RJ'S/beginning

Personally. I believe that you need to be totally committed and informed about any WLS. Being ready for the good and the bad that may or may not happen. It is a decision that is not reversible. It is a new set of possibilities and changes that need to be made to get to your goal and maintain it. A whole change in thinking about food and where it will play a roll in your new life.

Maybe you do need to give it ( dieting ) one more shot. If you don't succeed then you know you have other options. WLS is a personal choice that can only be made by you. We can all be here and tell you why we did it or how it has made a difference in our lives. But that is all we can do. That and be supportive when you do make the choice to have WLS.

With all your health issues I think you know that there is a time limit for you to make this decision. So research and hearing how others handled it can be a great help to you.

I wish you better health no matter what you decide. We are here to help anyway we can.

It is so normal to stress at this time about failing. This won't work. I made a mistake. All common feelings and will be there until you lose the lbs. you want. Then it changes to ' I'm going to gain it all back ' thinking because this has been the norm for most of us on here and thousands of others who have done the traditional diets.

As it has been said it is good to be a little fearful. But if you eat properly and view your sleeve as a tool. Learn to eat healthy 99% of the time your tool will get you there and keep you at your goal weight. Your sleeve will eventually relax and that is when you will have to be more diligent in eating and how much and what. For now you are on the honeymoon stage and even though you will have stalls ( I call it body at rest ) You will lose the weight.

I found that changing to quality food was easier then I thought it would be. I made changes like eating farm fresh foods. More legumes, cheeses and fish. Buying directly from farmers or markets mean a better quality. It is mostly local foods. And since we can't eat much I have found that quality serves me better.

As far as processed diet foods. I stay clear of them.

Your dietitian has been trained to think that sugar free foods are good for you and we really know better. Once you are feeling good and feeling like you have more control you will figure it out. One thing that I have heard that is very good is Pintrest has a section for recipes for Bariatric patients. I have not used it myself but making recipes like that can last you as few meals. I find with just me and my hubby that if I make a few different meals it lasts for days and days. so I try very hard to get the best bang for my buck. And I find that it is fun to search for the best I can afford to eat.

You will come to terms with all of it once you get over the fear of failing. Give yourself some time and breath.

And please stay away from the scale it will only mess with your mind.

Yup......Had a leak 3 days after the sleeve. Ended up in a coma and a stay of 5.5 months in hospital. Had to date 18 surgeries and/or procedures.

It has just been a barrel of laughs you know!

No regrets though......

...

Too late I read it before you deleted it...lol

Personally I think with all the enhanced food and all the preservatives and all the processing and all the glues and what they are feeding the animals and so on and so on and so on. I personally feel that if I add fake butter to it and artificial sweeteners and so on then I may surely get sick...

I was told by my nut that I can eat real food without anything doctored in it and it would be okay. I would lose my weight and attain my goal.

Now if I ate sugary foods and fatty foods as my main diet I would gain for sure. Even if I was not grazing it would happen. Our bodies are conditioned to store calories. And it will if allowed to do so.

I try and mostly succeed at eating Protein first, then veggies, and a carb. In between meals I try to eat some fruit. I have tried to eat just Protein at a meal and it would not stay down. Waited and tried a few weeks later. Same results....So for me real food at meals no fake stuff that I know of and so far so good!

I will tell you I do eat the odd sweet. Sugar is my trigger food. Love me some skinny popcorn as a snack as well.

So for me no diet food!

I will admit..I am a food porn junkie. I watch shows about food now as I am relearning how to use food differently so it is gonna taste great or it is not entering my mouth or tiny little sleeve. lol

My 600 lb life. Don't know why it just breaks my heart that most of these folks don't have the total support of the medical teams to get where they need to be. If they could do it on their own ( lose 50 lbs before you can have the surgery ) I think they would have done it. Anyway I digress.

Buried alive. And all or any real life crime dramas like I survived, Border wars, All the guys who are living in the wilderness. Can't stand happy ending good family fun TV. Loved that before surgery and so with all the stuff I have been through.....Happy endings seem like a fantasy...Hope that changes!

