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Thank you Arabesque and BabySpoons, what you say makes sense! I'm just finding it annoying at this point silly fingers malfunctioning!

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.

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

Super interesting thank you! My only co-morbidity was reflux. Interesting that the sleeve would be expected to cure that for 54% of people like me and bypass 63%. I had thought the differences in risks were much greater. I plumped for the sleeve because I knew that in the past when I lost a lot of weight my reflux settled and I thought I was gambling on it settling again. It did, but the gamble and the odds I based it on weren't right.

I think I was closer to six months out before I could eat them. Baby carrots still occasionally irritate my stomach, and I'm over eight years out.

Oof, I'm 3 months post op and my hair just started coming out in clumps I really hope it stops falling out/grows back soon.

I know this is kind of an older post, but I wanted to send hugs and hoping that you're feeling better these days ❤️

Ok so I just tried this and it was surprisingly yummy. Crust 1 cup mozzerella 1/4 parmesian 1 egg Seasoning of your choice (I used Italian seasoning and garlic powder) Topping Low carb marinara (I used Rao's) Sprinkle of mozzerella Turkey pepperoni Mix all the crust ingredients together. Put parchment paper on a pan. Spray with cooking spray. Shape mixture into the size of a personal pan pizza (6" or so) on topof the parchment paper. Spread marinara on top of crust mixture. Sprinkle mozzerella. Add turkey pepperoni (I use 6 pieces- you can use more or less). Cook 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool when it comes out of the oven. I side into 4 pieces, ate 2 and my daughter ate the other 2. Add toppings. Experiment. This really scratched the pizza itch and was surprisingly healthy.

Also your body is releasing a lot of oestrogen in to your blood stream, which was stored in your fat, as you’re losing stirring up lots of emotions & other issues. Also food you may have depended upon for comfort has been taken away from you. This can cause a lot of anxiety &/or depression (grieving what you can’t have or have lost) for some. Some find they have to change medications they successfully took before their bypass because they are not being absorbed in the same way. Slow release are one type that are impacted. It may be worth having a conversation with your prescribing doctor. Drops in blood sugar after surgery isn’t uncommon & usually improves. Try taking an electrolyte drink with you when undertaking any activity can be helpful. All the best.

I’m reading a lot of things that sound like suicidal ideation in your comments. I’m a clinical social worker and should you be serious and not just grieving/processing the new lifestyle you have… Suicide hotline: 800-273-8255. Open 24/7