Webchickadee

Fantastic! What a great accomplishment is such a short time! And so much of it was without the help of your new "tool"! Just think what you'll be able to accomplish in the next 12 months! I can't wait to see your next set of pictures...........you'll be a "shadow" of your former self, with a smile so wide it will jump right off the page! Keep up the great work, and great attitude. It only gets better from here......

Nicci, we "talked" about this on another post the other day, but I'm going to "quote" it here: I know you have your reasons for being afraid of surgery: Don't let this stop you! Take the WONDERFUL advice you're getting here from so many people. TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR! Let him/her know what your concerns are, and listen to what he/she has to say. BE INFORMED and have accurate information directly from knowledgeable professional sources, not online horror stories. Give yourself a chance to get your life in control and enjoy your future with your spouse, your children and future grandchildren. Live your life to its fullest potential, and don't let your obesity hold you back because your anxiety and fear got the best of you!

Well, you certainly have been through the wringer, haven't you? And you have plenty of reason for anxiety regarding surgery (but you're right........you've always come through, so the odds are looking in your favour for sure!). Weight reduction certainly helps asthma, and it's been show to be very beneficial with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) as well. So the VSG could help resolve or at least improve your current health issues on those fronts. I don't know if your joint problems (ankle) were related to trauma, injury or the excess weight. But it is certain that reducing your weight will help keep the join in better shape going forward! I've got my gall bladder out too (from a motorcycle accident complication 13 years ago!). That saves us both a further surgery, as many VSG patients end up with gall bladder problems following their VSG and end up having their gall bladder removed later on. Some even get it removed at the same time (if they've already been having gall bladder symptoms!). My dear, it really sounds like you have a host of family health traits that will likely impact your life negatively in the next few decades. Just think how wonderful it would be if you could do EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to minimize those impacts now. How much happier your spouse and your children will be to have you with them, healthy (or at least healthier....) for childhood, teenage years, college years, young adulthood and beyond? You do have the chance to make that happier future happen. And even if the VSG is not the right answer for you, I am confident that you will find a way to get to a healthy weight. The challenge of course, is to stay there! I've lost 100 lbs before, but when life went "off-track" (I lost my mother and my brother within 5 months of each other), I "coped" by eating and gained it almost all back. That was 5 years ago and this year, I decided I needed a more permanent solution. The yo-yo dieting was not working......the weight roller-coaster was not healthy.........and I was blessed to find the VSG and a surgeon who I could trust. I'm happy to help you at any point in your journey. Feel free to "friend" me if you're so inclined. There is a great community of people here on VST. They answer questions, give support and a pat on the back when you need it.

Hi Nicci, You are still quite young (30) so compared to me, your "impending time" for health stressors may be less than mine (I'm 43). And, of course, I don't know if your family has a history of serious health problems such as cardiac issues, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, etc. Any one of those is life threatening and many of them seem to come as a "package" to those of us who are morbidly obese. Our weight really does "drag us down', if not sooner, than later. My starting weight was nearly identical to your current weight, and I'm very close to your same height. I WISH I had had the option to have the VSG done at age 30! I could have had a much different last 13 years indeed! We have a family history of cancer (breast, bladder and brain), hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, strokes, etc. I am healthy now, but if I don't get "hold" of things NOW, I am in for a world of hurt in the next decade. And it only gets worse from there.... So I had the VSG done in May, 2012. And I am now close to 80 lbs down (in less than 5 months) with another 100 or so to go! I feel great! I'm off my asthma meds (4 of them!) since surgery. I can exercise without shortness of breath. I'm down from a size 26/28 (or 4X/5X) to a 18/20 (or XL) now, and really looking forward to maybe being a size 10 or 8 (and maybe smaller!) when I hit goal. Yes, there are risks. But the % of people who develop surgical complications or post-op complications with the VSG is VERY VERY small. The % of morbidly obese people who develop serious, significant and often life-threatening health complications is VERY HIGH. So you're not "playing it safe". You're just putting off the time when the health problems will come. Now, you have a small risk. Later, you have a HUGE chance for life-long debilitating illness(es). I made sure I was very well informed about the possible complications. I prepared my Will, put my affairs in order and made sure that things were going to be taken care of (as best as possible) should anything go wrong. Then I got on a plane (by myself), flew to Mexico and completed the best decision of my life. Give yourself the chance to spend the next 50 years of your life having an active, full and healthy lifestyle with your children and future grandchildren. Don't let your body hold your spirit and your heart back. And while you definitely need to be completely informed and knowledgeable before you make this decision......don't let a few bad outcomes scare you away from the opportunity to change you life for the better. You will see that the number of AMAZING outcomes far far outweighs the poor ones. Do you research, get comfortable with your surgeon's experience, training, background and work environment. Get yourself tested "six ways to Sunday" to make sure you are a good healthy candidate for surgery and if there are any issues, starting working on the ones you have control over NOW, so you can come through the procedure as one of the success stories (like me!). I know you can do this, and you will be so grateful the opportunity exists. But above all, inform yourself and give everything you read a fair assessment. Then make your decision based on ALL the information. Not just the good and not just the bad. Good luck!

