DUBrookie03

I'm over a year post op and I can gulp down half of a 16 oz bottle at a time easily.

One year ago I gave myself the best Christmas present ever. I was sleeved on 12/24/12, and even though I spent xmas eve, and xmas day in the hospital, it was SO WORTH IT. I had my one year checkup with my surgeon yesterday. When I signed up for the program, I was 288 lbs. I was 277 day of surgery, and I was 149 in the office yesterday, clothes on THAT MAKES 139LBS lost!!!! I lost almost 50% of my body weight. HOLY SHIT that sounds crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I lost 100% of my excess weight. Haven't taken a Vitamin since surgery, all my levels were great! (Do not do this, take your Vitamins, I suck for not) The only thing I was moderately low on was Vitamins D and B12. He scolded me for not taking them, but was very pleased to see how balanced I was just from diet alone. My surgeon referred to me as petite, and they asked me to come speak at the seminars for people who are thinking about surgery.

I'm sorry if this all sounds quite braggy, but honestly I don't care!!! This has been LIFE CHANGING and I (and all of you) deserve to celebrate!!!!

My surgeon gave me such a big hug when I left that my feet actually left the ground a little lol!!

Merry Christmas to you all, thanks for all of the support and wisdom provided over the past year

LOL you are reading the diets that people have to stick to right after surgery to allow our little pouch to heal!!! That isn't what life is like from then on!!!!! I can eat anything I want. I CHOOSE not to eat certain foods because of the way that they make me physically feel afterwards, however there are very few things that make me feel that way, and everyone is different! I personally have trouble with bread, Pasta, and certain kinds of chicken. So I stay away from that for the most part. However, there are hundreds of things that I CAN and DO eat, and enjoy! The sleeve does not restrict you in the same way as the bypass does. I was mentally ready to change my life and so for me, I wanted to be able to still enjoy a piece of cake at a birthday party without being sick. Some people need the restriction that a bypass provides as mentally they just are not able to cut off that relationship with food. I was mentally ready for a couple years, but when the weight did not come off at the rate I needed it to, only then did I turn to surgery. It sounds like you are really torn with the thought of having to possibly sacrifice certain foods...I would just ask you to look at some before and after pictures of some people on the site as I think it may help you make up your mind. Personally, I am pissed at myself for waiting until I was 31 to have the surgery. I should've done this in my 20's so that I could've enjoyed the after years a little more

In short...getting the surgery is by far the smartest, most life changing decision that I have EVER made. I still cannot believe everyday when I wake up that I am an entire person smaller than I used to be. Oh...and did I mention that outside of the required post op diet, I have not felt that I have had to sacrifice any food that I wanted to have due to the surgery. The ONLY change is the amount that I now eat

Good luck in your decision...my vote is go for it!

My entire pallet changed! I can no longer eat and enjoy things that I once found delish. They now make me gag! Example...I went through McDonalds drive through last week. I only go there for my dogs, they love the cheeseburgers

Well, I hadn't eaten, and it seemed like a good idea, so I got one regular cheeseburger for myself. In my former fat life, the ONLY things I liked at Mc D's were the fish sandwich, fries, nuggets, and regular cheeseburgers. I unwrapped it, literally drooling like a dog, and sunk my teeth in. It was horrible. What was so bizzare was how much SUGAR i can now taste....in EVERYTHING. It tasted like someone swapped the bun for donuts.

I basically can't eat any fast food now, anything I've tried has been sh*t. Even restaurant food has lost it's appeal for the most part. You will notice all sorts of random changes like this in the days weeks and months to come!

Enjoy your new sleeve, and good luck in this exciting new journey ahead of you!

Hi Everyone,

I'm 10 months out, down 123 lbs and only 10 away from my final goal. I have had no issues with gaining at all, only some small stalls, which coincidentally enough, the only thing that broke them was giving in and having something sweet! I am at the point where I am finding myself REPULSED by the amount of excess skin I have. Particularly my stomach and inner thighs. I was wondering what people's experience has been with getting this skin removal covered by insurance? Are there any tricks or things people have found helpful in getting their plan to agree to pay? I don't want to have to wear Shapewear everyday for the rest of my life lol

Puree stage sucks!!! LOL!!!

