frpringle

Thank you everyone. Things have been better. We normally don't have junk food in the house to begin with, but since we had family come in, there was a lot of stuff left over and was there during this whole ordeal. My son is doing very well though, and I have been being busy to keep my mind off of it all. Too busy I guess because I went from eating "comfort" foods to basically forgetting to eat all together. I've been trying to make sure I have something with my while I'm out, and if I do stop somewhere I grab a side salad from Wendy's and just add some grilled chicken to it. Things have been better

I am on the Mirena IUD. My surgery is on May 1st. I haven't had a period in over 6 months, so does this mean once I have my surgery I will get my period

More than likely. That's the IUD I have and before surgery, I hadn't had a period for close to a year, and it's right on schedule now. Mine is slowly lightening up and going away again though. The first time it started after surgery, it really freaked me out though, b/c I hadn't had a period like that since I was in high school and I had actually forgot what it felt like.

I have an IUD as well, and I've had a period since my 2nd month out. They haven't been very crazy, but I normally don't have them so the fact that they started again is a title disappointing lol.

My 3 year old son was attacked by a new dog that we got just over a week ago. The dog is no longer at our house and my son will make a full recovery, but the stress of what "could of" happened is really really hard for me to get past. My 5 year old son was able to come get my husband before too much damage had been done. My 3 year old has a lot of bruising all over his body, mostly to his face, lacerations all over his face, and the worst of it was that his right ear was completely detached from the the back and only connected by the skin on the front. I was not home when this happened, I was at school. I am just having such a hard time dealing with it, and I'm having trouble with staying away from old habits. I'm not overstuffing myself, but I'm leaning more towards unhealthy "comfort" foods, which have just been making me feel so disgusting and worse. I do not want this cycle to happen again! I'm so afraid that I'm going to destroy what I have accomplished.

I'm still here! I'm crazy busy with this being the last month of the semester for me, my grandpa is about to die and I got a job, so I'm just a little crazy lately! My weight loss has slowed significantly and I think it's because of all the stress I've been under. I finally was able to get a gym membership, I just have been swamped and haven't had a chance to use it much. One more month of school for this semester though and I'm going to be right back at it! Also, my husband is hopefully going to be getting the surgery late May/early June!

Hi There,

I'm new here as of today and am loving reading about everyone's experience. I had my surgery on January 30/12. A 42 FR Bougie was used on me but I am a little concerned because the results are not what I expected. I was 360 starting off and lost 41 before surgery. 319 onsurgery day and now, almost 5 weeks post-op am still 303. Only 16 pounds gone in almost 5 weeks. Staying between 600-800 calories per day for the most part so am very surprised. I do not feel much restriction at all- no trouble eating or drinking or doing both together... can eat 5 or 6 oz fish no trouble... I don't feel like this is normal and am waiting for pain or nausea.. haven't had any. Eating mostly soft foods still, but when I read, it seems like most loose at least 30 in the first month.. I'm off to a very slow start:(

Have you talked to your doctor about it? Also, it could be what your eating too. I had a really hard time right before I scheduled my surgery and it turns out even though I was eating good foods, they weren't good for me. Everyones body is different, and some people can eat some things that others can't. For example, carrots aren't ideal for me to have as a normal staple in my diet, but dark veggies like green Beans and broccoli are. So if I eat a lot of carrots, even if I'm staying in my calories, I might not lose as much as I would if I ate more green Beans. I don't know if this will help, but I hope so! Talk to your dietician, they would have a LOT of great suggestions good luck and keep us posted!

Yes! I'm freezing ALL the time. I was always hot before, but now I'm constantly cold. I sleep with 3 comforters and several pieces of warm clothing and I never get warm. I started turning on a spare heater in my room and shutting the door before my husband comes to bed. He says it's so hot in the room it's hard for him to breath, but I still feel cold. I know I live in Michigan, but I always stay bundled and it doesn't matter. I'm sure I will eventually adjust. I've had my blood drawn lately so there's nothing wrong that they found. I'm just cold (brrrr!)

The Vitamins I take are called "It's Vital" by a company called It Works Global.

www.itworks.net

The are amazing and I love them! My surgeon was very impressed with them, as well as the dietician. I am a consultant with them, so if you need any further information, please let me know!

Benedryl is fine--just don't drive or operate heavy machinery!

Thank you!!!

I am having a lot of sinus pressure and drainage and I was just wondering if anyone knew if Benedryl was safe to take. Thanks!!

Frpringle-I'm so glad you found us. You are doing so fabulous. You are especially an inspiration to me because I think you are the only person I have seen who started with a BMI as high as mine! And look at how you are doing. 100lbs by 3 months! I got sleeved the week after you (11/14). I have lost about 75lbs (getting weighed today) and hope to hit 100# by my 5 month. It is amazing the self control you seem to have and what you are doing sure seems to be working for you. Do you even eat the chicken for Breakfast? I occasionally eat leftovers for Breakfast. I have found that my taste buds don't seem to differentiate between meals anymore. They all seem interchangeable. Plus I don't eat my first meal until 10:00 so that my eating schedule is 10-2-6 so that I can have dinner the same time as my family.

Do you exercise? I have just started a walking program my surgeon put me on. But I have to say I have taken more days off than I have actually walked. I know a lot of people here do the gym and stuff, but I am still too heavy to even think of doing anything besides walking.

