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So for many years I droned on with life like one of those bees, just doing my job. Day in, day out, mom, wife, life just happened. I've been heavy since I was 18, but my weight got really high after I was in a head-on collision with a drunk driver at age 19 in my first year of marriage, and it took me that first year to walk unaided again. My new hubby? Well, his culinary highlights were hamburger helper and spaghetti-os in red solo cups (so he could avoid dishes, of course!). It took 2 months to wheel my chair into the kitchen and take back over, but I was determined! Of course, limitations and a diet that was never stellar to begin with didn't leave us with super healthy meals. By 2001 I was 240 pounds. Then I had 2 kids by age 25, getting to 270. I was a lazy stay at home mom of course, ha! I kid! No, wait, that was 2 kids! Seriously, they were 2 1/2 years apart, there was no time to be lazy. I dieted, I ran around mom'ing... but I was locked in that oh so familiar spiral of lose some and gain more. Then both my kids hit middle school, I went back to work at their school, and I got EVEN HEAVIER! I hit my highest weight of 324, and my body started to make daily life difficult. The hardware in my shattered leg is painful. The torn disc acted up. The plantar fasciitis was murder. I was sick endlessly (Okay, that's mostly the school germs, kids are GROSS!). So I started tracking my food and exercise. I saw my doc. I went on phentermine. I lost 70 pounds. I regained 20 but stopped there for 9 months, unable to lose but not regaining it all back. A minor victory, hoorah! I tried phentermine again paired with walking a 5k every day before work. I lost 10, but it stopped working after a week. My doctor, who I've seen since that fateful car accident, kept suggesting surgery. I kept putting it off. Money. Fear of crappy doctors who don't listen to me when I know my body best, anesthesia, and having to take pain meds I don't want. Money. Well, I doubled up my insurance, decided to woman up--helped by my best friend going through the same program a year and half ago--and I made an initial foray into the surgery world. Well, it might have taken me 19 years to get to this point (half my life!) but I was shocked at how easy this process has been. I saw the nurse twice, then a psychologist and the nutritionist once between Nov. 20th and Jan. 2nd. I had to wait for January for my new primary insurance to kick in, but they accepted my past appointments and both insurances don't have any mandatory time or weight loss... seriously, jaw dropped. Saw the surgeon on Jan. 29th, and he scheduled me for an endoscopy March. 2nd. That's my last hurdle, beyond changing one of my meds and some labs just prior to surgery. Woo hoo! I work with special education elementary students so I needed right before Spring Break or summer because our schedule is just too hectic to put my needs first. So I asked, holding my breath after being told this surgeon works on Thursdays, "Is March 26th available, the only day during the school year I'm willing to do and have been hoping for since day one?" It was! I have to think that, even though I waited for-freaking-ever and tried endless diets that failed over and over, making me feel like a failure, the fact I'm already 2 pounds away from the 5% weight loss the clinic wanted me to lose, and every appointment has been like clockwork, and my date was available... THIS is the "final solution" that is meant to be. It's going to work. I'm an oversharer (can you tell? LOL) so I've told a lot of people in my family, friend circle, and coworker cohort, so I have a ton of people who will help me be accountable because everyone has been supportive. So, gastric sleeve surgery in Vancouver, WA on March 26th is it. The deadline. The morning I shall wake up for the last time as the old me, and the day I will go into surgery knowing it'll be the new me coming out with the tool that's finally going to work. And, if later I'm not in this same headspace, I can come back and read this post and remember just why I *know* this is going to be the right decision for me.

Sunday 2/9 I did a 2 mile run at 12:00 before my first meal. I have always liked running in a fasted state. I made it till 2 before I ate my yogurt with walnuts. 8 am- coffee/cream 10 am- coffe/cream 2 pm- activia vanilla yogurt with 2 tbls walnuts 7 pm Copy Cat recipe for Olive Garden's chicken margherita with parmesan crusted zucchini. Calories- 836 Net Carbs- 22.4g Fiber- 8.3g Protein- 49g Fat-43g GL-1.4

Sunday feb 10 29 months PO/5'2"/CW 169.4 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Breakfast: coffee + almond milk/ peanut butter Lunch: 2 oz tuna + mayo Snack: 14 roasted almonds Dinner: 2 eggs + spinach+ 4 oz greek yogurt Snack: family had a fruit party and I joined them - 10 grapes, .5 apple pear, 2 lychees, 1/4 mango, pistachios The fruits gave me a crazy sugar spike I didn't have any physical dumping, but I felt pretty lightheaded for 2 hours. I was really hungry afterwards so I ate some beef, high fat and protien thankfully took away my hunger --------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals- 1207 cals/66g protien/61g net carbs/75g fat Sent from my SM-G950U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hello everyone! Has anyone else received March 10 as a surgery date? Was thinking we could all swap info to help keep each other motivated!!

