courtoomp

Sounds like y'all had relationship problems before the surgery so naturally those won't go away. I wonder If you were ever 'okay' with this 'unique' relationship or if you did how a lot of women do and put up with it or convince yourself you're happy bc you don't think you deserve more.
If he does not feel attracted to you now that you are losing weight an probably feeling more attractive, maybe he is threatened by your newfound confidence and swagger.
I hate to say this and maybe this is just my warped opinion, but I think women can fall into a controlling relationship when they are overweight and certain men can use those 'fat insecurities' we have to get what they want (ie a 'unique' relationship).
Just my two cents and it may be I think this way bc I had a controlling boyfriend as well who I now realize loved me as far as he could throw me... And I was over two hundred pounds so not very far!
Good luck to you. I say do you and nurture your own happiness outside of the relationship. You change and he will be forced to.

I went to the nutritionist today. Like so many here i have considered myself a slow loser...well relative to all the super speedy ones!...and I have been down for not seeing results as quickly as I wanted.
Well, the nut told me to increase my food. She said at this stage I am healed and should be focusing on eating normally. Wow what a concept! Not 100grams of Protein and 25 carbs?? Nope. She told me to up my cals to 800 and if I don't lose in 2 weeks then up it to 1000. I was shocked! She also said to get 80ish or more carbs a day from fruits and veg and whole grains. I have never been more thrilled at the idea of a quinua salad and some apple!
Anyway I shared this to confirm that eating real food may make the journey a bit slower but all the tastier and hopefully lasting.
Courtney

Sounds like y'all had relationship problems before the surgery so naturally those won't go away. I wonder If you were ever 'okay' with this 'unique' relationship or if you did how a lot of women do and put up with it or convince yourself you're happy bc you don't think you deserve more.
If he does not feel attracted to you now that you are losing weight an probably feeling more attractive, maybe he is threatened by your newfound confidence and swagger.
I hate to say this and maybe this is just my warped opinion, but I think women can fall into a controlling relationship when they are overweight and certain men can use those 'fat insecurities' we have to get what they want (ie a 'unique' relationship).
Just my two cents and it may be I think this way bc I had a controlling boyfriend as well who I now realize loved me as far as he could throw me... And I was over two hundred pounds so not very far!
Good luck to you. I say do you and nurture your own happiness outside of the relationship. You change and he will be forced to.

I should note the ulcer is the 'worst case scenario'. It is more likely hunger or heartburn! Didn't want to alarm you

See a doctor. And start a PPI. It kind of sounds like it could be an ulcer...ever have a problem with that in the past?
Ulcers in your duodenum (the first part of your intestines, connected to your stomach) feel the way you describe and get better when you eat. A PPI is how they are generally treated, that and checking for h pylori.

I think it's a combo of both them and us. But to answer the post question...YES we were invisible when we were heavier! Sad but true. But clearly you're not invisible anymore so enjoy that while keeping a critical eye of who all of a sudden noticed you.

thanks everyone! it's such a good feeling to read all of your comments!
Courtoomp - YES EVERY OUNCE IS GOOD ENOUGH!! They all add up and over time, those ounces and lbs will make the biggest difference inside and out. So snap your fingers, twitch your neck and in your sassiess voice say to yourself, "YOU GO GIRL!"
Congrats to everyone on their journey!

I told a handful of ppl and I suspect the rumors have been flying and that some of y close friends have spilled the Beans. But if ever asked how I am losing the weight I reply honestly..eat less and exercise more. None of their business but I also understand not wanting ppl downplaying your hard work. I know I have worked so hard to lose this weight and don't want that overshadowed bc I had some help.

I told a handful of ppl and I suspect the rumors have been flying and that some of y close friends have spilled the Beans. But if ever asked how I am losing the weight I reply honestly..eat less and exercise more. None of their business but I also understand not wanting ppl downplaying your hard work. I know I have worked so hard to lose this weight and don't want that overshadowed bc I had some help.

I told a handful of ppl and I suspect the rumors have been flying and that some of y close friends have spilled the Beans. But if ever asked how I am losing the weight I reply honestly..eat less and exercise more. None of their business but I also understand not wanting ppl downplaying your hard work. I know I have worked so hard to lose this weight and don't want that overshadowed bc I had some help.

