GreenEyes604

@@slothritis I am 9 weeks post op and I do have RA. My rheumatologist allowed me to stop all my RA medications 2 weeks pre op, and resume them 2 weeks post op. She also told me that if I were to experience any flares during the time that I was off my meds, that I could come into the office and there is a long lasting injection that she could give me that would calm the flares and get me through until I could resume my meds.
As for the benefits of this surgery to my RA, I can't say anything bad about it. I have lost a total of 67 pounds since I started my weight loss journey, and my joints are so much happier. Especially my knees and feet. Not carrying around so much weight, and relieving pressure on my joints, has been a blessing in itself. There are issues that I'm still struggling with in regard to the sleeve surgery, (difficulty getting required Protein and liquids, and horrible stomach spasms), but this surgery has been a true blessing for my RA, and I would do it again without a second thought.

What screws us up most in life is the picture we have in our head of how things are supposed to be. Sounds to me sweetheart like it's time for you to get out your camera and take a new picture.

55 years young here... had my surgery December 12, 2014.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, OH... Currently living in Silver Spring, MD

Born and raised in Cincinnati, OH... Currently living in Silver Spring, MD

People kept telling me that I was losing weight, but when I looked in the mirror I couldn't see it. A good friend of mine told me when I started my journey to be sure to take tons and tons of pictures, and whenever I needed motivation to put an old one and a recent one side by side.
So a couple of days ago I did just that, and boy oh boy was I shocked! I still have a long way to go, but at least I can see progress!

What screws us up most in life is the picture we have in our head of how things are supposed to be. Sounds to me sweetheart like it's time for you to get out your camera and take a new picture.

If I were you I wouldn't even buy a scale right now. You will get weighed everytime you go see your doctor. Don't become a slave to a scale. You will experience stalls along your journey, and during those times you will become frustrated because you're not seeing the weight loss you expect if you're constantly weighing yourself. I'm one of those people that weighs herself everytime I go to the bathroom, (my scale sits right next to my toilet). Fortunately for me I'm not really bothered by what the scale says, but there are certainly a lot of people that are.
I'm going through a stall right now, and everytime I get on the scale I just ask myself will today be the day I break my stall or will I see the same thing tomorrow. I'm actually getting excited about when my stall will break.
Yeah, I'm kinda weird like that

Good morning,

We have created a group on Facebook called “VSG Mentors – Paying It Forward. We are a small group of both male and females who all met here on Bariatric Pal and had our surgeries in December 2014. We have supported each other through our journey, and have now decided to share our ups and downs with others who are just beginning their journey.

Our group is a Facebook “Secret” group which means that no one other than the people in the group can see your posts, and no one can even find the group if they were to do a search. This way you are guaranteed to be complete concealed from anyone not in the group.

So, if you are looking for a small group to join of caring people who have already been through what you are about to experience, please send me a private message, along with your email address, and I will send you an invitation to our secret group.

Michelle Missy Jasper aka GreenEyes604

Born and raised in Cincinnati, OH... Currently living in Silver Spring, MD

@@bellabloom ... congrats to you, woman.
And to others who've shared their stories here, thank you. Some amazing stuff was said in this thread.

I did it. Sent him a text. I don't think he deserves a phone call.
Here is what I said:
"I'm sorry this is in a text message but I'm not good at putting my thoughts into words when speaking.
There are other things, such as me getting physically hurt around you twice now due to your drinking. That's a big huge deal!!!! I don't feel safe in your company. You really really hurt me twice now.
But what it really comes down to is that whenever I try to talk to you about my life either currently or in the past, you never fail to turn the conversation back to yourself. I feel totally unheard. You don't engage or ask me questions about my life or show interest in really knowing me. You are totally tuned into yourself.
You show no consideration for me. For example keeping the tv on until 2 am when I am clearly tired from working and still choosing to stay with you. Not a partner I want to be with.
And words of love mean nothing without real intimacy or care.
This has bothered me about you since day one. I have been on the fence about being with you for a long time because of these things.
Couple it with your drinking cracking 6am beers and I am just done.
I only wish you well and good luck. But for me it's goodbye."
And that's done. Thank you me. Thank you me and everyone who has written to me!!!! I do have self love.

