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Thanks so much for the kind words, everyone! It's hard to get on the internet and post here but I wanted to say I appreciate the responses. And yes, my shapewear works miracles. I don't even like wearing lounging clothes around the house without my shapewear on, because my silhouette is so different with it off. It trims several inches off, kind of like an instant tummy tuck. ~Cheri

You look fantastic! You've come really far. I know you're a real inspiration to a lot of folks on here. Back when I was researching, I started out on the band site and saw you posting there. I'm glad you made the decision to revise so that you could get to goal! You're definitely doing things "the right way" and you look fabulous. ~Cheri

I meant to post this on the 15th but I had trouble logging into the site that day (and several days after that) and I didn't think about it again until today. I blame my Kyrgyz dial up internet! In any case, I was one year on 15 July. In that year I've lost 92 pounds. I've gone from a very snug 18 or 20 pant into a very comfortable size 8 or M. Women's sizing is insane, so sometimes I'm a 6 and sometimes I'm a 10, but regardless of the number on my pants I'm very happy with the way I look in my clothes now, and I have a large wardrobe of things I love to wear. Almost as exciting as losing the pounds is losing the diabetes. I had only been diagnosed 2 years before my surgery (I started as gestational diabetes) so I went into this fully expecting my blood sugars to be normal afterward and I wasn't disappointed. I'm still high-normal on my A1C, but that was six months ago...I haven't been tested since then. I hope to have a full lab panel done once we're settled here in our new home. I haven't taken a pill since the day before surgery (though I did require insulin several times 48 hours post op) and I've gotten so used to being normal that I don't even test my sugars any more. I'm no role model, so newbies looking for advice should look to some of the more active posters here that stick to a program and actually exercise. I lived out suitcases in my in-law's house for the last nine months due to a PCS from hell, so my eating and exercise habits have been erratic. I've pretty much been living as if I'm in maintenance for the last six months. Don't get me wrong - I don't live on a junk food, carb crazy diet. But I eat more like a "normal" person. I'll have several days where I stick to Protein first and drink lots of Water, but then I'll also have days where I eat pretty much whatever I want (but in small portions). I have maintained a slow but steady loss the entire time I've been sleeved and I weigh every day. I'm always watching for my weight to bounce up, but it never does more than that one or two pounds of fluctuation I see daily. I'm between 149-151 and I expect to stay there for several weeks. My pattern has always been a sudden drop (lately around three to five pounds) followed by three weeks or so at the same weight. I can't tie my losses to my diet - and I don't consider myself "done" yet. I'm sure that over the next six months or so I'll continue to see a slow but steady loss. Plastic surgery is in my future. I probably have more loose skin than most people that have lost less than 100 pounds since surgery. I had twins in 2007 and weighed 280ish after they were born. My skin has pretty much melted and I look a mess underneath my clothes. Thank heavens for the various brands of shapewear I've purchased. I wear them under everything. I plan to have plastics when we're back in the states in 2013, so my hope is that I'll get some exercise into my routine and see a little bounce back from my skin. I don't expect much, though. It's really bad. Underneath all that excess skin (with the occasional stubborn fat deposit) is a genuinely thin woman. I'll be honest - I think my goal weight might be a little low. I went based on the BMI chart and chose the most I could weigh at my height and be "normal" on the chart. But underneath all this skin I am bones and I don't really know where the additional 15 pounds will come from - unless it's my upper arms and thighs. They don't seem to be as small as the rest of me yet! I'm worried that if I lose 15 more pounds and then have plastics, I'll look like a bony scarecrow. My husband is happier that I'm happier but he's not so happy with my thinner body. He likes heavier women and was far happier with my body about 20 pounds ago. I'm sure he'll adjust in time, but it is a real obstacle for some couples. His opinion is that I should scrap the goal weight and focus on getting in shape for plastics and take whatever number I wind up with after plastics as my final weight. However, this is the man that thought I was sexy and attractive 37 weeks pregnant with twins, so I understand that he's trying to make sure I don't wind up with a figure he finds totally unattractive. I'm glad we had a solid marriage before surgery, or this might have caused some real issues for us. My only "I wish I'd known that" issue with surgery is the lactose intolerance. I had no idea I would be so crippled by this - and now that I'm overseas I don't exactly have a local store with almond, coconut and soy milk around the corner. I can eat small portions of hard cheese but yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, ice cream, sour cream, cream cheese, most protein powders, etc. are all completely out for me. It's very limiting but I'm surviving. Luckily I'm living in the land of grilled meat, grilled vegetables and flatbread so it's less of an issue here. And as a note for those military spouses - consider that your VSG might make you EFMP for an overseas tour. I did not disclose mine to the doctor that cleared us to live overseas, and due to the typical shoddy Tricare record-keeping nobody realized I'd had it done. But I was specifically asked if I had a band or bypass, and I was able to honestly answer no to that. Tricare finds the oddest reasons to consider families EFMP - speech therapy, diabetes, allergies, etc., so I'd be sure to ask the necessary questions about this if it could affect you. My husband's job has kept us overseas 5 years out of the last 7, so for us it could turn out to be a real issue, especially with the remote assignments we take. I'm just putting that out there, though it's not likely to affect but a small percentage of the military posters here. Best of luck to everyone. I don't post much anymore because like so many I'm just out here living my life now. But I wanted to give an update because I loved reading the one year stories when I was researching. They gave me something to hope for and I feel that if I can lose more than 90 pounds in a year of not really taking this sleeve as seriously as I should have, than barring medical complications, you should be able to meet or exceed that goal with no problem. Pictures attached. The first two are from one month prior to surgery and the last one is from a week ago. Please excuse my messy hair and worn out expression - I'm jet lagged and our transformer blew so I'm without the luxury of a blow dryer or straightening iron! ~Cheri

