traceyinflorida

Yippee!! I was starting to think it would never happen. I had been hanging around in the 205 range for a month...but I finally got on the scale this morning and there it was, 198!! Woo hoo! I have not seen this weight in more than 14 years!! For those of you worrying about stalls, I have had three in four months. I wish I could just put the scale away and ignore it, but I weigh every day and drive myself crazy. I am so happy I had this surgery. It has been challenging, but it is ALL WORTH IT!!

I am four months out and have found that for the most part my bowel movements are pretty normal again. However, I do not always go once a day like I used to. In the beginning, when I was on liquid only, I had diarrhea. Then I went through a brief period of time where I was constipated, but now most of the time things are normal. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

I lost 10 lbs during my six months of nutrition counceling and another 15 in the two week pre op.

At three weeks out, you are still healing. It takes time for all this to settle out. I was miserable food wise at three weeks. At this point you are either still on liquids or eating pureed? Maybe soft foods? I found the first month of food phases really difficult and while each day got better, even at about three months food was still a challenge and a bit of a chore. But what you will hopefully find (and remember your hormones still need to settle down, they get all screwed up from surgery) is that you will slowly stop mourning food and begin to realize the incredible power you have in that food no longer rules you! I remember being near tears in a restaurant with my family because I just wanted to order something I liked and eat it. Two bites of anything and I would feel sick. I was tired of soup, tired of shakes, hated anything pureed etc. It was really hard. But as others have said, you WILL LOSE WEIGHT. I won't tell you to be patient, because I know how hard that is. I am not a patient person...but I will suggest you try to divert your focus onto other things. Keep yourself busy. Is there a project you have been wanting to work on in your house or your yard? Treat yourself well and try to do things that make you happy. This will get better. Hang in there!

Thank you for sharing your story. I will pray for you that you can wrap your arms around this with your medical team. It will be hard work, but you can do it! Great job on your 25 lb loss already! Keep up the good work. Nine months will pass by in a flash (that's about how long I had to wait when all was said and done) Keep us posted!

You are in my prayers for a financial solution.

You look AMAZING!! Wow! What an inspiration!! I am at three months and still hovering at the 205 mark...wanting to make it into Onederland soon. I love your new dresses and if I could fit into that fun, sparkley, junior dress I would have gotten it too, just because! Having a teenage daughter who does fit into stuff like that, I will only say good luck to you when your daughter hits her teens. It's a tough battle, you can just hope that the styles go back to long, flowing and loose...but don't count on it! LOL

I am going to give you the same advice my mom gave me when I was feeling guilty about having this surgery because of my kids and husband who need me (hubby is disabled in a wheelchair, so I had to plan for care for him). You have been doing for them for all of their life. Everyone will survive a couple of weeks of having to do for themselves and even for you. As a matter of fact, they may benefit from it because they will learn to appreciate all you do for them. There is no perfect time, so you have to make the time for yourself and take care of you. Everything else will fall into place. Tomorrow you need to sit down with your family and let them know what you need from them. You will need them to find rides, or get hubby to drive them. They will need to kick in a bit with the house work and cooking. They will need to let you rest for the next two weeks. Set the expectations now and then if you are feeling good, you can do more, but for now make sure they plan for you to be resting. As for being nervous, that is totally normal. I was completely freaked out. But it was the best thing I ever did for myself. Oh and my family survived! My son surprised me by being very caring and accomodating. My daughter surprised me by being angry at how it put her out, but she is fifteen and going through a slightly self absorbed phase, so I tried not to let it bother me too much. My husband discovered that other people can help him with the things he needs. I had hired a patient aid for the mornings and my mom and dad helped him the rest of the day. I kept the aid for the first three days I was home from the hospital to help him get around in the morning so that I would not have to do the hard stuff while I was recouperating. I am glad I listened to my mom and took the time to do this for myself. I think you will be too. Good luck with all. Cleaning your house is a good way to keep your mind off of things, but don't fret if everything does not get done. It can wait. Take care of you!!

2 nights, discharged day 3.

You will lose it! I have been on this forum for three months now and see similar posts over and over. You are not alone. Remember they pumped you with fluids at the hospital, so you have a ton of water weight. Your body is in shock, your stomach still swollen. But the reality is that fewer calories equals pounds lost. You will wake up one day, get on the scale and do a happy dance around your bathroom! You will keep losing. You will hit some stalls along the way, but if you follow the plan the weight will come off. Hang in there and just focus on healing right now.

Sometimes I feel the same. I would look in the mirror and while I was not really happy with what I saw, I didn't think I looked that bad. Then I would see a photo of myself and get a reality check. You have lost 103 pounds! That is AWESOME! You are so close to your goal, that I am sure you are not deluding yourself into thinking you look better than you do. You need to snap a few new pictures of yourself and compare them to the old pictures. You will see that you are rockin your sleeve!

It sounds like your daughter is the perfect one to model yourself after. I am still struggling with this, but I have found that when I make a conscious effort to slow down, I am able to eat a little more without feeling sick at the end. Like lollyfidy I don't count chews but go for texture. I make sure everything has been chewed down to mush or paste...no chunks left. I also try to set my fork down between bites. That is the hardest for me.

