joatsaint

I occasionally drink - tequila, beer, Mike's Harder Lemonade. I don't drink very often, so it was about 6 months post-op before I had my 1st drink. Now that I'm 2 years post-op, I'm not worried about drinking. But for the 1st year, I was worried about the extra calories in alcohol. I just take into account the approximate calorie count in my drinks and cut back on my carbs to make up for it. I have notice that I get a buzz faster, but it doesn't seem to last as long.

Unfortunately it is still possible to have hair loss. Hair loss is a side effect of the trauma of surgery. I read that hair has 3 phases - growth, existing hair, and the hair that is about to fall out. After a major trauma, the body shifts all it's resources to repair and healing. The result is the new hair growth is slowed, and the cycle of hair replacement is out of whack. So there's no replacements for existing hair and the hair that was ready to fall out. But things get back in sync as healing gets near complete. My hair thinned considerably, but my hair has always been thick. And I really only notice my hair thinning because I didn't need to go to my barber for an extra month. So I was the only person that noticed my hair loss. I knew going in that I might lose my hair, but I figured it was a small price to pay in the long run.

Pre surgery jitters? Truthfully, I convinced myself that nothing out of the ordinary was going to happen. Every time I started thinking about surgery and became nervous, I remembered Scarlett Ohara and her way of dealing with problems. She said, "I'll deal with that another day." And that's what I did, I pretended it was just another day. Right up till they wheeled me into the OR. I lay there and pretended that I was hanging out with my friends... just another day.

I would post mine, but truthfully, they've all faded to the point where they don't show up on my phone camera. The scars could easily be mistaken for big freckles at this point.

Welcome to the forum. It's been 2 years for me and I still remember how excited/nervous I felt when I finally committed to surgery. Feel free to ask any questions. We've all been through almost anything you will experience and are willing to share our "adventures".

Hang in there, at 2 months, I was still only eating Cream of Mushroom Soup - and only 3/4 can a day. I could eat other things, like Peanut Butter, but only a tablespoon every few hours. ANYTHING else would make my sleeve feel like a garbage disposal trying to grind up rocks. Just focus on staying hydrated. Crystal Light Lemonade was my drink of choice and sugar free popsicles. It will get better and you will look back on this and be glad you went through it. WLS gave me a 2nd chance on life and it will for you too. You just gotta hang in there and take it one day at a time.

Cream of Mushroom soup was my food of choice during the full liquids and puree stages.

To be straight up, I had to buy some caffeine pills and would take 1/4 of a pill to stave off the headaches. I never had any ill effects from taking caffeine.

I definitely notice how much people are eating. I guess is sorta like buying a car. Once you own the car, you start to notice how many other people are driving the same model. But I'm also sorta envious (at times) of those that I see with heaping piles of food and can maintain normal weight. There are occasions (really rare occasions) that I wish I could eat just a little more of a favorite food.

From all the threads I've read, most people say wait at least 1 year post-op. After 1 year, your skin has had time to shrink quite a bit and your most likely not having dramatic weight loss anymore.

Don't be worried, do the "Happy dance" instead. The pre-op diet was sooooo much harder for me than anything I went through post-op.

Mine was much the same. But I had to fill in 300 multiple choice questions, covering everything from how I felt about drugs, theft, and suicide to how I saw the world and the people around me.

I've never been a "cookie" person, but when I wanted sweets, I like the Russell Stover low carb candy.

That's one heck of a NSV!

This post is just goes to show that even Sleeve veterans aren't perfect. The key is to look at a setback as a delay, not a permanent failure, and get back on track. I was trying to stay low-carb till I lost about 20lbs, but I fell off the wagon this morning. Over the Thanksgiving week, I gained about 5 lbs and was up to 220 lbs in 5 days - probably from all the salt. So I went back to what's worked in the past, low-carb eating - lean Protein (pork loin) and a few vegetables (squash, cauliflower). Low-carbing worked well, I lost the excess Water plus a few pounds. In 6 days I've lost 9.6 lbs. But the stress from work has been pretty overwhelming these past few days. And when I came into work this morning, there was a fresh hot box of donuts waiting in the kitchen. I started to limit myself to 1, but then though about how good I was going to feel when I ate them. So I got 2... Go BIG or Go HOME! and enjoyed every bite!!!!! Will those 2 donuts affect my weight? Probably not, as long as I don't continue eating junk every day. Will it cause my weight loss to stall? I'll know soon enough, the scale will tell me tomorrow morning. P.S. I'll be back on pork loin and cauliflower for lunch today. Keep Pimpin' That Sleeve!!!! Randy UPDATE: 12/08/2014 Well, eating the donuts plus my "cheat" meal on Saturday night, I woke up on Sunday morning weighing 1.4lbs heavier. But I got back on my diet on Sunday and Monday (today). I lost the weight and weigh the same as I did last Friday (the day before I ate the donuts). I'm back down to 210.4 Now let's see if I can finally break 200lbs. 2nd UPDATE: 12/10/2014 Hit an all time new low today, 208.2 lbs. Still sticking to my diet. 3rd UPDATE: 12/13/2014 Still low-carbing (sorta) Hit another all time low this morning - 206 lbs. Haven't been that low since high school (38 years ago). My diet revolves around eating pork loin and Raisin Bran (I eat Raisin Bran cause they give it to us free at work) and coffee (loaded with creamer and Splenda). And I'm taking Puritans Pride "Green Source" whole food Vitamins made from whole food concentrates. I swear these vitamins make me feel so much better than any other Vitamin I've taken. I take the vitamins first thing in the morning. If I take them in the evening, I have so much energy I have a hard time sleeping. During the day, I usually eat about 2 cups of shredded pork loin and 2 Snacks - Raisin Bran (dry - I eat it straight up like trail mix in a cup - I have a 12oz cup and fill it halfway). And 2 cups of shredded pork loin in the evening after work. (Although I did have some spaghetti I was rationing out over the week - I'd have 1 cup of pork loin and 2 cups of spaghetti). It's Saturday, the cheat meal day. Let's see if I gain weight overnight from eating pizza. Well, this post is getting too long, so I continue the updates in a blog post - here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/blog/9018/entry-33645-dealing-with-setbacks-or-climb-down-off-the-cross-build-a-bridge-with-the-wood-and-get-over-it/

I'm sure I care more about my appearance than pre-surgery. I buy nicer shirts (and in colors other than black!). And I'm thinking about getting my teeth straightened, and about how I feel about my loose skin (my chest and stomach look like they're in a race to my knees! - stomach is in the lead).

Congrats on recovering. It's good to hear you are doing well. I had a small complication post-surgery, but nothing as serious as yours. It hurt like Hell, but I knew there was no way to reverse what I'd done once my stomach was gone. And welcome to the Loser's Bench.