AvaFern

Don't fret! Even people who are at goal have that kind of day shopping sometimes. I swear I thought I was being punked one day at Marshall's. I had about 5 shirts to try on and not only did not a single one of them fit me, but one of them I couldn't get my head through the head opening and one of them I went to put my arm in the sleeve, and there was no sleeve. It's like the store got a giant batch of defects and I managed to try on every one of them. Sometimes we just have a bad shopping day. Don't worry, I'm sure the next time you go try things on you may have the opposite problem- when you have too much stuff and your credit card cries a little.

I was ok two weeks after surgery. The first week was rough and the second week I was tired, but back to work full time. At the start of the second week I started feeling almost normal again, although not being able to eat real food kinda put a damper on that. If you have the ability to cook for yourself and have a kitchen where you can stay hydrated and well-fed, you'll be fine on vacation. I don't think I was really crazy about the heat for a few weeks after surgery. My procedure was done at the start of Sep and I live in Florida, so also miserably hot at about 2 weeks post-op.

Haha, your title "I'm dying" made me laugh. You will get through it! I've been trying to eat less today than I did this weekend and I'm eating normal food, but I'm hungry, and cranky, and I might be dying as well, lol. Hope the day goes fast for you!

Still 126 Thanks!

I also had bat wings and someone called me a "flying squirrel" in college. The only resolution is a brachioplasty. I was hesitant about the trade-off between the scar and the wings, but I'm glad I chose the scar. I still feel fairly ashamed to wear short sleeves in public since the scar is a pretty clear indication of what surgery I had, but make-up helps and the scar is still new, so it will fade. Ultimately, no matter how much I toned or worked out, I still had a TON of skin. Let me see if I can figure out how to add a picture to show you what I mean...

Woohoo!! Congrats!

I had to use a toungue scraper too...the act of chewing real food naturally clears that junk off your tongue, so when you're stuck drinking only liquids you get that weird film. The tongue scraper fixed it up for me.

When I have a bit of GI stuckage (made up that word) I use Ex-lax. It fixes the problem in about 6 hours and I really only need it a few times a year. Maybe a natural solution like increasing your Fiber may help if it is a continuous problem?

I am 31. I started at 237 and I am now 126. Prior to my first plastics procedure, I had very loose skin on my upper arms, thighs, and all around my lower stomach, back, and thighs. I pretty much looked like a deflated Michellin marshmallow. Even after plastics, there is a little skin remaining around the top of my bra line by my armpit area and my thighs are unlikely to ever be very attractive, despite having a thigh lift.

I worked out the entire time that I was losing weight. In terms of toning, I'm on a boxing and jiu jitsu team, which tends to do a lot of toning work on your arms. All I ended up with were really ripped arms covered by a whole lot of loose skin. I had a brachioplasty done and now my arms look fabulous. I've always had the big batwing arms (someone called me a "flying squirrel" in college ) so this is partly genetic. I have seen several women on here who ended up with fantastic arms and didn't need surgery. My calves were really toned, but I ended up having a thigh lift and full body lift (abdominoplasty and posterior body lift with auto augment) as well as a breast lift and augment. Ultimately, no matter how much I had worked out I looked like a big bag of loose skin. My thighs are still not anything I'm crazy about and you can pull skin on parts of my back, but after plastics and before plastics I look like a totally different person. I'm sure this was not the optimistic news you wanted, so I'm sorry. Again though, genetics play a big part. I was fat when I was a kid, and I yo-yo'd between the 130's and 200's as an adult. It was only when I topped out at 237 that I had the sleeve procedure, so I'm sure all the years of being skinny, then fat, then skinny, then fat, did nothing good for my skin.

My surgeon had me buy Blis insurance. I'm not sure if it has to be purchased through a surgeon, but something to consider... http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/insurance/About-BLIS-and-Cash-Pay-Weight-Loss-Surgery.html

I started at a 38DD, then I hit 156lb at 36DD, then after I had my boobs done, I somehow ended up being a 34DDD, which is the same size I am now at 126lb. The difference is that my pre-boob job breasts looked like saggy udders that sort of just filled up the bra cups like liquid blubber and skin. Post breast lift and augment, the girls now don't really even need a bra. Also, as a slightly unrelated side-note, my pre-plastic surgery breasts had a lot of lumps and bumps from fibrous tissue, however my surgeon apparently cleaned out all of those lumpy spots and now I can actually do a breast exam without having small panic attacks because there are no longer lumps everywhere. I really noticed the lumps a lot more after weight loss than I did before and outside of the fact that my boobs are now like an 18 year old in terms of perkiness, I really like that I don't have to wonder why there are blobs of tissue all across the inside of them.

