My story - at least the first 5 months worth

[DoOver 17]

I was sleeved in April of this year. I was at 326 when I started my program. I was somewhere around 309 when I started my pre-op liquid fast. As of today I am at 253. I'm happy with my progress and proud of what I've accomplished. Unfortunately, I am a slow loser in terms of those in my program so I get a lot of negative feedback there which is why I've come to this forum.

I kept my surgery private. Just my choice.

I am a very healthy fat person except that my knees are shot. I will be having 2 knee replacments and I dread it. This surgery was to give those operations and my future mobility a shot. I'm older, at 50, but I have a few good years in front of me and I don't want to spend them all on the couch!

The plus side of this surger to me:

The restirction. Yes, there are days when I wish I could eat more like I used to but I tell myself to woman up and suck it up. It's not like I didn't have time to eat all the great food I wanted to in my life. I hate to say this (because there are times when I know this just isn't so) but in terms of my relationship with food, I had to face that I simply needed to grow up and accept that this is what I had to do. So far, after 5 months (including the liquid fast before) I'm able to be at peace with this situation. Frankly, that is a great suprise. I wasn't sure if I would be one of those people this threw into a funk or not. Glad to say not at this time.

Now, unfortunatly, there are some real negatives. And I think that knowing them and being aware that they will or might happen is a big part of what helped with my acceptance stated above. For me the negatives have been:

1) Serious issue in the first 3 months with low blood sugar. So many have high blood surgar pre surgery that those of use with low blood sugar get over looked and my surgeon couldn't have cared less. I would wake up every morning 2 hours before my alarm shaking and concerned about the walk to the bathroom. Had to sleep with a Protein drink in a thermos by my bed and when I woke drink, and then dose back off until I found my strength. When I finally got to 600 calories a day, this issue resolved itself.

2) Bad headaches, ironically basically hunger headaches, the first 3 months. Again, the surgeon blew it off. He does not like to hear any negatvies. But I had daily headaches and took boat loads of tylenol. My vision would blur and I was really afriad I had just traded disabilities. They also cleared with 600 calories a day so if it happens to you, know it will get better.

3) Constipation. I can't say it enough, CONSTIPATION. I hate Miralax. It gags me. I have used 3 bottles of the suppositories in 3 months. This didnt' start until 1 month in. Honestly, I know it seems silly, but I didn't think it would be this bad. Like when I was a kid and they told me about having periods every month, I thought for sure I could dodge that bullet. But most of the time I am torn up and in mysery. I only pray I don't die like Elvis minus the drugs.

4) Oddly the bagging clothes are driving me nuts. It's not just about weight loss but all of the spandex. Even if I think I have bought something that fits, it fits at 9 a.m. and is falling off at noon. I'll be glad when i settle into a size and can have things that fit.

So that's where I am. I try to stay off of the scales. I really am doing this about health, not looks. At 50, the looks ship has sailed. I want to be in "regular" sizes some day, maybe next year this time. Otherwise I'm not in a big hurry and am trying to just let myself not be driven by food. I think the more I ride the scales, the more I am still living the life of a fat woman and I want that to be behind me some day.

[Indymom 132]

It's not like I didn't have time to eat all the great food I wanted to in my life.

Thanks for sharing your progress so far! A slow loser is still a loser, so keep it up. The above quote is absolutely perfect and something I want to remind myself of when the head hunger kicks in.

[Miss Hope 1]

Really enjoyed reading your post. About to embark on my own journey next week and I found your post very helpful and informative. Best of luck to you and I think the slow losing is perfect! You have a great attitude and I hope I have the same!

[DoOver 17]

Really enjoyed reading your post. About to embark on my own journey next week and I found your post very helpful and informative. Best of luck to you and I think the slow losing is perfect! You have a great attitude and I hope I have the same!

Good luck. Don't spend too much time concerned about the actual surgery. It was a breeze, It's the next 5 or 6 weeks that can be a challenge, but we all survive and go on to thrive.

[longer-life 139]

Thanks for posting. I love your attitude.

[SouthernSleever 228]

You are doing great! Tip for you Probiotics will keep you regular and they are so good for you. Get some of the refrigerated kind from a heath food story and just take a tbs a day.

