Tiffykins

I never wanted to be this "small". I was perfectly content at my surgeon's goal or 150lbs, I still had boobs, I still had some curves, and all of that is pretty much gone. Plus, I knew people would make a lot of comments on my size if I went below 140. I may only be 5'2", but I have big bones, I have huge knees and ankles, even my elbows are wide so I do look a bit on the "tiny" side especially when I wear short skirts and you can see my huge knee joints. I didn't realize how "small" I looked until a picture of me was taken with a group of my girlfriends, and while I'm only 15-30lbs lighter than them, I appear to be super tiny and it's weird because I didn't see myself "that small" before. It's taken a lot for me to allow my mind to catch up with my body. I still have a distorted view and I am way more critical of my body now than I ever was at 270lbs. I try to convince myself that other early 30 yr old women have this little stomach pouch, and little muffin top, but I HATE IT some days, other days, it doesn't bother me at all. I look at myself in the mirror, and I imagine what I'll look like after plastics, and what can I do to make it better now. Most days, my imperfections do not bother me at all, I look at myself and think "HOLY SHIT, that's a ROCKIN' little body", and other days I am disappointed in how I look, and I'm ready to sign the release forms for major plastic surgery. I keep thinking if I could lose this stomach pouch, little baby fat roll that I'd look perfect, but I would probably slip to a size 00 and that's just ridiculous for my frame size.

I think Dr. Nick in Dallas (major sleeve surgeon) doesn't do leak tests either, and I can't remember if Dr. Cirangle and Jossart are still doing leak tests or not. My surgeon did 3 on me, and the 3rd and final one is what detected the leak after my revision.

Some people's reflux resolve with the sleeve others have more acid issues. I know Dr. Aceves prescribes Nexium for his patients for at least 3-6 months post-sleeve and you can buy it super cheap in Mexicali. The Nexium and other PPIs (Prilosec Protonix and Prevacid) work differently than Pepcid AC(h2 blocker and Zantac). The Nexium will actually stop the acid from overproducing while the Pepcid just treats the symptoms. I'm on Prilosec once daily and haven't had any issues with acid reflux. I could wean off of it, but I really like not being hungry, and don't want to deal with reflux at all. For me, I'd rather take my Prilosec, and go about my day without having to avoid certain foods and no worries of reflux. The sleeve can sometimes worsen reflux and you might have to take a PPI long term. Some surgeon prescribe a h2 blocker instead of a PPI, but most often those patients end up switching over to a true PPI to get resolution of their reflux. Plus, acid can cause false hunger, and the PPI takes care of that issue. I didn't have reflux pre-sleeve, even with my band, I didn't have issues. But, close to 6 weeks out, I was getting this funky, twinge, gnawing in my stomach after I'd eat with the sleeve. After talking to several sleeve veterans, they said it could be false hunger from acid, went to my surgeon, got on Prilosec and never had any other issues.

I'm skipping workouts this Wednesday. I bowl on Wednesday morning, and I just won't have time today. One of the wives in my husband's unit delivered her baby yesterday and her husband is deployed. As key spouse (I stay in touch with all the spouses when their husbands deploy or go remote for an extended amount of time), I need to go by and see her. Plus, I'm cooking food for her to last her a week or so since she has a 1 yr old son and now a newborn to care for while her husband is deployed. I just have too much to do today. So, I'll be hitting it again tomorrow and Friday to get in my 4 days this week.

If you're on a PPI, you know that the calcium carbonate in Viactiv is essentially not being absorbed even with food in your stomach? If you're not on a PPI or acid reducer, you might be absorbing some of the calcium, but calcium carbonate is pretty useless for bariatric patients bc of the reduced amount of acid in the stomach. Carbonate needs an acidic environment to be truly absorbed, and it's not recommended to be used by bariatric patients. My PCM doesn't even recommend carbonate for his "normal" patients, he thinks it's a true waste, and a majority of his patients are retired military and retired military spouses, so he has a large patient ratio in their 50s-80s, and he told me that he wishes that carbonate wasn't even marketed because of all the "bone" issues he sees especially from women in their 60s and 70s even though they thought they were getting in enough calcium via these type of a OTC formulations.

So, I thought I would update this with my choice: I ordered some samples of Celebrate calcium citrate, and I'm IN LOVE ! ! ! They sent me 6 samples all of the chewable varieties based on what I wrote in their comment section. Best thing is that I only have to take 2 per day to get my 1000mg of Calcium Citrate, plus the one I've chosen have Vit D and Magnesium. These things taste like those "old school" sweettarts, no grit, they are a wafer type, but I bit into it, and it crumbled and dissolved in my mouth with minimal chewing. I'm placing my order tonight, and so very excited to be getting back on the Calcium bandwagon. The Cherry Tart is pretty rocking in the Calcium Plus 500, and I had the Berries and Cream in the Calcium Plus tasted great as well(which I would have to take 3 of those) so I'm sticking to the Calcium Plus 500 chewables. I'm actually ordering this one because it'll be more than a 90 day supply for me since I'll only taking 2 of these. https://www.celebratevitamins.com/shop/mix-match-vitamins/calcium-plus-packages/calcium-plus-500-package-b-90-day.html You can order samples of their products by filling out this form. I'm content with my Multivitamin and indicated that on their form so they sent me samples of all their chewable calcium after I told them I didn't want to take 6 pills/chewies a day to hit 1000mg ! ! ! http://www.celebratevitamins.com/component/chronocontact/?chronoformname=sample Thanks for all the suggestions. I can easily take 1 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon and slam my multivitamin at night before bed.

