magtart

I was just thinking the other day about how long it's been since I was sleeved. It has been so long I rarely think about it any more. I remember in the early days almost all of the posting was from people who were either pre- or within a year or so post surgery. I decided to register here and see if anyone has any questions they'd like from an oldie Up front:
360+ was my high. I lost down to 200 "on my own" but when the weight started coming back I decided I HAD to have surgery if I was going to have a fighting chance at staying down. I am older so I do have a lot of loose skin. Due to having been so heavy, I will never be under 200 w/out skin removal which I cannot, for medical reasons, have. And I don't mind much. It would be great to not have to deal with the flapping arms and gut, but it's not the end of the world.
10 years a sleeve: The only real negative I can think of it that is is very unpredictable. One day I can eat almost a "normal" small plate of food. The next day, if I ate that much it would come back up. I am sick about once a quarter due to overeating. I really try not to have that happen but it really is hard to predict. So when I am eating in public, I go very light. At Christmas parties, I grazed. I would pick up a carrot or celery stick off a tray, dip it and nibble away. No one pays that much attention to detail, only that I was eating. I picked up one sugar cookie and at it. I nibbled at it, it took a good 20 minutes to eat. Really, I don't think anyone gives it a thought. Here at home I just stop eating and wait to see how I feel. "Full" for me is now a pressure. If I feel that pressure, I am done. If not, I take another bite or two.
When I read back here in the old days, I read some pretty crazy stuff. My favorite was a woman who swore up and down she knew someone who had to be sleeved three times because she drank diet soda. No. That is not what happened. But if you want to believe it, that's fine with me. But that will not happen. For the first few years I drank diet coke. I absolutely follow the rule of no Fluid w/ my meal (unless it's part of a soup). I wait the full 30 minutes, often a bit longer. I thought it would drive me nuts, but it does not bother me at all. I have switched to unsweet ice tea for my "passion" drink and I have come to love it more than the diet soda and absolutely know it's better for me. But had nothing to do with the sleeve.
My surgeon was an absolute tyrant. (He retired the next year.) He felt you had to "earn" being sleeved. I thought that by losing over 160 pounds on my own, I had already earned it. His point was that I was gaining back (I think I was back up to about 260 at surgery but it's been so long ago I don't remember the details) so he made me do a 3 week liquid fast prior to surgery. I was stupid to do it. He had no real way to know. I wish I had done low, low carb for 10, then shifted to the liquid for the last half. The reason I say this is because the one mistake I made was eating solid food too soon. I was about 7 weeks out from surgery and with the 3 week liquid fast, I felt like a prisoner. So I ate. I look back on that moment and wish I had handled it differently. I don't know how to explain it, but it felt like a fail. It felt like I had let food win again. And I felt like it all happened due to emotions and feeling bullied....a lot of which got me to where I was to begin with!
So anyway, your experience may be very different. But I'll check here every other day or so and see what's up. If anyone has any questions, ask. I will try to answer. Of course, it will only be my perception. I wish us all luck on this journey. And I wish this surgery had been there for me in my youth but we get what we get in life.
Take care all -- Decade

Not lighter, just sore and kind of bloated.

Shrimp cocktail! Dice up that avocado into cubes, along with Tomato, onion, cilantro, and fresh jalapeno (optional, if you like a bit of a spicy kick!). Combine in a bowl and add a splash of lime and Tabasco, salt to taste, and V8 juice. Add your shrimp and you've got yourself a tasty and healthy meal or snack!

Oh wait, I also won a Super Mario backpack and wallet. If I hadn't had a young son at the time I would have no clue who or what Super Mario was.

I won a frozen turkey once.

Love languages are real. My love language is verbal and physical. My boyfriend of ten years is a gift from God, and I show my appreciation for his kindness by writing little love notes and also just flat out telling him I love him. I get a kick of of hugging him around the waist (that's all I can reach - he is a foot taller than me). When he is sitting down at his computer, I sneak up behind him and kiss him on the back of his neck. If I get up at night to go to the bathroom, I will gently squeeze his big toe.
His love language is through demonstration. He has never said "I love you" but he "does" I love you all day every day. He comes straight home from work every day and gives me a kiss as soon as he gets in the door. He kisses me goodbye before he runs out for an errand. Every time (without fail) that he goes to the store, he brings me home a surprise. He planted tons of flowers around his vegetable garden and keeps the flower vase on my dresser refreshed all summer.
The other day he sent me an email of a picture that he Photoshopped It was a tree with a heart carving on it, and it said "Tony loves Shirley. I nearly cried. I put it on my laptop as my background picture. He has included me in his daily activities and respects and validates my opinions. He welcomes my family into our home and plays with my grandchildren like they were his own.
I used to wonder where I stood with him until I realized that we show our love in very different ways.

I won a frozen turkey once.