I so know what you mean about not seeing any difference-i have said that here many times. When you have as much to lose as we do even 100# barely makes a noticeable difference. At least you are getting to wear a new size in pants! I wear those old lady black stretch ones that seem to fit every weight I ever am! It's also hard because I am 6' tall. I finally found that Woman Within had tall jeans up to a size 44T. One style. So I ordered a 40T and was so excited when I was able to pull them up and button them. But then I looked at the legs and they could have held an additional leg!! I don't know if they were "wide" leg pants or if my hips size is WAYYY out of proportion to my thighs, but I guess I'll have to wait until I go down a few more sizes to get a pair of jeans. I haven't worn jeans in about 12 years so that is one of the first things I am looking forward to. Even if they are a size 38!!

I havent gotten myself on a set exercise routine just because I'm usually very busy. I try to make sure I'm doing extra while I'm out running around though, like taking the stairs and parking further away from the buildings, etc. I'm doing school full-time and I know that's not an excuse for not exercising, but it's been very hard to get into the routine. Yeah, I eat chicken for breakfast lol. I don't change it up very much, just because I know it works for me and I don't feel sick after. It's boring, lol but I find that I don't get excited about food very much anymore, so eating boring doesn't bother me.

I was able to out on a pair of kakis today that I haven't been able to wear for almost 4 years now, and it felt great. I finally let my husband take a "before and after 100lbs down" picture today. I'll have to post it when I get a chance.

It sounds like you are doing amazing too! I just can't believe how much rings are changing and how fast!

I'm glad I came across this forum! I was wondering where all the 200+'ers were! I'm glad that there is a place to see other's successes, it is a big inspiration! I know I'm doing well when I step on the scale, but looking in the mirror doesn't help :confused5: . I'm excited for the day that I can look in the mirror and actually see the difference! I have been trying on a new pair of pants every month to see what I fit into, and so far I've started wearing 4 different pairs of pants that I couldn't get past my thighs before. So, I guess forget the mirror I can tell by the clothes.

I try to stay as close to 2-2.5 ounces as I can. I measure everything before I eat. I actually eat the exact same thing everyday, just because it's easier and I've found that even though I can eat the rings I used to, I feel gross afterwards, so I know if I eat my chicken and swap out lettuce/broccoli/potato for a little deviation then I'm safe. I don't lose steadily each week. I've noticed that I have 2 awesome weeks where I lose most of my weight for the month, then 2 not so great weeks where I lose little to nothing. It is a little disheartening, but I still lose 18-22 lbs per month.

I know my diet sounds pretty boring and bland, but it has worked great for me so far and I don't make myself feel ill by eating processed foods that use to make me feel sluggish and gross. I've tried just about everything that I used to eat before, at least once, just too see how it affected me now. It's strange how something you may have loved before (for me I was a nachos addict) can make you feel absolutely miserable now. I don't deny myself anything, but I can connect the feeling I have when I eat the for to my brain now, so I remember how it made me feel, and I choose not to eat it if I start feeling like I'm getting a craving.

I look forward to seeing other's posts and successes and welcome tips and suggestions!

I went through Henry Ford Wyandotte! Dr Kharbutli was my surgeon.

Awesome! It's nice to meet someone else who went through Henry Ford! I'm going with my husband next week for his orientation to looking into getting the sleeve done! Congrats on your weight loss!

My surgeon was Dr. Carlin with Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI. I was originally going through Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, and things just didn't feel right with their office. I'm sure they have wonderful surgeons, it just didn't feel like a right fit for me. A friend of mine informed me that he had the surgery a year before and had already lost 200 lbs and that he loved his surgeon and the whole team. His surgeon was Dr. Carlin as well. I'm so pleased that I changed and went through Henry Ford. I have been having amazing results (106 lbs lost total, 35 pre-op, 71 post-op, date of surgery 11/7/11) and I have a ton of support from their staff! If anyone would like any further information or suggestions about this office, please let me know. I'd recommend them to anyone and I'm so glad the God directed me to them!

Thank you for the encouragement everyone! I'm glad to report that my appointment was excellent! My labs came back so good that my surgeon wanted the information about the Vitamins that I take so he could recommend them, and also told me to completely skip my 6 month post-op appointment because he didn't feel the need to keep an eye one me. I weighed in at 98 lbs lost since I started, which meant 63 since surgery. This morning I weighed in at 106 lbs down, so as of today I've lost 71 lbs since surgery! Some weeks I lose a lot, others I don't lose at all, but I'm still going down and I'm so happy I decided to change my life!

My name is Ruth an tomorrow I go in for me 3 month post-op visit with my surgeon. I'm excited yet nervous about my progress. I started out at 449 lbs. I lost 35 before surgery and I know I have lost at least 100 lbs total. So that would be at least 65 lbs. since surgery. I am hoping that is a good weight loss, but there is always that little bit of doubt that it's not good enough. I had my surgery on Nov. 7th 2011. I had a lot of pain at the site where my stomach was removed for the first 2 weeks, which was almost completely gone by the 3rd week. I still have some pain in that spot on occasion depending on the way I bend or stretch. I am a full-time student and mother of 2 little boys. I am very excited to have found this forum and I look forward to seeing everyone's great results!