Who's That Girl

gosh what's that??? just kidding! my LMP was November 4, 2011 and i wasn't sure what to expect post surgery. I'm only 48 but if i'm probably pre menopausal. Went for annual and everything checks out ok so maybe Aunt Flo will show up and maybe she won't. After 35 years, i can't really say that I miss it. Its been kind of nice not having to deal with it, however; i stay prepared just in case. Now that i've had surgery and my hormones are doing something different i'll let you know if she shows up

Wow! this is a good way of putting things into perspective. I can't wait until i can say those same words... Go U!!!

Ditto. The seminar is great and so is this forum. If you have support group meetings in your area I would encourage you to attend. They helped me quite a bit. Up until the day of my surgery I was flying solo and didn't have support from the family. This was a risk that I was willing to take as I wanted to be healthy and enjoy life again. Do what's right for you. Don't let others get in your ear and try to discourage you. It's the fear of the unknown and unless they are willing to take the time to learn and ask questions, that's negative energy you don't need. Read the forum, ask questions and there are enough people on here that you can send personal messages to if you want. We've been where you are so if we can help, please let us.

I read this and my heart goes out to you. I was exactly where you are at right now. I contemplated writing a letter to my family due to the fact that I got zero support from the person that I am closest to in my family and figured i would get the same from everyone else. It took many agonizing days/months for me to finally tell my two siblings; one understood but didn't want me to go through with the procedure due to his fear for my safety and my sister said she was supportive and then called me one week before surgery and said she was against it.
My support came from this forum and attending support group meetings here in the local Colorado area. this is a huge step and I commend you for taking charge of the situation and doing what's best for you. Thee were many nights when I cried myself to sleep and I prayed non stop that this was the right thing to do. My biggest fear was not waking up or having complications that i've read about. I was so determined to get the weight off it didn't matter whether they supported me or not and I had so much faith in my surgeon and his team, i was willing to take the risk. I knew at the end of the day, God had my back and would be there with me every step of the way.
As for the family when they realized the train was leaving the station with or without them they were there. I was sleeved on April 10th and didn't know until the night before how i was getting to the hospital but please believe i would have driven myself if I had to. To my surprise my brother in law was 100% supportive and there every step of the way pre/post surgery. My doctor was amazed at the number of family members that were there with me the day of surgery as was I. We prayed together, we cried together and when I got to recovery they were all there waiting. So yeah, it was a long journey that i took by myself but at the end they wee there for me. I'm sorry this is so long but I just want you to know that I'm here for you and I know this is something that you really need as much support as you can get. Hopefully you won't have to send the letter,but if you do, it's ok. Perhaps that's the only way they will really know how you feel. Unfortunately people don't understand what it feels like to be desperate to lose weight and nothing seems to work no matter how hard you try. I DON'T regret having my sleeve surgery. I will keep you in my prayers.

If its so easy, why aren't you doing it?

I too am not a big fan of Protein drinks. I visited my local Muscle Max store over the weekend and sampled some Protein Drinks. ISO Extreme has 2 really good flavors; berry and tropical. Those have been the best so far but I'm also planning on trying the Protein shakes from costco. A lot of people on the forum have said good things about those....
Let us know..

I was taking Calcium supplements prior to my sleeve for osteopenia and severe osteoarthritis. I was supposed to start taking my Calcium supplements again this week, but gag on how huge that pill is.
Calcium carbonate does nothing for my body but make me flatulent. So started calcium citrate several months ago along with Centrum Silver. I went to a Vitamin store yesterday and found a liquid form of calcium citrate with orange and vanilla flavor.
Has anyone else tried these? Do you have recommended brands?
Also...clearly not all Protein powders are created equal.
prior to my sleeve I purchased 2 large canisters of Protein. I like chocolate, so got the chocolate type from a large department store (Think Walmart/Target/Kmart etc.)
Yesterday I went to this Vitamin store and found a chocolate whey protein a bit more pricey, but the difference is phenomenal. I will gladly pay the higher price to have something with a quality taste. Any suggestions from fellow sleevers?

I really would like to be able to give you a nice, peaceful resolution, but I'm just not that person. I probably would have slapped the absolute mess outta him and then I would have given him the worst cussing of his life. But what will probably be the sweetest revenge is when you get slim, and have other men salivating over you.

Hi I am from Santa Rosa,, my name is Linda and I had the gastric vertical sleeve by one of the greatest surgeon Dr Alami at Kaiser South San Francisco on May 5,2011 and have lost a total of 75 pounds,, have had no complications,, just a little burping,, and I just need to eat a little slower,,, but all is great, It has changed my life so much,, no more knee pain,, back pain.. sleep apnea,,, If I had to do it over I would do it again,, it was the best for me,,, I only wish that I did not wait so long to have this...
So anyone who is getting ready for a life change do not hesitate and go ahead and have the surgery Dr Alami is wonderful,,, My starting weight was 255, and as of today January 8, I am 185.. wearing a size 12 from a size 22.

