CowgirlJane

I lost a crapload of hair, but apparently I had too much hair before because I get more compliments now..haha. The hair loss started several months after surgery (can't remember exactly) and then slowed down by say 9 months out. Now, it is regrowing and is very healthy. I surely did not need a wig and i don't think most people do.

Hey, my (former) primary care doc suggested that I just needed to buy the right cookbooks... surely i could drop that pesky extra 150# that I was lugging around if i just had the right cookbook. yeah

I used to get them but don't anymore. I did get a little "imbalance" and it was fixed by boric acid inserts. A natural remedy that helped change the PH back to the more acidic - normal state.

Okay, I DID ask this question at my consults. I was told to wait 6-8 weeks and here is the reason... assuming you ENJOY "the deed" your heartrate will go up. They don't want anything that might cause small bleeds or whatever... so for the first 6 weeks post op no vigorous exercise of ANY kind. i was glad they were clear on this because I was thinking... there might be "things" that were okay to do sooner and there really aren't.

I didn't care for them on me until I hit about a size 8-10 range. Here is the trick in my opinion to ALL pants post weight loss. Make sure they fit! My boyfriend made a remark that one of the things I do right is never look stuffed into clothes. Even my skinniest, peel them of like a banana peel jeans do not give me a muffin top of camel toe. With excess skin, it is really really easy to get a muffin top... so that is a key factor. I actually can wear a size 8 jeans comfortably but unless I wear shapewear, I wear a 10 to reduce skin spillage.

So this is what i was told pre sleeving that these were averages. Of course this means some people lose very little... My surgeon wouldn't give me exact percentages, but told me that revisions from the band don't do as well for two reasons. 1. learned behavior (how to eat around a restrictive WLS) and 2. scar tissue from the band interfering with the stomach size they can make. Anyway, I lost about 60%-65% of my excess when my weight loss stopped. I was exercising and everything, but that was the moment when i had to get real... ditch the Protein bars, go really low carb, switch to high intensity exercise etc etc I think that those of us who remain active here so long after our surgery are NOT typical and are a very motivated group. Even those who struggle at not being "at goal" are pretty dang normal (or smaller then normal!!!) compared to a typical American their age. I see a group of hugely successful people on this forum who are engaged in the good fight over maintaining, or getting those last few pounds off (maybe even for the second or third time). My observation is that alot of normal size people are engaged in that same struggle...

This is exactly right. I "failed" with the lapband and I took away 3 key points from that experience: 1. I needed way more education and support 2. Obese people just need a crapload less food then "normal people" so get used to the idea of eating a pittance for the rest of your life 3. The lapband sucks The education and support part is huge - I got alot from my surgeon and nutritionalist, but i also get it here. That support helps me alot with point #2 as well. I sometimes get grief of my "mini meals" but that is MY WORLD and the only thing that keeps me from obesity. One of my sisters is probably 50# overweight but says she deserves those pounds - she eats too much. Her daughter who is probably 100-130# overweight, with a lapband, eats much less, is younger but still maintains this large size. My neice has a similar experience that i do - add back bread, potatos etc and the pounds pile on.... This sister of mine is one of the few who get it when I tell her i don't believe in calorie math.... there is something else going on.

I think sometimes we miss the point. Maybe I have a different mindset because i accept my goal weight at being a BMI of 25-26 range, but it is just a number on a scale and a chart. Health, how you feel, how you look - to me those are all much more important. So, I am not dissing on people that get to 22 BMI - that is what works for them but I think part of the problem of not making goal is having the wrong goal for the wrong reason. I would NOT ever trade my physical abilities to hit a lower BMI or scale number. The fact that I can hike, climb, play, bike etc and keep up with normal people - that is priceless and it is what I wanted from this dream of weight loss. The only think that makes me look "fat" is extra skin that hangs over my low belly and that sucker will be GONE in a few months...thanks to a little surgical intervention.

My highest weight was 332 (in 2005) I started my sleeve preop diet at 308; was 300 on the day of my surgery. Last time I weighed - earlier this week - I was at 155.6. I have been maintaining since Feb 2013 - staying in my maintenance "range"

You and I started at similiar weight and I am 5'5" I am not quite to a BMI of 25 but i consider myself at goal/losing 100% of my excess because with my larger body frame and muscle- i look normal. I wear size 8-10/solid womens medium so it works for me. I will wear even smaller pants once i get rid of that belly skin (plastics). Not many people who have 150+ to lose get to 100% excess weight loss, but it is possible. Just don't set yourself up for emotional failure - you know, you get down to 160 or 180 or whatever and then the weight loss stops.... don't consider that a failure!!! For me, I am at about 155. I sometimes dream of weighing 140 but honestly, I can starve myself and don't see the scale move downward too willingly anymore. I feel like I have reached a weight my body just doesn't want to go much under. But it takes exercise and eating very little to keep losing after a certain point. You get to be 1-2-3 years out and for most people the hunger has returned etc. It is harder.

