The Candidate

I have been very happy with my choice of bypass. I was only pre diabetic but that is no longer an issue. My blood pressure is perfect now, along with all my other vitals. My plantar fasciitis in both feet took a few months to disappear, but now it no longer plagues me. Every step used to be agony. That alone was worth it! I'm 55, at my goal weight, and feel better than I did in my 20's. I have zero regrets and I think you'll be equally pleased with your results! Welcome and best of luck!

Taste and preference are very subjective, but the only shake I've found palatable, both as a pre op and as a post op, is Premier Protein. These are the ready made ones, although I tried every powder under the sun, the texture just wasn't working for me. A lot of companies have sample packs available so you might want to start with that. But keep in mind that your taste buds might change after surgery, so don't overstock.

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. It's always especially heartbreaking whenever you are directly touched by the possibility that exists with every surgery, that of a devastating complication. My father died from a surgery complication in 2000, and that horrible experience weighed heavily on my ultimate decision to go through with WLS. I worried too about putting my family through the possibility as well. I did a lot of soul searching and talked with my family members one on one to make them understand why this was so important to me, even though we all knew firsthand that something could go terribly wrong. The day of my surgery I had zero doubts. So if you have doubts, postponing your surgery was the best thing you could do. Take as much time as you need to reconcile the decision within your own heart and mind. There is no right or wrong here, only what is best for you personally. Don't go through with the surgery until you are 100% sure, either way. My thoughts are with you during this difficult time.

This is very normal and you'll more than likely have more of the same as you go along. It happened to me many times. WLS doesn't follow a straight line, as much like life, there are dips and curves, and sometimes backtracks along the way. Keep your eye on the goal, stay true to your surgeon's instructions, and you will get there. Good luck!

Amazing is definitely the right description for how you look too! Congrats!

I definitely went through a prolonged period where food lost its appeal. Bland and unexciting. At the time I was a bit concerned too, but now in retrospect, I view it as a plus. It was something that helped me, along with feeling full for the first time in my life, kick a lot of unhealthy eating habits for good. It didn't last forever, and I doubt yours will either, although some of my tastes in food never returned, like eating meat - I still have no desire for it at 14 months. Everything else I gave up during that golden period of weight loss, when nothing tasted good, like bread, Pasta, soda, sweets, salt and other things, I might have gone back to eventually, but being away from it for so long, I no longer crave them anymore. And to be extra safe, I don't allow them in my house. It's so amazing to finally be free of their power over me. Nothing I gave up compares to how great I feel now! ???? Hang in there!

Half of the battle for successful weight loss surgery is a positive attitude, and you've got that covered. I really liked the line about no longer needing "a wall of flesh between me and the world" - very apropos. ????

A moment worth celebrating indeed! Congrats!

Congrats and best wishes!

Nerves are definitely normal, along with alternating bouts of euphoria and second thoughts. It's all part of the journey. Welcome and best wishes as you begin yours. ????

Thank you for the information. You're absolutely right too. You can do everything right and faithfully follow all post op instructions to the tee, and still run into unforeseen complications like yours. No matter how prepared we are going in, WLS, just like any other major surgery, is a roll of the dice. Best wishes.

That's beautiful. I can just imagine how peaceful those walks must be.

I'm 14 months post op and have never had more energy. Maybe you should get your blood tested for vitamin deficiencies. Sorry didn't see that you already had that done.

Ha! Too funny! I too drew a line in the sand over the garter contraption. I went with the safety pins and lived in dire fear that at any moment they might pop open and skewer my va-ja-ja. ????

Thrilled to be in the post menopausal stage as well. The day I threw out all the period related material (pads, tampons, etc), was one of the happiest of my life. ???? At least nowadays they've improved somewhat on the convenience factor. Anyone else remember the pads that came with gauze strips on both ends? The kind that you either had to safety pin to your underwear, or use with that ridiculous little white garter belt. Now that was suffering.

Every insurance is different but after the requirements were satisfied another two weeks passed before the scheduler called. And then the surgery wasn't for another month after that due to the surgeon's busy schedule. Good luck!

Now that's the kind of word cloud worth it's weight in gold. Congrats!

Unfortunately there are no mile markers along the route of this race. Your body makes the final decisions on how fast or slow the weight will come off. Just keep following your surgeon's instructions and you will get there eventually. And for what it's worth - for every post out there from people who lose the weight quickly, there are probably an equal amount who lose slowly. The ones who lose slowly though might not post as much. But I guarantee that they're out there. I had my surgery at the exact same time as three of my classmates during my approval process. We were all on the same floor and even had the same surgeon. And guess what - all of us didn't lose the same amount of weight at the same time. You're going to have stalls and maybe even some gains as you go along, and it's all very common. Hang in there and best of luck!

I'm in the same boat, Lisa. I'm hoping to get mine done next year, but it'll be tight coming up with that kind of cash in one lump sum. WLS and it's related expenses gives us a whole new perspective on having to wait patiently. But still, I count myself extremely lucky that I was able to have the RNY for a total of $250.

You're doing amazing! Big difference! Congrats!

I'll start clearing your spot. ???? I remember distantly how amazing it was to get that date - congrats!

Our new systems can be a bit touchy sometimes. ???? You look great!

Oh wow! That is a major change. You look beautiful! Congrats!

I'm so excited for you - you will never forget this day, I promise. We're saving you a seat on the loser's bench.

@@Daisee68 No one is immune to regain, and we all have to keep reminding ourselves of this fact daily. It's very easy to get swept away by the overwhelming euphoria of major weight loss. We are all here for each other so there is no need for guilt. You've come so far and achieved so much. You're intuitive enough too to recognize that you might have slightly strayed off path, and you're already taking corrective measures. That's fantastic! And I don't think it's strange at all to worry about getting too thin. That is another one of those cross addictions we've all heard about. It happens all too frequently. Best of luck!