I use AllMax IsoNatural unflavored. I like it because I can't taste it in things, but everyone's taste is different when it comes to the unflavored Proteins. I hated unjury and could never use a full scoop in anything or it made me gag. I think it was the smell, because Unjury had that really awful smell. Yuck. IsoNatural has about 25 g Protein per scoop, 120 calories and 1 net carb. I mix it in coffee, tea, crystal light, soup, yogurt, oatmeal...pretty much anything. In my experience it's never gotten clumpy and sometimes (with flavored coffee or water) if I'm low on calories for the day I can push it and double my scoops to make it a Meal Replacement with 50 g protein and 240 calories. I also LOVE the AllMax IsoFlex protein powders. I think they taste fine (no Protein shake tastes great to me) and they have a great nutritional profile if you're watching carbs. If you don't want to shell out for a whole tub of the stuff, find samples online. I used Vitalady for samples before I bought the 2 pounder. ~Cheri

If you love the Rockabilly/Pin Up look (who doesn't?) pinupgirlclothing.com usually carries a handful of things in plus sizes. They're a little pricey, but not really...I mean, the things I've bought are GREAT quality and very flattering. I'd pay nearly as much at a Lane Bryant to dress like my mother-in-law, so it's worth it to me. Every now and again I find something super cute on modcloth.com, but plus sizes are harder to find there (in-stock items are hard to find there!), though you might have some luck if you check their site often. I know you have your dress options now, but what girl doesn't love an excuse to shop for new clothes? Keep these two in mind (if you're not already familiar with them) for next time! ~Cheri ETA: I want to know the name of genepha's store!

Coops! Lady, you've had a HELL of a time this entire journey, so I would not be one bit surprised to find that some hormonal imbalance is partially to blame. Hopefully once your cycle regulates itself and evens out you'll continue with your loss. I know how incredibly frustrating it is! I honestly put off removing that second Mirena because I figured it was just stress or a fluke, but losing ten pounds in less than three weeks after having it removed proves to me that there was a real issue. My moodiness is far better, and while I am dealing with a bit more of the endometriosis pain it's a small trade off for the weight loss. I did not self pay to settle for anything less than goal, you know? I feel better emotionally and yes, losing weight again is fantastic. It's never easy to sort these things, and I don't know about your doc giving you grief when you bring these things up but mine was so reluctant to remove the IUD. I'm glad I talked them into it, and I don't regret taking it out one bit. I might try it again for endometriosis control once I'm at goal, but I'm not sure. The mood swings were crazy. Perhaps that part will get better as I continue to lose weight and burn fat, though? I read that we store hormones in our fat cells, so as we lose our hormone levels get wacky just from the weight loss. Adding in a hormonal cocktail for another reason can't be helpful. I hope you continue to feel better and that the loss picks up soon. You're better than half there - it's been a long, hard haul for you, I know. Best of luck! ~Cheri

