NeonRaven8919

I love to hear everyone's Wins as each week or day passes there is a New Win.

Went to my follow up with my family NP and with the nurses guidance I did my B-12 shot!! I was so nervous that my hand was shaking and it took a while to get it all injected but I did it. This was a huge deal for me because I can’t even look when someone else gives me a shot.

I understand wanting to see what actual size you are! I've been holding off for several reasons:
1. I really hate trying on clothes whether I'm fat or not ..I've never enjoyed clothes shopping.
2. I just purchase online sometimes medium (more often) sometimes large. I'm not sure what that converts to in numbered sizes and
3. Like you, I don't want to spend a lot on clothes only to have to get more later!
So yeah, I understand..but I can tell by your excitement it might be worth it to give it a try! Congratulations, you're doing so amazingly well! You've got this!!

Have Fun shopping Ladies! To shop and actually wear what you want is a HUGE and a Major WIN!! 🥇🏆 🏅 🎉

In terms of clothing you guys also consider waist tightener pins and them sweater clips for dresses and tops. They are fairly reasonable and can be used throughout all the sizes to make them last a bit longer.

I have been through so many pairs of jeans in the last few months if someone looked in my wardrobe they would think I was a jeans shop!
For clothes what I have been doing is mainly buying second hand (vestiaire collective and ebay) or new but in sales for tops and trousers (Next, M&S, About You and Amazon) but then buying jeans new from some of the cheaper shops (Only, JJXX). The most recent pair of jeans are too big now, look a silly type of baggy so not great for wearing to office but I don't think I am at the next size down yet.
I will be in the US next month for a holiday so I am hoping to hit up a lot of stores there and buy a new wardrobe 😁

Any bit higher is a win.
Took me ages to get to where my doctor and physio wanted me to be but every little puff helps.

Reporting todays WIN 8/14/24...went to macys and the size 16 jeans are fitting well some are kind of big! It's been a LONG A$$ time since I've seen a size 16 from being in the size 20 somethings lol. I said today I would go to the mall and shop to see my actual size. I still do not want to buy a lot of cloths only month 4 and dropping fast!!

Now that you know your size consider checking out some thrift stores. For this size and maybe even the next size down. Usually the church ones have the best prices on clothes. Places like Goodwill don’t price each item separately so sometimes you score but a lot of times it’s not even really a deal. They have like a set price for all jeans whether they are top of the line with the tags or if they are worn looking Walmart brand. The problem is that there are people who shop these places for their business and grab all the descent stuff and Resell it online so you really have to get lucky and find stuff that just got out on the rack before they get to go through it. The church stores tend to price each item as they see fit so you may pay a little more for a nicer quality but at least you can actually find it there. Maybe you will get lucky and your local store doesn’t have anyone like that but near me I never have luck there. If you have a reasonable consignment store near you it may be even better. You can bring things back and get credit as they become too big to use towards your smaller items.

Today’s win for me was getting a little higher on my spirometer. I am exactly a week post op and still not to where my doctor would like me to be but I am doing a little better today. Still working at it.

I'm going back home to the US in November. (I'll be 6 weeks post-op then) I fully plan to take an empty suitcase and hit Walmart and the thrift stores. And also stock up on Tylenol since you can get bottles of 100 over there and only packs of 16 and only 2 at a time here without a prescription. Always handy to have around.

I hadn't even thought about this! I guess it just never occurred to me to feel good about myself! I've always been the bullied fat girl somintried to keep my head down and stay quiet.

I'm exactly the same. Even starting to talk to somebody, I would panic wondering how they could really like me, and delete the dating app.
But this is definitely something I want to do.
I want to go to more concerts and music festivals, too. All the standing is painful and makes me not enjoy the show. Less weight on my knees and I can stand longer and do more

Good point! I've been working on a jumper for over 2 years (entrelac an complicated) If I ever finish it, would be too big.

