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I have been creeping around here for months and finally decided to create an account and share. First though, I have to give great credit to my wife and family. My wife has been so supportive and flexible through the whole process. She has always been by my side, but during this process she read and learned about the changes, as much or more than I did. She has gone above and beyond with her support and care for me, all while still running a busy household. My kids are a constant reminder of why I did this -- so that I would be around for a long time. I wanted to be able to participate in life with my family. I also have to thank my surgical team and the care they provide. It has been great and truly lifesaving. I weighed 514-lbs on 9/12/22. I was a big boy to say the least. Shockingly, I was not in horrible medical condition. I did not take any medicine. Did not have diabetes or high blood pressure. I did have swelling in my legs, constantly sore/bad knees, and was very quick to be out of breath. I lived a very sedimentary live and limited my physical activity. I wanted to be able to be more active and be around with my family for a long time. I finally got up the nerve to discuss with my wife and she immediately got on board. I went through the program without an issue. Checked all boxes and completed all steps. Surgery was on 2/28/23 and it went well. I was up and moving that night, because that was one of the biggest hurdles to clear in order to leave. I was able to sip and keep liquid down. Discharged after one night! Incisions were sore, as expected. Gas was the worst, and not the good kind of gas that can clear the room when expelled (yeah, I am a guy), but the awful painful surgical gas, which took almost a week to fully go away. I was basically fully cleared by the doctor and back to work (in a nonphysical job) one week after surgery. My process was textbook, none of the complications that many have experienced, and I am lucky for it! This process has not been easy but has not been impossible. I have followed my plan, with the support at home, and it is working. I feel physically so much better. I am so much more mobile and active. I have never been happier. I have made changes to my daily life to support the process. My diet has changed but not radically. I eat a lot less and that is the biggest driver of my weight loss. I walk and am active in live, but I do not have a detailed exercise plan. I am still learning exactly what works for me, but most importantly I want others to know there are many routes to get to the same place. I try to get the big stuff right and not sweat the tiniest of details. My blood work at my six-month checkup was solid. Protein was on the low end in the range, but still acceptable. I was encouraged to keep on keeping on (shout out to Joe Dirt). They were comfortable enough to set my next follow up appointment out to one year. I was scared and nervous. I have had good days and bad days (constipation is AWFUL)! Most importantly, I wanted to share my story and I hope it can help others in some way. I never wanted to be skinny. I could care less what my BMI is. I wanted to feel better. I wanted to be able to participate in life with my family. And I am! I am no expert and I still have a long way to go, but I am happy and glad I had this surgery. As I have seen here, over and over again, we are all different, so what works for me may not for others, but I still wanted to share, and I hope it might be of some benefit to someone else. The non-scale wins are just the best! When I started this process, I was so huge that home scales couldn't hold me, so I would go months without weighing, but I knew good things were happening because of all the non-scale wins. Cherish those! This is a long (probably too long) post, so I will wrap. I recently weighed on my home scale (yeah, that's right, it now holds me) and I was at 288-lbs. If anyone has questions or wants more details about my journey, please let me know. I would be happy to share more.

As I lost weight, my equilibrium was off. Things shift and not only was my balance off, my bones and muscles ached. Between walking and a few adjustments from a chiropractor, it's greatly improved. I think it's normal to feel clumsy/klutsy because I sure did. My walking was most obvious. I tripped easily and stumbled over things. Now I purposely walk off road over uneven ground to help strengthen my legs and balance. I still have weight to lose so until I get closer to goal weight, I'm believing it can only get better. GL and hope you see improvements as you go too :)

I read this article in the New York Times this week and thought it brought up a lot of interesting issues. With the alarming growth of obesity in young people, including children, there are a lot of questions about when should a patient become a candidate for WLS. With my upcoming surgery, I've had a few conversations with my teen/tween daughters about nutrition/healthy eating, as well as some of the possible genetic components of weight gain. Both of my girls are active and not currently at risk, but I know that my younger daughter is physically a lot like I was at her age, and I would do anything for her not to ever have to deal with weight gain the way I have as she gets older. I hope I can teach them both good habits now that they can carry with them. But what happens when a kid is already so large at age 16 that their quality of life is impacted? What's the responsible/ethical thing to do with regards to a surgery that can't be reversed? This is a very interesting read. In case you didn't read it, here's a link (it should bypass the paywall for non-subscribers until the end of November): https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/31/magazine/teen-bariatric-surgery.html?unlocked_article_code=1.7Ew.M7l-.QaJi8BjntPW_&smid=url-share

Wishing all the 11/1 peep's much luck!!!