I have endo and have also been dealing with it since the teenage years (though I wasn't diagnosed until five years ago). It caused me no issues with surgery. I develop adhesions (usually on my back and bladder) but since the areas with adhesions are totally unrelated to my stomach it didn't even come up. The only real concern I had were my previous laparoscopy scars, but it was no problem. Yes, our hormones go CRAZY post op as we lose weight. I've read that our fat cells store hormones and as they get used up the hormones are released into our bodies. I don't know what exactly causes it but I have had my struggles here and there since surgery. My TOM is tough - I lose no weight and sometimes I even gain a couple of pounds during my cycle. The pain initially got worse for me but has eased as time goes on. My only advice is to be very careful about how you treat your endo post op. I used to use hormonal birth control to ease the pain and skip periods. Post op I find I am ridiculously sensitive to hormones and my weight loss all but stops when I'm on something. I've tried Mirena IUD (great for controlling endo, BTW, if you don't have hormone issues like me) and Nuva Ring - both of them stall my loss out to 1-4 pounds a month. So I'm not taking anything to control my endo until AFTER I hit goal. This might never be an issue for you. I hope it isn't! But watch everything carefully and be aware that it could be a concern. And I TOTALLY agree - nothing during surgery (or even childbirth!) is even remotely close to the pain I was in on a daily basis because of my endometriosis. I had my doc tell me what a champ I am after having my Mirena inserted with no flinching - I was like, "YOU endure an unmedicated childbirth complete with back labor every month and tell me how your pain tolerance grows!" If you're in pain from endo, I'm sure your VSG will be a piece of cake. A few days of discomfort, a few nights afterward of not sleeping comfortably, and then the pain goes away and never comes back. Best of luck to you on your new journey! ~Cheri

Let me preface by saying I am not a doctor or a nurse or associated with the medical field in any way. Everyone’s body is different and reacts in different ways. What works for one person might not work at all for someone else. There are far too many variables for anyone (I think even doctors sometimes) to be 100% certain of what causes one person’s body to react to something a certain way, while someone else has no problems. Now that I’ve cleared that up, a little background. I was sleeved 15 July. I had a Mirena IUD inserted 2 November. It fell out mid-January and I had it put back in about two weeks later. I just had it removed (for good) 15 April. I am a firm believer that if you go looking for side effects to the pills/meds you’re taking you are going to find them. A lot of what we experience is easily influenced by our minds, in my opinion. I had mine removed because I suspected it was causing me to crave foods, inhibiting my weight loss and possibly causing me to lose hair. There is no question that the hormones made me a raving b*tch for part of the month - PMS is never fun in my house but it was a nightmare while I was using Mirena. I had a definite issue losing weight while the IUD was in my body. In the past, I’d always chalked my slow loss or non-loss (or worse, GAIN) while using birth control down to my eating habits. But post op I am very aware of what I eat and of how much I exercise. I weigh daily. Since November, my eating and exercise habits have not changed significantly. Prior to Mirena, I was losing 14 pounds a month (on average). When it slowed down afterward, I chalked it up to the quick loss not lasting forever, or the stress of our overseas move, or me not being diligent enough with my diet and exercise. However, after months of sticking to the program and losing only 1-4 pounds a month, I decided it had to be related to the IUD. After Mirena was put in, I lost 2.6 pounds a month (on average). The only exception is the month of January, when it fell out for just over two weeks – I lost 8 pounds that month. I’ve lost just a little less than 10 pounds in the two and a half weeks since I had it removed. Since having Mirena out, I am losing nearly half a pound a day (except during my cycle, when I don’t lose at all), something I haven’t done since November. So in my case, birth control was very clearly a part of the problem. As soon as the hormones were gone, the loss started again. Incidentally, the carb cravings and the urge to snack at night went away, too! I am not sure if my hair loss was related to the Mirena – some women that never had WLS have hair loss with it, too. All I can say is that once Mirena came out, the hair loss stopped, but that could be simply because I’m nearly ten months post op. I can’t be certain the hair loss is related. I was losing a huge wad of hair each time I showered or brushed my hair just a few weeks ago, and I'm down to just four or five strands with brushing or showering now. I mentioned this to a WLS buddy and was told I should put it out there in case someone else is having an issue. So, it’s out there now. If you made a change to your birth control regimen post op and noticed a change in your weight loss, you might be able to fix the problem. It might not explain everything. I think we tend to blame our overindulging or snacking on things like pregnancy or birth control, so the first thing is always to evaluate your eating habits and your exercise. That said, I think this is a real issue for some women, and I didn’t want someone to overlook the possibility of a solution. Best of luck to everyone! ~Cheri

