swizzly

Yes, good luck to you both, and also to ahoy, who's also on for tomorrow -- all best thoughts and wishes will be heading your way tomorrow.

So does mine (though it's a b-complex, not just b12).

Congrats!! I've been like 2 lb away from it for DAYS.

EXACTLY. There is SO much judgment and condemnation underlying the "easy way out" accusation, that I refuse to even entertain things on that level whatsoever. I am happy to turn it around and ask them why I should NOT take the easy way out. Let them answer that one without totally outing themselves as ignorant a-holes and then maybe we'll talk. There is no virtue in effort for its own sake. There is little if any moral failure involved in being fat, so no "punishment" is necessary. TYVM.

FWIW, I was only walking the hospital halls starting day three post-op, and that's all I was doing in terms of walking for the first week. After I got home, I started to go on walks with my husband and our dogs, but only just short ones at first.

I'm early 40s, also had hysterectomy a few years back, have both ovaries still, no HRT. I haven't had breakouts or skin issues (never did the first time round either), but I have been some kind of emotional freak show. Well, for me anyhow. I'm normally very rational and quite thick-skinned. I'm still both of those most of the time, but I also get massively depressed and blah for no apparent reason whatsoever and just circle the emotional drain for a while. I haven't been crying or feeling like crying, just way blue and non-verbal and much more sleepy than normal. Sucks. I feel bad for my husband. Sigh. Here's to getting through these rough tween months (hopefully...).

That is a classic anorexic's trick, I used to do that one all the time. These things can sneak up on you for real, but it sounds like you are well on top of things. Good luck!!

One month ago today, at about 8.30 am, I had the majority of my stomach cut out. For the first three days post-op, it was an absolute nightmare. I didn't have any gas pain, but my little stomach HURT. And was violently nauseated. And dry heaved and vomited off and on for three days. And the anti-nausea drugs just made it worse (all of them). But then, like a switch getting flipped, I felt better. And just continued to feel better for the next few days in hospital. They fed me Clear liquids on the second day, after I passed the leak test. And also on the following day, because I was so sick. But then they added in little Protein shakes (in like 200 ml cups, very cute) and more broth and stuff. And on the fourth day, they brought in a full food tray with a plate covered by the dome and all. Underneath it all was...a very small piece of zwieback. Made me laugh, but I ate it. And the next day, I got bread and diet butter and diet jam and coffee with milk, and then for lunch I got mash and gravy and more shakes (they always brought two little cups with different flavors), and so on. And on day six, they let me go home -- yay! I had no pre-op diet (I think sometimes they might give one to a few patients, depending on their BMI and health issues -- they had already run labs and my liver enzymes were fine), and my only post-op diet was that meals should be balanced of protein, fruit/veg, and carbs -- and that I couldn't have raw fruit and veg till I was cleared for it (which I was, this week). So I've been on "real food" for nearly four weeks now. So far, touch wood, I haven't eaten anything that didn't sit well and I haven't been nauseated (except by vitamins) at all. I have eaten at restaurants and done okay, I have eaten meat (beef and chicken) and fish (sits very well) and shrimp (ditto). I love Beans of all kinds, and also really love cream spinach. I do eat sugar-free (drinks, jam, etc.), but I don't eat non-fat stuff -- I use olive oil and butter (obviously very little) and normal yogurt and cottage cheese. I can eat so little, I want it to be good -- and it helps get in extra calories. My plan calls for three meals and three Snacks every day, so I feel like I'm eating all the time -- but it works really well for me, as I don't do very well at all when my blood sugar is low. I also drink 1.5 - 2 liters of liquids per day and have had no problem doing so since I came home (it was harder at the hospital as I don't like the brand of Water they use lol). I don't really have to take small sips, but I don't gulp or anything either. I sometimes feel guilty (and paranoid lol) about how smoothly it's gone. I feel pretty good, aside from wanting to go to bed quite early. I walk a lot anyhow, and I've kept this up. I will be cleared for other exercise at six weeks. I only have one more week of giving myself those blood-thinner shots, thank god. I didn't ever feel anything like "OMG all my hunger is gone!!" and I was at first a bit worried about that. But thinking about it more, I wasn't hungry all the time pre-op anyhow, so it's not a huge change. I do get hungry, and my appetite is quite good, but I feel I'm getting plenty to eat. And I still think the hunger might reduce over time -- I already find it a bit difficult to eat in the morning first thing, takes me an hour or so to get in gear. Even so I'm not that bothered, as it's not like pre-op hunger anyhow. So, it's going great. The VSG, in my experience so far, is fab! I hope things keep going so smoothly. I hope I don't find that later I can eat loads of food because it's been so easy from the start, but I'm not going to borrow trouble. I am bad about tracking things, but I've lost about 10kg/22 pounds since surgery, which is amazing to me. My goal has been -- and remains -- to feel healthy and good and strong, but the weight loss is the road to that, so I'll take it. If anyone is thinking about getting VSG surgery, I already highly recommend it. ************* PS: I don't want to post all the food I eat, because that would be dead boring (as opposed to my scintillating post above ). But if anyone is curious what three meals and three snacks look like, just let me know.

