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I am 49, soon to be 50 2/28/20. I was sleeved on 11/22/19. I haven't had a period in over a year. On 1/21/20 I started my period. Right on time per my period app if I were still having a cycle. It lasted 18, yes you read that right 18 days. Much lighter than my normal heavy period was. I went to my gyn and they did blood work. The last time they did it was in 2017. My LHS was 47.20 mIU/mL in June 2017 and 35.10 mIU/mL in Jan 2020 My FSH was 60.30 mIU/mL in June 2017 and 32.50 mIU/mL in Jan 2020 My Estradiol was 7.6 pg/mL in June 2017 and 37.0 pg/mL in Jan 2020 Since my estrogen was over 5 times what it was 1.5 yrs ago she felt that this was due to my rapid weightloss and the release of estrogen. She said I had a huge estrogen spike and that she wanted to see if the period would stop on its on and if it didn't we would do an ultrasound to make sure there were no other issues and then start me on progesterone to stop it. Well 4 days later it stopped on 2/8/20. Now according to my period app I am due to start in 4 days. I am having some achiness last night and this morning so I'm a little concerned. Hoping that what seaforest read is true and maybe I wasn't really in true meno/post menopause. I guess I will find out. Keep me in your prayers please. I just really want to start living the second part of my life and be healthy mentally, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually and be happy. :)

I had my surgery one year before you minus one day. My starting weight was less than yours but percentage wise our loss rate is probably not far off. I looked back and in February 2019 I lost 40 pounds from my surgery weight (204). I was frustrated it wasn’t coming off faster but I dug deep and tried even harder because I refused to fail. I Lost another 30 pounds over the next 6 months and met my initial goal of 130 at one year. It’s so easy to give up when you feel like you are doing everything right but the weight is still coming off slowly. I viewed it as a make it or break it point for me. I know if I had given up I would have not stuck with the long term changes I’ve made and I probably would not have been able to even maintain that weight. The less you weigh the easier it gets to do physical activity which really helps in weight loss and confidence. Take full advantage of the next 6 months to keep your head in the game and be determined. You can do this if you want it bad enough. Don’t settle for less than your goal weight, you will regret not knowing your full potential. *I’m in maintenance now and I eat 1300 calories a day, which my Dr and nutritionist agree with. I would not have lost weight on 1200 a day.

