Webchickadee

I have been having problems sleeping more than 3-4 hours since surgery (6+ weeks ago). It's 4:30 am right now and I went to bed at midnight. And here I am awake and on the forum! It is maddening and I've tried a variety of sleep aids without success. Even taking a prescription sleeping pill hasn't helped. I don't have trouble falling asleep, which is what most sleeping pills help with. It's staying asleep that is not working! After taking a sleeping pill or some other sleeping aid (melatonin, magnesium citrate (restless legs), etc.) I still wake up after approx. 4 hours and I'm groggy and tired, but unable to fall back asleep usually for 2+ hours. I work full time and this is "kicking my ass"!

Hmmmm......meatballs! I had some from Ikea the other day with my hubby. He was very hungry and got the chicken/rib dinner plate and then told me to get the TWENTY meatball plate. BWAHAHAHAHA. I told him I was probably going to eat FOUR of the twenty. He said "no problem", I'll eat the rest. And he did! Amazing. I can't believe how much he can eat and not gain weight (he's on a low carb, high Protein diet too, but not sleeved, obviously!). I used to be able to eat the 15 piece plate with fries and a dessert, no problem. I barely got through 4 pieces and 2 bites of veggies.

Yeah! Yes, I always look (and hope!) for a chair that has no arms. Often I'm disappointed though because there is no such choice. I choose to stand rather than try to "smush" myself into those chairs. I haven't been in a situation where I've needed to try out such a chair recently though. I'm down about 37 lbs, so who knows, maybe I too have this great NSV waiting for me to experience soon!

Fantastic picture! Look how skinny you are! I hope I have the same "surprise" reaction to my own pictures in the future.

I had my surgery with Dr. Kelly on May 14, 2012 and I went alone. My husband REALLY wanted to come, but couldn't get time off from work. I flew to San Diego on May 12 so I could get a couple of days of walking in before surgery (to avoid blood clots in my legs). It cost me 2 nights of hotel (on my own dime) in San Diego, but I was glad to pay it. On surgery day, everything was a whirlwind! I was picked up around 11 am in San Diego by Dr. Kelly's wife Cecey and by 1:30 I was in surgery! After the surgery, I spent a lot of time sleeping, and walking the halls. Honestly, I found it a relief that no one was there with me, as I would have been more concerned about making sure they were taken care of (entertained, accommodations, meals, etc.). This way, at least for a couple of days, I was able to just focus entirely on myself! I took a laptop with me and my husband and I spoke twice a day by Skype (there is free wi-fi in the hospital). Once discharged, I was kept pretty busy with Cecey and Omar. We went shopping and sightseeing, to the beach. Dr. Kelly's daughter gave me a fantastic pedicure (very professional!). Again, there was free wi-fi in the hotel, so I stayed in touch with my husband, as well as my sister and a few other friends by Skype. I watched some TV, did some more sleeping and walked around the hotel (beautiful place with a lovely pool (too bad we can't swim after surgery!)). If there's anyway you can assure both yourself and your family that you will be okay alone, you should consider going by yourself. It will allow you to totally concentrate on yourself (probably for the first time in a VERY long time). As soon as you are home again, you will be back to the demands of being a mom, a wife, etc. and as much as everyone will want to help you recover and heal, you really won't get the alone time you could have right after surgery. Trust me on this.......it is quite decadent....and much appreciated once your return to your normal life!

