ThatGingerKelsey

I'm starting to get sick, and I know there are tons of medications that we can't take after the surgery. Does anyone know any really good cough medicines? (preferably the pill kind, I'm a little baby when it comes to liquid medicine!!). At the moment I'm not taking anything, just drinking tea, but I know that just temporarily stops the coughing for the moment, so I looking for a more long term solution. I may just go to a walk in clinic, because I know how bad my coughs get if I don't treat them, but the last time I went in before I was actually sick, the doctor at the clinic seemed annoyed that I was there since I wasn't full on sick yet. Anyways! Any help is welcome!

These photos were taken almost exactly one year apart! The one with the purple top was when I was about 7 months pre-op, but by that point I was at a pretty steady weight of 319 pounds. The one where I'm Flo from Progressive, was taken almost 4 months post-op, in which I'm down 90 pounds! I've gotten to the point where if I don't work out, I don't lose weight, but starting this week, I have a 5k or 10k planned every month for the next few months. So training for those is helping!

Another thing I'm super excited about is, since I live in Orlando and frequently go to the theme parks, I can get on and off the rides so much easier now! There were even some rides that I couldn't go on because they couldn't close the restraints enough to meet the safety restrictions. But now that I'm almost 80 pounds lighter, and about 2 sizes smaller, I don't have as much of an issue as before!!

Thanks! Was there anything that you were excited about along your journey?

Hi! I'm Kelsey! I'm 24 years old. I was sleeved on June 2, 2014. It's been a little over 3 months and I'm down 78 pounds!! I started at my heaviest at 319, and am down to 241. I don't think I've been below 250 in maybe 4 years. Getting this surgery was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I'm getting healthy. I'm getting happier. I'm getting so much more confident with myself. I used to think that getting WLS would be the easy way out. Boy was I WRONG!! I'm super excited for the things that I get to experience and enjoy in the future. These are the things I'm super excited about now, when I'm halfway to my goal weight! 1) My ring (size 8) that I have been wearing for the past 5 years on my ring finger, now fits comfortably on my pointer finger. (My -100 lb present to myself is going to be a new ring that fits my ring finger again, almost a size and a half smaller!!) 2) Going to Florida State Seminole football games this year. I could have gone before the weight loss, but now that I'm about 2 sizes smaller in clothing, I can easily find shirts and dresses to wear to the games! I haven't been able to buy official FSU football clothing in about 6 or 7 years! 3) I can make it through an 8 hour work day without needing to sit down every 2 hours due to back or knew pain. I work retail at a hotel gift shop and I can't sit down that often. So the fact that after 78 lbs I'm already feeling a difference is awesome! 4) I'm no longer at risk for developing diabetes. That was one of the main reasons I got the gastric sleeve surgery in the first place! 5) Guys are telling me I'm beautiful, sexy, hot, attractive, pretty, and good looking. That is something I have NEVER experienced. So I'm starting to date again for the first time in 5 years. (I'm actually talking to a really great guy that I met online now! Fingers crossed all goes well!!) What is everyone else excited about as they go through this journey?

It's going pretty well. I've just been working a lot so I'm pretty tired. But in exciting weight loss news, I just had to move my size 8 ring to my pointer finger to prevent it from sliding off my middle finger! Before my surgery, that ring would only fit on my ring finger! So my hands have shrunk quite a bit in 3 months!! I think my 100 pound treat to myself is going to be a replacement ring that fits on my ring finger again! Only 22 more pounds till then!

One thing I would highly recommend to anyone who is about to get the surgery is to walk as much as you can starting the day of your surgery. I was lucky to have my mom with me who had me up and walking laps down the hall of the hospital every hour while she was there. I think it really helped me bounce back as quickly as I did!! Good luck to everyone!!

My final straw was hearing the dreaded "D" word. I got a blood test done, and my doctor said I was on my way to becoming diabetic. When I told my family this, they all started to get very upset and worried. My grandpa, who just passed away very recently, had struggled with diabetes for most of his adult life. He especially didn't want me to have to struggle with the same things that he did. So, that's when I met with my surgeon for the first time. I had to jump through so many hoops for insurance to cover the surgery, but in the end, (and after 12 months of weigh ins at the doctors office!) they covered 100% of the surgery because they deemed it medically necessary. Now 3 months out, and down my biggest supporter in my grandpa, I've lost a total of 78 pounds after my gastric sleeve surgery. I'm so happy with my decision to do this. I feel better, I look better, I have so much more energy! I've even started dating again, which is something I haven't done in about 6 years!

The hard ciders that I drink aren't very carbonated. There is a little bit. I know the feeling you are talking about with the bubbles. Because right out of surgery (about a month or two) I was craving a diet soda, which I was told I could have if it were flat. Well I only like cold soda, so I started shaking it before opening, and when I thought I got all the bubbles out, I drank some and I was wrong and I regretted that decision right away!! I felt like I could feel the bubbles trying to stretch out my stomach!! It hurt so much! So since then I've been very careful with what I drink to try and eliminate that kind of unnecessary pain!! But some hard ciders don't have a ton of bubbles. I guess it also helps that it takes me forever to drink it because my stomach fills up so fast that by the time I'm done with it, most if not all of the carbonation is gone!!

I very rarely drink, but since my surgery 3 months ago, I find that when I do drink anything, it hits me so much faster! I know it's because I'm smaller, my stomach is smaller, and all that. But before I could have 2-3 bottles of hard cider and feel fine, but now I have about 3/4 of a bottle before I'm feeling buzzed! It's crazy!!

Just an update! I just got the all clear about the birth control. I had a feeling it would be ok, but I just wanted to make sure!

Thanks everyone! Yea my gyno said that she wants me back in 3 months just to make sure that it's not affecting my blood pressure. It's the same brand that I was on before, so I'm assuming I know how I'll react to it. But I actually have a checkup with my surgeon later today, so I'll bring it up!

So I had my annual with my gyno this morning, and I wanted to get back on birth control since I'm feeling and looking good, so who knows when I'm having sex next!? (That is totally a joke! I don't plan on sleeping around, but I just started talking to a really nice guy and who knows where this is going!? So I just want to be ready for anything!). I'm going back on the pill, which is what I was on before, but i don't know if it is going to have any affect on my stomach? Probably not, but I really don't want to chance it! I had been on the pill before to try and take care of my PCOS, which is the main reason I want to get back on it. Anyways!! Any input would help!! Thanks!!

Yay! Buddy! That's so exciting about your weight loss! That's really fast too! I had absolutely no idea what to expect going in, so any progress was good progress! But I'm 3 months out and have just now started having hair issues where my hair is coming out faster than normal. I heard about it beforehand, but I thought that would happen almost right away, so when it didn't happen at first, I thought I was one of the lucky ones who it didn't happen to. Oh well! Me and my bottle of Biotin are going to become best friends!! Good luck with your continued weight loss!!!

I've been feeling the same hunger feelings too, but when I go to eat, I take like 3 bites of something and I feel full! I think the amount of weight loss and the speed of weight loss depend on the starting weight. On my surgery day, I weighed 304 and have been losing about 3-4 pounds a week. But keep your head up! You made a great decision in getting the surgery for your health!! And 43 pounds is 43 pounds that are gone! Go for little milestones, that way you don't feel so stressed and upset when it takes so long to lose like 25 pounds! Keep it up!!