The Cons Of Gastric Sleeve Life! :-(

[Penpen 28]

Sometimes, you get funny looks about what you eat from people that knew you before the sleeve.

So true! And also, every time you go to a restaurant, the waiter/waitress look at you...like why aren't you ordering anything....or why are you not eating much. I'm a little paranoid about that. I feel like people think I'm starving myself or something. My hubby tells me not to worry about what others think but that's really hard to do...especially if the people looking at you funny are the people you know personally.

[Penpen 28]

Okay... I LOVE MY SLEEVE!!! That outta the way I just want to complain a little bit. Some things about being sleeved really chap me. Why am I putting this in the pre-sleeve section? So everyone knows what to look forward to.

• I'M FREEZING COLD ALL OF THE TIME!!! Even in Summer...
  
• ...Um...
  
• ...Let's see...
  
• ...Well...
  
• ...Yeah...
  

Oh Geez... that's all I can think of.

I love your picture....you look like your up to something! It has attitude! Love it!

[FishingNurse 1,210]

the only con for me was the 1.5 months of actual starvation leading to the muscle I lost, and the hair I am losing now cause of that 1.5 months. BUT! I am rebuilding the muscle now, eating the right amounts of eveything to be healthy and lose weight. I could not have done this (or continue to do this) with out my sleeve so that 1.5 months was worth it!!!!!

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

I was always cold ...my fat layers NEVER insulated at all! They were just plain old fat layers!

I love my sleeve! I do still have the head hunger but it doesn't take much to satisfy when something evil :devil_smile: is calling my name. Oh and my mind tells me ( :blah:) sometimes that when we go out to eat that I am hungry enough to eat a big girl plate and my emotions make me want to throw a big fit if I don't get to order my own plate instead of sharing like a child. My hubby knows just to let me order my plate and waste our precious hard earned dollar(s) so he doesn't have to listen to me have a melt down. Then....as if... I didn't know I had the sleeve surgery, my brain turns back on after about 2 or 3 bites and says...OH MY GOSH, there's no way I can eat any more of this. I mean really, I've wasted some money on this problem a couple of times since surgery. :frusty: What a great problem to have!!!! Did I say I love my sleeve?

And most of the time, I don't feel like that. Then we share and save lots of money AND I'm satisfied because for the most part, most of the time, I'm not hungry and I eat because I have to. Oh yeah, that's a huge problem too...you know, not being hungry most of the time.

So yeah, you have problems when you have the sleeve.....BUT I love my problems!

Agreed!!! It's sometimes a little bit stressful that my sleevie is SO tiny that I can't fit in everything I want. Especially Thanksgiving time when there's so much to sample! I don't mind the one bite per dish rule... but when there's so many dishes you have to wait a few hours to try more - it just gets to me a little bit.

Let's see - "Downside" of the sleeve:

- You will be tempted to spend $$$ buying a wardrobe of new, sexy clothes once you get to goal (in additon to all of the in between sizes)

- You will spend a bunch of time going through your old clothes to find what fits, and getting rid of "fat" clothes and you shrink out of them

- You will get LOTS OF ATTENTION as you are shrinking (and when you are at goal - I'm not there yet).

- You will be COLD - but sweaters look really nice on thin people!

I think these are the "worst" of it. I LOVE MY SLEEVE.

All of these are so true!! I've become a bit of a shopaholic lately. Uhh Ohh!!

So true! And also, every time you go to a restaurant, the waiter/waitress look at you...like why aren't you ordering anything....or why are you not eating much. I'm a little paranoid about that. I feel like people think I'm starving myself or something. My hubby tells me not to worry about what others think but that's really hard to do...especially if the people looking at you funny are the people you know personally.

I love your picture....you look like your up to something! It has attitude! Love it!

Heya Penpen, thank you for the picture compliment! Haha! I did like it because as they say, Smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to. LOL

Re: Caring what other people think... I believe something happens along the way with weight loss. It comes to a point when you say... I really REALLY don't give a flyin' u know what if someone thinks I'm weird, different, doesn't like me for whatever reason, etc. I've found that is the other persons problem. I won't make it mine.

[IslandGrrl 11]

The biggest "con" I've found is having the new, smaller clothes I just ordered on-line be too big for me by the time the shipment arrives. It's costing me a fortune, but it's a "problem" I'm willing to endure! LOL

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

The biggest "con" I've found is having the new, smaller clothes I just ordered on-line be too big for me by the time the shipment arrives. It's costing me a fortune, but it's a "problem" I'm willing to endure! LOL

Just a suggestion... Goodwill saved my life during the rapid weight loss phase. They have SO many sizes and styles available - you can't go wrong. I would even buy all sizes going down and try them all on from time to time. When a new size would fit, it was a GOOD day!!! They even have clothes still with the brand new tags on them.

[IslandGrrl 11]

Just a suggestion... Goodwill saved my life during the rapid weight loss phase. They have SO many sizes and styles available - you can't go wrong. I would even buy all sizes going down and try them all on from time to time. When a new size would fit, it was a GOOD day!!! :smile1: They even have clothes still with the brand new tags on them.

Thank you for the suggestion. It's been ages since I've been to Goodwill, but I will have to check them out! :smile1:

[waterlover 15]

i noticed some of you guys talking about going to restaurants. do you order a meal? or just a Soup? eat food off other people's plates? going out to eat, they give you HUGE plates of food. i guess you can just take the leftovers home then?

