Aussiegirl

Looking good Doeboy! Way to go!!

Way to go Kato! Wondering who you had your surgery with?

Sorry I did not mean to scare you with the ICU comment. I was sleeved in Australia, and this is normal for my surgeon. He books us in for the first night in the ICU then they move you to the wards. Funnily I was moved to the cardiac ward next, which just confused the nursing staff, as I had no cardiac issues, it was just the only free ward. I was t he youngest by over 3 decades. Being scared is part of the process, I was ok up to the day of surgery (felt it was the right decision for me), then as soon as I headed to the hospital I had some serious panic kick in. It sent my BP through the roof, the only thing that calmed me down was this really cute male nurse, he was cute but had such s soothing in his tone, held my hand, kept me calm.

I am sure there are a few WLS couples out there. I agree being single and feeling better about yourself is great. I get to know myself without anyone else's opinion, learn who I am without the fat hiding me, without anyone else to hide with.from. Everything I do is for me. Tho soon I will be ready to share my awesomeness lol. Besides losing weight makes you very antsy.

I remember waking up and was a bit woozy, the first thing I did was throw up blood, which luckily I was able to let the nurse know was coming, somehow, not sure, I just kept saying throw up throw up and then the blood came out. Not much but that cleared it out. I was the first patient my doctor had had throw up as they give you quite (or he did) a bit of anti-nausea medication. The rest is a bit of whirl I was worried whether it was done, as my doctor was adamant that if the liver wasnt properly shrunk he would not perform the surgery, I was so worried about that, that was pretty much all I asked about. They showed me where the pain medication was. However pain wasnt bad for me at any point, like having cramps, or after doing too many crunches stiffness. The pain medication did help me rest tho. I slept most of the night, except when they got me up at one point to go to the bathroom. But really it was much of a blur. I was nil by mouth for 2 or 3 days, so was in hospital that whole time, but really once I was out the ICU (the morning after) I was up and about wheeling my bag around. Only took t he pain meds when I slept. But as others have mentioned, everyone is different.

I am a single female and no "luck" for me here.....not sure I am lookng at the moment, however never not open to it (yea I know doesnt make much sense). BUt i wonder whether it would be easier to be with someone who understands what I go through, otherwise guess I am a cheap date for normal guys as well lol.

This time 6 months ago I was waking up after my surgery in the ICU. After a moment on confusion and throwing up I started my road to recovery. Before surgery it scary and so hard to imagine what life would look like now, and now I dont know what I was scared of. The journey hasnt always been easy but it has been worth it. I spent alot of time working on myself, my relationship with food and with others. I still have a way to go to be where I want to be both in weight, the way I look and the way my life looks, but it all feels very achievable now. As far as stats go to to date I have lost 105 pounds, and about 5 pounds from my first major goal....i work in kilograms, so to be in double digits will be my first big celebration. From there I have another 60 pounds to go.I wear anything from a 20 to a 14 now depending on the make. It is hard to judge but have been splurging on some goal outfits as I go along....at times I have bought clothes that are already too big for *shrug* I still have some minor issues with reflux but control this with medication at the moment, still am hopeful I will get off these soon. I eat what I want, tho my body does crave healthier more nutrient rich food and am learning to control the binge urges more than I ever have. I have been working out intensely since 6 weeks out, now work out twice a day averaging 5 days a week. My fitness is getting better and better. There have been stalls and downs but I try take them with a grain of salt and keep working on the next goals, mix it up and keep moving forward. They can really do your head in if you let them. I had my follow up with my GP last week and he did not recognise me. I am getting alot of comments, positive feedback and endorsements of what is happening, alot of positive, some people have also decided to add their opinions about who I was before and how I ate without really knowing anything about what i have gone through and the mental changes I have had to make with the physical. Some highlights (NSV's if you like) from the last 6 months: - Being able to run for over 20 minutes straight and extending that - Fitting in and feeliing confident in my first little black dress - Not complaining and actually wanting my photo taken now - Last Friday night, being able to dance the night away in heels with only minimal pain after 7 hours - Walking the whole parade route (back and forth) while in New Orleans for Mardi Gras - No more extender belts on planes, feeling more comfy in those cattle class seats - Not sure if this related but feeling less stress in my life, being able to hand stressful situations better, think this is more to do with my mental health that i have been working on, before I was a major stresshead - Only taking pain killers twice since surgery, once because I drank way too much the night before, before I felt like I was always having some ache or pain - Feeling like I want to jump, dance on a regular basis Below are the before and todate pictures, the newest picture was from a work Ball I went to last Friday and we had our hair and make up done, I got so many comments and felt so good all night. I still have work to go and plan to keep on keeping on. At the end of the first year I am planning on taking a celebration road trip around the US...not celebrating with food.

I know the double digits is my biggest milestone yet...it eludes me..but it is litterally within reach, I had hoped I would be there by the end of t he month (was reasonable at the beginning of the month) but my body is not co-operating and is starting to stall grrrrr Hope you get there soon.

