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Heck, after being sleeved and living on liquids for weeks on end it's no surprise your taste buds want flavor! I never really enjoyed spicy foods prior to surgery but I LOVE them now. I think part of it is that I still eat such small portions, and spicy or very flavorful foods feel satisfying and sort of replace the enjoyment of that overstuffed feeling I'd aim for after every meal. If I can't eat much, I want to make every bite wonderful, not bland and boring! ~Cheri

Yep, I agree with the above post. We were given Ativan to help us sleep/relax before surgery and for two days post op, so something like that shouldn't be an issue for you to take prior to flying. Best of luck! ~Cheri

I'm not disputing any of the advice you got here - all of it is good. But I'd also point out that these longer stalls do happen to a lot of us. My body hit happy weights at 190 and 160 and it took FOREVER to get past those two points. It was like my body was so happy that no matter what I did I couldn't lose weight. And the sad news? Once I was within 20 pounds of goal it took a whole SIX months to lose that last 20 pounds. Some months I only lost one pound the entire month, and some it flew off in short bursts of five at a time. Oh, and once I hit goal? I immediately bounced up three pounds and it took another three weeks of two Protein shakes a day to get them off again!! Sometimes, as much as we hate it, the best answer is to keep plugging away and wait it out. So my advice is to track that food again using a more traditional calorie counter, not the points system. Find what works for you without causing a gain. I discovered prior to surgery with metabolic testing that my basal metabolic rate is significantly lower than the average and that I need a lower calorie diet to lose weight. If you're eating the standard 1200 calorie diet now, it might be too much. Or even too little, based upon your exercise regimen. Make sure the issue isn't denial about what you're eating. That's my biggest culprit every time. I may only be able to eat one cookie at a time but I'll be darned if I don't get carried away sometimes and eat one at a time four times a day! Record every crumb you put in your mouth and if your intake isn't the issue it's likely that your body is at a happy spot. Persistence will pay off and eventually you'll be down to goal, even if it doesn't happen quickly. It took me 17 months to get to goal but man, life here is sweet. You'll be there if you keep trying. ~Cheri

C'mon now! Take a break and look at what you just wrote. Your body lost ten whole pounds in ONE week! Give yourself a break. Your poor body just underwent a major surgery, anesthesia, a tremendous diet change and a huge weight loss...all in the last twelve days! Do yourself a favor and put that scale away for a week. You just removed 85% of your stomach - I promise that you're going to lose weight. Don't beat yourself up or let yourself get worked up if it doesn't all fly off overnight. In six months you're going to be crowing about your huge loss and how close you are to goal, I promise! Best of luck. Life post op can be a long, hard journey. No sense getting worked up just out of the gate. ~Cheri

I find they're less sensitive but nothing like a total loss of sensation. Get in to your doc just to be sure there isn't an issue. I do occasionally have pain now because I have to wear support ALL day or they ache, the poor, sad, saggy things! Yep, check it out with your PCM because I'd rather waste a visit and feel foolish than let an issue develop. ~Cheri

My insurance (Tricare) is a royal PITA so I didn't even bother with them once they told me they'd only cover the bypass or band. I'm another one that self-paid and went to Mexico (all the way from Germany!) and used Dr. Aceves. I can't say enough good things about him and you'll only find rave reviews here and on the OH forums. He's fantastic, and I still hope to get my sister and mom back to him one day for their own sleeves. I think your plan is a good one - keep pushing with insurance until you hit a definite wall, and start thinking about the self-pay option. I had three doctors on my list of potentials, two were stateside and one was Dr. Aceves. I chose the best price for the best care and couldn't be happier. The good news about self-pay? You get to make your surgery date as soon as you have the money, instead of jumping through hoops for nine months! Best of luck! ~Cheri

