Go Kart Mozart

My surgeon didn't want me to drive for thirty days, but there was absolutely no chance of that happening. I had surgery on a Wednesday and drove myself to work a week later.

I had a leak test, and the dye they made me drink led to 12 hours of vomiting. I kind of wish they didn't haha.

At a fast food restaurant I generally get a grilled chicken sandwich and just ditch the bread. At a sit down restaurant, I look for something off the appetizer menu. Going out to eat used to be one of my favorite activities, and now it's turned into a chore. That said, I don't regret what I did.

So, my body stubbornly stayed in 42" waist pants from 332 pounds down to 265 pounds, then went to 40" pants. And now, just 8 pounds later, the 40" waist is too loose and for the first time in five years I'm in 38" pants and XL shirts. The best part is I still have plenty of (nice) clothes in these sizes. Woohoo.

Lots and lots of support pillows.

Six - five from surgery itself, and one from the drain. Between those and my (now faded) stretch marks, I'm quite ok with (and even proud of) my "battle scars."

At three + months out, I still have numbness in my stomach. Totally normal. In fact, I haven't regained full sensation following a surgery I had in July 1999. I wouldn't stress.

I spent the first two-three days after surgery vomiting. After that, I'd get an isolated dry heave 3-4 times a week for the first month or so. All I can tell you is to hang in there, and it will go away.

I'll probably still be wearing beer/sports t-shirts and plaid shorts when I get to goal, haha. Oh well.

It very well could be. This surgery was originally the first stage of a duodenal switch for highly obese people, but they began to see that it was oftentimes effective on its own in those patients, thus why it is now also a standalone procedure. I personally started at a BMI of 50 and couldn't be more thrilled with the results thus far.

I've cut back drastically on it. I drink about one Coke Zero a day (as opposed to about six cans daily pre-op) and it gives me no issues, as long as I don't gulp it - but gulping any liquid gives me trouble now. I've lost at a good clip even while drinking it, and feel no loss of restriction as a result, so I see no reason to stop.

Three months out, and anything in a tortilla wrap has made me ill, but that's just about it.

*raises hand* Me! Welcome. Glad you have a date. Best of luck! Yes, it can happen so soon. My initial consult was May 12, and I had insurance approval done and surgery completed on July 21. Granted, I had a short window, because I needed to have the surgery done and recovery well under way by the time I went back to school in late August.

Same here. I'm still quite overweight, but when I see people who are also overweight, I feel bad (not guilty, but bad) that I'm going to lose this weight and most likely, they aren't. It really is saddening.

Starting with a BMI of 49.6, I lost 34.4 lbs. the first month, 8.4 lbs. the second month, and 9.6 in the first three weeks of the third month. The second month was the worst in terms of stalls, but it's picked up here this third month, thankfully.

The feeling is really tough to describe. For me, it was not painful, but it was quite uncomfortable - like all of my internal organs were being pulled through that one incision.

I have it quite a bit after I eat, so you're definitely not alone.

So, we all know this is a big no-no, but I do like to have a drink during my meals. It's a hard habit to break, but more than that I find that if I don't, I can't eat enough to get in my requisite daily calories and protein. Anyone else in the same boat?

The after picture isn't exactly the clearest in the world, but there are the closest matching pictures I could find. In these, the difference is most obvious in the face, though the stomach is quite a bit smaller too. Left: July 3, approx. 325 lbs. Right: September 25, 271 lbs.

It just dawned on me today that I haven't taken a midday nap since the first couple of weeks after my surgery on July 21. I'm a full time college student, and it used to be that I would come home from school and pass out in my dorm room/apartment for a good three hours. Now, I come home and stay up until 1:00 AM doing homework (probably ) without a nap, and feel no ill effects. It's great to have such energy. This alone, ignoring the purely cosmetic effects of the 58 lbs. lost since May, make this surgery worth it. :glare:

My surgery was Wednesday afternoon, I was discharged on Friday morning. There was a possibility of going home on Thursday, but my nausea made that impossible. The recovery wasn't awful, but just be advised that Dr. Washington keeps a surgical drain in until the one week post-op visit. Cumbersome, but not awful. I was actually supposed to talk about the sleeve at the August seminar, but I chickened out lol. Thanks! I'm at school in Florida now, so that makes it tough to stay on track, but I'm still losing at a good clip. I look forward to getting back home in December so I can get back to the support group meetings then. If you have any more questions about Dr. Washington or the surgery in general, feel free to ask.

Good luck! The first couple of days will be awful, but just keep in mind that it will all be worth it in the end.

I had surgery with Dr. Washington on 7/21, and I must tell you he is awesome. I couldn't have asked for a better surgeon. He was in my room early every morning, asking me how I was - and he was very sympathetic to my issues (mostly nausea, since I have trouble with anesthesia in general).

Fifth day? That's surprisingly quick.

I can relate to this. I'm currently in between sizes, my 42s are way too loose, the 40s are still a bit too snug to wear. I've currently taken to wearing gym shorts under my regular shorts juuuust in case they happen to fall down haha.