TexasMommy80

My doctor allows NSAIDS after the sleeve but not after gastric bypass. I have osteoarthritis pretty badly, and I rely on Advil for pain control. My surgeon has no issues with it, at all.

I would bet money that is your gallbladder. Ask for an abdominal ultrasound. That is almost identical to the symptoms I had.

Hey everyone! I am 39 years old and I have been single for about two months after a six year long relationship. I have the VSG about a year and a half ago, losing about 65 pounds, dropping from 241 to 176. I would love to lose more but as hard as I have been trying, I think my body is just happy at this point. Anyhow, like I said earlier, I was in a relationship for the past six years. We have a beautiful daughter, so she has been my focus and will continue to be so. It is hard to think about dating though. I am slightly self conscious about the extra skin I have, even though it is only on my arms. I have a good amount of money saved to have it removed, but my ex doesn’t believe in paying child support (even though he makes six figures), so that money will now be spent on an attorney. It really sucks, but it is what it is. Anyhow, the thought of dating is so scary. I don’t even know where to start, lol! How do y’all meet new people?

I would bet you need your gallbladder taken out. That is exactly how mine felt.

Hey everyone! I am 39, mom, and recently single. I had the VSG over a year and a half ago, and don’t regret a thing!

Good to hear you are doing well!

Thanks y’all! I might try EHarmony or Match soon. 😀😀

I am 16 months post-op and going in for my first consultation on July 2nd. If I move forward with an arm lift, it will probably be the week before Thanksgiving as I am a teacher, and I have the week of Thanksgiving off.

I am obviously not a professional, but at 2.5 years out, that seems like too few calories. Are you sure you are eating enough? Eating too little can be even more harmful than eating too much, so keep that in mind. Eating only 2 meals a day and 1 shake seems like torture that far out from surgery. I wonder if you have any issues with fatigue? On another note though, congrats on losing 174 pounds. That is amazing!!

I currently weight 172 and my personal goal is 168 (the lowest I have ever been in my adult life is 169). I work out 5 times a week for an hour to an hour and a half, and burn on average about 400 calories per workout. I currently eat 1500-1700 calories per day, and since getting back to my workout routine, I have lost 2 pounds a week for the last two weeks. I just started working out as I should again about 2 weeks ago. For the past 3 months or so before this, I was doing just cardio one or two times a week. I was not tracking on MFP, but I was mentally keeping track and I think I was averaging roughly 1700-1800 calories per day. I did not gain any weight but I did not lose either, so I think this will be where I need to land for maintenance. I think I am going to try and push myself to 165 and then move back into maintenance, so probably within 2 months or so. What I did learn in those three months is that the scale will jump up an down regularly while in maintenance. It really depended on what I ate in any given day, as well as where I was in my cycle. When I ate 1800 calories of junk, I saw almost an immediate jump due to bloating, etc. When I ate 1800 in protein, veggies, etc, my weight dropped back down just as easily. Maintenance mode is tricky because you have to really pay attention to how you feel and how your clothes fit, and not the number on the scale. If the number is your only concern, you will drive yourself crazy. Seriously, it can become a problem.

I became lactose intolerant after my VSG, so they only protein my stomach could handle was Muscle Milk. Over a year later and I still have 1 shake a day.

I would love an update on this! Six months later, I bet you are looking amazing and living your life. This may have been blessing in disguise!!

I think your calories are way too low for the way you are working out. I am over a year out, exercise 5 days a week, and I am eating 1500-1700 calories a day. Since getting back to my regular exercise schedule with burning an average of 400 calories per workout, I am back to losing 2 pounds a week. I am 3 pounds from my personal goal, but I think I may try and lose about 10 more to give myself a few bounce back pounds in the future, so I may have to actually increase my calories eventually.

I am so sorry to hear that you lost your dad too. Cancer really sucks!! Congrats on the weight loss too, 162 is AMAZING!

Hi everyone! I used to post on here pretty regularly, but I have not updated any of my information in a really long time. As of today, I am just about 14 months post VSG. I currently weight 173 pounds after starting at 241 pounds, My personal goal is to weight under 169, so that is my immediate goal right now. I have been stalled at around 176 for the past few months, but that stall was my own fault. I wasn't tracking my food and I was eating a lot of junk. When I start grazing, it is pretty amazing how quickly my calories can add up! The past few weeks I have really tried to pay attention to whether I was eating because I was hungry, or because I was bored, stressed, etc. Now since I am back to tracking, I have dropped 3 pounds, and I also feel so much better. One of the things that I have really noticed is how I tend to eat more according to my emotions, and I have really made an effort to work on that. I have been trying to replace food with exercise, and I think that has helped tremendously. I played soccer in HS and college, so exercise has been a HUGE part of my life. I am not sure why I let that slip the past few months, but I did. So adding the stresses of my personal life and the grazing in the kitchen, it is easy to understand why my weight stayed at 176 for so long. And speaking of my personal life, y'all...it has been a sh*t show! LoL sorry for the language, but that is the best way to describe it. At the very end of October, my dad went to the doctor for a physical because he had been feeling tired. Two weeks later, he was gone. He had stage 4 liver cancer that had spread all over his body. Soon after he died, we found out that he had abnormal blood results for at least 2 years, and his primary care doctor never ordered additional testing. It was a hard pill to swallow. I have also had issues in my 6-year relationship, and I am at a point where I don't know how much more I can take. I have stayed for our daughter, but I feel so unappreciated. Perhaps that makes me selfish, but I feel like I am just "convenient" for my significant other, and that is the extent of our relationship. We basically live like roommates, we don't sleep in the same bed, nothing physical goes on between us, he hardly speaks to me...we have become roommates and we have been like this for more than a year. But I cook, clean, and take care of the kids...so I feel like he has no issues with the way we live. It just makes me sad, I am really struggling with it right now. Anyhow, I hope everyone is doing well! I am so glad that I had the VSG. I am surprised at how much I am able to eat, yet I love that I am satisfied so with much less food. It was the best decision I could make!