[Forensikchic 528]

I too am cold and as I've discussed before I started feeling so IMMEDIATLY after surgery. I went from walking around San Diego in 60 degree weather wearing shorts sweating beads to waking up post surgery shivering, so it's from something other than just fat loss. This summer was brutally hot for weeks on end and I literally had to stop and think "Yeah it IS hot" whereas prior to WLS I was hot in virtually ANY temp, I used to actually LOVE to get cold occasionally.

One issue I've have post op that I really hate is the consistant issues with kidney stones due to reduced Water intake immediatly post-op, unfortunatly I've had to go from drinking LOTS of Water to drinking a rediculous amount of water just to prevent them. I have to urinate so often it's really annoying, especially getting up to go 2 or 3 times each night, my old issue of Constipation is back with a vengance too, for some reason I just seem to pass most of the Fluid rather than adsorb it.

I too have had the kidney stone and constipation problem. I guess a chosen few of us have these problems. Hope it improves for us both!

[Pookeyism 1,143]

I have lost around 30 lbs, and suspect I will loose more before my surgery - and I am cold already - and I am in HOUSTON!

:/

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

i noticed some of you guys talking about going to restaurants. do you order a meal? or just a Soup? eat food off other people's plates? going out to eat, they give you HUGE plates of food. i guess you can just take the leftovers home then?

Sometimes I'll split the meal or sometimes I'll get my own if I'm wanting something other than what Hubby or whoever I'm with is having. Even with sharing we still end up taking food back home. I get Soup or salad too depending on what I feel like. However I usually space it out and eat very slow. I usually only end up have a few sips or bites of that.

The further out you get, the easier it is to go out to eat. For me it has turned more into a social gathering and more chatting rather than the eating. I also don't think we really went out restauranting for at least my first 4 months.

[Penpen 28]

i noticed some of you guys talking about going to restaurants. do you order a meal? or just a Soup? eat food off other people's plates? going out to eat, they give you HUGE plates of food. i guess you can just take the leftovers home then?

My husband and I usually pick one meal and share. I barely dent it with my portion. Sometimes, if I'm having a moment, I order my own and I try to pick something that will be good when you reheat it. If I do that, it usually last me a 2-3 more meals depending on what it is. My hubby and I love to order steak fajitas. I don't eat any of the flour tortillas but I eat about 3-4 oz. of meat mixed in with grilled onions and other fajita toppings. Yum! Also, when they bring out the chips and salsa, I usually have one chip with salsa. I would love to have more and sometimes it's hard to sit and watch everyone else chowing down but I know that if I eat anything more I won't have any room for the healthy food.

When I'm out by myself and need to eat, I'll stop by McDonald's. You can get a chicken patty (baked or fried) for $1.25. Sometimes I order just a sausage and egg and no bun. At Taco Bell, I order the tacos that have fajita meat and open it up and eat the insides and leave behind the flour tortilla. Sometimes I'll order a small bowl of re-fried Beans with cheese. Then add salsa or piaco digio (spelling???).

[waterlover 15]

wow. really blows my mind how little you can eat after the sleeve. compared to what i am used to eating now, it's exciting. i've always wanted to have that kind of control. my stomach has it's own brain though, thank god it's getting a lobotomy.

not looking forward to the coldness. i am so cold right now. my Iron is low though so i swear that has something to do with it. cold feet especially. and a chill in my shoulders.

[DisneyAddict 10]

i noticed some of you guys talking about going to restaurants. do you order a meal? or just a Soup? eat food off other people's plates? going out to eat, they give you HUGE plates of food. i guess you can just take the leftovers home then?

I didn't go to a restaurant until... ok no back up. I went out to brunch with my best friend and his boyfriend when I was into the mushy/soft solid stage. We went to Le Peep and I ordered an omelette. I ate less than a quarter and took the rest home. I had a little more later in the day and let my husband have the rest. That aside.. we didn't go out to eat until.. good grief recently. I guess 2-3 months ago? we went to a mongolian grill. That was the first time we'd gone out to eat since my surgery. I got a normal sized bowl and took the rest home. I ate on it for about 3 days? About a month ago, we went to Logan's steakhouse and I got one of the smaller steaks they offer (6? 8 oz?) and ordered it medium rare. Ate about a quarter of it with one bite of my sides and took the rest home. I love rare to medium rare steaks so by ordering it like that, it wouldn't get leathery tough in the microwave when I reheated it. Again, ate on that for about 3 days. My husband's a big guy (and I don't mean heavy... he's a big guy who burns a lot of calories with his job) so he'll let me have a bite or 2 off his plate but I don't want to try to share a plate with him. Plus we usually end up getting polar opposites lol. As far as fast food places, I have an item or two I'll get at most places and pick it apart giving the rest to my husband. It's really not a big deal. Buffets I haven't tried yet, but I have one of those little cards that say I've had VSG but I guess it's up to the businesses to accept it.

[ocean_ophelia 31]

Hi. I'm new here. This is a great thread. I'm looking forward to my sleeve in January.

I would love to be cold all the time. I am HOT all the time, even in the middle of winter. It's 30 out, and I don't wear a coat. I've been like this always, even when I was 60 pounds lighter.

Being cold would be fabulous! I'd love not to be a slave to food as well.

I worry mostly about the possibility of complications, of course, and the possibility of reflux. I don't have any reflux now, and don't want to experience it!