You look incredible! Congratulations on making it to Onederland!

I don't think you should say anything to your doctor. However, do not cheat at all today. I am guessing you are on clear only. Today is the day to suck it up and remember it is just one day out of your life. No cheating!! Good luck with your surgery tomorrow!

I'm a once in a while social beer drinker too. I love an icy cold one. But, I have been avoiding beer because of the carbonation. At three months, my stomach is starting to tolerate more and more things, but I would not want to push it with that. I can't say that I will NEVER have a beer again, but I will probably wait at least three more months (probably longer) before even making an attempt. I have had sangria with fruit in it that a friend made. It went down very smoothly. I had a half a glass and nursed it all night. Just that little bit gave me a buzz, so I am glad I did not try to have more.

I was one of those people who was going and doing by day 5. Timing was such that I had no choice. However, if it makes you feel any better, it would wipe me out. I needed a nap daily. Some days I would come home from runnning around and just sleep and sleep. Give yourself permission to rest. Don't expect too much from yourself. They say it takes about a full month to six weeks to fully recover. Even when I was to the point of feeling great most of the time, I would still have days where I would be suddenly sore and really fatigued. I find that if I have not gotten enough liquid or protein, I still get dizzy at three months out. If that lightheaded feeling comes, I know it's time to take stock, listen to my body and figure out what I have not gotten enough of.

Pillows, pillows and more pillows. I pushed them up under my tummy to support me when I slept and then if I needed to roll, or sit up, I would press one to my belly. I also created a bit of a slope with pillows so I was sleeping more upright (for the reflux) When I finally started taking prevacid, I no longer needed to do that. I hope you find a way to get off the couch and get some real rest. That cannot be fun. It will get better!

I too was adamantly for the band only. I did not want to do anything "too drastic". After much research, and attending the information sessions by my surgeon, I decided that I did not want to have a foreign device permanently in my body with the possiblilty of slippage and errosion. I also decided that returning for fills and unfills seemed too high maintenance for me. The final deciding factor for me was the overall success rate of people reaching their goal weight. It was much higher with both VSG and bypass than with the band. I have no regrets in doing VSG. It was not easy in the beginning (not that I expected it to be) but did not take long to feel like myself again and I have been very happy with my weight loss so far. I have no doubt that I will get to my goal. After reading the posts by previous folks with the lap band, I am really happy I decided to go with the sleeve.

I second that! Love the Lavendar farm picture!

Hmm...double chin or a few new wrinkles? I decided if I had a choice I would gladly trade a few wrinkles for the double chin! So far, so good. I have not had to pay up. Double chin is gone and no new wrinkles. Everyone tells me I look 10 years younger. I am religiously moisturizing though!

Great NSVs! Congratulations on losing 110 pounds, that's incredible! Sorry about your cracker/pineapple experience. I hate when that happens.

I've been floating at the 205 mark for weeks. I hope to join you in Onderland soon! Congratulations! I am sure it feels great!

Congratulations! You have come so far and look amazing! No looking back now, the past is the past. Just celebrate the new, healthier you that you are becoming! I don't think that we ever came up a better name for twonderland....twoderville....tworiffic...but it will be celebrated none-the-less! Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing!!

My mom sent me a cute new top from Chicos, just as a really nice thing to do for me. I was thrilled that if fit because I could NEVER shop there. The clothes have always been too small for me. So I had my daughter take a picture so I could send it to her with my thank you. It was the first time in years that I actually wanted my picture taken and the first time, in as long as I can remember, that I actually liked what I saw. Below is a picture taken of me a few weeks before surgery and the picture of me today. I guess its time to start documenting my progress in photos. It has been exactly two months since my surgery. I have lost 52 pounds since that photo was taken. I still have a long way to go, but now I feel like it is possible and that I will never be going back to the old me!

For your nausea, try sucking on a sugar free peppermint (I just use a sugarfree breath mint) It has done wonders for me. I wish I had discovered it sooner. For me it is almost instant relief. Also, when talking with your doctor, make sure you mention the nausea. It could be due to acid. Your stomach still produces the same amount of acid that it used to in it's larger size (I guess it doesn't realize 85% is missing). If you are not taking one already, you should be on an acid reducer such as a proton pump inhibitor (Prevacid, Prilosec or Nexium) This could make a huge difference. For your liquids, try drinking standing up (giving a straight line from your mouth, through your esophogus to your stomach) Also I had to continuously keep water with me and just sip sip sip. If cold water bothers you, try room temp, or warming broth or decaf tea. If room temp bothers you, keep adding ice. I found adding flavor like crystal lite also helped me in the beginining (which is weird because normally I hate flavored water). You may just need to keep experimenting to see what works for you. Hang in there. It really does get MUCH better! In the meantime, try to treat yourself to something non food related, like a new top in a smaller size. There is nothing like getting new clothes to make you say, YAY I AM GLAD I DID THIS!!