I told a handful of ppl and I suspect the rumors have been flying and that some of y close friends have spilled the Beans. But if ever asked how I am losing the weight I reply honestly..eat less and exercise more. None of their business but I also understand not wanting ppl downplaying your hard work. I know I have worked so hard to lose this weight and don't want that overshadowed bc I had some help.

Some of my favorites:
Sukhi chicken curry. I love flavorful foods as I'm more satisfied that way. costco sells a large serving which I eat off of all week. I don't even miss a starch. I think can get frozen version at Fresh market.
Trader joes turkey meatballs
Trader joes turkey meat sauce just the sauce
Salmon burgers from whole foods
Sriracha so I can add it to anything from chicken and tuna salad to Soups
Amy's Tomato bisque soup--I add a laughing cow cheese to increase the creaminess and add Protein
Amy's lentil Soup
Kashi go lean crisp cinnamon --add it to Greek yogurt with some jam for Breakfast
Jiff to go natural Peanut Butter cups. Individual servings.
Bumble bee tuna salad in Thai chili and lemon pepper. You can buy them with some crackers too for an easy meal on the go
Laughing cow cheese...all flavors
Baybell cheese low fat
Individual breakstone 2% cottage cheese
Ak mak sesame crackers are amazing!
Yasso Greek yogurt Popsicles in various fruit flavors...70 cals and 6g Protein and it satisfies my sweet tooth
Giardheli 72% dark chocolate
Pickles, pickled asparagus to add to tuna salad
Pure Protein Bars (chocolate Peanut Butter is my favorite) and pure protein chocolate shake at GNC for 35g protein

I haven't posted on here in a while but wanted to share my progress so far in just 9 short months. 90lbs gone!!

You look...and SOUND awesome!! I have also lost about 50 pounds in five months but have been convincing myself that's not good enough. I am gonna take a note from you and tell myself go girl!

It's weird. Before surgery, I lived on burgers, French fries, pizza, sodas....anything that could be obtained at a fast food window. Now I don't need or want that stuff. I rarely had desert, but when I did....I really did!
But now, a piece of pecan pie, or cheese cake or a donut....and it's like I'm ready to start a massive crime wave to get more. And I cannot get full on any of these foods....I've tried. There is no restriction. There is no satisfaction either....a little just makes me want more. What I wouldn't give for some dumping...or slimes! Anything to negatively reinforce those foods. But the only tool I have to deal with them is fear of how fast I can regain. After 14 months of doing this on my own, I'm now looking for a support group to help with this. I need a more positive tool.

The rest of us are going to Celebrate the 4th on Thursday....just saying.

You need to go to the ER immediately, forget about the flight. If you're nauseous now, just imagine how you'd feel on a plane! Plus if you're dehydrated now...this weekend Dallas will be in the triple digit temperature (106 degrees). Sounds dangerous.

I keep under my recommended calorie intake every day (800-1000) so the occassional "treat day" for me actually does metabolism some good! I say enjoy the party and don't stress about it - just jump back on the wagon the next day! Works for me and never stalled! (8 months out).

