MichiganChic

I didn't have that problem, so while I'm sure some do, just thought you'd want to know not everyone does. However, after being intubated and having a bougie put down your throat, a sore throat is a real possibility, and it might make swallowing difficult for a day or two. Good luck on your surgery!

Oh yes. It's another great benefit I hadn't even considered. I was a 10 wide that was usually too tight. Always flats and rubber soles, clogs, etc. I couldn't wear nice heels because they didn't fit and would have looked ridiculous on my large body. I had a blast today trying on tons of shoes in an 8.5 and 9! Pointy toes and stiletto heels! Who knew??

True, true, and true!! Your statements are spot on. I KNOW I could easily gain back every pound I've lost - all I'd have to do is graze and make bad food choices. It's critical to learn, and then practice, the things you have outlined. Thanks for sharing some really important points.

I'm almost 7 months out, and I do get hungry. It's not like before, and it's certainly manageable. It also doesn't take much to satisfy it. I think I'm more like a normal person now, with fairly normal eating habits. I do love it! Some days I just feel like eating, and I have to battle that. It's not hunger, it's years of bad habits, reaction to stress, etc.

Good for you!! I think that's a little glimpse of how our lives return to normal, little by little. I don't always see it or realize it myself, but my family sure does. My kids say I'm a lot more fun now

I drop anywhere from 0-6 pounds, with most weeks being 1- 3 pounds. Since December I've had about 5 weeks where I lost nothing, and one week where I lost 6 (that was this week!) and a few where I lost 4 or 5. The first few weeks early on I had the biggest losses - even 10 pounds one week, but that was post op water weight.

Never.

Water lost it's appeal for me after surgery, too. I try all the time to drink it plain, but usually end up flavoring it with Crystal light drops, or the Kroger brand. I usually make it pretty weak, since I don't really want it that sweet. I also buy Hint water, or MetroMint water. They are both on the expensive side, (about $1.30/bottle) but it's a nice treat. I really like the chocolate mint water. It's not sweet or carbonated. I used to love plain water. Like many others have said, I also have a hard time figuring out hunger/thirst lately. I suspect it's usually thirst, but I always think hunger. Old habits die hard!

It's true. Lots of us did everything right, and there was no preventing it. I'm almost 7 months out, it's still coming out a little, though much slower, and I can see it's coming back.

Never have to fear that any seat will be too small or it will break from my weight. I think I'm about there....but I can't be sure! I still worry about it. It used to keep me from going to summer picnics and places where I knew seating was an issue. Obesity is limiting in so many ways, but for me, that was the worst and it imposed itself in my daily life!

Wow, look at you!! Great job! You look wonderful, and I know you gotta feel it, too! Congratulations.

In my simple terms, your body can only lose so fast. After periods of rapid weight loss, I've had periods of a couple weeks where the scale doesn't move, but my body seems to be shrinking and redistributing. Then the weight loss will start again. I have had months of slower loss, and months of more rapid loss. I can't really find an explanation for either, since I'm pretty consistently doing the same thing. The only I know for sure that consistency is the key. Just keep doing what you are supposed to be doing, and it will start again.

Its Clobetasol Propionate Topical Solution, 0.05%

I usually avoid controversy, but I just can't let this one pass. I read on one thread after another an undelrying, or sometimes overt, debate about if we should call it a diet, people who "didn't do this to diet", it's not a diet, and I've even felt a little chastised for saying this is my diet. Even the people who say they are not on a diet report restricted calories and watching what they eat. Gotta say, that's the defnition of a diet. What you eat is your diet!! The defnition of diet does not imply that there is an end point. That's just an interpretation. For me, if I am not mindful of what I eat, I won't lose weight. Being mindful for me means knowing how many calories I am consuming. It means limiting those calories if I am going to lose. It means not grazing between meals. It means following the general rules for succes for sleeve patients. Look up the definition. Maybe everyone with a sleeve does not have to do this, but I do. I have to limit my calorie intake INTENTIONALLY or I won't lose. I could eat enough at 6 months out to maintain or gain. Sad, but true. If I want to get to goal and stay there. So, for me, it's a diet, and I'm on this diet for the rest of my life. What we call it is splitting hairs. Please don't judge. http://www.merriam-w...dictionary/diet http://oxforddiction...an_english/diet OK, rant over. Have a nice day

I agree, now is the time to develop the habits and change the mindset, and learn your own path to success. No two people will walk the same path to get to the same point. I've found that the time I'm spending in the loss phase is really starting to show me what it's going to take for me. I eliminated pop. I limit bread, rice, pasta. I follow the rules for sleeved patients. I count and restrict calories, and I count protien. Other than that, I don't restrict much. I will have a little cake on special occasions. I have had a drink once in a while at an event. But, overwhelmingly, I follow the plan. So far, it is working for me. I never want to go back to my old ways - been there, done that, and I know the outcome.

