Aussiegirl

Just wanted to take a moment to share my journey so far with those of you thinking of this surgery or starting out... 10 months ago, i weighed 150 kgs ( 330 pounds) and waited anxiously to be admitted to hospital, managed to work myself up into a right mess before surgery, much of which I now dont remember. However do remember a really cute male nurse holding my hand and trying to calm me. Next thing I know I am waking up in the ICU (protocol for my doctor) and throwing up blood (not so standard) but otherwise Ok. Spent the night in the ICU and in the morning they moved me out to another room, and got me up and walking., After that everything progressed relatively issue free, thankfully, however I had mentally prepared myself for the worst. My approach was slightly different to others, I wanted to start the way i want to continue my life. That is live my life like I was already in maintenance. I watch what I eat, mainly low fat Protein, lo GI carbs, veggies and fruit. I never have a Protein shake or protein supplements.I have not denied myself any food at any point, as long as my sleeve could handle it. I still dont handle too much sugary things too well, even tho chocolate was one of my favourite things pre-surgery now I really cant handle more than a bite size peice, and now honestly dont even want it now. My body generally craves things that are good for it in the traditional sense. Nowadays my drinking and eatting feel normal to me. Eatting is now a thing I do to fuel myself, and i do need to make a concious effort to make sure I remember to eat. Pre-surgery I enjoyed tasting new things, was a bit of a foodie, still am, just at a smaller capacity. I started a work out routine as soon as I was cleared to do it, before that i would walk as much as I could. Initially I had alot of fatigue and it was a struggle. Now I run and able to keep up with some of the fittest people I know. I did start doing 2 sessions a day for 5 days a week, I have tempered this back some and work harder while I am there and incorporate exercise in most parts of my life. I have PCOS, so loosing weight has always been difficult. But most of my symptoms have tapered off, not completely gone but diminished. I am only now dealing with post op reflux which I did not have before, apparently this should not go on this far out, so working my doctor on this. At the moment I am 84 kgs (185 pounds) and still loosing...now it is a very different experience. The weight loss isnt constant like it was initially, now I will not loose anything for a few weeks and then all of a suddden drop a few more kgs. I am 9 kgs away from where I was wanted to end up in weight. However I am relatively happy with my body, working more on toning that anything. I have alot of excess skin now, that i may eventually try and do something about. I have put some pictures as of this morning and pre-surgery below, please dont be too judgemental, I know that there is still work to be done, i still have the rolls in my middle and i am sure they will be the last to go, but this is where I am today. The last 10 months hasnt always been easy, I have needed to face many of my issues, with eatting, stress, people expectations and learning to live a healthier life. My advise to anyone who is considering the surgery is be ready to face missing food, changing your relationship eatting, ready to not eat like you did before. You need to be ready for change. I am now planning my celebration of the hard work, and a culmination of things have lead to the right timing. Next month I am taking 2.5 months off and am planning a roadtrip around parts of the US, where I plan on doing everything I was previously limited doing cause of weight limits, horse riding, ziplining, hiking, rafiting, riding rollercoasters. I plan a real celebration of life, driving round in my convertible mustang.... Life really is exciting now.. Sorry it was a long post.

I am about 2 months away. Tho I am off on a 2.5 month vacation, roadtripping around the US. I am not sure exactly where I will be or who I will be with but I plan for the whole vacation to be a celebration of what I have achieved, now being a normal weight and not being too heavy to do things. I plan on horse riding, rafting, hiking, zip lining...lots fun stuff...a true celebration of life. I am very lucky that a lot of things have aligned to allow this.

To date I have lost 147 pounds...in almost 10 months (well 10 months tommorow). It is definitely do-able and attainable. I started at 330. I have included exercise atleast 5 days a week, early on I was doing 2 gym sessions a day, i am down to mostly one a day now....I have incorporated additional exercise into my life, by walking 2 and from work and when I need to go places. I eat pretty much as I wish nowadays, and still follow alot of the rules, Protein, low carb and veggies. I do now allow myself Snacks which are less healthy. It is possible however it does require a lot of HARD work on my part.

I was told 6 weeks for more strenous exercise by then the stitching is pretty much healed. Before that was just walking and easy exercise.

I struggled with most dairy except for cheese for almost 5 months. Now I am ok with yoghurt. Ice cream still causes me some issues. However I have not been able to drink milk since i was 17..so not sure about milk.

Thanks Parkers Dad

I have these thoughts now and then. It is really easy to go there in your mind, especially if you dont see the scales move. At first my scales moved almost every day, but now coming up to 10 months (and 147 pounds) the losses are alot slower. I will see the same number range for a couple of weeks and then suddenly my body just goes, ok I can survive at this weight and I loose some more. There will come a point where your body will slow down or stop, it is really important that you are comfortable and happy in what you have achieved. I am now 9kgs (20 pounds) from my goal weight but I am comfortable and confident in my body, the work I have done to get here and how I have lost the almost 150 pounds.

Isnt it great!! I flew for work yesterday for the first time since actually feeling small...was surprised at how the seatbelt went on. Even flying home in that horrible middle seat (cause we were late to flights) was not uncomfortable, no squeezing my arms in trying to remain in the space, my arms all fit within the seat. I love to travel so these are the funnest NSV's!!1

I don't think my shape has changed significantly, I probably looked like an apple before as I carried most the weight around my middle. Now I am starting to see an hourglass, which is what I have always wanted. I still carry weight in my boobs( woot woot happy for it to stay there) and in my lower belly...which I can't seem to move.

I think this in the not looking to hook up sense is fine. There is nothing wrong with a platonic friendship with females, often helps with a different perspective when dealing with your loved ones. Also women are great, who wouldn't want to hang around us:) All good as long as all understand the boundaries.

