Melixxa

I have no advice, as you're pretty much living my worst fear, and I can't imagine how hard it must be to be doing everything you're supposed to and see no movement on the scale. But I just want to say congratulations on all you have already achieved, and that I hope you never give up on yourself! I've noticed a lot of vets are having good results with the 5:2 program...I wonder if that might be a good next step for you?

I didn't get insurance...I meant to, but just forgot! But now my mom is getting ready for surgery in Mexico, so I hope someone chimes in with suggestions.

I can relate to your fears. I have been overweight for almost ten years now, and it's become hard to imagine my life any different. I had completely lost hope, and honestly, I'm just faking it right now, following instructions and going through the motions. Plus, I'm at the three week mark, and that's a notorious time for little-to-no movement on the scale. With good reason...somewhere on this site there's a link to an article that explains why it's perfectly normal at this time in my recovery. But on top of that, I was hungry around the clock. That was the really demoralizing part. I knew that if that hunger kept up, I would gain back the 19 pounds I had managed to lose in no time flat. Thankfully, I followed the advice of many vets and tried taking Prilosec. It turned out what I thought was hunger--and geez, 30+ years of dieting and you would think i could ID the feeling of hunger!--was due to excess stomach acid. So my appetite settled right down, and at least, I don't feel despair anymore. I still can't imagine being successful. And there's still no movement on the scale, but I've got nowhere else to be. I'm a teacher, and it's an unusually quiet summer around here, so I guess I'll just keep on keeping on. Good luck to you!

I just keep thinking you need more time to process this massive turn of events. If you want it, you could tell your doctors you need time to think. But then if you have a blazing headache, I'll bet thinking is easier said than done.

I think some members here have had great success with the plan, too. I seem to remember someone saying that it was working well for long-time sleevers in the final push to reach their goals. But I'm not certain; it would be great if someone who uses the program could chime in! (I would love to have one more tool in my tool belt when the time comes!)

I have no advice, but just want to send my best wishes that you will feel lots better and soon. :wub:

It does help!

Jenniferkatie, you have described my experience almost exactly! LOL You just saved me having to write it all out!

Did you write your sister's obit? It's beautiful. :wub:

You look so relaxed and happy, Holly! And 70 pounds so quickly...I'm in awe!

I felt the same! If my mom or a friend had been there, I would have been worried about their needs and honestly, I just wanted to have think about myself for a bit. This surgery was a pretty big deal in my little world. In the end, I met several really nice people and had buddies in the hospital and at the hotel so I never really felt like I was on my own, anyway.

I'm a Grade 4/5 teacher in BC, Canada. I had my surgery the first week of summer holidays, so I'm enjoying a nice long rest before I go back to work. I have Lupus and my energy has been really low, which, as you know, is really not cool for a teacher to admit. I'm so hoping that weight loss will help with my fatigue. I'm nervous about my colleagues' reactions to my weight loss--they're an athletic, healthy-living bunch and they often comment on what I eat, etc. They're not unkind, but really food-conscious and watchful. I was the only overweight staff member at our school. As fate would have it, I have been transferred to a a tiny school a half hour drive from my home and I won't see many of my colleagues for several months now. My only colleague there will be a male friend from university who couldn't care less what size I am. I will enjoy the break from the staff room and all the pizza days, birthday cakes and pot luck luncheons.

You're looking fantastic! Thanks for sharing

I've pretty much come full circle to the girdles my grandma used to wear!

Hooray!!!! You're on your way!

Same for me.

I really needed to read this today. Deep thanks to all who posted! :wub: I'm 9 days post-op and I've been so, so sad. My post-op diet is basically Protein shakes and pureed Soups. I'm limited to 4 oz per meal, and I'm hungry almost around the clock. I've been longing for the day when I can introduce more food. But the truth is, whatever that food is, it will never be enough. I'm only a tiny fraction of the way through processing this, but the thought that pops into my head right now is: relax into the plan. My post-op diet couldn't be more clear, and it's obviously keeping me from eating the foods that were killing me. Oh my goodness, I have so much mental work to do!

I'm only a week post-op and I'm almost always hungry.

I do have Lupus, and was sleeved just a week ago. So far, I'm pretty good! I had a bit of a flare for two days immediately after the surgery. Everyone kept saying how great my colour was, but it was just my malar rash! There are other threads on the forum about people with Lupus and other autoimmune disease. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to how people react to the surgery. But that makes total sense to me, because Lupus patients usually have such wildly different sets of symptoms, anyway.

Add me to Team Hungry.

This makes me a little misty! :wub: Thanks so much for sharing!

Oooooh....that sounds really uncomfortable. My sypmathies. I can't relate, mostly because I have only lost eight pounds so far! LOL But I think you could make a damn good case for insurance-covered plastic surgery.

I think it's fantastic that you feel so normal, only better than normal, really! I just had my staples out this a.m., and I don't quite feel normal yet, but I'm definitely on my way.

Here's another Marriot sleeve menu bulletin, heads up vegetarians: You can order vegetable broth! I had it tonight. It was super salty, so I poured about half of it out and diluted it with water. But it tasted good.

Thank goodness you're feeling better! I was also feeling pretty low the first day. First, I really underestimated the havoc gas can wreak on a body! I read about it, of course, but I had never experienced it so I didn't take it as seriously as I should have. I woke up from surgery in a panic because I was fighting for breath. I don't believe I was in any danger of suffocating, but man...breathing hurt! I also struggled with anxiety. Because I'm such a lazy bones in real life, happy to curl up anywhere with a book, I expected all the bed rest would be a breeze for me. But that's so not how it turned out. I was really antsy; I hated sitting, standing and laying in any position. The only time I felt half-way comfortable was when I was walking. And it wasn't pain...it was all nerves and emotions. It was really weird. I walked a fair bit in the hospital, and now at the hotel, I'm walking lots more. I'm hoping whatever drug didn't agree with me will be metabolized by the exercise, and I'll be able to nap in peace again.