Indigo1991

There is so much fun to be had crossing and uncrossing your legs, lol!! Other great things are: Wearing knee boots off the shelf High heels, without getting sore knees Ladies' wrist watch (rather than having to buy a man's) Hold ups with lacy tops Buying normal sized clothes from normal shops Squeezing between tables in a cafe with ease (and without my backside whacking the cups on the table behind me !) Running up stairs and still being able to have a conversation after Not worrying how full the bath is when I get in I could go on, tglastchance, but you get the picture. And like Susie in Lima, I will never tire of being told now little I am:-)))))

Annaf, I will have everything crossed for you that today is the day when the corner is turned :-))))

I am with Madam R - I used to put my hands up on my head if I felt the water/liquid wasn't going down and have a gentle stretch of my mid section! Water is hard to drink on a new stomach - something to do with its molecular structure - so to break it up put a splash of something in it to break up the water tension and make it easier to get down. Sounds silly but it does work. I struggled with plain water until I read that as a tip on this site :-)

Mine started at 3 months and I am 5 months out this week. Most people get some hair loss, but it can be negligible through to more serious. But keep this in perspective, there are things you can do to minimise how it looks if your hair thins. I have used Toppick which is keratin fibres in a powder you puff into the roots of your hair. It instantly creates the look of fuller hair. Ironically, I have been getting compliments about my hair and how well its looking so it seems that onlu I know there's never been so little of it :-) But what I have is shiny cos I have been eating so much Protein and taking my Vitamins, lol....

SleeviePete, believe it or not, the bad breath is a good sign - it's usually a sign of ketosis when your body is burning fat. I know it sounds awful, hair loss, bad breath etc but you will get through it, we all have. And it is all worth it... Miss Mac, good luck with your surgeon!

Laura, my hair was my best feature too. But that was when I was 86lbs overweight and when I was known for buying handbags and shoes - but only because I couldn't buy the clothes I wanted. So my hair was central to how I felt about myself and how I looked. Strangely, as much as my hair is still important, it feels less so. Maybe because I have started to like the rest of me a bit more :-))))

Not in the way people think. Apparently the shock of the surgery followed by even a brief period of very low Protein means hair loss for many of us is unavoidable. If there was a way round it, we would all be buying the lotion, potion or product to stop it/cure it :-)))) But eating good protein, taking Biotin etc means that when hair grows back it should be healthy and strong. Stress doesn't help so I have tried to be chilled about this and it seems a small price to pay for the all the good that has come as a result of being sleeved. Good luck come your surgery date, not long now :-)

Oh I so get where you are with your meds. I took years to tell people about my arthritis because I didn't see myself as an ill person and didnt want others to view me like that. Stupid, huh? Once people realised how bad it was, my life got easier because people understood why things were happening, why I was exhausted, why I couldn't stand for long periods, why I couldn't walk any distance andI got the support I actually needed. Glad you took the shot - it takes nothing away from you being a strong, courageous woman, you are still the same just now not in pain :-))))) So much has happened to me in recent years, I am not sure I have any self-destruct traits left - I think for the first time in 52 years I like me, respect myself for coming through some tough times and finally feel able to be who I am, warts and all...

Just had my first "oooh surely u can't have any more weight to lose.... got to be careful u don't get too thin".... I explained patiently that I am still overweight and that I am trying to get to a normal BMI. But there was still a great deal of sucking of teeth before I was told I needed to be really careful or my pretty little face will collapse! As this person never told me to look after myself when I was overweight, I am treating this as insincere concern ... but getting my defence ready for other comments. This is way harder than comments about the surgery, this feels more personal.... But bring it on, I am sooooo ready for the next comment :-))))

Woohoo! Well done, you deserve to be successful. Now for your next goal - banish the word "only" from your vocabulary!!!! You haven't lost "only" 30lbs - you lost 30lbs that ain't coming back. Here's to the next 30lbs :-))))))

Lol, it makes complete sense! I had a set of clothes that I relied on to make me look presentable and feel comfortable. But trust me, by the time you get to next winter, you will be glad to see the back of these old friends. I was sleeved at the end of April and I am 5 sizes down since then.... so think you can safely say you will get your wish not to have your capris resized Good luck come the time for your surgery. In the meantime, it's great visualising how life will be post sleeve. For me, the reality is even better than anything I imagined I terms of my health and how I look. Hope it's the same for you!

Laura-ven is right, talking to the right counsellor might be the best place to start for you. There's so much you raise in your post that you may need to address before surgery. The sleeve helps us lose weight but its not a sticking plaster for our issues. The mind is a powerful tool. It can work for you - or against you. Getting some support to sort out what's in your head, rather than reaching for antidepressants in order to cope, might let you get to the bottom of your anxiety around the sleeve and other matters. But good for you posting this - being aware that there's a problem and recognising that it needs to be dealt with is the right place to start rather than rushing headlong into surgery and possibly creating a bigger problem. Good luck ....