Congratulations! You look amazing, whether you are at a numeric goal or not. What you are saying totally resonates with me, even coming up to 10 months out and being a relatively quick loser. Thank you for sharing your story!

I had a significant amount of hair loss. This started around the 4th month and nothing really seemed to help with stopping it. Thankfully I have alot of hair before surgery so it doesnt look too bad. I am now 9.5 months and my hair is growing back and has stopped falling out(other than a standard amount i would have lost pre-surgery). Now it is growing back I am more subdued about it, it was a process my body needed to go through, just one more thing to recover from the surgery from, and my once thick hair is so much easier to control now.

Just picking up your last comment...in my experience my tastebuds have changed. I used to crave sugary things and they always tasted better. Since my surgery I crave and my taste buds enjoy salty things instead. My body also can only tolerate tiny amounts of sugary things, enough to get a taste and thats it, anymore (even if it is less than my sleeves capacity) and I am over it. My body in general craves things that are good for it, lean Proteins and veggies and weirdly eggs. Just my experience...

Well I guess that is one way to motivate you too exercise...

Inspiring story Brian! I hope at 2 years I can claim the same...

Only you can answer what is best for you or which surgery if any you are comfortable with, as neither of the 2 you are talking about are revisible. We can all tell you about our experience, good and bad, specifically with the sleeve but in the end you and your doctor should be making the best choice for you. I had the sleeve 9.5 months ago and have since 144 pounds, everyone of which I have had to work for, but I am happy that I had the surgery. I am just about to drop into the overweight category and feel alot healthier. I have incorporated exercise into my daily life. I was lookig at the lap band originally but chose the sleeve, as I didnt want all the follow up hassle of getting the band filled, and also the number of short term complications which the lap band. I didnt even consider by pass, as i thought it was too invasive. As I understand it, you can have the sleeve and then a by-pass if needed. Just my 2 centrs

Much like others here, I was 330 atleast when I started...it took a long while before people noticed, probably around 50-60 pounds, but once they started it hasn't stopped. It will happen, I have tried to always have atleast one or two things, like pants that fit me...and just wore other stuff til they were like potatoes sacks. Ppl noticed more when I wore fitted clothes

I am now just passed 9 months out and am enjoying eatting again. I do say that I am enjoyng eatting again, but the type of food I get the most enjoyment out of is very different to what I used to enjoy post op. I have spent the last 9 months trying to change my habits in addition to my capacity, some days I do better than others. Weirdest thing for me ever is now I get absolutely no enjoyment out of eatting chocolate.. pre-op it was my my go to food. I also notice the amount I consume (not just based on capacity) when I am enjoying food has changed. If I have a piece of cake or a cookie, yes I do allow these sometimes, that a few bites (like 2-3 max) and I am done and giving the food away. Eatting is definitely not like pre-op...I had this surgery to help with no eatting like I did then.

I saw an endocronologist to get the OK to hav e this surgery. We dont have the amount of hoops to jump through down here, and in my case no one would have argued the point anyway. I also have PCOS, and found the endo a really good source of knowledge about all this and really jelped me understand the condition and the impact PCOS on my body. Mine did give me medication but also leaves it up to me on whether I take them, ie he gave me options on how to eat or taking the meds. I dont take the meds unless I am struggling with food etc. He also talked me into this surgery over banding, and I have to say it was the best advise.

Another late refluxer here. I have had it intermittently since surgery, however the last few months have gotten worse. I generally have a burning throat, lump in throat and tingly/numb tongue. My surgeon has me trying a number of different medication cocktails to try deal with it. He said that it is not common for people to still have it this far out (9 months). If this latest cocktail doesnt work he will do an endoscopy to see whats happening. You just have to keep the conversation up with your surgeon. I try to drink through the symptoms, or have a cracker to dimb the burning..rather than constantly eatting, when I am not hungry.

How are all the Aussies going?

Timely topic for me to see I believe people do treat me better/differently now I am average looking (still carrying a bit but nothing like before). Sometimes I struggle with this and other times I just roll with the punches. Part of the change also is due to the change in the way I treat my self. I have more self confidence and am alot happier in who I am and where my life is going (for the most part). Not a day goes by where I am not told by someone how great i look etc. This is flattering but thankfully they werent walking up to me before telling me how bad I looked. Most people that meet me now, cant comprehend that I was ever as big as I was, which is nice too. Ok ramble much.... My point (or 2c) is that it doesnt matter how other people treat you now, the most important thing is how you treat yourself. Others will treat you the same way.

As many have said, it is normal and it does pass. I was exhausted for about 3 weeks post operatively. Went back to work after 2 weeks and did half days for the 3rd week, mainly because I was so tired. Even for a few weeks afterwards I would get bouts of extreme fatigue every week or so. As said above, try keep yourself hydrated the best you can. At 10 months out now I have more energy than I remember having in years, I work out hard, nanny naps are a thing of the past (almost). It will get better, you just have to let yourself get recover initially.

I bought a pair of $5 skinny jeans in size 12 (Aussie which is about a 10 US) over the weekend as an item to grow into....maybe. well this morning I tried them on, just to see how close they were..and shock horror and happiness they fit, snug but wearable...yeha!!!! This is probably the biggest victory to date. Pre surgery starting at a 26/28 my goal size was a 14. I never saw or wanted to be tiny, I like curves just in the right places not bulges like before...so I am happy to get here atleast on the bottom....my tops still are a 16/18 and my boobs may stop me ever getting to a 14 as they have not shrunk much at all. Man I feel cute, curvy and sexy today...ye me

I am 36 too. I will let the pics speak for t hemselves. Sometimes I feel I look younger and other times I feel I look older, but I do always look happier Me @ 330+ pounds Me last weekend at just on 200 pounds