Sparklingbeauty53

Hi I just want to say to you you are in good company. You are amongst peers who have been there and done even worse lol. The important thing to remember is that every day brings with it the opportunity to start over again. You will be just fine, refocus your effort, stop beating yourself up about doing what you did, and concentrate on your purpose for being here, to have the surgery and kick start the beginning of your new life!!! You are a beautiful young lady who's ready to transform. Let it happen and if you stumble along the way we are here for you. We will support you, encourage you, and give you the boost you need to get you back on track. I pray that you will find your purpose and receive the strength needed to pave the way to a new you, God bless.

I knew in my heart this was the right thing to do for my health and today I received concrete evidence. My diabetes is normal. I was on 5 medicines including insulin before surgery. My liver enzymes are normal. I did have fatty liver evidence. My other blood tests were normal except for my cholesterol which I will accept. I am just thrilled and it is just the beginning for me! My surgery was 3/3 and I am seeing results. I can now say I am healthy and it feels great! Thank you RNY and thank you to God for this opportunity!

Hello. My name is Heather. I tried to start my WLS journey 3 years ago. I have been denied even admission to a program, much less surgery, due to my diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder. I was initially denied in 2011 due to my history of psych hospitalizations (all voluntary, where I asked for admission) for depression/Borderline resulting in suicidal thoughts. I asked for reconsideration in the last couple weeks due to my recent diagnosis of Stage 3 Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis. I was told the NASH is progressing rapidly, and unless I can get the weight off, I will have cirrhosis of my liver within 5 years. The programs I have contacted so far are now telling me that the Borderline diagnosis precludes me from surgery permanently, because "Borderlines have poor coping skills". This may be true of the general population of Borderlines, but no effort was made at speaking with me, or with my treatment team, including my psychiatrist and therapist, who have known me for more than 5 years and support me getting the surgery. I feel that my health and my very life are in danger, and I cannot lose the weight on my own. I have been to 2 different dieticians, and tried Weight Watchers. I have a problem with self-motivation and I also have a major sugar addiction. I think the Roux-en-Y will help with the sugar addiction, and there is a lot of support and encouragement within a good wls program, I have found. I have done a lot of research into the RNY over the last 3 years...books, articles, websites, YouTube videos....I am so glad to have come across this site, and hope someone can point me in the right direction!

I thought I wasn't old enough to wrinkle, haha turns out I was just fat!

Madame Rev, OMG I so wish I lived there so I could meet you and entertain you but I am in Jacksonville (don't come here LOL, ugly brown beaches IMO) - my daughter lives in Pensacola so I am there often! She is 10 minutes from Orange Beach, AL, and is 1 hour from Destin/Ft. Walton Beach. These 3 places are the most beautiful in Florida IMHO. Miami/Ft. Laud is congested and ....don't go there. The only thing to do in the areas you mention is relax and soak up sun. Sit at places like Sunset Grille in Orange Beach on the Intracoastal and yep, watch the sunset. Eat delicious seafood. Destin is high dollar big hotels/condos beautiful, white sands, so many tourists. Orange Beach/Pensacola not so high dollar,lots of condos and hotels, more laid back and casual. Blue Angels are based in Pensacola, and spectacular to see.Hire a local fisherman to take you charter fishing. Take plenty of sunscreen Brit because those white sand beaches reflect that sun. I just spent 2 weeks in Pensacola, kayaking with my daughter on Tarkin Bay, eating wonderful Wahoo (the best saltwater fish ever!), and loving life. I would love to hear where you choose!!

I used to live in Pensacola. Pensacola beach is pretty nice, with white sands and lots of stuff to do. You can either go to the gulf side if you want waves, or to the sound side, with no waves. At the end of Pensacola beach island (on the right side) is an old fort called Fort Pickens. This is a great place to explore, and has a little museum that is nice to wander through. The only downside could be going to the beach when the jellyfish are there. I'm not sure of the date, but it seems that August was the month that had a lot of jellyfish in the Water, and their stings are pretty bad.

