pumpkin07

Lolli -
This will work sweetie..It will. I was wondering how much you have to lose. Also, did you just start working out after surgery or were you working out before. BC we all know muscle weighs more than fat.
Just apply COMMON SENSE. You did just get a crap load of stomach cut out of your body, you are eating 600 calories a day, and you are jogging. You are gonna lose the weight, NO DOUBT. But our bodies have a lot of special functions and protections and sometimes it doesn't come off exactly when we want it to.
I hope you can cry today, and then tomorrow reinvest in this process. It will work.
Maybe your doc was thinking out loud, but there could be a reason the doctor couldn't find in that moment. People seem to lose at different paces and those that have not been able to lose as much usually complain about not having enough restriction which just might mean it was a surgery problem like too much tummy left.
And usually people with just a little bit of weight to lose seem to get a slower start, but they still lose about 1/2 of their weight around the 3.5 to 4 month mark.
Hang in there girly.

Wow Donna. What a simple answer!
I agree, and also looked at happiness over time. I found so many happy sleevesters. I also found some sicklier bypass friends.
I was self pay, 47 years old, and about 220 lbs. And short. Hypothyroid. Doctor said definitely he'd recommend the sleeve b/c he found that people in my age group/weight range had plenty of success with the sleeve and a high satisfaction from the procedure. He felt the bypass would be too much for me - more than what was needed. I agreed.
Another friend of mine, heavier by about 80 lbs (but taller) - she is a little older. Maybe 10 years I'm not certain. And her doctor, who is a great doctor here in Houston, really recommended the bypass for her. I wasn't sure why he did that, but wondered if it is because her insurance wouldn't cover the sleeve, because it wouldn't. She questioned it a lot, and he basically told her she'd be fine with the bypass. Her family doctor agreed. And she has been fine so far about 3 mos out.
But years out a lot of bypass patients do have problems absorbing the right nutrients. I saw a lot of evidence of it on line.
Maybe get some doctors opinions and check with your insurance. But if you are self pay, shoot, I'd definitely go for the sleeve. It is simpler even though it is risky.
But with either surgery the doctor, which doctor, is paramount. These are all very dangerous procedures. You can post the doctor's name and people will give you feedback. Find someone great. If you come to Houston I can give you referrals - I know you are in Texas but not sure where that town is. But if you look around on this site you'll find out who the preferred doctors are.

I think you have gotten some great suggestions. You have been on my mind all night, bc I keep thinking you are gonna have to eat regularly. If the move is too stressful, maybe don't do it. I think your health is the most important thing right now, right? I bet your husband is very worried. I am praying for your weight gain.
Do you think they made the sleeve too small? Since you are tall I would think it would be longer that some of us shorties. But perhaps you can't get enough food down or you don't eat often enough.
You need to find some fatty foods, some kind of balance. Seem like TIff got the hang of it with her small sleeve. But hopefully you are getting medical care.
Just wanted you to know I was thinking about you and hoping/praying you'll get some fat on those bones soon.

Hmmm...this is one thing my primary doctor does NOT like about the sleeve - that it is irreversible in that way. He says it is not uncommon for people to not be able to maintain a good weight. I didn't ask his opinion before the surgery. But because of his concern I have tried to start leveling off before I get to my goal weight. I even thought of changing my goal for that reason, to leave a cushion.
So why can you not eat much...just no appetite or bc of the virus? What is your plan? I wonder why some people lose and can't stop losing? Is it bc sleeve is too small, appetite is too small, or maybe some other health reason? I have no advise, it is obvious that you need some really great advice and attention from someone who can help you day by day to get your weight back up again. I am really worried about you, that is just too thin.
It would be a shame to lose a lot of health risks only to gain another risk. I'm sure with a lot of work you can regain the weight. But you gotta be able to eat to make that happen, right?
Best wishes to you. I certainly wish I could help. It is a scarey risk that is hard to comprehend when you are overweight. Can't imagine not being able to eat, not having an appetite, etc. But now it is a little clearer. I get worried when people lose their weight so darn fast. But not many people post with this complaint. BUt obviously my doctor has read about the problem so it must be in the record books as a problem for other patients.
I bet your hubby is kinda worried too. Take care of you!

Bought some board shorts at Sam's to wear over my swimsuit - size MEDIUM....I wore the tags all night.

