deedee

It does get better, at least it did for me. The month or two it was because it was all new to me and I spent a lot of time thinking about and planning what I would/could eat. Like renebeau said, once I got "in the groove," I became less obsessive. Good luck through this phase!

I've had this happen to me twice now since surgery almost 6 months ago, but I always had bad cramps, just not like this. My acne hasn't been any worse since surgery, but I always (and continue) to have breakouts at different points in my cycle.

This is just wonderful. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Jenn, it's hard not to feel down when the scale moves up. So I weighed the exact same weight everyday last week and again yesterday. I was excited to weigh this morning thinking I did so well in the eating/exercise department over the weekend and yesterday that there should be some movement. Well, the scale moved up 1.5 pounds today! It sucks, but I'll get over it. Eventually the scale will move in the correct direction, we just need to make sure we are following our programs and the weight will come off. Good luck this week, I'll be thinking extra positive thoughts for you!

Welcome Christabel! I wish you luck today at your appointment and hope your insurance approval process goes smoothly. My surgeon too feels this is the best wls option and wishes more insurance companies would cover it. Keep us posted on how things go today.

For me there was no test. I sat down with the psychologist and we talked. I gave her the paper explaining what needed to be in her report to my surgeon and after we talked some she looked back over the surgeon's questions to make sure she had enough information to write her report. I ended up staying with her and attending regular therapy for the rest of my pre-op journey and immediate post-op journey. It was wonderful and I'd love to go back, just need to figure out how to fit it into my schedule. Good luck!

You will be in my prayers...good luck! Update when you can.

I've had this problem too, but always assumed it was because I ate too fast/too much because I waited too long to eat. My hair started coming out around 2.5 months post-op and started coming out a lot less by about 4.5 months post-op. Now at almost 6 months post-op, it's still coming out a bit, but not bad at all. I guess we're all just different.

I am so glad you are doing better Lucy! Congratulations on the weight loss too! Keep us posted.

I take a Prevacid solutab (melts in your mouth on your tongue). My surgeon prescribed 60 days initially, and I tried to go off of it when I ran out. Within a week, my heartburn was back and I felt awful. I had a new prescription called in and have no immediate plans to go off until this prescription is out...I really need to do some more reading about this pill.

Welcome to VST! I was considered "light weight," but my bmi was 39.6. I know I've read of people who had vsg at bmi's between 30-35, but cannot remember if they were revision surgeries or not. I believe most have gone to surgeons in Mexico though...wish I had specifics to give to you. Good luck on your journey! I also started looking at the band first and so glad I discovered the sleeve.

Chancie CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! You have done so very awesome! I'm sure at your 6 month mark you surpassed my goal. Carolyn, I love the measurements as well. It helps remind me/refocus me on the fact I did this for my health. With my current waist/hip measurements I am FINALLY in the "low risk" category for heart disease, diabetes, etc. I think bmi could also be a good reference point (mine is always posted in my ticker). I hope you had a good afternoon at the gym!

Good luck with everything. Glad you're on your way!

Good idea on the "survey says," out of that bunch I liked Chike the best.

Great attitude! The thing about weighing in on your PMS week is the next appointment will WOW them. Good job on the daily exercise. I too consider myself not the fastest loser (but not a slow loser), but feel it would have been a much slower process if I didn't incorporate exercise from the get go.

What a wonderful blog entry. Thank you for sharing all you are doing/learning. I also have never kept a journal (successfully) in my life until now with this blog. Just post when you feel you have something to share. Good luck on continued success!

Thanks ladies for the words of encouragement! I soaked in the tub last night and this morning I wasn't sore, but by the end of the workday, I noticed pain settling between my shoulder blades. Definitely planning on sticking to the current routine...don't want to stress my body out any more.

Happy Monday!! Well, I'm still 150 pounds, same as last Monday. I've weighed exactly the same weight every morning...but on the positive side, I haven't gained. I really need to get it together, I'm so close to goal and would love to get there by my 6 month mark-February 4. On another positive note, yesterday I decided to take my measurements even though it had only been 2 weeks and I have now met all of my measurement goals. Waist 30" down from 43" on the morning of surgery Hips 38" down from 51" on the morning of surgery Chest 36" down from 45.5" on the morning of surgery (my goal was 38") That's a total of 35.5" (I think)!!!

Congratulations Charity!!!!!! That is such a great accomplishment!

Glad to read that you're doing better today. I had similar issues with getting in my protein, it got so much better when I was able to have soft/mushy foods. Just hang in there and do your best!

I lost 47 pounds from the day of my surgery to 3 months post-op and that was with 3-5 days a week of exercise (1 hour a day). It definitely slowed down from that point for me (although I kicked up my exercise to 5-6 days)...I'm almost 6 months out and have only lost 25 pounds in these last 3 months, but I'll take it for sure!

I tap dance one day a week (not the most strenuous workout, but so much fun!) and Jazzercise 4 days a week (mostly cardio with light weights and core work). I usually take off Fridays and try to walk/Wii Fit on Sundays. I also try to use my ab ball a few times each week. As for lose skin, mine is pretty bad. Just today in a dressing room they had four mirrors in the room and I got a wonderful look at my flapping butt and thighs...I started to giggle because of how bad it looked flopping all different directions (I started to kick and hop to see just how bad it was)...I'm sure they thought I was crazy. Some day I'll add more strength training into my workouts and hopefully that will help.

I am a week shy of 6 months post-op. I've always had a difficult time with scarring and these vsg scars are no different. They are still very evident (dark) and I'm prepared to not have them ever go away completely. Just for some background...I had a wart removed by laser 20 years ago, the doctor said the scar would lighten and pretty much disappear over two years. Well, that scar still looks pretty much the same as it did when I was in 5th grade (a little lighter). If I got blemishes on my face, they scarred whether I picked at them or not. I've had many dermatologists over the years, prescribe or recommend different creams or serums, but they've never seemed to help. This is my experience/story and am not trying to scare anyone, just give an honest account. Maybe if you normally don't have scarring issues, you will be fine eventually. For me the scars are not an issue and not nearly as bad as the stretch marks on my hips.

My audition to become a Jazzercise instructor is less than a month away. Today they offered a 2 hour class to work on movement technique for us trainees. I ended up spending an extra hour after that to work on certain moves, so spent a total of 3 hours exercising. I am so sore! I'm also starting to wonder if I might need to wait until April or June to audition. For the most part, my movements were okay...the main trainer walked around the room and gave us immediate feedback. BUT I had a lot of difficulty with keeping up with the proper intensity. I know it didn't help that we had to repeat many of the most intense parts multiple times. The problem is that for the most part I was working as intense as I could and it still wasn't enough. In two more weeks we have another one of these training sessions and our instructor said she'd let us know if she thought we might want to hold off until a later audition. I know that each week I'm building more muscle and getting stronger (I'm quite proud of how far I've come with strength and endurance since November when I had my movement screening), I just don't know if I'll be where I need to be by mid-February. I also know there are things I can do to build my strength/endurance, but don't want to push my body any more than I currently am, just feel I'll get stronger with time. So we'll see if I audition in February or wait until April or June. But, I am very proud of myself for making it this far and know that I will audition eventually. Today was just a needed wake up call.

Congratulations on the 12 pounds! You are so close...you'll be in my thoughts.