Sydney Susan

50 pounds down in 6 weeks is serious stuff - no wonder you feel hungry, you really are starving. Sometimes these things start out as dehydration (causing nausea, weakness etc), and spiral on. Get some decent Meal Replacement shakes in you before you get chemical imbalances that could seriously affect your health. See a doctor and tell them what is going on. You need some help to stabilise yourself - perhaps some anti-nausea meds or treatment for dehydration.

As long as you're sure that posting photos of yourself at 1 year out wouldn't be tedious, repetitive or confusing for the rest of us dumb souls who are apparently so easily entertained. Sheesh, why bother posting with an opening sentence like that?? You can stay around and try to correct mis-information or chose to leave something that you clearly don't see as having any value. Same choice we all have... no one forces anyone to be here. Put-downs are unnecessary.

Severe constipation can be painful - still need to discuss with a dr as can be a bit of a challenge to resolve.

Another good article - sobering but important. Should be one part of some compulsory pre-reading for all bariatric patients.

Fibre is great to stop constipation but not to cure it once you have it. Stool softeners, enemas and laxatives if all else fails.. and of course Water, water, water. Prunes and dried apricots are pretty good too - high in calories but if constipation is bad you'll be needing a good clear out to lose weight anyway. I don't know all the products mentioned here but be aware that frequent use of laxatives WILL cause severe problems down the line. Senna is a laxative. Try not to let constipation go on too long - as women (particularly post menopausal women) are v prone to developing rectocoeles (rectum bulging sideways into vagina and even up against bladder), and this is no end of trouble to address.

Who or what is "Marc Zare"???

If you go to the app online (as opposed to on a smartphone, as I tend to use day to day), then you can adjust the calorie, Protein, carb, exercise goals etc. You can't make these changes on the smartphone app. Then I add stuff on the Diary screen (via smartphone, not sure if it is the same on pc but probably similar) and check totals (calories, grams of protein etc) on the "home" page of my smartphone (again, you'll need to check if its the same on pc, if that is how you will use it). It's brilliant for checking not only if you are keeping to your calorie intake but also staying low on carbs, sugar, fats, etc. and how much of the daily Vitamin requirements you are getting from food alone. I sort of agree with what others are saying in that different mealtimes are not essential (ie: you can enter everything under breakfast if you want), except that it can be useful to find out if you are eating "high" on one part of the day eg: breakfast, between meal Snacks. Stick with it - I'm not IT genius and I find it a great little tool. I don't use it everyday but I regularly use it for a week every now and then to check I'm not straying... And too often I am! Good luck.

I am fast coming to the realisation that my maintenance calorie intake is going to be 1000 per day (less than half the recommended daily intake!), and to lose I need to eat sub-800 per day. Not thrilling, but I suppose I could always up my exercise levels to get more calories in... I only walk the dogs for about 40 mins daily. When I realised this and my dr and dietician confirmed my thinking, I felt like some sort of medical freak. But neither the dr or the dietician even blinked... and on reading these forums I notice many many others are having the same realisation. In the research section there's papers stating that once-obese people need to eat around 20% less calories than never-obese people to get the same weight loss, even when starting at the same weight. No wonder so many of us struggled to lose weight before. If you don't exercise you don't have any lee-way with that calorie intake, and if you don't record what you're eating you can easily exceed a low calorie target. If you have a smart phone MyFitnessPal is a terrific little app - worth the money IMO. And walking is a great exercise, as is dancing, running, cycling and Zumba. Some swear by the 5:2 diet, which you can easily google to get heaps of info. As others have said - no point crying about the lost window of opportunity. That just made it easy, losing weight is still possible. Good luck with it all.

Times 3, if you can't eat that alone will leave you feeling miserable AND slow your recovery. Most people can get more liquids in than solids, so at least supplement yourself with some good quality liquid Meal Replacements. You need to focus on being well hydrated and well nourished for the time being. The sleeve will be there waiting for you to test it out with other foods at a later date. Sleeves do stretch a bit over time, there's plenty written on this forum about that, so don't worry that it's shrunk for now. There are 2 big tasks to complete when you have VSG: 1. Recover from surgery 2. Learn to eat well with your sleeve (nutritionally sound, for weight loss and for enjoyment) Because of your complications you are still in 1 but thinking about 2. Understandable, but not helping you right now. You will move forward - everyone does - just be kind to your body. Good luck with it all.