I don't smoke but I do know that my surgeon would not operate on anyone that had smoked 6 months prior to surgery. She also required a nicotine and blood test just prior to surgery. She told me that she has actually refused to do surgery on a couple of her patients the day of surgery because they tested positive.
I would definitely be sure to discuss this with your surgeon. I'm sure you wouldn't want to find out that they wouldn't operate the day of your surgery. I can't even imagine what that would be like.
Best of luck to you along this journey!

I don't smoke but I do know that my surgeon would not operate on anyone that had smoked 6 months prior to surgery. She also required a nicotine and blood test just prior to surgery. She told me that she has actually refused to do surgery on a couple of her patients the day of surgery because they tested positive.
I would definitely be sure to discuss this with your surgeon. I'm sure you wouldn't want to find out that they wouldn't operate the day of your surgery. I can't even imagine what that would be like.
Best of luck to you along this journey!

@@bellabloom I'm going to say to you the exact same thing that my very best friend in the entire world told me when I was in an absolutely horrible relationship with my ex-husband #2.
She would say to me, "Michelle, I'm not going to tell you what you SHOULD or NEED to do, but what I'm going to do is give you all the information that you need to make an intelligent decision on your own, and when you have had enough, you will do something about it, and not a minute before".
Truer words have never been spoken. Everyone can give you advise on what you need to do, but NO ONE knows what you are dealing with. The only thing they know is what they have gone through, and what they have experienced, and what they did about it. I'm not saying that some situations are not pretty much the same, but how each and everyone of us deals with them is a different story.
From reading all of your posts it may not be clear to you yet, but it is very clear to me that you already know what you need to do. Putting it into action will be the toughest part. But trust me when I say to you that no matter what ANYONE says to you, you will not do anything about it until you have had ENOUGH, and only you will know when that time comes.
I too knew a very long time before I actually did something about it that I need to get out of that relationship. But for me walking away from the relationship would cause me to label myself as a failure, and I didn't want that. The day finally came, just as my best friend had told me, I had endured ENOUGH, and I told him he had to get out and I wanted a divorce that day!
My suggestion at this point to you is to reread everything that you have posted, and then give yourself the same advise that you would give your best friend, your daughter, or anyone else that you loved and cared about. If you are honest with yourself, you already know what your decision needs to be, and the action you need to take. You just haven't reached the point yet where you have HAD ENOUGH!
I pray that you come to a decision that you can live with and is good for you and your children. Just remember this... Is the situation that you are currently in, the one that you want your children to grow up in and believe and replicate, believing that it is how 2 people that love and care about each other are supposed to behave.

@@bellabloom I'm going to say to you the exact same thing that my very best friend in the entire world told me when I was in an absolutely horrible relationship with my ex-husband #2.
She would say to me, "Michelle, I'm not going to tell you what you SHOULD or NEED to do, but what I'm going to do is give you all the information that you need to make an intelligent decision on your own, and when you have had enough, you will do something about it, and not a minute before".
Truer words have never been spoken. Everyone can give you advise on what you need to do, but NO ONE knows what you are dealing with. The only thing they know is what they have gone through, and what they have experienced, and what they did about it. I'm not saying that some situations are not pretty much the same, but how each and everyone of us deals with them is a different story.
From reading all of your posts it may not be clear to you yet, but it is very clear to me that you already know what you need to do. Putting it into action will be the toughest part. But trust me when I say to you that no matter what ANYONE says to you, you will not do anything about it until you have had ENOUGH, and only you will know when that time comes.
I too knew a very long time before I actually did something about it that I need to get out of that relationship. But for me walking away from the relationship would cause me to label myself as a failure, and I didn't want that. The day finally came, just as my best friend had told me, I had endured ENOUGH, and I told him he had to get out and I wanted a divorce that day!
My suggestion at this point to you is to reread everything that you have posted, and then give yourself the same advise that you would give your best friend, your daughter, or anyone else that you loved and cared about. If you are honest with yourself, you already know what your decision needs to be, and the action you need to take. You just haven't reached the point yet where you have HAD ENOUGH!
I pray that you come to a decision that you can live with and is good for you and your children. Just remember this... Is the situation that you are currently in, the one that you want your children to grow up in and believe and replicate, believing that it is how 2 people that love and care about each other are supposed to behave.

