AJW

OK, never thought this would be an issue but here it is. I'm 114.2 pounds today. That's a loss of 132 pounds from where I started, and I'm 5'-7.5" tall. I have no butt and my pubic bone is protruding. I've lost the fat pads in my face and look gaunt. It's not that attractive on an older woman, trust me. I've had a stomach bug the last 4 or 5 days, so have not been able to eat and will lose a pound a day if I can't eat. This isn't good. My skinny pants are getting lose and I'm a size 26 in pants now. I can't eat junk because it makes me ill, so I have to eat good stuff only. It's an interesting place to be. My friends are saying I look TOO THIN; people think I'm ill. Wonder if any of you share this perspective yourselves? Let me know if you're considered by friends and family as too thin. Thanks

Hi All, I've been having an issue in the last month with what I suspect is dumping syndrome. I had VSG in August 2009, so I've lost all the weight and am below goal. That part is fine. I suspect this dumping issue started as the result of eating too much sugar after dinner. Last night and the night before, I ate what we call an Artisan Cheese plate. It's little tiny bits of different cheese (like an inch by an inch sizes) with a little fig jam and honeycomb (like a one inch sq. size of comb) with some water crackers. Not a lot of food at all, but man within an hour of eating I was getting not only the sugar rush, but rapid heart palpitations, adrenaline rush, sweating and shaky. At first I thought hypoglycemia, but that wasn't it, just same symptoms. When it happened a second time (yeah, after eating the same thing - I know, I know) I figured out it was dumping syndrome, or food moving too fast into the small intestines. I do NOT want a repeat performance. Now, in the past year I've certainly eaten dessert, sometimes frozen yogurt, if at dinner somewhere out, shared a dessert, and nothing happened. I've had this dumping scenario occur about 4X in the last month. It started with eating some soft butter brickle after dinner one night, but it was more like a feeling of just feeling awful, with no specific symptoms. Then it happened when I ate some Halloween candy (too many Butterfingers), but I figured it was just a sugar rush. But after eating the honey, I got the full on dump. Here's the weird thing: I ate this same Artisan Cheese plate at a restaurant at lunch time and had NO ISSUES, just at night does it come up. How do I AVOID having this issue in the future? And is it just a too much sugar problem? Please, hope someone has been through this door before and can help me with this. Thanks!

I weigh 100 pounds less than my husband and he's 215 and 6' tall. I used to outweigh him by 15 pounds. It's all good.

My surgery was 8/10/09. I lost 26 pounds on Medifast before surgery (from end of May 09 to Aug. 10th) and weighed 220 on surgery date. It took approx.9 mos. to get to 135, then I kept losing from May 2010 to current date down to 125, then 120, then 118, then 116. I was at 113 when I got a stomach bug, but gained back 3 pounds. This is where I hover. I hit stalls along the way, too, but the loss continued. Now, as I say, I have to remember to eat to maintain and not lose more. I could easily slip down to 112 or 110 if I'm not careful. People who are normal size but heavier than you, and some who are obese, will tell you that you're TOO THIN. Remember that their POV is skewed to the heavier side and your POV will be "I'm not thin enough." I saw myself as FAT when I was FAT. There was no denying I was fat; I had trouble looking in the mirror at all. Now I'm thin, no denying that, but I like looking in the mirror. I look sometimes and think "you're too thin" as my face looks gaunt (hey, I'm 61, so the weight came off differently now than it would when I was 31) so yes, I've lost the "pad" in my face. That can be fixtured with plastic surgery and I'll get to that once we get moved and settled in our new home coming up. With surgery, I'd look put back together and more in my late 40s because I basically have good skin. This is a process of transformation and nobody's process will be the same. Go for what you want and what makes you happy. If you get a little thin, you can always gain some back if you eat all the time (every 2 hours), and supplement with some high calorie foods. I like this weight and prefer to just fix the cosmetic things I can. I can dress in high fashion (couture) sizing which is NOT vanity sized by any means, wear skinny jeans, high heels, rocker chic, etc., in other words, I can dress any way I want to within reason, and still look THIN with clothes on, in the mirror, in photos. My normal sized friends are very jealous, and that's fine with me. My heavy friends think I'm anorexic; that's fine too. It's my process and I have the clothes, shoes and bags to prove it. Source: Body image changes after WLS

