catwoman7

I'm not familiar with the Omega-sleeve - it could be that that's more common in Europe than the US. I'm eight years out and focus on calories more than portion sizes at this point. I can maintain my weight on about 1600 calories a day. I can eat more if I'm doing heavy exercising.

yes - you just have to watch your amounts.

we were told we could drop protein shakes once we were able to eat enough to meet the protein requirements (of course, this is assuming we always put "protein first" while eating). It could be that you may be have to keep up with the shakes longer than some.

you might be able to eat that much - as I said, it's a lot of trial & error to figure out what your maintenance level is - although since those of us who've been obese usually have to eat fewer calories to maintain the same weight as someone who's never been obese has to, you may not be able to get that high. Although then again, if you're really active, you might. You'll just have to experiment once you're at your goal.

in my case it was the surgeon's requirement. It wasn't mentioned in the insurance requirements. I quit smoking 30 years ago, so it wasn't an issue for me, but in class we were told we had to stop smoking and could never smoke again. I just googled how long it takes nicotine to leave your bloodstream. According to WebMD, it usually takes 1-3 days.

P.S. The old rule of thumb used to be your weight times 10 is about how many calories you should eat to maintain that weight. However, that doesn't take into account your activity level, musculature, etc, so that's just a rough estimate and can vary between people. You have your goal weight set at 140, so that means (at least according to the old rule of thumb) it'll take around 1400 kcal to maintain that. But again, that doesn't take into account how active you are - and there ARE variances among people - so I wouldn't consider that a hard and fast number. You sort of have to experiment to see what your maintenance level is. It's mostly trial and error.

I've heard this from more than a couple of dietitians (and in a graduate-level nutrition/dietetics course I audited last semester on obesity and weight loss, too) - if you have been obese and lose down to a normal (or not far above normal) level, you will have to eat fewer calories to maintain that weight than someone who's the same height, age, gender, activity level, etc who's never been obese. About 10-20% fewer, if I remember correctly. So that means if someone of your height, age, activity level, etc maintains on 2000 kcal, then that means you'd have to eat 1600-1800 to maintain the same weight. that said, your calorie level does depend on several factors - how active you are, how muscular you are, your metabolic rate, etc. We have women on here who can maintain on 2000, and others who can only eat 1200. I'm the same height as you (don't know how we compare otherwise, though), and it takes about 1600 kcal to maintain my weight. I can go a bit higher on heavy exercise days. Although that does give me incentive to exercise regularly, though....

liquids move through you really fast. Food doesn't. You'll especially feel restriction when. you get on solid food (maybe not purees - but you probably will once you move to solid).

I don't know which surgery you had, but it's more of an issue with bypass than it is with sleeve (although my surgeon forbids it for either surgery). Although the PA at my clinic once told me that I could take it on a VERY OCCASIONAL basis...like if I have a terrible headache that Tylenol is doing nothing for. But again, only very occasionally. After eight plus years, though, I still haven't taken any. I take Tylenol for headaches. It doesn't do as good of a job as ibuprofen, but it does help.

as for the hospital, don't take much because you'll be sleeping most of the time. Cell phone with charger for sure. Comfy, easy-to-put on clothes for the ride home (I just wore the same thing that I wore TO the hospital). Some people get dry mouth from the breathing tube that's in during the surgery (they remove it when they're done operating), and Biotene spray and lip balm help with that. I took toiletries but didn't need to, since the hospital gave me a bag of them (deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, toothbrush and toothpaste). Some people like a pillow for the ride home (to hold against your stomach). That's about it..

I was also going to say it could be a stricture, but then you said you were able to hold down 20 oz of fluid, so now I'm not sure. Those usually start with not being able to hold down food - and once the stricture progresses, you can't even keep fluids down. If that's what it is, it's a really easy fix. They just do an upper endoscopy and stretch it out. Quick and painless. I had two strictures - at four weeks out and again at eight weeks out. They almost always happen (if they're going to happen) within the first three months after surgery. If you get to the point you can't keep fluids down, you need to contact your clinic right away or get to the hospital. You can live for several days without food, but not fluids. Keep your clinic posted and do go to the hospital if you're unable to keep fluids down.

it's not at all uncommon for menstrual cycles to be affected by WLS. Lots of women report changes in their cycles - or have mood swings - the first few weeks after surgery. Estrogen is stored in fat cells, and this is supposedly due to estrogen being released during the rapid weight loss period. It'll eventually stabilize when your weight loss slows down.

