Cervidae

Hello @@jessicasantana28 I went to the first seminar for my bariatric program in January of last year, and had the RNY on August 17th of last year. Since beginning the program, I've lost 117 pounds (102 since the day of surgery). I've had no complications except for a little anemia that is being managed by my doctor. I have no regrets! I wish you only the best as you move forward. Feel free to friend me or message me if there's anything you think I may be able to help you with.

@@Jewelgirl04 I'm pretty sure it was just the Wal-Mart brand, Faded Glory, and it was in the men's section. So it was only like $10.

@@Jewelgirl04 it will probably be trial and error to find the right one. I found a decent pair at Wal-Mart of all places.

I always thought board shorts as bottoms and a cute bikini top were a great combo. It covers you, but you can still show a little skin and feel like you look good.

Therapy, MyFitnessPal, and my physical therapist who doubles as a fitness trainer have been my biggest tools outside of my surgery. I also have a partial YMCA membership through my physical therapist that gives me access to the pool and the exercise equipment, and that has been really useful. Mostly what works best for me is keeping myself accountable and staying positive when I feel discouraged by my PCOS and the accompanying stalls. It's easy to feel like a failure if you're not seeing an accurate report of your progress, both physically and mentally.

I lost VERY slowly in the beginning. Now I stall for weeks and suddenly lose like 10-15 pounds in the span of a few days. PCOS is a monster that can never be killed, only subdued. However, even losing slowly and having all these stalls, I'm still 101 pounds down in 5.5 months. It will all even out for you in the end, just stick to your plan, take good care of yourself, and be patient with your body. It's a little traumatized right now, but it will get better.

Woohoo! Congrats.

I had my gall bladder out in the summer of 2014 and my RNY in the summer of 2015, and I can say without a doubt the gall bladder hurt more, and healed slower. Externally, at least. I'm told internally, it can take up to a year to heal from RNY. I'm at 5.5 months and it's like I didn't even have surgery in terms of pain.

you could try to liquid diet that many people go on before surgery - basically 2-3 shakes, a LOT of water, low sodium broth, tea, jello, etc. I lost ten pounds in a week without even trying and without exercise by doing that. Good luck to you!

yeah, unfortunately the only thing that will really help you is gentle walking. Sometimes a hot shower did the trick when a heating pad wouldn't. Something about the water pressure helped me. It will get better, and soon. If it doesn't get better, and only gets worse, call your doctor asap. Feel better soon and take care!

I'm only 5.5 months post op but I am very interested in the answers you may receive.

When I first joined the bariatric program at my hospital, my BMI was 66.9. When I met with the surgeon and she asked which surgery I was leaning towards, I said the bypass, and she said "no problem." I think most likely your surgeon doesn't feel comfortable doing an RNY after a certain weight, which is why they have that rule. Personally, this would sort of ruin my trust in that surgeon's capabilities. But I'm also pretty discerning when it comes to things like this. I have trust issues as it is, and I REALLY needed to trust my surgeon, as my life was and is in her hands.

I was able to wrap an average towel all the way around me. I was so excited that I ran through the apartment naked to show my boyfriend.

I just turned 24, and I was 23 when I had surgery last August. I've gotten a lot of "looks" and snarky comments for being so young, but I ignore them. So, so many people have talked about how much they wish they had done this when they were young. It's not like either you or I are only 20 or 40 pounds overweight. It's not like we're trying to be lazy or "take the easy way out". The reality is, both of us are in the position of knowing our own bodies and knowing that this is the tool we need to get healthy so we can actually start our life. I had to leave school because of health issues centered around how heavy I was. I refuse to let my body control what I do with my life at this pivotal point if there's any way to change it. And I did change it, and I have no regrets. Feel free to friend me or message me anytime if there is anything you think I could help you with.

