Izuri

My insurance covered it without any medical tests or nutritionist visits, diet or documented weight loss attempts. Just had the requirements from my barix clinic, which was a psych eval, blood test, and liquid diet the day before surgery. It can happen - lucky us for not having to jump through a ton of hoops =)

Stalls are normal, and they are not clockwork. Not everyone gets them, some people get a number of them, and they can strike whenever our bodies feel like being frustrating. You've lost quite a bit, your body will catch up and start losing again. Hang in there =)

I always was heavier than my BMI said I should be. I was larger than most of my friends growing up, but I was taller. Looking back, I was barely overweight at the time, but family and friends did make comments and I felt huge. So yeah, I have been battling my weight my entire life since I was about 7 or 8 and my parents put me in a 'shape down' program.

Ok. Not trying to slam any type of relationship, but from your comments, the type of relationship you have set up with your husband is not really helping your self-esteem at all. If you disagree, or you think I have no right to bring it up, that's totally fine, and this is my - I'm going to have an opinion - disclaimer. You are working on you. Your husband married someone who was 'in progress'. At marriage we are almost all at some in progress point, be it career or body or spirit. No matter what you have/will lose, you had a major surgery. That means that parts of your body and mind were altered in the process. If you have an open relationship, then what he said while maybe he should shut his mouth and be more respectful, is less hurtful. I could never see being ok with my boyfriend oogling other women in front of me. We have NO open in our relationship. I expect him to be faithful. Do I expect him not to have thoughts? Absolutely not. But he had better well respect my feelings, and I will do the same. Even if we were open relationship - there would have to be an agreement about whether we talk about it or not. It feels like you guys have failed somewhere in this communication. Would I leave him? Honestly, yes. For me, hearing about him lusting after another woman would stay in my mind for a very long time. Had we agreed upon an open relationship and I hadn't heard it? I might not leave. Either way, you matter. You are important. No matter what you said, no matter what he said...you need to observe your own feelings and practice. No one can give you a 'right' answer to this. You need to move on as you feel comfortable.

I struggle with this! Working in health care you have to develop the ability to empathize with everyone. Maybe she feels so icky and bad about her 90 pound figure that she feels like she needs to lose 10. Imagine how that must feel. How she must hate her body with no curves. I bet it's just as much hate as I had for myself when I had WAY too much curve! So the truth is, we're all in the same lonely boat. No matter if it's over or under target weight, many of us feel the stress of achieving that 'healthy weight'. I've tried to remind myself of this as classmates whine about losing weight while stressed. It's hard to stay objective, but being THIN is not always amazing. Being HEALTHY is what we're aiming for, whether too thin or too fat.

It's normal to gain. If you are losing, losing, losing, and have a high day, you gain. It is Water usually. If you are following the diet and doing well, then your fluctuations in weight will be water only. If you don't eat much your body panics. Where is your water intake?! Are you going to eat again?! It's not smart enough to know that you're feeling poor and will eat the next couple days so it holds on to all that water in hopes that it will keep you from dehydrating. This is NORMAL. i gained between 3-5 pounds every once in a while and I would lose it again. No big deal. I drink occasionally. When I drink, I retain AT LEAST 1 pound the next day. I just know it's coming and prepare myself mentally. It disappears again. Just follow your diet, it will pick back up.

I am saving for a boob job. I have lost a lot in my chest area, went down maybe 2 cup sizes so far. They look great in a bra, but not so amazing out of it.

July 8th was my birthday! I hope all you July 8th sleevers are doing well!! =)

You look incredible! Keep flaunting off that body =)

My quick easy losing phase ended about two months ago, which was about 10 months post-op. I am still losing but it has slowed down a lot. Over the past 2-3 months I have lost about 7 pounds. I still have to get down quite a bit more, so I gotta kick up the exercise since it's not coming as easily. But I am down 137 pounds in those 10 months so it's not a big deal that it's slowed down a bit =)

I get more full on thick proteins. I have never had a problem with hunger other than head hunger, but I can fill myself up quickly with a piece of chicken or beef if it's not shredded, so it may be partly in the food stage that you're in. Maybe you need more protein filled foods? Add some protein powder and see if that helps maybe. If you are still having a lot of hunger after adding more dense proteins/foods, maybe give your doctor a call.

Congratulations!!!!!!

Yes, you can use an equivalent dose of childrens tylenol, that's what I did. However, I would pick up the adult liquid tylenol because the children's is SO sugary that it was pretty icky to drink so much of it. At least with the adults liquid you don't have to take quite as much.

You look amazingggg! =) And you are so close to goal - keep going strong!

Yayyy!!!! You can hit 175! You should be so proud of yourself =)

Some people are just negative. I haven't come across too many of them, but when I do I politely thank them for their concern, and go about my day. It's not their decision, and I don't regret getting the surgery one bit. They can think whatever they do, it doesn't really matter to me when I think about that I'm not in the hospital because I didn't get diabetes because I finally lost the weight by VSG or something along those lines.

