Sydney Susan

I can't gulp fluids anymore or it seems to get 'stuck'. I assumed it was just small size of stomach - smaller than my oesophagus??? So fluid sits at bottom of oesophagus like water in the sink at at the plug hole ( lovely image, isn't it).

I have sleep apnea too and can certainly relate to crushing exhaustion. Pre my machine I would also wake most days with a bad co2 headache - horrible stuff. It's highly likely weight loss will help but not certain, and even then takes some time. So if you can get used to your CPAP machine it would be a good thing. I'm lucky and am pretty ok with mine, but I bought the APAP machine - automatic, it responds to your body rather than staying on a high pressure continuously. Made a huge difference to me - I used to get lots of Eustachian tube problems and then have problems with my balance. Have you tried the APAP? I recommend it. Mine is here - http://www.resmed.com/au/products/s9_autoset/s9-autoset.html?nc=dealers Pm me if I can help with more info.

My hubby got shingles when I was in hospital having major surgery for cancer (years ago now). He was acting all "you'll be right" and hiding his stress, while I was selecting the songs for my funeral. It was hard to tell who was in a worse shape for a while there - terribly painful. Once he got on the right treatment it cleared up quickly and (so far) no relapses. Our son was 7 at the time and the doctor said he could "catch" chickenpox/shingles from my hubby and gave him the chickenpox immunisation - at least I think that's what it was, I was out of it on morphine and hubby wasn't a completely reliable reporter of detail. Good luck with it all.

Ouch! And sooo sad that it's something delish like crab soup. I can't see why it would do that to you unless you had an allergic reaction to milk or cream in it. I've heard many seem to be lactose intolerant post -op. On a different note, how nice to have someone make special Soups for you. Such terrific support. My mum is long gone but her cooking skills rarely ventured past lamb chops and frozen peas (though she was a lovely mum in lots of other ways). Very Aussie fare, lamb with an overlooked veg or 2. * Deep sigh *.

If you have to start getting up super-early, then any darned way you like your coffee should be ok in my books. Of course sugar is a great saboteur of any diet, but particularly the low-carb diets most of us seem to be on. So swapping to a low cal sweetener would be good of you normally like sugar. It's just a drink and it kick starts your day, so I wouldn't sweat it too much.

Sorbitol and the like certainly does that to me. Can be quite "intense". Best avoided methinks.

Best to do the whole checklist thing when the proverbial hits the fan like this: 1. Get thyroid function checked 2. Record all food intake in MyFitnessPal or similar 3. See bariatric dietician for new program 4. Set daily exercise goal 5. Get more sleep 6. Banish scales to deepest corner of bathroom cabinet and 'rescue' only once per week 7. Consider a "kick start" program like pouch test or 5:2 8. Re-evaluate goal - was size 10 too thin for you? If too hard to maintain, possibly?? Also, set smaller goals (eg: 10% of weight to be lost) 9. Relax - 25 is do-able. Focus on not making it 30 rather than anything else. 10. In need, cancel monthly wine, cheese orders. Good luck.

You said u work extremely long hours - how well do u sleep? I'm going through a period of intense study and not getting enough sleep the past few weeks and my weight has been whacky - not so much a "stall" as a "kangaroo", as it bounced around within a couple of kilo range. I believe the research is "in" about sleep and weight, so it might be worth making an effort to ensure you are getting enough sleep.

Upper body exercises like swimming and weights, perhaps. Perhaps get a personal trainer to give you some advice.

I think it's very variable, partly due to the calories and exercise you select and partly just your unique metabolism. It seems to me that a lot of people who lose big amounts also have periodic stalls. Some eat v low calories (sub 800 per day) and some are doing loads of high intensity exercise. And some are doing both. Good luck to all, I say. It's all about the destination where weight loss is concerned. There are some great stories on this forum about slower losers who made it to goal just fine - do a search. If you want to up your weight loss you probably can but it does take effort. A small "but" to all the above: it's possible you have a sluggish thyroid and if you're sure you're eating v low cal but not much is happening, getting a medical checkup and blood tests would be sensible. Good luck.

There's oodles of research out there showing that once you've been obese it is extremely difficult to both get weight off and keep it off over the long term. Just this past weekend in Australia there was huge coverage of new scientific findings (to the effect of) "there are so many genetic contributions to obesity that there will never be a simple solution". No doubt a short while on Google will deliver all the evidence you need. And have no delusions about it, the sleeve is no cure-all either. It will help - enormously if you're lucky - but roughly the same number of people lose weight effortlessly with the sleeve and keep it off equally effortlessly, as lose 100kg and keep it off for their rest of their life without surgery. That is, v v few. You still need to deal with comfort eating or whatever other "head hunger demons" you have, show restraint (you can happily nibble chocolate all day with a sleeve - there'll be no one to stop you but you), exercise and eat healthily. If your husband fears you won't suffer enough, reassure him that you most definitely will. You can also tell him that you'll have a greater chance of success (although you'll be suffering), you'll almost certainly lose weight faster and so get healthier earlier, and whatever the surgery costs you'll save at least that in food bills (I kid you not) and health costs. It's not magic, a cop-out or a cure all. But it's definitely worth it.

