RJ'S/beginning

Ah, he has no choice but to eat what I make or he can cook for himself and for him to do that, well........ he would rather have all his teeth pulled out without freezing. He had enough cooking when I was in the hospital for 5.5 months. He is used to it all now except squash. I don't think I will ever convert him...lol

There is nothing in this world better then a hubby or family. those that stand beside you and understand why you are who you are and are okay with it. I am truly blessed and happy to know that there are others out there who enjoy the same experience.

Thank you all. Your wonderful. I would think that with it all she would have run the other way. But no...She sees how different I am and wants that for herself. I am so proud of her. and hopefully you are right. One nut job per family...me! I want her to have it like Lipsticklady......smooth and easy...... I can hardly breath.. On another note. My butt is doing great. See the Doc on Fri. To find out if he is happy with the fix he gave me.....

Yes it is true that you can die from WLS. but you can also die having your teeth removed at the dentist office. Every surgery comes with that chance. However slim it has happened to some. Now think of why you are doing this. What brought you to this place and what you want out of it all. I am glad that you are being though with your research. some jump into it without enough knowledge and so therefore are shocked and unprepared for the outcome if it goes south for them. My surgeon asked me what is the worst thing that can happen if you go through with this surgery. He kept asking until I said I could die. He said that's right! The chances are slim but it happens. Make sure you have this figured out. Make sure you understand the options and what can happen. Keep close to a forum that offers advice and help in your travel. And make sure that this is going to be worth all the work and energy you are going to put into it. It is far more then surgery. It is a mental, emotional and physical change that some are not prepared for. So many have had this fear and all went well. As @@VSGAnn2014 mentioned. The statistics are in your favor kid!

Please contact your surgeon and if your procedure was done near by don't call just go! You cannot take chances with this type of thing. check for fever and if you have one...go... Please keep us posted.

Write them down in a journal. congrats! Writing them down will give you the opportunity to read just how far you have come and the experiences will give you the lift you need at the times when you are in ' body at rest ' or when you think you have done nothing to improve your health and well being!

Had the surgery yesterday. They kept me until after 2 in the afternoon because I could not walk ten feet without falling into a wall or something. They thought it was a reaction to the pain meds but it was a reaction to the stuff they gave me to put me out. what a rush. slept all day and night no issues. I wake up with a swollen mouth and cuts in my mouth. Sore throat and a hoarse voice. The pain...well ouch to all heck.... Sure hope this worked. Doc. was happy. He sings like a bird. Amazing voice and they clowned with me until I went under. I hope that surgery number 18 was a success. I'm still here folks like it or not...lol

Saturday my hubby took me to Breakfast at a market we work at every Saturday. We are vendors there and so once a year we get a free breakfast. I ordered bacon and pancakes. He ordered a breakfast burrito. As my hubby got up to get coffee and tea out food was being set before me. the lady who delivered it said this is a lot of food for such a little thing like yourself. she then smiled and walked away. I stared in disbelief because I still see myself most times as fat. oops. when my hubby came over I told him what she said and he smiled and said you are tiny. I looked at him and then stared at the woman who had said it. Then it dawned on me that I recognized her from somewhere but could not put my finger on it....Then I broke down crying. It just happened. I remembered her. she was one of my favorite nurses who looked after me when I finally came home from the hospital. I called her over and asked if she remembered me and was she still a nurse. She said no she did not know me and yes she worked part time as a nurse. I told her who I was and of course it was not hard to place me as I was the only patient who had a category 5 bed sore. She stood there and clasp her hand over her mouth and said OMG I would have never known it was you. I told her how much I liked her and how much I appreciated her honesty with my health and that she meant a lot to me. She came over and hugged me hard and thanked me for the compliment. I turned to my hubby and repeated what she said and she said yup. It's true I did say that. We laughed and she asked me to remind her husband that she was a gem....We laughed and she went back to work serving. After breakfast I got up to get my coat on and a lady behind me asked me how I was doing. I said fine. Do we know each other? She said you don't know me then? I said no. She said I worked at the drug store but no longer do. I have been wondering how you are doing. You were so sick. We thought you were not going to make it. I said me either and I laughed. She told me I looked amazing and so healthy and she was so pleased to see that. I thanked her for remembering me and for the kind words. My day was wonderful yesterday. All this hard work and trouble has been so worth it. I face surgery ( repair work on my butt from the bed sore ) on Thursday and no longer feel bad or fearful. I am going forward not backward and these people helped me see that.... Sorry for being long winded but it was an amazing feeling for people to say such lovely things.....