I was a bereaved parent at nineteen and couldn't function at all - for me, now way would the sleeve have been my cure-all and I would have been that cheeseburger eating post op that exploded her stomach, I swear!
I say "preventative measure" but honestly I cannot see a good reason why anyone would really, really need the surgery before 21...19 at the very youngest, and even then, we're not talking fifty pounds overweight. I'd want to be sure that it was a big enough issue and that it wasn't easy to resolve on it's own. And certainly I'd never actually tell my kid surgery was even a thought in my head until I felt it might be a good choice or option. Because I remember being a teen/young adult and the easy way would have been my answer. No, the sleeve is not the easy way and I know that now. But at 29 when I was sleeved I was pretty darn sure it was, so I can only imagine if a teen knew that it was an actual option, she might not be as concerned about giving her all to Weight Watchers. Maybe I'm just a cynic, but between the two of us my husband and I have had ten children. My experience is that you have to be really careful about the incentive/motivation game.
In any case, I think that I would want to have the sleeve help my child sooner if I felt she/he needed it, but frankly, I can't see myself ever actually doing it. I mean, I almost didn't pierce my daughter's ears...I didn't want to do something she'd be unhappy about later in life. This surgery is drastic and it's forever. I'd hate for my child that's slightly overweight as a teen to have it done and then be unhappy with their choice. And even worse, for them to not achieve their goal anyway, or to have a difficult time because maintenance is such a long path.
I don't think I could ever talk to my daughter about her weight until she brings it up to me, anyway. I do not have a kid stuffing down Twinkies behind my back or refusing to eat anything but fries or pizza. My daughter is obese, true. But she is an active girl with a well balanced diet for the most part. The most damaging thing done to me as a kid was being told I wasn't good enough - that I was fat, that I wasn't smart enough, that I had a bad attitude, etc. I do not want my daughter to feel that my love for her is conditional in any way, and I think that no matter how I phrased it, that's exactly what she would feel. Deep down, do I wish she could have her Dad's metabolism (and my looks, naturally) well, sure I do. I do not want my kids to struggle in any way. Peer acceptance is the thing that stands out most in my memory as that thing that was hard about school, not the fact that I was terrible at math. We all want to fit in and there is no time where that's more difficult than the school years. It's also the time that shapes who you will become. So yeah, I've love for there to be an easy answer but in reality, this isn't a problem with my little girl - it's a problem with society and our emphasis on external beauty with impossibly high standards. When even the 110 pound models are photoshopped, nobody else stands a chance. And boys are growing into men that have no idea what real women actually look like. I saw comments on an article about mother's bodies the other day where men actually said things like, "Ugh, stretch marks are gross, I hope my wife never has kids."
This is the world my kids have to navigate, and it's heartbreaking. I just hope that between my husband and myself we can teach our kids to love themselves enough and be outspoken and honest enough to call people on that crap. I'd rather my daughter be more like the woman I am today than the desperately unhappy girl I was as a teen, that's for sure.
I suppose that sums up my pointless ramble of the day...carry on.
~Cheri

Likely dehydration. It'll get better as you can get more Fluid in.
There is always a chance it can be some anemia, depending on how much blood you lost during surgery. But I would put money on good old fashioned dehydration!
Hope you feel better!

What an interesting post.
I can understand the emotional pull to sleeve at risk adolescents and also adults. I lived those tumultuous obese years like everyone here.
But I disagree with preventative sleeving. I am in medical school, and perhaps that education has swayed me. I look at it as cost benefit. Someone mentioned getting the ovaries removed as an analogy. It was a great analogy I think. If a woman has a family history of ovarian cancer she can get her ovaries removed prophylactically and can reduce her cancer risk. But she also will go into early menopause with consequences such as osteoporosis, infertility, etc. But this woman also saves her life. Presumably before having her ovaries removed the woman would have spoken at length with her doctor, researched, made preparations for how to best manage her health after the surgery for years to come.
Similarly, a 30lbs overweight woman may get the sleeve. Just like ovarian cancer there is still a risk of gaining weight with the sleeve. Also, the sleeve comes with risks...surgical risks, Vitamin deficiency, energy level. What worries me about making this option readily accessible is that unlike removing your ovaries (no vanity benefits here!), the sleeve and its associated weight loss will cause ppl to flock in for a quick fix without doing the necessary research to ensure they remain healthy. It's akin to getting your ovaries out to avoid having kids when you could have just take birth control or even had a hysterectomy!
Having said all that, if a patient feels the desire for a preventative sleeve and can pay for it and goes through a regimented and intensive education (I wish there were even stricter requirements than we see now) and therapy, then there should be an avenue for that. And through that education I would hope many preventative sleevers would change their mind bc they get individualized attention from their physician on how to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Kind of like going to driving school to learn the rules is preferable to getting in an accident and then having to take a class on safe driving...
Sorry if that was wordy. I had to get it out there.

