Rootman

3 days total,, Had surgery Monday and back to work Thursday - too chort, I didn't have any more vacation days.

Sorry your doc was such a b*tch about it. Mine was a real charmer but still brought be back to the same issue, blood pressure, blood sugar, shoulder pain, back pain arm pain, knee pain, adrenal gland issues, low testosterone, shortness of breath, dry patchy skin - all had roots or were the direct result of being obese. Now that I've lost 170+ pounds it's all gone away. It's too bad more docs can't be the way moine was, gentle, caring yet truthful. It's hard to be that without being a doctor, having to see people all day who a majority probably have weight issues just makes it tougher. Take it, as they say, with a grain of salt. If it really, really bugs you or you think it's really inappropriate then see about switching docs. We al wish you the best of luck on your journey.

Gosh, just the opposite here. I started testosterone injections a few years back and started growing hair EVERYWHERE. Since losing a lot of weight I've had to cut way back on the dosage. I have a lot of irritating little hairs that grow right on the edge of my lip, right as the lip membrane starts. Other on my ears, especially the tragus (the pointy cartlidge thing in front of your earhole) that stick out like tree stumps till I yank them. Have you had your T level checked?

I'm with PdxMan, no one can help him but himslef. I was in the same boat, obese and fairly healthy UNTILL I started to edge into my 50's then everything fell apart and all of it was to or made worse by my weight. He's gotta want it. And some of are so stubborn that we don't relly want it.

I too would advise caution - you'll never again (hopefully) have to go through this type of restriction again - so let it heal up good and solid before you start putting things that have potential for harm in it.

I've been Rootman since way back in the old BBS days in the late 80's. Form my old Linux days.

I've had to have it done 3 times, not due to stomach strictures but to a schatzki ring, that is a narrowing of the esophogus. For me it never was a permanant fix and I had issues with it till just prior to my pre-op diet. Now that I am eating less, chewing more and not eating as fast I suspect that I still have it but the it is no longer an issue. Before, if I ate too fast - and I ALWAYS ate too fast - it would feel as though I was choking and I would sometimes "vomit" up what I'd just eaten. Not true vomit as it never made it into my stomach, it just got caught right at the bottom of the esophogus. Anyway, it is quick simple and painless. They SHOULD give you something to make you loopy and make you drink some slime that numbs your throat.

Congrats! Keep it up. BTW: I thought your pic was Whitney (RIP). Very hot.

What Amanda said - it may be stomach acid. Ask the doc about an acid reducer - a PPI. While it's tru that the majority of the stomach with the acid pumps is cut away, the few that are left can over run a swollen small sleeve space quite quickly and lead to an acidic feeling that we are programed to interpret as hunger. A PPI can help this. You may also be able to ween off them as the sleeve stops swelling and settles down. And as the others said - all things in moderation, if you're still losing then you are on the right track. I personally had to eat saltine crackers to ease the acid at times. I still eat a snack of them almost every day. We all wish you well.

All I can speak for is the guys and YES the ratio of testosterone per pound increases so it's just like getting a "booster shot". I had to start T shots a few years ago and had to cut waaayyy back on my dosage, becasue as I lost a lot of weight the T level went through the roof. I understand that estrogen is also stored in fat so as it's burned the ladies also get a "boost" in sex drive too. Go get 'em tigress!

I can't help but to think that the passport agency is motivated by $$$ instead of your ease of passage. So what if you cut your long hair and show up wqith a buzz cut? It just seems like a large expense for such little return, obviously they have to deal with people who gain / lose weight all the time. What if you have cancer and lose a ton of wieght and want to take a trip on your "bucket list" , do they really want you to haul your sick body somewhere and update your passport? I think that I PERSONALLY would pass. Just blow your cheeks out if the look at your picture in a puzzled way :smile1:

Just another note, my wife says I do not waddle any more when I walk - so YES losing the weight helps your posture, gait and balance so it seems there WOULD be a re-learning period, especially when the weight comes off so fast.

Whoa girl! Man what adifference in the pics! It does NOT look like the same person. Congrats - keep up the good work!

I hope I'm not one of them you consider condesending I try to be supportive but once in a while I post a comment that may be different from the rest. Sorry if it's me.

