enigmachik

It is very common to have a stall at the stage you're at. Most people experience their stall between weeks two and three after the surgery, but for some it doesn't hit until four or five weeks out. You are actually only about 3.5 weeks out so I'd say you are in the normal three week stall so don't panic! I would say at this early stage you might want to consider one protein shake a day. I agree that it's best to get most of your protein from real food, but you are still really early out so one shake a day should help you keep your protein to recommended levels. Don't worry, the weight will come off when it's ready to.

Normally, I don't advocate extremes, but honestly I would stay away from the junk. I say that because at 7 months out I have woken up the carb demon and now I'm struggling with night eating of sweets the same way I was pre-op. There was a point after my surgery where I was naive enough to think I had licked the cravings for good. lies. I know I need to kick this habit before it drags me back down the rabbit hole. Don't wake up your demons. The longer you avoid your trigger foods, the better chance you will have at success.

this too shall pass. hugs

Good Luck!! You're going to be so happy

sounds fine to me! remember, you have to be able to live life. would you really want to have this surgery if you could never eat anything of substance?

Aww, he's so sweet!

You'll be fine. I went completely alone too. I didn't have anyone with me when I went for the surgery and I also didn't have anyone with me for the recovery either and all went well. You might want to have a back-up plan just in case there are complications, but more than likely you won't need the back-up plan. I know it's super scary, but you'll be so happy you did it once everything is done and you're all healed up again. Deep breaths, one step at a time. You can do this!!

I love spicy foods so this was one of my concerns as well. Thankfully, I have no problem at all with spicy foods post-op

I had my gallbladder removed prior to having vsg so I can't comment on any difference it would make to do it afterward. I can say, however, that for me, recovery from the gallbladder surgery was worse than it was for the vsg. I was exhausted for a good two weeks+ after getting my gallbladder out.

The reason that the RNY has better statistics on diabetes is because with RNY most people HAVE to limit carbs and sugar or they get dumping syndrome. With the sleeve, you should restrict your sugar, but not everyone does because many people have no problem at all with it tolerating it after the sleeve. That being said, the sleeve cured my diabetes. Mine was controlled using Metformin before surgery, but now I'm completely off all meds and my blood sugar is well within the normal range!!

omg, I'm having a panic attack over all this snow. Lord, help me to shovel myself out!

Don't give up! You can do this. I would highly recommend getting yourself into therapy with someone who specializes in eating disorders including emotional eating. You said you don't like yourself much and that negative comments would make you want to fall head first into the bad habits which tells me your issue is emotional (like so many of us) so a good therapist can really help you in this area. The surgery can help with the physical part, but we all need to do some work on the mental part as well. I know it's not easy! I've been eating far too many sweets myself. But, you absolutely can do this! You might consider doing the five day pouch test to help yourself get back on track. Whatever you do, don't give up!!! Come here, read others struggles, reach out for help (like you're doing) and believe in yourself. It's hard, but it's worth it. hugs.

That's great! Congrats!!

Yeah, when I do give into my soda cravings, it's always diet and a can of soda can last me for hours with my tiny tummy. lol

Actually, yes. I was never a soda drinker before surgery. I never craved the stuff and certainly never bought it. But since my surgery I have craved soda A LOT and I've given in to that craving a few times even though I know it's a big no-no for sleevers.

Have her join this forum. Then she can read all about the questions she has that she can't even think of to ask you right now.

I live alone and did my entire recovery alone. I had absolutely no problems. If you are very independent like me, you may be happier and find your recovery more peaceful without other people around. If I had to do it all over, I would do it exactly the same way. That being said, if you decide to take care of yourself make sure you have a back-up plan just in case your recovery is more difficult than you expected it to be. Good luck!

I would check hydration levels and your blood pressure. Very low blood pressure can cause similar symptoms.

I know I'm splitting hairs here, but why are you limiting your explanation to traveling to Europe or not? Do you think that anyone going beyond the borders of Mexico or Canada must be going to Europe? That's a very presumptuous and narrow view. And yes, I am biased. My family is from Taiwan. My travels take me to Asia, not Europe.

Yeah, after the initial barium swallow and x-ray most surgeons won't do anything to look at your insides unless you're presenting symptoms that indicate that something is seriously wrong.

You can eat 5oz of chicken and a side salad? How do you fit it all in?

I was sleeved July 6th. I'm down 65 lbs now. My hair loss is finally slowing down. My hair has definitely gotten much thinner, but the trade-off was worth it. I've been taking biotin and other supplements faithfully and I see new baby hairs starting to grow back in which is exciting. I love my sleeve!

Woohoo!! Congratulations!!!! This is a very exciting day I can't wait until I'm overweight. lol

What I do in these situations is to use the salad and spread a very thin layer of salad over the majority of the plate. Then take just a tiny tiny amount of the other foods to put on my plate. The plate looks full because of the salad, but really there is very little food on it. Then I remind myself to eat slowly and talk between bites so that I can fit more into my little tummy. While I'm doing this I'm also subtly pushing some of the salad into a corner of the plate one forkful at a time between bites so that I'm clearing a bigger and bigger space on the plate making it look like I've eaten more than I have. I tend to clear off my plate in this way at roughly the same rate that other people are clearing their plates. When I can't fit any more food, whatever is left on the plate has been concentrated to one area of the plate so that it looks like I ate as much as anyone else. At this point it is perfectly acceptable to say you are full and to toss the rest of the remaining salad. No one has ever questioned me on this. Most of the time I don't even announce that I'm full, I just quietly get up and throw my plate away around the same time that everyone else is finishing eating. Most people are so busy socializing and focusing on their own food that they really don't notice how much you've eaten. Good luck!!

I'm six months out and I used mederma faithfully for the first four months or so. Since then I've just been using olive oil because the mederma is so expensive and it didn't seem to be helping much at all. Actually I've noticed a lot more improvement since I switched to the olive oil. At six months out, my scars are still quite dark and noticeable. I'm also very pale skinned so I imagine that has something to do with it.