AutumnBlueCarmen

I told no one. I went to Mexico alone and left a letter in my house for the authorities to find if I died there and threw it away when I got home. It has been seven months since surgery and I doubt that I will ever tell. It's no one's business but mine.

Amen to all of the Above! If someone doesn't accept the decision we've made to gain back our LIFE - then heck with them. I'm 56 and wish this had been available 20 years ago. I've wasted a lot of my life hiding indoors, home at 5:05 pm and in my "favorite dress" my nightgown (you know the kind - Lane Bryant or Women Within - really big and comfy). Sit on the couch read a book, crochet, play computer games, watch tv or a DVD....notice all of these are single person activities. I told myself how "happy" I was - how much I enjoyed my quiet time. BULL!!! The fact is - I've felt too obese to go places, visit family, play with the grandkids on the grass, get on my knees, and be anywhere in a situation that someone might look at me and say "what a fat cow".

After being married for 20 years and divorced for 17, I've allowed myself to think I am not worthy of a fella - and so I told myself I CHOOSE to remain single and not let anyone tell me what to do. The fact is - I long for a good friend to share VST with - to share the "I'm ok'you're ok" side of whatever skin you are wearing.

I abhor the term obese...but I have to lose 30 pounds just to qualify. So let me reaffirm that in the 3 weeks or so that I have been attached to this site - I have met more wonderful, encouraging people than I have met my entire life up to this point. YOU are part of the reason I need to get on VST 4 or five times a day. To reassure myself that I am not alone in this endeavor. So if your friends dumped you - get some new ones... we're only a keystroke away.

CHeers to all of you. I can hardly wait for sleevedom!!

Reb (Gardendiva3)

You are cutting out carbs, fats and sugars which will all help shrink the liver. You need your protien, after surgery you will thank me for this advice. Protein is needed to help keep your hair, keep your strength and keep your muscles. Time to put your chin up and suck down those protien shakes. They are for your own good.
Congrats on your upcoming surgery!

Gotta get this stupid Foley Cathater out first and maybe leave the hospital before I do... lol

I've had SEVERAL surgeries in my lifetime....2 lapband, gall bladder, appendix, spinal fusion, C-section and of course the sleeve. I can by far say this is the best and easiest recovery I've ever had! I'm 5 days post op and have had minor discomfort..I wouldn't even say pain with my incisions. No gas pain or pressure, tolerating all my liquids no problem and have great energy. I had some nausea the first day but that is now a distant memory. I'm walking around my neighborhood 5-6 times a day, and yes...I'm resting too! I've been through a lot over the years, and I have this euphoric sense of relief and hope that this surgery is truly going to give me my life back. I haven't felt this hopeful and encouraged in a LONG time. I can't wait to really establish my healthy lifestyle and get out and START LIVING!! I'm just so happy and grateful

Today is the fourth day of my liquid diet and I can honestly say each day does get better. In reality, it would be a much better experience if I wasn't having these darn hot flashes. My surgeon took me off of my HRT medication until after surgery. For those of you who are on your liquid diet, how is it going for you?

Hey girl...sounds like you're powering through...good job! Hope getting off the meds help your hot flashes! I'm 3 days post op and am blown away by how good i feel! Having gone thru 2 lap band surgeries, this is waaaay better than my previous recoveries. Guess third time is a charm I did have some post op nausea, but i have no gas or incision pain and am tolerating liquids with no problems. I can move to full liquids today and just plan on taking it slow. No doubt everyday gets better! I can already tell this is going to be so much better than the band and I can't wait to see the scale plummet! So glad you're doing well with your recovery....keep it up

Ok, even though I'm only like 2 lbs under 200, I am finally in the 100's!!! Soooo happy!!! Hope it continues this way I'm so thankful that I've had a great recovery. Still dealing with head hunger, but doing my best to follow the rules! I haven't been able to lose weight like this in forever. Thanks for listening!

I had complications, so yes, in the beginning I had serious buyers remorse. But now that I am over a year out and have met goal, I would do it all over again even if I knew I would have the same complications. I am off all the blood pressure meds that I took for over 15 years, off the CPAP, and my knee and back pain are much less than when I was carrying around all the extra weight. Like a few others, my only regret is not doing it sooner.
We don't all lose at the same rate and we don't all adjust emotionally at the same rate. Especially when there are complications involved. No matter how much research you do, nothing can fully prepare you for what is ahead with any WLS. It's really more than adjusting, being pumped full of drugs, the trauma of surgery to your body, and having your life changed forever are things that take time to wrap your head around. As tough as it can be at times, we need to hang in there as best we can and do our best to support each other through the difficult periods.