Most of the Kurs I've seen, I'd hope to give them a miss. It's not all mineral baths and massages, that's for sure.

Well, that will be coming on my three-month surgiversary, upcoming this week. Yes, she did -- and I told her. I have a huge aversion to typing out specific names or details, but if people couldn't figure it out from my user name, it's a wee central European country that is widely associated with banking, cheese, and anal retention.

Ooh, oopsie. Nevermind my earlier post, you've already found ybnormal! Lol. You even have the same surgery dates, so it's kismet. I'm sure you will both do great!!

Hi there -- man, that sounds so awful!! I am sorry to hear you are having such health challenges. I do agree that losing weight will help, but it might get worse before it gets better. I think you will need longer than 2-3 weeks off work. Truly. Your doctor there will understand. I have little pre-existing conditions other than HBP, but I was off for five weeks. You really need to be fully better before you go back to work IMO. I have a friend with Fibromyalgia who had a RnY over a decade ago. She said it really helped her a lot. There's another poster here who has Fibro AND CFS, called 'ybnormal' -- she has a blog at www.skinnyrenee.com and you can also find her at www.weightlosssurgeryforum.com. She's just about to have surgery in a couple days as well. Wish you ALL the best, Amy. Seriously, keep posting and you'll get through this just fine.

Ahoy, there, ahoy! Well, the first thing I've just realised is that no one ever replied to my one-month surgiversary post. Hmph! Thanks for being the first lol! You will do great -- I am going to PM you, coz I know another expat in Austria (are you in Vienna?) who had their VSG done there a few months ago. (Also for all the other info.) Re: the differences -- yes, there are many. And I am careful about how I post about the differences because people think the doctors/surgeons and nutritionists here are crackpots. But I have found the process to be really good, and I've always felt I was in good hands, Healthwise. I did stay 6 days in hospital, they wanted to keep me another day, but I was DONE. Good lord, the seven-day minimum hospital sentence, I can't get away from it!! Cheers for the post -- and best of luck to you, you will do great!!

At first you can't really feel it coz your tummy's numb or something. So you get these weird signals like a hiccup or a tightness in your chest, and you just know you're done. Now I get a semi-normal full feeling again (I had a very strong full signal before surgery) and it is just clear that there is NO MORE ROOM. I like to stop a bit before that because it's like Thanksgiving full after half a cup of food. Trippy, that's what it is. To be that full and HAVE NO TANGIBLE FOOD BABY. It's awesome.

Me too -- I've been taking these ENORMOUS tablets (TWICE A DAY OMG) since surgery and I have to keep taking them for a full six months. They're heinous, but I can get them down usually fine. Good luck kicking the infection!!

Congrats! It's so trippy when you hold up these wee trousers and then they fit. I'm 5'7" about 202 lb, don't know my waist measurement, but I can wear a size 14 US jeans, 12 if I don't mind not breathing too much. I know everyone is "big boned" but I actually do have a fairly large frame, so when I used to be thin, I still weighed 140 lb and I never wore anything smaller than a size 8 -- but size 8s are bigger now, so it was probably like a 6.