Sounds less like dumping (which I feel is more related to sugar alcohols and fats than the surgery) and more like an issue with blood sugars. I was diabetic before sleeving and what you're describing sounds exactly like what my blood sugar would do if I consumed too many carbs, or if I ate a heavy carb meal after avoiding them for a long period of time. A lot of people experience dumping symptoms have an issue with a sensitivity to sugar alcohols (because so many of us jump into the low-carb lifestyle post op) or a reaction to eating fatty foods after avoiding them for a long period of time. I had these same symptoms prior to surgery after going on a strict diet, too. I also thought I was dumping post op but in reality, I had developed lactose intolerance and was being horribly affected by the huge amounts of dairy I was consuming post op to boost my Protein intake. If you're riding the super low carb train and then feeling sick after pizza or Pasta I'd say it's the huge boost to your sugars that's the problem. If you want to avoid that but still eat small amounts of carbs, I'd boost your daily intake a little so your body isn't in shock afterward. And if you don't want to eat those foods, then don't eat them. I still can't eat pasta without feeling incredibly sick - both from the stomach pain and the lightheadedness afterward. Other foods don't bother me the same way. I can eat one small chocolate chip cookie and not have the same issues caused by three bites of macaroni. Hope you figure it out and come up with a solution that keeps you happy AND feeling healthy. ~Cheri

Life after the sleeve is NOTHING life life prior to surgery. It took me about three to four months to get to the point where I could consistently get all my calories (800 a day), Protein and Water in - and that doesn't mean it wasn't a challenge even at that point! I am 18 months out from surgery. I still don't get "hungry" but I do get an empty feeling that tells me it's time to eat. I still don't eat much. I still don't really like to be around food. If I'm not feeling like I need to eat, the smell of it totally turns my stomach. I'm also the cook in my house and many nights I'll make a nice meal for the family and only eat a few nibbles at the dinner table. I don't mind cooking for them but I simply don't want to eat. I may not have the popular opinion but in my experience most of the people that talk about raging "hunger" this close to surgery are dealing with head hunger and cravings, a totally different monster. The only time I ever feel compelled to eat or snack is during my monthly cycle. I'm far enough out that I now realize this is completely driven by hormones and I'm to the point where I can ignore it or shut the monster up with some beef Jerky or a hard boiled egg! Your calories are low, but mine were, too. It used to take me half the day to finish a 16 oz. Protein shake, or two meals to eat two eggs. I'm a year and a half out and still can't eat more than one egg in a sitting! You can do little things to boost your calories if you're concerned. Try going with a higher calorie, higher carb protein shake (like the Syntha-6 ones) so your half-a-day shake packs more punch. I used to combine protein powders - I'd have a scoop of a high protein unflavored with a scoop of higher calorie Syntha-6 so I'd get my protein and some extra calories. As you keep working at this you'll find your capacity will increase. After you're totally healed, you might want to focus on some softer foods to boost your intake. For instance, until I developed lactose intolerance, I'd make breakfast a protein shake and eat a serving of cottage cheese, too. If I ate meat or an egg for that meal it's all I'd be able to eat, but by eating something softer, I could pair it with the shake and boost my nutritional and calorie counts. I also made sludge, something a bodybuilder friend of mine told me to try. I mixed a Tbs. of Peanut Butter (or Nutella or almond butter) with a scoop of chocolate Protein powder, then stirred in a tiny bit of water to make...well, sludge. It's packed with calories and protein but is very soft and goes down easily. If my counts were low at the end of the day I'd have this before bed and it really helped. I will not lie: eating got to be a hated chore. It was so hard to understand because eating used to be my favorite pastime! But every day I would get up in the morning and log my meal plan for the day and then force myself to consume those calories. It gets easier. Not for a long while, but it does get easier. I think most people that have this surgery never find their hunger again - at least not the way we experienced "hunger" as obese people. We have a healthier take-it-or-leave-it attitude towards food. Sometimes this makes meeting our nutritional guidelines a chore, but overall, we're very lucky. I have too many bypass friends still fighting that endless empty feeling and struggling to keep themselves slim. With the sleeve, this becomes almost effortless, provided you make the smart choices a habit. Good luck! ~Cheri

