Low BMI Gastric Sleeve story

[audaciousmarie 161]

Update: I was sleeved on 16 May (9 days postop) and doing great! Currently 27 lbs down since Apr 2016. HW: 221, SW: 201 (BMI 34.9) CW: 195. No problems at all and very minimal pain after surgery. Getting 80 grams of Protein in daily and 64 oz of Water. So excited for what is to come in my new life. Anxious to start a more vigorous working out and toning. When the hospital nurse walked in to my room postop and said " girl why did u have surgery? I am fatter than u!" I said "yea well I have a big problem losing the weight and don't want to be fat period." We laughed about it. I know I made the right decision after spending so much money on diet pills and laser treatments.

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Good for you. I am glad you are being proactiv. I get so annoyed when people say things like "You are not that big, why are you getting surgery?". In my mind I'm thinking "I have the fat gene and I may not look that big to you now but I know where my weight can go and I want to get ahold of this before I get to 3-400 pounds and cant get out of bed". Ok end of rant lol. Congrats!!!

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[tryingtobemybest 12]

Gosh i really needed to read this. I recently had my Gastric Sleeve 9days ago. I have been overweight all of my adult life. Major yoyo dieter, i would lose and regain. my willpower would fail after 4-5 months hence gaining the weight.

Fat person in my friends group who were all skinny and still trying to lose weight. It really hits your self confidence.

I chose gastric sleeve because im soon heading into my 40's my family has bad health issues and i dont want to be like that. I want to be at a happy place and healthy. my BMI was 32, and i had high blood pressure and cholesterol. I still do, still early days though so i only pray it gets better. i was 196lb ( 5,6) going into surgery.

So i took the plunge. I was so worried about my future after this, its permanent and there is no going back. Buyers remorse literally set in the day after "did i do the right thing? my life is changed forever? complications?, i can't enjoy food anymore" everything !!!

Im still new finding my way and coming to terms with it. I just hope i have get to a place mentally to accept it. For any of you who have been out a few months. Do you feel a sense of normalcy with your decision? Are you heading in the direction you want ?

[RNYoYo 27]

Gosh i really needed to read this. I recently had my Gastric Sleeve 9days ago. I have been overweight all of my adult life. Major yoyo dieter, i would lose and regain. my willpower would fail after 4-5 months hence gaining the weight.

Fat person in my friends group who were all skinny and still trying to lose weight. It really hits your self confidence.

I chose gastric sleeve because im soon heading into my 40's my family has bad health issues and i dont want to be like that. I want to be at a happy place and healthy. my BMI was 32, and i had high blood pressure and cholesterol. I still do, still early days though so i only pray it gets better. i was 196lb ( 5,6) going into surgery.

So i took the plunge. I was so worried about my future after this, its permanent and there is no going back. Buyers remorse literally set in the day after "did i do the right thing? my life is changed forever? complications?, i can't enjoy food anymore" everything !!!

Im still new finding my way and coming to terms with it. I just hope i have get to a place mentally to accept it. For any of you who have been out a few months. Do you feel a sense of normalcy with your decision? Are you heading in the direction you want ?

I'm sorry to hear you're unsure about your decision. Like you, I've been a yo-yo all my life too. One of those pretty girls who would get noticed more if she wasn't so overweight in the midst of her skinny friends. I'm also approaching 40 and told myself that I'd had enough. My knees hurt more than years past and I also have tons of health issues that run in my family. I needed something that was going to be permanent to give me the "wake up call" that I needed. I want to be healthy so I can enjoy my daughter and be confident in my skin. Although I'm not months out (only 3 weeks), life gets back to normalcy more and more every day. Essentially, I can eat almost anything I want, it's just in much smaller portions and I have to chew the hell out of it! Isn't that what a healthy relationship with food is about anyway? Now I'm find myself making healthier choices just because I want a new me so badly. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to scarf a whole pizza today but I'm so happy knowing that I don't have that option anymore and I can still have a tiny piece if I wanted to. I sure hope this helps with your doubts, I'm already 20lbs down and feeling so much better. You've come to the right place for support. We're all here to help! Good luck to you!

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[silverthreads 183]

@@OMW2Slim -- congrats. Good for you in making a wise decision! I also got the "you don't look like our usual patients" routine...

