laners777

Well I started the summer season with my kids today by going to the local Water park. Even though I have lost 100 lbs since last summer, I found myself still getting nervous while driving there....keep the cover up on or take it off were my thoughts. I decided to ditch the cover up and go with bathing suit only. Even with all my loose skin, I felt good having the confidence to not wear a cover up over my suit for the first time in over 10 years. I also had the best time climbing the water jungle gym with my 5 yo daughter. Now you must know that this area has water pouring from every direction, slides, climbing nets, a ton of stairs, and the need to dodge children of all ages at a moments notice. I managed all of this with skill and grace...well maybe not grace. It felt amazing to be able to run around, climb stairs, NOT afraid that I would get stuck in the slide on the way down and actually not getting stuck in any part of the smaller spaces of this contraption. Another reason to be happy with my choice of having the sleeve done. I say this everyday but today it really hit home "BEST THING I EVER DID FOR MYSELF and MY FAMILY"!!! Hope others had a good day and if you didn't....please have a good one tomorrow.

Happy that you are doing OK...you look good for just getting out of surgery! Keep us updated on your progress and congrats to you on being able to get that done. I know you will love it when it is all healed.

Any update...how did you do in surgery? Hope you are doing OK.

Thanks to everyone for all the great information and the pics....the saying "a pic is worth a thousand words" definitely applies here. CGJ...you can hardly even see your arm scars...WOW after 8 months. I'm sold and will be getting that done at the first possible moment.

I like a few of the other who posted.....would love to photograph people, places and the beautiful architecture all over the world. It has been my dream since I was a teenager (now 49). Meeting these people and learning about their cultures is what really gets me excited! I've been lucky to have traveled to other countries already but as a visitor/vacation...not as work. Dreams are WONDERFUL and great topic by the way....thanks.

What an accomplishment and you look amazing!

Congrats on your weight loss, you look awesome!

Congratulations, you look amazing! I am also a June 2013 sleever and happy to have a sleeve sister be successful and rock her new look/life. Please give us the "at goal" update when that happens. Again, you look incredible.

I understand your thoughts on not reading so many posts, but please keep doing your research on this forum. You will find great advice and when you need a group of people to understand what you are going through....there is no better place than here! I think you will find that with any procedure, whether WLS or any other surgery, there are going to be risks and I like that everyone is honest here and tells you about their experiences. I will pray for you and hope that you make the right decision for you, whatever that may be. I can tell you getting a sleeve was the best thing I have EVER done for myself and my family. I am approaching the year mark and feel the best I have felt in my entire life. I can do more exercise, keep up with my kids, have a confidence that I've never had before and most importantly for me is that I can finally say I like the way I look. WHEW I said it, I like the way I look and can look in the mirror without wincing:) Again, good luck to you.

I used my cpap in the hospital and right when I got home. My doctor recommended it, not sure why they didn't have you use it in the hospital. I do find that I still use it on the nights I am really tired and I still snore but it isn't the type of snoring that I stop breathing like before surgery. You need good sleep to heal, so I would say wear it again....unless of course your doctor said don't wear it.

My youngest daughter, now 5, is a lap band baby. I got pregnant with her 6 months after having the band done. I am a revision and LOVE the sleeve. I can't give any opinion about pregnancy with the sleeve but with the band I can say I did not have any issues. I ate nutritious food, took liquid Vitamins (EXPENSIVE) and did everything the OB Dr said and had a healthy 8.8 lb baby girl. I will also say that although age is a factor that needs to be considered, I was 33 for my first daughter and 43 for my second. There is a great advantage to being an older mom and with my very energetic 5 year old, I am so thankful to be thinner and able to keep up with her. My advice for whatever it is worth to ya.....get the sleeve, wait until you are down to goal and then get pregnant. You will be healthier for pregnancy, able to be more active with your baby and be like me....kick ass right along side all those younger moms

CONGRATS to you !!! Soon you will be writing "I am at GOAL"

I am in a similar situation as I will be changing jobs in August. I personally am torn when it comes to this subject. One one hand it would be nice to enter a new work world, with new work people who have no idea my experiences/struggles with obesity. The other side of that coin is the fact that knowing how it is to struggle and dream about being healthy, active, and most importantly at peace (well I'm still working on this one) with my body, I want to share so I can help others who might be successful with the sleeve. I will look for updates on this subject to see what others have experienced in similar situations. Good luck in getting your new job and best wishes for continued success with your healthy life!