Had zero fat guidelines to follow, and only worried about carbs/protein during my losing stage. The only low-fat/fat free food I ate was non-fat greek plain yogurt, and I ate 2% cheese because I developed slight lactose intolerance post-sleeve. I ate lean meats, and really didn't eat a lot of fat-laden foods even during my losing stage, and I super low carbed it with no more than 30gr of carbs per day. Our bodies need fat, and when I was eating such small quantities, my nutritionists (all 3 of them) agreed along with my surgeon that as long as I stuck with lean meats, green veggies, that I would be fine. I guess it worked. I never had cholesterol issues pre-op even at 270lbs, but my bad cholesterol dropped into even more "normal range" and my good cholesterol went up because I started eating lean fish even though I hated it pre-op, but my surgeon insisted I at least try to incorporate it 3-4 times a week. When I lost my gallbladder, I had to go non/low fat, and despised it because I hated the fat that I could taste the additional sugar/sodium added to it. But, once my gallblader came out (8months post-sleeve), I had no choice. I couldn't eat a lot of my normal foods, and I felt like crap.

You just have to do what is best for you. For me, I'd rather tell people than have them assuming and talking crap about me behind my back. I do understand the sensitivity of the matter, but because of my personality, I'm a blunt, brutally honest person, and would rather cut them off before they had a chance to dig the knife deep in my back.

It's not truly the surgery that causes the hair loss. No amount of Protein, Vitamins, fluids, magic pills will guarantee you won't lose hair. I have not met one sleeve patient that didn't endure some sort of big "shedding" some lasts longer than others. Here's other threads that discuss the topic of hair loss http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/9817-the-hair-diaries/page__p__85627__hl__+hair++diaries__fromsearch__1#entry85627 http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/9393-hair-today-hair-tomarrow/page__p__83200__hl__+hair++loss__fromsearch__1#entry83200 The 2nd topic link I posted has actual medical articles and explanations to why we experience hair loss. Yes, part of it is related to the drastic dietary change, and lack of protein in the beginning, but there are patients that got in their required protein grams plus and they lost hair longer and more than I did and I didn't get in my protein until I was 6 weeks out. I even lost hair after my gallbladder surgery in February 8 months post sleeve, and my hair had finally stopped falling out 2 months prior.

Connie, you're doing great. I bought the ankle weights to use when all I could do was walk. It really helped ! ! ! Keep up the great work ! ! !

Squat up against a wall keeping your back flat against the wall. You will feel the burn in your quads, hams and butt, but the key is to roll just like you would if you were on the floor except it doesn't stress your neck, and I tilt my pelvis up to intensify the move and target the lower ab muscles. It really works, and I"ve been doing them for a long time. I attribute most of my belly being gone because of this move and Hip Hop Abs. All I did today was 75 standup crunches, and some skull crushers. I walked the mall for 2 hours today in search of shoes to match my dress for Saturday's party. Which I just found out that we're going in a stretch limo to party after the party in Pensacola ! ! ! WOOT WOOT I can't wait. . .

Today is my volunteer day on base so I'll be working out this afternoon. I have a couple of errands to run, and we're going to be moving a bunch of merchandise around today. I'll be checking in after 2 or 3 this afternoon once I get home and into workout mode ! ! !

Not every surgeon uses a drain. Mine doesn't unless there are complications. I've had 4 different drains placed, and honestly they are painless. Cumbersome, yes, but painless. I taped mine to my belly with paper tape, and tucked them in my super loose panties so they weren't "hanging" off of me.

We are definitely sleeve sisters because we share so many attributes. I can relate to your post so much, but let me just say that this the best thing you can do for your future health ! ! ! You're going to do fabulous, I'll be waiting for that text or phone call to let me know you're okay and in recovery. Remember to walk, walk, walk and REST when your body says it needs to REST ! ! ! Prayers and good thoughts for an uneventful surgery, and smooth recovery.

WOOHOO I'm so proud of us ! ! ! Thanks for joining me. . . My plan for tomorrow is to do 75 standup crunches, 50 leg lifts (each leg), and do some really focused leg exercises. I think I donated my weighted ball so I'm in the market for another one. I pulled the 5, 8 and 10 pound dumbbells out of the garage, and started with 5s today, definitely bumping up to the 8s tomorrow because the 5s weren't enough.

WOOHOO I'm so proud of us ! ! ! Thanks for joining me. . . My plan for tomorrow is to do 75 standup crunches, 50 leg lifts (each leg), and do some really focused leg exercises. I think I donated my weighted ball so I'm in the market for another one. I pulled the 5, 8 and 10 pound dumbbells out of the garage, and started with 5s today, definitely bumping up to the 8s tomorrow because the 5s weren't enough.

