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You've done a great job and deserve to be proud of not only losing the weight but maintaining the loss! I, personally, find maintenance very easy but I know that for a lot of people it's challenging. Congrats to you! Your hard work has obviously paid off. ~Cheri

Just wait until mushies when you're totally frustrated that you can't eat more than three bites of scrambled egg! It's completely normal and will pass. And it's good that you're already cognizant of the fact that not feeling full is not the same thing as feeling hungry - it's going to help you in the long run as you aim to stay on track once you have an appetite again. Congrats on your new sleeve! ~Cheri

I finally went back and browsed a few of the recent posts by other gals and oh my gosh! You ladies all look fabulous! I'm in love with the little blue dress and think you gals that bared your arms look WONDERFUL (and oh so brave, because I still have a serious hate for my arms) in your pretty dresses! We all deserve some pats on the back for our success, don't we? We look awesome, after all. ~Cheri

How about a little black shirt-and-skirt ensemble? I went a little retro to a dinner the other night and got a lot of compliments, thought I'd share. ~Cheri And with the hubs...

I was on antidepressants several years ago and yes, changes in appetite are fairly normal. I also flip flopped and went from being an insomniac to having trouble waking up. They switched me from one drug to another and the side effects changed. I was able to eat and able to wake up but had no sex drive. Sometimes you can't win for losing! In any case, give the drug a few months to see how it's working in the long run. If it causes a long term issue talk to your doc about a different option. I had the easiest time when I was on Lexapro and it definitely helped me through a very bad patch (with regular counseling sessions, too). ~Cheri

Thanks for posting this. I just had labs done for a separate issue and came back low on all the same things. They're starting me on the B12 shots, too. I was worried but hear they'll help me with my forgetfulness and the fact that I always feel tired. Here's hoping! ~Cheri

I'm nearly two years out and I actually gain a few pounds every month the week before my cycle. I always gasp in shock the morning I hit the scale and see the gain. Then I think about what time of month it is and shrug it off. It always drops right back off once I'm done. ~Cheri

Yep, no regrets. I wish I could take every one of my overweight friends and family members to have the surgery, too!

I was sleeved July 15, 2010. My highest ever weight was somewhere around 280 but when I had surgery I was 242 pounds. My weight is usually between 134-138 and I'm fairly happy there. I'm currently experiencing some other issues so I'm concerned about putting on more weight but I think if I stay on top of it I'll be able to control things. I started in a very snug 18/20, XXL and I'm in a 4/6, S (sometimes XS, sometimes M, so it's all relative) so I cannot possibly complain. I had really hoped to lose just a little more weight with surgery, despite the fact that somewhere in the 150s I started to realize that it wasn't going to happen very easily. I'm very short and really should lose a few more pounds to be safely in the "normal" weight range. Right now I'm on the edge of overweight. That said, I know I'm having plastics when I get back to the states and I know my weight will be right where I want it once those are done. I'm sure that if I really buckled down and put on my patience cap I could lose the weight before then, but I'm worried about looking too thin and bony after plastics if I do that. Honestly - I really am very small under all this extra skin and if bones poke up all over the place now I can't imagine I'd be very happy fifteen to twenty pounds smaller. Not to mention my poor husband, who was disappointed I chose to get so small in the first place! I think the biggest surprise for me was how EASY this all has been. I hate to say the sleeve is a magical solution, because it's really not. But once I got a handle on my food issues and worked them out it became almost effortless for me to lose and maintenance has really been an absolute breeze. I feel like if more people doing VSG would do all the head work while losing, they'd have a much easier time maintaining. Learning to eat like a regular person was a challenge and yes, sometimes I do have to stay on my toes so it won't get out of control. But I'm so glad I got it all figured out and don't have to weigh daily or track my calories every day. I weigh in once a week and only hop on the scale every day if I notice an upward trend (like currently, with my hormone issues). I log my food about four days in a row each month just to be sure I'm still in the right range. It works for me. I'm very happy these days and a totally different woman than I was just 20.5 months ago. I would do it again in a heartbeat and I don't think I'll ever really regret choosing surgery. I'm glad all of the other 2010 sleevers are also doing so well! There aren't many of us around here. It's easy for me to disappear for weeks on end because yes, once you stop needing support it's easy to forget to come back here to help the new folks. You guys all look fantastic, by the way. ~Cheri

