Recycled

I know I have no business responding in the powder room but seeing as it is about birth control, it's a rather serious concern. I take several meds for a cardiac issue and after my sleeve I needed to have blood tests to determine if the doses were still providing proper treatment. The sleeve or any gastric surgery can change the way our bodies absorb pills and medications. Just food for thought.......I'm outta here now......your can resume uninterrupted......

The Honeymoon's over Sweetie..........At least you made it to a year. I 'm at seven months and desire to eat has already returned. I think about certain foods that I had no interest in up till now. It's tough. I just get more determined and realize I will have to kick in some additional effort. Mix it up some. cut way back on calories for a few days to jump start the metabo..... Whatever it takes to get the last pounds off and secure my ability to control any desires so I will NEVER go back to my old ways. Hang in there and try even harder now. Don't give up.

I have dreamed I could fly like a bird.......doesn't mean it's ever gonna happen. Relax.

Added benefit.......now you can get to the sidekick without the stomach in the way......

Tell Hubby that you can't believe he is so lazy that he has to drive a car to get somewhere........ It's a tool....A means to and end.!! No different than a car. Sure.........the ole fashioned way will work. If you actually can tolerate it. I no longer can. Why not? I don't know. What I do know is I don't have another lifetime to figure it out or change. I need the weight gone now. And I will use whatever I can. Nuf said about How to lose it. Now, about other people's imput. Who cares. It's your life. And you're the one that has to live it. However I lose the weight, I will obtain the same benefits of MY improved lifestyle regardless of what anyone else had to say about it or how I went about doing it. Make your own decisions and tune out and avoid the negative.

Surgery is surely a risk, but obesity is most assuredly, a death sentence. He can live with the fear that each day might be his last, or choose to turn things around and have some control over his future. I had a heart attack, was on thinners, blood pressure and cholesterol meds, had both knees replaced and bouts with skin cancer. I was starring at diabetes and my cardiologist had basically told me she had done all she could. That my weight would most certainly kill me. My willpower to maintain a diet had become non-existent. My mindset was.....I had little choice and nothing to lose. The choice I made was not the riskiest one......it was the only one. And as it turned out....the correct one. The Doc's are used to dealing with obesity patients that have many co-morbidities. (Kinda goes with the territory) I had my Sleeve done in a hospital with a Cardiac Unit available and my Cardiologist was completely on-board and standing by in case something went wrong. It didn't. In fact, it was one of the easiest operations and recoveries I had ever experienced. (and I had 11 surgeries in one year a while back) I have embraced this opportunity and put my all into the effort and can only confirm what everyone else on here repeatedly claims about this life changing journey. You asked for feedback from any high risk patients.......Sorry, I don't see mine that way...... All my risk was if I didn't become a VSG patient.

Way to go. Keep up the great progress. Your body will forever thank you.

Kidney stones take awhile to develop. I doubt it had anything to do with the sleeve. I have had a few removed in the past, but no issues since my sleeve. (knock on wood). I'm sure your Urologist will schedule you for periodic checkups. I get X-rays a couple of times a year from mine to watch for any developing in the Kidneys before they make it into the ureter. Getting them blasted in the kidney was a breeze and no pain.......but once in the ureter......it felt like a jagged sword in my gut. All from a little 8mm rock.

Sally, Relax, the unknown brings on all kinds of fears....... He will be fine. Of course if would be better if he didn't eat extra before the surgery, but then that's kinda why we are all here. What you can tell him is.....He will most surely be able to continue to eat any of his favorite foods. Just in much, much smaller portions. And some he may find he no longer craves or desires. (so no loss there) The surgery will be upon you both in no time and things will change dramatically from then on.....so don't fret about it now and learn as much as you can so you will know what to expect. Makes things go much easier. Good luck. Tell him we'll see him on the loser's bench.

Use any analogy you want but the bottom line is.........Everyone has their own individual metabolism. Put more food in than you burn and you will gain. Put in alot more in and you will become obese. Throw in an uncooperative brain and it seems impossible to overcome. Along comes the sleeve. It does it's part by helping to control the amount. But the brain is up to us. Believe it or not, it can be changed too. Good luck

Best thing I experienced about reaching 6 months is settling down and getting used to the ups and downs of this process. I now don't get frustrated with long lulls in weight loss or get worried over occasional cravings or desires. I don't obsess over exact calorie numbers every day. I don't feel guilty if I don't make the gym always on schedule. And guess what........I am still losing. So Relax everyone. A few ups and downs won't derail you or cause you to fail. Allow yourself a little leeway or a treat here and there. Just remember to stay on track and concentrate on the overall effort of making permanent long term changes. The best thing about the six months isn't the amount of weight I have lost.......It's the amount of time that has allowed me to adjust.

I thought getting them would be necessary too and before I could decide on what or where to get any, the weight loss was so much that I didn't feel they would serve any usefulness. My thoughts......skip it.

It's your new life.....speak up. Tell 'em it's no longer the type of restaurant you go to. If they can't adjust, too bad. Plenty of people that haven't had bariatric surgery eat the way you do now, so it's not at all unreasonable. Don't let others take you down that slippery slope or force you to go where you're uncomfortable. When I'm out with friends and the subject of stopping to get something to eat comes up, I pretty much make the suggestions of which places are acceptable and no one has ever disagreed or complained.

