Tiamka

My curiosity kicked-in so I did a quick look-up on this question and here's what I found:
Smoking increases your risk of experiencing the following surgical complications:
Blood clots
Pneumonia
Marginal ulcers
Surgical wound infection
Smokers have almost a 30 percent complication rate after weight loss surgery, which is astoundingly higher than the surgical complication rate for non-smokers.
This information came from this website: https://www.flowersbariatriccenter.com/patient-resources/preparing-for-bariatric-surgery/why-it-matters-to-stop-smoking-after-weight-loss-surgery/
I haven't checked all the sources or done any cross-referencing, so this might not be 100% accurate, but it looks like pretty solid information.
Hope this helps!

Agreed!

I was in the hospital for two days and two nights.
The things I took that I actually used:
Laptop + charger Kindle + charger phone + charger lip balm!!! - This was a life saver! Longjohns/jammie pants Towel - everyone should know where her towel is (I sleep with mine) The things I took that I didn't use:
Extra set of clothes + slippers Toothbrush - one was provided My daily medication - they had this ready for me every day Real book - it was too dark in the evening and at night to read a regular book, but the kindle worked well My cpap machine - I know I should have used it, but it was way too much of an issue with everything else going on. The things I wish I had:
Noise cancelling headphones/earbuds - my neighbor (I was in a semi-private room) had her tv on ALL THE TIME! I really hated that and had them turn it off for the second night. Hand game/toy/puzzle to fiddle with when my eyes needed a break from my screens.

I'll look into getting some compression gear. Thank you all so much for all of your wonderful advice! - Time to go shopping... again

Definitely compression gear! Under armor makes some good stuff!

Compression garments are my friends. I've found some decent ones at thrift stores and they reduce the bouncing significantly.

I don't smoke but I can appreciate how difficult quitting the habit is. It's made even more difficult by the fact that Big Tobacco adds extra nicotine just so you'll smoke more and buy more. It's really a seedy and unethical way of driving up profits. R.J. Reynolds and Phillip Morris are sleezy corporations.

I was in the hospital for two days and two nights.
The things I took that I actually used:
Laptop + charger Kindle + charger phone + charger lip balm!!! - This was a life saver! Longjohns/jammie pants Towel - everyone should know where her towel is (I sleep with mine) The things I took that I didn't use:
Extra set of clothes + slippers Toothbrush - one was provided My daily medication - they had this ready for me every day Real book - it was too dark in the evening and at night to read a regular book, but the kindle worked well My cpap machine - I know I should have used it, but it was way too much of an issue with everything else going on. The things I wish I had:
Noise cancelling headphones/earbuds - my neighbor (I was in a semi-private room) had her tv on ALL THE TIME! I really hated that and had them turn it off for the second night. Hand game/toy/puzzle to fiddle with when my eyes needed a break from my screens.

I have been plagued with 'stall and drop' loss ever since my surgery (3.21.17). My weight-loss graph looks like descending steps rather than a smooth ramp. I started working out when I went back to work, two weeks after my surgery. I worked out 3 times a week for 30 mins, along with walking at least 8500 steps every day. All I did was resistance training (small hand weights and bands). I was very careful to stop immediately if something hurt or didn't feel right. I was weight restricted to lifting no more than 15 lbs for the first three months, then I was cleared for whatever I could handle.
Now I work out 5-6 times a week still doing 30 minute resistance training (sometimes longer if I'm alone in my basement) and daily walking. I really just don't care for cardio.
My stalls and plateaus concerned me and although I was losing fat, the scale didn't (doesn't) always move much. When I discussed this with my doctor (my 6 month check-up was last week), he said, after looking at my current status, "Whatever you are doing is good. Keep doing that."
So my advice is two-fold:
Always do what your doctor and weight-management team tell you to do, they know you better than we do. Focus on healing! Don't push. You will probably recover much more quickly than I did since I was in rotten shape before my surgery and basically had to start from scratch.

Exactly.
I was very selective about the several I told about my gastric sleeve. It was my choice after 20+ serious diets and several badly-timed diets over a 25+ year period.
This sleeve surgery is me "investing" in me with my insurance money, my medical gap money, my time, etc. to get ahead of all the failed diets.
I should not have to keep justifying my choice in this to people who contend I should have had another shot or two at so-called 'natural' weight-loss.
My brother-in-law, for instance, is generally a lovely helpful man, a very well self-educated single tradesman in the building industry. He is, at any time, 10% to 15% over his ideal weight but judges himself as normal compared to his sister (my wife) and me.
He is blindly certain that it's simply more calories burnt than calories eaten. And I believe that that is true ... UP TO A CRITICAL TIPPING POINT for many people. But once one is morbidly obese for whatever single reason or combination of reasons, it's just like the Allies fighting WW2 on nine fronts in two theatres of the globe. It becomes all consuming, tiring and it becomes only possible to win if a maximum investment is made.
My brother-in-law is the ultimate armchair critic. He has ALL the answers ... in his opinion.
On my weight loss (and my wife's) I just don't want to hear him any more.
My wife has tried the gastric balloon method ... the first one for eight months and the new one has been in about eight weeks. She's dropped from almost 130kg to about 82kg. Her general target is to be "in the 60s" by xmas-time.
I have taken the more drastic step of gastric sleeve. My goal is precisely 100kg below my starting weight. So, in time, I want to be as close as possible to THREE-SEVENTHS of what I was in July. [174.6kg to 74.6kg ... BMI 56.4 to BMI 24.1].
I don't want to **ck this up so I am backing my $$ expenditure with careful commitment to my success. This is 72 hours post-op for me ... sleeved 12th Oct at 8:30am.

