pvechiola

I use a light brown hair spray concealer on my hair to cover any thin spots and it works wonders.

Last night I was laying in bed and all of a sudden I felt this super sharp pain in my upper abdomen/stomach area. It hurt to the point I felt like I couldn't move. I then started gagging and throwing up mostly clear liquid. Finally I grabbed some crackers, ate them and the pain immediately went away. I've had hunger pains before but this was like no other. Could it be something more serious?
I am 8 months out from my surgery and I have been drinking lately. More than I should. Any thoughts? Thank you!

I think its great that she is finally taking pride in her appearance. She looks great. No matter what wls surgery you have, if you've damaged your body by weighing over 460 pounds, you are bound to have some body damage that cant be fixed by surgery. I never liked her myself either but she looks like she's taking pride in her appearance and I applaud her for that. She never said it was a 123 quick fix. She is also trying to teach her whole family to eat right . I think she looks great and is now healthy , isn't that what we are striving for not just the physical attributes.

On 4/5/2017 at 4:05 PM, LittleLizzieLilliput said:

So I wasn't even sure if I wanted to post this but I just kept thinking about it so I'm just gonna do it. What do you guys think about all the news about the mom from the show Here Comes Honey BooBoo? Mama June is her name. Now I will admit, I've never seen the show and I've judged her pretty harshly in the past. I try not to be a petty b***h but sometimes I am. And I think I am about her. So I'm not sure if this is me being a b***h or something else.

I hate all the news coverage on her. I think the main reason is they are making it seem like it's just so fast and easy. Like, boom, have the surgery and then boom, have the body lift and you are done! lol! But she doesn't even look like she's really done yet!! It's like she had her extra stomach and next removed but her lower legs and lower arms look just as full. It kind of feels like she had the VGS done and then just had a bunch of fat cut off. Maybe I'm wrong, as I've said I've never watched her shows but I feel like the impression they are giving with this is that the VGS is like some quick and easy shortcut, the results don't seem overly impressive on her and I kind of hate that she might be the face of the VGS for people. I resent that for reasons that might point to me being petty.

How do you guys feel about it, if anything?

I'm so jealous, good luck you'll do great!

Anyone going to Dr. Chand with Loyola Gottlieb Hospital?

Wondering how to get my omeprazol in without it tasting so bad, also anyone taking Seroquel? Help please!

Awesome job you look beautiful I can't wait.

I can only pray that I look that good after my surgery, awesome job!!

Will you share the product name? I've never heard of these before. I did order the Paul Mitchell that Mandybb shared after reading good reviews on Amazon about it. I also ordered some Biotin Patches to give that a try. I sure hope they both help but until then, maybe the colored hairspray will help.
I worry (since I am only 3 months post-op) that more Hair loss will continue and as clc9 mentioned, I wondered if I will need to resort to getting a wig (which I would rather not do). I knew hair loss would probably happen but I didn't think it would bother me as much as it has.

Fellow sleevers unite! I remember you all, surfing through these forums for hours worried about my surgery but excited for the potential health and physical change. Now I'm on the other side almost 5 months out and want to share my story with those that are waiting in anticipation or a few days out wondering whats next. I was sleeved on 09/29/2017. At my surgery I weight 363 and my weight when I started the liquid diet was 380.4. I think I ended up topping out somewhere around 387 in the days or weeks before the liquid diet. As of this morning I weight 273.8. So roughly 107 lbs in 5 months. I'll take it! Size wise I am currently a 38 waist, and XXL top. I was a 46/48 waist and 4XL a few short months ago. My overall goal is 225 (I'm 6'2). Here is my lame attempt at a Letterman style top ten list but backwards. Time flies, enjoy the ride, and the compliments

1. Losing weight is cool. Growing saggy man skin tits not.

2. Pretty Pimpin’ by Kurt Vile is on my sleeve journey mix tape.

3. Its great being able to sit in a chair and not worry about breaking it.

4. I used to love  Soup. That was before eating it everyday for 4 weeks.

5. Only fat people wear fitbits. I wore mine, and it was stupid. I've never seen any active person actually wearing one. I probably exercise more without it.

6. You can weigh yourself everyday. I did, its OK. First thing in the morning, post dump, post shower. I’m suprised I haven’t gone through a costco size pack of AA batteries.

7. Levi’s that aren’t loose or baggy fit = AWESOME!

8. I am no longer that fattest person everywhere I go, There are a crapload fatter than me.....I know as I just got back from Disney.

9. Sex gets better with every 20 lbs.

10. Holy ****, I’m not sweating!

Thank you so much ... I told my son I can knock him out now, lol. Just kidding but thanks for the motivation. I need and so appreciate it.

