Jen35

Wow, 100 pounds is awesome!!

I've suffered with severe reflux for years prior to the sleeve. I was taking Protonix and my regular doctor wanted me to have an endoscopy a couple years ago but I was too scared of the procedure. When I was discussing the surgery with my surgeon, he warned me that the sleeve may make my reflux worse, they usually recommend bypass for patients with severe reflux. But I have other health reasons why the bypass wasn't the best option. He was fine with doing the sleeve. However, I had to get an endoscopy first because he thought I may have a hiatial hernia (apparently that can cause a reflux problem). I did have a large hernia and he repaired it during the sleeve. I'm 4 1/2 months out and haven't been taking any meds for it - no reflux. But just recently I started having issues if I eat anything even a little spicy. I also had a problem the other night when I had some wine before bed. I woke up 3 times with acid coming up my throat. I've been using Pepcid Complete as needed for mild heartburn but it's not helping now. So I'm thinking I may have to go back on some meds. This is really a bummer . I would also like to hear from others who's reflux came back after a while.

Good luck tomorrow:) And yes, the nerves are normal. I was soooo nervous I almost backed out. So glad I didn't!

I had some issues at the beginning with eating, had my gallbladder out at 3 weeks post-op (very hard to recover from 2 surgeries back to back). But still no serious complications. Since abou tthe 2 month mark, it's been so easy. The weight has really just come off on it's own and somethimes I feel like it's too good to be true. I feel bad for those with complications, but I don't feel guilty about my sucess. It's the luck of the draw sometimes with leaks and things like that which are out of our control. Congrats to all those who are breezing through and my thoughts and prayers to those having problems.

That is wonderful!!! I can't wait to get my pic redone on my license. Of course, I never updated my weight on my license as I gained so my weight on there is probably accurate now

The hair loss sucks!!! Every day after my shower, I'm almost in tears. I don't think it's noticable to others... yet, but I can tell. If it keeps up like this I'll be bald in 2-3 months. It's been about a month of losing and I hope it stops or at least slows down soon. I bought the Toppix hair fibers and they help make it less noticable. Especially at the scalp at my bangs.

I feel much more normal about food now at 18 weeks post op than I EVER did before. Pre-op, food was always on the brain. I could be eating one meal and planning the next. Now, I really don't obsess over it. I eat when I'm hungry and I can stop when I'm full (have to stop or I get sick). I don't know if I ever really felt full pre-op. I also feel normal in that I can have a taste of something and then stop. Before, if it tasted good, I ate it until it was gone. Period. I also don't really eat fast food, because it hurts my tummy and I don't really want it. Fries especially, thank goodness. So now I have to plan a bit more - no running through fast food unless it's a yogurt parfait or something (that's rare). Arby's is good - I just get a jr roast beef and eat just the meat. Before, fast food was an almost daily thing.

Crossing my legs, LOVE clothes shopping now, knees doen't hurt, I don't think about food all the time (lunch today was a piece of cheese, a few grapes and a slice of turkey and I was FULL), tieing my shoes without holding my breath, there are so many wonderful things! BTW - I hiccup when I've eaten too much - wish I would hiccup sooner to tell me not to take that last bite! When I start hiccuping, that means trouble.

One day you will no longer shop at Lane Bryant and Torrid . You WILL be able to walk into other stores and try on the cute, fun stuff. I've been giving away my clothes as I "shrink" out of them and I'm trying to build up my wardrobe little by little. I'm at the point were I no longer have any smaller sizes in my closet. I started at a size 22W and I just bought pants at Kohls in the misses department (OMG!!) in a size 14 and shirts in Large!!! Shut the front door!! No more Lane Bryant (except for bras - those are awesome and I can still wear them) and no more women's department. I keep having to readjust my thinking about my size. I walked into Old Navy (never could really shop there before) and grabbed a few XL shirts, tried them on and they were all too big. That was a wonderful feeling. Shopping is actually fun for me now. I need to be careful not to become a shopping addict.

My husband takes a lot of meds for depression. He sleep eats all the time and I think it's from the Remeron - it has a sleep aid component like Trazodone. He doesn't remember it usually. He also talks in his sleep and sleep walks. He's gained so much weight over the last few years, but no other meds work for him. He has severe depression so once we found the medicine combo that kept him out of the hospital, it's kind of scary to try to change meds. They tried reducing the Remeron a year ago and he didn't do well. I wish he would get the sleeve - he's 5'6" and almost 300 pounds with really bad diabetes.

