hadouni

I'm dreading this myslef. My hair is fine and I don't have tons. I feel like it hasn't come back entirely after the post-partum shed back in 2009! My surgeon says there's nothing you can do. It usually starts around 3-4 months out from surgery and lasts 3-4 months. Then, your body starts to grow it all back. People talk about taking Biotin and other supplements but I've heard these just cause more hair where you don't necessarily want it thicker and the difference on the head isn't much if at all.

Oh you'll know it when you get it! For me it's been triggered by eating too fast and not chewing enough and by random foods that for whatever the reason the sleeve says "no" to that day. It feels like foam in your throat. If you get this feeling, my advice is just to go get rid of it! It's like a slime ball- totally gross and I don't usually throw up the food I ate, just the foam/slime ball. Best advice I can try and give is chew way more than you think you should, take lots of time between bites and stop eating before you feel full. These are all really hard to do sometimes- for me at least, I still struggle.

great article. too funny that our bodies see the lower caloric intake as a problem it has to fix. evolution really needs to catch up!

You are doing an amazing job! All your hard work is paying off big time. Good for you!

Congratulations!! I can't wait to get back into some of my old clothes! What great inspiration!

Hi All - is there a problem with taking calcuim in pill form? I'm tempted to buy the Citrical small tablets because I'm totally sick and tired of eating six gummy chews or six of the chocolate chews. I find myself skipping them and I know that's not good. Also, sorry, I know there's a Vitamin area down lower in the boards but it seems pretty quiet. Thanks!

Thanks all! I've done ok with pills so far. The Actigall is a pretty big capsule. I'm not sure if capsules go down easier than pills (after surgery - no difference to me before surgery)? After I get through these chews and gummies I think I'll give the petites a try.

What a great accomplishment! Congratulations. I tried on some old 18Ws the other day and they were tight but I could get them on. I like my clothes loose so I'll try again in 10lbs or so. My body is so different now because I've had a baby since I was a size 18 and I'm thicker in the area between my hips and waist :/ . My size 38 bras are going around me again too, but C cup just doesn't wrangle in the girls any more.

Strained progresso soups were the thing that saved me. One full months of fluids huh? What about thinned yogurt? Greek yogurt thinned with some kind of juice maybe? Good luck!

you look really great! congrats on all your hard work paying off!

Great job! Congrats on the excellent recovery!

peacequeen, you've been through the ringer so please don't kick yourself over a few bites if cheesecake! like another said, don't eat a whole cheesecake by grazing on it over a day or two either! I've been tracking on myfitnesspal and most days I get between 650 & 800 calories so if a worthy treat presents itself, I have a little. one thing that helps post sleeve is if I eat too much junk I feel awful and that helps me stay away from the bad stuff.

The move to regular foods is hard sometimes and one of the hardest things (for me) is that I have to stop eating way before I think I'm full because one bite too many is just down right unpleasant. It seems rediculous to eat 1/3 cup of anything but sometimes I even need to stop at 1/4 cup for denser foods. Last night I had chicken and I mixed it with a little yogurt and some shredded cheese and that went well. I even followed it with a few canned green Beans about 40 minutes later. I didn't have any issues with vomiting until I started regular foods. I have to constantly remind myself to chew way more than I'm used to, let some time pass between bites, really watch the volume and try to get the denser Proteins lubricated somehow. Who thought I'd be learning to eat at 40?

oh yeah! my head often went to "why am I bothering to eat this when I'm trying to loose weight anyway". Now I'm battling the 1/3 cup of food at a time now- it's sort-of like, why bother and it doesn't ususally make me feel very good- especially meats. I need to practice chewing more with meats and have to fight the idea of taking a little liquid to help soften them up. Last night I ate some chicken and felt awful for 30 minutes or so. I don't regret surgery for a second but eating is more of a chore than pleasure for sure these days!

congratulations! thanks for sharing your struggle too!

mine was super easy too and I was FREAKED out about it. my blood pressure has never been that high to my knowledge as it was when I checked in for the endo! they got an IV going and they took me back and the Dr came in and told me a little about what they'd do. I remember them telling me to lean on my side and thinking to myself how was I going to keep myself propped up like that... the next I knew I was rolling over and looking at my mom in the prep area again!

how much of the stomach they typically remove, will you have a drain, will you still have a tube down into your stomach when you wake up. these were big q's for me at least.

I started feeling hungry about 5 days out too. That was the day I had to be around others eating. I wasn't feeling much restriction on liquids either so all my soups and other fluids went down totally fine. The things that saved me were strained progresso soups that I'd thin a little with beef or chicken broth depending on the soup. It messed with my head to throw out the rest of the soup but I got over it. Those soups were much more satisfying. I had a really easy recover like you've indicated and the transition to "real" foods isn't a cake-walk. Getting used to eath 1/3 cup at a time is tough, I sort-of feel like why bother and yet I know I need to eat- and I'm hungry or at least my head is. I don't mean to complain, I'd do this again in a heart beat but it has it's challenges! Good luck and like others have said, the best things we can do four ourselves is to stick to our surgeon's food plan for these healing months. Our health is worth the short trial. Hugs to you-

yes, this is causing me some trouble too. half the time I'm not sure if its because I'm hungry or if I'm just trying to get the eating done since it's not nearly as fun any more! My half an english muffin and almond butter is sitting not so nicely right now...

Hi Peacequeen! How are you doing (other than the fab-o weight loss!!)? I'm so happy to see you posting! Hope you're on the mend for real!

I slept two or three nights in a recliner after I came home.

sleeve of steel summed it up perfectly. I've had this once and it was from oil packed tuna and lemon juice. felt like foam and all that came up wad the mucous slime foam. icky!

might sound cheesy but you might try frederick's of Hollywood or figleaves.com

Congrats on the soft-foods additions. Makes life so much nicer. I had mashed potatoes from Popeye's on Sunday and they were *really* good... I've tried to avoid starch so I skipped the oatmeal and cream of wheat so far. However, I did eat a little bit of a cookie yesterday. Sadly it went down just fine, unlike the tuna fish I tried to eat for lunch!

oh peacequeen, I keep praying you'll round a bend and start feeling better! Big hugs to you.