Stories from the other side (i'll be 6 yrs post op this Oct):
Sleep: about 1 month after surgery, i was able to sleep through the ENTIRE night without getting up to pee or waking myself up with snoring for the first time in YEARS (decades?). it was (and still IS awesome). I am always well rested and have seemingly endless amounts of energy during the day. the only thing that is a bit of a downer is that i can no longer sleep comfortably on my stomach (which was my previous preferred sleeping position), i've long suspected my lack of stomach padding now seems to contribute to hyper-extending my lower back when i am on my stomach. so its back and/or side sleeping for me now. no biggie though, i've got used to it.
Activity: as per my aforementioned endless amount of energy, i am like an energizer bunny during waking hours. i've become a bit of an exercise addict (who me???) and am probably stronger and fitter than i have ever been in my whole adult life (and i'm 52 yrs old for effs sakes). i also LOOK the fittest i have ever looked in my entire adult life...and i was already fit-ISH up until my mid-30s. it's funny and mind-blowing (and ridiculously ego-boosting) when the young 20-30 yr old girls in my Pilates and yoga classes come up to me after class and tell me that they aim to be able to do the things that i do in class, and, wait for it...want to LOOK like me. cray. zee.
Fashion: don't even get me started. even before i ran out of "skinny" clothes to wear during weight loss phase, i was already in the throes of being an over-the-top-clothes-buyer (and shoes, and purses, etc lol) i've calmed down a little bit compared to those first couple years, but i do admit i could probably calm down a little bit more. i have way too many clothes in my closet (some of which i haven't even worn in public yet). not sure when i will cure myself of this habit, but i'll enjoy it until i do, ha!
one last thing not on your list the deserves mention:
CONFIDENCE.
i found that i am just bursting with it (maybe too much as i really do think of myself as the absolute BOMB.). but the confidence is not just feeling good about and trusting myself, but it translates also as feeling good about others, trusting others, patience with others and self, calm, peace, courage, all the good stuff!
of all the things, the confidence is the one i value the most. thanks WLS. (and thanks ME for doing what i needed to do to get here).

Plus you can frog the old ones and make two more in your smaller size!! For those who don’t do yarn crafts that crochet speak for “rip it rip it” out and start over. My husband refers to it as free yarn. Though that’s usually to cheer me up if I make a mistake and have to rip half of it out.

Not yet. I need go clear off a place for the machine to go first. But I do crochet and knit and make my own jumpers. When there's less of me, I guess will need less yarn to make myself something!

Tonight I went to the required education session that my NHS Trust has as a non-negotiable requirement of being accepted for surgery. I will be honest and say I was left feeling completely underwhelmed with it.
There was about 16 of us, all pre-op but at different stages of the required tests etc plus some family members (hubby went with me) There was also a Bariatric nurse, a dietitian and a former patient who had had the bypass in 2022. She explained her journey but it seemed very…I don’t know, sterile? Wrong word I know but I don’t know how else to explain her approach. She’s obviously happy with how it all turned out for her but it all seemed very whitewashed, which I found odd. She only mentioned one case of dumping syndrome but everything else was a walk in the park, which had me internally questioning things. She said she was currently in a months long stall but again, everything was hunky-dory. Someone asked about a typical days eating and it seemed really carb-heavy - toast for Breakfast, sandwich for lunch, cheese and crackers for a snack, sausage and chips or mash for dinner etc etc. I asked about what additional Protein she had - didn’t/couldn’t answer, asked about exercise - some walking and that’s about it. She mentioned Hair loss being an issue but that it all grew back and was great.
I know I’m being picky but I honestly wanted a more rounded discussion about of lots of different challenges that we could face with WLS and living the life post-op. I’d say out of the group that was there, maybe 5 had done any wider reading or research. I did find out that the hospitals approach to caffeine post-op is you can have a couple of cups of tea/coffee a day but they would rather patients filled up on foods/drinks that added protein, especially at the beginning. I also found out about the Vitamins they give you and that they put the timings on the boxes to aid patients with timings etc, which was useful.
Something that was bothering me was if my BMI dipped below 40, would I still be considered for surgery as I don’t have any co-morbidities like diabetes, heart issues etc. I need to get it below 40 before I will be considered for knee surgery, and I’m hoping that will happen end of Oct/beginning of Nov all being well. I was reassured about that, saying that they go off the booking weight reported by the GP when referred initially 🙂
I will be completely honest and say that, apart from some very specific questions I had of my hospital, I actually find this forum of much more use and beneficial to me personally. I have found out so much information from people who are further along in their own WLS journey, plus I know I’ve felt really supported by lots of very lovely and helpful users. There is such a wealth of experience on here that I know that if I have a question, someone will be along to answer it!
Roll on the dietitian appointment next week 🤞

