CowgirlJane

AmyTug, I am not yet at goal but I am posting a few photos. I have had two people tell me that photos don't do me justice which was a nice compliment but what I think they REALLY meant was that I am obviously self conscious and don't stand proud in photos yet... Recent: Before:

the physical sensation is different. I was still hungry with the band - like I would have food stuck and be in pain but still feel like had an empty stomach. I don't have that feeling AT ALL with the sleeve. The other difference is my own mindset. I am just alot more "over" food as recreation then I was when I was banded in 2001.

I am a year out from my revision. Do check out the revision board here - there is a lot of great info there.

Well, it sounds like a number of other people are giving it a try. I would love to hear reviews/see pictures from the people who are not selling the product after they have used it awhile. It is always good to know if there is something out there that works. My skin is bouncing back better then I feared but it is definately an issue when you lose so much weight! Surgery, if i get it, is another year or more off so if there is a product that makes a difference more then just time by itself does I would really like it too.

I think Butterbean is right - for alot of guys and sadly for "apple shaped" women like me the tummy was just a prominent feature so will go down slower. Spot exercise tones he muscles underneath which I do think helps, but don't actually get rid of the fat in that location. I am approaching goal and my tummy isn't nearly as bad as I feared. I did not do spot reducing, but have done alot of exercise and general activity geared toward cardio fitness, building muscles and burning calories. So, the fitness classes I do at the gym always have a core strength component. When I do weights, I am sure to build core/abs/back into it. I have firm muscles in my legs, arms and abs, but they are still under some loose skin and all.

Great post. I weigh myself daily because one of my old habits was to slip into denial....and somehow gain 10, 20 or more while I wasnt watching. This works for me and i dont obsess on daily normal variation but t keeps me honest with myself. Your post is important because we will all regain a few pounds, the real key is what do you do next!

The first surgeon I saw wanted me to get the rny because I had already "failed" with a restrictive only procedure. I started down the path of insurance, nutrition etc etc etc for the gastric bypass but I never felt good about it. After about a year of dragging my feet I came to the decision, in my heart that I would rather live fat then have that surgery. That is not a rational decision probably, but my own heart just could not get around having a pouch and the issues that come with rerouting intestines. So, always trying I contacted a place that did non surgical weight loss programs. I lucked out and happened to talk to the director. As I gave her my story it became apparent to her that I was not a good candidate for her program and that I really needed a revision weight loss surgery AND that I needed to talk to some people about the gastric sleeve, the procedure that had been ruled out previously. So, there is a lady that used to post her that had her list of reasons for the sleeve over rny and it reinforced my own decision too. It was basically that whole pouch nightmare that for me was the showstopper. I have a small stomach now, but it is a stomach and doesnt do unpredictable things like my pouch with the lapband.

I haven't seen any studies on this, but it seems that surgeons are following hunches on this stuff. All i can share is my personal experience... I had the lapband for 10 years and weighed over 300 pounds, I had serious dialation. My band came out in Sept, I was sleeved in December. It has been just over a year and i have lost 135 pounds so I feel I have been very successful with the sleeve.

Okay, we have totally taken over this topic...lol... I experimented with using a very rich conditioner on Sunday. Today, Wednesday and I do have a few small bumps, but not bad. I am still thinking about waxing in the future though, there isn't really enough regrowth to shave after 3 days, but it is not smooth smooth smooth either - thinking that waxing will keep the smooth feeling alot longer.

I think you are asking a complicated question. For high BMI people, the metabolic disorder - obesity - is pretty advanced. That extra weight puts up quite a fight! My doc told me that i have done very well to go from over 50 BMI down to under 30 BMI. I am still losing, but his point is that alot of people who are THAT heavy just don't make it that far. Even so, wow, what a victory to go from 300+ to the under 200 range, right? I started at 308, currently weigh 174, most people assume I weigh in the 150s judging by my appearance. I wear a size 10, non stretch jeans... I am smaller then many women my age. My ideal weight, by the charts is 144 I believe. So if I don't lose another pound, does that mean I have failed to lose all the weight? I don't see it that way and neither does my surgeon or my family/friends. For people who started out lower BMI, well, maybe the reasons are a little different, but reality of it is that not everyone is willing to exercise regularly, follow their meal plan etc. Or maybe they don't really have the education/support needed. The initial weight loss is pretty easy for most people, but over the long haul it takes work. Trust me, getting those last 20 or so off is work for me at least!