Congrats! You've done a wonderful job losing and now maintaining. I also enjoy reading your posts and your rave reviews of Dr. Aceves really helped me when I was trying to gather information early in the game. Keep up the great work, and thanks for being honest about weight gain and control in maintenance. I think a lot of us view the tough part as getting to goal, but I think maintenance still requires a lot of work and willpower. Plus, it lasts FOREVER. ~Cheri

I had a close starting weight (242 pounds). I lost a grand total of 23 pounds my first month post op. Stalls are very common at week three - mine started week two. I've been a stop-and-start loser the entire time. Stay the course, DO NOT mess with your diet plan. It only makes you crazy. As long as you're following surgeon guidelines, don't mess around with anything. The weight will eventually come off, I promise. I'm a slow loser compared to a lot of folks, but I've lost more than eighty pounds in nine months and I'm almost to goal. Hang in there. And seriously, you won't be able to help it but try not to compare yourself to other people. Your body will lose at it's own pace and stressing about how fast or slow it happens is only going to mess with your head. And remember - stalls happen. This is probably the first one and most likely it won't be your last. Accept that it's part of the process for most of us, and that it will eventually break if you keep eating the right way. Good luck! ~Cheri

Try to browse the boards for answers to the questions people here may have asked before. It's a shame you didn't ask your surgeon, though, if you have real concerns or questions. Don't go into surgery with unanswered questions, no matter how silly or stupid you might feel for asking them. I'm 5'1" (and a little change - maybe an extra half inch) and my weight the day of surgery was 242 pounds. I'm now nine days from nine months post op. I'm a slow loser. It doesn't matter what I do to tweak my diet or how much exercise I add...nothing really makes much difference to my slow but steady loss. I've lost almost eighty pounds in those nine months, though. Without surgery, it would have been absolutely impossible. Despite my slower loss, I have gone from a tight 18 pant and XL (sometimes XXL) shirt to a size 8 or 10 in jeans and M tops. Honestly, even though I'm still "overweight" I think that with plastics I'd look awesome, right now - and I'd definitely be a six, maybe even a four with my tummy apron gone. So, numeric goals aren't all they're cracked up to be, and they don't tell the whole story. I look a helluva lot better at age 30 and 164 pounds than I looked at 22 and 164 pounds...for whatever reason my weight is distributed much differently this go round. There is no way to predict how quickly you'll lose. However, rest assured that if you do your part and try to change your current lifestyle, you WILL lose. Please, don't set a numeric goal as your only measure of success. I lurked on these boards for months before I made an account, and while I visit regularly I hardly ever post. It gets wearying to see post after post after post about how upset people are that they've "only lost 70 pounds in three months." So please, set a goal to be a gorgeous bride, because that's one you will definitely meet. I guarantee you'll be a lot smaller one year from now, how's that? Everyone loses at a different rate, even month to month! Some months I was down 12 pounds...and others, with the same diet and exercise program I'd lose 1-4 pounds. You are going to do great on surgery day, and I swear you're going to do great on your sleeve journey afterward. You'll be a beautiful, glowing bride - and every pound you lose will only make you feel more beautiful. Aim for your goal, but don't get ridiculously focused on the number. Set a lower number that you'd be happy with as your average monthly goal and go from there. Best wishes and good luck! ~Cheri

