Inner Surfer Girl

I've struggled with my weight since the 2nd grade. Always been very active, but I had always comforted myself with food. Being totally honest, I'm in my 20s, so a lot of my calories came from alcohol too. I decided to have surgery when it became difficult to bend over and put on my shows because my stomach was in the way. Something small and simple, but it bothered me.
In January 2014, at the age of 28, I began the process to get my gastric sleeve surgery. I had to go through several visits with my surgeon's office and three visits at the hospital. Finally, my surgery date arrived on April 8th.
I had the gastric sleeve surgery, hiatal hernia repair and my gallbladder removed. Before going in to surgery, the anesthesiologist warned me that being young and female, the nausea caused by the anesthesia would be very rough when I woke up.
Next thing I know, I'm waking up with such debilitating nausea, I don't know how I'm going to make it. The first 6 hours were horrible because of the nausea. I didn't even want to open my mouth to talk. The only pain I felt was from the gallbladder removal. The nurse said they have to stretch a muscle really far when they remove the gallbladder and it felt like I was ripping that muscle in half every time I moved. The nurses encouraged me to walk, but I didn't until that first 6 hours of nausea passed. Then, my mom and boyfriend took turns helping me walk the halls every two hours. The toughest thing was blowing into the spirometer the tech gave me so that I wouldn't get pneumonia. It felt like I was ripping out my staples when I took deep breaths in order to blow enough air into the spirometer.
After 8 hours, they gave me juice and Water to drink and it wasn't difficult for me to drink at all. They gave me all of my antibiotics intravenously, so they only sent me home with nausea meds and the spirometer. I had picked up my prescription liquid painkillers the week before.
I ordered ready to drink bottles of clear Isopure Protein Drinks ahead of time, so I drank those, along with water the first week. I ate sugar free Popsicles and chicken broth with Cajun spices mixed into it. I alternated between taking liquid Tylenol and prescription pain meds. The most difficult part of recovery was getting in and out of bed because of the pain from the gallbladder surgery.
I was only off work for a week, but I should've taken off for two weeks. I'm a pediatric speech and feeding therapist, and I spend most of my day on the floor with infants and toddlers. My staples began to loosen and push out and get caught on my clothing. Everything was fine once the staples were removed 10 days post op.
Taking all of my chewable vitamins (multi, fish oil. B12, Calcium and D) was difficult the first month and finding Protein sources that I liked was difficult. I have only thrown up one time since having surgery because I did physical activity too quickly after eating. I had horrible diarrhea from having my gallbladder removed, but that stopped after my nurse recommended drinking an ounce of blackberry juice each morning.
Now, It's been over 5 months and I have no pain or regrets. I still take chewable Vitamins (they're absorbed better than capsules and pills) every morning. If I dont take them, I get very sluggish by midday. I drink a GNC ready-to-drink lean shake in the car on the way to work each day and I have a Quest Bar for lunch. I eat a snack after work (usually edamame or tuna) and a 4 portion of whatever I cook my boyfriend for dinner. I feel sluggish if I don't get at least 60g of protein each day. I've never had a problem with getting my liquids in, so I drink 64 oz of water and unsweet tea each day.
I walk on the treadmill or do strength training activities 3-5 times a week. I'm 5'1" and started out at 212 lbs. After 5 months, I'm down 50 lbs! My arms, legs and chin area look great. I do have some extra skin on my stomach, but it's not too terrible. My breast will need to be repaired. I was a 42D, so they're sagging and feel empty and flat. My butt isn't sagging, but it's flat too. I think squats will suffice in that area though. I used Bio Oil for the surgery scars. They've faded a lot, but can still be seen. After I'm finished having children, I'll go in for breast augmentation and a Tummy Tuck. My hair began falling out last month, but I can tell it's not falling out as much now. I know it will thicken up again and I've taken Biotin chewables for the past 4 months.
I feel like I look great in my clothes and I know I'll look great out of them one day. I've got 32 lbs left to get to my goal, and I know I can do it. Weightloss stalls some weeks, but I still lose inches. I was a size 17 to 19 in April, and I'm already down to a 9 in September. I'm getting married next April and I can't wait to see how small I'll be when its time to shop for dresses!

Duh? Call already...

Hey there! I'm Drew. My story is just beginning. I was sleeved on 6/25/14. So I'm just shy of 3 months post-op. I'm 27, 6'2" tall and weighed 334 lbs at my pre-op appointment on 6/9/14. Today I weighed 243 lbs, 91 lbs down! My journey thus far has been a blur...a struggle...but most of all...a blessing. I am a work in progress...simply a guy on his journey to be healthy, strong, and nutritionally correct.

