Nyelaah

Thank you so much for this! As a newbie I appreciate every single one of every experience vsger. I can't tell you how many times you all made me feel like I CAN do this and that its all going to be alright---Even if there are bumps along the road.
I have learned that there are bumps, successes, and that everyones journey is different BUT that we al have a monster in common OBESITY!
It truly hurts when some folks (they know who they are) bring people down and give them "tough love." I get that it's a blog and you should not take this to heart however, people come here mostly when they are confused or in a bad mental place.
Anyways... Thanks for this post!!!

Sorry, sweetie, I am afraid you are stuck with your sleeve. So make friends with it. And this may help. Get some unflavored Protein powder, off the internet if you have to. Have really cold Water, add the appropriate amount of the protein powder, then add some Water Enhancer drops (found at the grocery store) then mix well. It will be cloudy, but it will taste (in my opinion) thousands of times better than the shakes. Also add the drops to plain water to get in your fluids. Take some time for yourself, get a book about the sleeve, thoroughly read about what just happened to you so you can fully understand. It's time to start facing the reality of what you have done, and accepting it on it's terms. If you follow your program, it will work. Period. This site will be very supportive, but you have to do your part, as well. So, have a firm chat with yourself, and maybe say a prayer for healing, as well as thanksgiving, for this MIRACLE surgery that can give you your life back. All the best to you....

Hello All,
I am new here, and have been going through the process for 5 months, and finally got my surgery scheduled last week. (April 23) I go to Pre-op on Thursday 4/9, and start my pre-op diet, although I have already kinda started to get me prepared. I have several friends and a family member who recently had the same surgery, and have had great results, so I am very excited!!! So anxious!!!
I have struggled with how to tell my co-workers what kind of surgery I am having, and some friends and family members haven't been very supportive. I am just leaning on the ones who are VERY supportive and know the struggle I have had with all my meds, illnesses, and being obese. I'm 100% ready!!!!!
Thanks,
~Natalie

Yep, a quick "thank you" and a "chile please!" look is all it takes.

Head up, shoulders back, confident smile, take no sh!t attitude.
You'd be amazed at how effective a good resting bitch face can be.

Thank you so much for this! As a newbie I appreciate every single one of every experience vsger. I can't tell you how many times you all made me feel like I CAN do this and that its all going to be alright---Even if there are bumps along the road.
I have learned that there are bumps, successes, and that everyones journey is different BUT that we al have a monster in common OBESITY!
It truly hurts when some folks (they know who they are) bring people down and give them "tough love." I get that it's a blog and you should not take this to heart however, people come here mostly when they are confused or in a bad mental place.
Anyways... Thanks for this post!!!

Think of those nights this way.....one more closer to your FREEDOM! Blessed Be The Day!!!!

The more newbies, the merrier. That means more folks are getting the boost they need to get healthy. The other rants I avoid are the people who think they are English professors grading papers. If you want grammar police, go to Marksdailyapple.com. It is a Primal/paleo website (which I have recommended for content), but the forum contributors tend to be West Coast elitists who can't handle typos, misspellings, and colloquialisms (y'all, y'uns, you'se guys). One thing I like about Bariatric Pal is that the community seems to be mostly "just folks" looking for support, not correction and coercion.

I feel the same way, and have said as much. There will always be new-comers, who need just as much support as we do, and if I have the time, I can do that. Why not? Sure summer is coming and things will get busier for all, but how much time are we talking about? Can I spare a few minutes to help someone who may just be doing this to save their life? YES! Period. And if we can all admit it, this IS saving our lives. Onto the new......

Thank you so much for this! As a newbie I appreciate every single one of every experience vsger. I can't tell you how many times you all made me feel like I CAN do this and that its all going to be alright---Even if there are bumps along the road.
I have learned that there are bumps, successes, and that everyones journey is different BUT that we al have a monster in common OBESITY!
It truly hurts when some folks (they know who they are) bring people down and give them "tough love." I get that it's a blog and you should not take this to heart however, people come here mostly when they are confused or in a bad mental place.
Anyways... Thanks for this post!!!

Thank you so much for this! As a newbie I appreciate every single one of every experience vsger. I can't tell you how many times you all made me feel like I CAN do this and that its all going to be alright---Even if there are bumps along the road.
I have learned that there are bumps, successes, and that everyones journey is different BUT that we al have a monster in common OBESITY!
It truly hurts when some folks (they know who they are) bring people down and give them "tough love." I get that it's a blog and you should not take this to heart however, people come here mostly when they are confused or in a bad mental place.
Anyways... Thanks for this post!!!

Thank you so much for this! As a newbie I appreciate every single one of every experience vsger. I can't tell you how many times you all made me feel like I CAN do this and that its all going to be alright---Even if there are bumps along the road.
I have learned that there are bumps, successes, and that everyones journey is different BUT that we al have a monster in common OBESITY!
It truly hurts when some folks (they know who they are) bring people down and give them "tough love." I get that it's a blog and you should not take this to heart however, people come here mostly when they are confused or in a bad mental place.
Anyways... Thanks for this post!!!

