Teddy bear

When I got to the point when I couldn't put on socks..... had someone do that for me .... took me an hour to try to cut my toe nails, after struggling, huffing & puffing, couldn't play with my two girls or take them out for a walk..... standing up for more then 2 minutes was a pain... and one month before my surgery when I had an almost stroke, couldn't breath right and my feet were so swollen they looked like something out of a horror movie....

When I got to the point when I couldn't put on socks..... had someone do that for me .... took me an hour to try to cut my toe nails, after struggling, huffing & puffing, couldn't play with my two girls or take them out for a walk..... standing up for more then 2 minutes was a pain... and one month before my surgery when I had an almost stroke, couldn't breath right and my feet were so swollen they looked like something out of a horror movie....

When I got to the point when I couldn't put on socks..... had someone do that for me .... took me an hour to try to cut my toe nails, after struggling, huffing & puffing, couldn't play with my two girls or take them out for a walk..... standing up for more then 2 minutes was a pain... and one month before my surgery when I had an almost stroke, couldn't breath right and my feet were so swollen they looked like something out of a horror movie....

When I got to the point when I couldn't put on socks..... had someone do that for me .... took me an hour to try to cut my toe nails, after struggling, huffing & puffing, couldn't play with my two girls or take them out for a walk..... standing up for more then 2 minutes was a pain... and one month before my surgery when I had an almost stroke, couldn't breath right and my feet were so swollen they looked like something out of a horror movie....

When I got to the point when I couldn't put on socks..... had someone do that for me .... took me an hour to try to cut my toe nails, after struggling, huffing & puffing, couldn't play with my two girls or take them out for a walk..... standing up for more then 2 minutes was a pain... and one month before my surgery when I had an almost stroke, couldn't breath right and my feet were so swollen they looked like something out of a horror movie....

When I got to the point when I couldn't put on socks..... had someone do that for me .... took me an hour to try to cut my toe nails, after struggling, huffing & puffing, couldn't play with my two girls or take them out for a walk..... standing up for more then 2 minutes was a pain... and one month before my surgery when I had an almost stroke, couldn't breath right and my feet were so swollen they looked like something out of a horror movie....

When I got to the point when I couldn't put on socks..... had someone do that for me .... took me an hour to try to cut my toe nails, after struggling, huffing & puffing, couldn't play with my two girls or take them out for a walk..... standing up for more then 2 minutes was a pain... and one month before my surgery when I had an almost stroke, couldn't breath right and my feet were so swollen they looked like something out of a horror movie....

Irene,
ABSOLUTELY! I am now 2 years 2 months out. I get growling stomach, and I can eat so much more. I am 5'10" and have read here and there my sleeve is longer thereby it does not fill up as much. I still do not drink with food or after until my 30 minutes are up. Thus, I have gained from my lowest weight 20 lbs. I think it was more but got discouraged and stopped getting on the scale. Then one day, I said..."self, knock it off you must get back". Well, I have lost a whopping like 3 lbs from when I started weighing again. I have been trying the 5:2, but man 500-550 cals is not much anymore. I am hungry. I think for me next step is make some vege Soup, I think Kim said something about this in another post, and keep that around for when I start growling, so I do not say oh the heck with it.
I have not gotten to goal, for that I am sad. I just wanted to reach that one time in my life. I am not trying to be rail thin, just 170 lbs. I am 37 lbs away. I remember you talking about your jeans and getting into like a size 2 or 0.. And you drank a LOT of Water.. It was amazing, but honestly I think something happens to our bodies for some of us....I wish I was not hungry
thanks for coming back

When I got to the point when I couldn't put on socks..... had someone do that for me .... took me an hour to try to cut my toe nails, after struggling, huffing & puffing, couldn't play with my two girls or take them out for a walk..... standing up for more then 2 minutes was a pain... and one month before my surgery when I had an almost stroke, couldn't breath right and my feet were so swollen they looked like something out of a horror movie....

