Back~To~Amy

The point of the surgery is to have it as a tool to help us with weight loss. With the pre-diet it is hard b/c we still have those urges to eat more or excessived. I think many do cheat. That is why we have the surgery.

I have respect for all of you that have had to jump through insurance hoops. I have crappy bariatric benefits so much so that it was cheaper to go cash pay, believe it or not. Yes, I had to pay more than what people using insurance do. However, the huge benefit was how quickly the process went. I made the decision to have the surgery the very end of March. I had sinus surgery April 10th, went to a seminar and met with the surgeon within a couple of weeks after that and they were ready to give me a surgery date of May 15th. I ended up scheduling for May 22nd. Due to a couple of issues, I ultimately ended up having surgery on June 5th.

Sorry to hear of this. I know it has to hurt! Hang in there though. You will get your day. I'd start January 2, 2013!

Congrats on your journey so far. It sure looks like you are getting close to your surgery. Exciting, huh?

Nope, at least not that I know of. If I had it they took it out before I woke up in recovery.

You betcha it will! Just think, you get to have more "last meals" now. :-)

With all do respect, have you thought of counseling? It sounds to me as if you have self-esteem issues you expected surgery/weight loss to fix. You mention being ugly with stretch marks and that you had to take 20 pictures just to get your profile picture. Surgery didn’t do that to you. Those things existed the day you had surgery. Your face is still the same as the day you had surgery you’re your stretch marks would be too since you haven’t lost any weight. As to how you are feeling since surgery. Do you really think you are going to feel the way you do at this exact moment for forever and that you will never lose any weight and that this will all be for nothing? Healing takes time. And, if you aren’t cheating your sleeve, it is impossible not to lose weight. Have you contacted your doctor about this? Have you been documenting what you eat/drink? If so, see a nutritionist. I think though you really need to consider getting help from a therapist or psychologist. Weight loss isn’t a cure for the issues going on in your head, issues that obviously existed prior to surgery such as the look of your face and your stretch marks. Heck, the stretch marks may get worse as you lose weight and as is with a lot of people who lose a lot of weight, you may have sagging skin. Did you consider all this before you had surgery because it is a reality for most? You need to be able to deal with all of your imperfections….the ones you have now and the ones that may develop as the result of weight loss. You make a comment about there being no contest that a man would choose inner inside a Victoria’s Secret model’s body over inner beauty in a fat and ugly body. Did you expect that Victoria’s Secret Body? If not, did you consider that yours will likely have the same, if not more stretch marks, than you had the day of surgery or that you may have excess skin that hangs? Again, you need to be able to deal with this from an emotional standpoint and it certainly doesn’t sound like you are in a place to do so. Please take care of yourself and get help if you need it. Best of luck to you.

Sounds to me like you would be fine with the diet portion of this Jiji. The thing to remember is if, for some reason, you have mood issues they are temporary. Like I said, I've been in the best mood since surgery unless my pain was out of control. Not everyone is but there is no way to know for sure how you'll be until you are there. Keep reding here and asking questions. You will get a load of information. Best of luck to you!

I am 5 weeks postop today. I'm not sure I'm far enough to give a knowledgeable answer about my feelings of my relationship with food since I am probably in the honeymoon period. So, that being said, here is my two cents. I have not once had real hunger since surgery. I have had head hunger. During my 2 week preop diet and 3 week liquid diet, I had it quite a lot of it. I didn't get grumpy about it. I just wasn't overly chipper. Now, that I am eating most real food again, I've had very little head hunger. Food just isn't controlling me now like it used to. Again, I'm only 5 weeks out so who knows if that will change in the future.
Now, about the emotional part of it. I've read of people who suffered a lot of depression postop. I think I was the polar opposite of that. U never had that depression people talk about from lose of fat cells. I had some temporary down times but they were due only to pain. When my pain was under control, I felt unbelievably happy. I felt like I walked with a happy bounce in my step. All of my pain issues ended a week ago today, and I've never felt better in a VERY, VERY long time!
Oh, and the really good part is I'm down 40 pounds and my body is already feeling tremendously better.
One more thing, I spoke of my pain. I've been told in the past by more than one doctor that I have a high tolerance for pain. For some reason, I didn't handle this pain well. I think though I'm on the extreme end. I've seen lots of people post that they didn't need any pain meds past being discharged from the hospital.
This surgery is one of the best decisions I have ever made. It was worth every penny! Good luck to you as your explore your option to have or not have VSG.

