MegInNOLA

I agree with Dorrie 100%. We ALL have times when we slip up for whatever reason. And figuring out the root cause of our "head hunger" is important. From a practical, do-it-now perspective, you can absolutely clear your fridge and cupboards of food you find "calls" you. I keep healthy food around--if I'm not hungry enough to eat the apple, I'm not really hungry. Just don't even bring it into the house if it's going to be a trigger food. You might also find journaling helpful. I know a lot of successful people who, upon eating, will jot down their feelings, mood, what's going on--this helps them figure out if they're eating at times of stress, emotional upset, anger, boredom, loneliness, etc. Saw a post yesterday somewhere talking about the HALT diet--we eat because we're hungry, angry, lonely, or tired--if it's anything but hungry, it's head or emotional hunger, which will only be temporarily sidelined by eating. HUGS to you--I know it seems really difficult now, but you've got a fabulous tool and a lot of support here. I am absolutely certain you are strong enough, smart enough, and WORTH the effort to get to the bottom of the issue and get it solved.

Congratulations all around!! How exciting!!

Hey EscapePod (love the name, btw), welcome onto our thread. :-) You're doing great--look at those stats! So here's a new twist to the "I have this strange shortness of breath thing that my docs are puzzled about" saga--it's not cardiac, it's not pulmonary, it's not inner ear--maybe it's reflux. Reflux. I just found out about laryngopharyngeal reflux--I have every single one of the symptoms! And it can cause the exercise-induced shortness of breath (asthma symptoms), eustachian tube dysfunction, the whole nine yards!! I'm actually excited to have a possible explanation for all of this nonsense and made an appointment with my ENT again to see if I can get scoped for an official diagnosis. Meanwhile, seems like treatment is similar to that for GERD--antacids, raise the head of the bed, avoid tight clothing, don't eat late at night, avoid highly acidic foods. It's going to be tough to avoid coffee and tomato and citrus (some of my absolute favorite daily foods), but if avoiding them means no more of this junk, that will be fine with me. I'll figure something out. I've restarted Prilosec and will be able to tell in a couple of weeks, evidently, if that's going to be a good solution. It's so weird to think that reflux can cause all these things without my also having heartburn--LPR is similar to GERD but you don't feel the same heartburn pain; it's called "silent reflux" because you can have the symptoms and not realize it's reflux related, plus the symptoms can be attributed to any number of other things (like post-nasal drip/sinus infection, asthma, patulous eustachian tube, etc., all of which I am now experiencing but all of which can be caused by LPR!). So Celebrate with me, ladies--I think it's entirely possible my medical mystery has maybe been solved. We'll see. :-) Feeling hopeful!!

Hang in there. He's worried about a lot of things, I imagine. Will you be okay through the surgery? Will you still want him after you're thin? How will both of you handle the "new you"? Communication is the key. Something along the lines of, "I've noticed that we're having more arguments lately. I wonder if we can talk about what's bothering us." Use "us" and "I" and "me" more than "you" so it doesn't feel accusatory. Maybe giving him the opportunity to express his concerns and fears will help clear the air. Hugs to you!

WOOT! You look wonderful! Congratulations on your loss so far! I'm excited for you--keep us updated, please!

Emergency chocolate? :-) Man, y'all are disciplined. I don't even bring regular Hershey's syrup in here because you KNOW I'll have at that!! Dorrie, I agree with the others--BMI 23? Girl, you're allowed the occasional treat. I also hear what you're saying about being less mindful, but it sounds like you've had a lot to deal with. Personally I think you're doing great, what with all the extra drama and family stuff. You obviously realize it's not a good thing to fall back into old habits, and I really don't think you have/will--it's okay to chill for a bit when you have lots of stressors going on. It's all about care of the self, which includes care of the body, but self first, in my opinion. As long as body isn't treated poorly for long periods of time, which you're not doing. Does that make sense? I'm sending positive vibes to you for peace--family stuff can be the worst hassles and the highest drama. GT, sounds like you're on an upswing! I so admire your workout routine! The most exercise I've gotten in the last few weeks has been walking around (and across parking lots to ice cream shops, LOL)--I've GOT to get on the stick with this or I'm going to turn into a tall line of mush, when what I want is to be a tall, lean, sleek Athleta model--have you seen those women? My husband prefers curvier girls, but I totally admire those physiques--they're all long and lean and muscled and strong looking--THAT look is one I admire--the look of strength, like your body would be able to do whatever you asked it to do. And I know to get there you have to DO more than just walk around--!! It's like the last piece of the puzzle and I just cannot seem to motivate myself to do it! I'd rather clean out my office (YIKES) than exercise!