When I got to the point when I couldn't put on socks..... had someone do that for me .... took me an hour to try to cut my toe nails, after struggling, huffing & puffing, couldn't play with my two girls or take them out for a walk..... standing up for more then 2 minutes was a pain... and one month before my surgery when I had an almost stroke, couldn't breath right and my feet were so swollen they looked like something out of a horror movie....

When I got to the point when I couldn't put on socks..... had someone do that for me .... took me an hour to try to cut my toe nails, after struggling, huffing & puffing, couldn't play with my two girls or take them out for a walk..... standing up for more then 2 minutes was a pain... and one month before my surgery when I had an almost stroke, couldn't breath right and my feet were so swollen they looked like something out of a horror movie....

As it pertains to the sleeve, there really isn't one. I'm seeing some posts here that say things like, "I really need to make the first six months count because my surgeon told me loss slows after that," or "My surgeon told me I won't lose after a year and will be in maintenance at that point."
This causes a panic and pressures patients to lose the weight as quickly as possible. It also causes a lot of people to feel frustrated or like they've made a poor decision with the sleeve if they aren't dropping five pounds a week!
With every WLS the patient is going to lose the most weight in the first few months post op. It's purely logical. We go from eating far too many calories a day to eating almost nothing. We go weeks on a liquid diet. Even once we're on solid food, our capacity is so limited that it's laughable. In addition, almost everyone is diligent about diet and exercise at first. OF COURSE we see rapid results when we're in this stage!
Many people see a slower loss from months six onward. OF COURSE they do. It doesn't mean the sleeve has stopped working and we need to panic because we're not at goal yet. It means that we're closer to goal and our bodies are losing at a slower pace. It's also our bodies compensating and adjusting because we lost so much in the earlier phase of life post op.
Does loss slow from one year onward? OF COURSE it does! At one year out most people are close to or more than one hundred pounds lighter. We have less weight to lose, and yes, once we're at that point it does come off more slowly. If you're a lightweight and had less than 100 pounds to lose, expect this slowing sooner. Again, the closer you are to goal, the harder to get those final pounds off.
That does not mean the sleeve works any differently. In fact, it's the same from day one. The sleeve is restrictive and that's what it does: it restricts the quantity of food you can eat in a sitting. It does NOT cause malabsorption which is going to speed up your weight loss. I've seen the study that was posted about dumping with the sleeve, but even that is not going to majorly affect your loss pattern. Your sleeve does not stretch like a bypass pouch, either. Your capacity will vary, but in my case, at about nine months post op I was double what I could fit at first with solids, and at around two years that doubled again. Sounds scary...until you realize that I'm talking about fitting in roughly 6-12 ounces of food at a time, depending on what I'm eating. That's FAR less than a pre-op stomach.
So this idea of a "honeymoon" is misleading.
In some respects, yes, there is an easier period of loss. But this is not due to the sleeve working more effectively. Our bodies do not look at a calendar and say, "Oh, wow, we're closing in on one year post op and so let's just transition to maintenance and stop losing now." It simply doesn't work that way.
Your sleeve will work as long as you work your sleeve. When you give up and slide into maintenance or worse, into bad habits, is when you'll see the loss stop. Outside of your body's own limits on loss, there is nothing stopping anyone from achieving goal at any point post op.
I just wanted to post this because we really do see a lot of questions about this and a lot of panicked posts because people aren't losing as rapidly as they want. We put on the weight over the course of many years - we cannot expect it to fall off in less than one year. Some people will fly to goal in a short period of time, but they are the lucky minority. The rest of us need to work at it and it's a longer process than a few short months.
Good luck!
~Cheri

We're all still confused about what to & what not to put in our mouths... I'm in 7 months post up & still trying out different stuff.. SO please share a snack or meal u've discovered or invented, so others can benefit..... And I'll go first................
I've been reading on FB about the importance of honey & cinnamon combined together, it's a good mixture for colds, indigestion, weight loss, and so many things.. so I decided to to put those two components in a snack, which turned out to be delicious, light, but fulfilling....
Slice one banana on a plate, add one teaspoon of honey, and quarter teaspoon cinnamon powder,,,, try it, I was looking around for something sweet to eat, and not be guilty about it...

