minaleigh

It's mostly women where I live, too. Probably in a room of 50 people for the support group meeting, 4 or 5 of them are guys. That's not counting the ones that are there to support their wives though. There's even two couples where both of them had the surgery. I did have one guy who had surgery (he had lapband, though) the same day I had mine. We catch up whenever we see each other at the hospital.

I use Scarzone from Walmart. I try to put it on once a day (if I remember ) and it's helped. I'm over 4 months out and my scars are still there (and probably always will be) but they're less noticeable.

It might not always break you out of a stall (I think the kind of food you eat would do that more) but it's always good to try and get in as much water as you can. It helps keep your system clean and can help you lose weight more than you would if you drank less. It also helps your skin elasticity. It's hard to get all the water in the beginning, but it gets easier as your stomach heals and you can tolerate more.

Hey all. Before surgery, I didn't have co-morbidities, except some joint pain. No high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, etc. Well, also before surgery, my blood pressure was darn near perfect, usually averaging 110 over 70, sometimes going as low as 105 over 60. I've noticed that after surgery, it's been higher, whether measured at the doctor's or the blood pressure machine at Walmart. I tested it today and it read 128 over 76. I know that's still pretty normal, but it's gone as "high" as 135 over 85ish. This makes no sense to me. I'm healthier than I have been in a long time, eating a lot better, exercising more, and about 70 pounds lighter than my highest weight ever. So why is my blood pressure higher now than when I was morbidly obese? I guess I'm just wondering if this has happened to anyone else or if there's some medical explanation. I'm not necessarily complaining because my bp is still pretty normal, I'm just curious.

I guess this has happened to no one else or there's no medical reason for it...

You've done great in just two weeks! I, too, wish I had experienced more food before surgery. Ah, c'est la vie. Keep up the good work!

I spent four days in the hospital. Had surgery Monday morning, got sent home that Thursday evening on Thanksgiving. To be honest, it should have been longer but I wanted to go home.

Looking good! Congrats.

I don't eat any more salt than I used, probably even less. I never was one to pile the salt onto food (I'm into pepper ) or eat overly salty food. 90% of what I drink is water, the other 10% is some sort of juice. Today was the first time I used the bp machine at Walmart. When I got to the doctor, though, my blood pressure is still around 125-130 over 80-85. Like I said, still fairly normal but a lot higher than what it used to be. I can't use the excuse that I'm just worked up because I'm at the doctor's because pre-op, the same doctor would measure my bp as 110 over 70. I've never heard of white coat syndrome.

I'm not "vomiting on a weekly basis." I just threw up a lot my first two weeks because of complications. First, my stomach twisted therefore nothing could go down, so it just came back up. After they put a stent in, it became even worse. I only stopped after they took the stent out. I also couldn't stop overproducing saliva at that time, so when I went to sleep I wasn't awake to spit it out so it all collected in my stomach, making me wake up in the middle of the night to throw up. When I said I've thrown up a lot, I meant in those two weeks I did. Since then, I've thrown up probably four times. Once because I drank too soon after I ate (and I actually waited an hour to drink), another because I ate too fast, and twice because certain food didn't agree with me. I'm still learning what my sleeve can and can't handle. I'd rather throw up and feel better than miserably sit for an hour praying that awful feeling goes away. I hate getting the foamies and having that constant stuck feeling.

Lauran, I'm not sure if you were asking me that, but I was prescribed both and neither helped. Msaprildawn, I don't think it feels like I'm throwing up harder, just a little different because I'm really trying not to throw up. I've never really thrown up a lot because of food before surgery (just from being ill or motion sick), so it was a new experience. I was only sore the first couple weeks of throwing up. It felt like I just did 1000 sit-ups. Now, it's pretty much normal.

I'm just one person, but I threw up several times a day the first two weeks after surgery because of complications. I never had a leak, but that's not to say it never happens. I'm over 4 months out now and haven't had a leak and I've thrown up a lot.

Pretty much the only people I have a hard time watching eat are my dad and my roommate. (Off-topic, but my dad lost 100 pounds basically just cutting out fast food. He still eats whatever, drinks soda, eats ice cream, etc. It's not fair, really. ) Anyways, he eats really fast, taking in huge bites, and eats a lot. We went to a spaghetti dinner for a charity and I had a few bites of mine and gave the rest to my dad. He was still wanting more after almost two plates of spaghetti, a salad, two pieces of bread, and a piece of cake. I almost got ill just watching. My roommate just inhales food. He'll take another bite before the last one he took is even swallowed. I remind him to slow down and that the food's not going to run away if he doesn't eat it slower. He doesn't eat a lot, but has a great metabolism even though he eats the worst kinds of food. He weights 170 and is 6'3" and can eat to his heart's content without gaining an ounce. I tease him by saying I just have to think about food and I'll gain five pounds.

