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So I had my sleeve done yesterday!!! Feeling ok today. Much better than expected. Nothing by mouth yet. Feeling thirsty, slight nausea. But feeling blessed to be up and moving around.

I think if someone asks for an opinion, then it's an invitation to be honest. Obviously not to the point of destroying someone's esteem, but I feel that if someone asks... I will answer with honesty. Not sure about the support being enabling... interested to hear about that.

Hilarious but also pretty cute too. After years of looking like someone forgot to stop pouring when pouring me into them, with being down from 28-30W to a definite 20, I can find them to FIT, of course I still am a little hesident to wear them out in public ( look at that foolish fat old lady in those. bright leggings!) old habits do die harden to the world I probably,look noticied. And FAT but I KNOW how much of my Fat Shell has cracked away, and it is Enough that I still feel hope for the future! Even when my doctors weigh me in kg as they do, the numbers look hopeful. Semi- miserable this AM, I had shoulder surgery the 4th of April, original plan was to go in, remove the hardware left from my proximal humerus fracture 9 years ago. It was a plate and 12 screws, not quite sure if it was the fat loss, the length of time it was present, but it had started being a detriment to my life quality, fluid had to be drained from the shoulder joint nearby et cetera et cetera. Well when my ortho surgeon got in there since it was an open area, he decided to assess what other bits of the shoulder anatomy looked like, well my rotator cuff was nothing b to write home about, so he went ahead and repaired it too to save me another surgery. And I March around in a shoulder sling daily for a while. If I leave things bandaged and suspended , I can only sleep in the recliner, if I want to sleep in bed, I have to remove it from sling and put affected arm up on pillows. That works pretty fine unless I move too much in my sleep or try to turn over. If I do, I wake up in misery, slept successfully maybe 3-4 hours and here I am , back alone and up in the recliner, and waiting for a Pain Med to "kick in". I am far from an abuser, let alone opioid and that family of bad little drugs. My late Mama was addicted to Fiorinal, boy I stay as far as I can from that stuff don't even take Acetaminophen/ Panadol if I can avoid it. Try to " tough" it out , because I had Mama's bad example, she would even talk to her meds- Hi there little pill, if I take you, what will you do for ME today! And I would slowly simmer, tried as young adult to try to convince her to cut back on the varieties, O My, just like an obese person who wants the last slice if Christmas or even Chocolate frosted Cake, you nearly get trampled for your intervention. So here I am, arguing with my PCP about meds "I AM NOT taking THAT unless my body really requires THAT!" And looking as my daughter bounces gleefully down the same path as her Grandmother, you don't call her home after 8pm, she and her husband have taken on so many meds by that point, they and their voices are unintelligible. She is 50, her husband 53, a little late for a family intervention, isn't it? Anyway she looks older than me, speaks to me usually only when SHE wants something or looking for sympathy. The other day I had tripped going to take papers into an office- back parking area was in a state of disrepair, and I just mis-stepped, fell onto repaired arm because I didn't see the fall coming, would have rolled to healthy side instead. My son called his sister, he wanted her to know, me-pfft, didn't matter if she knew or not. Sad to say, I do still love her down- deep but I do not approve of many of her actions- so I don't LIKE her too much, hurt me and her brother emotionally too doggone much! She comes into the ED area where I was undergoing testing, for a minute I didn't recognize her. She And I both look in our late 50s, I'm really 73 but she is grayer and more haggard- looking. Truly as I lose weight, I have started looking younger. Sad this time when you look like sisters and I am 23 years older. Didn't mean to get off on a rant but it is a source of sorrow for me and her little(39 years old) brother! At any rate, I was lucky, did not crack or break my arm further but now I have bruising on the inner surface, elbow to shoulder, bad enough when I had my endoscopy Friday, I have these frequently as I developed ulcerations,in my pouch and jejunem( second section of small intestine) and this checks on their status of healing. Anyway I had a special wristband on that arm because of the traumas it has gone through. Started IV for my sedation in left arm, had Blood pressure cuff on the calf of my leg. And that is not a comfortable location, hurts when it inflates every 15 minutes, but better than having them do a "cut down" put a Central. line pressure item like a Swan-Gantz in my basilac or even subclavian vein, that would take a 45 minute easy- peasy procedure into a major surgical undertaking. But I guess my endoscopic/ bariatric surgeon Dr Noria, who is also my surgeon's younger partner, is satisfied things are starting to heal. My recovery has not been textbook- pretty but it still is my journey toward my goals, lost from surgery weight of 319 to 232 pounds in 7 months, and that Seems to please my surgeons so by extension I suppose Me Also. Every pound lost is a Gain for me and my future😝❤😝.

