castiel

oh my gosh! how cute!!

I'm currently working on a project at my university to spread contraceptive awareness. Of course, if you don't want to take any BC a condom is best. Here is a very informative chart about all of the different options that are out there. There's the ring, the shot, the rod, the patch, pills, seasonique, etc. http://www.ashastd.org/uploads/pdfs/ContraceptiveOptions.pdf I have PCOS, and I hate taking pills as it is because I'm forgetful, so the shot or the ring is the best option for me. Talk to your gyno about these options. I wouldn't suggest an IUD unless it's covered by insurance, because if you want to have children, you'd need to get it removed, and it'd just be a waste of money.

Joining! CW: 231 GW: 225 6 to lose

Welcome! How are you doing one week post op?

I've been stalling for the past few weeks, this week I upped my carbs, and the scale finally moved 3 pounds. So maybe try what PDXMAN and lessofmeismore are saying. Complex/healthy carbs can be beneficial!

I eat oatmeal at least once or twice a week. It was even on my soft foods/pureed stage. However, I find couscous makes me SUPER full with only a few bites

It feels like it's been ages since I last updated. Some of this stuff is boring, aka talking about clothes shopping/dropping pant sizes, and also there is some talk about depression. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ These past two weeks have been rough. Not because of my sleeve, just life in general. When I visited my surgeon's partner last month, I mentioned feeling depressed. He just said it was because I relied on food as an emotional crutch, but pre-op I would never eat when I was depressed. I haven't been depressed since my junior year of high school. I was a stress eater, and I ate when I was really happy/excited or as rewards. It's just gotten worse since I've seen him . I'm terribly depressed. I'm really burnt out of school. I'm having A LOT of sleeping issues. I'm talking like, not being able to sleep until 6am, having to wake up for class at 8:30am and go all day until 4pm. There have been days where I'm so tired from lack of sleep, I just don't go to class for an entire day and it's affecting my grades. There are days where I wake up and think "I can't do this today" so I don't. I lack motivation for anything except going to the gym when I have enough sleep. I cry sometimes, in the wee hours of the morning. It's usually because I'm sad, or I'm so upset that I can't sleep and I know how awful my day is going to be because I can't get to bed on time. I feel trapped at school, despite being so happy with my major. I feel a little lonely even, which rarely happens because I enjoy being alone to wind down, and I have plenty of friends. It's just this cycle I'm trapped in that makes me so unhappy. I'm unhappy. This feeling of unhappiness led me to sort of running away from college for 4 days. I talked to my instructor on Wednesday for my Thursday class and let her know I was having sleep issues. She said she completely understood, and let me miss class. Cue me leaving Wednesday afternoon, not even saying a word to my roommates, and spending Wed night, Thurs, Fri, Sat and today at home. I needed to escape, to get out of my toxic and entrapping environment. I had an appointment Thursday afternoon with my GP. He gave me ambien. It didn't do diddly squat for me falling asleep. I've had sleeping problems ever since I got to college. Last semester they were manageable. I've tried Lunesta my sophomore year of college and trazodone my junior year as well. I have symptoms that mimic DSPD. For all I know, it could be DSPD. But it only seems to act up when I'm at school and in a perpetual state of stress. During the summer, when I work, I find that I'm pretty stress free and I can sleep normal hours. I actually like working more than school haha. I'm thinking about making an appointment with psychological services at my school to help me. I've been taking St. John's wort for almost 4 weeks, 3x a day, and it hasn't really helped with these feelings or improvement of my mood. I'm also looking into switching to 5-HTP to see if that can help with my mood and sleep. I need to do something, because I can't keep living like this. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ On a more positive note, I've had a wonderful time being home. It's nice seeing my puppy and playing with her, talking to my parents, even my annoying little bro. After my doctor's appointment, I went to my local Y where I took my first spin class!!!!! Talk about difficult! I didn't have muscle fatigue in my legs, but geez my heart is in poor shape. I had to sit down during climbs and jumping because my heart was pounding so hard, I thought it was going to burst out of my chest. MY CHEST HURT! I needed time to catch my breath and slow my heart rate down. It made me frustrated I couldn't keep going because of cardio difficulties. I wanted to really up that resistance to get some real muscle fatigue, but the higher the resistance, the harder my heart pumped Can I just say, those little seats hurt the nether regions!!! I even had padded biking shorts on. I would rather spend the entire class climbing and jumping than sit on that seat for an hour. I could feel immense pressure and pain on my urethra and other parts. It burned to use the toilet for hours afterwards, and it hurt to sit in a chair lol. But besides the chest pains and private area pain ( AND WRIST PAIN), that was the challenge I needed! I can't wait to register for spin classes on campus. They start at the end of march, so I know what I need to work on before then for cardio conditioning. I'm excited for spin class! Friday evening, I decided to go to the mall. I needed some retail therapy. I went to JC Penney, but didn't find much in the plus size department. I went over to Deb, where I found out I'm down almost 2 pant sizes!!!! THAT WAS AN AMAZING FEELING! Instead of buying their stuff in 3x, which is supposed to fit a 24 (I actually think they're stuff is a little snug seeing as how I couldn't wear some of their 3x at a 22). I bought a dress in a 2x and a pair of blue jeans in a 20! I also picked up some belts in a 1x as well as a top in a 3x because it was really short. I walked over to Forever 21, and I nearly screamed in the dressing room jumping up and down. I picked up jeans in a 18 just to see if they would fit, and HOLY COW, THEY FIT!!!!!!!! Ever since F21 introduced their plus size line, I've always worn a 3x, and even then a lot of their shirts didn't fit right. But I bought ALL of my stuff in a 2x! I bought 2 dresses, 3 pairs of denim jeans, one pair of black jeans (size 20 because they didn't have any other size besides 14/16, so I'll just use a belt as needed), 3 tops, and a pair of tights. I WENT A LITTLE CRAZY WITH SHOPPING. All these pieces however, will look fine as I lose weight, so I expect them to help me get through spring. I don't feel that bad about spending all that money because I haven't bought myself new clothes in, I don't know 8 months or more? I'm pretty much broke now, and patiently waiting for a tax return haha. Shopping was a great feeling. It did make me feel better about my weight loss because I wasn't ecstatic about the numbers on the scale. It showed I was actually making progress. Being home, I'm in such a great mood. I'm happy and content. I'm calling it "The Eye of the Storm" for when I have to go back to class Monday, and I bet those sad feelings will creep back into my life. I also bought a new pair of leather boots that will go with my dresses nicely Also, I'm down 3 pounds this week! That's the most I've lost since my first 2 weeks post-op. Maybe the stall is broken?? I can't believe I'll be 9-weeks post op on Monday. I'm almost down 40 pounds! That's very exciting. Recently, I've had a little bit of pain while eating any solid foods. Sometimes even drinking muscle milk will cause me pain, but I hope it goes away soon. I've been doing well with getting all my stuff in, except for my vitamins. I skip days, but when I remember I take them. It sucks that it's Sunday, because that means I have to drive back to school. I hope this week goes better than the last 2! I guess this sums up my long winded blog post. xx

