Lissa

I'm not going to give you a verbal kick in the butt, even though you know you messed up big time. I hope you learned that lesson that you cannot eat anything solid yet! Head hunger is a killer.... You should probably call your doctor and keep an eye out for any signs of a leak, i.e. throwing up bile, blood, etc. I seriously doubt that you've destroyed your sleeve, but you definitely need to stick to the diet your doctor prescribed. I have heard stories about people who ate solid food too quickly and had major problems, but I've never known those people personally, so can't verify if they are true. Good luck and get back to your liquids/soft foods phase. It might be a good idea to drop back a stage for a couple of days to give your sleeve time to recover.... I'm treating your post as if it's a sincere post rather than a troll....

It's just like Nike says: "Just Do It". I like the idea of making an appointment with yourself. I'm doing a 30 day squat challenge and it's killing my legs, but I have determined that I just have to do it.

I don't remember how long I waited, but I can tell you that I'm game almost anytime these days!

I started out walking up and down the hallway in my apartment and progressed slowly to where I can get out and walk a few times around the block without pain. I find that using the elliptical or the exercise bike are super easy now. I just took a friend to the gym today and showed her around the machinery. She was dying after 5 minutes on the exercise bike, while I did that 5 minutes, plus a half hour on the elliptical, plus weights. She was beating herself up over her "lack" of ability and I had to explain to her that it takes time to build up the endurance that I have now. All of us have to start somewhere, but, no matter how little you do, you're still miles ahead of those sitting on the couch!

It sounds like the doctor may be right to want to convert you to a full bypass. Can s/he offer reassurance that the conversion would end this pain? If so, I'd be on the table asap. If not, then wait until this heals. I'm sure they have checked, but could you have either an ulcer or an abcess? Did they put in a stent to hold the stomach in place until the healing process is finished? If so, perhaps the stent has slipped somehow? On the bright side, you ARE able to eat instead of being on TPN via IV. I do wish you luck on your journey. I'm sorry you're having a tough time, but glad that you've got medical people working to help you out.

wigenie, I understand not wanting to cut those ties. I had to do a lot of tie-cutting during my journey as well.. .and some of it has been really difficult. Do you have hobbies? Hopefully ones that involve social activities. I now love singing karaoke and have found a little hole in the wall place where I feel totally comfortable even if I get up and screw a song up badly. When I started karaoke, I found a whole new group of people who are positive and friendly. That has helped me more with self-acceptance than the counseling, IMO. I truly believe in counseling, but positive feedback is always appreciated, kapish? I truly do wish you luck and I hope that you'll make the ex turn you loose. He's not doing anything positive for you if he's hanging around without making an emotional commitment to you. Even if he's providing sex (and you don't have to tell any of us that), he's got to provide emotional support too, or he's not the right man. As my Granny used to tell me "Girl, you got one of THESE, you can get all of THOSE you want".. .and she's right.

Curvy, Question re: abs... should they be done in conjunction with back and shoulders or on a separate day? I just discovered that I can't do a regulation sit up, although I do crunches every other day and I do sit ups on the exercise ball with a medicine ball in my hands so that I don't end up using my neck/hands to lift myself. I'm going for my white belt in mixed martial arts and one of the requirements is that I do 50 regulation sit ups in two minutes (men's rules, women's are 25 sit ups in one minute). I also don't have the upper body strength (yet) for men's push ups, but I can meet the requirement for women's push ups without a problem. Any tips?

What a great question! Pre-op, I was probably a 3-5 most of the time, but I didn't realize how low my spirits were. Looking back at pictures of myself from then, I seldom smiled and I don't remember being really happy most of the time. Now, almost two years out, with a year of counseling under my belt, I'm normally between a 7-10. As others have said, I love the fact that I'm so much smaller, healthier and able to do whatever I want to do. If I never lose another pound or inch, my VSG was worth it! What makes me even happier is knowing that I WILL lose another pound and another inch (over and over) until I get to my goal. So, overall, an 8-9 most of the time. BTW, I'm smiling in almost every picture I take these days!

I still can't do pasta or bread well at almost 2 years out. Both will leave me hurting and having to wait a long time to drink water without pain.

