Foxbins

I drank decaf from day 21 when I was cleared for decaf coffee (the acid can upset your tummy) until about 6 weeks post-op and then switched back to regular.

I was on vacation and a few of us women were T-shirt shopping. I held a T-shirt up against myself and said, "Do you think this would fit?" Another woman looked at me and said, "You are so small I think you should get the next size down." Me--small!!

I didn't weigh myself until 10 days after surgery because I knew I was full of IV fluids. 10 days post-op I was down 5 lbs and by the end of the first month I was down 17. Be patient!

I did not have an epidural and I had no pain and no nausea. It was the first surgery I ever had and I expected to be hurting a lot and I was not. I slept and walked most of my three days there. It was uncomfortable to change position in bed and to get in and out of bed but just lying in bed I was not in pain. I'm sure if you tell Dr. A you would prefer general and not epidural he will oblige you unless there is some medical reason he can't.

Try to alternate flavors--maybe something fruity? Unjury makes a chicken soup flavored protein that is a nice alternative to the sweet ones. I could not choke down the Isopures at all but I had good luck with Premier Protein from Costco.

I don't think there is any research on what causes stalled weight loss. I never had a stall--there were months that weight came off slower, but there was never any month that I didn't lose a pound a week. I'm 13 months out now and my weight has steadied over the past 4 weeks. I tried to stop at 150 in November but kept losing, another 12 lbs in total. I could keep losing now if I ate less but I like how I look so I'm trying to stablize here. There's a guy on OH that has lost over 300 lbs and he just keeps going. I think if you want to lose the weight you can keep going as long as you have weight to lose. It becomes difficult after about 8 or 9 months to keep journaling, avoiding Desserts and chips and ice cream when you feel so normal and people around you are eating stuff like that. I don't think exercise had a great impact on my weightloss. It did keep my legs and upper arms looking okay and helped me with stamina and endurance.

You won't be bald! My hair loss started at 3 months and lasted 7. I tried taking Biotin but it didn't stop the loss (I hadn't expected it to) but I had great fingernails and my hair regrowth is strong and healthy. I would trade a little hair for a lot of weight loss any day.

All of the above! Any of those can cause the slimies. So eat everything slowly, stop before you're full no matter how good it tastes, and on those days when your tummy just doesn't like it, take it easy the following day with food you know your sleeve likes. Mine is iffy with chicken and tonight was not a good night for a drumstick.

I kept losing even after I hit my goal of 150 lbs (I'm 5'8"). Not quickly, but over three months I lost another 12 lbs and I have settled at 138, plus or minus 2 and it's pretty comfortable to maintain. I guess you need to let your body figure out where it wants to be and you need to figure out how much a certain number means to you. If you are a few lbs above goal, will that make you nuts? Then maybe go below goal so that you have a little "wiggle room." If the scale staying the same bothers you, make another goal-- to exercise longer or faster, or enter a race, or lift more weight. Just something that makes you feel that you are striving for a goal and that will make you feel good when you've accomplished it. Keep up the good work!

I'm 13 months out and still have the same D cup I had before surgery. However, I have no butt at all now and it came off the last 3 months I was losing, so there is hope for your boobs to reduce eventually!

I am 13 months post-op and what I am doing that's different this time has to do with both the surgery and my psyche. I lost my hunger with surgery so I am not fixated on food as I used to be. I used to think about food all day long, what I would eat, when I would eat it, what I would eat the following day. I don't do that anymore because food isn't that interesting anymore. The mental stuff is trickier. When I was fat, I avoided getting on the scale. After surgery, I weighed myself every day (I know myself and knew I would not freak out if the scale didn't move). I still weigh myself every day. I gained 2 lbs over the holidays and I took them off immediately by eating protein in larger quantites and cutting salty food and the 2 lbs were gone in 3 days. Also, I like wearing a size 6. I gave away all my fat clothes and I refuse to have a range of sizes in my closet any longer. I am sick and tired of yo-yo dieting and decided that I was in charge now and not food. However, I could not have done it without the surgery and I expect as I get further out it may become more difficult, but I intend to try extremely hard to maintain my weight where it is now.

Stand up, walk, keep spitting. It's only painful for a little while but you could slime for longer.

I think it's unlikely to be related to your surgery if you are nearly 2 years post-op. I'd wait a few days and see if it goes away. If not, see your PCP. There are a lot of things that can cause pain around the ribs.

Do you still have a gallbladder? It sounds a little like gallbladder inflammation. Maybe give your doc a call and see if you can get an ultrasound.

Best thing about VSG--losing 94 lbs and wearing size 6 Worst thing about VSG--having to buy all new size 6 clothes! I've spent a lot, even though I try to shop at thrift stores.

No, of course not. However, if you don't, you could suffer from permanent nerve damage from B-12 deficiency as well as other deficiencies. I think taking a few supplements the rest of my life versus being fat is a great trade-off.

Water can't stretch out your sleeve. Water will come out the top of your espohagus or go out the bottom of your pyloric valve. What drinking with food does is mix with the solids so that it moves through faster and you don't feel full and takes up space better occupied by nutrient-dense food. If you drink after eating dense protein, it can hurt as the protein will block the exit to the pyloric valve for a while, but you would have to do this consistently for a while, and endure quite a lot of discomfort, to stretch the tissue that is left.

I donated regularly before surgery and twice afterwards. At my six month labs, my iron stores were dangerously low and my PC said that I could not eat enough food to replace the iron. She said that if I wanted to continue to donate I would need to reduce my donations to twice a year and take an iron supplement every day.

My surgeon said six weeks for swimming. Diving I didn't even ask about, but I went 10 months post-op and had no problems at all--it was easier than usual because I had more stamina and used less air, stayed down even longer because I've always been good on air.

My BMI was a little over 35 and I had no co-morbid conditions so no chance of insurance covering my surgery. I went to Mexico and had a wonderful experience. I am at a BMI of 21 now and so happy!

I am 13 months out and I still get head hunger. By now, I have tried all the things I have craved and surprisingly, they don't taste as good as they once did. Ice cream makes me feel icky. Cake is too sweet. I can eat a lot of chips so I don't buy them; 96% of the time my willpower will get me out of the store before they make it into the cart. I like cheap chocolate now; someone gave me Godiva for Christmas (!) and it was too rich for me so I fed it to guests. Since I lost my true hunger with surgery I know it is all a mind game with me. When head hunger strikes, I will read or watch TV, go for a walk, or, like BBJ suggested, have a drink of Water or tea. After a while it usually goes away. If it doesn't, I tell myself I can have it tomorrow. By tomorrow, I have usually forgotten about it.

Your surgeon recommends what my baratric nutritionist recommended, and yes, I am expecting to take these the rest of my life. I also take D because I don't get much sun.

I put Nutella on Triscuits instead of eating cookies. I get fiber from the Triscuits and protein and good fat in the spread. They have that salty/sweet combo that I like.

When we talk about "sliders" here, we mean food that we can eat a lot of and not have restriction--chips, ice cream, pasta, cookies. The little hamburgers probably won't take hours!

In the long run, I think you will receive many more compliments than jabs about your eating/not eating and appearance. I ignored those sorts of comments, and the curious questions of what I was eating or how much. It's nobody's business but yours.