Seems to me that you are no different then the Band bashers right....In ten years I can come back and say whatever I chose to say and as long aas I stay between the guidelines. I recognize that 30 % of WLS patients are unsuccessful. That includes all surgeries. I know that there are a lot of sleevers who don't post for the same reason. They have moved on so to speak. It does not matter what surgery you chose they are serious and should be decided upon over time to make sure you know what you are doing. And that you are educated in the one and yes even the others to make an educated decision. I believe and I will restate that it is not about what surgery you chose it is about cheering each other on. Helping one another and being there to support each other. I have had complications with my sleeve since I chose it in 2012. Does not mean I regret it but it does help a lot when I get encouragement from anyone who has had WLS in general. People of any surgery can help me in some way. And they have. We are not all bashers you know. You spoke like we are. I am upset with that comment. I will not stop encouraging or talking to those like @@CarolinaGirl because it offends you. she is my friend. And although we have had different surgeries we see the need to encourage one another. Shame on you for painting yourself with the same brush you have painted the rest of us with.

No I have not written out every detail. That will take a book which I am destined to write. But I have written a lot about my experiences in the hopes of helping others be educated and maybe benefit from what I have gone through. Esp. those who have dealt with a lot of complications... Thank you for your well wishes

No one knows how it will turn out for you. That is between you god and your surgeon. However I do believe that being prepared is the best route you can take. Knowing the best things about WLS and the worst. You have to resign yourself to the chances good or bad and be prepared to live and deal with them either way. So look at your reasons for having WLS and what you want out of it and decide if it is the answer for you. Whatever you decide know that you have looked at it from every angle. Then there are no surprises. My surgeon once asked me ' what was the worst thing that could happen to me by having WLS ' I replied death. Well if you are not prepared for more then that as in the bounds of complications and see it as worth it. i believe that can be worse then death. Not trying to scare you. Just making sure you have crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's. So you will be prepared for anything!

All the things you mentioned in your comment to me happens to those who face the other procedures except fiils and slips. I know I did not say it right but we all go through things that can help educate each other. General discussions, I think that all surgeries need to band together and help each other....I suppose then if I had made comments to those who had the Band then I must have looked like an idiot... I am sorry this is happening to the Band forums. I truly thought that we had been put together; all of us, no matter what surgery we had to help each other. Sometimes it is just a sounding board that we need and that is what I use this forum for most of the time. I am thankful for all the bandsters that have talked to me and I have some new insights in areas that apply to me from them. And what they have gone through as well. they have been a help in my ever changing journey. I see I look at this completely different then others and that is okay....I think you have succeeded in your thread @@B-52 Your points have been well developed.

Exactly..... It's not about one procedure versus another..... Just a few minutes ago I opened a thread clearly about the Lap band, started by someone who was banded...and a few posts in people with the sleeve are giving answers/advice to the OP.... With all due respect, people with the sleeve do not relate to banders in all things, just as I, as a bander, do not have a clue what it is like to have the sleeve...NOT A CLUE!...so I will not pretend to. I will stay within the lap band section of this website. I am sorry @@B-52 but that is where we differ. I do not know the pacifics about the Lap Band. but I did study it before I had my surgery. But there is more going on then just the surgery. There is emotional, physical and mental issues to deal with. That is a common thread for all WLS patients. I do not even look at the surgery when people are asking questions because I put the spin on all the other stuff we deal with. I have noticed that you don't comment on other surgery threads. Does that not make you a bit of what you are saying should not be. You have experience that can help others. Those who don't have the Lap Band can benefit from your experiences. I know that I have read some of your posts and have enjoyed your reasoning on things. I am sure others would feel the same way. Was it a mistake to put us all together on this site. I think not....Answer those you want to and don't to who you don't want to. I hope in 10 years that they find a method of controlling this disease without any type of procedure and that we who came before them can concentrate on the more important issues like supporting one another.

