QTR-nevermore

I went kayaking with my husband twice this week. I'm not even sore, and I was not worried about swamping the boat.

I went kayaking with my husband twice this week. I'm not even sore, and I was not worried about swamping the boat.

I went kayaking with my husband twice this week. I'm not even sore, and I was not worried about swamping the boat.

I went kayaking with my husband twice this week. I'm not even sore, and I was not worried about swamping the boat.

I went kayaking with my husband twice this week. I'm not even sore, and I was not worried about swamping the boat.

I went kayaking with my husband twice this week. I'm not even sore, and I was not worried about swamping the boat.

I went kayaking with my husband twice this week. I'm not even sore, and I was not worried about swamping the boat.

I went kayaking with my husband twice this week. I'm not even sore, and I was not worried about swamping the boat.

I went kayaking with my husband twice this week. I'm not even sore, and I was not worried about swamping the boat.

I went kayaking with my husband twice this week. I'm not even sore, and I was not worried about swamping the boat.

Taking your life back is pretty cool. I'd like to try kayaking again. Been years.

There have been some interesting side effects post op.
I care much more about myself.
I've cut my hair to my shoulders (I'm sure I kept it long to "hide").
I've had my nails and toes done.
I've bought new clothes, perfume, jewelry.
I've gone to the dentist and had some cosmetic work done along with a good cleaning.
All of this keeps compounding and helping my self esteem.
I laugh and smile more. I move more. I'm friendlier.
I wasn't expecting any of these side effects!

I wish I could hear from some long-term Sleevers about their long-term stories. Obesity is an incurable condition still, and this surgery thankfully puts us into remission, but what happens when it rears its ugly head again? What do you do? How many folks have true long-term remission and what contributes to that success?

My pedigree goes back through Anna Flake. Funny thing... one year I was at the reunion and I saw Aunt Gerda in some theater for some event. She had fed me homemade ice cream sandwiches out of her freezer when I was little, so I remembered her fondly and went up to say hello. At my salutation she drew herself up starchily, and asked down her nose, "who are you?" I repeated my name, but she was not impressed. I thought a second, then said "I'm Anna's granddaughter." That did it. She beamed and enfolded me to her bosom with joy like a long-lost child. Family. Flake family. Interesting. Anyway, is your first name William? I love that repeating name. Re your question, I had my surgery through the center that was running a medical research study I was involved in in my state, so I got a bit of a break on the price. It worked well.

Hey, Cuz, my family tree positively drips Flakes from AZ. Used to go to all the Flake reunions. You possibly saw me and all my sibs (forced to) dress alike and play our little violins and sing at the reunions.....All the older generation loved it, but we kids felt socially shunned. Childhood trauma.......Anyway, I forgot I even HAD a tailbone until I lost all my weight. Now it protrudes onto my consciousness as a sore spot every time I sit slouched for long. Good luck with yours. Remind yourself to sit straight; it helps.

Hey, Cuz, my family tree positively drips Flakes from AZ. Used to go to all the Flake reunions. You possibly saw me and all my sibs (forced to) dress alike and play our little violins and sing at the reunions.....All the older generation loved it, but we kids felt socially shunned. Childhood trauma.......Anyway, I forgot I even HAD a tailbone until I lost all my weight. Now it protrudes onto my consciousness as a sore spot every time I sit slouched for long. Good luck with yours. Remind yourself to sit straight; it helps.

B12 is vital to your health. Google it for more information. Talk to your doctor about starting ASAP. Your weight loss is great, however. Keep it up!

Thanks for sharing your story! I totally agree, the effects of alcohol is not discussed enough. This past year I noticed a difference with my alcohol assumption. It had increased and the effects were higher. I have now cutback on drinking wine, out of the thought that it could become an addiction. Very scary feeling, but deep down I know this has to do with the surgery. Now I am VERY mindful of what I drink, and have learned my limit. Unfortunately it is what it is, I love wine, but its not worth risking my happiness and my wellbeing, such as gaining back a large amount of the weight or blacking out.

I am over 5 years out. I guess you have to define success. My goal when I had the surgery was to be able to do the things I wanted to do in life. I didn't exactly reach that goal for other things but it wasn't a total loss. I've learned a lot about what you want in a surgeon and support groups. I've learned just how rotten people are, and how some are good.
There is more to life than losing weight. Your life gets affected by more than the weight loss. We need to talk not only in terms of weight loss but of life.

