ms.sss

There is a poop/pee hole in mine (which is why Mr loves it so...lololzzz). So i used this to pee. I pulled mine to the side to make sure it didn’t get wet...though im sure i had accidents. But i never used it to poop though. Im one of those can-only-poop-at-home-naked-on-toilet-and-take-shower-immediately-afterwards people...so I never tried..but the thought of getting some poop material on it and walking around at work would gross me out.. further, my faja was not as tight as it should’ve been (i was very unsuccessful finding one in my size that was NOT $300), so taking mine off and on was quite easy. p.s. I didn’t wear it very often (due to loose fit) only when my other garments were in the wash.

Meant to write more yesterday but got distracted. So let me properly pay due to your wicked results (lol): Skin on your abdomen is nice and pulled tight! And your waistline is super defined...nice work doc! And did he even cut u a new belly button?? Cuz it looks original to me. Your boobs honestly look fab in both ur before and afters in ur bra...but I suppose the money shot would be a topless after pic in all its gravity-defying glory. Very happy that u are happy and that you are on the super-fast track to recovery! p.s. don’t forget to stay on top of the poop

Wow the changes are dramatic! Sooooooo happy for you! Yay to being a good healer! And a good-looker! A nice fitted faja makes you look and feel even MORE fabulous. My Mr. has a bit of a fondness of me in mine (faja fetish, anyone? Lolololzsss) Get more than one if u can! also, gentle reminder to stay on top of the pooping ❤️ P.S. Think its time to start a plastics before an after thread!!! I heart before and after threads.

Mark me down as another semi-immediate coffee drinker. I have had one 500ml thermos of black coffee every morning since 1 month op. I would sometimes have a smaller second (or third!) cup later in the day/night (but not always). I heart coffee.

- if both surgeries are just as easy to fail as they are to succeed, why do the research charts show this difference? Research is based on averages. The numbers you are quoting do not apply to everyone in exactly the same way....it is an aggregate of those who reach goal AND those who don’t. 1 person loses 100 lbs. Another loses 40 lbs. Average weight loss of this “control group” is 70lbs...which is no where near what each person actually lost. @catwoman7 probably explained this better than me In her earlier post, lol Second, if you need to rely on averages for your peace of mind, it may be worth your while then to look into the makeup of the studied. Age, gender, starting weight, lifestyle habits, medical conditions, genetics, etc. Daunting, yes, but more informative and contextual. But really, wanna beat the average? Stick to plan more consistently than the “average” person (barring any medical conditions of course). Also, I wanted to ask, did you get to choose the size boujie you wanted for your sleeve or know what size Dr used for you?? Doc just did his thing with no input from me. I have no idea how what size he used! Also, did you cravings and hunger completely return after 6 months or it does but slightly? My hunger levels and occurrences has not returned to pre-op levels. I can’t remember when I first felt hungry though (it was months in)...but I do remember it was a rare occurrence. Even now at 2+ years out, i still have days of just not wanting/forgetting to eat. When i do get hungry, it isn’t the ravenous kind of hunger though. And it doesn’t take much to satisfy it. Lastly, can you just do complete Keto during the first year after surgery so you stay under 20 net carbs and in ketosis? Or our body doesn't need to be in fat burning mode because of the surgery? I didnt do full-on Keto during weight-loss phase because there was no way I could get in the percentage of fat required...but I did do ultra-low carb (20 net carbs max) during that time. But number of grams of carbs consumed is no where near as important as total calories consumed for weight loss. Though going low carb does tend to make me look lean. For my body this is good, cuz i can see more muscle definition, but for my face, not so good, as I look Skelator-ish. Since I have been consuming a higher number of net carbs (anywhere in the 100-175 range) my face looks much nicer, but the bod looks “soft” P.S. sorry this was so long

My 2-week pre-op diet was 3 protein shakes a day. My surgeon provided me with OPTIFAST brand powder packets that I put in a blender with water, 1 tsp of instant decaf coffee crystals and a bunch of ice. Each shake was 225 calories (23g protein, 17g carbs, 8g fat). P.S. FYI: After surgery, I switched to ISOPURE brand powders, which was less sweet, less calories, more protein and zero carbs.

