sueoco

Hi Karen I agree with Kelli - I had those symptoms of dizziness and I was low in iron so I would get a blood test to check that out - same ones as Kelli actually.

Hi aussmith - yes - maintenance is a bit of a challenge as it is a new mind set - my issue is keeping a balance nutritionally while trying not to lose weight! I can get away with eating crap and still maintaining but It isn't good health wise - I am happy I can maintain but just a bit concerned about nutrients - let me know how your husband goes as not many people seem to have stayed connected to the thread once they get to goal and hit maintenance. I would like to hear about his experiences.

I forgot to welcome all the new sleevers! This is a great thread and I have met some wonderful people on here. They say it changes your life but I didn't expect to meet new people make new friends as well!

hi there - yes I am afraid everyone is right - there doesn't seem to be any people that escape the hair loss! I too had very thin fine hair to start off with and mine got so thin you could see my scalp. I am happy to say it has grown back ever so slowly. I will be two years out from my op on July 18 and I could say my hair still isn't quite back to normal. I find that everything is dryer - hair, skin and nails - probably to do with a combination of my age, lower intake of nutrients and fat in my foods. So I still take silica, use moisturiser (buckets!) on my skin and hand and nail cream on my hands. I don't know if it makes a difference but it makes me feel better! The good news is that I am having no problems maintaining my weight - if anything I have to watch I don't drop weight now - my sweet tooth that I developed since the op has seem to have gone and I am able to eat my 3 meals a day and don't need to snack so much - so this is my new normal now. I am sitting at 59kg with a BMI of 21 - fitting into size 12 tops and size 8-10 bottoms - I still can't believe it! I haven't been this size since I was 16!

Hi Bec - I would get back to your GP - don't wait on this as any bowel obstruction can be serious - don't want to scare you but I think you should get checked. I have had major issues with constipation all my life and since having the op it is worse. Pre-op I took benefibre every day but now it doesn't work for me and can block me up a bit. I take osmolax every day and it is great. It draws moisture into your bowel so works really well. I am on Iron tablets too so that doesn't help. Sorry for to much info but I totally sympathise with you.

Just keep chipping away at it. I admire you for your commitment to exercise. You will be building muscle with your exercise so even if the scales do show it, you will start to slim down and change shape. You will be thankful for sticking to the exercise as it will keep you really toned as the weight comes off. I have not been great on the exercise during my journey and although I had great weight loss, a lot of it has been muscle. You need your muscle as it burns more calories too. Gee - I know all the theory but can't put it into practice!

There are quite a few people that have had there surgery in the Brisbane area so hopefully someone will be able to give you their opinion - I had my surgery in Sydney so can't help you out - all the best to you and the new life you are heading towards - I had my surgery in July 2012 - I have been at goal for close to a year and am managing to maintain which is a different monster to the losing. Enjoy the trip down!

All the best to you - will see you on the sleevers side - let us know when you get back from Mexico and what your experience was like.

Great night - just the three of us but it was like meeting friends you haven't seen for ages! Thanks girls - good company and good sharing our experiences face to face!

Hi everyone - Don't forget our Sydney get together - tonight!

Thanks Misty - I was glammed up for my husbands Christmas party. We have another dress up function coming up for st Patricks day so I am looking forward to that - can't believe I actually look forward to getting dressed up and going out - for so long it was a stressful thing for me to do and I didn't enjoy it!

Yes - the pre- op diet is a challenge. Just keep your eye on the prize and tick off each day that you get through. The first 3-4 days are difficult but after that you will get into the 'zone' . When ketosis starts, I bought a non alcohol mouth wash from the chemist - they say they work better than Listerine. Your mouth will feel like the bottom of a bird cage - with the feathers - so your breath might not be great! You might want to warn people about that as it can be a bit embarrassing - everyone is different so see how you go. Good luck - this is a short term pain for a long term.. weight loss! The best thing I ever did!

Great to hear from you Lissa - wish you could make our Sydney get together on Monday! I too understand what you are saying although mine hasn't changed me in that way. I was always quite assertive - actually verging on the aggressive because that was my way of protecting myself. I felt so bad about myself I kind of had the get them before they get me attitude - that is probably a bit extreme - but you get my drift! I am just so much more self assured - especially at work, that I think I actually might be a bit calmer and relaxed. No one has actually said this too me that but it is just the way I feel. People definitely treat me differently - I get a lot more eye contact - especially from men in a work situation. I am taken more serously - I am not sure if this because of a personality change or the change to my physical appearance - probably a combination of both. To my friends, I don't think I have changed - I am a bit too scared to ask just I case they say I have become a right b...tch! It is interesting how your Mum perseaves you as being 'less kind' - I would definitely say you are probably more assertive rather than less kind. I thought you were a very kind person when I met you! Wow - size 10 - you must be looking really slim now as you are a bit taller than me. I am size 10-12 on top (depending on the clothes) and 8-10 on the bottom - I know what you mean when you say the sizes - it is like a dream and yes for a long time I had that irrational fear that I was going to put it all back on! You are still achieving some amazing weight loss - I think that 10kg will come off easily I f you keep that up! I am able to eat about a cup of food now so have cut down my Snacks between meals a lot. I must say that this has kind of happened naturally so finally my body is listening to itself - not having the extreme hunger that I used to have pre op certainly helps. Those hunger hormones certainly had a lot to answer for! I am still maintaining at around 60kg and have finally stopped the sweet tooth - although I have become a bit partial to Costcos mini apple turnovers - Lord help me! Just another challenge to deal with. I think this will be an ongoing work in progress! I have let the gym go but plan to get back into it - did I tell you all how much I hate exercise! One question Lissa - Do you still get the drippy nose when you eat - I still do but it is slowly getting better. Do you remember we were talking about this and you knew what caused it but we got distracted and you didn't get to tell me. It has always intrigued me as I couldn't see the connection to my nose - I also had a blocked ear when I first came out of hospital - kind of like what you get when you fly but just in one ear - that went away about 6 months post op.

you look wonderful Bec - I agree with Kelli - make sure you wear it a lot as you will really notice dropping down the sizes now - I made the mistake of buying too many new clothes too soon and now I have nice stuff that is too big! I never thought that I would ever have that complaint! Well done Kelli - you must be at maintenance now - we can catch up on our experiences with that when we meet on the 10th!

