HaddocksEyes

@@elpasovet et al

you can see my before and after in my profile

don't i look cute as a button now??

DOS

12/15/2011

235 lbs

5'3

57 years OLD

sad sort

present

130 lbs

GOAL

5'3 (but standing taller )

60 years YOUNG

loving life

kathy

kathy,

i just love your positive posts. Yes, you ARE as cute as a button!!!

Heading to the hospital!!! Have to be there by 10 and surgery at 11:30!! I'm so excited!!!!

Good luck! Mine is next Monday and I am quietly freaking out.

I know you will do fine!

I am still pre-op, but the biggest mental hurdle for me was giving up pop. I wasn't sure if I would be able to survive without it. I have. I started by switching to tea to get the caffeine kick. Now I am reducing the tea and focusing on Water. It wasn't nearly as hard as I had anticipated.

YES! I've started drinking Decaf sun tea and found I really like it. Very refreshing and I don't have to wait for the carbonation to go away.

I hope it tastes like beer after surgery. That'll make it easy to never drink it again.

LOVE diet soda! The one thing I find hard to give up. Thank goodness we can have it flat.

I am with you on the beer thing - I can't stand beer. If it tastes like that to me, there won't be any soda drinking, even if it is flat.

This made me happy happy to see.

ME: day of surgery vs current

I still have some work to do, but this makes me feel amazing!!!

image.jpg

Good Lord! You look fabulous!

Congratulations!

Not really. Still have a drain hanging from my side but it is what it is!

I've been wondering how you were doing. I read about your complications - wow, stiff stuff but you've powered through it!

How are you doing now?

And I love your pictures! One of these days I will post some of mine.

Back at work today!! In the last 2 weeks that I had off I completely messed up my sleep schedule. I use to be asleep around 10 pm, but during my time off I starting staying up super late and sleeping in super late, so that mixed with back to work anxiety I didn't fall asleep until after midnight. I am a sleepy lady. And on top of that my alarm didn't go off. I just happened to wake up in time.

Weighed in and no loss, no shock there, I seem to have a pattern of no loss for 2-3 days and then the scale dips down, and I know that 3 week stall is coming up here as well. I may not weigh myself for a full week, Ah who am I kidding of course I'm going to weigh in! I haven't "eaten" my Breakfast yet since I don't like to eat this early, I'll probably have my Protein in the next 3 hours. Though my tummy is feeling a little off today. I can't quite place it...I have my 2 week post op right after work.

My co-workers decorated my desk for me, which was super sweet! Back to the grind, hope everyone is having a great day!

Your co-workers sound like a great bunch of folks. What they did was so thoughtful!

Glad to see you are doing well and thank you for coming back to update everyone on your progress. I am very impressed you are back at work two weeks after surgery. I have a desk job and was planning on being out for 4 weeks, but maybe I will not need to be out quite that long after all.

Keep up the good work. I have a feeling you will be highly successful.

Smoking has a detrimental effect on the entire family. Unless the person is fortunate enough to die some other (quick) way, smoking WILL kill them and it is a terrible, agonizing, senseless way to die. And the family has to go through that. No, you can not change anyone. Everyone must decide for themselves. But I see smoking as a very selfish habit. And his property or not, he is not entitled to expose you to toxins.

I recommend a good therapist, support group, or a pastor if that works better for you and pronto. You have a lot of stress on you and need clarity and objective guidance.

Be good to your husband but don't be a door mat. And kudos to you to facing your own problems head on!

I will say prayers for you. God bless.

Thank you for the prayers!

Yes, smoking is a selfish habit as is overeating. The funny thing is I would never say anything about him being overweight. That does not even bother me.

He has never smoked in the house or the car or anywhere around our children. We both agreed on this. He can inflict it on himself if he chooses but I will be damned if he inflicts it on my babies (lol - one of them is now 18 but you know how mothers are about their kids) or me.

I so appreciate your response.

I went years with no physical relationship with my EX and I blamed it on my weight. I felt I couldn't complain because I looked so bad. I realize now that it wasn't the issue at all. I tried talking and sometimes that doesn't work but it's a great start! In my case "talking" clarified the situation and I am good friends with my EX..but he is my EX for a reason.

