Sofficial

I've been doing very well with my sleeve. It’s said on this site all the time but I'm say it as well...Getting the sleeve was the best decision I've made and I wouldn't change anything. I had a positive outlook on the entire situation from the beginning and I truly believe that helped.

I started out at 262lbs, I lost 15lbs from doing the pre op diet, and today I weight 156lbs so total I’ve lost 106lbs. I started in a size 22 now I’m in a size 8.

No, I did not work out, however I did change my eating habits, I completely gave up sugar and only do sugar substitute or sugar free. I do Protein first and I eat a lot of Protein Bars, I can’t stand the shakes they make me nauseous.

In the beginning this was all like a fantasy or a dream, but now I’m actually living it and it feels wonderful.

How did your surgery go?! I go down for mine sept 1!! At the same clinic. How was your experience?

Hi all. I started the process for the surgery in June. My insurance requires 6 months of weights- that puts me on track for a November surgery. The office I went to the coordinator said I shouldn't lose or gain more than about 7 pounds from now until the surgery. I'm a little concerned about this. I want to eat healthier and I don't necessarily lose weight easily but I'm worried about losing more than 7 pounds. I have about 150 pounds to lose and can't do that on my own so I definitely need the surgery. Will I be denied if I lose more than 7 pounds. Like let's say even 10. Shared Experiences welcome!!!!

I would want an explanation. Someone (like me!) who had 150# to lose can surely afford to lose more than 7 before being too light for surgery. Usually a BMI of 40 is the insurance cutoff. I started with a BMI over 50. I think losing some before surgery can be a good thing even though I really wasn't capable of it at the time... I was pretty messed up in terms of out of control hunger.

Sad to bring up that I was sexually abused from age 5 to age 14. My parents were pillars of the church and refused to deal with it. I was the problem for bringing it up. My abuser was relative, a Sunday School teacher, and a YMCA Indian Guide. Pedators go where the children are. My abuser also abused his own daughter and some of her little friends. He went to prison twice and died in jail awaiting his third trial for sexual abuse of a child. (And why did the state of Indiana let him out twice???) I found out at his funeral that he had also abused my three sisters as well.
The reason I have exposed this is to help you become aware of how the mind of an abuser works That teacher does not see your daughter as a student. He sees her as an opportunity. A child psychologist and a lawyer would both be great allies in moving forward......then you can sue the school system for those costs and some pain and suffering. By placing her back in that classroom and allowing other students to torment your daughter, they are contributing to her abuse.
I would go so far as to suggest a restraining order to force the school to keep her away from his influence. Shoot, maybe you can transfer her to a private school and sue your current school system for that expense, too. I am so glad that your daughter has you for an advocate and that you threw your ex-boyfriend to the curb so that he could be picked up the trash.
She needs you so much right now. My parents have both passed away, but for a long time I harbored painful resentment because they did not believe me or help me. So, I am just saying...nip it in the bud now. You can be angry about this in a classy way. Document visits to a therapist. Document any contact with the Police Department. Document all of your contact with that teacher and the administration at the school. Document all contact with a lawyer. Force that school system to create a No Bullying policy and to require teachers, support staff, and the School Board to attend education sessions on the subjects of the Cycle of Abuse and the damage done by bullying. You may need to keep a journal to help you recall events exactly as they happen day to day. In the end, the one with the most documentation wins.
Give your daughter a big hug and let her know that all of this mess is not her fault. Then when you feel that you have acceptable closure on this, find someone to give you a big hug. You need professional allies to bring this to light. I wish the best for you and your daughter.

What a tough situation. My heart breaks for you both.
I don't think I would send her back into that school. Not one more day. That is a hostile environment and it can be emotionally damaging to endure daily humiliation, scorn, intimidation, and the gossip about her sexual abuse. I am a grown woman and I don't think I could walk into that every day. She needs some good 'down time'. She needs to feel safe and loved so that healing can take place. Otherwise all of this hurt, anger, fear, and self-blame will become overwhelming in her teenage and adult years.
If you don't already have a counselor, you should run and find one. These events go deep. You both are going to need some help and guidance to get through this so she can move forward and have a great life.

You should never tell someone u think might be a predator....what happened to your daughter....... These men know how to read people and target them.i am so sorry that she has to go threw this. I would go to the media with this call your local news let them expose the school and get down to the bottom of this.

