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Are you on a PPI like Prilosec or Nexium? Sounds like acid. If you're not on one, you should be. If you are on one and it's Prevacid, that particular PPI is in a different category and doesn't work for a lot of folks. If you are on one and it's not working, call your doc. And of course if you feel pain stop what you're doing. Pain and discomfort mean something isn't right - until you're sure what it is, you need to be careful. ~Cheri

We all know that I actually enjoy courteous dialogue, even when I disagree completely with people sharing their opinions. I get annoyed when I'm told "don't be annoyed." That's silly. Maybe it's not what would annoy someone else. Maybe they disagree with my stance. Maybe they're just better people than me. But don't discount my feelings or opinions simply because yours differ. Makes me prickly and I show it in my responses! ~Cheri

CGJ, your arms look awesome. GT, I have nothing to say except CENTCOM sucks and I hope your internet gets worked out. Coops, hang in there buddy. It's hard. I know it's hard. Remember me, sitting in maintenance more than a month ago only to bounce sky high again and have to lose it all again? SO FRUSTRATING. I just want to not feel like I'm sabotaging myself if I eat a damn slice of pizza. I miss maintenance (real maintenance) and I miss my clothes being big and I miss having boobs. Okay, unrelated but baby Shevi ruined me. I get sad every time I think about it. I'm seriously annoyed today. I just...do not want to deal with people. I wish I could support people here but I just want to scream at them today. I am so sick of the "don't post this" or "don't say that" or "we should all do this" B.S. on the forums. I just want to shout at people to go the hell away. Half of them won't be here in six months, even. I sure as hell don't need or want condescending or holier-than-thou comments. I'm sick of it. I'm completely and utterly burned out with this garbage. Weight is holding steady. I did a fast today - kinda. Screwed it up a bit at dinner by sitting at the table too long and mindlessly eating part of a dinner roll. Still logged in at 580 though, so I'm calling it good. Feast tomorrow. As if I feast anymore. I feel like all I do is eat protein. No, I'm not *really* hungry but I'm PMSing and feeling extra b*tchy...so the fact that I don't WANT to eat pizza and popcorn doesn't mean anything. It's the fact that I CAN'T that I'm going to focus on today. I'm going back to my hidey hole until I stop hating people. Hope you ladies are having a more sunshiney day than me! ~Cheri

Seriously. Am I the only one still annoyed (after all these years) by the "if you're not being nicey- nicey super supportive, telling me everything I do is perfect and awesome and okay then you're not supportive at all and shouldn't say anything" B.S.? Or the "golly gee, I guess you're just a totally NON special person for getting annoyed with people that say and do things you don't agree with" crap? Suck it. I've got two pals online pimping pharmaceuticals as the magic cure that helped them lose weight when the truth is that they sliced out 85% of their stomach and eat 500 calories a day and no carbs. That's lying. I don't care how private you are. That's lying. Don't be a liar. And don't be a liar to sell pills to people on the internet that still believe there's a magic pill cure for obesity. And I'll roll out that OTHER standby forum slogan: "If you don't like what I say you can just be the bigger person and not respond." Cause it's totally unsupportive to tell me you disagree with me, don'tcha know? Plus, it's mean. We only like unicorns and sparkles 'round here. No reality or realistic emotions allowed. ~Cheri

I'm more than three years out. Outside of pregnancy, I've stayed within 5% of my goal weight. Some people can't track. Some people have to do it. I have to do it. I think the biggest thing is to stay disciplined. Weigh daily. If you don't know what the scale says, you can easily slip into denial about weight gain until your pants are too tight. I may eat whatever I want, but I choose wisely about 99% of the time. I can't rely on my sleeve to keep me thin despite myself. I have to think about my food, I prefer to plan my meals and I must weigh myself daily. I cannot just "wing it" for long periods of time or my eating habits get sloppy again. I have decades of disordered eating behind me. I have only three years of being a normal weight and making mostly good choices under my belt. If I leave it up to my habits to see me through, I'm going to find myself with a regain and it's harder to lose weight the closer you are to goal. You'll need to find what works for you and keep with it for the long haul. We regularly see people back in the vets forum that have been offline and without support that need to lose a regain. It's all too easy to gain weight if you get sloppy. ~Cheri

