CowgirlJane

I agree on the owner carb

Denise, I am not a medical person, but an infection that returns when antibiotics stop is nothing to fool with. This is the 3rd round of infections? Time to get theeself to a wound specialist. I am so empathetic about losing parents... the decline, the loss. I had about 10 years of hell between aging parents, dying other relatives (including my sister). I feel like I had to face all that way too young - still in my early 40s. I still had little kids, a growing career, it was a nightmare. It had a big negative impact on me, I hope you are able to manage your way through this better than I did. I can't believe it, I regained my 5:2 losses and am back to 163. I want to weigh 143. I didn't go wild, I was just lazy and low activity this weekend. I was not eating excessively in the least - this was the wakeup call that I need to eat really small to maintain weight and I have been eating too much for months and am paying the price. And in spite of my aches and pains, I NEED to get back on the high intensity exercise train. Damn.

It has happened but it is a rare problem. If a person has a complication might prevent adequate intake. If a person develops an emotional aversion to eating, it could happen. I think about 99 percent of us have to work to get to goal and stay there. I am 3 years out and just don't see this as a major worry.

Well I think it is a mistake to let your child (as grown as he may be)influence you. He doesn't know what it is like to have obesity have such a strangle hold. My sons are now early 20s and the WLS scared them at the time too. Now, it is a distant memory and they don't recognize my obese photos - like that was another life. However I will say that nobody ever thought I didn't try enough things pre surgery. I tried everything except drugs to lose weight (I did try the hormone drops). Everyone that knows me recognized that year after year I might win a few battles I was definitely losing the war. Lose, regain it plus more......finally turned into couldn't even lose anymore. I probably did so well post sleeve because I had tried so hard and so long by myself that finally having an effective tool (sleeve) to help made all the difference and was very motivational. If it were me, I would want to really believe that I needed the surgery to save my life. It is a drastic measure. Its not the easy way out, but at some point, the ONLY way out.

Same thing happened to me and I still had a ways to goal. I met with my NUT and she recognized I had introduced a lot of carbs so I quit on the Quest protein bars and fruit. I changed my exercise to high intensity interval training. That combo, and accepting that some hunger was inevitable got me to goal.

Will respond more later.... but Cathy presleeve I was ALWAYS hungry. My son says he is same way. I would be interested in that program.

I do think that your bodies are readjusting and you should keep following the rules and living the new active lifestyle. If you remain stalled, suspect carbs. I had to give up Protein bars to get to goal...too many carbs. I was also high BMI and what many don't understand is that the obesity disease is further advanced for us and it often takes more drastic measures like low carbing to make your goals.

Good post. Never joined fat acceptance movement but I personally accepted my fat because it was pretty permanently entrenched. I accepted it much like th moles on my arms...not what I would have picked but seem inevitable. I lost 160# post sleeve and while many prefer to not see there former bodies I look at my before pics regularly. They give perspectives. Like, if I am discouraged that my size 4 no stretch pants are a bit snug post holidays....it is a blessing to have those before shots of me busting out the seams of 3x yoga pants. It does two things...1. Reminds me gaining 5-10 is NOT 100# and 2. It reminds me of what I am NOT gonna do which is become obese again. I honestly wasn't that beautiful just really big. Glad you got a little tension released talking through this. I went to a counselor preop as a last ditch"fix my brain" effort so I don't need WLS. She was very anti WLS and the day she gave me a book where a woman had named her eating disorder "Ed" was the day I realized we were on very different crazy trains. Like wow, I didn't relate to that book at all. So, surprisingly she gave the insurance letter for WLS.

I revised 3 years ago. My experience is that the sleeve feels more natural, like I just have a smaller stomach. My comments are my personal observations... The sleeve is more consistent and not as restrictive as a filled band. I do not experience stuck or regurgitation. Only handful of times I vomited was from wolfing food. I was banded in 2001 at 272 and got to about 205 in a year. I had bad side effects from the beginning but by year 2 they were intolerable and all Fluid was removed. My highest recorded weight was 332 by 2005. Did weight watched etc and spent many years in the 240-275 range. I had my band removed in Sept 2011 and sleeve done Dec 2011. I weighed 308. I got to my goal of 158 in 14 months. I got down to 140 but am currently in the 150s. I lost 160#! !!!! So I find maintenance takes focus and I can see how easy it would be to regain but I am so far successful! !! I have never been able to maintain a big loss for very long pre-sleeve.

