Timeforachange

Hello fellow Sleevers. I enjoy reading everyone's posts, and the trials and tribulations of all the changes happening to our bodies. It is nice knowing that I am not alone. I was sleeved in Tijuana on Feb. 9. I started out at 282 pounds, and am now down to 217, which is a loss of 65 pounds (includes pre-op). Although I had a range of 3 sizes in my closet, very few things fit me anymore. It seems like body changes everyday!

It has not been an easy journey for me... I developed a complication of surgery which was a blood clot in my liver, and have begun anti-coagulant therapy. I knew there was a problem when I returned to Canada, as I was in more pain than I was after surgery. It took a month to diagnose, and was only caught because of a CT scan. I ended up being off work for 2 months. This condition requires a lot of extra care and doctoring, but things seem to be getting better.

My weight loss seems to go in fits and spurts. I will lose rapidly for several days, then stall out. Every time my medication gets increased, I seem to stall out for a while. I, too stalled out at 4 weeks, which was a combination of the complication, medication, and change from liquids to solids. I have only had two incidents of vomiting, once early on because I ate too fast, and once a few weeks ago, but I believe that was an allergic reaction. My hair fell out a lot right before surgery, and occasionally it does now, but it's nothing I'm worried about.

I had difficulty with protein shakes, and I think I would rather starve before I ever touch another one of those shakes again. EVER!!! I started eating eggs at 3 weeks, and eased into soft foods and solids way ahead of schedule, but I couldn't get my protein any other way, and was tired of how sweet everything seemed to be. I am not always good at getting in my water and protein, but I do manage at least 1 litre of water, and about 40g of protein. I don't count calories, I pretty much eat whatever I want within reason, and never more than about 3/4 cup. I rarely snack between meals, and I go nowhere without a bottle of water. I have a soy, nut, and seafood allergy, so this limits a lot of food choices, as does not being able to have green leafy vegetables until the anticoagulant therapy is done in a few months. The more time goes by, the less issues I have tolerating foods. I still have not tried steak, but seem to be doing well with most things. Anything with artificial sweeteners make me ill. I stay away from bread and pasta as much as I can, and try to stick to protein and produce. I have had treats along the way, but small amounts and usually only once or twice a week. I had soft ice cream for lunch on Monday! I am relearning how to cook for the new me. i am rarely bothered by hunger anymore, but still have trouble remembering to slow down when I eat. I don't think I'll ever get used to the no drinking and eating at the same time.

I have a congenital spinal issue which caused me a great deal of pain, and was the motivating factor for having the sleeve surgery. I have been able to cut out all pain medication, with the exception of occasional use of extra-strength tylenol. My blood pressure is now on the low side of normal instead of the high side of normal. I try to walk about 15 km a week, go to aquafit twice a week, and don't experience any pain when walking. Moving feels great!

I still have a long ways to go, and sometimes I get frustrated because it doesn't seem like it's happening fast enough. Sometimes it's hard to focus on how far I've already gone. I am anxiously awaiting my passage into "onederland", which is 17 pounds away. So close, yet so far away! I have encountered some interesting judgements about my decision to have surgery, particularly in the medical field, but those close to me are very supportive. Sometimes people give compliments that really don't seem like compliments, but that's ok. They don't my journey and I don't know theirs. I will continue to enjoy the rest of my journey, wherever it leads me.

[url="http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=12908"][img]http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/uploads/monthly_05_2013/post-47685-0-44540000-1368855464_thumb.jpg[/img][/url][url="http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=12910"][img]http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/uploads/monthly_05_2013/post-47685-0-95656500-1368856314_thumb.jpg[/img][/url]

The first picture was the day before surgery, and second one was at the end of April, so about 11 weeks later.


Take care all. Thanks for sharing.