joatsaint

Why would anyone need to take an appetite suppressant after having WLS? The whole reason I had WLS was to get away from pills and diets that didn't work long term for me.

AmyNLaynie6, it's perfectly normal to have misgivings about WLS. It's a drastic step, but some of us needed to take that step to get our lives back. It really boils down to: are you ready to take the steps necessary to get control of your life? And only you can make such an important decision. Take your time deciding and researching, go to WLS support groups if there are any nearby and listen to their stories. Watch Youtube videos and read the forums. Learn as much as you can before deciding.

My dad is a BIG blabbermouth too. He couldn't wait to start telling people about my surgery, even though I specifically asked him to keep it private. If I hadn't had to tell him, I never would have.

The week I returned to work, day 11 post-op, I was climbing the stairs at work. It was way more than 20 stairs. I took it slow and easy. No problems.

I had the same kind of pain. I got some relief by rolling up a comforter like a log and sleeping propped up.... like in a hospital bed. I am a side sleeper, but for that first week, I had to sleep propped up and on my back. Sleeping propped up also made it easier to get out of bed. The pain slowly went away and by the 9th or 10th day, it was completely gone. But you are right, it is some of the worst pain I have ever felt!

I was single for 10+ years before and for 2 years after WLS. When I met my girlfriend, I didn't tell her about the surgery. I did tell her that I had lost a lot of weight and couldn't eat big meals if I wanted maintain my weight. That seemed to satisfy her. I carry most of my excess skin around my stomach, so it was obvious - even with a baggy shirt on - that I have a gut. But she was okay with it. I made sure she saw me wearing shirts that were tucked in, so she could see that I had excess skin that was going to hang down past my waist, before she ever saw me with my shirt off. :-P

Here is your profile. Click on "activity". You can see the posts you made under melissagaspers77 http://www.bariatricpal.com/user/260555-melissagaspers77/ Here's one topic you started: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/348085-new-girl/ And here's the other: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/348081-how-much-my-sleeve-holds/

Weight loss surgery: To Tell or Not to Tell? I find it interesting that we are so conditioned by the weight loss industry that we feel NOT disclosing weight loss surgery is being deceptive. Like we are hiding a fault within us. That there’s something wrong with us and YOU need to know about it so you can decide whether you want to know me or not. We don’t feel the same way about other non-communicable diseases. On your first date, job interview, or social gathering, did you make a point of announcing that you had Lasik eye surgery? Chemo therapy? A heart/lung transplant? So everyone could decide if you were good enough to be part of the group. Not being up front about WLS does not rank as high as not disclosing to your date that you used to be a dude before the sex change. :-p It’s not the same. Not telling anyone that you had weight loss surgery is not going to impact/change their life in the slightest… unless they might benefit from it. But I would not ever suggest to them that they need weight loss surgery. I would not have taken the suggestion as being helpful. :-P You would think that with all the societal pressure to be young thin and beautiful, people wouldn’t care how you achieved it. And would even congratulate you for doing what you had to do to take control of your life. But I guess there will always be those that will make comments or criticize us because they don’t understand, think we’re taking the easy way out, fear of losing us or are afraid of seeing us succeed.

Weight loss surgery: To Tell or Not to Tell? I find it interesting that we are so conditioned by the weight loss industry that we feel NOT disclosing weight loss surgery is being deceptive. Like we are hiding a fault within us. That there’s something wrong with us and YOU need to know about it so you can decide whether you want to know me or not. We don’t feel the same way about other non-communicable diseases. On your first date, job interview, or social gathering, did you make a point of announcing that you had Lasik eye surgery? Chemo therapy? A heart/lung transplant? So everyone could decide if you were good enough to be part of the group. Not being up front about WLS does not rank as high as not disclosing to your date that you used to be a dude before the sex change. :-p It’s not the same. Not telling anyone that you had weight loss surgery is not going to impact/change their life in the slightest… unless they might benefit from it. But I would not ever suggest to them that they need weight loss surgery. I would not have taken the suggestion as being helpful. :-P You would think that with all the societal pressure to be young thin and beautiful, people wouldn’t care how you achieved it. And would even congratulate you for doing what you had to do to take control of your life. But I guess there will always be those that will make comments or criticize us because they don’t understand, think we’re taking the easy way out, fear of losing us or are afraid of seeing us succeed.

