clk

Thanks for posting and congrats on not only achieving your goal but maintaining it. I tell people that once your body hits it's "happy place" that maintenance is easy but most people don't believe me. You've done great! ~Cheri

I am thrilled, THRILLED to announce that we're expecting one little baby in March. I am so relieved! They did find what appears to be a disappearing sac, so it might have originally been two, but at this point it doesn't matter. Everything was measuring spot on and looks great. And as additional good news, as soon as I started weaning off my progesterone supplements, I lost three pounds. Ha! If that keeps up I'll be down to no gain so far, which wouldn't make me sad at all. The little one is measuring exactly right, and so long as it's growing I'm doing fine. I'm up a total of three pounds so far, which is fine. I did move into maternity pants, more for comfort than anything else. This is my third pregnancy and my belly popped out right away. Apparently my body knows what to expect by now. I'm still a six everywhere except my waistline so I could wear my own clothes, but those Bella Bands aren't really all that comfortable to me. I don't like having my pants unzipped when I walk around even if it's covered by material! My appetite has increased but what I want is grilled meat, vegetables and lots and lots of ice Water. I managed to eat an entire 3 oz. of steak last night, with half a very small baked potato and a cup of salad made with butter lettuce. It might not sound like much but it's far more than my usual capacity - close to double, I'd say. So yes, the sleeve definitely relaxes for pregnancy, which is good. If it didn't, I'd have to drink Protein shakes all day long to make up the difference! ~Cheri

Tricare isn't there to help and they can make everything more difficult than it needs to be. But the real issue is that Tricare doesn't cover VSG. At all. Ever. We all keep hoping that they will eventually but they don't yet. Your PCM can refer you off post but Tricare will deny you. It's not covered and they're not flexing on it yet. Hopefully next year. However, it's possible to have the surgery done at a MTF if they perform the operation. MTFs make their own rules on those "extra" surgeries they'll cover for training purposes or special programs. You just have to jump their hoops and get through the wait list. So to the poster worried about Tricare Prime expiring, it's a non-issue if you've got a local MTF that does the surgery. To the OP, your best bet is to see if you can have it done anywhere else in your commute area. But Ohio is scarce on bases. Maybe Knox? It's not too far, maybe five hours from WPAFB. I've seen people jump bases to have it done, but most of them seem to live within an hour or so of the other base or they have a different base that does the surgery near their home of record. You can always try, though. I lived in Germany and no MTFs were doing the operation. I took out an unsecured loan through USAA and after lots of research chose to go with Dr. Aceves in Mexico. I did research Dr. Curry in Cincinnati, though, so if you go the self-pay route, he's a nearby option and had a very helpful staff. Perhaps the next assignment will put you closer, or if your home of record is by a MTF that does it, you can always call and see if you can get it done on leave, though that could be a challenge if you don't have family to stay with for recovery and for visits you'd have to make prior to surgery. Good luck with whatever you decide. In my case, it simply wasn't worth the trouble and I didn't want to wait. I don't regret my choice to self-pay one bit. ~Cheri

Make it into hot and sour soup. Yum! I use chicken stock for the base, anyway. Oh, or egg drop soup. Yum! I, too, added plenty of spices to my broths in the liquid stage because you'd be bored out of your mind otherwise. The cinnamon on cottage cheese is good. I also stir in a tsp. of preserves sometimes. And don't forget that old ricotta dessert if you get bored of cottage cheese - I think it's ricotta, cocoa powder and splenda. ~Cheri