There is a no bullying policy in the education system. 0 tolerance. you sought help from the educational system. Noe you need to call the police and get them to assist you....You may find that your child will have to change schools again...
But don't lose it. Be strong and state how you feel and how you are going to respond to this..You are her mother and protector. Be firm and take no prisoners....

You might want to go to the county board of education or threaten the school with getting a lawyer. There is a no bullying policy where I live. They need to be told that they made a mockery out of your daughter and because of their indiscretions, your child is humiliated and hurt even worse. Ask them where their compassion and protection is for your child. Let them know it is a serious situation about you child's past and you were just trying to protect her, not cause more problems for anyone. Screaming and shouting will not help anything but be firm and persistent. God Bless!!!

I was just wondering this same thing, I'm a little over a month post op and already starting to gain a little confidence, but still very nervous about getting back out in the dating scene.

I hate that, my close friend is like that. She has been skinny all of her life and she believes's that all I have to do is push back from the table. Its not that simple

I feel the same way. My daughter had a sleep over this weekend and I didn't feel the urge at all or even feel bad about not being able to eat her cupcakes.

I had my surgery 15 months ago and I have lost 133 lbs, we are building our dream home, a log cabin and I was climbing the ladder (something that I couldn't do before at 334 lbs) to look in the loft and my husband took this photo, sometimes I still can't believe it's me, the first pic is on surgery day.


Sent from Gaye's iPad Mini using VST

To be perfectly honest. I eat whatever I want only a very small portion. I put Protein first though and if there is room I will have a bite or two of anything else I chose.
For me this program is not a diet it is a change in the way I see food. The way I feel about it. The way I handle the hard times now.
Everything in balance and moderation. When I started this journey I thought that the thing to do is be totally rigid with everything I put in m y mouth. But realized when I used to do it that way I was setting myself up for failure like all the diets I had already tried.
I even had a food funeral before I had surgery to say good bye to all the food I would never eat again. I was soon to find out that there is nothing you can't eat in moderation. We need all of it to survive.I have been known to even have a cookie now and then.
But I eat like this...Water all day long..meals Protein first, next veggies, fruit, carbs last. I try to keep that balance in my life every day.
Sometimes when I am eating my meal I see the thing that I used to totally indulge on and then thank whoever that I have my sleeve.
I tell myself almost everyday how grateful I am for this miracle. Seriously!!!!!!!!!!

I feel the same way. My daughter had a sleep over this weekend and I didn't feel the urge at all or even feel bad about not being able to eat her cupcakes.

Makes you kinda think the creator made a mistake when it left it up to humans to learn everything on their own. Probably would have been a good idea to throw in a few basic instincts in the mix.......take away some of our really dumb choices.

Wow you look ssooooo much younger!!!! You look like a completely different person. You look nice, great job!!!

Hi to you all,
Hope jeni and Ken that your surgeries go as well as mine has so far. I am glad Jen that Pam has her date now too, as you say she will be a professional by then via you.
Zom , Sally and Nikki i am glad that you are doing well too.i am sure that we will have difficult days in the coming weeks months and years but i have to say that my surgery has been so much better than expected. I had no staples, catherter or drain and i was glad to get rid of my appendages. Drip down last night so free at last, just mild discmfort around the holes but i even managed to sleep a little on my side on night 2 which i was not expecting. I had a quite acute lower abdominal spasm earlier in the night which felt like i needed to have diarrhoea, but nothing happened but am parping which a good sign. Dull abdo ache so i think i am starting to feel constipated. TMI i know but we need to share these things. When i get home later today i will start to take Benefiber which was advised by my variatric nurse. You just add it to any Fluid and it is colourless and apparently tasteless and it keeps you regular and sorts out Constipation. I got it on Amazon before i came in, something you might want to consider.
Erin i can see what you mean about new job and new start. They are only expecting you to eat what you do now, not what you did before. It sounds like you are really enjoying it too which is great. At the time it felt so brave to go back to work so soon but it clearly worked for you. I am sure that you ate missing eating with your family but hopefully the variety you can eat will increase soon and you will feel more able to. Kim you sound like you ate doing great too.
Nnegrete, i do hope you feel more positive soon, strange about the avocado fetish, i suppose we will all have them. I think that is why i was struggling before the op, it felt like a permanent bereavement of things i couldn't do again. I was so sad when we were in Key West for a few days at the beginning of the year because every day felt like that. I am hoping that was my way of preparing myself and that those feelings will not be as strong afterwards. Stay strong, you HAVE made the right decision and things will feel better, in time you might even manage those avocados, and you are losing weight! We are all there with you, just hang on in there.
Take care and be careful out there, we are flooding big time over here, worst floods for decades and you are in the middle of terrible snow storms.
Claire

