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It's actually the first phase of the DS (duodenal switch) but I agree and would definitely wait to finish having kids because of the malabsorption of the DS. But with only 95 pounds of more than 300 in your initial goal to lose, I see no reason the sleeve can't get the OP there if she recommits. ~Cheri

First, congrats on your success so far - losing such a significant amount of weight is a success, despite your struggles right now. Second, congrats on your new addition, stress and all! Kudos for stepping up and admitting that you're struggling. It's embarrassing and it's hard to admit and of course it's frustrating. But coming here and looking for support is a big step and I applaud your decision to do so. It sounds like you have a few things going on. Major emotional upheaval and the stress of a new baby coupled with remaining disordered eating is wrecking havoc on you right now. I am sure that the stress is also affecting your hormones which can't make things any easier for you. I do suggest that if you can and if you're comfortable with it, that you pursue some counseling to help you through this rough period. There is no shame in it, and you'll have a dedicated person that will listen and help guide you through this part of your journey. You might even shelve some of those food demons for good, which can only improve your life and your chances of staying at goal once you get there. You have a lot going on and it sounds like that old coping mechanism is what's cushioning the blow for you. It's only natural because we spent far more of our lives building those habits than trying to break them. But you do have to learn how to break them eventually if you want long term success. Try to go back to basics. A good place to start is to purge your house of the foods that you're using to cope and sabotage your success. Try the five day pouch test. It's hard, but it will very likely help you #1, kick the carb monster off your back and #2, remember how you're supposed to be eating. Because you need to go back to the beginning here and start over. Ninety five pounds sounds overwhelming but it's a fraction of what you've already lost and you can succeed here if you buckle down and put your best foot forward. Protein shakes. Protein first. A gallon of Water a day. High protein Snacks between meals. No slider carbs. Good quality carbohydrates in moderation with your meals to prevent binges on junk. You know this stuff - I'm sure that you don't need anyone here to tell you what to do to lose weight because you already shed a lot! You can do this. You're not failing, you're hitting a roadblock that many of us hit at various points. I fell off my plan twice in my 17 month loss phase. It didn't stop me from picking up and getting back on program so I could hit goal. Best of luck. Search out those emotional eating and binge threads on VST. They're really useful and full of ladies with similar struggles. You really CAN do this. Do not give up and take it one step and one pound at a time. ~Cheri

Not me...I was actively trying (and used fertility treatments) but I have seen it over and over again. Increased fertility is one thing we experience as we lose weight. In addition, those wacky hormones for months post op can't help. We see folks here on all sorts of forms of BC that get pregnant without trying, especially ladies that previously had trouble getting pregnant. It can't be easy to have a surprise like that, especially when you were trying to avoid a pregnancy. Best of luck, ~Cheri

Great points, Nerdy. It's important to understand that avoiding those foods when possible is always healthier, but in the real world we often have to make compromises like this. It's fully possible to incorporate these things wisely. You just have to be diligent and use moderation. As a side note, I save so much money now...I just order a sandwich and it's two meals for me. I don't need a drink, don't want any sides and that old craving for fast food fries is long gone. ~Cheri

Oh, and it's now everyone's personal goal to see that you don't get the last post on your thread killer thread. Just sayin'. ~Cheri

Wait? Dear me, do I see NEWBIES commenting on how repetitive the posts are on VST at times? Say it ain't so. Folks, take my advice and don't mention it. People call you all sorts of names when you do. ~Cheri

I'm absolutely going off topic just to say it's nice to see Lissa around again! ~Cheri

I'm one of the folks that did have very low B12 levels and I do self-inject. It's absolutely no big deal and not even painful. For me, it's a sub-Q injection into my stomach and it's really worked wonders on my energy levels and even helped relieve some of that memory loss I was struggling with post op. Well, it helped until pregnancy brain set in, anyway. ~Cheri

Yes, you just need to stay on top of what you're doing. Do not slip into denial, avoid the scale and stop watching what you eat. I, personally, do not diet and I abhor the very idea of dieting for life. But I still make those good, basic post sleeve nutritional choices the majority of the time. I flex the rest of the time. In this, I feel satisfied and do not experience regain. I also weigh daily because the first place I'm going to see a change in my diet reflected is the scale. It's important that you don't approach everything you've done to this point as a diet - as something that ends now that you've achieved goal and feel more comfortable with your body. Because it's that very approach that can lead to backsliding and regain. Just stay on top of what you're doing and don't take goal weight as a free pass to eat whatever you want whenever you want it, and you should do fine. Congrats on having such success is such a short time. ~Cheri