I read this post and thought size 8 sounds pretty normal size to me. Skinny is my size 2-4 when you're over 5'-7" tall; that's skinny. I wear a size 26 waist pants in skinny jeans/leggings, and the thighs are a little loose. I'm definitely skinny, as in "too thin," and am having trouble gaining or keeping weight on. I gave away all my size 8s and 6s already as they were way too big. I will have to have my husband point out someone else who's as thin as I am, but to tell you the truth, it's hard to find anyone. I look all the time, and most people are overweight in my part of the country - So. California. Saw my granddaughter yesterday. She's only 11 and approx 5'-2" tall and I'm guessing 135 pounds, with quite a big belly and butt on her. Her Mother has gained approx. 20 pounds since I saw her last time, and she was 170 then; now she's easily 190 or 200. I'm sad to see my granddaughter this heavy, she's an obese child, and the parents aren't doing anything to make sure she's getting the right portion control or good food choices. They eat a lot of junk food, so there you go. It's setting her up to be an obese adult unless she gets a handle on it. Nothing we can say, though. They think she's just fine, I'm sure. Oh well.

You're so young with wrinkles; imagine being my age (61) with a face that is too thin and wrinkled after the loss of so much weight. It's an issue, big time, only I need a face lift and neck re-do, along with fillers and whatever else I can manage. That on top of new implants - my skin shrunk around the saline implants so now you can clearly see them if viewing naked. All the clevage went away, so I look like I have (basically) bolt-ons. I'd be happy with face/neck work and a boob re-do. I don't even care that much about the stomach, although there is loose skin, none is hanging off. It reabsorbed pretty well considering the 132 pound loss.

Oh sorry, well I stuck pretty much to the Medifast diet which is a whole lot easier to do after the surgery. I had their protein shakes and supplemented with extra protein, I had snacks, ate their oatmeal for breakfast, and had a regular small portion (real food) lean and green dinner. I lost the weight because I couldn't eat very much and that's b/c of the surgery. It was just a lot less calories than I had been eating before starting Medifast and the surgery. Hope that helps you. Keep your protein up, carbs down, follow some kind of plan, and it will come off barring any other physiological issues, etc.

My surgery was 8/10/09. I lost 26 pounds on Medifast before surgery (from end of May 09 to Aug. 10th) and weighed 220 on surgery date. It took approx.9 mos. to get to 135, then I kept losing from May 2010 to current date down to 125, then 120, then 118, then 116. I was at 113 when I got a stomach bug, but gained back 3 pounds. This is where I hover. I hit stalls along the way, too, but the loss continued. Now, as I say, I have to remember to eat to maintain and not lose more. I could easily slip down to 112 or 110 if I'm not careful. People who are normal size but heavier than you, and some who are obese, will tell you that you're TOO THIN. Remember that their POV is skewed to the heavier side and your POV will be "I'm not thin enough." I saw myself as FAT when I was FAT. There was no denying I was fat; I had trouble looking in the mirror at all. Now I'm thin, no denying that, but I like looking in the mirror. I look sometimes and think "you're too thin" as my face looks gaunt (hey, I'm 61, so the weight came off differently now than it would when I was 31) so yes, I've lost the "pad" in my face. That can be fixtured with plastic surgery and I'll get to that once we get moved and settled in our new home coming up. With surgery, I'd look put back together and more in my late 40s because I basically have good skin. This is a process of transformation and nobody's process will be the same. Go for what you want and what makes you happy. If you get a little thin, you can always gain some back if you eat all the time (every 2 hours), and supplement with some high calorie foods. I like this weight and prefer to just fix the cosmetic things I can. I can dress in high fashion (couture) sizing which is NOT vanity sized by any means, wear skinny jeans, high heels, rocker chic, etc., in other words, I can dress any way I want to within reason, and still look THIN with clothes on, in the mirror, in photos. My normal sized friends are very jealous, and that's fine with me. My heavy friends think I'm anorexic; that's fine too. It's my process and I have the clothes, shoes and bags to prove it.

