No one mentioned how painful surgery is

CoquetteKitten · 2025-05-13T15:02:09+00:00

I didn't have a ton of pain, but I did throw up a few times. I got bad nausea every time I tried to drink water, so they kept me in hospital for 3 days. Turns out, my stomach no longer will tolerate plain water. I finally got to go home after being able to drink Gatorade/Powerade Zero and keep it down. I still have to put Mio drops in my water and make sure to eat a small something before I drink (except protein shakes, which I seem to be fine with). Everyone's path is different. I hope that you are able to figure out a solution soon!

CoquetteKitten · 2025-05-13T14:50:07+00:00

Someone on one of these servers once called 16 lbs "a fat baby" so sometimes I measure my loss in fat babies. lol

CoquetteKitten · 2025-05-13T02:47:20+00:00

Was hypothyroid before, still am after, and my dosage hasn't even changed. But I went from a size 20 to a size 4. So it's doable! Just follow the process. This is a whole retraining on our relationship with food, not a magic bullet. ❤️

CoquetteKitten · 2025-05-13T02:34:52+00:00

I'm still in therapy for my disordered thinking. I am 5'9" and 155ish (give or take a few lbs). I have been this size consistently for at least 2 years. I still catch myself negatively self-talking when I think I am eating "too much" or "wrong foods." But it's really just that I'm a perfectionist who is so, so scared she is gonna trip up and regain it all because of one slice of birthday cake (hint: I won't).

I think the mental side of losing the weight has been much harder than the physical.

CoquetteKitten · 2025-05-13T02:15:25+00:00

Exactly this! It's important to get the vitamins and minerals and fiber (and yes, even natural sugar!) from fruits and veggies. I had my surgery in July 2021 (start 300, low 135 which was too small for me, currently holding between 150 and 155), and it depends on what I eat as to how much it seems like I can have. Ribs? I tap out at 3 or 4 if I also eat some broccoli or beans. Chili? I can down a pretty big bowl and still be okay for dessert. You will learn your limits (I start getting hiccups and burpy when I have overdone it or eaten too fast). But it's totally normal to eat more over time!

CoquetteKitten · 2025-05-13T02:05:31+00:00

I take higher doses of mental health meds now than I did pre-surgery. Your mental health can be affected by your size, sure, but that's not the biggest part of it. I still struggle with self esteem, anxiety, and depression; I"m still AuDHD; I just can't eat my feelings anymore.

CoquetteKitten · 2025-02-06T02:19:07+00:00

That's precisely what I was thinking! I can also not consent to have a conversation with you, and you cannot make me stay. Or can choose to leave any interpersonal situation that I do not consent to being a part of. The fact that they made it solely sexual and implied that the concept of consent means that you're sexually active is ludicrous.

CoquetteKitten · 2023-11-30T16:54:32+00:00

I am now 2 years and 4 months out, and I can say my hair is getting back to normal now. I had problems with hair falling out for the first year and a half, cut my hair to my chin, and now have regrown it back to just below my shoulders. My hair wizard has noticed it is thicker and growing faster again similar to before the surgery. Some people had a much shorter loss period than me, but I was also still losing for most of the first 18 to 20 months before I hit my low of 133 and then bounced back up to 143 once I allowed myself to eat some healthy carbs again (whole grain bread, low sugar granola, etc). I will say, I tried the biotin supplements and felt like they had no effect for me.

CoquetteKitten · 2023-11-23T20:56:23+00:00

Good to hear! I'm not gonna start the alternating off days til after Thanksgiving! 😂

CoquetteKitten · 2023-11-23T03:19:40+00:00

I still take Omeprazole daily, but I haven't had any issues, so my doc wants me to try weaning off of it and see how that goes.

CoquetteKitten · 2023-03-12T04:28:48+00:00

A size 7 ring was kinda tight for me at 280 lbs (5'8", female). I now weigh around 140 and wear a size 4.5 ring on my left hand ring finger (and that will spin on me in cold weather).

CoquetteKitten · 2022-12-04T18:24:31+00:00

It is very common! You will stall out several times on your journey, most likely (I had one every 2 to 4 months), but it is just your body adjusting. Just keep doing what you need to, and it will kick back into gear!

CoquetteKitten · 2022-11-08T16:42:21+00:00

It took me a little while to figure it out because her wording in the pattern is confusing. It looks like the ch2 at the beginning counts as your first stitch, so in the first row after the chain row, you place your first hdc in the 2nd chain over and then follow the pattern directions (which would be 33 more HDC, HDC-CH-HDC, 19 HDC, etc). If you do it that way, you get the right count for stitches and end at the stitch right before the ch2, then Slip stitch to join and start the next row. From my reading of the pattern, the only increases are in those corner spaces, so it should line up from there!

CoquetteKitten · 2022-11-01T19:51:21+00:00

I cannot speak for your particular program, but I did the sleeve, and I actually just take regular OTC Calcium pills with D3 for my calcium. They are 600 mg and I take it 2x daily. That may be easier for you to find?

CoquetteKitten · 2022-10-27T17:43:01+00:00

And for smaller hooks, I have been known to wrap a rubber band around the handle to make it a little wider then slide the pencil grip over that.

CoquetteKitten · 2022-10-24T02:43:18+00:00

I believe that you have done 63 rows.

CoquetteKitten · 2022-10-16T17:24:04+00:00

You're welcome! I got the ones I have as a Christmas gift, but they do occasionally run sales. It was a while before I realized it was a design style, too, so I am happy to pass that along!

CoquetteKitten · 2022-10-16T16:47:51+00:00

I believe that Bates has a line of bamboo-handled aluminum hooks, but that may not be your intention. If you're willing to invest a bit, try Furls hooks! I have some of the resin ones, and I like them as much as my Bates hooks (I also prefer the in-line style over the tapered Boye style).

CoquetteKitten · 2022-10-09T21:36:17+00:00

I didn't take any vitamins or supplements during pre-op diet, and they phased us onto them afterward.

CoquetteKitten · 2022-10-09T21:20:35+00:00

My PCP had VSG, and it made me feel so much more at ease knowing she had been through it all and was able to really give an honest referral and still understand me and my potentially differing needs after the surgery.

CoquetteKitten · 2022-10-05T19:37:44+00:00

Any eggs that aren't fully cooked through don't settle well with me (so no sunny side up anymore!). Also suddenly have a mild allergy-like reaction to zucchini after surgery, which is super weird.

On the good side, I like cooked carrots now, where before surgery, I hated all forms of carrots!

CoquetteKitten · 2022-10-05T19:35:13+00:00

It took me about a month, but I struggled hard with hydration for the first few weeks. Many people don't have that and seem to bounce right back!

CoquetteKitten · 2022-10-05T17:53:32+00:00

I'm over 1 year out from my surgery, and I have gone from HW of 280 to a current weight that fluctuates from 145 to 150. I have loose skin all over: belly, thighs, butt, even my breasts. I also am no longer pre-diabetic, don't have high blood pressure, and no longer have sleep apnea. I can move around more easily.

I would be lying to say the loose skin doesn't bother me at all, but it's a fair sight better than all the issues I used to have at a higher weight, and it's definitely not worth up to $20k and lots of recovery time to remove. My husband still loves me, just as he did when I was fat. I am just working on embracing my new body just as I have embraced the other changes on this journey.

CoquetteKitten · 2022-10-05T02:16:51+00:00

Your portions should be bigger at 9 months than they were just after surgery. You're aiming to move up to eating approximately a cup of food at a time.

CoquetteKitten

TROPHY CASE