Sore throat seems to be common and probably is from the tube. All the pain, gas, etc usually goes away after 3-4 days. Walk, walk, walk and drink as much as possible...it does get better I promise. You are on your way to a new you and a much better life. You made the right decision....you will be thinking/saying in no time "this is the best thing I ever did for myself."

I had a fever the first few days after surgery. It went away on day 3. I really think drinking more Water helped but that could just be my imagination. Give it a little more time but if it doesn't stop, I would make your DR see you to make sure no infection anywhere. Good luck with your first month and recovery.

As people have already said, your feelings have been experienced by all of us right before surgery. My advice is walk, walk, walk and drink your water. Surgery is the BEST thing I ever did for myself. I can run, climb mountains, play/keep up with my kids and fit into so many cute clothes now. I also can say the experience has made me a stronger person and I have confidence in myself like never before. It has not been easy by any means, lots of emotions, lots of heartache and lots of joy...of course all at the same time ). I wish you a speedy recovery and hope you hit the floor running...well walking at first!

I was thinking of doing something like this to get my last 25 lbs off. I will keep an eye on your progress or maybe jump on this trek with you. How did you decide where to go ?

Hang in there, it will come off. Think about what your body has been through in the past months : pre-op diet, a surgery that takes 85% of your stomach away, incisions, meds, especially for the revision surgery. I am a band to sleeve revision and I had a ton of scar tissue that needed to heal....so your body is working hard to heal and thinks it is being attacked so hoarding everything seems reasonable to the body. I agree with the Water drinking...if I stall (and I have many times in the past 10months) I add 8 more ounces of water a day. That usually jump starts the weight loss again. I also have stopped with the weighing every other day....I weigh myself on Sunday mornings, after I have had enough sleep. First because I am trying to break some of my obsessive personality habits and go by how I feel and two because it was affecting my moods so much that I was not enjoying the journey to a better me. I am learning there is so much more to this surgery and lifestyle than losing weight. I have found that it is so much about learning to accept who I am and I have the power to think good thoughts about myself that have nothing to do with what I weigh. WHEW ... that was hard to type. Anyway sleeve friends ... please don't give up and give yourselves a break....drink lots of water, go for a walk and let's all enjoy this amazing journey we have embarked on to better health !

My periods got longer after surgery too and of course my first one was day 2 out of surgery! I am almost 10 months out now and they have gone back to normal. I think our bodies get so whacked out from changing food, surgery recovery, etc that it takes a while to get back to whatever normal is for us.

GOOD for you!

I am in the same boat as you. I have 15yo who is overweight and fast approaching the "obese" category and I have talked to her about hitting that weight of no return. I know I hurt her feelings too but I only do it because I know the road she is going down because I have walked that road .... which is the same road my own mother walked. It is a vicious cycle that I desperately want to stop with her. I think what I am learning is that the more I talk to her, the more she seems to eat. I am trying a different tactic these days and have asked her to join me in exercise. My thought is we can spend quality time together and maybe she will at least burn some of the calories she is taking in. I don't know if it will work but at least it is a healthy alternative to the cycle of talk/eat/talk/eat. Good luck and know you are not alone in this struggle.

Good for you....WARNING though. I am a lap band revision and when I got my lap band, started getting periods again...boom got pregnant 6 months out of lap band surgery. LOVE my lap band baby/little girl but it was a big surprise. My doctor was not pleased and it stopped the weight loss. Good news though...my baby was healthy and I only gained 30lbs with that pregnancy. Now that I have the sleeve, I am taking off the weight I gained back with her and with the first baby (15 yo now) ... it takes me awhile but I am determined to do it. Happy for your period to come back and good luck with wherever you want that to go

I walked from 2 hours out of surgery but my surgeon would not let me do anything that involved stomach muscles until week 8. I also could not swim laps until week 8. I did do the treadmill from the very beginning though and got up to 3 miles by week 8 when I could start doing everything else. If your office has a website support, ask there because mine answers all kinds of questions on the website. Good luck on your exercise.

VAVA VOOM!!! Beautiful. Congrats on your success and what an inspiration.