Having negative thoughts constantly is a terrible thing. People on here have a bad day and then find relief. This seriously pretty girl is trippin and needs some tough love. THERE IS NO GOING BACK. So she needs to saddle up, get off this site which just allows her to be negative all the time and find some happy things to do. This place is the only place where someone who constantly has negative thoughts can have someone feel sorry for them. I am my mother's child and she would tell me to stop wallowing in my negative thoughts. NO ONE ON THIS SITE WOULD DO THAT. Support is one thing, but if my mother ever heard me say what she just said about regretting it every day because I can't eat with my friends...After I cried and cried about being fat...She would slap me. She didn't say she was in pain. She didn't say she was having a compllication. She was saying she regrets it everyday because she can't eat with her friends. Nope sorry. Not gonna let that one go. Well I am certain to be a pariah now, but I just couldn't let another day go by where this...DID YOU SEE HER...SHE IS SO PRETTY...girl wallows in her own self-pity or if it isn't pity possibly maybe needs to seek out some therapy if she could be depressed.

I don't think attacking Tamz on MY thread - where I asked specifically about "buyer's remorse" is very fair. She's sharing her honest feelings. You wanna be positive about Hair loss and saggy skin, that's great. She doesn't have to be.

Tamz - You were over 300 pounds and really need a reality check. Everyone has bad days, but you seem to be extrememly negative about the sleeve and that is your right, but in all honesty - there isn't **** you can do about it now. So you have to embrace it and learn to love it. I fear your misery will be forever if you don't punch yourself in the face and start telling yourself that first you needed this because you couldn't do it on your own and second so what if you can't eat. FAT OR EAT? I guess you wanted to be FAT. BUT I know you didn't and you don't. SO PUT ON YOUR BIG GIRL PANTS and tell yourself you made the right choice...Because even if you didn't, again...There is no going back. I am not even 30 days out yet and my incision pain is still seriously bothering me. It feels like SCIATICA in my stomach, but OH WELL. I gotta go to work. I am dizzy everytime I get up, but I gotta push through it and drink more and figure out what I need to do. I was eating like I had lost my damn mind, but finally, no more bad fat girl thoughts...Eater's remorse. GONE. At 30 days. You have to really get it together. Because we are gonna lose our hair, our skin is going to be saggy and who knows what else is gonna happen...You have got to start getting to a positive place because the journey is long and FOREVER. Do you want to be all down forever. You post a lot of negative things on this site, and I think you need to take a break, get your nails and toes done, get a massage and LET THE **** GO. It is ok to have a bad day, but you don't seem to have any good days. Maybe you should also see someone. And I am really sorry to say this, but I have been lerking on this site for awhile and it just seems you are really bad off. Attitude really is everything.

I KNOW!!!!!! Doesn't she know how high maintenance pre ops are???????? She should!!!!! She's been doing this for a while!!! I'm frustrated, but I know this will all happen soon enough! Thanks for the encouragement! At what age do we get patience? Cuz I sure don't have it yet!

Welcome Stephanie! Can't wait to get to know you! I hope you have an easy time making your decision on which surgery to have. I definitely am against the lap band. Not that it can't change peoples lives...I just think the sleeve or other procedures are much more realistic for the long run. Good luck to you and see you around! These girls and guys are great and full of information!!!

I need to chime in on this one.
So, I think it's FANTASTIC that Michelle Obama is trying to get the country and it's kids on the move and to eat healthier! I love her. I can't recall the previous first lady making any such efforts! I think she looks beautiful!
So, blaming her to "dictate" what we eat is obsurd, she's just trying to educate us on what we put into our bodies the same way doctors and fellow sleevers on this board do.
It would be obsurd for me to blame Sarah Palin for the horrific acts that happened in Arizona right? But in reality wasn't she "dictating" the danger zones with a gunsight that had Gabrielle Giffords name on it? I'm a little bit more human to even go there and blame her for that.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion YES, but how we express it is where it really matters. Everyone gets a set of kahoney's behind a keyboard. Just like me right now. But, I had to break my "tact" to reply to some of these posts.
All in all, guns don't kill people, people kill people......and the same goes for food...food doesn't kill people, we kill ourselves with the terrible foods we consume.
Peace out....and HAPPY MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY!

