Leaderboard

Just short of a few days from 5 months since my VSG surgery. So far I have lost 55 lbs. To be honest with you I could have lost more than this by now but my commitment level to exercise and to eating what I should not has not been as it should. I am not ungrateful for loosing 55 lbs, dont get me wrong, but I know i have also eaten crap that if i did not do that I would be at a better weight loss bracket. You really have to be fully committed BEFORE you start this surgery and I only realize it now. I had some misconceptions about the surgery and thought that it would 'carry' me more without the level of personal responsibility and commitment it actually takes. I thought that my appetite would be next to nothing but immediately following the surgery I felt starving. My appetite never really waned but its true that you do fill up quickly - thank God for stomach restriction! I still cant eat most meats and I do not have 'meals' yet per se, I like soups, but I do get calories in by things that are called slider foods. A cookie, some chocolate, some ice cream……..all no nos for weight loss. So while I have lost a lot of weight and look quite different already (2 people I ran into last week actually did not recognize me!) I am doing better in changing my eating habits still compared to what I used to. And my glucose levels are MUCH better but this TAKES WORK! You experience weight loss plateaus,. At 4 months I reached a particular weight band and I have vacillated in the 5 lbs up and 5 lbs down range for 2 months now. Its SO FRUSTRATING! I am able to eat a lot more than before so around 4 months you have to really make an effort to restrict your calorie intake. I brought WAY TOO MUCH stuff before surgery LOL I am a type A person and like to be very organized. I bought too much post surgery medication. I bought lots of bariatric surgery paraphernalia like food measuring devices and things that I have never used once. I did use the waist binder for 2 months and was glad I bought that but not even the GasX strips work. Seriously, I bought so many of them and they don't really work. What works is a nice HOT cup of tea! Gas comes right up. All this bloody GasX strips I have and wayyyyyyyyy too many antacids. I need the antacids but I bought TOO many. I only get acid reflux occasionally. Buy things AS you need them. Don't by bra's in advance anticipating weight loss. Your boobs change shape and cup size. I made that mistake. I am no longer a DD but a D and I bought smaller back sizes at DD and now the cup is too big!

I had my first appointment with the surgeon last night and I see light at the end of the tunnel. Now, normally I am not an optimistic person. If something can go wrong or plans get messed up, it will happen to me. It's just the way things seem to work out for me. For starters, I am really glad I chose this Dr. I like his personality, he is very straight-forward. I had started journaling on MFP right after the seminar, so I printed off those days and put them in a binder for Dr. Gagne to take a look at. He told me not to change anything. To keep eating exactly the way I am currently eating that my protein is perfect, my calories are good, my fat is good, etc. So that was nice to hear especially since the scale has not moved in 3 weeks. Some other good news that I was told is that the insurance I am switching to at open enrollment (Highmark BCBS DE) no longer has the 6 month supervised diet. Because this sounded too good to be true, I verified this online and with HR this morning. Sure enough, that policy changed as of last month!!!! So it looks like as soon as I have the insurance at the first of the year, the coordinator will be calling to get a date set for me!!!!! Other good news from talking to the Dr. I asked what the pre-op diet would be. He said well exactly what you are doing now. So I told him no, I had read about people having to do a liver shrinking diet. He said for him, it depends on the patient, but I would only have to do the day before clear liquids! How great it was to hear that. So all these good things that I found out last night......a banana peel is sure to show up somewhere. LMAO

Sounds great! I'm only required to do a one day liquid diet as well. Good luck moving forward!

If you tell yourself things will go wrong, they will. Conversely, if you tell yourself things will go right, they will. Good luck.

Y'all, I found out the crappy way that I have an allergy to the incision glue, my stomach is a riot of itchy hives that I am using hydrocortisone and taking Zyrtec (Doctors orders). It sucks so much. Additional skin issues are happened all over my face and shoulders, I feel like a teenager with all this acne! Wtf is going on? Is this hormones being released from fat loss? I'm a week post vsg. Suggestions? I've been drinking plenty of water and doing relatively ok on protein. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using BariatricPal mobile app

That's f*cked up. I would be livid at your doctor's office and your HR person.

Yes, very normal. I just tried to survive and get used to my be limited ability to eat. It seems shocking to survive and still have energy on so little food. I didn't have energy for awhile after surgery. I was on clear liquids two weeks post surgery and it was a struggle to get anything down. Seven years later I can drink tons of liquid at a time and feel fine. That took a months. I still never really get hungry, but do get full and uncomfortable very quickly. At this point I can eat like an egg and a sausage, anymore and I feel uncomfortable. I think I have a lot more restriction than most however. Hang in there it gets better, just take care of yourself and rest. Cheers. It's not easy at first but it gets way better and you'll love your new life.

Higher level math...what a waste

Keep to the program and work on your water intake. Track your intake of everything even if it's on the nono list. It'll help you determine if/where you are going wrong. Stall are going to happen and so is weight gain. There are a lot of determining factors so don't think you are failing. Most of all be patient, that was my hardest struggle and at times still is. Stay positive mentally and Best To You!!!!

I had a great experience. I packed WAAAAYYYYY too much stuff. All I really needed was a comb, toothbrush, a change or two of underwear, biotene spray, my phone, and my charger. I do wish I'd not packed the rest of the nonsense I took, and used the room in my bag for a heating pad. That was something that really helped the soreness when I got home. I have a history of severe nausea post-op, and my surgical team did an amazing job giving me meds to counter that. Which caused me to have complete amnesia from the pre-op room when they pushed the first sedative to an hour or so after I was in my room, which has never happened to me. Makes me want to get a copy of my records and find out exactly what they gave me. LOL. I had virtually no pain from the gas that many people complain about. My surgeon does her leak test in the OR, so something to do with the Water for that may have cleared the CO2 out more effectively, I don't know. My overall pain was there, but nothing too horrible. We'd decided on a milder pain med than she normally prescribes because I don't like the side effects of the one she normally uses, and it was sufficient. I just felt like I'd been kicked in the gut and had that residual severe soreness. The staff were great, making sure I had plenty of water and things to drink on day 1, and then Protein shakes and water on day 2 (my doc keeps us overnight to make sure we can keep fluids down well). The tech came in several times to make sure I got up and walked (which helps with the pain, but disconnecting all the stuff is annoying). Slept in short spurts, but that's typical in a hospital. Didn't have enough focus to read a book, so I played games on my phone and facebooked and watched a marathon of whatever crime drama was on TV that day. Doc came by to check on me Day 2 and discharged me. Very uneventful, which is the way we want it. You'll do great. As a nurse, I'll just say that you should work with the nurses about letting them know when you're STARTING to hurt so they can stay ahead of it with your pain meds (if you need them, some people have very little pain). Knocking pain down when it gets bad is MUCH harder than keeping it at bay. And the rest of the time, walk walk walk and sip sip sip (as soon as they let you have drinks).