My greatest obesity "side effect" was very bad asthma. I am now nearing 5 months post-op and I have not used any asthma meds (with the exception of seasonal allergy avoidance) since my surgery in May. This is amazing to me, as I was taking Ventolin, Symbicort, and Qvar puffers, as well as an oral med (Accolate). That is a LOT of asthma meds........and now I don't even need ONE! The VSG has been the best decision of my life, and I still have another 100 lbs to lose! I can only imagine how great it will be when I'm at goal weight!

Hi Judy, I notice you are approx. 5 weeks post-op. Did you begin your current "major stall" around the 3rd week, or thereabouts? That is a VERY common time to stall (use the SEARCH box in the upper right hand of the VST site to look up 3RD WEEK STALL and you'll get hundreds of hits). A major stall is defined differently by everyone. For some it means 3+ days with no weight loss, for other (more reasonably) it's 3+ weeks with no weight loss. During a stall, your body is working out what's happening to its metabolism, trying to reorganize and restructure based on the new weight and fat distribution and trying to identify if it really is starving to death or not. That's alot of work to do....and it keeps it busy during stall time. Eventually (and usually without any big changes to your food intake or energy expended) the stall will break and you'll start losing again. Assuming, of course, you've been following your post-op diet plan. Butterbean has a GREAT link at the bottom of his posts (in his signature) that talks about stalls: http://www.dsfacts.c...or-plateau.html. I suggest you read it to better understand. It really enjoyed this article! As to eating more carbs, that is definitely an important item if you're exercising, as you need the energy during and after exercise. However, if you're feeling tired all the time now, it could be due to many factors: 1) You're still quite close to your surgery date. It takes a LONG time to recover! Give yourself a chance to heal completely before you expect to feel like your "old self" in terms of energy levels. 2) You may need more fluids! Water is a VITAL component of the biochemistry of breaking down fat. If you're dehydrated, you're making your body work extra hard to break down your stored energy (fat) and leaving you more tired than you need to be. Water is like fuel for your metabolism right now.......feed it properly! 3) It may take your body months to fully adapt to a low-carb (Atkins style) diet. In the meanwhile, you will continue to crave carbs (hopefully less and less!) and feel your energy dragging. Give yourself healthy carbs (veggies) and stay away from processed carbs (sugar, breads, Pasta, pastries, rice, etc.). Read labels as much as you can and know what you're putting into your body. 4) Log your food! You need to know what you really are eating/drinking every day to have an accurate count of carbs, Protein, fat, etc. I use MyFitnessPal to keep track of my intake daily. They have a website and a phone app, so it's handy and once you're doing it long enough, it just becomes second nature. Eventually you will know what the numbers are before you put it in your mouth and may be able to stop logging (usually once you've hit your goal weight). It doesn't have to be forever, but it's a great tool at the beginning. 5) Weigh your food if you're not sure of serving size, etc. I use a scale to confirm my portions. It helps me not overeat (ouch!) and also helps me ensure my logging is accurate so I KNOW what I've eaten. Historically, my estimates are WAY off, if I just eyeball it! LOL You may be eating more/less carbs than you estimate. Perhaps you're not getting enough protein? Maybe you're not sleeping well? I had poor sleep for the first few months (don't know why....anaesthetic effect, healing pain, body changes make me restless, electrolyte imbalances leading to restless legs/cramping...who knows!) It's better now, but I'm 4+ months post-op! Lots of reasons to be tired that are not necessarily related to carbs! If you're really anxious to know what's causing the tiredness, the best way to determine it is to make one change at a time and evaluate for a few days. If you change too many things at once, you won't know why you improved (though in the long run, it's great to just feel better, which is really the goal!)

