VSGAnn2014

My husband and medical team knows. And two friends who live 1000 miles away (in opposite directions and don't even know each other). It's been a non-issue. I didn't lose hugely fast. And I've yo-yo dieted a gazillion times, so everyone just thought I was on another diet and finally made it stick. I've lost 100 pounds and now weigh 135. YOU are in charge of your information. Do what makes YOU comfortable. Put your needs and yourself first.

Persistence won!

I just discovered the status update area. Didn't even know it existed!

What a sweet, sweet post!

One thing I have so enjoyed about my WLS journey is learning via the odd intimacy that happens at online message boards that people "just like me" (who were overweight / obese and struggled with all the health and social issues that usually come with that condition) actually aren't all *just like me*. My continuing appreciation for the diversity of obese people and those who are recovering from obesity has expanded my tolerance of those not like me in ways I would not have anticipated. From obesity's causes to successful maintenance programmes, I've learned over the last few years to STFU (at least sometimes) about what "everyone should do." This doesn't mean I luuuuv everybody who's had WLS. Nor does it mean I think every approach WLS patients have chosen post-op is wise. And yes, I do think some people who've had WLS are dumbasses. But my observations have taught me that I can't assume my way that worked for me is the *only way* that works. The value of our approaches and our choices is visible in the results we each obtain. Whatever a WLS patient needs to do to get the results they want is what they should be doing. That includes eating / drinking / exercise / therapy / friends and family / privacy / spiritual and religious ideologies / etc. (Gee, don't I sound all evolved and s**t!)

LOL!

I just checked and it's actually called "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries." To my knowledge it's never aired on American television. I discovered it on Netflix. Another period mystery series (but not so sexy) I like is the Canadian "Murdoch Murder Mysteries," featuring thoroughly modern 1890s-era Toronto homicide detective William Murdoch. Famous people of that time wander onto his crime scenes, e.g., H. G. Wells, Nikola Tesla, Arthur Conan Doyle, Thomas Edison, etc.

Message board Bastille Day glitchiness? This morning I received a PM from a new member (we were mid-conversation) who said she could see I'd replied to her previous PM, but she couldn't open it. I then replied back (twice), and she received and could open both of those PMs. Weird! (Returning to your regularly scheduled programming.)

Yes, EVERYONE is allowed to express their opinions on here. Everyone.

There's definitely porn here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/357500-9-weeks-out-and-loving-lifegrilling-my-back-out-this-weekend/

After more than 5,000 posts here, I'm done telling WLS patients not to do something stupid they're bound and determined to do. Everybody here was old enough to get WLS. If you do something that explodes your gizzard, tough titty. From now on, I'm just here for the wins, the laffs and the porn. tl;dr What @@BigViffer said.

I have a terrible, terrible mad girl-crush on "Phryne Fisher"! I binge-watch on Netflix those episodes over and over. I love her clothes, her hair, her arms, her jewels, her beautiful face, the way she rushes into the arms of danger and how she seduces the fascinating men who wander across her path. I also love the the look of old Melbourne and the inter-wars era. I'm also a little turned on by her reticent, favorite Police Inspector.

I averaged 10 pounds lost / month my first 4 months post-op. Then things slowed down. Yet here I am 2 years post-op, 100 pounds lighter than when I started and maintaining easily at 135 pounds. Tell your surgeon that story.

I'm laughing up a storm right now. So Ann...tell us how you really feel... I don't like her.

I cannot relate to her in any way. She's a spoiled brat. Miserable, yes. But a lot of people are very miserable who aren't incredibly self absorbed. I'd rather support them. Ugh.

Add melted cheese to the Beans. You will LOVE that. Then add chopped (pureed?) chicken to the beans / cheese. And some seasonings. Mmm ... mmm! Find a luscious flavored Greek yogurt. Twelve grams of Protein at the very least. Most people love it. I did. I was also into nonfat milk -- am a milk drinker. Make some chili and puree it a little (not all the way). Add a dollop or two of sour cream. Did I mention cheese? Mmm ... makes me want to do a week of "soft foods" again.