I was also sleeved by Dr. Noyan. My mother works for a local hospital, where her friend does quality ratings for doctors. My mother was nervous because her friend said she didn't hear good things. But my mom actually told me last night that her friend asked about me, and her friend had said his ratings were going up and she's hearing good things. Personally, loved Dr. Noyan. My recovery was 2 nights, and discharged the third morning at RWJ. I had vomiting after they tried giving me liquid tylenol. Dr. Noyan comes to visit you and let's you know if he thinks you should stay another day. I received excellent care through him, and I was worried about a leak because of the vomiting. He assured me that everything would be okay with the staple line. I'm almost 9 weeks post op, and I haven't had problems with my sleeve. My recovery was easy, and I've only had nausea maybe twice my whole journey. Also, I can't remember the name for a required test, but it's for pulmonary/breathing. I had Dr. Pacia from the list of recommended doctors he gives you. Dr. Pacia was so nice in the hospital! I was surprised he was there. I had no idea he was there to check up on my lungs the morning of the barium swallow. All the nurses love him, and he gives excellent care. Dr. Noyan is really understanding, and any questions you have, he's able to help answer them. However, I don't know if they've replaced their nutritionist yet. My next appointment is not until March. Best of luck!

Missed my goal by 3 pounds, but I guess I can't complain!

I was sleeved Dec 17th. At first, I had no acid issues. Then after a few weeks, I would wake up with a horribly sour stomach. And I could barely eat something in the morning except for a baby cow cheese wedge just to get things going. I also had a lot of gurgling every 2 hours and it drove me crazy because how could I be hungry all the time? My doctor made me up my Prevacid to 2x a day. So I'm taking 60mg daily. Gurgling has subsided and I don't wake up with a nauseous sour stomach anymore.

I have read that it's bad for your joints, but I've seen a lot of plus sized people run on the treadmills at the Y. I think people have this misconception that in order to lose weight you have to run. Even walking at a fast pace with a high incline might be better than running until you strengthen your heart. Have you thought about doing the couch to 5k program? You do little bursts of running and walking. Might be worth checking out.