[Papa Jack 86]

Very Good Information Thanks

[DoOver 17]

You are doing great! Tip for you probiotics will keep you regular and they are so good for you. Get some of the refrigerated kind from a heath food story and just take a tbs a day.

I'll trythis. How do you take that tbls? Is it mixed into liquid?

I live in a small town but this would be worth a drive to the big city and a health food store. Closest thing we have to a health food store is a Dollar General!

[Diane 24]

I was sleeved in April of this year. I was at 326 when I started my program. I was somewhere around 309 when I started my pre-op liquid fast. As of today I am at 253. I'm happy with my progress and proud of what I've accomplished. Unfortunately, I am a slow loser in terms of those in my program so I get a lot of negative feedback there which is why I've come to this forum.

I kept my surgery private. Just my choice.

I am a very healthy fat person except that my knees are shot. I will be having 2 knee replacments and I dread it. This surgery was to give those operations and my future mobility a shot. I'm older, at 50, but I have a few good years in front of me and I don't want to spend them all on the couch!

The plus side of this surger to me:

The restirction. Yes, there are days when I wish I could eat more like I used to but I tell myself to woman up and suck it up. It's not like I didn't have time to eat all the great food I wanted to in my life. I hate to say this (because there are times when I know this just isn't so) but in terms of my relationship with food, I had to face that I simply needed to grow up and accept that this is what I had to do. So far, after 5 months (including the liquid fast before) I'm able to be at peace with this situation. Frankly, that is a great suprise. I wasn't sure if I would be one of those people this threw into a funk or not. Glad to say not at this time.

Now, unfortunatly, there are some real negatives. And I think that knowing them and being aware that they will or might happen is a big part of what helped with my acceptance stated above. For me the negatives have been:

1) Serious issue in the first 3 months with low blood sugar. So many have high blood surgar pre surgery that those of use with low blood sugar get over looked and my surgeon couldn't have cared less. I would wake up every morning 2 hours before my alarm shaking and concerned about the walk to the bathroom. Had to sleep with a Protein drink in a thermos by my bed and when I woke drink, and then dose back off until I found my strength. When I finally got to 600 calories a day, this issue resolved itself.

2) Bad headaches, ironically basically hunger headaches, the first 3 months. Again, the surgeon blew it off. He does not like to hear any negatvies. But I had daily headaches and took boat loads of tylenol. My vision would blur and I was really afriad I had just traded disabilities. They also cleared with 600 calories a day so if it happens to you, know it will get better.

3) Constipation. I can't say it enough, CONSTIPATION. I hate Miralax. It gags me. I have used 3 bottles of the suppositories in 3 months. This didnt' start until 1 month in. Honestly, I know it seems silly, but I didn't think it would be this bad. Like when I was a kid and they told me about having periods every month, I thought for sure I could dodge that bullet. But most of the time I am torn up and in mysery. I only pray I don't die like Elvis minus the drugs.

4) Oddly the bagging clothes are driving me nuts. It's not just about weight loss but all of the spandex. Even if I think I have bought something that fits, it fits at 9 a.m. and is falling off at noon. I'll be glad when i settle into a size and can have things that fit.

So that's where I am. I try to stay off of the scales. I really am doing this about health, not looks. At 50, the looks ship has sailed. I want to be in "regular" sizes some day, maybe next year this time. Otherwise I'm not in a big hurry and am trying to just let myself not be driven by food. I think the more I ride the scales, the more I am still living the life of a fat woman and I want that to be behind me some day.

DoOver! I take 3 stool softeners a day everyday and I usually have a bm about every 3rd day - not straining for me either - at first I took 1 a day an I increased the dose til I got to 3 and found it worked for me - maybe you could try that and they are relatively cheap. I use a generic stool softener they are more reasonably priced. I hope this helps.

[SouthernSleever 228]

Just take a large spoon and get a big swig of it. The people at the heath food store and the back of the bottle will tell you more about it. Spectrum makes a great probiotic but they can be pricey, the store brand will do just as well.

[DoOver 17]

DoOver! I take 3 stool softeners a day everyday and I usually have a bm about every 3rd day - not straining for me either - at first I took 1 a day an I increased the dose til I got to 3 and found it worked for me - maybe you could try that and they are relatively cheap. I use a generic stool softener they are more reasonably priced. I hope this helps.