This is my favorite thread too. I have so many NSV's in my life. At this point I am so happy I did the sleeve. I hope and pray it was a good decision for life. I love when you wake up in the night and discover a bone you forgot you had. It has happened to me with my ribs, my collar bone, and the bones in my forearm. I am waiting for the moment it is my hips. I love that my fat tummy is shrinking inward little by little and that my skin is okay so far.
My funny story the other day was I was getting a massage, which I do not treat myself to quite often. My massages are a bit painful b/c I wait until I'm totally stressed out instead of going as often as I need to. And I think every time I go I'm a bit smaller and the massage gets closer to the bones and it just kinda hurts, a good hurt, but hurts. I let him go as deep as he can. So he was sort of massaging around my ribs and I winced and he asked if it tickled. I was like no it hurts. He said, "did it hurt before in your other massages?" I was like "No, I don't think I had any ribs to massage last time!". We both laughed.
Another kinda funny NSV is that sometimes I have a good day and someone will look at me. I'm like all turning around behind me trying to see what they are looking at. It IS just plain weird, this crazy sleeve thing.
And then yesterday I was at work in an office I don't go to a lot. This big girl just freaked out on me. She was like "AGH! WHAT! Where did you go? Where did it go?" She was just astonished. It was hilarious b/c she was totally in shock and not expecting it.
My husband has a big b-day coming up. I bought a SLEEVELESS hawaiin-ish t-shirt dress that just has small straps. I have not shown my shoulders in a LONG LONG time. It was also probably one of my last Lane Bryant purchases b/c it was a 14/16 and so I have to find somewhere else to shop for the next size down. That was bittersweet b/c it is easy for me to find everything there. But it will be a little while before I'm out of there.
Anyway, I know we all have these moments. It is totally cool, this crazy sleeve thingy. And I am enjoying it so much. I feel like I've shaved a lot of years off my life, and I'm also going back in time to days when I was more comfortable with myself and my body. My only regret is......that I gave away all my small size clothing about 3 years ago. Darn!

I am sort of a numbers person, and I notice you can't say 10 lbs, it depends how much excess weight a person has to lose. The greater the excess, the higher the number of pounds each month. I observed that I lost half of my excess at 3.5 months, and most people seem to be at that same point bt 3-4 months. But after that it did slow down for me. I lost 10 lb a month at first, like during that time, then 5 lb for 3-4 months, now I think 2-3 lb. It keeps cutting in half. I notice the number of lbs each month keep going down as I get closer to my goal. So now it seems like to get off the last 20+ lbs I will really need to develop some discipline and work out.
But heh, I don't count cals, carbs, exercise. I'm just Proteins first, light sugar, not a lot of fried stuff, a lot of liquids like tea, coffee, my steady cherry koolaid. Some of you diet the whole way, work out, etc. I'm so proud of all you people. Makes me feel like a bumb.
But with clothes now I guess I look pretty good. But no one has said "you don't need to lose any more weight". I'm still a lil pudgy.
If the surgery is done correctly I honestly have trouble understanding how people could not lose weight. I would be curious why that would be. But then again, I'm having a lil difficulty getting off those last 25lb. Fish Soup is going to be my friend...

Definitely my PMS is worse since surgery. My periods were heavy and more frequent. My periods now are more normal I guess - no clotting at all. But the PMS is such a bitch. It is like by the time I start my period I've already cramped, been a bitch for several days, bloated and come down from that, etc. Then after all that is DONE I'll start my period and it is just sort of flows for a 2-3 days but no cramping, no bitchiness, etc.
I guess I never really had PRE MS before, it was cramping and bitchiness during my period. Now it alllll happens before my period. Lovely.

It really tickled me to read your post. But I know what you mean...dating is hard work. I remember when I met my husband and we went out a lot initially, well actually for a long time. It was hard work to have the right clothes ready, to not have time to watch all my TV shows, etc. I was having so much fun, but so tired. I just wished for breaks sometimes. I still miss my leisurely life with my simple schedule. Work til 3 - Oprah at 4 - taking a nap - going for an evening swim - maybe out to dinner with a friend - keeping a journal - and off to bed. Makes me yawn to think about it. No kids, no huge worries. Now I'm busy busy with kids and husband, cooking for other people. Craziness.
I think you called it though, since you are not sleeping with either one then to me it isn't at the level that it should be an issue. I wouldn't make it an issue until you see someone getting more serious. I think in a dating relationship when someone is feeling serious they should communicate that and ask to be exclusive. And then you may be faced with a choice. But you are not there yet.
Now if I were on the other end of the equation, yeah, that wouldn't feel great. But they could be dating or looking around too, or not looking for a serious committed relationship. So we shouldn't assume that they are looking for that.
But did this happen before you lost 102 lbs? hmmm....maybe. But I have lost enough weight lately that I see people treating me differently too. It is so weird how our society is towards fat people - it is hard to be taken seriously when you are very overweight. At least that is how I feel. Often ignored. I've been up and down with weight enough in my life to know the difference in how people treat me. I have sure had a lot more people wanting to talk to me lately in public, and the landscapers are starting to look my way at the gas pumps. Thats when you know you are losing weight when you go to the gas station and the trucks full of lawn guys are all starting to look. haha The first few times I was like, OMG, do I know that person? Why are they looking at me? Is my car on fire? heehee But then I remember no, just passing down to a decent weight and they are noticing a cute chic.
hahahahahha This weight loss surgery really is a blessing. Not that I want people looking, but it feels good to be in the mainstream of society again.

