Tiana Harris

This is an interesting topic because I noticed women in Europe and Asia do wear tummy control girdles after having babies. In fact, you are given a tube like elastic fabric that can be doubled and even tripled to add extra pressure as you go through recovery. At first you wear it almost like a tube dress and provides mild compression. After a while you double it and it comes from under breasts to hips. Then you triple it by folding once more when your body can handle it and it's only in the mid section at this point. I have not seen this practice in the US at all. Please understand it is not a corset. It starts as mild support. Everyone uses some sort of support even the skinny ladies. How come we don't?

Appointment #1 with surgeon went well. Now I have to meet my requirments as I'm shooting for a late June surgery date. I need an EKG, Blood work, Psych eval, and 1 pre-op class, and then I'm ready!!! I have my appointment with my primary care Dr. on 8/21 to do everything except psych. Hoping for the best and a smooth next step

Appointment #1 with surgeon went well. Now I have to meet my requirments as I'm shooting for a late June surgery date. I need an EKG, Blood work, Psych eval, and 1 pre-op class, and then I'm ready!!! I have my appointment with my primary care Dr. on 8/21 to do everything except psych. Hoping for the best and a smooth next step

Hello EVERYONE,
Just want to share in my celebration today while shouting to the top of my lungs that I received my approval for my surgery today. I am so overwhelmed with JOY that I didn't have anymore requirements.
Next is my surgery date and I will know by tomorrow. I am shooting for next month (JUNE). There are openings so I'm jumping in head first. I need to heal and be ready to enjoy the summer with my kids.
Thanks for all your support before now and after and I will keep everyone posted when I settle on a date.

We all have one thing in common. We all are or were fat and we all want to improve our health via weight loss. Maybe it's the band, the sleeve, bypass or a "traditional" weight loss method, but no matter our choices we want to be thinner and healthier.
I would guess that most of us have defined ourselves by our body size in the past and some still are in the present.
We are so much more than that! Tell me something about YOU that makes you special.

That is a difficult question to respond to. I mean, I didn't start putting on a lot of weight until after I finished college. I seriously considered WLS in 2007, when I weighed about 260-270lbs. I made it through three months of the 6 month liquid diet program, and I was ready to kill someone. I was advised by my therapist to stop, because the 600 cal/day program affected my job and relationships.
Since then, I put on another 100 lbs before I decided to move forward with WLS. Nothing I tried helped me to lose weight. However, if I would've been introduced to someone like the trainer I started working with before I actually had surgery back in 2007, I'm convinced I would not have needed the surgery to begin with. Working out with my trainer, I lost about 40 lbs in less than 2 months before I even went in for surgery.
However, there were still things I needed to go through emotionally before I was ready to fix myself. I spent about 5 years in therapy before I was in the right mind-set.
So, I guess to answer this question: on the one level, if I had proper trainer work in my early 20s, I could've avoided the massive weight gain all together. However, I still had things to work on to stop the patterns that caused me to gain the weight I gained. ... Also, if I would not have gone on birth control in college, I probably would have avoided quite a bit of the weight gain.

If you've had or are considering any kind of weight loss / bariatric surgery, you're welcome to join my group here.
I just created it
It's very motivational, educational and inspirational with others that are both post & pre-op
You're more welcome to share this to let others know also.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/allthingsbariatric/

Wow I'm on the losers bench now ???? I can't believe it's my turn to become the new healthier me. I'm very blessed there were no complications per my knowledge. My doc will be in at 6, so I'll post an update as soon as there is one.. And Thank You to everyone who've told their stories about your journey, they really do help when you are a newbie. Keep up the good work everyone ???? one day soon I hope to pay it forward with any knowledge I get from this journey..

So easy I was freaking out but it was so easy knocked out felt like took a nice nap

I had an endoscopy, they even took some biopsies. I don't remember a thing. I didn't even have a sore throat. I was able to sing the next day at open mic. No problems at all, and all came out fine with the biopsies. I'm lucky. I was a 30 year smoker, so I was sweating bullets, waiting for those test results to come back. Whew! Also no hiatal hernia, no H. Pylori. Good to go.
It actually took longer for the set up, (iv, checking in, etc.) than it did for the procedure.

I'm not telling my dad because I don't want to worry him. Of course after it's over and I'm dropping weight he will notice and I will tell him, but the surgery will be over by then and he won't have to worry. My kids know and my husband knows. My office knows because I had to fill out FMLA paperwork because I'm going to be off work for a week and the paperwork came back from the Bariatric Center, so of course everyone in my office knows. I don't need anyone's opinion.

Had my first appointment with the Dr. at UCLA today. No surgery date but since I have bad GERD/Reflux he requested a Endoscopy before proceeding. I am a little nervous. Did anyone else have this done? Besides that I met with the dietitian and all I need to do I go to a new patient class and have some blood work and meet with the Psych and I'm ready.
Any info would be great I know they will sedate me but I am a little nervous.

@@Spiceyfrog thank you! I want to be knocked out I am freaked out about being awake and feeling it snake around inside!

Thank you all so much! This really helps to ease my mind!

Hi, I'm new at this too. I see my psych June 8. I weigh 350 and when I got my letter telling me that my insurance was going to pay I danced around the house singing, "I'm gonna lose a person!". My kids thought I'd lost my mind till I showed them the letter. Then they laughed with me. They wouldn't sing and dance with me though.

My Clear Liquids were Water, juice, broth, sugar free Popsicles and Gatorade. I think they say no red or purple so it's not mistaken for blood during the surgery.

Exciting news I received my surgery date May 27th.

I totally agree with what has already been said. I was a bit apprehensive about having this done to me, but it ended being a "pleasant" experience. I wouldn't hesitate to have it done again if needed.

I had one a week ago. I was really nervous also but it was nothing! They started an IV took me back, put some medicine in my IV about 10 minutes later I was back in my room wide awake! I went shopping afterwards! You never know anything even happened

Hi there -
I was given medication through an IV during the process and about 5 minutes after they quit administering the medication, I woke up, which was nice. I do not remember one thing from the process itself, but my throat was sore for about a week.
Good Luck!

I just recently had my first visit with the RNP. I had my family involved from the beginning. In fact daughter is have surgery as well. My whole family is supportive. The only person that had a problem was the guy I had an on-line relationship with and that's his loss
I explained to everyone that I didn't have a problem with my looks, but I do want to see my grandkids grow up and with my weight where it is then I wouldn't

Thanks for all the great replies. I think I will keep it to my close friends and family. I already felt weird telling my best friend and she was like, "is that really necessary? Why? Go to the gym?" So I don't think I will be telling everyone.

Please PM me if you'd like to lead or co-lead this support group!

@@RNYGal Thank you, I have really tried on my own. I need a fresh start and a new me and new lifestyle.

@@Tiana Harris. I too had several years documented, but because I had not had six consecutive check ins, they made me start over, I was pissed, we are talking a month and a half lapse. I have to admit it went by rather quickly, my longest weight has been waiting for my surgery day, May 28th to arrive. I was given my date back on April 8, this 7'week wait is driving me crazy. I wish you the best of luck and whatever you do, just stay focused on the goal you set for yourself.