I'm 8 weeks post op. I started with 5 pound weights around 5 weeks I think, and now I'm at 10 pound weights. I also used weight machines one night, not thinking about the weight limit (my doctor didn't tell me how long I had to weight, just said avoid heavy lifting for a few weeks). So I've done well over 10 pounds on my arms and legs, but that was just one short period of time. Definitely ask your surgeon/doctor if you can.

Thanks for the tips! I guess it's gonna be trial and error, cooking until soft, and chewing really well.

Hi all, I'm 8 weeks post op. I saw that people say they can't have celery because of the stringiness. Tonight, I had 2 pieces and I was fine. I find that I am getting so sick of eating beef chili, baked chicken, fish, canned tuna/chicken, lunch meat, turkey burgers/meatballs, and cheese/cheese wedges. I never thought I'd miss veggies as much as I do. (I'm almost tempted to drink two Protein shakes a day and snack on veggies in between lol). I was wondering when did you start incorporating veggies into your diet, specifically, low carb ones? When were you cleared for veggies? Unfortunately, my NUT has left the my surgeon's office, and they're working without one until further notice so I have no one to contact. I know for me, I can eat salad, but fruits are a no-go because of the carbs. I miss celery, broccoli, green Beans, cabbage, cucumbers, etc.!!

I exercise 3-4 a week, but it's hard to do it on the weekend because my university's gym closes early. And I tried some exercise tapes, but my dorm room is too small to really move around in haha. I thought it'd be easier to exercise at school than it was at home. Boy was I wrong!

Sleeved 12/17 and down 34 pounds. I've pretty much been in a stall for a few weeks which is frustrating

I think that I'm lucky I didn't have that moment of: "What the f***k did I just do to my body". I thought when I woke up after surgery I'd instantly regret it. My only regret now is that I do feel depressed, but I feel like it's not over the loss of food. I don't miss it much. I'm concerned it's because of the low carb diet causing a serotonin imbalance. Sometimes I miss pizza and soda, but to get through it, you have to tell yourself you did this to lose weight and get fit. Without this surgery, I'd never do the things I want to do with my body. You have to remind yourself why you did this. What are your goals and keep your eye on the prize!

I'm still stalling, and we're almost 8 weeks post op and I'm down 34 pounds. I wish I was 40 down, but I'm thinking of maybe just doing 2 protein shakes a day and one meal with little snacks to see if it'll help me budge the scale. I'm exercising 3-4x a week, burning 800 calories or more and I just can't seem to get it moving.

10 days post op, you should not be eating solid foods, unless your doctor says it's okay. I'm not a doctor but people are usually on liquids for 2-3 weeks (or longer) followed by pureed. If you have no protein drinks left or soups, you should try to puree all your food into a liquid substance!

Down 1 pound. Still frustrated with my slow weight loss almost 8 weeks post op :[

I just use this site to blog about it. I'm too lazy to use a blogging site, because then I'd never sign in to make a post!

Pain is definitely normal. I was blessed that I didn't have much pain a few days post op. Getting out of bed sucked, but after the first 2 weeks, I was fine. When I went to the gym last night, used the bike for 45 mins and I used a different elliptical machine, and it made my side near an incision hurt so bad, I had to stop after 15 mins and call it a day. Eating slowly is a problem of mine too, but I just get hiccups. I am taking two 30mg of prevacid a day because I wake up with a sour stomach sometimes. But one in the morning and one at night has helped it go away. I stalled 10 days post op for 2 weeks, and then the next week the scale went down 2 pounds, and then nothing, and then 2 last week, and nothing this week as i'm approaching another weigh in for a valentines day challenge. I can't even get to my goal of 15 pounds :[ So I know the frustration. Things take time, at least that's what I need to keep reminding myself!

this will go away once you move to solid foods. I felt it as soon as I moved to the soft food stage, however after about 2 weeks, that feeling went away and I find I can eat a lot more which is discouraging. I kind of miss the tight feeling, if that makes sense! I have no doubt this surgery will work for you. best of luck

I'm definitely struggling with getting in all my fluids, and I am getting in the bare minimum of 60gms of protein a day. I guess I have a mentality that I'll get my fluids in while working out because I can drink about 50oz in a 2 hour session. I definitely agree I should be keeping better track of everything. I also plan on buying 4oz containers to put my food in because I have to take it with me every single day. Thank you so much for your encouraging response! I wish you the best of luck. We just have to hang in there. I hope the number on the scale goes way down.

I'm not really sure what the expected loss is, but by 8 weeks I was hoping to be down 40 pounds. I know these things take time, but maybe I'm just too impatient!