sweetie716

It is my first day on the Ketogenx liver reduction diet and I am pumped. I know it's early, but I am so excited that my surgery is coming soon. My PA thought I'd only have to do 2 weeks with all the weight I'd lost, but the doctor said 4 at the results visit, which is probably better for me in the long run anyway. My surgery is December 11 so I have less than a month to go. I'm just so excited I had to share

Hi everybody, I've been around for a few months, but normally post in the sleeve forums. However, I need to ask some questions of you all. Basic stats: HW: 331 CW: 312 GW: 150 or 145. I have decided to have bariatric surgery, but need to decide which one. I thought I had decided, but I am revisiting the the decision between bypass or sleeve and wanted to get some different opinions. I've been working with my doctor and PA for about 3 1/2 months now, and have lost close to 20 pounds with a higher protein/lower carb goal, and moderate exercise. It has been very good so far, and not difficult for me to stick with at all. I would describe it as a healthy head space when it comes to food right now- I could live like this long-term. My PA (the one who I deal the most with) and I talked about which surgery I should go with at the appointment before last in June. She thought that although either surgery would be a good choice for me, but seemed to lean toward the sleeve. I was happy with that, and I decided on the sleeve. However, yesterday I had my psych eval. That doctor urged me to reconsider getting the bypass and here's why: She said that with my history of being able to settle in and focus for months at a time and lose a good amount of weight on my own (70 pounds was the most I've lost at once over a period of 5 months), but then all of a sudden derail, she suggested that bypass might be better because of how it would make me feel sick if I eat too many carbs or sugars, whereas the sleeve doesn't necessarily have the same consequences. Basically, that while I'm in a great place right now and making good decisions, the bypass might make it harder for me if/when I do revert to bad habits. I wasn't thrilled to have to go back and revisit this decision between the two surgeries as I had thought it was one major decision down, but I promised myself not to take any of my care team's opinions/suggestions lightly, as I really really want this to last my whole life (which is a long time hopefully since I'm still pretty young at 28). Before seeing the doctors I slightly leaned toward sleeve because it wasn't malabsorptive and it would be a less invasive procedure. However, I know that people tend to lose more with the bypass and it has a much longer track record. I went into this being open to either procedure. I guess I'd like to know from you, what you think about the surgeries, maybe why you chose bypass, and if you have any advice for me and my particular situation. Thank you very much

That is awesome!! How much did you exercise and what other things do you attribute your success to? Congratulations

LOL, yes, both the doctor and I are well aware of the phases of H2O. I think the idea is that it gives you a bit of moisture without downing ounces of Water at a time.

You may have already heard this, but my doc recommends having ice chips with you when you eat so that you aren't drinking, but you can still cleanse your palate. I admit it would be weird having ice chips with your morning oatmeal, but it might just help.

I think you did exactly right to call the doctor and get checked out. Especially with a bit of a fever. Can't be too careful. Good luck

Ugh, that would be horrible. Although, I would love to be on the 100-200 borderline myself rather than the one I'm working on now, lol. Congratulations on your success so far

Congratulations! That is amazing. I'm so glad you shared this- especially about not doing everything perfect, and then doing the work to turn it around. For me, it's scary to go into this having never been long-term successful and to hear this story where you hit a bump and were able to correct course and then continue is very inspiring. You will be a beautiful bride! Congratulations and best of luck to you as you keep on going!

So lately I've been doing a lot of work on getting in line with my PA's guidelines for diet and also getting into a good exercise routine. I've been weighing everyday hoping to see the fruits of my labors. I've been really getting frustrated the last few days because I seem to be on this cycle where the number goes down one day, then up a couple pounds and it takes another couple days to get to a 'new low.' It's small enough that it could just be normal fluctuations/scale error, but today I could feel myself getting the bad attitude that typically leads me into the "whatever, its not working anyways" type of food/activity choices. But then I realized- THIS IS HOW IT IS GOING TO BE- even after surgery. I'm not going to lose everyday, I'll hit stalls that are extended, it's just part of the process. I read on here all the time people saying just follow the plan, the weight will drop if you stick to the plan. So today, I'm finding a lot of comfort in that thought and I'm just going to get on with the day. I'm so thankful for this forum

Hey T2W! I totally get what you mean. I think I do the same thing, where I see something better than what other people see. Once in a while I get a glimpse of reality and I feel like crap about my body. I've been thinking about that a lot lately, but I'm kind of glad (?) or maybe thankful that I don't stay down on myself for long. I'm coming up to my 4th pre-op appointment, and I've been making really great strides in both how I eat and how much activity I'm getting in each day. I see little changes in my body and feel happy and I love feeling stronger when I get my exercise in. I had a down/depressing body day just several days ago, and I could see it reflected in my MFP food log (thankfully not too bad)- the thing that got me there was taking "before" photos and seeing that reality, lol. Maybe seeing ourselves kindly is not the worst thing in the world, because I know I do better in more ways than one when I can just not worry myself over it. I am where I am now, and I'm on the right path to improve the situation. I just hope I can really and truly feel great about my body when I do get there I hope that you will feel better soon!