Go slow, but it's all up to your body. I still have a really tough time with salad if it's made with iceberg. I have to eat actual greens or it makes me sick. Steak took the longest - beef, in general, was the hardest for me to digest for a long time. I could eat it once I was cleared for regular food, but I could only eat a bite or two before feeling very full. Tonight I ate 3 oz. of a good steak, though, with no problem. Of course, if I couldn't do that at two years out I'd be a sad girl. Bread also took a long time. I still don't eat much of it. Not because I think it's bad or because I can't, but why waste my limited capacity on something that doesn't do much for me? I bake fresh bread and if I slice it thinly I can eat a whole grilled cheese on it, or half a regular sandwich (piled high). Bread, Pasta, tortillas and rice all swell in my tummy and it's very easy to go from feeling great to instant discomfort. So take those foods very slowly and stop after just a few small bites until you know how you'll do. Good luck! ~Cheri

I don't live here but I'm currently visiting Fairfield, OH. My in-laws are here so we visit several times a year. I researched Dr. Curry, too, (along with Dr. Nick in Plano, TX) but ultimately opted to go with Dr. Aceves. Dr. Curry's staff was very helpful and friendly when I was doing my research, though. We should do a meetup! I never get to talk to sleevers in real life. ~Cheri

It took me six months to drop the last twenty pounds. I stalled out not long before I hit that point for about nine weeks. Tracking is critical because it's easy to slip into denial about our eating habits if we aren't holding ourselves accountable. I sincerely doubt your sleeve has stretched. It's more likely that you aren't aware that you're eating more than you were when you lost best, that's all. I'm also 5'1" and a bit and had a dream goal (like, an "I don't think I'll ever get there but I WANT to goal") of 125 pounds, but I set my goal at 135 - the most I could weigh and be pretty close to a normal BMI. If I round up and say I'm 5'2" it works out better. The reality is that my body doesn't really want to stay between 134-137. It loves being 138. Exactly 138 pounds. I can eat anything I want and stay that weight. But to maintain the lower weight I need to drink a Protein shake every day, keep my protein over 90+ grams a day and really watch what I'm eating. Oh, and drink a ton of Water. If I'm not diligent my body slips right back to it's happy place: 138 pounds. It's incredibly frustrating. The truth is that regardless of what we want and what that stupid BMI chart says, sometimes our bodies are just done when they're done. You can force it to go farther if you really work at it, but sometimes it's a real chore to maintain once you're there. Please don't forget to take any excess skin into account, either. I will easily shed ten pounds with plastics and I know that. I'll be right there at my dream goal once that happens. So for now, buckle down and get real with yourself about how you're eating. If shaving 20% off your total calories for a few weeks doesn't help, you might be at that happy place. If it does help, you have your answer. Best of luck, ~Cheri

Haha! That's just a tiny fraction of the massive Osh Bazaar. If it's for trade or sale, you can buy it there. The produce section really is HUGE, though you see a lot of repetition between vendors. I do read and speak a small amount of Russian, yes. I wish I was better with it but I don't really practice unless I'm talking to our housekeeper. My husband is fluent, though, so I let him do the talking most of the time. ~Cheri

I would ask to move on immediately if the next cycle is a bust. If you aren't developing follicles at all, I'm not sure upping the dose will do what you need. I've known women to have success with the metformin added in, so hopefully that will work. Beyond 150 mg Clomid can hinder, not help, fertility. Once you need a dose that high, your doctor should have you move on to injectibles to see if that bumps up your follicle production. At this point, I'd try one more round of Clomid at the high dose , then ask to be put on a split cycle of Clomid plus one or two "booster" doses of injectibles to see if that helps. By the end of that cycle, you'll know if the injectibles boost your production or not. If they don't give you any better results, don't let your doc talk you into several expensive cycles done that way. Injectibles can cost a lot if your insurance doesn't cover them. Best of luck. Infertility is a horrible experience for a couple. You might find something to help you on FertileThoughts.com - their forums can be interesting. ~Cheri

