lauri407

You've done an absolutely fantastic with your weight loss! I have been watching your updates for months and love see your before, during, and after pictures. You really look happy and healthy! I need to check out your blog because I'm now almost at 7 months post-op and need to start exercising. It's so intimidating and I finally bought shoes, and have a workout outfit. Now to just motivate myself to get to the gym. How long did it take you to feel motivated to WANT to go work out or run? Congrats again! Laura

Congratulations! You were one of the first people I saw before/during pictures of and I was excited to learn more about the sleeve surgery via these board and you. I'm so glad I went through with the surgery and hope my success is even as bit as great as yours has been 1 year out!

Pre-op, I was prescribed 25-50mg of Levothryroxine a day. Post-op, they tested my levels and my dosage was increased to 75. I had a really long stall in the month of February and early March, but since then and with the new dosage, my weight loss has been steady. When I go back to my gen doctor next week to get tested again to see if my levels have changed it all. The biggest difference I noticed was my energy level. When I started taking the 75mg dosage, I could stay awake and felt like I had some energy. Previously, no matter how many Vitamins, Protein, or hours of sleep I had, I felt like a wilted flower.

Richmond, VA here. Drinking my Water now... biggest struggle for me the past few weeks. You must be getting excited about your summer surgery!

I miss fish and chips, Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches, and yeast rolls. That being said, I know this is my mind speaking and I don't need them. I rather wait and eat a proper fish and chips meal than eat a subpar version. I miss drinking during or after eating sometimes. Just depends on what I'm eating.

I had a period for the two weeks of my pre-op diet, had my surgery, and then two weeks later had a period that lasted over 8 weeks. I went to the surgeon and obgyn and they couldn't identify why I was so weak, tired, and had a period that was excessive. My Obgyn put me on birth control (generess fe) 3 pills for 3 days, 2 pills for 2 days, 1 pill for a month and a half straight. After all of that, my bleeding still required a tampon as of three weeks ago. I totally get what you're going through. My hypothyroidism is a bit worse and they dramatically increased my dosage from when I took it a few years ago and started taking it again just last week. They didn't test my B12 and said they would at my 6 month appointment.

I have a really bad sore throat and cough, and had the flu shot, but like you I was worried. I ended up going to an urgent care center and was given some "heavenly" cough medicine (hydrocodone +antihistimine) plus an albuterol inhaler. The cough medicine knocks me out, but my aches, pains, and sore throat are a distant memory when I take it. I've been out of work for two days, but I figured that still being fairly recently out from having wls, I needed to be careful and give myself some time. Go to the doctor's if you can but make sure they are aware of your surgery so they give you medicines that aren't going to react negatively with you and other meds you may be taking. Mine cautioned against antibiotics but was happy to give me medicine to help alleviate some of my symptoms. I hope you feel better soon!

I think you're right! It does help to take a step back and see the big picture. During my first stall that lasted four weeks, I didn't feel that way at all, but now that I'm losing again, I know that during the stall I was able to lose some inches and my clothes were much looser on me. While I'm enjoying watching the numbers on the scale go down, I feel like it's a matter of time before I stall again. I'm not trying to be a negative nelly, but I do think that it will be a pattern of my weight loss, and not a forever stop. Thank you for taking a big picture look at the graph. I enjoy looking at my full graph too. It makes me hopeful when I get to the 3 mo, 6mo, and 1 year mark. :-)

Congrats on onederland! I'm not bruising more, but my bruises are certainly taking longer to go away. I've had some bruises on me for over 3 weeks. I've heard some people say you can "brush" or massage them away but I haven't tried those techniques out.

If any pants felt tight or were rubbing against the incisions, I padded the incisions with loose gauze taped lightly with papertape. I also would unbutton my pants and make sure my shirt or sweater were well over the pants waistline. I sit in an office chair all day at work, so I only had to remember when I got up to do something. It does feel weird the first few days and you will be extra cautious. It's a good thing! Good luck going back to work! Remember to take your time as it's a big adjustment getting back into a routine!

I had my surgery on 1/15 and went up and down a couple of pounds for 4 weeks straight. It sucked big time! At the next surgeon's appt, I showed him my food logs and he told me to knock it down to just 3 meals a day, with no more than 4 oz. He also said to focus on Proteins and getting my liquids in, which most of us know by now. I had to cut out my "snacks" of 1oz. of perky Jerky, frutis, etc. He said to also cut out the soft foods like yogurts, cottage cheese, etc. and focus on real foods. I know that each doctor suggests something different. I've seen some people break a stall by eating 5 smaller meals, some by carb cycling. For me, I have finally started to move back down after sticking to my 3 meals a day. It's what worked for my body. If you can, go back to your surgeon, show your food logs, be honest, and follow the advice of your surgeon and/or dietitian if you can. I hope going back to phase 1 works for you in jump starting the weight loss. Sounds almost like the 5:2 pouch test I've heard about on here that some veterans go back to to reset themselves. Wishing you all the best.

Just wanted to add to this thread that I've currently had a period for over a month. My Ob/Gyn put me on 10 day progesterone and now that I'm done with the pills, my period has become even worse. I'm going through superplus tampons every 1-2 hours. I'm feeling very week. I go to the Ob/Gyn tomorrow and she's talked about going on birth control pills. I have PCOS and am scared about going on birth control pills as I've had issues with fertility. Anyone else going through this? How long did it take to regulate? I'm really hoping this is just estrogen leaving my body, but I wish it would give me a break... I've been on a stall on my weight loss for just as long.

I am trying to find the group, but I'm unable to do so. The group link has changed... try this: http://www.bariatricpal.com/groups/357-autoimmune-sleevers/

I think my eyes just became as big as saucers. My weight has stalled for 3 weeks and while I know that it is typical this early in to my weight loss, I want to try to help get myself out of this stall/plateau. Today was a perfect example of my typical eating and I only had 15 grams of carbohydrates. While I'm averaging about 50-60 oz. of Water, my Protein has been doing pretty well at about 60-80 grams with calories anywhere from 500-700. I like the idea of graham crackers/cream cheese to help get in a few more carbs. Any other ideas? I'm not a yogurt fan.

Sorry about feeding the trolls.. but.. Nancy, throw out the soda. Your drama over drinking soda is way overrated and if you can't handle giving up soda, you seriously need to seek out the help of a counselor before, during, and after VSG surgery. I drank soda every day, and had a serious carb and sugar habit too. In order to use the tool of surgery correctly, I had to follow my surgeon's orders, and cut out all the crap. Almost every single one of us who has been through the surgery has had to go through some kind of withdrawal from a food or drink. We didn't end up here because of healthy habits. We've all seen and heard of the person who messes up a bit during pre-op, and that's "normal" as they confess, learn, and move forward. You seem to be confessing, but then going right back to the bad habit. I hate even replying as it's giving your soda habit more attention than it deserves. Get help from a professional.