I've had 2 c-sections - last one was 7 years ago so my memory may be fuzzy:) But as far as I can remember the pain was about the same, maybe a little less than the c-section pain. The morphine while in the hospital and the loretab at home took care of it. The eating and staying hydrated were more of an issue for me than pain.

I'm in the St. Louis Area (IL side) and had my surgery in May at St. Alexius. I started with Dr. Richardson but switched to Dr. Kumaran due to insurance. They are both great. Nice to see a thread with others in the area!

ok - that is crazy. If i could lose 100 pounds on my own, I wouldn't have needed the surgery. I agree with talking to the doctor and NUT together to get on the same page and find out exactly what is needed prior to surgery. If that doesn't work, there are other surgeons out there. Mine told me that dieting didn't work before - that's why I was there. So they didnt expect a diet or weight loss. My 3 month supervised "diet" was really implementing the habits I would need to be successful after surgery.

Healthygal said: I am a food addict, too, and feeling full seems to be a big thing with me. It's a comfort. Also, hiding behind being BIG has given me a feeling of being more physically imposing and stronger, that people couldn't just push me over. That's one emotional issue I'll have to work through, because it actually scares me a little to think of being smaller. I can completely relate to what you said! I've found that the hardest part of this surgery is the mental aspect. Sure, I could choose not to work on my head issues, but after all the time, money and pain spent on surgery, it would be worthless if just went back to my old habits. So I started therapy 5 months before surgery and I've continued for for 4 months after. EVERY week and I'm still not "fixed" yet, lol! There is a reason I eat - for comfort due to several tramatic events in my childhood. I apparently want to be invisible (because when you are overweight to the degree I was, you ARE invisible - people ignore you). I'm so happy to be losing weight, but at the same time, it scares me to no longer have this wall around me (my "fat suit" as I call it) keeping others away. It's also scary to no longer turn to food for comfort. This has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my life! Getting back to the original post, I'm only 4 months out so I don't have long term experience personally. I have never been able to successfully lose weight. Whenever I have dieted, I was always hungry, felt deprived and eventually gave up. Or I would get stressed out and all I could do was eat to cope. With the sleeve, for the first time in my life, I understand what moderation is. I would always hear about eating this or that "in moderation" but I could never do it. Even eating healthy foods, I needed much more than normal to feel full or satisfied. Now, I can eat a little of this or that and feel full, satisfied and happy. My brother is almost 3 years out from sleeve surgery and originally lost 150 pounds. He's gained back about 20 when he went through a very stressful divorce But he still has restriction and it is much easier for him to get back on track. Without the sleeve, the divorce would have put him right back at 400 pounds. He definitely can't eat like he did before the sleeve.

I just got back from Panama City Beach, FL and I'm proud to say I actually lost a couple pounds over vacation! That never would have happend pre-sleeve. The beach was such a different experience after losing 60 pounds. I could walk the beach without my thighs rubbing together (ladies, you know what I'm taking about). I had so much more energy to play with my kids and more confidence in a swimsuit. AND .... a guy hit on me at the bar! That has not happened in 15 years!! I'm married so I had to politely decline, but it made my day! My brother does photography and I had him take some family pics at the beach that I will post when I get them. They turned out really nice. I can't wait until next year at the beach when I'm at my goal weight.

Great job staying on track on a cruise!! I just got back from Florida on a week long vacation. I was on a 2 week stall when I went (at 4 months out I had avoided a stall up to that point). It was really hard not having a scale while I was out of town, but I survived! I didn't deprive myself at all, but I was eating small portions of mainly fresh seafood. I did drink too much alcohol but didn't really have any issues with it. I was walking on the beach and swimming a lot. I was able to move so much better and play with my kids! When I got back, my stall had broken and I was down 1 pound. Over the las few days, I've lost a couple more pounds. I'm happy with that!! I can't wait till Florida next year when I will be at goal

I keep a rotisserie chicken in my fridge, so I always have a quick go to meal. I eat it as is, on salad, with cheese, etc. I also love tuna salad with an "everything" cracker (Milton brand at Walmart - those are my new favorite). I just bought some frozen marinated tilapia from Sam's that are individually wrapped. Easy to defrost and cook for a quick meal. To get in some of my veggies/fruits I've been juicing. My favorite is apple/carrot/spinach.

