lornadoone629

it might be from the nerves that were severed during the surgery and they are starting to regenerate. I know that when I've had any kind of surgery in the past, you can get the numbing, tingling and little pains shooting around the surgical area. Hopefully, it's just your body healing.

I wear "one size fits all" stretchy camisole/tanks under my clothes. With 91 pounds gone, I feel more "put together" without my body "jiggling". lol Well, those areas used to have fat to fill them and now, even though not gone completely, they are less firm and make me feel to loosey- goosey.

Continued success and good luck on your journey!

I have had IBS for over 30 years. Mine was diahrrea based (not constipation), so not good. Anyway, since preparing for the surgery and eating healthier, I haven't had many problems at all. In fact, since my surgery in August, I haven't had any IBS issues at all that I know of. I did have some issues with Protein right after surgery and sending me on emergency RUNS to the rest room, but my body adjusted after a couple of weeks. I actually think my condition improved. Haven't had to take any of my meds for it in a long time. good luck!

I decided not to tell my parents until I had gotten approved. My mother ended up in the hospital with a medical crisis the day before my endoscopy in another city. I tried to do it under the radar, but since i couldn't drive after it and wouldn't be able to go to the hospital to see her that day, she would be suspicious. I told them it was just some routine testing (I'd had one 15 years ago). She then offered to send my dad up to sit with me since they were already at the hospital. I had to break it to her that I was having it done by a specialist who prefered to do it at a hospital an hour away. When I finally told them about the surgery 3-4 weeks later, they were RELIEVED! I came to find out that they thought something much more serious was going on medically for me. They were really so happy that I was doing this that they gave me $2000.00 towards my $5000.00 out of pocket. They have been true cheerleaders in this last year since I started preparations for the surgery last August.

I'd been getting rid of some things slowly, but recently, I went through all of the drawers and closets. I was going to have a BIG GIRL yardsale, but I don't have the time to do it or the room to store that many clothes until I do. I have taken some of the nicer things to a consignment shop and have some more to take this fall. I ended up with 8 HUGE bags of clothes, which weighed over 165 pounds!!!! That's a LOT of clothes.

I did save a couple of pair of pants from my heaviest so that when I feel like I'm not making any progress, I can try them on and make a comparision. I was also sorting a pile of things that I could alter and still wear. As the pile grew, I decided to be ruthless and not keep a bunch of my fat clothes, even if they are sized down. I didn't want to look in the mirror and still see the fattest version of myself in those old clothes. I did keep a feel tops and sun dresses from last summer that i was able to easily alter to fit my new, smaller shape. They are flattering on me, so I fixed them. The rest have will have a happier home with someone who shops at the local Hospice clothing store. I had a lot of nice clothes and hard to find styles. I'm hoping that some Big Beautiful woman will find them and be thrilled to wear them.

OH no ljgh73---say it ain't so!!!! I've given up so much, please NOT my beloved onions!!!!!! seriously!!! ok...if I eat onions, I'll just have to grab a sugar free popsicle as a preventative measure! lol

Since it's the insurance companies that have this "rule", I doubt your surgeon's office is going to be strict enough to frisk you on the scale! lol I have never had to worry about weighing too "little" for anything before. By looking at me, they knew I met the criteria. Just do ALL of the opposite things that I do when I go and weigh...... I make sure that I pee and whatever else I can eliminate from my body before I go on the scale. I wear the lightest clothing and less amount I can (weigh as close to naked as you can get in a public place without getting arrested!) lol take off my belt, jewelry, shoes, glasses, everything out of my pockets. So...if you do all of the opposite of that, you might have your 5 pounds.

I joke with my boyfriend who is in law enforcement about going for weigh -ins. When he goes to the doctor, he steps up there with heavy shoes, uniform AND a 25+ pounds duty belt on. Men generally don't care....me, if it can come off...it does! lol good luck!

My name is Lorna, and I am a carboholic! I did extremely well during 2+ months of pre-op on a high Protein low carb diet and then after my surgery in August. I all but became a carb phobic! Somehow a few slipped in over the last few months and they've made me want more. I am constantly having to argue with myself that a "little bit won't hurt". The heck you say! It's a slippery slope for me..... one cracker is good, 4 are better! lol I KNOW what I'm doing wrong, so it's keeping me from losing, but I have to want that weightloss more than I want that carb right now. Some serious arguements going between my brain, tummy and heart. I'm not where I want to be and I need to get "UNsatisfied" with my progress. I'm going to the beach one month from tomorrow and I'm deterined to be back on track well before then. good luck to my fellow carboholics out there!

