Summermoose

Congratulations!! Well done! 🥳😃

I just about qualify! I am really happy this thread exists - I have far more weight to lose than others on this forum.. Height: 5’11 (and I’m the ‘leprechaun’ of the family!!) HW: 305 lbs SW: 295 lbs CW: 266 lbs (6 weeks po) 😁 GW: 140 lbs Personally I am looking forward to the onederland of kg’s: getting to double digits!! So that’s 218 lbs/99 kg.. my husband promised to take me to Disneyland (first time!) to Celebrate when I get there 💕💕!!

I’m 4 weeks post op today and I’m 2 weeks away from turning 29 😁 My recovery has gone super well, I have just been tired but that’s to be expected! I mainly chose to have this surgery because I have struggled with my weight all of my life and had had enough of not participating in life and enjoying life as I should be. I also would like to become a mother and would hate to struggle to conceive (I know I still might but this should help at least), I would hate to struggle to keep up, or to teach my child bad habits with regards to food. Also, maybe a bit shallow, but fashion is one of my hobbies and I just 🥺 want to be able to buy affordable and cute clothing that really represent who I am! I did a lot of soul searching during COVID and I was finally able to acknowledge to myself that I was not ever going to get to a healthy weight and maintain without surgery. It was painful but liberating. I am the type of person that once I decide on something, it’s happening and I prefer not to wait a second longer than necessary. So off I went 😊! I’m down over 35 pounds now and I only need to lose 5 pounds more to weigh less than my husband for the first time EVER! I am excited 🥰

I took three weeks - have had a painless recovery but struggled to get water in and meet my protein goal so I was very sluggish and dizzy. I did do two half days near the end to tackle my inbox because the idea of it was stressing me out!

I recommend the app called Migraine Buddy - it helps to track all sorts of things like what medication you took and frequency of migraines/headaches, also has a lot of information on it as well. You say you use Excedrin 3-4 times a week : this could lead to medication overuse headaches. 😔Unfortunately a lot of people who suffer from headaches/migraines end up with this at one time or another.. I did too and it sucked ☹️  You get headaches and can’t function so you take meds, and they happen often so you end up having even more headaches from taking too much medicine! I forced myself to go cold turkey (except triptan if I had a migraine), but there are other ways to go about combating this with your doctor’s help. Of course not saying you definitely have it, but there’s a possibility, and a risk of getting it if you don’t ☹️ I’d rather let you know so you don’t walk around just suffering through it like so many of us do because ‘everyone has headaches’ (very unhelpful comment I’ve heard too often, and that friends with the same predicament also heard too often). Other than that one of the most important things you can do to avoid all this pain is live by a schedule.. Go to bed at the same time every day, wake up at the same time every day (no more than 30 mins variation). Eat at roughly the same times and never ever drink loads of caffeine one day and none the next.. Your body likes predictability. Turn on Night shift on your phone in the evening and see if you can find glasses with a blue light filter to protect your eyes. Stay hydrated! Regarding non-medicinal pain relief, there are so many different methods and they don’t always work for everyone, and sometimes something that worked before doesn’t seem to work anymore. Some of the most helpful ones I’ve tried are the following: 1. CBD oil (kinda medicinal but I doubt a doctor is going to prescribe it) 2. Sitting in a bathtub and spraying hot Water over my head and shoulders with the shower head 3. Lying on a ‘ramp’ of pillows, elevating my head, shoulders and back in bed 4. A spa mask with beads in that covers 3/4 of my face, I keep it in the fridge 5. Running cold(ish) water over my feet for a good long while 6. A hot cherry pit ‘pillow’ that looks like a sort of collar that drapes over my shoulders and goes all the way up to the beginning of my hairline in my neck (bought it on Amazon) If you get that app, you can see what tools others have used to deal with the pain as well! It’s used by hundreds of thousands of people. It helped me not feel so crazy after I had a migraine after my second vaccine this year because almost 200k users had listed it too. I hope this information helps - definitely do try to see a specialist too! 🌸