Well, y'all, I just did a really stupid thing. My husband and I had dinner at Houston's, where I enjoyed some spinach dip and a few bites of baked potato and salad--nothing strange about that, per se (although I don't eat potato a lot these days). AFTER dinner, however, we two sleevers went for a short walk across the parking lot TO A STUPID MARBLE STONE CREAMERY, where we proceed to order and consume ice cream. Full-fat, full-sugar, super sweet, ridiculously expensive (calories and money!) ice cream. We ordered smalls, of course--I asked for cherries in mine, my husband had banana. Understand, we never do this--we used to go out for ice cream pre-sleeves; now, when we get the ice cream jones, we go to Red Mango and get low-sugar fat-free yogurt with fruit topping. This was not that. So we eat the ice cream and it's tasty but not as good as I seem to remember it being--and almost immediately, we look at one another and groan. It HURT something fierce. I am not lactose intolerant--I drink milk, eat cheese, and eat lots of yogurt daily. But I am telling you, it was like some balloon was inflating in my abdomen just below my stomach area--I have never seen/felt bloating like that in my life! My husband, too! It was just the strangest thing. We had to drive home from there--it's 40 minutes or so from where we were to our house--and the whole way home, we were telling feeble jokes, trying to keep each other's mind off of things--I'm glad to say I didn't feel nauseous or like I would be sick, but it physically hurt--like stomach cramping or menstrual cramping but in between those two zones, if you get my drift. We made it home and collapsed on our bed and just lay there for a while, stomachs gurgling so loudly that we just laughed hysterically, holding our stomachs because laughing hurt. We made a pact that we would not be doing this again... I don't know why we did it in the first place, except that it was sort of a silly, joking, "let's splurge" moment. Taught us a lesson, that's for sure. This isn't "dumping," because I know what that feels like--happily, this didn't bring on any nausea, cold sweat, bathroom emergencies, etc., but it was a STUPID DECISION that brought both of us some serious discomfort... On the one hand, I'm sorry we did it, and on the other, I'm glad to know the consequences, as that will definitely stick with me next time I think I want some ice cream. YUCK, and no thank you. Y'all learn from my idiocy and watch out for ice cream (although y'all are much more disciplined and probably wouldn't go there in the first place).

Starting weight 306 (slightly over your upper limit) Current weight 182 Total loss 124 pounds. I'm 15 months out--hit 100 pounds down at the 9-month mark. I'm 6'2".

Thanks, NannieG. I thought it was exercise-induced asthma, too, but my ENT and pulmonologist say no asthma--I've had pulmonary function tests and all sorts of exercise tests. It's not life-threatening or even "dangerous," but it's frustrating and distracting when I'm working. So we'll see how it all turns out. :-)

Congratulations to you!! And what terrific NSV's, too!

Globetrotter, I just checked out your post and your pics, and WOW. I totally agree with Coops--you look absolutely amazing!!! Thanks everyone for the nice feedback on my pic. :-) I am less worried these days about cameras being aimed in my direction--I used to literally jump up and volunteer to take the pics for everyone so that I wouldn't actually be in any of them.... now I just do like everyone else and smile. Got a clean bill of health from my cardiologist--remember I was having some spells of shortness of breath on exertion. Both pulmonology and cardiology have given me a thorough check up and multiple tests and have found nothing.... I'm still having the symptoms, but at least I'm relieved that it's not anything horribly serious (no plumbing or electrical issues). Next step is an allergist, since it seems to be tied to some allergy-like symptoms, too. Meanwhile, I'm supposed to up my salt intake and drink more Water (have rediscovered Mio and sugar-free Torani syrup and how yummy they make water taste!). We have been eating a LOT of veggies and fruit this summer and I think that's the reason for the slow but continued drop in weight. Also remember I set my own goal at 190 after my nutritionist set it at 212--and I'm so tall that it's just hard to know what a good goal would be. I keep the ticker on just so that newbies can see what is possible, but I imagine my ultimate weight should really be 170 or so--which would put me, I think, in a size 10/12 M/L. Currently, at 182, I'm in a 12/14 and L with occasional forays into M or XL depending on the item of clothing and how easily I can move in it (as a conductor, I have to have a lot of room for upper body movement in my professional attire). So we're just going to keep doing what we're doing around here. I hope we can keep it up when school starts; that's always been the hard part before.

I'm sorry that happened; I know it can be a freak-out. When I was in college, I worked at a Burger King on the night shift. There were stories about a guy who would come through the drive-through lane without any pants on, just to provoke a horrified reaction from the girls working the counter. One night, yep, there he was--I was surprised to see "Mr Happy" right there--so surprised that I "accidentally" tossed the contents of a large, cold soda directly onto his lap. I still don't know what made me do that--it was sort of an instinctive thing. He drove off in a hurry. We called the police; a nice young officer showed up quickly, took my report, started snickering, and went to go round the guy up--evidently he was well known to the police, and he hadn't bothered to take the plates off his car or anything. I never saw him again, so maybe we cooled his Burger King craving... But seriously, if you feel threatened or in danger in any way, take a friend with you to exercise! If it had happened to me the way it happened to you, I'd probably change my route for a few days and definitely take a friend and be on the lookout for creepy man with my camera in hand.