I've ONLY lost 53 pounds since my surgery on 8/5/13. That's a total of 86 since early June and almost 8 pants sizes.... I am thrilled to no end! I am a slow loser and am embracing it!. I think we get into trouble because we continually compare our journey and weight loss to someone else. We can't do that. I am thrilled for those folks who lose 20, 30 and more pounds a month. It's just not the norm. Many more of us don't lose anything close to that on a regular basis. Do YOU!!! When I went for my 3 month check up my PA told me the following:

1. Do not concentrate only on pounds lost.
2. They expect that I'll have an average of 0-2 pounds lost per week.
3. If you find yourself obsessing over the numbers, quit weighing and recording completely.
4. Look to other things to measure your success.
a. How are your feeling?
b. Have you lost inches?
c. Are you more mobile?
d. Are you able to do things that you couldn't before the surgery?
e. How is your health improving?
5. We generally estimate the weight loss journey to take 2 years. You are still a newbie.
6. Know that the only person that you have to please and who has to be happy with your level of success is YOU!

Luckily, the seasons have been changing sicne my surgery on 8/5/13. I can't wear ANYTHING from last summer at all, so all of those are packed up. I've lost 7, almost 8, pants sizes, so those are in the bags too. Right now, I'm still struggling with getting rid of my winter clothes that are too big. I went through 5 outfits on Sunday before I found something that fit ok.

I've been a yo-yo dieter all of my adult life. I usually lose some and then gain it back too. Why get rid of those clothes when I might need them again, right? Well, with my new mindset on food and my new lifestyle, I'll never be back there again if I can help it. I now have the tools to believe that. I've been taking my really nice winter clothes to a local consignment shop. All of them don't sell, and I don't make lots of money, but it's more than I would from a yard sale, right? I'm getting ready to take some spring clothes down now and if I make some extra money, great! If not, I'll ad them to the "Big Girls Yard Sale" that I'm going to have once it gets warmer. lol Any money I'll make will go towards new clothes. Right now, I'm sitting at about 8 HUGE black garbage bags full, and I haven't culled my closet in about 4 months! lol can't wait to make some more room!!!!

they only nicotine tests that I have had (for a biometric screening at work) was with a swab in your mouth that you have to suck on until it turns blue. They then send it off and reported the results back some weeks later.

I actually had the surgery for health reasons. Arthritis, stress fractures, High blood pressure, etc. Found out that I had apnea too. My arthritis is under control (will never go away), but I'm not longer limping or hurting like I was. I'm back dancing and enjoying life. Rebuilding my stamina and the muscles in my legs from not being able to exercise and side affects from a statin I took. My blood pressure is stabilizing at a good level and I take a home sleep study to hopefully go off my cpap tonight. I know that I'm not at goal, a good ways from it, but I've achieved all of the health benefits that I was seeking and looking for even more to come! How I'm looking is a great benefit too!

I'm by no means "small".... but, my sister-in-law told me at Christmas that I needed to watch it and not get too thin. I mean, really? I weigh 246 pounds...more than a lot of you folks are before your surgery. Granted, I was 331 when I started this process and had been 351 at my highest weight over the last few years. I know that she didn't mean it in a negative way. I'm the smallest that I have been in nearly 30 years and she's only been on the scene for about 15 years. She's never seen me this "small". It's a drastic change and we have to realize that as difficult as it is for us to accept what we see in the mirror as we lose the weight, our family and friends are sometimes struggling with their visual impressions of us too. Other friends say that I'm "melting" or looking so "thin". Well great!!! thanks!!! I'm no seeing it like that, but hey, i didn't ever REALLY see my fat suit as big as it was either! lol

I will be 55 in a few months and have been overweight all of my adult life. I have set my goal at 199. My goal is to be in ONEderland when this is over. perhaps I'll go beyond that, but my body will let me know when to stop. With my age and length of time in my "fat suit", I don't want to look OLD and saggy. If I stay in the upper range, that should help prevent that from happening, or at least limit the damage. I don't care to be "skinny", just healthy and I am feeling so much better now and so much more mobile that I have succeeded in that goal already! continued success to everyone!