I wish I could hear from some long-term Sleevers about their long-term stories. Obesity is an incurable condition still, and this surgery thankfully puts us into remission, but what happens when it rears its ugly head again? What do you do? How many folks have true long-term remission and what contributes to that success?

I spent a whole lot of time on discussion boards back in 2008 when I got my sleeve. I was surrounded by lap banders and bypassers. There weren't many VSG folks - but generally everyody had the same journey to discuss and many of us were in the thick of it. I have ot credit those folks for their help. They were critical in my initial success.
I often wondered why I didn't see more people who were 3 - 5 and more years out from their surgeries on thos boards. Now I know why. I too left the boards when they were no longer relevant. I didn't want to read the posts that sounded exactly like my initial ones - I am scared, what do I eat? will my boobs droop? How come I can't poo? - and more of the same. I had lost my weight, retrained myself to eat with a sleeve, and was on an excellent regimen.
By the 18 month mark I was working through the incredible emotional impact my weight loss had. Who knew that such a happy thing might cause a tsunami of hormones and depression. Over it now... moving on. Then in 2011 my life became VERY stressful on all fronts. Where do I go? Comfort food. Granted I can't do quite as much damage in one sitting as I used to, but there is no limit to how much chocolate I can take in during a day. There is apparently also no limit to the amount of shame I can carry.
I still cope with food. I am now struggling big time with that feeling of a loss of control and my weight is creeping up. I didn't do this whole surgery thing just to be fat again. But what the surgery didn't do for me is change three fundamental things:
I still turn to food for comfort when I am hurting
I have not learned to enjoy any form of excercise - I have such a crazy career/commute/learning disabled child that I would have to make a huge set of changes to make time for something I hate. Doesn't bode well does it?
Self loathing and body image is not fixed with weight loss - I just found new things to hate

I am hoping that there are a few later stage sleevers on this page who may be facing this and who have something helpful to suggest. Anybody out there experienced the panic and shame of weight regain?
Thanks - I hope I have picked the right on line community.

The amazing and frustrating thing for me was how much my tastes changed. All my plans went down the drain. I was left with a lot of Protein Shake mix that I could not use because it was seriously vile to me after surgery. I was unable to drink plain Water, when i have loved it all my life, and suddenly it would hit my stomach and make me nauseated immediately. Crystal Light was all i could drink. Now, at 6 months out, I am again able to drink water. meat is hard for me still, unless it is very moist. You will find your own new foods that help you through this.

Just from my experience, I wouldn't load up on too much for post op. I did on some things and realized I couldn't stomach them after surgery.

My staples now (in soft food stage):

Oikos triple zero Greek yogurt, crush grape Water Enhancer, PB2 powder to mix with chocolate Protein Shake, string cheese, Jeannie-O turkey burgers.

I hate the shakes, so I am trying to get the biggest bang for my buck on Protein in food.... it is a chore to eat these days, so I don't want to waste bites if it doesn't have protein in it!

I've never enjoyed plain Water, so when I tried the Crush grape flavored enhancer... I was like a kid, it makes getting fluids in more enjoyable!!!!!

This DOES require a lifestyle change, and I'm really sorry that you seem to have thought it wouldn't. It's been hammered into me from my bariatric team and everything I've read. But don't get stressed about it. It's really not as bad as you're thinking.
You need to be mindful of what you eat, and you need to be more active. But don't think of this as a diet - that word has negative connotations to many of us, and it's not really true. You don't have to be that regimented or restrictive. Eat like a healthy person. Be aware of what you're eating and how much. You can have treats. Just be smart about it - don't mindlessly graze on chips that you don't really care about, or have treats more than you have good food. Have that ice cream. Make it a really special scoop of premium stuff, but not a pint of it. Enjoy it thoroughly, and then move on. Maybe you ate fairly lightly that day, or maybe you just decide to go light on the carbs for the next meal or two. Or maybe you do it so seldom that you decide you can absorb the calories from that small treat. But YOU are in control, not some arbitrary list of what you can or can't eat. Just remember to pay attention, and keep things balanced, and you'll be fine.

Omg lol I am worried about my edges. I have fine hair and the worst thing is thinning fine hair. That was making me worry a lot about the procedure but I realized that I can buy hair but I cannot buy a new me and I cannot buy more time on this earth. I want to live the remaining years I have happy healthy and full of life as I can. That matters more.