Being looked at as their trophy eh. Them hoping that you will not succeed eh. Parading you around like some prized cat. You look at these people as friends. I think not. They are using you as a form of entertainment.

It is not about them. It is about you and how you are feeling about what they are doing. It is about why you made the choice to take this path. It is about you caring about yourself no matter if you lose another 50 lbs or gain 10. It is not for their personal pleasure or whatever they are getting out of it.

I went through a similar thing with one of my friends. And blankly told her that if she paraded me one more time we would no longer be friends. She stopped. It was my choice to dump her if she did not comply. You have to decide how much you are willing to endure for these people.

Me I dumped a pile of useless weight of so called friends and am now looking for real friends to replace them. Family, well that is an entirely different matter. You know what. I now look for quality. I just took anybody before. so it will be up to you hun to make the stand. What they are doing is just another form of abuse. It should not effect them one little bit what size you were or are now. They as friends should be looking at what is under the flesh. If they are not..Then they are not friends. They are living through your own personal experience as if they deserve to. And by the way they don't!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with @@CowgirlJane counseling may help.

Everyone deserves to be treated well. And if you feel like you are not, get out of it!

Me, well no one knows me anymore so it is much easier. No one recognizes me! So in a sense I am now invisible...and I love it!

Mean comes in all sizes sweetie. Just keep doing what your doing for yourself and never mind them.

I have found myself getting quite used to the new thinner me. I don't think about whether I will fit in the seat at a restaurant or if there is enough space between me and a stranger if I am walking by. Are people looking at me and judging me because of my size or even what I put in my cart anymore. I have become accustomed already to this much thinner and happier me.

I was at the hospital this morning as I have been sick with this nasty flu that has been going around and was concerned because of my compromised immune system that I might have pneumonia as it turned out I did not. But when they wheeled me down for a chest X Ray I realized that I took up less then 1/2 of the space on the stretcher then I used to when I had to have these kinds of tests.

It got me thinking that maybe I am finally seeing myself a thinner person and don't look over my shoulder anymore for disapproving looks or hushed criticisms of my size. Maybe I am starting to get used to the new me. A smaller version. The person I was meant to be. I don't seem to even notice much new now. Or changes anymore. But today I just happened to look down on the stretcher and noticed.

It was kinda nice you know....I told my hubby about it and he said yes there was a time you could not move on one of those. You couldn't roll on one side or the other. And then he smiled. I think he was trying to compliment me

Anyway I noticed and it felt great. I really never want to feel the emotions I did when I weighed 380 lbs. And I certainly never want to visit that place again...

It was a nice reminder of how far I have come on my journey to health and well being not to mention why I made the choice of having WLS in the first place!

He does the surgeries because this is not the contouring work of a plastics. Most of the surgeries he does is to get rid of excess areas that are health issues that are causing trauma to the patient. I noticed that when the 7 years are up most of them have not gotten plastics. Probably cost like other people. They have their own reasons. But he seems to remove the ulcers and edema, skin conditions that can effect their lives.

I wish I had too. I was so angry...but now I want to see how she does losing that 51 lbs. She looked Anorexic to me. No shape no butt and no boobs.. I did however like some of the things people said to her regarding her views.

To me it is her 15 min. of fame and she showed parts of herself that she can never take back. I almost pity her...no wait..Not!!!!!!!!

Did anyone see the first episode last night on TLC. The things she said made my blood boil.

My take on the episode is you can't fix stupid because like Forest Gump said " Stupid is as stupid does."

I used to cross country ski..Kept falling on my arse. Not a sport I have thought of returning to....

You go get um though...Awesome!

Majority of us have had this flu and it has been a B***H. This will pass and you will be able to get back to your perfect recovery. Onward and upward!

I live in Canada. I waited 4 years. Now it is a 7-10 year wait.....

It does not really matter which surgery you get if used well can have the same effect. There are a lot of Banders on here that are totally successful.

I know how you feel though. You expect one thing and get another. That happened to me too. work with it and all will be good. Keep close to your team and follow instruction totally and success will be yours.

Let us know how you are doing okay!

