Lori55741

Can any of you veterans tell me what to expect with sluggish bowels? I'm just a little over 1 month post gastric sleeve surgery and can't seem to empty my bowels without taking Ducolacs or other bowel stimulant. Is this normal?

​​So sorry to hear your MIL and SIL did that. And its the exact reason I'm not telling mine. Kudos to you for standing up to them. I find that people can get jealous if you do anything "new." I plan on just living my life happily and not worrying about the nasty relatives. Because, let's face it, if they weren't saying something about your weight loss, they'd find something else to pick at. So, next time they mention it publically, respond loudly and say, "Too bad you can't be a patient, too. But neither of you would pass the pre-op psych eval !!!!" lol

I just had gastric sleeve surgery on Dec 17, 2015 and I the only ones who know are my husband, our twelve-year-old daughter, my mom and my best friend of 30 years. I went in to surgery weighing 279, and today, twelve days later, weigh 266. Post-surgery is going well. I'm feeling better and still on the bland, mostly liquid/pureed diet, and thankfully, haven't had any real issues with portion control and keeping things down. My husband, daughter and mom are 100% supportive. My best friend's reply to the surgery news, however, was that I was "lucky" to be having weight loss surgery. She's a petite gal, and when we were in college, was a size 4 (me, a size 14). At age 50 now, she's probably a size 10. So, I don't see her as ever having had much of a weight issue that a little diet and exercise can't fix. Me, I went from 135 lbs in college to a whopping 308 lbs before deciding to have surgery. Like many of you, I've struggled since puberty with weight gain and health issues and have battled my way through POCS, infertility, fibroid tumors, gerd, gout, sleep apnea, fibromyalgia, RA, anxiety, etc., and finally sought bariatric surgery for some relief from all of it. At present, I have chosen not to tell my extended family about my surgery. Even though no one on my side of the family has had to deal with obesity, I know they will be supportive because they've always been supportive of me and each other (and, if for nothing else, my four normal size brothers will stop feeling embarrassed about their "fat" sister.) But, I know based on past history, my in-laws and my husband's siblings won't be. Some of them are obese and miserable, so not being overweight anymore will definitely ruffle some feathers with both the skinny and not so skinny ones. Heck, my MIL was jealous that I got a new (used) car for Christmas. (Didn't matter that it's 9 yrs old and we desperately needed a decent second vehicle so my husband can get to work.) She couldn't even be happy about that!!! So, I'm not looking forward to a conversation about anything personal like my weight loss or appearance. Wish me luck new bariatric weight loss friends.... and please let me know how you've handled your friend/family struggles with this topic. I really could use some support and encouragement and specifically what effective responses you gave to others in handling your version of this problem. I know I'm in for a bumpy ride when the weight starts coming off and I can't hide that I had surgery! Thanks