minaleigh

This happened to me after I took liquid children's tylenol, grape flavor, after surgery. I swear it was pure syrup. Not even 15 minutes after I had taken it, I had a severe hot flash (and it was winter!) and felt swelled up. Had to rush to the bathroom...

I've lost about 90 pounds total and I can tell that some people treat me different. I work in a customer service type job and customers treat me slightly better, or at least it seems like they do. If I was sitting in a classroom or anywhere with a bunch of seats, before no one would sit next to me if they had a choice. If there were two seats open, 90% of the time they wouldn't pick the one by me. Now, people seem to actually choose to sit by me more often now. To be honest though, I am slightly more confident than I was before. But sometimes I still feel self-conscious when sitting in class, pulling at my shirt to hide my almost non-existent rolls and I still want to sit in the back so people won't look at me. One awesome thing is that more guys are flirting with me. Before if I was with my friend, they would automatically flock to her. I'm not saying they flock to me now, but at least they don't completely ignore me!

I pretty much drink normally again as well. It's really helpful on a hot day or when you haven't had a drink in a while! Though I have found out that I can't take more than three gulps in a row as it tends to make my stomach feel weird and sloshy.

So far, I have gone from a 42DD to a 38C, almost B. I can pretty much fit my boobs in the palm of my hands easily now, *sigh*. I wouldn't have minded to lose them so much if my body would just keep up! Lol. I'm disproportioned because I have huge hips and thighs that it basically makes me look flat-chested! I can't really wear an undershirt with a built-in bra because it just smashes them down...

NSV means Non-Scale Victory. Basically anything that you couldn't do or have happen to you before when you were heavier.

To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what you're asking. Is NP a nurse practitioner? Is health first your insurance? And what letter are you talking about?

Barely squeezed in (pun intended!) into the criteria for this topic. From surgery until final goal, I want to lose 123 pounds, from 273 to 150. Nice, neat number. As of now I've lost 72 pounds in the past 6.5 months, so about 10-12 pounds a month on average thus far. The past couple months it has drastically slowed down. The first month I lost something like 25 pounds and last month I only lost 8. I was hoping that since I was young, that my skin would "bounce back" more nicely. Sadly, it hasn't. I now truly believe it when they say a lot of it is genetics. My mom was over 300 pounds and had the gastric bypass when she was 28, and they had to remove 11 pounds of excess skin on her stomach. My stomach area isn't that bad, just a little pooch. It's my thighs (both inner and outer) and arms that are horrible. I feel self-conscious wearing a tank top (I still do wear them, since it's so hot out) and am trying to do arm exercises to tone that area. I have a feeling board shorts are going to forever be my future swimsuit of choice when it comes to my thighs. My ticker states my birthday goal of onederland, that is under 200 pounds, by my birthday which is in August. Now if only those last two stubborn pounds will come off to make that happen! I've been flucuating between 201 and 205 the past month. I wanted to be at my final goal by my one year surgiversary, but I don't think it'll happen unless my body decides that we're in this together and wants to cooperate!

You could also be still in the throes of the inevitable 3 week stall. You're a month out, but you could have started the stall at 3 weeks out. Mine lasted about a week and a half. That could be why, as well.

What my question pretty much means, do you catch yourself doing something that you couldn't otherwise do before when you were heavier? One example for me is constantly rubbing my newly discovered collar bones. I don't remember the last time I could see them. Now I catch myself poking and prodding and just generally being amazed I have these bones! Lol. Another thing is when I first realized I did something when my friend came over. She was on the couch and as I was talking to her I sat down Indian style on my recliner, as if I've been able to do it all this time! I've never been able to sit like that comfortably, even on a spacious surface. It always felt like it strained my muscles or that I looked like an exploding sausage with everything hanging out. It was a great feeling to be able to do something so... normal... without thinking and not feeling exposed and uncomfortable. How about you guys? I know it's a pretty random question, but I'm curious!

Congrats! You're doing so well! And she probably does mean Protein. It's the priority when it comes to food. shakes help too, though!

Thanks for the responses guys! I think I am going to try the adding 30 seconds every time thing. I've always had it on the lowest resistance, but I didn't think to stop using the arm lever things. I just know that whenever I get off, my legs feel like jelly! Definitely shouldn't do it right before work.

Okay, so I've always heard that the elliptical is supposed to be better than a treadmill for being lower impact. So why is it that I can run (okay... jog...) just fine on the treadmill but literally feel like I'm going to die after two minutes on the elliptical? I tore up my knee when I was younger so I figured it would be better, but after not even a lap I feel like I ran a marathon! I know that probably means I'm getting a better workout, but I'd rather not be the still-fat girl huffing and puffing after only two minutes on the dang thing! Lol. Some people on here swear by the elliptical and can go for 30-45 minutes without stopping, or even 15-20 minutes for some people around my weight. Am I just doing it wrong? Should I suck it up and just power through it even though if feels like I'm going to have a heart attack? Should I just stick to my trusty treadmill and bike?

