Polara

I'm a little over two months out and have had issues with Vitamins, too. I had a very difficult time swallowing Bariatric Advantage capsules and no matter what I did, they would routinely get stuck. My surgeon recommended that I switch to the Bariatric Advantage chewables, but even though the taste was alright, they made me incredibly nauseated...I even ended up vomiting from them a few times! Now, at my surgeon's recommendation, I am using Vitamin Patches. The brand I'm currently using is PatchMD, which I think are actually available on the BariatricPal Store (and no, I'm not getting paid to say this, just pointing that out), but I purchased mine via Amazon.com. I've had great success with them...my blood work has been perfect and it's a relief not to have to take anything orally. If you're having trouble with chewable or swallowable vitamins, you could always try asking your surgeon about this option if you feel it's something for you

Hi everyone! I was sleeved on 9 December, and I feel amazing! I've lost quite a bit of weight and am following the diet given to me by my nutritionist to the letter. However, I'm feeling some social awkwardness when it comes to eating lunch at work. My coworkers regularly go out for lunch, mostly to fast food places and the like. I'm not jealous of them at all because I have no desire to eat that kind of food anymore, but I am bothered by the fact that they deliberately avoid me in the break room. I am a funeral director at a small funeral home, and the staff is not very large. I haven't hidden my sleeve at all so everyone is aware of it, and I've tried to explain that watching others eat things I don't doesn't bother me at all. I never comment on anyone's food choices and I try not to bring attention to my tiny portions. I feel as if since I got the sleeve and started losing weight, the dynamic has changed totally. I wouldn't take back my decision to have the sleeve for anything at all because I am so happy with how I feel now...but I am frustrated because I feel excluded and like a pariah. Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this?

Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Ross have been my very best friends post-surgery. I've gone from an 18W to a misses 10-12 in two months, and I am trying not to buy a TON of new clothing until my weight gets stable. I'm especially fond of the Marshalls in my area and have had amazing luck finding great deals!

I absolutely love most of the teas from Teavana (http://teavana.com/). They can be a bit pricey, but the teas are absolutely phenomenal. You can find them in quite a few malls, and if there isn't a retail store near you, then you can order online. I really recommend trying the winterberry blend!

I was sleeved on 9 December 2015...my weight starting the process was 245 lbs. After the pre-op diet, I was down to 236 lbs, and I am now weighing in at 179 lbs for a total of 66 pounds lost!

Hi everyone! Thank you for the advice. I sat with my coworkers on Thursday, and things were a little tense but seemed to go well overall. Today, however, was a bit of a different matter. They actually went out to lunch and ate at the restaurant. I am not sure if this was because they wanted to avoid me or if there is another reason behind it. I did find out from someone at another location that one of the ladies that is part of this lunch bunch had a gastric band and failed miserably at it...she gained back all her weight and then some. Perhaps that is one of the reasons they're a bit uncomfortable with me? Whatever the reason is, I am not going to stress about it anymore. I am moving to the UK in May because I'm getting married, and I am looking forward to a new start where nobody (well, save for my fiance, future in-laws, and friends) knows what I looked like before I lost weight. I've lost 66 pounds since my surgery in December 2015, and I feel amazing. I don't want to dwell on any sort of negativity, so I'm going to continue looking towards the future

I was sleeved 9 December and I have found that since surgery, anything remotely sweet tastes awful to me....so Crystal Light is out. Instead, I drink unsweetened teas, such as the Winterberry blend from Teavana. I usually brew it over ice using their "Perfectea" maker. The flavoured teas are delicious, even without a sweetener!

Heya everyone! I am about 12 hours away from the actual time of my surgery tomorrow morning, and I am terrified. Even though I am in the program at a Center of Excellence and my doctor has an amazing success rate with an incredibly low rate of complications, my anxiety is still through the roof. I adhered to my pre-op diet and all the testing I had to go through came back A-OK (my PA told me that I am, and I quote, "a healthy fat kid"), but my mind keeps racing with all the "what-ifs". How did you veteran sleevers deal with your pre-op anxiety, if you had any? Also, is there anyone else getting sleeved on or around tomorrow (December 9th)? I'd love to have some surgery buddies! Lots of huggles to everyone! ~ Polara

Hi everyone! I'm now 3 days out and doing really well. I'll post my experience on the Post-op board. Good luck to everyone preparing for their big day...you can definitely do it! And to all my Dec. 9th sliver buddies, I hope you're doing well! ~ Polara

