bikrchk

Sometimes our bodies are just in shock after the trauma of surgery. I agree, 550 could be low esp with activity. At about 1 month out I was scolded for not eating enough (about 650 calories). When I protested I couldn't "fit" anymore I was told to add high protein snacks. I worked up to 1000-1200 calories per day logging everything with 80-100g of protein exercising 5x per week and lost steady but not super fast. I had weeks I didn't lose much, maybe 1/2 pound, but no real "stalls" after the dreaded 3 week stall. Labs were always good and I lost only a little hair. Feels like I'm in a really good place for maintenance now.

Depends on the kind of "sick". I've been battling a cold and it's not deterred my appetite one bit! I had a stomach thing a couple of months ago and I lost 5 pounds in a week! I'm in maintenance so it was unintended.

Yes. I think sometimes it get a little worse the week or 2 after for some folks as the healing process happens and the nerves come back to life. Mine was not that bad but I think it was a couple months before the big incision had "no" pain. When I had my hysterectomy the insides they shuffled around to get to what they needed hurt way worse than the incision the whole time and I could see the bruising on my belly from where they clamped my skin. That was MUCH worse than my sleeve procedure BTW.

I wore a lot of stretchy leggings, skirts and tunic tops belted or with a scarf to make them go a little farther. I'd hit Kohls with a 30% off coupon and pick up what I could on super sale when I could. It's a fabulous problem to have! Also second hand boutiques where you can sell several old pieces and replace with one nice piece helped with the cash helped fill in.

When they did my EGD they found a hernia and evidence of GERD though I rarely had heartburn. My symptoms were a horrible chronic cough (unsuccessfully treated as asthma) that was much worse at night. They put me on a PPI immediately and they symptoms were much better. I also got "the talk" from the surgeon, but we decided together that since it was immediately controlled with the PPI and he was going to fix the hernia contributing to it that I'd probably be okay. He warned me that if I wasn't, the only "fix" was R\Y. Post op, my symptoms were much worse for the first month. I raised the head of my bed and they doubled the Omeprazol. Once the swelling went down and weight started coming off, the symptoms went away. I still take 40mg of omeprazole bid, but it's all good now.

MFP. Religiously during my loss and for the fort 6 months of maintenance. Today I go back to tracking if I begin to "creep" outside my goal zone.

They brought me water as soon as I was awake enough to drink it and a full liquid tray shortly after.

I do! For a meal replacement or if I'm looking for the highest protein bang for my buck that day, I choose a Quest bar. Most days, I munch a Powercrunch in the afternoon as it's a sweet treat that tastes like a wafer cookie and still packs about 14g of protein.

I didn't even consider the band. After hearing the lifestyle differences in my face to face support group and watching a few friends struggle with their bands, stop filling them have them removed, I just wasn't interested. I needed a permanent solution to eat less and didn't want a foreign object in me that needed constant monitoring. I'm aware that some folks do really well with them, but my doc was doing fewer and fewer bands in favor of the sleeve and with better results so I eventually chose the sleeve and could not be happier with the results. WLS does help control physical hunger, but that's not what most of us have a problem with. It's the "head hunger" or plain old over eating. The sleeve cannot help you with the former, but is an effective deterrent to the latter. Life now is... different. I love to cook now, probably more than I did before because I have the freedom to choose quality over quantity. I can tolerate pretty much whatever I want but I know I'm only gonna get a little bit so I make what I get count, using real butter, real eggs etc where I used to live on scads of "substitute" food. Now, at a year and 1/2 out, I DO get hungry, but it's not the same. I eat to live now father than the reverse. I don't have to worry about the occasional indulgence because I know it won't be an OVER indulgence and as long as I keep balance in my life by not indulging EVERY whim and maintaining a light exercise routine, I can maintain nicely and never feel like I'm missing out. Life at goal is GOOD!

The practice I had my surgery done with kind of "fell apart" when the long time nurse coordinator left at the same time as the primary (my) surgeon. This all happened right about the time I was due for my 1 year blood work. Love and miss them both and got great care there! My insurance has a lifetime cap on bariatric care that includes follow up, and I reached it about 6 months in so I'm basically self pay and have no relationship with my surgeon's office anymore. My 6 month labs were perfect. I DO think it's important to do our yearly labs. We've altered they way our bodies absorb nutrients and should be checking in proactively to ensure we don't have problems brewing. There are some deficiencies, (Calcium for one) that may have no symptoms now, but come back to haunt us years later by which time there's nothing we can do about it. I am successfully maintaining and I am compliant with supplements, so I decided to wait and follow up with my PCP, (I do a yearly physical with blood work there anyway). If I need to add a few extra blood tests to the normal battery to check for the typical bariatric deficiencies, so be it. At least the bulk of what I do under a yearly physical will fall under "preventative care" and be covered at 100%. I've had too many WLS friends who caught things (usually low Iron or B12) in their scheduled labs that may have gone untreated otherwise to leave it to chance. No more support groups either. I get a lot out of face to face support and thankfully, most of the other hospitals have open groups so I attend one of those on a monthly basis.

Not sure. I wear it longish and straight and I didn't really even realize it happened until it started coming back in and the short pieces were sticking up with winter static. Seems like I had more hair in my hands after a shower from about months 4-6. Pony tail got a little thinner, but even my stylist didn't notice till the re-growth started. All in all, not that bad. the "stick ups" lay right down with a dampened hand. It grows really fast since I started taking biotin.

That first time getting back on that horse, so to speak, can be terrifying. I was 4 years post divorce and about 1 year post-op. Someone I'd met on line and we'd been dating a while so the relationship was "newish". I'd told him about my surgery, but it was terrifying for me nonetheless, to be THAT vulnerable in a new relationship . Turned out my fear was completely unfounded! He makes me feel beautiful, scars and skin, clothed or not!