Yay!!! It will be here before you know it =)

I am biased for sure because I love my sleeve, but my BMI was over 50. I think what you're failing to consider is health wise you already have an incredible number of risk factors: age, diabetic, high cholesterol, high stress level (I'm assuming since self-employed seems like it'd be a busy lifestyle), etc. You could have a health crisis right now without even having surgery. What if you ended up in the hospital for a few months because you had a stroke? In my opinion, at least with this option you are making a step toward a healthier life to avoid those complications. Yeah, it comes with its own risks, but even for me, who didn't have any of those health issues, the benefits seemed to greatly outweigh the risks. Even just with diabetes if the surgery helps control it you not only will feel better, but it will decrease your risk for infection due to high blood sugars, help protect your kidneys, and so on. It's not for everyone, but even inaction has risks.

1. Stay hydrated - Sip, sip, sip! 2. Move as tolerated - ambulation helps your circulation, which helps healing 3. Rest when you feel tired - good sleep is essential for recovery. The first couple weeks I took a 2-3 hour nap every single day and it helped me a lot. 4. Pack what you eat with Proteins - pick liquid proteins that you can get down with your sipping. The better nutrition you get in, the better/faster you will heal. 5. Treat your pain. If you know you're going for a walk in a half hour, take your pain meds or some tylenol so that you are not doubling over in pain or unable to make progress in your walking. Short periods of walking more often is really helpful. I used to do laps around the backyard when I didn't feel up to going out in the neighborhood. It gets better!! Hang in there =)

You are really worried about your pain. If you are having THAT much pain, contact your physician. But for the most part - pain is normal. Ice, heat, pain meds, resting between ambulation, distraction, positioning, all these can help manage your pain. I had a couple nurses who didn't seem to remember that I had a VSG instead of a bypass and had to correct them. As a health care worker, I can see how that can happen. You have a patient population that is treated similarly for recovery and you have X number of patients, once in a while you get them mixed up. Maybe not the people, but which was done. I work on a post-op unit and sometimes I have to glance at my report sheet just to make sure that I remember the right side the patient had surgery on (Granted, by the first couple hours is over and I've actually gotten a chance to interact with them I will remember every time I go in). I have a feeling it just got jumbled up in his brain. If you are worried, request your medical records from the facility as well as the report from the operation. But I have a feeling it was just that he does a ton of surgeries and sees an incredible number of patients per week and he just misspoke.

You had major surgery. Part of one of your organs was completely removed. Pain is normal. Excruciating pain, is not, if you are in excruciating pain (5 or above on a 1-10 scale after pain meds) call your doctor and let them know. And forgive your body - let it go at its own pace to recover. I was not one of those people who never used the pain meds. I had no liquid pain meds left after my surgery. I didn't use them for an excessive amount of time, but I used them, yes. It took me a long time to get out of bed for weeks. Same with getting up. I took a whole month off work. While this isn't possible for most people, I feel like it helped me. Every day I could walk a little more, move just a little faster, and hurt a little less. It's a slow, gradual process and what you are feeling is completely normal. I am about 1 week out from being a year past my surgery (July 26th) and I do not regret it a bit. Every pain, every ache, every slow time getting up. It is SO worth it. My life has done a 180 and my health is better than it has ever been. Hang in there, it does get better.

1. I can fit into size 16 pants for the first time since high school (Pre-op was in 28+) 2. I can wear some large tops 3. I don't huff and puff when I go up the stairs 4. I can put my feet up on the dashboard when I'm riding passenger - have never been able to do this 5. I can sit and pull my knees to my chest 6. I actually believe that I have collar bones - I can see them now! 7. My old clothes are so big that they literally fall off 8. I was proud enough of my body to be in a bathing suit in front of people multiple times this year 9. My boyfriend can now wrap his arms almost completely around me 10. People I haven't seen since my highest weight barely recognize me 11. I can fit into large scrub pants in some brands 12. I can shop at stores other than Torrid and Lane Bryant 13. I can sleep on my stomach now 14. I no longer even consider the fact that I may be the biggest person in the room, it doesn't even cross my mind 15. My boyfriend can pick me up now 16. Every time I take a picture I have to do a double take at how small I look - I no longer hide from pictures! 17. I never worry about how I look in my scrubs anymore 18. I never have to worry about weight limits when using equipment or riding rides 19. I haven't met a towel that will not fully wrap around me at my current weight 20. I can shave without doing some crazy gymnastics I could really go on and on. I love my vsg so much =)

Mine started around 6 months out. It thinned, but didn't come out in clumps. It has stopped falling out in the past month or two (10 months out now). Hasn't really started to thicken back up but I think that will prob take at least another 6 months

Yay! Welcome to post op. =) Get a walkin as soon as you can!

Most people lose some hair. Mine started around 5-6 months out and lasted maybe 2-3 months. It was never bad enough to need a wig or anything. Took vitamins and hair/skin/nail supplements, but nothing but time made it stop.