Thanks for the input, ladies. After taking the time to actually look into it, yes, perimenopause sounds like the answer. I'll still try to get some tests run, and maybe going back on birth control will help. I'd previously used Nuva Ring to control my endometriosis but it's not available in my remote location (they only do a couple different kinds of pill here) and I only brought so many with me. I guess I might need to get tested to confirm and then start back up on some form of pill. Ugh. I'm wondering if that's why symptoms hit me all of a sudden, too - I just finished up my last Nuva Ring before all the weirdness started. I wonder if I was controlling the symptoms without realizing it. ~Cheri

I read. Therapy is great and all...but honestly, I avoid it. I don't need a medical file or a mental health flag keeping me from jobs in certain locations! I read a great book about emotional overeating called "Hungry: Lessons Learned on the Journey from Fat to Thin" by Allen Zadoff. It's short and simple but it really made me think. Honestly, it's the first thing I read that made me realize I was an overeater and that I used food as an emotional refuge. I wouldn't say he's anti-surgery, he just found a way to control his eating habits without it - but he does touch on the other aspects of our journey. You could also check out books by Geneen Roth but she kind of annoys me, though her books have helped a lot of people. I enjoyed "Promiscuous Eating" by Andrew Siegel, but it might not be exactly what you want because it does read in some places like a diet book. I did find his writing on the reasons behind overeating really interesting. Most important is that you're finally realizing that you've used food as a coping mechanism. Sometimes being aware of something is enough for us to start to change. You are most definitely NOT alone. Every single person on this board has food issues of one sort or another, or we wouldn't be overweight in the first place. Very, very few people can honestly blame genetics or health for 100% of their weight problem. Recognizing this is the first step - now you can make a plan to attack the issue. I always start with knowledge and think my way through. I'll always have that urge to do the things I used to do (binge, overeat, whatever) but knowing why I'm feeling the way I do has helped me overcome the majority of those problems. Whatever you decide, I hope you find something that works well for you. ~Cheri

I could just be the healing process but here are a few things you can consider: 1) I couldn't tolerate plain Water. Some days it still bothers me and I'm nearly 2 years out! 2) Make sure you're not dehydrated. 3) Is it your Protein shake? How about dairy? I became lactose intolerant post op and it started with nausea after a shake and finally became all day nausea and intestinal distress after a few months. Once I figured out it was the dairy the issue was resolved (no dairy...now that I'm farther out I can tolerate small amounts again). 4) Have you had a marked increase in your consumption of artificial sweeteners? If you switched to low carb everything post op, you might be getting too many of these and they sometimes cause funny side effects like nausea, trouble sleeping, intestinal distress, etc. 5) Believe it or not, sometimes acid reflux isn't just a burning/heartburn feeling - nausea isn't uncommon. So make sure your PPI is up to the task of controlling your acid. I started out on Nexium but it wasn't doing the trick after about a month so I switched until I was finally happy on Prilosec. 6) Finally, I can't begin to say why but warm liquids always treated me better early on. Even after healing when spasms from the cold drinks weren't a concern. Nowadays I still prefer very cold or hot beverages over something room temperature, and it seems to settle better that way, too. I hope you figure it out! ~Cheri

I just wanted to point out that as of last week, VSG still wasn't covered by Tricare. However, with the new provider contracts being awarded we have it just might be covered in the very near future. Here's hoping! That said, many MTFs do the procedure. Do not confuse this with Tricare covering the procedure - they're two different things! Frequently people get excited that Tricare now covers this because they had it done at their MTF but it is not the same thing at all; many MTFs provide services not normally covered under Tricare. I'm an active duty spouse and had to self-pay because they would only cover bypass, band or the old stapling procedure. So, for folks that live very close to a MTF that does the sleeve or that live in a region under a provider that already covers the sleeve (United Healthcare, West region), I hear it's not that difficult to get done. If you're remote, it's far more difficult. I know several women that were told it was covered and were referred off post only to have it denied prior to surgery. Two of them then went through the appeals process and ultimately lost their appeals. If you're remote, it's NOT easy to get it through the system, though that might change. Somewhere around this forum is a list of MTFs that offer bariatric surgeries and if any of them are near you, I'm sure you're odds of getting it done without self-paying are far better. The first step is always to make an appointment with your PCM and go from there! And please, come back and update with your results (if you're getting it done, if Tricare is paying or if it's through the MTF and which MTF is doing treatment) because many people under Tricare are trying to get the sleeve done and the more info we have out here the more help for everyone. ~Cheri