I didn't eat that much for a long while but everyone is different. I could have eaten that much, had I made different choices or forced myself to eat more at each meal. The important thing is to track your food and your weight, and stop when you reach that point where what you're eating (either quantity or quality) is affecting your progress. For everyone it's completely different. Some of us need less calories and some of us need to avoid certain foods in order to lose weight. Not everyone loses the hunger. And many, many people report that exercise increases your hunger. You are burning a lot of calories in a week and it's possible your body simply wants more fuel. It could be either in your case. It's not one size fits all, so if you're simply a slower loser (I lost, on average, just over six pounds a month) but having consistent results with your current program, there is no need to change anything. If you're hungry all the time and can safely add more calories without sabotaging your loss, then do that. The end goal is to find the happy place where you're feeling good about what you're eating and you're still losing. ~Cheri

I'm currently visiting Cincinnati. There's an okay farmer's market and a couple of places to get some decent meat, so that's alright. I live in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in Central Asia. I won't lie and say the place has much going for it otherwise, although I don't really mind living there. But one thing they do have are amazing produce markets with mostly local produce (you can find imported stuff, though), butchers that use meat they acquire locally and they really don't eat much of the junk we eat here. Now, don't get me wrong, I can order french fries in a restaurant. But when I do, they cut up a fresh potato, fry it up, salt and pepper it and bring it to my table. It's not made of a pre-frozen potato plus additives. And trust me, you can taste the difference. ~Cheri

I had an increased number for, oh, about six months or so. I used to go months and months without one, and in the early months I was laid up with one just about every month. They faded, however, into regular headaches (that lingered) over the first year, and now that I'm two years out I just realized I can't remember when I had my last migraine or headache. I think it's all the wacky in our bodies. Fat cells store all sorts of ugly things and that could be part of it. As your body adjusts, hopefully your migraines will decrease like mine did. ~Cheri Oh, and Imitrex is a great drug for migraines, true. But in both my mother in law and myself it caused tinnitus, which doesn't go away when you stop using the drug.

I'm two years out from surgery and currently pregnant. 1) I confess that maintenance is EASY but because I don't really gain weight (outside of this pregnancy), I get sloppy about my eating habits if I'm not careful. 2) I confess that I am having a hard time, mentally, adjusting to the idea of gaining weight and losing my small waist for a pregnancy. I didn't expect it to be so hard for me to expand, even for a good reason. 3) I confess that food in America is for the most part, disgusting. I'm sorry, but after spending most of the last seven years overseas and shopping local produce markets and fresh butchers, and making nearly all of my own food from scratch, the return to overly processed, chemical laden and barely "real" food is difficult to stomach. Literally. I'm amazed that anyone eats these things. I'm ashamed that my food memories had me nearly lusting after foods that I think are barely edible now. I had no morning sickness until I hit American soil and started consuming all this junk. It's back to the fruit and veggie stands and good quality meat for me. No more restaurants and certainly no fast food! 4) I confess that I eat many of the things (at least without being pregnant) that most of you are confessing as if it's a bad thing. I suppose it's all perspective, or approach, or perhaps just time out from surgery. Normally, I consume caffeine (one coffee every day, as a Protein drink), alcohol, ice cream (made with coconut milk, anyway), fried food, baked goods - just about any food you can name - in moderation, without guilt. Usually made from scratch, though, if that improves things. 5) I confess that I feel there are too many people having surgery without doing their research and adjusting their expectations (short and long term) to reality. It's sad and annoying, really, but I suppose some people just have a nature that allows them to dive in without checking the depth of the pool. I'll also confess that I don't feel I should have to adjust how I speak or how I answer just because it might offend someone. Oh, the trials of being a long-timer on here. If you ask random strangers on the internet for help or advice, try not to be offended if they don't answer the way you envisioned. ~Cheri Oh, and 6) I confess that I do not, have not and probably will not exercise. I hate it. I wish I could develop a love for exercise like I have a love for food but nope, it's not happening. If it didn't magically happen yet, I doubt it's gonna happen!

