FromFlabToFab

Thought I'd add some pics

Everytime I send a patient to surgery I tell them everything goes, if you weren't born with it then you can't take it in with you. With that said I took mine out and left then out for two days, because when they do the swallow study they should be out as well, and mine closed in that amount of time. So if I were you I'd see if they'll let you wear clear retainer barbells and put bandaids over them, if not just take them out right before you go in and put em right back in the moment you are with it enough when you get out. Our surgery consents have a "refusal of jewelry removal" area so you can sign and leave jewelry in if you want but you waive the hospitals liability if anything were to happen related to the jewelry. And I'd bet that if you have surgery outside the US they are less strict about that issue. Hopefully some of the above night help you out.

Tears rolled down my cheeks in the dressing room when I went shopping today (fist time since surgery on 10/25). After having to try on a few medium shirts because the larges were too big and having to go back for size 12 jeans because I was swimming in the 14s, I couldn't em back. The first time I thought was maybe a fluke but after buying 3 medium shirts (some larges as well) and 3 size 12 jeans I had to just soak it in and realize that I haven't been this size since jr high. In just 9 weeks I've went from 18/20 and xl/xxl shirts to 12/14 and m/l shirts. It's so strange shopping in a store and having to skip the plus sizes and know that you don't have to try to squeeze into their biggest size and are able to shop the "normal" racks. Bring on 2013, I'm ready for my life back!

I've had an easy and amazing recovery only 9 weeks out but soooo happy I had the surgery. Can't wait to see what's to come it's an amazing feeling to wake up and not have food be the first thing on my mind and be able to just live life not centered around a fast food menu board. Good luck to everyone who is post and pre op.

Sleeves 10/25. Went from 230 to currently 184. Well over halfway to goal. Started out 18/20 and xxl tops, now size 14 and large lovin my new tummy

I slouch much more comfortably than usual cuz of the single belly roll I have now as opposed to the double I did have. That was actually one of my first NSVs that I had noticed

tragic. I was hoping that admins would pay attention to the "reported" complaints. Will be nice not to see that negativity and rudeness around here. Merry Christmas everyone !

Personally I give into my head hunger. If something sounds good and I'm craving it , I eat it cuz I'm not one to forget about something that I want. With that said, when I eat whatever sugar filled greasy fatty food I just had to have I only get a few bites in (after spending money and not being able to eat 80% of the food) and then I get sick and feel miserable from the crap I just ate (and more often than not loose the 20% I did eat). Lesson learned, I'm yet to crave the same thing twice I'd rather spend a few hundred calories (if that) to let my new tummy teach my brain a lesson than to not indulge my cravings and dwell on that item for weeks just making my head hunger worse. I know some people strive to be carb nazi's and never want to allow themselves to touch certain foods again and not everyone "learns" the same way I do (if I was the best at self control and willpower I would have never had my vsg in the first place), but I'm just saying that's what works for me. I know some people will chew and spit out whatever food they crave so they can have the taste but not the calories, I've tried this a couple times myself but have learned that that doesn't make the cravings go away cuz there's no potential negative consequence since u don't give your new tummy the chance to reprimand your actions, therefore you satisfy the craving for a few days til you crave it again, a viscous cycle. Best of luck for what works for you.

I just want you boys to know that the first thing they taught us in nursing school when it came to placing catheters in men is "grab it like you own it". And that's the motto we go by lol

I'm 7 weeks out and have no trouble with bread. Of coarse it's a half a bite here and a nibble there but I can tolerate it without any problem.

I'm an Austin sleever. 7 weeks out so I'm fresh meat but would be interested in meeting others if you start a support group here

I was heartbroken about the no rice thing after surgery cuz sushi is my favorite food ever and my tummy is very picky and I just figured rice was one of those "never get to eat again foods"...but I Couldn't hold out anymore and at week 5 I gave in and risked my life for a bite of a sushi roll, and mmm mmm mmm was it delish. No problems with the rice what so ever even that early. I had all of two pieces and a bite of my friends hibachi grilled steak. I was full and on cloud 9 to know I can have my beloved sushi again.

