silverthreads

Funny -- I was just struggling with this yesterday. I'm a guy so perhaps some of the clothes are a little more forgiving but I have twice given away my fat clothes when I dieted down and was convinced I wouldn't gain it back. So this time -- I find myself reluctant to give away my bigger clothes. I like to think this is more permanent and I'm determined it will be, but I still find myself struggling with this. Mind you -- I don't have a lot of closet space either so I have to box up things if I want to keep them. I'm currently unboxing things trying to find clothes that fit! I made this deal with myself: I'm keeping the next size up, and donating all the bigger things to charity. I'm only 2 months post VSG so I'm just getting to where I have things two sizes too big -- but that's really satisfying!

Are you taking your Vitamins in the morning? I find that some vitamins make me very queasy, especially if I take them without a full meal (or at least as full as we eat now!). This would last for several hours then wear off -- your description definitely reminded me of this except I didn't feel bad upon waking. It had been my habit to take my vitamins right away though so I would start feeling poorly within half an hour of waking. I noticed this pattern years ago and started taking my vitamins just before I eat dinner (I've never been a big Breakfast eater) and no longer have a problem. After my VSG I was using chewable Centrum vitamins and found I had the same problem -- perhaps I was absorbing them too rapidly after chewing. So I'm back to swallowing pills before dinner.

I think you look beautiful both before and after -- but what a transformation! I too hate pictures and was very good at looking in the mirror but not really seeing how I looked. You've made a tremendous change. Looks are only skin deep but I'm sure you feel much better too -- health wise. Of course you feel the same because you are the same person. You set a very difficult goal for yourself and you've achieved it. Be proud and happy!

The 3 week stall is definitely real as all here have stated but I'll add one more bit of testimony. I was sleeved April 28 so I'm just about a month further along than the OP. I stalled at week 4 after losing close to 30 pounds. I expected it and wasn't too worried -- but my stall pretty much lasted a month and it really was frustrating. I wouldn't lose anything, then finally lose a pound or two then stall another week -- like my body was just teasing me! Finally, I've been losing consistently for about a week now so I think I'm past this particular stall but I know there will be more. On the other hand I've passed the 40 pound mark and am two sizes down in pants and suits and getting spontaneous "you've really lost weight" comments from people I haven't seen in a while so I'm definitely thrilled with the results. Patience grasshopper. Nothing is wrong, your time will come!

Let me start this out by saying I have no intention to offend... My 79 y/o mother has struggled with her weight all her life. She is trying diet and exercise once again because her doctor told her recently that she's prediabetic. She's actually in pretty good health other than her weight -- high blood pressure, etc. but weight loss would help with that. Anyway, she's very curious about my surgery and I'm visiting her soon. I fully expect she's going to ask me if this surgery is a possibility for her. I hark back to when I told her that I had the surgery -- she knows how I struggled with my weight and I talked to her about the statistics for how few people can keep the weight off with diet and exercise and that I had lost a lot of weight several times but always gained it right back. As soon as I said it I realized I had just described her situation too. I felt bad that maybe I had just crushed her hope of beating this some day. So I'm putting this out to the world -- is 79 too late to get into this game? I know only her doctor knows for sure, but I'd like to hear about similar experiences please.

Thank you all for the replies. Mom is in good health--no heart disease, lung disease so far as we know. Women in her family seem to live into their 90s on many occasions and I don't see any indication to the contrary in her case. I do know that surgical risks increase with age of course--just want to be prepared for the questions I expect to be asked!

You've got this Tom! See you on the other side...

Oh yikes! I was really hoping the cravings were gone for good. I will say that I spent a year on a low carb diet before and did fine so long as I didn't take that first taste of sugar. Maybe I'll just have to stay on the wagon...

Perhaps I should mention that I do have TSA Precheck since I fly on average 2-4 times/month. It's totally worth it. So I've only gone through the metal detectors recently -- not any of the big scanners.

