Last Chance Sue

It is the best decision I ever made. I didn't reach my goal by I'm happy with where I am. I stay within 3 lbs of my lowest weight since surgery having lost 65 lbs. I still struggle to stay away from the carbs. Having surgery on Thursday to repair 2 hernias. One had been repaired twice before. I was much heavier then so I'm hoping now that I'm thinner the repair will work. While the surgeon is in there he is going to remove the excess skin. My daughter is getting married in May and I will be rocking my mother of the bride dress!

Hello all. I was sleeved December 19th. I've lost 65 lbs and have maintained it since April. I'm getting pretty off track in terms of eating. Need to stay on this site to keep motivated. I still need to have my hernia repaired but might not do that this year.

I haven't been on this site for awhile. Good to be back. I needed some reminders. I'm losing - down 57 lbs. but could probably be further along if I was tracking my foods and staying consistent with exercise. Interesting though - I haven't gone down much in clothing sizes. I was an 18W (which were starting to get tight). I'm now a 16. I have an apple shape. My pants are big in the legs but because my waist is big and I have a nasty hernia - I still need a size 16. I wore a 1x in tops and now generally wear an XL. Sometimes a large. I would have thought I'd see a bigger change in clothing sizes. Oh well. It is nice to be able to fit into regular clothes and go to regular clothing stores.

Hello December Sleevers - I had my surgery on 12/19 and as of today I have lost 50 lbs! (okay 10 of it was right before surgery - but 50 lbs nonetheless). I have given away all of my size 18W pants. I'm into 16's now (except for jeans, still an 18 but minus the W). I'm off the insulin - still on oral diabetes meds. Still snoring, so might sleep apnea might not be weight related (bummer). I have so much more energy. Not very interested in food (never thought I'd say that). I do not regret my decision to have surgery for 1 minute. Hope everyone is well.

I'm having trouble eating. I just find that nothing really tastes good anymore so I'm basically living on Protein bars. I had surgery December 19th. I had gotten pretty bad before surgery about making meals for myself so this is somewhat of a continuation. I get hungry, but as I said - don't really have a taste for anything. (I can't believe I'm complaining about this!). I've moved from live to eat to eat to live, but I know I need more balance than just Protein Bars and Vitamins. Any ideas of quick, simple meals that are balanced, healthy and tasty are welcome.

Yesterday I was eating mindlessly and paid for it big time! I wasn't eating the wrong foods, just not mindful while I was eating the right foods. I was multi-tasking and didn't pay attention to taking small bites and chewing, chewing, chewing. Ouch that was painful and I did it 3 times yesterday! I had a pot roast in the slow cooker for dinner. I'm not sure if my sleeve doesn't like pot roast or if I just didn't chew well. But that round of mindless eating resulting in significant pain, my first episode of the slimes and laying in bed for 2 hours. I will not repeat that! I'm 5 weeks out - think today I will stick to mushies.

Actually I can probably answer this question. My daughter had an eating disorder several years ago and I learned a lot from that experience. When you are rapidly losing weight the body is under attack and needs to preserve it's core. Therefore all of your energy and much of your blood flow is protecting your internal organs as a fight or flight response. Thus, your extremities are much colder as the blood supply is more limited. Having always been hot and sweaty I am enjoying the feeling of coolness. Its easier to add layers. There are only so many layers you can remove in public!

I've only been sleeved for a month and my old habits are creeping back in and scaring me. I decided to buy some Pirates Booty to take a small bag with me to the theater so I wouldn't be craving popcorn. That worked, but now that I have it in the house, it calls me when I sit down to watch TV. Pre-sleeve - TV and food were a required combination. So I know I'm eating more than I should. I was full last night, but made myself a smoothie, drank it down and was sick as a dog for 2 hours. That's a good reminder of what not to do, but I find myself with a short memory. Need some words of encouragement.

Thanks all! The encouragement was just what I needed. I went for a 1 mile walk today.

Down 26 lbs since surgery on 12/19. Down 37 lbs total. Great NSV - put on a pair of jeans for the first time in years!

Hoping you continue to improve each and every day. The bumpy road will be worth it in the end.

