EmilyIsSleeved

My surgeon makes all of his patients take at LEAST 1000 mcg a day.

Just wondering, do we have to take our B12 as sublingual? I hate taking my B12 because it tastes so bad. I know they have it in a form that you can swallow, but I didn't know if it would absorb right (just because I know we can't take certain pills like time released things). My doctor simply says to suck it up and do the sublingual, but I don't want to if I don't have to haha. Thanks!

I started out about the same as you and not to disappoint you, but I am only now just starting to notice that I have lost weight and I am 75 pounds down. I think it's just because I have been big my whole life and my mind is just used to seeing a fat girl in the mirror. I will say though that I have become more confident simply because more and more people are noticing and telling me I look good and am doing a good job. It just takes time! Great progress so far though! Let me know if you need anyone to chat with since we started around similar weights.

Start: 271 Day of Surgery (3/6/12): 252 Current: 197

I am just about 6 months out and down around 80 pounds, so I am doing well weight loss wise. However, I am still having a huge problem with getting enough Fluid throughout the day. I am always feeling tired so I think I am dehydrated since I take my recommended Vitamins and supplements. I know we get told to just sip sip sip but for some reason I just can't do it. I used to be a gulper so am not used to taking smaller drinks. I just feel like when I sip, I am getting nothing done because it takes forever for the drink to be gone haha. Right now I am probably only getting in 48-50 ounces a day which obviously isn't enough for me because I used to drink 80+ ounces a day when I could gulp...So I was just wondering if you guys had any tips on how I could maybe trick myself into getting more fluids or ways that I can overcome the problem of no longer being able to take large drinks at a time.

Hey guys! I have lost about 75 pounds since starting my pre -op diet in February. As the weight has come off, I have noticed it is mainly coming from my chest, legs, neck, and forearms. It still looks like I haven't lost anything from my hips and stomach. Just wondering how long it may take for things to kind of even out/how long before my problem areas catch up to the good areas. Thanks for any responses

As everyone here usually says.....liquid in, liquid out. Kind of a gross way to say it, but it is true. This is completely normal while you are on the liquid/very soft foods after surgery. The problem should stop once you switch over to solid foods. Good luck on your journey and welcome to the losers bench!

I am no longer using the pill as a contraceptive because my surgeon told me that our bodies won't absorb the pills the same way and may be completely uneffective when it comes to preventing pregnancy . I don't know if that is true, but I am not going to risk it ha ha. Alot of women on here use mirena or other forms of contraceptives.

I do still have my gallbladder. The doctor didn't seem worried because he said if it was my gallbladder I would be in much more pain. I am not having any tests done because the doctor seems to think that if i know how to make the pain go away and it isn't really severe, then it can't be much of an issue. I also have no clue why the pain goes away when I press on the area.

I was just wondering if anyone has had this same type of situation or had any idea what is causing this problem: Lately I have been noticing that when I sit up (especially when driving), I get this pain on the right side of my abdomen. The pain occurs a few inches below my breast. I don't really know how to describe the pain...it isn't stabbing pain, but more of like a deep dull ache. I know it isn't muscles healing or whatever because I talked to my doctor and he said my muscles should be completely fine now (I am almost 3 months out). What I find weird about the whole thing is that if I push my fingers where the pain is or if I lay down, the pain goes away within maybe 20 seconds. It is just kind of frustrating. Just wanted to make sure you guys didn't have this problem and then find out it was something serious.

Well that's the thing. My surgeon doesn't like to count what was lost on the pre-op diet because it lasted so long. If he counted that, I would be down 40 pounds which makes things sound a whole lot better. I find it strange that I lost much more on the pre-op diet with a huge stomach versus trying to lose weight with my now tiny stomach. Im sure the weight loss will catch up, as it makes no mathematical sense not to lose when I am eating less than 1/4 of what I used to. Maybe I will get lucky and my stall will break just before my appointment (one can only hope). Thanks for your responses.

I had my surgery 3/6 and lost 15 pounds my first two weeks. Since then I have only lost 4 more pounds. I go in for my 2 month follow up on May 3rd. I'm worried that my surgeon will be disappointed at only losing 19 pounds. Just wondering, is this rate normal? Or am I just destined to be a slow loser? I have been following the diet and exercise program so I don't know what else I could do to increase the loss (any tips are welcome).