The way I eat now to maintain my weight at a reasonable point is based on principles of intuitive eating. There is a lot of information about it online but the core info is in a book called intuitive eating by Evelyn Trimble. It's on Amazon. It is based around the idea that our bodies have a set point that they are comfortable at and that set point is a healthy weight because our bodies are always striving towards health. When I reached my lowest weight of 115 I started to get very depressed and basically anorexic, terrified of gaining weight back and still living my life on a diet. That can only go on so long and after a while your body will be able to eat more foods and more quantity and even sleeve and bypass patients can find themselves white knuckling it again to avoid gaining weight. This is because dieting, i.e. Nutritional deprecation, doesn't work in the long term. Your body knows your starving and starts to fight back by increasing hunger and holding on to extra calories by slowing your metabolism.

Intuitive eating is the natural way of eating we are all born with before we start dieting and messing with out internal cues. The basic philosophy is simple: eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full, allow all foods and honor your cravings. Eat regularly and respond to hunger.

This process has allowed me to stop dieting and to maintain a healthy weight post bariatric surgery while also being free to eat the foods I enjoy and crave. Maintaining was the worst part of this for me and thank goodness intuitive eating allowed me to find a way to make peace. I had gotten down to 115 at 5'6 and looked quite sick. I didn't know what to do so I just kept losing. When I realized how unhappy I was I decided to make peace and allow my body to settle and a healthy weight no matter what that might be. Intuitive eating helped me gain to about 128 and it's perfect for me. My weight stays very close to that range and I eat whatever I want at the the time. I never binge and I don't think much about food any more to be honest.

There is me at 115 vs 128. I feel much better now and I eat all kinds of yummy foods. I also have the energy now to run and lift weights on a regular basis and it's become a wonderful coping mechanisms for me.

I'm want to share my story so that any of you who are in the fence about this can have a full picture of what can happen both bad and good.
I had gastric bypass dec 2014. My surgery was very very painful. The first two days I vomited a lot of blood and they had trouble getting my pain under control. They gave me a lot of narcotics. My dr, dr Thoman from Santa Barbara, barely checked on me. I was at cottage hospital in SB.
I went home after five days in the hospital. I was going okay but then. The mental challenge of not eating was no joke. It was something I was so used to. They had given me a ton of narcotics and I kinda used those to cope with the emotions of not being able to eat.
About a week later I started to have major pain in my upper stomach. I went back to cottage and they found stones in my gallbladder so out it came. I went home but the pain remained. My doctor was very absent during this time. I told him about the pain and I kept taking more and more narcotics to deal with it. He blamed my pain on the narcotics but I felt trapped in a catch 22. Take them or not take them.. either way.. pain.
Finally after several exploratory surgeries my dr decided to revert my surgery and make it into a gastric sleeve. After that my pain was gone but I was by now hooked on narcotics. I ended up having to go to a detox facility to get off of them. Worst week of my life.
I could barely eat anything during this time and dropped weight rapidly. After I was free of the narcs and started to try and eat. But I could not get anything solid to pass through my stomach. Months went by and finally I said- okay something is wrong. Every time I ate solids I threw up. I elected to go to a new doctor after my bad experience with dr Thoman. I just felt he didn't care and no loner trusted him and his bedside manner was terrible.
I went with dr Swartz in Fresno and he was great. I diagnosed me with a sever structure and did an endoscopy which opened it up. He said I had a ton of scar tissue from dr Thomans style of revision.
After that I gradually began to eat some solids and after many months is continued to approve. Needless to say I lost a huge amount of weight very fast and was loving that. However I had severe malnutrition. My hair fell out in clumps and my legs went numb. I have dumping syndrome and I also still
Sometimes vomit if I don't chew enough of just having a bad day or mix liquids with solids etc.
I feel the American health care system to be very lacking in post operative care. Also they pass out narcotics like they are candy which had a lot to do with my issues.
It's been over 2 years. I went from 240 to 115. I've since gained back to 129 and am holding there. I no longer diet, I just eat to fullness and try not to think about food very much. I run and lift weights daily and that has been the key for me to feel comfortable without having to stay on a diet forever which is impossible to do.
Reaching maintenance was the hardest part of this process and I had very little advice to help me besides to stay on a diet forever. Ones appetite does return and one is able to eat much larger quantities that early on. For instance, now I can eat almost a whole chipotle burrito. I decided dieting wasn't for me and embraced intuitive eating philosophies instead which help me maintain in a place I am happy with.
I still live with this surgery in a daily basis. food gets stuck at least a couple times a week and I have to throw up do to the pain. I can't eat too much or eat with liquids or I will have dumping syndrome. (Yes you can dump with a sleeve). I am happy but good is always an issue. I feel quite sick after I eat sometimes. It's always a struggle for me. I'm not sure if this is due to my complications or just the surgery itself. My best friend had bypass and she says the same thing.
On a positive note I have an amazing body. I really really enjoy my body and my energy and health and I would do it all again even though it was hard. I can run, chase my kids, work my active job, wear any clothes I desire. I feel very attractive.
If you are considering this surgery because you aren't able to live a healthy and energetic life at your current weight, than do it. It won't change how you feel about yourself on the inside and it could end up being replaced by other dependency issues... but at least you will be physically stronger and healthier. I suggest therapy for anyone that is going to do this. Healing comes from within.
Remember you will never again be able to eat to your hearts content. You won't be able to feel like you do now when you eat. This surgery will not help you maintain your weight loss forever and it's vital that you have realistic expectations. Try and make peace with food. Don't see it as an enemy but as a vital component to health.

