CyndieRI

One person knows about my procedure and she is the one who came with me while I travelled interstate. If my doctor had not insisted on me having someone with me 48hrs post procedure she probably wouldn't have known. I have rarely discussed my weight issues with anyone and I guess I see this as the same, no one needs to know my personal business.

That's good you have support from your husband and mother. My mom doesn't want me to do it but she will be OK after I have it. I probably have to start rethinking this relationship with my husband. At this point, I'm like if you can't support me then you and I need to move on because it's a daily battle and a daily argument about it and frankly, I'm over it! I do find there is good support here. We are all like minded.

Me too. So tored of explaining myself. I am in this for me. Thank you everyone this all helps.

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I’ve told many people about my sleeve surgery (10/10/18). Some were supportive and some were not. I found it an excellent tool to weed out the negative people in my life!! If you can’t be happy for me in my journey to get healthy, then I really have no desire to have an ongoing relationship with you! (Thank God it wasn’t anyone like my husband or mother!!) And that is my favorite thing about this group. Everyone is SO supportive of one another and I just LOVE it!! ❤️

I’ve told many people about my sleeve surgery (10/10/18). Some were supportive and some were not. I found it an excellent tool to weed out the negative people in my life!! If you can’t be happy for me in my journey to get healthy, then I really have no desire to have an ongoing relationship with you! (Thank God it wasn’t anyone like my husband or mother!!) And that is my favorite thing about this group. Everyone is SO supportive of one another and I just LOVE it!! ❤️

I have has several goal weights during this journey. My initial one was 250lb, I set that when I was 412lb at my initial barbaric consultation. That was as much as I thought I could do at that time. Between then and surgery I was able to start loosing significant amounts of weight and I targeted and hit 100lb weight loss by before i went under the knife. So during that period my goal became a weight of 199lb, which I am very pleased to have reached. Now my goal is to be under 189lb, which will make my BMI under 24.9, so I am pretty close, maybe another month or so to go. Realistically at this point there is not much difference between a BMI of 26.2 and 24.9, but damn I want to hit that number so badly. Ultimately I want to balance my weight between 180 and 189lb over time. This means figuring out how to transition to maintenance, which is a bit daunting to me at this point, but I will figure it out. I have learned at each point of the journey, no reason to think I will stop now.

It's an easy thing to say when the person is not in your shoes. I was one that believed it was an easy way out until I looked into it and found out what it was and what it entailed. My brother had lap-band and it never quite worked for him. I thought the sleeve was something similar just a bigger "thing" put around your stomach. DUH.... Don't be bothered by what others think or say. What you are doing is for you and only needs to be appreciated by you. If others tag along great, if not they can KICK ROCKS. Best to you on your journey!!!!

OMG - too funny. I need to remember this.
But, seriously, I told very few people and those who I told I knew would be supportive (my husband, my two teen daughters and my best friend). All work knew was that I was "having a procedure" by phrasing it that way, they assumed something "female" and no one asked questions. As far as I'm concerned, my medical procedures aren't anyone else's business anyway. Would you tell them if you were going for a pap smear?
I dealt with the dietary restrictions by explaining I was working with some doctors and had been put on a restrictive diet for a medical condition. Period. No one asked anything beyond that.

This is why this forum is so important to me. I get the support I need and the doubt lifted. No one understands but me how the battle against my own body has been. I had an opportunity to fix it for good and I took it. I don't want weight to ever be an issue again in my life! I want to live...

Same....some of the criticism was brutal so I just stopped telling people. My husband and kids (thankfully) are supportive but they don't really understand how difficult this journey has been. Outside of them, my family has been a nightmare! One family member even told me I was going to die! That was where I had to stop. I don't want to fight this battle alone but I have to do what is best and I have too many people relying on me now and in the future to keep carrying this extra weight around.

You don't "need" anyone's approval of your decision. No need to defend it to people that don't get it. Understand that the rapid weight loss is hard to hide. People will talk and speculate you had WLS. Ignore the haters and press on with your life. Once your weight loss settles it will no longer be a topic in conversations. Life becomes normal.

