ouroborous

Well, the hairstyle thing -- not so much of a problem for me :thumbup: But yeah, uncovering my face's "real" shape... definitely want that. This may sound stupid or vain, but there's been times I've looked at myself in the mirror and pulled my chin taut so that I could see what I looked like ... with cheekbones!

Yeah, the sleeve is a harsh mistress, but if you treat her right, you'll reap the rewards!

Walking and water are truly the magic cures for VSG recovery!

It really does get better, and it's SO important to get a mask that fits you, doesn't leak, and (perhaps most importantly) works with your preferred sleep position. I'm a back sleeper, so the last one doesn't affect me much, but folks who sleep on their stomachs or sides may have to shop around a little. Don't give up -- once you get the CPAP working properly, it's a miracle, truly. You won't BELIEVE how differently you feel. Of course, at this point, I'm hoping to kick the CPAP entirely, but even if that doesn't happen, I wouldn't trade it for anything. A good night's sleep is priceless.

Honestly, I'd reschedule the surgery. Get married, then get sleeved. The extra 24 days aren't going to make that much of a difference, and it's one less thing to worry about!

That's amazing! I hope I do as well as you! Congratulations!

My doc okayed me for liquid Tylenol (NSAID's like ibuprofen and so on are supposedly off limits, at least according to Dr. L). It works great for the occasional mild allergy headache. It actually seems to hit me quicker than the pills did, which is usually a blessing when I have a headache that needs knocking out!

It's a big factor. And folks from as young as you up until their 60's and 70's are getting sleeved. Obviously the senior citizen set has more problems and complications!

I actually had almost zero issues from a pain perspective, and very little feeling whatsoever on the restriction for fluids. I too had to be told to slow down, since drinking too fast was causing my reflux. Now that I'm pacing myself, reflux is better. If I could just kick this nighttime woozy feeling (other thread), I'd feel great and I'm only 3 weeks out.

This is actually the thing I'm looking for the most. Underneath all the flab, I think that my face has a nice bone structure. Once my cheeks are thinner and my chin is tighter... I'm looking forward to that!

Congratulations!

I'm not there yet. I've lost over 30 lbs. but since I started out so fat, I still don't see it. On the flip side, my energy level is through the roof, my mood is improved, and all my clothes fit better. Sometimes it's the little things that mean the most!

Interesting. I posted on the post-op forum about feeling woozy and shaky at night. I just removed the iron from my regimen at my nut.'s recommendation (my bloodwork showed that my iron was too high!) I hadn't connected the two, but now I'm wondering. I'll definitely ask the nut. about this when I see her next week.

I second this. Greek yogurt -- GOOD Greek yogurt -- is a sleever's dream food. High in Protein, high in flavor and satiety, low in calories and carbs. Unfortunately, a lot of brands are catching on to the Greek yogurt fad and, I think, just rebranding their regular yogurt as "Greek yogurt." I tried the Yoplait Greek yogurt (can't remember what it was called) and it was cloyingly, disgustingly sweet, as well as being high in calories and carbs, and mediocre in protein. I switched back to the Oikos right away!

There are a lot of symptoms, and some are very specific to sleevers. In general, a burning swelling sensation in my throat is what I experienced. It was a little frightening at its worst, because it literally felt like my throat was swelling closed. Sometimes it just feels like a mild sore throat, sometimes it's worse. Also sometimes it felt like I had wicked dry throat, like when you're very thirsty. Except that I had been tracking my Water intake and it was good -- it was just a little acid burn. Particularly at night, stomach acid may back up into your mouth -- you may wake up choking on it (I did). Very, very unpleasant (and bad for you). Another common symptom is a persistent cough. You may mistake it for allergies or a cold (I know I did!). It tends to be worse after eating. Also, mild pain in the center of the chest is fairly common. Finally, many sleevers (myself included) experience acid overproduction as "hunger." It's not really hunger, it's just that growling, churning sensation in the stomach that we're used to considering hunger. This is why getting on an acid blocker is a Very Good Idea for a sleever (at least in the first 6-12 months). It not only protects our fragile stomach and esophagus from some acid damage, but it makes us feel less "hungry," so we don't sink our own weight loss. Obviously, talk to your doctor, but if you're not already on an acid blocker (specifically, a proton pump inhibitor or PPI, like Prilosec), you probably should be.