I agree with Kelsa. It's time to cut the ties with the ex. He's getting something from your interaction (hero worship from you perhaps?) and so are you, but it sounds like you're getting negative messages from him. Don't tolerate it. I also think that counseling would be a great thing for you to explore. Being overweight adds to depression issues and you can't be part of a healthy relationship with someone else until you have a healthy relationship with yourself...whether you have WLS or not. Being thinner only changes your outside packaging. The inside has to change as well...and THAT part of this journey is tough without help. The one thing that I have learned from my year of counseling after WLS is the "be careful what I think". If I start negative self-talk in my head, I will end up depressed and sad. If I keep my self-talk positive, it spreads sunshine and light to the rest of my life. I'm not at my personal weight loss goal yet, but I will get there. However, I'm a million miles removed from the sad, depressed woman I was before my sleeve. This journey requires a lot of head work in addition to the food restriction and exercise that we do. There is a huge mental change that comes with this journey and you really need to be prepared to handle that change because it's going to rock your world in a good way!

Are you taking your vitamins and getting in enough water? My energy levels drop dramatically if I don't take my B12 daily. I also would look to make sure you're eating enough food. At least 70 grams of protein are required and, contrary to popular belief, all carbs are NOT evil. Good carbs (in veggies and whole grains) are required for energy, although they should be eaten in moderation. I've also found that I have more energy when I exercise more. It seems silly, but working out recharges me. Good luck!

My worst gallbladder attack had me convinced I was dying. It started with some pain under my breastbone, kind of like the over-full feeling we sleevers get when we eat too much. Over an hour that pain escalated until I was convinced I was dying. I called my pulmonologist and asked if I should go to the nearest hospital to be checked for a heart attack even though I didn't have jaw or arm pain... and he said Yes. I was driving on the turnpike at the time, so by the time I got to the next exit, I had an overwhelming urge to vomit. After I got sick (both ways) in a gas station bathroom, I felt immensely better and called the pulmo back. He told me to go to the ER if the pain came back. By the time I had that pain again, I had read someone else's account of a GB attack here on VST and realized what had happened. After that I had almost constant aching pain that increased in intensity until it felt like I was being constantly stabbed through with a sword until I had my GB out in February, 2013.

I started at 352 and am currently in the 240's (242 this morning). My ultimate goal is 190, I'm 5'8 if that helps.

I don't know if it will help with the loose skin, but I've been practicing "horse stance", which is a tae kwon do move for several weeks now and I'm seeing improvement in the muscle tone on my inner thighs and glutes (butt muscles). I've also just started a 30 day squat challenge that was posted on FB. We'll see what the results are.

You should be able to drive yourself that far 5 days out unless you're on pain meds. I drove myself home from about 30 miles away two days after surgery on fairly busy roads, although they were all pretty straight roads. My surgery sites took about six weeks for the last one to heal completely over. The site where my drain was took the longest to heal and I wasn't allowed to swim or tub bathe until that was done. Good luck!!

I had to wait almost 9 months for my gallbladder surgery after it was determined that it WAS my gallbladder causing my problems. I started out taking Tylenol for pain, then progressed to Vicodin and Percoset just to be able to work on a daily basis... and I was taking 4-8 pills a day even though I am adamantly opposed to pain meds in any form. That's how bad my pain was by the time my GB was removed. If I had a choice, I'd get the GB out asap. Those pain meds are not cheap and, without insurance, you might be hurting because you can't afford/don't want to purchase those meds. FYI, I flushed ALL the pain meds I had in the house two days after my GB was removed because I was worried about the possibility of addiction and because I wasn't in actual pain anymore. I was in the hospital less than six hours from pre-op check in to discharge by my doctor. I ate a cabbage roll about an hour after surgery with no ill effects. It was probably the first real meat I had eaten in weeks because all meat made me sick for several weeks pre-op. Good luck!

I think that the gallbladder should probably be discussed with one's surgeon before WLS. I actually spoke to my doctor about removal of the GB before I had my VSG and we decided against it. 18 months later, I was back on his table for the removal. And, by the time he took mine out, it was a relief to have the GB gone! I didn't take any of the meds that are supposed to help preserve the GB, mostly because my surgeon doesn't have much confidence that those meds help at all. Based on the pain that disappeared after my GB removal, I think I was having GB problems long before I had my sleeve done. Since I never had stones, though, no one recognized them as GB problems. I rank the GB removal right up there with my sleeve as the best things to ever happen to me.