I'm a little over 4 months out, and I've lost about 50-53 (it fluctuates) pounds since surgery. I feel like I'm a slow loser compared to a lot of people, but I can't always tell because when they say how much weight they lose, they include their pre-op weight loss! I only count post-op weight loss so when I see people say something like "down 75 pounds!" and then I see they had their surgery AFTER me, I'm not sure if they're including pre-op weight loss as well, which a lot do. I exercise about 3-4 times a week. I need need need to be more consistent but with work and school, I find it difficult. I work out at my college's gym and try to do it in between classes Monday through Thursday. I usually go on the bike 5-7 miles depending on how tired I am. I also do some weight exercises, specifically ones that target my upper arms since you can pretty much call me Batgirl because of them. My friend and I also walk around the lake at the university campus every weekend, weather permitting. It takes about 45 minutes to walk around and we do it twice. I'm guessing it's about a 3.5-4 mile walk.

To be honest, I didn't have an ideal time right after surgery so don't take my experience as the norm. Most people had little nausea and almost no pain, I was just an unlucky one. I woke up freaking out in the recovery room trying to pull off my oxygen mask while saying, "I can't breathe" over and over. Obviously, I could since I was talking AND I had an oxygen mask. No idea why I was pulling at it frantically. I fell back asleep and woke back up in my room. The nurse took out my catheter within an hour after that. I got up to go to the bathroom and it felt like I was peeing myself. Turns out one of my incisions was leaking. I threw up A LOT and used my morphine button pretty much every time I was allowed, since it had a timer. I was in the hospital for four days because of complications. Like I said, I was the 1% who didn't have a super easy time like most people.

For some reason, I thought your title meant you had "running fever," meaning you wanted to start running a lot, lol. I ran a fever right after surgery but they didn't make a big deal about it, so I assume everything was fine. I didn't have a leak and I had two leak tests. Did they make you do a leak test after surgery? Probably because it's right after surgery and your body is working overtime, you're going to have a higher temperature than normal.

Same here, LoserMama. I told a friend of mine that my goal weight is 150. She said I'd be too thin if I got to that weight. I had to inform her that 150 would be at the top of normal BMI range for someone my height, not the middle, not the bottom... the top. We've been friends for 7 years and she's only known me as big. We went to Walmart so I could buy some basketball-type shorts for working out and she insisted I get a size bigger than I actually needed. As I was trying them on (had to wear them over my jeans because the fitting room wasn't open), she said I shouldn't be discouraged if they were a bit tight because I was wearing jeans under them. Well, they were a little loose even over jeans and she said they looked good. I ended up buying them, but then returned them the next day because when I tried them on without jeans at home, they were way too big. A year before my surgery, my dad lost about 100 pounds. He did it by just cutting out fast food. He still drinks coke all the time, eats ice cream, and can't do much working out because of his job. Before I had the surgery, he said I could lose weight like him if I was more disciplined. What he didn't understand is that I didn't drink soda or eat fast food, I DID work out, and while I didn't eat the best food, I didn't gorge myself all the time. I have PCOS and he didn't understand that I just COULDN'T lose the weight as easily as him. After surgery, while he does say I'm doing well when I tell him how much I've lost, he goes on to say that I could be doing more if I was working out (which I am, 4-5 days a week) and ate better (which I am, at least better than him). He'll say keep going because I still got a ways to go. It's disheartening.

I've seen SEVERAL people do this and it bugs the crap out of me! It's not just a typo thing, either. They'll use loose 4 or 5 times when they really mean lose. Even when you reply using the correct spelling, they'll reply with the wrong spelling. Irritates me.

I've heard before that it's good to eat healthy carbs for energy before working out and protein afterwards to replenish the body. I'm not exactly sure if anyone would agree with me since so many people on here are anti-carb but it works for me! Maybe ask a nutritionist or a professional at a gym?

I'm curious, too. Does HRM mean Heart Rate Monitor? What is a bodybugg and how could you become obsessed with it? Lol, so many questions.