I was very nervous about this too when I was pre-op because everyone I know who has had any type of WLS either had it removed during the actual WLS or after due to complications. However, I couldn't find any surgeons near me that were willing to take it out as part of the surgery. They thought it was unethical to take an organ that is still working how it's supposed to. In my mind, they just want it in there so when it does go bad, you have to pay more medical bills to fix it As for like statistics of it going bad and needing future removal, my surgeon told me about 25% of all WLS patients will have at least mild gallbladder problems in the future. I guess time will only tell for my gallbladder..... If it is something your surgeon would do, I suggest having it taken out at the time of your sleeve to prevent possible problems in the future, especially since you can live without your gallbladder just fine.

I had my surgery on 3/6/12 and I want nothing more than to be able drink some plain ice cold Water. However, every time I try to drink plain water, it makes me very nauseous regardless of how small of sips I take. I don't have problems with any other liquids such as gatorade or Protein shakes. The temperature of the water doesn't seem to be the problem either because any temperature of water will make me feel sick. So I am just wondering, has anyone else had nausea problems with plain unflavored water after surgery? And if so, how long was it before you could drink water without a problem? Thanks in advance for any replies!

Congrats!!! I wish you the best of luck with your new bakery!

I can't wait to go shopping for clothes in the same stores as my normal weight friends. I will also enjoy being able to try on clothes and ask for their opinions instead of simply being the friend that sits outside the changing rooms to say "that looks good" to every outfit my friends model. I also will be so excited to be able to go in a normal size bathroom stall without basically standing on the toilet to be able to close the door. I will also will enjoy when I can order food and not have to worry about people thinking "she is going to eat ALL of that?" or "no wonder why she is so big" I'm sure I will have many more to post later

I agree with the above poster, I would much rather deal with a surgery with unknown long term results than to die from weight related issues.

I am 19 years old and I had surgery just over a week ago. I am 5'2" and my starting weight was 271. I say age doesn't matter as long as you know that this surgery requires a lifelong commitment. If you ever want a sleeve buddy to talk to, feel free to contact me anytime!

I would assume it is because I am healing, but lately my belly has been so itchy! I tried anti itch creams but nothing works. Just wondering if anyone else was very itchy around their incisions and what you did to solve the problem.

My surgeon told me Yeast infections tend to be common after surgery due to rapid hormone changes and how your body reacted to all the meds and anesthesia given during/after the surgery. It's the same way lots of us tend to get really random periods after surgery as well. Just treat the infection and I'm sure things will settle down as your body gets used to its new normal. Hope you get over your annoying infection soon

Just chew them up as good as you can. My surgeon says it is okay to chew Vitamins even from day one as long as you chew them really good. Not having vitamins may also be contributing why you feel weak. FYI, I also have to chew my vitamins and I haven't noticed a problem with it.

Update: I have noticed this morning that the pain seems to be going away (knock on wood). I have basically been living on Popsicles because they don't really hurt going down as long as they are sugar free (I accidentally grabbed a normal sugary Popsicle from the box my family eats from.....never doing that again, it made me so nauseous). VAcookey, my surgeon told me liquids are way more important than calories in the first couple weeks. He said as long as you are taking your Vitamins, you can basically forget about calories until you are able to get more liquids in. Thanks again for everyone's responses, they really helped!

I also forgot to mention, when I feel the pain, I feel like I need to burp but i just cant seem to get a burp out.

I was just sleeved on Tuesday morning. I am able to get up and walk around with minimal pain, but whenever drink anything I get a horrible feeling like someone is stabbing me in my chest. After a few seconds the pain in my chest goes away but I can feel the liquid like gurgle down through the rest of the pouch.. I am able to eat some warm Cereal like coco wheats, but liquids just refuse to go down easily. My doctor says it is probably just swelling, but I don't know how I'm supposed to avoid dehydration until the swelling goes down. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. The temperature or sip size doesn't seem to matter much. I knew the first week was gunna be hard, but I really want to prevent going into the ER for fluids if at all possible. Thanks for any responses in advance.