I can't wait to go back to Florida and see all my family and friends in person. They've seen my pics online, but it's just different in person. I can't wait to go to the theme parks and be able to walk around and ride the rides with no issues at all, no funny looks, no problems fitting in any seats. It'll be the first time since high school that I can actually enjoy being there and doing what I want (and dressing cute while doing it!!)

I'm exactly the same. Even starting to talk to somebody, I would panic wondering how they could really like me, and delete the dating app.
But this is definitely something I want to do.
I want to go to more concerts and music festivals, too. All the standing is painful and makes me not enjoy the show. Less weight on my knees and I can stand longer and do more

Yes! Pockets! Although lack of pockets isn't exclusive to plus sizes. That's just women's clothing in general. They don't want us to have pockets so we can't carry the tools to dismantle the patriarchy! 😂

I've been struggling to keep up with the diet so I thought I would try to focus on all the things that I hope to accomplish from the surgery so that I can remind myself what better times I have to come.
Not just big things like better health but also the smaller things that I think are just as important.
1st: Sleep! I want to lose enough weight to sleep well. I don't have sleep apnoea yet, but my doctor says I'm at risk because of my weight and even without the sleep apnoea, it's still really hard to get comfortable and lying on my back definitely affects my breathing and my spine.
2nd: Activity! I ride my bike everywhere and I enjoy it, but I would love to do other things without pain in my knees. I go to concerts a lot and usually need to stand because no one sits at rock concerts (unless it was like when I went to see the Scorpions last month when the average age of music fan was 56 so it was all seats). Standing for a long time hurts and then I can't enjoy the concert as much as I was hoping. Maybe be able to lose the ebike and get an "acoustic" bike.
3rd: Fashion! Being able to shop at cheaper stores. Plus size clothes comes with a plus size price tag. Years ago, (teenage years) I bought a t-shirt that was a size 16. They had the same t-shirt in the "plus size section" (also a size 16 and the exact same size) and it was £2 extra for the same amount of fabric. And as someone with a more alternative sense of fashion, not a lot of plus size clothes have skulls and flames and vampires and things like that. They tend to make plus size clothes with puppies and kitties and cutesy things. There's nothing cutesy about me.

Not boring and some of them were on my list of wins when I first started to lose the weight - my backside only taking up one seat on public transport, being able to get through a turnstile without having to turn sideways and performing some sort of gymnastics movement, being able to comfortably close the seatbelt on the plane, not fearing that every time a chair or bed creaked it was going to be the fault of my weight that caused something to break and not thinking that everyone was looking at and judging me when clothes shopping or eating.
All dreams and wins count, big and small.

I was sleeve in 2015 and am having revision surgery next week (eek!!) but I never thought about the "what I want to do" type ideas before. Mostly I just wanted to lose weight - I've been heavy my entire life - but I think that maybe I'd like to...
Be able to sit in one of those plastic/resin chairs that everyone seems to own for their patio without fearing that it might collapse under my weight, or sit at a sidewalk cafe/restaurant without my butt hanging over the edges of the chair. Have a mattress last longer than a few years before the "dent" I've put in it causes me even more body aches. Be able to go grocery or clothes shopping without feeling like I'm being stared at (that's my social anxiety, but it's made MUCH worse by my weight). Be able to fly economy class again (I've only been able to fly first class the last few years, because I just don't fit in economy anymore) WITHOUT the extender belt! Take my dog for walks and to the park and run around with him. Be able to sit in my desk chair for longer periods before my legs fall asleep because the chair isn't deep-seated enough for my butt! 🤣
I have boring "dreams" 😂

Well done! You look great! Congratulations on your hard work!