I notice a big difference if I am in front of the TV. I eat too fast. So for me it is no TV. I have a habit of putting my fork down with every bite. I hold it in my hands when watching TV and this takes a crucial step out of the equation for me. I also cross my arms after each bite to make sure I eat slow and chew long and hard....OCD maybe , but it works for me. Because when I don't I end up up chucking everything......

Ha ha ha is not encouraging. It is good, wonderful and a blessing you were one of the fortunate ones. Thank god for that. Please be more supportive. This is a real issue being felt by a real person. I know that if someone said Ha ha ha to me with everything that I have been through..... Well, you can guess the rest.

Keep an eye on the level of pain okay. there are layers of flesh that they stitch. it is not just the outer layer of skin. so it can become uncomfortable for some who have strained their incisions in some way. Or it could just be your pain tolerance level. but if you continue to feel extreme pain. Please call your surgeon and get it looked into. Better safe then sorry!

Bravo!

He won't know anything until he goes in. But and pardon the pun. I hope it is all good! LOL

Ditto!

Wipe it out of your eye and keep on reading you.....

I don't understand. To me there is positive in all surgeries that have the results of weight loss. And a building of a new relationship with food. All information is critical to the success of anyone who undergoes this life saving process. I know that thirty years ago it was stapling the stomach that was used to help with weight loss and a lot of professionals felt it was barbaric. But many lives were lived longer because of it. I know of a woman who's aunt had it done and to this day she has kept her weight off. And became healthier because of it. It is what it is and just as they have made strides in other surgeries and cures for different diseases it does not diminish the one who came before them and benefited from the former treatments. My surgery is a compromise between the sleeve and by pass. What would I have done if it had only been the sleeve and nothing more. I would be dead now. I hope that they do come up with easier ways of helping the obese of this world without taking such drastic measures as they have in the past and even now with these new surgeries. But and this is the point I want to make. People who are successful with any one of these surgeries have a lot of information and experience to share with those who are learning, having or living with these procedures. Those who have had Lap Band have a lot to offer to help everyone who has had any type of WLS because there is more to it then just the surgery. There is the mental, emotional and physical changes and demons to deal with. We need the help of those that came before us. So please keep up your posts and help those who need you in other areas besides actual surgery choices. It is all in the name of good health and well being. So many have left this forum for different reasons. We need all of you Lap Banders and Sleevers and By Passers and Yes even the Roux En Y like me who offer assistance to others. You are important here and I respect you so much for your success. Jane

Your funny! Humor is good . I broke out for a while as well. But I do not have the condition you have. So it could be that a visit to the dermatologist is the thing. But you are still a very funny lady!

I know that within each layer of fat there is toxins held from the time the weight started to go on. And as each layer is released by dropping weight the toxins come out of our bodies in our pores and other ways..... Bowels and urine as well.

Frozen ----- Let it go, let it go! It will be over and then you will be a loser like the rest of us. All the best kiddo!

It is a rough go to get to the point that you need meds. But I give you thumbs up for recognizing your need to get help. When i was in the hospital for 5.5 months they decided to take me off my depression meds and 2.5 months into my stay I started to slip into the dark black hole once more and began to shut down. It was my families insistence that made them put me back on them and I started to once again build the strength it took to get through that ordeal. Having WLS is not a one dimensional thing it covers all facets of our lives and the things we truly feel about ourselves esp. when we have chosen WLS to help deal with all the issues we feel about ourselves and the fears and anxiety of what may or may not happen to us... We know why we feel the way we do it is just that we are unable to reach deep to figure out the triggers that bring on the episodes. For some of us it is temporary until we come to grips with whatever brought it on and others are chronic like me. I will never get better. The surgery made no difference as far as my depression went. Take time to figure out why you are feeling the way you do and when the panic starts pause and think what am I thinking about or what has happened to make me panic in this way. Sometimes it is easier to get up and do something to get your thinking in another direction. I am so hoping for you it is a temporary condition. Hope this helps even a little.