ovaw8ovathinka

Hi everyone. This is my first message. Just a bit about myself - I am 52, menopausal and under active thyroid. I have been overweight and on diets my whole life. I have had some success. In 2012 I was at my heaviest (313lbs) and managed to lose about 44lbs. By 2015 I had regained 22lbs. I had two very special weddings occurring later in the year and that gave me the motivation to loose the weight again but it was soooo slow. I tried following the same Weight Watchers program which had previously been successful but I had little results. Then I went onto shakes again with little results. It got to the point that I was practically starving myself just to see the scales go down. Problem was, the moment I at a proper meal the weight would automatically go back up. I have always been a high achiever and I knew the need to get my weight Down for my future health. This caused me to hate myself so much because I could not understand why I could not control my weight. I was constantly telling myself and my doctor that I wasundereating but still not losing weight the negative self talk would say "you obviously aren't doing it right and need to try harder".in the end my doctor did some blood tests which showed that I have under active thyroid (Hashimotos disease).That was 11 months ago and my levels are still not stabilised. It was also at this time that I became menopausal which also impacted on my ability to lose weight.This is when I started researching WLS and in particular the sleeve. Initially, I was horrified to think about having so much of my stomach removed and the long term health effects but then I met a woman who had the sleeve done two years ago and like everyone on this forum said it was the best thing she has ever done. So, I made an appointment with a surgeon realising that I can never lose so much weight and keep it off without the sleeve tool.This woman was my age and the same weight. I understand that everybody is different but she said that she has lost97lbs just as her doctor had suggested. So I guess I was expecting a similar result based on her situation and everything I had read on this forum. However, when I spoke to the surgeon last night, he said that I should expect a 44 to 55lb loss due to my age, thyroid and menopause. When I told about my friends success, he said there is no way I would achieve those results. I guess now I am wondering if that loss is worth undergoing such major surgery and weather the experienced sleevers out there have experienced any problems with weight loss due menopause and thyroid disease and whether my disappointment at the surgeons weight loss is reasonable? Sorry this has become a long winded saga. Thanks for taking the time to read it. Ovaw8ovathinka Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Sorry Kathy182 hit send to early. Regardless of how much I lose or how fast there is an overwhelming consensus by everyone to date that they have no regrets and life really is much happier and healthier on the other side. Thanks for the support. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Hey Kathy182 thank you for sharing. Great to hear this.congratulations on your success. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

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Hey cbonet sooo relieved to hear you were back and forth too. I had taken so much time and research to decide I was going to do this and then wham...back to I'm not sure after talking to the surgeon. I have done that a thousand times since Monday when I had the consult. Even wake during the night from my brain working overtime and making decisions while I sleep...lol. Like you I am not confident with sharing my decision with the world yet and may never be. Only my husband knows at this stage. I don't even want to tell my adult sons until after its done because I know it is something they have never heard of and will only worry. My paternal niece is having it done in January and she is very open and sharing with everyone. I so want to tell her but feel I would be putting her in a difficult position by confiding in her but asking her to respect my privacy. Tricky. If I do continue with the surgery I want to have it in Feb 2017. We would be good support to each other but she is 20 years younger than me. Thanks for the support and feel free to share your thoughts and opinions at any time. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Awesome advice Kimini. Thank you so much. It was me who made the decision to speak to a surgeon about WLS because I thought I was being proactive about my future health given my weight. Apart from the thyroid and a menopausal problem which only occurred last month, my bloods say that I am in good health (no high GP, cholesterol etc) there is a family history of diabetes which was also why I thought I should do this while I am still relatively young and healthy for such an operation, but even my GP didn't seem to express any opinion, positive or negative and then the surgeon was the same. I thought the surgeon could have been a little more reassuring in order to give me confidence in him if nothing else. At least he was more polite than your surgeon...lol. Anyway there goes overthinking again. I have never had a negative reply or read a negative comment by anyone who has had the sleeve. So that I guess is the proof in the pudding, so to speak. Please let me know how your journey goes and I am envious of your decision and loss to date. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Amazing....i lived on Bribie for most of my life until a few years ago but still live nearby. (Haven't announced my decision to the world yet hence my aloofness about where exactly I live...lol) Even more amazing is that If I do go ahead with the surgery I plan to have it done on the Gold Coast so would love to stay in touch through the Friend option. You might just need to tell me how I access that as I am still trying to navigate my way around here....lol. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I'm a Queenslander. I am north of Brisbane in the Moreton Bay region. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Thanks Krakow57 and congratulations n your success to date. My thyroid was diagnosed 11 months ago. Was started on 50mcg Oroxine then retest three months later. Still low so Orxine was upped to 75mcg. Recheck three months later and all good. Retest three months later and way down again. Oroxine up to 100mcg and retest in three months. Aaaaargh so over it. That being said you are proof that good loses can still occur. I was aware of all the great success numbers I've seen on this forum and was just a bit gobsmacked about how adamant my doctor was that I would not lose more than 20-25kg and offered no hope or encouragement to even try for a greater loss. I guess these forums and positive sleevers like yourself will have to be my support. Thanks again. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

