BabySpoons

I told myself I could do it on my own too. I lost those same 45+ pounds over and over and over again through the years along with attaining a sluggish metabolism through low calorie dieting. Your body will constantly fight to get back to that higher abnormal weight setpoint we made for ourselves. It's exhausting. Regaining the weight always involved a few more pounds and eventually co morbidities. You might not have any now, but you will. Not trying to be negative but realistic. Also, as I got older, maintaining all the added exercise to try to keep it off became unattainable. WLS is way more than just food restriction. The surgery resets that setpoint, so you are no longer working against your own bodies stubbornness to stay at a higher bodyfat %. Don't pass on doing it based on fear. I would be more scared not to do it, knowing what I know now. GL.

I can't help but think of all the holidays and special occasions I celebrated with food and where it got me. Falling off diets. Starting again on Monday...etc etc. It was exhausting. By the time I finally got to my pre-op diet (my birthday fell during that time), I was so sick and over the excuses I made for overeating that I no longer felt like I was somehow missing out or deprived. Drink some turkey broth and be thankful for the new life that's waiting for you. WLS is nothing short of miraculous. It handed me hope. After losing over 100 pounds, I may even let family members take pictures of me now. LOL Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!! Hugs!!

THIS^^^^^^

Wishing you the very best and speedy recovery!!!!

Here is a video I watched before my first pre-op appointment by the well-known Dr Pilcher. He is well versed in the differences in Gastric Bypass and Sleeve procedures based on more recent long-term study results for WLS. It helped me decide between the two before I ever went in for my first consult. Of course, the doctor will help in that decision based on medical history like reflux. smoking, past surgeries etc. I just wanted a better idea of what to expect and what science has shown to be a better fit for me. GL and congrats!!!

You can have daily fluctuations of weight simply from water weight. Eating salt, menstrual cycles etc. That's why I only weigh once a week but even then, weight could be up on that weigh day for any of those reasons. Obviously overeating will do it. But I think you would know if you were doing that. Hopefully you are not one of the sleevers who lose 30 pounds then weight loss stops. It's usually at that time when doctors go the Ozempic, diet pill route. Or.. looks like you only have 29 pounds to go to hit goal weight. Those last few pounds will come off slowly. I have around 55 more to lose and expect it will become a much slower process now. But I sure hate those stalls too. If you are not seeing any loss in weeks or months, tell your doc/nutritionist and come up with a new plan. GL

Ahhh... what song would ms.sss sing on Karaoke night? Or do you just go to enjoy the oysters and laugh at others' drunken slurring lyrics? Hahaha! I would attempt this since song lyrics seem to convey my thoughts and feelings sometimes better than anything else. ♫

It's sad that others can't be happy for another's success. Especially coming from one's own family member. That catty competitive BS always bugged me and still does. I used to work in an all-women's health club and OMG... the things I heard other's saying about one another made me sick. I learned early on not to let other's opinions effect or define me. Negative comments are certainly harder to take coming from a loved one but even so..parent or not, they are mentally flawed just like the rest of us. Makes it easier to pass it off or forgive them thinking that way, I guess. I remember my Mom saying to me one day while I cared for her after she suffered a stroke... 'What happened to you?" Referring to my weight gain. I was always the fit beautiful one in the family. It hurt me momentarily. She was sharp as a tack up until the end, but the filter was gone. I could have said I quit taking care of myself after I started taking care of you. But I never would have said that to her in a million years. I don't think I even realized that till much later. As for good compliments. Most have been you look great...amazing, congrats etc. A recent one was on my curls. Is that natural or...? I smiled and said yes...along with a bit of hair product. Beautiful, she said. I'll admit it was nice to hear. Especially after feeling invisible for so long. Downside is men are starting to take notice of me again. I never missed it since a lot of that felt like sexual harassment to me. But nothing really negatives as of yet. Knock on wood. I'm sure I'll be ready for them though if I do. LOL Kinda true...