Tonight I made zoodles ( zucchini noodles) with garlic Parmesan and marinara. Very very good!

Before my surgery I would only have Protein Shake for Breakfast or Protein Bar, early snack yogurt fat free with fruit, lunch Protein shake or protein bar,mid day snack which yogurt fat free with fruit ( fruit had to be size of tennis ball). dinner 3oz of meat any unlimited vegetables but no starchy vegetables. And if I got hungry at nite I could have any vegetables that were not starchy or fruit. And of course I could not put any butter or any fat to season food.

I totally agree 100%. I've never made it to even having room for starchy stuff. I've just prioritized to the meat and veggies. So far, so good!
Steaming veggies in for a little extra longer than normal makes them really soft too. I like to take cauliflower, mash it up and put it in my favorite red pepper Tomato Soup from costco. Then I add a scoop of unflavored Protein powder. It is good with broccoli too.

My son (28 y/o) is in the Air Force. He was deployed on the day of my surgery (missed talking to him before getting on the plane ).
He's stationed in OK, and the last time he saw me was the end of June, at his wedding. (I think I was around 210 lbs) We may have Skyped since then, can't recall, but not since surgery. He does text a lot!
Late yesterday afternoon I was closing down some app's on my iPad...noticed Skype was running and saw that he was on line. So I rang him up to say hi.
His first words were - "holy crap!". He was shocked (in a good way) by my face and neck. Really...he kept saying "I can see the tendons in your neck!", and "I keep thinking it's someone else!".
It was pretty funny. But it does drive home the fact that my appearance has changed in just a couple of months. It's hard for me to see it, but I guess my appearance is changing

I'm christian and just had surgery a week ago. I have been thinking and praying for years about this. I most definitely know that the time was a God thing. It was his time and his hands. I have trusted in him to get me to this point and will continue to trust in Him all of my days.

I am a pastor - and had weight loss surgery. While I don't share the how - I do share the weight loss. It made me healthy again. The question of how does faith interfere with the decision process to me is like asking a cancer patient if they are gonna do chemo if they are a christian. What does that have to do with it?

I am scheduled for a bypass on 10/7 my daughter, 30 wanted to know if I was going shopping before or after surgery. I told her I wasnt sure what she meant and she went on to ask if I knew what size they were making me? Making me! Lol obviously she had the wrong idea about the surgery.