Over the last week or so I've been concerned about the outter upper area of my calves hurting. Well my nurse instinct took over and I thought...well I'm a woman on birth control after surgery who used to smoke ALOT sooooo **** do I have a blood clot? Oh I don't want a blood clot, I don't want to go to the hospital, I don't want endless lovenox shots, I don't want to be on coumadin for the rest of my life But its both legs, same exact place, no redness, no swelling, just a kinda tender. I don't run or anything that it might be a pulled muscle causing the pain, so what in the world is wrong with me. Well after some time and paying closer attention to my daily habits I have come to realize that my outter upper calves hurt because thats where my bony knees dig into my calf when I cross my legs...thats right my smaller thighs are causing me calf pain cuz I can finally cross my legs like a woman instead of a linebacker pretty sure I couldn't even do that in HS. A bit of a tender NSV but a NSV nonetheless

I spent the last few hours putting thousands of dollars of clothes on ebay that no longer fit thanks to my sleeve!!! I just wanted to give everyone a heads up because I put a buy it now price on everything as well as a bidding so not sure how fast things will go. I'm selling 20+ pairs of silver jeans (most sizes 18 and a couple 16) also some other jeans that fit similar to silvers at the same sizes, along with a few pairs of casual khaki type pants/shorts, tons of shirts and dresses that fit xxl to xl. I'm an hourglass figure with extra minutes so the tops will be accomidating for those of you with large breasts (mine are 36ddd) and the bottoms are for those of us who don't want pants up past our belly buttons and fit good for those with large thighs and bottoms and more defined waists from their hips. Most of these clothes are barely worn or never worn seeing that I have a shopping addiction but live in scrubs since I work ALL the time with no time to wear real clothes. My name on ebay is ebaytna6468 if you want to look me up and see if you are interested in any great clothes for a faction of the cost I paid. Jeans and dresses already listed, shirts will be listed later tonight.

ok have to go be productive for a bit so havent had time to load shirts but they will be on later tonight

I spent the last few hours putting thousands of dollars of clothes on ebay that no longer fit thanks to my sleeve!!! I just wanted to give everyone a heads up because I put a buy it now price on everything as well as a bidding so not sure how fast things will go. I'm selling 20+ pairs of silver jeans (most sizes 18 and a couple 16) also some other jeans that fit similar to silvers at the same sizes, along with a few pairs of casual khaki type pants/shorts, tons of shirts and dresses that fit xxl to xl. I'm an hourglass figure with extra minutes so the tops will be accomidating for those of you with large breasts (mine are 36ddd) and the bottoms are for those of us who don't want pants up past our belly buttons and fit good for those with large thighs and bottoms and more defined waists from their hips. Most of these clothes are barely worn or never worn seeing that I have a shopping addiction but live in scrubs since I work ALL the time with no time to wear real clothes. My name on ebay is ebaytna6468 if you want to look me up and see if you are interested in any great clothes for a faction of the cost I paid.

Dr Ortiz was assist in my surgery and I saw him more after surgery than I did Dr Lopez. I have worked closely with hundreds of doctors over the last 10 years (ER and ICU) and I have a pretty good gut feeling for good doctors and I really liked Dr Ortiz. He has a great personality and wonderful bedside manner which is pretty rare to find in Surgeons unfortunately. So what he may lack in experience he makes up for in heart. Ill admit I have a nursy crush on him and I let my friend know once he left the room that when I came back next year for my new boobs I'd be proposing to him lol

