2ndSpring

Everything she said....plus get all your laundry done before - bending and lifting will be hard for a week or so.
good luck! you must be so excited.

Everything she said....plus get all your laundry done before - bending and lifting will be hard for a week or so.
good luck! you must be so excited.

Everything she said....plus get all your laundry done before - bending and lifting will be hard for a week or so.
good luck! you must be so excited.

That first week was really rough. Everything hurts, your insides are still swollen and tender so you can't drink your liquids, it is hard to bend over or reach, and it hurts to sit up or roll over in bed. I promise that it gets better a little every day. Day 7 for me was a huge turning point where all of a sudden, I just felt better.
Focus on your liquids for now and take your pain meds, they will let you walk around which helps the healing process.
Good luck and I'm sure you'll be feeling better in a few days.

That first week was really rough. Everything hurts, your insides are still swollen and tender so you can't drink your liquids, it is hard to bend over or reach, and it hurts to sit up or roll over in bed. I promise that it gets better a little every day. Day 7 for me was a huge turning point where all of a sudden, I just felt better.
Focus on your liquids for now and take your pain meds, they will let you walk around which helps the healing process.
Good luck and I'm sure you'll be feeling better in a few days.

I almost didn't open this post because I thought, "oh no no no, I can't read another illogical post from someone who thinks it may be better to stay overweight rather than deal with excess skin" haha. glad I opened it and I agree with you. I hope that people who may be considering WLS read this and understand that when you weigh the pros and cons, excess skin is on the con side, but it is a tiny tiny factor when compared to better health, longer life, improved functionality, and increased social activity.
On the other hand, commiserating about it down the road after weight loss, is something we can all share together. I'm not there yet, but I imagine it is hard to have constant reminders of an old life hanging around and plastic surgery would feel like a bit of closure. I plan on doing it when the time comes.

I almost didn't open this post because I thought, "oh no no no, I can't read another illogical post from someone who thinks it may be better to stay overweight rather than deal with excess skin" haha. glad I opened it and I agree with you. I hope that people who may be considering WLS read this and understand that when you weigh the pros and cons, excess skin is on the con side, but it is a tiny tiny factor when compared to better health, longer life, improved functionality, and increased social activity.
On the other hand, commiserating about it down the road after weight loss, is something we can all share together. I'm not there yet, but I imagine it is hard to have constant reminders of an old life hanging around and plastic surgery would feel like a bit of closure. I plan on doing it when the time comes.

Happy Birthday! And congrats on your successful journey. You have so much to be proud of. going back to school - YAY!

If you are following your plan, then nothing has gone wrong. Weight loss is not linear, and it is easy enough to stall or even show a gain of a pound or two, depending on whether or not you retaining Water, or even if you haven't pooped for a day or two. This is a long term commitment, not a race, and we all have to look at it that way. I get discouraged if I get on the scale too often. Last week I lost a whole pound over a period of eight days. Then from Sunday to Wednesday, I lost four pounds. And I don't have to deal with the same issues that women have. I just have to live with them.

As I stated in my comment, I am not telling everyone because I like my privacy and to avoid negativity. There are a lot of instagram accounts of sleevers that are VERY helpful to others wanting the surgery or to support the ones that have had the surgery already.... you might find it a little surprising that a lot of them are closet sleevers. Even if we are not open with people in our everyday lives, we can still be useful to others by other means like private social media accounts, groups or forums.
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Setting a date was near the end of the process for me. I had to get all my clearances in first and then had a second appt with the surgeon and we picked a date.

You are in and out so fast - surgery in the morning, home by the next afternoon. I did a ton of research and brought a whole bag of stuff - comfy clothes, my kindle, all kinds of toiletries - and didn't use any of it. After surgery, you are groggy from anesthesia and then you will have an IV painkiller, so reading comprehension scores are close to zero. I pretty much was either sleeping or walking the whole time. I didn't even wear my slippers, which is shocking because I'm a bit of a germophobe. I just walked around in the hospital socks. When things hurt, you don't care! haha
Chapstick was a lifesaver. I bought biotene for dry mouth but didnt use it, I used the little sponge the nurse gave me. You wont be thirsty because you are hydrated by the IV, but your mouth gets really dry.

congrats!!! thanks for sharing for success with us.

chuckle. you painted a great visual picture. I needed a laugh today, thanks

Aww, thank you!
That's a brilliant idea, I love pro/con lists and they really help to lay things more clearly.
I also cannot wait to be able to ride a roller coaster again! I haven't in 10 years! That will be an awesome non-scale victory.
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@@MissJDVSG made such a thoughtful post and she said it all very well.
The only thing I would add is that there are a lot of other factors to consider besides appearance. Imagine your daily life and make a list of all the Pros and Cons that surgery would bring. Loose skin and surgery risks are definitely on the Con side, but there may be a whole list of happy things on the Pro side. For me, some of the Pros I am looking forward to are: riding a rollercoaster; going to the mall and being able to shop in any clothes store; fitting on airplane seats; and crossing my legs.
Best wishes

Literally the only things I used were chapstick & my cell phone [which also served as my kindle to read books]. I took so much crap with me, and didn't end up touching any of it but those two items. >_>
No, wait -- a hairbrush, too. Your hair will be a disaster from sleeping in the hospital beds...!

