Lillydawn

Great idea! My name is Kendra. I am 24 on July 29th. I'm from Nebraska and enjoy camping, hiking, swimming, sports and any outdoor activity. I also am a frolfer. (Frisbee/ disc golf) My surgery will hopefully be in october. I have two brothers. I'm the middle child. I own my own home business with travel called World Ventures. I love wv! I am also a cna and provide in home care to two of the best clients ive had. I absolutley love my job but if money weren't an object I would become a meteorologist with a minor in photography, so I could chase tornadoes and take pictures of incredible storms and skies. It gives me a rush and I'm a bit of a thrill seeker. I'm currently pursuing my RN at MPCC. I currently have a partial torn acl and torn miniscus that I will have surgery for on the 27th from playing basketball. I hate that my weight inhibites my activities. I cant wait to be thin and be able to run after a soccer/basket/volley ball again!!! Ive been heavy all my life but I try not to let it stop me from doing anything everyone else can do!

The pic on the left was taken at my sisters wedding last November - the one on the right is of me Tuesday after going and getting all my hair cut off , figured the NEW ME needed a NEW LOOK 120 lbs gone .

Just wanted to see if anyone else feels this way post surgery.
One of the things I had always done when eating out prior to surgery is that I would look at the menu and make decisions about what I would order based on how much food I thought I would get. It was the quantity that was most important. It didn't matter if it was something I might have liked the taste of as much as whether it would fill me up.
It actually took some time after surgery to get to where I was out of this mindset. But now, it is really liberating to sit down and know that I can't eat like that even if I wanted to, so I now can focus on the quality and taste when in choosing what to order. For example, my favorite item might be ceviche or something like that, but I never would have ordered it presurgery because it was a small plate of food. It's very liberating now. It was amazing when I realized that i was actually stressing about whether something was going to be enough for me.

Could not agree more!

You are an inspiration! Thank you for sharing your story. I admire your courage and your honesty.

Major- so happy you are doing well! Everything was great here too. Get to start liquids at 8. Who knew I would look forward so much to a dosing cup of Water? !?!

My nurse told me at my pre-surgery appointment that it is common to not lose weight the first week and some people even gain a little. She said some of the reasons are that they pump you full of fluids at the hospital and some people retain it, and also your body has gone through a shock with the surgery and needs time to adjust. Every body is different. She gave me an example of one woman who had gained two pounds at her first week appointment and than was down 22 lbs at her 2nd week appointment, having not done anything different.
I am in my first week after surgery and have decided to stay off the scale this week and just focus on following all the post op instructions and healing. Take good care of yourself and everything will balance out!

Eat lean Protein first and then veggies. This will fill you up and regulate your insulin response so you are not seeking Snacks. Eat low carb. Bad carbs will spike your insulin response. Good carbs should be introduced only when you can be responsible with them. For example, I waited until month 5 in order to focus on weight loss without road blocks along the way. You may want to wait until you have a good momentum of success before trying to eat carbs in order to make eating healthy easier. Make a pact with yourself that losing weight and getting healthy is a way higher priority then eating junk. Reward yourself when you meet key milestones with non food something. Try and meet the bariatric goals of 80 g of protein and 64 oz of Water or more. Focus on more. Get out and do some kind of exercise every day, even if you just walk for X distance or Y amount of time. Always remember where you came from and where you are going. Do not let anything deter you from success. Take responsibility for your success. It is hard work. Be real with it. You can do it!!

Im Tomorrow...Finally!

Would be happy to be there for you! Sent you a friend request - I think our surgeries are just a day apart

Would be happy to be there for you! Sent you a friend request - I think our surgeries are just a day apart

I was fine, excited, laughing. Could not wait to start my new life...I asked the surgeon to get the show on the road and he smiled and said you heard the lady lets get this done.....
I think that the way you feel is the most common way and the way I felt was not.....I spent 5 months in the hospital with complications with the sleeve after my in a hurry to get sleeved moments.....
I am not sad or do I regret any of it....Most of my friends think that because I was so sick that my stomach shrank and so they don't expect me to eat much...I have not told them any difference.....
Today went wit ha bunch for fish and chips at a friends house.. I ate few bites and sat there and carried on a conversation with everyone..No one noticed that I did not eat everything on my plate...It felt so normal for me now...It is the pleasure of the company I seek now, not the food!! That's true for me and it will be the same for you!!!!

