Tiffykins

I'm not sure when it happened for me, but I definitely feel "normal". I no longer see myself as obese or overweight. I'm still kind of weirded out that my jeans look so small when I am putting my laundry away. It's weird to get my jeans, and my 12 yr old son's confused when it comes to laundry time. I'm finally not picking up bigger sized clothes, and haven't really been having issues seeing myself so small. I had an "ah ha" moment a couple of months back when a picture was taken with several of my "skinny" girlfriends and I standing side by side. It hit me that I was smaller than all of them, and even though I had never seen it before that picture is what I needed to realize that I was not fat. I still have body image issues. I am so ready for plastics even though I know that mentally, it's not going to make everything "right". I'll find something else to nitpick on my body.

TO GET PREGNANT ! ! ! In all seriousness, I quit making resolutions a couple of years ago. I don't ever stick to them then I feel like a toolbag so I just quit making them. I'm not pregnant again this month so we have just one more month (January) to try to conceive on our own then our insurance will start making me jump through hoops to get fertility treatments. If I disappear from the forum, it's just because I'll be on Clomid, and I'll be a raging psycho, hormone-ridden, lunatic that is trying get knocked up LOL.

Ditto to what Stacy wrote. My period was totally off for the first 6 months, and I threw huge clots too. I think it's a lot of the anesthesia, the heparin/lovenox they give us, plus the insane hormone surge from the rapid weight loss. I promise it does get better. The first couple of months are the most irregular. By the 4 month mark, my periods were lighter, and less crampy. Now, at 18 months out, I'm not 100% regular, my PMS is more intense, I cramp a little more, but my periods are super light except for the first day. The mood swings were killer for me and my family for the first 6 months as well. I was a raging witch on the verge of psychotic breakdowns early out, but it was temporary.

Hydration is key right now. Honestly, I didn't get in Protein for the first 20ish days once I was able to eat. My surgeon told me to not push things that made me puke, and to skip the protein supplements, to chew my Vitamins, and keep pushing fluids. The protein will come in time, but if you can't tolerate the supplements then it's not going to do you any good if you end up puking them up. Try to stay positive, even through the most difficult times, try to make the best of it. I know it's very difficult to not be "negative nelly", but believe me, once you're over the hump, you're going to think back to these tough days and think "That was nothing compared to how great I feel".

No raw fruit, veggies or nuts for 3 months per my guidelines. Plus, I didn't have room for these foods. Grazing is heavily discouraged, and for me, nuts promote grazing so I avoided them like the plague. I ate steamed, cooked, boiled, roasted veggies during the losing stage, but very little amounts only because I honestly didn't have room for them after protein.

You're only 3 weeks out, and doing fabulous. Your body is still recovering from a major surgery, and stall at 3 weeks happens to about 90-95% of WLS patients. It's even normal to see a bit of a gain because the body is holding on to everything you put in it. This is a lifelong change, and remember we didn't get fat overnight, we can't expect to get skinny overnight. Setting outrageous expectations, and trying to gauge your success on the first 3 weeks is going to do nothing positive for you. Continue to focus on Protein, and fluids. Make sure you are getting enough calories to compensate for working out.

Thanks so much ! ! ! I had my 18 month follow up yesterday, and my heart rate was 72 ! ! ! I had them take it 3 times, and all 3 times it came back under 75. I am so elated, and I know it may not seem like a big deal, but I am so grateful. Heart disease runs in my family especially among the women of my family so this is a huge victory in my weight loss journey.

Hi there, and welcome ! ! ! I absolutely loved your intro, and while it tugs at my heart strings to read that you are hurting, I want you to know that I'll be here to support you as long as you come back and post, or keep in touch. I also want you to know that you are NOT a coward by any stretch of the imagination. This is NOT an easy way, I assure you that making the necessary lifestyle changes, and commitment to your long term success will bring it's own struggles that you will you endure. Yes, the forced portion control is great initially, but I can still suck down a 3000 calorie milkshake if I choose to do so. It's tough to avoid the Sonic drive-thru for happy hour, half-price slushies, but I haven't had one in almost 2 years now. I live within 10 miles of 2 fricken Sonics, and regardless of which direction I travel east or west, I run into a damn Sonic. VSG makes things easier, yes, but it's NOT the easy way out. Please keep in touch, reach out to us for support, and do not ever hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Personally, I wasn't willing to do anything to risk complications. And, I knew from all my research that if I "cheated" during my losing stage, changing those habits were going to be more difficult once I was healed, and able to consume more. I know it's kind of hard to believe that you will be able to eat more food further out, but believe me at 18 months I can put away a lot of junk food if I choose to do so. The decision-making process gets more difficult the further out you get, and the more relaxed your sleeve gets. I can eat 2-3 times as much as I could at 2-3 months out. I really had to focus on making new habits to ensure I will be successful long term. Gaining weight with the sleeve is very easy. We can eat around the sleeve, cheat it, and honestly we can fail it. I don't want to sound like I'm harping, but believe me, sticking to the prescribed post-op guidelines will serve you well in the future. I know liquids suck. Enjoy the "honeymoon phase" of restriction, realize that making the best decision will have to be a lifetime effort, but you can live a life of moderation on most foods. It doesn't have to be a "diet", but making the best choices on food definitely gives us the best chance for long term success.