I 100% completely support this suggestion: food journaling will save your butt (literally), and there are free online sites that make it almost trivial (since who isn't around a computer that's connected to the internet, these days?) When I started tracking my food, I realized that even after sleeving: I was eating almost 1200 calories per day. I would still lose weight on that, just very, very slowly. I was eating a LOT of carbs. Give it a try! And definitely get on an acid blocker. They remove almost all of the "hunger" pangs for me.

It's certainly possible to drink more. Especially with liquids, our sleeves aren't as restrictive as you might think (as long as you don't gulp). Early on in recovery, I was drinking >100 oz of Water per day with no problem. The issue is that too much (of anything, including liquids and water) causes acid to back up into your esophagus, causing reflux. The sleeve just doesn't expand enough to let it all in quickly, so acid comes back. This is Not Fun, so it's best to try to stick to the doctor's guidelines as precisely as you can manage.

My nutritionist said no more than 8 oz/45 mins, so it sounds like we're all getting the same advice. Just a bit of advice: drinking too fast can cause your acid reflux to go into overdrive. I was getting 100-120 oz of Water per day, but it was making my reflux just brutal. Now that I've toned down to about 80 oz, I feel generally better.

Congratulations on the sleeve! The first week is the hardest -- the first couple of days, really. Just sip, sip, sip (tiny sips!) and walk when you can, and you'll be doing great in no time!

Congratulations! The first few days are the hardest -- sip, sip, sip, and walk as soon as you can (don't overdo it, but make sure to keep moving!) You'll be losing the weight in no time!

I wear an 11 1/2 wide. I'd be HAPPY to be just plain 11 or 11 1/2. It's a pain (literally and figuratively) to find shoes that fit properly!

Well, it'll happen. All of a sudden, once I got around the 300 lbs. mark (which made me about 30 lbs. down from my "high water" mark), I noticed that: I had WAY more stamina My clothes didn't chafe when walking My feet didn't hurt or get blistered The FUN of walking and being outside vastly outweighed the discomfort. I've always liked exercise on some level -- the idea of forcing my muscles to work and get stronger appeals to me. It's just that it was always so painful and so dang hard. But now that the pain and discomfort is going away, and it's just good honest sweat -- it's great! You'll get there!

That's good to hear. I did have a brief moment of "will I ever have a cheeseburger again??" today. My girlfriend can eat one of the Kid's Meal cheeseburgers from Kidd Valley (don't know if you have them where you live, but they're my favorite "fast food" hamburger). She eats it slowly, and often over two meals, but there's hope yet! Probably no more beer for me, but that's okay. I'm partial to vodka too :tongue2:

The long term side-effects of human chorionic gonadotrophin at superphysiological doses are unknown. I would strongly recommend against this method of weight loss. The irony is that due to some pituitary damage I suffered due to a 1cm prolactinoma on my pituitary, I may need HCG for normal testosterone levels! God only knows what the combination of HCG and VSG will do to me...

Well, I'm below 300 lbs (just barely, but still!) for the first time in ten years. 299.8 today (the scale flashed through 300.1 to get to 299.8, but it stabilized on 299.8, so I'm sticking with it!) That's a great place to be in itself, and it also means I've lost just over 30 lbs since this saga started in mid-April. I'm definitely in the initial 2-4 week stall, since my weight loss has definitely plateaued. I'm doing all the things I should be doing -- calories are 600-800/day, getting >80 g protein/day, 60-80 oz H2O/day, exercising, etc. -- but the weight is just a trickle right now. Still, I know that it's just a temporary phase and the weight will start coming off again soon. I'm just really happy to be below 300 lbs! Huzzah!