I agree that not everyone with weight issues has an eating disorder. But I think that many of us do and have never realized it. I took the screening and it says that I do have an eating disorder (I answered as I would have before surgery) and I have never binged, purged, etc. Disordered eating starts with how you view, think about and abuse food. An anorexic has a disorder even if they are eating normally because of the way they view food, obsess about calories, use food as a control mechanisim and have a distorted view of their body. Does this sound familiar to anyone out there? This is VERY familiar to me - the only difference is my unhealthy relationship with food makes me want to put food INTO my mouth rather than starve myself. Society is much more accepting of food disorders on one end of the spectrum. The disorders on this end of the spectrum are usually ignored and instead we are told our weight issues are all our fault, we are lazy, etc. So many people out there aren't getting the help they need because they are ashamed and feel like they are alone, when they really do have a disorder. Thank you for posting this information - I think more people need to see it to determine if they have an eating disorder and can get the help they need. I know that without therapy, I would gain my weight back after surgery. I have to fix my disordered thinking so that I don't end up right back were I was.

This made me smile, because I could have written it! I am at 4 months and just getting over my first stall too. It lasted over 2 weeks and I realized how scary they really are. I've been lucky that I had been dropping steadily, but I didn't realize how lucky until this stall hit me. I went on vacation last week and didn't have access to a scale (I was surpised that not weighing daily made me panic a bit!), but when I got back and could finally weigh myself, I was down again. I attribute this to how active I was on the beach. Walking in sand is a real workout!

I'm with you!!! I was never cold before and now I'm freezing all the time. I live in the midwest so I'm sure it's not as cold as Canada, but it's starting to get chilliy in the mornings. Even over the summer, I would get cold at night or in the AC. So odd to me! My husband is overweight and he always wants the windows open, ha:) My issue is that I have fibromyagia and when I get too cold, I get severe muscle aches. So I really have to watch that.

Thanks for sharing. Very motivating! I'm 3 1/2 months out and down 60 pounds. I already see huge differences. You seem so much happier and healthier. Keep up the good work!

I was really worred before surgery, too. It's normal to be anxious about major surgery. My experience: the anesthesiologist gave put me on an IV and then gave me some morphine in the IV which really relaxed me. The nurses put a patch behind my ear and a band on my wrist for nausea. In the OR they had me get on the table and they put warm blankets on me. The OR table was at a slight angle with my head higher than my feet. They said they were giving me something in my IV to make me relax some more and I was out. I woke up in recovery, groggy and in pain. But once I was in my room and on the morphine pump I was better. I didn't get nauseous at all after.

I have always hated skinny jeans ... until recently. At a size 22 there was no way I was wearing them, but I'm in a 16 misses now. I just got some jeans from New York & Co. that I LOVE. They are actually a jegging (again NEVER would have worn them) but I got a size 14 and they fit more like a skinny than a jegging. They are stretchy and not too tight. I have an apple shape and, as I lose weight, all my jeans that fit in the waist end up bagging on my legs and really looks bad. These hit me just above my waist. I have too much waist so if they are too low it's neverending spillage of the tummy! And they stretch just enough to be comfortable and not baggy. They actually hold my belly in and show off my legs which are really pretty slim. I also got a pair of bootcut there and love those too! I'm 5'4 and jeans are always too long on me, but I got the bootcut in a petite and they are perfect. The skinnies I just cuffed once and they look great. I think it's all about the cut of the jeans and how they look on you. I guess never say never

You are so right. The surgery certainly didn't fix the reason I ate and got to be the weight I was. Which is where counseling has REALLY helped me. I started 5 months before surgery and I still go every week. Identifying why I eat has helped me address issues that may eventually have led me to gain the weight back down the road when I will be able to eat more. The mental part of this journey is so much harder than even the physical part (which is very hard as well).

It hasn't really changed my personality, but I am definitely more confident. I feel better about myself, not only because I look better now, but because I'm doing something for myself. I feel better physically so I'm happier and I'm able to do more. I'm more likely to put myself out there where before, I let my weight sheild me from life. So I'm the same person, but really living my life now.