Losebig

I also had a minor one. Its super common for obese people. They fixed mine and the pain from that (think it was very swollen) was the worst part of it. They say it can lengthen recovery a bit, but its still not too bad. The procedure itself is simple because they are right there, so no real change in the surgery other than you may have some gas in the chest area. The good news is it cured my heart burn!

Hang in there, everything happens for a reason. Keep marching through your pre-op stuff so you are ready. Once the dental stuff is cleared you can ask to be notified if there is a cancellation for a surgery date and maybe you’ll get lucky. Definitely sucks and must be super frustrating.

No regrets other than having to have it in the first place

This is an old thread, but something to remember is that most of the time you think about the sleeve in terms of what remains VS what was removed. Everyone's stomach is different, so the portion removed will vary based on that. The typical way the surgery is done is a tube like object is inserted into the stomach via the mouth and the surgeon uses that as a guide to create a new stomach of a certain size, removing the rest. To see what your surgeon has in mind you might ask him what Bougie size he uses and if he would use one. That will give a better comparison VS other procedures. Personally if he doesn't use one I'd be concerned as that's a best practice and you're depending on him to 'eyeball' it, which is risky.

Talk to your surgeon, but usually they want the incisions fully healed so 4 - 6 weeks is common. With that said I didn't even think about it and I went swimming 3 weeks out and was fine. Depending on where you swim you may want to wait longer to be sure healing is complete - the incisions need to be closed or you could get a nasty infection in natural bodies of water. Keep in mind your lifting restriction too, even though you could swim a month out you may need to be careful of the exertion to not risk a hernia (my lifting restriction was 6 weeks)

I had lost close to 100 lbs over 15 years ago and noticed it then as well as now - People treat me VERY differently. It doesn't have much to do with confidence (I was very confident before surgery too). I just notice that people look at me and make eye contact (it feels weird at first). People hold doors and make conversation now, which hadn't happened when I was heavy at all. In fact most times I go out now I've found out that nice ladies make conversation (never men for some reason)... I'm not used to it at all and have to improve my small talk! It's a terrible thing about our society, but there is definitely a difference in how heavy people are treated. I'm married, but if I were single meeting someone would have gotten WAY easier in my opinion. For my marriage it hasn't changed a huge amount, though my wife likes the new thinner me. I'm about at the weight I was when we met over 10 years ago now, so that's nice. She's also gone through some weight loss so we're both very focused on it, which is good.

There’s a really large number so you likely have to get a list. Here are some of them or the categories: full metabolic panel, nutrition (all the vitamins there are a lot), liver enzymes, sugar, and some specific ones they do a few days before surgery. I’m sure every doctor is slightly different, but for mine there were more than a dozen vials of blood they took at one visit! note my surgery was in the us so protocols may vary with hospital and country

Please do get tested for them. Some deficiencies can cause very serious problems (B12 is needed for nervous system funciton for example). Things like calcium are important because you will leach it out of your teeth and bones if you don’t get enough leaving you at higher risk for breaks and cavities. If you’re eating a varied diet hopefully you’re fine, but definitely be honest with your team and get a test done. They can correct some deficiencies quickly with injections etc. I have been taking my vitamins and get tested monthly or so for deficiencies. I was low on B12, D and Vitimin A in my last test. B12 is also key for turning food into energy so will be important if you feel tired, I was feeling tired until we upped the supplements and now I have much more energy. As far as I know they don’t effect weight loss, though its likely some play a role in metabolizing fat, so could.

You have to remember its an average too, that means that most people will be above or below that number, so being a little above or below doesn’t really mean anything other than you’re on track. Very few people will be exactly “average”

It varies by person for sure. After being thin for a while you should adjust, though you won’t have as much ‘padding’ so will get cold easier. For me I was freezing all the time and now that I’m exercising most days I’m not as cold. I still do get cold sometimes, but it isn’t like before when I was recovering and not moving much. I’m not hot all day after exercise like I used to be when heavier, but I’m definitely more comfortable on days I exercise. In fact when feeling cold I often try to do something active and that helps more than turning the heat up.

I've been keeping 2 lists. One list when I was heavy were activities I COULDN'T do because I was too heavy and had to opt out of. The other one is things I want to do when I'm thin again. I was always active, so all my things are physical outdoor type things. Apologies for the wall of text, I like to keep lists Things I couldn't do because I was too heavy: Indoor sky diving place (250 lbs weight limit - I CAN do this now) Horseback riding with my wife (250 lbs weight limit - I CAN do this now) A kayak tour in Puerto Rico of a bio luminescent bay (250 lbs weight limit - I CAN do this now) Unable to hike a bunch of mountains in Maine I used to hike every summer (I will hike them this summer) Over office chair weight limits (under the normal limit of 250 now!) Ride a camel at the zoo (250 weight limit - I did this a couple weeks ago) Zipline (was above weight limit) Things I plan to do as I get thin: Bike 100+ miles in 1 day (had done this in 2006, training to do it this summer now) Run a 5k or similar race (planning to do this with my wife this summer) Participate in a local tri-athalon No more snoring (this already happened - wife doesn't need ear plugs) Hike mountains regularly (planning hikes for the summer) Get rid of persistent fungal issues (they're GONE!) Reduce chronic arthritis / back pain (it's almost gone already) Longer kayak trips 5+ miles (did this almost daily for a week+ 2 weeks ago) Run a mile without being dead tired Comfortably fit in an airplane seat (Did this a couple weeks ago) Learn to distance swim (need technique coaching and training - will do this summer) Climb with my kids on playground equipment and not get stuck (can do this now)

