Ashlegal

I had a really crude (and naughty, more naughty than crude) comment to add but realized I'm a lady.

I am five months and 9 days post-op. I have lost 85 pounds, five pant sizes, 4 top sizes and five dress sizes. I started at 5'2 289 pounds. I am anticipated being in onderland soon! Hopefully by the time I head out on my cruise next month!

I know many of you won't care but because I am so excited, I had to share; I was lucky enough to get tickets to see Adele!!! That is all.

@ I was 302 pounds the first day I met with my program director. I am 5'2 and that is 160 pounds of extra (unnecessary) weight I was carrying around, all day, everyday. Two weeks into the program I was moved into "group" meetings and there I met women from different points in the same journey. Until that first meeting, I was going towards Sleeve surgery as it seemed less invasive (it isn't), less restrictive (it is but that isn't necessarily a "good" thing) and didn't seem as drastic (umm, you completely lose part of your stomach, that's pretty drastic). During that meeting I met six ladies who had all had sleeve done and were getting revisions to Bypass. When I asked "why?", they all had a similar story. They never reached goal weight, they were still battling comorbidities and they had horrible acid reflux (worse than prior to surgery). Two of them had actually been LapBand patients prior to getting Sleeved and were now faced with a third WLS. In total, there were out of the thirty people on the program (at the same time I was) 12 of them were Sleeve to Bypass revisions. Those revision stories and the fact that I already had horrible GERD, my surgeon and I decided Bypass was best for me. He also felt that due to my obesity, my obesity related issues and my age, (30's) Bypass was a better fit. I have lost seventy pounds since having surgery on September 9th 2015 and have absolutely no regrets. None. Not a single one and everyday I feel better and better. I am off all my diabetes medicine, my blood pressure medicine and my labs are spot on with taking my Vitamins daily. Which is something I (and many others) should be doing regardless of surgery. Many obese individuals were not getting the right nutrition from the foods they were eating, anyway. I am in no way trying to persuade you in one direction or the other. I am not a medical professional and all I am offering is my story. And the reason I decided to have Bypass over Sleeve. Good luck on your journey!

You will have great success with either surgery. With the sleeve i have good restriction and feeling of fullness. With bypass you also have malabsorption and dumping I don't dump. And taking my Vitamins keeps my labs perfect. Plus, dumping is a great tool for those that have weakness when dealing with high sugar/high fat foods. It keeps them in check and allows them to use their WLS tool successfully.

@@JengaBee The yucky, icky feeling you are experiencing being only five days post op is relatively normal. Think about what your body has been through; poked, prodded, pumped with air, insides re-arranged, sewn on the inside and realize that is a lot of trauma for a body. My surgeon told me to compare it to a minor car accident. It is the days following that hurt the most, are the most uncomfortable and make you feel like poo. As long as you are meeting your Fluid requirements and getting enough Protein in, you'll be fine as the days progress.

I was taken off all my extended release medicines and in fact even my pain medicine had to be switched to a patch. Not all people have issues but my surgeon, my PM and my PCP didn't take any chances; they worked with me through trial and error finding alternatives to ER drugs I was on prior to surgery. I would do some Googling, talk to your PCP or prescribing physician about ANY and all ER drugs you are currently taking. It is crazy to me that everyone keeps bringing up the size of the pill when there is a bigger issue at play.

The sleeve procedure scared me more than having RNY. For one I have horrible GERD, which is amplified when having sleeve surgery. The second reason was, RNY can be reversed if absolutely medically necessary, sleeve cannot. The third reason was, many, many ladies in my program were having revisions from sleeve to RNY. Their reasons were all the same; never got to goal weight, had too many issues with heartburn and many of their comorbidities were still present. I don't think there is a general pros. vs cons. for either surgery, it all comes down to personal goals and current health situations. I am three months post-op. Down 65 pounds, three pant sizes, 4 dress/blouse sizes, off all my heartburn, blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes medicine. I am so very, very, very happy with my decision to have RNY.

@@JengaBee @@pink22 There will be moments that regret is a nagging feeling resting lightly on your shoulders. It will whisper gently in your ears and it will cloud your focus. It gets further and further away and it visits less and less the further post-op you are. But there will be times that you get so frustrated with the program, with the discomfort, with the "restrictions" that you'll say to yourself, "why did I have this surgery? why did I not have better control of my food habits? how did I let myself get too fat I needed such an extreme measure to get healthy? why is this so hard?" And you'll probably cry (or feel like it) in those moments and you'll have to snap back into reality, work hard to get over the immediate feelings of "oh woe is me" and stick to staying positive. This is not an easy journey but it is well worth the challenges ahead.

Congrats on your decision! The biggest piece of unsolicited advice I can offer is, "be patient." This journey is not easy, it gets frustrating, it is emotional, it is physical and mentally challenging, it is going to take you down a road you can't see through the trees. It will be scary and it will take the kind of effort you sometimes don't think you have in you. But if you are patient with yourself, with those around you, with the program; you will reap rewards that will make every bump, every tear, every frustrated moment worth it.

Seriously?

This is what I use and feel it is a Godsend! I tried for many weeks looking, trying, buying, replacing and hating different calcium supplements. All pills were way too big, all chewables were way too expensive and a few other liquids were horrible tasting. http://www.costco.com/LIQUID-reViva%C2%AE-Calcium,-64-Ounces.product.11706458.html The only issue is, it can't be found at every costco. I have to order it online because my closest Costco doesn't carry it and the one almost an hour away isn't a viable option.

Congrats!! I started in a 24W and last week bought my first 18M. The 18 is a little tight but not uncomfortable! I can't wait to fit into a size 14!

How much have you lost in the months since starting your program?

Yes! I was the girl for many years that said "I never get cold and I am always hot!" And I was always hot. I live in Arizona and we don't get much of a winter but even when the temps would dip in the 40's I would keep a window open. Otherwise I would burn up under covers while trying to sleep, in the kitchen while cooking or even just lounging on the couch watching TV. I never understood people who wore slippers around the house or socks to bed. Guess what? I put layers on while hanging out around the house, I put slippers on and wear socks to bed. I feel like I can never get warm enough!