Thank you Beach Lover!
Oct21, my doc said I will probably be off 1 to 3 weeks, all depends on pain level. Hoping all goes well and will be back to work after 2 weeks. Wishing you the best for Monday and will look forward to checking in with you after surgery is over.

Good luck to all of you!! I wish you all a fantastic uneventful recovery!!

People shouldn't be asking about my personal medical procedures, so I shouldn't have to "lie" about anything. I didn't tell anyone, aside from husband, and 10+ months later it's still that way. It's no one's business. I think the real issue here is that we are considered the "liars" for not divulging our surgical plans, while the person who asks us about them is not scrutinized in the least. It's so not an appropriate thing to ask! They are the ones out of line, not us!
I also want to address a common statement I see on posts like these. Those who feel comfortable telling everyone, say they do it because they're not ashamed. I don't share because I'm ashamed. I'm just a private person.

I wish I had changed my extended release meds to the different ones three months before surgery so that it was done, and not had the change happening at the same time as surgery.
I wish that I had realized that "no swallowing any pills bigger than an m&m" translated into a 1 hr delay between pills for the first few weeks (I can take a bunch at a time now, five months out)
I wish that I had practiced eating slowly more. Put the fork down between bites! Learning the hard way sucks.
I wish that I had realized how hard it would be mentally to accept that the person in the mirror, 100 lbs skinnier, is still me. I don't recognize her. The mental part of the surgery is vastly under-acknowledged and the prep / post specialized care for it (body image, confidence, etc) is lacking. I think we all could benefit from more help. Don't be afraid to ask for it.

I was sleeved 6 mo. ago. I have lost about 110 lbs since 1/1/13. I was a big guy like you and had post op concerns about losing a lifestyle. Well, you do....your fat lifestyle .
I still go out and eat whatever I want,just less of it. It's really not that big a deal now. I don't drink beer or anything with carbination but i'll enjoy a cocktail. You will just know when that full feeling is coming and you stop. The only thing you won't stop is enjoying your new svelt you. I just ran a 5K and back in January I could barely make it up a flight of stairs. I went from 3X to now XL. Just get thru the first couple months of the adjustment with your smaller stomach then it's nothing but blue skies ahead. Good Luck! It will be all good my man.

Amen. I totally understand when people who were relatively lightweights without a lot of comorbidities regret surgery and say that life was better before. Or when someone has complications that they're dealing with. Life may have been better before... But for those of us way up in the 300s or who already have serious comorbidities, then the risks of surgery are WORTH it to us. This is not a cosmetic procedure simply because we don't like being fat, this is giving us our lives BACK! I'm six months out and haven't felt this good in 20 years. Having the surgery has helped me stick with my wheat free diet so my body is free of inflammation for the first time in decades. I have minimal knee pain now, the joint pain in my hands is completely gone. Miraculously my thyroid function has returned to normal (this is VERY uncommon so I don't want anyone thinking that their thyroid will normalize due to diet change/surgery) I can ride a bike... I even fell off my bike a couple of days ago and the only thing that got injured was my pride! I couldn't imagine the pain and injury falling off my bike at 360 pounds would have caused. I am experiencing an extremely positive outcome from this surgery. I recognize that not everyone has this same outcome, but I took the risk because the alternative was for me a 100% certainty that I would continue to live in misery.

Congratulations! Glad you are doing well. You give me hope, I go for surgery on Monday and can't wait to be on the other side like you are!

My surgery is scheduled for Monday too and I thought I would be getting more nervous as it got closer, but actually feeling more sure about it than ever thanks to reading all the great stories here and advice from great people like cindymg. Thank you!

My surgery is scheduled for Monday too and I thought I would be getting more nervous as it got closer, but actually feeling more sure about it than ever thanks to reading all the great stories here and advice from great people like cindymg. Thank you!

The nervous laugh....The what ifs and might and could happen is not really there now...you know everything is a risk....Having your teeth cleaned can cause you to bleed to death..Sounds strange but I heard of a guy.....
Anyway...good that you have questions and it is also good that you are nervous..
For me it got to the point where I was no longer active..I was the living dead...What was the point of that I thought and I went head long into surgery with a smile on my face the size of a football field...I had the risks and I paid a huge price for this surgery...
But it has been worth all the struggles for me...I am living now! I really am!!!
If you are at that point that there is no other option for you...Then you have a choice to make for your health and your future.....It's all up to you..K
Oh as a side note..almost everyone has buyers remorse at some point in this journey...Mine came when I went septic...
Now no more buyers remorse for me no matter what happens now..I am in a win, win situation with my life....