I never had seizures but the reflux and stuck episodes are familiar to me. I hope his surgeon removed fill as step 1. Also don't eat before bed, take an antacid, elevate the head of the bed. Also if food get stuck ...let it rest for the day ... don't try eating again even if you are hungry.

My boyfriend kept telling me I didn't need it. About a month before surgery he realized I was gonna do it so he stopped discouraging me and became supportive. After I recovered he decided it was definitely worth jt!

Well..what can I say..n nn not bad for a middle age lady. Thank you sleeve!!

So, one surgeon didn't think I would lose well with the sleeve since I had already proven I was "not compliant" since after 10 years with the lapband, I was heavier than ever. He was wrong, but I am glad i had that experience of somebody telling me that because it made me think very hard about my role in failure or success. I thought about what I needed to make WLS work this time. One of the things I realized is that I can be... prideful, self protective. As a lifelong overweight person who has done every diet under the sun, I tended to find nutritionalists etc as very condescending. I had an experience a few years before ...seriously... she had me play with plastic models of food and make meal plans using those models. I was offended beyond belief and really had an issue with nutritionalists after that experience. Like, hey lady, I may be fat, but I am not actually stupid...sheesh I feel like it was practically devine intervention that sent me to the RIGHT surgical practice with the RIGHT nutritionalist with the RIGHT follow up, support and education. It was like everyone, from the receptionist to the insurance specialist were just what I needed at the time. After I got to goal, one of the ladies at the office told me that they all could tell I was motivated beyond belief. I didn't realize it at the time, but I actually started the process that I have since continued of allowing myself to be vulnerable, to ask for help, to accept help - to being open to "being wrong" and needing guidance from others. I unconsciously practiced a new life skill that I have since developed further... and my life and realtionships with others is so much better for it. My grown sons have both told me that I have changed so much - for the better - in looks for sure, but also personality. Anyway, that is a long long winded way of saying - averages are just that! They include people who are not ready to succeed. They include people that have health, age or other issues that may stop them from getting 100% of their excess weight off. They include those unfortunate ones like me when I was banded who simply did not have the right education and support in place. I genuinely believe that it is possible with the RNY, DS OR SLEEVE to lose 100% of your excess. Clearly, people have even done that with the lapband - just not me. There is simply one little secret... keep doing what you need to do. My NUT called it "working that sleeve"... and i took it to heart. You have to keep doing it in maintenance too. That is why I hang around here so much. I still have the obesity disease even though I am slim/normal weight and size. I work hard to keep the disease at bay and not slip into old behaviors that permit the weight to come back on. Do not be fooled, once you lose the weight, you still have the same underlying issues and the weight will come back in a blink of an eye if you start eating like "normal" people do. Oh, and DS was always my back up l plan when I decided on the sleeve, but I hope to never have to go there as it seems like 2 WLS should be enough for one person!

Well, I haven't tried it, but I sense that I could eat 3 cups worth of cheetos.... I certainly cannot eat large portions of proper food (dense Protein and veggies). What I have expereinced is that the "feeling" of good restriction is influenced heavily by what foods I eat AND by staying in the habit of eating small portions. If I overindulge regularly, it seems like my capacity grows but as I get back on track, my restriction returns. Its weird. The number one success factor, according to my original Sleeve NUT was keeping portion sizes small while avoiding grazing. They recommend 5 mini meals a day - I often have done 4 mini meals, but it is that idea - eat small frequent healthy meals.

I think it is important to understand that you are fine eating so little - this won't hurt you. The main thing is hydration! Being dehydrated makes you feel absolutely horrible.

I think baby food tastes icky and I didn't really puree stuff either. I just did the greek yogurt and stuff like that previously mentioned.