In the end you might wish you'd been more upfront but I understand your current desire for privacy on this issue. Besides, high school is hard enough without adding more fuel to the gossip machine - girls can be so nasty sometimes. Anyway, I had a laparoscopy to check for endometriosis in 2007 and the VSG is also a laparoscopic surgery. Now, don't get me wrong, I had several more scars from the VSG because of where they removed my stomach and put the drain, but for high school kids I'm sure they wouldn't know the difference. Mine was an exploratory surgery to see if there was an issue and yes, one was discovered/diagnosed. But if you've had female issues in the past, this is probably a good excuse. And to tell the truth without actually telling the truth you could always say you're having a laparoscopic surgery AND you've had female issues. People hear what they want to hear and will assume that you mean you had the surgery for the female issues. Good luck to you - I wish I'd had this done when I was a teenager! I think of all those years I spent hiding myself and being insecure and it makes me sad that I didn't do it sooner. ~Cheri

Yes, I was raised as part of the "clean plate club" and we were punished for not eating our food. And we didn't get normal portions - my family would pile the food on for the kids and be angry when we were unable to finish four times the normal amount of food! It certainly contributed to my teen/adult obesity. I've had to grow away from my growing up a bit and accept that nobody is going to punish me for not eating my food. It's okay to share food, to put it in a doggie bag for later, or even to throw it away if you absolutely cannot eat it. I had to learn that it's okay to have a plate with just a few bites of food on it and there's no need to overload a dinner plate with food I couldn't possibly eat. To prevent waste, I try to limit my portion at the beginning of the meal. If we're eating out, I usually order an appetizer and share with the table, or I share a meal with my husband and ask for an extra plate. At home, I grab a bread or dessert plate and only put what I think I can eat on the plate. It's okay to go back for more if I still have room but this almost never happens! For me, learning to stop eating was a bit easier because I got physically ill if I overate. That feeling gets old fast, so you learn to stop doing it, even when your brain is screaming that you need to finish your food. It's something you'll simply have to practice. Some people (my MIL who hasn't had surgery, for instance) do things like place a napkin over the whole plate so it's "gone" from her sight. My mom pours salt all over her food when she's done if she's not going to save it because it keeps her from going back for more. I simply remove my plate from the table as soon as I'm done eating, and if I'm up to it, I rejoin my family and chit chat while they finish their meals. Best of luck. I understand this issue all too well. It can be done away with, though. I admit that sometimes I still have trouble because we were raised not to even leave leftovers and to keep on eating until it's all gone. When it gets hard for me, I remind myself that by breaking this cycle I'm not teaching this very bad habit to my children. And it's totally off topic but my opinion is that for so many of our parents and family members that did this (for us it was my grandfather who pushed food) it's a control thing. It was a battle of wills and a total control game for my grandfather, who did it to my mom when she was young and then he did it to us as kids, too. And of course she didn't know any other way so she just repeated the process with us even when he wasn't around. It was just one of the many pieces of baggage I've had to shake off in this post-op journey! You'll feel better for overcoming this one. Practice makes perfect, so start by making smaller portions and then by being okay with not finishing if you have a few bites left on your plate. ~Cheri

Congrats! Time will fly, trust me, and before you know it you'll be recovering from surgery. Best of luck to you! ~Cheri

