Can't believe its been 2 years...

[Rev Me Up! 75]

Hi All,

I rarely come on the forums anymore. It seems that, once I got past the really tough times with my band to sleeve revision I just drifted away.

Anyway, I realized that I will be 2 years post-revision in a couple of weeks and I should probably report in and let the newbies know about my experience. If you want to know specifics about my surgery, you can look through my profile posts - it is hard for me to remember all the details now.

I had a lap band for 4 years and it sucked. I got my lap band at 215 pounds and ended up at about 195 pounds and was gaining slowly on top of that. I couldn't eat chicken (did I mention the band SUCKED?). I wanted the band out, but I was afraid I would baloon up higher than ever. For me, the sleeve was an insurance policy. I did not expect it to work because I had already been through weight loss surgery that did not work. Why would I expect anything different the second time around? I was 100% afraid to dream that it might be successful.

And, of course, I was wrong

The sleeve was everything the band promised and more.

On surgery day I was somewhere between 195 and 200. I went to Dr Aceves and would recommend him without hesitation. Band out and sleeve in, took less than 90 minutes. No complications. Good pain management.

That's when the tough stuff really started. I couldn't drink the Protein drinks because I couldn't handle the smell or taste. Because of this I barely ate or drank anything for weeks. Everything tasted so weird / bad. I was significantly fatigued for 3 months because could barely get any food in. I chewed my Vitamins and took my omeprazole like a good girl.

The apex of my weight loss occured after about 9 months. I got down to about 127 pounds. Mind you, at no time was I ever "trying" to lose weight. In fact, I was "trying" to get enough quality calories in my body. Since I ate so little, I couldn't mess around with junk food - I only ate food with good nutritional value. I also found that Certain foods were just harder to eat. I craved chicken, but I had a hard time eating carrots (they stick!).

I would say I didn't feel completely normal until about a year had passed.

At this point I have levelled out in the 135-140 range and I am thrilled about it. It is easy for me to get down to 135 (and lower if I wanted to) by just cutting out one snack a day or quitting drinking alcohol altogether. I weigh myself maybe once a month and if I see myself creep towards 138-139, I start cutting out a couple of things and get back to my comfort zone.

It has been hard in the last 6 months because my father committed suicide leaving me with a contentious legal battle with his wife. I started drinking a couple of drinks every day because of the stress. That has kept me in the upper end of my range, but it is still easy to maintain. I find as time goes by, I stopped drinking every day and only a couple of times a week - it made me less puffy :-)

So, my lifestyle now: I don't exercise. Yes, I know - that's bad. I do have tons more energy and I walk more in my daily life than I ever did before, but I do not engage in regular exercise. I try. I do my best. I'm just being honest. I still have a hard time getting even 30 ounces of Fluid every day. The taste of Water changed for me the day I had surgery and I have had a terrible time replacing it. Sometimes I have fizzy Water. Strangely, beer goes down very easily. I developed a Starbucks mocha habit after the first year, but I limit it to one a day and get nonfat most of the time. I also started drinking iced coffee. I eat 5-6 times a day (I limit it to 5 if I am actively trying to manage my weight). I eat Protein and veggies. I just started liking sandwiches again, but find bread and rice both expand in my stomach and make me very uncomfortable after I eat them. Even now, I eat too fast sometimes and can be in terrible pain from fullness.

I still can't drink after I eat. I drink as much as possible up to the point where I put food in my mouth and then no liquids for an hour or more - PAINFUL!!

I could never have done this without the sleeve.

I am completely happy with the result.

My life isn't "normal" because I still have to think about carrying Snacks with me so I can have good choices while I am out of the house. I still have to eat slowly. I still have people in restaurants badgering me about why I didn't finish my food. The difference is that I wear size 8 jeans and size 4/6 dress. I can walk / run around Disneyland for 10 hours with my daughter without major breaks to sit down. I rode a bike with my kid just this week and it was awesome. I finally feel like I fit in with my world. The outside reflects the inside.

I feel much happier now, also, because people are used to me being this size now. Before people were always making a big deal out of the wieght loss. I don't like talking about it. I hated the attention during the loss because I was very guarded about the surgery. Now I have been the same for a year and a half or so, people don't comment about it as much and I love it.

My future: well, the biggest surprise for me is that my husband and I are thinking about having another baby. My daughter is 8 and I had my tubes tied 6 years ago. I scheduled my tubal reversal with a specialist in Beverly Hills at the end of March. I will be 39 in a couple of weeks, but the doc says my FSH level is that of a 25 year old and my husbands sperm count and motility is off the charts! I used to be super-fertile before my tubal (just look at me sideways, and I was knocked up!) so we will see if that is still the case in a couple of months.

Also, I finally finished my Bachelors degree 21 years after I started :-) I graduate in June.

My life rocks! I was already lucky to have a good man, a great child, good job, and overall good health. The sleeve and weight loss are the icing on the cake for me. I'm a lucky lady.

With gratitude,

Lara

[Supersweetums 1,164]

Congratulations on your success!

[Butterthebean 8,146]

What a great job you've done. Thanks for that update. I know what you mean about carrying around food. I almost need a lunchbox to go anywhere. But it's the smart thing to do.

[nanaspez 58]

WOW your story has lifted my spirits! At least I can now see a small light at the end of the tunnel.

Congratulations on your success, with weight loss and your personal life!

[lsereno 2,525]

Congrats! Thanks for checking in and letting us know how you're doing.

Lynda

[coops 1,790]

Hey rev me up!

It's good to hear from you... Great update! Pleasing to hear that you are maintaining and living your life to the full.

Sorry to hear about your father, no idea what you are going through and words cannot place the sentiment you deserve, but my best wishes are with you.

Good luck with your future plans to expand you family! What an exciting time.

All the best and don't stay away for too long...

[M2G 1,836]

So good to hear from you! Congrats on your loss and maintenance! I'm sorry about your dad's passing and the legal troubles. It sounds like you have a handle on the drinking now, and you know it's not going to make life any better. It's funny how we have to find other ways to cope instead of turning to food.

Good luck on the new baby project, sounds like an adventure! I also went back to school (already have my bachelor's but really needed some new skills to stay competitive in the job market) and it is HARD work so my hat is off to you on that.

Thanks for the update, I think we all like hearing from others who have been sleeved for quite some time.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Congratulations! I hope your tube reversal is a success.

I hope you will stick around more now. We need people with a couple years behind them around here.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Don't be a stranger!