I had my sleeve on March 3 at Northwestern in Chicago and am down 60 pounds already (357 to 297). This surgery has done wonders and I've had such an easy time of it I kick myself for not doing it sooner. My post-op pain was minimal, I had no problems sticking to the post-op diet phase changes, I've hadn't had any cravings or junk food slip ups yet.

My energy level has been remarkable, I'm walking around 6 miles every day (I walk to/from work, I walk during my morning break, during lunch , afternoon break). It is starting to get to be a bit old, so I'm going to start step aerobics next week to ratchet up the intensity.

I was diagnosed prediabetic a few months before the surgery and they put me on metformin. At the hospital they took me off it.

I had high blood pressure and that's been dropping steadily, I was on Linisipril-HCTZ and Amlodipine. Now I'm just on plain Lisinopril. I'm glad I'm off the Amlodipine since that was causing some ankle/calf swelling which stopped right after I stopped taking it.

I hope to be off the Simvastatin soon. Next week I have my first post-op full blood test since being discharged so we'll see how well blood has cleaned out.

The sleep apnea is getting better too since I can tell my machine is definitely over-powered now, but I know from taking a nap without it that I still need it.

So all in all, I feel like this has been going perfectly and totally glad I did it.

• those are all NSVs!

• sweet!!!!

Thanks.

I also started binge watching two tv shows to motivate me

Biggest Loser: On the days that I don't want to walk I just think about how the trainers push those people. I know the show has an anti-WLS stance but whatever, if those folks can run a marathon after a few months, I can walk around the block.

My 600 Lb Life: I think I like watching the disasters like Penny and Pauline as examples of what NOT to do. If I walk past pizza at work, I just think Penny saying "I can't function without won tons" and it totally turns my stomach.

And one thing I noticed is that right after eating, laying down on the couch is a big no no as it seems like the food has nowhere to go.

Edited May 1, 201511 yr by JPacella

Congrats. I'm a little over 7 weeks post-op and hit 60lbs too. Feels great doesn't it? Just think about how much better it will get as time goes on!

Wonderful! So motivating!

Mimi039, on 01 May 2015 - 13:01, said:

Wonderful! So motivating!

Thanks! Some of the things I try to keep in my own mind to motivate me

1 - I am determined to not have gone through surgery only to defeat/sabotage myself. What's the point in having done this to myself if I'm only going to squander this opportunity.

2 - Any of the bad food I might think about, I remind myself that's the food that got me into trouble in the first place and ask to myself.. didn't you eat enough of that crap for a lifetime?

3 - This is the time to form new habits that hopefully will sustain me as time passes and I enter maintenance mode. I was never a veggie eater before the surgery and I somehow have to get into the grove into eating them and try to always avoid the processed/bad-carb food as much as possible. And now that I have this energy, get into an excersize routine that I like. In the past that was step aerobics, so now that I'm under 300 lbs, I'm going to start that up.. it's going to be hard at first I know but I know it will leave me drenched in sweat.

You guys are so motivating. I was sleeved on 4/27 and I am only down 23 pounds. Its so discouraging. I am stalled so soon after my surgery. I have been constipated for the past week, I have such a hard time getting more than 20oz of water down a day, and protein is even harder. I'm frustrated and depressed. Nothing is going right.

Janeen30 - Keep your head up. I was sleeved on 4/24/15 (so 3 1/2 weeks post op) but I have a ton more to lose than you and I've read multiple places that men lose faster than women. I'm down 77#s and just waiting for the dreaded week 3 stall to set in. I finally got to eat soft foods on Friday and it was a tremendous boost to my morale. I have knowingly or intentionally cheated one time but man it gets tempting. My wife and kids have been very supportive eating outside my presence while I was on liquids. It's glad to be accepted back in the family again. LOL Hang in there and we'll work through this together.

You guys are so motivating. I was sleeved on 4/27 and I am only down 23 pounds. Its so discouraging. I am stalled so soon after my surgery. I have been constipated for the past week, I have such a hard time getting more than 20oz of water down a day, and protein is even harder. I'm frustrated and depressed. Nothing is going right.

You've lost 23 lbs in 3 weeks! How is that discouraging?? I'm still pre-op so maybe I don't get it but that sounds pretty awesome to me! I am just baffled when I see posts like this. I will be thrilled to lose 20 lbs in my first month post-op.

On the CPAP, you should check if you can get a new one from your insurance. Most folks don't know when they are eligible to get a new one. The actual time frame can be as little as 5 yrs, and varies based upon your insurance plan, but generally speaking its much sooner than most folks expect.

So, once you check on that and if you are eligible for a new one, make a visit to your ENT and explain that you had WLS and that you expect to require less pressure in the CPAP on an ongoing basis. THEN, request that they prescribe a new AUTOSET machine. AUTOSET machines start with minimal pressure and then adjust as you need.

The beauty to this approach is that you have a machine that will adjust the pressure to what you need AND, most of the AUTOSET machines use an SD card to store info on nightly pressure trends. You can typically take the unit by your RT and they can read the card and generate a report, which the ENT can review.

The approach above gets you the best situation with CPAP pressure as you sleep, and will clearly point out the trend in reduced pressure, ultimately giving your ENT the data to tell you when you really don't need it.

Cheers!

-RC-

@@RaginCajun Thanks for this info. My machine just broke and I am in the process of getting a new one. I mentioned this to them. They stated they had to set it at what my Rx pressure stated, but could easily change it to AUTO with a updated Rx.