Lisalu

I'm hoping we can get this thread up and running again. I've been going to OA for the past 6 months or so. The sleeve ended the physical part of my food problem but the emotional/spiritual difficulties are still there. I don't have other addictions---apparently food has always been my drug of choice, but since VSG things have been changing. First, I developed bulimia. It wasn't too bad by bulimia standards: I'd find myself purging (barfing specifically) about 1X a week, usually because I ate too much and was uncomfortable. The first 1 or 2X I did it, I thought, "No big deal. I just need to learn how much I can eat." The thing is that the problem didn't go away after a few times; it kept up on a pretty regular basis. The other thing is that after purging, I'd want to eat more. Now that's insane. Never really had bulimia before the surgery. I tried purging several times in college but it seemed so painful and not worth it, so I quit. It was a surprise to see it surface after the surgery. It was also a blessing because it was sooo dysfunctional that it promptly led me to OA. I can justify a lot but it's hard to rationalize throwing up. So here I am in OA and am really grateful to be there. Other addictions seem to be creeping up but they are relatively mild, so I'm just keeping an eye on them for now. I used to hate to drink alcohol but now I enjoy it. I don't think I have a problem with alcohol but I see that I could develop one over time. It's so weird because I used to drink about 3 -4 times per year. Now I have a beer or 2 about 1X a week. Quite a change. I'm also spending more. Now I was a real tightwad before so it isn't all bad for me to be spending more on everything but it is kind of alien to me. Before I was really controlled with money and alcohol and really crazy/reckless with food. Now I'm controlled with food and looser in the other two areas.

Hi PinkBetty, I had my 1 year surgerversary last week. I too am a single mom (of an 8 year old) and I asked myself the same questions. Let me tell you that I do not have a single regret about my decision to have the surgery. I love my sleeve. All my co-morbid conditions resolved with the weight loss and I look and feel at least 10 years younger. I hope this surgery means that I will live longer and my son and I can enjoy many more years together. My biggest fear before sugery was dying and leaving my son an orphan. I did EVERYTHING within my power to avoid this. This is what I did: 1. I researched my doctor carefully and I recommend that to anyone considering this surgery. Statistically, most of the bad outcomes happen with less experienced doctors, though of course there are exceptions. The surgery is tricky to do laparoscopically and takes experience to perfect the technique. I'm sure there are many good doctors in Mexico, but I recommend you research them carefully and if your language skills prevent you from doing this, consider going somewhere else. 2. I lost 25 lbs prior to surgery. Getting to a lower BMI will (statistically anyway) reduce risk. 3. I exercised as much as I could tolerate. (same as above) 4. I followed my surgeon's recommendations to the letter. Also I wrote a will and appointed a guardian for my son. It was really hard to do. In the long run, I think this decision can be a gift to both you and your son. It is taking short term risk to reduce long term health risks. Best of luck, chica. Keep us posted.

She's BEAUTIFUL Tiffykins. Soooo happy for you!

Hi Everyone, I was sleeved just under a year ago (6/30/10). My top weight was about 205 (it was 210 but I was dressed and wearing shoes), my low weight (in Feb) was 120 and I think I'm about 125 now. A few months ago I started going to OA. I had been to OA several times over the years but never went faithfully until now. Here is my experience of OA after WLS. Some people do judge me which I find very odd. OK, it's their crap. I find that the WLS has given me clarity about my overeating. For years I thought it might be a physical problem, maybe I was just hungrier than other people. Now I don' have that excuse. Also since surgery I have developed intermittent bulimia. Sometimes I eat too much, feel terrible and purge. Now that's been a real eye opener. When you find yourself doing that every week or two, you definitely know there is a problem. Also, now that I don't have a weight problem I can see that the obsession with food is an independent problem. Even if I don't gain weight, it's still miserable to eat too much and worse yet to purge. So, in some ways I feel like my sleeve has made me more ready and willing to work an OA program. Today after a meeting, someone asked me if I had ever had a weight problem. I laughed and told her my story. I'm passing as a thin person but I know I'm really a compulsive eater in a thin person's body. I will start talking about my WLS in meetings more. People need to know. I believe that may be part of my OA service. Glad this forum exists.

Just did my research. Chance of natural conception at my age <1%. Chance of miscarriage for a woman my age is approaching 95%. Lower chance of a viable pregnacy when male partner is over 40 (he's my age). Maybe I can go with nothing. Wow.

