pattycakes726 Member

The first picture was taken around 2007. I think I was about 280 or so. The other pic was taken a couple months ago. Weight around 155.

I went from 10 to 9 or 9.5. Good excuse to buy new shoes!

I also try everything on, even though I've been in a size 8 for months now. The clothes just look too small for me. It's still surprising when they fit. I was 290 and size 24 at my biggest. I'm 153 now (5'6")

I had a hiatal hernia repair done with my sleeve too. For 9 months, I was fine, then started getting reflux. It turns out the hernia has re-opened. I am having it repaired again next month. You should contact your surgeon right away and get checked out. Good luck.

Welcome! You'll find lots of support here from 'old vets' and others who are pre-op like yourself.

Cheesesticks, almonds, sugar free popsicles and Greek yogurt are all favorite snacks. I eat protein bars sometimes too, but usually use them as a meal replacement. I recently made egg bites from The World According to Eggface blog and they are fabulous! One or two fill me right up for under 100 calories.

It happened to me. I use Miralax from time to time. If it persists, give your surgeons office a call.

As a previous poster said, both procedures have excellent results. I chose the sleeve for several reasons.i wanted the least invasive procedure, I didn't want malabsorption or dumping, and I wanted to be able to take NSAIDs if I needed to. I've been very happy with my decision. Best of luck to you ;)

My WLC has a support group twice monthly and it is very helpful, but my best support comes from a FB group that a bunch of patients started. We're very active and you can post anytime you're having head hunger, or need a walking buddy , or whatever, and you have immediate support. Our WLC is considering separate support…

Sorry to hear this! Sounds like me with rice. It does.not.work. I generally avoid bread but bagels are irresistable once in a while. When I do indulge, I just eat half and I've been okay.

So glad to hear you're doing well! Keep sipping. It was at least a week before I was able to get 64oz of liquids in a day, so do your best. And great that you walked 30 minutes! That really helps :)

Have not tried that one but I did buy Tolerant Food red lentil pasta and it was yummy! I made a heavenly pasta salad with it. I got it at Whole Food. Downside - $9 a box.

Welcome! You're the only one who can decide if surgery is right for you, but here's my perspective. I was sleeved 13 months ago. The surgery itself was fine. No complications and I recovered quickly. It was easier than I expected. I really can't think of any cons. The sleeve is a fantastic tool. I would do it again…

I weigh first thing in the morning (in my pj's) and last thing before I go to bed (also in pj's). I count my morning weight, but weighing at night helps me understand my body's fluctuations. I can be as much as 3 lbs more at night. For me, weighing daily keeps me accountable. In the past, whenever my diet went off the…

Feel free to add me. I was sleeved in July 2013. Agree with the others - best thing I've ever done for myself!

Hope you feel better! Rest and drink lots of liquids. Sending good thoughts your way. You'll be on the 'losers' bench' soon :)

Yes! It was years before I accepted how large I was. I never kept a full length mirror or a scale in the house. I'm sure I went 5 years without weighing myself. Pictures of myself always shocked me because I was sure I wasn't 'that much bigger' than other people. But pictures don't lie. My moment of reckoning came one day…

If RNY was my only choice, I don't think I would have had surgery. I decided on VSG for a lot of reasons: less invasive, normal digestion, ability to take NSAIDs (I have chronic TMJ and take NSAIDS for inflammation and pain). I didn't want dumping or malabsorption. My stats weren't much different from yours when I started.…

I'm so sorry to hear how bad your situation is. My doc is encouraging me to convert to bypass too. He feels it would help in addition to the hernia repair. But i have said no for now. My reflux is more annoying than painful. Sounds like yours is much worse. I hope the ENT can help you.

I have a haital hernia that is causing reflux. I'm having it repaired in Oct. I was taking Prilosec with little result, but my doc just switched me to Nexium. Have you tried that?

I hardly told anyone about my decision before I had surgery because I didn't want to hear from the naysayers! The people whose cousin's husband's sister's neighbor had surgery and gained it all back or some other horrible outcome. I have never regretted my decision for a second. If you think the sleeve is right for you, go…

I used to have rice every day. It was my favorite side and sometimes main dish. I ate huge amounts of it. After surgery, I couldn't tolerate it at all. I tried 3 or 4 times but always had pain and vomiting. Now I no longer want it and never eat it. Considering it's just empty calories, I'm glad to be done with it.

There's not much you can do to prevent excess skin after you're lost a lot of weight. But saggy skin is a much better problem to have than 100 extra pounds.

My doc said I could take 3-4 weeks off, but I went back to my desk job after two weeks. I had no pain, just some fatigue. Good luck!

Quest bars are delicious and recommended by my nutritionist. Chocolate chip cookie dough is my favorite. About 20 grams of protein for 200 calories. I also love Powercrunch bars. They are like wafer cookies, but they have less protein and fiber than Quest.

i found chili to be a godsend when I started solids. Lots of protein and easy to get down. Make it as mild or spicy as you like. Stews are also good, just leave out the potatoes (unless you've been told they're okay). I second what Mangopickle says about ghicken in the crockpot. So easy and so many variations. I like to…

I looked at my diary and at 9 months out I was eating 900-1000 calories a day.

My weight can go up 4-5 lbs overnight. It can be frustrating but as long as the overall trend is downward, I try not to worry about it.

I went from 44DDD to 36DD. I don't think I'm going to get smaller than a DD.

Totally agree with Mangopickle. Go to your surgeon's support group. You'll meet people in all stages of the process. I'm a year out and still attend meetings twice a month. Best of luck to you!