SOOOO incredibly happy for you and your husband! Enjoy the pregnancy, we'll keep you guys in our prayers. FANTASTIC news, lady! ~Cheri

Stop switching up your program! All you're doing is making yourself crazy. Stalls happen. They seriously stink. But you'll get through it. scale strike, and stay positive. You're barely two months out and more than halfway to goal. I'm not surprised your body is a bit freaked and wants to hang on to extra weight. Relax. It might not be what you want to hear, but a lot of us slow considerably once we're past the halfway point. Don't let it make you nuts. You'll definitely make it to goal if you just keep doing the right things. Keep up the great work! It took me nearly five months to lose the first 50 pounds - you're doing awesome. ~Cheri

Surgery (anesthesia) throws your cycle off and can cause breakthrough bleeding. After surgery my cycle moved two whole weeks earlier and stayed there. I'd double check with the manufacturer of your pills just to be 100% that there were no drug interactions that might have caused the pill to be ineffective, but I honestly doubt that's the issue. It's pretty common for this to happen, I think. ~Cheri

Maybe call or email your surgeon's office. I definitely felt discomfort when I pressed or rubbed my drain scar for a while, but I never felt actual pain and there was never any swelling once it closed up. That scar is puffier and a bit more raised and darker than the other scars, even eight months out. I massage the scars daily to help break down the scar tissue and smooth them out. No pain. So, I'd say better safe than sorry and get it checked out by the doc. ~Cheri

I am sure you'll be just fine if you start now! I started taking my pills at about two weeks post op and never had a single problem (other than a little nausea if I took my Vitamins before eating) though I admit that I never liked taking the Biotin pills because of the capsules. ~Cheri

I'm also right around 70 pounds lost, so maybe I'm no help. But I have two on the outside of my thigh, and I haven't really noticed any difference in them. They're not more prominent or less prominent. I do notice that after a long, hard workout or a day spent traipsing around in high heels they'll ache/burn more than I'm used to feeling, but I used to sit on my rear ALL DAY LONG, so I can't attribute it to the weight loss. ~Cheri

Tiffy is 100% right on this. First of all, you're almost to goal - you've had tremendous success. You are obviously not a failure at weight loss. Secondly, my personal thoughts are more in line with becoming a REAL, NORMAL person. "Normal" people do not live low carb lives forevermore. They eat lots of healthy foods and watch their portions but guess what? They eat what they want, in moderation! I personally feel that it is not only unhealthy, but an unattainable goal to limit yourself to an ounce of chicken, a hardboiled egg and a carrot stick for every meal for the rest of your life. Guess what? You're human...you're going to get sick of that after a while and then the real trouble will begin - binges because you feel completely unsatisfied and limited by your food choices. Don't start eating a donut a day, now. But for crying out loud, cut yourself some slack! You need to start slowly branching out and allowing yourself the room to be a normal person. Because once you hit goal, you're going to need to incorporate more carbs and more calories to maintain...and that's not easy to do on slices of chicken and carrot sticks! It takes a long time to break old habits. So don't fall into the habit of eating nothing but junk. And don't be surprised that it takes you a long time to stop feeling guilty about what you eat, or to stop worrying that all of a sudden you'll regain everything. You do need to be careful, but if you don't give yourself a little flexibility here, you're going to struggle more in the long run. Just my opinion, of course. Keep up the great work. We all deal with these issues. Some people choose to swear that they will never, ever let those "bad" foods cross their lips again, and that's their personal choice. I had to flex a bit because I'm a slow loser anyway and seeing no results day after day while eating "perfectly" was driving me insane. Be well, ~Cheri

