Leusch

The other day while at Lowe's, I was told that I don't look old enough to have a teenager. (I do, I am, I dont't; he won't be 13 nil December. LOL!). It felt good to hear, so I graciously accepted the compliment.

NOOOOOO!!!! Don't do it. This is a very hotly debated topic on whether or not carbonation will stretch your sleeve. My surgeon forbids it because of that. The way I see it...if something is going to endanger the effectiveness of my sleeve...it's GONE!! I was a serious soda addict, but I don't care now that I have given it up. The craving is gone. There is no redeeming features to it anyway. Anything that can clean battery acid off of car parts? hehe...ya....lose it!!

Come out of the closet people. The problem with WLS is the stigma associated with it. The reason so many uneducated people are against the surgery is that the only time they ever hear about it is when things go bad and patients die....the horror stories. The only success stories they hear are when some person looses 400 or 500 pounds. So most folks think the surgery is either a death warrant, or for people with several hundred pounds to lose.
You people here are the real success stories. Let your stories be heard and lift the stigma. Let folks see that this surgery will save lives and improve the quality of life for alot of people who can't get there otherwise. It's safe and alot of people could really benefit from it.

Everything in life is a trade-off. We all arrive at today as a result of millions of choices we've made over the course of our lives. Most are obvious, one doesn't wander out into traffic but it's still a choice.
When we choose to have WLS we are making a trade, a very serious trade. There are things we'll leave behind. No more binges of Cookies or ice cream, no more coffee and sweet roll breakfasts, etc. The benefits of the trade are phenomenal however, no more high blood pressure, no more diabetes, extension of life by decades and a better quality of life.
I've been at both the top and the bottom of the weight roller coaster before but never minded the fact that I had to get smaller clothes, shoes, etc. Clothes and shoes wear out anyhow so sooner or later you'll be buying replacements.
As far as people not liking you for you instead of because of your weight, entirely true but also true for the segment of society that have always been normal in weight. There will always be people that don't like you and their stated reasons may or may not be the real reasons. There are people that just don't like you. It's something we all have to deal with and not having weight as a scapegoat forces us to deal the issue.
In my late teens and into my early twenties I had to adjust to a new, more slender, body image. I'm sure that I left a few people puzzled by my responses at times. I was so used to being put down for being obese that even when I was fairly slender I tended to evaluate much of what was said to me as criticism even when it wasn't. When legitimate criticism came my way I found myself defensive because for so many years I had been criticized and teased for my weight. It took years to overcome but eventually I did.
Now, with the weight coming back over the last 20 years or so I'm not eager to revert to my earlier self image. I miss the confidence I had in my slender years and look forward to going back to that state of affairs.

Wow - okay - first thing you need to do is pull yourself up out of the pity party. And I apologize, I hate to be mean and don't want to be insensitive. But you need to get a hold of yourself sweetie! This is a TOOL to help you loose the weight. Everyone looses at a different pace - and keeping yourself positive goes a long way in helping with that. All that being said, are you getting in the required liquids, Protein, etc? If you are and you are getting some good walking in, etc. The weight will start to come off. And 17 pounds is nothing to cry about!! Your attitude right now may be part of the problem. I'm so sorry you are having such a horrible time with this - but try to get yourself together and follow your eating plan to the tea - exercise and you will start to see the weight drop off.
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Sleeved on Monday (5/21). I have to admit that while I know I did the right thing, I feel awful. My surgeon went so far as to say my recovery has been atypical. I spent most of surgery day and the day after vomiting, spent three nights in the hospital instead of one and I'm still having trouble getting more than 3-4oz of fluid down in an hour. I know it's all for the best and that this too shall pass, but ugh! My new mantra is "one sip at a time".