5McK

How is your personal WLS journey going?? Where are you in the process?

I'm just beginning my VS journey. How about you??

So where were you sleeved?

I had my VSG surgery on October 6, 2011. Before Christmas I started having these weird pains that would start in my sternum and wrap around to between my shoulder blades. I seriously thought I was dying. I had two in December, 2 in January, a VERY bad one in February that drove me to vomiting and pretty much passing out in pain. Most of these only last about 20 minutes to an hour, so by the time I was ready to head to the ER, they were going away. I saw my doctor after that last one though. He told me what I was experiencing were gallbladder attacks. He said it was because of the drastic weight loss. Now my VSG surgeon had checked my gallbladder and said it looked good and was healthy! I was so frustrated to hear that I was now having problems with this. My doctor said that if I could handle the pain with the attacks and that if they weren't severe, I should probably wait to have it removed since I'd had VSG less than 5 months before. Well, Thursday March 29th, I had an attack that last nearly 16 hours and I ended up in the ER because I was out of my mind in pain. They found I had a stone lodged in the bile duct and it was causing problems with my liver and pancreas. I had emergency surgery to have the gallbladder removed and they swept the duct to get that stone out too. They were able to do this laproscopicly. Ends up I was filled with gallstones and several were marble size! I'm about 10 days out now and feel soooo much better! Please don't mess around with the gallstones. They can cause so much trouble with other organs that you DO need to survive!

I confess! I had two reese's eggs. I refuse to beat myself up about it though as I'm staying on track and continuing to lose.

Luckily, VSG is not like the Alli pill! Since you will have a smaller stomach, you eat less and your body uses stored fat for energy. These storage areas are throughout the body. Yes, my fingers are smaller. Yes, my feet are smaller. So is my rump, my stomach, my face and basically my entire body. I highly suggest you read much of the research available online about the surgery and what your body goes through before you have this. You need to be educated about what changes to expect physically and psychologically. Good luck!

I hated the liquid diet and I was on it for 2 weeks prior to surgery. I just had to keep telling myself that it was a means to an end. I kept myself busy and that helped keep my mind off things. Plus, I was always drinking something....if it wasn't the medifast stuff, it was water or tea or SOMETHING! At some point the hunger did go away. Hang in there and be strong.

I hope you had a blast in Vegas! Don't beat yourself up for the gain. Think about what you would have gained if you didn't have the sleeve!!! Now that the vacay is over, time to get back on track. It may take a few days, but that scale will start moving again in the right direction and that will inspire you to do better. I had the same thing happen over Christmas. Took me about 10 days to get things back on track and then the weight started coming off again. I've lost 12 pounds since then. Keep you chin up sister!!

My doctor's gave me Gatorade for my long drive home after surgery (several hours). They had me sipping it. I used it for several weeks and I did not have the dehydration or shakes that many get shortly after surgery. I agree that you are taking in so few calories, don't stress about what is in Gatorade! Best of luck!

I keep waiting for this phenomenon! I enjoy sex, but I can honestly say that sleep seems more important most nights. My hubby would LOVE for my hormones to kick in.

Thanks so much for sharing! You are an inspiration to all of us!

Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

I'm jennmck on MFP!

Caliblonde and bigdaddydlow you both look amazing! What an inspiration to the rest of us!!!

Quick update towards Valentine's goal: SW: 179 CW: 172 GW: 160 Moving in the right direction!!!

Glad you have an answer and it's something that can be adjusted with your diet to make you feel better!

I experienced that the first five weeks or so. I'm 14 weeks out and can't remember the last time I had that. Now, if I try to eat one more bite than I should, I am in pain and will sometimes even regurgitate that back up. I also have found that some foods just won't be tolerated by Sleevie. It doesn't like them anymore. Listen to your body. I can't tolerate yogurt or cottage cheese now...loved them pre-surgery. Now they make my tummy hurt.

I'm 14 weeks out as of yesterday. I track everything I eat on MyFitnessPal.com. I've found that if I keep my carbs around 40 a day, I loses weight. Doesn't matter how much Protein I get or Water I drink. If I go much under 40 carbs...I don't lose. If I go too much over, I don't lose. 40 is my "magic number". I don't understand this, I've just noticed the trend and try to keep it around that number so that the scale is going in the right direction. Hang in there. It's all a learning process.

From the look out my window, I will be shoveling snow!!!