K, I'm going to echo what was said by several posters: its not the surgery that dictates success, it's the individual. I was sleeved over 2 years ago. I chose sleeve because: The idea of re-routing my intestines freaked me out (but for some reason removing most of my stomach didn't. LOL) I wanted to keep my pyloric valve intact, as I was taking NSAIDS and another time-release med (but surprise, surprise I ended up not needing them anymore after surgery) I was scared of dumping syndrome (again, suprise, surprise, I dump anyway) I was NOT prone to GERD My surgeon was completely comfortable doing either surgery on me. I started off at a BMI of 43 (235 lbs). I got to goal of BMI 23 by 7 months post-op. Lost a few more pounds figuring out what my caloric level should be but finally settled into BMI 21, and have been maintaining my weight of 115 (+/- 5 lbs) for over a year and a half. I am 2 years, 3 months post op. I have stayed below my goal weight (more than 100% excess weight lost) the entire time. I have read accounts from other sleever's and rNy'ers similar to mine. I have also read accounts from both sleever's and rNy'ers who reached goal and regained, or never reached goal at all....I also don't see an obvious co-relation of results to the type of surgery underwent. (On another note, I have to date only read of ONE person who was more than 2 years out who was under BMI 18 AND had difficulties keeping weight on...but I digress). Barring any medical issues, so long as you maintain a caloric deficit, you should expect to lose the same amount of weight with either surgery. Good Luck!

2 weeks pre-op vs. today (2+ years post wls)

Fabulous!!!

Im in the same boat as @Arabesque. I sopped taking my vitamins in March last year (~1.5 years post op, or 8 mnths into maintenance). I had labs done this past june as well as December and all my levels came back satisfactorily. Also the results of a bone density scan done in December was of no concern. Maybe check with your doc/have labs done to see if it is in fact required? P.S. I was sleeved too.

It varies from person to person. You will eventually find out what these are for you. I am 2+ years out and there is nothing that is completely off the table for me (tolerance-wise), only amounts: i can only have sugar, pork and fluffy bread products in small amounts. Sugar because I’ll get sick, pork and fluffy bread because it fills me up FAST.

This unnerved me at the time. Sometimes I thought it was looking up at me when i was seated. Lololololzzz it’s like, “why, hello, haven’t seen ya in a while!”

Sending good vibes ❤️

thinking of you! rest up and can't wait for those bikini pics!!! lolololzzzz

Yeah, I’ve seen/read many posts of various members that annoy/bother/upset me. Crossing paths with those whose views (and how they express them) that are antithetical to yours is a reality in life. I mean, we are all different, so of course there will be a whole spectrum of beliefs/thoughts/actions out there. For the most part, I just ignore it and move on. Though there have been instances when I felt VERY strongly AGAINST something posted and I would post a reply...mostly for the attempted benefit of the other readers of the thread, as in my experience, its is very unlikely that one can change the mind of the “offending” OP. I find that the helpful generally outnumber the unhelpful on here, so there is hope. P.S. The VERY unhelpful have been known to get booted out of here by administrators (Mikey/Superman, anyone?), i think in part to others “reporting” the unhelpful behaviour. So PSA to anyone: use the “Report” button if you feel someone crossed the line...its there for a reason. P.P.S. Using the term “unhelpful” may not be indicative of what I’m trying to convey, but I’m sure y’all know what I mean.

First, as a reassurance, its only temporary! For those that did lose some hair (which is mostly everyone...though there are a lucky few that don’t) it all came back eventually. I have yet to read from anyone who is far out from surgery that it is permanent. I started losing mine at 3 months, and it stopped around 7 months. I don’t know if it was because of time elapsed, or because I was done with rapid weight loss phase, though. I am 2+ years out now and its ALL back (sometimes i think its actually thicker these days, but it might just be because of my hairstyle, lol). I did cut it all off at the first sign of loss, and my hair today is no where near how long it was pre-surgery, but thats just a matter of time (though I dunno if I even want to grow it back to that length anyway.) I don’t have any tips to prevent it, honestly I don’t really think you can, but I’m sure others will weigh in on this subject. Good Luck! P.S. despite the current hair loss, are you satisfied with your WEIGHT loss so far?

