muzical1

The weirdest thing happened..... have to share.
On 7/3, a house 3 doors down from mine had a Pig Pickin' for the neighborhood. It was my first "outing" since surgery on 6/22, so I planned to just say "I had gall bladder surgery last week and haven't gotten my appetite back yet" if someone noticed I wasn't eating. There were a lot of new neighbors there that I hadn't met yet. The hosts of the party (Rachel and Ron) asked if I had gotten enough to eat, so I gave them my pre-planned speech. Rachel said "oh goodness, I had surgery last week also". She said she had her gall bladder removed in May, then hernia repair the week prior to the party. I remember thinking to myself "This girl is about my size, isn't eating at her own pig-pickin', had "surgery" last week (both can be related to my surgery)....wouldn't it be funny if she is a bariatric patient as well". I even mentioned it to my best friend the next day, then dismissed the idea. Fast forward 2 weeks.... today I had a nutrition class to attend at the surgeon's office, arrived at 8:30 and there were like 10 people in the class. There was a girl was in the corner waving at me like crazy, I smiled and nodded. Then she came over and said "how long did it take you to get here today"? Then I realized.... it was Rachel. We talked afterwards and exchanged contact info and plan to get together to talk.... My original instinct was right, she's a bariatric patient as well. She lives 3 doors down from me and I had never met her before the party. She had the same Surgeon I did (there are 5 in the practice, and this is one of many practices that do this surgery in the area), and her surgery was the SAME WEEK as mine. Amazing, huh?

Given the state of WLS today -- if you can afford it, you can find a surgeon to perform the surgery -- those who do more research online prior to surgery (by lurking on WLS message boards, reading medical research study reports, studying various surgeons' Web sites, reading the www.asmbs.com site, etc.) are going to be better prepared for what's required to be successful with WLS than those who aren't research hounds.
As a research hound myself, I'm always a bit surprised that some people go into WLS apparently knowing so little about it -- based on the questions they ask and the comments they make post-op.
I also think that many WLS surgical practices fail abysmally in preparing their patients for WLS and what they must do to avoid future problems and be successful.
Finally, and this is seldom said out loud, I think some people are ill-equipped intellectually and/or emotionally for this journey and are badly served for not having been screened better pre-op. Some folks who don't or can't make the necessary behavior changes post-op (due to lack of education, lack of initiative, or their inability to understand and undertake those changes) may wind up even worse off physically and psychologically post-op than they were pre-op.
Recovery from obesity is a tough slog, and WLS as a treatment for obesity (generally speaking) has a long way to progress.

Agree 100% with you on this. After more than two years on this site, I am also horrified by some of the ignorance I see. I blame the surgeons mostly for allowing their patients to undergo a WLS without truly understanding what it entails.

She is clearly not a nice person. But I'm concerned that her son is a "momma's boy" who didn't defend you or support you with her. In the long run that would be a huge red flag. As you slim down and reach your goals, I hope you will meet a man who will honor, love, respect, and defend you, and whose family will do the same. Life is too short to have it any other way.

Out of surgery & several click of morphine. . So far pretty good
Just discomfort but nothing bad
I did it !!

She is clearly not a nice person. But I'm concerned that her son is a "momma's boy" who didn't defend you or support you with her. In the long run that would be a huge red flag. As you slim down and reach your goals, I hope you will meet a man who will honor, love, respect, and defend you, and whose family will do the same. Life is too short to have it any other way.

She is clearly not a nice person. But I'm concerned that her son is a "momma's boy" who didn't defend you or support you with her. In the long run that would be a huge red flag. As you slim down and reach your goals, I hope you will meet a man who will honor, love, respect, and defend you, and whose family will do the same. Life is too short to have it any other way.

Hi everyone, I am Andrew from South Africa, I had my surgery on the 9th of Feb and I am down 76kg (167lbs) since this whole journey started in November last year... This has changed my life so much, I have never been shy or an introvert, and have had alot of success in my life professionally and personally... But since the weight has come off, and still going... My feet have not yet touched the ground... This desicion was by far the greatest one I have made.. In 33 years of existence, I am truly alive now... I have been going through the stories and photos from you guys and girls... And you all look amazing.