I could have sworn i checked into this thread... if i did I can't find it. So here i am... Checking in now... Late to the party. I "originally" got to this site back in 2009 when it was called LapbandTalk.... I was banded back 11/10/2009. I am 5'2" and that SW was 232lbs. I was 42 years old and married. Lost and stayed at 143lbs for Yearsssss... well until my beloved Tina had to be removed. I got a bad case of the flu and threw up violently and slipped my band... it was a terrible day. So March 23, 2017 I became WLS...less... No more tool. Up till then i was a model bandmember.... Over the last few years, I regained 30lbs.... I had started looking for a dr. to do a revision, but kept being told i didn't "weigh enough"... I was fixing to head to Mex when i stumbled on the dr. i have now.... He said the fact that I was a previous WLS pt he could do a revision.... Yeahhhhh... So Aug 21, 2019 I started my liquid diet... at 173.5lbs. 31.7BMI. SX was August 28, 2019. SX weight 165. Today, almost 24 weeks PO I weighed in this am at 133.4..... down 40lbs.... Lost the 30 i had gained post band removal and another 10..... so happy. After 26 years of marriage, it fell apart. A lot due to the WL and his NEVER supporting my SX. Then he got very jealous... He couldn't handle the men hitting on me.... and i couldn't handle it either.... the attention was intoxicating. I have since met and remarried the most amazing man.... Our last conversation... Me: i can cook a meal at home for Valentine's day. Him: no, i want you to get all dressed up so i can show you off... Band sizes.... 20 pants, 2xl shirt, 7.5 shoe, 44H bra..... After, 6 pants, lg/xlg shirt, 7 shoe, 34H/G bra Sleeve.... 10 pants, lxg shirt, 7 shoe, 36H/G bra..... Today... SIZE 4 PANTS, SMALL/MED SHIRT, 6.5 SHOE & 32G BRA..... I'm having trouble eating the amount of cal/prot. i should be... i find i can eat about 4 bits and i'm done. My hair is falling a bit (thank god i have a lot). Please tell me how yall are doing... Today i go for a check-up and talk with the dr. on my progress. can't wait to see what he says.

100% stick to your surgeon's plan. Battle the head hunger. You will live - even if it's a bit miserable for the next few weeks. You're not just eating this way to help yourself heal - you also need to use this time to create healthy habits. You will be able to eat normal again - I'm 10 months out - and the habits I created in the beginning have immensely helped me stick to eating right. Deviating from your plan is a slippery slope - I stalled for over a month because I stopped being mindful. I found ways to "cheat". I am not saying that is what you're trying to do...I completely understand how hard the liquid phases are. My appetite was roaring! Hang in there and believe in yourself! And as others have stated...hit those protein and fluid goals. That will help you stay somewhat satisfied until you get to move on to the next stages

Your anxiety is TOTALLY normal! I'm a mom, I get it. I was pretty terrified too. But I am now 10 months post op and have NO REGRETS! You will get through this! I want to piggy back on the person who said there is no safer place than an OR table. I agree. If your surgeon thought there was a reason why you might not make it, and that the risk was greater than having a successful outcome, they wouldn't let you have surgery. I know you are scared...but do it anyway. Conquer the fear! You're going to learn so much about yourself and your capabilities after this surgery. It's as much a self love adventure as it is a weight loss one!

Hi! My surgeon was pretty standard across the board and sticks with removing about 80%. But I did research this topic a bit prior to surgery and the basics of what I learned was that some surgeons will remove less than that based on how much excess weight a person has to lose (ie if they don't a ton of excess weight they may not want to give as much restriction). Another reason to remove less is for quality of life purposes. Before I had surgery that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me - how is less removal going to help me? But now that I am 10 months post op I get it. I'll never enjoy a normal sized meal again. It does take some getting used to. Emotionally, eating becomes much less satisfying. It's something you definitely have to come to terms with. I am not a doctor, but I would say yes, you probably will be able to eat more than others eventually. I wasn't given an option on how much of my stomach was removed. I was basically given the run down of the procedure and the percentages were determined by the surgeon. If I was given a choice, I would still choose to have 80% removed. After a few months, you start to be able to eat more. I've been able to eat enough now to stop the weight loss process. If I had even more stomach, I fear that I could regain if I wasn't careful. At the end of the day the old adage still stands - it's just a tool. Use it right and you will have success regardless!

