NovaLuna

I had low standards lol. For me I was excited to fit into non plus sized clothing (I used to be a 34 in US womens jeans. I'm now a 12), when I had my blood pressure taken at the doctors office I wanted them to be able to take it on my upper arm like a normal person instead of having it on my wrist because it didn't fit my upper arm, when I had to do tests at the doctor's I was looking forward to not having to ask for a plus sized gown anymore, to being able to fit into the back seat of a car again (the seat belt in the back seats used to never fit me. it made family road trips difficult), to being able to sit in a booth at a restaurant again, to not get out of breath walking for more than 5 minutes, etc. Those were all the things I looked forward to most. And I've met all of those goals.

I had low standards lol. For me I was excited to fit into non plus sized clothing (I used to be a 34 in US womens jeans. I'm now a 12), when I had my blood pressure taken at the doctors office I wanted them to be able to take it on my upper arm like a normal person instead of having it on my wrist because it didn't fit my upper arm, when I had to do tests at the doctor's I was looking forward to not having to ask for a plus sized gown anymore, to being able to fit into the back seat of a car again (the seat belt in the back seats used to never fit me. it made family road trips difficult), to being able to sit in a booth at a restaurant again, to not get out of breath walking for more than 5 minutes, etc. Those were all the things I looked forward to most. And I've met all of those goals.

I had low standards lol. For me I was excited to fit into non plus sized clothing (I used to be a 34 in US womens jeans. I'm now a 12), when I had my blood pressure taken at the doctors office I wanted them to be able to take it on my upper arm like a normal person instead of having it on my wrist because it didn't fit my upper arm, when I had to do tests at the doctor's I was looking forward to not having to ask for a plus sized gown anymore, to being able to fit into the back seat of a car again (the seat belt in the back seats used to never fit me. it made family road trips difficult), to being able to sit in a booth at a restaurant again, to not get out of breath walking for more than 5 minutes, etc. Those were all the things I looked forward to most. And I've met all of those goals.

I had low standards lol. For me I was excited to fit into non plus sized clothing (I used to be a 34 in US womens jeans. I'm now a 12), when I had my blood pressure taken at the doctors office I wanted them to be able to take it on my upper arm like a normal person instead of having it on my wrist because it didn't fit my upper arm, when I had to do tests at the doctor's I was looking forward to not having to ask for a plus sized gown anymore, to being able to fit into the back seat of a car again (the seat belt in the back seats used to never fit me. it made family road trips difficult), to being able to sit in a booth at a restaurant again, to not get out of breath walking for more than 5 minutes, etc. Those were all the things I looked forward to most. And I've met all of those goals.

I had low standards lol. For me I was excited to fit into non plus sized clothing (I used to be a 34 in US womens jeans. I'm now a 12), when I had my blood pressure taken at the doctors office I wanted them to be able to take it on my upper arm like a normal person instead of having it on my wrist because it didn't fit my upper arm, when I had to do tests at the doctor's I was looking forward to not having to ask for a plus sized gown anymore, to being able to fit into the back seat of a car again (the seat belt in the back seats used to never fit me. it made family road trips difficult), to being able to sit in a booth at a restaurant again, to not get out of breath walking for more than 5 minutes, etc. Those were all the things I looked forward to most. And I've met all of those goals.

I knew surgery was the only choice for me when my younger sister gave birth to her second daughter in February 2019. I was 389 pounds and my health had only been declining as the years passed. When I first held my niece I was hit with the realization that if I didn't do something then I wouldn't be around to watch her grow up. It broke my heart. I was only 31 at the time (I just turned 34 last month) and I was absolutely sure that I'd be dead before I turned 40 if things didn't change. I'd done numerous diets over the years and nothing worked so surgery was really the only option for me if I wanted to be around to watch her grow up as I'd been able to watch her sister grow up. It's one of the best decisions that I ever made for myself. And, since I made that choice, and made that change, my sister has given me my first nephew and my brother gave me another niece. I get to watch all three of my nieces (ages 12, 2, and 17 months) and my nephew (age 9 months) grow up without having to worry that I'm not going to be around for them. My family has always been my strength and has always helped pull me through the worst times of my life and the idea of not being around to watch the youngest family members grow up into these amazing and complex little people were what pushed me into making the choice for surgery. I'm grateful every day that I made that choice.