Yes, I see what you mean, since you've basically done this twice, first with the band and now with the sleeve. I thought I wanted a band until I researched it and figured out I didn't. So glad I listened to others re that. When I got to goal at 135, I thought a little more would be OK, to me (in photos) I still looked a little "plump." So I went to 125 and thought, OK, this is good. But then it was ........well, maybe 5 lbs. more would be better. So when I hit 120 I thought, yeah this is good, and then thought well maybe 118 would be better. You can see how I ended up where I am, definitely too thin, and yes, I see that I'm too thin in the mirror, but in photos with clothes on, I think I look normal according to fashion magazines, which as we all know, are stick thin models in winter clothing (these days.) Anyway, now I'm bouncing between 115-116 lbs. and trying to maintain the weight and even gain a couple of pounds which is not that easy to keep on you. We're about to go through another residential move which always causes lost pounds, and to a cold climate in the winter, which also causes lost weight. I'll be a challenge to maintain during the next month. C'est la vie.

I'm actually Welch by ancestry, although born in Calif. My maiden name is Evans.

You must be British; no one in the US says Gob smacked. Well, good for you and there you go. I never saw myself fat, even though I clearly was; so when I became thin again, my response was "Well, there you are!! Been a long time since I've seen you."

OK, well nobody will probably like my response to this question, but here goes: You are only 9 days post-op so yeah, your emotions are all over the place at the moment. Your body is going through a major shift and your hormones will go wild for awhile before all settles, but it will settle. A year from now you're start looking at obese people in a different way, as well. You will know what it's like to be them, and yet you'll feel like you want to tell them they could have a different life and why don't they?! Of course, you won't say a word to them, but you'll think it. As for your husband, he probably doesn't get his feelings hurt as easily as you - does any man? I mean seriously? You know that we're the drama queens in the emotional department. I think men can let stuff roll off them a lot more easily than women, so I wouldn't worry about his sensitivities. He'll deal with his weight as he sees you becoming smaller and more healthy. As for other people's comments and what not, you have a choice: you can choose to be offended or you can choose not to be. That's totally on you. I always go with it's better to be/stay positive than go to the darkside on any issue, WL included. When you get "hurt" by every little thing, the only one hurting is you, and you have a choice. I'd stick with the concept that I'm "difficult to offend" and keep a positive frame of mine when there's a choice to make. Choose to be grateful for what you've chosen for yourself, and screw anybody else, kwim?! Yes, of course you do. Stay in your happy place. Everyone has issues - be it weight or some other - you've taken the step to fix that issue for you. Let the others do as they may and know they don't speak for (or to) you. That's my 2 cents worth of ADvice.

I'm 14 mos. out and below both goals I set (one was 135 and one was 125 lbs.) I look too thin. I'm 5'-7.5" tall and have a small frame, so I look kind of a like a tall stick. When I dress to the nines, I look like a model because I'm tall with boobs (from implants - any such fat associated with that area is gone.) I have no butt - we now refer to the behind area as the "Buh-thigh" because that's all that's there. I have to exercise to maintain leg and hip flexor muscle mass because that sort of slid south b/c I didn't exercise with the loss. My weigh varies from 116 to 115, I weigh daily to keep tabs on it lest I lose too much. I do need to consciously eat to maintain that weigh and try to add a few pounds when I can. On the upside, I can eat 1/2 of an In-and-Out Burger now (yay!) and a couple pieces of pizza. Hey whatever, it doesn't cause me to gain any weight, and I do it to keep what I've got. There are challenges on both sides of the scale. At first all you can think about is losing the weight; once you're there, you need to maintain the weight. I'm a size 2-4, and my bones protrude. Who knew my breast bone was so protruding?! Ewww....don't like how that looks, but there it is for all to see. I need plastic work to get my Sharpei hiked back up to original position, but that will come in time. So there you go.......my synopis of what's what in the WLS world.