Thanks for the positive vibes and well wishes! I will definitely let you know how it goes...I've calmed down a bit after some deep breathing exercises, but my stomach is still in knots. Right now, I am packing because I have to leave tomorrow morning at 5am to be at the hospital at 5:15 (I'm lucky I live so close!) and I think I am going to bring my big fluffy narwhal slippers to make me feel better! Hopefully, I will be able to wear them after the compression boots come off! ~ Polara

I'm scheduled for surgery tomorrow and on Saturday night, I ate half a piece of garlic bread. I confessed to my NUT and PA at my appointment yesterday and they said I should be fine for surgery since I religiously stuck to my diet otherwise, but the memory of the guilt I felt is definitely going to stick in my mind as a reminder to stay the course!

I'm scheduled for Dec. 9th at 10:30am. I'm super excited, but also incredibly nervous. I'm in the Daytona Beach, FL area!

Funeral director!

I know you can do it! My surgery isn't until December 9th, so I haven't experienced it myself...but I have faith in you that you will be able to come through this with flying colours! Good luck, I hope you have a smooth surgery and a speedy recovery!

I am scheduled for December 9th, which is three days after finals for me. I'm excited and nervous at the same time...but like fatcinderellasball, I think it will be great to start the new year off with a bang!

I'm super glad that your surgery went really well, and that you're feeling better! Did you have any gas pains, and if so, how did you relieve them? I'm really nervous about that bit going into my sleeve on Dec. 9.

My surgeon is hoping to have everything in line for December 16-18ish. I still have a few clearances to get, but I am really hoping that I am able to get them done very soon!

There are a few things that really made me decide to have WLS. I am getting married in August 2016, and my fiance is British. We've been together for over seven years (I am 30) and lived together in the US for three. I was around 150lbs when we met and started dating. I was diagnosed with bipolar about a year into our relationship and my doctor perscribed a medication called Zyprexa, which is great for someone having a severe bipolar episode...but it is notorious for weight gain. I think I gained 5 pounds by simply filling the perscription! In my year taking it, I gained 100lbs with no change to my diet or exercise. I was very active...I played rugby and soccer, and I ate a low-carb and low-sugar diet. No matter what I did, the weight kept piling on until I visited my psychiatrist and told her I wanted to try something else because I was so incredibly depressed due to my weight gain. She swapped me to a new medication, but a lot of damage had already been done. The Zyprexa combined with some of the other medications I was taking essentially destroyed my metabolism, making it pretty impossible for me to lose weight no matter what diet and exercise plan I went on. Fortunately, I am now on medication that is weight-neutral, so I have not really gained anything more. I could not play rugby or soccer any longer because all my excess weight made running EXTREMELY hard on my joints, and giving that up was incredibly painful for me. I still tried to lose weight on my own over the course of several years, but nothing helped, including physician-supervised metabolic weight loss. I visited my fiance last May-June, and I could barely walk into town. Getting around London was an absolute nightmare. I started looking at WLS options on my own, but was far too afraid to actually go to a seminar or talk to my family about it. This August, I went to the bridal shop to buy my wedding dress. They did carry larger sizes (I am an 18-20 at the moment) so I was able to try on quite a few. I found the PERFECT dress, and while my parents and the bridal consultant said I looked beautiful...all I could see was how overweight I was. I *did* look pretty in the dress, but when I stared at myself in the mirror, I kept thinking how much better I would look and feel if I was able to lose some of the weight. A few days later, I mentioned the idea of WLS to my parents, who were very supportive of my decision. I was still very afraid because it is a pretty major surgery in my book, but a close friend of mine had the VSG a few weeks earlier and told me that it didn't hurt quite as badly as she thought it would, and she was recovering quickly. Not only that, but she was losing weight and feeling much, much better. I decided to look into it more seriously and attended a seminar...and I decided that it was the solution for me. I went into my surgeon's office for a height and weight check, and I qualified for WLS. After speaking to the program coordinator, I decided to go through with the surgery and made my first appointment. I will be seeing Dr. Sebastien this Tuesday, and I am incredibly excited and nervous at the same time. I feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I will finally be able to lose the weight so that I can get back to doing the things I enjoy as well as look great in my wedding pictures! Sorry for this long winded diatribe...I haven't really shared whis with many people, and once I started writing, it just kind of flowed out. xx, Polara