Finnix

Did you “need” to call me out? Because I’m positive the moderator specifically said that’s not allowed and if a user has a problem with a post they should report it rather than calling someone else out. You don’t seem to be following that rule. To answer your question, I don’t know that any of us “need” to be here at all. But, yes, I responded to the woman’s post as she, too, had a negative experience at the abusive hands of that person. Thankfully much of her abuse has been removed and likely so has she. I hope your calling me out and trying to tell me that I can’t post doesn’t land you in the same banned boat. I’m sorry if my posts bother you, however there’s a block function you can utilize to prevent seeing things from me since I seem to be bothering you to such a strong degree. I hope you have a great and healthy day! As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

I’m very sorry she was rude to you also. She came out of nowhere and started making fun of others and of me as well. Then she said the moderator made exceptions for her because she had been here for a long time and she could say what she wanted. It was very strange and certainly seems she was wrong, as her most recent nasty comments are gone and hopefully so is she. There are a few here who have been nasty, but it seems most are very kind. She is definitely quite troubled. I hope she gets some help. Enjoy that soup! Hot soup on a cool Fall day is one of my favorite things in the world! I would love to have some right now actually. Yummy As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

The handful of people who were being incessantly abusive decided they would take sage advice and cease their bullying behavior before they were banned. When faced with the inability to bully others, they likely had little else to say here. Thus, the silence. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

That’s what we’re all here for... to learn from each other. I hope you find the information useful. If you need any help finding vitamins that don’t make you nauseous, I am happy to help. I will even send you some of mine to try out since they are fairly expensive and you wouldn’t want to waste money on an entire bag if you couldn’t tolerate them. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

I agree with you. This is a very emotional journey and people can be very insensitive even when they’re not trying to be. You don’t want to be derailed by insensitive comments. You also don’t want to damage or lose your 3 close friendships due to them possibly not understanding or not being supportive. I see it happen a lot and those relationships are forever changed. Good luck! As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

Just be careful with the weights. I didn’t get cleared for weights until 2 weeks and everyone keeps acting shocked that I went back that soon. I didn’t really mind the liquid post op diet so much. I was tired, in pain and just not really interested in much food anyway. But once I started working out and getting an appetite, I was constantly starving. Still am, to be honest. People say they’re never hungry and have to force themselves to eat. I haven’t had that experience AT ALL. I am always hungry. Always. I hate it. It’s a constant struggle. I would kill to be one of those people who is never hungry. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

Thank you, Berry. I just cringe when I see things like this because I wonder if people are aware of the very real dangers. Here are the vitamin supplements that I take. The brand is Bariatric Advantage and they are pretty good. I actually look forward to them. The texture and taste are very much like Starbursts. I also take the same brand of Calcium supplements in this same type of chewable but I didn’t have the packaging for those with me. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

I know this is supposed to be for fun, but I feel I have to say something. My best friend died after WLS. She died about a year post op due to not taking vitamins. She insisted she didn’t need them, that she was getting vitamins from food. She said she was losing weight fine and didn’t want them because they made her feel sick. She died at the age of 28 and left behind 2 toddlers and a devastated family. Many people say, “well my blood work is fine”. Vitamin deficiency actually takes a long time to show up in blood work (several months at least) due to the way your body tries to keep vitamins stored as a backup. By the time they are detected, oftentimes permanent damage is already done. Aside from death, deficiencies can cause irreversible damage to your body. Please don’t be angered by my post. I really am not trying to lecture you. And maybe you know all of these things already. If so, then I apologize and you are of course free to do with your body whatever you please. But some people are just simply unaware of the possible consequences. I wish someone had come along and given this info to my friend and possibly saved her life. Maybe there are other options for you such as a vitamin patch? Or the Tespo vitamin system which is just a once daily liquid “shot” of vitamins that doesn’t taste too badly actually. I’m going to attach some screen shots of how vitamin deficiencies can effect your body. Again, I apologize if this is unwanted information. But maybe one person will find some use for it. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

