altagirl

I am 1 year + out - surgery date was 9/10/2012. I currently go between 112-114. I hope everyone is doing well!

I probably reached my surgeon's goal within 6 months - I met my personal goal in 10 months and I am still losing. I am now 115 lbs and I think I am done losing. I had surgery on 9/10/12.

Just checking in on the lightweight thread - my original personal goal was 120. I met that goal and have continued to lose weight. I know I say this quite often - I am SO HAPPY I had this surgery before I gained more weight. It has been relatively easy for me after the surgery. I had surgery on 9/10/12 - and I imagine that I will be 115 by my one year surgery date. I still have no hunger and still can't eat very much. I can definitely eat more than I could a few months ago but because my cravings and tastes have changed I am not tempted as much anymore. However, I still have a sweet tooth - last week I was in a meeting and they had desserts. I did get one but I was only able to eat half of it. It was so sweet that after the first few bites I could only taste sugar so it wasn't very appetizing. Good luck to us all for continued success

I was a diet pepsi addict. I averaged about 4 a day. When I look back I can't believe it! Anyway, I had surgery in September and it has been easy for me to avoid soda. I did have some regular coke when I had a stomach bug a few months ago - but I did put it in the blender to get the bubbles out so it was flat when I had it.

I just wanted to update everyone - I have just passed my original personal goal of 120. I am so excited. I really never could imagine. I lost 12 pounds before my surgery date - so in total I have lost 75 pounds! 63 lbs since surgery. I had surgery on 9/10/12 and reached my surgeon's goal in February and now my goal in July! On another note, I just took a PRN telephone triage job that I love! Good luck to everyone!!

I take Miralax everyday as well to keep me regular - I make a pitcher of crystal light every morning and add a capful to that. I drink the entire amount (64 oz) everyday so I get a full dose of Miralax but it is spread throughout the day. It helps a lot and is considered safe to use everyday.

I was a complete apple. I looked pregnant - I am not kidding. I was a tight tight size 16 before surgery. Today I am comfortably in 2s and 4s. I don't have the "apple" shape anymore - and hope I never will! I am SO HAPPY that I had this surgery when I did. I am short (5'3") and my original personal goal was 120 lbs. I have lowered that goal to 115 lbs but wonder if that might be pushing it a bit. I have had a few stalls but have just stayed on track. I love my new shape - my tummy is not flat but I am planning on fixing that soon!

I just wanted to update - I have had a few stalls but have passed my surgeon's goal and I am 1 pound from my original personal goal. I have lowered my personal goal and hope to reach that by September (9/10/13 will be my one year!). I am hoping to have plastic surgery late July-August. I hate to exercise and have not really started - I do walk to work everyday and only use the stairs while at work. I would like to start exercising but it seems like I never have enough motivation to actually do it. I don't drink protein shakes - I don't even count my protein anymore. I usually end up getting all of my protein but I don't worry about the protein as much as I focus on not eating too many carbs or calories. I do count calories religiously and I use MFP. Essentially I think I have changed the way I eat and have really adapted my habits. I have experienced minimal hair loss - and I notice the thinning but since I had very thick hair it is barely noticeable to others.

I was sleeved by Dr Ortiz on 9/10/12. I had a great experience. I had minimal recovery time - I was first in surgery on Monday morning and I was back to work very soon after surgery. I flew out Thursday morning with no trouble at all. I actually went to work on Friday because I had a meeting I could not miss. I was fine - not great but fine. I don't think you will have trouble on your flight home - you might be stiff, I was, but not in excruciating pain. You have made a great decision to have surgery with Ortiz. Best of luck with everything and keep us posted!

I agree - this is probably what is said at home. A few years ago, I was helping out in my daughter's classroom and a kid asked me why I was so fat and had yellow teeth! I wanted to say - actually my teeth aren't yellow they just don't glow like your mother's and I am fat because, unlike your mother, my biggest decision of the day doesn't involve what exercise class will I go to." Obviously I didn't but I wanted to....I just smiled and said because I don't feel the need to be superficial like some of the other moms. When the kids asked what superficial meant - I wrote it down and told her to ask her mother! I know, not very mature but I couldn't stand the mom or the kid.

I have a cup of hot tea every morning. Then about an hour later I eat breakfast. I wonder if that might help? Also, don't force it - at this point, since you are so soon after surgery, just eat what you can. I remember going back and forth between eating soft solids and straight liquids during this time - actually now that I think about it this is when I ate tons of scrambled eggs and soup. Honestly, I don't really remember eating much "real food" until about 10-12 weeks post surgery.