I spent years using food as a comfort source. I had three children, lost the weight and then immediately put it back on plus some. I tried diets. They never worked for longer than a month or two and I always rebounded back. When I found myself forcing myself to vomit I knew that I needed to do something different. I decided in October 2013 to do the surgery (I had been researching for over a year). My husband's cousin had gotten the surgery with great success so I set up my appointments and got scheduled to do the surgery November 5th 2013. Mine wasn't a case of many health problems or inability to do physical things. I got up to 285 pounds with a bmi of 43.31. I still ran around with my kids, went swimming, climbed around on rocks, rode bikes. I had to force myself to do it though. My problems were mental health and emotional. I could not do ANYTHING without feeling embarrassed. I want to dress up... ha ha ha. I can't look pretty. I go to ride the bike and spend the whole time thinking that everyone is disgusted by the fat lady on the bike. I have problems with anxiety and depression... It was time.
I had no doubts whatsoever. I felt terrible about spending the money because it was self pay and spending $18,000 on myself is just selfish right? I was so wrong. I'll get to that later.
A week before surgery I go on the sugar free diet. Vitamins, Protein shakes, sugar free popsicles, Jello and drinks. It was a tough week. I had one bad day, Halloween. I ate a lot of candy. But even with that day I lost 13 pounds that week.
The day of surgery comes. They are doing the sleeve and repairing a hiatal hernia. I'm fine with my husband but then they wheel me back to the pre-op room and I sit there waiting for my turn ALONE. THAT's when it all hits me. Oh crap, am I doing the right thing? Could I lose the weight on my own? Is it too much money? OMG THEY'RE GOING TO CUT OFF MOST OF MY STOMACH! I managed to sift through the craziness and calm myself down. I needed this. I deserved this. Surgery comes and goes I wake up in the recovery room. They immediately start shoving cups in my face. Lovely little one ounce cups. They have about a hundred of them all stacked up. Only 8 have Water. My mission. To drink them. But the nausea! HOW can I drink them?!? They have these lovely contraptions strapped to my calves, they aren't uncomfortable, kind of comforting actually, consistently hugging my calves and they keep my legs warm. The only problem is that I can't get them off because I am SO out of it! I can barely do anything but lay curled up in the fetal position in absolute misery. I have them move the table around so I can reach the Water and I convince myself I can do this. I drink a cup. Wow... I didn't realize I could feel WORSE! I drink the nasty potassium crap they give me and that does it. I am going to throw up. I call the nurse, tell them I need the things off my legs I'm going to throw up. They don't make it in time. Now those of you who have had children know a certain amount of bladder control is lost. When I puke, I pee. That simple. So they come in the room and I am crying because it hurts to throw up and I am dry heaving because I really didn't have much in my stomach and it can't get the stuff out that it wants out. And of course I'm peeing at the same time! It's not fun walking to and from the bathroom or standing up but it's more nausea than pain. And the IV ugh I hate those things. After then next time that they didn't get there to get the things off my legs they just left them off and I would just go sit on the toilet with a puke cup in hand whenever I tried to drink anything. The surgeon was very impressed with how much I drank. I don't think he realized most of it came right back up! Getting discharged the next day was a huge relief. I was ready to get away from the never ending cups and demands that I puke drink.
The drive home was not fun with the constant stop and go. Keep in mind it wasn't pain. I actually don't remember much of any pain. It was the nausea! I should have expected it. My stomach has always been finicky. Car sickness, throwing up 8-10 times a day when pregnant, motion sickness. Should have seen it coming. I got home and slept. I was literally hiding up in my room for about 5 days. Didn't even bother going downstairs. I slept, peed, tried to drink but eventually just figured out I should just sit in the shower and try to drink in there. I would sit on the floor of the shower and forced down my liquid pain med (I liked it because it made me sleep REALLY well) and drink some water. Then I would continue to sit there as I heaved. I was supposed to take my Vitamins immediately. I couldn't stomach the chewables and my prescription Vitamin was huge. I would get into my stomach and I would feel like I had something stuck there and be even sicker. It took me the next 2 months to get up to my 3 vitamins a day. Meanwhile my stomach HATED me. Everything made me sick. Plain water made me miserable but the taste of anything sugar free was too sweet. I spent the next month living off of a maximum of 40 calories a day. I couldn't get all my vitamins in, couldn't stomach Protein Shakes and gagged on the foods I was allowed. I tried having different things but well, I gagged on most everything, or threw up. I was able to function (for short periods of time) after the first week. I would get kids off to school, cuddle with my 2 year old, pick kids up from school and then went to bed as soon as hubby got home. I would sleep until morning. I didn't get back to making it a full day until probably 3 months later. Even then I would crash hard on the weekends and often spent the whole day in bed. My husband was an angel through all of this and didn't complain once. Even when I stopped crashing on the weekends regularly I would randomly have a day I just couldn't do it. Meanwhile I STUNK. If you haven't read posts about stinking... you WILL stink at some point. My skin oozed a bitter nasty smell. No matter how much a washed, what I washed wish, how much lotion I rubbed on I STUNK to high heaven. Apparently it's a good thing, a sign that you are burning fat but it was miserable and made me feel super gross.
A lot of foods tasted different for me. I would have cravings and try to eat it and be really disappointed because it didn't taste the way I remembered it. And pretty much anything I put in would make me sick. I discovered string cheese and apple juice. They were all I wanted to eat, the only things that tasted good and didn't make me sick. Let me tell you, it makes it REALLY hard to cook dinner for your family when you know all you're going to do is reach in the fridge for a string cheese! I lost 50 pounds in the first 2 months. After that it slowed down a lot. I lost 10 pounds a month, I lost 5 pounds. Now I tend to drop unexpectedly 4 or 5 pounds, go back up 2 and float, go back down to the "lowest" sit there for a while and then it will start over again. In case that was confusing.... 9/2 I was 181. by 9/5 I was 177.5, 9/19 I'm 179 and in the next week I will probably be back down to the 177.5. I don't really watch my food a lot. Well let me rephrase that. I have accepted there are MANY foods that don't make me feel good so I don't eat them. I mostly eat string cheese and drink sugar free koolaid. I take my vitamins but Protein Shakes still don't work for me. It was emotionally hard for a while. I couldn't eat anything, much less the food I WANTED to eat. Food was my comfort and it was no longer available. It took a little adjusting but watching the weight change helped a lot.
I hoped that losing all the weight would help with my back. It did, for a while. It quickly came back with a vengeance and hurts in different ways. I started going to a chiropractor and getting massage therapy and that helps a ton but does not fix everything.
A lot of people would read this and feel overwhelmed and discouraged and think it was one of the horror stories. NOT SO. This surgery was absolutely the best decision I have ever made. It is so much more than losing weight. It is being able to run and play and be stupid and silly with my children without feeling like everyone is disgusted with me. It's being able to have my husband actually reach around my body and not be squished well beyond comfort. It's being able to twist my legs up however I want in a restaurant booth. It's feeling beautiful again and not doubting it like I did when I was younger. Honestly I feel more beautiful now than EVER before. It's being able to dress cute again and buy the clothes I like. It's not being embarrassed for being me. It is freedom.
I have lost 106 pounds in 10 months and 12 days, I am 19 pounds from my goal but I'm not sure it's really my goal anymore. I went from a tight size 20 pants to a size 12. I can now wear medium men's shirts and large women's, I used to be in a 2xl men's. My boobies for the ladies wondering. I was a 42J and am now a 38G. They are very flat, long and wide. I lost inches in places I didn't think I had inches to lose. I wish I could give you details but I lost my paper My joints don't cause me any pain now days except for my hips but it is VERY rare.
My next step it plastics. My boobs are causing a lot of neck pain so I'm hoping my insurance will cover them. I'm planning to get a reduction and then I'm going to be going in for a circumfrential lift (LBL). I have a lot of excess skin and fat in my stomach and a lot of skin on my hips. Honestly if I can take care of those things then I don't feel the need to lose even one more pound.
I don't know that I remembered to include everything but hopefully this helps SOMEONE out there.