So I went back to find this post I made YEARSSSSSSS AGO and a reply i made a couple of years later. This is when i still had my Lapband (didn't come out till March 2017). Since then I got divorced and remarried.... Band removal and Sleeve revision (aug. 28, 2019). Posted April 25, 2013 I have not always needed you.... and one time in my life.. i was a "normal" person. Size 0-3... weigh a whopping 100lbs. Back in my single day... then one day you meet a wonderful guy and you fall in love... ahhh things are great. You get married and have a beautiful son. and life is good.... but then you notice that you’re not happy as you use to be. some days are worse than others... you find the strength to get up every day and go to work and live a "normal" life. Things are good at home... but something is missing... that spark, that feeling you use to get when you and your spouse were together intimately .. and you notice that those time has gotten further and further apart. and you think, what is going on? and one day the reason is staring you right in the face... the mirror... but in that mirror is someone else... surely, it's not me... I don't look like that... that's a ugly fat girl... i'm not ugly and i for damn sure am not fat. Can't be... i told my self-years ago i would NEVER like myself look like... those people... but then you look closer... and closer and there. i know those eyes.... those are my eyes... but why do they look so sad. I have happy eyes. and i see, i see the real me. the one others have been seeing for years.... how did i not see this... how did i let myself get like this ... how did i become that girl that now had to shop at the plus-size store... when just yesterday i was a size 3... How did i become the girl the skinny girls are not looking at and saying... i'll never let myself look like HER... and i'm the HER. this feeling takes the very last shred of self-confidence and stomps it into the dirt and spits on it. and you think...i am ugly i am fat i am unworthy of love.... unworthy of feeling good. and you start to eat... more and more and everything keeps getting worse. you stop taking care of yourself, stop dressing up stop wearing make-up and fixing your hair.... stop putting forth the effort at all... You are now sitting in a deep dark cave, alone and no one or nothing can show you the light.... But one day... you open your eyes expecting to see nothing... complete darkness and there it is... a speck of light.... it's tiny, but just right there in front of you. and you squint to see it.... making sure it's really there. that speck was my friend Paula... she had lb surgery and every day we talked and every day my light grow brighter.... I went to the doctor and did all the tests... did it all and the news that i was approved... OH ... JOy. I looked in the mirror and saw a glimmer of hope. But as the days grew closer... I started to think... WHAT IF... what if i die on the table, what if i fail at this too, what if i stayed fat forever... Then i saw this site...trolled for a long while. I didn't want to sign because, well what if someone knew me... the horror... Then i saw all the successive people... the beautiful woman and handsome men that in their before pictures looked so sad... sad like me. Then i saw the after pictures. and all the happy smiling faces... people who were bigger than me... now wearing size 6 jeans (lellow)... and i thought, i can do this i can get my life back.... I will be happy again. so on November 10, 2009... i awoke... was re-born. and i did do it... i lost 80lbs... it took me longer than most, but i don't care. I have donated all the 12-14-16 & 18 and moved into my own size 6... On Feb 15, 2012.... after a long hard fight.... i won and awarded myself a tummy tuck... i deserved it. I earned it.... so to my band... thank you... for sticking with me and always keeping me on track. and too all you out there thinking about doing this.....search within yourself and be happy again... whichever way you choose..... blessings..... Posted March 31, 2015 Ak.... congrats on deciding to make a change in your life. I re-read my post and im terrible in grammar... lol.... but it made me cry a little... to think back at how sad i really was. And to admit, i have started feeling that way again.... Not that i am "fat" by normal standards, im still a size 8. But i have put back 20 and feel defeated somewhat. Scared... too. Scared of the unknown, of the what if's.... What if i can't get my ass back in gear and do what i know i can. Depressed because i have no support at home with my husband. Who just yesterday said that my LB was a "hobby"... can you believe that... A Hobby... He hates that im no longer "fat"... he said.... your not fat, you're thick.... where other men will tell me im Hot, beautiful, sexy... not him... im thick. We went through a time where sex was great... 2-3 times a week... which was a vast improvement from 1-2 a YEAR... We are now back at 1-2 a month.... if im lucky. February 14, 2020 Well, I did lose that 20 i put back and in fact did lose another 10... I soon after i decided that there was a lot more to the reason i was so unhappy. My ex was still very verbally abusive and very unsupportive. He still hated my weight loss. Still was not being intimate with me... and it got back down to 1-2 a year. Found out that he was in fact sleeping with another woman (he never admitted it). I talked with him and begged him to do counseling... he said no, that there was nothing wrong with him. So I sat down on the couch and said, if things don't change, i'm filing for divorce. Of course, he didn't believe me... but i pulled up my big girl "thongs" (hehe) and filed.... After he realized i was standing my ground, now he wanted counseling.... NOPE.. too late i was done and completly checked out. The marriage ended after 26 years. The day i said i was filing... it was like a thousand tons had been lifted. I started dating and found that men (and women) wanted me. I felt so good about myself. I even posted a profile on Match... and yes that is where i found Tim. I sware he is the last of a dying breed..... perfect gentleman, so kind and loving and giving.... has excepted me for me... He loves me thin, thick (gained 30lbs after band removal) and loves me now.... Thin again. He tells and shows me every day how much he appreciates me.... and it's such a wonderful feeling. So as of today, i'm 51 years old, still 5'2", CW 133.4, Current size 4.... Sleeve done Aug 28, 2019. So im 25 weeks PO. Got married on September 26, 2019..... I am the happiest i have ever been..... Loving me

there's pretty much no way you could gain 10 lbs in a week unless it was mostly water. You're doing what you need to do to get rid of it - cut back on sodium and drink lots of fluids.

