JupiterinVirgo

When I was preparing to have my sleeve surgery, I spent a lot of time on this forum. I found most of the people here to be very helpful. Even though there's every kind of personality here, we all have one thing in common: we wanted to lose weight and be healthier.
Approaching any surgery is scary. There are real risks, and real rewards when all goes well.
I have struggled with weight my whole life. Total sugar junkie. Used food to replace every unmet need I had, to repress every emotion for which I was unprepared to deal.
I gained and lost hundreds of pounds over the course of my life. Hundreds.
When my husband died eight years ago it broke me. I shattered, and it took me almost a decade to put myself back together. During that time, I lost everything: my beloved, my home, my income, even my sense of self. And I spent the next eight years eating to fill this giant empty void inside my being where someone who I thought of as the love of my life used to be.
I ballooned up bigger than I had ever been, surpassing my previous high weight and moving into the 320s.
I avoided social situations, and only left the house when necessary. I was afraid I would have to ask for a stronger chair when invited to sit down for dinner at somebody's home. I was afraid that I would need to sit down every 20 or 30 steps during a leisurely stroll through the mall with a friend. My body ached; sometimes the pain was so bad that I could scarcely move-even sitting still was painful.
Life had become extremely small.
Deciding to get the surgery was surprisingly easy, but getting through the approval process and going through with the surgery summoned up terror in me that had been there since my first surgery when I was three years old.
I thought it would be a miracle if I were able to get the surgery, simply because my trauma was so severe for so many years that it seemed like an impossible feat to put myself in the hands of medical professionals, who I have never trusted all my life.
With lots of support from my mother, my sister who had already had the surgery, and my therapist, I was able to get the sleeve.
And it changed my life!
I also decided that I was going to make up for lost time now that I was going to be able to physically get around again. I sold all my stuff, ditched my apartment, bought an RV and moved in! And it's wonderful! I could not have fit in here, nor could I do the things necessary when living in an RV, at my previous weight.
This surgery has allowed me an opportunity for a whole new lease on life. I am officially one year postop, and I am down about 130 pounds, with another 30 to go. It's amazing the difference a single year can make!
If you know that this is right for you, and the only thing giving you pause is fear that is not coming from your true intuition: there are many people on these forums who feel that this surgery has saved our lives.
I am one of those people. Here is a before and present a photo of me, in a year, this could be you!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

When I was preparing to have my sleeve surgery, I spent a lot of time on this forum. I found most of the people here to be very helpful. Even though there's every kind of personality here, we all have one thing in common: we wanted to lose weight and be healthier.
Approaching any surgery is scary. There are real risks, and real rewards when all goes well.
I have struggled with weight my whole life. Total sugar junkie. Used food to replace every unmet need I had, to repress every emotion for which I was unprepared to deal.
I gained and lost hundreds of pounds over the course of my life. Hundreds.
When my husband died eight years ago it broke me. I shattered, and it took me almost a decade to put myself back together. During that time, I lost everything: my beloved, my home, my income, even my sense of self. And I spent the next eight years eating to fill this giant empty void inside my being where someone who I thought of as the love of my life used to be.
I ballooned up bigger than I had ever been, surpassing my previous high weight and moving into the 320s.
I avoided social situations, and only left the house when necessary. I was afraid I would have to ask for a stronger chair when invited to sit down for dinner at somebody's home. I was afraid that I would need to sit down every 20 or 30 steps during a leisurely stroll through the mall with a friend. My body ached; sometimes the pain was so bad that I could scarcely move-even sitting still was painful.
Life had become extremely small.
Deciding to get the surgery was surprisingly easy, but getting through the approval process and going through with the surgery summoned up terror in me that had been there since my first surgery when I was three years old.
I thought it would be a miracle if I were able to get the surgery, simply because my trauma was so severe for so many years that it seemed like an impossible feat to put myself in the hands of medical professionals, who I have never trusted all my life.
With lots of support from my mother, my sister who had already had the surgery, and my therapist, I was able to get the sleeve.
And it changed my life!
I also decided that I was going to make up for lost time now that I was going to be able to physically get around again. I sold all my stuff, ditched my apartment, bought an RV and moved in! And it's wonderful! I could not have fit in here, nor could I do the things necessary when living in an RV, at my previous weight.
This surgery has allowed me an opportunity for a whole new lease on life. I am officially one year postop, and I am down about 130 pounds, with another 30 to go. It's amazing the difference a single year can make!
If you know that this is right for you, and the only thing giving you pause is fear that is not coming from your true intuition: there are many people on these forums who feel that this surgery has saved our lives.
I am one of those people. Here is a before and present a photo of me, in a year, this could be you!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I have been on this forum for two years. And I have born witness to a lot of stories, and very few of them relative to the whole has anything to do with depression and suicidal thinking after weight loss surgery. I also have had gastric sleeve done and did not suffer the symptoms you were talking about in relationship to my surgery or my weight loss. People are people. Those subject to depression and suicidal thoughts anyway are likely to have their mental condition aggravated with the stress of having surgery and the healing required. People who did not develop any other coping mechanisms besides food are more likely to experience these negative mental states more intensely and more often when they realize that they cannot bury them under amounts of food postop. I think it is unfair to blame the surgery on the mental states of people when the reality is that the states were already there, buried underneath addiction. These Patients should have been in therapy long before they had the surgery. I know I have been.