@@tryingtobemybest -- congrats to you too. "Buyers remorse" is so common -- but you're already here and I think you'll be very happy with your choice in the long run. I'll bet you get that way when you buy a nice new car too -- then you come to love it in the coming weeks. I'm delighted with mine now. Yesterday was 4 weeks from my surgery, and I've already lost 29.5 pounds (and I'm firmly in the first "stall" but that's to be expected). I already feel so much better than I did before the surgery. I suspect you'll feel just the same quite soon. One thing I want to warn you about -- you mentioned your blood pressure. Are you still on bp meds? I think what happened to me is common: I was still taking my bp meds, and about 2 weeks after surgery (and 20 pounds down) my blood pressure dropped about 20 points and I thought that was great. Next day it was down to 90/60 or something and I wasn't feeling well. Spoke to my doc who took me off the bp meds immediately, and now by bp is at the textbook perfect levels I had 15 years ago! (I measure my bp at home daily). So if you're still on your meds look out for that. If you can monitor at home, great. In any event be sure to consult your doctor.

May you both have the same easy recovery I've had!

[tryingtobemybest 12]

Thanks so much RNYoYo !!!

Yes i was the heavy girl who everyone thought i would be pretty if i lost weight. Im still on my soft foods, figuring out my bearings. im praying the sense of acceptance comes with time. Thank you for valuable advice

[tryingtobemybest 12]

@@silverthreads I wasn't on any BP meds to begin with, however my sleeve doc thought i could go on some for a couple months to help me post Op. im going to monitor it for a few weeks and see. Thanks for the advice though that really helps. Im hoping it will regulate with more weight loss. But i will definitely keep an eye on it.

I feel so much relief coming on here there is a wealth of knowledge and advice here that i truly needed

[Scottyd1264 73]

I was sleeved in December, started with a bmi of 31.

Since i have lost about 35 pounds and my bmi is now 25

I am still losing and its hard to gain.. But i also have a family history of heart issues and thought this would be best..

i have to say it times its hard, i reached my goal and it just keeps coming off.... it hard to gain when you can only eat about 1/4 of what you used to.

BUT its WORTH it

[aeightyeight 4]

Good for you! I wouldn't worry about avoiding carbs before surgery; try to eat a lot of Protein. You will need these reserves to get through the first 72hours post-op. I was sleeved May 9th and have had a wonderfully smooth recovery process. You'll be glad you made a preventative decision!!

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[wenrishel 16]

So I had my surgery on March 31 with approval from BCBS OF DE. My BMI was 40 with no co morbidities. Then a few weeks ago I received a $2800 bill from the anesthesia dept. saying that my insurance company has denied the claim?? Has anyone else had this happen? My surgeon told me to have them resubmit the bill so fingers crossed.

[OMW2Slim 25]

Thanks so much for all the positive feedback. I am 33 lbs down today and I have not one single regret yet. Feeling great. I see my surgeon on Wednesday fior follow up and postop class and I am still taking my BP meds. I feel absolutely wonderful. @@wenrishel I have BCBS too. My hospital bill was paid but I haven't gotten anes bill yet. I double checked at time of admission that it was an in-network provider. Fingers crossed I get no bill. I only paid $150 on admission for 100% coverage. Resubmit.

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[angelb429 3]

My BMI was 36...surgery 5/12... I've also been curious about our progress....

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[Scottyd1264 73]

My BMI was 36...surgery 5/12... I've also been curious about our progress....

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It's really tough, you just keeping losing weight, I am never hunger, sometimes I look at the clock and its 6pm and I realize i have not eaten a thing all day... Then when you eat, its so small..

[angelb429 3]

I agree about not being hungry. ..buy I also feel like I am weaker or have less energy than before... I also had hiatal hernia repair and have a very tough time getting anything that's not liquid down right now....

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[Seastars 175]

Low(ish) BMI peeps,

How did the surgery affect your workouts? I keep searching for advice but it seems aimed at much heavier and less mobile people (i.e., recommending "walking" post-op as a workout). I (and likely most of you) are instead in the "fit but fat" category, used to good heavy cardio workouts near-daily. Did you have to cut back post-op? I know we have to avoid swimming and lifting >25 pounds for a few weeks, but what about running, hiking, biking? How soon was it before you could have a vigorous workout? Did you feel you had enough energy for a workout given your low calorie intake? Was it hard to hydrate enough?

[angelb429 3]

Personally at 18 days post op I am only walking. I could bike if I had one. My MD said no gym until 30 days so I have not tried. And anyway...my energy right now is much less than before. My husband had the surgery 2 years ago and he did not have as hard a time as I with calorie and Fluid intake so my story may not be the norm.

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