Hi had my surgery on Friday the 27th at 10:30 am and today is day 4!!! I feel really good today and each since the surgery I have been feeling better. When I woke up from surgery the only pain I had was from laying on my back unable to move during the operation coupled with the pain from my period, which of course had to start the day before. I spent a very long time in recovery because they did not have a room ready for me yet, that was about 3-4 hours. When I finally got to my room, being able to move around helped my back somewhat. The only bad thing for me was the nausea, I puked several times on Friday and a few times the next day when I woke up. I had the option to stay another night in the hospital, but I was eager to get the 130-mile ride back home done. Once home I only took one anti-nausea medication. I have not had any pain and very little gas. I am getting liquids down very well. My two-week diet consists of 5-6 mini-meals that are 2oz of either yogurt, pudding, creamy soup or vegetable juice. 1 protein shake and 48-64oz of liquids that are either water, broth, jello, herbal tea, crystal light, poweraide, or popsicles. low or no sugar for everything course I am finding it easy to eat more than 1 or 2 oz's at a time, this worries me a little. I am down to only one nap a day I am hoping soon I won't need a nap.

I also regret it! You’re not the only one in time we will feel better. We gave up our best friend if your emotional eater like I was. It’s sad how much food made me happy. I gave up narcotics took me years was hard but is so much harder!!! Stay strong!

So my surgeon was out of the office after an injury so my surgery was on hold but I have finally gotten word today that I am scheduled for 11/16/23. 🙀 I am so darn excited!!!

I had my gall bladder removed back in 97 when I was 4 months pregnant with my son. I had absolutely no idea at all that there were issues until I had the attack in the middle of the night. I thought I was dying. Went to the ER, found out I had severe pancreatitis that needed IV antibiotics to get it under control before it was safe enough to remove my gall bladder, but also saw that my gall bladder was so full of stones it was literally about to burst. I was in the hospital on iv meds for 3 days before I could have the surgery. Then during the surgery, when they removed it, it literally burst as it was removed and a few stones got stuck and had to be removed. I was in surgery 2 hours longer than expected and spiked a fever. I was in the hospital another 3 days on more pain meds and antibiotics before I was allowed to go home. So in my humble opinion, get it outta there. Not worth the trouble you will inevitably have now that you know you produce stones. It's not likely to stop, so better to be safe than sorry.

When I had my gall attack (worst pain ever! 😩🥹), I asked my surgeon (he did my sleeve too) about dissolving it or shattering it with radio frequency. He said if you’ve grown one stone you’ll grow another. Best thing is just to remove the gall. So he did. The surgery was easy. He used the same sites as my sleeve surgery for the laparoscopic surgery so I have no additional scars. The recovery was easier than my sleeve though I did have gas pain (I didn’t have any with my sleeve). Pain was similar & manageable again & lasted about 4 days. Best of all no special diet, no diarrhoea, no constipation, no nausea, etc. after. I did end up with a malabsorption issue which isn’t very common. Mine is for protein, which is even less common, & some meds. I was just unlucky … or special depending upon how you look at it 😁. It’s not an organ you really need - it just manages how much stomach acid & bile goes into your digestive system. Occasionally I get a bout of acidic diarrhoea (my sister-in-law does too) & that’s all.

Thanks everyone. I used to LOVE to eat, and now it isn't pleasant. I worry I may gain an ounce, whether I am making the right choices in my meals, what I should be doing different. I have basically moved on from the shakes, because of the intolerance of milk, but I'll probably have to start on them again soon since I am worried I am not getting the right amount of nutrition. I am still losing, which is great, but I don't want to become sick. It seems as though the smoother the food, the easier it is to handle. Yogurt, applesauce, mashed potatoes. Or if its crisp, crunchy, like popcorn, crackers, etc. I eat like a bird. I'm not complaining that I want to eat more, or less...I just know I need my nutrition, and it concerns me that I may never enjoy food again, and how that will affect my diet. I did enjoy Thanksgiving. We cooked on Sunday, and I had turkey, cranberry sauce, dressing and deviled eggs, all at very small amounts, and taking my time. But that is one meal I absolutely always have loved. Just glad to know I am not the only one who feels this way.