I think that is a common response among women - we think its because we're not skinny and pretty.

You're super cute now!!

I don't know if "thank you" are strong enough words for how much I appreciate what you have wrote. As I read everyones comments on this blog, I see myself, my question, and my thoughts.. How many times in a life time can one actually gain and loose weight before your body just says, "I've had enough". Thank you for your words, your thoughts and your insight!

Aw, thanks.

We'll said! I've been sleeved since 2011 and although I haven't gained my weight back, I work hard at maintaining my weight.

I've heard many opinions from others, recently someone told me weight loss surgery was for lazy people. I was like really? Cause I Crossfit twice a week, swim twice a week, run two to three times a week and when I have time throw in a bike ride. So if that's lazy then I guess I'm lazy!

I can't tell you how awesome I think that is. From overweight to what I consider a superstar!

When I told my mom I was going to get surgery she just looked at me and said "your crazy, all you have to do is diet and exercise", really, wow problem solved, and an alcoholic should just stop drinking and a smoker just stop smoking. If only it were all that easy! Lets see, in my 53 years of life all but a few have been spent dieting and exercising and obsessing over my weight (0-10 were okay).

LOL - if only we were as smart as those who give us critical advice.

I have so much respect for all of you that have already undergone surgery and those of you that will be moving forward to have surgery in the months to come.

@@HaddocksEyes You are right having surgery is not the easy way out. Having surgery does not make it easier for anyone to lose weight or to keep that weight off.

Having surgery does level the playing field, that is for sure. Many of us are obese and it is beyond our "natural" control. Our bodies have grown accustom to eating a certain volume and chemical combination of food, our genes may play a role in the way we store fat and sugar and often the combination of all these factors changes the chemical make up of how our body's metabolism works.

Changing that with altering our diets for liquids and/or dieting works and we lose weight. We get on a fitness trend and we trick the body and the weight falls off. Then we go back to reality, and we stop "dieting" and we go back to living and the weight comes right back and often times with a few pounds of friends.

Having WLS means making a life style change, not going on a diet. Sure there are some "diet" rules to follow pre-op and then post-op but true success comes from making a change to the way you think about and live with food, and the way you think and feel about fitness.

WLS is not a miracle cure for obesity. It is a process that helps the individual prepare and focus on making a permanent life style change. If you are not 100% committed going into surgery it's not going to give you the results you desire. It is up to you, and it is work that will last a life time. It's a labor of love you give your self.

Diets end but life goes on

TRUE! My bariatric doctor said to me "You know, diet really is a four letter word". He's great.

Today is the day! I am leaving for the hospital in 20 minutes!

I would like to use this post as my daily update/journal for the first 30 days so everyone can see what it is like for me!

I'll be back in a couple hours with my first post-op update!!

I'm over the moon excited and just ready to have this done.

M-O-O-N, that spells "success".

(Couldn't resist throwing a little Stephen King reference out there)

GOOD LUCK!

I had weight loss surgery, the gastric sleeve, in August of 2011. Here is what led to my decision.

My weight had always been a struggle for me. I was “chubby” when I was a kid and in my teenage years I was thin, but not skinny enough. As an adult I joined a gym and started to work out and I loved it. I still felt that I wasn’t skinny enough, but I was able maintain my weight for years with exercise.

Eventually life happens and I gained weight, a lot of weight. I was later was diagnosed with pre diabetes and depression. So my life, for many years, went something like this: try fad diet, work out, lose no weight, stop working out, and turn to food for comfort. I tried everything, Adkins, South Beach Diet, Weight Watchers, a shake diet, etc. Some worked and I lost weight but eventually I gained it all back.

I also exercised; I signed up boot camps, I took some spin classes, and even gave Crossfit a try. Cycling however, was my favorite form of exercise and I felt like I was good at it. So good that in 2011 signed up for the MS150, a bike ride from Houston to Austin. Unfortunately I didn't make it to Austin. I trained a lot for it and was frustrated that I failed. Around this time I began to have gall bladder issues and my blood pressure began to go up. This is when I made the decision to have weight loss surgery.

