VDLT

I was in a lot of pain but whatever they gave me in the hospital did nothing for me. I developed horrible back pain from laying there that it was hard to get up and walk. I was released the next day and never took anything. My first week was pretty bad pain wise and the second week was a bit better. I had band removal and the spot where my port sat for 14 years was horrible. They had to dig that puppy up and it was one of the original huge ports. I started feeling better the second week and while I still had pain it was much more manageable.

I had a band for 14 years and developed heartburn, GERD, gastritis, esophagitis, and a hiatal hernia because of it. Converted to sleeve and had a hernia repair. The doctor kept me on GERD meds for 1 month after surgery and I have not needed it since. NO heartburn or GERD since surgery....

Well, you are losing weight. You lost 10 pounds the first two weeks. You are now starting your third week, a time where it is well documented the body stalls. Happened to me and many many many others on here. I actually stalled at 2 and 3 weeks. Do a search for the 3 week stalls and a very good post about embracing the stall floating around here.

I got stuck at 2 weeks for 5 days and then lost two pounds. Then I got stuck at 3 weeks for about 10 days. It happens and in the grand scheme of things not a biggie. Keep doing the right things, and the right results will follow.

I also had a medium size hernia repaired at the time of my conversion but honestly what kept me down for the first week was pain in the belly area, specially where my port was taken out. I had a large bump under the skin there that really hurt.

So awesome! Wear them while you can because I am guessing you will need new ones by summer!

Congratulations! Hope you feel as fantastic as you look!

So glad you are feeling better! I was a band to sleeve revision with hernia repair and the first week was pretty rough. It does get better!

Wow! Congratulations. Fantastic job.

Attorney. Blah.

I am 4 months out and can chug fairly easily

If you are still losing you are not stalled. From middle of January to now you have lost 4 pounds. That is at least 1 pound a week average correct? That is still a loss. That is my average loss and I lose less than a pound some weeks. Read the thread about embracing the stall. Keep doing what you need to do and things will keep moving. Good luck!

I love belly dancing, took one class and have not been able to get back to it Can you recommend a style to start. My hips are always in motion lol. Sorry I am just seeing this! Where are you located and what style do you like? I personally do a derivative of ATS (American Tribal Style) improvisation. I think it is awesome and it is super inclusive of body styles. It is improvisational dance that looks like it could be choreo. We have a vocabulary of moves we can use and have cues for them that are often imperceptible to the audience. By using them we can dance in a group and be together but create dance in the moment. I *personally* don't like cabaret as much but different people will be attracted to different things. I suggest looking on youtube at different groups and seeing what you like. I can help you find classes in your area if you would like. For the style I do check out videos of Fat Chance Belly Dance. No, their name has nothing to do with weight but its a cute story. They are based in San Francisco and are known as the originators of the current style. I dance in Florida and our style is a dialect of that. Just start clicking through videos and note the names of anything that strikes your fancy and I can help you narrow down the style.

@@Elode You look fantastic! Tiny and you have the prettiest eyes I hope I can get all my weight off and maintain. I can eat more than I see folks posting on here so that worries me a bit. Your success is a great motivator!

Everyone loses at different rates so looking at others loss will not help you determine how much you will lose. I am a "slow" loser by comparison to most on this board but I am losing faster than ever before and I am grateful for it. I lost 37 lbs in the first 4 months (October 1 to February 1st) and only half a pound since then. Keep in mind that I lost 10 lbs the first week after surgery that was my Water weight since I did not have a preop diet.

157.5... slow but on track

Following so I can watch later.

Oh Kindle sorry its been a rough start to your vacation. Just make sure once you get there you have double the fun to make up for it

I was banded for 14 years before converting so I lost a lot of weight with the band before regaining. I went up around 35 pounds in the 3 years prior to my conversion which at 5 feet tall (if standing really really straight!) is a significant amount. I put all the clothing I could no longer fit into in an upstairs closet and am now wearing a lot of it again on my way back down. Clothes I would wear when I was at this weight a few years ago fit totally different now. And I am not talking about same size, I mean the same garments. My body is now trimmer and I am losing better it seems if that makes any sense. I am not sure if it is because I am really concentrating on eating clean and getting my Protein in this time around. I feel my shape is better this time around even though I am older. What I am trying to say is that I have found every time I cycle through and gain and lose, my body looks different at the same weight. I have a long history of weight fluctuations and my mother does too and we have both found this to be the case. Before I would go back to an old weight but my body was worse for wear for having been up so to speak. This time around it seems to look better and my clothes feel better!

You are only 3 days out. I was in a lot of pain for the first week after my conversion and still had pain my second and third week although it diminished as time went by. Hang in there. It is worth it.

Bella, I have read a lot of your posts and know you struggle with the emotional aspects of all of this. I think most of us do as well and can understand where you are coming from or we would not have needed WLS. That being said, THIS post right here leads me to believe that you will not gain it all back. Some people find dumping an advantage because it deters them from foods that make them dump. Seems like it did the trick for you and maybe next time you will opt to skip the temptation. IMHO sugar is a way worse enemy than fats. If you can keep them at bay, and it seems like you will have to, you should be fine.

Search through the threads and learn as much about each as you can. There are other threads comparing the two just like this one, but ultimately only you can decide what is right for you, and we will all be a bit biased towards our chosen surgery. For me, I did not want malabsorption and a blind stomach. And in the off chance that I needed to go to something stronger like the DS down the line, the sleeve got me halfway there. I had GERD before my sleeve. It was caused by the band and a hernia. Removal of the band and hernia repair with sleeve has solved it.

Get back into it! It is so fun and can be good exercise in the right style and class. I love belly dancing, took one class and have not been able to get back to it

I actually went on a cruise (planned way in advance) THE DAY I went on solids at 4 weeks out. I took it easy and was able to find plenty that worked for me. It depends on how long you will be going and what the environment will be like.

I am a tribal belly dancer It is a wonderful dance style that is very inclusive of differnt body types. I do "improv" style in which we have a shared vocabulary of moves with cues we can use to dance together without choreography. It is a lovely community and the dance itself is beautiful and good exercise.