I'm in a remote location and getting medical treatment here is an absolute nightmare. They have to med-evac us to London for care and will only do it for an emergency. So I figure I'd ask here for suggestions or experiences so that I can approach the nurse we have here with some ideas of what to get tested. I've experienced some weirdness in the last two months (totally unrelated to VSG or weight loss, I think) and was hoping someone could tell me if they had a similar experience or if they've heard of anything like this. Two months ago I had a wacky cycle. I've always been clockwork: 28 days with ovulation right in the middle. I am NEVER late, not even when I'm stressed or sick or traveling. I was two weeks late and scared half to death I was pregnant (which should not be possible as my husband is for all intents and purposes, just about sterile). Then, out of nowhere, my period shows up. I get a short, spotty cycle and then it's back to normal. For all of four days! Then I immediately go into what feels like ovulation for me, complete with sore breasts and a breakout. But the soreness doesn't last one or two days like usual - it lasts two and a half weeks...complete with more pimples, dang it. And right when it ends I get my period again. This one was more normal but still very, very light compared to usual and only 3 days instead of my usual 4-5 days. In addition to my massive three weeks' long breakout (something that again, NEVER happens) I've gained weight. Steadily, despite the fact that I've maintained with virtually no effort in the past. I've been tracking my food and nothing is out of line. I've been gaining about half a pound a day and I'm up five pounds in just the last two weeks. This is not a matter of stress, Water intake or sodium intake. Something is just not right and I can't figure it out. I really, sincerely doubt I am pregnant - I've always "known" when I was pregnant within days of it happening, long before I could test. This doesn't feel the same way, not at all. When I went into the clinic here I was told that unless I can name specific tests I want done there isn't much they can do. Additionally, they send our bloodwork out to Almaty and can't even do something locally, so the test I request might not even be available. I had my annual exam done last September so I could ask for one but all it would be is the usual swab and I don't know that they'd find anything that way. I'll be back stateside in August, but would obviously like to figure out what's going on before five more months pass. Women in my family do go into menopause earlier (my mom was totally done at age 35 and I'm 31) but wouldn't I expect my cycles to get farther apart with that, not closer together? I'm not sure where to go with this one. Anyone have similar experience and willing to share? I'm not even sure what to look for, honestly. Thanks for your time, I hope someone can help. ~Cheri

I am so thankful I'm not the only one with this issue! Isn't this a royal pain? I seriously never realized how much that extra bit of fat added to the comfort level. I have no real suggestions for you as I'm dealing with the same thing. I just try to vary things up a bit so my bruises are never in the same place two days in a row. And I'm completely embarrassed to admit this, but I've also noticed I seem to have, well, LESS room, if that makes any sense. Things that used to be a-okay are no longer quite so comfortable. I had no idea that every part of my body would change with the weight loss, honestly! If anyone finds a solution I'd love to hear about it. ~Cheri

Yup, in the early days when you can't get much in splurge on the higher calorie, higher carb Protein shakes and mix them with milk or soy milk to up the calories even more. I recommend the Syntha-6 shakes for this - they're incredibly tasty but too high cal (and low protein) for me to drink daily. Also add two scoops (or 1.5) to about 12 oz. liquid to boost those calories and protein counts even more. ~Cheri