People do not stall because they aren't eating enough. I see SO many people climb on here freaking out because they're "stalled" and the first thing they do after three whole days of no loss is start screwing with their diet. This is a major shock to our systems. Shedding weight at a rate of more than a pound a week is a shock to the body. It stops and starts and tries to recover along the way because you've completely changed from gaining weight to rapidly losing weight. This has been widely debated here but the starvation mode thing is doubted but a lot of us. Too many people carry those misguided notions from life prior to surgery (we MUST eat 1,200 calories or we'll starve, eat with a calorie deficit and you'll lose every time you step on the scale) and try to apply them to life post op. It's not the same. Diets are NOT all one size fits all, I say this over and over again. Why people who fail to lose the weight following a strict 1,200 calorie diet and exercising prior to surgery but then try to apply that same failed experiment to the sleeve post op amazes me. Calories are fuel. They are neither good nor bad. food in and of itself is not good or bad. Life and diet are not black and white. Food is fuel. The nutritional makeup of your food can be better or worse for your body, and you can certainly waste food space (very limited for a while post op) on absolute crap choices that do nothing to further your nutritional goals. Living like the sleeve is a diet is the biggest culprit I see in stressed out sleevers and regain posts. Everyone's body is different. How many calories you need is based upon how your body does. I was amazed to see that I lost best initially with about 800-900 calories a day. It took me months to get to the point where I could eat that much. I still lost when I ate less, and I still lost when I eventually upped my calories. It's not an exact science for most of us. There isn't a big, bold line we can't cross - it's flexible, and a lot of it is dependent on what you're eating and how your body reacts to those foods. I am a huge advocate of eating normally. That means no foods are off limits and moderation is key in all things. That said, I truly feel that our weight issues start with our brains and our habits of disordered eating. So until a freshly sleeved person learns more about how their new body tolerates things, and until they work on some of the head issues, I wouldn't say that worrying about upping calories, and downing possible trigger foods to do it, is a good idea. It's a process. There is nothing wrong with indulging once in a while - it's normal. But building a habit of telling yourself that you need extra calories, and therefore a bowl of ice cream (or some other such treat) is necessary each day *could* be a slippery slope for a lot of people. I truly believe you'll have such a hard time getting in your basic Protein first calories that you won't have room for the thought of anything else. That's how it is for the vast majority of us. And nothing tops a lower carb Protein shake for nutritional punch. We don't eat them to add to our calories in most cases. We eat them because you can drink pretty easily once you're healed, and drinking up to 50 grams of protein with only 200 calories for a meal is a darn good way to stay healthy once you're sleeved. You brought up some interesting questions. I am not trying to slam you or any of the other responses here, or lecturing you as if there's only one way to live post op. I've just spent a lot of time on these boards in the last three years and I've seen a lot of trends. Best of luck to you, and congrats on trying to work some of this out prior to surgery. It shows you're trying to prepare and that's important. Too many people skip the questions and research! ~Cheri

Best of luck to all of you and I hope that weight loss will help increase your fertility. Just one thing I wanted to add because of my personal experience, though! If you AND your partner haven't had a full workup, do not let any doctor tell you (without running any tests on both of you) that your weight is the culprit in your infertility. DH and I wasted years TTC being told the only issue was my weight. So as I tried diet after diet to lose weight (Nutrisystem once, Weight Watchers twice) and only shed thirty five pounds I was heartbroken and beating myself up for our inability to conceive. Three different GPs told me the issue was my weight, without bothering to run hormone panels or test my husband. Well, we FINALLY got a sympathetic GP that tested both of us and lo and behold! The issue was my husband, poor guy. I could have lost 100 pounds and it wouldn't have made a lick of difference - we had to move straight to IVF w/ICSI. So unless you're SURE it's PCOS related infertility (the way weight is usually culpable for infertility) or some other issue losing weight can resolve, be sure to get tested! Do not allow your medical professionals to discriminate against you based upon your size, and take the lazy way out. That is all. Best to all of you gals! ~Cheri

