lovely_tai

Hi everyone . I'm in the beginning stages of my wls journey as I was recently accepted into a Bariatric program and have my first meeting with a surgeon next week! I'm planning to move forward with the sleeve. I have been doing a lot of research and preparing myself mentally for the changes that lay ahead.
One thing that is really bothering me is not wanting to be the poster child for wls! I'm a private person and the idea of having to tell people (outside my immediate family) I had this surgery is driving me nuts. I also don't want to lie to anyone who asks how I'm losing all this weight! "Oh I'm just exercising and eating right blah blah..." I'm not ashamed so I don't feel the need to lie, and I also don't want to miss out on an opportunity to encourage or inspire someone who may be thinking about surgery. And I don't want to contribute to the stigma of this surgery. However, opening up about the procedure invites more questions, scrutiny, etc and at this point, I just don't think I will want to share those private things about me... just doesn't feel right.
I'm not really sure what my question is, but what are others thoughts about this? Should I just suck it up and accept that I will be known for this and prepare to answer people's questions? Or is there really a way to do this privately? Lying to people is not an option I'm considering because I think it will be damaging to my self image. Thanks in advance for any insights!

I started this amazing weight loss journey on March 21, 2016 with my six month pre-op diet program, so tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of the day that I began the journey to get healthier and to take back my life. As I wrap this year up, I have lost 182 pounds (99 during the pre-op diet program and 83 since the surgery on September 28, 2016). The time has just flown by, and it amazes me every day how much my life is different. I had my annual physical with my PCP last Thursday, and my labs came back this morning. Everything is in the normal range. That is also so cool. The bottom line is that all of the hard work is worth it. My relationship with food is now a healthy one. I am no longer obese. Life is good!
I have 35 more pounds to lose, and my journey continues. But I am proud to stop and reflect for a moment about this past year of working on a better me, and to look forward to getting the rest of this weight off by summer, and then entering the world of maintenance.
Best wishes to all, wherever you may be in your journey!

Whooo hooo! Congrats!

Got the green light at my psych eval. Now Dr Dutta will look at my file and if he gives me the approval, I get to schedule surgery! WOOHOO!

At Richmond they just assigned us surgeons we didn't pick. But in my support classes I've heard people rave about your Dr. Hahn.

Btw
I have heard Dr Hann named mentioned here & hear he's usually kinda busy so if you got a consultation w him for next week that's good .. that's all I know about him .
Good luck [emoji106][emoji256]
Keep me posted ok

That's great !!
Thanks for the info .. & heads up on the Dr.
I do have the binder already I've read thru quite a bit .
I will look up the dr .. I didn't realize we get a choice .. that's good !
Sounds like the process moves fairly quick ..
Can't wait to get going on this journey .

Hello!
I went to the orientation today. I'm actually hanging out reading my big binder of information now. There was at least 20 people in my class and it was a pretty good experience. They called us up one at a time and recorded everyone's weight before the class started while we were waiting in the waiting room. Later, while the surgeon was presenting, he noted that they typically ask people to loose 10% of their weight but that it is customized to each person. Some may be asked to loose less depending on their circumstance. He said your goal weight is calculated from the highest in your chart within one year. So any weight you lost already this year would count! You get your official goal weight during your next appointment. They let us schedule our consult with a surgeon at the end of the orientation. It was a mad rush to get in line, but even though I was towards the end of the line, I got an appointment for next week so there seemed to be plenty of availability.

One thing I wish I knew, was that you have to pick which surgeon you want to see when you schedule your next appointment. I would have wanted to research them more, but I just went with my gut. I guess I could reschedule before next week if I change my mind... but it would delay things. In case you want to look them up, their names are Christine Chu, Larry Dennen, Sanjoy Dutta, or Eric Hahn. Dr. Hahn did our orientation class and I went with him.

Good luck at your orientation. Let me know how it goes!

Thinking of everyone who just had the surgery.

11/1/16
HW: 317
SW: 298
CW: 230

I started the 2 week prep diet at 311. So I lost 13 pounds on the diet before surgery and 68 pounds since surgery. 81 pounds total. I usually lose a couple of pounds over the course of a month then experience a 1-3 day timeframe where I drop 7-11 pounds. I'm actually due for that whoosh right now, and I must admit despite my progress it's still frustrating that it hasn't happened yet.

Nov 14; I lost 25 pounds pre-op, and since then I've lost 55 more for a total of 80 as of today!

It's all been extremely stable for me; two pounds a month, until recently. I went on vacation and I guess I ate a lot of salt; weight just sat in the same place until I got home, and then all at once I lost 10 pounds (in 3 days!) which was probably shedding Water weight due to lower sodium intake. <_<;

Sleeved Nov 15th
Hw: 353
Sw: 332
Cw: 250
Gw: 199.....or something lower

No hair has fallen out yet.... (praying it dont)

Was sleeved November 21st! Lost 67 (77 in total) pds so far!! Whoo hoo

HW 243 SW 233 CW 169 - LET'S DO THIS!

