gohelpyourself

I was a travel nurse for 6 years then I returned to my hometown to go back to school and got pregnant at 40! LOVED all my experiences. Lived in so many great cities. I just got accepted to NP school for Mental HealthNP. I am thinking of relocating to TX when I am done. Ever been there?

My heart goes out to you! I hope you are doing well post-op. I am sure you had a few guardian angels watching over you xx

I really enjoy fitness but would never dare to don a swimsuit in public...maybe one day soon. I love to swim.

OMG! Can I please have YOUR results!!LOL

Hello All! Let me first start by saying this is an awesome idea and I LOVE this site... totally cured my FB addiction. My name is Joann and I am an RN and mom of a precious 3 year old son named Nate. I am 43 y/o so if you do the math you will figure out I had him at the ripe old age of 40 (I started late). His dad is 11 years younger than me.... Rrrrrarrrrrrrr but we are not married. My son told me "be nice to my dad" so I guess I need to try a little harder but most days I feel like I have a toddler and a teenager (the teen is harder to raise and messier!) I have been a nurse for longer than I care to remember. I just was accepted to N.P school so I am super excited about that. I have been heavy most of my life. I blame it on my Italian mom who is the best cook who ever lived. I managed to yo yo diet and when I wasn't living under her roof was able to stay around a size 12-14. My weight escalated to 241 lbs when pregnant. I was able to get down to 204 after the birth of my son... took me two years. I was placed on Lexapro for anxiety mostly and gained 45 lbs in 3 months. That was the pivotal moment I said I can't do this anymore. I was sleeved a week ago and am feeling great. I enjoy photography and have a pretty fancy camera (Canon 60D) that I really do not know how to operate but every once in a while I take some really great shots! I have traveled a lot. I have lived in NYC, Boston, DC, San Fran, Santa Barbara, Honolulu and Ft.Lauderdale. I have been overseas at least 4x. I live in Buffalo, NY now (my hometown). I am seriously considering a move when I am finished with NP School. Leaning toward TX because of the low cost of living, high salaries, no state taxes and great schools for Nate. I love clothes and especially shoes. I converted my spare room into a dressing room which is absolutely amazing and have a ton of beautiful garments I cannot wait to be able to fit into again. I have never been happier. This is the year of the horse which if you google that you will find out that it is the year of betterment of oneself. So if you are getting sleeved this year you made the right choice.... this is the year for radical transformations. I am happy to be here and am very grateful to have all of you available as resources. I wish you all the best of luck in your journey and pleased to get to know you all. Have a great week. Joann

OMG! I love this!! I just want to read all of these and there are soooo many!

I am only one week post op and I have not lost an ounce since surgery. I lost about 13 lbs on my pre op diet (10 days prior to surgery). I feel like I am still holding on to a lot of edema and swelling from the surgery. I have to stop weighing myself everyday. I think I am going to wait one week b4 I weigh myself again..... who am I kidding. I will wake up, strip naked and get on the scale in the morning like I do every day.

I'd be happy with 10 lbs a month for sure!

OMG... What do I think???? I think that is freakin great!!!! Some ppl lose that quicker but its better to lose it slow. I can say that to you b/c your weight is off. I bet you look amazing. Congrats.

what was your starting weight? Size 8 is great!

aw man... why??? Did something happen? I guess all surgeons are different but that just seems so extreme. Mean actually LOL

No they didn't....I have Ranitidine! I'm sorry. That Bentyl is an anti-spasmotic and it helps so much. Maybe call your surgeon tomorrow if it really bugging you and ask for an anti-spasmotic like ie. Bentyl. Ranitidine is just Zantac.... They gave me Prilosec (same type of drug).

Not here in California. That totally sucks in my opinion. I had two friends that had bypass by the same surgeon who did my sleeve. They had it done >4 years ago... the one girl had it done over 10 years ago and they had to do much more than I did. I assumed it has gotten easier here. I am just happy I didn't have to go through all that. I can't spend another summer in the 200# club.

No supervised diet for me. Not required. If we could lose weight why would we sign up for being gutted? Makes no sense. They are moving away from this I think.

Hey sorry I edited my post.. I typed in September instead of January (WTH was I thinking... brain fog). Anyway my process took a total of 4 months... would have been shorter if the surgeon was not so booked up and he was transitioning hospitals. He started working out of another hospital January 1st of this year so it kind of held up things I think. Still and all it was painless and quick looking back. Waiting was torture though. I did enjoy eating while I was waiting

Wow... Holy Crap! Where do you live? They used to have very strict guidelines here but they are not imposing that on ppl anymore. Insurances have figured out that this surgery in the long run will end up saving them money.

A year and a half? Are you referring to my post? I meet with surgeon Dec 5 and my surgery was Feb 3. 8 weeks. But I had everything done.

Hi There: Had the same problem and discussed it at my follow up appointment today. The Physician Assistant explained it this way she said "We removed a large part of your stomach. You stomach is in shock. It is 80-85% smaller and needs to do the work of a normal sized stomach. Those spasms will lessen over time when your stomach finally realizes it can do the same job with less power" Makes sense and I am almost 9 days post op and they are so much better. Now only sometimes when I swallow do I feel it. Not gone completely but doesn't happen every single time something hits my belly like it did before. I was super worried about this too. I hate the feeling. Bentyl helps (did they prescribe that for you?)

OMG... I had 'Sudden Deafness Syndrome' in 2001. I was hospitalized for over a week to try and get my hearing back. I got like 75% back but if I am in a loud room and someone tries talking into my effected ear... I can't hear. You should inbox me. I have a theory about this sudden deafness.

Holy smokes! You lost waaaay more than the 60-65% of 'excess body weight' they estimate. Did you have to work really really hard or did the sleeve do most of the work? Inquiring minds want to know (only one week post op). Thanks and congrats. You look friggin fabulous!

Woo Hoo!!!!!!! Gonna come fast girl. Make your last supper a good one b4 starting that pre op diet and make sure you get red velvet cake with full fat cream cheese frosting!!!!

this is awesome! Thanks! There really is so much we can eat that is healthy and delicious! My problem was never that I ate bad foods .... it was always portion control! I am loving my sleeve. Definitely going to try some of these recipes. I make my own caramelized onion hummus now. Do you eat tortillas much? I am wondering how my sleeve will tolerate those cuz I love to wrap everything! I have made that red lentil soup! SOOOOOO GOOOD.

Everyone at work knows too... I manage a clinic and most ppl are very supportive.