ouroborous

My vote is hypotension. Before the sleeve, my blood pressure was borderline high -- 138/95. Now that I've dropped >80 lbs, my blood pressure is almost low: 105/70. This is very good in most ways, but it means that standing up fast or getting dehydrated or other things that can drop your BP futher can make me very dizzy and wobbly for a few moments until my blood pressure stabilizes. I don't know if this is the same thing that's happening to you, but if it's primarily positional -- IE, it mostly happens when you stand up fast -- then it's likely not a huge concern. Of course, as always -- talk to your doc

(A little late, but) congratulations! I'll almost certainly never be under 200 unless I'm terminally ill, but I know how important these milestone weights are! For me, I still haven't really grasped the fact that I'm under 300 lbs (significantly under!) It's a nice feeling, eh?

Hah! Thanks for the compliment. I bought a piece of home gym equipment to that end, also. I'm never gonna be Brad Pitt, but hopefully I can avoid being Homer Simpson...

I had been hovering right around 250 for some time (since early December). 250 is an important "milestone" weight for me for a couple of reasons; first, I simply never thought I could get my weight down to 250 and keep it there (let alone lose MORE). Second, for adults the weight limit on a lot of things is 250 pounds; for instance, I had to buy an ultra-heavy duty office chair for my computer because at 330 lbs I literally destroyed Office Depot-type cheapo chairs too fast, so it made sense to invest in a heavy duty, high quality chair. But my weight "stuck" around 250 and wouldn't budge... at one point during the holidays it bounced back as high as 254. My gf tried to convince me that it was Water weight, but my glass half empty mind just "knew" that 250 was as low as I go and now I was going to start climbing again. Well, without any real change of diet or exercise habits, I've started losing again, and am now down to around 246. Hopefully this trend will continue to my Hawaii vacation at the end of February; I don't want to look COMPLETELY disgusting in swim trunks! Does anyone else have the same experience where your body seems to hold on to weight for a couple weeks, and then with no real change in diet or exercise habits, abruptly start losing again? I can't figure it out; in this case I know that it was literally NOTHING I changed in my diet and exercise habits (still moderate but not perfect with my diet, still utterly bad about exercise), so it must have been some internal, metabolic thing!

Holy crud, hot mama! Those almost look like they're a different person -- in a good way! It always amazes me how losing significant weight can also make a person look younger; it shows up in your pictures too. Great job!

Yes, CPAP is unpleasant! It's just that we CPAP'ers sort of get used to it after a while -- after all, what's the point of complaining about something that (you're told) you're going to have to live with for the rest of your life? It's just when the prospect of not having to deal with it is waved around that you start to realize what a PITA it really is!

Yeah it's little incidents like these that make me VERY ready to be CPAP-free once again!

Well, after ten years with that damnable device cutting into my head, dripping humidifier Water down my nose while I sleep, giving me sinus infections and blowing so much air into my belly that I wake up with an earth-shattering fart each morning (sorry for TMI, but it's true and you CPAP'ers know what I'm talking about), I may finally be free of the contraption! For you non-CPAP'ers wondering what the big deal is, imagine that you can't just "go to sleep" -- instead you have to set up this big, uncomfortable contraption that also tethers you to a wall socket. You get used to it after a while, but it's always in the back of your head that you can never "just sleep" -- you have to have electricity, you have to have your equipment, and you're always fighting with some hose or strap or something that chafes or tangles you up or leaks. I just got back from a sleep study; my sleep doc ordered a "split night" study where the first half of the night would be without a mask, and the second half with the mask to get my new pressure -- if I needed it. Well, I slept the whole night through without my mask, and although I don't have the official results yet, the sleep tech said that it looked like I was sleeping well without the mask. Even on my back (which is the most challenging sleep position for apnea sufferers). I was definitely dreaming at several points during the night. So I'm pretty sure that this means I'm done with it. HUZZAH! That ALONE justifies the VSG surgery. When I go to Hawaii next month, I won't have to lug the CPAP with me, through the TSA checkpoints, find outlets in the hotel room... etc. etc. etc. And I still have 20 or so pounds to lose, so it's only going to improve if I'm "borderline." I'm so excited! I didn't think it would be possible for me to ever get off the CPAP, and yet here I am!

Absolutely! That was one of the appeals of VSG for me -- the ability to lose weight without having to follow some sort of super-restrictive diet. Not only are those diets almost impossible to maintain in the long term, but they can be harmful to your health.

I think it's important to separate anecdotal evidence (individuals who controvert the study) from the empirical data (the vast majority of individuals who fit under the bell curve). Or, in non-geek-speak, "there is an exception to every rule, but that doesn't mean the rule doesn't apply." Just because you are a large woman or small man who earns a lot of money doesn't mean that, in general, this study doesn't apply -- any more than a single cold winter disproves global warming.