So sorry to hear this. This gives you more time to prepare for the rigor of the journey and enjoy your fav foods.

My weight tracker app decided I should weigh 124.7 based on my height of 5'4", and I hit 124.6 this morning. Figured it was a good enough reason to put on some heels and go Celebrate.

Awesome! Congrats you two! Thanks for responding

I guess some don't take this major life altering/life giving procedure as seriously as others. If you're rushing to have a drink after surgery, you probably have another problem to solve. Not my business, but I do understand the sentiment.

No problems two weeks post op for me. I was at a restaurant with family. Was nice to have something to chew while they pigged out. LOL

I bought a pair of size 12 slim leg jeans yesterday as an incentive but....they fit me now!!!! They arent event the stretchy type material or relaxed fit. I am sooo stoked.

I can eat certain veggies but it's giving me horrible stomach pain. I just started taking Vitamins too (liquid) and it might not be sitting well. I contacted my NUT. Let's see what she says...

I saw one this morning and did respond because all I could think of to say is "you're an idiot" and I do tell my children if you don't have anything nice to say.....
It was a thread about "Marijuana use post surgery" or something like that. Their doctor told them they would have to give up any form of smoking but they were going to "experiment" and see if the doc was right. So why don't you know in a few beers, a Pepsi, and a Twinkie for good measure!!
Why do people have WLS if they have no intention of breaking bad addictions?

OK... I am not saying this is AT ALL the case with you... but from his perspective, he may have concerns about you following through with all the requirements. Only because you said that you asked for a referral to a psych. and never went, and that you were prescribed medication that you then did not take. With WLS, you absolutely have to go to all your appointments and take all the medications/supplements prescribed to you, and follow the phase diet before and afterwards. Again, I'm not saying that you won't be compliant; I'm just trying to consider what you told the psychologist from his perspective. In your next visit with him, I would be sure to mention that you understand the importance of post-op care, are committed to following the surgeon's instructions, and will promptly go to your surgeon, nutritionist, therapist, PCP, or whatever with any issues that may arise after surgery. Good luck!

Can you eat veggies? I was able to eat raw vegetables in addition to 4 shakes per day and Water. That held me together.

I guess some don't take this major life altering/life giving procedure as seriously as others. If you're rushing to have a drink after surgery, you probably have another problem to solve. Not my business, but I do understand the sentiment.

I wore shorts in public for the first time in years! Yes!!!

I wore shorts in public for the first time in years! Yes!!!

I actually am not so even keeled about some things. The f****** drinking question drives me nuts.
I mean, worrying about when I can drink was the last damn thing on my mind before surgery. I was more worried about, oh I dunno, CHANGING MY LIFESTYLE BECAUSE I'M HAVING MAJOR SURGERY TO DO SO???
See. Not so even keeled.

I'm not sure how I managed to find the topic, but someone was recently lamenting (the loss of) and questioning his/her ability to drink at college parties (at the ripe ol' age of 20 something). The question was posed in possibly the most immature way.
Ever just want to shake people and/or give them a virtual kick in the ass? My initial thought was, really? Grow the F up and get your priorities straight.
The OP sort-of (iffy) redeemed the question later in the thread, but still.
Anyway, I'm not linking to the thread and/or mentioning names, but for the love of whatever, think before you post something. The OP is lucky people didn't go off on her - I know some of you rant & ravers were in the thread and showed major restraint.

I became good friends with a lady in my insurance mandated classes. And it turns out we live just blocks apart to boot. My surgery is on the 29th and she's waiting for the call for hers.
We were just talking about all the things we want to do together to Celebrate our weight loss.
I live in CA and I love amusement parks and was beginning to lament ever going again, so we're going to hit Disneyland and California Adventures.
We want to ride the donkeys (without breaking their poor backs) down into the Grand Canyon.
We want to do the paddle boats at the harbor.
Do a 5K walk/run.
Go skiing for the first time ever!
I get overjoyed just thinking about catching up on all the stuff I've missed out on all these years! The list is endless and the renewed hope is just overwhelming!

I've created a monster, lol. Clothes, shoes, mannies, pedi's....did I mention clothes??
When you can finally wear the cute stuff in the "normal" size section, shopping becomes kind of a....ahem....problem. So now I only use it as a reward for my little victories.