KristenLe

Holy S&%t! You look so damn good! You are an inspiration! And wicked cute bathing suit!
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Congrats! That's a great victory! I can't wait for that feeling!
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I got on the scale this morning, and my weight began with a "1". My weight was 319 on the morning of October 1, 2015, and I've been so looking forward to this day! I know that what the scale shows is only a part of the big picture, but the rest of the picture is positive also, and I'm so excited about the changes is my health and self-esteem. I just wanted to share this news, for me and also for those who are newly post-op, or having surgery soon. It feels amazing to say this to people who understand the little triumphs and the feeling that comes with them.

I fell in love with a coconut pie once. So id say 2.5 seconds -

-Being able to fit in a booth without having to "suck it in".
-crossing my legs.
-being able to shave my legs without pulling a muscle.
-sleeping without my c-pap.
-getting off BP meds.
-taking a shower without getting out of breath.
-being able to take a nice hot bath and ALL my body parts are under water!
-not thinking about food constantly.
-making love with my husband without feeling ashamed of my body.
Are just a few.......????
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Feeling better (less aches and pains), more energy, more social (stop obsessing about if I'll fit into the booth when we go out to eat, or if I'm going to pull a Shallow Hal and break a stool or chair, how I need to sit in aisle seat at a concert and attempt to make myself smaller so I don't annoy the people around me,) being able to have a picture taken of me that doesn't make me cringe or cry and pray no one sees it!, having a shirt for more than a day before I spill something down the front of me, going to my PCP and getting a clean bill of health instead of another referral to a specialist because something else is wrong with me, a better sex life, more energy, wearing a worn out pair of levis in regular size and looking damn good, etc, etc.
I just pray I'll get there...
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Feeling better (less aches and pains), more energy, more social (stop obsessing about if I'll fit into the booth when we go out to eat, or if I'm going to pull a Shallow Hal and break a stool or chair, how I need to sit in aisle seat at a concert and attempt to make myself smaller so I don't annoy the people around me,) being able to have a picture taken of me that doesn't make me cringe or cry and pray no one sees it!, having a shirt for more than a day before I spill something down the front of me, going to my PCP and getting a clean bill of health instead of another referral to a specialist because something else is wrong with me, a better sex life, more energy, wearing a worn out pair of levis in regular size and looking damn good, etc, etc.
I just pray I'll get there...
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Well stop for a min and think about it....you lived on liquids which by nature more than likely threw your body into starvation mode. That takes awhile to do. Now you've reintroduced foods. Your body being in starvation mode is going to grab onto that food and store it! You just starved it. It's the body's way of protecting itself from the next starvation. You can thank your caveman brothers for that! It's the bodies survival mode. You would be thankful for it had you really had the threat of starving to death. Anyway. You're also recovering. Give your body a chance to catch up. You knew you were having surgery, your body not so much. It's in shock! Give yourself time to adjust. Do what your plan says to do. Stay off the scale for awhile! You will drive yourself nuts! Just stay on the Drs plan. It will work. It takes time, lots of time. Breathe.......This coming from a chick that's been there. Check out those stats below. WINK!!!