I don't feel the same way I did pre-surgery. I get an uncomfortable, sort of pressure-like feeling in my chest. When I start feeling that, I know it's time to stop, or I'm going to be sorry. Some people get even weirder signals, like sneezing. I'm not saying you'll never get back to feeling "full" in the same way you used to, I'm just letting you know my experience. It's not the same for me, but after eight years, I'm used to this new "signal".

High B12 is rarely an issue with people who've had WLS. Mine is always above 1000, and they've never said anything. It went over 2000 once, and they just had me cut back a bit on my supplement. I know a lot of WLS patients who say they feel better when their B12 is around 1000-ish (which is high). They get fatigued when it's lower. congrats on your success - you have done great!!

I didn't go to them, but the only six-month diet requirements I've heard of are the insurance company's requirements, not the surgeon's. Of course, there may be some surgeons that require it, but the only ones I've heard about are because of the insurance company. A lot of surgeons (although not all) do require a special two-week diet before the surgery, though (usually just fluids and protein shakes - or some let you have one small meal as well)

I agree with Arabesque. Those all sound like pretty common things during the first couple of weeks after surgery. Leaks aren't common and are almost always found before you even leave the hospital. If you're concerned, definitely contact your clinic, but this all sounds pretty normal to me.

I would ask the surgeon, too. I had my plastic surgeries in my late 50s and early 60s so I was long past my reproductive years, but I was told not to gain more than 10-15 lbs after surgery because it could affect my results. So...I'm not sure what to tell you.

for most people it seems to start up in year 3. It did for me. I put on about 15 lbs pretty quickly. I think part of it is old habits sneaking. back in, and part of it is metabolic readjustment. It's not inevitable, but it seems to happen to most of us

just so you know, some people don't start losing it that early. My hair loss started up at five months out (like you, I was also careful to do everything "right"). Luckily, I lost very little hair, but I did lose some from months 5-9. Once you've past the six month mark and you still haven't lost any hair, then you probably aren't going to lose any.

was it a sleeve or a vertical gastroplasty? I don't know if they were even doing sleeves back then, although if so, they're probably done very differently today. Change I'm so sorry you're going through this and I hope they'll be able to find and correct the problem. I would think the leak itself wouldn't be that hard to close up. Hopefully the problems will improve once they do that...

it's been over eight years since surgery for me. I've colored my hair for at least 20 years. If I stopped after surgery (can't remember if I did), it wouldn't have been for long.

weight gain is really common if you let bad habits sneak back in. Happens to a lot of people. Most people don't gain everything back, but it's not uncommon to gain 30, 40, or 50 lbs. You can lose it again, but it's definitely more challenging than the first time around!

yes - I had both done at the same time. It's the same area of the body so I don't think it matters if you have them done at the same time. The breast lift itself doesn't really cause an issues - arm lift part of it is a bit challenging, though, since you use your arms for so many things.

do a search on this site for the "three-week stall". You will find over 17,000 posts on it (and no, I am NOT kidding). Happens to almost all of us. stick to your program, stay off the scale for a few days, and it will break. I promise.

some get better, some worse, some stay the same. I think a lot depends on how the relationship is BEFORE the surgery. If it's troubled, it could get worse - I know someone who got divorced about a year after surgery - but mostly because she realized she didn't have to put up with his crap anymore. She now has a new partner and is much happier. my relationship got better, for the same reasons as omrhsn's did. My husband was always active and liked to do lots of things that I physically couldn't do - but now, I can. We enjoy doing a lot of the same things together. Our relationship was fine even beforehand, but it's even better now.