Congrats on your almost one year surgiversary! And you're close to your goal already! It took me 18 months and 1 day to get to my goal weight lol, but I did get there (though I'm actually trying to lose another couple pounds if I can, before I hit maintenance. I want to get to 175 or even 170 if I can). Snacking, I think is something many people have issues with (I know I do). Trying to talk yourself out of eating something you know you shouldn't, but you really want is hard and sometimes I give in to those cravings (generally this is during my period though, when I'm most miserable lol). I'm sure you'll reach your goal very soon at the rate you're going!

I don't think I had a cookie until I was something like 8 months out. And since I developed a wheat allergy after my surgery it was a gluten free cookie, which made me iffy on if I would like it but I've tried several gluten free Cookies in the 10 months since I first tried one and I've liked them all. I maybe have 2 cookies a week (i.e 2 days a week I'll eat one cookie, unless it's the wafer cookies, then I eat 2). Personally, if you really can't avoid the cookie craving so early on maybe try buying a Protein cookie. Then at least it'd be worth it and you'd get protein out of it.

I knew surgery was the only choice for me when my younger sister gave birth to her second daughter in February 2019. I was 389 pounds and my health had only been declining as the years passed. When I first held my niece I was hit with the realization that if I didn't do something then I wouldn't be around to watch her grow up. It broke my heart. I was only 31 at the time (I just turned 34 last month) and I was absolutely sure that I'd be dead before I turned 40 if things didn't change. I'd done numerous diets over the years and nothing worked so surgery was really the only option for me if I wanted to be around to watch her grow up as I'd been able to watch her sister grow up. It's one of the best decisions that I ever made for myself. And, since I made that choice, and made that change, my sister has given me my first nephew and my brother gave me another niece. I get to watch all three of my nieces (ages 12, 2, and 17 months) and my nephew (age 9 months) grow up without having to worry that I'm not going to be around for them. My family has always been my strength and has always helped pull me through the worst times of my life and the idea of not being around to watch the youngest family members grow up into these amazing and complex little people were what pushed me into making the choice for surgery. I'm grateful every day that I made that choice.

I don't think I had a cookie until I was something like 8 months out. And since I developed a wheat allergy after my surgery it was a gluten free cookie, which made me iffy on if I would like it but I've tried several gluten free Cookies in the 10 months since I first tried one and I've liked them all. I maybe have 2 cookies a week (i.e 2 days a week I'll eat one cookie, unless it's the wafer cookies, then I eat 2). Personally, if you really can't avoid the cookie craving so early on maybe try buying a Protein cookie. Then at least it'd be worth it and you'd get protein out of it.

I don't think I had a cookie until I was something like 8 months out. And since I developed a wheat allergy after my surgery it was a gluten free cookie, which made me iffy on if I would like it but I've tried several gluten free Cookies in the 10 months since I first tried one and I've liked them all. I maybe have 2 cookies a week (i.e 2 days a week I'll eat one cookie, unless it's the wafer cookies, then I eat 2). Personally, if you really can't avoid the cookie craving so early on maybe try buying a Protein cookie. Then at least it'd be worth it and you'd get protein out of it.

I hit the next goal!

Down 101 lbs. 5 months post sleeve, 1 week post Gall Bladder removal ( Cholecystectomy).

HW 264
SW 235
CW 163
GW 130-145

For me, it was 18 months and 1 day to reach my goal weight. It's different for everyone though. It depends a lot on 1. how much you have to lose and 2. how fast your weight loss is. My weight loss is very slow due to hypothyroidism and I've had near constant stalls along my journey. However, I was still able to get to my personal goal weight. And I'm even passed it by a pound. If I hit maintenance any time soon, I'd be okay where I'm at now. However, now that I've reached goal I think it'd be nice to see 175 or even 170, but if I don't get there, I'd be alright with that.