Feeling better (less aches and pains), more energy, more social (stop obsessing about if I'll fit into the booth when we go out to eat, or if I'm going to pull a Shallow Hal and break a stool or chair, how I need to sit in aisle seat at a concert and attempt to make myself smaller so I don't annoy the people around me,) being able to have a picture taken of me that doesn't make me cringe or cry and pray no one sees it!, having a shirt for more than a day before I spill something down the front of me, going to my PCP and getting a clean bill of health instead of another referral to a specialist because something else is wrong with me, a better sex life, more energy, wearing a worn out pair of levis in regular size and looking damn good, etc, etc.
I just pray I'll get there...
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Feeling better (less aches and pains), more energy, more social (stop obsessing about if I'll fit into the booth when we go out to eat, or if I'm going to pull a Shallow Hal and break a stool or chair, how I need to sit in aisle seat at a concert and attempt to make myself smaller so I don't annoy the people around me,) being able to have a picture taken of me that doesn't make me cringe or cry and pray no one sees it!, having a shirt for more than a day before I spill something down the front of me, going to my PCP and getting a clean bill of health instead of another referral to a specialist because something else is wrong with me, a better sex life, more energy, wearing a worn out pair of levis in regular size and looking damn good, etc, etc.
I just pray I'll get there...
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I originally went thinking I would only do the band - then I heard that 50-60% of banders need secondary surgeries at some point due to complications and the weight loss is the lowest of the 3 options. My surgeon recommended the sleeve after reading my history and our discussion. I don't tend to eat sweets often so I don't need to have the added deterrent of dumping syndrome to my weight loss attempt. I also don't graze so the restriction only surgery is a good choice. The surgeon, nutritionist and psych along with the patient decide the best option in my practice. I just started my journey.
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I chose sleeve because that's what my doctor recommended. I thought I wanted lap band. Sleeve was perfect for me because I had relatively low BMI (42) and no insurance recognized comorbities. If your doctor is pushing you towards gastric bypass's listen to them and if your not sure get a second opinion. WLS is not one size fits all. If I had diabetes or GERD I would definitely considered gastric bypass.

Last year, instead of going to the WLS seminar I thought "I don't want anything that drastic..I can do this without surgery"! Well I was as wrong - I'm heavier and heading towards 300lbs. I have hypertension, hypothyroidism, PCOS, Mild sleep apnea, interstitial cystitis, joint pain, degenerative disc disease, aches and pains all the time (back, hip, ankles). I can not do this myself and I don't want to be dead or riding around in a hoveround (?sp) when I'm 50 (48 now!). I figure at the rate I'm going I'll be diabetic before long! In addition to my health issues - I can't stand the sight of myself. My weight is impacting my social life.
WLS isn't for everyone and it certainly isn't an easy decision but it's a decision I wish I made 10 or more years ago! :-)
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Last year, instead of going to the WLS seminar I thought "I don't want anything that drastic..I can do this without surgery"! Well I was as wrong - I'm heavier and heading towards 300lbs. I have hypertension, hypothyroidism, PCOS, Mild sleep apnea, interstitial cystitis, joint pain, degenerative disc disease, aches and pains all the time (back, hip, ankles). I can not do this myself and I don't want to be dead or riding around in a hoveround (?sp) when I'm 50 (48 now!). I figure at the rate I'm going I'll be diabetic before long! In addition to my health issues - I can't stand the sight of myself. My weight is impacting my social life.
WLS isn't for everyone and it certainly isn't an easy decision but it's a decision I wish I made 10 or more years ago! :-)
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Last year, instead of going to the WLS seminar I thought "I don't want anything that drastic..I can do this without surgery"! Well I was as wrong - I'm heavier and heading towards 300lbs. I have hypertension, hypothyroidism, PCOS, Mild sleep apnea, interstitial cystitis, joint pain, degenerative disc disease, aches and pains all the time (back, hip, ankles). I can not do this myself and I don't want to be dead or riding around in a hoveround (?sp) when I'm 50 (48 now!). I figure at the rate I'm going I'll be diabetic before long! In addition to my health issues - I can't stand the sight of myself. My weight is impacting my social life.
WLS isn't for everyone and it certainly isn't an easy decision but it's a decision I wish I made 10 or more years ago! :-)
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The darker belly button skin looks like an aerola! Strange!
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I think of the surgery as more of tool to maintain the lost weight over time. How many of us here have lost a tom of pounds to only gain it back? Mixed with the emotional aspect of eating that many of us have and do deal with, this tool can be a God send.
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Last year, instead of going to the WLS seminar I thought "I don't want anything that drastic..I can do this without surgery"! Well I was as wrong - I'm heavier and heading towards 300lbs. I have hypertension, hypothyroidism, PCOS, Mild sleep apnea, interstitial cystitis, joint pain, degenerative disc disease, aches and pains all the time (back, hip, ankles). I can not do this myself and I don't want to be dead or riding around in a hoveround (?sp) when I'm 50 (48 now!). I figure at the rate I'm going I'll be diabetic before long! In addition to my health issues - I can't stand the sight of myself. My weight is impacting my social life.
WLS isn't for everyone and it certainly isn't an easy decision but it's a decision I wish I made 10 or more years ago! :-)
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@@bayougirlmrsc
The best feeling in the world is walking past lane Bryant I'm still not used to it and really can't believe I'm actually fitting into clothes at regular stores .. It's so frigging exciting !!!! Yay!! Yay!!!