Sorry to hear about your challenges. it sounds like you've had fantastic weight loss to be at 75 lbs down at 5 months! What was your starting weight? I think if you try on some smaller clothes you may find they fit well and that you might like them after a little bit of wearing them. When you're bigger you get used to loose stuff and avoid anything that is slightly tight, but once you lose some you might not mind it anymore. I'm down a bit over 60 (50 since surgery) and I still wear a few items from before, but noticed that I feel so much better in the next size down after I tried it. I actually went as far as to clean out all my bigger clothes except for a couple things so I have no choice now. The hair loss sucks, but it will come back. Unfortunately there's nothing proven to really help, you just have to ride it out. I've got thick dark hair and am expecting it to be bad too... so I bought some hats. For your stall are you being super careful to monitor what you eat and tracking everything? Are you eating anything that has much more salt? I've also caught my scale reading wrong - so if you have an electronic scale change the batteries, this morning my scale was reading 4 lbs high and after a batter change it's normal again. Hang in there, you're doing great and you can do this!

I find that for me intense exercise helps level my mood and get out any pent up aggression I have. This is a roller coaster ride of hormones for sure, I feel like a moody teen if I don't exercise. I think as you undergo such a major change its only natural to look at all other aspects of your life in a new light and it leads to a lot of thinking about how you got where you are, if you want to be there and what other things you can improve. For me I also feel like the weight loss is a train that you cannot get off of. Happy, sad or whatever there's no opting out so there's a total loss of control with food and weight (which is kind of the point), but it's still hard to accept when that was a major coping strategy in the past!

I’d talk to your DR, there are a few things that can cause this. I have had this off and on and my doctor said to drink more electrolytes, which has helped a lot.

We were allowed coffee up until 2 days. Wrote surgery. Post surgery they didn't want you to have regular tea or coffee because the tannic acid in it can irritate the stomach and slow healing. I don't drink coffee so don't remember when it was allowed again, but think maybe week 4 or 5 for us.

Lot of similar threads with good ideas to look through. For the hospital I'd recommend earplugs and an eye mask in addition to comfortable pants / pj bottoms / shorts. For shopping I would think about what you're going to do for liquids and protein for the week or two afterwards and have that in the house so you don't have to go out. If your DR is kind enough to give you your prescriptions before surgery get them filled so you have pain meds etc already in the house. I found pre-measured bottles for drinking helpful and some kind of low / no sugar electrolyte beverage daily is a must. Good luck

Cool, I'll have to try it. What brand do you use? I have some isopure protein powder, but find it has a pretty nasty taste when mixed in.

Definitely avoid the stimulant laxatives unless its a one time emergency. Miralax and a stool softener (colace) are what my program recommends. I've been successful with 3/4 a cap of miralax daily. Many laxatives, including Miralax work by drawing water into the bowel, so staying hydrated is a must! Sounds like you're not having fun, hopefully it gets better soon.

Yikes, you have had a heck of a few months! Let's hope it's on the upswing. Some of the tiredness and memory stuff you describe can be attributed to low carbs and low calories. I've had similar mental fuzziness and memory issues, especially early on. Your brain needs carbs to function, so early on it can be tough. I'm still low carb, but I felt like it got better as I adjusted a month or so out. I also have an inflammatory arthritis and it has gotten better, but it seemed like it took a month or so.

Wondering how much people had lost from their day of surgery weight at the 3 month surgery anniversary. I know it varies greatly and often if you have more to lose you lose faster. I'm just curious what people were seeing after being sleeved. I'm totally happy with my loss (51 lbs at last week's 10 week weigh in). The reason I'm asking is I was at a DR appointment and they thought I was losing weight too quickly and would need to increase calories. This was a regular DR and not a member of the bariatric team, so they probably don't have much data or experience with the sleeve. I see my team in a couple of weeks for my 3 month checkup. Last time they indicated I was middle of the pack in terms of what they typically see 2 months out. I'm not really worried, just curious what other people have seen loss wise... obviously this is a marathon and not a sprint!

I think the worst loose skin probably shows up as you get closer to goal. I'm positive I will have plenty, this body has taken too much abuse not to. I had lost a lot of weight years ago and actually looked into surgery then. They can do some pretty amazing things, though it was pretty scary how invasive it was (in terms of number of incisions and size of the areas to be removed).

I have a bit of a problem with nuts and they’re high calorie, so if you can’t stop at one portion (1 oz) then you may want to avoid them. To solve my problem when I buy them I immediately seperate the package into 1 oz ziplocks and put them out of sight. Then when I want them I just take a single ziplock and remove the risk of munching throughout the day or eating too much.

Thanks everyone who replied so far this is helpful. @creekimp13 funny you posted that chart, I was looking at that last night and doing the same math. I’ll need to re-run the numbers when I talk to the surgeon, the ones they quoted for their program were very different and I was on the lower end of middle, which seemed nuts to me (they do it by % of excess too). Hoping rapid loss doesn’t lead to more excess skin - so far my skin is shrinking with me.

Burned the crap out of my mouth on hot chocolate. Why the heck does it get warmer sometimes than others when I put it in the microwave for the EXACT same amount of time every single day - twice a day!!!! Spit it out all over my desk too... luckily no one was around <end rant> Also had ground turkey with taco seasoning for lunch. That felt lovely on my burnt tongue and lips... but that ones on me. Any home remedies? Similar stories?

I don't miss being fat per se, but do miss the satisfaction and "joy" food used to bring me. Food is now just fuel, there's no real joy in it... at least not like before. I don't get any satisfaction from eating anymore, even if its something that used to be amazing. I'm ok with making that trade though, I'm finding a lot of joy in other things now. I do kind of miss the 'being invisible' part of it as well, now everywhere I go people make conversation, hold doors and otherwise are super nice to me and it just feels weird. It's now happening every time I go out, which is nice, but feels weird.