southernsoul

I started wearing my hair in it's naturally curly state shortly before I had sleeve surgery. I hoped that if it started thinning after surgery, wearing it curly would help it look fuller. I found a couple of products from Mixed Chicks that I like a lot. Post-op, your hair might change, but you can't know until it happens. If it does change, you'll learn how to work with it just like you did when you went natural. Good luck!!

My insurance approved a panni, and I paid $3K out of pocket to get the full tummy tuck. I was also approved for a breast reduction at the same time. I didn't do anything special, my surgeon just submitted for approval and got it. I had another surgeon tell me he wouldn't bother submitting for insurance approval because I'd "never" be approved....I still had about 20 lbs I wanted to lose, had not maintained at goal for a year, etc. I said thank you very much, went to a different surgeon, and boom.....I was approved and had plastics about a month later.

Congrats on your recent marriage & upcoming WLS. I'm 3 years out this month. As I recall, I made sure I had plenty of broth prepared and frozen in small portions. I test-cooked & test-tasted several things beforehand to figure out things I liked for the puree stage, which was the hardest one for me. Stay plugged in to the community for support & recipe inspiration. Best of luck to you!

I'm 3 years out this month. In my opinion, learning to cope without turning to food is one of the hardest challenges post-WLS. Many of us have used food for comfort, or when faced with stress, or just when boredom would set in. It's important not to "graze" all day, too. Maybe it would help you to keep a journal? Write down how you're feeling when you see that you're not eating well. Are you feeling stressed? Sad? Angry? Lonely? I think a lot of emotional issues that have been band-aided with food pre-op rise to the surface post-op, and it's important to work through them. Good for you for weight-training, though. Exercise is one of the very best outlets for stress relief and for releasing dopamine and serotonin. Wishing you the best of luck!

I'm hardly ever on here anymore, but this post caught my eye today. I live in Athens, and was sleeved by Dr. Paul Macik at Northside. He was really good, and his office staff is great. I'm 3 years out this month. Because of the distance, I didn't go to the support groups at the hospital regularly, but I did join several WLS groups on FB, in addition to being here. Good luck to each of y'all!!

Before sleeve surgery 3 years ago, I usually had a 1-2 cocktails or glasses of wine a night. Post-op, I didn't drink at all for about 3 months, but I eventually got back to the same 1-2 per night. I had stopped drinking soda about a year before surgery, and haven't gone back. I have found that natural fermentation/carbonation, such as in champagne, doesn't give me a bloated feeling like soda or beer. Best of luck to you!

Dear HFFM, I haven't been on this site in quite awhile, but I logged on today & your post caught my eye. I'm 3 years out this month. Six months after my sleeve surgery, my husband was killed in a fire. The fact is, any one of us could die today, tomorrow, next week, or next month. We get in cars, cross busy streets, fly in planes, and do many other things that expose us to risk. There's no way to control all risk. You sound like a loving, committed husband and father. You are having this surgery to increase your odds of having more time with them. You have prepared for the possibility of something happening to you, and you have provided for them if/when that day comes. You have controlled for as much as you can, and big kudos to you for doing so. The rest of it is simply out of your control. Take a deep breath, kiss that beautiful wife and son, and keep moving forward. Best of luck to you!

I've gone from a size 26/28 to about a size 14 right now. I'm 5'6, currently weigh about 206 & have a larger frame. Like marfar above, I'm looking weirdly top heavy now & don't particularly like that. I recently bought a cute dress in a juniors store that was a 3X and another dress from Chadwick's that is a medium. Both fit me just fine, which is kinda crazy. Women's sizing is all over the place, so if I ever feel like I'm losing perspective I just put on one of the things I kept from my biggest sizes. Seeing how ginormous those clothes are on me now always makes me feel better.

Oh, Lisa, I'm so very sorry you are having to go through such a heartbreaking thing. As you already know, my husband died in a fire back in January. Although that's different from losing someone to cancer, the need for comfort in grief is such a powerful force. I have also given in to some comfort eating over these last months. I agree with the above posters...don't worry so much about losing right now, just getting rid of the unhealthy habits. Hugs to you, sweetie!

I also haven't lost much from the boobie zone, but I haven't had nerve pain. Maybe a chiropractor could help? Also, I recently treated myself to a proper bra fitting, which I had never done before. I bought a couple of new bras which were pretty expensive, but also make an amazing difference in terms of good support & how my clothes look. It couldn't hurt to get a fitting & see if a new and/or different style of bra might help get rid of the pain.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about losing weight while I was sick. If you're sick, you're sick & getting well has to take priority. Losing 62 lbs in 3 months is great! Cut yourself some slack & realize that gaining a few ounces (or even a couple of pounds) while sick is not the end of the world. When you're well again & able to function better, you'll get right back on track. Feel better!

It's only been 3 weeks or so after you had major surgery. Try to cut yourself some slack & understand that everybody heals at a different rate. Just hang in there & keep trying...things will start to get better very soon!

thanks. i appreciate it. I fear the dreaded 3 week stall I read about will happen. I hope not! Sounds to me like you've made great progress! But try not to fear a pause....I don't even like the word "stall". We're asking an awful lot of our bodies with this surgery & we asked a lot before, when we were carrying around so much extra weight. Try to accept that you WILL have pauses while your body adjusts itself so it can keep on responding to the downward direction. That's a perfectly normal thing to happen, and it's not a reason to feel stressed or anxious. For me, it was much easier to stay on track through the pauses if I wasn't thinking of it as something being wrong. Good luck & congrats on your great progress so far!

My advice would be to stay on your surgeon's plan & be patient. For pretty much the whole first 6 months postop I seemed to follow a general pattern of losing for 2 weeks & "pausing" for 2 weeks. We are asking a lot of our bodies with this surgery, and I think it's unrealistic to expect a completely consistent pattern of loss. Our bodies need pauses to adjust, so try not to get too stressed over it. Hang in there...the scale will start moving again!

In the beginning I weighed every day & sometimes twice a day. However, I wasn't usually very disturbed if the numbers didn't change every day. I seemed to have a pattern of losing for 2 weeks & then pausing for 2 weeks, so I didn't freak out if a week or more went by without a change. If it started to get frustrating, I would stay off the scale for a few days. Now I weigh myself most days, but not every day, so maybe 4-5 times a week. You just have to figure out what works for you & go with that, regardless of what anyone else does.