Bought some board shorts at Sam's to wear over my swimsuit - size MEDIUM....I wore the tags all night.

Lets look at it this way. What used to be hard was having sex with my husband and feeling like a walrus. What used to be hard was sitting in the middle seat of a plane and feeling like a stuffed animal trying not to breathe as to invade the people next to me. What used to be hard was going for my annual ob visit and having the doctor look disgusted by my gluttony. What used to be hard was having my pediatrician fuss hard at me for over feeding my children. What used to be hard was having to buy only clothes that kind of fit as opposed to what I liked to wear. What used to be hard was having men look at me not bc I was pretty but bc they were so unattracted to me. What used to be hard was running into people from high school that knew me at half the weight. What used to be hard is having my kids and husband mimick my snores and sleep noises as my body struggled to get air. What used to be hard was having to wait to wake up in the morning to see how much energy I had that day, so I could see whether I'd have any mental/physical ability to be productive or not. What used to be hard was knowing my life expectancy was short and praying I could live as long as my kids might need me around. And what was hardest, for me, was having no self control to change things to make it better for me and my family. To escape the rut.
Flash forward to last night my husband was making love to me while telling me he felt like he had a new girlfriend. Flash forward to every morning as I wake up I feeling my old friends...my solid high school hip bones that were long ago forgotten but now rediscovered. Flash forward to flyng on a plane in July and realizing the airlines had finally made more room in the seats, and my belt now had inches to spare. Flash forward to now I do not allow my sons to overindulge as much on sugar, sodas, flour and we work out as a family at home. Flash forward to a few months after surgery my 3yo became frantic in the darkness of night bc he felt he "lost his family"...he could not find our bed bc he couldn't hear me snoring anymore to direct him where to go. Flash forward to EVERY DAY I now have the energy I need to do what I need to do and my businesses are more successful as a result. Flash forward to realizing I can live plenty of years now bc my health risks are all but gone, and my husband won't have to search for a new wife/mother of our children because Mommy passed away from overeating.
This surgery simply, because it is simple if done well, saved my life.
I would not change a thing.

Thanks for your responses. Honestly his feedback has made my week hard and it did cause some worry in my head. Because I do trust him somewhat as a doctor, and I'd like to keep getting my thyroid meds from him. What he said exactly was Vitamin D deficiencies, B12 deficienies, Iron deficiencies - similar to what someone just said a couple threads up. He did totally understand the procedure and drew it out for me - like I didn't know the surgery. But he is totally oversimplifying the lap band in my opinion - calling it a temporary surgery. I don't consider it temporary when it grows to your stomach. He made it sound like a hair barrette.
I think you can't have any alteration from the body and not expect a downside. So since he is my doctor I'll respect his opinion and be more careful on my Vitamins. I really didn't do well with my Vitamins for a long time b/c I kept getting sick on them. But now that I can eat more I seem to be able to tolerate them better.
What I would say, however, is that he seems to not understand what it is like to be overweight your whole life, basically, and not be able to find a solution that is workable. I mean, even weight loss drugs that make you leak grease out of your ass? Pleaseeeeeee......no thank you. I gave up a long time ago on weight loss - after trying every diet I could stomach. This has given me hope again.
Also, if I should find myself in a situation where I can't stop losing, I think I'm at an advantage b/c my mind and my body are really good at working together to gain weight. In fact, I am losing so slowly now. I would say gaining weight is a strength I have, easier for me than losing. lol
Even if it true what he is saying, I don't think those comments alone would have kept me from having the sleeve over the band for many reasons, but certainly because of financial reasons. The band was not workable for me b/c it seemed like a constant expense of maintaining/replacing, etc. No thank you. This was a whopping $14k, but I won't have to keep spending that same money over and over again, or even more for revision surgeries. Also the bypass seemed like something that might have to be operated on again later as well, as I read about people that are having those reversed b/c of nutritional deficiencies.
I also don't really understand why Vitamin absorbtion is an issue since we didn't alter our intestines. So while I'm confused about that, I'll assume there is some reason I don't quite get.
My Iron was low on my bloodwork, and my Vitamin D. They were both barely low, but low. But I'm always a little anemic so I was not surprised. What did surprise me is my cholesterol did not go down and my bad cholesterol went up. Perhaps my next bloodwork will make more sense. My diet is getting more varied with more fruits and veggies worked in, so perhaps that will help. My triglycerides went wayyyyy down. And I'm taking my vitamins more faithfully now.