I guess the best way I can answer that is to describe a typical week. Over the weekend, I usually gain up to 5lbs because of the food/salt/carbs/alcohol I'm eating. Friday morning, I was 212. Monday morning, I was 216, Tuesday: 215, Wednesday 213. I tend to lose the excess weight I gain over the weekend as I go back to my weekday diet. In the evenings, I can expect to be 1 to 2 pounds heavier than in the mornings. But overnight, all the Water gets flushed out. If I don't see my morning weight at the same or lower weight as the previous morning, I pay more attention to what I'm eating during the day and cut out as much processed food/carbs as I can. And that usually is enough to keep my weight in check. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

I too was on a need to know basis. My commitment to weight loss surgery was pretty weak. I was so afraid of the unknown. I only told my best friend and my parents. I was incredibly surprised when all 3 were so supportive.

At 20 days, I was eating about 2 tablespoons of food per meal. And eating about every 2 hours.

I really tried not to take getting on the scale too serisously. Weight loss is not a continuous steady downward path. There will be stalls, slowdowns, and even gains along the way - for reasons that are completely unrelated to your diet and exercise. I could be doing everything right - the right amount of calories, the right amount of protein/carb ratio, the right amount of Water.... and my weight loss would plateau for weeks. My 1st week after WLS, I made a deal with myself. Only the 1st weigh in for the day - in the morning - counted. All the other times I weighed myself were just for fun. :-P I was weighing myself - when I got up, before I drank, after I drank, before I peed, after I peed, before a BM, after a BM, and once in the evening. It was a game as far as I was concerned. Nothing counted except the 1st weigh in, there's just too many variables that can change during the rest of the day. After 31 months, I still weigh myself daily. I'm too paranoid about weight gain to only weigh once a week or God Forbid! Once a month....eeek! Daily weigh in's keep me aware of how much I'm eating and provide the feedback I want. Hope this helps. Down Scale Down! The Fear of Seeing the Scale Move UP! http://www.bariatricpal.com/blog/9018/entry-31534-down-scale-down-or-the-fear-of-seeing-the-scale-move-up-instead-of-down/

Congrats on your surgiversary!!!

Every doctor has their own recommendations. I've heard as much as 2000 calories to as low as 500 per day. My doctor wanted me to eat about 800 calories per day.

I tried the fettuccine noodles and couldn't get past the slippery feeling in my mouth. I think if I had tried the thinner angle hair version, I might have liked them better. And as stated above, rinse them thoroughly before cooking. They smell pretty bad right out of the bag, but water washes away the smell.

The short answer is: I wanted the least invasive surgery. The Sleeve doesn't reroute my intestines. But now that I've found co-workers that had RNY, (and had great success over multiple years) I realize I couldn't have gone wrong with either surgery.

You mentioned juice? You might try cutting it out of your diet. Any kind of fruit tends to cause me head hunger. You may be getting so many carbs that it's triggering head hunger. Read the labels on your foods and cut out anything that has more than 5 to 8 carbs per serving. When I was on my post op diet, I was only allowed meat, chicken, pork, cheese and vegetables. Nothing processed or with added sugars.

I did notice that the flavor of a Quest bar went up a notch when heated for about 10 seconds in the microwave. But it also melted to the plate and I had to burn a few calories trying to scrape every last bite off, cause I didn't want to waste one bit! :-P

***Sorry, but the offer has been sold out*** Just ran across this, don't know how long it will last. Two Quest Bar Protein Bars free when fill out a short questionnaire (like 4-5 questions) They ask for your email and mailing address. They even pay shipping. Choose from following flavors - The bars will arrive in 4-8 weeks. chocolate Chip Cookie Dough & White Chocolate Raspberry Double Chocolate Chunk & Apple Pie Chocolate Brownie & Cinnamon Roll Chocolate Peanut Butter & Coconut Cashew

I can't wait for the National Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Day, so I can get my favorite Quest bar too! :-P

Thanks for letting me know. I checked the link, and the offer has been removed. I guess they met their giveaway limit quickly and pulled the page.

It was my best investment ever as well. I even calculated my ROI (return on investment) and figured out that the money I saved on food costs would pay for my surgery expenses in about 3 1/2 years. After that, it's pure profit! There goes the BOOM! :-)