Foxbins

I am almost 2 years post-op. No one has commented yet on my small portions, but if they did, I would say that I'm not very hungry. I get comments on how slow I eat rather than my portion size and I find that eating slow keeps me from overeating and ending up in the bathroom. I order shrimp cocktail, steamed mussels, steak tip appetizers (all the protein stuff) and the waitpersons never blink an eye. They are used to skinny women only eating a little bit. You might want to laugh off comments about portion size with a retort like, "I have to keep my girlish figure!" or "I hate to exercise a lot so counting calories works for me."

I'm 23 months post-op and have been at goal or below since month 11. I, too, got trashed by a newbie for offering what I thought was helpful advice so I don't post much anymore. I eat whatever I like but in tiny portions and Protein first. Yesterday, I had turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and gravy and pie, but only about 1 cup total of food and I was satisfied. I changed my eating habits in the losing phase and don't eat many white carbs on a daily basis but have them on special occasions. I don't exercise a lot, but I walk at least 3 miles daily and do some pushups and situps during TV commercials in the evening. My labs are terrific and my cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL are all low now. I am so much healthier (and happier) than 2 years ago. Really, long-term maintenance involves weighing myself every day and making good food choices. It hasn't been difficult for me although I know it is for some people.

I'm 5'8" and my surgery weight was 232, though my highest weight was 250, and I wore size 22 and 2X. I am 135 now and wear a size 6. I'm 57 and have hypothyroidism and MS, so there were a couple strikes against me. I had a facelift because after all the fat was gone from my face all that was left were saggy wrinkles. Now I think I look great, and I can hide my saggy body in clothes.

Mine was removed and when I created one on this site, I said I had reached goal today. I reached goal over a year ago and there's no way to edit that part of the ticker. Someone did not think the programming through very well.

I've been diving twice since surgery, in Madagascar and the Galapagos. Apart from the fact that I only need 3 lbs of lead now, nothing seems to have changed. I was always good on air and that's stayed the same, maybe gotten a little better. I do get colder quicker but a thicker wetsuit seems to do the trick. Wish I could retire to Belize! It's Portland OR for me...the water's really cold...

I have had hypothyroidism for the past 10 years. My sleeve was done 21 months ago and I lost all the weight I wanted and more. Hypothyroidism didn't seem to affect my weight loss, and I have a metabolism like a lizard in winter.

Carbs take water to metabolize so when you eat them, your body holds on to the H20. If you want to eat them regularly, aim for a weight 3-4 lbs below where you want your goal weight to be if you eat carbs. It's just a mind game with me--I gained 2 lbs in the past two days and I know that I didn't eat 6600 more calories than usual, so it's just water. I did have saltines and quite a lot of cheese...

Looks great now-Thanks!

I have noticed in the specialty groups like "Life at of near goal" the posts are long and skinny. Is this some kind of technical glitch or is it on purpose? It's hard to read.

No, the sleeve part isn't the really tricky part, though there are two staple firings where the surgeon really has to be careful, one at the top by the esophagus and one at the bottom by the duodenum. The second half of the duodenal switch, where the surgeon works with the intestines, takes quite a bit of skill and experience. That's what I was referring to as "the tricky part." BTW, I read a study not too long ago where a lot of experienced sleeve surgeons were asked about how many sleeves needed to be done before a surgeon could be considered proficient and the average number they gave was 30. I thought that was pretty interesting.

Boy, this thread is all over the map! A PPI is an Proton pump inhibitor, like Nexium or Prevacid or Protonix. It cuts acid production in the stomach that can feel like hunger. 4 oz is a lot if you are only a month out. The nerves in your stomach were cut and probably haven't all healed yet. Try eating a few tablespoons less and see if you are satisfied. No need to eat until you are full. Sassypants, we have a stomach, albeit a tiny one, not a pouch. RNY patients have a pouch. To the OP--How many sleeves has your surgeon done? If he is proposing another surgery, it sounds like he was very conservative the first time and left too much tissue behind. It's a fine line between making a sleeve too small and running the risk of stricture and leaving it too large. If your upper GI shows your stomach is too big, see if your surgeon will waive his fee because he made the error.