So I just scheduled my first consultation for an arm lift, woo hoo! I have no idea what they cost and I am not traveling out of the country for it, so I will probably have to save for a good while, but at least I will know whether I am a good candidate and the price. My arms are the only part of me that needs some "professional" help, in my opinion. I have a bit of an issue with my upper thighs, but it is something that only I notice and not noticeable to others, even in shorts. I would love a bigger chest, but I am not willing to pay for it, haha. Luckily, my chest has only gotten smaller, but I don't have any issues with extra skin in that area. Considering I am between an A and B cup (yes, you read that right, a 39-year old that could wear a training bra, LoL) I don't think I have to worry about extra skin even if I lose another 10 pounds.

Stress eating is real! I have been going through some relationship issues myself, and I really turned to food. I love chips, and wow...can I eat a lot of them! For me, the key was just being honest with myself. I had to stop and ask myself if I was really hungry, or if I was eating just to eat. It is much harder than I imagined. I have also learned that I need a real lunch, or I will graze all day long. Eating something more substantial for lunch definitely helps me get through the day without snacking. I have gone back to a pretty strict schedule in terms of eating. Breakfast - Protein Shake - Lunch - Afternoon Snack - Dinner. Without a meal built in over lunch, it is more like breakfast - protein shake - graze all day - dinner. Another thing that has helped me, probably more than anything, is getting back to the gym. I am getting 1 hour of cardio in 5 days a week, and 1 hour of weight lifting in 2 days a week. The exercise has helped so much because it has replaced my stress eating, and it has just made me feel more normal again. I feel like I have really started to lose myself if my current personal situation, and this is making me feel like my old self. I think there are major changes coming for me soon, so I really want to focus on staying healthy and positive. Anyhow, good luck with everything! You look great by the way. 😀

Y'all are awesome, thank you for all of the condolences and compliments!

Here are a few recent photos too....

I had the same thing happen, but I don't think mine is due to a lack of food. I don't have a gallbladder either, and I didn't have this issue prior to surgery. After my VSG though, it was daily! Honestly, it was horrible and finally asked my doctor for advice. She prescribed me a powder (as mentioned above), and it was a lifesaver. I immediately felt normal again. I drink one packet of powder, every other day, and I have no issues. Some people drink one every day, but I find that I don't need it that often.

I had gastric sleeve about 8 months ago and I am down around 60 pounds. I am 8 pounds away from my personal goal and 17 from my doctor's goal. Even before my sleeve, I had flappy arms. This was mostly due to weight fluctuations on various diets throughout the year. Obviously, having the sleeve has not helped. This is the only area of my body that I have this issue, and although I was originally against any kind of surgery, I am really thinking about saving the money and getting it done. For those of you that had this done in the United States, what did you pay? I know insurance probably will not cover it, so I will have to pay out of pocket. As a teacher, it will probably take a good while to save up, but it will be worth it. Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I have had issues with this myself. I had pretty low blood pressure even before surgery, but it is really low now. Adding a bit of salt has helped, but I just have to be aware of when I stand up. Sometimes if I feel the dizziness come on, I will bend over for a second and that seems to resolve it. I have had it so badly a few times that all I saw was black and my legs began to give out. That hasn’t happened in a while, but it was still scary.

I remember being in 5th grade and it was time to get weighed. The nurse was weighing all kids in the cafeteria, and we were all lined up. She new I would be embarrassed to weigh in front of people so she took me to the nurses office. I distinctly remember weighing 189 pounds already in the 5th grade. For the rest of my life, my weight has fluctuated between 180-240. I even played high school and college soccer. I love to workout and I was super fit, yet I was still "obese' according to my BMI. Because of how much I worked out, I was always much smaller than I looked. Anyhow, so to answer your question, I have always been obese, or at least since I can remember. Funny enough though, when I was playing soccer in college, I was 20 pounds heavier than I am now yet 2 sizes smaller. It is amazing how weightlifting and exercise can shape your body! Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

You look awesome!! Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

You have no motivation because you are two weeks out and surviving on hardly any food. Your energy levels are drained, and will be for about 2 months. Give yourself time to heal! Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app