mistysj

Originally I was going to keep my surgery a secret, but I really dislike secrets and I was inspired by Angelina Jolie to share to help reduce the stigma. I posted the following to my Facebook friends and emailed it to family and friends who are not on Facebook. I don't think this is the right move for everyone but it was the right move for me. ---- I really dislike secrets. That's the reason for this post. I am typically a very open person, especially when my experience might help someone else. You know how Angelina Jolie had a double mastectomy before she got breast cancer, as a preventive measure? Well, last week I had surgery for a similar reason. I had a weight loss surgery called the vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG). This is a different procedure from the lap band or the gastric bypass. The purpose of the surgery is to allow me to eat small enough portions to lose a significant amount of weight, while feeling much less hunger. I wasn't originally going to disclose it beyond my very closest family and friends, because there is a huge stigma about weight loss surgery. The stigma of weight loss surgery is almost as bad as being obese itself. But I think the stigma is wrong. I had the surgery to address my diabetes, which was extremely manageable before the surgery but is already in remission, only days afterward. I did it to prevent sleep apnea, arthritis, high blood pressure, and heart disease, none of which I have yet. I also did it because being fat in this culture is very hard, emotionally and psychologically. People are cruel to fat people. I've been told by family members that I caused my diabetes, that I would never find love or marry as long as I was fat, and that I'd look so much prettier if I lost weight. I probably won't talk much more about the weight loss surgery or the weight loss itself. While compliments are nice, compliments about weight loss make me feel very uncomfortable and feel extremely personal. The "losing phase" will probably last a year to 18 months, and then I will be in "maintenance" for the rest of my life, which will hopefully be long and healthy. I won't be crowing about how much weight I have lost. It's a personal issue and I have no idea why people think it is appropriate to ask. But I want to do my part to end the stigma about weight loss surgery because diet and exercise alone don't work for 95% of people who are obese. If it has worked for you, I'm happy for you. If you've kept the weight off for several years, you are quite an outlier. Surgery works in almost every case. Please don't send me your friend-of-a-friend anecdotes or other negative opinions. I am not a doctor and I will not give you medical advice. If you have a friend or loved one considering this route, please educate yourself so you can be supportive to them. If you want to know what I can and cannot eat now, that information is pretty easily available too. It's not an easy decision and it is certainly not the easy way out. Thank you in advance for your support.

Everyone has been extremely supportive. I didn't really give them the choice if you read the last paragraph. I didn't post this to convince anyone else to share their surgery. It's a personal choice. Please don't feel any pressure or judgment from me.

I came out about my surgery to my friends and family today. I feel really good about it. This is what I wrote. "I really dislike secrets. That's why I work for an open source company, and its also the reason for this post. I am typically a very open person, especially when my experience might help someone else. You know how Angelina Jolie had a double mastectomy before she got breast cancer, as a preventive measure? Well, last week I had surgery for a similar reason. I had a weight loss surgery called the vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG). This is a different procedure from the lap band or the gastric bypass. The purpose of the surgery is to allow me to eat small enough portions to lose a significant amount of weight, while feeling much less hunger. I wasn't originally going to disclose it beyond my very closest family, because there is a huge stigma about weight loss surgery. The stigma of weight loss surgery is almost as bad as being obese itself. But I think the stigma is wrong. I had the surgery to address my diabetes, which was extremely manageable before the surgery but is already in remission, only days afterward. I did it to prevent sleep apnea, arthritis, high blood pressure, and heart disease, none of which I have yet. I also did it because being fat in this culture is very hard, emotionally and psychologically. People are cruel to fat people. I've been told by family members that I caused my diabetes, that I would never find love or marry as long as I was fat, and that I'd look so much prettier if I lost weight. I probably won't talk much more about the weight loss surgery or the weight loss itself. While compliments are nice, compliments about weight loss make me feel very uncomfortable and feel extremely personal. The "losing phase" will probably last a year to 18 months, and then I will be in "maintenance" for the rest of my life, which will hopefully be long and healthy. I won't be crowing about how much weight I have lost. It's a personal issue and I have no idea why people think it is appropriate to ask. But I want to do my part to end the stigma about weight loss surgery because diet and exercise alone don't work for 95% of people who are obese. If it has worked for you, I'm happy for you. If you've kept the weight off for several years, you are quite an outlier. Surgery works in almost every case. Please don't send me your friend-of-a-friend anecdotes or other negative opinions. I am not a doctor and I will not give you medical advice. If you have a friend or loved one considering this route, please educate yourself so you can be supportive to them. If you want to know what I can and cannot eat now, that information is pretty easily available too. It's not an easy decision and it is certainly not the easy way out. Thank you in advance for your support. "

I read this thread from start to finish over the course of two days. I am so impressed by you ladies. You have worked so incredibly hard and you are an inspiration. Thanks for being open and honest because I have found it so good to know that not everyone just drops to goal effortlessly. I am just beginning my journey but I have subscribed to this thread for inspiration. I promise not to post here until/unless I become a slow loser ( except for this one). I also read the regain article one of you posted a couple pages back. It talked about how some people need a revision from their first surgery to get to a healthy BMI. I am already trying to be open to that possibility. Have any of you considered a revision to get you there, if you have worked so hard for 2 or 3 years and are still having trouble? I know for me, I hope the sleeve works on its own, but I am trying to be open to the idea that I might need to revise it to DS if I eat pretty much perfectly for a couple years and still don't get there. I tried on my own to keep weight off for so long, and finally decided i need medical intervention. I suppose more medical intervention would not be the easy way out, just the same that getting the sleeve isn't the easy way out. What do y'all think about it?