I think some crossover is to be expected, BUT a majority of the conflict, disagreements and sarcasm here are from people that I wouldn't consider vets at all. To me, a vet is someone who is experienced here on VST. They're active, they're posting, they may or may not be at goal but they've been sleeved longer than a few months. I dearly love the posts of several posters that have less than one year post op, so I hesitate to say that a time constraint is the boundary. And frankly, I'm not down with the mods having to police and keep people out, either. I'd rather people just steer clear on their own, knowing when something isn't directed at them personally. The idea behind the vet board was to give us a place to vent and discuss those things that just don't apply when you're newly sleeved or even new to VST. It was to give us a "safe place" to discuss and get ideas on issues we face as people that don't need to be here but choose to come back to help other people. Our perspective and how we answer questions is different than someone still experiencing the glow of a fresh surgery and feeling eager to help everyone around. It IS different for us and it's actually really annoying and frustrating to see people come here, stir the pot, insult the vets and then distract with silly babble for the next ten pages of a thread. Almost every other board is a free zone for new people to post and they do it to their heart's desire. As vets we can (and frequently do) choose to only answer the posts we want to answer or help on, and we leave other newbies to answer the ones that are repetitive or for some reason annoying or uninteresting to us. I've been here a while and will likely be here long after some of these critical newbies are long gone because they've burnt out. I've seen really fantastic vets chased off the forums by burnout and constant criticism of their posts from people that simply don't get it. Plain and simple, if you're not a vet, try to understand that you just don't understand and keep that in mind when you jump in here and slam everyone. ~Cheri

That junk is addictive, that's why you want it so badly! It's no help now, but in a few months, odds are good most of that will turn your stomach. You've got to give the liquid diet post op diet a real shot as hard as it is. You need it so you can heal properly and avoid unnecessary complications. This is one of the hardest parts of the process from a physical point. And it's definitely normal to feel "hungry" while on liquids. Hang in there. Try your hardest to overcome this and take heart that in a few short weeks you'll be frustrated that you can only eat a few bites at a time. ~Cheri

True story.

Eh, but what do I care? It's all about me, anyway. At least I get to have my say, and unlike my kids, I don't have to watch the people I'm lecturing walk away or hear them say, "Yeah, yeah, we get it". ~Cheri

Good advice here. I experience this urge to eat endlessly around my cycle but otherwise it's not really the same for me. If it's only around your cycle, odds are good that it's purely hormonal and something you'll just have to learn to cope with, unfortunately. If it's something related to the desire to binge, to graze, to eat emotionally, etc., it's important to work on addressing it so it doesn't haunt you in maintenance. There are some really great threads here that can offer you some support if that's the case and I urge you to search them out. Have you recently weaned off your PPI? That could be part of the issue. Are you low-carbing? For me, incorporating a higher number of good quality carbs really curbs the desire to snack and to graze on less healthy choices. And of course, focusing on good quality, high Protein Snacks at regular intervals throughout your day can only help you, so try that if you aren't already. I need to eat every couple hours, not just a few times a day. Good luck, ~Cheri

I thought I was the know it all. Actually, I think I kill threads because I just don't stop writing and people get tired of reading my long posts so they stop commenting on the thread entirely. ~Cheri

Great work! I can't believe you've already been sleeved two months. Just wait until you peek back at six months out. It takes us a lot longer to see progress in the mirror than it does in photos. Whenever you're in doubt about your progress, take a few snapshots for a reality check. Keep it up! ~Cheri

My mom just lost her job with FedEx, too, and is now totally reliant on her partial disability payments (that were thankfully just approved a week ago). Sorry to hear you're experiencing this, too. I hope something turns up for you quickly. Keep your eyes open and be flexible is all I can suggest. Flexible in a speedo on the internet might make you some cash if you found the right audience. ~Cheri

I'm so sorry about your complications. It sounds like pure misery and I hope that you'll have relief from all of this soon. Perhaps cross posting this over in the complications forum will help more people see it. You aren't alone in having complications and I hope that someone out there that has overcome them can give you some reassurance and hope that this will pass for you, too. Best of luck and do keep us updated. Every bit of info out there helps people researching or struggling with a similar situation. ~Cheri

I think so, Oregondaisy. I'm guilty of doing the math to reduce the portion size down to the six M&Ms I snag from the candy dish on the way out the door, or the 1/2 tsp of sour cream I add to my eggs just so I track it all. It's up to you and it really is kind of a pain sometimes to input new foods into the MFP database. But for me, it was a truly effective way to really stay on top of every bite. I don't know about you, but when I'm stressed (or on my cycle) I can graze an extra 200-300 calories a day easily. Or more! A handful here, a dollop of sour cream there, an extra piece of bacon there...and before I know it, I've exceeded my daily goals all while telling myself that I'm right on track. Good luck. This is an ongoing issue for a lot of us and we all have to find the best ways to manage it. ~Cheri