I don't know how far out from surgery you are, but A LOT of us gain 10-20 lbs (if not more) during year 3. So I wouldn't struggle too hard to gain weight - it's likely to just happen...

@mexicanwrestler My two cents.... In Mid 2009 I started looking into getting WLS. I had tried everything to lose and i did... but could never keep it off. I did my research and found that i could get the Lapband done with only paying my co pays. ($2000). I found out what i needed to do to qualify and within a couple of months i was approved. This is when my NOW x husband started giving me the same as your BF. You don't need that, you can do it on your own, just exercise more... blah blah blah.... I finally stood my ground and said, NO, I'm doing this. I was 42, 5'2" and 232lbs. One thing i had going for me was that i had no other health issues at the time. My x tried everything to get me to not have the WLS. In my brain, if i lost the weight he would love me more and would want to have sex with me again (1-2 x a year) and be proud of me.... NOPE... If anything the WL made it worse. It made all of his insecurities surface. He hated me losing weight and hated, even more, the attention i got from it. He hated my self-confidence i gained. I started standing up for myself. The more i lost, the more control he lost over me. At this time we had been married about 19-20 years. Mind you, when we got married i was all of about 100lbs.... very tiny size 0. I realized our marriage was a very unhappy one... for me that was. He was happy, he had a wife that did everything. He was the most selfish self-centered person ever... and still is. I could write a whole page on just that... You have to ask yourself.... why do you want WLS? are you ready for everything to change? are you ready for who you will become? are you ready to move on with your life if need be? are you ready to lose bf, family, friends? are you ready...... for your whole life to change? Go into the before and after pictures... look i would say 90% of the before pics. Most every one is so sad, hiding, or had to do some real searching to even find a before pic. Because no matter what we all may think, we are/were very unhappy people. Easily controlled because of all our insecurities. My thoughts.... I'm so fat, no other man will want me, at least this one does 1-2 times a year. I didn't want to be alone. Then look at the after pictures.... i would say 99% are soooo happy and now want to be in pictures, want to participate in life and think... I look pretty good... Then the opposite sex starts to notice you and that will become intoxicating... Your confidence with sore... and you will learn that you are worth happiness, you deserve happiness. You deserve to be healthy because i can tell you your health will only get worse. And the older you get, the harder it is to lose weight. I never for one day regretted my WLS..... My husband now (just got remarried in Sept.) treats me like a queen.... I have my confidence back and he loves showing me off.... He is proud of me and i'm proud of me. I'm going to try and find a post i made here Yearssss ago about how i felt. If i can i'll repost it.

I have gone from self-pay, tried to switch to insurance then back to self-pay. For me the attempted switch to insurance was a royal pain. BCBS, or at least my specific carrier provided coverage, but the requirements were to rigid. For example, I had already done 5 months with my current primary care physician in early 2019 for the “doctor supervised” diet. I exceeded all other requirements and already completed the psychiatric evaluation. I got cold feet at the last minute and decided to attend a weight loss boot camp for 10 weeks as an attempt to avoid weight loss surgery. That was a BIG mistake, my doctor warned me I would gain the weight right back and that is exactly what happened by the end of 2019. I decided to I move forward with surgery in 2020, was going to do self-pay at first since the weight loss boot camp was also self-payed. After going through my medical records for the last 3 years I felt I had enough documentation to use my employer provided health insurance so I immediately contacted BCBS for approval. According to BCBS since I did not see my doctor during the time I was attending the weight loss boot camp (which was in another state), I would be required to restart the doctor supervised diet requirement which I was told back in Feb/2019 was three months but now, for whatever reason in 2/2020 it was increased to 6 months? 🤪 If I want BCBS to pick up the tab I must start over, that would be 7 months with the doctor since the first visit does not count, another 30 to 60 days for the approval process and 30 days with the surgeons office or more to get all pre-requisite tests completed and the surgery scheduled. VERY FRUSTRATING! I have appealed but was told it may be 30 to 60 days until I get a decision. When I ask my doctor for advise he simply looked at me and said “I wouldn’t wait…” so I am not, back to self-pay.

