CowgirlJane

@@mia150 it's that magical time when your capacity is way reduced and your hunger is diminished - and losing weight is easier. Often people post"it's not possible to gain back weight" or they write they can eat anything because quantity is so restricted. It isn't necessarily 6 months, but my surgeon advised that after about 18 months it gets harder. I had a hunger uptick about 7-8 months post op, but it increases alot more a couple of years out. Use this honeymoon period to develop healthy habits. @lessoftay. Are you on a ppi? Excess acid often feels like hunger. I lost my appetite about the phase you are at, so either start or switch ppi and see if that helps. Omeprazale or nexium seem to be the best.

Lifetime commitment yes, but for most of us the strict quantity control is temporary. I am over 4 years out and definitely don't count each bite or have food problems. I eat like a middle aged woman trying to watch her waistline. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using the BariatricPal App

There is a plastics forum! It is typical to need 4 - 6 weeks off work when you have the lower body lift like I did. I can't tell how far you are on weight loss, but when the time is right, do several consults. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using the BariatricPal App

Edited to say: 1 month photos on page 5 of replies Well, i went to Mexico to Dr Sauceda and had fairly extensive work done. I started with 7 drains and am now down to 1. I still have stitches in. So far, my results look great and I am very pleased, but it takes 2 months to see your final due to swelling etc. I still have a bit of a poochy tummy but I think it will be flat once the swelling goes down. I was very pleased with the surgeon and his care team. I loved the 3 nights and 4 days of clinic supervised recovery - excellent pain management and nursing care. Then, I was released to a hotel were I was bandaged and checked daily by a nurse and the doctor visited each day as well. For me, this was the only way to do it as the level of care I needed post op was fairly high in the early days. His way of doing anesthesia and working with a partner means he could do alot in one surgery safely... however, no joke - this was alot of surgery at once. I had the lower body lift, breast lift and augmentation, arms and "small" thigh lift. That means no incision down the inner thigh, just along the groin. My recovery has so far been textbook. I saw my PCP and she was overwhelmed with happiness at how good things look, the incisions look good, all signs so far are of excellent healing. I am far from out of the woods though; complications can still happen so I am diligent about taking it easy (this is killing me as I am normally so active), getting in even extra Protein and wearing the compression garments from hades. The surgery was NOT painful and the incisions have never really been worse then kind of sore. The very worst part is dealing with the tight garments, the forced inactivity and of course the drains. There are certainly discomforts.... of the 6 drains pulled so far, two of them hurt. Taken today, two weeks out, I am sorta hiding the two drains still in the mons area: These photos were recent, pre surgery. As you can see, I had worked out and had some "toning" under all that skin. I will get better pics when that last drain comes out... it is quite literally a drag on my style! To round this out, i decided to add a pre VSG photo so you get the gist of how much I have transformed!

You were sleeved two years ago? Make an appointment now! Ask if you should try anything while you wait. I suspect acid, so start with a good ppi or switch if yours stopped working. I used dgl licorice from the health food store to help. I lost my appetite and too much weight a few years post sleeve - but I recovered. Don't linger, get healthy.

To quote a country western song "my give a damn is busted" Honestly makes this all so much simpler. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using the BariatricPal App

A 40 year old single mom was murdered and chopped up buy a guy she met online. They chatted for a month or more before meeting... and they had been on several dates/3 weeks into it before the incident happened. they went to the Marinars home opener game - so at least the date started out in public. According to everything I have read - she behaved in a reasonably prudent way in terms of length of time, going to public places etc. I am on a couple of local ladies Facebook groups and there is a general freak out going on "I am never going to date again" type sentiments. Of course what i know factually is you are much more likely to be murdered by someone you know - which is a disgusting fact in and of itself - but, it still casts a bit of a worrisome doubt. As it applies to me, I very much trust the man I am seeing, I have met his friends, I know where he works etc. so I have no feeling that I should be afraid. However, that creeping anxiety remains. Sometimes people in this world really suck.

