sharonintx

I lost 11 lbs the first 2 days, at one week at 20 pounds, then it slowed down quite a bit but still 10 or more pounds a month for several months. After 2 years had been maintaining a 55 pound loss, didn't lose any weight for months, and now at 3 years I am at a 70+ pound loss.

It wasn't that fun really. Immediately after surgery I was tired, grouchy, and just didn't want to bother with the daily chores and child rearing. As you know, it didn't matter what I wanted. Life goes on regardless of how Mom feels on a given day. You can do it. Rest all you can while the kids are at school, make them help you all they can when they are home, and let go of things like keeping a spotless house and keeping the laundry folded perfectly. They can wait. In a few weeks you will be much better and able to keep up. It will all work out. You will make it just fine.

Biggest mistake in this whole thing was thinking that I didn't need any counseling, either before or after surgery. I thought I was more than ok without it. Haha! Wrong. i worked through all the emotional issues eventually and everything turned out fine in the end but I learned that it's incredibly important to have psychological support both before and after surgery. Don't be like me and think you simply don't require it.

You are doing great. Drink all the liquids you can tolerate and take as long as you need to drink them. You'll feel restriction - don't worry. It'll come in good time. You aren't very far out from surgery. Just drink all you can and know that the restriction will be there when you are fully healed.

Taco Bell. Or any fast food place with tacos.

No. I am 3 years out and try as I may there is no way I could eat the whole bagel. Half - yes. In all this time I have never once felt like I have less restriction than on day 1. Some foods I can eat more of than others but there is a limit as to how much I can hold and when I reach that point the eating is over. It hasn't gotten harder for me to stop eating and I do not think my stomach has stretched at all. I have actually lost 15 lbs or so the last few months without trying. The only way I can avoid losing more weight is to eat as much as I possibly can every day. I do not gain - sometimes I eat to prevent losing. This is because I don't want to have to buy more clothes again. For me, the sleeve has worked exactly as intended and it doesn't stretch. Sometimes I think it shrinks even more.

I had a great experience in Mexico.

Miss: Eating a whole cheeseburger, really eating a whole anything, the ability to eat a lot of BBQ, enjoying carbonated beverages, tequila, skin that isn't loose and squishy. Don't miss: The person I was before gastric sleeve. I always thought I was ok. After a couple years of having to adjust my entire mental state I learned that I was not as emotionally stable as I thought I was. I learned that I had used food as a crutch, that I was somewhat angry and terribly insecure, and that (newsflash) I was NOT ok. Oh and I'm not big boned either. I was just fat. These were terrible lessons to learn and lessons that should have been learned long ago. It took having most of my stomach removed for me to simply begin figuring out who I am. Just ridiculous isn't it? It's been nearly 3 yrs now and I'm glad I finally started getting the point. I've been wondering if any of you experience this problem: Before surgery I always thought that I would enjoy not being invisible. That I'd enjoy attention from the opposite sex and that I would love to be considered one of the desirable women. Come to find out, I don't want the attention after all. I do not want any extra attention from the opposite sex and I find that I am very uncomfortable with too many compliments. I'd kind of like to just be invisible. Go figure. For a lot of people the weight loss journey is focused on health and food/exercise choices and habits. It's not that at all for me. The benefits have been on an emotional/psychological level. And I'm glad I went on this journey. I'm pretty much at peace with myself. All because I had the bright idea to have most of my stomach removed. Who knew. I still would like a cheeseburger.

Best wishes to you.

Yes. The anger would sneak up on me. I never saw it coming until it was too late and I was mad as he**. After several months of this my kids asked me if I noticed that I was mad all the time. So I decided it had to stop. I was sick of myself anyway. I made a decision to change back into at least a moderately happy person. It took a little while. Kind of a fake it til you make it thing. You can do it too. Life's too short to be mad.

I do. I took the test just now. I got this: Your Type PreferencesIntrovert(67%) Sensing(1%) Thinking(38%) Judging(56%) Because you appear to have marginal or no (1%) preference of Sensing over Intuition, characteristics of more than one personality type may apply to you: ISTJ and INTJ.

At 2 years I can eat about 5 oz.

