Rev Me Up!

Wow!! That's tough. I sometimes think the hardest part of the VSG journey is the emotional part. First, the emotions with what your body is doing and grappling with your limitations, and then the emotion of dealing with everyone else. Good for you in having the strength to go on this journey and stick to it!! I think doing it completely alone is actually easier than doing it with someone who is not supportive. I also get very frustrated when I see weight loss stories on TV. How many people do you know who are trying to lose weight at any given time? Others may think I took the easy way out, but I know I did what I had to do to get to a normal weight and have half a chance of staying there. You have seen first hand what that extra weight can do to you. The only person I know who has lost a good amount of weight and kept it off is my partner and he honestly finds so much joy and satisfaction with athletic endeavors. He is a marathon and triathlon runner - that is what it took for him. I, personally, could not do it on my own. Congratulations on your enormous success. I am so very sorry that your relationship is not a source of support for you. Any of us who have ever been married can understand the pressure in dealing with a spouse.

I didn't look at the pics because I am at work, but I would also recommend that you wait at least 6 months after you reach your goal weight to see what the skin is going to do. I think another thing the moms on this board can attest to is that when you have a quick change in size, the skin takes quite a while to achieve its final shape. My stomach looks just as bad, if not worse than it did before VSG. Still hanging, but now it is getting all dimply because the fat is shirinking. As much as it bothers me, I am making a commitment to wait at least a year after I reach my goal to see what my body is going to do on its own. I really don't want to go into another surgery ever again if I can avoid it, it depends on how things come to rest after this wild and crazy journey. Worth noting, though, that I haven't done any exercise. I am starting pilates reformer exercise again and that should help with muscle tightening. Sorry to hear about your medical problems and I'm glad to hear you are working with your MD on it!

I was back in action in the first week. BUT I did not really do much. You will see that your energy is very low and you don't want to do anything that will engage your abs too much - I imagine this would affect the men more than the women :-) The bottom line is to do it when you feel like it and be VERY careful and take it easy. As far as sex drive goes, you will be really tired in the first few weeks. I had little flashes of sex drive and I would try to take advantage of them. Now that I am healed, I would say my drive is just as good as it was before, but my body feels better and I feel more confident. Sex drive was never really a problem for me

I had a very good friend that I had to cut out of my life shortly after I got maried (about 9 years ago). She was toxic and I had such a hard time after I got married, I just couldn't have someone in my life who was not really supportive. At this point, many years have gone by and I miss the friendship. HOwever, I always remember the things she did that were downright nasty to me. I don't need that in my life. I have a child now - I don't need any other complications or negative energy in my world. So, it sucks to lose a friend, but sometimes you are truly better off without them.

I am doing better than I thought I would. I think I may hit the goal in a month :-) SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal RevMeUp!.........175................163..............155............8 :-) The MOST amazing thing is that I lost 2 lb last week while I was travelling and I lost 2 lb this week and it is that time of the month, if you know what I mean? I have been switching up and trying to add some variety to my diet because I was eating the same things every day. it seems to have helped me continue to lose. I LOVE my sleeve.

So sorry to hear you are going through this!! I found that Prilosec was not really doing the trick for me and I switched to Zegerid OTC. Of course, it is a little more expensive because it is a new prodict, but supposedly has an additive that helps absorption. It works like a charm! ALso, my Dr told me I can up my dose to 2 pills a day (one in the AM one in the PM) if I needed to. I wouldn't do it forever, but it may help you. Not sure about how long the pills take becuase I have never missed a day. Honestly, Zegerid seemed to zap my acid when the Prilosec was falling short. YOu might be able to find a coupon for it online - its pricey. Hang in there!!!