Dear, the first thing you need to do is BREATHE! You've got 5 weeks. You can do this! - Buy yourself some Protein drinks (either Ready-to-drink (RTD) or powder you mix yourself). You can find some at GNC, Walmart, costco, etc. Then start your day with a shake. It fills you up, has no sugars (read your labels before you buy! And buy ones with sweetners and/or stevia, not sugar). Protein Drinks help keep you feeling full and less hungry, give you protein to keep your muscles intact and help you lose fat. - Cut back or cut out (if you can) all deep fried foods, fast foods, bread, candy, chocolate, sugar, juices, and pop (even diet pop). - Join a website that helps you log your daily food intake (such as MyFitnessPal, Livestrong, Sparkpeople, etc.) and LOG EVERY BITE that goes into your mouth. Weigh your food (when you can) so you know how much your eating (estimating is notoriously inaccurate). You will be surprised at how much you eat in a day, and how many of those are "empty calories". This will help you get the "carb demon" off your back, jumpstart your weight loss and get you started developing the good habits you will need to be successful with your VSG. - And start drinking LOTS AND LOTS of Water. You can add Crystal Light or Mio to the water to make it more appealing. But drink at least 64 oz (8 cups) of water a day. Other important steps to help you success with the pre-op loss (and post-op new way of life) include: - purging your house of all "bad" Snacks (chips, chocolate, sugary cereals, pastries, ice cream, nachos, etc.) - buy yourself a larger water bottle and remember that you have to drink "X" bottles a day to be on track for Fluid intake. Drink all day long, you will be doing that after your surgery. Get in the habit now. - DO NOT have "food funerals" to say goodbye to the foods you love. You don't have to say goodbye! You will be able to eat anything you want after your surgery once you've recovered and are well on your way towards your goal weight. So no need to have any "last suppers"! You'll just be eating those "old favourites" in small quantities (that will FILL YOU UP!). - Exercise! You don't have to join a gym or run marathons (though later on you just might like that idea!). For now, just try walking. If you find that boring, find a friend to walk with, get a pedometer (I use a FitBit) to motivate and challenge yourself. You can even walk at the Mall if it's too hot where you live (just leave your wallet/purse in the car, or those walks turn into shopping, and not exercise!) YOU CAN DO THIS! 5 weeks is a reasonable time to lose 10 lbs. I lost 11 lbs in 2 weeks on a liquid diet before my surgery (my doctor demanded it to make sure my liver shrunk, for a safe surgery). It was TOUGH, I won't kid you, especially the first 7 days when I was craving carbs like crazy. But by the time my surgery came along, my liver was perfect (my doctor told me after the surgery was complete) and it was 11 lbs less that I had to lose post-op! YOU CAN DO THIS! Make a plan, be committed, be serious. And tell anyone who lives with you what you are doing. Ask for their support and help to keep the "bad stuff" away from you so you are not tempted, and to encourage the important positives you needs, such as moving your body, and drinking fluids. YOU CAN DO THIS!

Oh yes, I agree. I need some "good" carbs! I was craving some yesterday, believe me! I was just trying something a little radical to change things up. I'll be back on regular carbs (trying to say around 40 or less per day). I'm approx. 6 weeks post-op so I'm hesitant to be throwing salad into my diet just yet, in case it's too soon to be digesting raw veggies. But I LOVE Caesar salads, and I'll be looking forward to them in a few weeks, for sure! Also, bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh fruit. YUM! I have done deviled eggs though (made with wasabi mustard!) and they were great, fast and yummy!

So after 11 long days, I've finally broken my first post-op stall! I've been stuck at 283.3 lbs for 11 days. This was after 11 lbs lost pre-op (2 week liquid diet) and 24.5 lbs lost post-op (in about 4.5 weeks). I guess I was a bit later than the oft-mentioned "3rd week stall"! Today I am 282.2 lbs! Okay, not a huge drop, but after 11 days of the same (+/- 0.2 lbs), it's very encouraging! Now I know I have nothing to really complain about. Others on the board have suffered stalls of 6 weeks or more early on. Mine was only a week and a half. And I'm averaging 4.4 lbs/week loss (including pre-op diet), which is FANTASTIC! It's just really heartening to see the scale move downward again, even if it's only a bit. I did something drastic yesterday to try to change things up. I went on a 100% carb-free day. It's alot harder than I thought! I ate only things I thought were really carb-free (eggs, chicken, cheese, shrimp) and yet I still managed to ingest 3g of carbs (according to MyFitnessPal). I don't know if that "experiment" had anything to do with my stall being broken, or if it was just the right timing and it would have changed on its own. I also doubled my walking yesterday too, from about 2 miles to nearly 4 miles. Either way, I'll take it! Back on my happy track and looking forward to a continued downward trend!

My father is also a diabetic (not very compliant, unfortunately, but heck he's 84 now and I figure if he wants some sweets at his age, he should have it!). He also has hypertension, and my mother had breast and lung cancer. I am a train wreck waiting to happen! Or at least I was.....now with my sleeve, I think I have a fighting chance to stave off a lot of these impending health disasters (I hope!). The best NSVs ever, in my books!