I agree with @MourningTheLossOfBeer . I would contact the insurance company and see what their process is for the gastric , or if they even cover it (I have BlueCross/BlueShield and while they offer gastric coverage, if the company (job) doesn't select it as an elective coverage for their plan, theres no coverage. Sadly thats how mine is. Company (job) doesn't want that added cost on all 300 employees, while only a handful of us want coverage for it. So they didn't select it as an elective. ). If they do have the coverage, then it would be if you were okay with going through the hoops course they have and prolonging the operation a few months. If for some reason they do cover it and your semi okay with waiting, get with your doctors office, let them know whats happened, and see if they can contact the Insurance company. Hopefully then they may have lesser requirements / shorter time since you may have already had some of the things done. The other things to note is deductibles and such. My friend had insurance coverage for it. Over 10 months worth of hoops, (her job required 10 months of crappppp) paying for doctors visits and all the co-pays for surgery, and all the bills she got afterwards, its cost her about $10k out of pocket over the last year. With what insurance hasn't or won't cover. While I just handed over 14$k worth of checks and have the comfort that I will not be billed for anything else. And don't have the hoops to go through. Keep us updated on how it goes ❤️

I am not sure what your dietitian recommended during your liquid diet phase. (Ours gave us a menu). Mine is 10 days, first 7 is liquids, such as protein shakes, broth, water, jello, yogurt smoothies, and they even mentioned creamed soup, just make sure its no fat/no sugar and to strain out any chunks it may have. ((But then 3 days before surgery its clear liquid only, water/broth )) Each Dietitian/doctor is different. A friend of mine is on clear liquids only, for 7 days.

Mine is also scheduled 3/10 but pre-op diet starts the 24 😖

I said the same! My “ideal” body weight is said to be 127 (by my doctors). However even in adulthood I’ve only been about 150. I was super worried initially because my BMI is around 37, but I have confidence that when combined with family history of diabetes, cardiovascular disease & my depression & anxiety (that’s gotten increasingly worse since I’ve gained so much over the past 10 years) aaand my attempts at every diet under the sun, I will be approved. Hope we make it there together!

I'm 10 1/2 months post-sleeve, and I've had what I KNOW is a lot of success--HW of 406 exactly one year ago, 368 on surgery date, and I'm 228 today. Though...I was 221 only five days ago, but dear friends in town equaled two days of fantastic wine and eating all day as we played tourists in my hometown...aaaand I found myself at 231 on Tuesday morning. And now I want to scream: How did I screw up my own great progress, after a January of doggedly trying to break a stall, finally succeeding...and now I have to re-lose these ten pounds before getting back to it?? What's making it so anxiety producing is, I know this "weight gain" is mostly water--I mean, I can clearly see that my wrists and my feet especially are swollen, but the water weight is being pretty stubborn these past two days in coming off. This might be a fight. Dang it! How did I set myself back like this!! I have two questions, then: First, any tips on how to shed off the excess water? I am hydrating throughout the day, since a friend said that it's good to keep flushing your system (or something, it sounded believable). Tomorrow, I'm cutting way way back on salt (though I have to have some sodium or else I get light-headed)...any other tips? Second, anyone else go off-diet and yet found themself get back into the groove?? I have had some off-days before--just a couple over almost an entire year, and never more than two days in a row, but this feels different. Scarier. Like I derailed myself and there's no correcting it--maybe because I felt SO CLOSE when I saw that 221 on Friday morning. Like I could actually do it--my surgeon set a goal of 180 which I always thought was ridiculously impossible but when I saw the 221, yeah, suddenly I thought I really COULD get to the 180, let alone the 200 I had dreamed of when I thought of a "goal weight" pre-surgery. And now I've just slid so far back. Any experiences that you've had successfully coming back on the tracks, I'd love to hear--or even just bald reassurance, because I'll take any encouragement you have!