Look, it's hard to do, but just try not to stress. Everyone is different. And I know some here won't agree with me, but if it was as simple as the science of calories in vs. calories out, I never would have needed surgery in the first place! I think weight loss is far more complicated than that, and that it has more to do with our own individual bodies than it does with a scientific formula. Surgery is stressful. Your body is completely shocked that it just dropped a huge amount of weight in a short period. Give it some time, keep working your sleeve and you're going to keep losing. I promise. Some of us lose slower than others - I lost half my post op weight in the first two months and the rest slowly over the last six months. But guess what? I'm losing. You will, too. Just hang in there, and try to put the scale away for a few days. It's hard (sometimes I have my husband hide it from me!) but it will help you focus more on what you're eating than on what the scale is saying. And I'm sure you've heard it before, but TAKE MEASUREMENTS. Seriously...I've only lost 5 pounds in the last two months but I lost seven inches and went down a full size in shirts and pants. ~Cheri

I was 242 preop, no preop diet. By two months out I was down 35 pounds.

Tiffy - thanks for your response. I talked to my PCM today and he straight up said not to TTC just yet. I am still having issues getting my food in, and he said I really ought to wait until at least next July. So for now, we're going to shelve the TTC. Not that there's much to "shelve" since our embryos are in a freezer in Ukraine! My labs are okay but not as great as they could be. I have a real problem eating enough calories - like I said I'm still dependent on one Protein shake a day to get calories and protein up. That said, I easily keep my calories around 1,000 a day while I'm on shakes and while my carbs aren't up to 100 yet I shuffle between 50-70 net carbs a day. I still lose at the same pokey rate as I did when I was eating only 20-30 a day and I feel better. I just wanted to reassure you. Trying to get pregnant and going through that disappointment every month sucks. There is nothing like that horrible feeling every time you get a little excited that it could be this month...and then your period starts. I used to get so hopeful that I'd actually cause my period to be late with the stress. I was a monster by the end of the third year we were TTC. My docs kept telling me it was my weight, though. "Just lose a little more weight and it'll happen." Nobody tested DH at all because he has other children from his first marriage. When we finally got a RE that tested him it turns out he has severe male factor infertility. I mean, we did ICSI and he had TEN normal, healthy swimmers in the sample. There was no way we were getting pregnant on our own. We had a better chance of winning the lotto! But I understand - we tried for SO stinking long - every month was this horrible disappointment replete with tears, yes, tantrums and then depression. I finally had to stop charting and try to adopt that "it'll happen when it happens" stance, too. But patience is NOT my strong suit, either. I saw no reason why I couldn't just get pregnant. I had friends bawling to me about not wanting to be pregnant with their third kid in four years...and I was the most unsupportive friend ever. I just wanted to tell them all to shut up! It all seemed so horribly unfair. I know a lot of women that went through secondary infertility. Hopefully the Clomid will do the trick and you won't have anything to worry about. You're still young so your eggs should be in great shape. You're right that you've been through a lot - it might just be your body saying "take it easy, we've been through a lot lately." Have you had a HSG yet to make sure you have no blockages? Tricare covers them, so see if you can get one done if you haven't yet. Bring it up to your fertility doc for sure. If you have a problem like a blockage, Clomid won't do the trick and you'll just waste time and energy. In any case, a close friend of mine had some luck with Clomid and had her daughter three years ago. Having her daughter resolved the issues and they had no trouble conceiving a second child a year and a half later. Hopefully you'll have a similar outcome and will only endure this one round of Clomid. We did two rounds of Clomid before they figured out my DH was the problem. It caused me a few side effects but wasn't bad at all. We moved right from Clomid to IVF with ICSI once we had his diagnosis. Take care and thanks for the information. I am not a patient woman and I might have charged ahead without consulting my PCM first. I think I'll need to get my eating in order and maybe even lose another 30 pounds before I go the TTC route again. I still want to see someone have a kid and then get back to goal and post here, though! ~Cheri