Add ice cubes to it or refrigerate it so it's cold. It goes down much easier. I've told my patients this when they've had to do preps. Good Luck!

Dr rich st Thomas Rutherford Murfreesboro tn 🙌 zero complaints zero problems best around! 3 weeks out feeling brand new! Picture at 1 week out of surgery

I think EVERYONE has sagging skin after weight loss, it’s just the degree to which you get it. But clothes cover everything that’s super-evident (thighs/upper arms/abdomen) and if it really bothers you there’s always plastics or other procedures. For now I’m making do with light shapewear and elbow-length sleeves. Two years ago at this time, dressing for summer was 100x more complicated because I didn’t show those areas anyhow AND I was trying to manage the form-fitting/layering/air con-to-blistering weather. Now all I have to worry about is do I look good in one of my many medium-sized elbow-length shirts. So much easier. Definitely overrides any loose skin worries. What will happen will happen. Even if you end up with the least elastic skin ever, you’ll have more options than you do now.

Does the hospital where you had the procedure have a post op support group? You might be able to find someone in your area there.

Hi all. I haven’t been on this forum since shortly after my surgery. Well, I’m right back where I started but worse because I’m in worse physical shape due to back injuries and surgeries. Is there a forum for meeting up with people in your area to exercise with, have some accountability, etc? Thanks, Holly

I can only share my experience. This is what works for me. I am just over 8 months out. I CANNOT EAT OVER 1000 calories on the reg and lose weight. I can maintain at 1050-1100. Anything more and I gain. I'm at 126 lbs. My original goal was 150. Crushed it. My surgeon said I was perfect at 135lbs. Good for him. I WANT to continue to weigh 125-127lbs. But, to maintain this weight, it takes constant vigilance and work. It's a drag sometimes. Isn't everything?! For me that means I have to eat high protein and super low carb. I have to be very strict almost all the darn time. Like, under 55 carbs a day. And, those carbs have to come from good foods. I enjoy Friday Funday every week with my husband now that I'm at my happy spot. Here's what that looks like; the toppings from two small slices of supreme pizza. One small bite of thick crust, (my only bread, ever), a 2oz cup of trail mix (the kind with dried fruit AND M&M's) and 1 tiny handful of popcorn. This is over 2-3 hours. I also have a double Tito's screwdriver--light on the OJ/heavy on the ice--long before I eat anything. Add to this a protein shake and a Keto Coffee with Chocolate Greens throughout the rest of the day and you have summed up my wild and crazy eating adventure day! I usually gain 1/2-1 full pound. Then I have to lose it! You can imagine the rest of the week. That's how I maintain my ideal weight. If I feel like losing a pound, I cut a few carbs. If I feel too slim, I add some. I never worry about fat...never buy/eat low fat products because they have added sodium and sugar. Good fats are good fats. I don't cook with salt, eat fast food (except a few bites of Wendy's chili every now and then). I keep my bag primed with protein bars. And I don't put junk in me because I didn't come this far to fail my body after the amazing response it's given me with this fab tool. But, it's not for everyone. I have a butt ton of support from my husband. I am retired and control my environment. I have a "piss off you psychos" attitude that makes me hard to corrupt when I'm out with girlfriends who are trying to get me to drink or eat crap. To most people it sounds like my food situation sucks. To me, I finally feel like food isn't controlling my life. I don't live for it anymore. It's just a survival mechanism. It's not a pleasure or a comfort. It just keeps me alive and healthy. Then on Fridays? I add a little sparkle! (It's always enough.).

Since I decided to stay with the same office and use a different surgeon, I didn't have to redo anything. My seminar had been with the hospital, not the surgeon, so that even carried over. I did however have a serious delay in getting my info sent to insurance because the original surgeon left suddenly and all his patients had to be worked into an already full schedule for the new Dr. All that was at the end of the year and on top of that delay, my company changed insurances...same company but different division so my insurance co back in Dec denied my claim knowing that i'd be changing divisions after the first of the year...they said it was because I lost too much weight on my 6 mo diet. So my poor overworked nurse had to resubmit to the new insurance and finally a year later I was accepted.