I opted to tell exactly 4 people.... My mom, BF, Boss and best friend prior to surgery. I didn't want people knowing why I was out of the office (I only took a week off) and I didn't want snide comments. But what I've learned throughout this entire process is no one knows what you've been through, the struggles you've hit through weight loss, diets dietitians, etc. When I put on my final 50lbs and struggled for years to get it off, through pills, shots, seeing a registered dietitian and trying nearly ever fad diet in between, I decided to check out WLS as a last resort for me. When under the guidance of bariatric dietitian and still failing to lose weight at a normal pace (2lbs per week) - I finally agreed to the WLS. But what I learned about my body in those final 8 months before surgery is priceless. I also believe it set me up for success moving into WLS and the months following.
I still haven't told anyone that I've had WLS, it's no one's business but my own. If people are "watching" me, they will see my diet has changed dramatically (not only portions) but what I actually put into my mouth. So it all plays a vital role in our success.

My Immediate family is good with this but they know the pain i am in. My bff thinks im crazy so i really wish i had not shared wigb her.

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I totally understand how you feel. I’m facing the same challenge; therefore, I’m only sharing my journey with my husband. My surgery date is 10/29 also. Wishing the best for you, good luck!!

The topic of WLS has came up before in casual conversation with family members outside of my house and those that weren't open minded about it, I put on the mushroom list. Feed em full of crap and keep em in the dark. LOL

My surgery date is October 29 and I have ran into the same issue. I stopped telling people I'm having the sleeve done. (Easy for me as I am having my gall bladder removed at the same time. So I've just been mentioning that and not the sleeve.) Now that I am day 3 of liquid diet, I am ready to just go to bed and sleep till surgery day. Between the hunger pains and the comments about how disappointed people are in my choice, I just am having a difficult time. The worst are the ones who have told me they know I'm going to fail because "if you don't have the willpower before surgery to lose the weight, you're not going to have it after and you're just going to stretch your pouch and gain the weight back." I really don't think I would be able to do this without my husband and kids making our house a support zone for me where I can hide from the nay Sayers. I just joined this page in hopes of finding some answers/support from people who have been in my situation.

I hate when I try to confide in someone and they say "You don't need surgery" … 🤬 I say " Oh yeah...tell that to my bad knees and achy back..You try carrying a 70lb child around everyday" this was how I felt.. Do they really think I haven't tried other ways. Maybe they think WLS is the easy way out. This is why I only told a few selected people. I have enough battles to fight.

OMG! So, my daughters are here on vacation and I set up a mini vacation for us to do things and have fun. This past Thursday evening we were in Austin, TX, and going to be on a Segway tour. We parked and walked 5 blocks to the meeting spot. About 100 feet from the spot, there was a dip in the sidewalk I didn't see and rolled my right ankle and landed my weight in my right foot. I felt it snap and just cried. I was so excited to go on the Segway tour, but instead I wound up at the hospital with a broken foot! I got a huge splint and now have to wait until Friday to see an orthopedic doctor. Monday I see my surgeon for preop and Wednesday I have my bypass!
I have the worst luck!
I'm very depressed and still in disbelief that this happened.
Sorry! I needed to vent!

Stalls, Everyone's doing them... You should too.
joking.
I stalled at 1 month out for about a month. It happens. If your habits are good don't stress. Some of us stall often, our bodies like to take little breaks. It's cool, because it's a marathon not a race. And it all adds up in the end.

First... relax.
Second, use the search feature to search for "Stalls"
They happen very often, it's normal, BREATHE!

Stop freaking out, just follow your diet plan and don't stress. Make sure you are getting upwards of 128oz of Water (yes that much, it's important) and if they didn't tell you, typically band revisions don't lose as fast or as much as those that haven't been revised.

And for your own sanity. DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS... no one is going to lose the same way you do, so don't even open that can of worms.