Weight management has always been an issue my entire life, I have gained and lost over 100 pounds THREE times in the last 15 years, hoping the FORTH time post-surgery will be the last. Whatever diet program, book, shot or pill that has come along in the last 15 years, most likely I have already tried it and unfortunately failed. If your “considering” non-surgical alternatives to weight loss surgery feel free to ask me, most likely I have used it at least once and have accurate records of what was used and what were the results and pros / cons of each. The “pill of the month” currently is Contrave Blue which I have been on since December 2019. I have been avoiding weight loss surgery for years. My sister had full bypass surgery 20 years ago and unfortunately, she has suffered complications for many years. At the end of 2018 I had ballooned to the heaviest I have ever been, started January 1, 2019 I was a “Big Mac and Large Fry” away from 400+ pounds. My blood pressure was extremely high, and my new primary care physician was very blunt during my first visit, “lose weight or die” was the basic theme of our health conversations. Even with that much bad news and new physician pushing for weight loss surgery, I still was trying to avoid surgery. I decided to take an alternate route, take some time off from work and attend a Weight Loss Boot Camp for 10 weeks at a cost of over $15,000 self-payed of course since health insurance does not cover this type of activity. Unfortunately, life has ways to make things difficult at the worst time and I only was able to complete 6 weeks For those interested I have a blog that chronicles my weight loss efforts at the weight loss bootcamp last year, good reading for those thinking about that route. https://vin1959.blogspot.com/ For reasons I will expand on in future messages, the weight loss boot camp adventure did not get the job done and weight loss surgery has now become necessary. At this stage I am not going to play the “pre-approve documentation game” and wait for my health insurance company to say I am covered, I am simply going the SELF -PAY route and will plan for the Gastric-Sleeve procedure hopefully in April this year.

I guiltily admit I buy 90% of my clothing from high end boutiques. I have a very good one down the road from me - an institution in Brisbane for 40+yrs. I’ve been a regular for decades from when I was a size 10 to size 18 often popping in just to say hi & chat. They stock labels from Japan, Germany & Belgium as well as some Aust lines. I’m waiting for the Comme des Garcon range to go on the floor as her sizes are small. I bought a few archive (from the 1990s) Comme pieces in Melbourne but there was one dress I couldn’t even get on! The average Aust size is about a 16 (US 12) now too. Aust size 8 or XS is often the smallest size boutiques stock in Aust so needing a size 6 or XXS now is why I’m having trouble. I just hit the online sale of a Scandinavian avant-gard designer a friend loves so I’m hoping the clothes I bought will fit. Only Selfridges had the latest range of one of the Belgian designers I love but not the pieces I was seeking. Saks still had last season’s which I have.

My boyfriend of 7 years (who I live with) is not excited about the idea of me thinking of bariatric surgery. I had my first consultation appointment and my bf and I have been talking about what I learned, etc. Now as an upfront, I just turned 40 and have been struggling with my weight since my mid 20s. I am currently at my highest weight of 275 lb (5' 6.5") with a bmi of 43. I have just been prescribed blood pressure meds (my bp has consistently been 177/90 for 6 months!) AND cholesteral meds. I have yoyo dieted for years. YES, I could exercise more (or at all) but I do eat pretty healthy. My bf is a great support in my life and I love him very much. He does NOT want me to get this surgery and suggested that neither of us have FULLY "committed" to a diet and exercise plan since we have been together (he only "needs" to loose 10 lbs to hit his goal weight)....therefore, he thinks we should work out together 3 times a week for 6 months to a year along with a severe calorie counting regimin (which we have done) and overall healthy diet (which we do mostly on, sometimes off) before I even consider this surgery. I am DEVASTATED. I told him "my body my choice" and although I know he will support me if I decide on the surgery....I can't help but feel like he is putting off my health and hapiness by another year. I dont think these changes will move the scale that much, certainly not ENOUGH....and he thinks I don't have the behaviors in place now to maintain the diet needed post op to make this work. HELP. I need advice. I am not convinced surgery is right but I am 80-90% sure it is and may be the only option to saving my life.