Stalls are three weeks or longer at the same weight. Preop diets get counted into your total weight loss. Why? Your body doesn't care that you lost half that weight before surgery. It only knows you've lost a bundle of weight in a very short time, and that you're currently eating a fraction of your previous dietary intake. Everyone's body slows down a bit a few weeks after surgery because your body needs to know that 1) you're not dying, 2) you're going to keep eating and 3) the shock of surgery is only happening once. See here for perspective: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/259120-before-you-post-youve-only-lost-x-pounds/ ~Cheri

You're still on a liquid diet, right? I wasn't even hungry but wanted to chew food more than anything. As soon as you realize you're uncomfortably stuffed on just a few bites of soft foods you'll find food isn't as exciting as you remember. ~Cheri

If you did a preop diet that gets counted into your loss. Your body doesn't care if you lost a dozen pounds prior to surgery - all it knows is that you've lost weight in a short period of time. ~Cheri

I see the points behind everything offered here as an idea. Things like choosing Protein first get harder the farther out you get. Making the choice to go all or nothing on food is a very, very difficult one. Just as many people struggle because they choose the route of abstinence as do because they chose moderation and can't stay in control. My experience has shown that the single most important thing you can do is get help. Counseling one on one is always your best option but group therapy or a close friend that can relate to disordered eating will also work. Whatever you've got going on under the food and the weight is something you'll have to confront and work on. It's not just a one time thing, either. I did the bulk of my work in the first year but still have to face issues as they crop up in maintenance. Self control is critical. Finding what works for you is going to be important. It doesn't have to be what works for other people. I do moderation. I say that 99% of the time I make the great choices. And about 1% of the time it's hard...I make less than ideal choices. But I stay disciplined. I track my food, even on days when I go off the rails and eat anything I want. I weigh daily (it's more important in maintenance than loss to do this) and I never, ever let myself slip into denial about my eating habits. Because I confront it and acknowledge that I've got a screwed up relationship with food, I'm able to do moderation to an extent that some people cannot. I'm also lucky enough to have only a couple of trigger foods that make me want to go crazy. I avoid those foods except for rare, controlled treats. It might sound cruel or dismissive but the easiest thing to do is not be dumb. Don't be dumb about it. Don't think it's okay to jump right out there in the first months post op and push your limits. Because we all do it - we all test our limits. But don't make it a habit. Don't think that because your sleeve's restriction keeps you from overindulging in year one that you can do what you like. By the time year three rolls around, you're going to find that your success hinges upon you working your sleeve - not your sleeve keeping you thin despite yourself. It's entirely possible. This is long, I apologize. All of my posts are long! But it's not as simple as just avoiding certain food groups. Because real life is still out there. Nobody around you is going to give up food just because you had surgery. Exercising self control is important and by getting the head work done and by staying disciplined, you'll find it's easier to stay in control. And when you struggle you'll find there are hundreds of posts here from people that have gone through the same things. Support helps. Good luck, ~Cheri

I say hormones. I actually have the opposite issue. I used to use Proactiv daily to keep my adult acne under control and I suffered frequent breakouts. Now I hardly use it at all and can count the number of small breakouts I've had in the last three years on one hand. Proactiv can definitely be harsh if you're heavy handed with the repairing treatment. I only apply it where it's needed - my trouble zones - and don't have an issue. But everyone's skin is different, so you might have a different experience. I now use the whole system so sparingly that I joined up, got three months worth of shipments and then cancelled. Those three kits will last me the next year! ~Cheri

I've hated Peanut Butter my entire life...and now I have to be careful to stay away from the PB & Co in my cabinet. That white chocolate wonderful really IS wonderful. But what's awesome is one portion goes a loooong way and it's nice to have a "treat" that has a little Protein, too. ~Cheri

Are you mixing your Protein shakes with dairy? I developed nausea post op and chalked it up to dealing with a new sleeve. It got worse until I was plagued by digestive issues. It took me a while to actually put two and two together and realize I'd developed lactose intolerance. Some folks develop it, so it's worth checking out. I found a lactose free shake that mixes well with Water and that helped. If this is the case, don't despair. At some point around a year post op I found I could consume most dairy, with the exception of milk, heavy cream and ice cream. I can even eat cottage cheese and yogurt again. It does get better with time. It could also be your supplements. If you're taking them with your morning Protein Shake, it could be causing you to feel ill. If the dairy isn't the culprit, be sure it's not your Vitamins. Good luck and congrats on your sleeve. ~Cheri

I didn't start until my labs - sometime shortly after one year post op. I was very low in Iron. I should have done labs at 6 months, too, but didn't. I've always had a problem with iron and even three years post op I take a prescription iron supplement daily. ~Cheri

