Kindle

The shame and fear you feel are totally normal. I never thought That I would consider surgery, but I just kept getting bigger year after year. My eating was truly out of control. I had given up on diets because gaining the weight back after losing left me feeling more and more depressed. My insurance didn't cover WLS, so I spent 6 months researching on my own what kind of surgery would be best for me and where to have it done. I didn't tell anyone my plans because I was embarrassed. And disgusted with myself that it had come to this. Once I booked my surgery and bought plane tickets I started telling a few people. I had mixed reviews, but nothing real negative...just concern. By the time I started my preop diet I was so excited I actually started 2 days early. I was SO ready to finally start losing weight for the last time in my life! This time I KNEW once the weight was gone it wouldn't be coming back. And believe me, you WILL lose. As I lost weight, more and more people noticed and commented. I ended up telling most everyone about having surgery. By talking about it, I was able to get rid of the negative feelings I originally had about this decision. I had WLS and am proud of it! I did a very scary thing in order to have a happier, healthier life! And now I am accountable to not only myself, but to everyone I know. I will not be the one that gains all her weight back. It's a very empowering feeling to finally have control again. So yes, what you are feeling is normal and hopefully time and the approval process will help you shed the negativity. But in the end, you have to be 110% committed and should only have WLS if the time is right for YOU. I wish you the best of luck....this truly has been the best thing I've ever done for myself.

I enjoyed that stage too. I still eat a lot of the same foods....split pea soup, refried beans with scrambled egg, cheese and green chili, cottage cheese with cake batter protein powder (tastes like cheese cake), garlic mashed potatoes with unflavored protein powder, homemade guacamole, lobster bisque, and deviled ham.

BellaLuce4 just shared a great article in another thread http://m.wikihow.com/Speed-up-Hair-Growth

Great article...thanks for sharing!

Congrats! So glad you are living the life you deserve. Thanks for sharing your story here and in the real world. You are setting a great example for WLS and are an inspiration!

Great! The ones I take say 4 capsules/day, but I only take 2 and all of my bloodwork has been really good. I figure I'm eating healthy and getting a lot of my daily requirements from real food.

Wine at about 4-5 months....started with 1/2 to 1 glass. Vodka cocktails around 6-7 months. I've had whiskey, rum, cream liquors (Amarula, Rumchata, etc) since then. Normally I might have a drink 1-2 times a month, but when I was on vacation I had 1-2 cocktails pretty much every day. I was never a "cheap drunk", and surgery has made no difference in my alcohol tolerance. I did discover I could drink a lightly carbonated drink like hard cider if I pour it over ice and let sit awhile, but definitely can't drink beer....my sleeve can't do bubbles.

JodiS I have a whole house you could come over and distress with! ???? ....especially the office and garage.

Not really. I am partners in a small business, so no work=no income. No such thing as sick leave, paid time off or vacation days for me. I wanted to take 2 weeks, but work got too busy so I had to suck it up and go back at 1 week. Because I did it around the holidays I really only missed 4 days of work. But seriously, I would have been bored to death taking 4-6 weeks off because other than being tired, I felt fine.

Ditto to above. If it's surgical pain ask for more Meds. If it's gas you've gotta walk walk walk. I really had no pain, just a little cramping from the drain and some bloated discomfort which walking helped with. I had surgery at 3pm and was coherent by 9pm. I intermittently walked and dozed all night and was out walking/shopping after being discharged by 9 am the next morning. Just remember you had major surgery and that some pain is expected. That's what drugs are for! ☺️

I prefer whole food based vitamins. They contain cofactors and micronutrients that can't be duplicated with synthetic vitamin products (it's like eating an orange vs taking a vitamin C tablet). Many also contain probiotics and digestive enzymes. I currently take Garden of Life Vitamin Code for Women capsules. Before surgery I had always used Source of Life Gold chewables, but postop they tasted way too sweet to me.

@RJ'S/beginning did you have ANOTHER surgery?

I weighed infrequently the first several months, but here are the numbers I found on old posts.... Day 7 gained 5 pounds from surgery weight Day 11 same as surgery day (I normally wouldn't weigh this soon after the last weigh in but it was New Years Day and I wanted a 2014 starting weight for posterity) 7 weeks out down 17 pounds from surgery 3 months out down 31 pounds from surgery I am Currently 10 1/2 months out and down a total of 101 pounds (including the 22 pounds I lost on preop). Have been maintaining under goal weight for almost 4 months. So a slow start does not reflect your long term success. For the best experience, I suggest staying off the scale for 2-3 months. Just have faith in the process.

