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A few changes for you too see. Starting weight 17 st 9 Currently 9 st 10

And it will and it does, my Happy Scale Victory ---High weight 365+ October 2017--- my Weight today 3/24/2019 238.9, and I'm not done yet. Pretty soon this far shell will finish cracking and the world will see the Pretty Wise and Wonderful person I alway knew I was!

I'm back! And the beat of my life goes on and on. Decided to post here because I was the OP and started it beck last summer. Well, the Fe Infusion wasn't too awfully bad, when I told PCP I had it done, nary an apology about failing to schedule me one in Mount Vernon, just reminded me I could end up on a quarterly schedule. Well that would make the next one within a day or 2 of Tomkitten's birthday and that's a warm pleasant time in Central Ohio. Now back to the Infusion and its side effect. Well early in the evening of the next day I was able to do #2 with a minimum of grief. Every since surgery except when I had my PICC line in, my stool is very reluctant to leave me, have to be on twice daily Miralax and when not even that works, the Trusty bottle of M.O.M. the cherry- tasting agitator of all things fecal💩. Okay I said to myself, small amount of stool, still fine, I do not eat that much. And then the tsunami hit, black viscous stool, the kind I rationalize as double or triple wiper. And it went on and on, each movement the same until the last 3 which ended about. 3 AM that were nothing more than black profuse water. And before each movement I was cramping in the same area as childbirth pains, I had 3 9+ pounder, last 2 Lamaze, that is an sensation one does not forget. Well, I says if your uterus does fall on with all this straining , we can push it back in , slap an ABD on it and see the doctor in the AM. If this is gonna happen every time, I would rather be unmagnetic, obviously my body didn't feel we needed or wanted that much iron so got rid of it as best it could! Now I don't know if I mentioned but when I had my Chest MRI at Mount Carmel East to check the status of my Thoracic Aortic aneurysm, the one my Cardiologist conveniently forgot to mention, maybe she thought it would depress me? OMG, my middle child and first son died in 2008 of an Ascending Aortic aneurysm which exploded in his chest and within a few seconds bled out and died at 31. This takes it from a horrid one in thousands freaky happening to be possibly genetic and. I , a mommy who loved him with every breath of my being, may have had a part in his destruction? I cried when I saw in Black and White, " to rule out ant enlargement of existing Thoracic Aortic aneurysm, current measurement____cm" , did not go into depression, because maybe my baby's death might somehow save me? Happy to report it is still holding at under " must do surgery" have to keep faithful on BP meds to reduce stressors. But I can do that! And now the results show I have a Renal Cyst also present, don't know which one of my 3 it's on, urologists office not as worried as me, said no need seeing you right now. Then next, about 10- 12 days ago I woke up with a stiff neck, not a "oops I strained something ", I could not turn it to either side, and I had a degree of nucal rigidity. Oh I am a Medical Geek, scary cause that can be a sign of meningitis, a disease that doesn't take hostages, and can kill if neglected. So off I go to E.R., it of course happened on a day PCP was taking off. After beaucoup levels of tests even I hadn't been through before and 2 I didn't even have book knowledge of, I received a diagnosis of cervical arthritis, okay-bee, the bad part I have a thyroid nodule approaching 2 cm on left side of thyroid. They suggested getting it checked-out by ENT, endocrinologist, or at very least PCP in very near future. Well , I just so happened to have an appointment with PCP coming up, so I mentioned it to him, at first he said" many geriatric patients have these" could shorten that man's life span, I am not geriatric I merely am in Late Middle Age and I've told him that! Says" maybe I should go to that portal and read what they said" and then had to admit We GOT to do more testing, so last Wednesday I had both thyroid screening and Doppler of my carotid because I also am having periods of double vision, it is bad enough seeing Donald Sr and Donald Jr on CNN , don't need them 2 at a time! Then to round out my week I had a Reclast INFUSION on Friday, in deference to my inability to chug down liquids, Thank You Ms. Precious Pouch, I can't have pills or capsules so get this treatment yearly because my osteopenia is rounding the corner towards osteoporosis. I am grateful to be alive, thankful for the extra years my bariatric surgery has granted me, really I am, but is every flippin' test got to have a " by the way"? I knew I had dings in my bodily chassis, but does the jalopy that is me have to have engine failure too?💦

Hi all. My gastric sleeve surgery was on March 17. In the first three days the scale was 10 pounds higher which I knew it is due to surgery and all the IV. But today, 1 week after, I lost the 10 pounds and I am back at my orgional pre-OP weight. Is that normal? It sorta burst my bubble. How much did you lose first week?

HI There I had surgery on 3/5/19. Everything has gone well, the only thing they recommended at my 2 week appt was increasing my water intake. The last 3 days I have had zero energy! Did you experience this?