Well said. P.S. Weren't people CRAZY to get Michelle Obama's arms? I seem to remember this being a "hot news item" right after the election :-)

Thank you! My exact thoughts. I think she's in very fine shape, especially considering she's in her what, 40s, and has had 2 kids. I'd be very pleased with myself if I look like that at her age and with children.
On another note, I think the government definitely needs to do more to prevent and treat obesity. I think a good place to start would be getting out of bed with the food industry. Government intervention has worked quite well for smoking, the same needs to be done for junk food. As far as the idea that people can take care of themselves, I don't think it's working. If we were all really that apt at taking care of ourselves, people wouldn't be getting up to 400 lbs. There needs to be a major overhaul of basically every aspect of our society to beat obesity:
In school - 1) education - start talking about healthy food in elementary school, tell older students about the chemicals in processed food, teach them how to read labels
2) school lunches - make them healthy
3) exercise - make it a more significant component of the school day, encourage children to play active games
At work - 1) provide incentives for people to exercise (reimbursement for gym membership, offer workout facilities on site if the office is big enough, etc)
2) choose healthy catering - one thing I see at the hospital ALL THE TIME is people bringing in donuts and Desserts to everything, yet 2/3 of the nurses are so obese, I don't even know how they walk around, much less do an oftentimes physically demanding job
3) provide vending machines with healthy food - the emergency room at the hospital by my medical school has vending machines with fresh fruit, yogurt, cottage cheese
Everywhere - 1) improve public transportation so people use it more and charge more for parking so people have a financial incentive to take public transit
2) Mandate nutrition information for restaurant meals - and make it obvious. I can't tell you how many times I've attempted to obtain nutrition info from a restaurant only to find that nobody has any ideas where it is - often, it's locked in the manager's desk drawer and the manager is not even there
3) Tax crap food and subsidize vegetables and fruits instead of wheat that ends up being dumped on African countries and destroying whatever semblance of self-sufficiency they might have
4) Get some sort of grip on how large restaurant portions should be. Most places serve 3-4x more than one should eat in today's society, considering how few calories we expend if we don't purposely make an effort to exercise. I went to this Italian place the other day and the portion on my plate was the size of a SOCCER BALL. A SOCCER BALL OF Pasta. What the hell is wrong with this world?
Also, there's definitely a component of people having their head up their #@$. Watched "Food Inc" a few months ago and this family kept going on about how they are so poor and they have to eat fast food for every meal (they also talked about how expensive insulin was - ironic, because if they ate better and exercised more, they probably would spend a lot less on it). Yes, they can't afford scallops and fresh peaches, but there are lots of affordable healthy things. Grains, milk, eggs, potatoes, Beans, canned/frozen fruit and vegetables are not more expensive than fast food. And if you are crafty, like my friends and I were in college, nothing beats the Whole Foods dumpster for fruit and vegetables that are barely damaged (a bruised peach or a bunch of lettuce where the ends of the leaves are just starting to turn brown - just rip off the tips and you are good to go!).
Bottom line: I think we've proven that our ability to look out for ourselves is limited and the government needs to intervene to change this fat-promoting environment that our society has turned into. We are ok with psychiatric hospitals detaining patients who are trying to kill themselves, but we are not ok with the government imposing junk food taxes so we'd stop killing ourselves with garbage food?

I, myself think it's ridiculous for the government, including the first lady, to tell me how to take care of my kids!
As a teacher...I see the CRAP they put on the kids plates (all in the name of being healthy) and the kids won't eat it. Therefore, they go all day without eating anything...then go home & pig out! That's where the obesity comes in at...they should allow the kids to eat a good lunch so they could work it off while still at school.(Recess, P.E., etc) The kids instead, go home, pig out on whatever & then sit on the couch & watch tv or play video games. I think we should spend more time educating our children about it instead of feeding them things they won't eat. Just my opinion...sorry if it offends anyone!
Rhonda

As a former lunch Mom I have to agree those federal meals are horrid and I would hope that is one thing that would be addressed. However I think the point here is there is a problem in America and people don't know what to eat to be healthy, otherwise we would not have the obesity rate we have in America.
I think that anyone who wants to step forward and help America learn healthy eating be in Michelle Obama or Nobody from no where, more power to them. The answer to this problem is education. I don't think Michele is trying to dictate to anyone what they have to eat, I think she is taking on the very needed role of education America. What we do with the educating is up to us.

Michelle Obama overweight.....AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH......AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHaahahahahahahahaaaaa To say Michelle should stay out of it is to say that Laura Bush or Nancy Reagan shouldn't have encouraged America's children to read they should have just stayed out of it and let Americans decide for themselves if they wanted to learn to read or not. Have you seen what kids eat in lunchrooms across America? Have you seen how little activity they get in and out of school. To say at that anyone turns a blind eye to this and the healthcare/budget problems this will result in is plain STUPID.