I am 4 months post surgery and this morning I am 106lbs down!!! I fit in a seat belt again, I can tie my shoes, I had to move my seat up in my car, I went from a size 28 jeans to a now 18!!! I am feeling amazing, I had no issues whatsoever!!! Seriously the best decision of my life!! Im living again
Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I just checked and yes, it is whey Protein. It also calls to make it with milk so I've been using about 50-70% skim milk and a little Water. I didn't think about a lactose issue. I'll have to try mixing it with water only and see how that goes. If it's still giving me trouble then I'll give a different type of Protein Powder a shot.
Well today ends week one of the post-op liquid diet. Now that I'm reading and hearing other people saying they came off onto puree after a week I'm a little less worried. Everything online says 2 weeks post-op but to me that just seems excessively cautious. Maybe for slow healers or people having a lot of struggles with adapting to the surgery. For me I feel fine in every way minus the desire for something more. I was just worried if I started trying puree foods if it was going to stretch my stomach or screw me over somehow. I didn't want to ruin the surgery early on or cause some kind of damage to myself.
I wish I had regular check-ups with the surgical team to give me advice and updates on what I could try or do but I don't. In Canada since Healthcare is free and I didn't have to come out of pocket for this or use insurance you don't get the same access to treatment. My first follow-up is a month after surgery and they'll likely just ask for my progress and if I have any concerns or major issues. My first follow-up with the dietician is also about a month away. They never gave me any information about support groups I could go to or how to meet others in my local area who are having surgery to kind of have a buddy system like they do in other addiction groups. So it's kind of free sailing here and having to figure it out on my own.

So, the entire month of April had been terrible for me. I've been dealing with a really bad osteoarthritis flare since April 5th so I only lost 1 pound the entire month due to inflammation issues and have been in constant pain since then. So, in the wee hours of this morning when I stepped on the scale I, honestly, wasn't expecting it to tell me I'd lost a pound because my weight keeps fluctuating between 190-193 and had done that the entire month of April. So I was shocked to see 189.2 on the scale! I stepped off the scale and then stepped back on it and it popped back up. I moved the scale and stepped back on it and, again, it said 189.2 for the third time. I didn't believe it at first lol (I think moved the scale like 5 times and checked it 6 or 7). But it's official! I can finally say that I've lost 200 pounds! That's a HUGE milestone for me! I have less than 10 pounds to go to get to my goal weight! And that just honestly blows my mind! I've been so miserable the last month due to the stupid flare, but seeing 189 on my scale put a huge smile on my face! It made my day! I just wanted to share my milestone...

I've heard a few people who had the sleeve saying that they stopped losing weight early on. Sorry that you're going through that! I've had pretty slow weight loss myself when I compare myself to others due to my hypothyroidism and not being able to really exercise due to my back injuries and arthritis, but I was still recently able to get to my goal weight even after multiple really long stalls throughout my journey including the most recent one being 47 days long. If you look into revision, other than gastric bypass, you could also see if your insurance will cover the duodenal switch or loop duodenal switch surgery and if you can find a surgeon who will perform it. The sleeve is literally the first part of the surgery, they just add the intestinal bypass portion and you statistically lose the most weight with the DS. So it's an option to look into. I hope you can either find something that will work to pick your weight loss back up or a revision that'll work for you. I'm so sorry you're struggling and I hope that things work out for you.

Hey all,
I was sleeved a little over a year ago.
alittle about me, surgery day I weighed in at 386. I’m 6’3” and prior to the sleeve I was in the gym 5 days a week most weeks.

