Camella

I'm almost eight weeks post op and I have to keep reminding myself that this is something I need to constantly work at and constantly improve on. I make mistakes on a regular basis, but, I try a little harder the next day. You will get there! Fortunately the sleeve doesn't give you the option of giving up. I know that if I hadn't had the surgery I would have definitely given up by now. It sounds like you are being quite hard on yourself. Be kind to yourself and make small improvements each day. (ps. I have eaten ice cream three times and each time it has made me feel sick - some lessons are harder to learn than others) Good luck!

Hi everyone
I haven't been on for a while as I'm on holiday (in Australia), but just wanted to post an update - almost eight weeks post op and down 18kg - amazing what a difference two months makes!

So glad we all have some of the same problems... Are any of you super emotional? I am!!!

Hi everyone
I haven't been on for a while as I'm on holiday (in Australia), but just wanted to post an update - almost eight weeks post op and down 18kg - amazing what a difference two months makes!

Hi everyone
I haven't been on for a while as I'm on holiday (in Australia), but just wanted to post an update - almost eight weeks post op and down 18kg - amazing what a difference two months makes!

Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement. It's easy to think pre-op that everything is going to change once you are sleeved. Only to realize that you still have the same brain
I will definitely move on and do better tomorrow. I have lost 30 pounds and have received lots of positive comments over the last couple of days. So I'm also certain that there was a little self sabotage involved. I guess this is a reminder that I need to also work on my thinking. It's really great to hear from people that can relate!

On a much sadder note, on the Gastric Sleevers Australia FB page we have been told about a fellow Sleeve Sister who passed away today from complications with her operation. There are no details of name or circumstances surrounding this tragic news.
I hope that we can all send our thoughts and love to her family and friends during this very difficult time.
We all know that this surgery is very risky, however, it is rare for things to turn out so tragically. I'm sure this lady would want each of us to continue to do our best to make our 'Sleeves' a success, just as she hoped to do before her surgery.
Sending LOVE to her family and friends during this very difficult time.
May she Rest in Peace.
Michele

I don't know if you have a heart rate monitor or not - but that may assist you with the walking and measure the intensity you are exercising at. Set yourself a target heart rate and increase intensity as needed. It's also a good source of motivation as you see your fitness improve. I think that the idea of walking not being exercise is very old fashioned. I had a personal trainer in the past that told me depending on how high you swing your arms and how fast you walk, you can almost get the same work out you would from a run.

Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement. It's easy to think pre-op that everything is going to change once you are sleeved. Only to realize that you still have the same brain
I will definitely move on and do better tomorrow. I have lost 30 pounds and have received lots of positive comments over the last couple of days. So I'm also certain that there was a little self sabotage involved. I guess this is a reminder that I need to also work on my thinking. It's really great to hear from people that can relate!

Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement. It's easy to think pre-op that everything is going to change once you are sleeved. Only to realize that you still have the same brain
I will definitely move on and do better tomorrow. I have lost 30 pounds and have received lots of positive comments over the last couple of days. So I'm also certain that there was a little self sabotage involved. I guess this is a reminder that I need to also work on my thinking. It's really great to hear from people that can relate!

I tried a GIANT chocolate milkshake 1 week post op and found out the hard way that I in fact do suffer from "dumping" and spent hours with cold sweats, stomach cramps, diarhea, and light headedness. BUT now I know. I was so upset and ashamed of myself for doing that but I learned the hard way that I cannot tolerate the fat/sugar content of ice cream malts anymore. I was sad and mad all at the same time. Now I am happy I did it and learned from it. You will be fine and the next time you look at the carton you will remember those feelings of guilt and messing up and hopefully avoid another binge.

I can completely relate! before my surgery I was terrified (convinced I would die), but I'm 4 weeks out and things are starting to become a little more normal. I won't lie, for me the first 3 weeks were horrible, but I know that one day I will look back on it as a tiny blip. Anything you experience in the month or two following surgery is almost always temporary. Good luck!!