Anywhere from six months to a year is the norm to get off the PPI. Some folks need them for the long run. I was lucky enough to stop taking mine somewhere between 4-6 months. However, in times of stress I do need them for a short spell again, as I seem to be more prone to acid problems than prior to surgery. Small price to pay for goal weight, though. I hope that sometime in the next few months you can wean off. I started coming off by taking one every other day. Try that and see how it goes. ~Cheri

shake it off. People just don't understand and she probably feels like she was offering good advice to someone she wants to help. If dieting was the answer, you wouldn't be where you are today. Weight loss is not one-size-fits-all or our first attempt at Weight Watchers would work like magic and we'd all be thin. Your friend probably means well but believes what every doctor and media source tries to tell us: if we're not thin we must lack willpower or the knowledge to succeed. Well, it's not always that easy. You have to do what's best for you, regardless of what other people think. I only told a handful of people prior to my surgery. Now that I'm at goal if people ask I tell them how I lost the weight. Prior to surgery you're opening yourself to judgement - and it's nobody's business but yours and your family's. Afterward, it doesn't matter what they think. The surgery will work, you'll lose the weight, and they might think you took an easier or more risky way out but you won't care at that point! Don't let this bother you. You're making a great decision to change your life permanently for the better. She'll come around in time when she sees how happy you are how successful it is for you. ~Cheri

I travel A LOT, especially internationally. I've never had an issue packing a shaker cup and Protein powder with me. I even go out of my way to buy a few individual serving packets of Protein Powder to mix on the plane if it will be a very long flight. I wouldn't try to carry RTD shakes through, nor would I freak out the TSA fools with unmarked baggies of protein powder. Those people swabbed my four year old's stuffed rabbit for explosives - they might lose their minds faced with an unknown powder. Honestly, I just traveled FORTY FOUR hours on four different flights and two different airlines. I had my trusty shaker cup and protein packets (and protein bars) with me the whole time. ~Cheri

To stretch your sleeve you would have to regularly eat to the point of pain. Even doing that it would STILL be tough to stretch this very un-stretchy part of the stomach, because you're more likely to simply toss up those extra bites than keep them uncomfortably sitting in your smaller tummy long enough to do lasting damage. That said, it's important to learn your new full signals and stop before you get to that point. We all take a little time to do this and it's normal to overdo it a few times before learning exactly when to stop. Certain foods swell in the stomach and cause issues. I have a real problem with Pasta and tortillas. Some people have an issue with scrambled eggs or bread. My full signals are a runny nose, the hiccups or a feeling of tightness in my chest. If I go beyond that, I'll toss it back up or suffer discomfort. ~Cheri

Ultrasound wasn't fully conclusive. We saw what might be empty sacs or what might turn into additional babies. There was one very healthy little one with a heartbeat (before six weeks!) and I was very happy and relieved to see that. I'm due for a repeat ultrasound at eight weeks. At that point we should see everything there is to see and be able to say for sure what we've got. Six weeks is VERY early for an ultrasound, and the equipment in Bishkek isn't exactly state of the art. With my twins (now four), we saw one at seven weeks and two at nine weeks. So I'm not going to announce anything for sure until we get that next ultrasound. Fingers crossed for one, but I'll be thankful for whatever I have. ~Cheri

Congrats on being cleared to try. My situation is different so my input on how long it took won't help you. That said, as half of a couple that struggled with infertility, I would suggest that you actively try for six months. If you haven't had even a late period in that time, move onto asking for help. Doctors love to blame our weight when we have trouble conceiving but that's not always the issue. A number of women do report increased fertility after surgery, so hopefully you'll have no problems. But if you do find it's taking a while, you should try to have some simple tests run to see if there's another reason it's not happening easily. Best of luck! ~Cheri

