either frequency or strength). It will come down by your next labs. My levels were back in order the next time I had bloodwork done.

I got an abdomen support belt (like warehouse workers, etc. wear) from WalMart. It is a wide (~ 5-6") and closes with velcro fasteners. I wore the belt 7X24 for the first month. It really helped getting up from the bed or recliner, bending over, getting in and out of the car, etc.

When I want to keep my hands busy, I give myself a manicure. I get cuticle cream, a couple of types of files, nail clippers, etc and give myself the works. I even have one of those paraffin dip vessels and really treat myself. Something else you could do? Organize old pictures into albums. Write an old fashioned letter with pen and paper to someone you love Address a card and enclose a note to someone either celebrating something or enduring something (this could be birthday, new baby, promotion, sympathy, or just a "thinking of you" card) Give yourself a pedicure Put a deep conditioner on your hair and cover it with warm towels Give yourself a facial Plan a home improvement project - even if you really don't need it or can't afford it, no one says you can't dream and plan it. Get some design magazines or check the internet. Polish your leather shoes Organize your clothes by sizes. Get your three boxes ready - Keep, Donate and Throw Away Bring one drawer at a time into the TV room and clean and organize your drawers. Get new shelf paper and line all of the drawers with shelf paper. Find an organization you support and find out if they need volunteers to do things for them that you could do at home (stuff envelopes, etc). Check with your local child protective services office or homeless shelter and see if they need baby blankets. If you knit or crochet, work on blankets for a good cause. There are a lot of positive things you can do with your hands - pamper yourself, improve yourself, keep in contact with someone you love, help somebody in need, Lots of things to do besides EAT. Good Luck. Sharon

You have discovered the "hard" part of the sleeve surgery for me - dealing with my inappropriate relationship with food. I had asked a lot of my friend/enemy food - nourish my body, soothe my spirit, fill in the boring time, take all my hurts away. Now, I am trying to just use food to nourish my body. Even this far out, I still have days when it is tough - when I am nervous or worried about something - my first impulse is to eat. That is what I am working on now - doing other things to calm my nerves besides eating. Good luck with this battle. Sharon

I have been wearing these the entire time I have been losing weight. The "Aah" Bra or Genie Bra (BTW, same bra - different infomercials targeted at different age consumers) have been lifesavers as my breasts have been changing shape throughout the last 9 1/2 months. You don't have to step into them - you can easily pull them over your head.

Pat - welcome! I will be turning 55 on the 29th of this month. My sleeve was done in February of this year. I couldn't be happier - wrinkles and sags and all. It is great to be sleeved - my only wish is if I had done this sooner. Good Luck with your sleeve. Sharon

I had a recent experience - I have had a life insurance policy for 30 years with a company. I wanted to raise the amount slightly (<100K) to make the math easier when splitting it up between the ultimate beneficiaries. I had to go through the entire process of applying for the policy like I was brand new. I had to go through an extensive interview process about the surgery and the results of all of my post surgery testing and health. Because of the sleeve surgery, I wan't denied - but the premium is going to be slightly higher for the first two years than it otherwise would be. (I think $3-4 per month) After that period, the premium will go back down to my old rate. This is pretty funny really. The chance of the insurance company having to pay off the policy are dramatically less after the sleeve than before (I was a walking advertisement for future heart attack victim). Oh, well - at least they wrote the policy. Needless to say, I am not touching any of my other policies.

Here are a few suggestions: Take you measurements and compare to your pre-stall measurements. I bet you are getting smaller even though the scale in resting. If you don't have pre-stall measurements, try on a pair of pants that were snug before - they may fit great now. Don't weigh but once a week. No need to torture yourself daily until the stall breaks. Write down every morsel that goes in your mouth - calories, Protein carb and fat content. Good or bad - keep of record of what you put in your mouth. THis usually helps control behavior. Get the bad/wonderful food out of your house (OREOS) or if you have kids, put them in a large sealed container and put them in the kids room - not the kitchen. Let them control their own snacking. Go talk to someone - counselor or support group about your self-sabatoge. A hypnotist could help, too, if you believe in hypnosis. You could go back on liquids or do the pouch test for a week. If that is too radical, go on a 500 calorie very limited choice eating plan for a week. It is the choices that seem to do us in. I know of what you speak - I am struggling a bit right now.

It happened to me twice, shortly after returning home from the hospital. As described above, it is a result of a liquid diet and excess gas. Not something you have to contend with for the rest of your sleeved life.

Feedyoureye - you have inspired me. I dropped off a backseat full of winter "fat" clothes at a plus size resale shop on Friday. I have gotten rid of all my large sized clothing as I have been shrinking. I picked up a pair of 26W jeans while I was there. My largest size that I officially "claim" was a 24W, but I had a pair of 26W jeans w/o elastic in the waist that fit me. I will be posting my "fat pant" photos soon.