Since my surgery, I've completed 8 sprint triathlons and 8 half marathons. I completed my first marathon, the Chevron Houston Marathon, this year and I'm training for it again. Along with my current training I've started Crossfit. I don't exercise to lose weight anymore; I exercise to be a better athlete.

If your interested in following my training for my 2nd marathon please go to my blog. Here is the link: www.julissaschultz.com

I love your site! That picture of your husband wearing a "I love hot moms" shirt is hilarious!!!

Congrats! And let the haters hate - regardless of how you lost weight, you LOST it and are maintaining a kick-ass lifestyle! That's what counts.

So I have been thinking about this for a while now. Prior to accepting the fact that I need bariatric surgery, I was of the mindset that surgery was the "easy way out". Yes, a 140 pounds overweight person thought this - a traitor in your midst!! JK. As I started this process, during orientation I had thoughts like "I can lose weight, I've done it before and I can do it again, so why am I here" and "I don't have any serious co-morbities so why am I here?" Then, after more thought I came to the conclusion that I have been overweight for most of my life, so if I could have/would have done it, I wouldn't be even contemplating such things. If I stay the way I am I WILL develop serious co-morbidities - it's not a question of "IF" it's a question of "WHEN".

Now that I have accepted this to be fact, I am starting to look around at other people who have lost weight, whether they are a celebrity or just someone I know or someone who has put themselves out there on the internet. I came to the revelation that no one I know that had significant weight to lose has (1) lost all of their weight or (2) kept it off. The results of those people on the web are mixed, but I admit, I have not done a thorough search for really obese people that have chronicled their weight lose through a blog. Back in 2007-2008 I became familiar with David Smith (through his BodySpace blog) on Bodybuildingdotcom before he was famous for losing like 400 pounds with the help of Chris Powell (from Extreme Weight Loss fame). In fact, that is how Chris became famous, because of David. A few years after his tremendous success, David eventually gained about 300-350 pounds back and is now trying to get back to his lowest weight. I sincerely wish him the best of luck - I had a chance to PM him a few times through his BodySpace blog and he seems like a really nice guy. Check out his Facebook page if you are curious - it's David Ellmore Smith.

My former gynecologist is overweight and has been for the entire time I have known her, which is about 14 years. A few years ago, she went on a liquid diet and lost like 100 or so pounds. I gave her a nickname "skinny" and we'd joke about it whenever I came in for an appointment. Unfortunately, she has gained back almost all she has lost and is morbidly obese again. She was always down on bariatric surgery - she felt it was too invasive. When I saw that she had gained back the weight, I felt sad for her and then thought, "if my own doctor can't keep it off with her advanced knowledge of the body and how it works, what hope is there for me?"

Yesterday, I got wind of the whole Star Jones/Mo'nique controversy where supposedly Star said that there was no way that Mo'nique lost weight without surgery..bla..bla...bla. Turns out Star never said that but you know how the media loves controversy. What surprised me was Mo'nique's response that she had lost it through hard work and sweat and sent a message to other big women that they didn't have to resort to surgery. She said during an interview:

"I tweet every morning about my workouts because I want women to see – especially us big women – that you don’t have to let them cut you and suck it out, you don’t have to let them staple you up, you don’t have to let them give you a pill, you don’t have to let them put a band around your organs,” Mo’Nique said in an interview."

I thought it was interesting that she framed the issue in terms of women being "made" to have surgery, or take pills, as if they don't have a choice whether or not to have a bariatric procedure. Her comment appear to propogate a victim mentality to make it seem like what she is doing is so much more fabulous than merely losing weight - she is this extraordinary woman fighting against some invisible villian by losing the weight through traditional methods. In approaching the issue this way she demonizes bariatric surgery at the same time. So that got me thinking - why do we see bariatric surgery as the "unnatural" or the "bad" way to lose weight? It's really not true at all.

Losing weight can be done by anyone - everyone on this site and other sites like it have lost weight. The issue is KEEPING IT OFF and changing to behaviors that support healthy habits and a healthy body weight.

Why does it matter HOW someone loses weight? I would argue that it DOESN'T.

