pokeyvenus

Hi Kate! Congrats to you on making it happen, even without insurance! I can't believe you're having to go to Prague for the procedure. Best of luck to you. Will you do a follow up program locally? I haven't shared with many people that I had the procedure. Those who I did tell, parents and siblings, and a handful of friends, were initially worried that I was doing something drastic and dangerous. If I were leaving the country to do it I'm sure they would have flipped out. They began to relax while I was waiting for a surgery date. During that time they did their own homework and they started to see that this was a very good option for me. Now that it's a couple months later I think it's hardly anything they think about. While 36 lbs in 8 weeks is a lot to lose, I'm only started to have a very noticeable loss now. Colleagues have started commenting (positively) and my husband sees changes. If i get really small they may start to worry again. I hope the people in your life are supportive. Enjoy the holiday and best of luck with surgery.

I can't believe it's only been 2 months since I nervously rolled into the OR for my sleeve surgery. I felt pretty certain this would be great for me. I had my doubts and fears but in my heart I knew this would my best chance to end the up and down battle. I've been really lucky not to be dealing with any rotten side effects or post-op medical issues. I've had a couple occasions where I hit my full limit and couldn't wait for things to move around. I've had a stall and slight regain that really stressed me out. But I put my trust in this process and stuck to the plan. I tried not to focus too much on where I want to be vs. where I am. My weight loss picked up again, I'm feeling great, my energy is improving, and I feel normal- like a normal person who doesn't think about food constantly. I'm down 36 lbs and I've dropped 2 sizes. Today I went to a regular size clothing store and fit into things- some XLs were even too big on me! God, that felt GOOD! Thank goodness for this opportunity. 2016 is going to be an amazing year. Best wishes to all of you contemplating, starting, or working your journey.

Hooray!! Congratulations and thank you for the inspiration!

That is AWESOME! Congrats to you. Keep up the great work.

I can't believe I'm 6 weeks post-op. I have mostly felt good. Had a couple weeks with some real fatigue and a 3 week stall with no loss. Things are moving along again and I'm feeling pretty great and I made it to onederland - barely - but it counts. 199.7. I'll take it! 30lbs gone. I am so happy I did this. And I can have faith that I'll survive future stalls. It helped to stay off the scale for a couple weeks. Aren't we lucky we have this chance?!

@@jane13 No BP meds for me. I wound up getting a rotten cold this week so that's making the fatigue a bit worse. I probably should have mentioned that I have 2 babies to chase down daily. I would be dragging toward the end of the day before surgery but now it's brutal. Looking forward to the 4-6 mark when I'll hopefully get some energy back. I honestly feel like a bear preparing for hibernation. Makes sense with my body figuring out the new low-calorie normal. Weather's been crappy and sleep is good. Thanks for the suggestion.

Congrats! It's so great to feel hopeful.

Babbs- that is incredibly helpful info! Thank you!

Scale hasn't budged in 5 days. I know I probably sound ridiculous complaining about it. I expected I'd have stalls at various points in my journey but already?! Please tell me this is typical.

Thanks for all the comments. It helps to know that this is familiar. Just got to power through.

I'm just a bit freaked out since I felt fantastic last week. Fortunately eating stage 4 soft foods is going well and I'm not sore. Trying to focus on the positives.

I think I understand why people take more than 2 weeks off from work. I'm getting all my water, between 60-80 grams of protein, and I'm taking my vitamins. I'm beat though, really, really tired. Have others experienced this? When can I expect to get some energy back?

I'm with you. I definitely didn't need 2 weeks. When I saw my surgeon at my 2 week follow up I told her I was worried that it might not work because my recovery has been so great. Seriously- I have worried about this. We both laughed and she reassured me that I have a sleeve now vs. a big stomach. At this point I'd say the things that are a little hard are figuring out the best time to take my Vitamins and what to have in my stomach when I take them. And I feel a little fatigued. Eating more calories throughout the day would probably help to keep my energy up.

Have things been getting any better? I find myself feeling more "normal" every passing day. Normal for someone who no longer has food on her mind constantly. That's a crazy change.

I do! I honestly cannot handle it. I'm feeling great too. I snacked on "normal" food when I was out over the weekend. I'm cooking again for my family and I'm enjoying meals with them. I'm back at work and figuring out that dynamic well. It's like I'm normal. I just feel so incredibly optimistic. It's hard for people to understand unless they've been in our shoes. But I feel like the luckiest woman in the world right now. And it's already having an impact on how I'm living. I'm making plans for activities that I wouldn't have made if I didn't have the surgery. I'm walking a little taller, I'm smiling a lot more, I think I'm just all around more pleasant if that makes sense. I'm putting my trust in this process and I'm not scared of failure. I'll get there. I'm really going to get there this time. (Que up Sally Fields Oscar speech).