Generally speaking, 40 g per day or below is a good guideline when you are first post-op. As your incisions heal and your stamina and strength return (this can take weeks for some, and months for others!), you may be interested in becoming significantly more active. Greater exercise levels will require higher carb levels to maintain your stamina and strength during exercise, as well for post-exercise recovery. There is great variability amongst MDs and NUTs (nutritionists) regarding their post-op diet instruction. You will see that reflect on VST with members' posting their post-op food stages, Protein levels, carb levels, etc. It is highly recommended that you refer to your MD or NUT for more specific information, however as a general guideline, you can follow this format: 40% PROTEIN (1 g = 4 calories) 30% CARB (1 g = 4 calories) 30% FAT (1 g = 9 calories) Which means if you are eating 600 cal/day: PROTEIN = 60 g CARB = 45 g FAT = 20 g In addition, it is suggested that you keep your SODIUM < 2500 mg/day.

Hence the reason I did not directly say anything to the "3 responders". I was not trying to make you feel bad, but pointing out that the most prudent and safe route was to see a medical professional. Please toughen up your skin a bit. I was not attacking you. I have, in the past, offered my own experiences as "thoughts", and relayed information from research as well. But pointing out serious and scary complications (such a stricture) can certainly put people in panic mode and cause anxiety which may be completely unwarranted. Naturally you have the right to disagree, and if so, I will accept that. My main concern was to have the OP seek medical attention and be SURE of what's going on with her, rather than have her awash in a sea of possibilities (some mild, others not) and not get resolution, or worse, try to treat herself and make things worse.

Wow, really? 3 different answers from 3 different responders..... phatdivabbw, I think your best and only approach here is to see either your surgeon or your PCP and get a full check-up. The "stall" is probably normal (I've had quite a few and I'm 4+ months post-op), but the pain, urination issues and eating problems are something that need investigation, without delay. None of us are qualified to give you good medical advice here (even those of us in the medical profession). You need to be physically examined, blood work, urine, etc. taken and proper consultations done. Please follow up with a medical team as soon as you can get booked, and if anything gets worse, then just go straight to the ER. Let us know how you are doing!

Surgery Date: May 14 Starting Weight (before 2 week liquid pre-op diet): 318.8 lbs Weight on surgery day: 307 lbs Weight today (Sept. 14): 247.6 lbs (4 months post-op) Total loss: 71.2 lbs

I had lost 61.5 lbs by my 3 month mark (including nearly 12 lbs from a 2 week liquid pre-op diet). My normal pattern is losing for approx. 20 days, with 10-12 days stall. Average loss now (after 4 months) is approx. 3 to 3.5 lbs per week (about 12 lbs per month).

I have no interested in United States politics. And if they are behaving childishly, it would certainly explain the state of the U.S. economy, foreign policy, national social services, healthcare, etc. I do know however, that this topic has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with either you and I having this insipid conversation, nor you having an ongoing argument about who apologized for what, or who is a jerk. Let's give the original poster (OP) some respect and stop hijacking their post with unrelated gibberish. That is the point I was trying to make earlier, but it seems to have escaped you. If you feel the need to continue this "discussion", feel free to message me privately, or start a new thread of your own.

