daydreamerz

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These are my pictures six months after surgery. It had been going well. Still a low of learning on my part but I am happy! I have lost 131 pounds! I went from a size 30/32 down to a 14/16 short and an 18 pants.... So excited! Just wanted to drop in and show some pics.

Never trust a fart after WLS

To me it is to many inconsistencies with the story, when I first read it was omg, then as she kept writing I was like omg, does she know what she is writing/ saying, sad but true

I have read this whole thread, all I have to say is their is so many holes in your story, no wonder people are replying the way they are. As for lawyers , they love this kind of stuff, so why u can not get one is beyond me. If this happened to me I would be questioning what went wrong, the part of u wiggling your way thru the bed rails is where I have a prob, if you were so week how could this be. Then you say for 3 days they lost you ,, woke up to sister by your bed, again. Why was she not there to begin with. Then u say your daughter is a lawyer, my gawd holes after holes. Sorry but if you are taking cruises every month or other, then you are not that bad off, physically or sickly. Not like you are hiding under a rock, so to go out in public obviously is not that bad for ya. I know some that will not leave their house because of their insecurities of the way they look, the way u started this thread is soooooo bad, I for 1 that will be having my surgery next week, thought omg, my worst nightmare, they just had. Sorry but like I said way to many inconsistencies in your story, you sound like someone that just wants attention. It is so sad u chose this forum,

Yes, please share more details. And no offense, but I'd say that rather than nearly dying from VSG surgery, it sounds more like you nearly died from horrible medical treatment. If they couldn't manage to send people to your room you could have died from any complication from any surgery. You should most definitely be warning people away from that hospital and surgeon!
I hope that you're healing now and in better shape.
~Cheri

I am going to post, but I am not a doctor or counselor.
This is more than head hunger. This is more than if your tummy can take it. I bet you are also drinking fluids with your food, and that will make it easier to eat more, and you will be able to push more food through.
You should not be eaing at all two weeks out. But you know that.
Everyone is being very nice and supportive but I am going to be a bit different. You are a grown woman who has cut away your stomach in order to lose weight. You have lost weight so you think the cheating won't matter - you have two sets of facts in your head and you are going to have to decide which you believe. Do you believe you can go on doing this and it won't matter because obviously you have lost weight, or will you decide upon the actual truth, which is you are doing damage to your body, continuing old habits, and setting yourself up to fail?
If you keep stuffing food you still do not have an excuse - you cant go back to eating like that, using the excuse that you ruined your restriction. I will give you the information that you will now never be able to use that as an excuse again:
YOUR STOMACH WAS CUT AWAY. You had over 600cc of tummy and it was reduced to 50cc-80cc, on average. You had trocars inserted into your abdomen, another tube was passed into your stomach through your throat and the doctor used that internal tube to gauge the staples - your tummy is as big as the tube they used. You were stapled, sewn over the staples so they do not have pressure against them, and that extra tummy was put in a pouch and sucked up a tube and thrown away. Your stomach takes a long time to stretch out, it can be provided with and learn to have elasticity - to go back and forth - but that is not the stretching we are talking about. You have not stretched out your tummy. There is no excuse for the foods except you choose to.
It feels very good when we are stressed and feel like we are over our heads to get sympathy kuddos, which you are doing now. You feel lost, you did not prepere enough, and you aren't sure how to procede with something so permanent, so you just do what you always do. To make it better you confess, and get some attention and it is very unlikely unless you evaluate this on a very sincere level it will not change.
I think you anticipate being told how to fix this but no one can do that for you. Look at your environment and start fixing it.
We are a damn good community here and we want you to succeed. I can't imagine how I would have felt to be doing that after the surgery. It's all on you. Keep a journal if you have to. Write it down as you do it so you can see it adding up. Counseling is imperative - and confide in those around you - those of you you know can help. Don't allow the food in your house. Something, anything.
In no way take my post as me putting you down, or bitching, I care. I really do. I would rather be sure someone said what I did and it possibly be needed than it be left out of fear of people thinking I was too abrupt. Let us know what the doctor said, and in the meantime do what you can. You are more at risk of popping a leak in your sleeve than anything, and it it was accompanied with a hemmorage it could be fatal. I will be praying for you.
It sounds damn mean but guys, seriously, sometimes the harder stuff has to be said.

