CowgirlJane

I am a year out, and as a very light social drinker, it is not a problem. I do notice I am feeling it after 1 small drink so I just stop then. It is a good warning, the sleeve makes you a very cheap date - so be careful!

My surgery was 12/12/11 and it has been an amazing year. I sent from 308 down to about 174-175 - I just recently moved into a size 10. That is unreal for me. I am still plump, and oveweight by the charts. My goal is to get to 158, my primary care doc says I should probably weigh in the 140s, but she wasn't sure I should necessarily go for that considering I have never been able to maintain a weight that low. I actually spent some years weighing in the 160s back when that was considered "Plus sized". Anyway, as she said, the scale is a number, I am going for when I feel like I am healthy weight but I really do want to be in single digit clothes. A 6 or 8 just isn't small like it used to me (in college, I got down to those mid 140s and never got smaller then a 9/10 so sizing has definately changed!). Besides the numbers on a scale, life has changed for the better. My horse hobby is a whole new set of fun now that I am no longer constrained by my size. I have joined a competitive drill team and will feel comfortable wearing those slinky tops and riding in front of big crowds. I am enjoying shopping for clothes for sure. The hazard is that everything looks good...lol.. compared to before when nothing looked good. I mostly shop at Ross Dress for Less so am able to satisfy that urge to try on 8 things, buy one, and get out of the store for about $12 so it works. What is most exciting is that I can wear fashionable shoes and boots without killing my feet so /I feel like I can wear dresses and skirts again! Woohoo! I am even enjoying the gym alot. When I worked out before, I never really got to where I could do the fun stuff. I am doing spinning and most recently a very high intensity bootcamp style condiioning class. I love that high energy workout, it gives me a shot of "gogo" that just makes me feel good! Friends, family and coworkers are just estatic for me! I have told some about the surgery, but don't even really care one way or another about people knowing I have come to understand that to maintain this massive weight loss, I need to eat very little, and to eat moderate carb - really avoiding junky food. Right now, I am feeling really good about it, but a recent exposure to a bunch of Christmas treats which I normally just don't eat, but did, remind me that this is going to be something to work work work at forever! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you!

Happy, my primary care doc just warned me about this last week. She said that everyone, including doctors! are so used to women being fat, that when they see a normal one, they look skinny. She herself gets it all the time and I am glad she said something because I am still in the overweight catagory but having friends say "you don't really have more to lose do you?" She has a very petite build, no breasts or curves to speak of, but that is her natural. She also told me that I am very likely to start seeing the creases in my face the next 20 pounds off which will trigger a whole new set of remarks. Her advice was to just go for what is healthy for YOU and something you can maintain. Nod and smile politiely to the inqisitors - they will likely get used to the new smaller you or perhaps they won't, but don't let it get to you,

I think that surgeons keep revisions on longer as precaution. I am sure it is fine, but try to follow his advice from here on out - I figure we hire them because they are the experts!

I used what the NUT recommended - easy, cheap, and good guideance. I started out measuring with measuring cups (1/4 cup size, 1/3 and eventually 1/2) and then of course measuring spoons. I already owned all that plus a scale. With the sleeve, volume is more important then weight though. I use a teaplate as my "dinner plate" which helps with portion control even though i don't measure anymore. I eat using appetizer utinsils. I hated the suggestion of "baby forks" but appetizer ones from bed bath and beyond are great. I also bought a $5 mug warmer which I used to keep beverages warm, but also to put my little plate on if it is something I really want to keep warm.

Update - I went shopping yesterday and my butt fit fine into non stretch skinny jeans, size 10. I am now declaring it official - I wear a 10 on the bottom. My tops are still 12s else they pull a little tight across the chest. I am hovering in the 173-175 range but continually "reshaping"

yikes! http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/5-love-the-sleeve/

I am not sure there is a "normal" but what I will say is that you need to progress on the journey.... go through the stages and steps. The steps teach you many lessons... this is a lifelong deal and it is a mistake to only focus on what appears to be short term gains.

I am not mentally ill - that is the difference. I am doing this to save my life, not end it early.

I am not upset with you - it just seemed like a tangent to take this on. i do agree with the point though - I am a firm believer that weight loss is easy compared to maintenance.... we all need to keep that in mind!

I have a million things to say, but this has been both a very hard but also the very best year of my recent life. Wow, I am just thrilled! When I see that before photo, I remember and still love her. I love how brave she was to keep trying, no matter how many failures at getting the weight off. I think she looks hideous on the outside but I know she was beautiful and strong on the inside, it was just so hard to see under the fatsuit. So - starting weight size 308/ size 26W stuffed Current 175/size 12 loose - can wear most size 10s and even a size 8 skirt the other day! NSV - a million of them!

I am an equestrian, I had no idea that the reason I had my stirrups so short before was because of how fat my thighs were. My legs have grown in length, when riding, and I feel more like a normal rider! No one told me that at my current size - still 15-20# away from goal - many people would consider me pretty good looking....hahaha... it is great! Perfection not required.... progress toward better is my new mindset!

