4everbeautiful

Hi Mizzpuddinpie,
First, CONGRATS making a life changing decision! Most of us who started out on this journey have questioned ourselves. .."what was I thinking? "...but believe me your days normally gets BETTER! The pain is normal to the adjustment of the new you. Give yourself time to heal. Your eating right now should be liquids/liquids/liquids! Contact your medical team if you questions/concerns. I wish you the best!

Way to go katiejo8907!! You look great! Keep up the good work!

Not that you are doing this, but PLEASE never compare yourself to the person's before or after your surgery. At times, we can get the same mentality of when we go to the gym...When the person next to us is "running" on the treadmill and we are "walking". We can become frustrated because they can move quicker than ourselves. It gets better as the months move on. We all have our unique stories. As the saying goes, "It doesn't matter how you started, but how you finish". You are doing great!!

You look so youthful! Great pic! Keep on going!!

Great share! Congrats!

Hello everyone! I am new to this site. Our NUT told us about the app and I have been reading everyone's entries. I am excited to finally log in.... There appears to be a great deal of support and kindness in the forums! YAY! So my husband and I are on this journey together. He is scheduled on February 11 and I am scheduled 2 weeks later on February 25! We are both so excited to start our new lives, however, scared of the process/changes as well. I have been an RN for 25 years (and know too much for my own good...lol), but also realize the extra 170 lbs I'm carrying and the 250 lbs my husband is carrying is more detrimental than the surgery! My husband starts his 2 weeks of liquids Wednesday!!
Anyone else scheduled around those times? Also, we are almost 50 and 55....are there others out there who have decided to do make these changes around this time of their lives??
Wishing everyone the best and we will be available to provide support to whomever!!

Praying..be encouraged! All will be well.

I had the gastric sleeve June 18, 2014. I was very nervous when I arrived at the hospital. The nurse talked to me and then the Bariatric team talked to me, while I was given the Iv i never felt a thing. They also gave me 2 Nerve pills to help with the anxiety. I am not gonna lie to you, but you will be in pain. I tolerated it fine. The day of my surgery I weighed in at 500 lbs and now I weigh 325 lbs nd still losing. It is a hard journey, but with support from family you can achieve your goals. Good luck and prayers being sent.. My name is Samantha...

Hi folks. I've been lurking for a few months. My surgery is scheduled for 2 1/2 weeks from now.
My reasons:
I couldn't be in my brother's wedding. They don't make suits in my size. I had to stand up in the back during my sister's wedding. The chairs were too small and weak. I hate my CPAP. My dad had a health scare last year. I'm tired of getting pulled aside for "I love you, but..." lectures when the family gets together for the holidays. I've lost around 50 pounds since I got serious with my sugar-free high-Protein diet back in October, but it's already starting to stall.

@@iamblessed1225
sorry bud

DEAL WITH IT!!!!
you can't tell the weight to come off here or there
ie you can't say "no no - i don't want THAT much weight off my asssss"
but........... you can leave more of the "girls" to "hang" around
doesn't work that way
on the positive side
your skin does firm up a little after a while
the younger you are the more it probably will tighten up a "bit"
once again sorry about no more bottom to twist and turn
congrats on losing 91 lbs!!!
kathy