I typically avoid the posts on this website where people are ranting at each other. I feel like handing out a virtual cupcake to everyone and saying, "can't we all just get along?"
Seriously people, the awesome thing about an online forum is you get to pick and choose what you read and engage in. This is the main reason why I prefer this over attending the support groups at my local barriatric center. I can't control who attends those meetings and then I'm stuck with them for an entire hour.
I sign on to Barriatric Pal daily. Why? Because I know staying connected is one of the best things I can do to insure I am successful in this journey. Time and time again I read posts from people who have strayed from the site, gone off track, gained weight and come back for support. I come on this website and read these posts daily. IT'S MY CHOICE. I will be a year out from surgery on April 16, 2014. Yes, sometimes it is annoying to read the same posts over and over again about stalls, Hair loss, loose skin, food intake and Vitamins. Guess what? One short year ago I was the newbie starting on this journey anxious whether I would succeed or not. I was full of questions and eager to reach out to others as nobody in my "real" world had weight loss surgery.
I work with a lot of people in 12 step recovery programs in my profession. Bill Wilson, one of the founders of AA, early on grew frustrated when he reached out to fellow alcoholics to help them, but often those men he tried to help went on to drink. He felt like giving up and one night his wife Lois, reminded him that HE was no longer going out and getting drunk. The act of giving back to others helped maintain his own sobriety. I remind myself of this. I choose to give back and help newbies on this site to help myself. I read your posts and it reminds me of information I learned long ago and "forgot". It helps me stay on track. If a post annoys me, I can choose to ignore it.
I help you to help me.
I'm going to eat a real cupcake now.

My surgery was almost two years ago and I've been "at goal" for over a year. I am still amazed when I see pictures of myself not fat.
The kid in this picture is a size 2. I am not. Ha!

I'm still trying to get used to it. Not so easy when there's such a before and after difference. My surgery was just over two years ago.

Since being sleeved I've told three men (in a dating situation) about having WLS or that I've lost a significant amount of weight.
The first took it in stride with barely a comment and said I looked great. I miss him. Too bad he was such a mess over other aspects of his life.
The second I didn't actually tell I'd had WLS, only that I'd lost a lot of weight. He said something to the tune of it would be an issue for him if I ever got fat again. He was easily 50lbs over weight. Yep, he's gone... long gone!
The third I just recently told. I told him I'd had WLS and that I'd had my stomach fixed through plastics. He didn't say much at the time but later during conversation he commented that one of the things he likes about me is that I'm really smart, then qualified it saying except for in a couple areas in my life. When I asked him what areas those were he said that I let myself get really overweight (and something else I don't immediately recall). Interesting. This is a man for whom fitness has always been a part of his life - he weight trains and other such things and has spent his adult life tinkering with his size - bulking up and that sort of thing. He's currently trying to work on his mid-section. I find this an insulting response and I'm sure he has no idea how kind-of clueless it is. We'll see how this one goes...

I'm from Italy and my English is not very good. I'm in this blog to get help and share my experience so I'm sorry if I make grammar mistakes.
I use this blog to vent about frustrations or struggles. Maybe help someone you feels down.

I'm not too great at the Goodwill because they don't sort by size and I have the patience of a flea, but I do love consignment stores. We have a franchise here called Clothes Mentor that is awesome. The teen version of them is Plato's closet.

I bought most of my clothes on consignment on my way down and sell much of it back. Anything I can't sell goes to a battered women's shelter where I know it is very much needed.

I'm almost 6 months post op. Before surgery, I heard people saying that I was going to have to give up drinking soda. I stopped drinking the non-diet sodas a couple of years ago and drank nothing but diet since. Since my surgery, I have slowly reintroduced them back into my daily diet. It is true that they are nutrionally a waste. But for me, they are one of the very few "comfort foods" that I have left to help me with my new lifestyle. So far, so good. I have dropped almost 100lbs in the past six months, have gotten off of two medications and no longer require a cpap to sleep at night. I have about 10-20 more pounds to go before I can feel satisfied that I have reached my goal.
I do have to be careful to space drinking the sodas out with my Protein intakes and making sure that I allow proper spacing of time in between. But my opinion is that if you can tolerate it, it's not terrible to drink.