I just had to share this one!
So, I was being bratty last night and teasing my hubby, pushing and poking him and daring him to do something about it. The next thing I know I am hanging upside down over his shoulder and he runs in to the front room and I'm laughing and yelling, "you just think your cool cuz you can throw your wife around now"!
My 23 y/o son who was visiting said, "that's what you get for being so skinny".
Me? Skinny? Really?
I am having so much fun with the new me and apparently hubby is enjoying the ride as well!
I just had to share with my VST family!
Love you all!
Shell

You can see my ticker so I don't want to talk about weight. It's been three months and I want to Celebrate the inches I have lost! I'm going to post them by date because I think it's more telling that way. Oh and I didn't measure EVERYTHING on my body, just a few reference points.
Preop 11/1/11 12/19/11 1/12/12 2/2/12
Waist: 42.25" 41.75" 40" 39"
Hips: 51" 50" 49" 48.5"
Left Calf: 17" 16.5" 16" 16"
Left Thigh: 30" 29.25" 29" 28.25"
As you can see I rounded the numbers. I will attest to the fact that even when I don't lose pounds I am still losing inches. To all of us who freak out when we plateau for a few days or a week, we need to take a deep breath and get out the tape measure. Remember it's not a stall until it's been 4 weeks without any weight loss. That's what my NUT said and she added that it's still not a stall if I'm losing width in the form of inches or PARTS of inches. She said it's all progress and we must strive for progress, NOT perfection. I love my little NUT!
Keep fighting the good fight my friends!!!! Big Hugs!

And I have shed 85lb total. I was a bit stunned to see that I am 355lb and not 440lb. I have about 95lb to my goal but to know that I am nearly half the way there is cool. Maybe by the end of summer I'll be there or pretty damn close...

Did my first 5K in 45 minutes today...Not bad for a couch potato! This was my New Years resolution and it's done!!! Thanks to all who INSPIRE ME EVERYDAY on this site! LOVE YA!!!!!! Also want to say IF I CAN DO IT, YOU CAN DO IT TOOOOO!
Special shout out to my sleeve sister Michelle who stuck it out in the pouring rain! WE DID IT GIRL!!!!

i am truly thankful that i feel better! it was such a gift from god. im relieved & grateful!

GREAT NEWS!!!!! ive been eating & i feel so much better. i snack all day & it keeps the gas gone & i have so much more energy! THANK GOD!!!!! i went from about 10 gas x chewables a day to 2 a day! im not 100% but im a lot better than before.
im not dehydrated as i stated before so the IV is not necessary & i went to see my nurse practioner on thursday & she thinks im doing great!!!

TRUST ME...YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW.....THE PAIN AND THE PRESSURE ARE BAD...IT'S CAUSE WHEN YOU HAVE THE SURGERY THEY ACTUALLY "INFLATE" YOUR ABDOMIN TO GET IN THERE EASIER.... NO BUENO!

This particular thread is a blessing! You see, I was sleeved on December 6th and haven't lost a single pound w/in the last 1 1/2 weeks. I thought that I was doing something wrong. I find it SO unusual that I can eat so little (comparable to my "pre-sleeved" self) yet not loose a single pound. I have not measured myself- I've only used the bathroom scale as my guideline.
It's honestly nice to know that I'm not alone.