I’ve been the same weight since 5 months post op, currently weighed in at 315.No matter what I do, more intense workout, sleeve reset, eating more Protein, more Water, more greens. ( all those were doctor suggestions). Nothing seems to work, kinda like before I even had surgery. Even got to the point where both the surgeons nurse practitioner has said quote “ I don’t have any answers for you”. The surgeon suggest the sleeve reset because he said I had to be over eating. Which I don’t. I eat like a bird most days
i got a second opinion 2 months ago and she put me on a 1600 calorie diet, she thought I was under eating and I struggle to eat 1600 calories.
my worst fear was when getting the surgery was it wouldn’t be effective and I understand that I’ve lost like 70lbs. That’s all fine and grand I feel better but I’m only 10 lbs from my lowest weight I achieved on my own and that is extremely disappointing to me. I was told by the surgeon prior to surgery that the weight would melt because I was already active quite a bit.
I’ve contemplated getting it revised to the bypass but with the slim success of the sleeve I’m quite reluctant to go get another procedure.

im really getting to the point of not caring anymore. The doctors all say my labs are good, no thyroid problems or anything like that.
im at a loss, this was supposed to be a nice tool to use to change my life and it just seems like it broke early.
thanks for reading and letting me vent
Matt

Ok ready to post my final before and after photos. Before is around 350lbs, 3 or 4xl shirt. My highest ever confirmed weight was 356 and this was very close to that date in 2014. The other is today, wearing a size medium shirt. Surgery was June 12, 2020, weight 334lbs, 6’4” BMI 40. I hit this weight (193) about 10 months post op and have been maintaining fairly evenly since (up a couple down a couple etc). For anyone on the fence about surgery, do your research but don’t let the scary stories you read here overwhelm you or give you a false sense of their frequency. Yes, bad things can and do happen in any endeavor. No one has a crystal ball, but the statistics of health issues from being obese and the statistics of coming through gastric surgery safely and enjoying positive results speak for themselves. I never dreamed I would feel this good again. I didn’t even think I was that fat…. Just a “big guy.” Looking back at old photos I’m mortified. Looking forward I’m so optimistic and full of life and joy. I feel like this is the “me” that has always been in there, hiding, hoping, waiting to come out. What “you” do you have inside longing to come out and face the world?

Congrats on your weight loss so far! You're doing great!
1) Yes, I get hiccups sometimes when I eat too fast. It hurts! 😢 (my surgery has a VSG stomach. Just with the intestinal bypass bit added that makes it the Loop DS)
2) I do stagger sometimes, but I also have arthritis in my knees, hips, and back so I always attribute any staggering to that. But, honestly, you've lost more than 25% of your weight. As the above poster mentioned, your center of gravity may be a bit off and you should be able to adjust over time.
3) Well, I was a 34 in jeans when I was at my highest weight (389 pounds) and my shirts were 6xl. I had clothing from about 15 years before when I was a 26 in jeans and some shirts from high school that ranged from 3xl-4xl so I put off buying clothes for quite a while lol. I went from those 26 jeans straight into an 18 (that I luckily didn't have to buy because my Mom wore this size so she just gave me a few of her pants). I also bought a few xl shirts around that time too. They were all on sale lol. Then I waited and bought 14's when the 18's were sliding off. I also bought a bunch of shirts since I figured I was close to my goal weight at the time so I bought a bunch of larges. I'm now in a size 12 in jeans and wear both medium or large shirts depending on the fit. Personally, I'd say buy a few things off the clearance rack if you can't stand how big your clothes are, but since you'll probably grow out of them pretty fast, don't buy a whole lot.

The funny thing is that I'm a reader so I brought a ton of books to the hospital, but I didn't read a single one lol. I walked the halls and watched GSN (Game Show Network. For some reason whenever I'm hospitalized that's the station the TV stays on lol. I don't even watch TV at home! 😂). But yeah, I was exhausted after surgery, but forced myself to walk the halls every 45 minutes to an hour to work the gas out. I got complimented by the nurses for walking so much lol. I didn't feel like doing much else so I just watched TV and walked.