I’m 13 days po and I’m finally getting a bit more energy now I started purées! Have also learned never to trust a fart 🤦‍♀️ thank goodness I was at home. On a side note, I suddenly love cooking for my husband.. I had lost all my previous love for cooking when I was diagnosed with IBS and had to start restricting so many different types of food and I just adore being able to cook without all those limitations!! It makes me happy and I’ve been cooking healthy yummy things for him to eat. He’s super happy too 🤣 I now am constipated for the first time in my life (had an MGB) and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I won’t go back to my IBS-D (I heard some people actually recovered from it after this surgery!!)

So glad to hear you’re feeling better! 😁🙏🌻

Belgium 🌻

Ashirkey81, any news? I hope you’re doing well! 🌸🌻

Well done DaisyAndSunshine! You made a difficult choice but you weighed each option and chose the one that best suits you. That’s the kind of reasoning and thinking that will get you to all your goals. No matter how hard, we all get there just one step at a time!

I admire your dedication!! With a mindset like this I have no doubt that you’ll get there 😁

I don’t have a medical background so I can’t tell you, but if something is hurting, warm to the touch and getting redder I would see a doctor about it ASAP! That’s some stuff my surgeon told me to immediately contact him about if I noticed it. Do have to say I am located in Western Europe (socialised healthcare) so if you are located in the US I don’t know how quick doctors/patients contact each other about things. This does seem serious to me but I would always err on the side of caution… Please take very good care of yourself and hope you feel better soon!

I’m day 2 post OP today! I am struggling to get enough water in but just tried ice chips and they are great. Unfortunately my biggest annoyance right now is my uvula.. it looks and feels like they crushed it 😔😔 it hurts quite a bit but worst of all leaves me unable to talk LOL (my hubby isn’t complaining though 🤣) I just hate the feeling of it dangling there, rubbing up and down the back of my tongue 🥴 it really upsets my stomach when it moves all over the place. The doctors & nurses said it should go away by itself soon and I really really hope so!

No worries! Just some crossed wires 😁

Hey guys! 😁 My surgery (MGB) is scheduled on Monday 30/08 and I have been on a strict protein shake + water/tea/coffee/broth diet since Monday. I haven’t cheated at all and am really proud of myself! 😁 NOW… the thing is… ever since a couple of days (since approx. day 4) I feel like I smell HORRIBLE. My pits REEK? Like a mix of chicken broth and sweat 😬 (I know.. TMI) When I asked my husband he smelled me like a dog and told me I’m being ridiculous. He couldn’t smell anything really, but I have found him significantly smellier than usual these past days too 😭 I am now wondering if this diet makes you smellier? Or if it increases your sense of smell? For the love of god, if it does make you smellier, can someone please tell me that it goes away after a while? 😬 It’s driving me a little crazy because I don’t want to lie there on the operating table smelling like chickeny sweat 😥

Thanks guys! I’m relieved to hear it’ll go away and that I’m not going crazy 😁

That is exactly what he meant! His opinion is that the pain stops you from unintentionally harming yourself and that if you avoid it it’ll heal faster because you’re not forcing anything. Idk if how I said it makes sense 😅 I am located in Belgium and I haven’t heard anything about a lot of issues with opioids here.. That does make sense as to why the surgeons would recommend different things for aftercare! Thanks for the insight 😁

I asked my surgeon about these binders and he specifically told me NOT to use one. He said it’s important to keep using your muscles and that the pain is a very necessary indicator of your body’s boundaries during healing.

I look forward to buying an entire new wardrobe that is actually my taste!! Also hiking, biking, running, going out and feeling confident in my own skin. 😁 Seeing my friends from high school and not feeling embarrassed 🙈 having the confidence to go to a concert 🎵 

My surgery is scheduled on the 30th! I’m nervous but excited 😄