I am sort of a numbers person, and I notice you can't say 10 lbs, it depends how much excess weight a person has to lose. The greater the excess, the higher the number of pounds each month. I observed that I lost half of my excess at 3.5 months, and most people seem to be at that same point bt 3-4 months. But after that it did slow down for me. I lost 10 lb a month at first, like during that time, then 5 lb for 3-4 months, now I think 2-3 lb. It keeps cutting in half. I notice the number of lbs each month keep going down as I get closer to my goal. So now it seems like to get off the last 20+ lbs I will really need to develop some discipline and work out.
But heh, I don't count cals, carbs, exercise. I'm just Proteins first, light sugar, not a lot of fried stuff, a lot of liquids like tea, coffee, my steady cherry koolaid. Some of you diet the whole way, work out, etc. I'm so proud of all you people. Makes me feel like a bumb.
But with clothes now I guess I look pretty good. But no one has said "you don't need to lose any more weight". I'm still a lil pudgy.
If the surgery is done correctly I honestly have trouble understanding how people could not lose weight. I would be curious why that would be. But then again, I'm having a lil difficulty getting off those last 25lb. Fish Soup is going to be my friend...

Well, it definitely gets easier to fall into bad habits over time. I fall in and out of them, but at least it is a tool to manage your weight. Part of the health issue is simply weight. supplements for me are best taken at night, because they don't seem to give me any problems then. beverages, well I can't get much Water down but do pretty well with iced tea and so I do that or my koolaid. Few cokes, some coffee which I LOVE now but dehydrates me terribly if I drink too much. I don't exercise although I know I will start sometime. When I walk I lose a few extra lbs. I take my thyroid in the morning and my Vitamins at night. I know it isn't enough vitamins, but seems to help. I do the best I can. That is all we can do is find what does work. We are food addicts for the most part, we love food and we are not going to be perfect. You sound a bit compulsive like perfectionist vs. falling off the wagon. Extremes. No forgiveness, no grace. Enjoyment? I am imperfect, but grace is extended if I am at least managing my weight.
The best advice I ever got is Protein first, then veggies, then carbs. But I do eat candy more than I did before, like Hot Tamales and also I eat a lot of Sunflower Seeds. I could be better, but I know I'm just me. I've ALWAYS liked candy. Not chocolate just sugary stuff. But whatever, I just try not to buy it and that helps sometimes but not others.
Lighten up on yourself, you are doing fine. Don't sweat every little thing you do. ENJOY YOUR LIFE!!!

Bought some board shorts at Sam's to wear over my swimsuit - size MEDIUM....I wore the tags all night.

DId you just sign up for it? In Texas you can cancel anything in writing within 3 days. Maybe better to pay as you go. Fight it.
I do stuff like that and I get so mad afterwards.