I love, love, love the sweater ! ! ! You look fab, and I'm so proud of you. . .

Yes, I've been dealing with it since the end of February/early March. It's orthostatic hypotension, and I refused medications as well because the body will adjust. The fainting spells were the worse for me. I could handle the brief dizziness, but the nearly fainting/blacking out spells were getting out of hand. Pushing fluids, increased activity, and sodium helped me tremendously. I had to do some form of brisk walking, or something even though I was well below goal, because weight lifting wasn't cutting it. I was already 15lbs below goal when mine started with a loss of 128lbs so my body waited until I was done losing to go through this phase. I pushed Gatorade, and stopped restricting my sodium intake so strictly and that made a world of difference. I'm back to doing one day(40 minutes) of cardio only because cardio is good for our hearts, and 3 days of weight lifting and ab/core workouts. My PCM and surgeon both explained it that the receptors for blood pressure are in our necks, and it takes some time for our bodies to adjust especially when we stand up too quickly. I haven't had any major issues in a couple of months, but will have an occasional "spell"

That's an amazing accomplishment ! ! ! Keep rockin' your sleeve chickee ! ! !

I was literally pissed off at the food restrictions after not having any issues post-vsg. It did improve with time, and now I rarely have issues. I did get some gas after a hollandaise type sauce on a heavy holiday potluck meal we attended, but it at least didn't send me rushing to the potty like it had in months past.

Is it after every meal? Could it be that you've introduced a new food into your menu? I only experienced it a couple of times if I ate too fast.

That's just an icky situation, and I hope y'all get to feeling better soon. I can tell you just what I've read, and what I've experienced. Because most VSG patients are on an acid reducer(ppi) which can increase our risk for stomach bugs/viruses because the PPI neutralizes the acid in our stomachs which kills off bacteria. But, I have not experienced any worse symptoms when I've had a stomach bug post-vsg that I experienced pre-op. I still take my Prilosec, and I usually load up on greek yogurt or activia yogut and extra Probiotics to help my "good bacteria" fight back and get my GI tract back to normal. I'm one of those people that literally hate to vomit. I will do everything within my being to prevent puking. I do not ever take anti-diarrhea medications. I feel like if my body is trying to get that stuff out, it needs to be out of my body so I avoid pepto, immodium etc etc when diarrhea hits. The nausea and gas seem to be the same now as pre-op as well. It's typically the nausea that really hits me hard. I tank up on regular gatorade, and suck on pedialyte freezer pops to ensure I stay hydrated.

Coconut along with other high cellulose veggies can cause bezoars. I still do not eat raw celery like I did pre-op. I'll have it in a salad, but it's just a few little chunks of diced celery. I have had a small slice of german chocolate cake with coconut icing, but it was a tiny amount. I'm not a huge fan of coconut or celery so I don't feel like I'm missing anything. I do eat anything and everything. Nothing is off-limits, certain foods are just in moderation such as rice, Pasta, potatoes, but I eat all of those foods. I rarely eat fried foods, but I avoided them pre-VSG as well. I just don't feel great when I eat fried foods. Here's a thread from a member on the forum that developed a bezoar after eating coconut. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/1550-obstructed-by-a-bezoar-has-anyone-else-heard-of-this/page__p__15098__hl__bezoar__fromsearch__1#entry15098

