The Candidate

Happy and healthy New Year to you as well!

Congrats on your surgery! You have a wonderful healthy life ahead of you.

I was pretty back to normal in about two weeks for everything but exhaustion. That took about six weeks to dissipate. Hang in there!

Happy New Year @@Alex Brecher! Thanks for giving us a home!

Congrats on your successful surgery!

A wonderful testament to a life renewed! Beautiful!

Ultimatums can be a two way street. If this is his, communicate yours. If he's not willing to bend, or listen to reason, break it off with him, as he's not worthy of your love. Don't short change your life and health trying to fulfill his narcissistic demands.

Stories like yours are what keeps the hope alive! Congrats on your outstanding success!

You go ahead and vent, as you definitely have every right in this situation. I'm so sorry to hear about the awful things you are going through. You are a good, sweet person and I sincerely wish I could just snap my fingers and make it better. But please don't add to your own misery by potentially sabotaging your surgery. You've come so far and achieved so much. No moment of weakness is worth a binge that you'll only regret later. This is a life long battle and I know you've got it in you to persevere. Channel all that emotion into updating your resume and job hunting. On the bright side, and I always believe there is a bright side in the darkest of storm clouds, think how much easier it'll be going on interviews without having to do it with the weight you've lost so far. I had a friend in my pre op classes that got laid off just weeks before surgery, and that also meant she lost her insurance too. But she still made it happen (at age 59), and is now five months post op and working full time again. You can handle this. Things will get better. Hang in there! I'm sending good thoughts your way!

That is just great, sounds like you had a textbook perfect surgical experience. That and your positive attitude will help you recover even quicker! Congrats!

I wouldn't use anything with that high of a sugar count myself. You can look into unflavored Protein powder that you can add to foodstuffs like Soup and sugar free pudding. That might help. If it's any consultation a lot of people have issues with the shakes this early out. I did too, but now at five months out I tolerate them much better, and always have some on hand. I even kind of like them. Good luck!

That is a spectacular way to not only end the old year with a bang, but also start the new one right, with even more anticipated success coming your way! Congrats!

You should be so proud of how far you've come. And you look beautiful! Congrats!

You look great! Congrats!

I too was approved before the psych evaluation. Seeing the surgeon, the psych evaluation and meeting with the internist were the very last steps before surgery, so each process is indeed unique. I had this 3 in 1 appointment all in one day. In my case the psych evaluation was the easiest of all. It only took about 20 minutes, involving a very relaxed one on one discussion. She asked about my expectations and knowledge of the surgery, my home life, upbringing, diet and exercise, support system, among other things. The bottom line was really to determine if I had a good understanding of what I was getting into, along with my part in it. I know some others require written multiple choice questions, but mine didn't. Just be yourself and answer truthfully and you'll be fine. Good luck!

Congrats on your surgery and best wishes for a speedy recovery. No one may want to talk about it now, but trust me once they start seeing the amazing results, everyone will be talking about how great you look. Plus you'll be astounded yourself at how energized you feel. It really is a second chance at life!

So happy that everything seems to be going your way after surgery! It's an amazing experience and will only get better. Congrats!

Congrats on your major weight loss! You look amazing!

Don't be too hard on yourself. You've done an incredible job with the pre op weight loss, but you're only human. Once you've had the surgery you'll have the tool you need to help you through situations like this. Don't discount all your hard work over one mishap. You're going to do fantastic so hang in there! You're definitely worth it!

That's amazing and I can only imagine your happiness! Congrats!

Yours is truly a motivational story. Congrats and thanks for sharing!

Wow that's amazing and you look incredibly beautiful and happy! Congrats!

I had surgery at 12:00 noon on a Wednesday, and was released on Saturday noon. My surgeon requires the same amount of hospital stay for all his patients. I remember nothing of recovery. My first memory is being transferred to my bed while still being sort of out of it. I remember saying my back hurt, but it wasn't intolerable and the nurse immediately showed me how to operate the pain pump. I had the pump for my stay, and initially I thought I could only press it once an hour, so I let the pain get ahead of me the first night. But then I realized I could actually press it every 15 minutes. I never had any real pain after that. Energy level was good. I was up and walking the first night. I only ever needed the nurses to help or show me something once, and every time after that I did it on my own. Like how to unplug the IV pole, or the leg massagers. I was even turning off my own IV alarms when they got tangled and such. I was a very self sufficient patient. I didn't have anyone stay with me as there was really no need, and the hospital was an hour drive away. My iPhone and a comfy pillow were my most used items. My charger cord wasn't long enough to reach so I wish I brought a longer one. Honestly most of the time I spent walking and sleeping when I could, because the noise and interruptions were non stop. I was right next to the nurses station so there was a lot of activity. And there always someone coming in to check on you or take vitals, etc. it's hard to rest in a hospital so I tried to keep busy. I wore the hospital gown and pajama bottoms most of the time, and my robe over that when I went walking.

What a wonderful metamorphosis you're experiencing. I'm so happy for you!

I was really hoping they would, but no such luck. My surgeon also had me on medication for it after surgery.