RichardVST

Hi - I got sleeved in late Feb. Ive lost about 100lbs. Eating solids has been a real problem. I just have a hard time eating very slowly and so little. It leaves me very hungry and is painful. I started exercising about a week after surgery, mostly lots of cardio - elliptical and stationary bike. I don't notice any difference in my energy or aching joints. I have added upper body weights, but do notice a lot less muscle everywhere. Plus I am losing my hair. I am off all my BP meds, in fact my BP is too low and I get massive head rushes. Other than that - it is great! Not really. Food and eating is a big drag. I don't feel good and I am pretty disappointed overall. I wouldn't do this if I had to do again. Maybe it is just where I am in the process. But it basically feels like a bad diet that I can't reverse. Sorry to be the only guy on this web site to say anything negative - I'll probably be banned. But that is how I feel.

You are so correct. I am in a group and we actually have a meeting on Sat. and I will go. And I will go see the MD. Thanks for the strong words. Congrats to you as well. Happy 4th!

Thanks everyone for the supporting words. I am discouraged. I just wish eating wasn't such an ordeal. I guess I should be thankful, but this set-up isn't good. I do need to talk to my MD. Unfortunately my insurance changed and now I am on the hook for everything essentially, with a new $8,000 deductible. Good luck to all and again, thanks.

I was sleeved on 2/28. I have lost 104 lbs. Started at 364 and am now at 260! I am looking better. My waist size has gone from a 60 to 46. That's the good news. The bad news is that I have a very hard time eating protein. It really hurts. I try eating very small amounts - no help. Eat very slowly - no help. This leaves me very hungry all the time and totally unsatisfied. I find that I am fighting to not eat more satisfying food - like sweets. Strangely ice cream does not hurt as much. But it all feels very discouraging and frustrating. Food is a big drag and I feel totally deprived like when I used to be a dieter. Plus my hair is falling out - which for a 55 year old male, hurts! I also have very loose skin. I am working out a lot - but this discouragement is taking its toll, maybe its the lack of nourishment. I am starting to get less interested in working out! Sorry to sound like such a whiner and downer. I am very frustrated!

True - focused on the 1st post who said he was in Frisco Area...is there a Frisco in Tx? Oh well! It a good idea...

Im in the SF Bay Area and would be interested.

Sounds good, but where is the protein - not much in cottage cheese, right?

I'm 3 months post - historically all vitamins have wreaked havoc on my stomach, BUT I am now using MultiVites - Gummy Vitamins. They are awesome - the only food that tastes good to me since my surgery! Sad but true! Get them at Costco. Good luck.

I'm 3 months post and my CPAP also starting blowing my mouth open and making my mouth very dry. I talked to my MD and he said that was very common sign of too high pressure. He reduced my pressure from 14 to 10 and it is much better. I hope that I will eventually get off the CPAP, but will have to wait to see.

I'm 3 months out and have lost 100lbs from my highest, 70lbs since surgery. I am not sold that this will be long term as I am exceedingly frustrated by not being able to eat enough to feel satisfied, the food tastes different and my feeling of deprivation are as bad as with any diet. I am hopeful that this is just the nature of where I am in the process and that it will get better. Right now, though, I would not do this again if this is the way its going to be.

Wow - that is amazing! I'm a guy and at 55, with a full head of hair that I do not want to lose, I too am troubled by hair loss. Was sleeved on 2/28/13 and my hair really seems to be falling out a lot. Since my hair is only about an inch long it doesn't seem to compare to yours, but it feels like a lot to me. Given our close dates - how are you doing with food? I am really disappointed - all food just does not agree with me? I can barely get any food in without getting super bloated. Really takes the fun out of eating! Suppose that is a good thing - but it really makes me feel deprived and long term, that isn't good (for me) either.

Question - I have been on Cymbalta for a long time and all that time I was fat. Now that I have lost 100lbs, should I be thinking about reducing my Cymbalta dosage? Anyone with any experience with this?