I would like to add an update to my progress. Here are some new pictures! I am the original poster.

When I was preparing to have my sleeve surgery, I spent a lot of time on this forum. I found most of the people here to be very helpful. Even though there's every kind of personality here, we all have one thing in common: we wanted to lose weight and be healthier.
Approaching any surgery is scary. There are real risks, and real rewards when all goes well.
I have struggled with weight my whole life. Total sugar junkie. Used food to replace every unmet need I had, to repress every emotion for which I was unprepared to deal.
I gained and lost hundreds of pounds over the course of my life. Hundreds.
When my husband died eight years ago it broke me. I shattered, and it took me almost a decade to put myself back together. During that time, I lost everything: my beloved, my home, my income, even my sense of self. And I spent the next eight years eating to fill this giant empty void inside my being where someone who I thought of as the love of my life used to be.
I ballooned up bigger than I had ever been, surpassing my previous high weight and moving into the 320s.
I avoided social situations, and only left the house when necessary. I was afraid I would have to ask for a stronger chair when invited to sit down for dinner at somebody's home. I was afraid that I would need to sit down every 20 or 30 steps during a leisurely stroll through the mall with a friend. My body ached; sometimes the pain was so bad that I could scarcely move-even sitting still was painful.
Life had become extremely small.
Deciding to get the surgery was surprisingly easy, but getting through the approval process and going through with the surgery summoned up terror in me that had been there since my first surgery when I was three years old.
I thought it would be a miracle if I were able to get the surgery, simply because my trauma was so severe for so many years that it seemed like an impossible feat to put myself in the hands of medical professionals, who I have never trusted all my life.
With lots of support from my mother, my sister who had already had the surgery, and my therapist, I was able to get the sleeve.
And it changed my life!
I also decided that I was going to make up for lost time now that I was going to be able to physically get around again. I sold all my stuff, ditched my apartment, bought an RV and moved in! And it's wonderful! I could not have fit in here, nor could I do the things necessary when living in an RV, at my previous weight.
This surgery has allowed me an opportunity for a whole new lease on life. I am officially one year postop, and I am down about 130 pounds, with another 30 to go. It's amazing the difference a single year can make!
If you know that this is right for you, and the only thing giving you pause is fear that is not coming from your true intuition: there are many people on these forums who feel that this surgery has saved our lives.
I am one of those people. Here is a before and present a photo of me, in a year, this could be you!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

OMG you look incredible! I'm at 21 months and down over 150 pounds wondering if I should keep striving for further weight loss as I am already thinner than I've ever been as an adult, but after looking at your pictures I think I can go all the way!

I never fully subscribed to the bariatric gospel as I call it. My personal experience has been that long term I was guided to eat in a highly and balanced way that had consequences to how well I felt. So my tip is, listen to your body. If it is asking for nuts or a certain kind of cheese or certain fruits or vegetables, eat them. I have found that my body loses weight the most efficiently when it is well nourished. I have never counted calories since I had my surgery.

