Smanky

Best thing I ever did for myself. Loving life again.

All surgeries have some sort of side effect or risk. Often they’re related to a pre-existing condition or a pre existing predilection. Sleeve surgery has relatively few side effects. Yes, gerd is a possibility. I agree with @ShoppGirl’s advice to ask your surgeon for their stats.
I had mild reflux before my surgery which I managed with diet & only rarely needed to take a ppi (couple of times a year). I still have reflux. It manifests differently but I still manage it a lot with my food choices & take a ppi every day. None of the others I know who had sleeve surgery have developed gerd so …
You usually hear about complications on forums, etc. because those people are seeking advice & support. People usually don’t post to say everything’s going great (though many of us here do 😉). I also think people are quick to share a so called ‘horror’ story because they are’t supportive of your choice to have the surgery. Everyone’s got a horror story to share about just about anything. You know those a friend of a friend of a friend stories. Actually talk to people who’ve had the surgery or read through the responses on this forum & you’ll find out about other’s true journeys. (Avoid Facebook groups as the ones I’ve stumbled upon tend to be negative & promote ways to cheat the surgery.)
All the best.

I realise that some folks are hell bent on long hair, but do consider getting a short crop. A good cut that works with thinning hair makes all the difference. When my hair fall was at its worst, I absolutely felt as rough as I looked. I joked about my hair having "gone to seed". Looked awful. So I accepted that growing any length would have to wait, and I got it chopped back into a short pixie and BAM. I look fabulous and chic, and don't even notice my own thin hair now. I'll consider growing it once the hair is back, but until then, I am living my Jamie Lee Curtis fantasy.

I realise that some folks are hell bent on long hair, but do consider getting a short crop. A good cut that works with thinning hair makes all the difference. When my hair fall was at its worst, I absolutely felt as rough as I looked. I joked about my hair having "gone to seed". Looked awful. So I accepted that growing any length would have to wait, and I got it chopped back into a short pixie and BAM. I look fabulous and chic, and don't even notice my own thin hair now. I'll consider growing it once the hair is back, but until then, I am living my Jamie Lee Curtis fantasy.

Look at you lookin' like a Scandinavian snack right there! 🤩

I am scheduled for surgery tomorrow 7-11-22. Im nervous and excited. Its been a long road. This is the biggest I have ever been. I started out at close to 370 lbs and after learning how to eat healthy and what to eat I lost 16 lbs since December. I left a photo of now and hope to share my journey.
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I did everything I could both pre and post surgery with hair supplements and collagen support supplements, and am still religiously taking them now. Still didn't stop Hair loss. It MAY have helped in how much I lost, but I'll never know because I have nothing to compare it with. I started losing hair from month 4 until about month 7. Now I'm just waiting for it to grow back, and hoping the supplements will assist with that. Just gotta be patient.
Beyond that, cutting my hair off into a cute pixie has made my loss a lot less noticeable, especially to myself! A good cut will honestly make all the difference.

Just remember the more you shrink the liver down the safer the surgery is. Have people cheated and their surgery went on, yes. But just because you can get away with it doesn’t mean you should. I had very little pain post op and after multiple comments were made about how well I did on the pre op diet I asked the NP if that’s why I had low pain and she said it certainly is a factor since a smaller liver is much easier to operate around so less manipulation means less pain. A slip is a slip and it probably won’t cancel your surgery or anything but do your best from now on to put yourself in the safest place for your surgery and set yourself up for the easiest recovery possible.

i bought new clothes about a month and a half ago for my new job. they fit perfect. (pants, belt) Last night i noticed my pants where falling below the waist line which is not good because i carry a firearm for my job and it was sagging quite a bit and my belt was on its last hole and i could not keep it secured on my waist the way i like it. So time for new pants and a new belt. YAY lmao. lets keep this train going.