Hey teachers! I'm wondering how long it took for you to go back to work? Also, how long until you felt normal energy-wise? I have a couple of things this year that will require a lot of standing/walking on my part relatively soon after the surgery, so I thought I'd ask you all how you felt afterwards. My doctor is saying one week would be enough and maybe he's right (?), but teaching is NOT a desk job. Anyway, I'd love to hear how your transition went and if you have any advice, please let me know! Thanks

Thank you all for the replies! I'm kind of in a situation where it looks like Christmas break is going to be my best opportunity. I think based on the replies I will take 2 or 3 days extra before the break so that I'll have a few extra days and an extra weekend to get my routine down and recouperate more. My insurance requires a 6 month physician supervised program which will take me to september/october, and I have to have it done within six months of the completion of that program, which means Christmas will be the longest break in that time period. I've been making some major changes with diet and exercise, so it will be good to keep practicing with those in the fall when school is back in and I'm fully into my work again. Thanks so much for your input I hope you all have a fantastic summer break

A student of mine had a mother pass away who was probably very close to my weight give or take a bit and only about 5-10 years older than me. Although I don't know her specific ailments, being at that funeral really opened my eyes. Particularly watching as the woman's parents and siblings said goodbye was very tough. I was in the surgeon's office before the end of the week.

I have a Fitbit One and it is really great. I don't use the sleep monitoring, but I think it is pretty accurate on steps. It is small enough to clip on a bra strap and not show. I walk outside, and haven't used treadmills with it at all yet, but so far so good. I have it integrated with MFP, so I log my food in MFP and I can see it in FitBit. It also keeps track of stairs and distance. Another thing I really like is that you can log your workouts separately so when I check in with the doctor I can just show them the calendar with the little checkmarks showing when I worked out. I love being able to just let them see my MFP and FitBit to see what's really happening with my diet/exercise without my personal spin on how I think things went- pure data

So far my doctor has recommended 80-100 g of protein a day and an upper limit for carbs. I don't even pay attention to the percentages and calorie goals that mfp gives because its just not reflective of my actual needs or my doctor's recommendations. I just look at my running totals for protein and carbs, which is all I'm really trying to focus on at this point.

Hey! I'm in the same boat you are, coming up on a whole dang decade of obesity. I just started my 6 months in April. It actually is going by quite quickly. As far as the six month physician weight counseling requirement, I went through the specialists that are going to do my surgery. They have a very streamlined system since they do this type of thing exclusively. For the visits, they start talking to you about the goals/requirements of the post-surgery diet, and you'll start working out the logistics of how you will get x amount of Protein and y amount of carbs each day, how you'll get a certain number of meals in each day, start separating fluids from meals, etc. My doctor said that it is not required for you to lose weight, although I have by starting to change some of my habits. I guess I feel like whatever I can change beforehand will just make for an easier adjustment afterwards. I've been making smaller changes, and I'm not trying to do everything at once- btdt and it never worked long term. I originally wanted the surgery over summer, but due to the six month requirement, I'm actually going to wait until December even though I'd be able to go in september/october so that I can get the surgery done over Christmas break (i'm a teacher). I was really disappointed at first, but now I'm very happy that it will give me a bit more time, and that I'll get to actually work on carving out the time to eat/drink during the school day and figure out how to get exercise and everything else in balance with work before the surgery gets here. Best of luck to you!

This original post could have been written from my head. I wonder the exact same thing (fellow preop here). I am really nervous about doing this and then not being able to stick with it. I'm glad to hear from so many people saying that the surgery actually helped them to change, not just forced them to eat less of the same junk. And @myonlybattle- feeling done with the overeating and then ending up going back to it daily is SO me. I'm sick of it, but haven't figured out how to do otherwise on a consistent basis yet- still working on it though. So glad I came across this thread today. Have a great day everybody!

I have started the process of getting a sleeve. I have 6 months of physician monitored weight loss, and since I'm a teacher, I'll probably wait until Christmas break to get this done- so I have a bit of time to go. I have a lot of questions, but they are questions my doctor at least treated quite superficially. (I'm going to meet other surgeons because of what seemed to be a very short-term mindset). Here are my big important questions. I'd love to hear what others who are further along in their journey and hopefully some people who are 2 or more years out from surgery. Big Important Question 1: I feel like surgery is the most extreme and kind of like a last chance at taking care of my weight problem. There really isn't anything else to try if I can't make a weight loss stick with surgery. I've lost weight before (sometimes a lot of weight) but it ALWAYS comes back with extra. I'm 28 and maintaining for life is a serious commitment- I've been lucky in the past if I can maintain a weight loss for more than 6 months. Can the sleeve help me when it comes to maintenance? For those of you who have had long-term success with any weight loss surgery, what was it that worked to help you stay healthy long-term? Big Important Question 2: I don't only eat when I'm hungry. I eat sometimes out of habit (when watching tv or because its 'dinner time'). I also eat when I get stressed out or emotional (especially when I'm disappointed or frustrated). With those kinds of triggers for eating, will having surgery still be able to help me? Is that something that I have to stop completely before I would be likely to have a good long-term outcome? Does the process leading up to surgery or the surgery itself help you to really change so that you will still have the weight off 2 or 5 or 10 years down the road? Please share what you felt like going into surgery and what you've learned along the way. Thank you!