Thanks for the input. Of course I will talk to my doc, but was just curious? Would love to cut back on all meds and it would stand to reason that less weight would take smaller doses, but maybe not.

Good for you - how is eating? How long did this take? When you say that you feel normal, does that mean that eating is great and you feel full with a small amount of food? I eat and get an uncomfortable full feeling, but still feel hungry. I feel nauseous every time I eat - I dread meals, yet I am dying to eat a good meal. Very unsatisfied....

Yikes - that sounds terrible. Why was your esophagus affected? I thought with the sleeve all they did was chop off part of our stomach? Did you maybe have work done to repair a hiatal hernia? I'm three months out and feel like something is wrong. I just can't eat food without feeling sick? Good luck with your strictures....

I'm 55. Had my surgery 3 months ago. I resisted pre-surgery "dieting" until 2 months before surgery. On 1/1 I started eating much less, no booze, and I exercised like crazy. I was able to lose 30 lbs before surgery. It was a piece of cake. The hard part has been getting back on solid food. But I have lost another 50 lbs. Dont worry. The surgery is the easiest part.

I don't know that I have what you have, but I can definitely relate. I am 3 months post and am having similar difficulty with eating solids. I chew, take small bits and try to eat slowly, but I feel terribly after. I try to stop before I get to that point, but then I am so hungry, it is difficult. Then after a few minutes its gets painful and very full feeling. I am frustrated from feeling so hungry. I too am starting to slip and when I do, it doesn't hurt either. But I am starting to feel extremely disappointed and hopeless. Like what I have I done?

Hi All - I am almost 3 mo post, have lost 55lbs since surgery, and 85lbs since 1/1/13. That is all great, but eating is such a problem. I am very hungry, but if I eat more than a couple of bites of meat, fish or anything solid - I get an overwhelming feeling (ie painful) of fullness which lasts at least an hour and then turns into nausea for another hour. It makes eating so un-satisfying and leaves me hungry all the time. Plus my hair is really starting to fall out. I know the hair thing is normal, but is this problem eating normal or is it just part of the healing process. I am very discouraged and disappointed if this is the new me...

You bring up an interesting question... So why exactly do we have to chew so much. I can understand that if I had the RnY - everything is changed, dont have a stomach, etc. But with our sleeve - nothing is changed, really, except we have a smaller stomach. So why do we have to make things small or chew excessively. Its not like there is some new small hole that we are trying to fit our food through. Dont we just need to eat a smaller amount so as to not overfill our small stomach? I know this must sound crazy, but I started wondering as I was trying to explain to someone else....and yes my hair is thinning dramatically.

Thanks for the replies. I guess I can always eat slower, its just that beyond some point of chewing it gets gross. It almost feels like it would be better to chew until all the flavor is gone and then just spit out whats left, but then I guess I'd miss the protein. Plus, when I chew so long and then stop eating, the problem is that I am still hungry. Uggh! Just frustrated.

Really helpful subject. I am 2 months out and have lost a lot of weight (83 lbs since 1/1/13, 54 lbs since surgery). The 1st month wasn't too hard. The liquid restriction kept me full and allowed me to keep my protein intake high. But when I was allowed to start eating solids, yikes! That has been hard. Not only do I fill up way to soon, and regret it, but I have not been satisfied either and that was a huge disappointment. That said, though I think I am learning to eat more slowly and I seem to be getting more protein in and not getting that feeling like I am going to explode. With more protein I feel more satisfied and that is good. So I hope that I am getting over the "what did I do" hump and into the this is the greatest thing ever....I have gone from a 60" waist to 48" already - woo hoo! Good luck everyone!

Wow!

Are we supposed to eat much fruit? Isn't that too much carbos?

Good for you. You look great!

I am 2 months post, have lost 83lbs (50 since surgery) and have been getting head rushes/lightheaded every time I bend over or get up from sitting. I thought it was because of blood pressure meds, but as of 2 days ago I am off all of those - am still getting dizzy. I don't think its hydration as I am drowning in water. Anyone have any experience with this?