Well, I cannot believe I've lost so much weight in 2 mos. I don't mean that in any way except what it says, total shock at the success of this surgery. Hats off to my surgeon as he did a good job on my surgery. And the weight is definitely coming off faster lately which has been a total rush. I feel like I'm just riding the sleeve train in a sense. I would have never had this much control on my own, sadly. I just sucked at diets, still do. Plus, due to an auto immune disorder my thyroid doesn't produce on its own, so even with supplements I was always at a disadvantage metabolically and probably genetically too. It was a battle I had given up on honestly. I'm such a terrible dieter, so I just tried to maintain my high weight, but inevitably would gain a few pounds and it really added up. I was a passenger in my own life in some ways, instead of being the driver.
Being morbidly obese made me mad because I wanted to look good, wanted to wear cute clothes, wanted my husband to drool over me again every once in a while, wanted to feel like I would live to raise my sons and hopefully be able to be a good grandma one day. I didn't want to leave my family early and have heart attacks and so forth. But HOW? I considered the lap band once, but I knew after attending a seminar it was not a good long term solution for me. The chance of slippage sounded pretty great because I didn't think I'd be good at chewing food into dust before swallowing it. I figured it just wouldn't work for me, I just knew that. But I still wanted to be a normal weight....BUT HOW???? I finally decided to find a doctor and just go to him and present myself, fat belly and all...and say "look doc, I don't want to be fat, but I don't want to be malnourished either, my insurance sucks, but I have some money to pay for surgery...so what do you recommend?". He said definitely the sleeve. I was like WHAT IS THE SLEEVE? I was truly shocked as he explained it to me, I had never heard of it. The idea of not bypassing anything was very appealing. And from that moment my life changed I guess. OMG it made TOTAL sense to my logical brain. To forever reduce the size of my stomach, hmmm....that appealed to me and I went for it faster than anyone thought I would. I had the surgery within weeks of going for that first doctor visit. Over the next weeks I started thinking...hmmmm....WHY NOT? Permanently altering my body did not sound great in some respects, but then again I was looking toward heart disease and that didn't sound good either.
The basic reason I chose this surgery is because it would force me into calorie restriction, which is what I felt I needed to give me a good edge over a bad metabolism. That was my basic reasoning.
It worked. Even though I'm a terrible dieter, caloric restriction is now sort of forced...with this sleeve that is not a problem.
I guess you could say I'm happy customer :biggrin2: and that I'm riding the sleeve my way :thumbup1: which is working for me and I am once again my husband's girlfriend :drool5::001_tt1::001_wub::lol0: :001_tt2:
I have bought a few cute clothes, still at Lane Bryant. I'm wearing a 14W/16W now whereas I was an 18W/20W. I have had to buy new cute underwear, bras (down 1-2 cup sizes), and I had to buy a halter bra to wear my cute new shirts with since I don't have to cover up my whole body from head to toe. I think I'm the Lane Bryant cover girl this week b/c we are dressed the same, but guess what....in a couple weeks I'll be having to find me a new store to shop in.
I'm no longer morbidly obese, in two months. I am now obese. I'm sure in 2 more months I'll be overweight, and 2 months after that I'll be normal.
This surgery has huge risks. It does. I came to realize that along the way as I did see others fall ill. But for me it is good so far. I like being my best self and being in the driver's seat again.

Well, I cannot believe I've lost so much weight in 2 mos. I don't mean that in any way except what it says, total shock at the success of this surgery. Hats off to my surgeon as he did a good job on my surgery. And the weight is definitely coming off faster lately which has been a total rush. I feel like I'm just riding the sleeve train in a sense. I would have never had this much control on my own, sadly. I just sucked at diets, still do. Plus, due to an auto immune disorder my thyroid doesn't produce on its own, so even with supplements I was always at a disadvantage metabolically and probably genetically too. It was a battle I had given up on honestly. I'm such a terrible dieter, so I just tried to maintain my high weight, but inevitably would gain a few pounds and it really added up. I was a passenger in my own life in some ways, instead of being the driver.
Being morbidly obese made me mad because I wanted to look good, wanted to wear cute clothes, wanted my husband to drool over me again every once in a while, wanted to feel like I would live to raise my sons and hopefully be able to be a good grandma one day. I didn't want to leave my family early and have heart attacks and so forth. But HOW? I considered the lap band once, but I knew after attending a seminar it was not a good long term solution for me. The chance of slippage sounded pretty great because I didn't think I'd be good at chewing food into dust before swallowing it. I figured it just wouldn't work for me, I just knew that. But I still wanted to be a normal weight....BUT HOW???? I finally decided to find a doctor and just go to him and present myself, fat belly and all...and say "look doc, I don't want to be fat, but I don't want to be malnourished either, my insurance sucks, but I have some money to pay for surgery...so what do you recommend?". He said definitely the sleeve. I was like WHAT IS THE SLEEVE? I was truly shocked as he explained it to me, I had never heard of it. The idea of not bypassing anything was very appealing. And from that moment my life changed I guess. OMG it made TOTAL sense to my logical brain. To forever reduce the size of my stomach, hmmm....that appealed to me and I went for it faster than anyone thought I would. I had the surgery within weeks of going for that first doctor visit. Over the next weeks I started thinking...hmmmm....WHY NOT? Permanently altering my body did not sound great in some respects, but then again I was looking toward heart disease and that didn't sound good either.
The basic reason I chose this surgery is because it would force me into calorie restriction, which is what I felt I needed to give me a good edge over a bad metabolism. That was my basic reasoning.
It worked. Even though I'm a terrible dieter, caloric restriction is now sort of forced...with this sleeve that is not a problem.
I guess you could say I'm happy customer :biggrin2: and that I'm riding the sleeve my way :thumbup1: which is working for me and I am once again my husband's girlfriend :drool5::001_tt1::001_wub::lol0: :001_tt2:
I have bought a few cute clothes, still at Lane Bryant. I'm wearing a 14W/16W now whereas I was an 18W/20W. I have had to buy new cute underwear, bras (down 1-2 cup sizes), and I had to buy a halter bra to wear my cute new shirts with since I don't have to cover up my whole body from head to toe. I think I'm the Lane Bryant cover girl this week b/c we are dressed the same, but guess what....in a couple weeks I'll be having to find me a new store to shop in.
I'm no longer morbidly obese, in two months. I am now obese. I'm sure in 2 more months I'll be overweight, and 2 months after that I'll be normal.
This surgery has huge risks. It does. I came to realize that along the way as I did see others fall ill. But for me it is good so far. I like being my best self and being in the driver's seat again.