I just said I was obsessed with it.......didn't say I was letting it ride...yet

I think most of the time they are just trying to be nice by saying you don't need it. It's rare that you will say you're having WLS and someone says "well it's about time fatty". That wouldn't be very nice.

Last year, instead of going to the WLS seminar I thought "I don't want anything that drastic..I can do this without surgery"! Well I was as wrong - I'm heavier and heading towards 300lbs. I have hypertension, hypothyroidism, PCOS, Mild sleep apnea, interstitial cystitis, joint pain, degenerative disc disease, aches and pains all the time (back, hip, ankles). I can not do this myself and I don't want to be dead or riding around in a hoveround (?sp) when I'm 50 (48 now!). I figure at the rate I'm going I'll be diabetic before long! In addition to my health issues - I can't stand the sight of myself. My weight is impacting my social life.
WLS isn't for everyone and it certainly isn't an easy decision but it's a decision I wish I made 10 or more years ago! :-)
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The straw that broke the camel's back is that I am just tired of being disrespected and people treating me like crap, that and I recently saw myself on a homemade video and it made me cringe, like my mind had a hard time connecting with that, that person in the video was me, this very large, uncomfortable and depressed looking woman. I'm like damn I'm huuuge! For some weird reason I don't really notice my size much when I look into the mirror, I just see my face and my eyes. I only become aware of it when I try to get into cramped places like my car and fighting with the seat belt, when I go clothes and shoes shopping, when I struggle with walking or breathing and suffer the symptoms from my weight related health issues or when my family or strangers make nasty remarks about it. Now I don't think that if I become skinny people will magically start respecting or liking me, but I think that some of the confidence I will gain in myself from weight loss will help me stick up for myself more and maybe people will take me more seriously. I'm tired of making up excuses for the way people treat me, "Oh well if I weren't fat they wouldn't say or act this way towards me." Or, "Don't worry about it, I'm not alive yet, this isn't the real me they're laughing at, they're just laughing at my body because its morbidly big."

There are several side effects of anesthesia but nothing to worry about. They will initially give you something by IV that will calm you. You won't remember much once you're "under" but waking up you will be groggy, your throat will be sore, and you may be cold (shivering) but the Recovery Room RNs will do everything to make you comfortable. They will ask you alot of questions pre-op so don't hesitate to ask the Anesthesiologist any questions. I have had a few surgeries and one I wasn't able to have general anesthesia so had a spinal and I much prefer to be "under"! Try not to worry - but be sure to ask any question you have of the surgeon or operative team.
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I've been obese all my life. It got to the point where it was pretty damn obvious that I couldn't do it "on my own." I could lose weight (never enough to get to a normal BMI though) but then I would re-gain it all plus more.
To cap it off, I looked at actual scientific studies and saw that for morbidly obese people, only something like 5% can maintain any kind of weight loss, even a modest weight loss (10 - 20 lbs) without surgery. With surgery, the percentages goes up exponentially. I realized I am not a special snowflake. I am not in the 5%, and even if I was, I would want more than a 10 lbs weight loss. So I gave up on beating myself up over concepts that people don't even understand but like to throw around like "willpower" and "choices" and decided it would be idiotic to try to solve a serious, medical problem without serious, medical intervention.