Lasso, whips, spurs, pistol - whatever it takes.

I went on a hike up a mountain to the peak to watch the sunset with someone who is way taller and fitter. The hike down was in the dark, with headlamps and flashlights. I set the pace and we made great time. 6 or so miles round trip 2200ft elevation gain - and I rocked it...woo hoo!!!!

I think these are good suggestions. I was also wondering if there should be a statement pinned at the top asking people to not start new threads unless they are veterans. My main concern is keeping vets around, keeping them posting and if this forum becomes essentially the same as the general support group, I think vets will fade away....

Not that I am competitive, but PdxMan, I feel I was even better at this then you. I would lose say 30 and regain 45-50. Sometimes, I could even regain faster then the initial losses - how is that for you?!?! So, I am making light, but i also want to make the point that the SAME THING CAN HAPPEN AFTER WLS. I had the lapband at 267, lost nearly 70# and then wound up a few years later at 332. I KNOW it is possible with the sleeve to regain too so I think people need to be really really really committed for the long haul. I spent my year of hell thinking alot about what i needed to be successful, what has been missing. Some of it was a better weight losss surgery procedure, some of it was better support and education and some of it was me changing how I looked at things and how I dealt with the challenges. I have only been maintaining since feb 2013, but I am so focused on this... I just can't go back, won't go back.

Haha - besides, panties that are too big cause panty lines and wrinkles under your nice fitting clothes!

This is something that a doctor needs to be involved with. My own personal exerience, and all the many posts I have read on these boards - that is NOT normal for 7 months out.

I spent a year torturing myself over this decision. During that time, I tried a variety of programs (in addition to the lifetime of things I had already tried.).... I did.. that hgc hormone thing nutrisystems behavior and nutrition counseling a doctor supervised eating program I think that year of hell helped me with my long term success. There is nothing like trying EVERYTHING that committs a person to making WLS a success! Good luck whatever you decide.

I know this sounds totally totally shallow and stupid, but the other day I was just overjoyed that when my bra strap peeked out, it looked cute not embarrasing. I like that the size I wear now has normal straps, not the extra wide, extra gel, extra support, extra non slip models...LOL

My experience is that i will feel like my heart is racing, but it isn't. This isn't triggered by eating, but have had it happen other times. Check it first - and then maybe do see a doctor if it really is elevated. Maybe see a doc if it is not. I just started taking an herbal to reduce the adrenal/stress response.

When I told my (former) primary care doc that I was getting the sleeve and she was really against it... she gave me a list of cookbooks I should buy. Like, if I could just have the right cookbook I could go from 300 to 155 pounds... geesh. A doctor.

haha! I shop at ross dress for less where sexy panties can be found for a mere pittance! I maybe should check out fredricks, wonder what looks cute?!?!

I had the crapband for 10 years. Unlike you, once I started having problems i gained weight, I didn't somehow keep it in check. I was banded at 267 pounds, got down to about 200 or so, and regained to my all time high of 332. By the time of my preop diet I was 308, day of sleeve surgery 300. In the 2.5 months between my band removal and my surgery I did gain some weight, but i worked hard to keep it in check. It was tough though, really tough. This morning I weighed 155 - have been maintaining since Feb. No vomiting, no pain, no suffering. I am not saying it is easy, but the sleeve is so superior!!!! Good luck and know that that the band is flawed and there are other, better options out there!

That was the thing, I sometimes wear tops now that the bra straps do show - like normal women do. I would have never done that before and never thought about it,... but it was because they looked pretty industrial and now they look cute!

All I can say is your reaction is normal. I tortured myself for about a year before finally deciding that the "risk" of a horror story was worth the gamble since i had 100% chance of staying fat, miserable, unhealthy and become disabled and probably experience early death... I picked a surgeon I trusted and followed his advice to a "T". Not sure what else to do... but i can totally relate to your fears. Only you can decide if the risks are worth it. For me, it was the best thing I ever did for myself. Click on my profile to see my before and afters and I am guessing you might agree with me there!

So, I can only share my experience. I went through menopause young, like 3 years before losing weight, but apparently my morbid obesity kept a good steady flow of estrogen in my body. So much to my shock and surprise, after losing weight and resuming sex after a 5 year time off from it - ouch! Turns out I had the normal post menopausal deal going on - not enough lubricant but more then that, you get some thinning of the tissues too. In my case, it was triggered by the weight loss but a normal weight woman would have encountered it during menopause. I was put on premarin which is a hormone cream. It makes me itchy and it is irritating. I switched docs and now see a doctor who put me on a more natural treatment and life is good again! I did not have the screaming pain you describe, more like a hotness, an irritation so I wonder if you don't have something else that really should be checked.