Thanks for the input so far - I'll look into the sheer compression hose but you're right they are expensive. I saw a pair last night ON SALE for over $100! Leggings are also a cute idea but I'll have to try several different combinations to make it work. Leggings make me think flats but short skirts/dresses make me want to wear heels. I'll have to play around a bit and figure out if I'm comfortable with the combination. Maybe going with the heeled boots will do it for me because they'll look like tights as you said. Ugh - it's so hard to get used to wearing these clothes, though! I'm 31 now and I feel like if I pair the short skirt AND the heeled boots I'll look like I'm trying too hard or something. I do squats and I've finally mustered the energy to work out daily but I'm not sure how much help I'm going to get. The problem areas are just skin, no fat. I gained so much weight and kept it on so long that I think it's pretty hopeless. Coops, my buddy! Life at goal is truly outstanding. I just want those plastics and can't do it until we're back in the states next year. I'm developing a shopping addiction I think, because it's finally fun to shop for clothes and I can't believe that I look good in almost everything I buy. Crazy! I cannot WAIT until you're here at goal with me. I see you're still slowly creeping along but just hang in there, woman - you'll make it here in time! I've said it before and it's totally true: it doesn't matter how long it takes you to get to goal because once you get there you'll be over the moon no matter what! Anyway, I was just asking for advice and I still hope to see more input. I'm overseas and packages take six weeks to get here so whatever I decide to do I have to shop for online and then wait for it to show up. It would be so much easier if I could just go to the store and try several things and see what works! But here in Bishkek, my size small/4-6 is PLUS SIZE if you can believe that, so shopping the local stores isn't a real option for me. Thanks for the input, ladies - hopefully this thread will help all of us plagued with the saggy baggy thighs. ~Cheri

I flew all the way from Germany to San Diego to have my surgery in Mexicali with Dr. Aceves. I had no problems whatsoever and I flew 13 hours. Get up and walk whenever you can, and exercise your legs during the flight if you can't get up. Don't cross your legs when you fly. Drink as much Water as you can. And remember to bring a few packets of crystal light or easy to mix Protein powder if your flight will be over a mealtime. I'm sure you won't have any issues, but discuss it with your surgeon if you have real concerns. Dr. Aceves and I decided that a second dose of Lovenox would be a good idea in my case, due to the extended flights and my concerns about DVT. I'm sure you'll be just fine! ~Cheri

Ladies, I'm wondering if anyone knows anything that works to keep saggy baggy thighs in check? I'm at goal and plastics are more than a year away. I'm small enough that I'm comfortable wearing some shorter dresses and skirts but my thighs are a disaster! Regular hose don't seem to do much except at the waist and upper thigh. I have issues all the way down to my knees. I wonder if anyone has experience with sheer compression hose? Would they do the trick or would they cause an issue? Something like a body shaping short wouldn't work with most things I'm thinking about wearing. Any tips? ~Cheri

I think too many of us focus on the fast losers when we're planning for surgery and then we assume that once we're sleeved the weight is going to just fly off. Not everyone is so lucky. My starting weight is close to your preop weight but you must be taller than my 5'1" and some change because my BMI was much higher at your current weight. I was a slow loser. Slower, I guess. There are a handful of people here that are even slower than I was. It took me 17 months to hit goal, to lose 107 pounds. You cannot compare yourself to everyone else. If you're doing the right things and still losing, the sleeve is working. You can try to adjust your food or exercise for a better result but I caution you against doing anything drastic that you won't be able to maintain. Part of why the sleeve is great is that it does away with the need for that diet mentality and helps you build positive habits you can maintain forever. Some folks cut the carbs down to 20 a day, something I consider extreme, but if they can live their lives that way and get great results then it works for them. My biggest piece of advice isn't one you'll like, but it's something you're going to have to get used to at some point or another. RELAX. That's it. Because this isn't a race. I promise you, 85% of your stomach just got removed from your body so you're going to lose weight. I see this over and over and over again on the boards - people just so frustrated and worked up because they expected to lose the weight faster, or people that get mad because they feel they didn't need the surgery if they were going to be slow losers. It took me 17 months to reach goal. It took me 17 YEARS to go from where I am now to my high weight. Am I any less pleased with my success because it took me longer to get here? Nope. I'm happy as can be. Track your food. Eat responsibly. Get your Protein in, drink your Water, start moving more. In six months you're going to be posting that you're nearly to goal. Give your body a chance to recover from the fact that it's lost 27 pounds and undergone a major surgery the last two months. And yes, even if you want to break the scale sometimes, and even if you don't lose for two weeks of the month (like me) you're going to lose this weight. So, RELAX. ~Cheri

