McButterpants

I started out with eggs and had no issues (my surgeon pushes introducing foods immediately - I had soft scrambled eggs on day 5). When I started to introduce other Proteins, beef was the hardest for me. Pork didn't set well at first either. If you try something that doesn't agree with you, try it again in a week or two...your body and tummy are adjusting. I'm 10 months out and have no issues with any proteins now. Raw fruit and veggies are a different story! :-)

I was surprised at how little pain I had...I only took two pain pills and that was at night, mainly so I could sleep, not necessarily for pain. Everyone is different, I know, but for me, the pain and recovery from my c-section was much worse than this. I had an uneventful recovery, no nausea and I have not vomited since surgery 10 months ago.

I had a lot of hair loss - A LOT. My loss started at 2 months and lasted thru month 6. According to my doc, your body thinks that hair is optional (I disagree), so if it thinks your body needs help elsewhere, it won't take care of your hair. I don't prescribe to the lack of Protein theory - I never had an issue getting in my protein minimums. Some people lose, some people don't. My doc said that you can take things to help the regrowth - she had me take Biotin and Folic Acid. I went to a shorter cut (that was hard, but I'm kind of liking it now - it's cute). I used Nioxin, again for the regrowth. I used Toppik to cover up the thinning spots. I'm at month 10 and my stylist just cut my hair over the weekend - she said, "I don't know how it's possible, but it seems like it's coming back in thicker!" I don't know if that is true, but it is coming back.

I agree with Miss Mac - total crap shoot. You may lose a lot, you may lose none. According to my doctor there isn't anything you can do to prevent losing - your body thinks that hair is optional (I disagree). You can help the regrowth however...she approved Biotin and Folic Acid for the regrowth. I used Nioxin shampoo, again for regrowth. I used Toppik to cover the thin spots. Getting in my Protein minimum was never an issue. I started losing my hair at 2 months...not a lot, but noticable when I was in the shower. By the 4th month I was losing copious amounts of hair daily - my hands were covered in the shower and the floor was covered after drying and styling. I truly thought I was going to lose all my hair. There was hair everywhere - my pillow, under my desk chair, on my clothes, on the couch, etc. I cried, I worried, I lamented. I went for a short cut to hide the really thin spots. At 6 months, the loss stopped and I started to see regrowth. I'm sticking with the short cut for another couple months as the new growth is slowly catching up. My stylist the other day said, "I don't know how this is possible, but it seems like it's growing back thicker!" I don't know about that, but I can see it's growing back and for that, I am thankful. At the end of the day, would I do this all over again knowing I would lose so much hair? Heck yeah! Totally worth it.

One thing to remember - if you graph your weight loss, it won't be linear, it's going to look more like a stair step. Lose, plateau, lose, plateau. I think I was at week 5 or 6 when I didn't lose anything for 3 weeks. The only things you can control is what you put in your mouth and how much move your body. Your body is going to lose weight at its own pace...

Decaf green tea helped me greatly during the pre-op diet - it helped with hunger. I am not a tea drinker, but it was a lifesaver!

So now that you're done with your goodbye letters, do this... Write your kids and wife letters about the future - you'll be able to give them these after surgery. You can explain why you had the surgery...I'm assuming you had it so you can have lots of time with them doing things you want to do. Tell them you'll be more active in their lives - make commitments you tend to keep. Let them know you want them to lead a healthy lifestyle and you're going to lead by example. Then, write yourself a letter - say goodbye to the old you. Let that "old you" know they aren't welcome in your life any more nor are the bad habits, unhealthy living, etc. Look forward with a positive attitude - we'll see you on the losers' bench in a few days.

My NUT freaked when I told her I hadn't had a bowel movement 4 days after surgery - she had me take some Metamucil and a high quality pro-biotic to get things moving. My suggestion would be to call your surgeon's office.

You're doing fine - your body is just trying to figure out what's going on. Let it. Keep working your plan and following doc's orders. When I was newly sleeved I weighed many times - daily, sometimes more than once per day. That's not good. My husband hid the scale from me and brought it out once per week. It saved my sanity. I took pictures of myself often and took my measurements - that really told the story about my journey. That helped me so much more than the scale. At 10 months out, the scale no longer has power over me. I won't let it.

According to my doctor, there isn't anything that's going to stop the hairloss. She told me it's OK to take Biotin and Folic Acid for the regrowth. Here's what she says: "According to your body, hair is optional. If it thinks that you need help in other ways, it won't take care of your hair." I lost a lot of hair - when I say a lot of hair, I mean it. It became thin and dry. I started losing at month 2, got really bad in months 3 and 4 and finally stopped at 6 months. Some days in the shower I would cry because I was holding a fistful of hair. I took my supplements religiously. I used Nioxin shampoo. I used Toppik to cover up the really thin spots. I am 10 months post-op now - I just got my haircut and my stylist said, "I don't know how it's possible, but it looks like it's growing back thicker!" I can feel it and I can see it - it's coming back.

Had that discussion with my doc...those that don't follow the plan (Protein first) and those that don't move their bodies are at risk to gain their weight back. I can eat lots of food - I can eat around my sleeve. I have to choose not to do that. I can eat copious amounts of tortilla chips - that's one of my slider foods. I don't feel particularly great afterwards, but if I don't identify it, I can graze on them all afternoon long. You've seen it before, the sleeve is just one tool in your toolbox. You still need to make good choices, you still need to move your body - that's what you control.