Thanks, @@TracyBar . Responding to your bolded comments (above): How would you gauge your own psychological and physical state prior to surgery? Extremely motivated! Determined! Goal-oriented! Did you make an effort to get as fit as possible prior to surgery? I did what I could, given I was 100 pounds heavier, very much "out of shape, and in arthritic pain. What made me nuts pre-op was that I wanted to get my show on the road ASAP. Yet all the hoops I had to jump through (insurance, psych eval, nutritionist's and physical therapy visits, etc.) were taking so long. So what I finally did was put myself on a 1400 calories/day diet. Like you, I was researching my butt off -- reading, studying, asking questions here on BP and on another gastric sleeve message board. I learned about all the eating behaviors (protein first, chew better, eat slower, small plates, no drinking with meals, etc. etc. etc. And I started eating and moving like I was a new bariatric patient. I stopped all sodas, reduced coffee, started taking Vitamins, bought a Fitbit, upped my daily steps. I've said elsewhere here that I felt like a kid on the playground with a Batman cape who thinks he's actually Batman. So, yes, I got "on board" before I boarded the train. FYI, I lost 11 pounds in 2 months on my own pre-pre-op diet. For you, how was the pre-op diet? Did you feel well during it? It seemed no different to me than any other low-calorie diet I'd ever been on. And I've been on dozens of them! Remember that I didn't go from eating heavily to the pre-op diet, but from 1,400 calories to the pre-op diet. I was on the doc's pre-op (liver-shrinking) diet for two weeks. The first week was two Protein shakes a day and a Lean Cuisine (or something like that) for dinner. The second week was three Protein Shakes a day. I felt a little icky the first three days and had a headache on Day Three. Thereafter, I just started feeling better. BTW, I lost 8 more pounds in that 2-week liver-shrinking diet. And after the surgery - what did you feel like - pain? Difficulty swallowing? Any issues at all? I fared pretty well. Was in the hospital only one night (standard op for my surgeon here in Missouri). I was on IV pain meds in the hospital, but came home with only liquid hydracodone, which I took only two doses of. It made me feel weird, so I stopped it. I didn't really have any pain after that. Re difficulty swallowing -- yes, it was hard the first week to get in all my liquids. BTW, the sore, swollen throat thing is due to the hard plastic tube they put down your throat during surgery. I'd say two weeks post-op I was drinking pretty normally. My program allowed us to drink protein shakes immediately after surgery. And I worked hard to get all my protein in ASAP -- which I managed by Day Five post-op. My immediate post-op protein target was 60 grams/day. BTW, some people have a hard time after surgery, but MOST people have a response much like mine. There's a recent thread around here called something like: "What's wrong? I'm not miserable immediately post-op!" You should try to find and read that thread -- it's sort of funny. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/372467-ok-i-have-to-askare-things-going-too-well-am-i-overdoing-it/ Mental state after? On Day Three (second day home) I had my "WTF have I done?!" moment. It lasted about an hour. There were no tears -- it was just an hour of, "Jeez Louise! I actually allowed a surgeon to remove 85% of my stomach. This actually happened!" I certainly wasn't suffering from any delusion that I would never feel differently than I did at that moment. But it was just my time to align the *theory* and the *reality) of voluntarily giving up at least three-quarters of your stomach's maximum capacity. Oh, and by the way -- immediately post-op your capacity is much less than what it will be later on. Immediately post-op your sleeve is swollen and inflamed from the trauma it's just been through. The first 3-6 months post-op is all about giving your new sleeve time and nutrition to heal and knit back together. That's one of the main reasons there are so many specific food phases post-op -- so you won't spring a leak. And how did you manage on the liquid diet (is it 2 months?). Thanks! Oh, hell, no! My surgeon's requirements were more like full liquids for two weeks. Then purees for a week or so. Then soft foods for a week or two. By Month Two I was on full foods -- mind you, I was chewing all my bites like a Swiss cow. By Month Three I was going out to restaurants. I was also bringing home a lot of food. Two years later, I still bring home a lot of food. Later, I'll try to find and post here my one-year-surgiversary post -- what I did during Year One that I thought helped me reach my goal and go below it. EDIT: Here's a link here on BP to my one-year-surgiversary post: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/361806-self-sabatoge/?hl=%2Bthang+%2Bverra+%2Bmudge#entry4088307 Having said all this there are NO GUARANTEES for anyone about what will work best for them or what their level of success will be. There are many individual differences. I'm fond of saying patients have to be willing to conduct a lot of "science" with a research sample of one -- themself. And then they have to have the courage to do with great consistency what works best for them.