First, I know there is a large population of WLS folks who don't drink carbonated beverages, so if you are one of those, this will not interest you. Look Away! Soooo....I am big carbonated water drinker, drank the stuff pre-wls, and continued to do so after surgery (starting around 2-3 months post op). The literature my team provided advised against it, but when I brought it up with my surgeon & nutritionist, both had no real objection. Our household probably goes through 10 or so 1.5 litre bottles of carbonated water a week (of which I probably drink 6 or 7 of them myself). I have long been considering a Soda Stream but the idea of having to keep buying C02 tanks put me off. I had also considered setting up a DIY carbonation system but laziness kept getting the better of me. Enter Sparkel. I got this as an Xmas present this year, and after using it for a week, I am a True Believer. It doesn't use CO2 tanks, but instead uses "carbonators" that interact with water and through some chemical process produces C02 that is injected into liquid. Broken down, these carbonators cost .65 cents (Canadian) to produce 750ml of carbonated water. Which by itself, is already a savings vs. store bought carbonated water (after the initial cost of the unit is recouped). HOWEVER, being an avid Reddit reader, I discovered that these "carbonators" are basically citric acid and sodium bicarbonate (i.e., baking soda), which, when bought in bulk, reduces the cost of making each 750ml bottle of water to just .14 cents (Canadian)!! The initial cost of the unit is $129 CAD, so these savings would be realized at around the 8 month mark. In short, this thing is a hit at my place. We have tried carbonating everything we could get our hands on. Water (of course), Juices/Ciders, Wine, Vodka, all good. Milk, Coffee, Tea, um...probably an acquired taste, lol. My fave is Mint & Cucumber infused water. The fam loves our version of Ginger Beer (water, ginger syrup & ginger slices). While I totally love this thing and plan on continue using it multiple times a day for days on end, there are a couple things that could be improved upon: Speed of carbonation. I've seen the traditional CO2 tank-based units carbonate a bottle in about 30 seconds or less. This one takes about 3-5 minutes, depending on your desired level of carbonation. Cost of the proprietary "carbonator" powders...but this can be circumvented by buying the ingredients in third-party bulk. Handle seems flimsy...I feel like I need to be careful pulling the handle down lest I snap it in two...I feel like it should be made out of stainless steel instead of moulded plastic. The unit needs some "feet" underneath. I often drip water everywhere, and since the bottom of unit basically sits flush to the counter, I feel like this is a electrocution accident waiting to happen. The bottle size is could be larger. 750ml is basically a single serving in my house, so having to make a bottle for everyone at 5 mins a pop can get time consuming. So.....if you are a carbonated water person, I wholly recommend this product (so far...we'll see how it holds up to daily use in a few months from now..). The few Cons with it are well worth the Pros. I am not affiliated with Sparkel in any way 😁 lol medium 3 sm.mov

I think this is common (at least from what i’ve read). I barely ate myself and lost 6 lbs in 1 month. Gained it all back (plus 6 more!) over the next 3 months (then lost those 6 extra lbs over 3-4 weeks later). ...so as an aside (and based on my experience of one) be aware of your intake when your appetite comes back! ❤️

Oh, i was feeling veerrry sorry for myself for a while back then, lol (quite a big baby, really). But i’d do it all again, in a heartbeat.

Its cool that you can give a description of both your experiences with fullness. Often wondered about that. My fullness is a pressure in my chest. I haven’t felt that full/bloated/stretched feeling in my lower abdomen in over 2 years. Its funny cuz before, when i was full, i’d put my hand over my belly, and say “oof, i’m stuffed!” Now i put my hand between my boobs (or just under them) when i say that. People have often “corrected” me saying that I’m not actually full, and its merely heartburn. I nod and smile.

Same. I felt basically nothing for my breast lift (0/10) My TT was like a 7 on the pain scale...but for me it lasted quite a while (much longer than GT’s 2 weeks) (Arm lift was also a 7 and lasted even longer)

Had to google that! Yep, I had a catheter 😬

*wolf whistles* sexy momma!!!

Im thinking that so long as you keep on top of total calories consumed, it doesn’t really matter how it gets in? l mean, consuming 3000 calories in 3 dedicated meals vs 10 mini-meals will still result in weight gain. And consuming 800 cals in either manner will result in a loss. I think for a lot of peeps (myself included) grazing is a necessity. There is no way I could eat all the food I eat in a regular day in just 3 meals (unless of course my “meals” were like 3 hours long or something). But of course, do what works for you, as we all have different MO’s that work for each us. Its really trial and error: follow a plan and keep following until it is no longer giving u the results u want...then change as necessary ❤️