Leaderboard

I finally showed my before and after photos on facebook. I was very, very scared. I had told a lot of people - but some didn't know. I had never EVER showed a full body picture like that. From the side at that! Anyways, on the left: I was a miserable 369lbs. SUPER unhealthy, probably headed to death. I doubt very seriously I could make it past 400. My body would probably just give out. I was already struggling to breathe doing simple tasks/walking up stairs. ANYWHO, the right was a shot taken by my beautiful momsicle on Mother's Day just last weekend. Ignore my "suns in the eyes" face. I am over 120lbs lost from February 27th, 2020 to now. I finally am under 250lbs and I am just floored. Of course, I won't lie. It's been a struggle. Currently, my biggest challenge has and still is - dumping. In the beginning, for the first 8 months, I threw up every. single. day. I realized ice cream, fried foods, steak - out of the question. Buffets were a waste. Most every meal I got out, was a waste. It made people feel bad at first because I would stop eating after 3 bites. I had to constantly remind people that I didn't mind if they ate! I got accepted into nursing school and reverted back to some old habits. Sugary coffees (which made me dump like HELL), chicken nuggets, fries...Anything I could stuff in my mouth "on the go". I would pay the price, but I wasn't puking after every single meal. So I thought I was in the clear. Earlier this year, I started to have tremendous abdominal pain. Spasms that took my breath away. After numerous tests, it was concluded that I had severe IBS with constipation and diarrhea. After talking to my NP at the weight loss place, we decided to try more plant-based alternatives. I'll admit, I was skeptical and very upset because this girl LOVES a nice juicy steak! But, I have noticed my symptoms are near non-existence when I eat beans, (wild) rice, whole grains, some fruits, and almost any veggie. I take it light with caffeine as that is a trigger, but I do still consume some. Suffice to say, this has been the hardest battle I have ever fought in my entire life. I continue to fight it. I continue to struggle with choices about food. I've learned to not limit myself completely. If I want a cookie, I'll eat half. I don't starve myself. I just don't overindulge like I used to. It seems to be working as I have lost a ton of weight. I plateau, but it's going. I just want to be an advocate for anyone considering the surgery and will answer ANY questions! I want to also be your cheerleader if you have already had the surgery. I can't promise it won't be hard, but I will promise it will be worth it to look at yourself in the mirror and have self-esteem again! I am actually OK with people taking full body pictures now! Insane! I am waiting for my weight to be stable to get skin surgery, but baby steps! #AMA

My nose ran when I was full even though I didnt feel full. Dont listen to all the stories of people losing 20lbs in the first month. This is your journey and it doesnt matter how long it takes you to get there as long as you get there !!! I only lost 14lbs that first month after VSG and heard all those same 20lbs in first month but I stuck to the plan and lost 131lbs the first year !! You can do this !

not a typical thing with RNY, although I know some people who can't handle certain artificial sweeteners (esp sugar alcohols - those with names ending in -itol). Although I also know VSG people who can't tolerate those - as well as people who've never had any WLS at all. I've had RNY, and I'm fine with any artificial sweetener. It could very well be that in your case it's related somehow, but that doesn't seem to be true of all of us...

@STLoser Many thanks for this! I had read one other place only about the "old blood" so that is helpful. I'm oddly good at remaining calm, but I can imagine vomiting blood would freak me out. I'm all set for a traditional DS on July 12th. I am so dern excited!

NovaLuna explained it all so well. I just want to say I also had the Loop DS 10 months ago. Just like NovaLuna, I have a lot of constipation.. In fact it has caused an umbilical hernia I already had to worsen, and now I have to get it repaired. I have had diarrhea as she described also, but it has been a while. I also vomited old blood for the first 3 days after surgery and had to stay in the hospital and extra night for that reason. I was also not told this might happen.. I am a nurse, so I didn't panic too much, but it did scare me at first. Otherwise, I have felt great, and don't seem to have any symptoms of a wheat allergy or celiac. I did pay out of pocket for my surgery, which is one reason I chose the Loop DS. My surgeon calls it the most powerful operation and I knew I needed powerful with over 200 pounds to lose! Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

I am ten weeks out and have returned to eating almost anything I would have eaten while counting calories pre surgery and I have been lucky enough to not vomit at all so far. I had iron stomach before surgery and I think that is still true. I can also eat more than I should at this point though so it’s not all a good thing. I have to measure my food to make sure I don’t eat too Much because it doesn’t hurt my stomach.

I know it feels hard now, but they've been telling me the time will fly by. I started this process at the end of January and I will probably have my surgery in July or August because of the insurance requirements and backlog of surgeries due to covid. In the meantime, I've been trying to "walk the walk" and lose some weight now. At least it gives me something to focus on. I also spend way too much time on these boards heh heh heh.

Don't be irritated, sour mood tends to cause bigger appetite than usual Put your food in a smaller bowl and eat with teaspoon, count your chews and pause after each swallow. Slow down eating and enjoy the taste [emoji4] all the best!!

I find it to be the most moist in instapot ot on grill.

UPDATE Well....quit smoking! Passed my nicotine test. Pre op requirements completed. Packet being sent to insurance next week! Now the wait begins.