Insurance companies have a list of "in network" doctors and facilities. If you contact your insurance co., they should be able to tell you who is in and who is out. You will still be covered regardless but if the doctor/hospital is out of your insurance's network you will pay more out of pocket for their services. Good luck and congrats on making one of the best decisions you will ever make. It's so worth it!!!

I'd like to test that study on Thanksgiving when I eat a piece of pumpkin or pecan pie . Would the butter or crisco in the crust be enough I wonder??? LOL More than likely I won't test on that day since I would be too worried of having to run to the bathroom every 5 minutes. I don't dump on fried stuff I found out but I ate a piece of birthday cake once and I lived in the bathroom for the rest of the night. I don't get nauseous or sick, just goes right thru me. I know..I know. TMI. But we are talking about dumping so.....

And you would have. I realized this past week while going thru years of stuff that I'm finally cleaning out, how long I actually struggled with dieting and weight loss. I found journals and food diaries and counting calorie lists, diet books and recipes etc. It made me sad. I could have avoided a lot of that if I had decided to get the surgery sooner. But I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and am happy with where I am now, I can honestly say, and I've said it before...my only regret is not getting the WLS sooner.

Glad to hear that you are not left with that forever. I never had clumps of hair coming out but starting at 3 months I had a pretty good amount left on my comb. And I use a wide tooth comb. Never pull or ripped at it even in the past to avoid split ends. Never a brush since it tends to pull out all my curls. Now at almost 8 months out from surgery I notice the hair loss is finally slowing down. I would suggest some trying a wide tooth comb and combing out from the ends up avoiding tugging hairs out at the scalp with a brush. Also washing too often can strip hair of its natural oils and dries out the scalp. Sorry to hear this. Maybe find a good quality protein drink that you can stomach during those times you can't eat? I know most say taking extra supplements don't help with WLS hair loss, but in your case It couldn't hurt. On the bright side, there are a lot of really good, cute short hairstyles out there. I bet you rock it

This past week I have seen the effects of Ozempic on 2 different people. One a celebrity recently in the news about it. Sharon Osbourne, 70, reveals 30 pound Ozempic-aided weight loss | Metro News The other my own GP. When the reaction is... holy shi* upon seeing them, you know it's gone too far. I hadn't seen my family doctor for months but last week when she walked into the room I was taken aback. I wanted to ask but didn't. Pretty sure she's using it unless she's got some major health issues going on. She runs another clinic as well for botox injections etc. I can't help but think body dysmorphia. Skeletal facial features is not a good look. JS I'm going back in to see her next week for some preventative tests I was putting off until after I recovered from surgery. Maybe it's none of my business but if it's what I think it is, I'm seriously thinking about switching doctors. I'm also going to talk to my bariatric team when I see them in Oct. to discuss my meds. I was told by them that after WLS I should be able to get off most of them. My GP told me I'll probably be on all of them for the rest of my life???? I always wondered if she gets some kind of kickback from prescribing them because in the past she always seemed to want to add more every year. But now that all my tests are coming back normal, what's a doc to do??? It will be interesting what the bariatric team tells me compared to her. That may be the determining factor in whether I switch doctors or not. Am I wrong to think that if my doctor isn't taking proper care of herself, how can she take care of me? But then I think...well there are a lot of overweight doctors and nurses too. It's a conundrum... but atm wanting to keep me on all my meds is a bigger concern.

Hopefully since she went off the Ozempic she can regain some of that facial fat. Even she knows it's not a good look.

I totally agree. So glad to hear you had your surgery and doing well @ChunkCat. We truly are blessed and feel so fortunate to get a new lease on life. Actually seeing results when nothing seemed to work for years pre-op is like you said...a miracle. Continued success and thank you!!