When I was preparing to have my sleeve surgery, I spent a lot of time on this forum. I found most of the people here to be very helpful. Even though there's every kind of personality here, we all have one thing in common: we wanted to lose weight and be healthier.
Approaching any surgery is scary. There are real risks, and real rewards when all goes well.
I have struggled with weight my whole life. Total sugar junkie. Used food to replace every unmet need I had, to repress every emotion for which I was unprepared to deal.
I gained and lost hundreds of pounds over the course of my life. Hundreds.
When my husband died eight years ago it broke me. I shattered, and it took me almost a decade to put myself back together. During that time, I lost everything: my beloved, my home, my income, even my sense of self. And I spent the next eight years eating to fill this giant empty void inside my being where someone who I thought of as the love of my life used to be.
I ballooned up bigger than I had ever been, surpassing my previous high weight and moving into the 320s.
I avoided social situations, and only left the house when necessary. I was afraid I would have to ask for a stronger chair when invited to sit down for dinner at somebody's home. I was afraid that I would need to sit down every 20 or 30 steps during a leisurely stroll through the mall with a friend. My body ached; sometimes the pain was so bad that I could scarcely move-even sitting still was painful.
Life had become extremely small.
Deciding to get the surgery was surprisingly easy, but getting through the approval process and going through with the surgery summoned up terror in me that had been there since my first surgery when I was three years old.
I thought it would be a miracle if I were able to get the surgery, simply because my trauma was so severe for so many years that it seemed like an impossible feat to put myself in the hands of medical professionals, who I have never trusted all my life.
With lots of support from my mother, my sister who had already had the surgery, and my therapist, I was able to get the sleeve.
And it changed my life!
I also decided that I was going to make up for lost time now that I was going to be able to physically get around again. I sold all my stuff, ditched my apartment, bought an RV and moved in! And it's wonderful! I could not have fit in here, nor could I do the things necessary when living in an RV, at my previous weight.
This surgery has allowed me an opportunity for a whole new lease on life. I am officially one year postop, and I am down about 130 pounds, with another 30 to go. It's amazing the difference a single year can make!
If you know that this is right for you, and the only thing giving you pause is fear that is not coming from your true intuition: there are many people on these forums who feel that this surgery has saved our lives.
I am one of those people. Here is a before and present a photo of me, in a year, this could be you!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

When I was preparing to have my sleeve surgery, I spent a lot of time on this forum. I found most of the people here to be very helpful. Even though there's every kind of personality here, we all have one thing in common: we wanted to lose weight and be healthier.
Approaching any surgery is scary. There are real risks, and real rewards when all goes well.
I have struggled with weight my whole life. Total sugar junkie. Used food to replace every unmet need I had, to repress every emotion for which I was unprepared to deal.
I gained and lost hundreds of pounds over the course of my life. Hundreds.
When my husband died eight years ago it broke me. I shattered, and it took me almost a decade to put myself back together. During that time, I lost everything: my beloved, my home, my income, even my sense of self. And I spent the next eight years eating to fill this giant empty void inside my being where someone who I thought of as the love of my life used to be.
I ballooned up bigger than I had ever been, surpassing my previous high weight and moving into the 320s.
I avoided social situations, and only left the house when necessary. I was afraid I would have to ask for a stronger chair when invited to sit down for dinner at somebody's home. I was afraid that I would need to sit down every 20 or 30 steps during a leisurely stroll through the mall with a friend. My body ached; sometimes the pain was so bad that I could scarcely move-even sitting still was painful.
Life had become extremely small.
Deciding to get the surgery was surprisingly easy, but getting through the approval process and going through with the surgery summoned up terror in me that had been there since my first surgery when I was three years old.
I thought it would be a miracle if I were able to get the surgery, simply because my trauma was so severe for so many years that it seemed like an impossible feat to put myself in the hands of medical professionals, who I have never trusted all my life.
With lots of support from my mother, my sister who had already had the surgery, and my therapist, I was able to get the sleeve.
And it changed my life!
I also decided that I was going to make up for lost time now that I was going to be able to physically get around again. I sold all my stuff, ditched my apartment, bought an RV and moved in! And it's wonderful! I could not have fit in here, nor could I do the things necessary when living in an RV, at my previous weight.
This surgery has allowed me an opportunity for a whole new lease on life. I am officially one year postop, and I am down about 130 pounds, with another 30 to go. It's amazing the difference a single year can make!
If you know that this is right for you, and the only thing giving you pause is fear that is not coming from your true intuition: there are many people on these forums who feel that this surgery has saved our lives.
I am one of those people. Here is a before and present a photo of me, in a year, this could be you!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I really wanted to share this, because I feel very proud. And because I often see people posting about whether or not they should do it and how afraid they are, but I am one of these people who says: this is one of the best decisions I have ever made in my adult life!
The pic on the left was taken Aug. 31 2015 at around 320+ pounds. I had my surgery Nov 23, 2015. The photo on the right was taken a little over a week ago. 54 pounds until I reach my goal weight.