You can always try taking the PPI every other day. This is what my mom, who has osteoporosis, does. That combined with her mineral infusions she has actually gained bone mass.
I worry about taking the PPIs daily, but alas without my daily Prevacid I am miserable by noon even if I have eaten no stereotypically acid-producing foods or drinks.
As for the magnesium, it is a scary proposition right?! The osteoporosis and low magnesium levels are both seen with long term use (>1 year), but the osteoporosis risk is more elevated with high dose PPIs. As far as I know the magnesium issues aren't dose dependent. I am all for the less meds the better, so why not discussing with your doctor going to every other day or even doing a PPI-free trial? You won't get esophageal damage being off the meds for a couple weeks. Those problems typically come after a decent period of time with esophageal exposure to acid.

You can always try taking the PPI every other day. This is what my mom, who has osteoporosis, does. That combined with her mineral infusions she has actually gained bone mass.
I worry about taking the PPIs daily, but alas without my daily Prevacid I am miserable by noon even if I have eaten no stereotypically acid-producing foods or drinks.
As for the magnesium, it is a scary proposition right?! The osteoporosis and low magnesium levels are both seen with long term use (>1 year), but the osteoporosis risk is more elevated with high dose PPIs. As far as I know the magnesium issues aren't dose dependent. I am all for the less meds the better, so why not discussing with your doctor going to every other day or even doing a PPI-free trial? You won't get esophageal damage being off the meds for a couple weeks. Those problems typically come after a decent period of time with esophageal exposure to acid.

You can always try taking the PPI every other day. This is what my mom, who has osteoporosis, does. That combined with her mineral infusions she has actually gained bone mass.
I worry about taking the PPIs daily, but alas without my daily Prevacid I am miserable by noon even if I have eaten no stereotypically acid-producing foods or drinks.
As for the magnesium, it is a scary proposition right?! The osteoporosis and low magnesium levels are both seen with long term use (>1 year), but the osteoporosis risk is more elevated with high dose PPIs. As far as I know the magnesium issues aren't dose dependent. I am all for the less meds the better, so why not discussing with your doctor going to every other day or even doing a PPI-free trial? You won't get esophageal damage being off the meds for a couple weeks. Those problems typically come after a decent period of time with esophageal exposure to acid.

I think (and no offense to anyone) that it's easy to be kind of cocky about how easy it all is and how you'd have to be deliberately eating around your sleeve not to achieve goal.
And I say that because I used to think that, too.
The reality is much more complex and it's unfair that we, as people that have struggled with our weight our entire lives, are so quick to criticize or shout diet! exercise! to anyone that's struggling post sleeve. It's as if we're applying that same logic our family, friends and doctors had prior to our surgeries - it's not working because you're failing or it's not working because you have no willpower or it's not working because you're lazy. The end result being the message that of course losing weight is easy and if you really want to do it the weight will just fall off and you'll be on your way to happily ever after.
Not so. The issue is something not even fully understood in the medical world. If weight loss were simple restriction and willpower, the very first time you tried a 1,200 calorie diet you would have lost that weight and made it to goal and you would not be here missing 85% of an organ.
I have friends here that struggle and have struggled for years to either shed weight or stay on track for various reasons. It is not all willpower. I know folks that are the strictest eaters and most diligent exercisers that CANNOT reach goal and are still fifty or sixty pounds overweight.
Naturally, some of these people might feel less than thrilled with their results.
Now, for the original question: I am three years out. Today, I can say I am fully satisfied and love my life post sleeve. Six months out or nine months out you would have heard a different story. I struggled to lose at the pace I felt everyone else was meeting. I had two nine week stalls - one at six months and one between nine and twelve months. Now, I was still happy for my sleeve but I was also frustrated. I think you'll find very few people here (though you will find some, particularly those that had bad complications) that regret their surgeries even when things don't go as planned.
And yes, the biggest hurdle most people that are disappointed have is that their initial expectations were not realistic, usually because they either thought they would avoid complications of any sort or because they simply did not research the sleeve diligently prior to surgery.
Best of luck to you, whatever you decide. The wonderful universal of this surgery is that even those that are disappointed, frustrated or stalled have lost weight. Not as much as they'd like in some cases, but we all lose.
~Cheri