Leaderboard

I'm going to try and keep this from being too long, but there's so much to say!!! First I'll start with my newest NSVs. I'm officially in a size 18 clothes (from my original size 30), size 10 shoes (from my original size 11), size 6 1/2 ring (from my original size 10), 18" chain on a necklace (from my original 24" chain), and 2x jacket (from my original 4-5x). I can now comfortably fit on a massage table without fear of it creaking or breaking. I can now ride a bike because I'm within the weight limit. I now am able to hit my favorite thrift stores and walk out with seriously cute clothes that look nice, sit well on me, and actually fit comfortably!! My asthma is almost completely gone (I only have it when I get super sick now instead of all the time). My blood work came back and my hormone levels are almost in the normal range (I have PCOS) and my cysts that completely COVERED both ovaries are totally gone (without having taken any meds or done any hormone therapies!!) I did a 6 mile hike this past weekend with my son. I am completely pain free and am able to go full on beast mode with my workouts again. I can go up 5 flights of stairs before I need to stop and rest. Now for my new chapter in life and old dreams becoming new again. So years ago, I wanted to become a nurse. I completed all of the academics with a 4.0, aced all the labs, but couldn't do any of the clinicals because I couldn't do all the walking, I was 400 pounds, and my health/joints/back were way too bad. So I gave up on it. Then about 2 years later, I thought "well, maybe I can be a medical assistant. Surely THAT'S not as hard" and once again, I couldn't do the externship because I couldn't do the physical stuff. So I went into other areas for work, ballooned up to 421 pounds, worked remotely, and made good money. I loved what i did, but there was always a part of me that regretted not being able to go into the medical field. That was my heart's desire. So fast forward to now. I'm between jobs and miserable. I had to stop working because of all my complications from my first surgery. Now that I've been cleared, I can't get hired anywhere. So I decided that now is a great time to go back to my dream of working in the medical field. So on Sept 5th, I start school to become a certified pediatric oncology medical assistant. Most of my previous credits transfer over, so I only have about 6 months of academics to do and then the externship. Then I sit for my certification exam and then I get to finally FINALLY do what I've always wanted to do. By my 46th birthday next June, I should be right where I want to be, doing what I want to do, and hopefully at my goal weight. I'm sitting here in tears as I type this, because I thought this was something I would never see happen. I resigned myself to being morbidly obese, extremely unhealthy, and needing a cane to get around. I may not be at my goal weight (the weight comes off a lot slower with a revision, and also as your bmi gets smaller and you get closer to your goal) but I believe eventually I'll get there. But the things this surgery is giving to me, the dreams I can live out, the health and wellness and years of my life I'm getting back..... it was all worth it. The complications, the uncertainty, the pain and healing and stalls.... all completely worth it. We all start this journey wanting the numbers on the scale to go down. But there's SO MUCH MORE this surgery gives you. I will never, ever regret my decision. Never.

it's a good thing you are going through the anger now and not after surgery as it seems so much worse then, the benefits certainly outweigh the bad. but in time normally around the 12 months to 2-year mark you will wonder where your restriction has gone and long for the early days post-surgery. you will be able to eat your fav foods just don't overdo it and make the most of the early post op days as the past very quickly. I thought I would never eat normally ever again and that I would never enjoy food again, but I did, and I can, and you will too.

P.S. regarding vomiting - I did experience some in the early weeks after surgery - I had to figure out what my stomach was going to tolerate (I can now eat pretty much anything - and have been able to for years - I just have to watch my portion sizes to avoid gaining weight). I don't vomit any more now than I did before I had surgery. But I just wanted to say that vomiting after surgery is different from vomiting before surgery. Your stomach is much smaller, so there's not much to vomit up. Plus your stomach is not producing as much acid, so you don't get that horrible taste in your mouth, either. It tastes the same coming up as it did going down. So suffice it to say, I don't dread vomiting like I did before I had surgery.

Well it is finally here. I'm nervous and just need an outlet of some people to talk to. My date is 9/20

Hi! I'm new here. I went through about six months of the process for WLS about four or five years ago, but I didn't lose weight during the six-month pre-op phase, so things stopped. I had also been running across many horror stories (mostly on social media), which made me think that maybe it was for the best, anyway. Well, five years later, I weigh no less than I did back then. I have a huge list of co-morbidities, some of which are related to weight, some I had prior to my weight gain, and a couple that cause weight gain. I'm on over ten meds a day, and I'm only 42 (well, 43 in a few days). I feel like I'm falling apart. I think the last straw was that my oldest son got married in June. I saw myself in the wedding photos. I ruminated on that for a few weeks, and then woke up one morning and decided I was sick of obesity and everything that goes along with it. So, I asked my PCP for the referral, and I have my first appointment in September. Because I did six months of their program and because I read their patient handbook, I have a better idea of what is expected of me than I might otherwise. But I'm angry. I'm angry that I'm going to have to give up my favorite foods or accept sugar-free versions (and I can't stand artificial sweeteners; I'm actually really worried about it because most protein drinks/powders seem to rely on them). I'm angry that I won't be able to eat like everyone else. I'm angry that I'll have to go through so much physically. I'm angry that I have to lose weight to have surgery to help me lose weight that I need because I can't lose weight on my own. And I'm angry that it's such a long process. If I have to do it, tell me what to do, let me sulk over it for a few days, and then let's just do it. I know that's not how it works, and I don't know why I'm so angry. I have no one to blame but myself for being in this mess. I made a list of positives that could come from the surgery, and I got a full two pages. So I shouldn't be angry. And I realize my reaction shows that I have inappropriate attitudes toward food. I've discussed it with my therapist, and we're going to work on it, but I guess I was wondering if anyone else dealt with this and what helped them get past it. TIA!

Just Awesome! (as a little tear in my eye forms...). Really nice to hear and thanks for sharing that

Veggie fried rice, rice with furikake, and inarizushi (I also ate one full sushi and 2 of the pouches without the rice in them while making them).

The trick to eggs- baking soda in the water. And then ice bath right away after cooking. Also, I use an egg cooker so I poke a tiny hole in each egg before cooking it. I don’t cook boil them anymore and that seems to help.

mortality rate on bypass (at least when I had it eight years ago) is 0.3% It's even lower on sleeve (I don't remember the exact stat on that since I wasn't interested in sleeve). That means you have at least a 99.7% chance of NOT dying. That's better than a lot of other common surgeries, like hip or knee replacements. stop reading social media. I was doing that as well before my surgery and had to make myself stop. Major complications are rare. You just hear about them more because people post about those, looking for advice and support. The jillions of people who don't have them generally don't post that everything is hunky-dory. I had two strictures after my bypass. Easy fix. The PA in my bariatric clinic said those are the most common complication after bypass - and that about 5% of bypassers experience them. I personally wouldn't call something that happens to 5% of people "common", but that does give you an idea of how common complications are. Most complications, when they do happen, are minor and easily treatable or "fixable". The ones you mentioned about people carrying around bags for vomiting, etc - that's got to be incredibly rare. Spend some time here on BP or similar forums (like Obesity Help) rather than Facebook groups. I've been on here for nine years and have never heard of people carrying around barf bags because they vomit so much. I think you'll find this site will give you a much better picture of post-op life.

I had the same issue as you, bad reflux! My dr agreed on a revision from sleeve to duodenal switch. Im 6 days post opp, lets hope i can drop the rest of my weight