My sister took 2 weeks off from her bypass surgery (office job, but had 2 little kids under 10 at home). My old boss took 4 weeks (teacher). Neither had robotic surgery which research said costs more but is supposed to be less painful with potentially faster recovery. I work in elementary special ed, and I'm taking just shy of 2 weeks (Mar 26-Apr 7) going back on a half day/non-instruction planning day Apr. 8th to see how I feel. I might take the rest of that week off for an extra 4 days if I'm healing slow. My clinic paperwork says patients will generally be able to swallow any med under the size of a pinkie nail after surgery. Pill powder (or crushed pills) can be put in thin liquid or applesauce. They recommend one a day bariatric fusion multivitamins but to take them x2 a day. The nutritionist said to either get the chewable or to open up the capsule and put it in a spoon of food/fluid. I have a splitter already but a pill crusher might be handy.

Hello everyone I'm Pre-Op VSG scheduled for March 10, 2020. I was wondering if there's others with a similar date or live in NYC with close dates?! Id love to have a surgery buddy or even just a group of people who also want someone to "go through" this with when others may not understand!

Yes, I had to lose 77 lbs before I could have surgery. Some insurance policies require people to lose 10% of their body weight. Thirteen pounds doesn't seem like that much. Count your calories a do some walking each day. As part of the pre-op you will probably meet with a nutritionist, so ask them for help.

My sister took 2 weeks off from her bypass surgery (office job, but had 2 little kids under 10 at home). My old boss took 4 weeks (teacher). Neither had robotic surgery which research said costs more but is supposed to be less painful with potentially faster recovery. I work in elementary special ed, and I'm taking 2 weeks (Mar 26-Apr 7) going back on a half day/non-instruction planning Wednesday to see how I feel. I might take the rest of that week off for an extra 4 days if I'm healing slow.

Y’all!! Someone posted the Ricotta Bake recipe on the other thread and OMG. It. Is. Heaven. I served it over spaghetti noodles for my 10 year old and she LOVES it. This will now be in our rotation!!!

Hi. My BMI was 35.8. And my weight at the start of pre op was 222. Day of surgery on 10/15/19 was 207. I am now 162ish with a BMI of 26. I’m thrilled with my progress so far. I’m getting so close to a normal BMI I can taste it! Lol I had several co morbidities (except diabetes). I’m much healthier already after only 4 months! I don’t know your age but I can tell you that unless you get your weight by some means, it will only get worse. Best wishes!!

I firmly agree. I bought a vintage ballroom style long tutu that was labeled either a 10 or 12 ... And they meant it 😂. It fits me how a modern 6 or 8 now fits.

Have you ever thought of coming to the states like our cities NYC, LA, Miami, Atlanta, Boston or Chicago to shop? I, too, have trouble fitting into clothing that is sized correctly, well-constructed (like you said, art) and proportioned for petite XS and, in some cases XXS. The surrounding villages/towns of all these major cities have amazing boutique shoppes to your absolute delight! Have you ever shopped at Saks Fifth Avenue? I have found some nice ready made dresses, slacks and unique pieces in suitable sizes. Bloomingdales, too. Their sales can be very rewarding as I re-build my classic wardrobe slowly. All my shoes and beautiful couture full figure clothing are all gone now. I grieved them - I wanted to look nice even in a size 1, 2 or 3X. Whomever adopts them is one lucky individual considering not only their cost, excellent condition but the time, effort and travel to procure them... My garment seamstress has quickly become my best friend. Shopping on line is simply not the same experience. I hate to think we might loose all our fine department stores. Wish there could be a balance. I like amazon, too. And, I like to support our local businesses as well. The average American size is now 12 in the states but has shifted to a 10. The American consumer does not want to admit that they are actually a size 12 or 14. Clothing sizes have shifted upwards and should be taken with a grain of salt fueled by deceptive advertising + marketing + sales. True sizing can still be found in high-end boutiques, most designer goods and vintage shops. And, they will tell you the truth via your measurements. I love upscale consignment shops especially garments made in the 40's, 50's, 60's and labeled small...they really are an authentic small! I feel for you. Not shopping too much yet after plastics but know I will have a similar issue. I like quality not quantity - mix and match and eclectic.