I am replying to this post because just over a year ago - I had all those same fears. What has actually happened is my life has been transformed beyond my wildest dreams. I am pretty, energetic, healthy, fun, active and just live a life that is so much richer then it ever was at 300+ pounds. In some ways, I did change to a different person. People tell me I am the same except I am just happier. Well, that is true, I can also wear high heels without dying, I dress more fashionably, I take better care about my hair and makeup. I like to think that I am the person I always was, I just no longer have the obstacle to being the real me... the real me was struggling under a burden that made it hard to be everything I aspired. One thing in my attitude that is different though - I was and still am so OVER food. I mean, it has been like a bad boyfriend, short term thrills, long term ills. I have had too many delicious meals, I am done with that. Here is the truth, a year out I can enjoy any food, no food restrictions but it just doesn't taste that great. It just isn't THAT important. It just isn't worth it. I know not everyone has the same experience, but I think letting go of loving food is an important part of this journey. Not to say that I hate food, it is just that it is like exercise, brushing teeth and drinking Water - things I do to be healthy - eating is no longer recreation. Food is food, it is energy, no more, no less. I have gone out to eat with people who don't know about the surgery and that can be a little embarrassing because i eat such tiny portions. When I see them looking at me, I am just honest in saying that I have to eat small amounts throughout the day to maintain my health and to keep from gaining weight and that I will enjoy the rest later. Most people seem to accept that.

I accidently uploaded my current progress photo to facebook. My friends and family wrote such nice things about how I look, it made my day! I decided to print it out so when I have a bad day I can read about what a hot smoking mama I am...hahaha. It is like taking the compliments you get while losing weight and bottling them up to use when I need them.

I too am sorry for not responding, there are so many posts they sometimes gets missed. consider that your deleting your access to this forum as perhaps being part of the anger you are feeling? So, I am a pretty stoic person. I work in a mans career world and do not go all hormonal on people...lol. Those first months post op I felt like an adolescent girl....lol. My moods were up and down... I felt lonely, I felt mad, I felt... like I missed my food. ALOT of it is hormonal. The body releases estrogen as the fat melts away. I feel that exercise, and doing relazing things like meditating (or whatever your thing is) really helps. The men were wise to not eat french fries in front of me until I got passed that stage or someone might have lost a finger. It DOES pass, and if it doesn't; perhaps consider counseling? It could also be that you have been suppressing rage with food... and now the issues you need to deal with might be ready to come to the surface? This is speculation on my part of course, and I do believe the hormonal changes are really a trigger to whatever is going on. Good luck with your journey - it really is worth it!

I feel so blessed - I felt almost... overinformed...lol. I can't think of a thing that came as a true surprise. I had a lapband in 2001 and this was a complete oppositie experience - I REALLY knew what i was getting into this time, I understood in depth why I needed it and why diets just didn't work for me. I knew how to eat and had a lifeline of a nutritionalist on call/by email 5 days a week. I think those things helped me so much with my success as I had it to fall back on, whenever there were doubts.

I would be interested in donating too - but most important is I want good results. Am I the only one TERRIFIED of plastics....lol???!!! To me, this surgery sounds much rougher then being sleeved.

Forgive yourself so you can move on and continue to be successful. I know this is a hard idea to change in our minds, but success does not require perfection, it does require continual work toward your goals and good compliance most of the time. One of the "mind changes" needed is to get away from the all or nothing thinking - like "I ate a cookie, I am a failure so the sleeve doesn't work for me I might as well eat another cookie." Ok, I am being silly, but the point I am making is don't let your old thought patterns control you. This isn't another diet, this is a permanent change and it will have many ups and downs. The people who are most successful at anything in life pick themselves up, dust off the remnants of those bad feelings and keep on going toward their goals rather then letting that "fall" turn into an all out despair/giving up. I am surprised you weren't physically ill from a cookie though. I had some Peanut Butter in a Protein shake about 2 weeks post op and the richness of it about killed me - dumping syndrome? You will find that "slider foods" like Cookies and crackers go down with NO problem. That is why they can't live in my house.... we had a lot of fun for a long time, but my "affair" with junk food well - it is over now.

I was a revision from the band. I was always hungry prebad. I was banded in 2001 and there wasn't alot of understanding about metabolic disorders then, which I clearly had. So, I failed miserably with the band but didn't realize until it was removed that even though it had been empty/no Fluid since 2004 it was still "checking" my appetite. My band was removed Sept 2011 and the 2.5 months from that to the sleeve i was insatiable. It was AWFUL. I am not a binger in the sense of emotional eating, but I could eat dinner and be ready for another dinner an hour or two later. I did a high protein/low carb - all you can eat kind of diet which stopped the weight gain and even lost a few pounds (this was before my preop diet). Okay, so post sleeve - there was a period of adjustment... early weeks your hunger sensor is wacky.... well, at least mine was. By 6-8 weeks, back on normal food, my appetite was gone. I still had some head hunger, made a few mistakes but all in all, I was no longer "driven" to eat all the time. My appetite started returning by about 7 months out, but I have learned to manage that very effectively by what I eat. I have to avoid simple carbs or else I get hungry. Anyway, that is just one story, but I was a hungry 24/7 kind of person and I just don't live with that demon anymore. I do continue to eat small portions frequently - basically I have 4-6 "mini meals" everyday. I have lost over 130#in a year and am still losing... have another 20 or so to go.

oh, I was a revision from the band too and my progression to soft and solid foods was conservative/slow due to the higher risks with a revision.

don't trust it so early on from your surgery. Could be acid, could be cut nerves not healed yet. I strongly advise eating by the measuring cup and clock for at least the first 6-8 weeks - it took that long for my hunger to basically go away. It returned at about 7 months, but is easily managed by staying low carb.

