makemyownluck

I am overwhelmed and touched by all of your thoughtful and encouraging responses. Some of you made me cry reading these!! Things are getting better, but I still have some things to work through. Thank you all for being a support system, for your kindness, your words, your encouragement. <3 <3 <3

LOL!!

Good question! I never asked my doc! I just walked around as much as I could tolerate. Sounds like that's what you're doing, too. Have you tried Gas-X? I used the strips and they helped TREMENDOUSLY with gas. More than walking.

yay! thats awesome progress.. and those 16s are looking a lil big!! wooo!

I had that. Didn't start til about 2 wks out and lasted for about 2 wks. VERY painful pulling when I would sit down for the bathroom more than any other time for some reason... it did go away, but not soon enough! Binder definitely helped me - I always had it on when I was doing housework. I think it has to do with nerves reattaching or something - never asked my surgeon because by the time I saw him again after it started, it had stopped.

I waited about a week and a half, but probably could have done it sooner. I didn't really have anywhere to go, and I actually enjoyed having someone drive me around the few times I needed to go anywhere. No issues with the seat belt, but getting out of the car was uncomfortable just because my car is low to the ground. But the actual driving was no problem.

awesome progress!! you look good! and so happy!

I was gonna buy one pre-op but just didn't have the money at the time - I made it through my puree phase without it. I'm sure it would be useful, but I don't regret that I didn't have one, either.

TRUTH! lol Well, not always truth. There's the few who are our best girlfriends and we hate everyone else. hah

are you on any bp meds? could be your bp is too low, if you are. otherwise, probably dehydration. call your doc!

Your weight fluctuates throughout the day, also - which is why having a set day/time to weigh yourself is the best plan if you're going to get emotional about the number. Most people do get emotional over that scale - either when it goes up or down!! I tend to weigh myself too often. Daily - sometimes twice a day - just to see the differences. And I can vary in weight as much as 10lbs in the same day!! Could be Water weight, could be related to your time of the month... could be alot of things! Also, it sounds like you're starving yourself. If your body thinks it's starving, it will hold onto the weight for dear life! This article might help: http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html - from that article: If you are under-eating or go more than 4-5 hours without eating, your body will shift into fasting mode, slow your metabolism and conserve your stored energy (fat). This can contribute to a weight loss stall or plateau. Hope that helps! Try not to be so hard on yourself - if you're doing everything right, you WILL lose the weight.

I didn't experience this, but I read about it on the boards before... most say that this sensation does pass eventually. To get you through to that point, I'd suggest doing half water-half apple juice to save yourself the sugar. Apple juice isn't very good in large quantities... you could try Mio or Crystal Light as well, those are no-carb options. Sometimes you just need the flavor to help it go down.

It might improve, it might not. Why take the chance? Fasting blood sugar is more likely to change dramatically. However, A1c is designed to look at the erythrocytes in your blood, which have a life span of about 120 days. Therefore, A1c is actually measuring an average glucose concentration over the last 8-12 weeks, so it's not as likely to drop that quickly, even with diet changes, without prescription intervention. For example, my bw a year ago, my a1c was 5.9. Now, a year later, an aggressive change to my diet and exercise, post-op VSG, my A1c is only down to 4.2. In a YEAR. And I was never pre-diabetic/diabetic... You seem quite determined not to take the medication. Is there a reason for that?

No. Once the surgery is over and you survive that, the rest is up to YOU.

Have you talked to your insurance carrier? Most insurance plans say if you are using an in-network provider that they can't ask for money up front. Also, you should see if you have any pending claims out there that might go to your deductible! Don't give up so easily - there HAS to be a solution! How much can your parents loan you? If they can come up with half, the hospital might be wiling to let you do payments for the rest... but I still think you should look into whether or not they are "allowed" to ask for money up front - in most cases, they aren't!! Good luck! Stay strong! Save the money and STAY ON COURSE for surgery. it could be a blessing - the more you lose pre-op, the more you practice the lifestyle changes pre-op, the more successful you will be post op.