As far as pain and complications go. It is good to be informed of the possibility of it and whether you will except whatever come if it does.

The statistics are small but it does happen. So be informed and move toward your decision. My sister had her surgery on Dec. 4th and she has had no issues at all. So just because someone has complications or pain it does not mean you will.

I went into surgery only knowing that I could die. But you can die from any surgery. All are a risk. But I had no clue about what the complications might be and how it would change my life. No one should go in there blind. And no one should say.. .it will be okay just do it. If you are informed and understand all the possibles. Then the decision is yours, and you will be ready for whatever happens....

@@Lisa's Hope Grief is not a time or moment in life it is as long as it takes to feel the pain less and less and find yourself smiling at the odd thing now and then. when that happens and you see the sun come up in the morning and it makes you feel good to know it happened then you are on your way to healing. You will never ever forget the love of your life and will never ever get over it all. But you can learn to deal. And even though we all think we have all the answers because we are trying to comfort you in any way we can. We can't feel your pain of your loss and how it has effected you. you have to go through it as it happens. All the emotions to get to a place where you want to go on. that might not be today or tomorrow but I am sure that your hubby would have wanted you to go on with your life and live a healthy long one at that.

No one can do it for you. All we can do is show support in any way we can and by doing so maybe you will see that the future is ahead of you and going backwards will only cause you more pain. Pushing through the pain and looking after yourself will give you the strength you need to go on.

Please get counseling if you can. Someone who can give you the tools to help you go forward.

Thinking of you and worried that if you give up on yourself. It will only make matters worse..Along with the grief you feel adding self loathing will be too much.

@@CowgirlJane You have been such a help to me in my process to get plastics. Because of you I looked at my appointment with my new surgeon totally different then the first one. We all have our ups and downs.....and like you always seem to do you bounce back to the up side. You keep it real and I love that about you. Your truly a success story!

Hey here are some other meanings of the word Flounced..... I kind of like swaggered and sashayed..lol

pranced, stormed, stomped, strutted, swaggered,bounced, flung, jerked, minced, sashayed, sprang,stamped, threw, tossed

Yay! So glad to hear you had a good experience! Do you know when it will be? What are you having in your first procedure? I had 2 procedures so far, and I'm probably going to have a little minor tweaking done. I was really a mess before, and I am really happy with what I had done. My body is far from perfect, but it is greatly improved. It's a very exciting time for you - can't wait to see your transformation!

From the breast bone down. Abdomen... He said my back and sides are fine..just the front.......hoping early spring!

Met my second opinion surgeon on Monday. He made me feel quite comfortable and did the same pictures and all that the other plastics did but he also let me keep my self respect.

We are looking at getting another opinion for part of the surgery. So there may be two of them working on me at the same time. I trust this man with my life.

Breasts later he says but he does not see an issue with them. He said they looked really good and was a common surgery for him..Yes....Medicare covers some of it but he said he will give me a considerable cheaper rate because I just didn't walk in off the street. He knows me and so it will make a huge difference as far as cost goes....

I can't wait for this next step..Really and truly!

Excellent news!

Is it possible to ask someone to pick up some fresh Soup from a deli or restaurant? Much better then Campbell's I think. Better for you too. Do you have someone who can make you some home made? That would be the best!

Hi there! I am new. From Fredericton NB. Had my surgery done here locally in Fredericton on Dec. 5 2014. I had the sleeve. Its going well so far. Would be nice to have those close by ( maritimes) to chat with or anyone for that matter

I live in Saint John. No one has come out around here about having WLS. Glad your doing great!

RJ'S/beginning

are you worried doc might not think you are a good candidate do to your post op problems???i

hope doc is open to PS

did you forget???

my fingers and toes are ALWAYS crossed for you

off topic - I claim ignorance

what the heck is a sharpening business??

good luck tomorrow

kathy

My hubby sharpens knives, scissors, garden tools and grooming stuff......And no I don't think the Dr. thinks that I am not a good candidate. He already repaired my scare where they left the tape and sponge in my bed sore. He is great. I just want him to do it all without saying no. The last one I saw was only interested in helping me if I could pay big bucks......