Quitting smoking is VERY hard. The most important thing is not to be too discouraged by setbacks, and to keep trying. Remember that it's more important to have smoke-free days than it is to be 100% perfect in quitting your addiction. So, even if you smoked 100/365 days last year, that's still 265 days that you DIDN'T smoke, and that all adds up to time for your poor lungs and heart to heal.

Congratulations on the great process, longhorn! I'm going through a lot of the same things you have. I'm a very sedentary guy, so the transition to being more active is nowhere near as smooth as it seems yours has been, but still I move a LOT more than I used to. The confidence thing is a big change, isn't it? I'm nowhere near "confident," but I'm so much *more* confident today -- even 50 lbs above goal, still -- that I'm almost like a different man. Congratulations again. It's good to see my sleeve-brothers doing well!

Large amounts of anabolic (muscle-building) exercise can trigger HGH "dumps," which can lead to vomiting. Bodybuilders have known about this for years (pump till you puke being an operative phrase). I used to have this happen to me quite frequently when I was a bodybuilder in my 20's (these days I'm far too lazy to work hard enough to throw up!) You should definitely talk to your doctor about this, but if there's no other cause found, it may be a simple HGH dump.

This is absolutely correct, and a very good point. The net result of lap sleeve is, for almost all of us, a significant reduction in risk of death and illness. The few specific risk areas -- GERD, B12 deficiency, acid-blocker consequences -- are relatively small compared to the big killers like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

If you begin having any problems breathing, or start spiking a high fever or vomiting, run, don't walk to the ER. A staple line leak (which this starts to sound like) is nothing to mess around with.

IIRC, it would take you more than a month for hypoproteinemia (low protein) to significantly harm you. Although you don't want to go with too little protein for too long, at this stage of the game you're still living primarily on fat stores! So take your time to find a protein concoction that you LIKE (or at least, can tolerate), and don't stress out too much. The most important things at this stage for you are doing *everything* the doctor orders, trying to move as much as you safely can, and drinking lots of water. That, and rest!

I had a liver ultrasound to diagnose fatty liver some time back; it really is nothing to be concerned about. It's not even uncomfortable; I almost fell asleep during mine! I have heard that very rapid weight loss can be a strain on the liver, but I don't know if I've ever heard of permanent damage being done from drastic weight loss. I am not a doctor, but I'm a concerned layman who's been tracking his own liver health for some time. The most likely cause of elevated liver enzymes is fatty liver. I'm not sure if the metabolism of the fat capsules on the liver can lead to elevated ALT/AST, but I do know that *healthy* weight loss is one of the best things you can do for your liver; my liver functions were always borderline "abnormal" pre-sleeve, and now they're all perfect. So, I'll echo what others have said: follow your doctor and nutritionist's advice to the letter. If you're always nauseous and that makes it hard to eat, TELL them -- make sure you're heard! -- they may be able to propose a solution (maybe a change of dietary habits, or an antinausea medicine, or something... who knows, maybe they'll prescribe THC!). But the bottom line is that elevated ALT by itself is not something to lose a great deal of sleep over. As the quote below shows, some hepatitis patients have ALT levels of a thousand or higher and yet recover with no liver damage after treatment. http://www.medicinenet.com/liver_blood_tests/page2.htm#4whatdo

Drinking Water is as close to a religion as the granola crowd has! And yet almost all experts agree that most people get most of their water from food and other beverages. As always, you should listen to your doctor/nutritionist. But the idea that you have to be chain-swigging glass after glass of clear water to avoid "dehydration" (and by the way, slightly dark urine or dry mouth or even slightly crepe-paper skin is NOT the same thing as clinical dehydration! -- which exhibits with things like nausea, confusion, and death) is probably more than a little bit silly. It's ironic that we Americans (overgeneralizing here, but I get the impression that most on this board are Americans) worry way too much about things that aren't very likely (dehydration) or aren't -- in the grand scheme of things -- very dangerous, and not enough about things that ARE likely killers (heart disease, diabetes, smoking-related illnesses, cancer).

Good news! http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101209121429.htm In short, while GERD (which is obviously a concern for us sleevers) does increase your risk for this uncommon cancer somewhat, it's still not a very large risk, and probably not significant enough to be super vigilant for.

I most enjoy feeling like a MAN. It's hard to quantify that, but it's definitely the biggest perk.

Erm. A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell.

Yes, and yes. The... mechanics... are... way better. Oh, btw, there are limits. For someone like me with >100 lbs to lose, no... you don't become a porn star (and the women in my life are thanking me). But what you HAVE becomes more... available, and definitely more USEFUL.

(edit)

(edit)

Thank you You too!