I've tried everything. I've taken up to 4 softners WITH Miralax. Can you imagine? And I get a pretty balanced diet in these days. Little bits, but balanced. I even went to complete committment by removing cheese from my diet. It has not been fun. :mad2: That's what I look like when working the issue....lol

[christina8868 0]

Thanks, so far your post is the only one I have found that talks about Low Blood Sugar being a problem. I have been wondering about that, cause I go high and low. When I have a low it happens so fast. One minute I feel fine and the next I am shaking and feel like passing out. I take my sugar and it is somewhere in the range of 70-55 ..I have to quickly drink something like juice and sometimes real quick pour Syrup in my mouth to get it moving up.

So I was wondering how each of you deals with this after being Sleeved?

What I have read on here, you can NO longer swig down a drink real fast. So how do you keep your sugar level? How do you keep from dropping and passing out?

I am not sleeved yet...Going through all the steps.

[Lisa the loser 13]

I was sleeved in April of this year. I was at 326 when I started my program. I was somewhere around 309 when I started my pre-op liquid fast. As of today I am at 253. I'm happy with my progress and proud of what I've accomplished. Unfortunately, I am a slow loser in terms of those in my program so I get a lot of negative feedback there which is why I've come to this forum.

I kept my surgery private. Just my choice.

I am a very healthy fat person except that my knees are shot. I will be having 2 knee replacments and I dread it. This surgery was to give those operations and my future mobility a shot. I'm older, at 50, but I have a few good years in front of me and I don't want to spend them all on the couch!

The plus side of this surger to me:

The restirction. Yes, there are days when I wish I could eat more like I used to but I tell myself to woman up and suck it up. It's not like I didn't have time to eat all the great food I wanted to in my life. I hate to say this (because there are times when I know this just isn't so) but in terms of my relationship with food, I had to face that I simply needed to grow up and accept that this is what I had to do. So far, after 5 months (including the liquid fast before) I'm able to be at peace with this situation. Frankly, that is a great suprise. I wasn't sure if I would be one of those people this threw into a funk or not. Glad to say not at this time.

Now, unfortunatly, there are some real negatives. And I think that knowing them and being aware that they will or might happen is a big part of what helped with my acceptance stated above. For me the negatives have been:

1) Serious issue in the first 3 months with low blood sugar. So many have high blood surgar pre surgery that those of use with low blood sugar get over looked and my surgeon couldn't have cared less. I would wake up every morning 2 hours before my alarm shaking and concerned about the walk to the bathroom. Had to sleep with a Protein drink in a thermos by my bed and when I woke drink, and then dose back off until I found my strength. When I finally got to 600 calories a day, this issue resolved itself.

2) Bad headaches, ironically basically hunger headaches, the first 3 months. Again, the surgeon blew it off. He does not like to hear any negatvies. But I had daily headaches and took boat loads of tylenol. My vision would blur and I was really afriad I had just traded disabilities. They also cleared with 600 calories a day so if it happens to you, know it will get better.

3) Constipation. I can't say it enough, CONSTIPATION. I hate Miralax. It gags me. I have used 3 bottles of the suppositories in 3 months. This didnt' start until 1 month in. Honestly, I know it seems silly, but I didn't think it would be this bad. Like when I was a kid and they told me about having periods every month, I thought for sure I could dodge that bullet. But most of the time I am torn up and in mysery. I only pray I don't die like Elvis minus the drugs.

4) Oddly the bagging clothes are driving me nuts. It's not just about weight loss but all of the spandex. Even if I think I have bought something that fits, it fits at 9 a.m. and is falling off at noon. I'll be glad when i settle into a size and can have things that fit.

So that's where I am. I try to stay off of the scales. I really am doing this about health, not looks. At 50, the looks ship has sailed. I want to be in "regular" sizes some day, maybe next year this time. Otherwise I'm not in a big hurry and am trying to just let myself not be driven by food. I think the more I ride the scales, the more I am still living the life of a fat woman and I want that to be behind me some day.

I think you doing great you can see by my stats why I feel that way ( slow loser's rock) LOL really you are stay strong, also i have to drink "slow move tea" all natural health food store too but totally works I drink every day I go every day now prior to that every 10 days UGGG it was horriable so i feel your pain