Had some laughs,smiles and some I can't believe people are the way they are. I really hope that some of the people who are here realize that I believe that this forum was started for people who have questions, concerns and to find out how other people were doing with their sleeve. There are just too many negative people on this site. I will say some want to help and some want to make you look and feel stupid. And as for the vets who are sick and tired of the newbies asking questions. Remember you were a newbie once and I 'm pretty sure no one was a smart azz to you like you are to some of the posters here. Good luck,keep your faith newbies it will all get better. Please always remember treat others the way you want to be treated.

Yeah, I could relate... I had this problem since I was born my thighs & butt are not in proportion with the rest of my body... I'm ok until my waist which is narrow, then.. Huge thighs & butt but can't help it, it's genetic.... dieting never helped... I always lost weight in my upper part, and little weight in my lower... My mom & dad always made comments on that, and they still do after the surgery, that my thighs & butt aren't gonna get any smaller than this, but I have faith, and I'm actually content with the way I'm turning out... I'm not looking forward to modelling or any of that.. I just want to look good, feel healthy, and be able to buy clothes that I like... and I think I look sexy

Yes, before surgery I've been complaining about it being late all the time.. sometime it's up to 10 days late which freaks me out cause I'm on the copper IUD.. and when it arrives I usually experience heavy cramps and bleeding like a tap being turned on... Met with my obgyn, and of course the problem was with my weight... he said the fat cells surrounding the IUD is causing all that.... so 7 months post op. I've been noticing that it's usually on time., but what's really weird is that my cycle is shorter... It used to be 28 days, but now it's like 24!!! But mild cramps & bleeding now..

I am also 8 months post op and realized that I feel hunger and I sometimes feel stress eater again which is composed of carbs. I am really scared if something reversing in my life but when I rad out I am relaxed a little bit. I will try to increase Water since I guess Fluid does not mean Water ! Also u had very bad redux before the surgery which I had also reflux surgery at the same time but I feel more hunger when I do not take anti reflux pills for sure
I will try to post here again if I manage with drinking more water and taking more Protein and also I will continue antireflux pills some more period
See you

Hi Teddy Bear,
I am only 2 months post op but as no-one else has replied I thought I would give a little advice. I had a week like this 2 weeks ago. Constant nibbling and thinking I was eating so much that I had stretched my sleeve. So I just went back to basics, 3 meals a day and calorie counting on MyFitnessPal. But I think that my problem was that I wasn't keeping up with my liquids. The stomach is a strange thing and sometimes it tells our brains we are hungry when we are actually thirsty. Start drinking your fluids, this helped me get back on track.

Hello, I'm almost 7 months post up.... had surgery in June 2012.... I feel drastic changes already. I'm eating more and when I sometimes overeat by accident, I don't throw up anymore, I just get a sick feeling for a few minutes and that's it... I'm also eating or nibbling all day. always hungry... I've lost almost 75 lbs so far, but I'm worried about the rest... Please share ur experiences ???

When I got to the point when I couldn't put on socks..... had someone do that for me .... took me an hour to try to cut my toe nails, after struggling, huffing & puffing, couldn't play with my two girls or take them out for a walk..... standing up for more then 2 minutes was a pain... and one month before my surgery when I had an almost stroke, couldn't breath right and my feet were so swollen they looked like something out of a horror movie....

Hello Petra, I live in Mokattem, highest place in cairo how are u all doing??? Anyone past 6 months post op??? If u are, are u facing a stall right now??

That's why I hate my digital scale...we should go old mode again

You are VERY fertile now so if you do have sex use 2 forms of birth control!! The reason your sex drive has kicked up is because the fat cells you're shedding are full of estrogen. It effects sex drive, fertility, and unfortunately high estrogen levels contribute to hair loss. What you're feeling is fairly normal

Hello lovely people, I live in Cairo, Egypt, I'm an Egyptian, had my surgery 6/25/2012... Happy to follow this thread