Hope your recovery is easy. My time in the hospital was horrific. Worst acid of my life I spent 2 days gagging up bloody acid. Begging them for maloxx that they would only give me every 6 hours. HAHA finally I made my family sneak me in my own bottle. It was horrible, but soooo worth it and I would do it all over again in a second. I'm 10 months out down 123 lbs. Size 8 and loving my new life

Good Luck!!!!!!!!

I'm not quite a year out, but I seem to do fine on 1000-1200 a day. I can eat around a cup at a time, although I have noticed that if it is straight liquid, I can do more than a cup at a time. MAN HAVE MY GROCERY BILLS GOTTEN SMALL!!!!!!!!!!

That's awesome!!! My boyfriend didn't want me to have the surgery. Now that he's seen the results, he wants it for himself lol

It would've been awesome to go through this with him. I bet you guys get even closer!! Plus you have a guaranteed workout buddy :)

Hi. So hair loss is really inevitable. Even if you eat your Protein exactly as recommended from day one (which most people cannot), you will still end up losing some hair simply due to the nature of the procedure and the shock to the body. However if you combine that with poor nutrition, low Protein, and dehydration, it will exasperate the effects of the loss dramatically. Start taking women's formulated Vitamins, plus get some 10,000 mg Biotin and take that daily before and after surgery. If you color your hair, you need to color it within the first month or 2 after surgery b/c you're not going to want to do it again after that. There are products by Bosley and Nutri-Ox sold at Sally Beauty supply that help. I used a combination shampoo/conditioner/scalp treatment as soon as i saw the loss start, until i was sure it had subsided. For me loss started promptly at month 4. The severe shedding phase where it comes out in gobs like the picture above, lasted about 6 weeks for me, but substantial shedding continued for at least another 6 weeks. I ordered Toppik (Hair fibers) online, and it is a miracle product. I used the auburn shade and it completely covered all areas where I could see too much scalp when parting my hair.

I stopped shampooing so frequently, reduced the amount of heat styling that I did, and tried to be very gentle. After the severe loss subsided I cut 4 inches off which made it look much healthier and fuller again. Everything is back to normal now and I have new growth all over (which i know b/c they are coming in gray )

Congrats to you all! I will hit 9 months on 09/24. I have so far lost 120 lbs. I am only 13lbs away from my final goal. I went from a size 22 to a size 8!!!

I have a ton of energy, can pretty much eat what I want. Best thing I've ever done in my life.

It's eating too much and too fast I was having this for months after surgery, even went and had a scope b/c i thought maybe scar tissue was making me spit up. NO. I was just still not used to eating how i needed to. I can go weeks now with no issues, but whenever i have a random slime fest, i am always to blame

Great job!! I am also now 8 months out and we started at almost the same weight! I'm at 175 now and I have been holding steady. Haven't gained or lost anything in 3 weeks. My longest stall to date. I dont know about you but if i dont lose one more pound I completely would not care!!!!!!!!

Congrats on your success!!!

I hear you...I am waiting till I lose the last 30 and then I will be looking into consultations myself. Luckily my Dr is pretty sure he will able to get insurance to pay to remove excess skin on my thighs b.c i already had a skin condition that warranted it. Now it will just be easier for them. I am definitely with you on the boob job and arm reduction/tummy tuck. My boyfriend thinks I'm crazy but it's like I've gotten this far I want to go all the way. I know it seems silly but I want to wear a bikini just once in my life!!!! I'm going to start calling the Dr each time my belly button gets irritated b/c of the lack of air due to the saggy skin. LOL get it on record and insurance may have to pay! Good luck!

I don't have Aetna but I had a similar situation. I also had fantastic labs, except for being 135lbs overweight I was the picture of good health. I was approved by United Healthcare on my first attempt with a BMI over 40 but no other co-morbs. Having the letter will probably help you, and as crazy as this sounds, make sure you stay over that 40 BMI mark b/c that is the cutoff for most all insurance. If you're over 40 they will approve frequently but below that they dig and make you jump through more hoops.