@@bellabloom I'm going to say to you the exact same thing that my very best friend in the entire world told me when I was in an absolutely horrible relationship with my ex-husband #2.
She would say to me, "Michelle, I'm not going to tell you what you SHOULD or NEED to do, but what I'm going to do is give you all the information that you need to make an intelligent decision on your own, and when you have had enough, you will do something about it, and not a minute before".
Truer words have never been spoken. Everyone can give you advise on what you need to do, but NO ONE knows what you are dealing with. The only thing they know is what they have gone through, and what they have experienced, and what they did about it. I'm not saying that some situations are not pretty much the same, but how each and everyone of us deals with them is a different story.
From reading all of your posts it may not be clear to you yet, but it is very clear to me that you already know what you need to do. Putting it into action will be the toughest part. But trust me when I say to you that no matter what ANYONE says to you, you will not do anything about it until you have had ENOUGH, and only you will know when that time comes.
I too knew a very long time before I actually did something about it that I need to get out of that relationship. But for me walking away from the relationship would cause me to label myself as a failure, and I didn't want that. The day finally came, just as my best friend had told me, I had endured ENOUGH, and I told him he had to get out and I wanted a divorce that day!
My suggestion at this point to you is to reread everything that you have posted, and then give yourself the same advise that you would give your best friend, your daughter, or anyone else that you loved and cared about. If you are honest with yourself, you already know what your decision needs to be, and the action you need to take. You just haven't reached the point yet where you have HAD ENOUGH!
I pray that you come to a decision that you can live with and is good for you and your children. Just remember this... Is the situation that you are currently in, the one that you want your children to grow up in and believe and replicate, believing that it is how 2 people that love and care about each other are supposed to behave.

I've had enough. Ending it tomorrow.

@@bellabloom I'm going to say to you the exact same thing that my very best friend in the entire world told me when I was in an absolutely horrible relationship with my ex-husband #2.
She would say to me, "Michelle, I'm not going to tell you what you SHOULD or NEED to do, but what I'm going to do is give you all the information that you need to make an intelligent decision on your own, and when you have had enough, you will do something about it, and not a minute before".
Truer words have never been spoken. Everyone can give you advise on what you need to do, but NO ONE knows what you are dealing with. The only thing they know is what they have gone through, and what they have experienced, and what they did about it. I'm not saying that some situations are not pretty much the same, but how each and everyone of us deals with them is a different story.
From reading all of your posts it may not be clear to you yet, but it is very clear to me that you already know what you need to do. Putting it into action will be the toughest part. But trust me when I say to you that no matter what ANYONE says to you, you will not do anything about it until you have had ENOUGH, and only you will know when that time comes.
I too knew a very long time before I actually did something about it that I need to get out of that relationship. But for me walking away from the relationship would cause me to label myself as a failure, and I didn't want that. The day finally came, just as my best friend had told me, I had endured ENOUGH, and I told him he had to get out and I wanted a divorce that day!
My suggestion at this point to you is to reread everything that you have posted, and then give yourself the same advise that you would give your best friend, your daughter, or anyone else that you loved and cared about. If you are honest with yourself, you already know what your decision needs to be, and the action you need to take. You just haven't reached the point yet where you have HAD ENOUGH!
I pray that you come to a decision that you can live with and is good for you and your children. Just remember this... Is the situation that you are currently in, the one that you want your children to grow up in and believe and replicate, believing that it is how 2 people that love and care about each other are supposed to behave.