@@allsmilez I'd have to say I was very much a sugar addict. Gave it up several times and fell off the wagon -- it was clear to me that one little bit and I'd crave it for at least a day if not two. Had my VSG 2 months ago -- and I have zero cravings. It's great. Yes, I've fallen off the wagon while on a trip recently (Doubletree is evil for putting a warm chocolate chip cookie in my hand!). I ate it, and haven't craved sugar since. You just might be fine with this...

Hmm... I flew twice last week and didn't have any issues.

@valerie1982 I had the same experience (I'm 2 months out today). I wasn't as big as you and still lost 20 pounds in the first two weeks. It has taken me six more weeks to lose the next 20. Your experience is perfectly normal so no worries!

@@Marc F your post really resonates with me. I'm a guy just about your age and was just about your weight (Just turned 58, was 250# at 5'8"). food was very much my best friend and my worst enemy. I consider myself a "foodie" and was totally addicted to sugar. I've struggled with my weight for decades and lost the same 50 pounds several times only to gain it back more quickly every single time. I've had severe sleep apnea and been on CPAP for about 13 years but was basically fairly healthy although my usually good BP became totally out of control about a year ago and I was still trying to get it under control with medication. (Oh, and I was having knee pain too.) My doctor told me I was bordering on diabetic and I just felt as if I was going over a metabolic cliff. I had a VSG on April 28, 2016 -- so I'm two months post-op. First, my personal experience was the the surgery was pretty much a breeze. Your results may vary of course. I felt like someone used my stomach as a punching bag for a few days but I was off all pain meds in a few days and within a week I was feeling remarkably good. Here's the kicker -- as of today I've lost 40 pounds. Now, that's just a number. Let me tell you how my daily life has changed: (1) I no longer have the food cravings I had before -- my relationship with food has totally changed and I don't find that I miss my former "frenemy" at all. I'm trying to be pretty good but even at this point I seem to be able to eat whatever I want, and I'm perfectly satisfied after just a small serving. At this point I can eat about 3 oz. of food at a sitting without being uncomfortable. While I'm eating low-carb to enhance my weight loss I can still eat well. Last night I had my favorite Boeuf Bourgignon from a local restaurant (I skipped the mashed potatoes). Three little ounces of heaven and I was more satisfied than I would have been with a huge serving before. I also get take-out from a local Japanese place (wonderful grilled fish). I do cheat on occasion -- I was on a business trip last week in Arizona where it was 115 and I splurged with some really good ice cream -- half a scoop was all I wanted. (Sometimes I get Halo Top ice cream too -- it's high Protein and the half serving I eat is about 35 calories so why not?) I haven't had the slightest desire to stop in the donut shop I pass on the way to work every day -- that used to be my worst addiction and I'm just not interested anymore. I thought I'd really miss all my favorite foods and I just don't. In time I'll be able to eat more but I'm perfectly fine now. (2) My BP is textbook now -- I made the mistake of staying on my meds until it dropped pretty low at two weeks post-op (probably the worst complication I had!). (3) I just feel better in almost every way. I can easily bend down to pick something up (which was becoming difficult) and I don't avoid the stairs anymore. (4) I do have some work to do today -- I have to get out some of the smaller clothes I had packed up because I couldn't fit into them. I had reached the point that I could barely fit into a size 18 dress shirt. Now -- eight weeks after surgery I find that the size 16.5 in my closet is just right. Similar with the suits. One of my "tipping points" was finding I didn't have a suit I could get into -- and there wasn't one in the store that would fit me either (I didn't go to the "big & tall" store but that would have been my only hope). Now my larger suits are a little big on me -- and I'm just about into the next size down. (5) I do a lot of public speaking for my job. I was getting really embarrassed to be in front of a group because I was so heavy. It was really messing with my self confidence. I spoke to a group this week where I had been a year ago -- and darned if someone didn't come up to me and say "you've really lost weight -- you're looking great!". (I've got a long way to go but I was really surprised by that spontaneous compliment.) So in short -- I don't have a single regret. Not one. It's been fairly easy for me, although I did have a pretty long stall after the first month but I seem to be past that now. It's just part of the process. I hope you'll have the same experience, and that by sharing the above you'll feel better about this decision. Feel free to send me a private message if you've got more specific questions you'd rather not ask on a public forum. I will say I got a lot of information from reading these posts and it helped me a lot.

