BigTink2LilTink

I've been recovering from a serious sinus/allergy infection so my gym time over the last 3 weeks are so has been limited. I'm hoping to get back into again starting today. Looking good by the way @@BigViffer

My experience, and this is mines and no one else so, take this information at your own risk. First time I had a drink of alcohol was literally 10 days post surgery. It was new years eve and I had like two sips of super cheap champagne and I was very tipsy right away. I didn't have another drink of alcohol of any kind until a good year after that event. What I have noticed that with drinking is that it does depend on the drink that I am consuming and I can go from tipsy, to buzzed very quickly depending on the drink and strength of said drink. Shots (tequila, rum, and whiskey) are indeed one shot and done sort of drinks for me now. If I go beyond one of those, which I think the most I have had so far almost two years out of surgery was 3 shots in one evening within a 15 minute span of consuming all three shots, and I was very buzzed (lightly drunk). It took about an half and hour to an hours for that buzz to go away where I could feel "normal" again. What I have learned is that if I pace myself, usually only stick to one or two drinks max (on the hard stuff listed above), and sip them very slowly and moderately, that I can be alright. But again a mixed drink will now last me damn near an entire night vs pre surgery I could have K.O'ed quite a few of them before even feeling remotely buzzed let alone intoxicated. I personally don't like the get buzzed "high" quick feeling that drinking gives me especially if I am out at like a bar/public environment vs at home or at a trusted friends home. When I am out, I will stick to drinks like hard ciders or dare I say a Mike's Hard Lemonades sort of drink. Beer I really don't drink much of anymore and when I do its usually a stout and again only 1 now. Stouts tend to be heavier beers than your light lagers, and with more yeast and hops makes for a more fuller tummy experience. Wine, I just had recently for the first time in years, it was a dry red wine and it did have a bit of the buzzy feeling to it but it was like 4oz and it took me a good 30 minutes to consume it. Tequila, especially patron, 1 and done. I know if I go beyond that then I'll be in some troubles. Now I will be two years post op this Dec, and I can say that in the time post surgery I can still say that I have had less than 10 drinks in that time frame. I know how drinking for some of us can be a slippery slop to leading towards unwanted addictions and coping mechanisms. I get that, and I think its why I choose to wait so long to attempt to drink anything post surgery, especially after the NYE thing. But it is something that I have learned to enjoy, just on very special occasions and in the right situations.

Absolutely amazing! Sent from my SM-N910P using the BariatricPal App

Yeah I was using Zofran for a few days post surgery. I also was using/sniffing rubbing alcohol. It was what my nurse at the hospital was using on me to help combate the nausea. It actually worked. When I was feeling like I was about to puke, I would sniff the cotton ball with Alcohol and be able to stop myself. Hugs to you, as this will get better. Also, if you start puking and can't stop, get to the hospital. The quickest was to suffer from sever dehydration is by unstoppable vomiting. Sent from my SM-N910P using the BariatricPal App

Thanks I really appreciate your help! Gives me some things to consider and think about. I am working with a therapist and I did go to Overeaters Anonymous for a short period. I would like to know if there is a bariatric support group in my area after my surgery. Have you tried asking your surgeon's office about local support groups in the area? They may have a listing of local groups in your area you can reach out to for support pre and post surgery Sent from my SM-N910P using the BariatricPal App

I would suggest that right now you look into getting some sort of therapy whether its one on one or a group setting, but any help you can get to help you get through the emotional connection and addictions to food. Trust me on this, if I didn't have the mental help in my life, my depression post surgery would have probably done me in. Food addiction is just as bad as drug and alcoholic addition. And learning how to cope with that is absolute key to being successful post surgery. In other words, you won't be able to eat yourself to mental state of happiness. Before I was even approved for surgery I had to have a mental evaluation done to make sure I could mentally handle the changes post surgery. And even though I did good on the evaluation and they initially felt like I didn't need it, after the surgery I needed it and boy oh boy did I need it badly. I too was a huge bread/starch lover before the surgery. And granted I wasn't the best when it came to eating vegetables, your taste buds will indeed change. Things that you may love now, you might not like anymore post surgery. I can think of a least three or four former favorite fast foods that I can't do anymore just on the sheer fact that they taste disgusting to me now. But what you may not notice is that you may develop a like or craving for new foods, even food that you hate now, you may learn to love and appreciate post surgery. For me that was mashed potatoes. I couldn't stand mashed potatoes before I had the surgery. And now I can tolerate them for the most part. Hell even some days I look forward to eating them. Would I would suggest for you is this. If your surgeon has a meal plan for you, to start incorporating as many of those changes into your life now, before your surgery. That way its not a 100% shock to your system once surgery happens. Start cutting out the bad foods now, which unfortunately for now is the starchy, bread, sugary filled foods. Also kinda switch your diet around to a more Atkins-is Protein first sort of diet. That will be a huge key change for you post surgery is to focus on getting in as many grams of protein per meal to meet your daily goal, especially early on after surgery. As for what I do now, I can eat bread, but I treat it more as a cheat meal/treat than a part of my daily diet. I try to restrict myself to no more than twice a week, usually in the middle of the week and on the weekends. Pasta, I don't eat hardly ever, and fried foods are even more scarce. Also on days where I know I'm gonna eat "bad" I try to prepare for it and the extra calories they will add into my diet by working out more to burn more calories.

