jensjoy28

The headline I saw on CBS, MSN and ABC news this morning said "Christie has secret weight loss surgery..." Hilarious. Apparently every public official is supposed to disclose - ahead of time - any type of medical procedure they are having. HIPPA apparently means nothing to the media :-)

Vegasneon...if you are handy with a sewing machine maybe you want to convert a couple pairs of your jeans to the "pregnancy-style" ones with the stretchy panel around belly...I had a former boss that did this while she was pregnant...imagine it would be handy in this situation as well

Ok, I'm still new here, but have seen mention of some omnipotent source that edits certain posts...who does this? How do they decide what gets to stay or go?

Nummy...thanks for sharing...I've tagged it for a month from now...surgery Wednesday :-)

I was talking to my surgeon about this recently and he shared that he had recently done 10 year follow-up with a patient that had regained 50 pounds in the last 5 years...sounds like a lot (and it is) but when you put it in context, it is an extra 100 calories a day...or, as my surgeon said, a small bag or Doritos...how easy would it be to have 100 extra/empty calories a day??...additionally, he says that after we've lost significant weight our metabolism slows down...which is an added element to why we have to remain focused for the rest of our lives...for some people, maybe they were previously "maintaining" at 1200 calories a day...but after accounting for metabolism slowing, we might actually need to lower that amount in order to see the scale stay where we want it.

Dear body- As I sit here just a little more than 48 hours from my surgery day, I am thinking about you...there have been so many times over the years when I looked upon you in disdain, and, body, I am sorry for that. It wasn't you...it was me. It was the emotional part of me that found food as a comfort for the times I was lonely, the times I was sad, the times I was rewarding myself for any number of things...the disdain I had was for me, not you. Truly, body, you deserve my praise and appreciation...I appreciate that over the last 15 years, as the numbers have crept up on the scale and now top 300 pounds, that you have taken it all in stride and not (yet) succumbed to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or any of the other weight-related issues that I know would have come had I not taken steps to have this surgery. I am sorry that I am choosing to remove a large portion of a perfectly good stomach in order to having a fighting chance of overcoming obesity, but I truly believe this is the best course for us. I'm sure you remember last year when I got the tattoo of the cover of The Giving Tree on my hip...and you know that one of the reasons that was special to me was that I viewed you as the tree, and me as the little boy...up to this point in my life, I have acted just like the little boy, taking from you without regard for what you needed...but I knew I needed to be better than the little boy in the story, and take better care of you so that you would be able to keep me strong for as long as possible. That starts Wednesday. Promise. I'm not saying I will be perfect, but I do promise to be emotionally "present" from here on out, and not automatically self-soothe with food.

May sleevers...it's a matter of days now...hope those that go the first week of the month will update us!!

Mulliganmom...I'm self-pay on May 8th, too...my biggest post-op concern is what I am going to do with all of those emotions that I have been soothing/stuffing down/hiding from by over eating for the past 15 years...and I'm concerned that my tastes will change so much that I don't truly enjoy food any more

Space Dust, thanks for your reply. I do, definitely, agree that when we change from the theoretical world to the real world that things don't always unfold how we would have thought/liked. I am at the beginning of my journey and already appreciate how complex and emotional it will be to navigate the world in the months and years following surgery. I will continue to learn from the experiences of others and will make adjustments myself, I am sure. Will be interesting to see where I stand on this topic in a year :-)

I know from reading posts that there are some who choose not to tell people that they had WLS, but instead answer any inquiries with some variation of, "eating less and exercising more". And, while I agree that this is true, the thought that occurred to me today is that in many ways this can serve to perpetuate the prevalent idea that "non-obese" society has which is that "if you just made good choices and ate less you'd lose all the weight you want"...and that is really a disservice to the community you've come from. Imagine if someone had a cochlear implant and when asked why they seemed to be tracking conversations better answered that they'd just gotten good at reading lips!! Now, I'm not saying I don't understand the inclination...or even that there aren't times when it can make sense to skirt the topic...but just acknowledge it for the tool that it is and tell the nay-sayers to step off!

Oops...I made my post before realizing there were more pages of posts (I'm new here)...after reading all the way through, I regret posting and am pretty sure this will be a thread I unsubscribe to

Momto6ix... I agree with most other posters who have responded to this thread, and I can appreciate the frustration on both sides of the issue. For people who don't struggle with weight, it is very hard to "get" what a struggle this is for someone who does. It sounds like both you and your husband could benefit from some therapy...both individual as well as couples...for him, it is critical to the self-discovery process that will help him understand the reasons he has medicated with food and work to employ new emotional habits along with the physical changes that surgery requires. For you, it might uncover some surprising ways in which your beliefs and actions could have been contributing factors, and without identifying those, could serve to drive a wedge between you and your husband While it might seem like an extreme comparison, replace "food" with "alcohol" as the thing your husband struggles with...my guess is that you more readily accept the concept that, for some people, they can't just have 1 or 2 drinks in the way that you and I do...both alcohol and food trigger feel-good receptors in the brain, and release natural opiates that make you want to come back for more. For some complex reasons not yet fully understood, some people appear to be more susceptible to the effects than others.

May 8th with Dr Oliak in Orange County, CA. Very excited...know the nerves will come, but feeling confident :-)

First post...have my surgery scheduled for May 8...been having fun thinking of the little things that I will get to enjoy/leave behind after surgery How about you? What are you looking forward to? Again...these aren't meant to be the "big things" that are health-related... Buying a pair of designer jeans Being able to buy boots that zip up the side Not having to wear bras that could provide shelter for a small child Not having thigh rash from pantyhose rubbing Not having to strategically place a magazine over my lap so that the flight attendant doesn't realize my seatbelt isn't fastened on take-off and landing Not having to look at the load limit on a step stool