Yeah, the pre-op diet is truly just a matter of toughening up, staying focused on why you're doing it, and soldiering through it. It's not fun, but it's only a couple of weeks. Totally doable. Remind yourself "it's not forever" because it's not. Surgery will arrive before you know it, and honestly, my pre-surgery nervous energy helped getting me through the liver shrinking diet. Distract yourself, stay busy. Eyes on the prize.

I seriously doubt they will say anything about your gain unless they specifically told you not to gain? Our weights fluctuate and they know that. My pre op diet wasn’t bad. I was allowed 2 shakes and then a lean Protein low carb dinner (meat and veggies). Plus we had free foods like Jello and pickles we could have if we just had to eat something. If I remember correctly we could chose between shakes and yogurt. And we were allowed to have broth. I didn’t love it but I wasn’t starving at all. Even if your is more strict because of your liver you just gotta keep your eye on the prize. I know I could do anything for a week or two in order to change my life for the better. And during that diet, if it gets a little touch check out the thread called “weirdest non scale victories” and see some of the changes you have to look forward to post surgery. Also, whenever you want to eat, hop on here and get talking. We are here to help you through it.

Worrying is a waste of time. Try not to do it. You can loose a lot of sleep whilst worrying. Nobody likes doing the Pre Op diet, Its a form of cruelty that goes on and on. If you want the surgery you will have to do it, especially as you have the fatty liver. My time in purgatory lasted 3 weeks, I wanted the surgery so badly, I slipped once and had to cross my fingers behind my back that he didn't open me up and say he couldn't do the surgery. Good luck with your journey.

Going into a regular clothing store…looking at the clothes and still thinking they are way too small.

I still worry about the weight limits on chairs, and then I have to remind myself that I'm under the weight limit for everything now!
And I definitely still go to buy clothes and think they won't fit and they end up fitting! Or the reverse is, I'll pick out an item of clothing and think it will fit and it ends up being way too big because I still have in my mind that I'm larger.
There have been times I caught myself in the mirror or in a picture and didn't recognize myself!

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I'm just amused at how my own perception of the space I take up hasn't caught up with how much slimmer I am. I still inwardly flinch at the sight of close-packed tables and chairs at a cafe or restaurant before I realise I can slip through no problem now! I still get out of people's way when there's plenty of room and I no longer need to - it's still a reflex. My brain is so used to being spatially aware for a morbidly obese body that it's taking a surprising amount of time for it to catch up to a much smaller me. I'm constantly amazed I can slip between cafe chairs and tables now without a) other folks doing the shuffle so I can fit past, or b) risking my arse moving inches from someone's face as I knock tables on the way through with a chorus of "sorry!"s.
What are some things that have snuck up on you that your mind hasn't caught up with yet?

I'm just amused at how my own perception of the space I take up hasn't caught up with how much slimmer I am. I still inwardly flinch at the sight of close-packed tables and chairs at a cafe or restaurant before I realise I can slip through no problem now! I still get out of people's way when there's plenty of room and I no longer need to - it's still a reflex. My brain is so used to being spatially aware for a morbidly obese body that it's taking a surprising amount of time for it to catch up to a much smaller me. I'm constantly amazed I can slip between cafe chairs and tables now without a) other folks doing the shuffle so I can fit past, or b) risking my arse moving inches from someone's face as I knock tables on the way through with a chorus of "sorry!"s.
What are some things that have snuck up on you that your mind hasn't caught up with yet?

Even at 800-1000 calories your body will still be in a pretty significant calorie deficit and you will lose. The higher the calories the slower of course. Some programs have calories Even higher than that a little further out. My team didn’t really give a calorie goal. Best to just go by your teams plan for you though. It’s hard but trust the process. It works.