I'm two years out and can eat about 1/4 of a regular size burger with bun and a few fries. If Son is going out to pick up a burger I usually don't want anything, but once in a blue moon I ask for a junior burger and can eat 1/2 of it with no fries.
Every few months or so I get a 6" Subway sandwich and it makes 3 meals for me. By the time I get to the last 1/3 it is pretty soggy so I just pick out the meat and pickles.

Okay so Im watching the news yesterday while at the gym, Well reading the captions anyway. And it comes up that a new study shows that people who are successful with weight loss surgery, aside from having health concerns lessened etc, also have a much lowr rate of depression and are much happier with a better outlook on life.
Well DUH!!!
I mean seriously someone actually studied this!, So let me get this straight, if i lose weight, can be active, dont have all the pains and hospitalizations etc, ill be happier? Holy Cow! Who would have thought that would be the case?
On a serious note, though it is good to see that maybe things will start to sway in the direction of doing what we all know, and that is WLS is not something to be shunned or kept outside of the norm, but that it can be embraced as a meaningful way for people to take charge of their life and gain the life we desperately need and want.
We have all earned the right to be Happy, Now we have the Proof!
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-bariatric-surgery-mental-health-20160112-story.html
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Four million is pretty impressive!

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I guess it depends on the surgeon, but yes you can. I went in asking for the sleeve and he said that it was what he would have chosen for me anyway. He was pleased that I had already done my research and didn't have much explaining to do.

Be honest: How does your extra skin make you feel?
I was watching the new show "Skin Tight" on TLC with the young lady who's name is Lauana, mentioning her excess skin and how it REALLY made her feel. I personally have always had the knack of pushing my feelings aside and just being happy with 'Good Enough'... but then she spoke.


Be honest: How does your extra skin make you feel?
I was watching the new show "Skin Tight" on TLC with the young lady who's name is Lauana, mentioning her excess skin and how it REALLY made her feel. I personally have always had the knack of pushing my feelings aside and just being happy with 'Good Enough'... but then she spoke.
I have always wanted to eventually get my skin removed, someday. I've been at or near goal for about 4 years now, or something like that. I've never really counted. But I also never acknowledged the fact that I may be more fit, healthier, smaller.. whatever, but I am not a finished product. I still have one more step to go and with watching that Television program I was slapped in the face with it. I need to have my excess skin removed.
To this day I've never ever shared photos of my excess skin, and I probably won't until it's gone. Kind of the Before and After effect. I can't stand it. The gal who was on there, we look exactly alike naked. And when she said, "Sometimes I wonder if it's just better to be fat and filled out rather than be left with this saggy skin..." I felt that a little too much! I almost cried. Honesty came to the forefront and it made me realize that until I get it through my thick skin... (pun intended?) that I will never feel complete. Later during her consultation, the surgeon pulled her excess arm skin to the back, revealing a slender beautifully fit arm. I couldn't stop the tears from flowing at that point. All I could do was reach next to my bed and grab a tissue and wipe away the shame of what I had done to my body. I could see in my imagination the many times I'd done that in front of my mirror when I'm all alone in the room. Wondering what it must be like.. going out in public without worry someone is looking at my saggy arms, or what they must be thinking. I want to feel that general confidence that come with that.
I have always said that yes, I wanted to have my excess skin removed, but not with as much certainty as I was at that moment.
So why am I sharing this here? Why am I not sharing this in the skin removal category? Because, this is something that majority and I mean 90ish percent of us will think about at some point. With WLS comes a lot of fat loss, and with a lot of fat loss comes a lot of extra skin. Of course there will be some lucky people out there without the extra skin, and God Blessed them. But me? No, I have it. I hate it. I want it gone. I also hope that through this channel of communication I can bring others some comfort. That you are not alone, you are not crying alone. You are not wishing and hating your skin alone.
I have gone through more than my share of surgeries since my Lap Band in 2008, so the thought of more surgeries has me turned off. That said, when I see my friends who have had the skin removed... my heart aches for that feeling that I know nothing about. What it must be like to look tight, and finally feel like a normal person (whatever that means!). I want to say however that I wouldn't change a thing about my journey. I am glad that I made the choice to have Weight Loss Surgery. I am glad that I kept fighting when things didn't seem to go my way. I am glad that I stayed positive and kept moving forward when it felt like I wasn't losing. I am glad I stayed strong mentally and kept working toward a new day.
I am mostly thankful to myself that I kept that part of me in the background when I really needed to focus on other health issues I was having. I most likely would have gone crazy otherwise... but I've gotten all of the other health issues resolved. So now, this issue is ready for me to fix.
I am now in that fork in the road of, do I just take one course and keep the skin? Or do I take the other road and help myself achieve what I always imagined in my head I could be?
Thanks to the new TLC show, I have finally made my choice.
Loving myself doesn't have to be accepting myself the way I am. It can also mean loving myself enough to be everything I imagine in my head. There can always be room for improvement.