Congratulations to everyone who has already gone! It’s so great to read your updates and be able to know what’s ahead for us who still have to go. I’m on day 2 of my 10 day pre-op diet. And I’m not going to complain. Yes I feel horrible but......I feel for those who have to be on liquids the whole time. I am able to have a little food on my diet so I don’t feel like I can really complain lol good luck everybody! We’re doing this!!!!

I had my surgery on Dec. 16, 2019. My surgery weight was 214 lb and I am now at 187 lbs. I have lost 24 lbs so far which seems to be very slow compared to what other people have been saying which makes me upset. I have started to workout to jump start my metabolism so that helps.

i'm here .. whats up @JRT Mom ?i'm doing good . I seem to like pictures now lol .. Whoever from November 2019 .let's show and introduce ourselves to each other visually . I know we got some progress to show . get them before and afters up !!! Don't be shy !!!

My surgery is finally here!!!! I'm having it February 12th. I started this process June 2019. It has been a hard road for me. It's pretty much consumed my life. I'm ready to start the work but the past 2 weeks I've been very anxious and stressed. My husband says he supports me 100% but the things he says are not supportive at all. I've heard the your family's support is important. Any advice on how to deal with this?

Anytime that I see someone contemplating a revision, I would advise getting a second (and even third) opinion, both from the perspective that revisions are typically more complicated than a virgin surgery, and also the reasons for the revisions are more varied, and this is where the perspectives of different surgeons with different experiences is most valuable. Strictures and twists like you are describing are an indicator of technique problems (which isn't to say that there is something particularly quirky with your individual anatomy that would have caused problems with any surgeon, just that they are frequently associated) so it is quite possible that another surgeon who is more experienced specifically with the sleeve and sleeve related surgeries may have some other ideas of how to tackle your problem. There are some surgeons out there who routinely perform some very complex revisions (such as converting a problematic RNY to a DS) and this is the type of doc that you would like to consult with, as they would be best able to straighten out your sleeve (and if they concur that an RNY is the best approach for your particular problem, that provides a lot of confidence in deciding to go that route.) I tend to like DS surgeons for sleeve problems as they typically have a lot more experience with the sleeve and correcting sleeve problems (as the sleeve is a part of the DS, most of them have been doing sleeves for over twenty years, while most bariatric surgeons have been doing them part time for 5-10 years, and some less. https://www.dsfacts.com/duodenal-switch-surgeons.php gives a very incomplete listing of DS surgeons, and unfortunately, there aren't any very close to you - NY/NJ/PA area is the closest, but probably worth the effort; most can do initial consults over phone and email. Dr. Roslin in NYC and Dr. Greenbaum in NJ both have good reputations in the DS world for complex revisions. As a side note, the mini bypass isn't often done in the States as US insurance rarely approves it, and it has never been accepted by the ASMBS.

I had my VSG in August of 2019. Overall I’m thrilled, I’m approaching 90lbs down. I’ve got more energy and am running at the gym 4-5 nights per week. However, I’ve had repeated colds since surgery. I’m a nurse in a large public health hospital. Due to this over the years I’ve developed a pretty iron clad immune system, rarely getting sick prior to surgery. I take my vitamins every day, drink my water, get in 75-85 grams of protein daily and add in as many veggies and a little fruit as I can. I see my Dr. for my six month follow up later this week and will ask about it, but I wonder if anyone else has experienced this. I average about 750 calories per day. I wonder if the big deficit is leading to a decrease in immune ability.