My doctor told me it was based on the initial weight. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield and my policy allowed a BMI of 35 if 2 or more co-morbidities were present. Since I have diabetes and sleep apnea I was approved no problem. My BMI was 39

Can my protein shakes count both for my protein totals and liquid totals? I'm on pureed foods now but still find it hard to get much down so I've gone back to having at least one protein shake a day. But getting in 64 oz of liquids is tough. So I'm hoping the protein shake kills two birds with one stone.

I've always had back problems and severe muscle spasms and knotted muscles. I keep myself moving by seeing a chiropractor and having regular massages. Prior to surgery I noticed that I seemed to have some strain on my right side. After surgery it has only gotten worse. It's not near any of my incision sites, so I know it isn't really related to the surgery, but I do wonder during that 2 1/2 hour surgery if they had me in a weird position or were moving things around. Since the stomach is on the left side, this doesn't seem to explain the pain. Maybe I just twisted it badly when first getting in and out of bed after surgery. Any one else experiencing this? On another note, finding it really hard to get the Protein and fluids in. I'm just over 2 weeks out and was really looking forward to starting puree, but even that is hard to get down. I think I'll barf if I have another Protein shake. Any suggestions? Think I'll go have a sf popsicle to get some fluids in.

Thanks everyone! I didn't think about new muscles in use. Makes sense. I'll keep working on the protein.

Make up the list of meds you want your doctor to send you home with even if you don't need them. Mine wrote me a script for nausea Patches to wear behind my ear, prevacid solutabs (for heartburn), Lortab elixer (pain) and told me to get Milk of Magnesia for constipation. In the hospital speak up about what you need. The pain meds can make you nauseaous so ask for something for that. Walk, move (get that gas out!) They had me on so many IV fluids I couldn't help but pee. The pain was not bad at all (but I'm kind of a surgical veteran). I had my surgery on the 19th and was discharged on the 21st. Good luck to you!

Anyone have diarrhea shortly after surgery? I'm 4 days out and having a problem.

I had surgery on the 19th and every night I wake up between 2 and 4 am drenched in sweat. The bed is literally soaked. Kind of reminded me of when I had my hysterectomy and went through "insta-pause." Anyone else experience night sweats or did my body just forget that its "been there and done that".

That could be a sign of a blood clot. Are you walking around a lot to keep the circulation going? Did you doc send you home on a blood thinner? Is your leg warm near the area where you are feeling pain? I think you should call your doctor right away.

I'm only 5 days out but miss diving into a bag of chips.

Just wondering how long after surgery everyone got back to exercise? Did you start out by just walking? I know exercise is going to be a key. I want to make sure I'm fully healed before I start back on weight training but hope to get to the gym next week to begin walking on the track. (I was just sleeved on 12/19)

I'm feeling a bit hungry too and only 4 days out. That feeling scares me. Actually I'm not sure if its hunger or something else. I suspect it might be more in my head and I haven't learned yet to distinguish between head hunger and physical hunger. I do think the protein drinks in the evening help.

Did your doctor give you a prescription for something a little stronger than Tums? I have Prevacid solutabs. They seem to work pretty well. I take one a day. Years ago I had a bad heartburn problem (not surgery related) and took protonix. Worked wonders.

Got sleeved on Monday. Released from the hospital today. Feel pretty good. Still a little sore but I've had so many surgeries before I knew what to expect. Was a bit scared on Monday as I was feeling hungry and thought "oh no it didn't work", but when I was able to order clear liquids yesterday I realized it did work. Getting down a few sips of clear broth and a few bites of jello was all I could handle. Today I got down about 5 oz of a protein shake and a couple of cherry italian ices. Water isn't really too fun. Lots of heartburn. But glad its over, glad I did it, and glad to be on the losers bench! My blood sugars are still high. Hoping that is from surgical stress and will settle down soon. Good luck to everyone.

I get sleeved on Monday. I've not followed my pre-op diet as well as I should have. Gotta buckle down this weekend. Have to be at the hospital at 5:30 am which is probably good as I won't sleep all night anyway. Hoping to throw away my insulin pump and my C-Pap soon!