Oh happy joy! I am on the 11th day of my first stall (6 weeks post-op) and it's frustrating! I know it will end. It HAS to end, no one can sustain 283 lbs body on 600 calories a day. But when?? LOL. Thanks for the encouragement. It's great to hear that "there is light at the end of the tunnel".....and that it's not just an on-coming train. Congrats on your progress. Super, fantastic!

I am FAR from "onederland"....I only just got to "tooterville" (in the 200's rather than 300's)! But you better believe I'll be posting a HUGE post when I hit that. I haven't been in "onederland" since I was 18 years old (I'm 42 now!). I'm on a 1 week stall right now and it's hard to keep motivated. My husband and I agreed that it's time to forget the scale (we actually use the WiiFit every morning when we get up). I'll revisit the scale/Wii in a week and hopefully thing will be moving by then! Sigh.

I have worn a MedicAlert braclet for 20 years. I have a number of health conditions that are potentially life-threatening (including anaphlyactic allergies to Latex, bee/wasp stings, codeine and rabbits!). I also carry an Epipen. Once I had the VSG surgery, I was considering getting a new braclet, but I already have a ton of info on mine (all my allergies, asthma, epipen, etc.). The great thing about Medic Alert is that your bracelet (or watch, or pendant, necklace, etc.) is only 1 part of the lifeline! You have a unique ID number engraved on the bracelet that identifies you, along with a 1-800 number that emergency personnel or hospital staff can call and get full details of your medical status. And also contact info, next of kin, doctors, surgeons, current meds, etc. Instead of getting a new bracelet, I updated my personal ID card in my wallet with VSG on it, no blind NG tubes, etc. Not perfect (if my purse isn't near me), but if they call the 1-800 number, they'll get all that info too. Here are some links to different country organizations: Canada Medic Alert USA Medic Alert Australia Medic Alert New Zealand Medic Alert UK Medic Alert Cyprus Medic Alert Iceland Medic Alert Malaysia Medic Alert South Africa Medic Alert Zimbabwe Medic Alert

I find that I still haven't learned to eat as slowly as I should. It takes time for the brain to register "full". In the past, the stretch receptors in your stomach would signal the brain "full" once they started to stretch. It would take some time for this to translate to the brain and then tell you "hey, getting full down here....please stop eating". In the meanwhile, you have still eaten more, but it was okay because you still had stretch capacity and could eat a few more bites without too many side effects (pain, nausea, vomiting). Now, the greater curvature of the stomach (where all our stretch capacity and most of our stretch receptors were located) is gone. Therefore, by the time your brain figures out you're full and you stop eating, you're probably already past capacity and end up feeling overfull and perhaps ill. The best way to combat this is to measure food (and weights are based primarily on dense foods such as dense Proteins, etc. not food that expands in your stomach, such as breads, etc.). As well, the second best approach is to eat slowly enough to give your brain time to catch up with what is happening with your stomach and signal you in time to stop, not after you're already full. Again, as I said, this is a very difficult skill to master! I'm still not chewing each bite enough (it's gets boring to have the same thing in your mouth for so long...mashed to a pulp!) and I still eat too fast (years of eating "on the go" and wanting to get my food in quick!).

Pdxman hit the nail right on the head! I had an analysis done years ago at the Running Room and found out that I am a significant pronator. As a result, I bough some "motion control" shoes that helped support my foot in the correct neutral position. This will be particularly important for you because you are walking on gravel, which tends to increase foot slippage and make you work harder to maintain proper balance. If your shoes are well fitted and the right support type for your gait, you will be more steady on your feet and prevent injury and repetitive stress on your ankle, knee and hip joints.