I'm 52... a bit younger than you but so far I've sailed through it all... Constipation aside (sorry if that's TMI), which is important as we post menopausal lasses do need to watch out for rectocoeles and other pelvic floor type failures... we are much more susceptible than younger women and women are much more susceptible than men. I am conscious of the range of complications spoken of on these forums, and never take my good surgical recovery for granted. I am no stranger to major abdominal ops and chose a surgeon who is quite "conservative", in that he keeps patients in hospital longer than most and aggressively manages the risk of clots and leaks. That was really important to me, given my age and history. Hope this helps a bit.

I think it depends on where you lose the weight - Iost weight off my face and neck early on and people notice that. Your bottom half is something you probably notice more than other people do - really, how often do you stare at another woman's butt? Only if it's remarkable, I imagine - fantastic or has got a loooot bigger of late. The other thing is that the first time you lost weight - particularly if it was after holding weight for a long time or even gaining steadily over the years - is something distinctive about you. I think. It's not so much the amount but a change in your usual "trend".

Two weeks - but I got a cancellation. I think the usual wait was more like 8 weeks (this was the end of April).

Craig Taylor was my surgeon and I was/am v happy with my choice. I don't know him personally or a lengthy history of his work - just got his name off the web, rang his office (and others) and liked what i heard. He is quite conservative - all patients in hospital 4 nights with excellent preventative care re clots and leaks, and I thought that was terrific. I've needed major surgery before and have experienced both good and bad, and felt well cared for on this occasion - which was v important to me. I've read hundreds of posts on this forum and I'm yet to be convinced that a short hospital stay is right for anyone with this op. From my experience he doesn't charge any more than others ($5K out of pocket), despite providing more hands-on care in that first week. I disagree that recovery is "easy", or rather that you should expect it to be. Although personally I had no complications and breezed through the whole thing, it's a BIG op and there's definitely the potential for things to go wrong occasionally, so best to be in a good hospital with excellent care close to hand. I chose Mater but Craig Taylor works out of other hospitals too. Mater is closest to his rooms (just round the corner). His fees include dietician and psych - not sure how many visits but I've had 3 and 1 respectively so far, in 4 months. Anaesthetist fees and all hospital pathology also included. Congrats on your decisions and good luck with it all. PM me if you want any more info on my experience.

The Dr Sharma articles are great, thanks. The readers comments following them are worth reading too. Having realised myself that I will have to keep my calorie intake v low even at maintenance - and that the whole 2000 calories per day thing is tosh (for me and no doubt many others who gain weight easily) - I found it interesting that so many respondents to those articles have similar comments to make. This is soo often portrayed as a "poor me" thing - not surprising if hunger is gnawing away. But I'm trying to reframe it and the sleeve is a blessing in this regard (at least at my relatively early stage), as I have v little true hunger these days. Unfortunately "I'll be laughing come the next famine" doesn't put a big smile on my face. But knowing I can eat v small meals and so save time and money IS a pretty nice thing. Like a reformed smoker, I'm wondering what I'm going to do with all of that spare cash I used to spend on food. That is, after I've paid off my sleeve op and for my top-notch multi Vitamins and endless fibre supplements.

Gamergirl, I have heard so many stories like yours re thyroid meds. Recently had a full on argument with my teenage son's GP re getting t3 and t4, not just TSH - my son has coeliac disease which is often associated with other autoimmune disorders like hypothyroidism and diabetes, any both males and females in our family have hypothyroidism with some going on to develop thyroid cancer. He is so likely to develop hypothyroidism in future that I wanted to get a baseline so I could help him start to work out his "correct" levels... But dr just point blank refused to order any test beyond the TSH. Needless to say we won't be going back there. I joined Thyroid Australia which has fantastic information (all solid medical journal stuff) that can be printed out and shared with doctors. No doubt the US will have something similar. After 30 years (my entire adult life), and with so many others in my family also affected, I've also had loads of opportunity to work out what T4 level (t4 is the most significant for most people) is "right" for me. It helps too that I'm not just asking for a high T4 level, but a specific narrower range than the population range. There are issues with taking too much thyroxine and I understand drs fear people might be just concerned about weight loss. Good luck with it all.

Before treatment that is common, but I was concerned that Gamergirl was saying she was still having hair loss after treatment. Once your correct dosage is reached that shouldn't happen anymore.