I can understand your thought process. I have been below goal since April and I float around 126 pounds, but I still see myself as fat, even though logically I am not. The guy I'm dating tells me all the time how cute and tiny and small and various other synonyms for "not fat" I am, although since he doesn't know my history of obesity I suppose he doesn't realize quite how much I love hearing those words. I still feel self conscious about eating in front of people, especially since I tend to eat a lot of small meals all day long. I feel a bit like people think I am somehow a skinny-pig, which I think is totally irrational. I still have fat days, where I put on my size 0 jeans and feel like I'm a busted can of biscuits, although they are not as frequent as before. Ultimately, I don't know if the fat person mentality every changes, but if anything, it keeps me very motivated to remain below goal. I can look at the number on the scale and know I am not fat, no matter how much the mirror and my mind tell me I am. For some people, the scale is something that upsets them, however for me it is a form of data that I can't argue with. If I'm 237, which is where I started, yes, I need to get my butt on a treadmill and step out of the kitchen, however at 126, if I miss a day running or I eat some cake, I have a bit of inner terror about what the scale will say, but if in the morning it says 127, I know that I am still thin even if the fat girl on the inside is screaming at me for being a pig the day before. The scale keeps me sane, oddly enough.

I was a self-pay patient so I didn't get to have any follow-up labs done after my sleeve procedure. I had a nutrition panel and a CBC done about a year ago where everything was fine, but last week I had my primary care doctor run a full panel of lab tests- CBC, thyroid, Vitamins, glucose, everything we could think of. I've never had issues with any results before the sleeve, but I eat a lot differently now than I did then and I was a little concerned that something may be off either nutritionally or with my thyroid. I received my full results today and everything is perfect. Almost all of my values are right in the middle of where they should be and they are all within normal limits. I feel relieved and validated given how so many people told me that getting bariatric surgery would lead to so many health problems and nutritional deficits. Looks like I'm not only now thin, but also healthy! I thought this may be helpful to anyone who may be considering the sleeve but wasn't sure about how easy it was to remain healthy in the distant future.

We have Yobe and Sweet Frog where I live. They both have lower sugar yogurt options and they're both really good.

I wish I had known that food would make me barf, almost every day, at least once. I had researched everything...I knew my hair might fall out, I knew that the process of weight loss would be slow, I knew the complication rate and the signs of a leak or stricture, however I had researched the fact that those with a sleeve don't get dumping syndrome and generally don't puke everytime they eat anything bad for them. If I could go back and make the decision of a sleeve all over again knowing the outcome and that I can mostly easily maintain below goal, I would do it every day. I love my sleeve and all of her hating food nonsense that I deal with everyday. Being thin does actually feel better than anything tastes...just like that quote.

Boob job. I didn't have the problem of small saggy boobs...mine were large, hanging, udders. I did like the Victoria Secret Body collection which has a good lift and a strong underwire, however ultimately I just had a breast lift and augment done and now these girls are suspended right where they should be.

I weigh myself every morning, on two separate scales, and I record the values. I have the Aria scale so it syncs it to MyFitnessPal and I have the scale I had at the start of the process, which happens to be a few ounces lighter than the Aria scale. I didn't intend to weigh myself with two scales, but I found that if I gain a little on one scale and nothing on the other scale, I freak out less than if I gain on both scales. I like weighing everyday because I can immediately see when I am off track. A few days ago I woke up heavier than I like to be, so I've paid a lot of attention to exercise and eating what I should be and today I am back to mostly a normal weight. I feel like if I only weighed once a week I might find I have way more to lose than if I just notice a change everyday. Daily weighing is less depressing and anxiety inducing for me. I also sometimes weigh after a workout or before I go to bed, especially if I ate badly that day. It gives me an idea of how the next morning's weigh in will work out and if I weigh a lot around 7:00pm, then I just stop eating until morning and that tends to make me less stressed out over the morning number.

