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I'd laugh at my younger self and tell her that as fat as she thinks she is, she'll look back on those days and wish she was that skinny again. I'd also tell her to get the surgery. I've mentioned on here before that my body is broken (as confirmed by doctors) and no matter what I do, I can't lose weight because of PCOS and a metformin allergy. The past 10+ years or so, I have had monthly breakdowns over the complete lack of control I have over my body. I'll give up carbs completely and lose 10lbs, then eat half a cracker and immediately gain 20. I'll work out regularly and nothing changes. It's devistating and disheartening. So I'd tell my18 year old me to get surgery if it got out of hand again and be spared the heartbreak of having no control over her/my body.

@berry78 - Too true unfortunately. I think a lot of it is due to the invisibility of it. With a broken leg, something appears overnight . A person can point to a crutch or cast and go "what's up with that?" It showed up suddenly and clearly doesn't belong. If someone goes from fat to slim, it's gradual and invisible. Are they on a diet? Did they have surgery? Are they horribly sick from stomach parasites? It's a huge faux pas to call out their weight directly, it's just not something polite society does. So instead, we wonder and keep to ourselves.

I'm doing a modified DS - It's the DS but they leave more intestine for digestion time. For me, it kind of has to be the DS over the VSG. After working with my endocrinologist for 2+ years, we realized my body is broken. I have PCOS and I'm severely allergic to metformin. VSG is a super restrictive diet. The DS is re-configuring your entire intestinal tract and changing how your body reacts and digests. Dr Sharp said that you only lose 70-80lbs with a VSG. I feel like if I had a VSG, I'd be successful and push to get to where I wanted. However, my body is broken, so I need to go a more extreme route to make my body cooperate. If your body cooperates normally and you're committed to a healthy lifestyle, it sounds like you might do well with a VSG. That's definitely something that research, medical professionals and knowledge of your own body would be best to help determine. It's fantastic that you have a friend who is going through this! I'm trying to make some friends in my support groups. I'm lucky that my friends and husband have been supportive, but I don't think they really appreciate where I'm coming from.

On the top gray bar, click on the little arrow next to your user name. Select "My surgery" and you'll get to a page with lots of options. Surgery is your surgery. Progress is weight check in, etc. Under that drop down option is where all of your account settings live. I think the ticker is an external link though, you'll need to get that from your signature options.

Another voice chiming in that Fitbit's customer service is top notch, as is fitbit! I've had a Fitbit One and Alta. I loved the Alta. Then I won a Charge 2 in a raffle and cannot speak highly enough of it. Now if they'd just make it so that they can receive ALL messages and not just on one platform, I'd be ecstatic.

UGH. Oh god, I'm sorry, that is beyond frustrating! I used to work for a doctors office and one of the things we prided ourselves on was actually picking up the phone. I cannot tell you how much my blood pressure rises when I have to go through 6 prompts to get a person and end up in a voicemail box. Do these people just not want your money?

Woo! Rex Bariatric represent! We should track each other down at one of the support groups! Are you on the FB group yet? I'm still trying to get my invite. I actually chatted with a post-op DS patient for a while on Tuesday while waiting to get my surgery set up. I'm getting nervous now that it is almost there. She looked fantastic and she was talking about her life and how it has changed for the better and how happy she is she picked this option. It almost felt like she was set up to be there, to quell my nerves. Now that I have a surgery picked out and my packet is off for insurance approval, this is all getting real!!

YES! This is totally normal. My doctor, nutritionist, nurst, psychiatrist, prep binder and even office staff have drilled into my mind that the first month or so, I'm going to be completely miserable. I wish your doctor had warned you so you could brace yourself. I've been told it goes away after a few weeks. Hang in there!

There's a term for that! The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. It's like when you hear a new word and suddenly, that word shows up everywhere. Or (as my link uses as an example), when you buy a car and suddenly you see them on the road everywhere.

I'm new to the Protein shake world! I received samples of powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury chicken Soup which I look forward to trying, but otherwise I'm a complete novice. So here's your chance guys. What are your all time favorite flavors and brands? I'm looking forward to branching out!

Hi guys! I need help. I travel a lot for work and don't know how to handle this. I don't want to tell the people I work with about my upcoming surgery. We eat out a lot and go to fancy dinners. I'm fine with learning to pack snacks and powders, but how should I handle group meals? I can't go to a fancy steakhouse, eat 2 bites of a starter and not get weird looks, nor can I skip out on these meals. Does anyone here have experience with this?