Well, every new friend in life WAS a stranger. If you aren't single you don't understand that it's impossible to hire an investigator for every possible date. I personally think she did nothing rash or crazy risky from the facts that were presented. I personally would not invite someone to my home after 3-4 weeks, but I did after 8 weeks and honestly what difference would that make for this victim? As I mentioned when I was assaulted by a mentally ill person I knew him through work and we were not dating. Violent manipulative people will bide their time. There is nothing to be learned from this tragedy because unless she had hired an investigator she would never have found the clues to his unstable history. Sent from my KFJWI using the BariatricPal App

Happy birthday Coops!!!! Sent from my KFJWI using the BariatricPal App Crud I am up 2#, maybe some of it is Water retention after a party filled 3 days. It was worth it! Sent from my KFJWI using the BariatricPal App

I think this is an emotional topic because people feel that evangelical desire to share this lifesaving, life changing miracle with others once they realise it works. Those type of emotions are strongest (for those who share that view) during the honeymoon phase. I am going to be 5years post op in Dec this year and it's like nobody even remembers I was obese. This topic is never debated among the 5 plus year crowd. I told certain people and didn't care if others found out. I will say one thing for sure - if you DON'T want it known, keep quiet! Every person you tell increases the chance it will be blabbed. I was ashamed when I was banded - ashamed I needed it and ashamed I had so many problems. I told two people ,my partner and my younger sister (we were very close). I was heart broken when I came across her at a big group campout telling a bunch of people in a derisive tone about my lapband. I was so miserable physically anyway and it felt like a kick in the face. By the time I was sleeved I just didn't effing care and I don't feel the need to"spread the word" of how I was saved either.

I am a fellow sleever and i haven't had it happen and I would pay attention. Obviously I have no medical training but I'd start with the obvious...am I eating to full instead of absence hunger? Am I starting to eat too fast or not chew properly (as I call it, wolfing food). Have I tried a 2 week course of a good ppi? If those things have been considered ,I'd go for a check up. I don't mean to scare you but there are late stage complications such as developing GERD that can show up years post op. I have noticed a very mild queasiness lately...a new development, and going through my own prrocess of elimination before I consult my surgeon. I figure better safe than sorry. Good to hear you are doing so well! My five years is Dec 2016 - surreal.

My horse is 15.3 and while I can mount from tbe the ground, I don't...hard on the back even if you are normal weight. Losing weight transformed me in many ways. In my riding I went from quite cautious (I was 250-300# range!) to being a bold strong rider. I surpassed my riding pals in skill and confidence. It was losing weight and really getting strong- that core strength makes such a difference. The day I put one boot on the wheel of a tire and swung my leg up and over to hop in the bed of my Dodge 3500 4x4 without even thinking (it used to be an ordeal getting in and out of there), was the day I realized it was a whole new ballgame! @@proudgrammy there are a couple of us horseback riders on here. Kindle and I are the only regular posters I think.

I am enjoying myself immensity with M. I sought someone with a compatible personality vs common interests and it is working out fabulously, so far. He is teaching me golf and he'll dabble in horseback riding. We both love games and play lots of board, card and dice games...and talk for hours and we are both very social. He is an attorney and kinda likes to"fight" - and politics is what we have chosen to fight about which seems to provide endless entertainment. I have totally met my match on the debate subject and love it too...neither of us take it personally and respectful so it isn't negative. Most importantly, we have incredible chemistry and compatibility - time together flies! He makes me feel really good. I have met lots of his"people" and since he is a very social person that would be overwhelming to an introvert...we went to a social gathering where there must of been 30 people who wanted to catch up so I wound up having to fend for myself. Once I realized the situation, I turned on my party smile and met everyone. I even got hit on..ha...I had to tell the guy I was there as a guest of M. Not everyone's comfort zone, but I had lots of fun and left that party feeling energized(classic extrovert). So, next is the hard part. He has been patient with me - I spent the first month going really slow (kidney stone helped!) He reads people well so just expressed interest without pressure and has waited for me to invite the next steps along the way in getting to know each other. It has been really great. However I know he wants to engage in my life more. I want him to as well, but it is triggering fear in me. I haven't felt quite like this toward someone since I have been dating and I do want more, but I am self protective of my heart, my family, friends, my daily life. At some level I feel like if I can keep "love" in a box and not part of my full life I can manage the pain when it ends. I've had a couple of boyfriends since being single and they hadn't even been to my home. I recognize that this"with holding" is a part of me that I don't like and something I want to face. He has met my (grown) sons, been to my home once. I am having him over for dinner later this week and he offered to help me with a big ugly chore (washing truck and trailer that are green with winter gunk). Sounds ridiculous when I type it but I feel some anxiety over starting down this path, because I WANT it, I am honestly afraid of failing in love. So here is my question -would you discuss it? I believe he has the general idea about my self protective nature so it probably doesn't need discussing but I don't want to be misinterpreted. This is hard for me and I suspect has been an obstacle for me in finding a good relationship. I have been in very few relationships -spent most of my adult life as part of a committed/married couple. I don't really want to discuss it, maybe I can just mention that this is part of my personality I am working to change and not make a big deal. I think it's odd I feel so strongly about this , the counselor I used to see told me that she felt the reason I found so many men I meet "boring" or unattractive is really that self defense kicking in, I never give it a chance and I really do want to change - not just because of M, but because I want to keep growing as a human. Sent from my KFJWI using the BariatricPal App

