Rainydayz

I feel you. I started out in 22/24 at 292 lbs. I'm down 45 lbs. and am still wearing 22. Granted it's some pants that were cut smaller and I couldn't wear them before but they still say size 22. The pants I was wearing are still fitting but a lot looser. I am pear-shaped and my big ass is the bane of my existence. It's a family thing. But there is hope. When I was 145 I wore a size 12 so that's my goal. I know I will get there. You will too. Hang in there!

I've been stressing about the in-laws visiting for DH's birthday this weekend because they always want to go out to the stuff-yourself-silly buffets. DH said he wanted Japanese so we went to the hibachi place. I had shrimp and fried rice. I took a couple of bites of everything (salad, Soup, veggies, and rice) and ate 4 shrimp. It was delicious and I wasn't over-stuffed. It made my carbs go a little high for the day (49 grams) because I ate some of the sweet sauce with the shrimp and some of the dressing. But I took the rest home and now I've got 2-3 more meals. The in-laws never mentioned me not eating much. They also didn't remark on my weight-loss. I'm wearing the same clothes I always have they're just looser on me so they just didn't really notice. So I didn't have to get into me having the surgery with them. Yay! Next month I will probably be lighter enough that they will notice. But they are old. So maybe I'll tell them that I lost weight over a year ago and they just forgot! LOL!

I aim for under 40 carbs/day. Realistically some days is lower and a few are higher. Like last night we went out to a Japanese hibachi place for DH's birthday and I ate some of the salad dressing and the yummy pink sauce with my 4 shrimp. But I find that if I keep it under 40 my cravings are under control. Today I am craving that sweet sauce again, but I will live through it!

Oh hon, you sound just like me. I have 3 kids at home and I'm a SAHM right now too. Sure the rest of the family has stuff that I don't need to eat (neither do they for that matter!) but I figure that I'm going to around stuff like that the rest of my life. If I don't learn how to deal it with it now when I have this great tool, then I will be in trouble later when my restriction is not so much. We used to have desert almost every night. I have cut that down to once or twice a week and they are OK with that. Now it's something like angel food cake and strawberries or a bowl of homemade ice cream (I eat Eggface's Protein ice cream). DH asked a lot in the beginning "What's for desert?" And i said fruit. He got the idea. The kids get treats sometimes like candy but they usually get it from someone other than me (grandparents, Dad) when I'm not around. This week was DH's birthday and I made him a box cake and bought some ice cream. They all had cake and ice cream and I had a bite of cake and licked the ice cream spoon. It tasted too sweet to me. I think the biggest reason I'm not tempted by the crap is because I'm working on making my meals really good. I'm buying stuff I like (shrimp, crab, the most expensive best-tasting Protein powder (Syntrax LOL!), and other things that keep me from feeling deprived. I decided that if I eat such a small amount I can afford to buy good stuff and not fill up on crap thinking it was being frugal! So treat yourself to something that you feel is a little decadent but still healthy. If you still want the junk then take one bite and ask yourself if it's worth it. Count the calories and decide if you'd rather have a few shrimp (or your favorite protein) or if you really want the junk. As long as you decide on the good stuff 90% of the time you're fine. Good luck!

Two months out and the only way I know if I'm full is if I've eaten almost 2 oz. of Protein and maybe a little veggie and I don't feel like I'm hungry anymore, then that's my full. I don't get the burping, hiccoughing, sneezing soft signals that I've heard about. I just try to eat only enough to where I know I will be satisfied until my next meal. It's my new goal, not to feel stuffed full, but just to be satisfied. I do however, get a pain in my shoulder if I eat that one bite too many or eat too fast. I've been told this is my vagus nerve. It only lasts a few minutes and is uncomfortable more than painful, but it is a great motivation for me not to eat too fast/much. I guess you just have to try and not eat to fullness and figure out what works best for you to accomplish this. With the sleeve I know that I'm not to get that frantic "I'm hungry and I NEED to eat everything in the house right now" feeling, so it's easier to eat small amounts knowing that I'll be satisfied until the next meal. Regular planned meals of protein and maybe a little complex carbs are the ticket for me right now.

I had the pain from swallowing the first few weeks. Dr. said it was from swelling and acid. I started Prilosec OTC and after almost 2 weeks it got a lot better. I still feel it a little sometimes in the morning or when I eat or drink on a completely empty stomach. I don't think it's from not following the guidelines as someone suggested. I just think it takes some of us longer to heal and the acid affects us more. I'm talking about when i swallowed anything, even my own saliva. So how in the world can that be eating too fast or too much! LOL! I'm 8 weeks and it's a lot better. But it was some serious pain and no one told me about it before.

I think Irene's post says it all. I too started out with the LapBand process and switched to sleeve the last month. No problem. All the tests were good for either procedure. The psychologist report said just bariatric surgery so it was no problem to submit it for the sleeve. I too have Aetna. No problems. Good luck!

I hear you. The nut told me I wasn't eating enough calories too. I stalled for a whole week on the 3rd week post-op, since then I've started losing again and lost another 10 pounds since then. I didn't change a thing, it just happened. I'm right on track according to my dr. but it does feel slow. I am far out enough that the nut told me to add nuts as a snack to get more calories. But you may not be far out enough yet. I don't know what to tell you other than keep trying to add a little bit at each meal. It's hard I know. But did you ever in your wildest dreams think you would have the problem of not eating ENOUGH?