Unless you ate the ice cream and chocolate to purposely harm yourself, or harm your surgery (and thereby yourself) then this was NOT self-sabotage. It was giving in to an old habit. It was a mistake. Oops.
This mistake, unfortunately (or fortunately, if you take my outlook) caused you some discomfort. This is a teaching moment, and it appears you are learning the lesson. Unfortunately, it may take learning this lesson more than once. No matter how many times you must learn this lesson, it is still not self-sabotage.
You put yourself through surgery so that your body and your mind can work together. Now your body is telling you in no uncertain terms that this is not something you want to do.
Hopefully will will learn and grow through the experience.
Good luck,
Tek

Its the small things that count! I don't look like I'm 12 months pregnant anymore. Good news the stall out that was happening, is finally over after 5 weeks! Finally dropped 3 more pounds, I'll take it. My hair is falling out like there is no tomorrow. Like a handful every time I brush. I know this is normal, I expect after the first 6 months it will lighten up. I'm at 4 months. Take all my Vitamins. Even take a fish oil supplement because it works so good for my dogs fur, thought I'd try people fish oil. The jurys still out.

When I turned 50, my friends at the exercise class I go to got me a t-shirt that I loved but never wore because it didn't quite fit. I didn't want to make them feel bad, so never told them unless they asked. That was June 2020. My first class back after surgery was yesterday and I wore the shirt and they noticed. Very happy moment!

I have heard of this before. When we are overweight we loose ourselves and hide behind family and try to stay as small as possible and hide in the shadows. Gradually we are no longer the people we were.
I used to work in a Adult Education College. Every two years a new full time Art Course began. There were lots of middle aged ladies took the course and over the 30 hour week they put in these ladies slowly changed, their personalities and confidence began to blossom. You could physically see it happen. Many of these ladies left their husbands. They were different.
My husband was finished from his very physical job because of his ill health and lost all his confidence. It really shook him and he changed for the worse. I was his verbal punch bag. I took it for 2 years. I found somewhere else to live and gave him the ultimatum. You stop all this mental cruelty and go back to the man I love or I am gone in a week. With in a day he was back to the man I know and deeply love. He had it all but couldn't see it.
What I am trying to say in a roundabout way is confidence or lack of it, changes us. It changes the people around us. I would put a plan in place just so you have a bolt hole. Try speaking to your husband, tell him how you feel, try counselling. You never know you may meet in the middle again. You will always know you tried everything

Ommgg I'm not at my goal weight yet but I feel this. The biggest thing is how my heart literally races, my face turns red and I shake when I need to get on an airplane. I've learned by traveling a lot recently that seat belts fit with room but in my mind I still feel like that 340 lb person waiting to be embarrassed to find out the seat belt won't fit or barely closes. When I tell you my heart RACES still, it's crazy. I wonder when it won't be such an anxiety provoking moment. I also have body dysmorphia and still feel like I'm at my heaviest most days. It's a big long mental journey too.

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Oh! And one other thing I thought about.. There are certain things I still catch myself doing the way I had to do them when I was 393 lbs. Like, going down steps, I had to hold on and sort of turn a little sideways and step one foot then the other to each step. Sometimes I catch myself doing that and then I remember I don't have to do that anymore. I can run down the stairs without holding on!



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Seven years out, I still sometimes think people are going to look into my grocery cart to see what "fat people" eat (although I didn't eat crap even when I was morbidly obese!), and I still sometimes get a fleeting fear that someone is going to say something or stare at me if I'm walking around outside eating an ice cream cone. Then I remember I'm not fat anymore, so no one is going to stare or say anything!

I'm just amused at how my own perception of the space I take up hasn't caught up with how much slimmer I am. I still inwardly flinch at the sight of close-packed tables and chairs at a cafe or restaurant before I realise I can slip through no problem now! I still get out of people's way when there's plenty of room and I no longer need to - it's still a reflex. My brain is so used to being spatially aware for a morbidly obese body that it's taking a surprising amount of time for it to catch up to a much smaller me. I'm constantly amazed I can slip between cafe chairs and tables now without a) other folks doing the shuffle so I can fit past, or b) risking my arse moving inches from someone's face as I knock tables on the way through with a chorus of "sorry!"s.
What are some things that have snuck up on you that your mind hasn't caught up with yet?