I had a jeweler wrap a little piece of wire (ring guard?) around the underside of my ring until my weight had stabilized and I had it resized. I also tried the little rubber ring sizers you can get online but found the jeweler's solution less annoying. A couple of other rings I used to wear on my ring finger now go on bigger fingers or even my thumb!

I don't remember the brand. I wouldn't consider purchasing a swimsuit on line as I had to try on suits for 2 hours in the store before finding one that really fit. The specialty store (Swimwear Solutions in Kansas City area) I went to even does alterations if it needs a tweak. I'm sure other cities have similar shops. FYI, it wasn't cheap, but well worth it for me.

Ditto. I can't believe the woman on the left is me in this picture. I avoided cameras like the plague for years so I wouldn't have to be reminded. Good news is, there's hope in this tool! So grateful I used it to change my habits and my life!

I was specifically directed to add 2 snacks at my 1 month follow up. WHEN was not important. At that point I wasn't hungry anyway so I put them between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner. What WAS important was that I get a bit more nutrition and calories that I could fit in 3 meals per day. It was also important that they were planned high protein snacks and that I not succumb to "grazing" behavior. This was good advice for me from a success perspective. When I began feeding my body adequately my weight loss picked up, my energy level increased. I healed without issues and reached goal in the first year. Oh yeah... I had a treat, popcorn or a Skinny Cow bar several nights per week while I was losing! :-O HORRORS! I worked it into my meal plan and managed to lose and maintain the weight anyway never feeling guilty or deprived. Nothing in the world wrong with that!

I've had the opposite experience. I tend to fight off whatever attacks these days where I USED to be sick all winter. One thought... Part of what was making me cough pre-op was undiagnosed GERD. Never had heartburn, just lots or respiratory crap and coughing, particularly at night. Put me on a PPI and the issues I had for 10 years evaporated, (though I had symptoms the first month after until the swelling went town which is common). The sleeve is a reflux inducing surgery. Could be "silent" reflux. Check with your doc about a PPI or doubling your dosage if you already take one.

Find a specialty swimsuit store where you can get a 2 piece, (even one that covers the belly) so you can get a top with good support that really fits. I tried one piece after one piece and couldn't get enough support for the girls. My 2 piece, (looks like a 1 piece) comes in cup sizes and has an underwire to the top really fits. Makes a world of difference!

I also had hernia repair during my sleeve procedure. The GERD got worse before it got better for me. Omeprazole 2x day and still had symptoms the first month after. Eventually when the swelling went down about 4 weeks post up I was symptom free.

All teams recommendations are different. I was allowed crackers when I started soft solids. I started out on rice crackers since it felt like they swelled up less in my belly. No issues as long as I watched the quantity.

Just turned 47.

My BMI was 37 at consult, (Sept of 2013, when I count from), so I didn't have quite as far to go, but I had as good a sleeve experience anyone could hope for and have had great results reaching my first goal, (top of the healthy BMI range and health problems gone) within about 8 months. From there, I just kind of continued doing what I was doing until I was the size I wanted then added calories to enter maintenance. I'm 5'6" and settled in around 142 in a size 4 jeans, 6 dress. If I go down to 135, it wouldn't hurt my feelings but I'm not gonna kill myself to get there either. At 1.5 years out I still have restriction. I still do protein first, at least 75g per day and maintain my exercise habit of 4-5 days per week. Good habits are key. The tool still works, but I still struggle with "eating crap" like most folks. As long as I keep the "crap" to a minimum, its all good. If I get too sloppy, it shows up in my weekly weigh in. If I hit 145 I dial it back the next week or 2 till I'm back where I belong. I imagine this is how naturally slender folks do it, I dunno, but it works for me! And yes, I considered R\Y but decided that long term, the side affects might be less with the sleeve. I guess I'll never know for sure, but I'm not disappointed with my decision at all!

I re-joined my social life 4 years post divorce and 6 months post-sleeve. It's unfortunately true, the online dating world is VERY aesthetically focused, but once I jumped in the pool, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that was sorta true for me as well. Looks mattered less than lifestyle, (I finally realized I needed to be with someone who had some kind of a commitment to his health and could keep up with ME)! Totally agree with what others have said...You go through a lot of duds before you get a stud:). I dated like it was a JOB for like 9 months. Had no luck on eHarmony and limited luck on Match. POF, (free) worked best for me, (could depend on your town too). Finally met a nice guy with the right mix of professional with a rebel soul that I'd like to hang out with for a while. It's been all good 4 months now. I don't know where we're going, but I like where we are now! He's never known me fat, but I was honest about my surgery within the first month. Not a big deal for him at all, in fact, he likes that I'm committed to eat "small". He dropped 50 pounds after his divorce. Says it helps him stay focused on his health goals to be around someone else who is.

I think it DOES help to change things up some times. I kinda did that on purpose during my loss phase by trying to alternate between 950 and 1200 calories day to day. I lost steadily but not super speedily. These days in maintenance, I eat pretty much what I Iike in small quantities but if I have a particularly sloppy week, it typically shows up on the scale. I dial it back for a week, and things are back to normal. It. Is. Still. A. Battle. Probably always will be.

Mexican fix: Take a slice of grocery store polenta, (find this next to the eggs) Top with a teaspoon of taco meat and a pinch of shredded cheese and nuke for 30 sec. Dab of plain Greek yo if you're so inclined on top Italian fix: Ricotta, mozarella, egg beaters or egg, garlic, salt and a bit of frozen spinach in the food processor. Layer in a casserole dish with Pasta sauce and a bit more cheese if you like and bake Whizzed chili with a dab of plain Greek yo Freeze your leftovers in ice cube trays then dump the food cubes in a freezer bag for storage.