I'm all for it! I'm @whomajigi, though I mainly only post pictures of my dog.

Oh! Also, to clarify: When I said 2 bites of a starter, I meant ordering for myself off of that menu instead of a full entree.

Well, for me it isn't noticing. I'm an event planner (among other things) and support about 160 people. I don't see most of these people more than once a year. Heck, I don't recognize most of them we see each other so infrequently! So they definitely wouldn't be the type to notice a change in my eating habits. I'm slowly telling friends about my decision, but I think I will refrain from coworkers unless asked directly. I'm coming around to the fact that this is a tool and just like using a crutch isn't shameful, getting this surgery isn't either. Unfortunately, I've had a few people with really unsupportive reactions. I'd rather not have to deal with that at work too!

QUEST! I lied, I have tried proteins before. I had a lot of quest vanilla powder and their bars back when I was doing keto. I loved the bars.

Omg, you would have had to held me back from smacking a bitch. There are SO many frigging things wrong with that, from facts to just complete lack of tact!!

My psychiatrist warned me about that and said not to panic! Sometime they'll call back in after the test for clarification. If they had any questions or certain answers were high (like for signs of depression or anxiety), they would want to just clarify answers or handle the problem. T

YES! Keto was wonderful for me. I lost 40lbs in the first 2 months and then stalled for a year and a half no matter what I did (at which point I learned I was broken). But I loved it anyway. I slept better, felt more energetic, never had low blood sugar/hangry emotions and almost never was hungry. Here are some fantastic resources: The big one: www.reddit.com/r/keto - Seriously, everything you could want is there. They're amazing and it is an active community full of people who get the science side and the flavor side. Recipes: Two huge sites I would always visit: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/ and http://cavemanketo.com/ Macro calculator for if you hit a stall: https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ I don't want to overwhelm you with links and info. If you're ever looking for a good bread substitute or something for a sweet tooth/salt craving, I probably found something to fit the bill.

I had my psych eval yesterday! I was way more worried for it than I should have been. It was a 2 hour appointment. First they made me take a short 40 question test. Then I had a full appointment with the doctor. I had about 5 pages worth of detailed paperwork (that I had completed beforehand) that we went through. We discussed the funk post-op, support networks, what to expect, etc. She said she thought I was a great candidate. Then I took a 400 or so question psych exam which seemed to be testing for anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and other mental disorders. I think I'll be an April person too. Go team April!!

Also, a huge shoutout to keto! I did it for a year and a half. It wasn't successful for me since my body is broken (thus the need for surgery), but it was such a wonderful diet. Let me know if you ever want some recipe ideas or need help with that stuff.

Yeah, those damn sexy chickens, clucking and beckoning. Shame on them! Good for you for staying strong. I avoid these cravings by always going in with a shopping list. Is it on my list? I can buy it. Otherwise, it stays out of my cart, no excuses. This helps me shop with blinders on. I am super focused on getting lettuce or milk and don't even glance at the ice cream section since it isn't on the list. Then again, I am the textbook definition of a Type-A personality. Your mileage may vary!

That's fantastic! Mazel tov!

I'll admit ignorance before going all in on surgery. I thought it was cheating too. It wasn't until diet and exercise failed due to a broken body that I finally understood that not everyone's body works the same way. My husband has a friend who switched to diet soda and lost 150lbs. Seriously. He would go on and on about how easy it was to lose weight, as he'd eat an entire box of Cereal in one sitting. My husband nearly had to physically restrain me on multiple occasions. Meanwhile, I'd be measuring out my food, running, doing situps and busting my ass and not losing an ounce. Eventually I realized that surgery is a tool. I used to compare my weight journey to a wall. No matter how hard I punched it or banged my head against it, it wasn't budging. Bringing surgery to the wall is the equivalent of getting a wrecking ball. There's no shame in using a crutch when you break your leg, or hearing aids to hear. There shouldn't be any judgement when you get assistance to lose weight either. It is endlessly frustrating to listen to people call it cheating, but they just don't know any better - they never had to struggle like most of us did.

Yeah it definitely depends on the brand, and the office. My doctor also has a store on site, with the same prices you could find online. You're in NC! I just saw your doctor and we go to the same place! I see Dr. Sharp!

I think it depends. I could spend easily 150 bucks on supplements/vitamins a month if I wanted to I guess. There are expensive and less expensive supplements after all.