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Congrats Cathy on your decision and your success. I seem to sway from being very positive like you about my reasons, to then questioning myself. I guess that is what a lifetime of self hating does to your confidence. hope you will keep me updated on your journey? Thanks for the support. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Age, menopausal and under active thyroid Hi everyone. This is my first message. Just a bit about myself - I am 52, menopausal and under active thyroid. I have been overweight and on diets my whole life. I have had some success. In 2012 I was at my heaviest (142kg) and managed to lose about 20kg. By 2015 I had regained 10kg. I had two very special weddings occurring later in the year and that gave me the motivation to loose the weight again but it was soooo slow. I tried following the same Weight Watchers program which had previously been successful but I had little results. Then I went onto shakes again with little results. It got to the point that I was practically starving myself just to see the scales go down. Problem was, the moment I at a proper meal the weight would automatically go back up. I have always been a high achiever and I knew the need to get my weight Down for my future health. This caused me to hate myself so much because I could not understand why I could not control my weight. I was constantly telling myself and my doctor that I wasundereating but still not losing weight the negative self talk would say "you obviously aren't doing it right and need to try harder".in the end my doctor did some blood tests which showed that I have under active thyroid (Hashimotos disease).That was 11 months ago and my levels are still not stabilised. It was also at this time that I became menopausal which also impacted on my ability to lose weight.This is when I started researching WLS and in particular the sleeve. Initially, I was horrified to think about having so much of my stomach removed and the long term health effects but then I met a woman who had the sleeve done two years ago and like everyone on this forum said it was the best thing she has ever done. So, I made an appointment with a surgeon realising that I can never lose so much weight and keep it off without the sleeve tool.This woman was my age and the same weight. I understand that everybody is different but she said that she has lost97lbs just as her doctor had suggested. So I guess I was expecting a similar result based on her situation and everything I had read on this forum. However, when I spoke to the surgeon last night, he said that I should expect a 20-25kg loss due to my age, thyroid and menopause. When I told about my friends success, he said there is no way I would achieve those results. I guess now I am wondering if that loss is worth undergoing such major surgery and weather the experienced sleevers out there have experienced any problems with weight loss due menopause and thyroid disease and whether my disappointment at the surgeons weight loss is reasonable? Sorry this has become a long winded saga. Thanks for taking the time to read it. Ovaw8ovathinka Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/377696-Age%2C-menopausal-and-under-active-thyroid/page__view__findpost__p__4267332 Sent from my iPad using the https://siteowners.tapatalk.com/byo/displayAndDownloadByoApp?rid=87332]BariatricPal App

Hi cbonet. Thanks for your feedback. Did you have WLS? Was it as expected - slow and steady? Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Hi Kimini, Thanks for your reply and no post is ever too long. May I ask what WLS you had, when, and what your stats have been like (no probs if you don't want to)? Fear of surgery, having never had any n my life, was a big fear when I first considered getting the sleeve, but I had decided prior to seeking the surgeons opinion that the outcome would all be worth it. So I was feeling very positive about my decision and expected a bit of positivity from the surgeon which was disappointing and made me think is he trying to tell me that I am making a wrong choice.?? Probably just overthinking it all! I realised they are talking averages but he was rather adamant that I would not get below his estimate and didn't even try to encourage me by saying "this is what I think but you may lose more as many other have" or something similar. Just made me doubt myself and my decision. I was feeling all so positive about my decision and felt very flat and uncertain after the consult. As you suggested, In my mind I had made my decision to be responsible for losing the weight and just needed a surgeon to do the surgery. I am going to get a second opinion from another surgeon just to put my mind at ease. Maybe it is just this surgeons demeanour but I know he has very positive reviews about how kind and gentle he is. I beat myself up daily about how I let my weight get to this point and why I just can't lose the weight myself and feel as though I have been on a diet my whole life. I told my doctor that I would just like to feel 'normal' and not have my weight consume me and my life! Thanks for listening. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

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Thanks OutsideMatchinside for your advice. I knew from reading all these posts that plenty of people here have exceeded their Drs goals and I guess that's why I was a bit deflated by his estimates, hence the use of "only". Part of me expected that these Drs would be doing their utmost to to sell the surgery to me but this guy certainly didn't do that and just made me feel flat and doubt my decision. I know Drs these days are reluctant to say what they think due to the fear of being sued and stress that it has to be my decision but I had just expected a bit of support, encouragement and positivity about my decision which I didn't get. At least I can get all that from these forums. Thanks again. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

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