I'm cold all the time!!!!!!! LOL - I'll take it over the alternative, though!!!!!!

I had my surgery on an outpatient basis...in at 6:00 am out by noon. When I was at home, it was comforting to know that my husband was in the next room in case I needed something. I know if I would have stayed at the hospital, I would have wanted someone there with me the first night.

I'm interested in ready replies to this... Sometimes I don't recognize myself in the mirror now. Pre-surgery, I avoided the mirror and if I had to look at myself, I focused on parts of myself - my hair, my eye make-up, etc. It's like I didn't want to see the whole me before surgery. It's different now - I see me, but sometimes it doesn't feel like me. Hard to explain. Sometimes I will catch my reflection in a window or in a mirror and I don't recognize myself. I have a picture of myself that I refer back to all the time...it was the day I decided to have surgery. It was the day I stood on the scale at the doctor's office scale and cried when the nurse verbalized the number. It was a bad day, but life changing. I decided that day to change my life and I took a picture of myself when I got home. When I look at that picture I see a severely overweight person - one with a bloated face. But more than that, I see a sadness in my eyes. That person in that picture is lifeless and sad. I am so glad I took that picture - I will keep it forever. My son looked at it the other day and said, "I don't remember you looking like that!" It's funny, neither do I!

What you're feeling is totally normal. I would go thru periods of "I can't wait" to "Oh my god, what am I doing to myself." Just breath...look ahead. Think about post-op life - think about the amazing things you're going to be able to. I'll be honest, I almost backed out the night before surgery and the morning of, right in admitting. I was so scared. That morning in admitting I thought to myself, "I could walk out of here right now and only be out $500." But then something changed - I looked at my husband, he didn't say anything, he didn't even look at me. I decided right then this was the right thing for me to do. I was able to confidently walk down the hall and start the process. I will tell you, short of marrying my husband and having my son, this was the best decision I have ever made in my life. All of the insecurity, fear, anxiety - totally worth it because I'm here, 10 months later living the life I'm supposed to lead. I'm active, I'm happy, I have energy. My only regret is not doing this sooner when I first started to think about WLS years and years ago. Best of luck to you all! We'll see you very soon on the losers bench!

What a nice compliment!!!!! I took pictures of myself along the way...I often refer back to those pictures because sometimes I lose sight of how far I've come, I get hung up on the scale. I put my "before" picture next to a current one and am always surprised! I also took my measurements. Sometimes, when the scale isn't moving, you can see other indicators. Best of luck to you!

There are so many factors in the saggy skin area - your age, how many years you've been overweight, genetics, etc. Just because I have some saggy skin, doesn't mean you will. For me, the trade off was totally worth it.

I went to Dr. Umbach in November, 2013. I had an amazing experience - the staff is awesome and so is the doctor. I am very happy with my choice. You can PM me if you have any particular questions.

Dr. Thomas Umbach, Las Vegas, NV $11,500

Totally get it! I bought a cute Green Tea sweatshirt from Sam's Club the other day - Large. This summer I was in a "regular" size store and spotted a pair of shorts that looked cute. Size 14 - I took them to the fitting room and tried them on. I cried when I realized they fit. I haven't been a 14 in forever! I didn't bother looking at the price tag, I just bought them. I paid way too much for them, but who cares - that meant something to me! Here's to you buying "normal" clothes and many more purchases to come! (I can now wear my sons t-shirts and sweatshirts! LOL)

I had my surgery on Thursday - it was on an outpatient basis. The first couple of days, I really didn't want to do much other than "just be". I walked a lot, just paced around the condo and I rested. I was back at my telecommuting job 1/2 days the following Monday, working a full day on Tuesday. Riding in the car was uncomfortable when we hit bumps - I took a stuffed animal with me and held it against my tummy. I didn't drive for about a week after surgery. We flew home (a full day of flying) on Day 10 and had no issues. I got tired easily the first 10 days or so - I took naps as I needed and rested. Remember, you're going thru major surgery - allow your body to heal.

11/3 will be here before you know it. I'm 10 months post-op and often refer back to my "decision day" photo. I am so glad I took it - it was the day I decided to have surgery. The day I went to the surgeon's office and cried when I got on the scale. At that moment I thought "this is the worst day of my life", when it was actually the point I decided to change my life. I took lots of pictures of myself along the way - it's funny to go back and re-live the last 10 months thru pictures and see how many body changed, I developed a chin line, my collarbones started to appear, etc. I also took my measurements - that helped me during those stalls you keep hearing about. It helped out a lot when the scale wasn't moving, but inches were coming off my body. It saved my sanity on more than a few occasions. Best of luck to you!

I can't say if it helped with saggy skin, but I believe it helped with recovery. I started walking and going to the gym religiously about 6 weeks prior to surgery - after surgery, I was up and walking immediately. I really believe that not matter what surgery you are having if you are in good shape, you will recover faster. For sagging skin, I'm 10 months out and have batwings under my arms, my tummy has stretchmarks and sags, and I have some sagging in my inner thighs. That's what losing 73 pounds and being 45 years old looks like. It's my tax for letting my life get out of control for 25 years. I wear it as a badge of honor - I earned the sagging skin by walking hundreds of miles (about 800 since surgery), drinking hundreds of Protein shakes and enduring mental and physical pain during this process.

Are you truly sipping - I had to take really small sips. Think about the Nyquil measuring cup on top of the bottle - my sip was about 1/2 that right after surgery. Very small sips. I set my phone to chime every 5 minutes and that reminded me to take a sip.