Nat2.0

No, you're definitely not! As you have gained weight your body chemistry has changed and many factors are in play in your body that are designed to keep you overweight. It's crazy how different our bodies are, metabolically, compared to normal weight individuals. The surgery resets us metabolically. (Some studies have shown improved metabolic markers after surgery even for people who don't lose very much weight!) And the junk food we all eat (ate!) was literally engineered using top-secret additives and ingredients to increase pleasure, influence your neural pathways, and keep your hand moving to your mouth. Get angry at the food industry and use that anger to rebel against it by eating whole, nutritious foods instead. Surgery will make that much easier.
I use the analogy of climbing a mountain. When we're obese it's like we are climbing it with a gigantic boulder on our backs, weighing us down and preventing us from going very far. Some tiny subset of people are so strong they are able to make it to the top, but most of us never will. Surgery takes the boulder off. We still have to do the climb ourselves - there's no chair lift to the top - but it gives us the opportunity to actually be successful.
Here's a wonderful video from Dr. Matthew Weiner about deciding to have WLS:

Hi Everyone! I know I came to these forums to help prepare me for the surgery, so this post is about helping you be as prepared as possible and know the nitty gritty.
I was sleeved Wednesday 1/24 in Chicago. Your mileage may vary.
The night before, I was NPO after 9PM and was the first surgery of the day, so I had to be at the hospital at 5:15 am. Have a backup ride ready because you might not know this until the day before, and my husband had to stay home with our kids. Pro Tip: You can reserve a cab or Lyft ride in advance, so I had a lyft scheduled at 4:30 AM.
They do weigh you at the hospital when you arrive. Pre-Op was a breeze. I have a high BMI so I had a shot of a drug to prevent blood clots, if you don't like shots, ask for it in the thigh. I had mine in my right shoulder both days and it was fine, nothing more than a flu shot feeling.
Post op your mouth will be DRY. DRY DRY DRY DRY DRY. Bring lip balm to keep your lips moist and you will, will, WILL get through it. If it's really bad, make sure you are not getting dehydrated. Late on the night of my surgery, my heart rate and blood pressure went way up, so they gave me a "BOLUS" for dehydration, which is a lot of IV fluids really fast, it did the trick and by morning I was fine.
WALK! Get up as soon as you feel able to. I walked and walked, and peed and peed. They will measure your urine so don't flush it, there will be a measuring thing in the toilet, don't put paper in it because you want credit for every ML of urine you produce! And did I mention walk? It's so easy. I was shocked that I was the only person walking around the floor. It really helps with that gas pain.
The morning after surgery I did a "water trial" where a member of the doc's team brought in two thimbles of Water. I had two hours to finish them and it took really about an hour. Go slowly. After that, I was not brought a tray of anything, just a FULL styrofoam cup of probably 20 oz of water and was told "this is what is between here and home." It took me about 3 hours to drink it, and then I was finally discharged around 3PM. Walking around in CVS on the way home is when the farting began. It hasn't stopped but I'll tell you I have zero gas pains!
Get the liquid Tylenol. You will want it when you are home, even if just one incision hurts (I have five "stab wounds" and only one is really bothersome at all - and the liquid tylenol is enough.) Now I am home and am slowly sipping Premier Protien Clear (yum) and water (yum) all day. TIP: Don't buy the orange Protein water sold at Target, order the Premier Protein clear online. They are vastly different.
TL:DR? You will fart a lot. That's good. You will burp a lot. That's fine. WALK A LOT. Stand up a lot. You'll do great.
Ask me anything!

Katkatlady612... That sounds like a horrible, hurtful comment your cousin made. I'm sorry. I sometimes watch "Extreme Weight Loss" or "Fit to Fat to Fit Again." I find those both inspiring and the Fit to Fat to Fit show is interesting because personal fitness trainers purposely gain 40 - 70 lbs then have to work along side their "clients" to lose it and get fit again. The other day my husband happened to flip to "My 600 lb Life" and then I had to listen to him say, "Oh my gosh..." "Oh geez..." And just moaning and groaning as he watched the people on tv. Mind you, my husband is 6'4" and 200 lbs. He is totally tall, lean, and fit. He has never had a weight problem and he does not understand how complicated the struggle is. I said, "Why are you watching this??" I asked him to just change the channel and to stop watching because he just doesn't understand. It made me teary eyed to listen to his judgemental reactions and groans. (No, it is not easy going down this road with a husband who is skeptical of the process and thinks this time will be no different ,or that if it's just going to make me eat less then I should save myself the time, money, and pain and just eat less and move more). Like you, I do not have a tough turtle shell and my personal weight struggles and issues run deep.

SW - 230lbs
GW - 140lbs
CW - 160lbs
Hello everyone. I just wanted to share my story about my journey. 2 years ago I was overweight and sick. I had diabetes but required insulin 5 times a day. I have very limited activities because I get tired easily. That is why I made a decision to do this and I can tell you now without a doubt that it is the greatest decision I have made in my life! Now, I get to enjoy my life with my kids doing activities, dancing, traveling, spending time with my family and friends! I am a very busy woman as what my friends tell me... I have 5 kids (ages 25, 21, 16, 14 and 6). My two big kids have there own place already. I take care of my mother who goes to dialysis 3 times a week and I worked full time. I can tell you that I am very happy now than ever! I thank God for everything... all the blessing and the trials because HE made me a stronger and better person! I hope my story will inspire you in your journey that you will be facing! Keep positive and always fall in love with yourself!!!
      

Any answers you need ping me anytime [emoji847]

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on this app. I just want to say to everyone post wls, you are successful. Take this journey and make it your own. Be selfish. Put yourself and your health first. Hold yourself accountable and trust the process. Surgery doesn’t make the emotional eating goes away. It doesn’t make it bad to eat those things that aren’t healthy. I fell into that trap of thinking I was exempt and could slide by. But I got myself together and I began to focus on healthy living.
I hope this picture inspires you to go forth and become a more healthier you. Take advantage of this new lease on life. Envision how you want your journey to be and make it happen.
HW: 399
SW: 385
CW: 168

Wow! Good work! You look beautiful and so happy. An inspiration to people like myself at the beginning of the journey. You got those last 25#! Thank you for sharing your progress. :-)

Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

Good choice!! I had my sleeve surgery with Dr. Chae in November. Him and his team are AWESOME! Super understanding and judge-free. He answered all my crazy questions before surgery and was super responsive after the surgery to any questions/concerns I had.