Sharon1964

August 8, 2015, surgery day. 403 pounds.
July 8, 2016, eleven months. 229 pounds.
Wow. Just. WOW. I truly thought I would fail. Never thought I would see size 18 again.
WOW!

It's why I don't post much anymore.

Just for the record, I'm a post op newbie (RNY 6/27) and when I saw the bacon post I was completely disgusted and went to a different page. When someone does something that stupid they are NOT going to make it. Just sayin. I wouldn't waste time on stubborn newbies who don't really want help or get defensive. I listened to the good advice from this site and will be successful bc of it. Bacon? One week out? Really??!!!

Just shows you how different all of our plans are. My clear liquid was clear fruit juices diluted in half with Water. No Gatorade, no sweetened tea, no honey, no sugar, nothing like that. After the clear liquid phase, I couldn't have fruit juices any more. The point of the juice was that was all the carbs I was getting.

I was sleeved August of last year at age 51. I'm almost 11 months out now, have gone from 403 pounds to 232 pounds, and I'm doing great. The only moment of doubt I had, that I can remember anyway, is waking up in the recovery room, hearing some beeotch moaning like crazy, wishing she would shut the f*** up, and then realizing it was ME! At that moment I thought, "oh my god, what have I done". Then the morphine kicked in and I was fine.
I can't think of any regrets I have, other than wishing I had done it 20 years earlier (but hey, our experiences make us who we are). That, and I'm not happy with my deflated "parts" but I plan on plastics in the next year or so. Last weekend I went to a pool party that became a "clothing optional" event after dark. Most of the people were skinny-dipping by that point, but I just couldn't do it, not with these saggy tatas. Sad because I would have done it at 400 pounds. I felt pretty good at achieving wearing a bathing suit because my saggy thighs were threatening to cause a tsunami.

My kid told me this one today.
Where do you find a dog with no legs?
Exactly where you left him.
***************************
And another:
Why did Sarah fall off the swing?
Because she has no arms.
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Not Sarah.

Bonnie Raitt did it best:
"I Can't Make You Love Me"


Turn down the lights;
Turn down the bed.
Turn down these voices
Inside my head.

Lay down with me;
Tell me no lies.
Just hold me close;
Don't patronize.

Don't patronize me.

[Chorus:]
'Cuz I can't make you love me
If you don't.
You can't make your heart feel
Something it won't.
Here in the dark
In these final hours,
I will lay down my heart
And I'll feel the power;
But you won't.
No, you won't.
'Cuz I can't make you love me
If you don't.

I'll close my eyes,
Then I won't see
The love you don't feel
When you're holding me.

Morning will come,
And I'll do what's right;
Just give me till then
To give up this fight.

And I will give up this fight.

The bodice is far too big, and this was at the end of the night when my head was killing me. These views don't do justice to the outfit.