Today I'm 5 months out and I feel wonderful about my weight loss this far. I'm not too far from goal and I feel like i will be there in less than two months with the work outs I have planned. The work outs are on the back burner right now because I have a pulled muscle in my hip-upper leg area from playing laser tag with my teenagers.lol I guess if you gonna get a pulled butt muscle, get it having fun.
I have an upper respiratory infection right now so it's kinda hard to talk about all the wonderful thing's I have accomplished since being sleeved but I'm going to try.
I have the energy to keep up with my wonderful daughters. We can go shopping at the same stores now and they don't have to wait on me while I shop at Lane Bryant for something I could both afford and that looks good. I can actually fit in some of my oldest daughters really cute jeans (she's 17).
I have met the most awesome man in the world. He is truly a blessing to me. Never once has he made me feel less than perfect and I hope that feeling never ends. He is wonderful to my kids and has stepped up as a wonderful father figure they have never had.
So, some of the things I miss since I had surgery......
.......
........
Well, this is harder than I thought..... Really the only thing is... to be perfectly honest.... I really would love to sit down and eat a whole steak or go to a nice restaurant and have a whole meal. I eat pretty much what I want but sometimes it just tastes soooo good I'd like to finish it while it's hot and not left over. But then, I say to myself....that's what got you a fat ass in the first place and that feeling disappears.LOL!
Some of the things I don't miss since I had surgery.....
Sore knees
Sore feet
Sore back
Snoring
Not being able to breath
High BP
Migraines from the High BP
Shopping at LB
Walking from our parking garage to my office and breaking into a gushing sweat. Heck... I barely sweat at all now.
The feeling that everyone is talking about how attractive I "use" to be.
Having the biggest jeans in the laundry.
Not being able to wear the stylish boots that come above my calves.
I could go on and on but really I just feel so much better. If I someone has any doubts about this surgery, I can honestly say I would do it again in a second.
Thank you everyone on this site for being here though my journey. I have no intention of leaving because you guys are the greatest! I'm sure this last 20 something pounds are going to be the hardest yet so I will need all the support I can get.
Thanks
Julie

So glad you are all here. I was sleeved on Dec 5th and I haven't dropped a pound in the last week and half,. I watch my calories and it clearly can not be because I'm eating too much because I don't get to eat anything.,,. I'm so frustrated . I feel like I'm doing something wrong. Im glad to see that it is somewhat normal.

I am in the middle of my fourth week and have been at a stall for at least 10 to 14 days (not sure when it started). How long does this first stall usually last? I am really frustrated with it. I think it is normal, but I don't know how long not losing is normal. Anybody know?
Thanks,
Rachel

So yesterday I was sitting at work, a bit bored, it is holiday and there is not much to do.
I was looking at my hands......and I no longer recognised them. My fingers are longer, or so it seems and it just looks more toned.
Feels weird cause I can no longer say, I know something like the back of my hand, cause clearly I dont know my own hand.
Just weird!>?Q?

I was in a terrible stall for nearly 4 weeks. It was so hard to see almost the exact same weight every day, so I stopped weighing myself every day cuz it was driving me crazy. Today I weighed and lost 3 pounds! YAY!

I thought it was funny the first time I pulled my newest size large (down from 3X) undies out of the drier, I actually said out loud "Who the hecks are these kids underwear?" (we have no kids).
Congrats, keep up the progress!

Hi VST family,
It's hard to believe that a year ago I had a revision from the band to the sleeve. I never could have imagined how amazing life would be after the pain I went through with the band. The sleeve has given me restriction, health, and happiness. I finally feel like myself. I have lost a total of 91 pounds in the past year with the sleeve and 133 pounds total with both surgeries. I weigh in at 153. I am four pounds from a normal weight. I was hoping to be at a normal BMI by my surgiversary today, but my body didn't cooperate. LOL I WILL get there though! My ultimate goal is to weigh 143, which is half of where I started on my journey with the lapband over four years ago. I do have pretty bad hanging skin issues on my stomach, which I am hoping to one day correct. Other than that, life is great. It is so nice to have control over my food issues. Shopping is so much fun! People tell me I am like an entirely different person. I guess it is true. I am living life now, instead of being depressed because of my size. I am so thankful to all the wonderful friends I have met here. I would never have had the courage to have my revision if it weren't the support of all my sleeve sisters and brothers here. I love you all and I also LOVE my sleeve!