I'm still pre-op, and I understand where you are coming from. I'm 27, and I would of course prefer not to have extra or loose skin after I lose weight. I've been overweight most of my life, and have had some self esteem issues based on that, as well.
So, these are some thoughts I have based on your question:
I know you don't want to lose the parts of yourself that you like, but I know from experience (I've lost about 100 pounds before) that when you lose weight, you will lose at least some weight from your breasts and might have some loose skin.
Here's the most important thing: your health, your ability to LIVE a long and healthy life, is much more important than worrying about loose skin. You say that you can't afford plastic surgery, but that might not be the case forever (because it will take you a year or two to get to your maintainable weight anyway- I'm not sure what your height is, but you've probably got about 200-250 pounds to lose).
I know that you want to look good, that's natural, we all want that. But you will feel so much better with weight loss, your confidence will naturally rise. And you will look better at a smaller weight.
Think about it, as we get older, we (obese) people tend to put on more and more weight, even if slowly. At some point, our weight will get to a point where it impacts our health, our mobility, and our ability to live a normal life.
You say you don't want to be more depressed than you are. But with weight loss, a lot of people find that their depression improves. And with weight loss, it will mean you can exercise more easily, which is a natural anti-depressant. Even if your post-weight loss body doesn't look Hollywood perfect, you will feel so much better.
And in terms of the lap-band, I'm not an expert, but I don't recommend it. It's not good for as much weight as you need to lose. Also, I've had 5 friends who have had it, and they all have had some long term complication with it. Some surgeons don't even do them anymore. Regardless, the impact on your body will be the same. It took a while for you to get to 430 pounds, but with surgery you will drop weight quickly, which leads to potential for loose skin.
I am almost done with the pre-op process for my insurance and will have my sleeve in about 2 months. I am scared of surgery and I was worried about lose skin, but I just want to feel good again. I want to be able to be more active, I want to have kids and be able to chase them, professionally people take fit people more seriously and treat them with more respect than obese people, and I want to live a long life. These are the reasons why I am doing this. I too don't have money to just drop on plastic surgery (I'm 330, I'll probably need some after I get to my goal of around 140), but I created a savings plan for myself, where I put away a small amount of my paycheck every week into savings for surgery.
In regard to your exercise question, during the first 6-8 months, tho weight will come off without exercise because you are eating so little, because your stomach can't hold more. During this time, it's important to establish good healthy eating habits. However, you should exercise, not only because it will make the weight loss faster, but it will also tone your body (somewhat improving loose skin), but also because it naturally feels good to exercise (it releases good endorphins in your body). Also, you will need exercise for later in your journey, when you can eat larger portions, in order to help maintain your weight loss.
You are still so young, you have so much living left to do. Loose skin/smaller breasts are nothing to be ashamed of, and they won't kill you the way morbid obesity will. If you can, have the surgery and begin your new life.
Keep in mind that you are beautiful and worthwhile regardless of appearance. But when you lose weight and become naturally more confident, it will show on you in the best way! Don't let fear hold you back from getting a surgery that will definitely improve your quality of life.
If you ever want to talk, feel free to private message me.
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Sleeve patients don't have malabsorption, so they don't necessarily need Vitamins for life (though it's suggested for micronutrients), and they don't typically have nausea/vomiting/diarrhea past the first few weeks post-op. The risk for clots is the same for any surgery, and leaks are very rare. So she's badly misinformed.
Also, just FYI, most doctor's offices don't actually employ registered nurses anymore (though there are a few that still do), so there's a good chance the "nurse" you're talking to is actually a medical assistant. While I don't want to dis MA's, they are absolutely critical to keeping patient flow going in a doctor's office, they are NOT registered nurses, and their training is limited to taking vital signs and a few other tasks they do in a doctor's office. So next time, ask her what her credentials are. Not that having an RN makes what she's saying OK, because it's wrong regardless, but it might help your perspective of where she's coming from, or give you ammunition to shut her down if that's what you want to do.
I address a lot of this kind of crap in my post
http://www.theantichick.com/2016/08/05/the-easy-way-out/
Bottom line, if diet/exercise worked even 50% of the time, they might have an argument. But the data tells a different story. I have no issue telling people to educate themselves before they start lecturing me about what to do with my body. My medical team and I came to a decision about what was the best option for me, and everyone else needs to respect that. If someone has a genuine concern or information, I'm happy to listen, but I don't tolerate people telling me I'm making the wrong call based on bad information.
Good luck to you!!!

