Izuri

Deep breaths! I had my surgery a day before you and I went through a 3 week long stall. It felt like FOREVER. But, it wasn't. Eventually the scale started moving again and when it did, it ran! I have been going well since then. Your body is adjusting. It's normal. During my stall I freaked - is this all I'm going to lose? Did I fail this weight loss too? Was this small of weight even worth it? Hormones were going crazy. The bottom line is I tried just about everything. Switching up calories, working out more, eating more, eating less, increasing Protein, decreasing carbs, increasing Water. Nothing worked because what my body really needed was just time. It's probably what yours needs too. You're rebuilding your glycogen stores, holding water, and whatever other reorganizing it feels like doing. This is what helped me get through it: 1. Put the scale away for as long as possible. The days I brought myself to not peek, I felt much better. 2. Try not to stress. There is some research that says stress increases cortisol, which can cause weight retention. 3. Rant, rave, etc in your blog/journal/to your friends whenever you need to get it out. Sometimes just getting the frustration off your chest helps...at least it helps me 4. Read through every stall post on here - You are not alone! Most of us stall and freak at some point. 100% normal 5. Log your eating on MFP or a similar website - Helps keep you accountable so that you don't slip up because of frustration 6. Keep yourself busy. The more you're doing other things, the more calories you burn, the less you think about the scale 7. Assume that you are still on the stall. If you're pretty sure you're still on it, it will cause less frustration/loss of expectation if you step on the scale and you are. If you step on and you're not, what an excited surprise 8. Measure yourself. You are probably still losing inches. 9. Take pictures. Do you look any thinner than pre-op? Yes? Something to feel good about 10. Write down all your NSVs. You are kicking butt! The scale is not the only way to show progress Hang in there. It's hard. It sucks. But it ends eventually!

You are doing amazing!! Keep up the great work - I'm sure you'll be at goal in no time =)

I haven't had a pregnancy before - sleeved or not, but I just wanted to say congratulations! I know you're worried, but I've read quite a few posts on this board and obesity help about people with VSG carrying to term and I've known women a bit older than you who have had wonderful pregnancies. I wish you all the best - I'll keep you in my thoughts!

It's completely normal to be nervous about any procedure. It's a big decision, one that will affect you for the rest of your life. When I first told my family they asked me "Why not the Lap Band? It's less invasive and it's been around longer?" and my answer was somewhere along the lines of this: 1. Searching through multiple LapBand forums as well as VSG forums I was able to find far more complications with LB. I got the feeling that the complications with LB increase as time goes on, where the complications with VSG decrease over time. This is not saying I won't have a complication, but at least 6 months out I will most likely not be tackling new complications. I'd rather feel like my complication rate is an "if" question rather than a "when" 2. LB does not necessarily suppress your appetite. Being post-op I can tell you that this is really an incredible thing with VSG. Not being hungry is pretty empowering. It allows me a chance to think about my food choices before I make them. I walk through the grocery store and make good choices. This gives me a huge advantage to learn these habits before the rest of my stomach produces ghrelin again. 3. I do not want to have to visit the doctor all the time for fills. With my sleeve I will always have restriction as long as I treat it right. If I lose my health insurance at some point I will not have to worry about paying out of pocket just to keep my restriction. Plus, I hate going to doctor appointments =p 4. It does not seem less invasive to me to have a foreign body in my body for the rest of my life. Granted, with VSG we do have staples forever, but it is not the same to me. Even unfilled the band can slip or erode. 5. Getting the band at the 'sweet spot' where you have restriction but it doesn't feel like you've closed your stomach and can't eat seems to be a hit or miss thing. My sleeve is never a hit or miss. I know how much it should hold, that's how much I eat. If I go over that, I get uncomfortable. Those are my personal reasons, because I came into this not 100% sure what procedure I was going to get either. This board really helped reinforce my decision on the sleeve once I had researched it quite a bit. I hope that you decide on whatever procedure is best for you in the long run. =)

There are a number of reasons someone's liver can be enlarged. For us who are obese it's usually a nonalcoholic fatty liver, but it could be caused by hepatitis, autoimmune conditions, alcoholic fatty liver, cysts, gallbladder issues, mono.. It doesn't sound like she had any identified problem aside from maybe NAFLD. OP - I'm so sorry, I can imagine this is fairly traumatic. I do wonder if it's just the surgeon's level of skill, confidence, or just the liver size that determines a surgeon's plan of action. It does seem to vary widely - for example, I was 325 pre-surgery, 321 on surgery day, and only had a prescribed diet of Clear liquids the day before surgery, no pre-op diet. My surgeon didn't mention any problems with my liver. Do you have any comorbidities that might have affected it? I am surprised that on that low of calorie diet that you didn't lose more than 8 pounds. I really hope you hang in there and follow the diet again (You can do it!) and kick those 20 pounds to the curb so that you can get your surgery done. After this whole ordeal, you deserve to be dropping some weight and feeling great.

Hey Susie, Just wondering how you're doing. Are you feeling any better? Did the evil stall break yet? I hope you're doing well =)

Have you tried other acid reducers? There are a number of them prescription and OTC. I was taking prevacid for a month post op and it worked great.

NG tubes go from your nose to your stomach. They can be used for nutrition, to take contents/air out of stomach in instance of obstruction, to put medications, like activated charcoal through. It is possible for medical professionals to do it blind, or without being able to see, or they can do it with a scope.