Well, I cannot believe I've lost so much weight in 2 mos. I don't mean that in any way except what it says, total shock at the success of this surgery. Hats off to my surgeon as he did a good job on my surgery. And the weight is definitely coming off faster lately which has been a total rush. I feel like I'm just riding the sleeve train in a sense. I would have never had this much control on my own, sadly. I just sucked at diets, still do. Plus, due to an auto immune disorder my thyroid doesn't produce on its own, so even with supplements I was always at a disadvantage metabolically and probably genetically too. It was a battle I had given up on honestly. I'm such a terrible dieter, so I just tried to maintain my high weight, but inevitably would gain a few pounds and it really added up. I was a passenger in my own life in some ways, instead of being the driver.
Being morbidly obese made me mad because I wanted to look good, wanted to wear cute clothes, wanted my husband to drool over me again every once in a while, wanted to feel like I would live to raise my sons and hopefully be able to be a good grandma one day. I didn't want to leave my family early and have heart attacks and so forth. But HOW? I considered the lap band once, but I knew after attending a seminar it was not a good long term solution for me. The chance of slippage sounded pretty great because I didn't think I'd be good at chewing food into dust before swallowing it. I figured it just wouldn't work for me, I just knew that. But I still wanted to be a normal weight....BUT HOW???? I finally decided to find a doctor and just go to him and present myself, fat belly and all...and say "look doc, I don't want to be fat, but I don't want to be malnourished either, my insurance sucks, but I have some money to pay for surgery...so what do you recommend?". He said definitely the sleeve. I was like WHAT IS THE SLEEVE? I was truly shocked as he explained it to me, I had never heard of it. The idea of not bypassing anything was very appealing. And from that moment my life changed I guess. OMG it made TOTAL sense to my logical brain. To forever reduce the size of my stomach, hmmm....that appealed to me and I went for it faster than anyone thought I would. I had the surgery within weeks of going for that first doctor visit. Over the next weeks I started thinking...hmmmm....WHY NOT? Permanently altering my body did not sound great in some respects, but then again I was looking toward heart disease and that didn't sound good either.
The basic reason I chose this surgery is because it would force me into calorie restriction, which is what I felt I needed to give me a good edge over a bad metabolism. That was my basic reasoning.
It worked. Even though I'm a terrible dieter, caloric restriction is now sort of forced...with this sleeve that is not a problem.
I guess you could say I'm happy customer :biggrin2: and that I'm riding the sleeve my way :thumbup1: which is working for me and I am once again my husband's girlfriend :drool5::001_tt1::001_wub::lol0: :001_tt2:
I have bought a few cute clothes, still at Lane Bryant. I'm wearing a 14W/16W now whereas I was an 18W/20W. I have had to buy new cute underwear, bras (down 1-2 cup sizes), and I had to buy a halter bra to wear my cute new shirts with since I don't have to cover up my whole body from head to toe. I think I'm the Lane Bryant cover girl this week b/c we are dressed the same, but guess what....in a couple weeks I'll be having to find me a new store to shop in.
I'm no longer morbidly obese, in two months. I am now obese. I'm sure in 2 more months I'll be overweight, and 2 months after that I'll be normal.
This surgery has huge risks. It does. I came to realize that along the way as I did see others fall ill. But for me it is good so far. I like being my best self and being in the driver's seat again.