When I started I was a type 2 diabetic with an A1C of about 13% and I was taking about 100 units of Lantus insulin a day. My blood work from last September showed my A1C at 3.5% and I've been off of Lantus insulin for about a year now. I was taken off the insulin about 4 months post surgery and I was told that I could stop fully monitoring my blood sugars after my A1C came back at 3.5%. Diabetes was the primary reason I had the surgery. I felt like time for me to reverse it was running out if I didn't loose all the excessive weight I was carrying around. And now that I no longer have to give myself up to two shots of insulin a day, and countless finger pricks to check blood sugar levels is well beyond worth it. I haven't suffered from diabetic neuropathy in almost two years now.

Good luck to you. As for the pain I would say that on a scale of 1 to 5 for me the first 24 hours was about a 3.5/4. After that I went down to about a 1/2 for the next 10 days are so. I think what made it mostly painful for me was the gas. I had a hard time getting rid of the gas that they pumped into during surgery, so my body took it sweet time getting rid of that and I felt ridiculously bloated and gassy at the same time. I would say that you will probably feel some discomfort for a few days, and then after that you should be good to go. Now when I say discomfort I mean that, the bloating and gassy feeling. If you still feel like you are in unbearable pain then something went wrong and you would need to get in contact with your surgical team.

Emily, They ruled that my memory loss was due to an allergic reaction the anesthesia I was under during surgery. It has taken the better part of almost two years for me to say that I'm like 95% recovered from it. I think the other 5% is all in my head and I'm still working though it. As for what I did. After seeing a neuro-surgeon and going though a bunch of tests including having spinal Fluid taken from my body. I was put on a prescription of Donepezil (Aricept) for about 5 months, which helped me recover a great deal. I also included Thiamine (B1) into my daily regimen of Vitamins that I take daily. And since then I've been totally fine. I can now remember well past just a few days and I'm no longer confused like I was early on in the process.

Kick Ass man. I tried to do my first pullup yesterday at the gym. It wasn't a success by any means, but the fact that I'm comfortable enough in my own body to try them now after 27 years is telling in itself.

WOW..this picture really showcases how much of a transformation you went through. You look great! Sent from my SM-G928T using the BariatricPal App Thank you.

Actually I should have posted this picture up instead of the other one. Sent from my SM-N910P using the BariatricPal App

Nice man. I have to admit, I've incorporated some of your routine into my own and slowly but surely I'm starting to see some differences. Finally I say, FUCKING FINALLY! Sent from my SM-N910P using the BariatricPal App

So 7 months of gym work and I'm starting to see the differences. Sent from my SM-N910P using the BariatricPal App

So 7 months of gym work and I'm starting to see the differences. Sent from my SM-N910P using the BariatricPal App

Thank you

So on Facebook tonight a bunch of my friends are posting new profile pictures showing when they first joined Facebook vs what they look like today. So needless to say my picture indeed made an impact. This picture on the left was taken back in April/May of 2007 and I was 27 years old at the time. Yeah I was around 575-580lbs give or take back then. I wasn't quite at my highest weight, but I was indeed flirting with it at that time the picture was taken. Fast forward to tonight's picture, and I'm closer to 250lbs and I'm 36 years old. So nine years later and a whole hell of a lot smaller to say the least. My mom asked me how I felt about the changes, and I told her I felt better. I absolutely feel a hell of a lot better.

Let see, highest recorded weight that I know I was at was 597lbs and that was back in May of 2014. Had my VSG on December 22nd of 2014 and on that date I weighted in at 463lbs. So 18 months out from my surgery I'm now down to around 247-250lbs range. I've been floating around those same 3 to 4lbs for a few weeks now. Now I'm 6'5 and my surgeon wants me at 190lbs-195lbs, however my own personal goal was and still will be 225lbs-230lbs. So I'm really close to my own personal goal, but still quite a ways away from the surgeon's goal. Either way you can't beat going from Super Morbidity Obese to now just overweight in less than two calendar years.

As a male I can tell you I experienced the exact opposite. I didn't have any hair loss at all on my head or face. In fact I got hair growth. My body especially my belly and thighs are now covered in hair that wasn't there before I had surgery.

I would suggest to you look into some Fiber such as benefiber and metimucil. I started taking Metimucil a week after surgery and stayed on it consistently for about 6 months (taking it daily in the am), before I started to wean myself off of it. Now I take it about once or twice a month if I feel like I haven't been consistent with bowel movements.

What pre-workout did you use?

I was on Panera (Bread Co) Turkey chilli about 6 weeks post surgery. I tried to avoid beef for the first 6 months per my surgeon's plan. If your plan calls for you to avoid beef until a certain time period, then I would strongly suggest following those guidelines. However, because all surgeon's have different meal plans, if they claim that you can go the chilli route with beef then gfi.

Two weeks out I had very little to no pain at all. I was still quite nauseous and had a hard time getting my fluids in especially water at the time. But I know like a lot of people have already said here, everyone recovers and heals differently. Best advice I can give is to follow the plan you and your surgeon have come up with, and keep in contact with them if pain or any other unplanned symptoms start to show up.

I had this early on too. What helped me was a few things. I started using calamine lotion to help with the itching and hives, and I tried to increase my protein intake as much as I possibly could. Because this happened to me right after surgery and lasted about 3 to 4 weeks post op getting in protein was already sorta difficult. I unitized unflavored whey protein in every form of liquid I could get down including water. It wasn't the best tasting thing by far, but after about three weeks of that, the hives recessed and I wasn't itching all over. .