KristenVSG2014

I usually try to find something healthy on the menu and it lasts about 3 meals. I'll try to substitute more veggies instead of starch. I usually go the meat/veggie/veggie route. It works for me and I LOVE leftovers!

I've suffered from joint, mostly back and leg, issues for as long as I can remember. I've been to multiple doctors and specialists and while I never got a true diagnosis for my condition, I found out a lot about what causes my problems. 1) I have a naturally tilted pelvis and an extra vertebrae that is fused on the left but not the right, 2) I'm hypermobile in the majority of my joints which causes muscle pain when stretched beyond normal limits along with severe muscle imbalances. By the time I was 20, I started to experience extreme spasms and back pain. They did an MRI and said I had no Fluid in my L4 and L5 and had degenerative disc disease. I had some steroid injections that caused me to gain more weight and only relieved pain for a few weeks. When I was 27 I went to physical therapy for six months and came out in more pain than when I went in. Everyone kept telling me if I lost weight the pain would go away because all my problems were caused by my weight. Well, I'm still in as much pain as before when I'm having a flare. So while my weight may have been contributing to the pain, it was NOT the cause. It is frustrating but I'm happy I can at least enjoy all of the other benefits from being a normal weight. I would still have my surgery all over again.

What's funny is I get the opposite, and it irritates me. I get, "don't you feel so much better now?" If I'm in a snarky mood (no, not ME, EVER!), I say, "actually no. I can't take the anti-inflammatories that I used to so I'm in pain now when I wasn't before." I hate the notion that every fat person must feel awful all the time. Some do, some skinny people do. I know, I work in pain management. Not all of our pain patients are overweight. If I'm NOT feeling snarky, I say, "it's nice to fit into the world." Yes, I get this quite a bit. In fact, I got it from my own doctor. He was surprised when I said, "No. My back is still killing me but now I can't take anything for it." He has the same problem as me so he at least sympathized. Gosh I miss those NSAIDs...Sometimes Tylenol just doesn't cut it. I've found that regular exercise, my chiropractor, heating pad at night and occasional massage have helped me manage it without any medicine at all. But when I'm having a flare (like I am now) and it completely drains my energy I get irritated when people can't understand why I don't feel awesome all the time because I'm thin now. Edit to add: I'm snarky pretty much 95% of the time ????

OOOHHH! I just came up with a really great response. This would of course be because I love the shock factor and making sure no one wants to ask me anything ever again...but when someone asks you HOW you lost weight, tell them they discovered a massive tapeworm in your intestines. No matter what you eat you keep dropping weight. The doctors wanted to remove it but you're so happy you've lost weight you decided to keep it and give it a name. Then tell them the worm's name.

I forgot to mention, I was walking through the lobby of my work when a customer stops me. I'm ready to answer a banking question and they said, "You've lost a LOT of weight. Were you sick or was it on purpose?" I actually laughed out loud and told her it was on purpose. I'm thinking, "Geez, I'm glad it WASN'T from being sick...that would be a very sensitive and inappropriate question."

I agree. You will have much better results if you do it now. Especially since you have less than 100 lbs to lose.

I almost spit my tea out when I read "potato eating teeth".

I'll usually say: "A LOT of hard work." "Eating less, focusing on Protein and exercise." "I've been working with my doctor on a customized diet and exercise plan." And they are all true! Give yourself credit. The surgery is a tool. YOU still choose what goes in your mouth.

Um...No. No shaving. In fact, I think I was wearing underwear when I went back for surgery. No catheter. I remember struggling to get them down afterwards so I could pee. I hate shaving down there. I clean it up but rarely shave the whole thing. It's there for a reason, right?!

How much do you have to lose?

I developed all of these very early on. I was overweight by the time I was 5. My dad was not happy and always made comments. My parents tried so many different diets, doctors, exercise plans, etc. I would skip meals all day then come home and gorge myself (on a huge bowl of meatballs covered in BBQ sauce) because I was so hungry. Then I would eat dinner when my parents got home. When I lived on my own I would buy a half sheet cake and eat it over 24 hours. I would go to Subway and eat a footlong sub AND a Soup. I could eat an entire chicken in one sitting. That's not normal...After I got married I reached my highest weight of 290. My husband is also an overeater. I love my little sleeve. I had a bunless burger with caramelized onions, a slice of tomato and avocado for dinner and was so satisfied.