I told everyone at my support group meeting (the ones that had the sleeve) about this wonderful forum.

For the love of all that is holy, do NOT eat too fast! This is the main cause for why I have vomited. It's easier when I'm alone than socially eating, surprisingly enough. Some people have an easier time when eating with friends or family because they're engaged in conversation, but I find myself eating faster because I don't focus and pay attention. I went out to a buffet for the first time last week. I fell into an old habit of always grabbing a roll with my meal. That was basically a $6 roll as I couldn't eat anything else, lol. I am definitely a carb-fiend. Some people can drink with or right after their meal. I was told by my doctor to not drink 30 minutes before and after a meal. I pretty much drink up to the meal, but I do have to wait afterwards. It just hurts too much to drink and I can almost feel like my stomach is literally expanding after drinking too soon. Also, I loved apples before surgery. Now they make my stomach gurgle and cause discomfort. I haven't tried eating them peeled, but having the skin on them makes my stomach fight me.

"It's been one week since you looked at me..." Sorry, couldn't resist. Congrats on being sleeved, and being down 35 pounds total!

I used mine for the very first time a few days ago and I had my surgery in November. I was taking my dad out for his birthday and he wanted to go to a buffet. I just showed the cashier my card and she gave me the kid's price, which was half the cost. I've eaten out a number of times since surgery, but usually I order an appetizer and eat some later. If I go out with my mom, we share a meal because she had the bypass 30+ years ago so she can't eat a lot either. I've never ordered off the kids menu because they usually don't have the best things to choose from. And Enerfina, my surgeon gave me mine right before my surgery. He hands them out to all his patients. I'm sure if you ask yours, he/she can give you some sort of card or note.

You'll do better next time! I went out to eat the other day and started feeling a weird pain in my chest. Apparently I was sipping my Water through a straw for at least 15 minutes before I realized it. Oops. Some people here still use straws and they have no problems with them. I can't seem to do the same, though.

For the completed patient profile, does every detail have to be filled out? For instance, I don't remember when my first doctor appointment was or what the exact cost of my surgery, so I didn't put it down. Will it still count?

Apples don't necessarily hurt my stomach, but they sure do give me the gurgles. My university's cafeteria is seriously lacking so the only thing I can really buy for lunch without feeling guilty is an apple. I can't really peel it so I just eat it as is. I've been given strange looks because of how loud apples make my stomach sound.

I made the mistake of drinking too quickly after eating once at work. I ate some deli meat while on break and about 15 minutes later I took several large drinks of water (I have to talk a lot at work so I get thirsty easily). I ended up having to run to the bathroom to throw up. I was about 6 weeks post-op and am now 5 months. I do take a couple sips of water throughout my meal, especially if it's spicy/hot or it feels like something is caught.

It took me a while to drop one size. I pretty much skipped over 20s in under a month though. I'm currently about 5 months post-op and down from a 24 to a 16 (according to Old Navy ). I buy shirts from Goodwill or clearance from Wal-Mart and my mom and aunt give me old pairs of their pants that are too big for them. I can't wait until I'm finally smaller than my mom! My mom also gave me some of her old bras because I've gone from a 42DD to a 38C (I'm guessing, because I measured it myself). I need to go get a proper bra fitting done and buy at least two pairs of nice, underwire bras because the ones my mom gave me are just plain and don't really lift up the girls. I'm thinking I'll just buy a size where it's somewhat tight at the loosest band hooks so that way I can keep tightening it as I lose weight.

I never had to do a sleep study pre-op (my doctor didn't require it because of my age) but for some reason I've always wanted to do some sort of one. But that's mainly because it'd be cool if they mapped out my brain patterns/activity while I slept because I have the craziest dreams, lol.

I was actually just thinking about this sort of thing earlier! I was wearing an old shirt that is now baggy on me. I looked at an old picture of me wearing the same shirt and it... uhh... showed my rolls in a not-so nice way. I just sat there thinking, "why did I ever think I looked good in that? Was I in that much denial that I couldn't see how big I have gotten? Did anyone tell me I was getting so big, or did I just not listen?" On Friday, my friends and I did a photo shoot and I was looking at the pictures yesterday and even though I've lost almost 80 pounds total, I *still* look pretty big. It was a wake-up call because I've been feeling pretty skinny lately (yes, even at 212ish pounds and still in the obese bmi range ) and to see the truth in those pictures... ugh. My arms and thighs are huge and my second chin still isn't completely gone! It's disconcerting sometimes, but it's good to knock to some sense into myself.

There was a 4-part special on... TLC I think called My 600 Pound Life. It followed 4 people through 7 years after their gastric bypass and what they went through. I'll admit I cried a couple of times. Even though you're not as heavy as they were, I recommend watching it.

Non-scale victory.