Thanks @barrysue. You quoted my post which caused me to skim through it. I wrote I was "afraid of failing in love" but I read it as " afraid of falling in love" which is probably the truth. Sent from my KFJWI using the BariatricPal App

I love my sleeve and don't have reflux since band was removed...but knowing the current research - people with GERD are not good sleeve candidates. Of course most will be fine, but odds favor you greatly by going bypass. Sent from my KFJWI using the BariatricPal App

Use the time to change your relationship with food. This phase will pass. Sent from my KFJWI using the BariatricPal App

He has more of a criminal history than I first realized but nothing like this or even remotely so. They are looking into unsolved disappearances because it seems unlikely that this incident was his first serious offense given the gruesome and crazy-ass nature. This story is appalling on so many levels and of course the tragedy of three kids who lost a good mom. My local facebook exploded over this because honestly most women who have dated someone for a month do things like get in a car with a man. I realize this had nothing really to do with online dating, but it's scary. The man I am dating lost a niece to homicide..a man she met out dancing/in a bar killed her, so sickos find victims in different ways. In another thread there was all this talk about being safe with your concealed carry. Well, I have been attacked by a crazy person ( knew him for many months at work) and a gun would not have helped. I was surprised ( he had shown no signs of violence) and quickly physically over powered. If I had managed to pull a gun, he would very likely disarmed me as I had totally lost control of the situation. It is my view that self defense training should be about getting away and running like hell. Sent from my KFJWI using the BariatricPal App

You have been given some great ideas. I found much inspiration in success stories and before/after photos. I hit goal in Feb 2013 and I still jump for joy when I look at my pix...ha! Keep your eye on the prize. I love my sleeve life! Sent from my KFJWI using the BariatricPal App

Besides I have a basic rule...nobody under 40 gets to see me nekkid Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using the BariatricPal App

One person said sleeves don't stretch ( I agree with you that isn't a true statement) others shared their own experiences. If they didn't remove all the fundus, that definitely stretches and others have reported this experience. I definitely have more capacity but I do not know if it is stretched. Sent from my KFJWI using the BariatricPal App

I too love being treated like a southern lady. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using the BariatricPal App

Sarah, I am so sorry for your loss. I am so happy you had such a wonderful father -too many of us didn't! Take care of yourself. Sent from my KFJWI using the BariatricPal App

I can't even imagine what this has been like. I hope you can get some grief support for yourself. I am so sorry you suffered this tragedy. It isn't the same at all - but I lost my younger sister to cancer in 2007. She was also my best friend and confidant. I carried that grief for years - and one day I finally woke up and realized that while she lost her life way too young, she would never have wanted me to waste the years I had left focused on what I had lost rather than living a full life. It took me a long time to get there, but I finally got my act together, had weight loss surgery lost 150# and built a new life. I can honestly say that i have a better life than ever. I had alot of survivors guilt but was finally able to let it go and live the life God gave me, followed the path God gave me and I often feel like I have my sis as the angel their cheering me on. Grief happens on its own timeline, and its own way, but do seek support/help so you can slowly rebuild this new life. I am so sorry for your loss.

I don't remember my lifting restrictions - I think it was 8-10 pounds for SIX weeks! i was a band to sleeve revision and they were super conservative on everything due to the scar tissue etc on my stomach from the band, but i think most surgeons have lifting restrictions. i didn't do ANYTHING with horses during those six weeks because it wouldn't take much to be over 10# of torque. My understanding is you can form interanl adhesions, but I would place a call to your surgeon's office.

So, I was in a slight funk yesterday for a couple of reasons... almost cancelled my date with M but decided to go - glad I did. We talked about alot of things, but at some point I worked into the conversation that I can be a bit self protective when getting to know someone and he replied "well, you should be". He told me he feels honored that I am comfortable enough to be letting him into my life which was a good answer to a question I didn't even ask. It was a short conversation and in the larger context of some things we were discussing it fit without putting too much into it. I am glad I was able to talk it all out with my "imaginary friends" here on BP first - made it alot clearer in my own mind about my feelings on the topic and I feel a certain relief that he is not experiencing any of this negatively - at least for now. So, thank you.