Good luck!

that's excessive. The only food I wasn't allowed to eat at 6 weeks out were nuts, salad and fibrous fruit veggies- pineapple, celery, ect. Otherwise I was on a normal diet by that point!

CONGRATS!!!! I hit 100lbs about 2 weeks ago! I started at 288 but was 277 the day I was sleeved!

Maybe 277 is lucky lol

Keep up the great work!! I hate running but I started kickboxing and I am about to start crossfit. Here is something crazy you need to do if you haven't already....in the gym, go pick up a 50lb dumbbell in each hand. You are now holding what you lost, and it feels so much heavier than it ever did on your body, but that is what we were carrying around! I can only imagine that all my bones and joints are cheering in relief

congrats again, such an accomplishment. What size clothes were you then/are you now? I have gone from 22 to a 10, although yesterday I tried on a skirt in a size 8...and it FIT!

Took months for me. I can now drink up to 32oz during one Insanity workout, which is only about 45 min. I can also guzzle Water again, which is the best thing ever. I can't guzzle anything else, tried it with milk and it ended badly lol.

Yes I had the exact same problem. My Dr told me to try to get the Protein but that the MOST important thing was actually Water for the first couple weeks.

that's bad ass!!!!!!!!

I hit a huge victory today as I am down 100 lbs since starting this process!!! I lost 11 before surgery, and 89 since surgery on 12/24/12. I am almost 6 months to the day from surgery and I cannot wait to go for my 6 month checkup next month!

...

Size 22/24 to size 10/12 in 6 months.

I'm still planning on losing more, however this is my biggest victory to date..even bigger than getting out of the 200's!!!!

Keep up the good work everyone it is SOOOOOOOOO worth it!!!

Ok so I have been hovering right between 201-202 for a good two weeks. I went out of town for business this past week and didn't have a scale. Then wh

When I came home, mine was out of batteries. I just got some and weighed myself....197!!!!!!

It's been probably 1997 since I weighed anything that didn't start with a 2!!!!!

Another benefit? A crap ton of new male attention. And being able to be picky about who I see= way more GOOD dates vs awkward get me out of here type situations. LOL

The downside???

hair LOSS. NO JOKE PEOPLE!!! IT WILL HAPPEN!!!!

I've been losing for a full month now. Sometimes it seems to be slowing, but then I'll lose gobs the next day. Thankfully prior to surgery I had RIDICULOUSLY thick hair, but even still, I have a semi-bare patch up front, luckily the way I part my hair covers it. However I have an appt with a salon to talk treatments. One thing I will say, I at least have found an amazing temporary solution...Topix. Seriously. The spots where you can see scalp peeking through, all i do is part the hair, spray a little hairspray, then sprinkle on at the roots and my hair looks completely thick again. However I want to still see the salon because if it keeps coming out like this I"m going to need extensions lol.

I am a lot more disciplined with Protein and Vitamins than I was earlier so hopefully this phase is about done. I love losing pounds, not so much hairs!

Same situation for me. Heartburn was a rare occurance prior to surgery. Now, if I don't take my prilosec immediately upon waking up I feel the acid start to rise up. I take prilosec twice a day and then pepcid if I have any breakthrough acid. I'm 3.5 months out from surgery so I'm hoping this goes away with time. I heard it's not good to take PPI's for very long....

Don't stress!! I didn't lose anything for almost 3 weeks at one point. I'm 15 weeks out now and am down 75lbs Sometimes for me indulging in something a little higher in calories has helped jumpstart me during a stall. Sounds like it would be the opposite, but I swear it has worked for myself and others I know!

Either way, it's definitely not a competition and everyone's bodies behave differently. I got out of my last stall by starting Insanity...talk about...INSANE!!! LOL

Good luck, keep up the good work!

The fact that we even have to discuss this, prepare a story, ect ect is ridiculous.

Sorry.

I just hate that society in general has this FREAKISH urge to "out" people!!! Mind your own.

But on a side note, I used my hiatal hernia repair as my cover story, and added the fact that I have been working with a dietician and weight loss doctor since last May. No one thinks otherwise!

If some one asks you how you are losing the weight just tell them a lot of hard work. And then ask...jealous?

LOL