I am interested in the replies as well. From my highest weight after pregnancy, then going through the lap-band, and now the sleeve I have lost about 75 pounds. But, that loss has happened over the last 6 years - except for my recent sleeve loss which has been 30 pounds. My stomach is a mess and my thighs are getting that sagging / hanging look. I am only 3 months out and I am hoping that all the skin will look a bit better after the 6 month to 1 year mark. I rememeber after I had my daughter that my skin was AWFUL for several months. This weight loss is happenening so fast now that my skin seems a bit confused :-) I would like to hear from people who have passed to 1 year mark, whether they lost 50 lb or 150 lb and see what happened with the skin. Honestly, I vowed I would never have another surgery after this one (I have had 4 abdominal surgeries in the last 6 years - I'm over it). I am working on some self-acceptance with the skin.

Dr A is the best!! Especially for band revisions. Everything you hear is true. You will be well taken care of and they will tailor your meds / procedure to your specific situation. I met someone from the board while I was down there and we still keep in touch - it's like a little badge of honor going through the surgery together. Be prepared, though. The recovery time is tough, I found it more difficult than my band recovery. However, the results and long term comfort are so much better. No more port pain, no more food sticking, no more rampant hunger, and you will have VERY consistent restriction from day one. Good luck!

I'm already on the other side, but congrats on your pending surgery. The sleeve is everything that the band wasn't (at least for me). Good luck!

Sounds like you made it through with flying colors! Dr A and his group are so fantastic, glad to hear you also had a good experience there. I remember my pain wasn't too bad (but they kept me REALLY drugged up) except for that stupid drain. And the breathing exercises!!!! Every day gets better after this :-)

I found that my stomach didn't like a lot of variation in mushies so I ended up sticking to a few core staples: bits of rotisserie chicken (thigh) mixed with riccotta cheese, salt and then heated (I ate this 2x a day) deli turkey with cream cheese, rolled up cottage cheese mashed yams with salt thin oatmeal (helps with Fiber - I never had to take a supplement) Buy tupperware containers that are 1/2 cup in size and then you can fill them halfway and put them in the fridge. Helps with portions and easy to serve. It was boring, but it got me through. I couldn't eat a scrambled egg for several weeks - even then, I would scrmble it over low heat with a good amount of butter so it was really tender. Beef was not a good option for me which was weird because beef was the only meat I could eat when I had a lap band. Ham slices made me nauseous. I once made an egg-face pizza with alfredo sauce on it and it was good. I only ate 1/4 of it :-) Experiment!! What doesn't feel good one day may feel good a week later. Also, your taste buds change and what you think will taste really good may be completely awful now. That was a surprise to me - I had a long lis to f thing I "thought" I would eat and I ended up eating completely different stuff.

My doc said no yoga / pilates / ab work for about 8 weeks. You can work on the rest of your muscles, though. I admit, I have done almost no exercise and I am really seeing the affects in my muscles. My new pilates reformer is on its way to my house as we speak

I will be 3 months next week. This week I was down 30 pounds, 50% of my goal. I am VERY HAPPY with my progress. I was a low BMI lap band revision - your mileage may vary.

Celebrating your success!!! You are doing so well - isn't it amazing how far you have come in such a short amount of time? Congrats to you--

The dreaded 3-5 week stall strikes again! Do a search on the board for "stall" and you will see that almost 100% of us had a stall from week 3 to week 6. It is normal - you are not doing anything wrong. The only thing you can really do to break it is wait. Your body is adjusting to the radical changes and this happens on your body's time. Step away from the scale for a week and you will feel better :-)

Great for you! Yep, tastes totally change and the way they make you feel really changes.

Hi Eddie-- Don't worry, I never got close to my fluids or Protein requirement and I still don't. Some if us have a harder time with the Protein drinks. They make me completely ill - so much that now I can't even smell them. I was also dead-tired EXHAUSTED for about 6 weeks. It was depressing because I was in good health before I had the surgery. Your body is going through a major transition and the fatigue is part of it. You should keep focusing on liquids to stay hydrated. Do your best with protein - you should be coming up on your mushy food time. That will really help because you can eat cottage cheese, yogurt, soft cooked meat, etc. That will do wonders for your energy. I was able to eat popsicles early out and also drinkable yogurt (keifer or any type of yogurt smotthie from the store). The calories were a big help to me. I also did have regulr gatorade a few times when I knew I was really low on fluids and calories - anything to help keep me moving. Watch for signs of dehydration and do your best. Something that is hard to eat/drink one week will be easier the next week, you just have to keep trying. Take care---