@boogie_badd8nt_she I can explain your original question. Medicaid is a program run by your state, jointly funded by the state and federal government. In your case, the state medicaid agency has contracted with Molina to handle your care -- so Molina's standards rule the day. Molina's standards can't be more difficult than the state's, but they can be more generous. Companies like Molina make their money mostly by managing the care more carefully than the state ever could. So they have utilization management staff (usually nurses) that work with patients that have chronic conditions, etc. That doesn't mean they're rationing care -- sometimes they actually encourage people to get tests or go to the doctor more. It does mean that they won't let you get an MRI just because you have a funny headache today and think you need one -- it's just not appropriate unless you have a history of headaches and have been worked up for that.

I've got a fancy Withings internet connected scale. It keeps track of several statistics and graphs them all for me. I like it enough that I actually just ordered an upgraded version for $129(I had the healthmate). The new one is supposed to give me muscle mass, Water mass, etc. I realize these are all calculated things and subject to error (as is the fat mass measurement now that seems to vary an awful lot) but the overall trend still is helpful. Funny thing though -- while my measurements seem to be accurate (who really knows) sometimes I get on the scale and it gives me truly crazy readings (like I way 24.7 pounds) -- OK maybe when I as 5 months old! I pick it up and move it and then I get a true reading. Go figure.

I went into the OR wearing only a paper gown. When I woke up I was wearing a cloth gown. Hmm...how did that happen?

My surgeon gave me several pictures including my brand new tiny stomach. Sorta cool actually, so long as you're OK seeing internal organs, blood vessels and fat deposits. Wasn't gory at all. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

You do this the same way you do anything new. One step at a time. You'll have a whole team supporting you in the hospital. Go with it and you'll be fine. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@paulinayoyo I was sleeved April 28 so I'm just about as "new" as you -- but I'm not having the same problems you describe. I'd definitely talk to your surgeon for advice. Separately, if you start a new thread on this board you'll probably get some good advice (although you'll also get told to seek medical advice from your doctor not from the board!). The community here has lots of experience and wisdom. You're not alone in this at all. Start a thread and see what people say. You might want to describe what you eat -- at least in terms of Protein intake and fluids -- calories if you're tracking them. Those are the first questions you'll get.

@@Dchase521 I feel your pain... I'm in a somewhat similar situation, and the advice I received on this board was to increase my calories and while it's early I think it's helping. I'll tell you my situation, but the first thing I'd recommend is if you aren't already start using My Fitness Pal or a similar app to track your food and exercise. I had my VSG on 4/28 so I too am just under two months. I was really doing great and lost about 30 pounds post surgery in the first month or so. Then I hit the typical stall, and I'm not sure I'm out of it yet. About that time I started going to the gym and working up to about 45 minutes of cardio and some modest weight routines. That's also when I started tracking my food and exercise -- what I found was I was typically eating about 800 calories, but burning off 400-500 in the gym. I'm getting 80-100 grams of Protein daily. The "starvation mode" argument made sense to me (although I feel great) so I've been trying to push up my calories (not easy with our small capacity without resorting to junk). I'm now eating closer to 1000-1100 calories and I've been losing a pound or two per week since then -- but it's choppy. I'll lose a pound then stall for 4-5 days just see-sawing half a pound or so every day. I just went on a very intense 2-day business trip where I mostly ate according to plan, but didn't exercise at all. I'll admit I had some definitely off-plan foods too (I was staying at a DoubleTree and yes, I ate the warm cookie!). I also had half a scoop of ice cream (worth every calorie on that 112 degree day) and resorted to a fried chicken finger at one point where I didn't have any decent options. Lo and behold I lost 2.5 pounds during that trip so maybe the change in routine helped. My point is -- you really can go into starvation mode at this point which is bad for your basal metabolism in the long run. I know we newbies can't eat enough to match standard guidelines for a while but do what you can. I'm also trying to get back to real foods, since in my first effort to push up my calories I started eating Quest bars and other processed foods which I think isn't a good idea when other options are available. In the long haul -- you'll get past this!