I would like to add an update to my progress. Here are some new pictures! I am the original poster.

now you've made me laugh out loud!
I have to make sure I do not sit in my chair for too long, or I get a pain in my rear, right where my tailbone is. but at least it gets me up and moving every half hour or so.

Oh man, just wait... it gets so much worse! I kept having stabbing pain in my @ss when sitting for more than 30 minutes. I started looking up symptoms on the internet. (Never do that!) I thought I had some sort of butt cyst. Turns out it is pretty normal for bariatric patients to think there is something wrong when it's just normal. I seriously thought my tailbone was trying to escape through my ass-crack.

@jupiterinvirgo,
Congratulations on your success! I love hearing stories like yours long after surgery. It shows that this is a lifestyle and a way of life. You look so great!
I have a question. I'm 9 months post op and have steadily lost 95 lbs. I'm 10 lbs away from goal. suddenly over the past week I have gained 3 lbs. I've never gained at all post surgery till now. Did this ever happen to you during your journey towards goal?
I'm trying g not to stress it but just wanted to ask a successful veteran if you ever experienced times of small gain?

Thank you! I needed to hear this! [emoji3]

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using BariatricPal mobile app

I don't and didn't follow low carb. Surgeon and NUT don't require it. Doing fine, lost 77 lbs so far!

I never counted carbs and over 260 pounds lost later, I still don't count them.

OMG you look incredible! I'm at 21 months and down over 150 pounds wondering if I should keep striving for further weight loss as I am already thinner than I've ever been as an adult, but after looking at your pictures I think I can go all the way!

I have to be honest with you: I never followed a daily meal plan. Certainly immediately after surgery but since then, I have followed my intuition. I have slipped, and slid. I have binged, and exercised. I have worked really hard, but I never ever let this become a diet. And I honestly think that for me that has been one of the biggest keys of success. Diets made me fat. And now I eat whatever makes me feel good, and my sleeve helps me not to overdo it. I generally try to stay away from highly processed junk food. My digestive tract can no longer handle it anyway.

I think many of us felt like you do in the beginning. For some people, they feel this way through the whole process. From the get-go, defining this surgical procedure as a permanent change to my body and lifestyle helped me to focus on the long-term goal instead of the immediate pay off that comes from either eating poorly or losing weight in a way that cannot be sustained long-term. This has served me well. In fact, I don't even own a scale. Every 3 to 4 months I usually come across to one and weigh in. It is always down! And it doesn't matter if it's down by 4 pounds or 20 pounds. As long as it's lower than it was last time. And it always is!

I think many of us felt like you do in the beginning. For some people, they feel this way through the whole process. From the get-go, defining this surgical procedure as a permanent change to my body and lifestyle helped me to focus on the long-term goal instead of the immediate pay off that comes from either eating poorly or losing weight in a way that cannot be sustained long-term. This has served me well. In fact, I don't even own a scale. Every 3 to 4 months I usually come across to one and weigh in. It is always down! And it doesn't matter if it's down by 4 pounds or 20 pounds. As long as it's lower than it was last time. And it always is!

I never fully subscribed to the bariatric gospel as I call it. My personal experience has been that long term I was guided to eat in a highly and balanced way that had consequences to how well I felt. So my tip is, listen to your body. If it is asking for nuts or a certain kind of cheese or certain fruits or vegetables, eat them. I have found that my body loses weight the most efficiently when it is well nourished. I have never counted calories since I had my surgery.

I have to be honest with you: I never followed a daily meal plan. Certainly immediately after surgery but since then, I have followed my intuition. I have slipped, and slid. I have binged, and exercised. I have worked really hard, but I never ever let this become a diet. And I honestly think that for me that has been one of the biggest keys of success. Diets made me fat. And now I eat whatever makes me feel good, and my sleeve helps me not to overdo it. I generally try to stay away from highly processed junk food. My digestive tract can no longer handle it anyway.

Wow, you look so beautiful and happy! [emoji1373][emoji1373][emoji1373][emoji173]️[emoji173]️[emoji173]️

You look amazing! I am almost 1 month post op and often feel like I'm not doing "things" the right way and like I'm not losing gray enough, your story gives me hope! Keep up the good work and thank you!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using BariatricPal mobile app