I’m so sorry honey. Please don’t be disappointed in yourself. This is NOT your fault. It is your surgeons responsibility to inform you of all of the pros and cons of surgery. He should have been absolutely clear about the extremely high rate of complications that come with the band and, in my opinion, it is medically negligent that he failed to do so. You did nothing wrong! We are supposed to be able to trust our doctors and trust that they won’t lead us down a dangerous path. But, you are right, you are here now and must make the best of it. Unfortunately, the fills are just trial and error. I don’t know about you but my insurance wouldn’t paid for any of the fills so it became quite expensive. Hopefully yours will pay. You definitely don’t want to gain weight after you’ve worked this hard. Maybe they’ll let you adjust it prior to 4 weeks if you let them know you’re feeling this way and gaining weight? Just keep doing the best that you can. Don’t give up. You’ve come a long way. You’re not giving up on this. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

I have followed my surgeons instructions to the letter and also work out 6 days a week at the gym. I do cardio and weight lifting. Weight lifting has been a huge help with loose skin and has really changed my body shape a lot. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

Actually, men typically lose much faster than women. You are only 55 lbs away, you got this! As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

Thank you very much. I appreciate that. I had RNY surgery. “Not obese enough”??? If you medically qualified for the lapband then I don’t understand why you wouldn’t have medically qualified for the sleeve as well. They go by BMI and I believe it is the same for sleeve and band. (40 or, if you have comorbidities then it can be 35) It sounds like you likely used a general surgeon instead of a bariatric surgeon. Both are qualified to do the procedure but a bariatric surgeon is far more educated on the actual Bariatrics aspect. They are much more informed and actually take a couple of years to specialize in WLS. As opposed to a general surgeon who only learns the procedure and then does it. He doesn’t take that extra time to learn the ins and outs of it all. Even being on the smaller side of overweight, I still don’t understand why a surgeon would perform a procedure that has SO MANY complications and such an incredibly small rate of success. Why would he perform this operation at all? It is such common knowledge within the bariatric community that the band is a hugely bad idea. If you said you had it done several years ago then I might understand more, but you had this in 2017. The surgeon should be ashamed. Did he tell you the complication rate is far higher with the band than with any other procedure? Did he tell you people lose far less weight with the band and the rate of regain over a 5 year period is almost double that of the sleeve and RNY? My surgeon told me it won’t be long before we are seeing commercials saying “if you’ve had the lapband and had complications, call the law office of...” I’m very sorry this happened to you. I am super angry for you, to be honest. Your surgeon did you a huge disservice. I actually had a lapband for a long time and the loss was incredibly slow. After several years, I developed complications and nearly died. I had to have the band removed. I chose to also have a revision to RNY and it is a completely different experience. It’s so much better. If you continue experiencing pain or the other issues you mentioned, I would strongly suggest finding a new surgeon and having a consultation. Try your best to find someone who specializes in Bariatrics rather than just a general surgeon. I had a general surgeon with my band too because I really didn’t know the difference, to be honest. It was a huge mistake. I wasted a lot of years of my life with that awful band. Again, I’m very sorry. I’m seriously angry right now. I can’t believe these surgeons are still doing this procedure. Please don’t give up. I know this is hard. It’s so hard. But just remember why you did this. You wanted a healthier, better quality life. You can still have that. It may just happen a little differently than planned, that’s all. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

I’m very sorry you’re having difficulties. That must be scary and frustrating. May I ask why you chose the lapband in the first place? I ask because there is so much research out there that says it is 1. Ineffective and 2. Has a very high rate of complications. There’s actually not a surgeon in my entire state who will even perform the lapband surgery anymore. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

Oh thanks so much! I’m doing my best! As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

Awesome! I absolutely love the water and always have but never really considered it an option for serious exercise. It feels so great on my joints. I’m able to stretch out fully and move in ways I couldn’t normally move. I’m so grateful to have one nearby. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

My biggest secret... I have a cheat day once a week or maybe once every 2 weeks. I eat whatever I want for a whole day. It’s usually pizza or Mexican food. I can’t handle much sugar due to dumping syndrome, otherwise I’d probably be eating cupcakes on my cheat day too. Actually, today was my cheat day and I had seriously amazing pizza from a local pizzeria. I also had a tiny Mississippi mud cookie. Cheat days are how I keep myself on track every other day. If I have a craving for something I just remind myself that if I wait until Saturday I can have whatever I want. It keeps me focused. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