I dealt with very little loose skin. Mostly on my neck and tummy. I am now having plastic surgery for it in Mexico which I will post about in the plastic surgery section.

On a side note, I you are considering vsg surgery in Mexico, I would highly recommend it. My care here has been extraordinary.


  

Thanks for sharing I am waiting approval and diet date. Getting excited.

Your stories are amazing I just finished all my prerequisites and my paperwork goes to the insurance company hopefully very soon I would love to just lose 25 lbs to fit into some of my old clothes, but I'll be happier if I lose the whole 80-85 lbs. I am very scared and excited at the same time but it's a good scared.

@[mention=301449]Lucky2Lose[/mention] Thanks for sharing your story... When we constantly fail at weight loss, it can defeat us to the point of complete surrender. I didn't tell many people i was getting the surgery, and you know what... No one even noticed i was losing any weight until i had lost over 70 lbs. Without the tools this surgery gave me, i would have given up... AGAIN!
I didn't know what to expect, i chose the sleeve, because i didn't want to change the plumbing in my body, but i knew i needed something more than the band. Once i started losing, i used my addictive personality for the power of good... lol. And i would push myself to walk more, and challenged myself by buying the pizza for the family and picking it up, bringing it home, and sitting at the same table as my family would eat it.
Everyone has their skeletons in the closet, and everyone has their problems, the only difference is that ours shows on the outside... Give in to the fact that you need help, and then never look back! Embrace that we are living in an age when a surgery like this is possible, and enjoy a win for once!
I challenge you to post an outfit you want to wear, then let's circle the date on the calendar and get this thing going!
We all have it in us, We just need to do something... For US!
I believe in you!

Hi, I am new to this board and have started the process for the gastric sleeve surgery. I came across your post and since I am bipolar 1 . I thought your experience in the process might help me. I went to an information session 2 weeks ago and 2 days ago I had an appointment with the doctor who is the director of the program. Everthing went well but he has a concern about how medications for depression and bipolar will make it difficult for me to reach my goal after surgery. At the end of the visit he took me to his secretary to make the next appointmetns but she asked me to see the social worker before making appointments. I then had my appointment with the soial worker and when the visit concluded she advised me to call her today as the team needed to review my case to see what comes next (don't understand why the dr was ready to give appointments and she kind of put that on hold). I called her today but left a message in her voice mail. She seemed concerned about the medications I take. Did you have any problems with your diagnosis or medications.

Soooo, as someone that had thick gorgeous hair before surgery with no Hair loss, my life is sucking right now. I was losing it since about 5 weeks but now (@ 3 months out) it's horrible! My hair is starting to come out by the handful and there is hair all over my house! It's so embarrassing to shed constantly in public so I've been keeping my hair pulled up in a loose bun most days. Then my salon recommended the Paul Mitchell tea tree line so I got it. It's supposed to help with fallout and thickening. I've not been using it long but it makes my hair look so much fuller! Haven't noticed a difference in the shedding yet, but I've not been using it long enough to give it a chance. Best part is, no chemicals like Nioxin or hair falling out if you stop using it. It smells VERY much like tea tree oil and mint so if that's bothersome, pass on this product. It's also safe for color treated hair. You might wanna try it out if you are noticing thinning. Hope it helps someone who is desperate like me!

I just watch it no matter how I am feeling. It keeps me straight. It was a motivator to have my surgery. I can relate despite being no where near 600lbs, but I keep telling myself that I easily could've been there,

I watch it and sit on my recumbent bike or elliptical and work out while I watch. It amazes me how a few of them can eat large amounts so soon after. I'm 6 months out and have eaten sliders thinking it seems like a lot. "Following dr plan" to get enough Protein and calories, but a sandwich from drive thru.....I can't even look at a biscuit still.

I watch it and sit on my recumbent bike or elliptical and work out while I watch. It amazes me how a few of them can eat large amounts so soon after. I'm 6 months out and have eaten sliders thinking it seems like a lot. "Following dr plan" to get enough Protein and calories, but a sandwich from drive thru.....I can't even look at a biscuit still.

Does anyone else watch this show when they are feeling down or weak?

following

great job you look awesome

What other kinds of liquids are you getting in if you can't drink Water?