I will be changing for the better. Because who I am now is not who I want to be. And if i dont change right now, i will never be the person i see myself as. I want to be a happy teenage girl. That wont happen until I get this surgery. I am so over weight its depressing. im 16, im young, I want to be spending my teenage years having fun, getting out, and meeting new people. But as of right now im not doing that. i hide in my room, but sometimes i do go out with my friend but i want to do more memorable things with my life before i grow up. I don’t know if its because im not a confident person or because im so insecure about the way I look. I come off as a confident but I hide a lot of my feelings. Even to the closest people in my life. I like being a low key person. I don’t like showing people who I really am because im not even comfortable in my own skin. I love clothes, jewelry, and makeup and everything girls love. But its hard shopping when you are a plus size. You only can shop in a store with plus sizes and only shop in that section, and It sucks. I want to be able to shop everywhere and anywhere with not having to worry if they go up to my size.
I hope to be getting this surgery in November. It will help me and give me confidence and help me to be that person i want to be instead of hiding who i really am. i really want to post my journey with this so i can look back on how much i have changed,

I'm the 16 year old haha. but I finally got my date for my surgery! it's November 13th. getting my date made me so excited. I have to go to so many appointments and I'm always so busy. but it's worth it and I'm so excited to start my journey!

It seems to me that the only expert opinion is that of the doctor. It scares me that so many people are encouraging others to move faster than the surgeon has directed. Oddly, making poor food choices is what put most of us in this position in the first place. But hey, what do I know?
A few bites of eggs or Beans isn't worth the risk, IMO. Real food will still exist when the doctor gives his/her ok, I'm sure.

Well let's see this summer was the first summer ever I've been able to wear cute short summer dresses and I'm 42 might not seem like a big deal to most but I felt beautiful and sexy so that alone was worth the sugery and I started dating again after 9 1/2 years.

Congrats Ken. You are doing great.I don't want to take away from your story. I will tell you about my fabulous journey you are just starting to enjoy. May 2013. Went to the Dr. For a physical. Weight. 488. BP190/120 sleep apnea. High cholesterol. Type 2 diabetes. Put on many meds. Etc. Was so ashamed of where I was. Started my 6 month insurance required program. June 15th 2013 joined the YMCA. Pool was and is my best friend. After 6 months of Dr. Visits. Psych eval. Was approved for surgery just after Thanksgiving. Got the last possible date for my surgery. Dec 26th. Merry Christmas to me.day of surgery. 423 lbs. I was ecstatic with 65 lbs. Lost. Could have been better. Surgical team was happy.fast forward today I weigh 253 lbs. Yes that is 235 lbs gone. 170 in less than 8 months. Last blood draw. A1C. 5.1 glucose average 87. Cholesterol 177. BP 126/60. No sleep apnea. Off all meds. Only have to take Vitamins. Dr. Had an app. 3.3% chance of heart disease. Added 20 yrs to my life. Where I am going with this. I still use the pool almost every day. Walk 6 plus miles a day. I can't wait for sept 26th. 9 month check up. This is n amazing journey. Oh yeah. Meet the love of my life thru this website. She had the surgery July 2013. Has lost over 140 lbs. She is my rock. What a great support system. Ken you can reach for the stars. Keep up the great work. Don't ever give up. God bless!!