Hello everyone this is probably going to be long but really could use the input. Nov 2019 I had the gastric sleeve done. Since this I have had nothing but troubles. 10 days after surgery I was admitted due to blood in my belly and a hematoma on my spleen. They fixed that and discharged 3 days later. I have not been able to eat much more then let's say a chicken nugget(less then an ounce of anything including liquids) I got dehydrated was admitted again 29 days post op. Stayed for 12 days got a picc line with tpn since I can not eat or drink much. During this stay had endoscopy and they stretched a stricture lower part of stomach to intestines from 15mm to 25ish mm. Went home no change still not able to eat. Had another endoscopy and stretch this time my stomach was twisted and she tried stretching to 30mm but was only able to get to about 28mm. Went home still no change to eating and drinking. On the 16th of January I had another endoscopy stretch. Stomach was twisted again and was barely able to stretch it at all. I aspirated during the procedure. I woke up to them telling me to keep coughing to get it up. They observed me for 3hrs was on 4liters of oxygen at first then 2. I got up to pee with help my oxygen corrected itself. They said there was no need to keep me I only aspirated a tiny amount. They let me go home (2 hr drive home) I was freezing hole way hubby cranked up heat. Took temp when I got home and found I had a fever of 102.6 went to local er where they did xray and ct found I had developed pneumonia and I also had a pulmonary embolism. They felt I should go back to hospital where this happened and I stayed there for 6 days. 5 days of iv antibiotics and heparin for embolism then discharged on lovonox to continue for 6 months to a yr. I still have no change so now its crunch time it has been 3 months since and cant eat or drink much at all. They want to do another stretch which I would need to come off the lovanox which is putting my life at risk. Not to mention I have had it done 3 times and it has not helped. Also if it doesnt work i would need to have the bypass revision which means 2 procedures putting me at risk 2 times) Surgeon says only other option is revision to bypass(unless he sees scar tissue and can fix. But i have to agree to bypass incase there is no scar tissue or it cant be fixed) My family is up in arms it's hard either way. I dont want anymore procedures but I need to get stomach fixed and I need to get back to work. 3 months no pay we cant take this financially anymore. So for me I feel like they need to do the bypass and I hope for the best and have minimal complications. However the rest of family is worried I will have more complications than I have currently. Plus my sister had bypass and has had to have 15 different repairs(this makes them more worried) I could really use some insight on this what would you do? What do you think I should do?

I had my surgery 8/15/19 I lost weight rapidly i couldn’t keep food down even when i didn’t eat i was dry heaving. Eventually i had my gallbladder taken out thinking that it was part of the problem. At one point i passed out in my tub with my heart rate extremely high. I was so sick from puking my vitamins dropped and my thiamine was at a all time low to the point that i had vision, hearing issues, and dementia. I’m now in a wheelchair bc my legs gave out on me due to nerve damage and neuropathy. It’s really put me in a bad place. I cry almost every day, there’s not much i can do. I feel stuck, i feel like a burden, i wish i could just go back to normal.

Great question, my response... 1. Remember why you had the surgery every day. 2. Stick to the plan 3. If you don't see the weight falling off, don’t sweat it because it will...soon 4. Be discipline and avoid an abundance of sugar and carbs. 5. Read labels if the card and sugar count is high push away from it. Again remember why you had the surgery it will help. 6. Remember, you can lose all the weight and get healthy and go right back to where you started. There are many people who have gained the weight back. 7. Remember, the surgery is just a tool, not a quick fix. You have to put in the work daily. 8. Drink your water!!! I hope this helps and if you need to call me you are welcome yo do so. 2/20/2020 2/20/2019

Bettye, I am also three months from surgery on 2/19 and I am hungry ALL the time and have been since the day of the surgery. I saw my dr last week and he said it just must be that I am not getting enough protein. I have tried since then eating Clif Builder protein bars (20mg protein in one) and I do feel more full after I eat one of those but then I get hungry like an hour to an hour and a half after. It’s definitely not head hunger because my stomach growls super loud. My son says “Mom you need to eat, I can hear your stomach across the room!” I feel a gnawing intense hunger feeling almost all of the time unless I am eating or for about 15 minutes after I eat something. The dr also said to eat more frequent smaller meals. I was losing about 5# a week until last week. I’ve stayed at the same weight since then. It’s so disheartening, I fee like I am being driven crazy with this hungry feeling and I never felt hunger very much before surgery. I would always skip breakfast and sometimes lunch. I wish I knew what is going on. I have been researching this and think I’m going to order Spirulina to take. There is a high protein plant-based one on Amazon. Let me know if y’all get any help or info about this. Mary HW 352 SW 278 CW 238 GW 140

HI guys--any other November Gobblers here? How are you doing? Figured we needed a thread! And I guess we're Gobblers no more, right?