Initially I didn't really tell anyone. I wanted to be secretive in the beginning and I was... but that has slowly changed. So... I first started talking with a co-worker about it. She had it done 4 years ago (I was September 2019). I got a lot of support initially from her. I waited to tell my husband until I NEEDED him to know. Why/When did I need him to know? After my first appointments with my surgeon and nutritionist and I had to tell him because I was leaving the country for 5 weeks and I needed him to help me schedule some appointments for pre-surgery testing. He did NOT want me to have surgery. He made that very clear. But I insisted I was doing it, so he begrudgingly (sort of) helped me make appointments. He still tried to talk me out of surgery until the DAY OF surgery. He was scared I would die or something. But... he was also the one who took care of me in the hospital. Now he is proud of me for getting my health back. My daugther: I told her a few days before I had the surgery, only because she lives with me and she needed to know why I would spend the night in the hospital and then not go to work for a while. She is 16. She thinks it was stupid I had the surgery, but she doesn't give me much flak about it. My sons: I waited until a month after surgery to tell them, only when 1 was coming home for a visit. Both boys were surprised I did it, but they didn't really say anything bad about it. My younger son is still trying to just figure out what my new diet is lol. Co-workers: I ended up telling a couple before surgery and I knew they would be supportive. Otherwise, I was keeping it a secret initially. I still have not told the rest of my family (parents/siblings etc). I have no plans to tell anyone else. I did end up eventually telling everyone in my main office building and a few in other buildings that I work with... very selective with people outside my building. I will tell you, I was shocked at how interested and how supportive almost everyone has been! I get the most judgement from my own immediate family, but even that hasn't been unbearable or anything. My husband's reaction was out of fear for my health and safety. My daughter, just because she is 16 and judgmental of everything (mom and dad are ALWAYS an embarrassment stage). The only negative reaction I got from others was from someone who is much bigger than I was, who needs something like this much more than I did. And really... other than whatever she said in the first minutes after learning that I had surgery.... she has simply not talked to me much since. And that is OK with me. She isn't ready to face having surgery herself, so I won't talk about mine unless she asks. And she won't. And that is OK. If she changes her mind, I will share my experience. So... all in all... I am now happy to share with the people I am willing to share with. And the rest? If they figure it out, fine. If they don't, that is great too! I will tell you also, I have another co-worker who has asked a ton of questions and is now in the beginning stages of considering surgery for herself. I am so glad she knows she can come to me for support/guidance and I am happy to help her and anyone else thinking about going through the process. Hope this helps! Edited to add... my PCP was the one who referred me to my bariatric surgeon. She was great about it. My Sleep Apnea doc didn't really say much. My OBGYN didn't care either way (But when I asked for more IV fluids for a procedure shortly after my VSG, he was happy to order them). Haven't seen my cardiologist since I decided to have surgery, but he wanted me to lose weight. If he isn't supportive or gives me a hard time about it, I would probably just switch docs. But I like this guy and I think he will be happy my weight is down.

Ugh! I am so frustrated. The scale hasn’t moved in two weeks! I don’t know what to do. I’m 5 months post op. I’m eating about 700 calories a day. Doc wants me up to 1000, but it’s been tough to get there. I haven’t had a whole lot of energy the past month, but I upped my protein shakes to twice a day and that has helped with my energy considerably. I admit I haven’t been too strict with my diet relying mostly on the tiny portions that I eat keeping me in check, which they have in the sense that I’m not getting very many calories. I do try and make sure I’ve gotten my protein in each day, and my water. I just don’t see how 700 calories a day can keep me at 185lbs for 2 weeks without so much as one pound lost. I have been loosing slow from the get go and now its trickling to a hault. I’m 50lbs down since surgery but my weight loss can’t already be stopping. Can it? Please advise. Or share you similar story. HW 238, SW 230, CW 185 Surgery date September 19, 2019