Clementine Sky

A belated thanks for your encouragement!!!! I continued to procrastinate getting back onto track with healthy eating ---- insert half a dozen excuses here ---- but decided today is the day. I'd stayed on course for four years and then got derailed. I think logging back on here, following the Instagrammers who have healthy menu prep photos for inspiration / ideas will help with the process.

Hi! This is my first time logging on in 2020. I definitely am very grateful to have had the VSG, in August of 2015. I was miserable and just receding from life. I reached my goal weight in 2016, and then my dream weight in 2017 - the lowest I'd been since I was 14. I perhaps got too thin, down to a size XS / 2, and I'm tall. But I felt amazing and began receiving compliments from strangers and friends alike on looking beautiful, and I felt beautiful. Unfortunately I regained some weight in 2019 after some dental disasters (I have several baby teeth that lack permanent roots, so they need to all be pulled and replaced with implants) required that I eat nothing but soft food. And then I regained again in 2020 after experimenting with fertility treatments (which weren't successful, sadly) and falling back into depression. I've gained a few more while quarantining since March. Grocery shopping became one of the few out of the house activities after we transitioned to working online, and I slipped into past habits of eating for joy and out of boredom. My BMI is currently 26, so I'm not too far out from being in a healthy weight range again. I just want to get back on track and prevent continuing regain. I started tracking my food again on MyFitnessPal, and cleaned out the kitchen of temptations. I am hiking more often and going for scenic drives when I'm feeling restless to get out of the house. I returned here for motivation / camaraderie. I hope you are all doing well!

It's so encouraging to read that you've already lost 8 pounds! Congratulations! This year has also been very challenging for me - our house was damaged in a fire in California, and my parents' house damaged in a hurricane in Florida, plus massive dental issues making it so that I can only eat soft food. It's so hard to stay on track with eating when your life has been derailed. But you're back on track! I don't know how much I've regained because I haven't gotten back onto the scale, but I can't fit into the tiny jeans I very comfortably wore last summer. I should eat more beans since they are soft and high in protein. Could you please share a link to some of your favorite recipes?

Oh gosh, please don't be. I hadn't realized that it was exclusively for "veterans." You were so sweet and helpful to me! Thank you!

I'm sorry you've been afflicted with chronic hives! It's conceivable they are due to a hypersensitivity to the staples, though it is more likely merely a case of correlation rather than causation. https://www.elynsgroup.com/article/titanium-staples-allergy-in-a-middle-aged-female-patient Have any of the tests specifically been for metals? If you're taking any vitamins or prescription medications have you been tested to see if you have any sensitives to any of the ingredients in them? Even if they had not previously been problematic it's possible to develop issues over time. Pain medications in particular can cause hives. Insects and parasites can as well, and they can be difficult to detect. You can also develop food allergies with time. Following the surgery, you probably would have changed your diet quite dramatically.

Hi, thread connects to the one I just created asking whether anyone who had gone to Mexico for WLS had also gotten dental work there. I have several baby teeth that lack permanent roots and have become problematic recently. I currently have temporary fillings in teeth that need to have expensive and time-intensive implants ($3000 per tooth), and was advised to avoid chewing with them. That is really difficult because the teeth are located on both sides of my mouth. I've been eating more soft foods and liquids lately, but that has caused weight gain since the food tends to be higher in carbs. I lost weight following having the VSG at quite a slow pace, and I think this helped my body to adapt. It had been relatively simple to keep the weight off. I haven't had much of a yo-yo until recently. Last summer I lost a bit too much weight while in Africa, getting down a size 0. I gained weight when I returned to the US, which was positive. I got back to the weight I'd been maintaining. Lately I've been gaining weight much more rapidly because I'm taking a medicine that has a side effect of stimulating my appetite (for an unrelated health issue to weight and my teeth) and have been eating a lot more soft food that is high in carbs. Soft bread and muffins, pasta, mashed potatoes. I'm considering going back on a liquid / soft food diet that is similar to what I followed post-surgery, but not as extreme. I typically eat a lower carb, high protein diet, and that has not been as feasible with the dental situation. I was wondering if anyone has tips on soft foods and liquids to have that are reasonably nutritious and can help me to lose the weight I've gained recently, while not causing a dramatic loss like a diet consisting of protein shakes and smoothies would. I know this is a bit of an odd question, but would appreciate any help anyone could give me.