I added my modified my optislim tomato soup recipe to the Recipe Swap board. I'm going to try blending my Protein shake powder into yogurt for dinner. Lets see how it goes. Edit to add that it's really good! Would be even better with vanilla or banana I think!

Similar to the chicken soup, I found the tomato soup terrible. I have made it manageable with the following recipe. I suspect it would also be good to just make it up with V8 instead of Water. Here is what I did. Blend the following together in a food processor: 1 packet Optifast or optislim tomato soup 1/3 cup powdered milk 1 tsp beef stock powder Add the following and blend thoroughly: 1 c water 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar OR 1 tbsp white vinegar Pour this into a saucepan. Add some dried cilantro and parsley, and a dash of hot sauce if you like. Heat over low just until it is warm enough to eat. Do not boil! If you get it too hot the Protein will clump. Strain and serve.

I figured out that I can make the optislim soups taste less disgusting. I posted the improved chicken one into the recipe sharing section. I will write up the tomato one today. I have been too scared to try the pumpkin at all yet. It's nice to have something that isn't sweet, but I think I would have better luck adding protein powder to homemade soups. But my dietitian wants me to use the optislim so I get all of the vitamins and nutrients. Oh well only 9 more days on full liquids!

Whose surgery is the second calendar week of May? Mine is the 14th. I think if we get to know each other and stick together we will be able to really support each other as we will probably go through similar things. What are your goals? I weigh around 215 and I am 4'11". My BMI is 42. I would like to get to around 110 pounds or 50 kg (I am in Australia) with a 22 BMI. That gives me lots of wiggle room. I haven't been that weight since I was around 12 years old and the same height. I would love to get to goal in 18 months. I don't have a pre-op diet because my weight is just under 100 kg and that is my doctor's preference.

I'm doing great! Still having diarrhea once a day and today I had gas cramps but I'm hard,y having any pain. My wound dressings are starting to fall off and incisions look great. Getting plenty of walking in, and not having too much trouble with my liquid and protein.

That's so amazing!!! How do you feel?

The first time I tried the chicken soup Meal Replacement I thought I was going to have to toss the box. It was so gross and gritty. But I have made it actually taste good so I thought I would share. In a food processor, blend: 1 packet of soup mix 1/3 cup skim milk powder 1/4 tsp beef stock powder 1 1/3 c cold Water Get them good and blended. Pour into a saucepan and set the heat to LOW. Add 1 tsp Worcester sauce, 1 tsp yellow mustard, and a bit of leek or spring onion leaf. Cook VERY SLOWLY until its warm enough to eat but nowhere near boiling. Strain and serve. If you need to reheat it just do it very gently to keep the Protein from clumping. I don't know if its the milk powder, the food processing, or the slow cooking, but its not gritty at all. Now to experiment with the tomato flavor.

I only used it once a week and it was 5+ years before the colonoscopy. The doctor accused me of abusing laxatives.

I just want to get some small bowls that only hold half a cup or 2/3 of a cup. I think that will be helpful. My dietitian has told me I shouldn't be eating more than 1/2 cup at at sitting for quite some time.

That smooth move tea has senna, which can actually turn your large intestine black and make colonoscopies harder to do. The doctor will also assume you are abusing laxatives. I speak from experience. Here is info about the disorder, called Melanosis coli: http://www.medicinenet.com/melanosis_coli/article.htm

Wow! Benefiber really does dissolve in black coffee without leaving a taste or texture. Awesome.

Congratulations Helen! How exciting you have your super approved. I think I turned a corner yesterday. The diarrhea is gone. Shoulder pain is much less. I was able to get in all 3 shakes and 13000 steps yesterday. I even did some shopping!

Goat is not fatty. I used to raise goats for meat. Here is a quote from Wikipedia: "Despite being classified as red meat, goat is leaner and contains less cholesterol and fat than both lamb and beef,[9] and fewer calories than beef or chicken" The citation is from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46519-2004Nov12.html

I did not need any of this stuff. It was easy to just pack the bare minimum and I didn't miss a thing. Clothes I came in/left in Night gown Slippers Couple changes undies Comfy sweat pants and t-shirt Travel size shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush Phone, charger iPod Kindle (or a book if that's your style) Wallet and a pen

Which stories were you reading? I have a hard time imagining people not losing with VSG unless they are eating around the sleeve, but I'd like to educate myself.

Second night after surgery I slept on my side. Not quite ready to sleep on my belly yet. The first night I could only sleep on my back which meant I didn't sleep much.

Get it out. That's the only way to ensure you don't have any more attacks. Besides attacks it can get infected like an appendix and burst. Bad news. It is not an important organ.

Never trust a fart at first. It is likely to be more than just air. I think I am finally getting over the runs. That has been the only negative for me so far. I walked more than 12000 steps today in two walks.

I damaged my BMR from doing a year of medically supervised Optifast. At the worst it was only 1300 as tested by the breathing machine. The doctor ordered a repeat test because he didn't believe it. I am hoping the sleeve combined with weight training will help. Metabolism is serious. I only lost 20 pounds from a year of eating less than 1000 calories a day.

That's nasturtium.