Spices and citrus never a problem. I ate spicy things as soon as I could. Love em. Not an issue. Apples, on the other hand, cause horrible heartburn. Go figure.

@@Donna Syvrud Not trying to minimize your feelings at all. Every one of us has been in your shoes. The emotions and regret you are feeling are very common and are so important to the overall outcome of your surgery. The emotional issues are just as important as the weight loss in the big scheme of things. Just as you need to win the battle with food, you need to win the battle inside your own mind. There are certainly some of us that have medical reasons for weight gain and the inability to lose it. But mostly we use food as a comfort, an escape, and a way to soothe our bad feelings - no matter what the cause of those feelings are. You may not have even known that you had emotional issues that needed resolving. Personally, I was quite surprised at the sheer volume of personal issues I needed to work through. In fact, I am still working through them now. But guess what?? I made a start and have found a way to accomplish this. Who knew that I was so capable and strong on the inside? Well not me for sure! But come to find out - I am. And so are you. Take one day at a time and let yourself feel all those emotions. It's the only way you can come to terms with yourself and the journey you have undertaken. You'll win in the end.

Do the sleeve. It's the best way. You don't want to spend years worrying about filling or maintaining a Lap Band. Gastric bypass is fine and always an option if you needed it later but for now why not choose the sleeve and go from there.

I got this from the internet: Applying heat to the boil during its initial stages will reduce its growth remarkably. Heat effectively increases blood circulation around the boil. By doing so, you enable your natural antibodies with the help of white blood cells to ward off the infection and pus inside. Practice the same for two or three days depending on the size of the boil. Usually at this time the pus drains out. Once all the pus is out, wash the area with antibacterial soap and let it dry. If you do want to keep the boil open, put a bandage on it. 2. Turmeric Paste: Turmeric has many medicinal qualities. To make the most out of the turmeric powder, mix it with Epsom salt and honey along with castor oil and iodine. Apply this paste on the boil which would make the pus drain out. 3. Goldenseal: Take some goldenseal root powder and add water and mix it so that it forms a paste. Apply the paste on the affected area. 4. Water: Consuming lots of water will reduce the intensity of the boil. Have at least 8-10 glasses of water every day. This would help in flushing the toxins out of the body. 5. Onion: Onions have the best antiseptic properties when compared to other vegetables. This veggie helps in speeding up the healing process. All you have to do it cut an onion into thick slices and place them on the boil. Wrap it with the help of a cloth. The important bit here to change the slices every 2-3 hours! Note: Never try to puncture a boil. This will aggravate the condition leading to swelling or increasing the intensity of boils.

I think Babbs is right on the money. There will always be somebody who cannot stand it if someone else makes changes for the better. Don't worry about it. Life is too short.

I had Almanza. I had no problems with him. I really kinda liked him. The staff was good. He hasn't been winning any popularity contests lately but I had a good experience.

That being thinner wouldn't equate to happiness. Most of my life I thought that if I just lost weight I would turn into a very happy person. Haha! Fat was the least of my problems. I had no idea. It all worked out ok in the end though.

Not being the fattest person in the room or even one of the fat people in the room is the best thing ever. I love it. Will never take for granted the change in my appearance.

That's outrageous. So is $12,000 and so is $10,000. Go to Mexico. Less than $5000 plane ticket and all

You look great! Congratulations and keep it up. You are just lovely.

With anything you ever do in your life, there will always be a risk involved and there will always be someone that had a horrible experience with the same kind of circumstance. You cannot live your life worrying about being one of the very small percentage that have complications. The same applies to flying, driving your car, etc. I tend to agree with the previous post about not spending your 20s fighting a weight battle. That is no fun at all. A lot of us here did that. It sucked.

Go to Mexico. it doesn't cost that much. Heck, the lower food bills alone would pay for the surgery in a relatively short time.

It took me a solid year to quit wanting to fight the world. I'm sure you will level out much sooner. I'm just slow to adjust. These days I'm pretty even keeled and don't let much bother me. I even ignore most annoying or unreasonable things people do. It's only occasionally that I get mad about anything. Don't worry - you'll adjust. It's hard to deal with but you'll find your own way.