Gallbladder removal was the easiest surgery I've had. I was up and walking within 20 minutes of being "awake". My recovery was more restricted because my surgeon scoped me, and did an exploratory of my abdomen and removed adhesions and scar tissue that was randomly all in my abdominal cavity. So, I was heavily restricted on activity for 6 weeks. food wise, I was pretty pissed. I had to cut all fat, low fat and fat free dressings, no avocados, no nuts etc etc. The reason I was mad is because I was trying to maintain my loss, but without those foods, I knew I would continue to lose. Plus, the fat-free, low fat has so much more sugar and sodium to compensate for taste. If I ate anything with full fat, I was in the bathroom with explosive diarrhea within 30-45 minutes of eating it. I also could not handle acidic sauces such as tomato, Pasta, marinara, ketchup, barbque sauce. I couldn't eat marinara sauce without pain for a good 4 months. I was finally able to introduce full fat dressings and avocados and nuts back in over 3-4 months time period. Occasionally, if I indulge in something extremely rich like a lobster sauce, or heavy fat cheese dip, then I get some shoulder pain like I had when I was having GB attacks. Best wishes. . .

I'm bawling like a little baby. I"m so happy to hear your update Dee ! ! ! Many congrats, and I know you are going to be a fabulous mommy ! ! !

Thank you all so very much. It was a fabulous night, and one that I won't forget. The best part was the fact that I could nibble on just about everything, and didn't overeat. Here's a couple of pictures from last night: See life does exist post-VSG, and I didn't gain a single solid ounce, nor did I have a hangover. My dessert plate of The Melting Pot: out of what is pictured, I had 2 of the rice krispie treat squares, 2 bananas, 3 of the slivers of strawberries, 1 of the pound cake squares, and 1 little chunk of the cheesecake. . . The chocolate was the milk chocolate, caramel with 151 liquer to flambee oh yeah and some pecans (The Flaming Turtle). It was a 2.5 hour dinner experience for us. I ate 2 apple chunks, 3 broccoli florets and 2 squares of the bread with the cheese fondue, and I ate about 1/4 cup of salad. Then the meat course: I had 4 pieces of duck a la orange, 2 chunks of chicken, 2 chunks of filet mignon, And my HOTTIE of a HUSBAND

Have you had any recent lab work ups done? The reason I ask is because a side effect of being deficient in Vitamin D and Vit D3 is sweet cravings. If you aren't eating enough good nutrient dense foods, and taking good quality Vitamins regularly, you could be deficient. If you have some before pictures, take a glance at them and remember how far you've come and if you want to go back there? ? ? Because eating the junk will land you right back where you were. I think that's my motivation to keep my hand out of the cookie jar.

The first couple of weeks are the most difficult, but so worth it. Your body is healing, your stomach is swollen, been bruised and battered, let it heal. I would recommend getting some decaf herbal teas. They have plenty of flavors that are not sweet. I prefer the chai tea because they have spice. Peppermint tea is my ultimate fave but it might be too sweet for you right now. I know it's tough, but it's giving your stomach time to heal, and your body recover. Keep getting fluids, and try to find something to occupy your mind. The hernia can cause extra discomfort, but you're only 5 days out, and I don't think you are recovering any slower than "most". Plus, everyone has a different pain tolerance so please hang in there, and don't compare your recovery to everyone else on here.

Thank you all so very much ! ! ! I had an amazing night out. We went to the Melting Pot for dinner and dessert, then out to the piano bar and dance club. Many drinks were had, lots of laughs, and a few tears only because my father and share our birthday and it's been 3 years since we've spoken.

We can NOT stretch our stomachs back out to the original size only because there is NOT enough tissue left behind if the surgery is performed properly. Now, if a surgeon leaves some of the fundus (or makes BIG sleeves), then there can be a difference in capacity. Plus, our own anatomy plays a role in how much each individual stomach can hold. Taller men seems to be able to eat more than I can even though our surgeons used the same bougie. I can definitely eat more than 6oz of food at 18 months and so can most others that are 12 months out and more. I can not eat more than 6oz of food in the prescribed 20-30 minute time frame. But, there are several ways to cheat the sleeve. Mushy foods go down super easy, but I still can not consume an entire chicken breast. I can eat 1 drumstick, and 1/2 of a chicken thigh, but that's about it for meat. So, there is minimal sleeve stretching if the surgery is performed correctly, and your surgeon uses the standard 32-40fr bougie size to guide him for making sleeves. To get back to basics, eat Protein first, don't drink with your meals, and start tracking your calories, carbs and protein. I restricted carbs heavily during my losing phase, and it's what worked for me.

Amazing transformation ! ! ! You've done so well, and cheers to many more successes ! ! !