Hi everyone! I am a bit of an oddity because I am in my 30s but still have six baby teeth that lack permanent roots. They'd been in remarkably fine condition, functioning well, until I used a Waterpik on too high of a setting and it broke a tooth. Then the tooth beside it decided to call it quits shortly afterwards, probably because I'd been using the Waterpik in between those two teeth (I was not using fire hose strength but the dentist said even a bit too much pressure can be enough with baby teeth since they are more fragile). I need to have those two teeth replaced with implants immediately, and it's recommended that I have the baby teeth on the other side of my mouth crowned. I have dental insurance, but have been denied coverage for the implants because it is their policy to not pay for them on baby teeth, even though my situation is incomparable to a child's who can expect to have permanent teeth grow in. They will only cover the cost of extractions, which is not feasible since these are two teeth towards the front of my mouth. The gaps would be hugely noticeable and would ruin the alignment of my other teeth. I've been to two dentists locally, and they both said it would be more than $3000 per tooth. Insurance will only cover a small portion of the crowns. I had gastric sleeve surgery in Tijuana in 2015, and the experience was as positive as possible. I live in LA, so it was simple to go down, and they offered far more scheduling flexibility than local surgeons. It was also a fraction of the cost, $4200 vs the $30,000 I'd been quoted by local surgeons (insurance would not pay because my BMI was "low"). I had no complications, and I exceeded my goal weight, and had maintained that loss for more than three years. I've only recently regained a bit of weight because I'm only eating soft foods, which tend to be higher in carbs. The point being, going to Tijuana worked perfectly for me! That decision transformed my life. I'm now contemplating going there for the dental work, but I'm actually feeling more nervous about that than I was with the surgery. For one, I can't find as much reliable information. Many sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor have fake reviews, despite their filters to block that out. I feel like this forum and other ones like it were really valuable to me (thank you!) because they're private and do not draw in quite as many people trying to market their business in a sly way (fake posts / reviews vs. clear advertisements), so I could get honest feedback from real patients. I thought it might be worth asking here if by chance anyone had also gotten dental work in Mexico. I'd be incredibly grateful for any recommendations anyone may have for dentists there. I hope you are all doing well!

I'm sorry your husband isn't being supportive. It's a decision you have to make about your body, for the betterment of your life, but naturally you want your life partner to be at your side encouraging you rather than discouraging. My husband was initially opposed to the surgery, incredulous that I even wanted it. I looked on PubMed, which is a database of medical research, and found studies about bariatric surgery - its safety and efficacy, how those who had it were substantially more likely to keep their weight off, and ones specific to women with my own health issues (PCOS and hypothyroidism) having it. This was significant to having him change his mind because it wasn't just my words, my emotions, but facts before him. I think you should pursue the surgery if you truly believe will better your life. I definitely count the surgery as being the best medical decision I ever made. It's transformed my life. I would continue to try to get your husband on board. The surgery is challenging physically and emotionally for the first month or two out. I had no complications and didn't have to follow a strict pre-op diet, so I had easier than many, but there were still struggles. I think while in that vulnerable state having to deal with any marital issues would have been really hard. Some things that helped in my situation were - - The money for the surgery did not come from our joint funds. I was self-pay to Mexico patient since my insurance wouldn't cover it, and so it was a lot more affordable and easier to take on the expenses without his contributions. I was the one who assured him of this. - Planning. In our household, my husband and I divide up the chores / tasks pretty evenly. We both are young professionals who come home wanting to get the chores out of the way as fast as possible, and relax. By choice I do more things like laundry, vacuuming, grocery shopping, and he does the yard work and takes care of the cars getting washed. I didn't want him to have to do all of my tasks while I was recovering. I cleaned the house top to bottom prior to surgery, and arranged for house cleaners to come in once a week for the month following the surgery. I used a grocery delivery service, and made the point of getting things that he likes even though I couldn't eat them. There was little inconvenience for him. - I understood that I was the one having surgery, and taking on the changes it required like the post-op diet. I never made him feel like he couldn't have whatever he wanted to eat for dinner, or keep foods that would be tempting to me out of the house. He was good about being considerate, but I think him knowing that he wasn't encumbered by my surgery helped him to not feel resentful of it. Best wishes to you. I hope your husband gets on board, and you have the surgery and fantastic results from it. I have never for a second regretted my surgery. I'm three years out, have maintained my goal within a small fluctuation zone for two years, and feel more vibrant and healthy now than I did as a teen.