I have exercised regularly since I had surgery, and on and off for years before. I don't think it does much to impact my weight loss. I've been at it steadily and long enough that I've seen a pattern emerge. When I up the frequency and intensity of exercise, my weight loss stops or slows. When I back down, it picks back up. I will keep doing it though, because I've found it to be a great stress reliever, I just try not to kick it up into too high a zone. I feel like I've really accomplished something when I do it, but I'm down to about 2-3 days a week for the time being. I've had some knee issues that have slowed me down, and that's how I realized that decreasing the exercise increased the weight loss. Might be a fluke because it goes against everything I have believed, but there seems to be some correlation for me. But I have a weird body, it has NEVER, and still does not, respond to diet and exercise like I think it does for most people.

It gets better. For real.

Your body can only shed weight so fast. I think losing fast in the begining will cause things to go a little slower after that. I lost a lot the first month, pretty good the second month, then 8 pounds the third. I was really disappointed too. Having an unrealistic expectation contributes to anxiety and frustration.Then I realized the secret is in doing this long term. Just keep doing things right and it will come off. No way to know how fast it will go, but since we absorb every calorie we eat, about 2 pounds a week is great!

I wasn't supposed to have coffee either. I said no way. I gave up lots of things and totally changed much of my life, and I've been happy to do so, for the most part. I didn't start drinking it again until I was 6 weeks out. You just have to be careful because you can't take it with Calcium, or with Iron. So that required me to be careful with the timing. Now I'm off the calcium, so it's a little easier. The dietician in my docs office is really against it, but I don't care. One thing that she did say last time was that she saw a study that people who drink coffee in the morning tend to be more hungry in the afternoon. I don't know if it's true, but I am more hungry in the afternoon. I've found a cup of coffee curbs that hunger

Great video! Congrats on your success!!

My hair was on the thin side before surgery, and at about 3-4 months it starting coming out really fast. I lost more hair than I thought I had. At about 5 months I went to a dermatologist and they gave me cortisone shots in my head and a topical solution. It did help almost right away to slow the loss. It's been about 6-8 weeks, and you can see lots of hair coming in where they did the injections along the part, so I think it does help. I use both the bosley and the nioxin, but I like the bosley better. I have the same stuff you showed in your pic. I think it does a better job of volumizing for me. I also use the bosley fibers. They are the same color as my hair, and do a great job of hiding my shiny scalp. They really do make the difference in how my hair looks. What is that xfusion you show in the pic? What's it do, and where do you get it? Thanks!

Yeah, people can be stupid. And rude. And self righteous. And plain ole mean. I usually pretend they mean well, lol. Someone at work today told me she didn't know who I was and asked someone, and was "shocked". I took it as a compliment, haha!

My suggestion is to contact the person who is supposed to coordinate this for your care. I know they will appreciate that you want to be a compliant patient, but they will appreciate even more that you consulted them early. No two people have the same exact plan, and no one person has the exact same needs throughout. Many Vitamins are fat soluable, and that means they can build up in your system and actually do more harm than good. The Water soluable ones are less of an issue, you just pee out the excess. In my particular case, I was told to take flintstone chewables at first, and nothing else. They gradually added other things, such as Vitamin D, B12, and at six weeks I was told to take 1500 mg calcium a day. I had some labs done a couple of weeks ago, and my calcium was super high! I also have low Iron, so I take that, but that could be dangerous to take it if you don't need it. So my advice is don't just start taking vitamins without some baseline labs. Good luck!

You have done great! Just keep doing what you are doing, and it will start ot come off again. When did the weight stop coming off? I had about 6 good weeks in June where I was losing 3-4 pounds a week for reasons unknown, because I didn't do anything different. And now, for the last 2 weeks, no change. Again, I didn't do anything different, but my body is just going to do what it wants! I still have a long way to go, so I hope it picks back up! I was really hoping to be at or within 10 pounds of goal by the end of this calendar year.

Great job! Keep up the good work! I also had my surgery in December 2012.Best thing I ever did!