hello @@antionettemn619y I'm about 5.5 months out from my RNY in August. Since the day of surgery, I've lost exactly 100 pounds (just made that milestone this morning when I weighed myself!) and my life has changed in amazing ways. I'm slightly anemic at the moment, though that's mostly my fault for misreading my supplement instructions. Other than that, my health has greatly improved. I had a doctor's appointment 2 days ago and my blood pressure was PERFECT. All my blood work is perfectly normal, save my Iron levels which are being worked on. I have no regrets whatsoever. It's certainly not easy. Vitamins are going to be a part of your life forever. Social situations may be a little awkward in the beginning, since you won't be able to drink or eat the same things in the same amounts as your friends and family. Changing so many lifelong habits can be difficult at first, though it gets easier. There are also less obvious changes that can be difficult, changes that a lot of people don't often talk about - your identity will change. Your self-image will change. Maybe even your life-priorities will change, because so much more becomes possible when you are no longer obese. People around you may change their behaviors towards you because they aren't sure how to react to the new smaller, more confident you. Some people even have issues with their close family members or spouses. Is it all worth it? That's going to be for you to decide. But the huge majority of people, myself included, would not reverse this for the world. It took me six months to be brave enough to even go to a seminar, and another 7 months from there to actually have surgery, but now that it's all said and done and I'm becoming the best version of myself, I can honestly say it was the best decision I have ever made. You'll find plenty of support and advice here. All you have to do is ask.

welcome!

@@Traveling_T that's so great! We found a couple of keepers, eh?

Watching this documentary put a LOT of stuff into perspective for me. I've been dating an amazing guy for almost 4 years, and we've lived together for 2. I plan on marrying this person. However, there's always been a small part of me that felt incredibly insecure about my body and the fact that fat is not his type. Before dating him, I was often with people who were SUPER into me physically. I'm the fat fetishist's dream - I have a pretty face and a big belly, and this fact was a sort of surrogate form of self-esteem for me for a long time. But Michael and I met online, through a mutual friend who played World of Warcraft with him. We fell in love on accident before he even knew what I looked like, and while I have never doubted how much he cares for me and wants to be with me, I always sort of worried that he was secretly grossed out by me despite the fact that we have always had frequent and wonderful sex. While I was watching All Of Me and seeing these poor women watch their marriages and friendships fall apart just because they are trying to get healthy and live longer made me realize how lucky I am. I realized that I've always sort of see-sawed between using my looks to obtain what was essentially a shallow form of intimacy and feeling so self-conscious and disgusting, like no one could ever find me attractive. Like I deserved to feel like a defective human that would never find real love, because that's what I've been taught by most of the people around me. I felt so beaten down and worthless based on the actions of general society toward me that I sought acceptance and affection in the fetish community, just like the women in All Of Me. As I shrink and slowly become a "normal" person (physically, at least! ) and see that Michael's love for me has never wavered and never been superficial, I can see how easily these women could have been me. I have no idea how I got so lucky.

I had the RNY and I had a drain as well. Mine stayed in for a week after surgery. Mine did hurt coming out, but only at the wound opening and only while he actually pulled it out. I'm apparently allergic to the tape they used to cover the wound, so my skin was red, raised, and stung like hell. But if I hadn't had an allergic reaction, I'm almost positive it wouldn't have hurt at all. outside the sting, it felt like a giant piece of spaghetti being pulled out of me. A strange feeling, definitely, but nothing hurt inside.

It isn't as scary as it sounds. Most likely he or she will be evaluating your overall mental health (i.e. you're not obviously delusional or something), how realistic you are about why you're getting the surgery, if you fully understand the risks and the huge amount of work that goes into maintaining your health afterward. The surgery isn't for the faint of heart or for people who think it's going to be some kind of magic trick that fixes everything and then you move on with your life. As long as you're not crazy (technically speaking ) and know the risks and the work necessary, you'll probably do perfectly fine.

If you haven't watched Sense8 on Netflix yet, I would strongly suggest you give it a try! It's a visually beautiful show about 8 strangers who are mysteriously connected to each other - they can feel and see anything that the other can see. It's a really profound story all about how disconnected we humans have become from one another and how much would change if we could feel the pains and joys of others. Amazing show.

@@NYLux12 nice to meet you too.

Added you!