JLMET

If you are in the Rhode Island or Northeast Region of the US you should look into Dr. J. Giovanni and her team, they are AMAZING! Sherry and her staff, including PA Cobb are just really helpful, friendly, and kind. Not to mention supportive! It's been 3.5 years since my sleeve surgery, I've lost 120 pounds and could not be happier. Contact Info for her team: http://www.kentri.org/physicians/jeannine-giovanni.cfm

I agree Matt! It's good to have choices, even in a small state like RI!

This is something that I am considering. I liked to enjoy my pot once or more a week, depending on my mood. I'd smoke with friends mostly. Not a huge fan of doing it alone. Now, three months post surgery I am not ready to start up again for a couple reasons. Reason #1) Not sure it's a good idea so soon post-surgery. I have given myself the benchmark of 6 months for anything unhealthy such as booze or drugs. At 6 months your stomach is fully healed and there is no chance of leaks so I feel like if I want a drink (like at the holidays) I can do it after this date. Reason #2) Pot munchies. I am very nervous about this! But I also think that if I never try it again, I won't ever know. The fact is, nothing in my house is unhealthy so realistically if I get the munchies, I'll be snagging an apple or a sugar-free popsicle, no harm done there. I exercise every day so I'd burn it off pretty quick. My final thoughts are this, I like smoking pot. I know that eventually I will do it again, when that time comes I will enjoy it and also do my best to continue the mindfulness process I've begun since December (when I decided to start this WLS journey). I feel like everyone has their own process and that we deserve to have fun but I am a food addict so I have to be very careful about the fun I have! I don't know if this helps or what but those are my thoughts!

I don't know you and I wasn't there but I feel the utmost sympathy for you. What a horrible thing for them to do to you and what a f-ing awful way for them to make you feel!!! I have to admit, I'd love to watch your husband read them the riot act but I totally get why you don't want him to do that. I personally think you are making a good choice to use another hospital and I hope you can let go of how they made you feel, you didn't deserve that at all and may they be smited by a thousand hot suns for how they reacted!!!

Hello! I am about 3 weeks out from my sleeve surgery and I keep having this fear that it's simply not going to work on me and I'm going to be fat the rest of my life - does anyone else feel this way? I mean, I am following all my doc's and nutrition guidelines and am exercising so there is no rational basis for my fear, except that, on a whim, I got on the scale a few days after a weigh-in at my doc's office and it gave me 3 different results, all were heavier than my previous results a few days before. It really kind of sent me into a tailspin. I mean, what if I just start gaining weight? Please tell me someone else has had this fear! Thank you!

Just a quick updated, I did my weekly weigh-in and I've lost 5lbs! So the careful eating and exercise is working. Thanks to EVERYONE for their support. I love this forum!

BeautyLocs, I hope you feel better and yes, don't weigh yourself every day, that's a good way to make yourself nuts. Our body weight fluctuates up and down constantly. My nutritionist said the best time to weigh yourself is first thing in the morning, before you've had anything to eat. Pick a day and just weigh yourself once a week, it's much less stressful. I hope things get better for you!

Oh man, that sounds awful! Have you spoken with your nutritionist to see if they can offer suggestions to help you? I weigh myself next week (every Tuesday and no more than once a week for me) and I'm hopeful to have lost something, last week I did not. From what i've gathered in the comments in this thread, these kinds of ups and downs are very common and the important thing is to just keep going and working at it and following the rules. I've been eating about 700-850 calories a day (my nutritionist wanted me to get up to at least 850) and feel really good, I've been lucky that so far, nothing has made me sick. I wish I had some words of wisdom for you but what I will say is that you shouldn't give up hope, from looking around these forums, there are lots of people who have struggled like you and that it gets easier. You'll be in my thoughts, good luck.

Thank you for this, I totally agree! I've been careful to only weigh myself once a week but I think I may have to let go of that as well, or else buy a scale that gives the same weight every time! YEESH! You're totally right though, my clothes already fit better and I FEEL better so that's truly what matter! Thank you

*HUG* Deciding to have surgery IS a big deal and it should require a lot of thought. I too don't have any medical issues from being overweight, other than some back pain and being out of breath, but what I decided that I want to have a better life when I got older. I didn't want to be in pain or in the hospital because of something I could take care of while I was young. I'm 36 and WLS was the best thing I've ever done. Yeah, it was REALLY hard before and after surgery but I'm 3 weeks out and feeling really good. My fat brain tells me I miss pizza and cake but my correct brain reminds me that that stuff was what got me here in the first place! Just take it one step at a time, be vocal and go to support groups. Post here, get advise from those that have gone before and don't worry about what others think. They aren't you and like my Doc said, being overweight is a disease, its something that is REALLY hard to control and WLS is merely another tool to help us to be happier and healthier. Good luck to you!