Can you please take this argument offline? I know that I am not interested in this childish petty bickering back and forth, and I'm quite certain most of the others trying to read this topic are also likewise uninterested. Thank you!

Wow! Gorgeous (and the dress is pretty nice too.......).

Go slow when you start on meat, especially beef. It is quite difficult to digest and is very dense. It will fill you up fast and in the beginning, we're terrible judges of how much food we can eat. I still weigh everything to make sure I don't eat too much and end up in pain. Since the "stretchy" portion of our stomach is removed, the stretch receptors in our stomach that usually tells our brain we're full is now gone. Before surgery, if we ate few bites after the "signal" made it to our brain, it wasn't a problem, as we had stretch areas left to handle the "overflow". Now we have no extra capacity and even ONE bit more than our full mark can make us nauseous, throw up and in alot of pain. I started by weighing out a total of 2-3 oz of food and going very slowly. I am now about 3 1/2 months post-op and I can eat about 5-6 oz at a time, but I still occasionally overeat and suffer!

Everyone is different, so I don't know how things will do for you! I know that before my surgery, my period was quite sporadic (due to my obesity). Sometimes it would be delayed, sometimes I would miss a month, sometimes it came early! The hormones in our fat cells can really play havoc with things like our menstrual cycle. If you are someone who is rock-steady (sounds like you might be, if you know you are exactly 5 days late), perhaps it won't be anything like that for you. Do more reading here on the site to see if others have had this issue (there is a SEARCH button in the top right hard corner of every page) and how they dealt with it. My advice is to seek medical attention if it concerns you, or wait to see how things develop if you're not that worried.

Generally speaking, a 15g "serving" (about 9 small pieces) of pork rinds are about 90-100 calories, with 5-6 g of fat, 300 mg of sodium, 20 mg of cholesterol and 6-7 g of protein (with only 1 g of carbs). That sounds pretty good. But let's dig a little deeper. If you were to eat 100 calories worth of grilled chicken breast (approx. 2 oz), you would have approx 1 g of fat, 10 mg of sodium, 10 mg of cholesterol and 6 g of protein (with 0 g of carbs). So for about the same amount of calories and protein, you're saving 4-5 g of fat, 290 mg of sodium and 10 mg of cholesterol by eating grilled chicken breast rather than pork rinds. Yes, pork rinds are fun, crunchy and yummy! But let's remember they are NOT an alternative to better, cleaner more healthy protein such as chicken, fish, etc. Keeping that in mind, if you want to have a small pork rind treat once in a while, go for it! Just be well informed in your choices!

Surgery is a major "upset" to the body. Your being off-schedule can be attributed to any number of reasons: 1. Increased hormone release from fat cells during initial weight-loss 2. The body reacting to the major surgery 3. Delayed anaesthetic effect that can also effect hormones, cycles and rythmns etc. As long as you're sure there's no chance of conception (you sound pretty certain to me!), I wouldn't worry about it for the first couple of months as your body readjusts and sets itself into a new routine. Of course if it is really worrying you, as always, consult your medical team for professional medical advice!

My husband eats them (he's on a low-carb, Atkins-type diet). I sometimes steal one or two from him. But generally I find that it has the potential for me to be addictive and nutritionally void (very high in fat, even though it's super low in carbs!). Not to mention the high calorie count! So as a rule, I'm not a pork-rind eater, even though they make great chip substitutes (they can be good as crouton substitutes in a salad though.....in small amounts!).

LOL. Yes, killing your employees tends to have a negative impact on productivity. Congratulations. Keep up the fantastic work. You surgery date will be here before you know it!