There are many reasons you may feel "hungry". You might have excess acid production. The acid can causing a "hunger" sensation, and as it moves further up the esophagus, will then lead to true heart burn and pain. If this is the case, using an acid reducer, or proton pump inhibitor (PPI) such as Prilosec (Omeprazole) can be VERY useful. I take a 20 mg Omeprazole tablet 2 x per day and it keeps things nicely under control for me. As well, the most likely culprit for hunger is "head hunger". This is where your brain is telling you that you want/need/crave something that your stomach and body will not end up agreeing with. And it's usually in much larger quantities that we can handle now that our stomachs are so tiny. Your brain, and mouth, are used to ingesting much larger quantities (as we did in the past....that's how we got here.......no portion control!). Now, when you put just a few bitefuls of food on your plate, it makes your brain scream "WTF....you can't live on that.....come on, pile it up baby". That leads to overeating our stomach capacity, pain, nausea, etc. It takes months to learn what your real capacity is. I'm only a 5 weeks out and I've bought too much food nearly every week, and had to throw things out. I was putting too much on my plate (I thought I could handle 4 oz...and barely made it through 2 oz!). My new favourite weapon is my digital scale. I weigh EVERYTHING and keep my total meal at about 3 oz. Not only does this prevent me from overeating and feeling just horrible afterwards (pain, nausea, etc.), but I can accurately enter everything into my food log (I use MyFitnessPal) and monitor exactly how many grams of Protein, carbs, fat, etc. I am consuming. Get yourself a scale and starting weighing everything. You'll quickly learn to "eyeball" the right quantities for yourself. You don't mention how far out you are post-op. In the first few months, your capacity is constantly changing. In the first month, the swelling is still going down (and therefore your capacity is increasing). In the next few months, you're learning what foods you tolerate well and how much, and which give you problems. It's shifting landscape and you have to learn to "roll with the punches" for a while. It does get easier!

The first thing you will learn is that "there is no normal". LOL Everyone reacts differently to the surgery and has differing levels of healing, tolerance, etc. If you are able to take sips 10 seconds apart and feel good afterwards, I say CELEBRATE! That's awesome! Fullness makes sense because your stomach is SUPER TINY right now. With post-op swelling, it may only be 1-2 ounces in capacity at the moment. And it may take a week or more for that to swelling to reduce enough for you to increase your Fluid intake capacity and frequency. The most important thing you can do right now is carefully follow your doctor's instructions, stay hydrated and give yourself plenty of time to heal. At whatever rate your body dictates. And feel free to ask questions here. We're happy to help. You might think about using the SEARCH box (top right hand corner of the page) to see if your question has been posted before. Probably, it has been, and many helpful answers already given. Soak up the knowledge. There's a TON of it on this site! Good luck!

I'm 5 weeks out and just in the midst of my first stall. Only 6 days now, but it is worrisome that maybe I won't lose any more weight. Stupid head game! Of course I will lose more weight! I can't maintain my current weight (283 lbs) on 600-700 calories a day. Sheer lunacy! But my emotional self is worried. I'll get through this....and should probably stay off the scale for a while to stop "psyching myself out".

This sounds great! It's still too much food for me (I'm only about 5 weeks out), so I would probably only eat about 1/2 of it. But that means more left-overs for the next day! I'll give it a try on the weekend! Thanks!

So sorry you had that experience! 4 more weeks of liquids would drive me insane. But think of how much weight you'll lose (....looking for the upside here....). As to being a cheap date...I told my husband I'm the cheapest date ever now. He doesn't have to buy me a drink (I'd get bombed on 1/2 an alcoholic drink now, I'm sure). And if I was REALLY hungry, he could take me to costco on "sample" day. It would be like a buffet, and I'd be full after about 3 tasting stations! LOL. Cheapest date EVER.

I think the intention is well-meaning. I've been trying to get my husband to come to the YMCA with me to go for a swim. He really needs to start working on his leg strength as he's supposed to have a knee replacement in the next 10 months or so. He's on a low-carb diet now (we both are, LOL, but I have the advantage of having my sleeve!). And he wants to lose about 75 lbs. But at the moment he's very unhappy with his body and is too embarrassed to go to the Y! So there's proof that guys have the same body-image issues as we ladies do.....this "no skinnys allowed" policy would give him the peace of mind to go to the gym and start working on his health. All that being said though, I agree. It is reverse discrimination, and it absolutely is ironic that the members would essentially be working hard to get themselves "kicked out" of the gym.