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear this. I will cross my fingers that your iron levels will be to a healthy level in time!

Thanks =D What kind of triforce design are you gonna get? My only regret with this tattoo (Cause I love it) is I wish I put it somewhere it shows more! It's on my back on my shoulder blade and since I've covered up so much being heavy it's not gotten a lot of exposure. I look forward to being able to show it off when I'm thinner.

I have one. It says my name, Vertical sleeve gastrectomy/date it was performed, No blind NG tube, no/limit nsaids, and then it gives the emergency # and name of my bariatric clinic. It seems to be controversial about blind NGs with the sleeve. I suppose since our anatomy isn't quite as different RNY it is not as big of a deal - but I would rather take the extra precaution - or at least put the precaution in the mind of the nurse who is tubing me. I know in emergency situations we may be able to have some nsaids - but again, i'd rather them know that it's something to watch for. Mine is on a dog tag that I wear around my neck. I try and wear it most days, but some days I forget. I also have a card in my wallet with the information in case I forget to wear it. Chances are I would probably be fine without a medical ID, but I just know that if I was treating a patient in an emergency situation, I'd prefer the information so that I could include it when I'm making decisions on how to treat them.

I'm so sorry that this happened to you. But I'm relieved to hear that's it's temporary. i can't imagine the pain that you're in right now. No matter how anyone acts, do not feel guilty to ask for pain medications - that's their job and you deserve to have your pain treated. I will keep you in my thoughts and hope for a quick recovery.

You look awesome! Keep up the great work!

Looking great! 39 pounds is incredible =)

Woohoo! Congratulations - that is quite the success! You could always get down to 175 and see how you feel at that point. You've got plenty of time to decide.

Why not just focus on eating healthy and see where it takes your body? We all lose at very different rates, even if two people ate the same things they wouldn't lose the same. I just don't want you to get there and not have lost that much and miss the fact that you've still been successful. I know I can get tied up in numbers and really if we're getting healthier it's not worth the frustration the scale causes =) I'm still around 700-800 calories a day, 6 weeks out.

I am allowed juice post op as long as it's no sugar added. The first couple of weeks they wanted me to dilute it with water, but I can drink it undiluted now. Though there are exceptions to any rule - the sleeve generally does not have dumping like RNY. Dumping is caused by the rearrangement of your intestines and the fact that RNYers don't have a pyloric sphincter at the end of their pouch. They have a stoma, so there is not a controlled release of sugar when it moves through the system, which causes their pancreas to release a bunch of insulin, causing low blood sugar type symptoms, and therefore, dumping syndrome. At least that's how I understood it and why sleevers don't have dumping when my surgeon explained it to me.

It is hard to stay hydrated enough post-op. It's definitely possible though - you just have to keep sipping every time you're not on the 30 min waiting period after food. I'm 6 weeks out and can take larger drinks (Have been able to since week 4ish) so that makes it easier. If I'm keeping it on my mind constantly I can definitely get all my water in now.

I tried some canned chicken with pizza sauce and ff mozzarella cheese melted on top hoping it would soothe my pizza craving. It tasted pretty good but didn't help all that much. It mostly seems like time to take care of the cravings. Although every time I see pizza it comes back for like two days =p Head hunger is a pain!

Welcome Carisa! Congratulations on your decision =) Keep us updated on how things go!

So I was looking through your posts and you have this great topic posted on the 30th of July that says 4.5 months out - 80 pounds down. That means that you lost over an average of 4 pounds a week! That's incredible. Can you blame your body for needing some time to adjust? =) Stalls are crazy difficult things. I had a 3 week one when I was only 3 weeks out and I thought I was failing at another weight loss journey. Then one day it started moving again, simple as that. I think yours will be the same. Look through your nutrition records - are you getting in all your protein still? All your water? Are you creeping up on calories? I think the gastric sleeve is definitely for you. You didn't gain the weight over a six month period - to expect to lose it all that quick is not only not as healthy as losing slower, but you would have tons of loose skin! Do you measure? Are you losing inches in these three weeks? Maybe your skin is tighter than you'd be with RNY. Maybe you're healthier, have less vitamin deficiencies. Three weeks feels like forever, but in the scheme of things, it's really not. You are doing amazing. Don't give up.

You went to work nursing 9 days out from surgery? Wow. I would not have been ready to go back that soon. I waited four weeks til I went back, and then two more weeks until nursing school started again =) I was worried about being ready. Congratulations on your loss! It sounds like you're doing awesome. Don't push yourself too hard - you deserve a little rest.

Yay! That means you start your 2 week pre-op in less than a week! Woo, it's gonna fly by. I would follow the pre-op diet your doctor recommended. If he didn't give you one, I'd eat less carbs, a little less calories, and make sure you're getting in your water/some exercise. Losing a few pounds before surgery will help decrease your risks, even if it's just a little.

it's so hard not to let these thoughts get to us. Yes, you'll start losing again. I had the exact same worry when I stalled a few weeks ago, but I kept on my plan, tried a few things to make a difference, and in the end it didn't matter what I did, my body just needed time to adjust. Apparently my body wanted 3 weeks or so of adjusting because randomly one day it started again. I hadn't done anything different the day before, it just was time I guess. Hang in there, I know it can be easy to doubt, but you'll see those numbers moving soon.

Great job! 100 pounds is an incredible milestone.