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VSG on 4/16/18: My journey



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:452_medal: woohoo @TexasMommy80

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Well, a quick update on my TKR. Looks like I will be having surgery again soon, as much as I hate the idea. I went to see my original team, even though my surgeon retired, and like the first opinion, they agreed that I need larger spacers put in my knee. We are going to try physical therapy first, but my team is not confident that it will work. Unfortunately, the ligament issue makes me a high risk for dislocation and hip issues, so it's not something that I should put off (none of which were explained by the first doctor). Luckily, the surgery is nothing compared to the replacement but they still have to cut into the original scar and open it up. I really hate the idea of another surgery, but if my knee dislocated, I would be looking at a whole new tkr. That would be worst case scenario at my age. Anyhow, I am really going to give PT a good try for the next 6 weeks, and the surgeons will look at my knee again on Aug 27th. If it is not better, we will start the process or getting it surgical repaired. I guess the only good thing is that I have hit my out of pocket maximum for the year, so I wouldn't have to pay for any of it. I guess that is another reason to do it before the new year, instead of waiting for later. [emoji19]

Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

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We just got back from the beach and we had a good trip. I wasnt very diligent about my food choices, but I am ok with that. I weighed in with a gain on 1 pound this morning, which is probably Water weight. We ate some fried foods (shrimp) and I had more alcohol than I planned. Lol and let me say, I am a cheap date now! One frozen margarita had me feeling pretty good. Anyhow, I am going to rest today and get back to it tomorrow. I am 21 pounds to my personal goal weight, and 31 to my doctor's goal weight for me. My goal is to be there by November. Depending on what I do with my knee, we want to start trying for our second baby as soon as I am at my goal weight, so hopefully we will have an exciting update by the new year. [emoji3][emoji3]

Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

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We'll hold you to that promise, you know. Early 2019 is👶time for TexasMommy80, her Texas Daddy and l the Little Texan in her house. Just promise me they won't be Austin, Houston, Crawford or even Greg Perry, that would be too much, sorta like Lukenback with Waylon, Willie and the boys.

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So today is August 19th and I am now over 4 months post VSG. I thought I would write an update on a few things that I regularly see asked on this forum.

1. hair loss-

I am definitely shedding more, and it is pretty annoying, but not alarming. I noticed it start at about 3 months out, and decided to add another Protein Shake to my daily intake. I figure it will last another month or two, based on what I have seen other people post. Honestly, though, it is not something I am worried about. I am not having huge clumps of hair fall out, and thank goodness for that! I have really fine hair already, LoL.

2. Vitamins and water-

I take my vitamins and drink at least 64 oz of Water daily. Those are two things I don't mess with. The one supplement that is not included in my Vitamin is Iron though, and it tends to give me stomach issues. I am able to regularly eat 1200 calories per day, and my blood tests have come out normal, so I am on kind of "wait and see" pattern for that one.

3. Caffeine and soda-

The food police will not appreciate my moment of honesty here. I do drink caffeine but it doesn't bother me at all. I drink the grape flavor of crystal light, and the small amount of caffeine helps me get going in the morning. Yes yes, I know that not all doctors approve of it, but I need a boost. And for soda, even before surgery, I had a calorie-free soda at night as a "bedtime snack". It was always my reward for drinking at least 100 ounces of water (I miss being able to chug water, lol). Well, I now have a small glass of sprite zero at night, as long as I hit my water goals beforehand.

4. Portion sizes -

I feel like I can eat decent size portions, similar to a kid-sized meal. I see people post that they can only eat 2 or 3 bites of food, and that just is not me. For example, we eat Breakfast tacos (with low carb tortillas) often. I can eat just over half of a breakfast taco. If we are eating crispy beef (or turkey) tacos, I can eat one whole one. I can also eat a small chicken breast, turkey patty, fish, etc. Honestly, I eat just about everything, although I make it a habit to make healthy choices most of the time (I am totally eating half of a strawberry shortcake cupcake as I write this, but don't tell anyone, lol). I still don't like rice (nothing new), and definitely can't eat fried foods anymore. I had issues with that after I had my gallbladder removed (5 months before surgery), and it is even worse now.

5. Daily caloric intake -

I am eating roughly 1200 calories per day and I am losing weight really quickly. I have lost 45 pounds since the day of my surgery, which is a good amount considering I started with a lower BMI (38). Today I weighed in at 184 and my personal goal is 170. My doctors think I will easily surpass that, but I would be content at just hitting that weight. I worry about that though, because my doctors want me to lose more. At a height of 5'6, they prefer that I weigh 140-150. If and when I get to 160, I will increase my calories to maintenance , and hopefully stay between 160-170.

6. Excess skin-

I am doing ok with this right now, although my arms look like wings at this point. Saying that, they have looked this way for years from previous weight loss and weight gaining patterns, so I don't contribute it to my VSG. I may consider having surgery in the future, but not until we are done having kids and I build my muscle back up. As for the rest of my body, I am doing well, no issues to report. I hope that it remains that way, but time will tell. I think at this point though, even losing 20 more pounds will not make enough of a difference to justify plastics (outside of my arms).

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Thanks for updating us, Texas Mommy! It's always good to hear from you again 😛💙😛

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So when I was heavier, I had a double chin, so I always kept my hair long. The few times that I did cut my hair short, I immediately regretted it because it really seemed to bring attention to the extra weight around my face and neck. Now that I have lost weight, I am excited to cut it shorter again. I figure it is a good time because I am shedding anyhow, and then if I feel like I want to grow it out, it should be longer by next summer, when the Texas heat kicks in. I also want to color it, but I am going to wait until it is closer to Thanksgiving.

Here is the plan for Friday...woo hoo! My hair is currently about 6 inches longer than this, so it will be super scary. I am ready for a change though.:)

b5a4b8e08acebed384b18783b9e93c39.jpg

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So when I was heavier, I had a double chin, so I always kept my hair long. The few times that I did cut my hair short, I immediately regretted it because it really seemed to bring attention to the extra weight around my face and neck. Now that I have lost weight, I am excited to cut it shorter again. I figure it is a good time because I am shedding anyhow, and then if I feel like I want to grow it out, it should be longer by next summer, when the Texas heat kicks in. I also want to color it, but I am going to wait until it is closer to Thanksgiving.

Here is the plan for Friday...woo hoo! My hair is currently about 6 inches longer than this, so it will be super scary. I am ready for a change though.:)

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I am weighing in at 177 lbs, and the weight loss has been super slow the past few months. That is my own fault though, and I have really buckled down to lose these last 8 pounds to hit my personal goal. I am 17 pounds from my doctors goal, so I am not too far away, who hoo!

Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
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