I wasn't secretive about it, but didn't go around announcing it to the world either. I was honest with everyone about it, once I'd told my family. I wanted to get through pre-op---all of the testing and insurance approval before I talked to my elderly parents about it. They (and my whole family) have been very supportive and encouraging. My boyfriend and close friends knew earlier on and were supportive and helpful too. My best friend and I were taking this journey together and she was a mountain top screamer about hers, so a lot of folks knew before I was ready to discuss it! lol I'm a member of a very large social dance club (shagging) and a lot of them noticed the weight loss, knew I'd had surgery of some kind and since my knees were getting better, with the weight loss (arthritis), and I was walking without limping and dancing some again, they thought I'd had knee surgery. I didn't correct a lot of them who I'm not close to. It's a personal journey and I wanted NO negative feed back and refused to justify myself to anyone. Luckily, everyone in my life watched my struggles to walk most days over the last 4-5 years and when I explained that I was doing this for my mobility, they were right on board. Good luck in whatever you decide to do. it's your journey and you can go about it how you want to!

I've lost about 82-85 pounds (depending on the day) since I started PRE preop at the end of May 2013. I'm thrilled with my progress. At my highest weight, I was wearing size 34 women's plus size jeans. I'm now wearing a 22 very comfortably and even fit into some size 20 white jeans I ordered over the weekend. a bit tight, but they buttoned and zipped! lol They'll be perfect for the beach trip in two months. While a size 20 doesn't sound that small to some of you who started at that size, it's phenomenal for me since I haven't been this small in over 30 years......... and didn't stay there long at the time. It's down around 7-8 pants sizes, so I can not and will not complain! continued success to everyone!

I was a cup size "C" at twelve years old, so I've been boobilicious for over 40 years! and saggy for most of it! lol The first thing my boyfriend asked me when I told him that I was getting the VSG was "are they going to go away?". Priorities! lol I told him that I doubted it since I've had them for so long, and I was pretty small body wise at 12. So far, I've lost only around my band size and MAYBE one cup size? Considering I was a G-H, I don't think that's much of a loss. Put on a pretty bra, put the girls in place and I look pretty darned good "in clothes". lol not sure I'd ever put a knife to my "girlfriends"!

Remember....Any woman with large PERKY breast are either younger than 20 or they aren't real! lol

I'll be 55 in June and had the surgery last August. Since I started the process at the end of last May, I have lost about 85 pounds. I had (still have) large thighs, but can see where they are getting saggy and or course my arms are still waving after I threw my arm up to say hello to someone YESTERDAY! lol Oh well.....I feel so much better and my arthritis pain is down from a 15+ on a scale of 1-10, to a 1-2 most days. I'm dancing again and working out in the pool some. I did this to get my mobility back, not to be beautiful without clothes. Not sure if I'll ever get plastic surgery or not. My insurance won't pay for it, so I'd have to pay out of pocket. I am the most concerned about my "neck" since it's showing some looseness right now. I set my goal at ONEderland (199 and under) because I don't want to try to get so thin that the skin becomes a physical AND emotional problem for me. That's still a good weight for me, I'm happy and healthy and will still have the curves that my boyfriend loves. I'm so glad that I did this....loose skin and all.

P.S. I have noticed that my top belly roll is less "firm" than it was before I'd lost weight. I am wearing fitted stretch camisoles with spandex in them to give me some support and I look a lot better in my clothes too.

I take Tramadol for my psoriatic arthritis, but since being off of my anti-inflammatory meds due to my new "tummy", I had taken an occassional Aleve. My rheumatologist told me to take them for my bursitis in my shoulder last month to help with the pain. I don't take it often, but when I do, I take it on a fuller stomach, usually right after I've eaten or with my meal. I know....no drinking with a meal, but sometimes, I have to be a rebel and do it for the pills..... better that, than to continue to suffer!

I suffered with gout prior to having surgery. I was on Indomethecin for arthritis and it never really helped with the gout. I had to go off of it in July of last year (one month prior to 8/5 surgery) and haven't taken it since. Luckily, I haven't had a bout of gout in over 2 years now, but it is probably the most painful thing I went through. I had it at the same time that I had a stress fracture in the same foot. needless to say, the boot I had to wear for the fracture was hell on the gout pain!