I think the important question is how long has she been a surgeon? What is her track record as a surgeon (bariatric or otherwise). I made a choice between two surgeons. I chose one who had done less sleeves, but he was an accomplished general surgeon with 30 yrs experience. Obviously it takes time for doctors to establish a track recored and they can't all have done 300 sleeves before they operate on you. I had a good feeling about my surgeon, I like his approach. So what I did to confirm my decision was (through this forum and via a support group) I spoke to past patients of both doctors and then made my choice.

Gia -
Just an idea... Perhaps you should commit your thoughts to writing. An old fashioned love letter where you commit your ideas and give them to him in a card. When you are going through the surgical process and beyond, it will be something that he can look to.
Women are the caretakers of the world and we rarely ask for help because we are so busy giving it. You might want to ask him directly for help through this process. The physical healing is a much smaller process than the emotional process. Ask him directly for his commitment to love and support you through what can sometimes be an intense time emotionally. When you ask him for his help, and support, and commitment to you, his focus will likely turn from your commitment and more to his. This time period is really about him being there for you. Just show him the way. Sounds like you have a very strong marriage.
Just some thoughts. I wish you the best on your journey.

I was an all star athlete! You name it, I did it. I graduated at 108 lbs, 5'2, and a lot of knee issues due to basketball, softball, track nd flag football. I even did nd won 2 pageants. But I always felt too skinny, I wud wear shorts under my pants to make them tighter and belts too bc I had such a small waist. I hated it. Then went to college, got up to 118, did a pageant there as well. Graduated and started work as a respiratory therapist, gained weight bc of the way I started eating bc of my long shifts. I got up to 128 and was happy at that weight but wanted muscles, so started lifting. Got married and had my baby girl. Was on bed rest for 8/9 mths, gained 60 lbs w her. Had her, cudn shed the weight, horrible divorce...sorry human being, my father cheated on mom, sister ran away bc she got pregnant b4 married, life sucked. We then opened a family restaurant tryn to repair our messed up family, mom had bck surgery, almost died, I lost down to 145. I started playing coed softball, met new hubby, mom nd dad divorced after 36 yrs, she moved in w hubby, daughter nd myself, they had ugly divorce, I gained bck to 175. I started bck at hospital, put myself threw massage therapy school, graduated, gained to 200, started my own business, got pregnant again, gained to 220, again 100 per bedrest. Moved to New home, hubby adopted my first daughter, hubby went into military, moved to sc for nuke school, hated it, gained to 248.8. Dieting a lot by the way. Had a hard time in sc, moved to fl, then stationed to va but on the stop to c my mom in Alabama from fl, she was diagnosed w stage 4 lung cancer. I wanted to die!! I stayed bck nd took her to tx, loss Down to 171. That was.from 2007-2010. She went into remission, praise God, such a strong woman. I moved to va at 190. Moms cancer spread to brain in 2012, went home, then spread to spine, paralyzed her. So I went home to take care of her bc she lived alone, I watched her take her last breath last Oct, I thot I died too. It's still bad but I can hear her telling me to stop hurting myself nd finally help myself. I'm at 235, 5'3 nd I love nd miss my mom, but finally decided to start fighting for me nd living. I gained 30 lbs from last Oct to now, 3 knee surgeries...need double total knee, nd comorbs started creeping in. Her bday is August 5 th, nd I told her that I will make her proud nd choose to live. So gla of us on this journey. Thx for reading. I'm still presleeve but I will say this...I'll never complain of being to skinny again, if I ever get there!! Congrats to u all pre nd post:)
Ps...my driver's license still says 118 nd I refuse to change it unless I'm lower. Lol;)