I don't know. I would think a small amount would be okay. Like not celery salad, but chicken salad. That would be a shame to never eat celery again.
I have a friend that had similar surgery 30 years ago and she drinks bloody marys and Chomps celery constantly. I'm sure she never heard of that and since it has been 30 years I didn't mention it to her.
But admittedly, I am now scared of it. I'm assuming cooked is okay, like in Soup. But I'm very confused. Never heard any of this and first it sounded minor, but then the one person had late complications from it.
I'd err (have no idea if that is correct spelling of that word) on the side of caution until we know more.

Well, this happened to my friend also. But it turned out it was more of an insurance issue b/c he knew her insurance would not cover the sleeve. She loves her doctor and went with his opinion and so far is doing great. Her friend had the bypass and she is also doing great, although lost a little more than she would like to have. She is a size 2. I have a relative that had the bypass 6 years ago and she can no longer absorb Iron so there is a concern of bleed out. She is looking at having hers reversed. If you read on line there are plenty of celebs looking at having their bypass reversed.
For me I wanted caloric restriction just by food volume, not by malabsorbtion. I would never have had the bypass b/c I have a very long life to live and didn't want to be dependent upon more and more surgeries to modify and so forth. The sleeve appeared to be a one stop shop in comparison to the bypass and the band.
Also, the stomach pouch made during the bypass is made from the stretchy part of the stomach, right. The sleeve is made from the tougher muscle that does not stretch easily. So that makes some common sense.
I know there are still doctors that prefer the bypass, I'm just not sure for the patients it is the best bang for the buck. It would be very sad to lose all the weight to turn around and have to have another surgery.......I think the sleeve is the safer bet. I didn't know about the mortality rates after surgery being different. But I think long term that might be true as well.
I would get a second opinion and maybe this is a clue this is not the right doctor. How many sleeves has your doctor done? My doctor had only done like 23. OMG I didn't know at the time that was a problem, but believe me, now I know. They say to get a doctor that has done a lot so you are not his guinea pig. But my surgery did go just fine.

MOST important, I mean MOST MOST MOST important I think is to check out your specific doctor on line here or on obesityhelp.com. Because there are doctors with great reputations and not great reputations. Going to a doctor with an EXCELLENT track record is more important than you know. There are great doctors with horrible office staff and horrible doctors with GREAT salespeople if you know what I mean. You can't tell over the phone and what is important is the doctor and the hospital you are going to and what their record is like. Also EXPERIENCE with THIS surgery is important, don't be someone's guinea pig or you risk your life, literally. But that said there is a very experienced surgeon around that has butchered many people and sent them home very sick. I do know someone that had a leak and I believe he ultimately died from this surgery and complications from this surgery. It was not just a leak, but it sounded a bit mishandled both during and after-the-fact and a bad subsequent surgery as well. He also said maybe he overdid it too soon after surgery. Too much, too soon. This can really domino into a disaster, so please don't take it lightly.
This is apparently a great surgery for people that are truly overweight, and I have had a good experience since the surgery. But you are removing a great portion of your stomach, like 85%. There is no going backwards once you have lost the majority of this body part!!! It is very important to have the best medical care and to follow doctor's orders.
The downside of going to Mexico, at least in my friend's case, was that once he was sent home here to Houston there were not many bariatric surgeons willing to handle his case. He didn't know what to do, and being so sick it is not a good time to be learning what to do. Sounded like he wound up with non-bariatric surgeons for his subsequent surgeries which caused further damage and ultimately may have contributed to his problem. Believe me, hind sight was 20/20 for him and his family. But that didn't help him, but it could help you by knowing.
I liked having surgery where I live because I knew if something went wrong I would have a doctor HERE at home. And I live in Houston, so there are good doctors here. If I lived somewhere else without an excellent doctor I would travel to the closest excellent doctor.
I am not saying it is bad to go to Mexico, but if it were me I'd check out Dr. Aceves because everyone always says he is wonderful. Sounds like he is super careful and skilled. But honestly, I would definitely stay in Houston and have surgery, bc so many good doctors here. Mexico is quite unsafe right now, and I know bc I traveled there a lot bc my husband is from Mexico. Neither of us go there anymore. Not everyone has a problem, but there again to me why take unnecessary risks? Some people do it to save the money, and I understand that concern.
It is a big decision who to have surgery with.
This is the kind of experience I understood more after the fact than before. So I thought I'd share because it might help just to know an opinion. Some people do not feel like I feel. A lot of people travel to Mexico for surgeries. But there are good doctors AND bad doctors in most places, including Mexico. But if you have a Mexican doctor and get butchered, what recourse do you really have? The laws there are different. In my friend's case the doctor appeared to just wash his hands of him and yet his medical practice just carries on like nothing happened.