Or maybe she decided to to stop at 190 on purpose. Maybe that was her goal weight, to lose just enough to stay healthy. She did make a statement saying that she hopes to get under 200lbs. A lot of overweight celebrities feel they will lose fans if they lost their weight.

The bariatric clinic just sent off my paperwork on Monday. I am a little nervous, and can't wait to see if I'm approved. I'm gonna call my insurance Friday to check the status. Can't wait to get my journey started!!!! Fingers Crossed!

This is my first response to this thread or to you, so I do hope you will take my words as sincere with no intention of being rude or disrespectful.
It seems to me that you are looking for validation for your actions, not input, and I think that's absolutely OK. Why do I assume this? It seems to me that you are rejecting the words of anyone who is not in full agreement with what you are doing or what you say your surgeon has approved. Again, that's totally your prerogative, but by asking for opinion, you are opening the door to get exactly those. Some of our biggest success stories here have given you input and it saddens me that you are brushing them off as if they are worthless. This is a forum for support and learning, and those things come even in words we don't necessarily want to hear.
I would suggest that if you truly only want a cheering section (which again, is perfectly acceptable), that you simply say what you are doing, that you are feeling great (YAY! I'm so glad that you are!) and that you are losing at a rate that makes both you and your surgeon happy.
Personally, at your stage, I was on purees. I didn't start on solid foods, like tortillas, until 3+ months out. In fact, I still cannot eat 1/3 of a tortilla at almost 10 months out because they fill me up so solidly I feel sick and uncomfortable after the third nibble.
Right now, your new tummy is tender, numb and healing. You cannot feel everything that is going on with it. While I do not agree with the person who keeps insisting that you are stretching it (something that is next to impossible to stretch very much), it is very possible that you are over filling yourself without knowing it.
I was told, when I hit pureed, not to eat more than 2-3 tablespoons of food. At 6 months, I was given the OK to eat up to 1/2 or 3/4 of a cup, something I am still not very successful at, in one sitting. I saw that you were previously told that your new tummy would hold about 3 oz. By eating a 1/2 cup, you are exceeding amount already, and that concerns me, but if it doesn't concern you, all is well.
Something my nurse told me that I still have to remind myself of? Just because you *CAN* eat it, doesn't mean you *SHOULD*. You made a huge step in the right direction towards good health. Maximize this honeymoon period by eating all the right things in as little quantity (but maximum quality) that you can. This isn't about starving yourself, I'm certainly not interested in doing that, but about relearning good habits while your capacity if very limited and the drive to eat is at it's least.
As a host, I am going to respectfully as that you change your username because I do think it's detrimental to our community. I do hope that you will come back and reread the intentions of these posts as they are meant, not as attacks (for the most part) but as support. I do see where some would ruffle your feathers, and those are best ignored. You have a lot to learn and a lot to add, I am sure. This is great place and I would love to see you get everything you can out of here.

My 5 year old granddaughter and I were watching TV last night, With her head in my schoulder she whispered in my ear "mommy says your belly is broken and you have to get fixed"
That's right, I responded, the doctor is going to fix my belly..
Is it going to hurt?
"I don't think so"
Will it look different?
"Hopefully a little smaller" I said....
You could hear the the concern in her voice when she asked "but papa! where will I sit?""
Got to love the perception of a 5 year old....

I can't believe it's finally here, I'm a bit nervous, didn't think I would get nervous. The nurses are so nice, that make me feel a little better. I'm all hooked up to my IV and waiting to go to the back.

I can't believe it's finally here, I'm a bit nervous, didn't think I would get nervous. The nurses are so nice, that make me feel a little better. I'm all hooked up to my IV and waiting to go to the back.

Wow!!! You go girl! You look GREAT, congratulations