The funny thing is that I'm a reader so I brought a ton of books to the hospital, but I didn't read a single one lol. I walked the halls and watched GSN (Game Show Network. For some reason whenever I'm hospitalized that's the station the TV stays on lol. I don't even watch TV at home! 😂). But yeah, I was exhausted after surgery, but forced myself to walk the halls every 45 minutes to an hour to work the gas out. I got complimented by the nurses for walking so much lol. I didn't feel like doing much else so I just watched TV and walked.

I had the gastric sleeve surgery on December 21, 2016 and lost over a hundred pounds in about five months, then a few more, bringing me from 315 pre-surgery to 196 at my best. It was amazing, it was like magic. I posted here a lot and my whole story can be found in my profile.
Then I had a series of personal setbacks including but not limited to losing my job, having a child diagnosed with a medical issue, starting my own business and then losing my own business. Along the way I have ballooned up to, as of today, 296 pounds. I'm horrified and ashamed of myself. I worked so hard and was doing so well, and I completely blew it.
I've been feeling that way for a while, and finally decided to do something about it - I met with my original surgeon today and am officially on board for revision surgery. Under my old insurance I had to wait 6 months from my first consultation, under my new insurance it's only 3 months so he said it should be in early November. He doesn't know which type of revision they will need to do, he said they need to do an endoscopy to see if the original sleeve is still in good condition or if it's stretched out (I think he used the term "dilated"). If it's stretched they can re-sleeve. If it's not they would need to do the bypass. I've had GERD for over 10 years and I've heard the bypass cures it so I wouldn't mind.
I know what I need to do because I've done it before. I also know what I need to watch out for because I screwed up before. Part of the pre-surgical requirements is to speak with a psychologist, but I think I'll find one and start going regularly to help me work through a lot of the issues that caused me to be in this position again.
I didn't want to have to re-take this journey but I'm excited to be back on the path to recovery.

Sorry they had to open you up, but your hospital stay was the same as mine despite that. I also stayed three days. I hope your recovery continues to go well and I wish you the best!

My surgery involves a VSG stomach (just with the intestinal bypass bit in addition). I'll be 18 months post-op tomorrow. I was concerned with several things leading up to my surgery, but everything has worked out well and, honestly, like many, I just wish I'd done it sooner.
1) How long will we struggle to drink Water?
I struggled the most with my Fluid intake. I was really bad at it and I don't remember how long it took until I was getting in what I was supposed to, but it's not as bad as you're probably imagining.
2) I've seen that some people say they will almost always vomit after eating or drinking?
I've never vomited once since my surgery. Nausea? Yep. Vomiting? Nope.
3) Will I be able to swallow the meds?
I can't really help you with that as I have EOE and couldn't swallow pills BEFORE my surgery and still can't swallow them after surgery (EOE is an auto-immune disorder that can cause dysphagia. I can't swallow pills because I choke on them. Every damn time since I before I was even officially diagnosed 5 years ago. I, quite literally, haven't been able to swallow pills in half a decade)
4) Will we feel tired and impaired due to the limited food and Water we can take?
You'll feel tired because you had surgery! I've had surgery three times in my life (two other times then the WLS) and exhaustion is a normal symptom after. You'll be fine after a few weeks. I think it was about 3 for me.
5) I was made to understand from the doc that dumping isn't common for the gastric sleeve.
It's very uncommon for the sleeve. I mean, it's not impossible, but it's more likely you'll just stumble onto a food you don't tolerate well. It likely won't be full on dumping syndrome, but maybe nausea or stomach upset. But then, there are some who have no issues whatsoever. You may be one of those.
6) I currently do not have GERD, but is this something I should expect to occur after the surgery?
My EOE causes acid issues, but only at night. I had that before my surgery. After the surgery I noticed that I had LESS issue with acid. I take one antacid a day verses the two I used to take before my surgery. Only about 30% of people have GERD issues. That's 3/10. If you look at it like that, then your odds are that you may have no GERD issues at all. I mean, it can happen, but there's a 70% chance that you'll be fine.
I hope this helps, and I wish you the best!