*5 weeks post op on Thursday *37+ pounds down (last couple weeks have been slow but it doesn't bother me cuz I know it will continue to come off seeing that I'm not still on my 5000 calorie a day fast food diet any longer) *CW 193, HW 230+ *less than 15 pounds from my HS graduation weight Went out with my overly supportive ex to dinner tonight and after talking to him I have realized some NSV's that I can tell I've lost weight and the things that make the loss not apparent to me. Maybe some of you can relate, and I'd love to hear what you have to add to my lists. ***the good, my NSVs*** -when I put my hand on my chest/shoulder there are depressions above AND below my collar bones (a long ways to go but at least I know they are under there somewhere) -I'm feeling deflated, my upper arms and inner thights, even my butt cheeks are not tight with fat anymore, happy to have a different kind of jiggle -I had to wear my denim/spandex denim skinny jean jeggings tonight because all of my old jeans are almost too big to be comfortable (even the ones that used to be too tight but I kept in my wish pile anyways) -I can wear above mentioned skinny jeans without sporting a camel toe -I bought two pair of size 12 silvers off ebay yesterday and feel pretty confident I'll be in them after new years (not bad since I was in 18/20 to start off last new years). -I slouch easier when I sit, the top of my belly is an inny again, bottoms still a bit of an outie but they fold in on each other so I can sit around comfortably without the pressure of my top fat roll getting squeezed against my bottom fat roll lol -my class ring that I have worn religiously since my Sophmore year in HS is too big and it won't be long before it falls off all together, hard to believe that my chubby fingers are less chubby than they were back then -I no longer have deep elastic marks on my cankles when I take my socks off after a long night at work -I have noticed more of a cleft under my butt so theres more definition between where my legs end and my butt begins -I HAVE ONE CHIN!!!! -I have to remind myself/force myself to eat throughout the day instead of it being my focus from the time I wake up -I now drink 6 glasses of Water a day instead of 6 cans of diet dr pepper a day and no water (like I had for the last 10 years) -it's so much easier to shave my "down there", as mentioned earlier only having one mini roll to deal is so much better -my backboobs that were a healthy B-cup are down to AA cup and almost aren't noticeable at all now -my dating options have opened up, I've never been comfortable being with a man that is very much smaller than I am (just didn't feel right or comfortable for me personally). Now I'm feeling comfortable dating men that are 170 pounds, which would have never been the case in the past ***the bad and the ugly*** -I may get my HS weight back but I'll never have my HS body back -I'll never look in the mirror and say "oh my boobs look perkier today" or "oh my goodness my stretch marks have disappeared" -what doesn't wiggle with fat now jiggles with skin and less fat -I've noticed more fine lines on my face now that theres not as much fat there to keep the wrinkles plumped up -I have thousands of dollars of barely worn silver jeans in my closet that I can no longer wear that I have to try to get some money back out of to help pay for the new jeans I need -I've always wanted sleeve tattoos on my upper arms anyways, but I'm gonna have to shell out sooner than expected to camoflage my batwings and stretch marks with ink, which I much prefer to surgery -theres not near as much good stuff to order off of the kids menu as there is the regular Entrees lol -I'm afraid that my big nose is going to look even bigger as my face thins out and my chubby cheeks aren't there to balance it out -although they are getting smaller I still have my "baby boobs" that I grew under my big boobs on my ribcage, I don't know how long it'll take for those rib fat pads to be gone or if they ever really will be but I'm hoping not much longer -I'm hesitant to get into a relationship with anyone because I'm not sure they will be attracted to the 50 pound thinner me that I will be in a few more months since they are meeting the me in progress, I don't want to be false advertising -every day in the shower when I wash my hair I get a knot in my stomach wondering if this will be the day that I start to get handful of hair with every rinse, especially since I've had a hard time getting in all my Protein -I haven't been my goal weight since I was probably a freshman in HS and I'm nervous about how I will look "healthy" -already anticipating $$$ of the boob lift I'm gonna get when I get to goal -I'm really going to be a door mat for my two 90 pound dogs once I don't have as much weight to throw into "fighting back" lol I'm sure theres more but my brain is exhausted after jotting these down

Congrats everyone. Amazing the changes that can happen in a months time. Sleeved 10/25, down a little over 30 pound

Thank you. I'm going out of state after christmas to see all my friends and family I haven't seen since last January and none of them know I had surgery so they will be shocked. I have one more month before I go, excited to see if I can shed a few more pounds before my new and improved me reveal. I think I'm just going to print up "me and my vsg" pamplets to have them read instead of telling my story 50 times to everyone lol

Hit the 3 weeks stall but at not quite 4 weeks I'm 30+ pounds from down from my heaviest and pant size 18 down to 14

Dr lopez did my surger in TJ on 10/25. Everything went great and Easy recovery so far

wow as I re-read my posts I'm going to have to stop making posts from my phone because I have mispelled and missed letters all over the place (gotta love autocorrect). Thank you guys and Doxie as much as I don't want to think about the hair loss I know it's coming, those are great tips and I'm also going to keep my hair blonde (I usually go dark in winter) to keep the contrast of my hair and my white scalp to a minimum. My hair isn't thin but its very fine so I'm dreading the loss cuz it doesn't feel like theres much to take from. I'm also going to start the hair growth vitamins and switch up my shampoo/conditioner to some that were recommended on here to kickstart my growth before I even notice more strands in my hands than usual. And I have been using JOICO body luxe thickening elixer on and off for years which I love, gives instant volume when you dry your hair that lasts all day without being greasy or heavy like some of the root booster products. I highly recommend it.

"onederland" lol, sorry to all the grammar nazi's out ther