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I've had my hair dyed and relaxed several times since surgery in Oct. I haven't lost any hair and I was never told not to color my hair. I don't see what the harm would be. ETA: I get my hair lightened with peroxide and it feels so healthy because I use a very good conditioner that helps nourish my hair. My hair is midway down my back and as healthy as before surgery. Like everyone else said get in your Protein and Vitamins.

It makes me nauseous and when I burp after drinking I spit up food like a baby, GROSS! I can take a sip but if I take gulps then usually I will spit up food. I rarely eat and drink. What I learned is to drink before the meal so that I'm not thirsty soon after eating.

For menstual cramps I drink red raspberry leaf tea and I only need one cup and the cramps are gone for the remainder of my period. I noticed more craving before my period and around ovulation. I do eat more sweets around that time but as soon as my period starts my cravings and hunger go away. It evens out in the end.

Once I stopped drinking protein shakes my bowels became more regular and I'm only constipated around ovulation. Try adding some fiber powder to your water or beverages. Milk of magnesia will have you going in a couple of hours but it may cause horrible cramps. Call your doctor before taking anything, especially since your stomach is still healing.

I honestly can't think of anything that I hate about being sleeved.

Food doesn't go to waste in our house, we have a dog lol. She gets all the leftovers. I also eat off of a saucer plate because there's no point in having such tiny portions on a huge plate. At 9 months post op I've gotten used to not being able to finish all my food. The thing that I noticed is once I'm satified food no longer taste good, so I just stop eating and have zero desire to eat more.

I'm black and I haven't lost any hair and I was sleeved 9 months ago. I made sure to get in my protein and vitamins. I'm not sure if that helped but it didn't hurt. My hair is still thick and long. I've dyed and relaxed my hair several times since surgery and haven't noticed a change and haven't seen any breakage or excessive shedding.

I didn't have a drain and I only had one incision and that was inside my belly button.

LOL this reminds me of the time when a Charlie Horse sent me to the hospital. Like seriously Ambulance and everything! The firemen were cute though, so I guess it was kinda worth it It hurt so bad and all the doc did was squeeze my muscle really hard with his hand and then I was able to straighten out my leg. My leg was very sore the next couple of days. I also got them during pregnancy and eating banana helped tremendously. I could tell when I didn't eat a banana because my legs would start aching and I would constantly have to move them. I don't have that issue anymore but the simple remedy is eat a banana or get something with potassium.

I was confused at first lol. It will be hard but once you start producing less milk he will start to rely more on food and probably naturally wean himself. You will be fine and the good thing is that he's over 1, so you wont have to worry about switching to formula. I managed to continue nursing for about 7 months after I was sleeved but my supply definitely wasn't what it was pre surgery.

I got my daughter down to about 2 feedings about a couple of weeks before surgery but then after a while I decided I didn't feel like weaning so she was up to about 5-6 feedings right before surgery. She turned 1 about 2 days after I was sleeved (I was sleeved Oct. 2nd. 2012). I didn't nurse while in the hospital and I didn't leak or become engorged at all but as soon as I came home and was around her I started producing milk and leaking lol. I thought my milk had dried up while I was in the hospital but nope. I officially weaned her about a month ago. My milk supply went down a lot after surgery but she was only nursing about 3-4 times a day and ate regular food. I didn't tell my surgeon that I was breastfeeding. I've always been a slow loser even though I was nursing. If you have any questions feel free to ask but what me and other moms noticed was that our milk supply went down dramatically the weeks following sleeve surgery. Some moms nurse while in the hospital but I was too weak and sick to even think about nursing. My daughter decided one day that she wanted to eat regular food and weaned herself.

vitamins make me nauseous also, if I take them early in the morning after breakfast. I puke them up, unless I take them at night. For some reason my stomach doesn't agree with them in the morning. Try taking them after dinner. I take the capsule kind from "Celebrate".

Great Job Kari

Yup I thought it was 6 months also. I was sleeved almost 9 months ago.