Thank you all for sharing Lots went on this week, so I'm sorry haven't responded til now. I was reading as you all posted. @PdxMan- Congratulations on your 3 year anniversary! Do you still feel like you have to think about it (the steps you've taken to loose the weight) all the time or do the new habits become a new normal? Whenever I get with the 'fitness program' it feels like a very deliberate effort and it kind of takes over my thinking. Does it still feel like a struggle to make the better choices with food and exercise? I don't think I could be in that struggle mode with the lifestyle indefinitely (aka for the rest of my life), so it would be a help to know if it eventually becomes kind of automatic. Does the sleeve help with that somehow? @my2bys9799- I hope everything went great with your surgery! I'd love to hear how it went. @Terribj- Thanks for all the suggestions! The youtube video was awesome! I hadn't heard about that before, but it makes sense. I've been steadily been starting to be more and more conscious about how much/little I chew and trying not to drink with my meals. How long after a meal would you wait before drinking again? I quit sodas a while back-which was tough, so I'm glad I had one check off the list before beginning this process I'm hoping that I won't feel hungry after surgery too. It would make it a lot easier to sort out the emotional "hunger" from the real thing and maybe help to clear up what those triggers are and find better ways to deal with them. @hrhlaurie- when I went in, I'd already talked to my insurance company and they never mentioned that I had to do a supervised diet or anything and I had asked them about weight history. I had it all planned out that I was going to get this done over my summer break (i'm a teacher) and I'd get all healthy over summer- get used to my sleeve and how to eat, etc. It was all planned out in my head. Then I went in and they said 6 months of supervised- UGH! That didn't work in with the plan at all. Now I'm actually happy about having the time. I'm going to hold off until Christmas break. It is a super extreme thing to do, so I'm glad I'll have some time to start practicing for my post-surgery lifestyle (and hopefully make it stick). I've done some more reading about how to deal with emotions by ways other than eating- and been trying some of them out. Are there any that any of you would suggest? Another question for anyone- my doctor was saying i'll feel great in 5 days and can go back to work, but I'm not so sure- I will have only been drinking liquids for 2 weeks preop and I'll still be on liquids for at least a week after surgery- how on earth will I have enough energy to teach? (I'm not a teach-from-your-seat kind of teacher, and it's far from a desk job anyway.) I'm nervous about that part of it. I'll have 2 weeks to recover over break, but it's still making me nervous.

Oh man. That would be super disappointing. Best of luck to you on the 9th!

Hey wolfpack girl, I just had my initial consultation today. I was a little bit discouraged after. I felt like just a check off my surgeons list. He didn't ask if I had questions, I practically had to stop him on his way out the door to ask if I was going to talk to someone who would answer my questions and felt like I was being a pain in the butt. How was your experience at that office? I know at the beginning of this process there are a lot of new patients to deal with for them, but it would be nice to feel like they care a little about you as an individual. A BIG question I have is about the emotional or habit eating part of my problem. I don't just eat when I'm hungry- sometimes its because its "time" to eat or because I'm about to watch tv, or if I'm really emotionally stressed. When I asked him about if the surgery will help with any of this he said something like 'you wouldn't look at a fire and just decide to play with it- that would be dumb.' (talking about eating carbs). I felt like he wasn't acknowledging a big component of my problem. Before I decide for sure to go through with this surgery, I want to know that I will still be maintaining my weight loss 5 or 10 years down the line. I've lost a lot of weight before, but haven't been able to keep it off. I need to know that if I go through the process of having surgery that it in some way or at some point in the process I will learn to deal with it or that the sleeve will help me to maintain a healthier weight. So anyway, kind of discouraged after that consultation. Maybe that's a question I should be asking here anyway to other people who have been through and had more similar experiences with food to mine. Also, I found out I have to have 6 months of physician monitored plan per my insurance - so it looks like I'll be waiting until Christmas break to have surgery. Hope all is well with you!

Hi wolfpack girl, I am also a wolfpack girl I am just starting the process (not sleeved yet), but i too have issues with food I am hoping to be sleeved by Dr. Bruce, who works with Dr. Enochs. How have things been going the last couple of months? How was your recovery? I'm really nervous because this is such a permanent thing. I worry that because some of my eating is habit/comfort that I'll mess it up down the road. Hope everything is going well.

I'm in southern wake county. For those of you who have already had surgery, did you still have doubts about whether you'd be able to stick with it long term? I feel like I've tried (and often did) lose weight countless times, but could never keep it off. Did you know you could do it before you pursued surgery or were you still worried about how you would be 2 years or more down the line. I am just starting the process- but if I'm honest with myself I have a horrible track record when it comes to food. Please tell me how you felt before you did this and how your outcome has been. Thanks