1. The person that loses weight through diet and exercises uses the diet and exercise as a TOOL to be healthy and achieve their goal

2. The person that uses the surgery and diet uses these as a TOOL to be healthy and achieve their goal

3. BOTH types of people have to STRUGGLE each and every day to keep the weight off and maintain healthy habits

The difference between the two (at least from what I understand since I have not yet had the surgery) is that having surgery makes it EASIER to be successful. Two of my relatives have had bariatric surgery have both said that the surgery "levels the playing field", meaning that it is so much easier for them to be successful, post surgery, at maintaining healthy habits and keeping the weight off.

Maybe that is where this comes from, the idea that it is easier for people than before their surgery is a huge cop-out. Maybe it's jealousy on many different levels. I however, don't think that way. However someone can lose weight is great - surgery or not. It's never a cake-walk.

Yes, that is good news that they are keeping him! Thanks for coming back with an update on how he is doing. I hope he feels better soon. I am currently anemic myself, and am working hard to raise my levels before I have surgery in two weeks. They said I will need to continue supplementation after surgery because there will be blood loss from it.

Thank goodness he's a man and doesn't have to deal with a period, which would drain him even more.

Oh, I almost forgot - how are YOU doing?

ok. so maybe him not getting up and moving was legit. my bad. At our post op apt this afternoon our surgeon had me take him to the ER so they could give him fluids for dehydration, get blood work done and do ct scan. He is anemic we know that but surgeon doesn't think he'll need a transfusion. He told him that his counts were on the low side in the hospital too but that's not uncommon for sleeve patients because they can lose a lot of blood during surgery. But my husband and I feel he should have kept in in the hospital longer to make sure the count goes up. His count in the hospital was 25 and today it's 35. He is SO pale

He has to drink a huge amount of contrast, which will be impossible, in an hour and a half for the ct scan. Ya, good luck with that. There's got to be a better way.

Hopefully he will keep him overnight and run more blood work tomorrow to see how he's doing. Dr said he won't let him go home until he's feeling better. That's what we want to hear

BUT, he should have admitted him last Saturday night when I called him at 10pm to tell him he's not ok.

Yes, that is good news that they are keeping him! Thanks for coming back with an update on how he is doing. I hope he feels better soon. I am currently anemic myself, and am working hard to raise my levels before I have surgery in two weeks. They said I will need to continue supplementation after surgery because there will be blood loss from it.

Thank goodness he's a man and doesn't have to deal with a period, which would drain him even more.

Being I think the only guy on this thread what should a 54 years old guy do if his wife nolonger wants the physical part of a marrage/relationship. She is for the most part good in all other aspects, but not having sex for a year is getting old. Maybe its time for a girl friend. I feel at this point she wont mind but doesnt want to know. Hell, I dont really know what she thinks.

I had the same reaction - I feel for you!! I agree with MsMac on what she said. The older we get, sex can become more painful because of changes in our hormones. I'm not there yet since I am 41 but I have plenty of friends and relatives that are. It can also change sex drive too.

It also sounds like you guys don't talk because you mentioned that you don't know what she thinks. I know you posted the mistress comment out of sheer frustration, but it is a good indication that you may be at the end of your rope. A year is a long time to go without sex. Communication is so key to relationships.

I am sure there is far more going on behind the scenes. I hope you and her can get together and have a honest discussion about all the things that are bothering you both.

As I said in the thread, my husband and I weren't talking either so we couldn't solve anything. He was brutally honest with me and I was honest back. It's certainly a struggle, no doubt, to be able to coexist in harmony with another person who is different from you.

Almost bright him to ER the other night but called or surgeon first. He just said to drink more (he's drinking more than I am) and scripted another nausea med that has helped a little. I'm getting very frustrated with him though. All he does is lay around. I feel he HAS to MOVE, get up, be determined to do all this and feel better!!! He hasn't drank much today yet. Just lays there and sleeps. I just want to tell at him to get the hell up. He gets frustrated too because of the nausea but at this point I feel the nausea is because of the equilibrium from laying down most of the time. He HAS to fight through this!!

Sorry, but I'm just venting. Better on her than to him.