Never mind, that wasn't bad at all! Congrats, Laura! Making it do a new "decade" is awesome. So glad most everyone made it back to the group. I swear we were on the 90s before...I guess less posts show in a page now? I was like, holy smokes, they all wrote a dozen pages each! Hope everyone is having a great weekend, ~Cheri

This is NOT FAIR! I was unable to log in for two days and ya'll have been writing novellas, apparently (channeling your inner Cheri, perhaps?) and now I have PAGES to read. Boo. Now I need to catch up. Before that, just wanted to do a happy dance and say I weighed in at 141 (and change) two days in a row. That's the window. From here on out, it's gravy. I'm going for six more to start and we'll reassess from there. ~Cheri

Laura wins the internet. Seriously. I almost spit out my coffee. ~Cheri

You know, I used to think a lot of this was due to my personality brightening, my newer confidence, etc. But no. Many people just treat the obese like absolute crap. I've found that even people I've known for years treat me differently. People are shallow. They're drawn to pretty things and treat them much differently. And most people do not view fat people as pretty, even though the two are not mutually exclusive! I also know that it's absolutely true that people view overweight employees as less productive and effective, even if they're doing the same or more work as their non-obese peers. Study after study has been done about it, and the obese (and the old) have greater challenges when seeking and holding employment because of this. Yes, fat discrimination is alive and well. Just take a look at that whole Halloween candy note thing. For every outraged person there was another saying she was just handing out the hard truth. It's been said before but it's perfectly true - it's more socially acceptable to be a drug addict than a fat person. ~Cheri

Don't mind Butter, he has boobs on the brain. ~Cheri

Hey I unfollowed this thread! That's okay, it looks like it simmered down. That's what I get for clickety-clicking from my content instead of the main forums, huh? ~Cheri

That's the second time today you've chimed in just for the porn, Lady. I'm stalking you so I know. Right?! Or hey, how about moderate exercise? I'd take moderate exercise, even. I don't believe in getting sweaty for all the wrong reasons. ~Cheri

You're grieving. You just lost a trusty friend, companion and coping mechanism. You lost your ability to indulge your desire to eat, for whatever reason you do it. Depression post sleeve - either immediately or closer to goal - is something that's fairly common. There's a sticky somewhere on these forums about it, too, if I recall. First we grieve. Later, if you really had disordered eating or were using food to cope, you'll find that once the food is gone and the fat is going that you have to face those things you were hiding with food and fat. That's my personal baggage and was a real challenge. Maybe it's the biggest challenge. Learning to cope differently and to feel differently about food. Right now you're grieving. It's something a lot of people go through. Later on, you'll be grateful for your sleeve. It's going to help you lose more weight than you've ever lost before, and if you do the required head work and tame your food demons, it's going to help keep you there forever. Good luck. If your instinct says it's time to pursue therapy, do it. Counseling can only help, never hinder. I am of the firm belief that everyone could benefit from a little time in therapy. We wouldn't be here if we didn't need help. I wasn't unhappy because I was fat. I was fat because I was unhappy. Now I'm living the dream. Sort of. I'm a normal person, anyway. Okay. Mostly normal. But closer than ever before. ~Cheri

Okay, so my boobs were all tennis ball in a tube sock until somewhere between one and two years post op. Then, BAM, almost overnight it seems like they filled back out. My fat redistributed and I had a nice cup size and not nearly as much sag. I even got more of my hourglass back and my hind end stopped being a pancake. It can get better, so here's hoping. Now, post baby? That's another story. I cry a little on the inside every time I look at them these days. ~Cheri

Depends on how you heal and how hard you push yourself. I felt pretty close to normal by about two weeks post op. The fatigue lasted until I could eat soft foods - the long liquid diet my surgeon requires was challenging for me. The most lingering pain for me was a dull ache on my side if I tried to side sleep - that lasted the longest. Maybe close to a month. Everything else healed up pretty quickly and nicely. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I felt normal again. Congrats on that new sleeve! ~Cheri

I never had any issues taking a single pill post op. Your surgeon is going to have the guidelines you'll need to follow, but I took my usual pill post op with no problems. ~Cheri

Some people can eat that much of even denser food. All sleeves are not created equal - some people have no food issues and some people are plagued by them. I wouldn't worry too much as long as you're tracking your intake. It's more important to hit Protein goals, stay hydrated and eventually to find and keep a balanced nutritional profile that will continue giving results. ~Cheri