I think I've just broken a 4 week "stall" (seemed more like a 4 week "kangaroo" as my weight jumped up and down in a 1.5kg range, but I believe the correct word is stall). I didn't measure myself at the start so don't know if I kept losing cms. Anyway, just had to share that with people who will know how good it feels! I'm studying intensely at the moment and often getting little sleep and extra food - if you stay awake for 20 hours you do tend to have another mealtime, it's not gorging just a long awake period that you need fuel for. But even so I never went above 1300 cal, which is about 60% of the average daily intake for someone my height (at least I think it is). I was shocked at how easily weight loss stopped and even some regain occurred. It makes me wonder of post sleeve we all find our daily intake significantly lowered. I should say also that my exercise is fairly light on at present - lot of sitting and studying, with 40 min dog walk each day and not heaps of anything else. That can't be good, I know. Especially in these important first 6 months (I'm 3.5 months out).

You're not crazy - you have a brain and are thinking ahead. There are risks and you're going through the process of determining which ones you're prepared to take. Only you can decide that. More people should do this. No one said being intelligent was easy!

Chobani is really high in protein, but I don't know if this is an Aussie brand or not.

If your surgery was essential for another reason - such as planned gall bladder removal because of a "grumbling" GB - your new employer would almost certainly be fine with that. Perhaps even pleased to hear you take preventative health care seriously. More chance you'll be a healthy, happy and productive employee. Why not put it to them that way... they don't need know what the op is, only that it's health related and as you're in good condition going in to the op you expect to bounce back relatively easily. You will probably need to take leave-without-pay, but at least you won't have to wait for your op. Good luck.

There's some good info on this forum about managing long stalls. Stay away from the lapband.

As I'm sure you'll recall Grouchman, this forum can be a but overwhelming when you're new.

You probably won't, but you look young - boobs "grow" with babies , age etc. And push up bras (or whatever they are called today) can be marvellous. I have to say - I had almost no boobs when young but definately did from my 30s onwards. But all ages, no complaints. Attractiveness is far more complex than bra size.

Record everything to be sure you're not nibbling or taking in more fat or sugar than you should. But if you aren't, sooner or later that weight is going to fall off - otherwise every medic on the planet is going to want to study you! The only other thing I can think of is Fluid retention - which actually gets worse the less you drink. So drink lots of Water (with low cal cordial if necc). Then relax and enjoy. At 13 weeks out I'm in a 4 week stall... So working hard to practice what I preach!

I'm v self conscious about my weight when big. Always gravitated towards big blokes (tall and solid) but as it turned out married a shortie with skinny thighs - my personal idea of hell, body shape wise. Love him to bits by the way. And he eats "worse" (more fat) than any big guy I ever dated. Which of course has done nothing for my waist line over the years.

Just to bring some gravitas to the scale of this operation - in the past week, on this forum, I've heard of 2 deaths from post op complications following VSG. One in Mexico and one in Australia - I don't know either person so am assuming that what I've heard is correct. I can't speak for the quality of care in Mexico and shall leave that to others. But Australia has top notch health care overall, with patients generally having longer and more preventative post-op care than my reading of US posts suggests is the norm "up there". That's not a criticism of others health care systems, more a demonstration of why I have faith in mine. What this says to me is this op has real risks attached - things go wrong, mistakes are made, luck runs out. Don't get me wrong - I've had this op and would do so again, but I didn't and don't take it lightly. We are all women*, mothers, daughters, wives, sisters and friends first and foremost. We need to look after ourselves well. Most of us have time on our side and don't need to rush in. *Apologies to the blokes - please amend as necessary. It seems that it is most often women who find themselves without adequate insurance and so end up taking more risks than they'd prefer, whether that is going to another country or minimal time in hospital.

I didn't have gas pains but I was taking quite a bit of painkillers still at your stage. Have you got something pretty strong? Unfortunately the more pain killers you have now the more constipation you'll have later, but you need to be able to rest up so take something now, perhaps along with a stool softener (if you can swallow pills). I find codeine more effective than Panadol or aspirin alone. Keep sipping your Water too - keep a jug by the bed. And if it gets too hard in the middle of (your) night, hop on the Aussies thread and call out to your sleeve sisters DownUnder. We'll be up and about. The pain will pass - you'll feel a little better every day. Good luck.

This is a big surgery and I'd never consider having it as an outpatient, or with just a one night stay in hospital. Too much can go wrong. I know my view is pretty conservative on this forum, but I feel that when we call this op "bariatric surgery" it seems to become a simple one. Call it "stomach cancer resection" (which can be virtually identical) and patients are treated much more conservatively (even though they often have less risk factors).

We all need support when we "go out on a limb", and if you can't find it in the flesh, this forum is a pretty decent alternative. You might also want to post your town and see if you can locate people near to you - I've seen others do that. If you feel nauseous a lot it's pretty hard not to feel depressed. I turn into a v crabby monster with sustained pain or nausea. So it will be worth while putting some time into trying to problem solve that. I agree it could be eating too fast or getting up from the table quickly after eating - I need much more time to eat and digest than previously. This can be hard at work, when the kids are all demanding attention, or when you have an inflexible schedule. Reflux can definitely make you feel unwell, and not always in the ways you expect. Are you on meds for that? Do you need a higher dosage than you're on? I find eating sweet stuff can make me feel really nauseous, but not everything sweet. I find it hard to pinpoint, but it's only occasional for me so not a big issue. I've heard other people say the same thing about fatty foods. I'm just a few days over 3 months out and eat out regularly, so far without problems. I wonder if it just feels too hard because you feel unwell. Park that one for now and concentrate on feeling better. Hopefully you'll find it's no longer an issue when you do. Good luck with it all.