We all have so many factors that impact how our skin will react to weight loss: our age (younger is better for skin elasticity and recovery post WLS) amount of excess weight (if you're only 50-60 lbs overweight, you have a better chance of no excess skin than if you're 100-150 lbs overweight) skin damage (due to smoking, sunlight exposure, chronic dehydration, etc.) genetics (some people are blessed in the genetic lottery.....the rest of us just have to deal with being "runner's up") number of years we've been obese (the longer the skin is stretched out, the harder it is for it to recover its original form - think of a balloon) I have been overweight since I was about 11 years old (I'm 42 now). For the last 10 years I have been in the 300 lb range (HW - 330 lbs). I KNOW that with that long history of morbid obesity, my age and the locations of my greatest fat concentration (legs/buttocks/stomach/breasts/arms), that I will require EXTENSIVE plastic surgery intervention. My greatest concern is how I'm going to pay for it, as it will be all on my own tab. And of course, I'd like to avoid so many general anaesthetics and long recover periods post-surgery. But I know I will at the LEAST require an abdominoplasty and brachioplasty. Then if there's any money left, I might get a lower body lift or get my inner and outer thighs done. Some surgeon's going to LOVE me when I walk in the door. ($$$ signs flashing before his eyes!) LOL

I find it amusing, (and in a strange way, a validation of my success to date), that my BMs are quite small and only every few days. Prior to surgery, I was probably eating between 2500-3500 calories a day (with some MEGA days that were probably easily over 5,000!). I used to have very "substantial" BMs and if I weighed myself before and after (as it sometimes happened.....not because I was monitoring...LOL), there could be a couple of pounds in that BM! Crazy! Just more proof that I was WAY overeating what my body needed, and working my digestive system in overdrive just to keep up with my intake! In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the benefits of the VSG (in combination with a radically more healthy diet) is a measurable difference in the rate of colon cancer! Another reason I'm so glad I had this surgery!

I tried half of a Strub's Full Sour Kosher Dill pickle with my lunch today (i had 2 slices of cooked ham, 1 melba toast, 1 wedge Light Laughing Cow cheese). It tasted wonderful, but gave me some mild stomach pain. That was 20 min ago and now I'm just fine. I think I might have eaten too fast, and the pain wasn't related to the pickle at all! I'll try it again another day (without the Melba toast next time, and slower!) and let you know how it goes. Yummmmy! (Especially if there really isn't any discomfort!) I am a bit more than 5 weeks post-op and on full foods (with caution, and as tolerated)

I completely agree with Wheetsin about the likelihood of having either lung(s) or heart "nicked" during surgery. Your heart would bleed so profusely the surgeon would not have been able to see anything in the surgical field. If you "nicked" a lung, it would collapse (even a small tear would do that) and the anesthetist would have seen that immediately during surgery, based on many indicators (reduced lung volume, increased airway resistance, lower oxygenation/pulse oximetry, deviated trachea, pneumothorax, etc.). As mentioned, it could possibly be a pocket of infection due to poor reinflation of your lungs post-op. That could be pneumonia and needs treatment immediately. It could also be trapped gas, as has also been suggested. If you are concerned, and CERTAINLY if the pain feels as if it is in the heart, please go to the nearly ER department and get it looked at. If everything checks out fine, you will rest and recover much better with peace of mind. And if they find something, they can fix you up and get you back on the road to recovery! Good luck and let us know how it goes.

I think that ship has sailed. As far as I can tell, Pipula had her surgery in April 2012! Pipula, don't despair. Statistics never tell the whole story! Those number encompass everyone who has had the surgery. Some followed the program to a "T" and did super well. Probably losing 100% of their excess weight. Others fell off the program early on and may have only lost 30% of their excess weight (or less). It's like it was when you were in school. The class average might have been 72% for History in your grade 10 class. But there were probably 10 students that got high 90s and probably 10 students that didn't even come close to passing the class. Overall, the "average" was 72% So the harder you work (just like those 90%ers probably did in the History class), the better your chance for success! Keep to your doctor's orders, always eat Protein first, then veg, then carb (if there's any room left!). Drink LOTS and LOTS of fluids, and move that body.....every day, in some way! You can reach your goal weight......so many many people on this Forum have done it and even lower than their original goals. And they were facing the same statistics as you are now. They didn't let that scare them. They decided they were going to be on the top end of that "bell curve". You can be there too. Keep working hard, keep the faith and be patient. We didn't get obese overnight, we won't get healthy and down to normal BMIs overnight either. But we can get there with perseverance, determination and hard work.