I was a big baby (9 plus pounds and 22 inches long). I was a tall child, but not heavy. In 2nd grade, I came down with a childhood illness, got really sick (allergic) and began to put on weight and kept putting it on throughout elementary. Middle school years the weight skyrocketed. I lost about 100 lbs before high school...trying every diet out, mostly using WW, & exercising constantly. I stayed 150-160 throughout my high school years & at my height, I was a perfect weight & never enjoyed one day of it...felt I had to be 120-125 lbs because of all the supermodels in the late 80s/early 90s who were my height and weighed less than 120. I continued trying every diet out there & the exercise. In college, I regained all that weight & then some. Just losing 20-30 lbs here and there, only to regain. After college, I lost it again using mostly WW, but not all of it - never got back to my high school weight...really had to work at it. I used WW for most of this weight loss. I got married..vicious cycle of gain/lose, gain/lose with WW...but again, I never got back to the high school weight. I lost 100 for the third time about 10 years ago & regained it after an accident & a permanent injury. Now, with wls, I have lost a little over 80 lbs. So, yes, once upon a time I was thin before surgery, but I never realized it or got to enjoy it...I WILL enjoy it this time around!

Your story is SO similar to mine. Overweight up until eighteen, 130 pounds through my entire 20s but obsessed over food to stay slim and suffered from bulimia for a while as a result. Hit 31 my mum and dad both died within 4 months of each other (suddenly), weight jumped 50 pounds. Got married and quit smoking and weight jumped another 30 pounds. Lost 10 pounds and had my son, then went up to 220/225. I was sleeved four weeks ago and I'm down 30 pounds! I've always been athletic and being so heavy really put a stop to sport for me so I can't weight to get some more weight off and play team sport again.

I was chunky in jr. high, slimmed down summer before high school. Maintained a 36-28-36 figure through graduation. Then I got raped and packed on the pounds (subconsciously thinking that would keep me "safe"). Hit 165 (I'm 5'1.5"), then got married at 19 (again thinking i would be "safe") and had 3 kids in rapid succession, never losing baby weight between pregnancies and suffering pretty severe postpartum deppression. I found myself at 25, weighing 250, divorced and going back to school. Now I'm 33, my demons have been slayed, and I'm ready to let go of the last vestiges of the trauma in my life -- all this fat! Hoping for a September surgery date!

I don't know if you have a heart rate monitor or not - but that may assist you with the walking and measure the intensity you are exercising at. Set yourself a target heart rate and increase intensity as needed. It's also a good source of motivation as you see your fitness improve. I think that the idea of walking not being exercise is very old fashioned. I had a personal trainer in the past that told me depending on how high you swing your arms and how fast you walk, you can almost get the same work out you would from a run.

Yes 100%. I even have problems with dairy which for my entire LIFE was okay for me. I used to hate eggs, now I love egg whites. I was a sweets person (helped me gain all the weight)...I literally have no desire for it, even with a piece of cake in front of me at an event, I don't even want to taste it.
I do miss dairy and wish that hadn't happend to me, but other than that, I simply am not minding the adversion to sweets.

I don't know if you have a heart rate monitor or not - but that may assist you with the walking and measure the intensity you are exercising at. Set yourself a target heart rate and increase intensity as needed. It's also a good source of motivation as you see your fitness improve. I think that the idea of walking not being exercise is very old fashioned. I had a personal trainer in the past that told me depending on how high you swing your arms and how fast you walk, you can almost get the same work out you would from a run.

It happens, wet noodle spankigs for you!! Brush yourself off and do the best you can. You deserve your best effort. I know I could very easily give into temptation with things that just slide down, so I won't bring them in the house. Keep treats you can have handy. Get some sugar free Italian ice and keep it in the freezer. I'm mroe surprised that they didn't suggest getting off sugar before surgery. My nut wanted me only on sugar free puddings etc. I got used to it pretty quickly. We cultivated those bad habits over YEARS, give yourself some time to find a new normal. On the bright side, you can always start fresh.
Good luck! We got your back!

We all mess up, I posted awhile ago how I was downing goldfish crackers like no tomorrow. This is a great tool, but it doesn't take our human nature away. You'll have great days, better days, good days and bad days. I guarantee though, you won't have as bad of days as you would prior. Just think you may have eaten the entire container and washed it down with a few slices of pizza! So, it's a victory in a sense! The beating yourself up, is just as bad of a cycle behavior as the treat....if you think about it......Hang in there!

I get that with sugar too. The good thing is its keeps from even thinking about a tiny little sugar!