Thanks Emily I am so excited to see what the next 6 months bring. I cant imagine doing this journey without exercise in it, especially as I wanted to be active and fit at the end of the journey. Good luck and enjoy bringing exercise into your routine.

Thank you It hard work but so worth it, and you will get there soon too!!

I too am 6 months out (well tommorow I will be) and have lost over 100 pounds. I found a couple of weeks ago I could consume more food than I had previously. I would look at what I had eatten and think wow did that all just go in? But I feel like I am getting more nutrition, usually when I can eat what feels like alot of food ( i mean like 2 chicken tenders, couple of veggies and some low GI rice). I get closer to 1200 calories those days. This is nothing compared to what I ate pre-op. I do work out alot, have a gym at work which I go to daily, walk/run 5-6 kms home each day. So do need to keep getting some carbs in to fuel me or I do feel a noticable difference in my energy. I do eat low GI carbs, wholemeal/wholegrain etc. Anyway, keep up the hard work and you will get there. Keep positive.

I am 6 months post op tommorow, I do still take the reflux medication. My surgeon tells me it is not common for people to still need the medication this far out. I have been going on and off the medication for a few months, and each time I go off the symptoms are lessened but to date I am still aware of the reflux, or burning in my throat at this stage. I am sure others have many other experiences.

Way to go Brynn!!

DeMarcos, welcome aboard! You will find lots of information here, I think it may be hard to encounter something that someone has experienced in our VSG journies on here. Good luck with the pre-op diet, I was on an Opti-fast diet for 2 weeks before the surgery, I think out all the phases it was the hardest to get through, liquids, mushies etc seemed easy in comparison. Keep positive and you will do great.

Way to go Blackanese...work the man lol. And you are making me jealous. My ex (or whatever he was) is coming to visit at the beginning of next month, maybe I will take out some of this frustration on him. Til then will have to settle for the battery operated man *hides*

I have bought a number of diffferent goal pieces, each at different sizes. Each size I go down is a goal, so I have something to work into. The first one was a little black dress, which now fits and is a bit loose. The next is a cream suede jacket (which I saw in the store and could not leave without it). They are my motivation to keep going. I had a goal size, which in some pants I am actually already in, my top half is way bigger than my bottoms, so have no idea what my end size will be. So now I Celebrate the removal of a specific size from my wardrobe and work to the next goal item.

Congratulations Meg, you did it the tough way...so glad you made it!

I hear ya girls! Since hitting a 100 pounds lost and being the smallest I remember being in over 20 years (yea cant believe I am old enough to say that), suddenly everyone is telling me how well I am doing and are literally stopping me in my tracks asking whether I am loosing weight and how and keep up the good work. We had a work party last Friday which was a big dress up event, so obviously I was dressed up, hair and make up done, and all night I got complimented, which I graciously accepted. However with a few people (and after a few drinks) they decide to also make comments about how I have tried to loose weight before (badly apparently) and hadnt cared about how I looked (not really true but it must have been what I was putting out). And then comes the lecture (as I am still overweight) about keeping going and not giving up. I really dont want to have a heart to heart with everyone who decides to say something about how much this is not just a surgery but a process that I have been going through to change my life, relationship with food and loving myself. I know that I have alot of people williing me on and wanting the best for me and I dont mean to sound ungrateful for that, but I still have ALOT of work to do....imagine what they will be saying at the end of this journey.

Just to pipe in on this, I have found since surgery I am more alert, able to recall things and general consciousness is so much better. Apparently my B12 levels are low but will get shots for that and that will only help my memory. 100 pounds ago I was alot less aware of everything.

Congrats that is awesome progress!

Good luck with trying to exercise it away. I find that exercise just makes my blatant horniness WORSE...grrr Where the hell are all the good men or atleast decent men when I need one?!!?

It is the little comments that keep you going. I have now lost 100 pounds, and people can really see the difference now. I went to see my surgeon today for a follow up and he did not recognise me this morning. It is a weird feeling eh.

Hi Karen, I am also a Karen I am sleeved (almost 5 and 1/2 months now, and as of this morning have lost 100 pounds). However that just puts me at the weight you are now. Before surgery I considered myself a big foodie as well, and didnt really eat junk food, cept for when I was binging then it would be all the junk I could fit it. And then portions were always large. I was always going into this that this was a lifestyle change, a marathon, not a sprint. During the 5.5 months, I have not really dieted as we know it, followed the diet restrictions while recovering but other than I have not said i need to avoid any food. This has been my approach and it works for me, other have other ways of working their sleeve. I feel lucky that I had an easy recovery, I was prepared to be in the 1% that would have complications, but maybe that preparation made the recovery feel almost too easy. Every day I am glad I had the surgery, my life feels so much brighter now, I do more, I am fitter than I have been for years, I am injury free (which was a big one for me). At the end of the day it is your choice and you will have to live with it...I wish you luck with your decisions. Happy to answer any questions you may have. Now I am able to enjoy most foods sensibly, portion sizes are tiny, but I still get to taste anything and everything. Alot of the foods considered bad for us make me feel quite ill (fried, high sugar foods).