It's not a secret that I take an antidepressant. It took me a long time to be open about that, as my family are "just snap out of it" kind of people. My brain just doesn't handle serotonin well on its own. Without an antidepressant, everything and nothing makes me cry and I can't feel joy. With it, I feel and act, like a normal person (HEY! no comments from the peanut gallery!).
Last week at work was a week from hell. Patient almost dying in the parking lot, another patient having a psychotic break and calling constantly with delusions of grandeur and racing thoughts (and I got to take his calls), several interactions with the police regarding that same patient, dismissing two patients (one for combining alcohol with her meds on top of a positive drug test for pcp, another for increasing her meds on her own several times)... you name it, we went through it.
I take my medications (antidepressant and vitamins) after I get to work; it's part of my morning routine at the office. With all the chaos, I forgot to take them on Thursday. Then I forgot to take them on Friday. Then I went out of town on Saturday and forgot to take them.
Saturday I went to an adult, Disney-themed party. I went as Milady de Winter, the spy from The Three Musketeers that plots to kill the king of France (if you've seen Disney's version with Tim Curry, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, etc., it was the part played by Rebecca DeMornay). Years ago when I was doing Renaissance stuff, I made a beautiful Italian Renaissance green and gold gown, underdress, etc. So I wore that, and everything I was wearing I had made myself, with the exception of my shoes. Roughly half of the women at the party were wearing as little as possible. There was a costume contest, and I came in second, behind a girl dressed as Belle, in a very short dress with major cleavage. Think "adult Halloween costume" versus historically-accurate gown that you might see in a Renaissance painting.
It left me in tears, and it shouldn't have. It was clearly a cleavage contest, as a number of people expressed in surprise to me afterwards. I have no cleavage anymore. I used to fill out the bust of this dress and then some. I was able to tighten up the bodice a bit, but still no cleavage.
I couldn't believe how stupid I felt for being in tears over something like this. Something that doesn't matter. I'm usually very careful not to enter contests that are not based on skill, because I want to be judged on ability, not popularity.
Just as we were leaving the party to go back to the hotel, I got a massive headache. Great. No sexy time for me. So we're laying in bed, my head is killing me, and tears are streaming down my face, and I can't even tell him why. Thankfully, he's a patient guy and he just held me.
The next morning, I realized what had happened. I had no antidepressant on board, and it takes about two to three days for any changes to be noticeable, positive or negative. I still had a headache, but it was just kind of around the edges, not as bad as it had been. I was able to articulate to him what the problem was, and I got some gentle sexy time (which, if you know anything about me, is not my preferred "speed" ).
So I made stupid choices and got a stupid outcome. This was not my first rodeo, and I know better. I know I have to take care of myself. Uggghhhh.

The bodice is far too big, and this was at the end of the night when my head was killing me. These views don't do justice to the outfit.

What a beautiful costume. You look amazing in it. Such talent to have sewn it!!
What a week from hell you had. My hat goes off to you having the mental strength and patience to work with chronic pain patients. Hell has no fury like a pain addict not getting their meds.
Hope it's a better week.

@@Sharon1964
Both you and the dress looked beautiful. This is something that would have upset me too and I'm not on antidepressants, so either I should be or your reaction wasn't really terribly out of the norm. I can completely appreciate how frustrating it is when you put a lot of work into something, such as that dress, and the Belle with the Boobs wins. When I was in high school I was in a madrigal choir and I LOVED my dress. It was historically accurate (I think), handmade (by someone else), and the most wonderful fabric. I would be extremely upset if someone in a stupid costume beat that costume. I have dressed up for Halloween once as an adult and almost twice, and both times I was at a very normal weight, probably around 140-150ish, except both times I was in college or my mid-20's and the little girls in the short, tight, see-through, boobalicious outfits were always the ones that everyone paid attention to, not the average girl in less-hoochie mama apparel. In fact, this is funny, I distinctly remember a girl in a green Tinkerbelle costume who was SO much cuter than me, despite the fact that my costume was better, and standing next to her I'm fairly sure not a single guy looked at me.
I know Halloween isn't the same thing as your experience, but I can understand (I think) how you felt and without being someone who has depression I would have been very sad as well.

I work in the mental health industry as well, but luckily our office deals more with anxiety and ADHD; not major diseases! It is difficult to be around those who have severe mental illness; on one hand you feel terrible for them that they have this horrendous disease that controls their behavior. And then you sometimes feel horrible for being irritated with them because they are bothering you, yelling at you, threatening you, etc. They truly believe this will give them what they want.
I give you tons of credit for being able to stay unemotional. It's difficult to do.

Sorry to hear that, @@Sharon1964 .
You care for mentally ill folks in crisis who want drugs that you won't give them.
And some of them have guns.
Have you ever considered a career as a bartender?

My kid told me this one today.
Where do you find a dog with no legs?
Exactly where you left him.
***************************
And another:
Why did Sarah fall off the swing?
Because she has no arms.
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Not Sarah.

My kid told me this one today.
Where do you find a dog with no legs?
Exactly where you left him.
***************************
And another:
Why did Sarah fall off the swing?
Because she has no arms.
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Not Sarah.