(HUGS) I agree with everything Lissa said--I, too, have a latex allergy and the same thing happened/happens to me!! It will clear up soon--be sure you're using a really, really mild cleanser in the shower (you might get some Phisoderm or some Cetaphil until your itching goes away). And yeah, I totally couldn't choke down any Protein shake--my body rejected EVERY single one of them rather disgustingly. My suggestion: Make your own. Use milk of some sort (dairy if you're not lactose intolerant, or soy, or almond, or coconut), Greek yogurt, Egg Beaters (if you can tolerate eggs--these are pasteurized, so you won't be getting anything icky, plus they're great protein for minimal calories), flavoring (sugar-free Torani, sugar-free pudding, sugar-free Hershey's syrup, PB2 powder, whatever floats your boat), and a few ice cubes--zap it up and voila! a protein shake made from "real food." It won't have as much protein as the processed ones, but you will be getting protein and liquid and all the ingredients are things you can see and buy at a grocery store. You can amp up the protein by adding nonfat powdered milk and using the 2X protein Greek yogurt stuff--OR if you can tolerate a Protein Powder, add a tablespoon or so to this "regular food" shake and see if it stays down/is more tolerable to you that way. I totally feel for you. Also don't forget you can zap bean/pea/lentil Soups to a totally smooth consistency--they're way high in protein, especially if there's a little bit of meat in there for flavor, like split pea/ham or navy bean/bacon--zap them totally smooth, heat, and drink. Protein from real food. Your body may be able to handle this a bit better than the sweet shakes. Everyone is different. Hang in there. It really does get better. Lots of us had rocky starts and we're here to support you!!

Hey Tammi: I use lettuce leaves instead of tortillas or bread all the time and use cucumber slices instead of crackers or chips--I stole the cucumber idea from Eggface's site; my favorite thing to eat like that is hummus or bean dip that I make in the food processor so I know what's in there and can control the oil content. My husband and I eat lettuce wraps all the time--tons of veggies and some Protein in there, whatever sounds good, and wrap it up like a burrito and chow down. LOW CARB and veggie, so Fiber and nutrients. Win-win. Raw veggies seem to fill us up FAST--we keep cut up fruit and veggies in the fridge, ready to go. I eat at least one tomato a day--around here that's a pleasure, since nothing beats a home-grown Creole tomato, IMHO. Squash, zucchini, cucumber, etc. are all easy to find at the farmer's market, and I'm a total spinach-aholic. We use organic produce if we're eating it raw. I have found that a smoothie in the morning that has spinach (yes, it turns the smoothie green, but you can't taste it!), berries, almond milk, fat-free Greek yogurt (I hate it too, but it hides well in a smoothie), some sugar-free Torani syrup, and a couple of ice cubes will take me through the morning with no hunger at all, and it's pretty low cal--the carbs are from fruit and the almond milk (unsweetened), so they aren't the type that spike blood sugar. Anyway, good luck!! We're all rooting for you!!

Good for you! Welcome to the losers' bench! My height hasn't really been an issue in all of this except for finding a "goal weight," which was sort of a challenge for my dietician, I think--she suggested that perhaps 212 would be a good goal; it was a good goal, I guess, since I was starting at well over 300 and that would have been a good chunk of my excess weight, BUT it would have left me in the "overweight" category for BMI. Also, I remember being 190 in graduate school, and I wore size 16 then (strange how vanity sizing has adjusted to my now weighing 182 and wearing size 12), so I knew 190 would be a good goal. Now I'm thinking maybe I will eventually drift down to my "secret" goal of 170, which seemed impossible before but now is getting closer and closer. My point is that at our height, "goal weight" is sort of a tricky thing. I feel so much better and look so much better--anything else I lose is just icing on the cake. If it happens, great; if not, I can live the rest of my life VERY comfortably right here. Thank goodness for my sleeve!!!! Anyway, best wishes to you--keep us posted on your progress and feel free to PM if you have any "tall girl" specific questions! HUGS!!

Oh yeah, congratulations! My once brittle-diabetic husband was able to get off all his meds, too, immediately postop--the sleeve is such a fantastic tool! So happy for you and your husband!

My husband left the hospital after getting sleeved off of all his meds--but everyone is different. Be sure you're checking your blood sugar frequently and keep a written record so you can show your docs, which will help y'all make informed decisions about your meds. You're going to be so much healthier in very short order--congratulations!!

