Angi~2014

Hello Linda,
I cannot begin to express just how much this email encouraged me! This helped me so very much. As I previously mentioned I have been excited and counting down to my surgery, which hopefully will be in July *depending on how fast the insurance stuff goes through*. The recent bump in the road was my recent findings regarding my type 2 diabetes also having traits of type 1... that truly got me fearing that it may interfere.... Hearing your story truly helped, I have many different health issues along with diabetes.... I am currently on 55units of long acting insulin twice a day, and my meal-time insulin is 30-35 units, with also using the sliding scale if/as needed. I have been on and off of metformin... *recently weened off of it as I have been having a lot of stomach issues and various doctor appointments that it would effect (by creating difficulty) Now on tuesday, I will be at st.vincents riverside for the removal of the left lobe of my thyroid as it is enlarged and concerning, so I have kept off the metformin for that too.
I am so happy to hear your and your husband's progress on your journey and I truly look forward to my days ahead.... I am truly doing this for my health, as I know that if I did not make this decision my health and life would suffer severely.
Hope you have a great week. I will talk to you soon.
Sincerely,
Angi

Hi Lisa,
I have not been on here lately.... for no particular reason. this is a great place for support.
I was notified of your post via email... and knew I wanted to reply.
I am so happy to hear of your news. Dr. Uchal did my sleeve surgery on August 4th 2014. He is a fantastic doctor. and this was the best decision of my life... I wish you the best in your journey. feel free to contact me again.... I should be able to get the message through my email.
Sincerely, Angela (Angi)

Looks like this thread died down a little. My name is Lisa and I'm living in Jacksonville Florida. I'll be using doctor Uchal in riverside. I just recently completed all meetings and I'm waiting for my advocate to submit everything for approval.

Hello. Yesterday was a rough day for me. I am choosing not to tell 'everyone' I know about my choice for surgery and have chosen just a select few to share this info with. (the ones closest to me) I am glad to have the support of my husband, but was battling with responses given by a couple of family members who I also chose to 'confide' in. I didn't expect those other family members to be 'thrilled' with the idea, because when I last thought about proceeding with surgery, I heard a lot of negatives etc.... I guess I was hoping for a bit of a positive, supportive reply when I told them that I am doing this for health reasons (as I have many major health issues).... Another difficult part of this is that I know I would have had the support of my parents if they were still here... (mom died 14 years ago, and dad died exactly 6 months ago). I began to feel 'alone' and almost second guess myself...and almost feel like I cannot do this (because I had a family member imply that to me). Bottom line is, I know deep down this is the right thing for me to do... even though it is a bit of a scary step. *sigh*
Anyway, I just wanted to share a bit... *to those who may read this, thanks for listening..*

Congratulations! This is an exciting time... best wishes on your journey... =)

Congratulations! I am 8 days post-op and sometimes it still feels 'unreal'.
This truly is one of the best choices I have made and I look forward to the days ahead! =)

Thank you ALL so very much for your words of wisdom and encouragement. It truly helps knowing that there are others who can truly relate what you are going through.... Struggles and battles in general can be rough, but when you add the battles with an anxiety disorder, it really amplifies and adds a lot more to the battle itself.... giving voice to this truly helped me.
I woke up feeling lighter and less clouded having reached out and shared this post.
Today is another NEW day and I embrace it as such... (not trying to be "dramatic", just honest in the midst of my battle with anxiety etc...) another step in this new journey..... ..I will heed the good insight and advice given too.
Sincerely, and best wishes to you all too.
Angi

Thank you ALL so very much for your words of wisdom and encouragement. It truly helps knowing that there are others who can truly relate what you are going through.... Struggles and battles in general can be rough, but when you add the battles with an anxiety disorder, it really amplifies and adds a lot more to the battle itself.... giving voice to this truly helped me.
I woke up feeling lighter and less clouded having reached out and shared this post.
Today is another NEW day and I embrace it as such... (not trying to be "dramatic", just honest in the midst of my battle with anxiety etc...) another step in this new journey..... ..I will heed the good insight and advice given too.
Sincerely, and best wishes to you all too.
Angi