I know, weight loss IS is a GOOD thing, right? My head has always been the last to catch up with this weight loss train...b/c once you are on board you are REALLY on board for life.
If you really ponder this...rarely do you make a decision in life, such as this, that is SUCH a long term decision. Like if you cut off your leg, it is gone forever. That is how this is. This decision to remove 85% of your stomach will forever change your life, your health - and we just pray it is all for the good. I know I only looked at the good side before surgery, now I see some down sides too - like how this alters your health in ways we may not yet know.
I feel better physically in the sense that I have less weight to carry around, and that is awesome. But I don't feel as strong, as much stamina, I feel more delicate.....I was hoping to feel more vibrant all day long, but I wouldn't say I'm there yet. Still hopeful though. I feel more delicate physically as far as stamina, I feel less able to cope with stress in general b/c my 'tripas' get very tight and I feel it. But I'm hoping since I'm only 4 mos out of surgery and taking in so little food that eventually I will feel better.
And I'm sort of hoping when this process ends I'll still have some tits and ass. lol I don't want to be a skeleton with skin. That has never been my goal. I hope my sleeve understands this is the plan!!!

I am sort of a numbers person, and I notice you can't say 10 lbs, it depends how much excess weight a person has to lose. The greater the excess, the higher the number of pounds each month. I observed that I lost half of my excess at 3.5 months, and most people seem to be at that same point bt 3-4 months. But after that it did slow down for me. I lost 10 lb a month at first, like during that time, then 5 lb for 3-4 months, now I think 2-3 lb. It keeps cutting in half. I notice the number of lbs each month keep going down as I get closer to my goal. So now it seems like to get off the last 20+ lbs I will really need to develop some discipline and work out.
But heh, I don't count cals, carbs, exercise. I'm just Proteins first, light sugar, not a lot of fried stuff, a lot of liquids like tea, coffee, my steady cherry koolaid. Some of you diet the whole way, work out, etc. I'm so proud of all you people. Makes me feel like a bumb.
But with clothes now I guess I look pretty good. But no one has said "you don't need to lose any more weight". I'm still a lil pudgy.
If the surgery is done correctly I honestly have trouble understanding how people could not lose weight. I would be curious why that would be. But then again, I'm having a lil difficulty getting off those last 25lb. Fish Soup is going to be my friend...

It is so much easier than the SURE-FAILURE of dieting my whole life, especially bc I'm not a good dieter.
I think it is easier/more productive than dieting, and I'm proud of that. Why in the heck should our lives be hard? What is more respectful about doing something the "hard" way...especially when the "hard" way is generally a temporary fix, at best.
I don't understand that thought although I've had plenty of people compare my weight loss to people that did it the 'hard' way. Whatever.....I think it is important to measure RESULTS, not effort.
Being overweight was such a handicap on my life all my life. There are so many things I couldn't or wouldn't do because I was overweight. It was so sad. I mean we only live once, apparently, so why should we not live our lives to the fullest? For the first time I am optimistic about my future years/future health.
Nothing respectable about dying young from a heart attack either. Leaving our kids for others to raise, leaving our future grandchildren for others to spoil. Our families need us, and I'm proud of each person here who has made such a great decision in this lifetime. We deserve to have a great life, to anticipate great things, to live life feeling vibrant!
I had an aunt that had the first lap band years and years ago, which it was initially a success but later, probably because it slipped, a failure. Without that solution, she died in her late 50's of a heart attack. I know that she is rejoicing in heaven that some of us have found an answer to never ending weight problems - Includng her own daughter, who now has the sleeve. It was my aunt's wish when I knew her that she could find a way to lose weight. And even though it didn't happen in her lifetime, I know she would be dang proud that we all found a way, a healthy way, to make a weight loss surgery work well.\\\
The person that gave me the hardest time about my surgery, which it wasn't a horrible lecture but wasn't pleasant either, she continues to gain weight. What is it like to be MORALLY RIGHT but be morbidly obese and unhealthy because of the obesity. What is more respectable about that? I don't think that Jesus would want us to live our lives suffering when there was a fairly simple solution. He himself healed people so they could live better lives. To me this is a modern day miracle that we found a solution that was so simple and accesible without creating other critical health problems!!
Amen to it being easier. That said, I just gained 4 lbs. AGH. This may be where the true work begins for me....because up until now it has literally been a PIECE OF CAKE.