So far I have lost 70 lbs.

Alright you guys, I did it. I went and started a wls podcast from the perspective of the patient! It's called 30 Second Chew, and should be available most anywhere you choose to get your podcasts.
I am by no means an expert, only someone who wants to share my successes, my struggles, my fears, etc.
You can find my intro episode here: http://eloquentgushing.com/30-second-chew/episode-0-introducing-me/
I officially launch in April - and I'd love it if any of you had questions or comments/thoughts for me to share on the show!

I trash or donate my clothes as soon as I drop a size. No going back. I also pretty much only wear fitted clothes. Stretchy clothes are for fat people (because they help you become and stay fat).

Thanks for letting me know.[emoji4]
I'm going next week on April 1 Saturday
We just may be on same surgery schedule at Fremont ...
Nice to know we are all in it together.

Hi kbellakat,
I'm also going through Fremont Kaiser and my process sounds a lot like yours. I think SoCal Kaiser is different as there is no 12 week class for us. No classes for the Richmond Kaiser either as I inquired about both. I went to the info session a couple weeks ago and will be attending the orientation class tomorrow. I'm excited to learn more about the process and officially be on my journey. Was there a lot of people at your class?

Thanks for the run down on the Richmond clinic. I'll follow up with specifics after my orientation tomorrow at Fremont. I hope my process moves as quickly as yours. I've been reading everything I can find to educate myself and I feel motivated!

You guys are lucky that you don't have to take a 12 week class in order to have the procedure done but in some ways I am glad that I'm taking this class I have learned a lot in the 5 weeks and they also prepare us for what's to comegood luck to both of you girls that are at Fremont Kaiser I am know you guys will do great make sure all of you keep in touch to let us know when your surgery dates are I'm hoping for the end of May or June

I am 5 months post op and halfway to goal.

I no longer need to use my bipap for sleep apnea.

I am no longer diabetic. My last A1C was on the border of prediabetic and normal, so soon. I won't be prediabetic either.

My knee pain is 90% gone (losing weight doesn't bring back cartilage unfortunately).

The tendonitis in my elbows that has been plaguing me for the past two years has resolved itself. I think the main reason it wasn't healing before was because I was always having to push myself out of a sitting position.

I haven't had an edema flare in my feet in months, even though I don't take meds anymore. I don't take prescription meds at all anymore.

Do I regret not being able to gorge on the foods I loved? Sure... But that's a passing thought. I also allow myself a few bites of foods I am craving. 2-3 bites of sushi rather than stuffing myself at an AYCE. One egg roll from my favorite restaurant in San Jose (when we drive down to see the surgeon) rather than the 6-12 I use to put away. I splurge on high quality ingredients, like fancy cheese or expensive cuts of steak. food is about quality not quantity now.

This is an interesting perspective. The changes people make along this journey are pretty amazing! I clearly need to do more thinking about this, but I appreciate you mentioning what those conversations have been like for you. I might be ok with being a poster child for changing my life for the better, or being a living breathing example that truly anything is possible. In fact, I can even imagine getting to the point where the joy of that outweighs whatever anxiety I feel about the other stuff. Hmmmmm.... I have a lot of thinking to do. Thanks for pushing me.

Thanks for sharing your perspective. You sound really grounded in your way of handling this aspect of the journey and I only hope to be that much at peace with my decision when the time comes. I'm going to continue to let all of this sink in and give it more thought.

I told everyone at work and all my acquaintances that I was having surgery. That being said, I don't see why if people question you about the surgery you can't just tell them it was a personal choice and you don't wish to discuss it. Really at the end of the day, who cares what other people think anyway, you are doing it for your health, not their approval.

@loveley_tai
I didn't tell people besides my close friends because I didn't want to be stuck with the WLS label forever. 1.5 years later I know I made the right choice. After the one year mark I felt pretty regular and not like a weight loss surgery patient at all.
I used to work with a lady that had RNY. 5 years later, at work, people would still comment about her surgery, gossip about what she ate and comment she was still, well a large lady.
3.5 years from now I don't want to be stuck with the WLS patient label, especially when I will be doing all the work at that point. Your sleeve stops doing the work for you at 6 months. The rest of it after that is your will power, and ability to make life changes and learn good lessons from the first 6 months.
Since most people think diet and exercise work, if people see you changing your eating habits and working hard, they will assume that is why you are losing weight. And if you read around here from all the cry baby posts, people are not dropping 50 pounds a month like some episode of Supernatural. You lose 8-12 pounds a month on a good month, the only thing is it just keeps happening with no back tracking. You don't lose weight fast enough that people are alarmed and most of the time by the time people have noticed your loss, you are down 50 pounds.
It is an easy "secret" to keep. This is a hard enough journey without having other people put their pressure and opinions on you. Keep it to yourself. You can always change your mind later, but you can never untell once you tell.