I definitely see a huge difference in how other people treat me now, too. It's interesting to see how others react, particularly men, because I was "invisible" for years as well. I've been lucky to have a couple of really good friends who keep pointing out to me that I am worthy of all the attention I'm getting (and always was worthy of it), and who have helped me deal with the head issues that come with the attention. I'm taking a martial arts class now (and dating the teacher, lol). I truly expected the other students to dread working with me because I'm older and "so big", but instead they seem to be anxious to work with me on stretches and sparring. The teacher told me that it's because I'm a "hot chick", but I think he might be a bit biased in my favor. Either way, it's really nice not to have people assume I'm dumb or incapable just because I'm big.

I'm starting to get over that thought process where I still see myself as that really fat woman. It's taken some time, though. A combination of things have helped: seeing a therapist for my head issues, taking lots of pictures, and spending time around a lot of supportive people. I have posted my pics all over facebook, as much for journal purposes as to let distant relatives know how I'm doing. For me the biggest changes came mentally from seeing what kind of attention other people give me. I've had a 30 year old firefighter (hot, hot, hot!) telling me how great my butt looks for months. That has been inspirational, to say the least. Between him and his girlfriend, they have convinced me that I look really good. She's a gorgeous girl, IMO, inside and out, and she spent a couple of hours one afternoon shopping with me. What convinced me that I'm actually NOT that fat woman was that we were trying on the same sizes of clothes, with her literally handing me a pair of pants she had just tried on that were too tight and when I tried them on, they fit perfectly. That was a huge AHA moment for me. Sometimes it takes something shocking to get it through my head. But, I still sometimes expect the "Fat Police" to come send me back to the plus size section in the stores! LOL

As others have said, check with your doctor first. There are a couple of things to keep in mind with exercise early post op, including how much "food" you're actually able to take in right now. You don't want to burn up all the calories you can consume and end up light-headed or passed out on the elliptical. You also want to be sure you're able to get in your full water goal before you start exercising hard so that you don't end up dehydrated for the same reasons. A friend of mine who is recently sleeved decided to start running at less than two weeks out and managed to reopen one of her incisions, leaving her at risk for infection. Ask your doctor, but I was prohibited from any exercise except walking and very light (2 pound) weights until at least six weeks post op. Good luck!!

I started walking and very light weights (2 lbs) a couple of days after surgery. I was almost completely unable to walk pre-op, so I literally walked up and down my hallway in my apartment until I felt ready to tackle the great outdoors. About 3 weeks post-op I walked around the lake in my apartment complex and felt like Rocky! Start slow and build up and you'll be running a 5k, then a marathon, in no time!

Are you tracking your food on My Fitness Pal or another app? If not, start tracking. It's possible you're eating more than you think you're eating, although that's pretty difficult at only 4 months post-op. How much weight did you want to lose initially? If you're in the lower BMI category, it takes longer to lose the weight than those of us who were knocking on 50 or above. Also, you could be building muscle and shape-shifting rather than losing pounds if you're exercising a lot. Have you taken your measurements? If not, today is a great day to do that and then start tracking your measurements over time. You may find that you're losing inches rather than pounds at this point. Good luck!!

Between the liquid diet and the ghrelin removal, I couldn't stand sweet stuff for quite a while post surgery. I like chocolate and some sweets now, but it's a whole different level of "like" than it was pre-op. I can take it or leave it for the most part. I'm actually on a mission now to de-sugar my life completely on the advice of my surgeon. He claims that sugar is by far the worst ingredient in the American diet and I definitely see his point. I don't crave fatty foods, but I definitely crave sugar for days when I allow it into my diet.

For me, it was the elliptical. It has firmed up my butt and legs tremendously. I was doing 30 minutes a day on the exercise bike and slowly changed that 30 minutes into elliptical time. As soon as I hit 30 minutes daily on the elliptical, I started noticing a firmer tush. Weights have done a tremendous job on my arms, but the elliptical has, by far, changed my overall shape. I would think running would have similar results, but I have bad knees, so running isn't on my agenda yet.