I was on clears after surgery. The only advice I have is to make whatever you drink room temp or warm. It helped me a lot. Nice warm broth with lots of seasoning was perfect to sip from a cup. For me the trick was to keep it from being bland - get some hot and sour soup and strain it, eat some broth from taco soup or just jazz up some regular old chicken broth with plenty of seasonings. I had spasms for a day or two post op and realized after suffering through them that they usually happened when I was drinking something cold or cool. Take it easy and take the time to heal. You'll be recovered and losing weight in no time! ~Cheri

Congrats to you on a serious accomplishment! Holy smokes, that's a lot of weight! My body hit certain points where it was just happy to hang at a certain weight. Right around 200 pounds, right around 160 pounds (that one took forever to break) and right around 140 pounds. Every time I'd drop a big chunk of the weight I'd find myself totally stalled for weeks on end. Just don't give up because you will definitely reach your goal if you keep on going. Slow going is still going! Congrats again on the huge success so far. I can't wait to see how long it takes you to drop the last bit! ~Cheri

Congrats, congrats, congrats! I think it's amazing how you just keep on going despite reaching goal and being totally thrilled with your success every step of the way. You look amazing, lady - I, too, wonder how small you're gonna get! ~Cheri

Parmesan crisps - I love the salty cheesy flavor. These only come out nice and crispy if you use freshly grated Parmesan, though, and since the cheese is the only ingredient you're better off investing in a nice, quality wedge. I love the Kashi crackers and can only eat 4 or 5 at a time, even at nearly 17 months out. I'd be careful, though. Popcorn is my favorite salty/crunchy snack and it definitely slides. I can eat far more than need to be eating in one sitting! ~Cheri

I think in this, as in all other weight loss things, YMMV. Follow your doctor's plan and if he doesn't give you one you should ask him/her for guidance. It took me months to work up to a steady 500-700 calories a day. I knew going in what my BMR was, though, and knew I needed to hit around 900 calories a day and not much more to lose at a decent pace. Not everyone is the same. You're going to see other women on these boards that eat 1200+ calories a day because they have to in order to lose. You'll also see women that hang as low as possible in the 500s and limit their carbs to 20 or less per day. We all need to do what works for us, not just to lose weight, but whatever it is that we can maintain in the long run. I'm a slower loser and have been regardless of how I tweak or restrict. I aim for about 900-1100 calories a day, 80+ grams of Protein and 75 or so grams of carbs. It works for me, I never feel deprived and I can do this for the rest of my life with no problem. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. If there were, none of us would be having surgery in the first place because the first time we gave Weight Watchers a try it would have worked! So, my advice? Track you intake carefully and add or subtract calories and/or carbs until you find the place where you feel satisfied with both your diet and your results. ~Cheri

Yep. I think there are a number of things that go into it, though. As a general rule, people are nicer to someone they find attractive, and probably without even realizing it in some cases. But a big part of what is attractive to other people is how you carry yourself. And as you drop weight, YES, you carry yourself differently. I have more confidence, I dress differently, I put more time into my appearance. I smile more, I'm nicer and I feel better about myself. All of these things change the way other people perceive me and how they react to me, from people I've known for years to salesclerks at stores. My husband is supportive but never wanted me to lose weight in the first place. Sometimes he gives me a hard time about being "too thin" or getting skinny. However, he's got no problem with the attention I attract these days. To him, it's like the highest compliment he can be paid - he chose a woman other men find desirable and she's 100% loyal to him, too. He definitely gets a kick out of it and never really expresses any jealousy or insecurity. ~Cheri