I'm 5'5" and started at 238 pounds, size 22 jeans, XL or XXL tops Currently 137, size 5/7 jeans (depending on maker), M tops. Love this sleeve!

I try and eat veggies everyday...either fresh or frozen. My staples are Spinach, zucchini, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, asparagus, artichokes, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. Once I hit goal, I've added in starchier veggies like squash, yams, corn, spaghetti squash, etc. I usually just steam them with salt and pepper but will also add a garlic butter sauce or cheese sauce sometimes. I eat some veggies raw with ranch dressing and of course I couldn't have an artichoke without hollandaise sauce!

Mexican..... Chili relleno with refried beans or street tacos Thai....satay, or any of the curry dishes and just eat the meat and veggies, no rice or noodles. I've also had fresh spring rolls (my tummy doesn't care for fried stuff, so egg rolls are out.). The only thing I miss is pad Thai. Chinese....sesame chicken, egg foo young, garlic chicken, beef and broccoli, etc and just eat the meat and veggies, no rice or noodles. Italian....chicken parm and scraped off a lot of the breading. Or spaghetti with meatballs and just ate the meatballs At other restaurants I've had a gyro (ate just insides with a fork), steak and steamed veggies, soup of the day, bbq brisket with coleslaw....pretty much anything, just staying away from the starchy sides.

I truly think the hairloss thing is a crapshoot. It all depends on how your body (and mind) deals with the stress of surgery and weightloss and no amount of supplements will change this. I am 10 months out and had absolutely no hair loss. The only thing I did was always get in 60+g protein from day 5 on and I never stressed or worried about surgery, pre or postop diets, stalls, people knowing about my surgery, social events, etc. I take a whole food based multivitamin, but never took extra biotin or used any hair products like Rogaine. These things may help you regrow new hair, but I don't think they prevent the hairloss. I read too many posts about people losing hair despite taking all these supplements. That's why I never bothered.....if it's gonna happen its gonna happen.

I loved my visit to TJ. The Walmart employees were really nice. We went there many times because my sister made me walk there several times a day so she could get her Starbucks fix. Had great conversations comparing US Walmarts to their Walmart. Also had one very nice cashier give us some advice about handling dollars/pesos so we didn't look like such gullible tourists. Try and get to the avenude Revolucion area if you get a chance to shop. There was a corner shop with super yummy popsicles....I had the hibiscus. Traveling was no problem. Just make sure you get someone to lift your luggage for you postop if you are traveling alone. Otherwise walk walk walk!

My worst procedure was going to the bank and emptying my savings account to pay for the surgery (but worth it!)

I have a very active job...lifting, bending, squatting, driving, walking, standing all day. I was back part time (30 hours) after 7 days and full time (40-60 hrs) at 2 weeks. I did have a 20 pound lifting restriction for 3 weeks....the only thing I "cheated" because I was lifting 60 pounds at 18 days postop. I was tired and had to make sure I had plenty of protein shakes and liquids on hand, but had no problems doing my job.

Have you had a psych evaluation during your approval process and did you talk about this? Stress eating is definitely an issue you need to deal with before and after surgery if you want to be successful. Surgery will do absolutely nothing to fix this. I could eat potato chips or ice cream or candy all day long if I wanted to. If you have access to a therapist or counselor you really need to figure out a plan before proceeding with surgery.

Ditto to the above. And I am below goal, so some of my snacks are not all protein....mixed nuts with craisins, raw veggies with cheese dip, and guacamole with sea salt bagel chips. I also freeze protein shakes in Popsicle molds and eat them when I'm having an ice cream craving.

It is pretty common....sometimes just temporary and sometimes for life. My surgeon prescribes omeprazole 40mg to be taken daily for two months minimum. He insisted it was mandatory. After the two months I took the 20mg OTC for about 3 weeks. Haven't had any real problems since. But I do get a sour, slightly burning sensation sometimes and Rolaids or Maaloxx takes care of it, so it's a very minor issue. But I'd never taken antacids ever prior to sx.

Overall, my stomach muscles were sore for about 5-7 days....fatigued is more like it. Like I'd done a ton of sit-ups. Never had any pain at my incision sites. I was lifting up to 60 pounds at work by 18 days postop.

I was restricted to under 20 pounds for 3 weeks. I am a vet tech and I lift animals all the time, so this was a tough one. Then my vet partner had a hysterectomy and had an 8 pound restriction for 6 weeks, so I was back to lifting 60+ pound dogs when I was only 18 days out. Never had any issues.