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[AshleeHarvey 15]

How many of you are documenting your journey on Tiktok or some other platform?
I have a ton of drafts on Tiktok but I may make a different page all together and document it there since I haven’t shared this with many people.
You can follow me on Tiktok at AshleeHarvey6.
Maybe I’ll get brave enough to post eventually, I do think I’m going to do an account and just keep it to myself for now and start putting drafts on there because I’ve documented my entire journey to this point and I have surgery December 20th.

Anyway, post your @ below so we can follow one another!

[Anastacia.Bari.and.Books 2]

I have documented my journey on tik tok since the beginning. I'm @Anastacia.Bari.and.Bookson there. It was definitely very nerve-wracking in the beginning but you never know what information will help. Somebody. I used the platform for so much information when I was first researching the surgery and it was a huge motivator for me to finally take the plunge. I'm so glad I did. Now. I've also connected and made friendships with so many amazing people on there and just got back from a meetup in Las Vegas that was all people from Tik Tok and it was amazing.

[New To This23 102]

I have considered it, I even made an Instagram account, but I have yet to post because I am so nervous/scared. I even turned off commenting on Instagram. I was thinking maybe YouTube would be better since I feel like people who are genuine would likely search for bariatric topics on YouTube, rather than have a new channel suggestion in their feed like on other sites. Might eliminate some of the mean people.

[The Greater Fool 2,055]

I had my surgery when the internet was young. There were perhaps 2 or 3 main WLS message boards not unlike bariatric-pal, along with several 'blogging' sites where a few folks detailed their experiences, generally in text.

I kept a journal form history from the moment I decided to have surgery until about 2 years post-op, which included appointments, milestones, and stuff I found interesting, then the next year was my running journal in much the same form. Though I wrote my entries in a form that was to be read, I never really intended to share them publicly, though eventually I did just that anonymously out there on the internet somewhere.

My only caution is to remind you the internet is forever. There may come a day when you'd like to allow your WLS and weight issues to fade into the past. Be sure you don't reveal too much.

Good luck,

Tek

[SarahByNumbers 38]

On 11/19/2023 at 2:23 PM, New To This23 said:

I have considered it, I even made an Instagram account, but I have yet to post because I am so nervous/scared. I even turned off commenting on Instagram. I was thinking maybe YouTube would be better since I feel like people who are genuine would likely search for bariatric topics on YouTube, rather than have a new channel suggestion in their feed like on other sites. Might eliminate some of the mean people.

Hey there! I have a WLS Instagram account, but I set it on Private (so I have to approve any follows and only followers can see what I post), set my profile pic as something random (not my face), and I've clearly stated on my profile that I only accept other WLS accounts as followers, just to keep it all semi-private. I still get a bunch of weird bots (and fake Keanu Reeves?? 😂) requesting to follow me, so I just run through and delete their requests every few days. There are a LOT of different hashtags you can use to find other WLS accounts to follow - just use words like "bariatric", "sleeve", "rny", "bypass", etc. and they should all show up. There's a pretty decent community over there, so even if you choose to never post anything, it's nice to see all the support and read others' stories! I don't post much either (I always figure I don't have much interesting to say).

[New To This23 102]

Okay, I set up a YouTube like just now, I have not posted but the name is BariatricStart2Finish, It's so new, I lost where my channel link went 😂😂, but the user name is BariatricStart2Finish. I do have an Instagram, it is currently set to private and I have not uploaded any photos, but I plan to. The Instagram account is BariatricStart2Finish it is currently private, but it does have a black and white picture of me for the thumbnail.

If you are interested in following please do. Warning, it will be a bit of a slow start (it already has been,lol) I am in my final few weeks of school (I returned to school on top of all of this as an elder millennial). I will follow you under one of the above-mentioned accounts depending on the platform.

The Instagram pic is the same as this profile pic, the YouTube on is me laughing next to a fish tank

Edited November 21, 2023 by New To This23

[Elizaventy94 2]

That's awesome you're documenting your journey! I did something similar before, and it turned out to be a great way to connect with a supportive community. I also used this service to promote my blog, and now I'm quite popular. Kudos on your surgery, and don't worry about being brave – you got this! Excited to follow your progress. Let's cheer each other on!

Edited January 4, 2024 by Elizaventy94