I've had trouble getting a practitioner to insert an IUD. I think it's because of my age (I won't need bBC for 10 more years). First I went to the NP and she didn't want to insert it because I wasn't menstruating also she would only insert the mirena and I was looking for a the non-hormonal paragard. So I made an appointment at PP and specifically asked if I needed to be menstruating. I'm told no,make an appointment, wait in their waiting room for 2 hors, pay a $30 copay, only to be told that she wants me to either take cytotec and come back or come back when I'm on my period. Argh. So I let myself be talked into the nuvaring but it didn't agree with me (see earlier post). And the copay for that was $25, so I paid $55 for no viable BC! Truly, I think I'm going to wing it. At my age there is less that a 1% chance of me getting pregnant and an even lower chance of me having a viable pregnancy. Maybe I should leave it in God's hands. Doubt I'll do that but I am frustrated Thanks for listening ladies.

Yikes, I just started the NUVARING a week ago and I'm going to take it out today and throw it in the trash. My appetite went from small to ravenous in less than 2 days. Suddenly I could eat more than twice as much and felt like I was going to die if I didn't eat a lot and often. Luckily I'm below goal, so I could afford it but not in the long run. There is no way I could eat that much and not GAIN GAIN GAIN. Oh and did I forget to mention that I went from having a nice sex drive to not being interested all w/in the course of a week? So out goes the nuvaring ($25 copay) and I will rely on something else. I haven't had to worry about BC for years. For most of the last 20 years I've been either single, in a lesbian relationship, trying to get pregnant or with a man who had had a vascectomy. Now at 48, I'm having to find BC. Not that I'm complaining, I'm in a new relationship with this great guy and I'm happy I need BC. We don't get to see one another as much as I'd like as we are both single parents with full time jobs, so perhaps hormonal BC was overkill anyway. So maybe it'll be the sponge, a diaphragm (do they still have them?) or just condoms.

Hi Doctor, I know leaks occur most frequently soon after surgery, but I'm wondering when the threat of an ischaemic leak ends. I'm 5 weeks post-op and think this kind of leak is unlikely now, but when can I finally breathe the sign of relief and not have to be nervous if I run a fever or have other symptoms? Thank you.

Not a single regret! Second best decision I ever made. (#1 was to have kids.)

So I had my surgery in June and I've been at goal or below for a couple of months now. My problem is that every week or two, I'll inadvertently eat too much and be absolutely miserable until I make myself throw up. I know it's not good for me and I'm not doing it to keep my weight down, but it's still disturbing. I'm not sure why I can't gauge how much to eat beforehand. I think I need to keep track of the events around these episodes so that I can see if there is some sort of pattern. Has this happened to anyone else? I'd love to hear how you managed it.

I vote for Vegas.

I was at my son's school the other day when a teacher's aide said, "That outfit looks great on you because you are so skinny. You're a runner, aren't you? You exercise a lot, huh?" I sheeply replied, "Yeah, I do exercise." I walk for a half hour an average of 3-4 times a week, so I don't exercise a lot. I couldn't believe she was talking about ME. BTW, I'm not skinny; I have a BMI of 24 which is awesome but definitely not skinny. So now people think I'm a runner? Man, that is awesome.

I'm a few pounds below goal, but I still battle with the eating. It's easier than pre-VSG because I just can't eat the same volume but the compulsion seems to be the same. Lately I've been eating more crap, specifically xmas Cookies and other refined carbs. I still don't snack (just my 4 meals a day and Protein supplement) which has been a blessing. I got to 210 lbs by grazing, so I know I can't go back to that non-stop eating. The carbs are a slipperly slope for me. I don't want to cut them out 100%, but my consumption of them can creep up easily. I could eat chocolate and cookies all day if I let myself. I need to see a nutritionist and a counselor to work on this, I think.

Those are AMAZING NSV's! It's downright dangerous to have non-stop periods due to the blood loss. It's great that your cycle seems back to normal. And your BP getting back to normal is just as amazing. Congrats.

Yeah, I feel the same way. I have a BMI of 24 (5'2" and 131 lbs) and wear a 6 or an 8. I definitely have flaccid stuff in the tummy area. I don't feel fat per se, but I wouldn't mind losing another 6-11 lbs. I'm OK where I am though, if that's where I end up. Before VSG, I was very unhappy with my body. Now I am almost 100% happy though I wouldn't mind tweaking a few things. All in all, can't complain.