Wow! You nailed that right! You have his number now. Isn't it amazing when the clouds suddenly part and you see how things REALLY are?!

Wow! This is going fast! So excited for you. I know you really have wanted this brachioplasty work done. Break a leg! (Well, maybe an arm.)

For the record, nobody in this thread (or anywhere else that I recall) -- other than summerset -- has suggested that "vet" means "being at goal" to anyone who has posted about this topic. And @@PatriotFan -- my hat is off to you for all your pre-op success. It's awesome! All that matters for any of us is navigating our own path to however we define WLS success.

Try this: Imagine your kryptonite covered in and oozing with the nastiest stuff you can imagine. I won't list some examples here because some people are probably just now eating Breakfast -- but I hope you can come up with your own images. If it helps, you can even say out loud to yourself what you're imagining those things covered in!

To the OP -- Good on you for doing your research. Although my experience with the sleeve has been textbook perfect -- I had a complication-free surgery, easy and fast recovery, complied strongly with my surgeon's pre- and post-op instructions, have lost 100 pounds and have been at or below goal for nearly 15 months now -- I NEVER try to talk anyone into this surgery. That has to be based solely your own deliberations. And you sound very competent to do your research and make an informed decision. You should factor into your decision-making the ODDS of bad things happening and the ODDS of good things happening. You should also look VERY carefully at your particular surgeon's results. And you should seek out results that have been confirmed by third parties -- not the surgeon and not the surgeon's representatives. Before making your decision, go to support groups held by surgeons in your area whom you're considering. Go to at least one (and probably more) introductory lectures by surgeons in your area, whether you're considering having surgery with any of them or not. The experience of most WLS patients is positive -- at least through the weight-losing phases. My own WLS experience has been outstandingly successful thus far (I'm almost two years post-op). The odds that your own surgery will be successful depends on the pre-op education, surgical care and post-op care you receive and, just as importantly, the ongoing education you seek out online and from your surgeon's practice. And assuming you don't have any complications (and the vast majority of patients do NOT have complications of any kind, by which I mean fewer than 1 in a hundred), the single greatest factor that will impact the results you get from WLS is your own compliance and commitment to being successful. Ultimately, half of WLS patients are successful long-term, by which I mean they lose all or most of their excess weight and maintain all or most of their weight loss. The other half of WLS patients eventually gain back more than half or even all of their excess weight loss. Keep studying, reading, asking. Consider your own risk factors -- physical, emotional, psychological, environmental. You have to determine whether what you and your surgeon's practice bring to this potential surgery will likely make you successful long-term or not. Very best wishes! P.S. One of the best things I added to the mix was my decision to see a therapist to maximize my chances of success. I still see him once a month; he's been a big help.

Woo hoo!!! Boy, you have done well. Congratulations on all your good work. :)

I'm coming up on two years post-op next month (August 2016). At that time I'll see my surgeon and his bariatric P.A. Before I see them I'll have another comprehensive blood panel done, and we'll look at the blood work at that time. Even though the sleeve doesn't have the big nutrition malabsorption issues of the gastric bypass or some other procedures and even though I take my vitamin/mineral/other supplements regularly, I am taking a conservative approach about my health after WLS. I know that right now I'm doing great (have lost 100 pounds and maintaining well at 135). But I still want to check in. I feel that seeing my surgeon annually is an accountability check for me. Like others said, if you don't see your bariatric team going forward, you should definitely have your bariatric blood panels done annually and review the results with your PCP or another doctor who knows what they're looking at. Congrats on your success thus far!