Mine was an overnight stay -- first thing the following morning I had to do a barium swallow so they could see everything was flowing OK, then I was allowed liquids for the first time. Since I was walking fine, eating (well, drinking) fine, I was allowed to go home that evening. In the meantime I was on IV support and had a PCA for pain. Seemed like a good system -- but since I've never had surgery before I have nothing to compare it with!

Hello guys, I've got a puzzle that perhaps you can help me understand. I'm about 6 weeks post VSG surgery and on the whole I'm very pleased. I'm down about 34 pounds from surgery day. I hit the expected week 3 stall at about 4 weeks, and I'm not sure I'm through it. I say I'm not sure because I have lost about 3 pounds over two weeks but nothing consistent and I go up or down a little each day. I'm not panicking or anything -- I've always seen stalls on my diets before but usually no more than a week. I noticed something today that's puzzling me... I've got one of those fancy Withings scales that connects to the internet and charts my weight, total fat mass, etc. I've never been convinced of the accuracy of the fat mass measurement (especially since it can jump around a couple of pounds from day to day) but the downward trend is very clear. Here's my puzzle: According to the scale, from the time I started weighing about 5 days after surgery to today I've lost 21.3 pounds. However, my fat mass has gone down 32.6 pounds. I'm having trouble believing that. Now the other variable is that I really started hitting the gym about 3 weeks ago. I'm not a gym rat and was really out of shape, but I've been doing 25 min. on the elliptical (at a consistently increasing level) plus some bicep curls and chest presses (no abdominal work since I wasn't cleared for that until yesterday) then finishing with 15 or 30 minutes on an incline treadmill (walking fast, not running). According to the machines I'm expending about 400 calories from the cardio. (And I'm doing 4-5 days/week). I'm also eating about 750 calories/day so I'm in a serious calorie deficit and should be losing weight. Is it in any way possible that I've actually gained roughly 10 pounds of muscle from this already? It would fit the data but I'm having a lot of trouble believing it. It would also explain this long "stall" if I'm gaining muscle at roughly the same rate I'm losing fat. I'm the sort of guy who has gotten religion about the gym several times over the years but always given up after a while because I didn't seem to be gaining any muscle mass -- so I'm perplexed. What say you? It would be good news if I can believe it, but I'm skeptical!

Please talk to an eye doctor. It could be as simple as changes in your blood sugar but I am not a clinician. You should talk to someone who is! BTW if you Google it you'll find articles on blurred vision with high blood sugar, and also with low blood sugar. Both can have a temporary effect on the lens in the eye. Nothing scary--just temporary. Always best to check with a professional when it comes to your eyesight! Don't let it scare you but get it checked out so you won't worry...

I have a great optometrist who told me a few years ago when I had lost 50 lbs dieting that rapid weight loss can cause temporary changes in vision. Sure enough, the glasses I got that day needed to be changed 3 months later--things had returned to pretty much what they had been before the weight loss. I think it's safe to expect we'll have some changes, at least temporary ones. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

@bellevue I know exactly how you feel. I had all the same food addictions and I live in San Francisco where incredible food is everywhere. I had my VSG just about two months ago. The amazing thing is how my relationship with food has changed. I don't crave it, I'm rarely truly hungry and I can sit next to someone eating one of my formerly favorite meals and it hardly fazes me. It's great! I'm at the point where I'm trying to add more interesting foods. I seem to be able to eat anything. Of course about 3 oz. and I'm done--can't eat another bite and I'm completely satisfied. Of course I'm being good and eating mostly Protein and only minimal carbs but I can see that when I reach maintenance I can have a more normal diet. I have zero regrets! You can definitely do this if this "foodie" can. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App