RJ'S/beginning

Beef of any kind...Tuna hates me. Pork is a good choice and then a bad choice. Chinese food doesn't like me either. Nor does bananas. Can't eat a boiled egg or a sunny side up one or fried. But don't know why I can eat a scrambled one! Refined sugar has finally turned on me as well. And all the pre operation allergies are still there. Too spicy, not even trying!

Well, I had an attack the other night that almost landed me in the hospital. I got so weak and dizzy, broke out in a sweat all over my body and my husband said i felt like I was burning up. what did it. A 1/4 cup of ice cream. Yup... I have not been eating enough for the last little while and I have been full after a few bites and it has caused me to have this episode. In the hospital they gave me ice cream when I couldn't eat and it jump started my eating again. Well my hubby thought it might work again so he got me some ice cream and no sooner had I swallowed it then it wanted to come right back up. And it did. Then I laid down for a bit and it helped. I decided to call my sister and talk to her for a while and she said she noticed right away that something was wrong. Any way some almonds and G2 brought it around some slowly. My husband said he would put me to bed so he helped me into the bed room where I quickly fainted dead away. Somehow he got the rest of my pills into me which I don't remember and then I woke up the next morning feeling like I was beat up badly. My husband had looked it up on line and sure enough it is called reactive Hypoglycemia. It can happen to WLP because of the slow break down of Protein in our bodies and the fact that food does not stay in the stomachs very long. We have to balance complex carbs and protein together for it to stay at bay. So after talking to my dietitian I am now eating 6 times a day. 3 meals and 3 Snacks. That is what she recommended. each time a complex carb or protein. So there it is....Another thing to deal with!

I think that even though it is in the past. You will feel bad for what happen. But you should be proud and let the pride out. You had the courage to do something about the issue because other diets failed you. Mind games are there and we all face them. We have to adjust our thinking and go on. Just like any other situation in life that happens that has left us with a bad taste in our mouths. Knowing how you feel about the past will give you fortitude to keep going to travel this journey with your head held high. You have bettered yourself and no one can take that away from you. It is your tool that you chose to get yourself where you need to be health wise. When you do feel like that, give your head a shake and go on. It is quite the trip. And you are absolutely right. The emotional side of this journey is much harder to face then the actual losing of the weight....I certainly have felt that! Just keep swimming, okay!

I am seventeen months out and I do not count calories. Never have. I eat Protein first and then veggies followed by my carb whatever that is. Breakfast I eat Raisin Bran with 2% milk. I find it keeps me regular. After 1/2 hour I drink a tea with 2% milk in it and take my morning pills and Vitamins. Noon I always eat a 1/2 sandwich with real meat and cheese on it. Sometimes I eat a salad with wheat hearts or legumes. Or crackers with hummus..I make sure they are complex carbs..As they are much better for you. I then take some more vitamins and at three o'clock I have a second tea and take more of my vitamins with that. Meanwhile I drink 1/2 bottle of G2 Gatorade mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with Water. That is 32 oz of water right there. I get that down before early afternoon and I fill up my 32 oz container with water again. This time with lemon water or just plain water. I then eat dinner and have protein of some sort. I love fish and chicken but will make lamb too..I eat a lot of Beans and seeds and wild rice...I always try to make my meals pretty and interesting so that even though I am not eating a lot I feel like it is special. Dinner has always been my favorite meal. After dinner I wait and at nine or 10 I have a few nuts and seeds or fruit depending on my mood. Sometimes I have a hot chocolate and ( diet one ) make sure I finish all the water for the day. Before bed I take the rest of my pills with orange juice like clock work because the Iron works better with orange juice. There are things I love to eat and others not so much. I will eat a Smart for Life bar instead of lunch if I am on the road going somewhere. The days I work out I eat added to the list above a 1/2 larabar before workout and 1/2 after. My daughter makes them for me and they are so good. I am very, very picky now when it comes to quality. I deserve quality. So I make sure I have it. I hardly ever weigh myself. I think it is harmful to our minds because we become obsessed with the numbers instead of what we need to concentrate on. And that is our need to change how we feel about food. Fix the brain, we fix the body. Working out has caused a problem for me as I now have reactive Hypoglycemia. It came on hard and fast. So now I have to change my program to accommodate that lovely problem. So added to what I said above I started today after talking to my dietitian, a snack at 11:00 and a snack at 3:30....one cheese the other yogurt or nuts protein of some sort. I believe that we can tell how we are doing by the clothes we wear. I think once I hit maintenance then I will weigh myself more and be concerned if I gain and lose 5-10 lbs. One thing you need to know is that if you are not eating enough your body will shut you down. It will protect itself so you have to be careful how you treat it. This is not a race this is a change of life a learning experience and one that did not happen over night and will not be repaired in a few months. Hope this answered some things.

