SandSandles

Checking in... Down another 10 pounds. Slowly, but steady.

Sorry I have not responded sooner but I did not get any notifications that there were responses. It is a couple of weeks later now.. and I am stalled. up/down/up/downol/up/down SAME two pounds. But I keep eating low carb. I keep eating Protein first. Sort of had a weird thing happened today, I was changing clothes and noticed that my bloat was gone. My tummy looked sort of like a wrinkly raisin - very large raisin. lol. So changes are happening. My clothes are loser, no matter what the scale says. I just keep hoping and believing. SURELY the weight will come off. SURELY I can hang in there long enough - not get discouraged or give up -- and THEN I'll see things turn around. I still have hope.

To set the stage, I must tell you that I am over 50. I had my stomach "stapled" way back in the early 1980's. I went from 225 to 125 and maintained for 6 years... then slowly gained it all back over the past 20 years. In 2011, reaching 205 and struggling, I decided to try the sleeve. I went to Mexico in July, 2011 and had it done. I had a bad infection from the drain tube a few weeks after I got home and had to be hospitalized for 10 days. The money I saved going to Mexico was spent recuperating at the hospital. I was glad my insurance covered most of my hospital stay. lol. sigh. Anyway, the first couple of months after the surgery I lost 30 pounds. yay. A couple of months after that, I gained back 10 pounds. I felt pretty sorry for myself. I spent all that money and all that time -- for 20 pounds. The MOST expensive diet plan to date. What was I eating? Anything I wanted. Somehow in my mind I had a wrong idea and because I had heard someone say, "You are eating so little that it won't matter what you eat!" There was a younger woman who had the sleeve a year prior and she was eating M&Ms and drinking cokes. She had lost 100 pounds. Wrong. Jumping forward ... January 1st I decided to try Low Carb eating again. It was obvious that the sleeve did not work for me and I had to at least try something. I had made it through the holidays maintaining the 20 lb loss, in spite of eating as much sugar as I wanted. Yikes. My history with low carb diets in the past has been a roller coaster ride that left me angry and frustrated and sad and very little weight loss to show for all the work. I would diet and diet and diet and lose 1 pound. I would eat ONE thing off plan and gain back 3 or 4. I would cook ahead and write everything down. etc etc. I would plateau every 4-5 weeks. I would shake my fist at the "diet" and yell at it... and my body & metabolism just wouldn't cooperate. I hated the scale - typical stuff, ya know? January 1st, with much resignation, I sucked it up, put on my big girl panties, bit the bullet and got down to brass tacks. I hit the low carb track again. I stopped ALL sugar. I stopped eating all starches. I eat grilled meat & vegetables. I eat an occasional Atkins bar if I feel like I am craving something sweet. If I get home at night and I am too tired to cook, rather than standing in front of the fridge just stuffing things in my mouth, I will cook an egg. Of course, I am eating smaller portions than before the sleeve, but it is clean eating. I was SO hoping that the sleeve would be a cure-all. I was hoping that just eating less would suffice. I really wanted to think that I was 25 years old again and had plenty of time ahead of me. lol. Yeah... I see you shaking your heads. hahahaha SO, I may not have the shining report about the sleeve that others seem to have. I didn't drop to 120 wearing a size 4... don't know if that is even possible... BUT I feel like there is more control. I cannot finish everything on my plate. I cannot stuff myself. I cannot. I have to chew slower. I have to restrict eating beef (it doesn't go down easily). I have to be VERY careful when I go out to eat with others because I get full before they are barely getting started with their meal. So, as of January 1st, 2012 and 3 weeks of eating clean low carb, I have lost 10 pounds. Wow, that was fast. The light bulb is starting to come on --> sleeve + low carb = steady loss I am hopeful that this trend will continue. I am calm. I am changed. I'm losing.

Sorry to say, but please remove my name from June 30th. Time and money are a factor for now. Will reconsider later. Having to work on it the old fashioned way. (sigh)

I saw that you have band to sleeve revision. Do you think some of your complications might have been still part of the hard time you had with the band? I have heard bunches of horror stories about lapbands now. Wow.

WOW... that IS a mess. So I see how important it is to have a PLAN. That means more urgency in finding someone, and hope my "network" idea will be successful. Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to answer. Really hope things work out for you!!

Thanks! I will definitely watch those things!

I have no other choice. My insurance will not cover it. I have to self pay. I have the money for Mexico, but NOT for what they charge in the states (double). It is either this way, or continue to live obese. Also, I only have a few vacation days left from work, so I will have to go back to work in 5 days after surgery. Again... it is either this way or NO way. I figure I am reasonably healthy for a fat person. I have a VERY high pain tolerance, and I have always healed rapidly. It would just be good to be able to stay on top of things and make sure my blood levels and Vitamin levels stay good.

There is a WLS support group that meets a local hospital. I am hoping I can go to the meetings and perhaps connect with a doctor through that network.

That is fantastic!! Congrats.

Wow... 33 views and no responses yet. Come on y'all... makin' me nervous. hahaha

Just curious about those who traveled a distance to have their surgery in Mexico. .. How did you handle follow-up on the procedure? Did anyone NOT have follow-up by a doctor? Did anyone have to try and "find" a VSG friendly doctor when you got back home? I am never sick and rarely go to the doctor. In the past 5 years I have gone once a year for a regular check-up. Last year I had mentioned "lap band" to my PCP and he was dead set against it. So IF I a go proceed, I will probably have to find a new doctor. Has anyone ever been turned down by a doctor for having VSG?

ToDream/ I've been thinking about you and hoping things went well. Look forward to more reports from you. ...like what day you start to feel better. I have to go back to work 4 days after surgery. So ... Keep us up to date on your progress, you skinny thing!! Lol.

I'm sure.

VERY well said, Dr JSA!