What is Moon cheese? As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

Isn’t the divorce rate post WLS like 80%? I know it’s super high. I’m pretty sure I read that it’s 80%. This is why. People can’t handle the changes. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

Oh honey... no... no, no, no. Unless he has one hell of s seriously good reason for not coming to the hospital (and I really can’t think of any), then this man is not the man for you. This journey is difficult. It’s so so much more difficult than I ever dreamed it could possibly be. You’re going to need to surround yourself with positive people who are there to support you and cheer you on. Someone who didn’t even bother to come to the hospital? No. No way. I hope this doesn’t offend you, but this sounds like the kind of guy who will be bringing cheeseburgers and pizza home to eat in front of you when he knows you’re trying to change your life. This is not okay. I’m so sorry he isn’t supporting you the way you deserve. I’m so angry for you. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

Sweetie, this is totally normal. Your body has been through an incredible amount of trauma. Your hormones are raging. This happens to many people post surgery. It happened to me. I was either crying hysterically, seething angry or laughing like crazy. It changed constantly and for no reason. I really thought something was wrong with me but I found out that after WLS these hormonal feelings are super common. Unfortunately, this is something many surgeons never warn us about so it hits us so hard. For me, the emotional issues post surgery was probably the worst part. I was such a mess. It lasted for a couple of weeks. You’re going to be okay. This is going to pass. I promise. It’s one day at a time. Sometimes it’s just one minute at a time. You focus on getting through the next minute. That’s all you have to worry about right now. One minute at a time. I know you’re upset and in pain but try to get some rest. Sip liquids as much as you can when you’re awake and try to sleep whenever possible. You’ve been through a lot. Give yourself a break. This is going to get better, I PROMISE you. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

Staples won’t set it off but many things do. My mom has had a hip replacement and always sets off the metal detector. They don’t really do much. Here’s the process.m: She walks through the big metal detector, it beeps, they ask if she has anything in her pockets, she says no but then tells them she has metal in her body. They say ok and pull her aside a few feet away. Then they have someone use one of the hand held security wands and roam it over her body. They then send her on her way. I have flown with her all over the world and been in probably 100 airports. This is how it has happened every single time, no matter what country. No big deal at all. So, if you have any metal or someone you’re with does, no worries. They are used to it. No need for any documentation or anything like that. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

Girl, look at you! Look at that hour glass waist taking shape and all that definition coming in on your tummy! You are killing it! As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

Wonderful progress! I am sorry about your car accident. That’s terrible. I have some pretty horrible nerve damage in my hands and feet that makes it very difficult to walk. I found swimming laps to be incredibly helpful and so easy on the joints. My gym also has a wall of water weights that can be used in the pool too. When I began exercising, I couldn’t take the pain of being on my feet so I swam and swam. If you’re doing real laps at a good pace, it’s a serious workout! I also really like the elliptical. For some reason, the elliptical is much easier on the joints than even the treadmill. At first I thought it was just easier for me, but my trainer said that most people find the elliptical to be easier on the body than any other machine. So, I bought one for home and use it all the time. That was a really long way of saying, once you’re cleared for exercise, you might consider swimming and/or the elliptical and see how those make your knees feel. Also, I was able to get a “medical membership” to my gym. All I needed was a note from my doctor saying I needed to work out. This caused my gym membership to go from $50/month with a $50 sign up fee, to only $15/month and $0 sign up fee! It also included a free fitness assessment and a free introduction with a trainer. He took me around to every machine, showed me how to properly use them and helped me build a workout routine suited to my physical limitations. It is an amazing program that I wish everyone had access to. You might check your area to see if they offer something like this. If there’s a gym that’s associated with a hospital near you they are much more likely to have this type of program. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

Of course there’s hope for you! You’re off to a great start! Stalls will happen and they’ll drive you crazy and make you doubt yourself, but trust the process and keep moving forward. You’ll do amazing. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!