Doesn't matter to me what surgery we have we all need support. We all need each other to assist. if it is a support group for all types that's fine with me....I'm there!

Honey child...You and Indigo would have to come to Canada to visit my future support group....Hell i would even give you a place to stay...Imagine the time we would all have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No one got a special email little one...it has been talked about on here for a while now and in the news letters. Besides you'd be great. I'd love to be at a support meeting with you leading it.....would never know what was going to happen next....A borrowed expression from you next..' blink, blink!'

It is exactly what Barbaric pal is asking us if we are interested in a support group in our own areas....I concur..It is a great idea....Sorry for the quick 'Great Idea' comment!

Great idea

I was told that if I lost 70 or 80 lbs I would be a success. Well I have gone way past that. And you can too. Never get overwhelmed by the scale. Look for other things besides numbers to see your successes and let your body stop where it wants too. I never ever weighed myself when I was 380 I probably would have ended things right there if I had. I have not weighed myself much after the surgery. Mostly team visits. Another person was told that she would only lose 60 lbs. She fells since I have lost more that she will too...I believe in us! And our will power!

@RJ'S/beginning I am happy for those two that didn't have to suffer like I did. I only found out about this site after sugery. If i had know how bad i would have reacted to this surgery, I probably would not have done it though. good thing in a way that i suffered so much because now my motto is 'I didn't go through this for nothing' and it keeps me in compliance. I don't know what all happened to you but i k now my post op experience was a nightmare. My daughter told me oh mom it couldn't have been worse than having four kids..... I said YES it most definitely was worse. At least after labor pains are over I always felt good afterwards and relieved and happy with a new baby..... My weight loss now will be like my 'newborn' self.... A new start.... A new beginning for me. I wish I'd found this site sooner, it would have helped a lot...... Thanks... Like you hun I look at this experience as something I paid dearly for and so therefore take it very seriously like you did. Having that kind of attitude will make you a screaming success story...... Who remembers the exact pain of labor eh when a brand new life enters the picture and she/ he is your blood and the best part of you... That is how I see this surgery. A gift that gave me and still is giving me a chance at a better healthier life.... I am glad to hear you are off the BP pills. I too was told that I had very little health problems. They called me a healthy fat person...oh thanks....Anyway....I was 1 in over 500 patients that had this...The only one that had these kinds of complications.....I am struck dumb at how this could have happened to me..But it did and I can't change that and hopefully we can educate those about the dangers and they will be better informed then we were. That is the wonder of this forum.... Your well on your way now!!!

Okay sorry I just read that you joined this site in March. The reason I asked is that there are plenty of people on th forum that had and are still having complications because of WLS. I was asked by my doctor before I had this surgery " What is the worst thing that can happen to you if you do this?" He forced me to reply as he kept repeating the question until I did. I said okay DIE! And he said yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well I had everything happen to me except death and am still suffering with complications 17 months out. I don't know why anyone would think that with any surgery you have pain and problems. Even having your teeth out you can die, have complications, uncontrolled bleeding or whatever..... I am glad you are okay and hope that things will continue to get better and better for you. Reminding everyone that it is not a piece of cake helps as well. Good idea....yes... When I read about those people who had it easy. I Celebrate for them and I am a bit jealous......I don't want anyone to have to go through what I personally have been through to get me to here.....I paid a gigantic price for this..In my mind time and money well spent..Will never see it any other way even though it has been hell!

How long have you been reading this forum?.Or have been on here?

I watched my 600 lb life a few weeks ago and the surgeon made her stomach go from a football size to a banana size. I nearly fell off my chair. Mine is the size of a thin marker......the size of the sleeve can make a difference as well I think

Let me know what he/she says eh......

That article contradicts what three surgeons told me. I was advised our stomachs will not stretch significantly as the stretchy part was cut out and the muscle was left intact. It will relax, but not restretch. I was told that the very bottom of your sleeve can expand. Also if pushed or abused you can form a pocket where the stomach connects to the sleeve. I was shown pictures and documentation of these facts myself. The muscle that is left after surgery will relax but does not stretch out. However abuse of the sleeve can cause a bulge at the base of your sleeve and it will stretch. Now what I was told is that pop or any carbonated beverage is the number one enemy of the sleeve. If you drink it it is a huge red flag. Diet or not. Just like every surgeon has his own pre-op diet plan and things we can eat and not eat. Exercise now or later. Success is 60 lbs. off. while others are 80 lbs.The differences go on and on....... Now for me, with all the difficulties I have been through and how my team stuck with me through thick and thin. I will believe them because they have been right in everything so far FOR ME!

