GriffinSabine

Water weight! Do not stress about this at all. Drink MORE water, take a walk, simply eat clean and check the scale in the morning (if you must!). You'll be down!

Thanks a lot! I appreciate it!

I'm 4 months out from my surgery, and things are going great. I had no issues prior to surgery, no co-morbidities, but a BMI of 47 which was the qualifier. Everything went perfectly before and since. The only problems I had were 1. sticking to the pre-op diet, I did not do well 2. pain much greater than I had anticipated the week following surgery 3. overthinking and worrying about things prior to surgery I feel very lucky. Having said all this, I see that there is a common theme among all of us whether preparing for surgery, or recently sleeved, and that is "how fast am I losing?" or "is this a normal rate of loss?" I have lost about 45 pounds in four months, and feel this is fantastic. It averages 2-3 pounds a week, around 10 per month. And it is consistent. If I stall, I don't even think about it. I know the weight will continue to fall off as my body adjusts. Never in my life have I lost weight and been almost 100% certain that I won't gain it back. But remember, that IS possible if you don't work on yourself and your habits. Fortunately - very, very fortunately - the sleeve is an amazing TOOL to help you make the changes you need to. Pay attention to the learning curve (I am still on it) you'll have along the way, and try to make the best choices you can MOST of the time. Look at your progress over a week's time, not every single day. Just do the best yo can. The only person you have to prove anything to is yourself. Be proud of yourself and the path you are on. That's all I got!

I didn't follow it very well. I barely even started until one week prior, and it should have been two. Above all else, I made sure to completely stop eating two days before so my stomach would be TOTALLY empty. Aside from that, I worried every day that my liver would not have shrunk enough because I continued eating carbs and even drinking wine the last week before surgery. Fortunately everything went 100% perfectly but I could have really screwed myself up - and I knew it. Being totally honest.

Crozer, Dr. Leon Katz. Excellent surgeon and staff!

Absolutely. It is an awful, awful feeling. Besides the physical symptoms, I have an impending sense of doom, that something is VERY wrong with my body. I first experienced it a week after surgery when I very stupidly ate a couple of pieces of Valentine candy. It was an intense experience to say the least. FOLLOW YOUR GUIDELINES. You do not want to be eating sugar too soon, if it all. I have also had very bad dumping a couple of other times, when consuming alcohol, but sugar is the main culprit and I avoid it most of the time even though I'm a few months out. You do not want to have dumping - horrible feeling (thank goodness it does pass).

Since surgery I've had acne on my jawline and chin, and nothing helped. Recently my pcp prescribed an antibiotic cream for my face (keep it refrigerated) and it cleared things up. Skin looks 100% better. I can still feel bumps under the skin though. Apparently it is most likely hormonal. Odd!

It does get much easier. I'm at 12 weeks and even this time last week, was still not feeling good with Water. For eleven straight weeks I'd get nauseated EVERY time I had a few sips. Now suddenly the last week, I feel almost back to normal and I've been able to get much more water in. No more nausea.

Try your best to do a real, honest head-check, especially where wine is concerned. I don't know if alcohol is an issue for you (it is for me) but you must be very careful. Especially so early. I drank wine at 5 weeks out and regret it. At only 12 weeks, it continues to be a problem for me and always will be. In addition, it greatly slows the rate of loss for a variety of reasons. It is very early on for you to be on this slippery slope. But if you are not able to control what you eat, at least chew things to an absolute mush consistency as much as possible and avoid wine. Tell yourself it will still be there, and you can have it down the road.

String cheese, Babybels, or Laughing Cow on Wasa cracker Pickled or deviled eggs Jerky - if anyone can suggest a VERY low sodium variety or brand, please advise! Leftover marinated and grilled ANYTHING - after the weekend there is always something left from the grill. Very often I have bite size chunks of cold chicken, steak, shrimp, pork, even cod or haddock in a baggie in my purse. I just make sure to eat it within a couple of hours. Leftover meats in small amounts are my mainstay. Tinned smoked oysters, tuna in the pouch Nori - dried seaweed Raw almonds Greek yogurt 2% with raw sunflower seeds thrown in. If I'm feeling decadent, I add a spoon of honey. Leftover sashimi (within one day)

12 weeks for me this week, 40 # lost. Started at 275, now 235. Somewhat slow, but steady, and that's fine by me - I know it's not coming back!

Is there anyone who never took medication for gallbladder post-surgery, and has also had no problems since?

You guys that are so diligent - which is impressive - do you not even have a single sip after eating? To swish your mouth or anything? I always do, and I am two months out. Worried this is going to be my biggest struggle.

I am a little over two months out and mine has started falling out. I cried.

This was so helpful to me.