Yes Merry - a bit quiet in here. Who is going to join us for the Sydney get together?

I am not sure what I lost per week but I started at 103kg, my surgeon set a goal of 65kg (which seemed impossible at the time) and I think I was at around 60 kg at about 10 months. I found it quite easy to lose and didn't have any stalls but I know I am the exception. Everyone is different. I have been maintaining around 60 but have noticed that my fluctuations between 58-60 have turned into fluctuations of 59-61 - so I have had a slight weight gain. Just over the last few weeks I can eat significantly more in a sitting so have had to reign in my eating between meals. I am 18 months out now so am hoping there won't be too much increase in eating and hunger which I do feel now - nothing like hunger pre sleeve I might add, but it was so nice to not have hunger at all for a long time.

Hi Cookie - good to see you back. I am in maintenance too and up until about 3 weeks ago was having no trouble with maintaining eating what I liked. Like you, if I had actually eaten healthy foods, I would have dropped more weight. I did put on 2 kg by eating crap over the Christmas period but have easily dropped it off by not eating junk and I am hovering around 58-60kg which is a good weight for me - I am 167cm and at a BMI of around 21-23 I think so don't want to loose anymore but if I am honest I don't want to gain any either! I have noticed that I can eat a lot more just recently - I was sleeved in July 2012. However the plus side, I found it really easy to lose the weight . Things are still changing and I am still learning even after 18 months out. I am also iron deficient - a lot to do with where I am at in this stage of life as well as not being able to consume enough iron. I have got on top of that now so feel heaps better. I think it might be iron tablets for a while and I will remain on Nexium for the rest of my life. I have no regrets - I have a great new life and just love shopping for clothes and shoes that actually look good on me. My health is good and I want to do so much more because I can now! Good luck with maintenance and your plastic surgery - I am in Sydney so can't help you out with that.

That sounds really good - so let's make it a date for one of those evenings.

OK Kelli and everyone that wants to join us. Let's lock in the Monday 10th or Tuesday 11th Feb. Either suits me and I have no problem travelling into the city - as I will be working during the day, I though dinner and drinks somewhere? Please let me know what suits everyone and who would like to join us. I was thinking dinner somewhere in the city - The Rocks or Darling Harbour area?. I hope you can make it Aussie girl?

Hi all and Happy New Year - great to hear from you Aussie girl! I too have put some weight on after maintaining for nearly 6 months! I have been eating crap over Christmas and it has finally come home to roost! I have also noticed that over that last month or so I can eat larger quantities so this has probably got something to do with it. So my goal now is to cut out all rubbish and watch my portion sizes and snacking between meals ( I obviously don't need the Snacks if I am eating more at meal times). I have finally joined the gym but have lost momentum over Christmas. I think I will buy myself a personal training package to get me going again for the year. Unfortunately I can't blame muscle gain on my weight gain as I just haven't been doing enough! Regarding stalls - I have come to the conclusion that some people's bodies just hold onto weight more than other people. I agree with everyone's advise on just sticking to the program - even if you are only dropping and average of 500 grams a week, if you add the weeks up it is a significant weight loss and more that most people could hope to achieve without the sleeve. My only advise is focus on developing healthy eating habits now as when you get to maintenance it is that much harder to break any habits you have formed over the great weight loss window of 6 months or so - I am learning the hard way and my surgeon did warn me about this (but who listens to the doctors all the time right!). I think it is nearly time for another Sydney Siders get together - Kelli - when did you say you would be in Sydney? Hope you can make it Aussie girl and Susan? All welcome of course!

Happy New Year to all! Isn't it great to be off that "I must lose weight this year" roller coaster!

hi emsy - cost will depend on your surgeon. I had my surgery done in Sydney in July 2012 and total out of pocket cost was (at that time) $5400. It was $4950 to the surgeon and I am with HCF so my hospital was covered but I had a $450 excess on my policy so had to pay that to the hospital. The clinic included 1 year follow up with a dietician, psychologist, physiotherapist (multiple appointments or as required). I just found out that these visits can be claimed back through my health fund or Medicare which I haven't done yet! I have heard that it is possible to apply to get money from your super for the out of pocket if you have co-morbidities relating to your weight. I didn't know that at the time but had the money to pay for anyway. It is always an option if you can't afford the out of pocket. Cheers Sue

Hi Kbee - it might be a bit difficult this year at Christmas but believe me, keep your eye on the prize and this time next year it will be completely different. I am 18 months out and can eat anything I want - not huge quantities but not so small that you don't get to enjoy all the food you love. At this stage your taste is probably different and of course you won't be able to get stuck into the huge dinner but you won't feel like it either - just know it is a stage and not for the rest of your life. My biggest challenge at this time of year is convincing people I have had enough! They are always offering you more food and trying to convince you that you can fit one more bite in (like the old days). I have to explain to them that I physically can not fit another bite and if I try they might regret it! That kind of stops them when they truly understand the implication of me eating too much!

Wow Lissa! You look incredible! Glad you had a fun day - isn't it nice to be able to really dress up! It is great there were cute guys to meet too!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!! Thank you everyone for all your support and advice over the last year. All the best to you and your loved ones during the feastive season. May all your dreams (including weight-loss dreams) come true! Sue