LilMissDiva Irene

Fabulous job you!! Your progressing great

Okay so we have been having a hard time and the thought has crossed many minds wondering if we are a dying breed. I say no way! I need you all, and I need to keep chatting away if I'm going to get anywhere near that finish line. In one of the threads here it was suggested by another that we just create one master thread where we can communicate. Make it easier to stay in touch, and is something many of the other monthly groups do to stay in touch. I know for me that is really important, and something we have never done before. Please don't leave guys... check in! It doesn't even always have to be about losing weight or whatever. Just tell us all what's going on, whatever it is.

I think I've been in sporadically within that time. It may just be a coincidence it being down whenever you try to log in. I know it has been going out a little bit here and there...

Agreed, and I think that is the major reason why I chose the sleeve above all others. I had the lap band and I found out it is incredibly easy to gain weight back with it. One of my deciding factors on how I was going to choose my next WLS had to be one that was the most effective with keeping off the weight lost. I read and studied a lot - and it seemed the sleeve had excellent results where this is concerned. I imagine it's possible to get back up to 300 Lbs with it. I also imagine it would be more work than it's worth though! One would have to go on a full on food binge for at least 5 years and eat all the worst things possible, almost with a purpose. I haven't been perfect at all in my journey so far. I'm good most of the time but sometimes I'm not. In those cases I never really gained any weight back. I pretty much would just bounce up and down a few pounds until I get back to being right. So far the sleeve rates A+++ for me.

A lot to me has to do with the excitement of having surgery and wanting to do your best to get the weight off in the beginning. Just like a marriage in the beginning - Love Is Blind as they say. Everything is seen through rose colored glasses and life is better than you ever imagined. Well once the newness wears off you're left with reality. In my case now, I love my hubby more today than I ever have! I hope this is the case with my sleeve too. Not only is my sleeve beautiful to me now but with many years and experience and good and bad times with us - that would only make our relationship stronger. I went to a seminar held by Dr. Cirangle and he has some of the best long term data out there. He did say that "average" weight gain with the sleeve is excellent. It usually comes out to about 10% weight regain for about 10% of patients. So... one out of every ten patients who lose 100 Lbs of exces weight will gain back about 10 Lbs. Sounds good to me! That's news I can use...

Thanks girlfriend! All that running, I'm telling you!

I think it's almost a right of passage for sleevers to go through this. However I believe it will or should only happen once to most of us. I barely went through my first episode a month ago and I'm 8 months out now. I had a little inclination though because I was banded for almost 3 years during my revision. I know my limits - but sometimes its not even about that. It was more WHAT I ate rather than how much or how fast because I neither had a lot nor did I eat it too fast. Next time I'll know the warning signs if something just isn't working for my sleeve!! That is one thing I'll never ever forget!!

Wishing you well today Kelly - and WOW I just noticed you've already lost almost half of your excess weight!! You're going to be at goal in a few months... CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Wow best wishes to all of you! You're lucky to have others around here who are sleeved all on the same day. Remember: Rest, Sip, Walk... infinity. Keep us updated on your post op progresses!!

Here's my most recent updated photos: Current - 199 Lbs: Beginning of my LONG journey - 330 Lbs: ETA a few I took this morning.

Great news!!

Good morning! Well this has been a HUGE issue for me as well... so yes you are definitely not alone. I have never been able to get the photos, mirror image or anything to match the true me and even what I see myself in my head. It's so just plain strange and foreign to me. Now it's even worse because I'm a completely different looking person than I was barely 8 months ago now. I see old pictures of me when I was really heavy and especially the infamous brown sweater picture and I'm totally blow away. How did I not see how truly giant I was? I know I didn't feel that great, I know I was buying size 28W and 3X or larger tops... WOW!! I really honestly did not see it. I think I still envisioned myself a slim teen the whole time, crazy as it sounds. I just walked into the bathroom not even 3 minutes ago and the reflection I saw just now shocked me. My bony collarbones, skinny face - I don't recognizer her. It's almost like I see an entirely different entity when I look in the mirror now - and ethereal separate being. I can't look at my clothes and think I will actually fit them, and I'm shocked every time I put them on. They DO fit, and that IS me looking back in the mirror. I guess it will take some time to get used to it. I have such a displacement between me, myself and I. It almost takes away from all of my accomplishments - and that's very sad for me. I think I have always had this problem though since I was even as young as 8 years old. I was mentally abused as a young child regarding my weight. I was ridiculed by a grown up who should've been like a father figure to me but he was anything but. I think that's maybe where it stems from, is my belief. I wasn't even a really fat child, I was about 10 Lbs over the ideal weight, but when I was young that was seen as a very bad thing. Nothing like you see children of today. I see pictures of me as a child and yes I had a little pot belly but for the most part I was not fat. I did gain quite a bit in my early teens and that's when I went anorexic and bulimic to lose weight. I got very very thin and stayed that way all through High School. This is the girl I always remembered and through my heavy years, I think this is who I saw in my head, the skinny anorexic girl. I hope one day for all of our sakes our minds can meet with the reality. I would love for that to happen.

Repost: This is so right! Erin, you should be sipping/drinking constantly. Big hugs, and I hope you went to the ER by now... please keep us posted.

Hi Erin, yes please go back to the ER... you don't sound well and likely you need more IV fluids. Is there any way you can plead to the Dr to tell him you have an urgent need to get the stricture fixed? Is there anyone at your regular Dr.s office that can help you with that? I really hope you get to feeling better soon! Hugs and well wishes... please keep us updated.