Today I was not able to go home for lunch so I stopped into the deli in my office building. I know there is almost nothing for me to eat there. Correction: there are things I can eat, but they don't offer half portions of anything so it's a major waste of food / money to eat there. Anyway, I buy the cheapest thing on the menu - chicken Teriyaki with Rice. I know I will be able to eat the chicken and I can throw the rest out. So, they give me the container - its a massive square foam container. I pop it open and LITERALLY there is enough to feed a normal family of 3. I chuckled to myself and walked back to my desk. Opened the container again. I still can't believe how much they stuffed into this thing. I ate about 5 bites of chicken, one bite of squash, and a small mushroom. It didn't look like it had been touched - not a dent!!! I don't know what's funnier - the huge portion or the fact that I still only eat 5 bites of anything!!! Loving my sleeve :-)

Thanks for all the responses! I love reading everyone else's stories. It really makes you realize how much we used to eat before. Best of luck to all!!

Tylenol was recommended - but you should find a chewable or liquid so you don't stress out your new stomach. You can take childrens chewables and take as many as you need to equal an adult does. My doc said NO ADVIL / IBUPROFEN / MOTRIN for at least 3 months. I was told that clear liquids are Proteins that you could mix with Water and are not too thick. The full liquids are those that mix with milk. Stick with broth for a few days and be sure to stay hydrated. The proteins aren't as important in the first week, especially if you have a hard time drinking them.

I think it depends on how long you are in the hospital. I was in for 2 days after the surgery and removing the tube was the last thing that happened before I left. I think I have read a couple of posts where people had the drain for up to a week after.

The grocery bill is a huge change for us, but the restaurant bill has become almost non-existent. I buy food for my partner and our daughter, I only buy servings for2 because I literally only eat 5 bites - no matter what. They are eating healthier too because I only buy Protein and veggies. We average $50 a week for a family of 3 - that incudes all my lunch / Snacks that I carry around all day. Amazing...

As if the several thousand I spent on 2 weight loss surgeries isn't enough, I just shelled out almost a thousand dollars on a really nice pilates reformer for my home. I love doing the reformer exercise, but I have problems getting to the studio because of work and other commitments. Also, the price per class is completely ridiculous. So, I am a little nervous about the money, but QVC has it on 4 payments (yay!), and I REALLY need to do something about my saggy butt (which has completely disappeared) and my bad posture. Sitting at a desk for all these years has made me into a sad case. Here's hoping I make the most of it!!

Isn't it funny how sensitive you become to the prices now? Luckily I always go out with my partner and/or my daughter so I can always split something. It's eating out alone that causes the most anxiety. It's harder to hide the miniscule bites of food and harder to justify buying any food for yourself. I am always trying to get my friends to go to Chinese or Asian restaurants where the dishes are more family style. That way I can pick a little bit and I don't have a conspicuous plate all to myself. Honestly, I just don't eat out that nmch anymore - I'd rather nibble on something at home or something I bring in my purse. Yeah, drinks are a rip off. So excited for your success, Sleeve Sister!!

The pre-surgery nerves are completely normal. This is a big deal and there is some anxiety you will feel. I think I stressed out about the rules for the first 2 weeks. Mostly because it was so restrictive and I was so bored and feeling kind of bad. I re-read my packet over and over again just so I could try and focus on getting better. Get a calendar and mark the days you can move from one food group to another before you go for surgery. It will take some of the guesswork out when you get home. Also, stock your pantry with the essentials (Protein drinks, various broths, etc). As far as the future, yes you will be able to eat pretty much whatever you want, but in small qualtities. Also, your taste buds will change and some of your favorites may not be appetizing to you at all. For me, sweets are pretty much out of the question. Looks good on the plate, but is too sickly sweet and can cause stomach ache. But at this point, I don't miss it. It's an emotional journey - you can do it!