It is quite common after rapid weight loss. When I had attacks it lasted 3-4 hours after I would eat. I would get a terrible pain behind my breastbone, could not stand up straight, I would break out in a sweat, sometimes I would dump...it was terrible. I had it for over a year before they figured out what it was.

For my sleeve surgery I did an unsecured loan at my bank because it was only $4,500. Now that I've been researching plastic surgery for loose skin removal, I'm looking at financing again but it will cost a lot more. In my research I found LightStream which rewards those with great credit. A $10k unsecured loan can be as low as 5.99% APR which is fantastic for an unsecured rate. I'm keeping them in the back of my mind if I haven't saved enough once I start going to consults. https://www.lightstream.com/suntrust-anythingloan?fact=16050&lcid=CS%7CLSL%7Canything%7CP%7Clearn%7Cfact=16050

I had mine out before WLS but you should definitely consider it. Many of my friends that had surgery at the same time as me have had to have their gall bladders removed and one is in the hospital right now from pancreatitis caused by her gall bladder.

Right?? He reminded me a bit of Vin Diesel! His nipples, however, were still too close together. Those surgeons need some help with placement.

Well that was disappointing...you can't see her results because she gained weight and as usual, the surgeons did NO contouring.

@@Babbs, I noticed. They really like to point it out like a badge of honor. ???? But I still can't seem to tear my eyes away. Maybe because I'm still in research mode for skin removal. I'm very curious how Lindsey's results look because her stomach looks very similar to mine.

I had mine removed in 2010 and had my sleeve done in 2014. No issues! Sometimes I'll get some reflux if I eat certain foods but I just avoid those foods and try to never eat within two hours of going to sleep.

Sorry, I turned 30 in November so not sure if I'm allowed to comment in the "Twenties" forum ???? but I decided to have sleeve surgery when my 29th birthday was approaching. I have always been overweight and I tried over and over to lose weight. I always told myself if I didn't get it off before I turned 30 I would never get it off. So when I knew my 29th was coming up I decided to go for WLS. While other's comments can be hurtful, I am so happy I made the decision I did. It worked for me and I'm only 2 lbs from my goal weight now. I'm sad because I feel like I wasted my 20's BUT at least now I can enjoy and celebrate my 30's in my healthy new body. Can you imagine if I had wasted another decade trying to lose it "naturally"? The longer we are overweight the more damage we are causing.

I'm sorry, what were you saying? I was distracted by your great pair of..........eyes. I saw this shirt once that had two teddy bears where the boobs are and it says, "Stop looking at my teddies!" I should have gotten it, dang it.

I run on the treadmill at the gym and I usually wear very loose clothes so no one pays attention to me (that freaks me out if I think people are watching me while I'm working out). However, I have a new problem at work. Backstory: I've always been overweight and was never once offered sex, drugs or rock n' roll in high school OR college. I was the fat, witty, sarcastic girl you wanted on your team project (because I'll do all the work) but don't want to date. Fast forward over ten years and now I'm a loan officer. When I was still overweight as a loan officer I struggled with sexism. Men would tell me to my face they would prefer to see the male loan officer (who would then lie and say I was the "specialist" and give them back to me). Now I'm dealing with these customers talking only to my chest or hitting on me. I had one guy have a 30 minute conversation about buying a home while staring at my boobs the entire time. I'm a modest woman. I never show cleavage at work and usually have a sweater on to tone them down a bit. It doesn't seem to matter. I've had multiple men flirting with me and I want SO badly to respond, "Would you speak to my male coworker that way?" but I don't want to lose any business just because I'm sensitive. (If it were assault I'd tear them a new one.) Hell, I've been considering dressing super cute every day and drumming up some business around the community. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right? Ugh. I can't. It goes against everything I believe in. I shouldn't have to flirt with someone to get their business. They should want me to help them because of my reputation.

While it's a rare complication, the nipple death can occur with any breast surgery. Just Google "nipple death after breast lift" and plenty of stories (and pictures) on RealSelf show up that will made me want to research some more or give up on the idea of breast surgery.

No...that's really strange. Keep us updated!

Yes, I'm talking about the guys on the show but I've also been researching breast lifts on RealSelf and they don't look much better on women...I actually came across a post about a woman whose nipple died and they had to remove it and then she just had a giant hole. It scared me so bad I decided I'd focus on tummy tuck this year and worry about boobs later.

I haven't seen "All of Me" but are you talking about Zsalynn? She was one of my favorites on My 600 lb Life.