I have been cautious about red meat. I still eat too much, but I was told that played into the gout a lot. Also, if you drink alcohol, that will increase your chances of a gout attack. My podiatrist calls it "vacation gout", as many peopel drink on vacation and come back with it. Good luck and hopefully we won't experience it again !!!!

I am not getting enough exercise, but the main thing is I have to sip a little Water when I eat. I'm sorry, but I can't eat a meal "dry".

I had a follow up in December with my PA. My surgery was on 8/5/13 and at that time, I'd lost only 72 pounds. 33 of those were pre-op, so that was 39 in 4 months. I told her that I was really trying and that I hated that my weight loss wasn't more as I'm losing really slowly. She looked shocked. Told me that I was right on trend (I showed her my weekly weight loss record and graph!) lol She did discourage me from letting those numbers determine how I'm doing. Gave me the following advice:

1. Don't concentrate ONLY on pounds lost.

2. They expect that I will have an average loss of 0-2 pounds per week.

3. If you find yourself obsessing over the numbers, quit weighing and recording completely.

4. Look to other things to measure your success.

a. How are you feeling?

b. Have you lost inches?

c. Are you more mobile?

d. Are you able to do things that you couldn't do before surgery?

e. How is your health improving?

5. She advised me that they generally estimate that the weight loss journey can/should take up to 2 years. I was only 4 months out and still a "newbie".

6. Know that the ONLY person that you have to please and who has to be happy with your level of success is YOU!

I knew all of these things, but because my doctor is so strict, I have been afraid that he wouldn't appreciate my efforts and would think that I was failing. As I left, she told me that she thought that he would be very proud of me. I'm seeing him one week from today for my 6 months check up. I am committed to going there and being proud of my accomplishments, regardless of his take on it. I'm down about 85 pounds now, since I started "dieting" the last week of May, in preparation for my pre-op diet which began 7/1/13. I even lost over the holidays! If I look at it overall, I'm averaging just over 10 pounds a month, even with all of the stalls and no/slow weight loss weeks. I'm down 7 (almost 8) pants sizes.....down from size 34 to 22 and going into 20's. I'm able to dance (shag) again and my arthritis has improved so much that I'm not hurting or limping any more. I haven't been this small in at least 24-25 years. I'm THRILLED with my "slow" losses!!!! Continued success to every one on their journey!!!!

you can also get great deals on almond flour and such at Drvita.com that's where I've been ordering my stuff.

Hi there....

I have psoriatic arthiritis and had my surgery on 8/5/13. I don't take Embrel, but was taking Indomethecine, Tramodol and Methotrexate. I had to go off of the Indomethecine before surgery because it's an anit inflammatory and there was the fear that it could cause irritation of my new little tummy or ulcers. My rheumatologist was one of my biggest advocates in getting this done. Yes, I am enjoying being a smaller size and fitting into smaller clothing, but I had the surgery because for the last 5 years I was getting increasingly immobile. Even worse when I had flares. We are in the process of reducing my methotrexate, which has to be done by taking a lower dose a month at at time.

Today, I'm down a total of 82 pounds and I no longer hurt. No, the arthritis won't go away and I still have some occassional aching, but the pain itself is gone. I'm no longer using my walker or cane and am actually back on the dance floor (I shag and line dance). I missed that more than anything. I can walk a lot further and longer than I have in years. I was getting stress fractures in my feet from limping so badly, and off course, the arthritis then sets in on those joints too. I still need to build up more stamina from being so sedintary for so long, but it's the best thing I could have done. I will probably still need knee surgery eventually, but I've bought myself a lot of time and hopefully, will be even smaller when I have to have it done. good luck!!!!

I'm on the pre-op diet now and having to do Protein shakes twice a day, soon to be 5 times the last week. I had bought the KetgeniX from the docs office, but it's not all that great either. A friend of mine found the GNC Lean shakes and let me sample it yesterday. I tried the swiss chocolate and it was smooth and tasted like chocolate milk....no grit. I sent the nutrional info to the Director of Nutrition with my surgeon's office and he approved it as a great alternative. (actually a lot less carbs and mor Protein than the one they sold me). I'm buying some today!!!!!