Just wanted to say good luck tomorrow. You are on your way to a new you! Check in when you can and let is know how you are.

Hi SpecialK and welcome to VST. You will live it here. Everyone is so supportive and helpful.
Do you live in the DFW area? If so, we are starting a support group of DFW sleevers and right now we only have one guy, DadTo2 (Eric). If you'd like to be part of our group, send me a pm with your first name and email address. We would love to have you.....I'm sure Eric especially.
Best of luck to you on your journey!

I don't exactly remember but I was back to small gulps last week at 4 weeks postop so I know it doesn't last long. I hope it gets better for you soon.

My scale was on the lower end of the range I've been swaying back and forth in. I hope that's a good sign that this stall is over.

Thanks for the laugh. I've been gaining and losing the same 2 1/2 pounds for quite some time so I know how you feel!
I lost my appetite and I hope I never find it again.

My scale was on the lower end of the range I've been swaying back and forth in. I hope that's a good sign that this stall is over.

I don't think they do anymore. However, CVS makes their own brand of adult liquid painkiller similar to the liquid Tyelnol.

There was a pic floating around awhile back that showed the difference un the various bougie sizes. You'd be surpried how very little difference there is in them. I think the bougie size we refer to is in millimeters. So a 34 bougie would be only a tiny bit bigger than a 32.

Hi. I am very sorry that you lost your mother and that you are feeling all alone! The people here can be very supportive but it doesn't always make up for real time support. You might want to make a post in the part of the board where you can meet someone in your local area. There may be someone in your area that you could connect with in real time as well as the support you can get here too.
Best of luck to you in your journey!

Good to hear you had such a positive experience. Over and over I see such positive posts about Dr. Kelly, his staff and Omar. While I was sleeved in the U.S., I think Dr. Kelly is a good choice for those looking into having surgery in Mexico. Best of luck to you on your journey!

It sounds like we are both in the same slow boat blondeej and it sucks! I never had a stall this early out the gazillion times I did Weight Watchers so I was sure it wouldn't happen list VSG.....WRONG! I too am a scale wh%#e and I doubt it will ever change. Tomorrow I will do what I do everyday. I will get out of bed, pee and hop on the scale and tomorrow again I will be optimistic. One day, hopefully soon, I will be happy at the number!

I'm 32 days postop and I never have the physical feeling of hunger. I still do have head hunger, but mostly only when I'm bored. If I get busy doing something, I can so easily forget about food. Since I've returned to work and now have a more regular schedule, I've noticed that come lunch time I'm never ready to eat. I'm still 100% satisfied from Breakfast. I basically eat because I know I need to. Prior to surgery, I was either always eating or obsessing about what and when I could eat again. I love that food is not ruling my life like that now. It's as freeing as quitting smoking was 6 1/2 years ago. I'm in control and not my addictions. Love it!

Yeah Patrick, I'm sure many dogs eat better than we do. I have a cat who loves to eat just about anything. If you know anything anout cats, you know that is so not normal for a cat. To gove you an idea of how "abnormal" she is, her favorite food is Pasta. She will sit in the kitchen with me while I am cooking it and just meow and meow until its time to eat. Anyway, she never wanted to "eat" with me when I was on liquids. She was "forced" to be on this diet with me and she isn't fat. Poor thing was so happy when we got to finally eat food again. We still haven't had pasta though!