Welcome, Anna! Don't worry, I think most of us were concerned about complications post-op. The chance of having a leak is very small. The only way I stopped stressing about it was with the passage of time. Everyday that passes limits your chance of complications even more. It's normal to be concerned about it, but as long as you're feeling ok and you don't have a fever, chances are you don't have a leak. Good luck in your future post-op!

While I would suggest contacting your doctor to be on the safe side, before getting too upset, let me tell you everything you listed in your post (water, Protein shakes, eggs) makes me sick and I'm almost 2 years out. I can only drink Water when I exercise and it took me months to be able to not gag on it after surgery. eggs to this day make me hurl. Protein shakes are ok, but I never drank much of them. Instead of water, try the low calorie Gatorade or Propel or something with flavor that you liked pre-surgery that doesn't have a ton of calories. Also, the only way I was able to get in all of my fluids was to drink with a straw, which is only advised against because some people get a little gassy. I never had an issue and right now I'm sitting at my desk drinking from a straw because it's easier than drinking without one. My 2 year surgiversary is in September and there are still days where almost everything I eat makes me barf. I've learned for the most part what I can and can't eat, but my sleeve just has no tolerance for milk fats, oil, sugar, or eggs. Perhaps you're just sensitive to some of the things you're eating. Nausea is very normal. Hope you feel better soon!

I don't do low carb because I know as soon as I even look at anything with carbs in it I gain the weight back. The only way I was able to lose weight, even before the sleeve, and maintain it now, is to eat healthily, in moderation, all of the food groups. Low carb diets might work for some people, but inevitably as soon as you eat carbs again you start gaining weight. The loss may be initially slower if you eat carbs, but in my experience it is more sustainable. Also, the sodium in the Pasta sauce may have contributed to your gain. I make marinara with ground turkey and put it on top of spaghetti squash and inevitably the next day I have gained about a pound. It goes away in a day or so. Perhaps consider increasing your exercise level? I stalled at 170 for months and the only way I broke past it was to significantly increase my exercise. I am now under goal and maintaining but every single day I need to be aware of my weight and my diet. It is a little depressing that this ends up being a lifelong, daily battle.

I had a drain for the sleeve. It was in the first 72 hours and they pulled it the day I left the hospital. It was good that I had a drain because this prevented a lot of Fluid build up in my stomach. I had drains for all of my plastics procedures too and while they are annoying, they are important. The drain for the sleeve shouldn't bug you too much because you're mostly high the entire time you're in the hospital and they don't generally make you go home with it.

Cathy, You're only 15 hours post-op...did they give you any pain medications? I don't remember there being much pain with the sleeve surgery, however the misery comes from not being able to eat. The first 24 hours you can't drink anything, but you're so doped on drugs you don't notice much. The next week or so is clear fluids only and then a week or two after that is full fluids. The pain of sleeve surgery is minimal because you are given good drugs the first few days and then after that it's more of a soreness. The unpleasant part is feeling awful because you can't eat anything. In the end though, it is worth it.

I drink Diet Pepsi all day, at least one cup of coffee a day, and Red Bull for Breakfast. Caffeine, after your stomach has healed, will not hurt you. I am not really a big alcohol drinker, but I have had a few days where I've had a bit to drink and it hasn't really bothered me. Honestly, it makes my stomach burn a little more than I remember (which at almost 2 years out isn't hurting me at all) and I am now nicely drunk on one shot instead of 4 for a solid 20 minutes, but other than that I don't have an issue with booze at all.

You look fantastic! Also, wth on the AIDS comment? If it makes you feel better people have told me I look like a crackhead and like I'm sick, which I don't find terribly complimentary but at least no one has told me I look like I have AIDS. Like you, I'm at a completely healthy weight, so I think it's a little offensive when people say something unpleasant about my thinness especially since they had no problem being just as rude about my fatness. Sometimes I see a picture of myself and I think, hmm, my arms look a little thin (thanks to my awesome brachioplasty) and you can see my ribs on my chest (only because my fake boobs are heavy and pull on the skin), but other than that my butt more than demonstrates I am really quite healthy, lol. I don't think people intend to be mean, although your friend could certainly use a lesson in tact, as well as a bit of a chat about political correctness. What if an actual AIDS patient had overheard that? Much as I understand people say things to be funny, I try to avoid saying things that would hurt anyone's feelings, even in this case a random bystander who may be very sick.