Melissa, the first patient featured on My 600lb Life, is my personal friend. We met in an alone mom group. Her daughter and my son were born a few days apart. We all joined the group as soon as we got pregnant. We supported each other through pregnancy, life with an infant, and beyond. We have been friends for 6 years now. I didn't know her when she had her surgery. But she was open and honest about it, telling the group what it was like, and how the surgery had made it possible for to have her daughter. How she lost her baby weight. We all watched her national tv appearances. We watched how hard her journey was, that the surgery was not a magic pill.
Then I decided to take the plunge myself. My lap-band was a joke. I lost no weight. It caused GERD so bad that it damaged my vocal chords - for years. I thought nothing would work. I had lost most of my baby weight, but I had given up. Melissa didn't let me. We were busy with our kids and didn't talk as much, but after my dad started telling me that his friends had done well with the conversion to a sleeve (his band worked like a charm), I got some hope. Melissa fought her weight problem and won. Why couldn't I?
So I did it. When my surgeon told me he absolutely wanted me to have the sleeve, that the clinic application was just a formality, that the second my insurance approved it, he'd do the surgery, I said yes. And Melissa became my cheerleader. When my OCD picked up and I obsessively worried that I would fail again (because I thought I was the failure, no matter what my surgeon said), I knew that if Melissa could do it, so could I.
And I did. I am down 35 pounds. My BMI has gone from over 38 to 33. I have lost 40% of my excess weight. Twelve more pounds and I have officially succeeded (made national average). Another 3 pounds and I am under 200 again. Fourteen after that, and I am at goal.
I know people say the show is sensationalized. Maybe it is now. But watching Melissa, it's real. It's inspiring. I'm proud to cal her my friend

So I actually talked to my doctor today and he said I could try some Soups like chili etc if I pureed them well. I was able to tolerate 3oz of bison chili and it was amazing and this is the first time I am not hungry since surgery!!!

Glad you asked this question! I might have been asking it myself in a couple of weeks if I didn't see your post!!!
I've only been on this site a few weeks and there are so many rude people on here (Babbs just to name one)... But thank goodness there are more positive people that negative! Lol
If you can't say something in a nice way... Don't let your little fingers type in a response.... Duh...
We are all scared, and want good results and a good experience!!! So I hope your NUT can help you when you see her!
I've been given a strict diet plan for before (start tomorrow) and after. What to and not to eat for seven weeks post, so it's clear to me what I have to do! I'm not much of a meat person anyway but I'm gonna hold off of meats and salads until 7-8 weeks out!
Personal preference!
But I'm gonna try to stick to it!
Good luck and ignore the #haters they aren't perfect either!!!
@@carolinacrumb88

i knwo your pain and mine was not head hunger, it was real deal stomach grinding hunger. I also thought it was heart burn and it was not cause i niped that in the bud with prilosec. It was hunger and stomach spasams. I stuck with the diet even though it was hard as hell. it will be over with soon. Just hang in there. You will be fine.

The way I see it, there are cheats that are bad for you in the sense that they can make you feel uncomfortable or nauseous.
Then there are cheats that are bad for you because they will slow your weight loss.
Then there are cheats that are bad for you because they could actually damage your new tummy while it is recovering.
To my mind, the one you need to worry most about is the third one. The first one you will learn yourself by trial and error - you will learn how to eat in a way that doesn't make you feel ill or uncomfortable. And it is different for everyone as to what makes them ill or uncomfortable.
The second one is a personal choice. Some people get WLS to change their lives 100%, and I fully respect that. These are people who make the decision that they don't want burgers or fried chicken or sweets in their life and they commit to that, and they usually do very well. But not everyone has WLS for that 100% change.
As an example, while I would love to get down to 150 lbs - if I end up at 200 lbs, I'm ok with that. I had WLS not because I want to be a perfect weight, but because I need, for my health, to be significantly lighter than I am. I want to eat less, and I want to eat better - I need to have a better relationship with unhealthy food. For me, that's not a total denial, but adopting the same moderate approach that everyone else can manage without surgery.
So if you want to cheat and the consequence is that it will slow your weight loss, that is a personal decision. You are an adult, and like most people who are overweight, you are probably acutely aware of what is healthy and unhealthy - you are able to make that decision for yourself.
It is the third cheat you need to be careful with - because becoming seriously ill due to a leak is not a choice you want to be making.
One of the issues I sometimes have on this site is that the three cheats get conflated - you ask a question about something wondering if it is dangerous to eat X or Y, and you'll get lots of advice about why eating X or Y will slow your weight loss. But you probably already know that.
I think we should all be clearer whether we think something should be avoided because it's dangerous, or because it's just a bad food decision.

Haha- when I saw your question I knew right away there'd be some backlash over it.
I ate some small bites of most anything I wanted after a week. You can bet your a** that some of our members here jumped all over me. So let me clarify: I do not recommend eating anything you want anytime you want. I'm just sayin what I did.
I ate bites of pizza, meat, chicken, etc. 2 or 2 small bites was plenty. After 2 or 3 weeks I ate whatever I wanted. 3 days out I sucked some cheesecake off the end of a spoon and let me tell you it was delicious. It never bothered me nor did I suffer any ill effects.
Just answering the question. That's it. It's been 2 years. I haven't stretched my sleeve, I didn't get a leak or stricture, and I have done pretty well.