Umm, fudge! It had been a crazy busy week. Away from home for 10 days, facilitating two training courses and speaking at an Obesity Summit, I was tired and ready to go home. Though I have a pretty good routine when I travel and stay focused on my good Success Habits, I was tempted


Umm, fudge! It had been a crazy busy week. Away from home for 10 days, facilitating two training courses and speaking at an Obesity Summit, I was tired and ready to go home. Though I have a pretty good routine when I travel and stay focused on my good Success Habits, I was tempted beyond my ability to resist, to buy a piece of fudge. Umm, I love fudge and of course the walnuts added the all important “protein.” I had kept up with my exercise and make good food choices all week, so I felt justified in splurging a bit.
As it always does, the first bite was heavenly! Smooth and creamy. So good. I relished that first bite, waited a bit and then another, and yet another. Enough! I thought. I’m good. Now I am going to mindfully throw the rest away. A difficult thing to do knowing how much I paid for it and due to all of the starving people in the world. But I knew it had to go. With Michael Jordan flair, I strutted by the trash can and slam dunked it. There! Good for me. I would have high-fived the guy next to me, but he gave me a funny look so I decided I would just Celebrate privately.
Boarding for my flight began and victoriously, I marched onto the plane. Safe from “too much” fudge. An hour passed by still on the tarmac, waiting for a mechanical repair. Finally, the captain announced that we would need to deplane and board another flight. By that time I had missed my connecting flight in Denver so I knew enough to get off the plane and get quickly in line for re-booking.
As I waited patiently in line, I don’t know why, but the thought of my left over fudge so close by started to haunt me. Though I am embarrassed to admit it, here is the conversation in my head. “This situation is beyond stressful and surely another piece of fudge would calm my nerves.” Honestly, you are not thinking of getting the fudge out of that trash bin over there are you?” Well, it is still good, it was wrapped up and in the bag.” Really?” What will people think of you digging in the trash?” “It will be right on top. Easy and there are not too many people over there, I can be quick!” Come on, seriously, you are better than this. You don’t eat food from the trash! Well I guess you are right! Thank goodness.”
Whew! That was close. It shouldn’t have even crossed my mind but it did. Why, I wonder? What is this problem I have with food? I was pleased that my good voice over ruled my temptress voice but I would have preferred not to have had that conversation at all! Perhaps you can relate?
Sometimes I find myself focusing on how unfair it is that I struggle with such unhealthy food relationships. But then, I am both relieved and proud that I have been able to win many of these battles. And every time I do – the “you can do it, you are better than that” voice gets stronger and stronger. For those of you who have heard my other crazy food stories, you’ll know how important it is when I say, I don’t eat M & M’s off the floor, whipped cream with my fingers, OR fudge from the trash! Yeah!

Hello all. I am new to this forum. I was sleeved on Feb 10th and have lost 86 pounds including the 15 pre-op. I am fine with everything and happy about the weight loss. There is one thing that is really bothering me. It is an annoying gurgling sound and feeling in my stomach that moves up through my esophagus. It does not feel like acid reflux but like gas bubbles.
I follow all the rules about eating. I eat slowly, chew well, don't overeat, don't drink 30 minutes before or after i eat, etc...i tried going back to the liquid diet as suggested by nutritionist but nothing has helped. It has stayed the same. It happens all the time. When i eat or don't eat, it has even kept me up at night.
I am including a link to where i uploaded a sample of the stomach noises i've recorded using my phone.
I have my follow up appointment on June 10th. I was wondering if anyone has dealt with this and what happened? Has it been resolved.
https://soundcloud.com/jose-m-gomez-2/sample-1

I thought I wasn't old enough to wrinkle, haha turns out I was just fat!

All good advice here! I started an art journal with thoughts, phrases, pictures of skinny looks I liked, bathing suits I liked, comments about what I was looking forward to, measurements, etc. it got me really pysched and it was a great release of energy and thoughts. I also tried tons of Protein drinks and learned what I liked or didn't like. My tastes for Protein shakes is specific and I don't like most so it is good to try samples or singles only. Enjoy the journey!

Why don't you buy 1-2 that are a size or 2 smaller than what you are now and get the extenders. That way, you can wear them now and when you go down another 2-3 inches. I bought a couple of nice bras at Soma's and bought the extenders so I can wear them now and later.
Ginger

I went shopping this weekend with my family. While in banana Republic I tried on a sweater because I was cold. (not normal for this hot momma!) and it fit. I mean looked good in the front, back, it FIT! I told my family, "I am having a moment! " I bought it too. I have never in my life owned anything from Banana Republic! What a thrill!

I knew in my heart this was the right thing to do for my health and today I received concrete evidence. My diabetes is normal. I was on 5 medicines including insulin before surgery. My liver enzymes are normal. I did have fatty liver evidence. My other blood tests were normal except for my cholesterol which I will accept. I am just thrilled and it is just the beginning for me! My surgery was 3/3 and I am seeing results. I can now say I am healthy and it feels great! Thank you RNY and thank you to God for this opportunity!