I'm 20 months and eat nowhere near a normal sized portion. I'd say based upon what I've read here I even have a little less capacity than other folks sleeved around the same time. I still have to make sure I log my food to ensure I get enough nutrition - the opposite of the issue I thought I'd be having in maintenance! I will say that my sleeve HAS stretched a tiny bit since one year out but it's not enough that I'm concerned about regaining weight. I can finally eat 3 oz of Protein in a sitting but it has to be just the right texture (soft enough to eat, I mean, or covered in a sauce/gravy) and it's the only thing I can eat for that meal. So when it comes to eating meat I still break out my scale to be sure of what I'm eating, but only because I HAVE to track carefully or I'll get nowhere near my protein goals. Everything else I can eyeball at this point. I can eat one egg scrambled with cheese and if I eat slowly enough I can also eat one turkey sausage link in the same meal. That's vs. one year out when I could only eat one egg scrambled with some cheese. If I limit my protein to about 1.5-2 oz in a sitting, I can eat about 1/2 cup of whatever else I want. But for some reason, I have a big capacity for salad now as long as I eat it first. So tonight for dinner I had about 1/2 cup of salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, radish, shredded cheese & dressing), 2 oz salmon and about 1/4 cup each creamed spinach and mashed potato. For me, that's a HUGE meal. I ate five hours ago and have no desire to eat anything else tonight. If I do Pasta or rice (or bread) I can't eat but a few bites, so a 2x3 square of lasagna has me feeling envious because there's no way I could eat that. If I eat half a grilled cheese sandwich I can have about 1/2 a cup of thin Soup (like tomato) on a good day. Some days, I only have room for a half sandwich. I can't eat a whole cheeseburger (unless I stretch it out over two or three meals, which I do when I really want one!) and I couldn't begin to eat more than one slice of pizza, no matter how thin the crust. Comparing it to a child's portion is pretty accurate, though there are times when my growing twins eat more than I do in a sitting. Junky foods are a different story. I can eat 2-3 cups of popcorn. I cat eat one cookie at a time, but I'll be darned if I can't go back and eat another one thirty minutes later, too. So the capacity for carbs/slider foods really does increase from the beginning. The good news is that the desire to eat those foods is pretty much gone. Unless it's that time of the month. Because yes, the absolute ONLY time I can eat all day long is the day before my period starts. I not only battle head hunger but I definitely seem to have an increased capacity, too. Of course the desire to use that capacity to eat a steak wouldn't be so bad...but it's definitely the chips, Cookies, pretzels and french fries (ugh, and cherry coke!) I'm after, so it's definitely not a good thing. I'm glad I'm not alone in that. ~Cheri

I went through a phase where MM was my favorite but now I can't stand it. It goes in cycles if you drink the shakes long enough! Nowadays I mix my unflavored, vanilla or chocolate powder with tea or coffee every morning - sometimes over ice and sometimes not. Sometimes I used flavored coffee or a spiced tea, and sometimes I jazz it up with a little flavored syrup, too. It's the easiest way by far to get my Protein in each day and I've been drinking at least one shake a day for 20 months. Anyway, if you get tired of paying for RTD or if you get ready to try powders again in the future it's an option! I use Integrated supplements (they have my favorite unflavored out of more than half a dozen I've tried) but I'm sure there's a brand out there you can tolerate. For now, enjoy that fact that you've found a shake you actually like! ~Cheri

Ditto! My lowest incision is right above my belly button and would have rubbed. It all depends on where your surgeon slices and dices, I guess! Best of luck whatever you decide. ~Cheri

No carbs is impossible, because even Protein shakes have them and unless you're mixing a very low carb shake with Water, you're consuming carbs. Talk to the nutritionist. The fact is, yes, low-carb is doable but you will need energy so the very least you should be consuming is around 50 grams per day. There are the weirdos like me that don't advocate going super low carb at all, too. You can search my posts to see my opinions on this - I make them known all the time. Whatever you choose to do, you aren't alone because there are a number of low carbers here and also a number of us that advocate a "moderation in everything" plan. I, personally, feel low energy, get irritable, feel deprived and am a beastly person if I don't eat enough carbohydrates. That's just me. We're all different, and what works for you will be something only you can figure out. I recommend tracking your daily intake religiously until you find out what you can eat and still lose. And yes, Dreamfields is an option, although I'd say that Pasta is still the hardest thing for me to eat, even at 20 months out. So be careful with it and only eat a bite or two before waiting to see what happens. For me it causes extreme discomfort after more than a bite or two. ~Cheri

In the beginning, it's important to eat according to the surgeon's plan to avoid issues healing. After that, it's smart to go on a slightly restricted diet until you learn to eat to your nutritional guidelines. Once your capacity increases, it's up to you on what you eat and how you do it. Keep in mind that just like prior to surgery, overindulging in any of those foods will cause a stall or an outright weight gain. I eat whatever I want, in moderation. I am not on a diet. I had the sleeve to control my portions and I refuse to live on Atkins forever. That said, eating a "normal" diet will cause you to shed the weight more slowly. So don't go in eating whatever you want once you heal and get angry that you're only losing a pound or two a week (if that). I started out immediately post op restricting my carbs very severely. After several months of slow loss, irritability, feeling denied and just plain old frustration, I opted to go a healthier route (for me) and to incorporate a more normal number of carbohydrates. My loss didn't slow noticeably, but then, I was a slower loser from day one and only averaged about six pounds off per month. So, do what you want. Again - if you sit down and consume all the ice cream you can eat (and boy, it will be a lot more than the amount of chicken breast you can eat) do not be surprised if you don't lose weight. Part of having the surgery is to learn how to eat properly and yes, sticking to a mostly healthy diet is important. I'd say I follow the "rules" (Protein first, veggies, then a tiny bit of carbs) about 90% of the time. But I eat cake or Cookies or bread if it's what I really want, in moderation. Good luck. ~Cheri