I was sleeved August of last year at age 51. I'm almost 11 months out now, have gone from 403 pounds to 232 pounds, and I'm doing great. The only moment of doubt I had, that I can remember anyway, is waking up in the recovery room, hearing some beeotch moaning like crazy, wishing she would shut the f*** up, and then realizing it was ME! At that moment I thought, "oh my god, what have I done". Then the morphine kicked in and I was fine.
I can't think of any regrets I have, other than wishing I had done it 20 years earlier (but hey, our experiences make us who we are). That, and I'm not happy with my deflated "parts" but I plan on plastics in the next year or so. Last weekend I went to a pool party that became a "clothing optional" event after dark. Most of the people were skinny-dipping by that point, but I just couldn't do it, not with these saggy tatas. Sad because I would have done it at 400 pounds. I felt pretty good at achieving wearing a bathing suit because my saggy thighs were threatening to cause a tsunami.

My kid told me this one today.
Where do you find a dog with no legs?
Exactly where you left him.
***************************
And another:
Why did Sarah fall off the swing?
Because she has no arms.
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Not Sarah.

Bonnie Raitt did it best:
"I Can't Make You Love Me"


Turn down the lights;
Turn down the bed.
Turn down these voices
Inside my head.

Lay down with me;
Tell me no lies.
Just hold me close;
Don't patronize.

Don't patronize me.

[Chorus:]
'Cuz I can't make you love me
If you don't.
You can't make your heart feel
Something it won't.
Here in the dark
In these final hours,
I will lay down my heart
And I'll feel the power;
But you won't.
No, you won't.
'Cuz I can't make you love me
If you don't.

I'll close my eyes,
Then I won't see
The love you don't feel
When you're holding me.

Morning will come,
And I'll do what's right;
Just give me till then
To give up this fight.

And I will give up this fight.

I make the spinach dip recipe from the back of the knorr Soup mix package, let it sit in the fridge overnight (or at least a few hours) to soften up, then use it to stuff cleaned raw mushroom caps. No worries about anyone double-dipping into a common dip bowl.

Wow. Thank you all for your input, experiences, and thoughts. Sometimes what I think is a superficial question (am I being lazy by changing my goal weight?), actually runs much, much deeper.
My original goal was to fit into the world. I'm almost there. I fit in airplanes, restaurant booths, chairs with arms, etc. I can even wear some necklaces that used to be too short, due to my fat neck. I'm still shopping in plus-size stores, so there's that still. But even so, I do have far more choices than I used to have.
My diabetes has completely resolved, my plantar fasciitis is gone (for now), no more knee and ankle pain. My blood pressure is completely normal. I've always had fabulous cholesterol numbers, so I've never had to worry about that.
I have to remind myself every now and then what I've accomplished. 403 to 242 in nine months. That is HUGE.

Wow. Thank you all for your input, experiences, and thoughts. Sometimes what I think is a superficial question (am I being lazy by changing my goal weight?), actually runs much, much deeper.
My original goal was to fit into the world. I'm almost there. I fit in airplanes, restaurant booths, chairs with arms, etc. I can even wear some necklaces that used to be too short, due to my fat neck. I'm still shopping in plus-size stores, so there's that still. But even so, I do have far more choices than I used to have.
My diabetes has completely resolved, my plantar fasciitis is gone (for now), no more knee and ankle pain. My blood pressure is completely normal. I've always had fabulous cholesterol numbers, so I've never had to worry about that.
I have to remind myself every now and then what I've accomplished. 403 to 242 in nine months. That is HUGE.

You mean you have more than the one ey.... uh... never mind.

I met with my surgeon at my first visit, and he recommended the sleeve and gave me the reasons why. Who is recommending a specific surgery if it's not the person doing the surgery? It sounds very assembly-line to me.
I would not be comfortable in your situation.

I met with my surgeon at my first visit, and he recommended the sleeve and gave me the reasons why. Who is recommending a specific surgery if it's not the person doing the surgery? It sounds very assembly-line to me.
I would not be comfortable in your situation.

Here, let me help you. More potential here: