ouroborous

Thanks! I'd be mortified to try to get my big fat ass into leather pants... Just good ole Draggin' Jeans for me until then (more comfortable, less ridiculous looking on me, and still have kevlar built in for to keep the roadburn away). Maybe if I hit my end of August goal of 250 lbs, maybe then I'll try something that shows off me bum a bit more...

That's completely normal. There will always be foods that are easier than others. I think some people call mushy foods like refried beans and cottage cheese "slider" foods because it slides right through the sleeve... (at least I THINK that's why they're called that). Just listen to your body, honestly, and you'll be fine. If it tells you to stop, STOP.

Not more than 50 pounds ever? That makes no sense. My doc told me that by 6 weeks post-op my stomach would be at 95%+ of its original strength. I used to lift weights too, and I lifted heavy (when I was in my 20's and at my peak, I could bench press around 350 lbs.), so I asked my doc if there were any restrictions on lifting after the 6 week period, and he said no, basically just the normal restrictions (lift right, use a spotter, blah blah blah). I'd DEFINITELY make sure you talk to the doctor and not just the coordinator. They're not really doctors, you know

Yup, for me it's likely genetic, since 3 or my 4 surviving family members have some kind of issue on the depression/anxiety axis. And exercise truly is the single best cure for anxiety known to man. If you're like me, and your anxiety hinges around your body failing you, nothing will remind you better than getting your blood pumping and sweat flowing, that your body is doing Just Fine, Thank You. Add to that all of the natural endorphins and antidepressants that exercises, and yeah -- everyone with any kind of depression or anxiety should be exercising regularly. It's that important.

Yes, absolutely. In fact, just knowing that it's anxiety, and being able to separate that out from all the post-VSG "what-if's" is already helping. I think that I may be suffering from a mild case of the post-surgery blues. I know it's very, very common, and, as embarrassing as it is to admit it, I'm prone to anxiety and depression. Also, I just bought a new motorcycle (which is a good thing, but also a little stressful, what with all the financial stuff and selling the old one), and I'm turning 40 in a week. So, lots of stuff going on. I don't really have panic attacks anymore (I had them in my 20's, and trust me -- a little bit of anxiety is nothing like a panic attack -- it's like the difference in pain between a hangnail and, say, giving birth). But the anxiety is likely to be a constant companion. It produces all kinds of "weird" symptoms -- feeling wobbly (but not really being wobbly -- I don't have any real dizziness or anything), feeling nauseous (but never to the point of vomiting), and of course the generic feeling of impending doom. It's unpleasant, but manageable. Not denying it (at least to myself) is very important, because it's when you try to pretend that "everything's okay" that things get out of control and you escalate into full blown panic attacks. In short, I'll be okay -- I know how to separate out real feelings of hunger or dehydration from simple anxiety. The main point of me posting was to let any other anxiety-prone sleevers know that anxiety (which always goes hand-in-hand with depression) is probably very common post-sleeve, and to be able to look out for it. Oh, and thank you for your kind words and concern. Again, I'll be okay -- anxiety is an old, old friend (I've been dealing with it, mostly successfully, for almost 20 years), but your kind thoughts definitely help!

Tiffykins idea of posting a picture of herself before the surgery is great. Another thing I've found is that it's very, very hard to just "stop" a bad habit. The only thing that works, for me, is to replace it with a good habit. In other words, if you're used to eating before bedtime, replace that with a little light exercise. If you're used to snacking on Cookies in front of the TV, snack on some raw vegetables. Basically, don't eliminate bad habits, replace them. And yeah, take a little time every day to remind yourself why you're doing this, remind yourself what the payoff is when you do the right thing, and remind yourself what the costs are to slacking off. It's still not 100%, but I find that a few simple mental "judo" techniques like these go a long way towards helping me replace bad habits with healthier ones.

Yeah, that's about what full feels like. For me, there are two feelings: full, and overfull. Full (I think) feels like it used to feel when I needed to burp. Sort of a pressure in my stomach; my instinct is to burp, but if I try to make myself burp, I'll bring up food. Overfull feels like a solid lump in my throat and chest. It's fairly unpleasant, and it's my body's way of saying "stop eating [or drinking] NOW."

How frightening! Hopefully all will go well. My thoughts are with you.

Oh, and, you made perfect sense

I'm sorry, I didn't intend to be mean or rude. That was just a "gut feeling" of mine -- I'm sure a lot of my reaction is colored by the fact that I'm male and we're "expected" to make the first move (if that makes any sense).

Yeah, the sleeve is NOT happy if you overeat, especially soon after surgery! I tended to eat huge portions and eat really fast, and I'm STILL trying to learn to just eat slowly, nibble, chew, chew, chew. It's completely different! And the weird thing is that the cutoff between "full" and "pain" seems very short now. Meaning I can be eating, just feeling fine, delicious food, and then out of the blue -- BAM -- pain and that feeling like you have a lead ball in your throat! I hope I can learn some of the warning signs in between "full" and "pain," because as you say, the "pain" part is very... unpleasant.

Hmm, I should look into that grill. There aren't NEARLY as many nice outdoor grilling days here in Seattle as I'd prefer!

I think that Tiffykins is right (as usual). This is a tool to help us make the right choices, not a magic silver bullet. Over the weekend, I let my stress and anxiety take over, and I grazed (also, my girlfriend brought home a Specialty Cookie for me... I love them, but that was probably a 1200 calorie chocolate chip cookie). I ate crackers and chips, and I gained a pound. Not huge, I can shrug it off and go back to being healthy this week. I've got a new goal, being under 250 by the end of summer. That's ambitious -- it'll require a 4 lbs a week loss -- but it's something to shoot for. And that's the ticket -- you have to realize that this is a lifestyle change. The sleeve will help us by restricting our food intake (without all of the complications of the lap band). The sleeve will help us by reducing our body hunger almost down to nothing. But we have to fight the head hunger. We have to keep active. We have to remember that even with the sleeve, we can go back into bad habits of inactivity and bad eating. There's just no magic silver bullet. We have to do the work. So, it's probably not a SATISFYING answer, but it's an answer: yes, you can definitely gain the weight back if you don't keep working at it. It's not the sleeve's fault (unlike with other surgeries, there's not a built-in rebound), but ultimately it's our fault if we do -- we have to cultivate new, good habits to replace the old ones, and we have to watch out for the old, bad habits taking over. At least, with the sleeve, I CAN lose weight. Before, it was just constantly an upward curve.

Yeah the sore throat is what convinced me to stay on the PPI's. I hope you ladies can find the balance between the risks of osteoporosis, and the risks of GERD/Barrett's/esophageal erosion.

Congratulations, Angie! Keep up the great work!

Thanks for the compliment (I just noticed this, so sorry for the delay). I have my fair share of baggage, just like everyone else. I think perfectionism is another trap we fall into, just like insecurity (of course, as a fat man, I always felt like I had to "settle" for whoever would want me; it's going to take a big adjustment to realize that I can -- and should -- be with the person I WANT to be with). But the bottom line is that there are a lot of things that aren't fair in life -- younger, healthier, slimmer people have more romantic opportunities. People reject us before they get to know the "real person" inside. Society tells us that we're lazy and slovenly because we're overweight. All of those things are based partly or fully upon a lie, and all of those things are unfair, and ultimately all of those things simply are what they are, and we have to deal with them. I think that what I, at least, am still learning, is how not to internalize these negative messages. I'm a good person, even if I'm heavy. I have desirable qualities even if not everyone can see them. And ultimately, just like everyone else, I have the right to at least try to be with the person I WANT to be with, not just whoever I think I can "get." BTW, I have to shake my head sometimes at how different male and female psychology is when it comes to dating -- reading Chancie's post about how men will smile and look at her, but not approach her, my instinctive response is, "well, why don't you go talk to THEM?" It's not 1950 anymore, women are actually allowed to pursue men they find attractive. I think that sometimes, women waiting for men to approach them is just a way of making sure they're interested before taking a chance, just like men not wanting to make the first move until they're sure the woman is interested. The end result, on both sides, is nothing -- no moves are made, no chances taken, no lessons learned. But hey, it's safe, right? I've learned the lesson for sure that it's not really better to be safe than sorry; usually, playing it "safe" will make you more sorry than just taking a chance and leaping out into the blue without a net. In fact, I can't think of a single time where I took a chance and, in the long term, regretted it. Every single time, even if the outcome wasn't what I thought I wanted, I at least learned something. On the other hand, I can think of hundreds of times where I decided to "play it safe" and truly, deeply regretted it -- often for the rest of my life.

The recovery time ranges from a few days to a couple of weeks, and is VERY individual. Note that you shouldn't be doing anything SUPER physically strenuous for a week or so, and you cannot lift more than a small amount (15 lbs or so) for as long as 4-6 weeks, so factor that in. Of course, talk to your doctor for exact guidelines, but honestly everyone's recovery differs. Age, complications, general healing speed, all of these play into it.

Thanks for posting this! Resistance training is SO important for EVERYONE. Especially for WLS patients, where muscle wasting and loose skin are such an issue. And ladies, please don't fall into the trap of believing that weight lifting and resistance training will make you big and bulky -- it will not. You don't have the testosterone for it; your body just doesn't work that way. What it will do, like Ryansgirl, is tone you, lift what needs to be lifted, and make you look all over tighter and more put together. EVERYONE should lift weights (if the doctor clears it). EVERYONE.

...and it was delicious. This was my first weekend cleared for all food, and I was worried that meat wouldn't go down well. But it was well prepared, cut up small, and I chewed it like crazy, and it went down fine and tasted delicious. If only our Seattle weather would clear up, we'd be barbecuing every day!

I had a bit of a realization about my ongoing issues of wobbly feelings and mild nausea (as well as some flushing) today. This weekend, I noticed that whenever I leave home, it flares up. I was assuming I wasn't keeping good enough care of my nutrition and Water needs. And the truth is, I'm still not perfect with eating regularly and drinking regularly, but I'm honestly not malnourished or dehydrated. As far as we can tell, there's no medical reason for the "wobbly" feelings. Also, the feelings go away when I exercise. I did the math today, and realized that I'm most likely dealing with an old "friend": anxiety. I've had a lot of issues with anxiety in the past, and I recognize the pattern: it gets worse when I leave the house (because I'm away from all of my "safe" places and things, and which is the root of true agoraphobia), and exercise makes it go away. See, I think here's what's happened. I'm very nervous about my body just "conking out" some day. I think it stemmed from seeing my otherwise healthy-seeming dad have a massive heart attack when I was about 6, but knowing the cause doesn't make it go away... I've always had this fear that some day, with no warning, I'll just keel over. I've had therapy -- no use. I've taken antidepressants -- some benefit, but the side effects are too onerous. The only thing that seems to help is self-talk and taking care of myself (enough sleep, lots of good exercise, and so on). So, I'm going to work on that and see how things go. I absolutely refuse to allow anxiety to run my life in any form. Figured I'd update anyone who's paid attention to my ongoing saga of wobbly/nauseous feelings. Edit: forgot to add that I sometimes eat to soothe my anxiety. Somehow it feels like giving my body fuel will help it not keel over. I don't eat junk food, but I overeat. So that's a crutch that VSG has taken away. Which is good, I think, but I'll have to watch out for it.

I'm hoping that most of the skin will pull back, eventually. But I'm also planning on hitting the gym, hard, to give that skin something besides fat to adhere to :wink0:

You're welcome. Enjoy! I'm planning on adding a Vitamin tracker sometime this week. I always forget which Vitamins I've taken and when, and some of my supplements have overlapping vitamins, and I don't want to OD on some fat soluble vitamins. Possibly a Water tracker, too. I'm not going to bother with a food/calorie tracker since there are a million great online tools for that.

Both hypoglycemia and anemia can cause feelings of cold. Worth checking that you're getting enough calories/carbs, and enough iron.

Hah! No, I'm going to try to slide through my midlife crisis with a bit more style...

Do you actually burp? If so, it's just gas, and you're probably getting in a little air with your water. Try to sip slower and tinier sips (I know, it can be pretty ridiculous how tiny your portions get, but it gets better, I promise).