I am 9 months post op now and would have MM if I could get it scheduled. I am aiming for July - but it seems like it is going to be August now. The only reason I would recommend waiting is that I have noticed just in the past month that my weight is really shifting. I was a size 4-6 last month and just had to go buy new pants because I am in a size 2 now. If you have summer off, I would recommend waiting until then to have the MM - I am planning on taking at least 4 weeks off work because of the not being able to stand up straight. For some perspective - I had the sleeve on a Monday and was back at work on Friday....I don't tend to be on the overly cautious side but I have seen enough MM recoveries to know that 4 weeks would be realistic for me.

I just wanted to say that I had regrets many times up until about months after surgery - now 9 months after surgery I have really adjusted to my new life. I was very lucky to have an uneventful surgery and recovery - I wish you the best of luck - and hope that you realize that it may take many months to adjust. It is ok to regret, be sad, annoyed, etc.....if you are like me, by next year this time you will feel like this was the best decision ever! Sending good thoughts and weight loss fairy dust your way!

I just wanted to let all of you "lightweights" know - during the past 2 months I have not lost much weight but my weight has shifted (BTW, I don't exercise....I know I should!) Anyway, I have mentioned before that I bought a lot of clothes when I was a size 8 - couldn't imagine ever being a size 8 so I thought this was it. Then I got to a size 4-6.....depending on the brand. Last night I had to buy pants for work because all of the ones I got last month are enormous. I only bought 2 pairs of pants because buying a size 2 freaked me out. My weight was 194 in February of 2012; 182 on the day of surgery; 123 today! My surgeon weight goal was 134-138, I can't remember because when it was set, I thought to myself I would be so happy at 140-150!

This is so true and a great point. Especially in cosmetic surgery you have to think like a customer -

Don't settle. You are the customer. I would call and set up another apt with the surgeon and if you are not happy find someone else. Surely he is not the only surgeon in the area - I work in healthcare and often times I hear "the best." I hear it from patients, other doctors, nurses, etc. The point is nearly every doctor, NP, PA, RN etc has someone (and often times many) that praise them as "the best" If this surgeon is not "the best" for you then you will not be happy. At the very least you need the surgeon to give you realistic expectations for the results, even if it is that you won't have a waist. Good luck and start thinking like a customer - this is your money, your body and you deserve to get what you want. Don't settle.

I am not sure when my scale stop moving. I actually did not get a scale until a few months post op - now I am a daily weigh person. The scale, for me, stopped several times for several weeks. Just recently I have been stuck at 128 for about 6 weeks and then was at 125 for a few weeks. In the past 2 weeks I have lost 1 lb each week. My point is that the sleeve works, just be patient and keep following the plan. For what it is worth, I never even felt like I had lost weight until about 6 months post op - I was constantly discouraged so, for me, a large part was mental. I wish I had not worried so much. Good luck - this surgery is amazing.

Exactly - it is very hard not to compare ourselves to others. Stick with your plan and you will do great.

I very rarely even feel hungry - so I have to fight emotional eating. Feeling full after the sleeve is very different from feeling "full" before the sleeve. I am NOT able to eat extra even if I want it. It is painful and makes me feel awful. I had surgery on 9/10/12 and I can eat more now compared to just two months ago but NOTHING compared to 12 months ago!

I know there are many people who don't want to return to work until they are eating and comfortable. I had the option to take off more time but did not. I have a mostly desk job - when I went back to work I was moving around slowly. I had 1 person ask me if I was "ok" and I just said I was in pain but it would pass - by the following Monday (one week after surgery) I was walking around just fine. The only problem I had at work was feeling ill and having to take many trips to the bathroom for fear of throwing up. I never actually got sick but there were many times I was close.

I didn't tell anyone (no one, I am single so no BF or DH to tell!) that I was having surgery and I still haven't. People sometimes ask me how I lost weight and I tell them - I don't eat very much at all. No one really asks much after that. I was lucky that my recovery was very smooth - I had surgery on Monday and was back to work on Friday. I struggled but it was all worth it.

Congratulations - I applied 3 times before I got in! As others have said, nursing is a great career. There are so many options.

oh - and I wanted to mention I did the water thing for a week - I dropped 2.5 lbs. Totally worth it for me!! And I did pee, pee, pee all day long!!

I had surgery on 9/10/12 - I am pleased with my weight loss so far. I have 5 more lbs before I reach my goal. I am hopefully having my plastic surgery in July - tummy tuck, breast lift (implants?), and lipo on my bra line. I am so glad that I had this surgery - it was the best decision for me personally and for my career....it is sad that we are judged on our appearances.

I drank regular Gatorade. I needed to get fluids in and at that point calories & sugar were the least of my worries. I would say that I drank Gatorade for about 1-2 weeks after surgery (non-stop!!) and then periodically throughout the first 3 months post-op. I was more concerned about staying hydrated, avoiding constipation, and being sane! I occasionally have a G2 these days - but not often. I know this is not for everyone but when I was really struggling I had to do what was best for me.