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My doctor just called me and told me that my insurance approved for my surgery . I’m so happy and nervous I can’t wait for a June 6th

For the first time in years, I'm under 200 pounds. Woo hoo. Lost 34 pounds pre-op and now 24 post-op. Surgery was on October 2nd. Weight loss has been slower than I expected, but my nutritionist said that I have lost 48% of my excess weight and am right on track. Yay!

I am going on 25 years post gastric bypass.. Back when it was open surgery. total weight lost- 140 Now maintaining average if 160

I am officially in the pre-operative bariatric program through Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic! I met with the surgeon yesterday and we determined that it was better to do the bariatric surgery before the ventral hernia repair. She set a pre-surgery goal weight of 264 and we will decide on the type of procedure (sleeve or bypass) in January. Surgery will be in April or May. I've already made my first nutritionist, lab and psychologist appointments, with the dietician being the first one next Friday, the day after Thanksgiving! I'm motivated and ready to change my life and it finally feels like I will have to tools to do it.

So, today It's been officially one year since my surgery. Yay! I am very happy about how much I lost. I started at 264 and am now at 154 and still want to lose a little bit more so my doctor can refer me to plastics. It's slow going but it's going. I wasn't sure what I was going to write but decided to just go with how I was feeling. One of things I love is I'm much smaller and have more energy but I am also a bit resentful. Bigger people aren't taken seriously sometimes by doctors. I complained of chest pain before the weight loss and was told your blood pressure is too high. Now that I am smaller I was told well that shouldn't be happening and got a CT scan done on Thursday. I had to take prednisone and Benadryl because I'm allergic to the dye contrast. Well they did find two blockages in my arteries one at 70% so tomorrow I have to go in and get a stent put in and I'm a bit pissed off that this could have been taken care of earlier if they had taken my concerns seriously. I haven't done any exercise in a month cause I'm too scared I'll keel over with a heart attack. The moral of this story is to pay attention to your body and if you have concerns speak with your doctor and be insistent if you need them to listen.

fluids (and purees for the most part, too) go right through you, so you won't feel full. You'll start to feel the restriction once you start eating solid food. also, you've had nerves cut, and it takes them awhile to start to regenerate - which again, that should start up again about the time you move to solid food, too. also, keep in mind that your "full" signals (once you start feeling them) might be different than they were before surgery. Mine are different - I get this uncomfortable pressure in my chest, and I know if I keep going, I'm going to be sorry. I've read about other people getting a runny nose or sneezing when they're full. It might take some time to figure out what your new "full" signal is, too..

What everyone else said, plus screw 'em. For me, I did this for me. My health. My confidence. My life. Next time, I'd just walk away and tell them I don't need your judgment and negativity. Sorry that happened to you. People can be so insensitive.

As far as cooking. Most recipes can be modified to fit our diets. Please continue to enjoy cooking and your beautiful cookbooks. Eating after surgery and healed doesn't have to be bland and boring.

I've been trying to write a response since you posted (last night for me). I suspect you've hit a nerve for a lot of us. You should see all the rejected drafts. I'm a guy but much of what you posted hits home for me. I've never been a social person. Invisible was my default condition and I'm generally good with that. My brother is the opposite, very outgoing, social, can act like he's known a person for years on their first meeting. Gawd I admired his ability and often was jealous of it. My son is very much the same as my brother. There were times and situations when I completely wished I could just do what they do. Over the years though I've become more accustomed to and comfortable with my invisibility. I don't do pictures, most of my outreach is in writing. I believe it's our character not our appearances that are important. As an introvert and perhaps a curmudgeon I don't 'waste' time trying to be social. Being social is work and draining for me. I don't like it, so I avoid it. I get to focus on the stuff that interests me or my spouse who likes me the way I am. I am lucky. I'm generally happy where I am. If you're not then please talk to someone you trust like your spouse, or a therapist, or if you think it's what you want, someone who can help you change. For the record, many of us are anonymous here. It's how we can be honest, vulnerable, and ask for help. Thanks for trusting us. Good luck, Tek