I am a 42 year old single mother to a 15 year old son. I recently got engaged in November to a wonderful man who has been my rock for 5 years. He loves me from the inside out. I've been overweight all my life. Always the bigger girl. That never stopped me though. I went to all the parties, dances and proms. I always had dates. But I was pretty self conscious most times. From age 16 until about 23 i was in an abusive relationship. But my insecurities held me back. At 23, i got the nerve to leave, by then I was about 245. I got into a relationship that although not physically abusive, it was emotionally draining. 12 years of crap and a son later, i weighed in at 260 lbs. I finally found myself and decided to stay alone. At 37 my knight in shining armour was sent to me. I've been up and down with my weight, mostly up. I dread family vacations became all i could think of was, will I be able to fit in the ride with my guys? Oh the walking is going to kill me. Will people stare if I eat an ice cream? I finally decided to get the help I need. I'll be getting the Sleeve, hopefully in 2 months. I'm excited, scared but oh so ready. I just wanted to share who I am and why I'm here. The best is yet to come. I love me.

I watched and had the same thought about Clean Momma. What a nutjob.

I watched and had the same thought about Clean Momma. What a nutjob.

I watched and had the same thought about Clean Momma. What a nutjob.

I have watched other people so excited about reaching onderland, and I could not wait. Never thought I was going to post this so soon. Here it is 199.2 lbs this AM, felt good and weird. I was sleeved 8/3, and was a slow loser at first, or at least that's how it felt to me. Then finally the weight loss picked up, although I still feel it could be better, but not complaining one little bit. I just had a total knee replacement 2 1/2 weeks ago, and my appetite is not good and I have alot of nausea from the pain meds. I am trying to cut back on meds, really would like my appetite back. I miss my workouts too right now with my trainer, but need to rehab this knee first. All in all I am excited and just hope this journey continues to take me to my goal, and I am very grateful for my sleeve.

I am sorry to hear that the nursing staff treated you badly. Over the decades I have had several surgeries, with hospital care being inconsistent from one to the next. When I had my right knee replaced in 2007, I felt ignored at the hospital. Since I lived alone at the time, and my sister's house had steep stairs, I opted to spend a week in the rehab center of a nursing home.
I had worked at a nursing home once, supervising housekeepers, and saw first hand how people who did not have a sitter or got no visitors, were ignored most of all. So, Since I always take a notebook with me to the hospital, I got it out and started writing. Every time someone came in the room, I wrote down their name and what they said and what they did. I wrote down when meds or therapy was on time and when they weren't.
I wrote down how the food was and what time it came and was it what I ordered. By the second day, a rumor had gotten around that I was a journalist, keeping track of all of this for an eye-witness report on nursing care. (Gee, I wonder who started the rumor....hmmmm)
Ha! By the second day, I was getting everything on time, and people who were grumpy the first day were absolute angels. Everything was on time and staff introduced and explained themselves like they were supposed to do in the first place. Badges that were turned backward the first day were visible the second.
Every time I need to spend time in the hospital, I have a notebook out and start writing everything down. When the staffer can't be so anonymous and must account for everything they do, their job performance improves drastically and quickly.
Hopefully, any time you must return to the hospital, you will get the care you expect. Hugs from Chicago.

Super excited.i caught the gardening bug last year and had an amazing little garden. Now we are in a house with a huge yard.my garden will be 20 times bigger. Can't WAIT!!

I have spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease. Prior to my sleeve surgery I took 2 Aleve every morning. Now I take them maybe twice a month. I tried to get by without it but it just wasn't happening.

I have spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease. Prior to my sleeve surgery I took 2 Aleve every morning. Now I take them maybe twice a month. I tried to get by without it but it just wasn't happening.

The less starch and sugar I eat, the less I fart. My worst culprits are cabbage, brussel sprouts, onion......that stuff. My sleeve relieved me of chronic diverticulitis and other gastro intestinal issues, so for me the situation is much better. I am more subject to old lady walking farts.

Hey ya all! Had my sleeve on 12/31/15 and already have dropped around 10 lbs. What? Wow!
Although its been only a short time, I am confident I am doing the right thing.
Experienced the "oh no Ive eaten too fast and got them awful shoulder, back and all around stabbing pains" OMG! It feels awful!
I am currently taking STI G6 Prolfic Isolate whey Protein as my daily shake, both vanlla and chocolate. Tastes pretty good. Somehow I am struggling to consume the required 48oz of liquids daily. But I manage with ice chips, gatorade and Water Water water...sometimes tastes like metal! BLECK!
Anyway, enough for now. I have a 2 week follow up soon. See yas later! Love this website forum!
Robb n Houston

I don't have any advice, but congrats on your pregnancy!