My B-12 levels are always off the spectrum on my last 18 months of lab results and I don't have any tingling; as OTR says, it's a water-soluble Vitamin and excess should be flushed out with your urine. Is your doctor certain it's the B-12 or just guessing because she can't find anything else wrong? If it keeps tingling or gets worse, ask to see a neurologist.

A BMI of 25 is certainly achievable from where you are starting. I started at 35 and now am 20.5.

Life is good! At 20 months post-op, I will still lose if I don't get in enough calories. I also lost my hunger, so I try to eat by the clock but if I'm out and about I can forget. I've been on a couple of vacations and haven't gained, so I think I've pretty much got maintenance down for me and my present activity level. I've signed up to do a marathon next year so probably I'll have to add more calories to offset the additional miles. You look great!

Feeling cold is really common. First I was cold from the anesthesia, then I was cold because the surgery does something to your internal thermostat, and now I'm cold because I lost all the fat that was my insulation. Cold is the new normal and I ask people for sweaters at Christmastime and birthdays.

Are you measuring your food and journaling your intake? Sometimes calories creep in and we don''t even know it if we don't write it down. Also, how long since you had blood work? Is your thyroid working okay? Are you perimenopausal? Those hormone fluctuations can really mess with your metabolism. Are you carb-sensitive? I can gain a pound overnight if I go over 100 gms of carbs a day. Are you getting enough Protein? Are you eating a lot of sodium-filled food? I agree, at your present weight you should be losing more than a pound a month. Best to track everything and see where you can tweak. Keep us posted.

I am 20 months post-op and had no complications and don't regret a thing. I wear a size 6 and reached my goal at 11 months post-op. I decided early on that I was not going to test my sleeve by seeing how much I could eat. I eat the same amount now as I did at 10 months post-op, about 3 oz of dense Protein or one cup of something like cherries or strawberries. I rarely eat white carbs or Desserts, I just lost my taste for them. BTW, the sleeve was used as part one of a two-stage procedure called a duodenal switch, for morbidly obese people who had to lose weight before the second procedure could safely be performed. It's different than an RNY bypass, much more malabsorption and a tricky surgery to perform.

When you say you are throwing up, do you mean you eat something you know is not good for you and then throw up so you won't digest it? Or do you throw up because your stomach won't tolerate it? If you are using vomiting as an aid to your weight loss, that's a big red flag and I'm sure you know that. It takes a while to think of yourself as small. I still struggle with putting my old portion sizes on the plate if I'm tired or distracted and generally head for the Large tops in the store before I think, no, that size doesn't fit anymore. Being smaller will eventually come to be your new normal, give it some more time.

I've had a glass of wine occasionally since about month 8. It didn't adversely affect me then, nor does it now, but because I am thin now one glass is plenty, whereas when I was fat I could drink 2 or 3 and not feel it.

Go to realself.com--the cost varies by region, but you can get a good idea about the range. Also the surgeries are rated by how satisfied the patients were with the procedures.

Quite frankly, I had Gas-X strips and Gas-X pills and I never used a single one. The CO2 gas for the surgery is in your belly and Gas-X strips don't do anything to help it. The gas in your tummy is just air from when you swallow and the best way to deal with it is to keep burping. I wouldn't worry about it if they say no.

I let out a little scream the first time I put on a size 6 in the dressing room at T.J. Maxx and it fit...and the next one did, and the one after that! When I put my legs together, my ankle bones touch and my knees touch, but I can see light between everything else all the way up to my crotch! Everything touched before... I had to adjust the mirrors in the car because I'm not sitting on a big pad of fat anymore, and I had to move the seat forward because there's not a stomach in the way. I smell better now. All those icky fat folds used to smell like bellybutton but they're gone now.

I had all the above on Sleeve of Steel's list plus: Alkaline phos BUN Bilirubin Blood Calcium Chloride Lipid panel Kidney function-GFR Ferritin Potassium Sodium Vitamin A Vitamin B1 plasma Folate Parathyroid It was about 8 or 9 tubes.

You're not alone. I tend to lose more if I have a "tiny tummy" day, get sick, or if I'm out of the house and forget to eat. I added a protein shake with whole milk for 350 extra calories a day and that has helped to stabilize me some. I also added a single-serving bag of mixed nuts to my bag so that I can eat on the go if I need to.

I saw mine in the hospital at a leak test. It's long and skinny.