My surgery is on Dec 30th!!! It's almost here, and the days seem to be flying by!!! I will be toasting the New Year with my 1 fl. oz. medicine cup of Water in the hospital, lol!!! ???? ???? ???? I am excited, but nervous too. I think it's natural, as it would be before any type of major surgery. The most nerve racking thing for me is my fear of the unknown. I have always feared change, especially any big changes in my life, and this will by far be the biggest one yet. However, I am in therapy, and it helps to work on new coping skills other than eating, which up until I entered into the weight loss surgery program at Boston Medical Center almost a year ago, had been my go-to coping mechanism for any type of stress, depression or anxiety I was feeling. I have major depression and generalized anxiety disorder, so it's been tough going, but I am trying harder and improving every day. It's a process for me, and will probably never stop being one. But since I first started this weight loss surgery journey on Dec. 13, 2013, up until my pre-op appointment on Dec. 11, 2014, literally almost a year ago, I have really tried to change my way of thinking and behavior in terms of eating, and I'm proud to say it worked. I have lost 46 pounds on my own, so I'm starting to become more confident that I can handle life after surgery. ☺ ????
I would definitely appreciate LOTS of support and encouragement on this forum though, since I'm sure not every day is smooth sailing!!! Any advice or personal experiences people would share regarding their hospital stay, the day of discharge from the hospital and the first week or two at home would sure be helpful right now!!! It's coming up so fast!!! ???? ????

@kimlawson06 CONGRATS! The insurance approval is one of the biggest obstacle. As long as you follow the pre-op and post-op instructions, you will do fine.

@kimlawson06 CONGRATS! The insurance approval is one of the biggest obstacle. As long as you follow the pre-op and post-op instructions, you will do fine.

Got the call today and I'm approved! Then I panicked. Omg, I'm really gonna do this, aren't I? Yikes! But, I've been hoping and praying for this although the few people that know don't get it. I've only been overweight the last few years after having my thyroid removed but the number keeps creeping up! I want my old life back and this is my chance!!

I'm new to this... My name is Chelsea and I'm having gastric bypass surgery on the 29th. I went to support group last night and when I walked into the hospital, it all became so real. This is where this is happening. My life will change here. I'm 330 pounds right now. My goal is 180. I'm only 24 and I can't remember being under a size 14. I'm scared and excited. I'm mad and sad in a bittersweet kind of way. Sad that the girl looking back at me in the mirror, the girl I've forced myself to love no matter what will disappear.
Does anyone have any advise for settling the nerves pre op?
Thank you!

Congratulations and good luck! My only advice would be just try to stay nice and calm through the process. Don't stress!

I am having my surgery 12/12/14. I am so excited but also nervous. I know everyone is different but I'm worried about having a lot of excess skin. I need to lose 160lbs. Does anyone have any advice about this? Is this something everyone has issues with after surgery?

Happy Friday, friends!!! This week has been a really good week for compliments for me. I think everyday someone different commented on how good I look, and this is from people I never really talk to. I'm down to 218 from 275, and seriously, I haven't been this small since Junior year of HS, 11 years ago. I have a bigger belly than I did then, but I am still in much smaller sizes than I have been in a long time. The guy I'm seeing actually went to HS with me and he was there when I was going through a box of old clothes that I pulled out of storage to donate the other night and I pulled out a pair of jeans that I LOVED and thought I had gotten rid of, and he said he remembers me in those pants (cuz I looked amazing!) and they almost fit me. If they weren't a velcro close I'm sure they would have actually fit me. I was so ecstatic. I'm NSVing all over the place and I love it.
One side effect of the surgery is that your body is breaking down the fat which stores hormones and the other day I was in a dark mood for no reason. Nothing happened in my personal life or work life to cause me to be like that. I was just moody. I think it was a combination of the weight loss, my new birth control, and I was supposed to start my period around that time, but Mirena (my IUD) said no, but my guy came over and spent time with me, and perked me up. It was amazing. So just a warning, you will get moody with no apparent cause, I was warned about this before and I didn't believe it, now I know better, lol.