Woohoo! Good work! I too have a high resting heart rate. I always say I have a rabbit heart beat. I think it is coming down but I haven't been to the doctor in a while. It would be fabulous if I could get it down to 70.

I'm 5 months post VSG. I got the flu this week. Headache and nausea but no throwing up. 3 friends and my son have all gotten this flu in the last month. For them it followed a predictable pattern: 1 day of nausea (with or without vomiting) and headache and then good as new. It's lasted longer for me and I'm wondering if my immune system is different or if this has something to do with the VSG. So here's my question: Have you gotten stomach flu since your VSG? Did it take you longer to recover? Thanks. This isn't my favorite way to lose weight!

This is an interesting re-occurring topic. Personally, I told few before the surgery but have been very open after. I am, in general, a very open person, so this was natural for me. I do understand that a private or reserved person would not make the same decision. I don't believe anyone is entitled to know how we have lost weight, but I do feel a strong moral compunction not to lie or distort the truth. I think when we tell people, "I'm eating dramatically less and working with a nutritionist, " we are are lying through omission. (OK, not technically lying but deceiving through omission of the key reason.) I think I owe it to fat people everywhere to disabuse thin people of the notion that all it takes is a little willpower to lose weight. If I tell people I'm dieting but don't tell them about the surgery, I give the impression that dramatic weight loss is possible with a little effort. I don't believe this is the case. I think there are some options to keep this quiet but not to lie. I don't discuss my surgery in casual settings with people I don't know well. A colleague asked me conversationally after a meeting how I managed to lose so much weight. I told him, "It's a long story; I'll tell you about it sometime." If he asks again later, I might. Or I might just say, "I don't like to discuss my weight loss." I think you can be very nice and NOT answer people's questions. I often do this with questions about my sexual orientation. Really is that everyone's business? I just say, "I don't like to discuss my personal life."

I'm cold all the time. I frequently wear long johns even though I live in AZ. I remember being cold a lot in my 20s. I thought I was getting warmer because I was nearing menopause. Nope, I was just fat. I probably AM nearing menopause (I'm 48) but I'm still cold all the time. There are worse things. Think how much I'll save on AC next summer!

Salt. I never liked a lot of salt but I sure do now.

I told people because I didn't want to have a secret to hide. Yes, some people judged me but I found that I actually don't care. I am usually a real people-pleaser, so this surprised me. I was sure about this surgery and my reasons for having it. That helped. Now that I am at goal, it's really easy not to care. :-) I also find that if I take a normal amount of food, most people won't notice if I just shove it around on my plate. Occaisionally there will be someone that actually watches (your mother?) and then I just say I'm full. If you are Ok with lying, then the hiatal hernia surgery seems like a good excuse. You could also say that you are not feeling well. If it is close to the time of the surgery, it won't even be a lie.

you GO girl!

Globetrotter, I have wondered the same things. No, I won't go back to eating crap, I'll keep the no drinking with meals rule and my 4 squares a day, no snacking. I am going to have an awake latte with 2% today--a splurge. So to answer your questions: I'm going to eat more or less the same and see where it gets me. I didn't diet, I just have been following the Cornell plan. If I lose a few more pounds, that'd be great, but not necessary. I feel thin enough now, but it wouldn't hurt to lose a little extra in case I gain a bit of weight in the next couple of years. I think for most people the weight loss just stops. If it doesn't with me, I'll add in more fats and carbs---yum. I'm scared about this new phase. It would be so easy to go back to grazing and eating lots of sweets. I have no doubt that I could gain all the weight back if I really tried. Like all of us, I'm working this out as I go along.

I got on the scale at the gym this morning. 135 with clothes on. My clothes had to weigh at least 1/2 a pound so that puts me 1/2 a pound under goal. I did it. I can't believe it.

I dunno why I can't believe it. I guess because I've been obese most of my life and suddenly I'm normal (my weight anyway). It's going to take a while to sink in. Also, the last time I weighed, I was 137 and that was only 1 week ago. I didn't expect the last couple pounds to drop off in a week. And plus, I'm so used to trying to lose weight and now I'm at goal. It's novel. It's weird. It's good but it is somehow kind of baffling.