If your thyroxine levels have been correctly modified by medication you won't lose hair at all. Speak to your endocrinologist about this one. I am quite alarmed to hear you were losing hair as a result of under active thyroid (pre-sleeve). I've had under-active thyroid problems for 30 years and have lost v little hair - if any - when medicated.

Justin, "mega-oesophagus" can be associated with Addison's disease. I believe your blood work would be a bit wacky if that was the case, but just thought I'd mention it in case it's worth following up. Good luck.

1. Doesn't involve putting foreign matter inside me - i am both a cancer survivor and have multiple auto-immune diseases. Titanium staples aside, i want NO foreign matter inside my already overly-inflamed body. 2. Simplest of the available ops that doesn't involve putting foreign matter inside me (ie: no malabsorption or severe dumping, no band with known and significant failure rate including complications that can be v severe) 3. Simplest long term management - no regular drs visits for band fills/unfills, no ongoing Vitamin shots etc 4. Weight loss success better than band and comparable with RNY 5. Fits with my total weight loss requirement (100 lbs) 6. Have significant co-morbidities and need "serious" action with likely success in the short to medium term (ie: was getting to the point where my life was in danger if I didn't act) 7. Am older so reversible solution not essential 8. Can be revised to DS or RNY later, if necessary 9. No difference in cost and no insurance company issues where I live, so I was completely free to make my decision on the basis of all of the above. 10. I soooo wanted to get rid of a large part of stomach and to tame my surging hunger. Hope this helps.

Just about any abdominal op will leave you with some titanium staples. They are v stable and don't set off alarms at the airport. But your X-rays will be fascinating! I've had several surgeries and have quite a few of the darned things - I look quite "arty" on the inside IMHO.

I think you are very wise to look at all your options. You are young and have time on your side. I'm really happy I had the sleeve - no regrets at all, but it's not a magic bullet/cure all so if there are more flexible options (ie: reversible) you ought to consider them. Non reversible options ought to be a last resort, not the first thing you do. I get a bit antsy about young people tossing away otherwise healthy bits of their body. VSG will be there for you later, if needed. The plication doesn't appear to be available near me, but it looks interesting. If I was in my 20s I'd definitely be finding out all I could about that. Having said I prefer reversible for the young, no way would I go near a lapband. Good luck with it all.

When you can get regular eating reestablished - and u will - you'll feel a lot better. Perhaps u shouldn't have had the op but as you say, it's irreversible. It also was t your decision alone, so don't beat yourself up over it - that anger with yourself will hold u back. I'll. bet you could fight through all sorts of debilitating symptoms if you were a cancer or accident survivor nursing life saving scars, so why not this? Make a decision to live well and then make it happen. You don't have to be perfect or to make perfect decisions all the time. Good luck.

Glad to hear all is well. Just a tip... that comes with a warning too that it's mega-TMI, so only read on if this is your need. Lots of us girls get a rectocoele as the years march on, particularly if we suffer from constipation, although childbirth alone and a uterus determined to meet your feet someday will do it alone... All that pressure on our pelvic floors and something's got to give, so why not the ever thinning wall between your vagina and your rectum. Those occasions when you feel a poop just inside your rectum that won't actually come out are often due to your rectum expanding sideways into your vagina. Put a couple of fingers in your vagina and press towards your rear firmly and you will return your rectum to its more normal shape and size, allowing the poop to slide down and out. The longer the poop has been stuck the drier it will be so use a 5ml enema to lubricate if you can, or be prepared to go slowly. Without doubt this is some of the least fun you can have with your nether regions, but it does work. Taught to me by a continence physiotherapist. Good luck Ladies. And yes, God must be a man.

If you want to search "regrets" and "complications" you'll find plenty here. It's good to be informed that the procedure is not without it's risks, though that tells you nothing about how your particular surgery will go. It's most important to realise that the sleeve is no cure-all; people call it a "tool" for a reason, not to be annoying. Just like a great set of tools won't turn any old bloke (or gal) into a fine carpenter, a sleeve alone won't solve all your weight issues for all time. I don't regret my sleeve for a second (nearly 4 months out) but I'm realising more than ever how much I've got to learn and master about me and my relationship with food. The more posts I read by long termers, the more I realise my experience is a common one. Probably even the "normal" one.