@@bellabloom I'm going to say to you the exact same thing that my very best friend in the entire world told me when I was in an absolutely horrible relationship with my ex-husband #2.
She would say to me, "Michelle, I'm not going to tell you what you SHOULD or NEED to do, but what I'm going to do is give you all the information that you need to make an intelligent decision on your own, and when you have had enough, you will do something about it, and not a minute before".
Truer words have never been spoken. Everyone can give you advise on what you need to do, but NO ONE knows what you are dealing with. The only thing they know is what they have gone through, and what they have experienced, and what they did about it. I'm not saying that some situations are not pretty much the same, but how each and everyone of us deals with them is a different story.
From reading all of your posts it may not be clear to you yet, but it is very clear to me that you already know what you need to do. Putting it into action will be the toughest part. But trust me when I say to you that no matter what ANYONE says to you, you will not do anything about it until you have had ENOUGH, and only you will know when that time comes.
I too knew a very long time before I actually did something about it that I need to get out of that relationship. But for me walking away from the relationship would cause me to label myself as a failure, and I didn't want that. The day finally came, just as my best friend had told me, I had endured ENOUGH, and I told him he had to get out and I wanted a divorce that day!
My suggestion at this point to you is to reread everything that you have posted, and then give yourself the same advise that you would give your best friend, your daughter, or anyone else that you loved and cared about. If you are honest with yourself, you already know what your decision needs to be, and the action you need to take. You just haven't reached the point yet where you have HAD ENOUGH!
I pray that you come to a decision that you can live with and is good for you and your children. Just remember this... Is the situation that you are currently in, the one that you want your children to grow up in and believe and replicate, believing that it is how 2 people that love and care about each other are supposed to behave.

@@bellabloom I'm going to say to you the exact same thing that my very best friend in the entire world told me when I was in an absolutely horrible relationship with my ex-husband #2.
She would say to me, "Michelle, I'm not going to tell you what you SHOULD or NEED to do, but what I'm going to do is give you all the information that you need to make an intelligent decision on your own, and when you have had enough, you will do something about it, and not a minute before".
Truer words have never been spoken. Everyone can give you advise on what you need to do, but NO ONE knows what you are dealing with. The only thing they know is what they have gone through, and what they have experienced, and what they did about it. I'm not saying that some situations are not pretty much the same, but how each and everyone of us deals with them is a different story.
From reading all of your posts it may not be clear to you yet, but it is very clear to me that you already know what you need to do. Putting it into action will be the toughest part. But trust me when I say to you that no matter what ANYONE says to you, you will not do anything about it until you have had ENOUGH, and only you will know when that time comes.
I too knew a very long time before I actually did something about it that I need to get out of that relationship. But for me walking away from the relationship would cause me to label myself as a failure, and I didn't want that. The day finally came, just as my best friend had told me, I had endured ENOUGH, and I told him he had to get out and I wanted a divorce that day!
My suggestion at this point to you is to reread everything that you have posted, and then give yourself the same advise that you would give your best friend, your daughter, or anyone else that you loved and cared about. If you are honest with yourself, you already know what your decision needs to be, and the action you need to take. You just haven't reached the point yet where you have HAD ENOUGH!
I pray that you come to a decision that you can live with and is good for you and your children. Just remember this... Is the situation that you are currently in, the one that you want your children to grow up in and believe and replicate, believing that it is how 2 people that love and care about each other are supposed to behave.

I don't smoke but I do know that my surgeon would not operate on anyone that had smoked 6 months prior to surgery. She also required a nicotine and blood test just prior to surgery. She told me that she has actually refused to do surgery on a couple of her patients the day of surgery because they tested positive.
I would definitely be sure to discuss this with your surgeon. I'm sure you wouldn't want to find out that they wouldn't operate the day of your surgery. I can't even imagine what that would be like.
Best of luck to you along this journey!

Tag me and I will remove them. I just killed off two.

WOW... this is really interesting how many people are close to the same height and weight, but wear completely different sizes.

Currently...

Height: 5'4"
Weight: 149
Pants: Size 8 on the verge of size 6 (never in a million years would I have ever believed I'd be that small again)
Shirts: Medium