There are only a handful of people who know I had WLS. (OUTSIDE OF HERE ) If I start to work with patients and things change in my life maybe I will share it more readily. But right now I so enjoy going where I want and no one knows it's me. That is how much I have changed....But for me if it is none of their business don't tell them. If you see someone in need help them. Most people don't ask what benefits have you noticed by losing weight? Has your health improved? Are you now able to do more? To some people it is the number that counts. And the before and after look. All the people who have found out I have lost weight that had not seen me for a while say the same thing...I heard she is thinner. I gotta see that for myself.... If they had been an important part of your life you would have already told them the whole truth. Part of the truth is not a lie. You are watching caloric intake and exercising

I found this article very helpful: http://obesitycoverage.com/weight-loss-surgeries/gastric-sleeve/gastric-sleeve-will-my-stomach-stretch

First of all a goal of a size 8 is unrealistic. Being solid well that is another reason why size 8 might not be who you will become. What you need to do is enjoy each day with the loss of the weight going down and allow your body to dictate to you where you will land in the end. I am 5'7" depending on who is measuring me and I take a 14 in pants and a large in shirts. I know that I will never be an 8 and really don't want to. What curves I have I hope they are still there. You must concentrate on the journey instead of the lbs. It is a long road with ups and downs and already you are making goals that just might not happen. Please enjoy the ride and worry about what your team says....

Well this is the second time in two weeks that I put a rib out. I have been busy spring cleaning the house and getting rid of the junk. I have not done this kind of activity for 8 years. Now I am told that I am doing too much and my muscles and other body parts are taking exception to it. Say what! I finally get to a point where I can actually clean my own house, cook, do laundry and they are trying to slow me down. Your not healthy enough or strong enough to do all of this. You are still weak and healing from the traumatic time in the hospital. It is going to take time for you to be strong enough to do all the things you want to. To build your body back up. To even build muscle mass.... I am getting really tired of my body conking out when I do regular things. How much longer will it take before I can be free finally to do what I need to, and do what I want to, and do what I want to try next.... Is this ever getting on my nerves......

Do I look like a spitfire girl!!!!!!!!!

I have a trainer. He comes twice a week right now. He is one of the ones that are telling me I am moving to fast and not letting my body heal enough....

You got it! I've figured out that things change pretty fast with my eating and what works versus not. So I've really had to watch everything and track it all. What happens when you have the attacks from the fake sugars?? As long as I can remember I have been allergic to Aspartame. I would get dizzy, weak, shaky and my blood sugar would plummet and I would faint. So I have always been careful not to use anything that has that in it. Now I use sucrose and it has started lately to treat me the same way. I had a couple episodes in the supermarket and my hubby grabbed a bag of almonds and made me eat some and it helped. I wonder if now this is starting to form an allergy as well. I fear these bouts and will give up any artificial sweetener if this is the problem. i just like having a cup of cocoa now and then you know. Something different. But there seems to be an allergy forming again!

Yes, she said mid morning and mid afternoon were the typical times it will hit. But not always. I have felt it at night too, and will have a few nuts or a scoop of my fruit flavored Protein powder. I've actually been sipping on a bottle of flavored Water with a scoop of Syntrax fuzzy navel protein powder added to it every night after dinner. I finish the bulk of it right before bedtime so that I dont get the middle of the night crash and sweats etc that the hypogly can cause. Keep your exercise going for sure, but cut the fruit and add the nuts back in. Im fairly sure you'll feel much better. I rarely eat fruit, working out or not. It is another one of my triggers that causes the hypogl in the first place. I like the Syntrax fuzzy navel Protein Drink too. But I find if I drink too much of that I get an attack from the artificial sugar..Can't win. Will add the nuts back and hope it gets back under control. I had a plan and the plan didn't work. So be it...Slow and steady wins the race anyway I say!

I have been eating fruit as my night snack lately where I was eating a 1/4 cup of nuts. I am trying to get the last few pounds off I guess and switched gears. This seems to be when it started. Maybe I will go back to the nuts at bedtime. It is after Breakfast when it hits me and in the evening mostly.