I think the better term would be more "available energy". I always had the energy or desire to do things....just not the stamina or mobility to fulfill those efforts. Now, with every passing day, I am astonished by how easily I can do things without even thinking about it. Only later does it sink in how much has changed and it truly fills me with satisfaction. During the course of every day, I find myself smiling over little effortless accomplishments that were lost for so long. It's almost like recapturing a sort of lost youth.

Weeks....schmeeks......You're not gonna reach any goals in a few weeks. This is gonna be a long haul. Think "a year". Your body is going to fight you all the way, struggling to hold on to every pound. And just when you think you have the process figured out, it will catch on and blow your efforts by holding on to the remaining weight even harder. Just don't let it get to you. Relax, enjoy the ride. Change things up.......eat more, then less, exercise more.....then take a break. But stay the course and the weight will slowly continue to come off. And slowly is what you want. The longer effort will help you adjust to the real changes you need to make to keep it off.

What recipes......there's no room for adding a lot of ingredients to create a recipe. With only a couple of bites available, My priority is....... just eat whatever's high in Protein. (adding calories as I go) And drink as much as I can.

What's to regret.......I just fixed what "Mother Nature" failed to change during evolution........- the size of our stomachs - Yeah, when we were hunters and gatherers, there could be long intervals between meals and stocking up on available food required larger stomachs....(I watch alot of Animal Planet)...... . Now, there's a food joint every ten feet. We simply just eat too much, too often and then just sit around stuffed - getting fat. (oh yeah, I forgot the part about how we don't have to actually chase down the food anymore). So just call me the "Engineer" (ie: Prometheus) Now if I could just figure out how to make these mods carry over to the next generation.

That Doc needs to go back to science class and study harder during the part about solids, liquids and gases........ .

The only thing I can think of that could in any way be associated with the sleeve having any effect on sex drive, would be energy level. The whole surgery, low calorie and exercise combination can have a real impact on energy levels. Could be he's just tired or weak. Other than that, you might be barking up the wrong tree. It might be something more deep seated, related to your relationship that no one on here would realistically be able to offer any insight. Good luck.

Here's what's going to happen as time goes by........Those stalls that are so frustrating in the beginning.......they just tend to blend into daily life. Not such a big deal anymore. You will find that as you get used to your daily intake, they become more routine and less of an event. So do the weight losses. I pay very little attention to the scale and pretty much expect that my weight loss will occur in it's own time regardless of what I do. I no longer fret over "stalls". I eat about 700 to 1200 calories each day and concentrate on the Protein. I have noticed that even when I'm not losing lbs, I am losing inches. (stuff fits better). It's become slow and steady.....but it still keeps coming off. At 800 cal. ......it pretty much has to. I will eventually get to my goal, as will you.

Absolutely fantastic job. You look great. So glad you posted your update. Those updates and success stories are what keeps the rest of us motivated as we trudge along. I had bilateral knee replacements prior to my Sleeve and I made all kinds of effort to acheive a super fast recovery....only to learn, you just can't rush the process. It taught me to be patient and accept however long it takes (which was closer to a year for my knees). Now my knees are great and now I am better prepared for the long haul in my weight loss efforts. Slow and steady........will get you there. Not that your loss was very slow.......I mean 200 lbs in 12 months. Wow. Gotta say it again......you look great.

What's the sleeve got to do with a hangover. Ya drink too much and ya get a hangover......... Take a couple of aspirin and go easy on the booze. For future reference.....my trick was to take about 3 aspirin -before- drinking and it would help prevent any hangover later.

I think temptation issue is one of the biggest NSV's. It's the one we worry about the most before surgery and with all diets or WL events of in the past. To be able to change our eating habits and not be tempted by food laying all about, is a tremendous victory. It's the assurance that our lives have finally changed and food will not rule us anymore. Congratulations.

It's a funny thing about the gym and thoughts of rigorous exercise and weight lifting routines. With the surgery done, you tend to think the quicker you get to the gym and start pumping Iron, you can lose weight faster and gain lots of muscle. I know that was my thoughts. My Doc said 6 weeks for the gym and weights. So at 6 weeks on the dot, I joined a gym and started all kinds of weight lifting and cardio workouts. The thing is......it didn't really speed up the losses or the muscle gain. I didn't notice any additional weight losses during or following my gym sessions. And the sessions are tedious and boring and hard to stay modivated about always going. And the real kicker is, I usually see the biggest losses just doing routine outdoor activities, like mowing the lawn or washing the car or going fishing. Whenever I did something outside that resulted in a little sweat, I saw immediate results. I still go to the gym mind you. And as I lose the weight, I can really notice my cardio and weight routines increasing dramatically. But the weight is gonna take time to get off and while the gym helps, I found it did not provide the biggest benefit. Just slowly get back into the usual indoor or outdoor physical routines and working up a sweat. It's all exercise and doing something productive or enjoyable, while burning the calories just doesn't seem so much like exercise. I rarely even notice I am exerting such energy when doing routine activities and then I'm quite surprised later by the scale.

Well, what a shame. If she would have stuck around I could have referred her to the "Life's Manual" by: T. H. Doesnotexist. It's a complete guide to everything in life.....step by step, for everybody, in all situations....from birth to death. Takes out all the mistakes and guesswork. Plus......I still have some prime swamp land on the market......any takers...????