Thank you both so very much. I agree this journey is so much more than weight loss, it truly is a chance for better life, and more quality of life.... which is what initially made me choose to move forward with this... I am still happy about my choice, I will continue on...
Thank you for reaching back with encouragement, it truly does help and is appreciated. =)

Just keep following your plan and the weight will come off. About the anxiety... It is normal to have more anxiety\be more emotional the first few months after surgery. As your body releases fat, it also releases the hormones and toxins stored there. It can make us a bit crazier than normal for the first few months. I know I was. Good news is, that part improves. At least for me, I've been able to give up the anti-anxiety med I took pre-op. It was prescribed to help with blood pressure and once the weight came off I didn't need BP meds or anxiety meds anymore. Celebrate your victories. You got this!

I suffer from severe anxiety and chronic depression. I worry about staying at a good weight, reasonable weight. While everyone's battles are different. This one we all have in common. We all fear regain. And or failure at this program like all the others.
But it does not have to be that way. We need to always be watchful regarding intake and put Protein first. Veggies next, fruit and last but not least carbs. Drinking our Water 64 oz and exercising as often as we can 3 times a week is balance. More then your my hero!
There will be times the scale is mean to you. But I personally found that if I did not weigh myself, only at appointments with my team I never had a regain. Or experienced a stall. I am sure they happened but I never felt them or saw them personally.
The scale is an enemy and it triggers fear and the possible anxiety of failing. I feel that it can cause us such fear that we can give up on our goals.
As long as you are following the above outlines for intake..You should lose the weight! And no doubt will. What you are doing is wasting good energy on bad. When you feel that way. Go for a walk.... As my mother used to say ' blow the stink off.' I believe negative feelings that take root in our minds stink and should be cast aside.
You got this and you have us to help you a long the way. Don't hesitate to put your feelings out there. Write them down and start to log the non-scale victories that happen to you.
It's all good! Just keep your eye on the prize and keep swimming! okay

Hi-
I think that the best thing that you can do is what you have done, reaching out on this site and asking for reassurance that you are not alone with your fears. You have already done a very brave thing, pursuing and having your surgery. Now we just stick to the guidelines set for us and we WILL have success.
I'm only about a week ahead of you, so no great expert, but it looks as if you're doing great! If you're healing well and feeling a bit better everyday, that's success! If you feel that the number on the scale is going to cause you more anxiety, I'd put the scale away and just weigh yourself once a week.
Wishing you all the best!

It is very common for anxiety to go up the first month or so after surgery since there are a lot of hormonal changes taking place. It helped me to remind myself of this fact when I would have an attack.

I didn't even know I had anxiety disorder until after I got to goal. I realize in hindsight that one of my many "uses" for overeating was quieting my anxiety. Once food no longer worked to numb that away - it got pretty awful. so, I think you are wise to take it seriously, to seek counseling or other help through this process.
Now, I seem to be quite stable and feeling pretty dang good! I have learned better coping skills...including... and here was the shocker for me... "I won't die if I feel bad sometimes!"
Anyway, best of luck to you - this is quite a journey!

I have anxiety too. I am currently taking Lexapro to help and it works! I am able to put off thoughts or categorize them so I can deal with things 1 at a time. I am determined to push all negative thoughts aside and concentrate on the positive. Do NOT be afraid to ask for help with anxiety. It is real. There are options. Journaling does help. I was told to journal...write letters to myself.....and then when I'm ready to step past those negative anxiety producing thoughts then burn the letters. Its very freeing. If you have to....write them again and again and burn/release them. Sounds silly, I was skeptical at first, but it really does bring some peace.
Final bit of advise.....stay away from the scale for a while. You had the sleeve because it has proven to take the weight off of people for years. Trust it. Trust yourself. Follow the nutritionists guidelines. No worries....its going to drop off in its own good time as long as you follow the program.
Best wishes! Hang in there!