Post Date: 1/1/12 10:03 pm
Hi Everyone,

How do you telling your family you want to go ahead and have weight loss surgery? You have done all your research and you know for sure that you want to have this done. One of the things I have learned is that sometimes telling our family that we are going to have weight loss surgery is disastrous. Here are some things I want you to consider. Have you ever talked to them before now about having weight loss surgery? How educated are they about the kind of WLS that you want? If they know something, this is a time to educate them a little more. Go to some of the WLS Web Sites and print out some of their excellent information they have about the kind of WLS you are going to have. Have they put down for being fat? Do you think they will support you for your choice? If you feel you are not going to get their support and they are just going to put you down or set up road blocks then it might not be wise to tell them. Sometimes after you return home and they see you are healthy, alive and doing well and losing weight, this might be the time to talk to them about what you have done. Ask them for their support.


I want you to always remember this: THIS IS ALL ABOUT YOU AND NO ONE ELSE. You do not owe anyone an explanation about what you are doing or why this is your choice. You have earned the right to do what is best for you. For so many years you have not done that. Unless they have had weight problems they will almost never understand why you are having the surgery.

For various reasons, people will try to stop you. They are sure you will not be successful and you are throwing away your money. They are fat and want you to be fat just like them. They are scared you may find someone else if it is your husband or wife who is opposed to you doing this. They are jealous that you are doing this and they are not doing anything to help themselves. They are just plain scared and don't know how to communicate their feelings to you. They know very little about WLS, ONLY the BAD things that they have heard through gossip. If it is a money issue and they don't think you can afford to do this. Hey we make car payments and never think twice about it. How about making some body payments?

For so many of our family member they are so uneducated about the current methods of WLS-the sleeve being the one I am thinking of. They assume we are having lapband or bypass surgery—neither one of these were my choice. So every chance I have I try to educated anyone who wants to know about the sleeve on how successful this surgery is and just how they do it.

So, my suggestion is you know your family better than I do, so consider if it is wise to talk with them or to just keep it to yourself. There is so much support on this board for you if you need anyone to talk to or help. I am always here if you have any questions.

Suzanne
Sleeved 10/21/2008

If your co-workers, friends and family happen to be very supportive, great. Don't be surprised though when they tell you to back off, because they heard of a friend's friend who had the surgery and gained all the weight back (usually a lap-banded person but they can't tell the difference), or when they give you the number for some new diet group or tell you that "it's all in your head, you need to change your thinking instead!"
I heard so much B.S. from people I considered intelligent and supportive, that I decided to keep it to myself. They haven't read the researches that prove the effectiveness of bariatric surgeries and the ineffectiveness of other dieting, instead they read the "10 tips that will help you lose those extra holiday pounds" in women's magazines. They believe the myth of weight loss by dieting, I don't. I didn't want to hear their views and opinions because it was not at all helpful.

For me- only my husband and doctors know. They are all very supportive about my decision. Nobody else will know. Not my parents. Not my siblings. Not my friends- nobody. I'm not at all ashamed of getting the surgery, I just have ZERO desire to hear people's opinions on the matter. As a mother of three I've learned that everyone has an opinion about everything (natural birth, csection, breastfeeding, formula, exersaucers, etc, etc, etc) and listening to opinions is just as annoying as constantly telling people 'thank you but my mind is made up'. I'll be very honest with everyone who asks about the weight loss- I am restricting my caloric intake and working out like a mad-woman. Which is indeed true, zumba and cardio kickboxing start on Monday!

I think its a pretty personal decision about who you tell. I decided to tell my close family and friends and my boss. I pretty much knew going into it who would support me and who would question my decision so I thought about how I was going to tell them for awhile before I did. I came up with something similar to this "I've decided to get the Vertical Sleeve surgery. It is similar to gastric bypass (which I added because no one knew what a sleeve was) but without the re-routing that bypass requires. I'm happy to answer any questions you have about it and discuss your concerns, but will not entertain any judgement of my decision, so I ask that before you ask me any questions, you consider whether they are questions or judgements." Even though it sounds really technical (I even said this to my father and brother) it laid the ground work that, while I am happy to discuss it with them, I won't tolerate judgement. So when they started to sound judgemental, I could point it out much easier because I introduced that caveat right in the beginning. It also made them evaluate their thoughts more thoroughly before asking me. All in all, while there have been a few judgemental comments, I know who really has my back and is rooting for me.

If someone should accidently see you in a changing room, and happen to notice your stomach apron, I bet they would think "Wow, that lady has lost a bunch of weight. Way to go! I wish I could lose weight like that."
I don't think we need to be embarrassed about things like that any more than an amputee should be embarrassed by his / her missing limb.
I think a person who would think less of you for having a stomach apron needs to turn her hyper-critical mirror around and look at her own self. I know of at least ONE flaw that would be shining out visibly - her small and narrow mind.