I'll admit, I totally judge people on their grammar. I try not to do so out loud, but I can't help doing it in my head.

I agree with loose vs lose. The use of the wrong word/spelling drives me crazy. That said, i apologize in advance for my typos. I tend to post from my phone so don't always catch them right away.

I like to pop in on this forum and get tips, advice, provide support where I can, but it DRIVES ME CRAZY to read multiple posts where I see the following:
How much can I LOOSE?
When will I LOOSE weight?
Will eating ____ make me stop LOOSING?
:angry: :angry: :angry:
People... the word is LOSE!! LOSE LOSE LOSE LOSE LOSE LOSE!!! ACCCCKKKKK!
Ahhhhh. I feel SO much better now. Thanks for letting me get that off of my chest.

I've been lucky enough to have traveled across the US, but I have to say my (new) home state is one of my favorites. Louisiana has a mixture of all the other states stired up into one. Our food is second to none, and anything and everything is celebrated with food and drink. Hunting and fishing are excellent. New Orleans has so much culture and history, you may never want to leave. Michigan is also quite beautiful. Spend a day or two in Frankenmuth then travel north to the UP. Plenty of camping, trails, & fishing to be done.

My Grand Canyon suggestion was serious...I used to live in Florida and took an 8 day commercial raft trip down the Grand Canyon. It was so amazing, I went back to Florida, quit my job, sold my house and moved to SW Colorado. 10 years later I went back to the Grand Canyon and did an 18 day private trip, rowing my own boat that time. Truly the best vacation ever!

Its great that you will be able to support each orher. I have seen some posts from mothers and daughters on these boards so you may want to reach out to them for their experiences.
The only thing that I would suggest is that you both will need to resist the urge to compare your recovery and progress to each other too much. So many folks on these boards seem to drive themselves crazy by comparing their journeys to other people. Since you both are different ages and have different starting places you will have different experiences and results.
Best of luck to both of you!

2911, I'm right there with ya! I hope we get to follow one another's success!
Last night was a ROUGH night for me. I battled head hunger from after dinner until I finally forced myself to go to sleep-- I didn't cheat and snack, but MAN I wanted to!
I'm trying to approach this leg of the journey as an addict. I read some stuff from Overeaters Anonymous that talks about taking it ONE DAY AT A TIME. I can't commit to a lifetime of good choices, heck I can't even promise myself a week! But I CAN control myself one day at a time.
It's a start, yeah? ????

So yesterday I was at the grocery and I grabbed a hand basket thinking I was only getting a few things. A few turned into a bunch and my basket was quite heavy about halfway through the market. I hefted my basket up onto my hip (which used to be quite ample) and it slid right down my leg. Hmmm.... I tried again. And again. I seriously couldn't figure out WHY my basket didn't rest comfortably on my side like it always has. It took about 3 minutes of pondering this phenomenon before I realized I no longer have big wide cushiony hips on which to rest whatever it is I might need to carry. I seriously chortled with glee startling the produce man. HA!

Last week I had a girls' weekend away with my besties. We loaded up the luggage cart with all our stuff and I took my usual place behind the cart as the one who is designated to push it through the lobby. (I'm the only one who can be trusted not to mow innocent people down.) I couldn't budge it. I pushed and I heaved and I shoved that cart and it wouldn't move. I pulled it with all my might. Nope. One hundred plus pounds less of me wasn't going to move it no matter how hard I tried. So bizarre.
The ocean was another weird experience for me. I was a lifeguard growing up, both ocean and pool. I am a swimmer and I was even at my fattest. This summer was my first summer in 20+ years "thin". I was tossed around like a rag doll, totally off balance, barely able to gain footing because there is so much less of me. Oh, and I no longer float like I used to. In fact, I sink like a stone unless I give it a whole lotta effort. SO SO not what I'm used to.

I love the NSVs like fitting in a theater seat with my purse next to me, shopping in any store, passing by people in narrow aisles without rubbing them with my butt, etc. but some of these off the wall things really throw me off guard and it takes me a while to figure out what the heck is going on.

You?

Its great that you will be able to support each orher. I have seen some posts from mothers and daughters on these boards so you may want to reach out to them for their experiences.
The only thing that I would suggest is that you both will need to resist the urge to compare your recovery and progress to each other too much. So many folks on these boards seem to drive themselves crazy by comparing their journeys to other people. Since you both are different ages and have different starting places you will have different experiences and results.
Best of luck to both of you!