Well, I'm sorry that you've noticed a change since your weight gain. I think you will definitely notice a difference in how he treats you after surgery, not just in public, but I'm not sure you will resent it--especially if you can think of it as a celebration time--you're feeling better, looking great, enjoying your life more, and you're probably going to be sending out a lot more positive energy in general. It would be really odd if your life partner didn't notice that and treat you a bit differently (not because you're "not fat" any more, but because you're feeling and looking and acting so much more energetically, if that makes sense). Long story short, of course it would be amazing if people didn't treat us differently when we were heavy--my DH loves me no matter what, no matter what size--but I can tell you that our relationship is stronger, better, hotter, closer in every way since the surgery--and this was a guy who loved me like crazy before.

Sounds perfectly normal to me. Different people have different capacities at various points in their postoperative course. I think you're doing great to get in what you're getting in at 4 weeks out. :-)

Hey Alicia: If you're having gas pains from the surgical gas, try a heating pad and/or warm bath or shower to see if you can get some comfort. They use gas to inflate your abdominal cavity, and that has to sort of percolate around until it dissipates over time. Walking frequently and changing your position in bed or on the couch can really help. If your gas pains are gastrointestinal (as in, gas you can burp), keep taking your antigas meds and also see if maybe drinking something warm will help--try some broth or hot tea. Sometimes room temperature fluids work. It's different for everyone. Also remember to take your antacid medication--that can help a lot with everything! Hang in there. Sorry you're having trouble!

May I suggest looking into things like Mio and flavored syrups to give you the flavors you're missing? I recently started enjoying Mio again (took a time-out from all sweeteners to let my palate adjust off of real sugar)... I like it mixed with a shot of Torani sugar-free syrup. My current obsession is Mio lemonade with sugar-free raspberry syrup--SO GOOD and not a calorie to be found. Also no bubbles. :-)

As the owner of a super picky sleeve, let me first allay your fears--even if you end up with the pickiest sleeve EVER, you will still be able to eat and to function. You may have a more limited food selection, but even that is going to work out. If I eat something that my sleeve doesn't like, one of two things happens. First, if it's something really not tolerated, I will get sick and the food will come back out. This is unpleasant but not life or death, obviously--I simply don't eat that food again for a while. Sometimes I find I can eat it after a few more months have passed, or I find (as is the case with eggs) that I can eat the whites comfortably but not the yolks. No biggie. The other thing that might happen is the food stays down but causes a bit of discomfort--it feels sort of "gravelly" in my stomach, I get some pain, and I have to burp constantly. I think this is food that is just harder for my sleeve to digest. Again, either I limit my intake of these or avoid them altogether, and no big deal. Most of the time, foods that sleeves have trouble with are foods that aren't that good for us to begin with. Common foods that aren't tolerated include fried food, concentrated sweets, sugary drinks, rice/pasta/bread (because they tend to swell in the stomach), and some raw vegetables that are more fibrous. Some of us with picky sleeves can't tolerate certain types of meat, fish, or chicken, or perhaps we're lactose intolerant, or any number of things. These are not food allergies but food intolerances, and sometimes the sleeve will come to accept things as time goes by. As I said, I have what I think of as a super picky sleeve, and I'm able to manage just fine. You will, too, and you'll discover your own individual list of preferred things. Most people have no problems AT ALL and can eat anything/everything comfortably--the sleeve provides volume restriction, exactly as it's supposed to function, and they have greatest flexibility in food choices. If you happen to end up with a picky sleeve, there are tons of posts on this forum and others to help. Since every body is different, it's impossible to tell how your situation is going to turn out, but it's all good--it might be different from everyone else, but it's still good. :-)

Well, I have "heard" of people doing various things to make that minimum--like drinking a lot of water before the weigh-in, slipping weights into bras/pockets/shoes, and yeah, gaining an extra couple of pounds in order to qualify. I personally barely made the cut-off, and while I didn't sneak any additional weights in my clothing, I will say that I didn't worry too much about what went into my mouth for a couple of weeks before my surgeon's appointment--just in case.

Congratulations on your sleevaversary! :-) Sounds like you're having a blast.

missmachine, may I suggest switching from celery and dip to a more protein-based food first? For instance, scrambled egg or chicken or tuna salad--shred everything up really fine and be sure to chew thoroughly. Also, instead of eating until you're full, think about eating until you're not hungry--there's a subtle difference, but it's important. Eat Protein with maybe a bite of veggie or something, but focus on the protein first. See if that helps the feelings of hunger. Remember it takes your head a while to catch up to the sense of fullness--see if you can stop a bite or two before "fullness." Good luck!