Do you happen to work for this doctor or in any way have you agreed to advertise for his procedure posing as a patient? Because your post sounds rather like a member of the staff and not a real patient. I shared your post on another WLS thread and that was the response most everyone had, that you don't sound like a patient. Whatever, I'm not judging, just wondering if you are for real. Thanks

1000 calories is too many calories a day unless you're burning 200 of those a day on exercise. Are you? Obviously, the combination of foods you ate did not agree with you, hence, the heartburn. Too rich and wrong combo. This whole WLS thing is a lifestyle change mostly which means even on holidays you can't eat like you used to back in the day. Go back to your regular food schedule and drink lots of water. You're probably retaining water from the salt in the food. My husband goes up and down 2-3 pounds a day just in normal non-WL eating. Of course he eats very fast and then holds his chest due to the heartburn and wonders why he doesn't feel good. I've given up trying to explain the eating too fast issue to him. For lunch today he had Medifast chicken soup ( a diet food) and then cuts up 10 slivers of fattening cheese, triscut crackers and a bunch of tomatoes. Bet that goes down real well. That has nothing to do with you, but you get my point. He was complaining this morning that his weight was up, well DUH, I'm thinking, look at what you eat?! For you, just get back on track. Everyone - except me who needs to gain a little - gains a couple pounds with the holidays. The main point is to get it back off ASAP.

Thanks you guys. I don't take a PPI, and haven't since about 6 weeks out. Whatever happened to my stomach - bug or whatever - has left me 4 pounds down from where I was, and at this weight (today 113) I just feel weak and unsteady. I had a protein drink this AM, with over 300 cal. in it, so if I can keep that down that will help. I ate some turkey and potatoes last night, very small amt., and was stuffed. I later tried a small piece of pumpkin pie and could only eat 1/2. I haven't had much appetite since getting this bug thing, if that's what it is, and am facing a lot of stress with an upcoming move. The stress of the move has me stressing just sitting here, and we're moving to a colder climate which I can't tolerate as well now as I could with fat on me. I honestly don't know how I'm going to handle all this. Please keep me in your prayers and thoughts. Thank you.

You're just going through a RELEASE. Releasing stress, that's how it comes out of you. You moved to a foreign country, that's huge. You've had major surgery, that's huge too. Give yourself some credit; I think you're doing really, really well. I personally don't like tribal gatherings at the holidays; I'd rather it just be me and my husband, but that's me. I was an only child; my husband comes from a tribe of 5. Whatever. I do fine by myself. I realize I'm not the norm, but whatever. I think you're doing great. You'll make new friends in time, until then just do the things you enjoy with the people you love. The rest will come. I can't imagine moving to a foreign country; it's quite enough that we are preparing for our 28th residential move in 30 years. Yep, you heard me right. It's craziness, but the Universe moves us around a lot. We moving out of state and that's quite enough headaches right there, and we have to pay for it all. Also starting a new retail business in the bargain, so there's lots of stress. I was sick on Thanksgiving so we haven't had our "feast" yet. It's completely wasted on me because I can't eat more than a morsel anyway. You're just grieving for your comfort zone, my dear, that's what happens when we experience radical CHANGE. All your reactions are completely normal. It gets better.

Thanks, Tiffy, and the rest of you. The tannins don't bother me and I do like red wines. Sometimes it doesn't like me back, but that can happen with anything taken too far, huh?!

Tiffy, WHY did the doctor say stay away from red wines? I've noticed that if I over-indulge I can have a hypoglycemic reaction aka dump syndrome, so I have to really watch it. I drink mostly champage and red wines, so do tell me about the red wine issue. Thanks I'm below goal and have lost 130 pounds.