I starting having the hair fall-out issue (I notice it mostly during/after my showers) about 4 weeks ago (I am 15 weeks post-op). I recently had my highlights redone (root touch-up) because I too prefer the golden highlights and wish I didn't get darker hair as I aged. I was white-blond as a child! I don't notice any difference (increase or decrease) in the hair fall-out since I had the highlights done 2 weeks ago. I do notice that most of my hair problem centers around more tangles during/after shampooing that before the fallout began. Weird because I haven't really changed anything (same shampoo, same conditioner). I'm thinking about buying detangler and see if that helps. From what I've read the fallout only lasts a short while (a few months), which is good, because I have very fine, very straight hair. If it keeps falling out at this rate, I'm going to look quite "thread-bare" soon. LOL

hm734 makes a very valid point that I was gentling hinting at in my post above. Foods such as mac & cheese are mostly void of nutrition (especially for VSGers) and contribute to a mindset and lifestyle that lead to obesity and a multitude of health problems. Try to approach your VSG surgery as a fresh start to your entire life. This includes making much more informed and careful choices in your food intake; increasing your activity level in every aspect of your life; and eliminating (to the best of your ability) influences that can lead you to old patterns of behaviour that made you obese and inactive in the first place. For me, I find that includes watching TV (I am a BAD snacker, especially when there are food commercials!), going to events where food is the primary focus (trade shows about food, cooking classes, pot luck lunches/dinners, local/state fairs, etc.), sleeping in late, etc. So you say, what does that leave? All the fun is gone...... You're right, it seems that way in the beginning, but it has to be a conscious shift in your behaviour patterns, and that doesn't happen overnight! If you do go to things like pot luck get-together's, you have to plan it out. Bring a food you like that fits your new diet. It may be the only thing you can eat there! Focus on talking to people and making human connections rather than thinking about the food. It's more fun, satisfying and non-fattening! I'm not saying you have to give up your friends, and your favourite activities and start new on everything. That's is too overwhelming and not what VSG is about. But you do you have to give more thought and planning to things in your life in the first 6-12 months while you're establishing new behaviours. Eventually they will become second nature! And don't stop asking questions! Here at VST, there are ALOT of experienced people who are happy to respond and give you ideas and support. We all started out not knowing how to get through each day, what to eat, how to cope with all the change (mental, physical, relationships, etc.). We help one another, and soon you'll be one of those people answering others and sharing your experience and advice! Good luck!

You may feel an intense craving for mac & cheese, but if you were to try this (assuming you're healed enough to tolerate it and your medical team has signed off), you may find you don't actually like it! Many people who have had VSG surgery find they don't tolerate Pasta well at all post-op (same with bread........). In addition, if you're following your post-op diet closely (you should be, to make the most of this fresh start at a healthier food life!), you'll note that our focus is to eat Protein first, vegetables next (if you have room) and carbs as a last resort. Mac & cheese is very nearly 100% carbs (the cheese is negligible, especially if it's boxed mac & cheese that uses processed cheese powder and not real cheese). So your nutritional value is very low, carbs are very high (usually an impediment to weight loss) and may make you feel unwell, bloated, nauseous and generally unwell! So my recommendation is to try a bite or two from a friend (don't cook it at home....you'll be left with a pot/pan of it left that you can't eat!) and see how it sits. I'm nearly certain it won't give you the happy contented memories you remember.....

I am in a very similar boat! I am approx. 15 weeks post-op and I've lost approx. 62 lbs (I have another 120 lbs to go!). My normal "pattern" has been losing for about 3 weeks, then stall for about 10-12 days. This most recent stall started approx. 3 weeks ago however and is still going strong! I'm finding my discipline is wavering a bit during these long stalls. I'm more likely to eat high carb limits then I regularly do. Also feeling less motivation to work-out or exercise, and more easily tempted by bad foods! On the weekend, I decided that I needed to so something to break my mind out of the stall I'm in (along with my body!). So I'm doing 3-5 days of liquids only to purge myself of the carb cycle and remind myself what it was like when I started this journey. I'm hoping it will snap me back onto a better routine and get my body moving again (weight-loss and exercise!). Good luck. Try your best to hang in there!