That's a lot of hair loss. Just goes to show how differently our bodies react to major surgery. {{hugs}}

I was always a big fan of veggies which never reflected on my weight sadly enough. But obviously did when it came to testing for coronary artery blockages which is high risk in my family DNA. All clear. I recently had a colonoscopy. Preventative testing at the urging of my doctor. I was worried with my recent RNY surgery in April to do it but was told they only check the lower colon, so it was safe. All clear. Fiber does do a body good. Even had a mammogram. A OK👍 During my soft food phase I made big pots of vegetable soup. Very soft veggies went well for me. But I was craving salad. I waited till I was given the green light at 3 months for raw, but it gave me the foamies. I still am cautious when eating them and prefer to avoid till further down the road. I was able to eat fresh tomatoes from the garden eventually but had to spit out the skin at first. Baby carrots are another I have no problem with. Go figure. I think it's the lettuce giving me issues. Stir fry is another love of mine but can't do half cooked veggies either. Eventually I will. I would advise waiting OP. Raw veggies are really hard on your healing tummy. Even more so if you try them before you are supposed to. You will find out like me that even after getting the OK, avoiding getting sick trumps the cravings. But everyone's different. YMMV. GL

Whether or not this OP was a troll, I find it interesting to read here or watch (My 600-pound Life) that food addiction is so prevalent in some peoples' lives that they would rather die than live without their huge amounts of favorite unhealthy food. Some live in denial when obese. Thinking we will somehow be OK and continue on in that lifestyle. Co-morbidities will eventually catch up. Others simply don't care, with the mindset, " We're all going to die of something someday". Both mindsets are true of most addictive behaviors. I think most of us here really tried pre-op. Through endless amounts of diets and/or hours of exercise to finally admit we needed help and did something about it. Hence our lack of regret. To misquote an old saying, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.... I say nothing tastes as good as healthy feels. Hugs everyone!!

Oh no!!! That doesn't sound right. Not in clumps. Anyone else here have hair loss in clumps? What causes that???? 😮

I have a thick head of hair. Has always grown fast. Even my nails. I saw no difference after surgery. Still grows fast but started losing strands at around 3 months. Still happening after 6. I was also told taking extra vitamins doesn't help so there's that. I always cut my hair in layers with lots of texturing so no noticeable diff in lengths until.... yesterday. I was in a tattoo parlor with bright florescent lighting, buying some jewelry. Glancing at myself in the mirror I noticed a TON of little short curly frizzies all over the top of my head. UHHHH! And it wasn't even humid out. Haha! Oh well.... more smoothing product should suffice

As I lost weight, my equilibrium was off. Things shift and not only was my balance off, my bones and muscles ached. Between walking and a few adjustments from a chiropractor, it's greatly improved. I think it's normal to feel clumsy/klutsy because I sure did. My walking was most obvious. I tripped easily and stumbled over things. Now I purposely walk off road over uneven ground to help strengthen my legs and balance. I still have weight to lose so until I get closer to goal weight, I'm believing it can only get better. GL and hope you see improvements as you go too :)

I'm surprised you are 2 years post op and just now experiencing dumping syndrome. Kudos to you for avoiding rich, fatty or sugary food until now. (If that's the case.) Oddly I have only experienced it if I eat refined sugar. I made the mistake of eating birthday cake a couple weeks ago and found out very quickly that I cannot. Fortunately, I didn't have the rapid heartbeat, sweating or nausea but I spent the entire evening and half the night running to the bathroom. My body wasn't having it and went through me like water. I guess now I know to avoid it, since that was my first try. I have absolutely no problem with artificial sweeteners though. Is this a typo and meant to say, I can't eat anything? If so, that's a problem that needs to be checked out by your doctor. If you meant you are cleared to eat anything that only goes to show even if you can, you shouldn't. GL

I stopped taking pain meds after week 1. I still had pain week 2 but it was bearable. I had gastric bypass and hernia repair so YMMV. The pain didn't go away completely for weeks but was more like twinges depending on what I was doing and how I moved. Nothing that needed continued pain meds . GL