Hmm, trying to answer this question is making me very depressed. Wonder what's up with that. I don't want to have anymore surgery ever again. Cosmetic surgery is sooooo effing expensive here, I would have to drain all my assets to get it done lol. Right now I'm very disturbed by my arms, which I have ALWAYS hated. They are like whole hams hanging from my shoulders. Tops in size L and M are fitting me just fine now, but the arms are always too tight. :angry: My boobs have been saggy since I had boobs, so I'm not that fussed about them hanging even lower. I'm getting a dangly wattle under my chin and that is depressing as hell. I haven't been thin in over a decade, so smaller me is not looking familiar really. Right, I'm going to not think about this anymore for now.

1) How long have you been sleeved? Today is three-month surgiversary 5) How much weight have you lost since your sleeve date? 38 lb so far, I'm slooooooowwwww 6) What type of sleeve do you have? Same: regular old sleeve (85 percent removed and stapled) 7) Would you recommend the type of sleeve you have? totally 8) Do you find you still have the necessary level of energy to sustain a good workout? yes, though I haven't been doing really hard workouts yet 9) Do you find it difficult to keep the weight off once you have lost it? not so far 10) Do you have trouble eating, such as getting �stuck�? never 11) What is the one things about getting the surgery that you regret? nothing 12) Would you do this surgery again, or would you have made another choice? I would definitely do it again.

For some reason, this just made me think of the last time I was in hospital (no surgery) when the vein my IV was in blew. OMG, I had a hematoma the size of a baseball on my arm -- purple-ish black and hurt like a bitch. Took a couple of months for it to go away and I to this day still have the faintest outline of it on my arm. Sometimes we just get lucky, eh?

Hope your energy is also coming back?? (Vitamins, they do make the peepee yellow lol. At least mine do.)

:) LOVE that soup, baby! (Okay, but now all I can think about is your mad baking skillz...and yummy fab baked stuff...mmm...maybe I am having the wrong takeaway from your post...)

It's true, they are mad keen to keep you in hospital until you are all pink and perky again. Of course, being the contrarian I am, after about day three, it's like I'm plotting my escape from Alcatraz, and all I can focus on is cajoling the doctor or surgeon in charge (depending on which time I've been in) to let me out early for good behavior. Minimum sentence is one week I tell you!! Bless them, they are really very focused and serious about good health, I am lucky.

Ah, bless. I'm so glad you have been so quickly proactive about this, I'm very impressed!! Sounds like you are well on the path again. I also had a very smooth surgery and swelling went down very quickly, so I've been able to eat fairly normally (albeit quite small amounts) since surgery. I always wonder if there's something wrong with me...approximately two seconds before I think OMG I GOT SO LUCKY! Best to you on your continued journey.

Sweet!! I always love the single-pant-leg photos. And your behind looks gooood in those new jeans!!

Sorry, no Red Velvet credentials, but just a couple things I wanted to interject into your conversation completely uninvited, cos that's just the kind of girl I am. First, I am LOLing that meggie and I both independently used the terminology 'weak as a kitten' this morning (nearly at the same time, too!) to describe that post-op weakness. It totally fits. Second -- and hopefully not to cause a scandal or controversy -- I DO believe you will feel better when you are eating more normal/varied food. I was very weak at first, and just a day or two after going on to 'normal' foods (limited of course), I felt SO much better. Granted, I moved on to those foods within the first week, but still -- I am just hoping you can feel some optimism that food actually IS good for you and WILL make you feel better. Seems obvious, but also seems like nothing is obvious after this 'thumby' (as I call my own wee tum now -- used to be Hedwig, but to be fair to thumby, it's not angry anymore, it's just a thumby) renovation. Finally, for whatever this is worth, I also have a history with anemia, and Iron level is always one of my concerns. At my first post-op labs, my iron levels went UP. Shocking. It might be at least partially down to the mass amounts of cream spinach I was living on (might I recommend this to anyone reading this? It's very good for you, SO easy to get/stay down, and tasty and filling to boot -- I use these little frozen balls of organic cream spinach and zap them in the microwave for like 2 mins...mmmm, green creamy goodness...), but I was just glad to hear those numbers. Good luck to you all, even though your group name makes me think of (totally inaccessible thank god) CAKE.