Our post op appt is this wed. And that means he has to get up, ride in the car 20 minutes and walk to the Dr office and back. After that I'm making him stay up. I've had it.

We are 11 days post op now.

Wow, sounds like you are going through a lot right now, the both of you. Please come back and let us know how you are doing, both you and him.

I can see the frustration in your posts - I am sending positive thoughts your way. I know it will get better!

Heck, you might see me coming on here in about four weeks with the same problem!

My husband got sleeved 6 days ago. He's been nauseous since coming home, even with an antinausea ear patch and ondensentron. He's told the NURSE this and she says as long as he's not vomiting it's ok.

He's drinking mostly Water as the Protein drink makes the nausea worst.

I'm recovering too from rny same day but our recoveries are much different. I am stubborn and don't let surgeries get me down. I HAVE to get better fast as we have kids. This is his second though and last one was in 94. I am really frustrated with him not forcing himself to get up and deal through the nausea. Frustrated that he didn't do extensive research and learning beforehand like I did. Frustrated that he tells me to shut up when I try to help. I'm worried he will need to be readmitted.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Is all this nausea normal for some?

This is what my doctor told me, so I think it is safe to share. he said there are three groups of people that have varying lengths of nausea. The first group has nausea for days, and then they feel better. The next group has it for weeks at a time, and then they feel better. Then there is the last group of people that have nausea for months. He said the longest time a patient of his suffered with this was four months.

I agree with the others that he should be monitored closely (which you already know, of course). I think this too shall pass and as long as he is medically monitored for complications, he should be okay.

Ok, the saddle passed the fit test and a bucking test! Had a great ride with a slight fiasco that resulted in a 4 horse pileup while trying to traverse a decrepit bridge across a boggy area. The lead horse fell through a rotten spot, freaked out, spun and head back down the three foot wide bridge, shoving me and another horse off the bridge into the bog. My horse managed to get back up on the bridge and she decided that bucking, jumping and double barrel kicking was the most effective way to get back to terra firma. We slammed into the 4th horse who fortunately, stood her ground. And I stayed in the saddle! Meanwhile, the second horse had sunk to his belly up the boggy slope. We ended up rolling him back down towards the bridge, where he was able to get back to his feet. Everyone came out unscathed.

Other than that, it was an awesome ride to a beautiful waterfall. I'm still fine tuning the rigging, but as for the drink holder, I had a Water bottle sleeve that hooks onto your belt for hiking that worked great attached to the breast collar! I sipped my Syntrax nectar Apple Ecstasy all the way up the trail.

And since I'm such a geek, here's a picture of the saddle and a shot of me and my horse after the bog incident...those are splotches of mud on my shirt.

image.jpgimage.jpg

NICE! You and Kindle look great together - and that is a beautiful saddle.

Congratulations! One of my goals is to eventually get to ride a horse. It has been over 30 years since I have ridden.

I second the congrats!

I have mini's so no riding for me - but would love to ride a regular sized horse (mmm.....gypsy vanner) once I lose the weight!

My situation is a little bit different. I am almost three months out (sleeved 5/6/14) and have been nauseous ever since. Barely eat any food and have trouble getting in my liquid requirement, everything makes me sick. I regret my decision 1 million percent due to circumstances. I am losing weight rapidly, but being sick all the time, really can't enjoy my new found weight loss. This has resulted in depression and major body fatigue as well. So, like I said, I am not typical by any means, but given the choice, knowing what I know now, I would never EVER do it again.

My doctor said that there is a small percentage of people that will suffer post-GS nausea past a month. He said that the longest he has seen anyone go is four months and he has operated on thousands of patients. I have a feeling this is going to resolve itself in short order.

When he said that I thought "just like morning sickness". I was sick for four months straight with my first child all day every day. Yeah, no fun!

i have had pretty much no regrets either. going to my uncle's pizza place last night, and not being able to order his famous stromboli was HARD, but i know that maybe eventually down the road it will be possible. i got baked cod instead, and this morning weighed in 1 lb down. this journey is hard, but you decide. having bariatric is HARD. being fat and unhealthy is HARD. pick your hard...

This is awesome - "pick your hard". Yup, I totally agree.