First off, I just wanted to say that by looking at your signature, you and I are practically twins when it comes to stats. I'm 22 so we're similar in age, we're both 5'7" and both started at 273. Hello my dear twin! While I'm not farther along, I do know what it's like to not know how to respond to compliments. Sure, we've all gotten the backhanded compliments such as, "you're not that fat" or "but you have such a pretty face." I didn't know how to react to those either, mainly because I found them rude even if the person meant well. Lately, I've been trying to impress one of my guy friends who always paid attention to my other friend more than me, since she was "the hot one" between the two of us. He actually paid more attention to me about a month post-op, even flirting with me, so that was all around weird. I've been overweight since I was 9, so I'm really socially awkward and don't know how to take compliments well. I've noticed that I really only get compliments from my close friends or my parents. I usually brush them off, because even they say I look so different and better, I'm still obese. It makes me wonder just how bad I looked before. If I'm still fat, and they say I look so much better, how horrible was I pre-op? I don't consider myself a negative person generally, but when you're not used to compliments, it can make you start to feel weird. I'm sure the people, besides maybe the lechers , who pay you kind words just mean well. I hope things go better for you at work so you don't have to stress so much about it. I don't think you sound stuck-up just because you're experiencing compliment overload. Btw, grats on the weight loss thus far! Since we do have the same stats, I hope to be as far along as you when I get to 10 months post-op. Keep up the good work! Stay strong.

I really only take a chewable multivitamin, Centrum Silver, twice a day. I used to take a B12 supplement, but one multivitamin has at least 400% of your daily recommended B12, so my surgeon told me to stop taking the B12. I also take one 50,000 IU of vitamin D a week since my levels are atrocious.

I really only told my family and my two closest friends. I mean, I'll tell people who ask me, but I won't outright exclaim to the world that I had surgery. It's my business. I didn't announce it on my facebook or tell all my coworkers. Only person at work that really knows is one of my managers. What I hate is when someone who knows talks behind my back to other people about it. They'll comment on my weight loss and then that person will be like, "Yeah, but it's only because she had surgery." If you're really curious, just ask me! I won't feed you bullcrap about how I'm doing it with "just exercise and eating right." No need to depreciate what I went through by saying I took the "easy way out" by having surgery, or that I "didn't really have to work for it."

You've lost 12 pounds and you consider that not losing weight? That's 12 pounds in 3 weeks! I looked at your profile and it said you're 5'3". You're generally not going to lose as quickly as, say, someone who is 5'10". I'm 5'7" and I lost about 18 pounds the first 3 weeks. I actually lost 25 the first two weeks, but that's because I wasn't keeping ANYTHING down, even water. I was basically bulimic those two weeks and had actually regained 7-8 pounds after that because I was re-hospitalized and was getting actual nutrition for the first time since surgery from the IV. I think you're doing great. As many people on here will say, you didn't get heavy overnight, and it's not going to come off overnight. Just keep doing what you're doing and don't give up! Like I said, 12 pounds in 3 weeks is awesome! When else were you able to lose 4 pounds a week? You also have to realize that you are probably going through the inevitable 3 week stall. Most everyone on here has gone through it. Basically after two weeks your body adjusts and needs to level itself out. It'll pass, I promise!

I never considered plastic surgery/reconstruction before surgery. Now at almost 4 months post-op, I'm starting to think about it. My boobs have been saggy since I've developed them, due to the fact that I waited too long to wear a proper bra so they didn't grow correctly, so I'm not really worried about those. Might wait until my future hubby wants them as a gift or something. Surprisingly, I don't have much skin in the stomach area. It's a slight droop but I have a feeling it'll get better with time and exercise. My worst areas are definitely my arms and thighs/hips. My hips are so big, they almost as wide as my shoulders. Then they curve (read: BULGE) out into the most horrible saddlebags ever. They're wider than my shoulders. It looks like I have two cantaloupe-sized tumors growing out of my thighs. I've always been pear-shaped and bottom heavy, but man has this surgery emphasized that. I've been mainly losing weight up top and now I'm ridiculously ill-proportioned. My arms are also unbelievable jiggly. I'm not talking a little bit, I mean A LOT. The whole lower half of my upper arm is nothing but jiggle fat. I'm hoping exercise helps the size of my arms, but I have a feeling it won't reduce the jiggle. We can't all be as lucky as BlackBerry. I envy her determination and seemingly lucky genetics/biology! Btw D1N, I think you're one of the closest people that I found on here in regards of stats. I'm close to your age at 22, I'm 5'7" and I had surgery weighing 273. Pretty close.