For me the only nausea happened in the first 3 days. I would guess that you're OK if you haven't had it yet, you probably won't. Unless you eat something that totally disagrees with you in the next stage. Like others said just take it very slow and easy. Take one tiny bite and wait a couple of minutes to see what your stomach is going to do. Then take another.. so on. It's scary but it will be fine. Good luck!

I'm sorry you are having so much trouble. Are you taking a PPI? If not try asking your dr. if you can. I had a lot of burning and rumbling the 1st couple of weeks and after starting Prilosec it got better. Maybe it was partly that I was just healing but now whenever I miss a dose of Prilosec I get some of the burning rumbling feeling back. So it couldn't hurt to try. The first couple of weeks were hard for me but just know that it does get better. Good luck.

Your feelings are normal. I worried about the kids too, I have 3 at home and 2 grown. I just kept telling myself that there are hundreds of thousands of people that have had weight loss surgery. And according to my surgeon the sleeve is the easiest surgery for them to perform. So if all those other people could do it and come through it then I would too. I'm 7 weeks out now and I feel great. It's worth it. You've made the best decision, now just try not to think about it. Take it one day at a time and it will be over and you will be feeling better before you know it! Hang in there!

I've had Orthostatic hypotension all my life. It happens sometimes when I stand up from sitting or bending over. Sometimes I will have tunnel vision or my vision will totally black out for a few seconds and I just have to stand there until it clears back up. Annoying but not harmful as long as I don't try to walk while blind!

OK, thanks for the info. Sorry you had such a rough time, that sounds terrible. Maybe mine was just gas or something. It finally passed and hasn't come back.

I'm almost 6 weeks out. I've lost 36 lbs. Today after eating I have an achy pain under my right ribcage. I feel a little nausea. Could this be gall stones this soon? I guess they could happen anytime though. Does that sound like what this is?

I agree it's not as big a deal as it seems pre-op. I was worried about the no drinking with meals thing too but it's not so bad. I'm 5 weeks out and I can take a nice size gulp of Water. But if I take 2 or 3 gulps in a row it's a little uncomfortable. I can wait 30 seconds or so then gulp again. I drink right up until I eat then I wait at least 30 minutes to start drinking again. I'm not sure if I buy into the thing about water washing food down faster, it sounds right but I've heard some people say it doesn't matter. But just to be sure I wait a while after eating. I do have to carry a water bottle with me everywhere to get in the 64 oz., but now days so many people do so you won't stick out or anything. The worst part so far has been working outside in this heat and then wanting to drink a whole cup of water in one big gulp and not being able to do it. Just swallow, wait a few seconds, swallow again. It works. Sure water flows on through but when your system is full then where is the water going to go? It takes it a little while to work it's way on down.

Personally it is the anecdotal information that I'm here for. I don't ever expect to go to a public forum and get gathered and collated information. I go to published studies for that. And honestly... I enjoyed the heck out of Mirori's and Tiffykin's stories!

The first week I had terrible heartburn pain and I was exhausted all the time. The second week the Prilosec had started working and I was able to do housework, walk, go shopping etc. just got a little more tired than I used to. The 3rd week I was eating mushy foods and felt much much better. My stitches were healed nicely and the dr. said I could go swimming. I went to the pool a lot and started walking more. The 4th and 5th week (where I am now) I feel better than I did before surgery. I'm lighter and move better. I'm beginning to eat regular food and I feel absolutely normal. I do yardwork in 95+ temp. and go hiking with the family.

There's also an Adblocker plus for Google Chrome. It works too. Don't know about IE, I never use that one.

I asked at my 2 week appt. and he said I could try pills whenever I felt comfortable doing it. I just started taking the Citrical Petites (which are not really so petite) and they go down ok. I'm almost 5 weeks.

The trick I've found is to not let myself get too hungry. Keep a cheese stick in your purse and if it's been 3 hours since you ate last then eat it. It will take the edge off and when you get to your next meal you won't be starving.

It's not working for me. I get some weird message about the form not loading correctly. I have to use the add reply for it to work. Just wondering if it's just me.

That's pretty scary to think about all that rerouting and undoing and redoing with your intestines and stomach. But I would guess the surgeons know what they're doing and the body is an amazing thing. I hope your friend does well and gets everything worked out.

It gets better when you start pureed foods. I was starving the first week too. I even cooked ribs for the 4th of July and couldn't eat any! Boy it smelled good! But when I started mushy foods I was able to get satisfied. I'm almost 5 weeks out now and the hunger is a whole lot less. Some days I have to be reminded to eat.

It doesn't sound like she knows what she's talking about at all. If you still need a dietician I would call the surgeon's office and get a recommendation from them. One that understands weight loss surgery and the pre-diet process involved. Good luck!

I've had migraines for decades that are usually triggered by hormones. I got one regularly with my period and sometimes in between too. They usually lasted 3-4 days and nothing helped except Imitrex. I've had my period once since surgery and still had a migraine. But it didn't last as long and I didn't have to take as much Imitrex. I think eating better helps. Maybe because I'm not screwing up my system with junk food? I dunno. It's a good question to ask at the seminar though.