How awful for you, embarrassing, etc. I don't want to be nervous around people thinking oh crap, be very careful of what you eat. Until this episode occurred I was able to eat pretty much everything. We were in Idaho at a resort that gave out the Brutels butter brickle. OMG, I don't even like sweets that much, but the BB was to die for. They give you a big square as your nightly dessert from the hotel. They leave in your room. I ate that and it was soooo good with no bad reactions, that when I got home I ordered some online. I was fine the first few times I ate it. Then I ate too much and just felt really crappy. Then when it was gone, I did not reorder as it was a one time indulgence. Then Halloween came, and you know how it is, after dinner you're hunting around for something with a sweet taste, just a bite. We bought bags of little wrapped baby bars of Snickers, Butterfingers, etc. I ate about 6 Butterfingers and again, felt crappy, and had to go to bed. I threw out left over Halloween candy. Then the cheese and honeycomb, definitely not a combination I can eat, although I did eat it at a restaurant with a glass of white wine, and then went onto taste wine all day and had no problems. When I tried the same food at home, did not work 2X in a row. So now being duly scared sh*tless, I'm very leery of any sugars at all. Hope this event becomes history quickly so I can relax and not stress over it. I'm stressed enough as it is with DH being out of work, and contemplating a move out of state as soon as our house sells. Gads, don't need extra stress over what to eat/not eat. Thanks for listening to my tale of woe.

Thanks you guys for responding. I was over at OH reading the bypass patients' accounts. Then someone suggested reactive hyperglycemia and after reading what that's about, it scared the snot out of me, talk of seizures, etc. OMG, how do those folks survive that stuff?! Scary, very scary. I had to keep reminding myself that I HAVE a stomach, just a much smaller one. I never reacted to sugars before. I don't eat high fat foods. This whole thing took a new turn when I had the honeycomb and yes, little pieces of cheese. Tonight I had a low fat "taco soup" which is mainly proteins (recipe from WW old time), and was OK after dinner. Of course I was watching my watch and timing things to SEE IF anything would happen. I got myself so worked up by "sensing" heart rate, etc., that I had to go take a Xanax to come down from the ceiling where I was putting myself. No dumping occurred, but the anxiety about whether it would occur is enough to set off an adrenaline rush all on its own. I don't want to be having these problems whatsoever. I stick pretty much with the Medifast diet plan and eat their healthy snacks, etc. I get that the combination of the cheese and honey was not a winner. I just want to KNOW that I'll be OK, no seizures or anything of that nature in the future. Thanks for talking me through this; I PRAY that I am over it.

I had the sleeve and it worked great. I also sent someone to Dr. Aceves who weighed approx. 400 pounds or slightly over. Dr. Aceves recommended the sleeve for him. He's doing great, and at last check has lost approx. 150 pounds, probably more by now. The people I know who had the RNY procedure initially lost, but all have since regained some of that weight - anywhere from 20-30 pounds. You only malabsorb for so long and the pouch stretches making it possible to actually regain all the weight if you're not careful. The sleeve is different; it's still your stomach, just less of it. You'll ultimately have to decide which procedure is best for your body, I'm just telling you what I've experienced personally. Best of luck with your decision.

Don't let the candy grab you. Too much sugar has a bad reaction on the system, ask me how I know. Yes, I've indulged in the Halloween candy I bought a month ago and had to stash under the stairs closet so as to keep it out of my mind. Eating too much sugar has an unfortunate side-effect on me: I get the sugar rush X 7 and it's not pleasant. I think it also spills into the intestines too quickly and just makes you feel like crap and all you can do is lay there and moan (and not in a good way ) so best to avoid altogether. Other than this good suggestion, enjoy the holiday! Next up: Thanksgiving, another foodie holiday. I don't care that much about food anymore, so I don't feel challenged by big food holidays. Sometimes wish I could enjoy it the way I used to, BUT that's how I got fat so it's a good thing that I'm not loving it the same way. I used to buy the pumpkin and cherry pies for Thanksgiving, and then keep buying the pies way after the actual holiday was over. Yep, I'd keep eating pie through Christmas, and then add holiday cookies and you name it. Instant 10-12 pounds from the holidays. After I'd eventually quit (when the stores stopped selling so many holiday sweets) unfortunately the weight was glued to me and didn't want to leave. That's basically how I got out of control and had to resort to desperate measures to get all the holidays off my body. Now I'm weighing in at 118.6 pounds and I'm 5'-7.5" tall so that's a skinny bitch here.