Hi Jason,
Thank you for sharing your inspirational story. CONGRATULATIONS!! You are on a great path of a "new" healthy life. Best to you

Hello there. I’m Dave, 44 years old, from Arizona. I will apologize in advance, this might be long!
I am 1 week post-op today, but my weight loss journey started almost 3 years ago. I knew my weight was out of control, but I had no idea how bad since I had long ago exceeded the max weight of a standard scale. I was walking out of work one night, through the warehouse. Nobody was around, so I decided to weigh myself on the shipping scale. (Hopefully I didn’t weigh more than a pallet of goods!) I was 450. I knew it would be bad, but I was shocked at that number. Definitely my “what the @#!*?” moment! I decided that night that I had to make changes, and I did. Bariatric surgery had not entered my mind at that point.
Several months after that, I had emergency surgery for a strangulated hernia. By chance, the surgeon on staff that day was Dr. Podkameni, who also happened to be the head of the bariatric center at the hospital. There were complications that resulted in an 11 day hospital stay, meaning that I saw a lot of Dr. Pod. We talked about bariatric surgery, but I told him I was already working on it and having success, and I didn’t feel like such an extreme measure was needed. The truth is, I feared that I would have to give up food the rest of my life. I was raised in a food centered family. My father was a baker by trade. He owned several cake shops throughout his life. My earliest childhood memories are playing in the back of the shop while Mom baked and Dad decorated cake after cake. Family activities centered around food. It is just how it always was, and still is. I picked up the bug at an early age. I became an excellent cook, and still to this day nothing brings me greater happiness than cooking for family and friends. It is my escape from reality. It is what I love to do.
So, over the next 2 years I worked at it. I had my ups and downs, but I managed to lose 120 pounds. Down to 330. A definite improvement, but not where I needed to be. And then I bottomed out. I hadn’t changed what I was doing, I just got to the point where it was no longer enough. I settled in at that weight, but in the back of my mind I knew I had to do more. The one thing that kept coming back to me was what Dr. Pod said on the day I was released from the hospital. Basically, I knew where to find him when I got to the point that I needed help. I did some research and decided it was time.
I had my initial consult in March of this year. I started my medically supervised weight loss, as required by my insurance. The whole process reinvigorated me. I started losing again while the bariatric center and insurance company fought about payment. After 8 months I was finally approved and scheduled for surgery on November 10th. The morning I checked into the hospital for surgery I was 299.9 pounds. I truly do not remember the last time in my life I weighed under 300 pounds.
Surgery went well, but the next few days were rough. At times I was sure I had made a huge mistake. I had extreme nausea for 3 days, including dry heaves several times a day. My pain level was much worse than I was expecting. I was unable to even come close to taking in the fluids I needed, and I am still struggling with that. But it gets better every day. I am down 12 pounds from surgery and ready to face the challenges ahead. I appreciate the information and support from the people on this site. I have no doubt now that I can finish the journey.
Thanks for reading and for sharing the adventure with me!

Ha! Good creativity with one of my favorite (childhood) songs! Continue your positiveness..this will help you through the healing process. Best to you!

Ha! Good creativity with one of my favorite (childhood) songs! Continue your positiveness..this will help you through the healing process. Best to you!

I recognise the head but not the body ... My darling niece (who is 7) and hasn't seen me for for a few months said that to her mum last night when they came to pick me up :-) best compliment I have ever gotten !
In other news I gained 2 pounds ... But ah well such is life I'm not upset :-)
I love subway btw I can eat a 3 inch sub in one sitting lol as long as it's ham not steak or the coated chicken :-)
Ohh and random I brought some new tops and some of them are a 16!!! Woohoo anyway peace out

I will have four months on the 16th and I am almost down 60 pounds

Hi Everyone!
Just joined Bariatric Pal and hope I can find support! I am female and going to a VSG Seminar next week with Dr. Glasgow in Norwood, MA. First I said, "I'm not mutilating my body just to lose weight!" but I have reached almost 300 pounds on a 5'5" frame and I'm starting to waddle, not walk. Oh it's a terrible feeling! Tell me anyone what it was like after your seminar - did you feel excited or scared? Can someone tell me how they came to the decision? I'm just fed up with binge eating at night, gaining, then losing, gaining then losing, then gaining. It's time I owned up to happiness in my life, not depression and feelings of uselessness are overtaking me. Would love to hear from you! Bonifaccia