WOOHOO I'm so proud of us ! ! ! Thanks for joining me. . . My plan for tomorrow is to do 75 standup crunches, 50 leg lifts (each leg), and do some really focused leg exercises. I think I donated my weighted ball so I'm in the market for another one. I pulled the 5, 8 and 10 pound dumbbells out of the garage, and started with 5s today, definitely bumping up to the 8s tomorrow because the 5s weren't enough.

Remember the story of the Tortoise and the Hare? ? ? Yes, that is us. I can only imagine how frustrated you must be, but DO NOT give up on yourself or your sleeve. I also give the same advice when someone goes through a stall, and that is to shake things up a bit. Add 50-100 calories a day for a week and see how you feel and if the scale moves. Hang in there, and like I said don't give in to those mind games of failure, or thinking you're not going to make it ! ! ! You can and you will.

Can I just try to reassure you that eating out is not that big of a deal? ? ? Seriously, I eat out 2-4 times per week and have been for over a year now and have only been questioned 1 time by a server and I was barely 6 weeks out and only on super soft mushies. I ordered chili at Chili's and the server thought something was wrong, questioned me a couple of times, and I let her know it was fabulous, and I ate a late lunch. When we don't make a big deal about it, others follow suit. All my girlfriends know about my surgery, but I also eat out with new ladies every month at different functions, and not once has anyone said anything, or mentioned that I'm not eating enough. Just stick with very basic foods, and ask for a to-go box before you start eating. That way once the server walks off, you can scoop the majority of the food into the to-go box, and they won't be any wiser to "how much" you did or didn't eat. There are ways to make it less obvious, but I promise if you just act nonchalant about it, others won't even mention your eating behaviors.

For me, I could tell within 2 bites of something. If I got the slightest hint of discomfort or uneasiness, I'd rip that food right off my menu, and not try it for a couple of weeks. For me, it never took long, or a large quantity of the offensive food for me to quit eating it.

My girls literally look like deflated water balloons. I went from a 40/42 D/DD depending on the bra, and right now I'm barely a 32B. When I had my annual well woman, my doc said "wow, I don't think I've ever seen breasts with no fat." Talk about disheartening ! ! ! I'm planning on a boob job, and I checked out those "miraculous" bras from Victoria Secrets, and honestly at 50 bucks a pop, they better make my boobs phenomenal. I have some reward cards from them that go into effect on 1 December so I might pick one up later in the week. I have more skin than anything, and another thing I've noticed is that I have extra skin under my arms, it's not fat, it's extra skin and it's annoying. So, I'm hoping when I go for my consult they can suggest something for that area as well.

I use these Vitamins from them, and have for over 2 years now. http://www.gnc.com/p...oductId=2874412 The Optimum whey Protein powder in extreme chocolate is the only one I could ever tolerate taste and texture wise. http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3267252

Yep, I can spot a bariatric patient pretty easily. For me, it's probably easier since I've been researching WLS for well over 5 years. Plus, 5 of my family members have had WLS, I've had 2 myself, and numerous friends that have had one of the WLS. Pushing food around the plate, eating slow, not drinking before, during and after a meal is always a dead giveaway. I don't look for it, but it's kind of hard when I've been through 2 surgeries, and have so many close friends and family members that have had WLS. Usually the tell tale signs are drastic changes in eating habits, boob shrinkage for women, and face shrinkage is usually a good give away. If someone has been out a couple of years, I can usually tell by their arms. I'm really open about my surgery, and most women tell me " I would have never guessed you were obese and had surgery". My reply is always the same " the difference is you're seeing me with clothes on!" It always makes for a good laugh. I have to admit that I don't think I "look" like I've had surgery and dropped 145lbs. I do not wear Spanx or any other concealers, I have flabby arms, but I have a major aversion to bare underarms, and don't wear sleeveless or tank tops at all. It kind of skeeves me out to see women armpits. Even those that I've shown my arms, and stomach to don't think it looks bad, and they are being genuine. Only one person has ever said anything negative about my stomach, and she had VSG as well. All she said was " ohhhh I'd have to get rid of that, and I hope mine looks better." My reply was "well I'll take this stomach over the enormous gut I had pre-op, and my body will recover, it isn't like I'm going to be posing for Playboy anytime in this lifetime."

WOOT WOOT Sleeve4Me Great Job ! ! ! I did a 30 minute mini-workout. I did leg lifts, standing crunches, squats, lunges, skull crushers and biceps reps. I did a few moves from the Hip Hop abs that I have memorized because I sent my DVD set to my bestie in Virginia. I feel so fabulous, and ran the vacuum in the living room all before 7:45am ! ! ! Now to tackle the laundry. . . Day 1 down ! ! ! Plus, I found on FitTV a 30 minute cardio workout that starts at 7am, and will probably do that one on my cardio day later in the week. My calves and thighs are screaming at me. coffee and Breakfast time ! ! !