I know how you feel, I am self-employed but I held off telling the people I'm closest too until about 2 weeks prior to surgery. I pick and choose who I tell about it because people have such strong opinions about it and honestly, it's none of their business. My suggestion would be to say it's personal so they don't pry too much, but that's a tough question to answer, I'll be curious what others suggest about it. Good luck to you!

I really am feeling a lot better about it today, everyone has been so awesomely helpful and it's amazing how KNOWING that other's have felt the same way can make you feel better. I weigh myself tomorrow (I do it once a week) and I am hopeful for a change but if there's isn't one, I have to be okay with that too! Good luck with your pre-op diet, I'll admit that I cheated once on the pre-op but after I did that, I rocked the diet until surgery and it all went really well. I'll hope the same for you!!! This sure is a challenging journey, I had a total meltdown about 3-4 days after surgery, I had a little cry, talked to some friends and felt a lot better. I think it's such a personal thing, being overweight and this is SUCH a big step towards ending that, it cannot help but be stressful both emotionally and physically.

I will, thank you!

You are all such an amazing and wonderfully supportive group of people, I knew I wouldn't be alone in this and I thank you all for taking the time to respond and help ease my fears!

Thank you!

First off, good luck with your surgery! Mine went really well and I'm SO glad I did it and I am so glad that others have felt/thought the same way. The thing that I have started to tell myself is that 1) if I follow the rules it will work and 2) it HAS to work, I mean, my stomach is TINY now!

Thank you, that was wonderfully thoughtful and helpful. My BF says similar things, that it WILL work because I have changed my ways and I agree, now that I've had the surgery, I don't have cravings like I did and I'm not hungry like I was. You're right and I am hopeful that I'll shake these thoughts off soon!

YES! Exactly! Thank you so much, that helped me because I feel exactly the same way.

I'm trying not to weigh myself too much because I think that'll make me REALLY crazy but I have to somehow shake off this fear that it "won't work on me" - because it will...I hope!

Thank you so much, I can't seem to shake this fear that I'm just going to be fat forever and that nothing will ever work. My BF (who is getting his surgery soon as well) keeps reminding me that I'm doing amazingly well and that if I keep going the weight will come off. I guess it's been such a long, hard journey that I get nervous. I hope that makes sense! Thank you so much for your encouragement!

I'm about 8 days post-op and I miss solid food too! I can start doing "Stage 2" now which means more pureed foods and creamed soups so I'm pretty excited for that. I cannot wait for Stage 3 when my doc says I can have an egg or tuna fish! I don't crave junk food at all (which is a relief), I just miss the act of chewing food. But I am so glad i did the surgery and am lucky to have a partner who is 100% supportive (he'll be getting his sleeve in a month or two). Hang in there everyone, we can do it!

Congrats! I signed up for my first ever 5K this September, it's a color run and my friends and I are going to do the dance, walk, run or cartwheel portion which I am really looking forward to. Before surgery I would never have signed up for fear of being so much slower than the rest of my friends but now I can train all summer and I can run (and dance) WITH them!

I'm only a little over a week post-op but shopping for clothes seems fun again! I realized when I bought something that even if it doesn't fit right now, it WILL fit soon and that's awesome. I also had purchased some new undies way before surgery that were really tight and they already fit perfectly, as hard as this post-op has been I wouldn't change it for anything, its awesome to know I can shop again for clothes!

I don't have a picture right now but more than anything I want to get some black, knee-high boots! My calves were always so fat I could never find ones that fit (even plus-sized ones) so I can't wait to lose enough and slim down my calves enough to wear sassy black boots again!

Hello! I just found your forum and am happy about it. I am almost a week out from my surgery and feeling good (tired and sore, but good)! I am 36, living with the love of my life and I am a freelance writer/blogger/artist. I've struggled with my weight my entire life, but at over 300 pounds I realized this year that it was out of control. My boyfriends PCP suggested he go to a talk about gastric surgeries (he's overweight too) and I went with him. That was in December and since then it's been a crazy ride of doc appointments and learning how to change all my habits! I've lost 12lbs since my surgery last week and am excited to keep going, at 36 I have my whole life ahead of me and I signed up for my first ever 5K in September!