Hi there - I'm an anxious sort myself and have many anxieties about the sleeve. I can tell you that it does get better the further I get from surgery though. I felt a huge relief after the stress of anticipating surgery, but the fear of failure has not gone away. But as I continue to lose it slowly gets better. I'm actually in a stall right now, and it's driving me a bit batty, but I'm hanging in.
Take care and keep posting about your particular anxieties. It should help

i suffer from anxiety too, and i understand what's going through your mind. you know intellectually how to handle everything, but the anxiety stops you. good for you for reaching out! this is a great place to dump your fears and worries and watch them dissolve. keep doing it if it helps!
have you thought about blogging, or journaling in some way? i've seen a few people create a thread here that they update regularly to track their progress. i find that when i have anxiety, it helps me a lot to read things i've written along the way to remind me of how far i've come. obviously you can't predict how much you will lose day to day or week to week, but you CAN be sure of how very far you've come so far.
i can't WAIT until i can say i lost 20 lbs like you have! congratulations!

Hang in there! I understand the anxiety. I used to scour these boards...looking at losses, similar stats, comparing myself to others. It drove me crazy! I would have good months and months where I found myself so disappointed.
But, I am learning along the way about moderation with mindful eating and incorporating fitness into my daily routine. Things I never did before. This journey is so much more than just weight loss. It's about finding a good, healthily balance in your life.
Like Oregondaisy said, follow the rules and you will be a success.
Hang in there...you've got this

Don't worry! You will lose weight. There is no way you can't lose weight if you follow the rules, of Protein first, veggies, then fruit and good carbs if you have room.
If you eat around your sleeve, eating candy and chips and things, that changes everything.
The first year is known as the honeymoonn period, so take advantage of it and stay away from things you know are trigger foods for you, once you are past the post op diet.

Where are all the losers who've had their surgery in August. I got my sleeve Aug. 4th. When did you get yours? I've lost 12 lbs since the operation. I'm not going to lie, after I had my surgery I thought I made a terrible mistake. I was in a lot of pain. My nurses told me I (like most men) suffered from 'BigBaby-itis'. Whatever....they didn't know my pain. Don't judge me! I loved my nurses. They made me walk every few hours no matter what I was doing. The next morning I was feeling a lot better. Matter of fact I returned to work by the end of the week. How is that for being a big baby? I'm still on a mostly liquid diet, but I don't have a problem sticking to it. I have had the most vivid dreams about food lately though. The other day I dreamt that I was at a Kenny Chesney concert and he had the most delicious looking Brisket on the jumbotron as he sanged. Your probably wondering what song was he singing while the Brisket was on the Jumbotron. I was wondering what the hell I was doing at a Kenny Chesney concert....Anyway. That it's my testimony. I would live to hear from my fellow August Sleevers.

Well, it is a relief to know that there are more of us out there. I was wondering if my doctor actually did anything, I was out on 3 mile bike ride 4days after surgery. No food or liquid issues, I just decided that my angels were working overtime.
Best wishes to everyone, continue to enjoy all the wonderful blessing you have been given.

My first 48 hours were a little rough because of nausea, but today, day 5, I went to work. Self-employed so not much choice. But felt great. Got tired about 3:30 and came home a little early. No real pain or problems. No pain meds since day 2 post-op. Thank God! 5 lbs lost too!!

No problems, here, thank God. I was revision band to sleeve 6 days ago - going back to work today. Pain meds for 2 days only because I didn't want to feel any breakthrough pain (but never did).
I can drink an 11 ounce Protein shake at one time (well, taking about an hour, lol). Get all my Water every day, since 2 days after surgery.
I haven't tried any food that will fill my sleeve yet. I will try applesauce tomorrow, but I don't expect any problems.
Yay for the boring patients! I love it when my doctor tells me I'm boring!

Sorry I didn't mean to insinuate all horror stories are bull. I should have clarified-
What I meant to say was.. The stories about someone's sisters 4th cousins uncle who had a hard time, or the ones about those who are no compliant and don't know why they feel bad...
Legitimate problems exist unfortunately, and I do feel bad for those people. They need support most of all.
I do know some drama queens though, so....

I don't think "horror stories" are bull. At all. Who would make that stuff up? I just think some people have a hard time with recovery.
Others have an easier time, but don't post as much about their journey because they're out looking for a gym, mowing the yard, planting the back forty.
That's why I love this particular thread. It balances out the reporting.