I think people who have not battle obesity just don't understand.

So appreciate all the feedback from those who have already travelled the path. It is inspiring and comforting to hear all your advice and feedback and I look forward to one day being able to share the same sort of insights. This is a lifelong journey and I can wait to start.

In my first six months I lost 70 lbs. My doctor and I were both pleased by this. I am now in the process of trying to lose another 35 lbs over the next six months (which will put me at around 150 lbs).

However, I agree with AZBlackhawk - Comparisons aren't really going to be a healthy pastime. Each of us looses differently and will have different results over time. If you stick with your plan and follow your weight management team's instructions you will succeed, faster than some of us and slower than others.

If you feel like you are slipping or back-sliding, just come here and talk to us, we will always be here to help and support you!

You absolutely can! Keep your eye on the prize: a new, gorgeous and most importantly, Healthier you. This is just another step towards that prize. Stick with it and you will amaze yourself at the changes you are able to make. We're here for you

Before I had the surgery, I would tell some people I met on dating sites and they would tell me, "Oh you don't need it! You're beautiful all ready!" I just wanted to reach through my computer and strangle them. Dude, I didn't have the surgery to be "more beautiful," I had it so I could have my life back, do the things I want to do, and not worry about dying before my 40th birthday.

I will say that although surgery does make things easier, it is NOT the easy way out. Maybe it levels the playing field so that you aren't as hungry or can't eat as much as you did before. You can still SLIDE your way to obesity even with the surgery. My cousin has had GB and is about 250 pounds. She was about 300 pounds before, lost 125 pounds, and then gained back 75 pounds.
My cousin had the surgery to save her life, and it just might have. She could be well over 400 pounds now if she didn't have it. She eats the way she has always eaten. She eats fast food often, and grazes on processed Snacks all the time. She just eats way less than she used to. She is also not active. She has never been active. Last year, she admitted to me that her restriction was still there, but it was difficult for her to make good choices like it was right after surgery.
She had surgery 10 years ago. If it were the easy way out, she would be at a normal weight right now. She wouldn't have regained well over half of the weight back.
You see, most of us didn't just eat when we were hungry. We snacked a lot as well. I took a nutrition course that said that a habit of snacking on processed snacks and sugar could account for up to 30% of our excess body fat. Since these are sliders, surgery won't help with this. It also won't keep you away from the drive- thru if that is your thing.

I take it all the way and say I don't want to die and I want to be able to one day see my grand children. After that they know anything they say is irrelevant. Please don't let anyone get you down we made a choice and no one has the right to make you feel unworthy. Feel bad for the haters they will make themselves known.

I am going to be very open in the hope that it helps others. My surgeon had operated on THREE people I knew with great results. And if I hadn't observed them I might never have researched it. I hate when people say "you didn't need to do that" and I tell them that once you have gone over a certain BMI you only have a 1 or 2 % chance of losing the weight and keeping it off. It's very new science and I'm delighted to talk about it.

@Introversion I guess I don't want to hide the fact that I'm doing it. I want people to stop shaming for people for using WLS as a tool for success rather than continuing to call it the easy way out.

I never had to explain myself because I told no one about WLS except for a select handful of persons who would support me.
Personal boundaries are golden. You owe nobody an explanation, nor do you need to defend your choice to undergo surgery.

Seriously though, any time you venture into the subject of WLS surgery and someone asks you why? I just get annoyed by it at this point. So I tell them I'm morbidly obese which leads to the "why don't you go to the gym, why don't you try this new diet, why would you want to do something so crazy when there are better ways to lose weight it just takes hard work?" Then I tell them about all the fad diet programs I've tried, that I go to the gym 4 times a week 1.5 hour each time alternation on strength training and cardio, which leads to more Why questions. Honestly I'm really tired of the why question, I'm all for educating the people around me but 9/10 times there questioning not because they care or want to know but because they think I'm taking the "easy way out", and that really irritates me.
So is anyone else out there sick and tired of explaining themselves?

Yes, i think im going to do just that. I cant go back to that smelly, filthy...deliciously calming...er...bad, deadly habit!!

The joy of the yuletide ... finding out a best buddy received an all-time best chance for xmas.
I envisage applause and many, many questions.

My husband, 2 of my grown children, 1 boss, and 3 friends. That's all I have and will tell. Along with 22000 people on this forum.

This is exactly the right advice, plus the lovely words and helpful information from LillieDuFran about the crisis line.

Immediately after my surgery (the first two weeks) I really felt too strung-out to feel anxiety, depression or much anything else. I was just plain TIRED! But taking the Vitamins regularly (after my doc cleared me) helped immensely. I take my Multi-Vitamin and other supplements and a few meds every day and it really helps keep my energy at a normal level, plus the exercise that I do daily now, helps me better manage my anxiety.

Hang in there, we are here for you and will always be willing to listen.