Yes, I'd also add that for some people (ME!) they cause insomnia if consumed daily and can also cause intestinal distress. I eat the real deal, just in moderation, and I'm much happier. Thanks for sharing! ~Cheri

Could be the shake but it could also be what you're mixing it with, too. I had the same issue in the beginning and it gradually worsened from nausea after a shake to nausea all day to intestinal distress and downright pain as I got further out from surgery. Turns out I developed lactose intolerance so not only were my shakes (which weren't lactose free) bothering me, but the milk I was using to make them was making me sick. Now I use a lactose free shake and I drink them with soymilk, coffee or tea instead of milk. I can't have yogurt or cottage cheese, either, but I am able to consume a small amount of cream cheese and a moderate amount of hard cheeses. Lactaid doesn't work for me, unfortunately, and neither do the lactase pills. So, I'd start by trying a different brand of shake first, or by simply cutting out the milk for a day and seeing what happens. It might be a dumb suggestion, but also be sure you're taking your morning Vitamins with food as that can cause an issue, too. Hope you figure it out soon! ~Cheri

Yes, first be proud of your accomplishments. You have come a long way in a short time. You're edging in on halfway to goal and yes, every pound you've lost is one gone forever. That said, I get it. We all do! I'm at goal, I'm quite small and there are still days (particularly when I'm emotional or moody) where I feel like a fat person. Why? Because we've gotten in the habit of being mean to ourselves, we're incredibly hard on ourselves and sometimes, we have unrealistic expectations. I lost 108 pounds and yes, I hate looking in the mirror and seeing all that skin. What? Did I honestly expect to shed all the weight and still love my abused body? I'm at goal. I'm small. It's amazing what our damaged self-esteem can make us feel - I'm in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and I'm considered plus size here. I can look in the mirror and know that I'm small - but still feel BIG in comparison to the local ladies! When people stare at me here, I always feel self-conscious all over again, even though I know in my head that they're staring at me because I'm obviously not Central Asian or Russian, and because I have visible tattoos! It's weird the way our brains work and it takes a long time to get over some of these things. Hang in there. I was right where you are now in November of 2010. I was a few months out from surgery and down about 50-60 pounds. Yes, I was thrilled to be the size I was but honestly, I was stalled out for nine weeks around that time and felt like I'd never get smaller. It was right around this time that I was just starting to have people notice the loss, too, and it wasn't all the time, either. The reality here is that it really does take a lot of loss to start seeing size changes when you're plus sized. For me, I didn't lose the first pant size until about 30 pounds off - and then another after 20 more pounds. It wasn't until I was in non-plus size clothes that I could lose a pant size after dropping only 10-15 pounds. Once you start seeing a real difference both in the mirror and on your clothing tags, I'm sure you will feel a little better. As for whether or not people are considering you that large person I wouldn't be so sure. I was horribly self conscious when I was larger and always felt that anyone laughing or smiling near me was laughing at me. I hated going out in public and I felt like the fattest girl in the room every time. I was always looking around for other girls my size so I'd know how I measured up to the other women. After I shed a lot of the weight, I realized that it was all me. Nobody else had the issues with my size that I had. It was actually kind of egotistical of me to think that everyone was looking at me, anyway! I can say that if you hang in there and keep on working at losing the weight you'll recover some of yourself. You'll start to feel a bit more confident each time you see your successes and you'll hopefully shed some of the self-esteem issues. It might help you to talk to someone like a counselor, too. Take care, ~Cheri

I got a long robe that zipped up the front. It didn't rub or bother me at all. I would definitely get something that opens in the front because it's easier when you're hooked up to an IV. I was in the hospital for a few days and definitely would have had trouble pulling a shirt or nightgown over my head. Everyone is different, but that's my 2 cents. ~Cheri