Minority opinion here, I wouldn't do it if I had such a low BMI Let me say that I LOVE my sleeve, I had surgery same place as Iggy and had wonderful care,no complications and excellent, life changing, couldh't have dreamed for better results! the point is that complications can happen anywhere. If you have complications, recovery from them SUCK. Iggy tells a scary story, and there are plenty more like them just like that. We all think it won't happen to us, but it could. The surgery needs to really be worth it. The odds are very low that you will die or have a major complication, but it COULD happen. It needs to be worth it. I was a 52 BMI, was having health issues and worst of all - a very decreased quality of life. for me, those risks were worth it. If I had been unlucky enough have complications, it would still have been worth it because I was on a slow march to dying to young with a side trip through disability... Now, woohoo, I feel young, energetic - wonderful - I wear a size 10 now - I am far from petite but I am normal and I am loving it. Even if I never lose another pound, it was worth it (I am actually still losing; lost over 130# in a year)

I have had laser treatment on chin and upper lip hair. It worked GREAT, but I did like 6-8 treatments and two years later it is like I never did them - well, there are fewer hairs, but it is still an issue so it is not permanent for me and my hairs were dark on fair skin. I am hearing that others have similiar results - it is great as long as you keep doing painful expensive treatments. Waxing is sounding better since it seems like it is the same basic thing, hair quantity reduces, but you still need to keep doing it and it is cheaper for sure. I might try coochy on some inner thigh/bikini area as that will be very telling if it helps. i have used other cremes intended for sensitive skin and it never helped... but hey, that was a few years ago so maybe things are better now. But, I must ask, where does one find a product called "Coochy" i never saw it at the local grocery store!

Okay, I am not an especially hairy woman. I have decided to get brave and try a brazilian - I have never been waxed so I am scared...lol. anyway, it gives me courage that so many o f you have survived it. I hate shaving private parts because I am prone to those little bumps. I do trim though and being hairless "down there" makes me feel sexy so that is why I want to try the waxing. How often do you have to do it? Do you get the bumps like from shaving? Now, preference for hair on men - I think it is a personal preference. Facial hair - controlled quantities are okay, but I really prefer clean shaven. Chest/back etc - I am not necessarily attracted to super hairy guys, but I guess I see body hair as a masculine trait. If a guy was completely waxed I think I would find it weird... like some body hair is normal and masculine. I am not homophobic - so don't take this wrong - but I think of smooth chests and backs with gay porn stars - a strange comments since I have never watched gay porn..lol.. but that is the mental image I get. Now, in private parts, my personal preference, trimmed if needed, but not shaved. Again, reference masculine/ porn star remark but more importantly is that stubble can be irritating and I don't want to be irritated. I am a very practical person.

I too am looking at a tummy tuck but I think it is better and get the weight off before really spending much time thinking of it. My hanging tummy isn't nearly as bad as I feared (I am apple shapped, overweight most of my life, had kds, older, etc - expecting the worst!). I never planned on wanting a TT, just braced myself for the worst of it. Well, it isn't THAT bad but now I am a size 10 - shooting to be a six 6 and I WANT it now. i want a tighter body. I want to fix my thighs too, but I don't think the surgeries get those good kind of results. Anyway, I am going to do a consult soon, with the idea of surgery maybe a year from now since my body is still changing and I want to lose another 20-25# too. Anyway, I guess my point is ... one thing at a time. Your ideas about what you want will likely evolve once you have lost the weight. I love the idea of the flowers - very clever!

Okay, we all know that lower BMI are just going to lose slower.. that is a fact no matter what. I don't think you will magically lose better with another surgery without figuring out WHY you aren't losing at a reasonable rate with the sleeve. I know for me it took working with a nutritionalist to really accept and understand just how little I need to eat. People say they are eating healthy, but without specifics it is hard to know ... all it takes is an extra hundred or two calories a day and the weight loss just stops. I failed with the lapband, so I am not just blowing smoke, failing at a weight loss surgery is something I have some experience with... The sleeve has been kick ass great for me, but it wasn't just the procedure that is better - it is the education and support I got that helped me lose 133 pounds in a year.