Birdy18

I had my surgery on July 10th. I had three full weeks of thin and thick liquids and am moving into the pureed stage (FINALLY). For me the physical aspect of the surgery has been going very well. I am healing great, my surgical glue and scabs have all fallen off and I am starting vitamin E oil to minimize the scarring. I do have some problems in the morning. I am tired, a bit turned off of eating or drinking anything, and feel yucky overall. I have been told that it is my body adjusting to my new smaller stomach and that it will pass. I did feel better this morning than I have in the past week and a half.

My biggest struggle is the emotional rollercoaster that followed the surgery. The day after I was released I was sent to the emergency room with as it turns out...severe panic attacks. I only found this out after 18 hours in ER and another trip via ambulance the next day. Three weeks out and I still have mild panic attacks, but they get better each day. Xanax helps a lot. I went from taking 3 a day when first diagnosed to just one a day (yeah me!).

The other side of this for me was the sadness and depression. I was depressed before my surgery due to the emotional trauma of being obese, but after the surgery I started to have depression spirals...bad ones. I would cry several times a day, I couldn't think positive to save my life. I went to both my doctor and a psychologist and they said that emotional turbulence is normal the first couple of weeks to a couple of months. Part of it is due to the fact that I just hit my life physically and emotionally with a big Mack truck, my relationship to food which had been a security blanket to me had changed, and as fat is consumed by the body the stores of estrogen in the fat is released causing more moodiness.

The biggest hurtle I have faced is dealing with "buyer’s remorse". Knowing that my life will NEVER be the same again can be very scary, but I know in the end it will be wonderful. I just have to get past what I am calling "hell weeks" After upping my antidepressants a little bit; I am getting better at focusing on all the benefits that are heading my way as a result of the surgery. It will be a long road, but I know that the emotional turmoil is perfectly normal, and above all...temporary. I just take it one day at a time.

Heyyy Everyone wow its been a while since ive been on here! Lets see Things have been crazy this past year. I hit my goal weight of 135lbs back in February and now im 128 lbs as of this morning. I feel like i have so much more energy than i did in the beginning of this amazing journey! I want to stay healthy and keep up on my exercise routine. I noticed that exercising and the use of a corset have helped me keep from having a lot of excess skin i mean i still have a bit but it helps alot!

Hey,
Just want to say this site has been my godsend. I have never gravitated to something so effortlessly before. I could read and respond to posts all day. I feel like I can be emotionally naked here. It is give and take. I love VST. I am on FB but I don't post. I am on Twitter but I don't tweet. I encourage newbies to really utilize this site. I know when i had Lapband, I went to their forum but it never resonated with me. I am thankful for Alex for providing us a forum to share. I've had the opportunity to communicate with several people who are having surgery by with same surgeon. I mean, perhaps if I was at surgeon's office I could have had a general conversation with someone in the reception area but lets get real, people are not going to share like they do on this site.
 
Happy soon to be loser, Michelle

I am one month out today, and I am so pleased with my sleeve so far. I have really recovered well and so far I have lost 11.2 kgs or 24 lbs
 
I tried on some clothes yesterday so i could work out size-wise what i need to keep and chuck out and was SO pleasantly surprised that I will have to buy new clothes sooner than I thought.
 
I'm still swimming about 6 days a week and I'm really getting in lots of protein, some days I'm even over 100 grams.
 
I have a few issues with BM but have found a helpful laxative tea, I am still a little sore if I try and lift something I shouldn't and getting in water is a bit of a chore.
 
However, my recovery as been so smooth, I really have nothing to worry about. I really think my surgeon Dr Abdulsalman Al Taie did a fantastic job, my incisions have closed up so quickly and my soreness has been extremely minimal- he went in ,cut , stapled and got out with very little trauma to my insides. I am thankful I don't have nausea at all, or acid issues.
I think I can safely say I LOVE MY SLEEVE!

I officially under 280. i stepped on the scale this morning and i was 278. Wow 72 pounds lost. if you count pre op weight 92 pounds. I have been doing a hundred pushups a day and i feel like that is very beneficial. love you guys

Yes, today is 1 month out of surgery. And what have I learned? And how much have I lost?
 
What I've learned is.............I don't know how much I've lost and just don't care to watch the scale. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was FUN to watch that scale like a hawk for the first couple of weeks. The pounds literally melted away over night.
 
And then..........I hit the stall.......and got scared.
 
Met with my surgeon 3 weeks post op and was immediately questioning him. He reviewed what I was eating and told me to EAT.......yes, EAT. His words were "quit worrying about calories and just eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full." Of course, he followed with the guidance to eat sensibly, if I consumed milk shakes all day I certainly would stop losing weight and start gaining............ok
 
So I've learned 1) don't be stupid, eat girl! 2) be active, the more I move the more I want to, and 3) give up the old habit.
 
See, the old habit of counting every single bite that went into my mouth and watching the scale like a hawk got me in this situation in the first place. It was a vicious cycle.....eat strictly - not the results I anticipated, back to trash intake - increase in weight, feel like I don't deserve good things so punish myself by either starving or binging on garbage, slap myself back into reality and back on the diet band wagon........and so on and so forth.
 
So I am measuring my success in this journey (at this point) by how my digestive track is functioning (if I eat enough food, I poop w/o problems), how my clothes are fitting, how my face and hair are looking, and how I'm feeling. I'm down a full size in jeans......and the smaller ones fit just right, not to tight, but not saggy bottom either. My bras fit differently. My daughter noticed I have a waist. My hair is not falling out (I must admit, I remain a dedicated consumer of the Unjury protein shakes daily), my skin on my face looks better than it has in years (less puffy) and I am beginning to rediscover my old energy. I like moving. I don't hurt after I walk or do a little weight resistance work.....and I don't hate exercise any more.
 
Not sure when I'll step on a scale again.........and not really stressing about it is an unbelievable release from a life long burden!