When I saw your post and that it was in the trending section I had an idea of how it was going to go and I thought...ahh poor person who thought it was a good idea to post here about blowing their post-op liquid diet. I hope you have thick skin.
I like to comment on all of the posts about screwing up the diets that everyone else followed religiously and never messed up, because I am generally a big proponent of doing what works for you, which is often directly against what the literature says you should be doing. My stipulation though is that rules can be bent a smidge at the phase when you're almost done with soft foods, and flat out broken at some point beyond the two month mark where you can't actually hurt yourself by eating anything, but just won't really do yourself any favors. In the first weeks after surgery, even I, the person who most heavily advocates for making informed decisions that don't always align with doctor's orders, tend to say to stick with the plan you are given because it does actually impact your health and safety.
That being said...clearly you know you made a mistake and since you've been commenting in here, you're doing just fine. Your mistake didn't hurt you this time, and so use this as a learning experience and move forward. We all screw up, but those of us who have maintained weight loss successfully know that when you fall off the wagon, you just have to get right back up. For the next few weeks, you aren't going to feel great, you will want normal food, and you are going to be cranky. It really does get better from here though and soon enough you will be back at a point where you can eat whatever you want (in small portions) and if your experience is like mine, you really won't have any great desire for food you shouldn't be eating.
The sleeve is a long and periodically miserable journey. I am now 38 months post-op and I have maintained within 3 pounds of goal (above and below) for about 20 months, and within 3-4 pounds of goal for about 2 years now. There are days I eat things I shouldn't, but for the most part I don't care a whole lot about food anymore. I weigh myself everyday and when I find that my weight is creeping up again, I go back to being more strict with my diet. Right now you don't have the value of hindsight, so I'll give you mine. For every bit of misery that the first few weeks- months caused, every single second was worth it. I remember sobbing to my best friend the first week that I had ruined my life. I spent most of years 2-3 puking everytime I tried to eat anything that wasn't a dry carb, and I still can't eat a bunch of stuff without getting sick. I look at my scars from plastic surgery and sometimes I feel ashamed. I look at cake and Cookies and sometimes miss my old friends. I then go put on my size 2 jeans and my xs shirt and I smile....because in the end, all of the feeling of missing out on something and being sick and tired and hungry, it all pays off.
You can do this. Time passes no matter what you do, so as long as you keep putting one foot in front of the other, handle every day as it comes, and use your past mistakes as ways to learn and do better in the future, soon enough you will realize that your life goes back to normal, except it's a new normal where you are healthy, happy, and when you can look back on this point and realize that all of the misery now was worth the future, which at some point will be your present.

Hi Violet,
Bravo to you for having the courage to take this step. I'm only 8 weeks out (gastric sleeve) but so far it feels like the best decision I ever made.
The period from when you are prepping for surgery through your weight loss phase is a great time for self reflection. Being open and honest with ourselves (but not critical) about our behaviors is the key to changing them. If Mom and Sis are saying these things with love, then perhaps there is a kernel of truth to parts of it. That doesn't mean they are right about WLS, just that you may want to dig through what they are saying and pick out the parts that you can work on to make your journey successful.
Best of luck, and we are all here for you.

I had my surgery on a Wednesday. I was off Thurs & Fri and then all of the following week. By then, I didn't have much pain and I was doing pretty well with liquids and Protein. The first 7 calendar days were really tough for me, but then all of sudden it got easier and easier each day after that.
I've only told my daughter, son-in-law and parents. I'm a really bad liar so I'm going to stay as close to the truth as I can...... very low carb, high Protein and Portion Control. all of which is true.

The world has become so weight obsessed that when someone loses weight, people will either react with curiosity (because they want to duplicate what you did) or with negativity (because they are jealous). In either case, these are their issues to deal with, not yours. If they can console themselves by pretending you've lost too much weight, then they don't have to confront their own issues.
The tongue waggers in your office need a diversion. Haha, you could sleep with the office hottie and give them something new to talk about. LOL - just kidding, don't do that.

I am scheduled for December 19th, and while my mom has been very supportive, I have faced a little bit of questioning from my dad and husband. I bring this up because some of what your sister said sounds a bit like what I'm hearing from the men in my life. Chances are she is saying it, not because she doesn't want you to be healthy, but because she is afraid for you. As a fellow person who has struggled with clinical depression (and self-injury) as well as a few cases in my life where I have not followed through on something (y'know, if you ignore everything I have followed through with!), I was also frustrated at the seeming reluctance of people close to me.

Your sister is probably concerned for your safety, your mental well-being, and perhaps selfishly how it will effect her when you are all together. I firmly believe she will get over it. But, you need to do what's right for you! Don't back out if this is what you want and need. She is probably dealing with her own fears and worries right now for you. I know that doesn't make it easier, but they love you!

On that note, I am telling the rest of my family this week at Thanksgiving (two sisters know already...worried about the third and grandma) and my husband's mother (she will not be pleased, but again, I think it is more out of worry for how it could effect me and how it will effect her) in the next week or two.

But, remember, you have everyone here as well!

Hi Violet,
Bravo to you for having the courage to take this step. I'm only 8 weeks out (gastric sleeve) but so far it feels like the best decision I ever made.
The period from when you are prepping for surgery through your weight loss phase is a great time for self reflection. Being open and honest with ourselves (but not critical) about our behaviors is the key to changing them. If Mom and Sis are saying these things with love, then perhaps there is a kernel of truth to parts of it. That doesn't mean they are right about WLS, just that you may want to dig through what they are saying and pick out the parts that you can work on to make your journey successful.
Best of luck, and we are all here for you.