I knew in my heart this was the right thing to do for my health and today I received concrete evidence. My diabetes is normal. I was on 5 medicines including insulin before surgery. My liver enzymes are normal. I did have fatty liver evidence. My other blood tests were normal except for my cholesterol which I will accept. I am just thrilled and it is just the beginning for me! My surgery was 3/3 and I am seeing results. I can now say I am healthy and it feels great! Thank you RNY and thank you to God for this opportunity!

I went shopping this weekend with my family. While in banana Republic I tried on a sweater because I was cold. (not normal for this hot momma!) and it fit. I mean looked good in the front, back, it FIT! I told my family, "I am having a moment! " I bought it too. I have never in my life owned anything from Banana Republic! What a thrill!

I am sorry you are losing a friend in your opinion but she seems to be more of a zealot; not a friend. Your loss is our gain, come be our friend here. We are much less judgmental and we see it your way-getting healthier! If it was plastic surgery it wouldn't be covered by health insurance. Her ignorance shows. I'd count whatever she weighs as part of your weight loss! With friends like her you don't need enemies.

I am 65 years old. I am 1 year post-op. Many of my medical problems went into remission after the surgery. Although I wouldn't use the term having more energy to describe my post op state, I think the more appropriate term is more stamina. My driveway is almost 1000 feet long and this winter we had several snowstorms, so I spent most of the winter shoveling or blowing snow. And I didn't even break a sweat. I did notice that the skin on my face became more wrinkled after the surgery. My wife suggested that I use a product called Bio-Oil on my face. I went down to CVS and bought some and it seemed to do the trick. The wrinkles went away.

Hi Nancy E! looks like we're on similar timelines. I'm also on my 2nd month (of 3) on my supervised diet, hopefully looking at Jul or Aug. I'm 57 and asked myself the same questions about the ol' skin. someone said, on this board or another(?),
"nothing looks as good as healthy feels".
Amen to that!! I'm REALLY looking forward to it!

I worried about wrinkles on my face more than anything. After all, it was stretched out and smooth before, LOL!! I'm so pleased! I'm 53 and agree with all the previous posts. I'm so much more mobile and free of so many medications. It's just thrilling! All the best to you!!

Yes to what everyone has been saying. No cpap, normal sugar levels, chloresterol, bp. At 54, I feel better than I had in the last twenty years!

Thank you all so much for your encouraging words. They are just what I needed to hear and I'm sure I will come back to read them over and over. Bless you all!

I am now 62 years old....had one heart attack, resulting in Cardiac surgery.....
Lost ALL my excess weight, have a very low body fat %...in the "Fit-Athletic" range....
My skin and muscle tone has tightened (no loose skin)
I work out and run as much as possible...water and Protein daily....
Yes I'm a man and I treat myself to facials at the spa....wife and I buy packages for a discount....
I can now purchase and wear ANY clothes I wish, and can be as fashionable (or not) as I choose to be....
People - strangers...are just so much more friendly and sociable. (welcome to their club?)
I have not looked or felt this good in over 20 years....I get compliments all the time, and not just from people who know I have lost weight. People who never knew I was fat.......I look at other men my age and I can't believe what I see....
My Cardiologist refers to me as Liam Neeson...who also happens to be the same age and does his own stunts in his movies...
You can NEVER go wrong with turning your life around...only wish I did this a long time ago....

I'm 52 and everyone who has seen me says that I look younger.
I look at the before and progression picture I posted under my name and I can see I look younger too.
Since I've lost the weight I exercise 9+ miles on the stationary bicycle without being out of breath 4x a week.
I can walk longer and longer distances.
I can go up and down the stairs with less of a problem.
I'm off CPAP and most of my meds.
No more high blood pressure, no diabetes, no high cholesterol.
So don't let the doubting people in your life deter you from having this surgery because you will be so glad you did it in the long run.
Best of luck to you with your up coming surgery.

Nancy: take a moment, right now, and picture yourself 6 months post op. You would have lost a significant amount of weight. You can bend over and tie your shoes. There's a spring in your step as you walk over to the garbage pail with your bi-pap machine. Think of how vibrant you'll be. How much healthier. How much happier.
Now, take a moment and think of yourself right now. How do you feel? Do you feel old and haggard. Right now?
You're not that old, hon. And only you know if you can "do it on your own" over a longer period of time. But… something bought you here. Something triggered you to start this process for WLS. Something is motivating you to take your efforts to the next level. Reflect on those motivations. And then repeat the exercise above.
Be well…

I will be having mine on March 3. I got my approval this week!