Forget horror stories, read published studies. The band fails, more often then not over the long term. By fail I mean - regain and/or removal required. That of course doesn't mention all the suffereing involved to get there, but based on what we all know now, the band makes no sense whatsoever. It took me a couple of years of anguishing over doing something so "radical" as having part of my stomach removed. I can relate to that fear. In hindsight, I see it like I had a too big stomach and I needed this to "fix" that problem kind of like a nose job...lol. I didn't see it that way at the time though. I failed with a lapband, and I dont care what surgery you get, you absolutely must be mentally ready for it so I wouldn't push on it honestly except to implore him to really really hear the negatives about the band. Everyone thinks it won't happen to them. I think about 2/3 of bands eventually fail.... maybe higher.

Well, lets assume for a moment what you say is true - don't worry about it - you are in early days and still losing!!!! REality of it is we are all different bone structures, build, carry weight differently etc. It just doesn't pay to compare yourself to others. Celebrate your own self and be happy with your progress is my advice! Flip side of it is I could be all depressed because other people get surgery at a weight that I considered "pretty good" (under 200#). Well, I just don't compare myself to others, they have their own journey. I am at 175 now and everyone that knows me says i look amazing - well, some of that is my rather substantial build and some of it is that I used to weight 300#+ so of course 175 looks amazing by comparison!

Look at the stats - regain is possible with ANY weight loss approach, including surgery. All I can say is that I don't consider it a diet, I consider it permanent changes and I will just do my best and if I slip...I now have resources, including non surgical, to get me back on track. Even when I weighed over 300# I never gave up so I see no reason I should give up in the future either. I view obesity as a disease that losing weight puts it into remission... just like other chronic illnesses, it is prone to sneaking back and we must be aware of that and willing to take corrective action - of various types. I am not exactly sure why this wet blanket is thrown on my anniversary celebration... but okay...

As hard as it is, you don't want to be 33, 43 etc regretting that you didn't break away while you can. Trust me, someone doesn't treat you well now, it does NOT get better. You are young - live a little!!!!

Big mistake. The holidays will come again many times, you only have one shot at a nice easy recovery, don't risk it. I had my first sip of wine at 4 months post op and it burned. I couldn't finish more then maybe 1-2 oz and had an acidy tummy for my trouble. By 6-7 months out I could enjoy small tastes of social drinking just fine, but I didn't lose 133# in a year by partaking frequently.... I view this first year or two post op as my big chance and passed by many many eating/drinking opportunities to meet my goals.

AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oooppss.. Trying again with the photos! Oh, and no shapewear under that after photo... I drop a size when properly contained...lol

Oooppss.. Trying again with the photos!

Mine was covered by insurance. The bill was a shock like yours - I think it was about 80-90K, but then the negotiated rate with the insurance company brought it down to under 50k. It was still way the heck more then self pay. this is what is wrong with health care, the insured appear to be footing the bill for a whole lot else here (not talking about self pays, just the overall system). in the meantime, the premiums I pay for my very good insurance just keep going up and up and up.

Hey, we need an anniversary thread! Some of us may need a little help for that final push to goal, others celebrating goal, and others till maybe feeling a little off track. It has been an incredible year and support from my fellow December 2011 sleevers has made such a difference! I hope you are going into this holiday season with much joy and ready to enjoy the true meaning of Christmas (which shockingly, isn't food and wine!). Loving life!

I am an optimistic person, but after my horrible, dismal experience with the lapband, I tended to focus on the "worst" that could happen with the sleeve. I wish somehow I could have believed just how stinking good life is once you are at a reasonable weight. I am not even at goal, but I feel good, I feel great at social events looking pretty good, I can do athletic stuff, I can fit into regular ole clothes (skinny jeans - woohoo!!!). I wake up everyday just so excited to be here and with the whole rest of my life before me... as opposed to the somewhat smaller existance I had buried in the fat suit. It has not been easy, but the rewards are unbelievable.

Early on, I logged everything on MFP. My main focus was quantities, Protein, water/fluids and to a lesser extent calories and carbs but i had been given guidelines. Working with my NUT, at some point she had me move away from the eating by the numbers and I don't track now, but do "count" protein. As part of my push to get to goal, I am going back to counting protein and carbs starting today...woo hoo! I valued highly my early experience of tracking EVERYTHING - and that included the weighing and measuring. This helped alot with the whole "have I had enough? too much"" doubts in those early months. I was trained to and still eat this way - small portions. Eat from a side dish using appetizer utinsils. I think it is one of the most important keys to success in this journey. When you read about people saying how they "can" eat alot after a year out or whatever from surgery... well, that is probably true of most of us. If you never get in the habit of doing it, you don't know if you "can" or not, you just DON'T since you aren't really hungry anyway. This is the mental/head part of this whole deal. It seems so clear in the early months - well of course I can't eat much - but over time that changes and the habits you establish now will determine whether you are crying or leaping with joy at your 9, 12 month and beyond milestones. I am excited for you!!!!

I have never seen a study that shows how band to sleeve revisions do over the long run. My surgeon felt they did okay - but results are variable. I saw a bariatric doctor today who does primary care and when I met with her presurgery - she was seeing excellent results in her own practice. The vast majority doing well, at that time she had perhaps one revision patient who wasn't doing well (hooked on ice cream and all day snacking). Well, a year later, she is telling me that she is seeing trouble in paradise. Her patients that were "virgin" sleevers are doing great, but she is seeing regains and losses stopping for revisionistas. she doesn't know why, just has theories that the band teaches you bad habits - slider foods, but she doesn't really know that for sure. Anyway, I am feeling great right now, but i take seriously this "concern" and I am feeling like I am on notice to keep following the sleever rules!!!!