Discount stores like ross dress for less became my friend. I found that dresses are much more forgiving than slacks. I think it looks okay to have a loose dress but floppy sacky looking pants is not a good look. I found many acceptable dresses in the $12-15 range so I was able to keep 3-4 decent looking outfits throughout my journey. Now that my weight is stable, i wear fitted but not tight clothing. Unless my weight bounces, and then it is snug... and reminds me I must quickly eliminate those pesky extra pounds.

I think it would be a good service for many people, but I don't tend to buy "bariatric" products so not too likely to use except for one topic. I buy premier Protein at costco and use regular Vitamins. One area of interest for me would be liquid multi vitamins though - I am currently using Eco Drink because I find Vitamin pills don't set well in my tummy. I am not sure what else is out there and the cost.

Michiganchic, I know you didn't have good results this week... but give it a few more weeks. With water retention issues, you might find that it takes awhile to show up on the scale.

Somebody asked about post plastics swelling. It isn't intestinal bloating, it is edema and it is very common post plastics. for me, it was caused by the lower body lift and sorta came and went for about 4-6 months. I hear it can go on for a year. Now, one thing that is kinda weird is I still have numbness in my lower belly and so it sometimes "feels" swollen when it is not. Well, I went skiing yesterday and maybe overdid it as my weight bumped up a few pounds. I have very tired muscles today and i believe that tends to be related to Water retention.

I did not come from the kind of family where we did things like ski, or vacation, or golf, or... really do any recreation. That, and combined with a lifetime of obesity meant I missed out doing alot of stuff that I DREAMED of doing. I did learn to ride horses as a kiddo, so I took that back up (as on obese adult). I was hurt very badly once and it was largely due to my poor fitness.... but I love riding so much that I perservered. So, I find myself at age 50 doing many things that others did as teens and 20s just because they were part of my "I don't even dare dream it" buried deep inside. Some examples: -Learning to dance (okay, i have learned a little, I am pretty unskilled but have so much fun) -Learn to ski (well - I am still learning, but done!) -Kayaking (done!) -More serious hiking (done!) -Ride more aggressively/do speed events on horseback (done!) -Ride a motorcycle (was a passenger, but done!) -Go mountain biking - shooting for this one in 2015 -Vacation/Travel ALONE - another 2015 goal Things I have dreamed of but haven't done/probably won't do: I have always dreamed of being a runner. I love to run. Sadly, my years of obesity combined with the alignment of my hip/leg makes me very very prone to knee issues and running in particular has killed my knee in the past. I have a friend that does the tough mudder races who invited me to do the short version of that (like 3 miles plus obstacles) and I just thought... I am asking for trouble I used to love to sing and I kind of wanted to start up again - in an ensemble or something. My voice has sort of changed with age thought and I am not sure I really want to put the time into it

The part of this thread that confuses me is surgeons telling high BMI people they will only lose 60#.... I started at 51 BMI and have been maintaining at 24-25 BMI post sleeve. I am 5"5" and lost 160# with sleeve. I was a revision from band to sleeve. First surgeon I consulted said I should do gastric bypass and didn't even educate me on sleeve option. It seems to me consulting with a surgeon who advocates DS might be a good idea since you really want this.

Water aerobics was perfect exercise when I was in the early stages of getting fit.... I waited about 6 weeks post op to start. My sleeve was Dec 2011 and I lost 160# and maintaining.

Well... I am 36 or so months post op and also very pleased8 with results but one huge post surgical change is my ice cream addiction is GONE. that was a major vice and now one of the only things I CAN'T eat.

So I have the experience of not one but TWO WLS. .. the head space component is HUGE I am a sleever believer ... really. ..knock on doors telling obese people how good it feels to be normal. You cannot begin to understand my degree of hopelessness at one point and then glorious results. I feel qualified to say a few things. Anxiety does not equal rational decisions. Flip side, you need to be "all in". A week preop I told my super wonderful caring surgeon that I was "all in" but was losing control of my anxiety. He helped me through that and it paid off big time for me.