Wow! Congratulations on your success! The backdrop of the second picture is stunning!!

What I like the most is your pose in the second picture. You look fantastic, but more importantly, you look so proud and happy. That made me smile.

I began to notice hair loss around four months post-op, but I was the only one who noticed it. In the past I've had some hair loss and thinning due to medicine I was taking, and a friend asked me directly about it. Others who are a bit less candid looked at my thinning hair, and some would then ask about my health. This time not a soul has ever said anything about it, or stared at my hair quizzically, and that helped me to calm down about it. When my weight loss slowed down, so did my hair loss. I've still lost enough to make it to the goals I'd set out, but it's just taken a while. Another perk besides the minimal hair loss has been absolutely no loose skin. I didn't take Biotin or anything else that claims to help with hair growth. A few years ago I took a Vitamin a lot of people were raving about on Instagram and YouTube that was supposed to help your hair to grow, and it caused a terrible breakout on my face. My dermatologist told me that taking excessive levels of B Vitamins can cause breakouts, so I've avoided anything containing too much since then. About 7 months post op when I really wasn't having any hair loss beyond the typical shedding I did try a collagen supplement from Amazon because of a post on here where a woman gushed about how much it had helped her. It didn't really help me, but I only took it for a month, and it also didn't harm me. It has a ton of positive reviews on Amazon, and is inexpensive.

There are risks involved in any surgery, but there are also risks in not taking decisive action to recover from obesity before it corrodes your health and likely shortens your life. Obesity can be profoundly destructive, and the longer you are obese, the more damage it can inflict. I assessed the risk of the VSG and compared it to the long-term risk of not having the surgery, then decided to go for it. My BMI fluctuated in the low 30s. That's "mild" obesity, but the worry was that as I age it would become increasingly difficult to control my weight, and my BMI would rise to the morbid stage. My reproductive endocrinologist was the one who recommended the VSG because I have PCOS and hypothyroidism, and other patients my age and size have benefitted from it. If you're wanting to have more kids in your future, achieving a healthy weight can help. That's in addition to lessening the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart problems, some types of cancer, and the damage caused to your frame from excess weight over time. For me the only negative to having the surgery at a lower BMI was my insurance refused to cover any of the costs, so I had to pay for it on my own. It was a worthwhile investment! I sailed through the surgery with very little pain or discomfort. Besides dry-heaving on the first day and having unbelievably intense cramps (my period started during surgery), I felt fine. I was anticipating being in more pain and more tired than I actually was. I had a mild allergic reaction to the surgical tape used on my incisions, and got itchy little welts from it, but it healed quickly. I had a few stomach issues in the first couple of months, but nothing severe. I'm a professor on my feet for hours a day, and haven't taken a day off since the fall quarter began (three weeks after my surgery). It is important to know that it's very common for people to regret the surgery (though I didn't) in their first month post-op and have what's known as "buyer's remorse." This is when your body is healing, you're still on a restrictive diet, and you are craving normalcy. The feelings pass for the majority of people. It's also important to know that since you are starting at a lower BMI, you'll likely lose weight at a slower pace. Don't feel discouraged, and don't compare yourself to others who've had surgery and are losing much more rapidly. In the eight months since my surgery I've gone from being in the "mildly obese" BMI to comfortably within the "normal" weight range for my height. My weight loss has been much slower than those who started off with higher BMIs, and I've had several stalls along the way, but it has come off. I've gone from a size 14 to a 6/8, and am still losing. I feel lighter, happier, and more confident. Hopefully the same will be true for you.