My surgery is on the 03/26/19, however I just drank Raspberry Ice Tea, not sugar free with 2 chicken, chips and guacamole. Is this considered cheating cuz I am now worry. I start my Full Clear Liquid Phase on Sunday through Monday. NPO on Tuesday. I’m worry that cheating will delay my surgery. 😣

I'm 10 days post op and have only lost 5 pounds. I was wondering if something went wrong during my procedure. I'm really regretting doing the surgery at this point. It's discouraging to see people lose up to 20 pounds already and the scale isn't really moving on my end. Wishing you the best of luck on your journey. Hopefully that damn scale kicks into gear! Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using BariatricPal mobile app

March 4th. I went in at 210 lbs I'm 5 ft and 1/2 inches tall .Today is March 23rd. I"m 197 lbs. 13 lbs loss in 19 days. Is this normal? I"m happy with any weight loss .I been stuck at 198 197 for 5 days. As little as i can eat and as low calories I eat ,I just feel like I should have lost more.

Hey All! I was sleeved on 3/18/19 and have had a really rough recovery. I’m only able to get down about 8oz of liquid a day. I figured out that reflux meds help, but only enough to help me get maybe 12oz of liquids down a day. Protein20, Premier Protein all upsets my stomach. I can get down small sips of water and a popsicle if I eat it slow. I’m post op day 5 and ALLLLL FOOD LOOKS DELICIOUS!! I haven’t had more than a total of 4oz of protein in one day, (today actually), since Sunday, 3/17/19, the last day of pre-op. I talked to my doc today because I was worried about malnutrition and hydration. He just asked me to keep working on clear liquids and would check on me Monday and if I’m still having issues, he would have me in. Has anyone been through this where only water will go down easy? I feel like I just want to eat something!!!! Ugh :(

It looks amazing. Honestly I have no idea what the “rules” are for sugar consumption. All of us are walking the same path, but we all took different roads to get here, so what I say is literally just for myself because even though I’ve been living in it for 50 years, I’m truly starting to understand my body in a way I never took the time to previously. For me, I know I absolutely need to avoid as much sugar and artificial sweeteners as I can. That means honey is out, chocolate chips are out and anything that resembles a refined carb is out. That’s because the minute I get exposed to sugars (even in tiny amounts) it sets off a cascade of the hungries and bad choices that I can not control. Carbs are like crack to me and I just cannot go down that road at this point. Maybe not ever at any point— I just don’t know. Right now at 6.5 weeks post, I’m eating primarily protein only, and my only “cheats” are salads. God I miss salad! If I could have my old stomach back for 10 minutes, I would totally demolish a wedge salad with gobs of bacon and bleu cheese. For over 6 weeks, I’ve cut so much sugar from my life that plain fairlife milk tastes almost like melted ice cream. It’s weird. The other day I actually had to re-check the label on the bottle because I was CONVINCED I had inadvertently bought a flavored one. It tasted that sweet to me.

Hi all I'm Kristen, if you're in the Insta wls community you may know me as @survive.sleeve.slay myself and @emilyamvsg cohost a podcast called Mom's Spaghetti. We don't just talk about weight loss surgery, but really about weight struggles and successes and failures in general. We do approach the topics with a humorous perspective, because it's who we are. I am a little over a year out from vsg, Emily is 6.5 years out, so we are in very different places in the surgery timeline. I wanted to invite you all to listen, we're going on Instagram live 3/24/19 at 7 central, stop in and say hi, let us know what you think and give us suggestions on topics you want us to cover. Hope to see you there! Kristen

A lot depends on how physical your job is. I'm an accountant, so . . . I took off one week with the sleeve, then did a week of half days before returning to work full time. When I had my revision to bypass, I was off 10 days. Good luck on your journey!

So I am starting to make a donate clothing pile. It’s weird though mentally since I’ve been down 30-40 lbs. over the past 10 years and have kept 4 sizes. So now it seems strange to commit to getting rid of a size I will never again wear verses in the past putting them towards the back. In the past I guess it was almost mentally setting myself up fir failure knowing I had jeans that would fit if/when I regained 30 pounds.

Sleeve scheduled 3/28/19 …. feeling anxious, nervous and want to get on with it. Reading some of the post surgery reports.. now has me wondering how I will do. Some sound like its what they expected... some had a tough time and just wondering how I will do. I was asked to scale down the diet with basically some pre-op meals consisting of low calorie and zero carb intake and 2 days before surgery clear liquids which I'm sure will be the hardest. I've been stocking up on different protein drinks, soups/bouillon and bought a new water bottle... yee haw for he new water bottle... just hope I can get enough in as it seems some are having tough time getting in enough fluids. enough rambling out of me.... Best of luck to all and hoping for a speedy recovery for those still battling the after effects.

I'm not a drinker but normally I'll have a glass of wine or martini on my birthday or special occasions (so about 8 glass of alcoholic beverages for the year). My surgery date is April 19 & I celebrate my 30th bday in June. Also my brother getting married in Jamaica (island) in August & I'll be attending. Read a diary entry online that after bariatric surgery no alcohol for one year. It's Saturday so my nutritionist is not in office. Is it true? Did your surgeon or nutritionist said that no alcohol for one year? Thanks Sent from my SM-G925T using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi KC! I will have my surgery on Wednesday (3/27/19).