You look amazing! Keep up the great work

I have exercised off and on (more on than off) throughout the years. I've NEVER been able to lose weight without exercise, trust me I've tried several times. I exercise because it feels good. Of course getting into the routine of exercising is hard but after about 3 weeks you begin to crave it and feel weird if you don't. I hated the treadmill for a while but now that I've been on it for the past month, I no longer dread it. Once my kids are back in school I will start going to the gym again. I feel at home in the gym because everyone else has the same goal as me which is to be fit and healthy. Exercise helps me look better in my clothes plus it lifts my mood. I'm naturally a very anxious person and it keeps my anxiety under control. Plus it also suppresses my appetite. I find that I'm not as hungry on days when I workout and my cravings are almost non-existent. I also make better choices food wise after working out. You don't have to kill yourself at the gym but I do believe that working out will help you look better in your clothes

I had problems drinking water after surgery but I just kept at it and now it taste as good as it did before surgery. I drink my water with ice in it and I drink it during the night also when I wake up off and on, of course it's room temperature by that time lol. I did try Mio but that made me have cravings and I hate the artificial sweetener taste, plus I felt like the artificial colors were staining my teeth lol. I just kept making myself drink plain ice water and then eventually the weird taste went away or I got used to it. Plus nothing quenches my thirst or makes me feel hydrated like water does.

I exercise because I enjoy it. I've always been very active especially growing up and played lots of sports, danced, and cheerleading. I've always been active in the gym and I feel at home there. My weight ballooned when I stopped going to the gym and the reason why I stopped is because I was very depressed. Now looking back I realize that I need the gym even more when I'm feeling depressed because it lifts my mood. I keep my workouts short and sweet now, whereas in the past I would do cardio for an hour and then lift weights for a hour. My body seems to be responding better now that I shortened them and I retain less Water. My friends don't exercise at all and I honestly don't get it because exercise is so enjoyable for me. I did try the personal trainer route for about 6 sessions and didn't like it at all! I don't like being told what to do or being pushed to muscle fatigue. I like doing what I want to do and if that involves walking instead of running one day, then that's what I do. I workout alone and find working out with a partner very distracting because I'm very social and will just talk and BS the whole time. Sorry for rambling. The main reason why I exercise is because it suppresses my appetite and I am less hungry on days when I workout. It controls my appetite and cravings and I figured if I can sit on my butt and watch TV for hours, I can definitely fit in a 20 mins cardio and 20 mins weight lifting session.

Don't take the water pill! It will screw with your body and will probably cause you to retain water for a couple of days after taking it. All they do is dehydrate your body and once you start drinking water again, you will probably retain water all over again. Just drink lots of water and that will flush out the sodium, it may take a day or 2. Eating pizza never makes me retain that much water but If I'm nearing ovulation I usually gain about 3 pounds the day before I ovulate and usually the weight is gone 2 days after ovulation, same with my period. I'm sure you didn't eat enough to gain 7.5 pounds, so don't sweat it

Losing 50 pounds in 4 months is awesome! I was sleeved Oct. 2nd and have lost 53 pounds (CW-206.6 lbs) The weight loss for me has been super slow and I've even considered the DS or adding the malabsorption component but then I start to realize that I haven't given the sleeve a long enough time to work and that I needed to give myself 2 yrs to reach goal or before I start to consider myself a failure. I'm definitely a slow loser but I'm not giving up and I have zero desire to ever try diet pills ever again. Just be patient

We are stationed in Colorado and the air is really dry here but the elevation sucks so bad because the air is thin and it's harder to breath when running. I bought a treadmill about 5yrs ago for $250 and I've been using it ever since. Are you doing c25k outside? I wish I could but I would have to pay for childcare since my husband isn't here to watch the kiddos :/

I guess I sort of do what Butterbean does. I workout hard for 20 mins and my body seems to like that more than the long cardio sessions that didn't ever get the scale moving. My body seems to want to hold on to Water and body fat when I do lots of cardio. It's like my body wants to hold onto bodyfat because it will need the energy to fuel my next long run. I'm one of those people who could probably train for a marathon and gain weight, some marathon people do gain weight while training. Sorry for rambling but I'm noticing more positive feedback from my body when I shortened my cardio sessions. I do 20 mins of intense cardio 5-7 days a week, if I'm feeling tired I walk for 20 mins. Sometimes I will jog at a constant pace for 20 mins and then other days I will just walk the whole time or do a combination of both. If long cardio sessions are working for you then definitely keep up the great work

This is another reason why I don't keep track of calories "burned" during exercise. IMO it's all a guesstimate and I don't want to feel like a slave to the number of calories burned. It definitely makes sense that you will burn less calories the more weight you lose and some people will try to workout harder to compensate. I guess in the end it depends on what you want. I turn up my intensity and not time. I can't stand the thought of doing more than 20 mins of cardio and my body seems to be responding to the less is more approach.

LOL I'm sure you will be fine

I prefer a banana or yogurt but since my workouts are only 20 mins I just drink a large glass of water