Welcome and congrats on your new life! I too ran accross the (a more American way of saying it) "Don't 'fix' what the good lord gave ya"" attitude. I find this ignorant and repulsive that they drag religeon and ethics into a simple health situation. A well known American doctor who has a syndicated TV show puts it htis way (I'm paraprhasing); "If it were cancer that is slowly killing you you'd get it cut out to save your life? So why not WLS to save your life, it's the same thing". Very, very few people live a life of obesity without dreadful and completely avoidable health consequences. For a majority of the world food is cheap, plentiful and served in WAY too large a portions. Eating IS necessary but we fail to control ourselves and pack the pounds on and ruin our health accordingly. We all wish you the best in your new life to come.

Wow, I've experieced exatly the opposite. I am far more balanced now then I have been my whole adult life. I was amazed yet this morning how I can put my pants on while standing up, I used to have to sit or I'd topple over. Maybe you're right and the sudden weight loss has thrown off your coordination, you were so used to applying forces in a certain way to counteract a certain high weight that you are now over compensating.

How about a 12? I, like many was worried that it just wouln't work for me. Nowat 14 months out and closing in on 175 pounds down the success is far greater than I could of hoped or imagined. ALL of my health issues have cleared up, I have more energy, feel better and look far better than I have ever been my entire adult life.

Yeah biy, it surely sucks. i went 3 weeks on the liquid diet. I went to San Deago a day early for my surgery in MX and sat around the hotel for a day. Seems like every freaking commercial on TV was for some delicious food. I nearly caved about the 4th or 5th time of seeing a 5 cheese and 3 pork pizza commercial by a local shop on TV. Man I wanted it so bad - but I persevered and you can too. Stick with it. It may actually help you recover as the liver might not be as fatty and your gut not loaded with all kinds of junk, I wish you luck!

I'm a guy in the same boat. I got down to 203 a few months ago, the holidays hit and I bounced back up to 2010 and now am back down to 203 FINALLY. I am trying hard to get below 200. It sure IS frustrating.

I was 6'2" at one point in my life. When i was measured at my doctors in late 2010 I was 5'11.5". I just measured myself and and now back to 6' .75" so I got back .75". The doc says it's mostly from spinal decompression. As Pookey said the extra fat puts a lot of stress on your back and gives you crappy posture. The rest of the hiegth is more than likely permanatly gone due to aging and damage due to years of carrying the extra weight.

I went from a (tight) size 13 ring to a size 10 - which is now loose again a few months later I almost lost my wedding band after it just dropped off my finger while I was standing there. My shoes are loose too. I went from a size 52 pants that were nearly cutting me in two they were so tight to a loose size 36. I wear a medium shirt when I can ones that have long enough sleeves, and I have to wear long sleeves 90% of the time as I am always cold now. If I can't get the sleeves long enough I go with a large top and they're terribly baggy. Amazingly for the first time EVER when I got my eyes examined they actually IMROVED by 2 powers, the eye doctor was really surprised by that and attributed it to undiagnosed diabetes that I no longer had. The sleeve has been the BEST thing EVER in my life.

I was in the same boat, except I already had the money. I was really falling apart and had a LOT of health issues and was getting worse. I decided to go for MX self pay despite the fact I have insurance. In the 6 months or so that it would of taken to get approval I had already lost 100 pounds or more and most of my health issues had been resolved. It worked out best for me but you have to decide how desprit you are to get sleeved. YOU and only YOU have to make this decision.

Well, I have to admit that especially since I've been excersizing so much lately I am facinated by all the swoops and curves I now have. I LOVE sitting in the shower and flexing my calf muscles and seeing the swoop and bulge and the split down the back. Don't get me wrong, I look nothing like a body builder it's just that I have NEVER had so much definition EVER. I was always just straght and tubular shaped even when thin.

Ahem, present and accounted for ma'm.

I think that has something to do with it, but the change was so profound and so sudden. Pre-op I was a typical fat sweaty guy, post-op by just a few weeks I was cold ALL the time. I wear fleece bottoms, undershirt and pants and henley top to bed over a heated mattress pad and under a bunch of covers - and oh yeah - WOOL socks. A sweater is my full time "costume" at work. We've postulated elsewhere on the board here that removal of a majority of the portion of the stomach that produces ghrelin has something to do with it. As well as reduced caloric intake. It is a polar (pun intended) opposite for me now.