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Feeling very sore and sleepy, but getting my fluids and steps in. Gas has settled in my right shoulder/neck, so I'll walk that out soon. So happy to be on the loser's bench! Can't wait to see where this journey takes me! Here we go..

Hello! This is my first post on the site and I wasn't sure where it belonged, so hopefully I came to the right place. I'm in month 3 of the 6 month pre op wait for insurance, and the reality of actually going through with the surgery is getting a bit deeper every day. I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it, like 85%?? I am 38 years old, 5'8" tall and 277 pounds. Wow...writing out the number it really is huge isn't it. I've been overweight since about 25 - I got married that year at 175 lbs. Three years before that I weighed 142-158. So yeah, gained over 100 pounds. This is my highest weight outside of pregnancy. I am an emotional eater, with a huge sweet tooth, diet coke addiction, and very bad at portion control. I threw most of my "healthy eating" rules for myself out the window when I experienced a difficult suicide of a loved one when I was 22 and while I have healed from that I still have very bad habits I guess the main thing that holds me back a bit from surgery, is I know the underlying issue is psychological, and I have mixed feelings about permanently altering my body in this way. That maybe I should just attack the psychological issues and not remove part of my stomach. But then I see the success people have and doubt being able to reach that without surgery. I don't really want to wait any longer to lose a significant amount of weight because I am approaching 40 and I'm very worried about heart disease and dying from a heart attack at a young age. I have a 1 year old son and I can't leave him, I want to be there for him and have more energy to do things with him too. Just a week ago I had a terrifying experience where I thought I was actually having a heart attack and had to have someone call 911. I was in a store with my son. It was awful. It turned out to be gastrointestinal. and not heart related but it gave me a glimpse that something really could happen. While it definitely thrusted me more towards surgery, I have some hangups I'm struggling with and wondering if anyone here has had the same issues. Here is what I worry about: 1. How will I still cook meals for my family when I can't eat the same things or much at all? While I already cook healthy for my son's sake, I don't want to deprive him of carbs etc because of me. How will I be able to make this work for the whole family, mainly my son? 2. When I was thinner, I never really had high self esteem. I never was able to be comfortable in my own skin so to speak, at any weight. I'm certainly not comfortable being this large but I guess part of me has accepted it. When I was thinner, and much much younger, I often felt like a sex object and hated having men "put their eyes on me" when it was unwelcome (usually was) and I've always wondered if a part of my weight gain was trying to hide and stop getting that attention, especially after getting married. I guess even though I know I'm not 21 anymore, I still worry about being "attractive" again if I'm lucky enough to lose a lot of weight, and getting unwanted attention. Those looks make me feel violated and I don't want to feel on display. 3. I worry about long term physical implications with aging. Obviously losing weight will go a LONG way towards preventing heart attacks, etc. but what if this surgery makes old age more difficult in terms of not absorbing nutrients properly? I feel like there are a million signs pointing to YES DO THE SURGERY, but these things are keeping me cfrom fully comitting to it at this point. Sorry this was a bit rambly - I started out clear headed and got very tired by the end of this as the typing editor took a very long time to process my typing....not sure why. Anyway, hope someone can make sense of how I'm feeling and give me some perspective. Thank you.

I am in the same boat preop. Walking even short distances wears me out.

Chewing is part of the digestive process. It releases chemical in your stomach that help digest food. So it is quite natural to feel a need to chew. After my RNY gastric bypass, my regiment was 4 weeks of full liquid, followed by 4 weeks of puree foods, and then only in week 9 was I allowed to transition to solids. Transitioning to solids can be quite difficult. So there is no need to push it. I found that softer foods (such as chili and soups) went down much easier than solid foods such as steak. So therefore I relied heavily on soft foods. I have included some recipes at the end in the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

I'm not quite at goal but had my surgery last summer as well. As my weight loss has slowed and I'm not constantly dropping pounds, I'm finding myself sliding back into my old dislike of my body, being very critical of every flaw and in general not being very positive about myself. I'm fighting that negative self-talk pretty hard, and I've asked my husband to help me, too. I have a very hard time accepting compliments, but now the 'rule' is that if he says 'hi gorgeous!' or 'you look great' or whatever, I'm not allowed to deny it or say anything negative in return. I say 'thank you' and 'I'm glad you like this dress' and don't let the negative stuff invade my head. It's amazing how much better I feel about myself when I'm not berating myself all the time. I was in a size 18 when I had surgery in June, I'm now in a 10 and will shortly wear an 8... it's absolutely ridiculous for me to be so critical of myself. I look good, and it's okay for me to think it AND say it. You too, right? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Congratulations! I'm having mine 27 February. I'm so nervous. How's your recovery going? That first week of recovery has me really terrified. Are you doing good with the water and protein. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I think the weak feeling is normal. Just try to get your fluids and protein in you will get better with time

Good Morning, I was sleeved Dec 21, 2016 and went on a cruise Jan 15, 2017. I did not have any trouble. I did bring protein shakes with me and ate mostly softer foods. No problems as long as you watch what you are eating Good Luck to you!

No. Lovenox for short term does not increase menstrual blood flow. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

That thing about floating better in the pool is absolutely true. It's really hard to float now, my legs completely sink, and I have to keep air in my lungs to stay above Water. I think this is a really under discussed part of massive weight loss