When was your surgery? I am 2 months post op. My eating is pretty much the same every day: Breakfast: Protein shake (Premier Protein - Chocolate; 160 cals, 30g protein, 1g carb) morning snack: a cheese stick OR some veggie straws (a lower carb solution to potato chips when I'm craving something salty) with hummus *snack depends on if I'm feeling a lil hungry or if I'm at work vs. at home - much easier to have the cheese stick at work! Lunch: greek yogurt. I like Fage - 0% with strawberry or the new Fruyo blended kind with pineapple. a piece of fruit - I've been hitting up the farmers market, so I have variety. Peaches, berries, cantaloupe, apple... *If I have an apple for lunch, it's usually with Peanut Butter, so that's all I'll have with the yogurt. and when the mood strikes, I have sandwiches - I use Flatout Flatbread, half a slice, which is only 45-50cals and 8-9 carbs. I usually have hummus on it with turkey, avocado, spinach.. whatever I have. It's small portions, though, obviously! Dinner: This is where I change up my routine. I make homemade Soups, or something with eggs (mini quiche, scrambles, etc), I also like vegetarian options (but I'm not a vegetarian), especially anything by the brand Gardein. Their burgers are AMAZINGLY good - taste like the real thing, with wayyy less fat/calories! and then I'll have another shake at some point in the afternoon/evening to keep my protein intake up. I think it's important to get your fresh fruits and veggies in - as soon as I was able to include that in my diet, I was much more "regular" with my bathroom business (if ya catch my drift). Hope that helps!

Welcome to the other side! Don't fear the leak test... this is just another step to the new you! I hope you continue a smooth path to recovery. Good luck!

I'm only 2 months post op, so I haven't experienced this yet. I already have pretty thin/fine hair, so I'm REALLY hoping this doesn't happen to me. I think it's a combination of not enough Protein and the shock to your body after surgery. And if you are one of those people who can't tolerate food and doesn't get back to eating "normal" foods right away, I think your body will miss out on some nutrients needed to keep your body healthy. Since your hair isn't necessary to life, I think that's the first thing your body says, "Ok, let's forget about healthy hair and focus on a healthy liver" or something like that. I'm not a doctor, obviously... so who knows why we lose the hair. Not everyone has this problem tho... and it does come back!

This is a decision your doc should make. Considering you are having surgery so soon, I think it would be okay not to start on medication... but even if your doctor is of the opinion that you should be on meds, you'll likely resolve the issue fairly soon post-op, so would it be so bad if you DID start taking something now? Even a few weeks of being unhealthy is not good - and if your blood sugar is way off when you go for surgery, your surgery could get cancelled or something...

I don't think this is a bad idea, especially since (I assume) your MD knows about your surgical history. This med CAN be addictive (it's an amphetmine, after all), so it's good that he's only giving it to you for a month. If you see results/success using it, then it's definitely worthwhile to use!!! Since we're not judging here, I'll tell you that I used Phentermine WITHOUT my surgeons knowledge to get me through the pre-op liquid diet phase. THAT is a bad choice, but I didn't want to ruin my surgery plan by telling him and I didn't want to cheat on my pre-op liquid diet. I'm only 2 months out, so right now I feel like I'm on track. IF I get to a point where I'm not doing what I need to do and need that extra kick, I would consider using Phentermine again. I'm not proud of using it pre-op without telling anyone (I got the rx from a weight loss clinic in my area, so my PCP and surgeon didn't know I was using it), but it got me to where I need to be and I'm thankful for that! I hope this helps you, and if you feel like you need to use it again, I encourage you to take a month or two off before restarting it, to avoid an addiction to it. People think "Oh it's a weight loss drug, it's fine.." but it's actually a pretty powerful stimulant and your body WILL start to rely on it if you take it for a prolonged amount of time. I wish you the best of luck with it!! ps - stop with the soda! i know, you know it's bad... but especially on Phentermine you DON'T need the extra caffeine. You'll give yourself palpitations! (IDK if Mr. Pibb has caffeine, tho... I was never a fan of that particular soda)

You say you'd prefer slow weight loss. I said that too! But my first few weeks out, I was shedding 1-2 lbs every day and it was so thrilling!! I was like "YES! THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!" But then - it stopped. Only 25 lbs down and it stopped going down at 3 1/2 wks post op. Then it went UP by 5lbs over the course of a week! But I was doing everything right - diet wise, exercise wise, Water wise, Protein wise... I think that 5 lbs I gained was fluids as I was more hydrated (since it's nearly impossible to stay completely hydrated in the beginning weeks). But I stalled on weight loss for 3 1/2 weeks and it was REALLY frustrating. So I agree that you should reevaluate your expectations, but I also suggest preparing for the first stall - cuz like I said, I was in the "I prefer slow weight loss" camp also, but that stall was a tough pill to swallow!! I wish you luck, if you stick with the plan, it WILL work and continue to be a tool to get you to your goals!

My only other surgery was gall bladder removal and it was pretty comparable. Pretty uncomfortable for the first couple of days, but that's when you use your drugs for relief. Then each day it gets easier as you move around and heal.

any other Chicago area hopeful sleevers going to this seminar? I'm all registered - can't WAIT to get one step closer to surgery!! Would love to meet some sleeve buddies there!

agree, sounds like your gall bladder. had the same symptoms when I needed mine out...

a pound a day isn't slow!