This happened to me at around 9 - 12 weeks.Come to find out, I was anemic, low on B12 and had to back of more of my blood pressure meds. I needed to double the amount of iron I was taking and had to start eating more red meat, had to up the frequency of my B12 pills, and cut my BP meds in half (again). Go see your primary doctor and have bloodwork done. Good Luck. Sharon

Amazing progress! Wow - you are doing great.

I tried some. Mine were made from a yam plant, not from Tofu. The smell when opened was really fishy to me, but after rinsing in a colandar several times, the smell went away. I dried them on paper towels then added them to a steam veggie dish with a soy based sauce. I mixed them in together. We had the dish along with rotisserie chicken. My husband thought they were the noodles from the Ramen noodles. That is what the texture is like to me. I thought they were OK, but they didn't impress me too much. I did the spaghetti squash recently, with a homemade spaghetti sauce and some meatballs. I really enjoyed that.

This is a great NSV - one I hadn't thought of. I am going to see if mine is on the lowest setting. What a great way to prove to yourself you are a skinny - minny. Sharon

In my opinion, it could be related to the anasthesia getting out of your system, or it could be related to homonal flux. I know when I had surgery, it takes two - three weeks for me to totally be over the effects of the anasthesia. You night sweats could be associated with that. The other thing, as you start to rapidly lose weight, the estrogen stored in your fat cells is released, and you will have hormonal swings. I am a post-menopausal women, and I went through a couple of months of what I refer to as "puberty hell" with some added features of another trip through menopause. The night sweats could definately be part of that. This hormonal surge can present itself in many different ways - depending on what phase of life you are in. It can mess with your monthly cycle - timining, length, you name it. If you are still able to get pregnant, be careful - lots of extra hormones running around your system.

I have always loved to wear fine waled cords in the winter months - but I gave that up when I became obese because of the noise the cords made when I walked because my thighs rubbed together. There was so much friction, I'm surprised the pants didn't catch fire. The last pair I owned (way before my highest weight) had places on the inside of the thighs where the cords were rubbed smooth from the pressure. This winter, I have two very nice pair - one in black and one in camel. And, they don't make any noise when I walk in them. YEA!

Glad to hear you are feeling skinny - you look skinny and gorgeous! Your new hair do is great.

Great topic and some wonderful answers! The first thing I "CAN DO" is I have stopped feeling like a failure. I am a blessed woman with a loving family, successful in my career and doing OK financially. But I have always felt like a failure because I could not control my weight. That miserable feeling of being a failure is gone. I have a paperweight on my desk - a three dimensional rectangle that has inscribed on it "What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?" I feel that way now - there is nothing I can't do and be successful doing.

I am 9+ months past surgery, and I am going through my first winter as a smaller person. I am cold all the time. I went to my local Wal Mart and bought a set of Black thermal underwear by Fruit of the Loom. It looks more like a lightweight longsleeved fittled t shirt and leggings than a traditional set of long johns. They were inexpensive. I'm going to get another set, hopefully in white. I have also been wearing camisoles (either shapewear or regular) or fitted tanks under my shirts if I'm not wearing the long john top. The extra layers help me keep warm.

I have used the sugar free syrups and the sugar free cocoa occaisionally. I might put a teaspoon of the topping on a fat free pudding. The cocoa I make as a drink when it's cold. I look at the package, and account for the carbs, fat and sugar for what I eat or drink in my daily intake log. I use these as special treats, not too frequently. I don't want my body to get accustomed to the chocolate or caramel tastes as an everday thing.

WOW! This is great results. Congratulations on getting to enjoy being a smaller, healthier you! Enjoy!

A good jeweler could take out all of the stones, make the ring smaller and put the stones back in. Not easy or cheap, but possible. Good luck!

I was on Famotidine (Pepcid) morning and evening, and Prilosec before bed. At 6 months, I stopped the evening Famotidine. Now, at 9 months I am starting to wean myself off of Prilosec. I have forgotten it a couple of nights with no problems. Now, I think about what I ate during the day to evaluate if I might need it. I am taking it about half the time now.

A year ago I was 253 pounds. Now, 9+months after surgery, I have lost 106 of the 118 pounds I have set out to lose. That will put me into the normal BMI range by a few pounds. I am 54 years old and have done this without a lot of exercising (my bad).

I have to admit, I am addicted to Chucks. I am one of those women who love pretty shoes. Because of blowing out the ligaments in my right ankle (imagine a permanently sprained ankle that will roll over with the slightest provocation) I can no longer wear heels. Bye-bye 100 pairs of beautiful dress shoes! Even dress flats don't work well for me. So, I have an assortment of chucks - high tops and low tops in assorted colors and patterns to coordinate with my business attire. I have explained to my bosses that it is medically necessary for me to wear this type of shoe - since I have custom orthotics, a metal plate and an ankle brace on. So I am "business attire" from the ankles up and Chucks below. Thanks for the visual image of myself as a pretty peecock. I will keep that image close to my heart. :-)