Good morning VST!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and if you were anything like me, the pounds did NOT creep up this time! Yayyy!! LOL
I wanted to touch on one subject, as I've seen a huge amount of posts lately commenting on their stalls, or slow losses. I feel this is an important subject because it can really get into our heads. Firstly you are not alone, and I myself have felt this too. Though here's what kept me moving, and kept my head in the game so to speak.
In this journey the BEST ASSETS you will have are #1 Patience, #2 Positivity and #3 Perseverence. The 3 P's!!! These three virtues are a MUST in this journey.
Patience: All good things come to those who wait. You didn't gain 100+ Lbs overnight and you're not going to lose it that way either. You likely gained it over many years worth of time, so think of it like this - you will still lose that weight in the fraction of the amount of time it took you to gain it. No matter how "slow" you think your losses are happening it is still GREATLY faster than your gain. You are still WAY ahead of the game, no matter how you slice it.
Positivity: This is going to be a very rough journey. You're not always going to enjoy all the effects of your weight loss surgery. But regardless you will have to keep your outlook bright! If you have to, keep a list of all the things pre-surgery that you are looking forward to. Check them off as they happen, keep it around close when you just need that extra lift of motivation. Looking back is just as important as looking forward on this road to wellness. Speaking of looking forward... check out the Success Stories Forum. Look for Sleevers who are no less than one year post op. Check their befores and afters. YOU WILL BE AMAZED!! Trust me, we didn't lose overnight either. Also, taking before and after photos are super helpful as is taking monthly or bi weekly measurements. The scale is rarely going to say what you really want it to. If it does every time, that's great! Consider yourself lucky!!
Perseverence: You know the saying, when the going gets tough... the tough gets going. You will find this is true in this journey. Again I say, nothing about WLS is easy! We may think of it a miracle, a cure from obesity and in some ways it really is. I thank GOD daily for it and having the means to have mine, BUT I do also know being that I'm 15+ months out and having hit so many goals I've lost count that it is STILL a lot of hard work!! You will find that to truly become healthy you're going to have to find some kind of physical activity that you can both handle without injury and keep to some type of good eating regimen. Call it diet or choose not too, doesn't matter. You're not going to hit your goals in any kind of healthy way by eating all your calories on M&M's... know what I mean?
However some things I refused to ever do was to give up, give in or beat myself up for being what in the real world is called being human. I have eaten M&M's and by golly I sure don't regret it! I still hit all my goals and had a little bit of fun along the way. You just have to make all the right choices, but at the right times too.
That's all I have to say about that... I do hope this helps - and as we are in the middle of Winter where its way too cold for outside activities (at least for me it is!) and all the best eating is all around us, that we can just keep up the hard work that goes into getting to the finish line. If you maintain all three P's, you WILL GET THERE. For sure.

Well, unfortunately disagreements and people saying things either hastily or because they are "like" that is a part of life... I just either ignore or block the negative people...
I'm sorry that this makes you feel like not coming back.. I would miss you.. seriously, I would!!!.
The sleeve takes 85% of our stomachs and not our "interesting" personalities or idiosyncrasies... Hang in there and try to look past people, ask for clarity or just answer and move on...
Hope you don't leave though...

I don't feel the same way. I think you are referring to a thread where you stated something about the plication surgery and a lady that had the plication done disagreed with you. You felt attacked and in all honesty, I think she was very respectful. Unfortunately we can't see peoples faces and it is hard sometimes to interpret how the words are intended.
I hope you don't stop coming. Everyone here brings something different and that makes it better. If we all have the same personality and all we do is "ra ra ra" ourselves, it would be dishonest and boring. I agree it should be VERY friendly and supportive, but we don't all have to sound the same.
Having said all that, I am sorry you are feeling this way. They are your feelings and I respect them. I just don't see this forum the same way you are. Please don't stop coming. We need you here.

Hello VST community.
150 lbs GONE in 206 days since I started my pe-op diet
118 lbs gone in 179 days since VSG
Under 300 lbs for the first time in over 20 years
Over 1/3 of ME is gone.
I can buy cheap clothes at Wal-Mart and second hand stores instead of expensive Big and Tall shops
I can actually fit in places: public bus, port-a-potty etc.
Females actually talk to me (ex wife is mad at me for losing weight)
I guess you can tell I am pretty dog gone happy
Why do stalls alway occur right before a major milestone?
Lots of info and support from this board helped make it happen.
Thank you.
FM (not done yet)