And my Weight loss is cug-a-cugging along, got w3ighed at a doctors office yesterday Friday 22, 2019, aI now weigh 11 pounds less than the arbirary one on my State- issued ID, I have one of those instead of a driver's license. FYI Ohio is one of those states that requires your weight on hunting and Fishing ones, somebody asked Why? Told them I figure its so they can identify your body if something bad happens, like being shot or drowning! Not too worried about #2. since I can swim. just don't plan on doing in frigid waters. and although all my relatives went through Hunter safety courses that might have fooled the State, but not me, there are definitely a few I don't hunt with, know what doofuse they are in Daily Life, and I'm sure it carries over into here also.

My husband is overweight and has diabetes. He’s also 19 years older than I am. I’ve begged him to eat healthier so he’ll be around longer, but I know nagging won’t help. We did have our first rager argument in years when he insisted on having a pizza delivered last week. Overeating pizza actually put him in the ER once.

Maybe the itching is also related to a lack of oils. I am just craving oils. My skin is so dry and my hair is like straw. I actually "cheated" and started having 1/8 of an avocado most days, using a little butter, and using 2% cottage cheese instead of fat free. I figure as long as I log it and include all the calories, it is OK as long as my protein is still where it should be. I will get the "green light" in 10 days to add these things "officially." I can hardly wait to add in some nuts, seeds, and olive oil.

My hubs is 6’ 6”, 290 lbs, so definitely a big dude lol. My family doesn’t really come from “thin stock.” Most everyone in my family were thin as children and teenagers, but wound up overweight or obese as adults. My dad was always pretty thin, but has gained some weight in his older years. Mom has always struggled with weight. I have 2 sisters. One has yo-yo’d 50+ lbs multiple times over the last decade, but is currently thin and physically active. The other sister struggles with bulimia off and on, but is currently in remission (and hopefully stays that way). As a southern family, food is a big part of our lives. I was sleeved on 1/24/19 and it has been a huge learning curve trying to learn that everything doesn’t have to revolve around food.

The most important victory of all. I had my 2 month follow up today and finally, after 10 years my cholesterol levels were all normal, not high!! If I had kept going the way I was I would probably end up diabetic. It feels amazing to get a clean bill of health

Hello! I am having a sleeve surgery on 3/27 so just a few days away! The program that I am in is with one of the best hospitals in the nation and I completely trust them. However, they do things pretty differently than what most other programs do. The biggest difference is that I am in my 10 diet pre-op liquid diet and their program does not allow protein shakes. They want you to get protein naturally through things like milk and by blending food. They gave a list of foods that you can eat pre-op which includes smoothies blended with red fruit and greek yogurt. The impression I get from other programs is they are super low carb because this shrinks the liver. Well, given that my diet lets you have blended fruit and such, that doesn't seem low carb and so I am really confused on the purpose of the diet! I waited too long to ask my dietician because they won't get back to my until Monday at least and my surgery is on Wed. so not much point at that time but I am wondering if anybody has any ideas on what the purpose of this 1 day diet is if its not shrinking my liver!?

Hey all. I've had batwings my whole life, even as a 130lb teenager. When I hit 286, obviously they were much worse. I do not wear short sleeve shirts in public and haven't in years. I only just now started wearing tanktops because I now go to the gym. Now that I've lost 86lbs, they are even droopier. My arms are 17" around each (approximately). I have a very hard time finding sleeves that fit, especially since the rest of my torso is no longer plus-size. I still have 64 more pounds to my "weight goal". I am hoping to get there by the end of the year or so. I am HOPING I can have the brachioplasty in December or January at the latest. Few questions: 1) Did you have a drain? 2) How long did you need off work? 3) Subjective pain scale 1-10? I had a HUGE breast reduction with nipple graft and had zero pain, but I hear this is worse, even though both involve skin removal? 4) How long did you wait after reaching your goal to have this procedure? 5) How much did it cost total out of pocket? 6) Anything else you'd like to share! I am very excited for this and consider it my ultimate goal. 7) Will insurance pay if I am getting rashes? I do not have a large stomach that need a tuck, really, but I have the rash issue with my arms. Will the surgery tighten the bicep area, too? I have excess skin on my biceps AND triceps. The pic attached is me one day before surgery; you can see how large my arms are. They are even droopier now.

Endoscopy is done! One more thing checked off the list to the road of my surgery. It went really well aside from finding out I have GERD and I had no clue. Apparently I have a small ulcer that’s causing some reflux that I seem to never feel so he prescribed me Omeprozol to take every morning and said he took a biopsy of some bacteria. He said I can still have the surgery though and to just follow up with him in 2 weeks. They took me in a hospital type waiting room with beds and curtains. Told to just take everything off up top and put on a gown with the back open and go to the bathroom to take a pregnancy test. I assured them my baby days are over but did it anyway. Good news! Test was negative 😂. Then after hooking me up with an IV and taking all the vitals and stuff.. I get wheeled into the surgical room where the doc and anesthesiologist is. They told me to lay on my left side and take 5 deep breaths and I should be asleep shortly... well I think I took 1 and 1/2 breaths before I was out cold. Next thing I know I was being woken up in the waiting area saying it was over. I swear it must’ve been about 10 mins total! Next week is the psych!

I'm 10 days out and feel the same way. Much easier time getting water down and taking vitamins.