Ah, but darling. You are labeling what you experience right now as maintenance. But the scale is singing a different tune. The scale still shows you continuing to lose (albeit slower). So you are still in WLM, my love. And if you don't track while still actively losing (with the scale at least), how do you know how many more macros to add so that you actually ARE in maintenance. So we can call a pizza a football, but it's still gonna be a pizza. This is a beautiful thing! And as far as dietary fat goes, I vaguely remember my onc telling me that dietary fat only was linked to TNBC. Being on the thinner side as a cancer patient is where my onc wants all of his patients. He wants them to do whatever it takes to make it happen. He's very upfront about that. So glad you are 10 years out and at zero chance of recurrence! I had less than a 50% chance of 5 year survivor at 3C with the # of pos lymph nodes and the breach of one. But at 8 years, he keeps telling me how my survival rate is improving. I think I'm at 75/25 now? And we hope for 10 years with also the same risk of recurrence as someone who never had BC. (As long as I maintain a normal weight with zero regain.) But I think he's gonna want me on letrozole for life. He keeps some of his patients on it for life, especially if they had a buttload of nodes positive and still active at surgery.

My therapist actually doesn’t want me logging anything and she doesn’t think it’s a good idea to weigh myself. Her opinion is that counting calories and macros and weighing didn’t prevent me from becoming MO to start with, and it won’t do me much good now that I’m in maintenance. She also wants me to try to get in touch with more of my feelings than with scientific data. I have a science brain and love to crunch numbers, which she thinks isn’t the best for me ATM. I’m still unsure of that advice, TBH She wants me to not log food and not weigh for 2 weeks and use how my body feels as a guide. I get where she’s coming from, but she’s managed to maintain her size within 5-10 pounds for the last 28 years post WLS. As far as my physique, she’s more along the lines of the weight loss clinic, which is there’s a lot of wiggle room and that I could lose 10 more pounds and be fine, or gain 10-15 and still be fine. Her theory is that many times our bodies will naturally reset to a weight that we spent the most time in before MO started For me, that weight would be in the 125-128 range as I was there during most of my 20’s until I got pregnant. Since I did spend at least a decade of my life “underweight” she thinks my body is trying it’s best to get there again. My cancer situation was unlucky/lucky. Since I had TNBC, it was auto stage 3 with a 50% five year survival rate, but I don’t have to take the endocrine disrupters. And now that I’m 10 years out, my risk factors for recurrence are at zero.

I do still buy certain thing’s although not often. Some people do find them handy for work lunches. The creamy chicken pasta is pretty good. I actually had it on purée just cooked very soft since it’s easy to chew to purée. I couldn’t tolerate normal purée foods. . I like their protein pancakes. I did try some of their protein chips. As I’m supposed to be doing more normal foods. I had half a small bag with two soft boiled eggs. As you advance you can get more creative with your work lunches. in the early stages try things like chia pudding I bought their protein mashed potato mix and I make that sometimes with a small veggie burger. Ie. Boca turky burger 2.5 oz 70 calories, 11 grams protein. I liked it with dr Praeger’s black bean chipotle pollock burger, 2.5 oz 90 calories 10 grams protein but my store stopped selling them. It took me longer than most to eat normal foods. I’m still eating fairly soft foods. my head is tired. But I’m sure there’s lots of ideas. Some people prepare their own meals fresh. I don’t have energy for it. I do a mix of buying a few things from BariatricPal, I buy things like veggie burgers, veggie sausage, if they come in small portion right calories, Egglands Best eggs, plain Greek yogurt or TwoGood yogurt, I mix PEScience select protein powder in yogurt. That helped a lot during purée. As did good culture cottage cheese cups. I admit I treat myself to a little land o lakes whipped topping (sugar free) on my yogurt. and evening coffee. BariatricPal does have protein coffee with vitamins and protein hot cocoa with marshmallows that’s pretty decent. i love using ripple milk unsweetened plain , they also have unsweetened vanilla. It’s plant protein. sorry for rambling.

I second @GreenTealael's Russel Stover sugar free chocolates (I loooooove the coconut one). ...and @Sheribear68, I call your 2 glasses of red wine and raise you at least half a bottle and a couple shots. ...and a 10-course tasting menu (which btw, is my favourite special occasion meal format of choice. Lots of variety AND little amounts of volume of food at the same time ) ...and I'm am totally wearing something slutty. Tastefully slutty.

I'm 83 days out today (duodenal switch November 18th 2019) and I'm down about 83lbs total from my peak weight. Hit a stall this past week, actually gained a pound and a half which is slowly coming back off. Hoping for another 40-50 lbs by summer.

Its s roller coster, its still very early stay on the plan. Your taste buds will level out and give yourself tine the weight will fall off. T has surgery 2/20/19 at 306lbs and today i am 191lbs. I went from a size 22 to a size 12. I thought early in that there was no way was going to lose a lot f weight and the out of no where the weight fell off. Hang in there