A number of women report whacked out cycles after surgery, so don't get crazy yet. First Response Early Response tests as little as 6.5 mlU of HCG in your system and is accurate as early as ten days post ovulation. If you're experiencing actual pregnancy systems, your hormones should be elevated enough for a positive test. More likely, you aren't pregnant. While I'm sure you might want to enjoy another child later, I'm hoping this is just a hormonal fluke, so that you can adjust to your sleeve prior to experiencing a pregnancy. Let us know how things come out. ~Cheri

I can't believe how quickly time flies! I honestly can't believe it's been two years since my surgery already. I'm pretty easily maintaining at goal, though I've found there is some truth to the "bounce-back" theory. Staying at 135 isn't always easy as my body seems happier just three pounds heavier and likes to stay there. However, I'm usually within 134-138 on the scale and I'm very happy with that. I eat like a normal person now. I've been able to increase my calories substantially since 18 months post op. I'm now consuming 1,400+ calories a day and it's not really affecting my weight. I like to stick around 90+ grams of Protein a day and I think this helps with maintenance. I hate eating first thing so I still start my day with protein coffee or tea. Everyone asks about loose skin and I'll say that there is a HUGE difference between one year out and two years out, so I encourage those considering plastics to maintain at goal as long as possible before seeking surgery. My case is a bit different as I have had twins, but at 17 months out my apron had much more adipose fat than now - now it's nearly flat, though still unsightly. I would have considered surgery on my arms and thighs necessary six months ago but now I think that exercise would firm them up nicely without surgery. I still hope for LBL and breast lift/augmentation one day but I'll have to put that off for now. Because I'm pregnant! We used up the last of our frozen embryos and the procedure worked. So I'll be sure to update on how things go for me and how the weight gain/appetite works, as well as how quickly I take the weight off again when I'm done. I will post some before and after photos, HOWEVER, I ask that you be nice to me. I've been on hormones for better than month now and I'm a bit bigger all around - my chest, arms and middle in particular feel a bit bloated - despite not gaining any real weight throughout this cycle. Actually, my breasts feel kind of obscene, after months of having them be so tiny they're busting out of all my shirts now! I'm also unable to wear my shapewear as it simply feels uncomfortably restrictive. So this is me, without the aid of gut-sucking shapewear, at two years out from VSG! I couldn't be happier. Life is just amazing at goal, and now that we're expecting again? It's like a dream come true. I wouldn't change my decision to do this surgery for anything and I'm thankful every single day that I had it done. ~Cheri

For me, all day nausea, horrible gas, stomach cramping and discomfort, followed by really bad bathroom issues. It's horrible. RTD Protein drinks, even lactose free ones, make me horribly ill. I used to love Oh Yeah or Muscle Milk but they make me so sick I can't stand it. I stick to Syntrax Nectars and mix with Water, coffee, tea, soy milk or juice. The good news is that my intolerance has gotten much better the farther out from surgery I get. I still can't drink a glass of cow's milk, but I can tolerate cheeses, a small amount of yogurt or ice cream, cream sauces if they aren't too rich, and most important to me: a splash of cream in my coffee. ~Cheri

Whew, net gain is finally back at zero. The bloat thing is nuts! One day I look a few months pregnant, the next I look pretty close to normal. I have hormone shots for four more weeks, though, so I should get used to it. I still see a crazy fluctuation on the scale but most days I'm within my normal range so I'm not counting it. It's crazy, though! Up four pounds overnight, down six pounds the next day...if I was in the losing phase I'd have lost my mind and tossed the scale out the window already! Ultrasound is Monday and it can't come fast enough. I'm nervous and it's even more nerve wracking that we might not even see much. A lot is based upon this ultrasound, because I'm in a remote location with no real medical support. It doesn't help that our international medical team in London is absolutely freaked out that a woman with a history of multiples is pregnant here. I think they'd evacuate me tomorrow if it were up to them! It's kind of silly, because most women would only just be discovering they were pregnant at this point. I'll update Monday evening, my time. ~Cheri