It's pretty normal to feel "hunger" during full liquids and this fades in most cases by the time you reach purees. It's important to do a few things early on. First and foremost, you really need to follow your surgeon's plan and I'm pretty sure chicken isn't on it. The post op diets exist to help our sleeves heal and you definitely don't want to risk a complication. I know you're not trying to eat a large portion and you didn't mention feeling discomfort, but curbing this behavior as much as possible is probably the best thing you can do right now. Secondly, as you progress on this journey, learning the difference between actual, physical hunger and head hunger or the emotional desire to eat is critical. The reason for this is that your capacity is going to increase eventually. And not addressing the desire to eat will haunt you later because grazing is fully possible with a sleeve. You can't eat a box of Cookies in one sitting, but nothing will stop you from eating one an hour later on! If you're not on a PPI yet (think Nexium or Prilosec) I urge you to contact your doc and get a prescription or to pick up an OTC box and take one daily. All that acid in a newly sleeved stomach (or even a vet stomach, like mine) feels exactly like a rumbling, hungry stomach. Make sure you don't have an easy solution that you're overlooking. This is the most challenging part (physically) of the process, in my opinion. If you take nothing else from what I say, just take heart that it passes more quickly than you think and you'll soon be frustrated that you can't eat more than a few bites of soft foods! Other than the things I mentioned, I think you're on the right track with already tracking your intake and pushing shakes. Good work, swift healing, and try to stay positive. ~Cheri Oh, and there's nothing wrong with egg drop soup, BTW - it's a yummy way to eat a bit of Protein on liquids, in my opinion. Even better if you spice it up a bit for variety!

Not during my sleeve surgery but yes, I got one once when I was put on an IV for severe dehydration due to a stomach virus. It was incredibly painful and the infection spread down the vein all the way to my hands and even moving my fingers was painful. Once I was on antibiotics I felt relief within a few days, though that bruised feeling remained for a while and it took a while for the actual bruises to heal, too. I'm sorry you're going through this and I hope you heal swiftly! ~Cheri

Tiffykins is sorely missed by those of us that remember her. She was a HUGE part (she and Oregondaisy) of my choosing the sleeve over the band. I lurked a long while here (and on OH) before making an account and followed her story closely. I especially miss her input now that I'm pregnant post sleeve! And that kinda brings me back...Tiff got pretty burned out. Her life picked up and got very busy with not just one, but two little ones post surgery. I feel that if revisiting VST isn't fulfilling or rewarding or enjoyable in some way for us vets, we'll eventually fade away completely, taking our experience with us. A community of mostly newbies and folks in their first year isn't going to be the same as a varied one. I just want to avoid getting burned out completely. I admit, I'm a hormonal pregnant woman with some very serious family crisis issues right now on top of an international move and a house hunt for a place 500 miles away. I'm sure that some of the stress I'm feeling in my personal life is reflected here in my posts on VST. I can't help that. But the real heart of my argument is the same and I think that I've felt this way from the start. ~Cheri

Nah, you're not going to need it. And I've seen sleeved Iron Man competitors on here - you'd have to work REALLY hard to be an extreme athlete because diet is tricky with a limited capacity, but honestly we have lots of athletes here that do just fine post op. All the rest of my stomach ever did for me was allow me to eat an entire cheesecake or pizza in one sitting...something I don't ever want to do again. ~Cheri

First, my thanks to the OP for posting her personal experiences in an attempt to help others. The intent to help was there. And yes, it's absolutely useful for long term success to cement those good habits when food is unappealing and eating small amounts is your new norm and the first six months are ideal for those changes to start taking place. Second, people need to realize that when someone offers advice here on what worked for them, they're doing exactly that. YMMV, right? What works for one doesn't work for all of us, and expecting that one person has THE WAY to lose weight and ALL OTHER WAYS ARE DOOMED TO FAIL is silly. Do your research! Listen to YOUR body. Track YOUR intake, YOUR results and most importantly, listen to YOUR surgeon. That's the only way to know what works for YOU. Third, this is relevant: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/67736-understanding-the-phrase-honeymoon-period/page__hl__%2Bunderstanding+%2Bthe+%2Bphrase There are as many different approaches, diet plans and exercise programs here as there are members. Know that and try not to panic yourself OR attack someone if theirs isn't the same as yours. And I'm sorry, but I do not believe VST should be catered to the lowest common denominator - the person that would starve themselves to lose weight or the most sensitive person in the room isn't the norm, and I don't know that couching my responses to cater is necessary for this site to function as the support site it's intended to be. Good luck, folks! ~Cheri

For about four months I avoided it completely, doing the way low carb thing. Around six to nine months I was working on incorporating a more "normal" approach to diet and would add in healthy whole grains to boost my carb intake. In maintenance, I don't avoid bread at all, but I eat it in balance and moderation, knowing that it will cause problems if I overdo it. In the beginning, half a thin slice of toast was enough to stuff me all on it's own. Sometime around a year I was able to start eating a half sandwich made on homemade sliced bread or a whole grilled cheese made on the same bread. Bread can cause me issues, particularly the nice, fluffy rolls that swell after you eat them, so I have learned to be satisfied with a bite or two. But for me, avoiding rice, Pasta or flour tortillas is more important than avoiding bread. Those foods hurt me if I'm not extremely careful, but I've learned how to eat bread in moderation and besides, I'm a serious baker and really wanted to find a way to make my breads work. Your experience will be completely based on your sleeve, your dietary limitations and your ability to exercise moderation. Good luck! ~Cheri