I developed gestational diabetes when pregnant with my twins in 2007 and it didn't go away after delivery. They told me later that all the signs prior to pregnancy pointed to pre-diabetes and insulin resistance. I was on Metformin twice daily for three years prior to VSG. I had trouble getting my fasting blood sugars below 140 (they were frequently in the 170s regardless of my diet) and my postprandial readings were "good" if they were 190 or less. Within days of surgery my fasting sugars were 100 or less and my postprandial readings were in the 140s. I never took another pill after the day of surgery, though I did require insulin a few times post op. I'm now nearly a year and a half out from surgery and don't even bother to take blood sugar readings. For all intents and purposes, I'm no longer diabetic. With no extra medications I am able to keep my blood sugars steady all day long in the healthy range. I no longer have spikes and drops when I eat certain foods, though I do tend to avoid overly sweet things simply because I don't care for them anymore. In any case, my diabetes improved even before my weight started to fall off - the change was almost immediate. I was told that my odds of having diabetes return with old age are higher than average, but that otherwise I can live my life normally. I'm confident that you can have the same/similar results. If you search the forums here you'll find a number of other posts and every diabetic I've seen post has at least improved post op. A few folks that were on insulin have only been able to step down to pills, but none of them were at goal weight yet, either. Who knows how much more they might continue to improve as they drop the weight? ~Cheri

I'm always dry in the winter but yes, post op it seems to be even worse. I'm not really sure why. Perhaps because just by choosing healthier foods I'm on a lower fat diet than in the past? I take my Vitamins and do my Protein shakes (because I just don't have good sources of protein here) but it's far worse than it's ever been. I tell my husband to grease me up like a pig after I bathe because the dry skin is actually painful (and itchy) on my arms and back. I use a nice bath salt and I scrub with exfoliating scrub. Then I lotion up afterward. It helps. It's still an issue but it's less painful now that I'm trying to stay moisturized. If you find a solution that's diet related, please share. I'd be willing to try it out. ~Cheri

I started at 242 and honestly felt I'd never reach my goal (-107 pounds, or 135) and tried to tell myself to just be happy if I could get down to 165 pounds. I am a slower loser and it goes even slower the less I have to lose but I did surpass 100 down and I'm only 3 pounds from goal. It's definitely possible, you just have to be patient. And don't be surprised if you feel like you could stop sooner, either. I had an "in my wildest dreams" goal of about 125 pounds but I really don't want to lose anything else after I hit 135 pounds. I'll be having plastic surgery in the future and I'd like to keep a few curves for myself, not to mention my poor husband! Who knows, after plastics I might wind up closer to that 125 than I thought. Certainly my doctor would like me in the 120s due to my height but I honestly have very little actual weight left to lose! You can definitely achieve 100 down. The question is how much can you do in one year? I'm a slowpoke but I was down 92 in one year. Trust me, I wasn't crying any tears of disappointment that I didn't hit the 100 mark! I was thrilled with my progress, and you will be, too. Best of luck to you on this process. I can't wait to see your success! ~Cheri

You'll see women of all ages on here and we all lose at different rates. I think it has more to do with our body types and make up than anything else. I'm a slower loser whether I'm following the plan to a T or being lazy about it. I will say that the only real trend I see with the very fast losers is that almost all of them seem to be SUPER restrictive on their diet (less than 20 carbs a day and very low caloric intake) or are total exercise junkies. The same stuff that works without surgery, in other words! But rest assured, the sleeve works. For some of us (regardless of age) it's a longer journey, but if you stick with it you can easily reach your goals. And I've said this before but I feel that it's absolutely true: once you get to goal you won't CARE if it took you ten months or twenty months to get there. You'll be thrilled with your success either way. This is not a contest! The sleeve does pay off - you can search this site over and over again and you're only going to find a handful of unhappy customers. It will change your life and it will make losing weight easier than it's ever been before. It will also help you maintain that loss long term, provided you don't cheat yourself by eating foods that slide on a daily basis. I've been a visitor here for a long while and almost everyone that comes back and says they're unhappy with their progress or has had a small regain has fallen into the old bad habits. If you work your sleeve, it will work for you. Good luck! You're going to do great. ~Cheri