Tomorrow is day 11 post op. Doing ok, can't wait to get past liquid stage :-) Few moments where I have questioned what I have done, few tears but feel like the corner has been turned as I get stronger and drinking the Water gets easier :-))))) Just wondered how other Edinburgh/Scotland sleevers are doing on their journeys? All encouragement gratefully accepted! Jac x

At 5 months out, I can eat most things (except what's on my forbidden list - alcohol, gassy liquids) but choose not to eat certain things such as rice, bread etc. I still find that if I forget to really chew food fully, it can be uncomfortable but that's my fault, not the food's. For me, it's not so much about what I eat, it's about how I eat and mindful eating certainly helps avoid discomfort.

Beautiful dress - beautiful girl! Congratulations, your husband to be will bursting with pride when he sees you on the day :-)

OP, great thread and other posters, great advice that I am going to hang on to. There are a few quotes that have helped me to keep a perspective on life including this one: "I have had a lot of worries in my life, most of which have never happened" Mark Twain How true! And the older I get, the more I realise that being positive or negative is down to me and how I react to what life throws at me. It takes the same amount of energy either way...

My nut - here we call them dieticians - is a tall, slim, healthy looking guy. But years ago, apparently he was morbidly obese and reduced his weight through good nutrition and exercise, things he still lives by today. I was reassured by his professionalism but I also knew that he had been where I was but made no judgment on how I chose to resolve the issue for me. That might have been a problem if I had felt otherwise... We don't know the backstory to the people who help us, it all comes down to whether you believe in their professional competence. If this has impacted on your confidence in her, you need to tackle this - otherwise, take her advice and focus on you :-)

Beccakatherine, one thing at a time, lol. As Arts137 says, focus on urself and everything will follow as it should. Don't give anyone the power to mess with your mind - but so what if someone who you were invisible to before suddenly sees you? Does that make them a bad person? No, it just makes them human, maybe ill informed, maybe shallow but don't rush to judgment - we have all had that experience when fat, being judged for the wrong reasons, but two wrongs don't make it right. Anyway, if someone does that, you can choose not to have a relationship with them. But don't start on your new life by setting false standards based on how you felt in your old life. Trust me, you will change, your attitudes will change. I am more than twice your age and, yes, I have found some guys now interested in me who wouldn't have looked at the ground I was standing on before. In the early days of weightloss, i was probably grateful to be noticed. But now, as my confidence has grown, I smile and think what a shame it is that they won't get the chance to get to know me !!! Good luck, relax, a great life is heading your way and I bet there will be more to it than guys :-)

Yup looks perfect!

Oh yes! What to do is not to panic. Stick with getting your protein and fluids in, along with exercise. Keep doing what you are meant to and don't get down about it - your stall will eventually break. I had a stall that went on for a few weeks, I kept going and eventually the scale plummeted! Good luck....

Me, me, me, this has been happening to me too!!! I have been give exercises by a trainer that are Pilates based to build muscle tone in my behind to try to replace a bit of the fat I lost and give me a cushion. But relieved to hear its not just me :-)

Ok keke and others, time to change the mindset, people. If you set your mind to "fail" it is so easy for that to become a self fulfilling prophecy. You made a great decision to get sleeved, you are giving yourself the best chance to get healthy and slim. But in the same way you couldn't lose weight without a sleeve, your sleeve can't lost weight without you doing your bit. Protein, fluids and exercise. Do what you have been asked to do and your sleeve will work with you to achieve your goals. Don't start out with failure at the front of your mind - think "fresh start" and the chance to get things right. There will be bumps on the road but you have done well so far. Focus on that and banish the thought of failure.... Good luck :-))))

It is strange that there is a whole range of comment that accompanies each stage in our weight loss. My pet hate was the "you've lost weight, it can see it off your face" when I had lost over 20lbs - I must have had quite a feckin' fat face, lol. Then we moved to "you are looking well - not that you didn't before, but you know what I mean..." Yes I do - u thought I was a sick looking heffalump but didn't care enough to say anything to me.... Then it was the "ooh, you are a little thing/skinny Minnie/disappearing before our eyes" line. Yes but I am still technically overweight at 3/4 points off the top end of my BMI. Now it's "are you sure you need to lose any more/be careful not to overdo it." More of that when I was out tonight. But I am still overweight and not yet within my BMI range. I may look like a yogurt, but I wobble like a jelly.... So like other posters, I keep focused on what I am doing because it's all about my health, no one else's. but I think I am going to have to grin and bear it cos next shock will be the boob job I am having - and that's going to make me look different again. And everyone will have an opinion. But it is all worth it, lol!!!!!!!

Biotin certainly thickens the hair u have and helps with the re growth - but nothing stops the hair loss if its going to happen. If there was something we could all take to prevent it, the ad men would have ads on every page of this site - and I would be at the front of the queue buying ;/)

I couldn't do straight water, it's actually difficult for your "new" stomach to cope with. Put a drop of something in it ( I put a dash of sugar free squash) and it goes down easier. Room temp liquids also seem easy to drink too. As Irs says, there lots of things that count as liquids - use them all!