Congrats! I know you're eager for a blood test confirmation, but three tests won't lie! Take care of yourself and have a great doctor's visit on the 31st. ~Cheri

Congrats! I read your blog and understand a number of your struggles. Enjoy this time and take care of yourself. Great job meeting two goals - goal weight, and a pregnancy! ~Cheri

I have a few questions. I'm just asking for opinions and gathering information right now. My Mirena recently decided to fall out after just a few months, and it got my husband and I talking about kids again. I'm only six months out from surgery. Right now I don't know that it's the best timing, but I also don't know that there's anything wrong with the timing, either. Those that know they're going to try to conceive (TTC) or are already doing it: Did you wait to get to goal before starting? I'm just curious here. I had a perfectly healthy twin pregnancy that started when I was 210 pounds, so I'm not concerned that my current weight will negatively impact my ability to carry or conceive. I just wonder how many wait, and if they worry once they get to goal that they'll never get back. Do people that get pregnant usually return to goal? I'd hate to get so close and never get this close again, you know? I think I'd feel the same way if I got to goal first, though. Does the amount time out from surgery impact pregnancy? I know a lot of people wait one year because of the honeymoon period and the best weight loss is supposed to be in those first months. I've been a consistent, if somewhat slow, loser. I have no doubts that I'll reach my goal now and expect that I'd be able to lose after another pregnancy, too. But are there other reasons for people to wait? Does anyone know of any stories of multiple pregnancy post-VSG? This is a very real concern for me. We did IVF w/ICSI and put back a responsible number of embryos but still got our twins as a result. I'd love to hear stories. I don't know that I'd have multiples - certainly the statistics say I wouldn't, but we're doing FET this time around and I've got this gut feeling, much like last time, about multiples. They're great and the pregnancy wasn't hard. But I am VERY concerned about another set of multiples. Not from a "could we handle it" perspective, because when you try for years and years to get pregnant you'll take all the babies you can get. At least, we will. But I'm very worried that my sleeve would cause serious nutritional issues. I ate a tremendous amount of food (mostly Proteins but my nut also recommended lots of carb and fats) while pregnant with my twins (and I "only" gained 60 pounds). There is no way I could eat those calories in solid food now that I'm sleeved. This is complicated by the fact that I am now lactose intolerant and those easy, nutritious foods like cottage cheese and greek yogurt are off limits. I think I'd have to supplement and drink shakes from sunup to sundown. On that note, do those of you pregnant supplement with shakes/Ensure or something similar? I wonder if it's easy to get enough nutrition simply through eating with the sleeve. I still hate eating and I still rely on one Protein shake a day to get my protein up between 80-90 grams a day. And, totally unrelated to VSG - has anyone had a FET here, even before being sleeved? Are you willing to share your experience here or PM me? I've read dozens of stories online but I'm always ready to learn a bit more about the experience. Sorry to rail off so many questions. I'm just curious. On the boards where I talk about FET there aren't many WLS patients. And of course, I doubt there are a lot of post WLS people here doing fertility treatments. But most of my questions are strictly pregnancy related, so I suppose I might find some ideas here. Thanks, ladies. Good luck to everyone currently trying and congrats to everyone currently expecting. ~Cheri

Yeah, I doubt you're going to want cold anything for a while post op. For me, at least, cold drinks caused esophageal spasms and discomfort for a few weeks. The only advice I can give is not to buy too much of any shake or supplement pre op. Your tastes will change. Not just immediately, but over and over again. I'm six months out and I've changed my shake three or four times now. I also developed lactose intolerance and had to get rid of two big cannisters of protein powder that were causing me problems. I agree - Muscle Milk shakes are pretty good room temp. Now that I like my drinks cold again, I drink a variety of Muscle Milk RTD, Isoflex powders and Oh Yeah! RTD shakes. These brands are tolerable at best but they really do help me lose weight and keep my protein numbers high. Post op you'll probably want to try a lot of different things. It took me a while to find things that taste good (enough) to me but also fit the nutritional profile I want. ~Cheri