I’m feeling VERY discouraged! I bad lapband to sleeve revision surgery September 13th and in the first month or so dropped about 25lbs. However, but the end of the 4th week or so and up until now I’ve been at a CRAWLING weight loss pace...I don’t weigh every day, but it feels like I’m just bouncing between 355-358. How am I stalling this early on? I’m not eating nearly as much as I used to, of course and doing my damndest to get in all of my Protein. (It’s really hard since Protein Shakes are now making me gag just because I’ve been doing them basically non-stop for the last 2-3months in my pre and post-surgery diets.) I’ve tried exercise, but I’m so quick to get weak and tired...I think it’s my lack of calories. 😩 I’m wondering if this plateau has something to do with being on such a restricted diet for so long. I lost about 125 with diet and exercise prior to surgery, I was eating about 1400 cal/day and exercised pretty heavy as well. It’s so frustrating with this lack of stamina and eating so little while not seeing numbers change. I’ve decided to cut out ALL POSSIBLE carbs from my diet now that I’m off liquids and go straight to low-fat protein options...only because I can get just a few bites of anything in without feeling queasy still and straight protein doesn’t seem to give me that effect as bad. (Anything creamy, heavy or even mildly “rich” makes my stomach churn minutes after eating.) I’ve added protein to my coffee drinks in the morning, trying to get at least one shake in and nibble on chicken, tuna or whatever protein feels like it’ll sit right.
Anyway, long story short...I’m trying but not seeing the scale move hardly at all. How much were you guys still losing a month or two out? I’m terrified this stall means trouble on the horizon and I’m failing this sleeve thing! Please help!! 😭😭

I have a lapband, but I understand your pain. I want to tell you, failing to lose has many causes--I know, I lived on less than 1000 calories a day for years and never lost an ounce. My lapband didn't help me lose much and my first doctor wouldn't give me a fill. So I found another who did. I am practically wheelchair bound (can only hobble around the house). So I started to lose--slowly. the big help was I didn't regain what I lost.
One thing I've never heard a doctor explain to me is that excessive hunger can be giving you a message. So many diets I went on ended with me lying in bed, weak and starving within weeks. What I didn't realize was that my body was telling me those diets weren't nutritionally what I needed. I've tried low fat-high Fiber, low calorie, vegetarian, all raw salads, lot's of nuts, praying the weight away, self-hypnosis, bodybuilding, lots of exercise...you get the idea. All of them failed because I wasn't listening to my body. When I got so hungry I would eat nails if there was ketchup to put on them, my body was telling me I was on the wrong diet. This isn't a normal,"Gee, that looks tasty." But was more like a weak pathetic cry from my bed that I was dying and had to eat.
I kept experimenting and discovered a ketogenic diet helped, but I gained everything back quickly. As I worked with the Keto diet, I learned I wasn't drinking enough Water, and I wasn't sleeping enough. But the high Protein with lots of greens was definitely a better choice than the others. Then I got the lapband, and the slow weight loss with no restriction was discouraging. But it was a tool. And once I got restriction, I used that tool. I mostly stayed on the ketogenic diet. Lots of protein was just a necessity for me. The fat I ate made the diet more enjoyable.
The lapband made me eat small bites, or I spent days puking. If I got sick, I had to reduce what I ate because sickness caused my stomach to swell, and I puked. Over the last ten years I've lived on the ketogenic diet, except for two years when I lost control, (I gained 50 pounds and found I had cancer. I believe the sugar cravings after being in control so long were a result of the cancer.) Back in control, and the 50 pounds went away. I've managed to lose 160 pounds. Not a large amount, and I still have over 100 pounds to go. But I am happy not to be the woman I was.
I don't know if the ketogenic diet will help you, but I'm sharing my experience to show you have to experiment to find the right diet. And you have to sleep enough to lose weight.
So, get the junk out of your house--the chips, crackers, cake mixes, candy, soda, snack food, juices (fruit juice is just liquid sugar water with a few minerals, eat whole fruit instead), and the alcohol (You can go back to 1 drink a day after you've lost weight). And start the eating pattern you feel best on. Just practice eating a healthy diet for a bit. Don't eat much at a time and keep any easy to snack on food (like grapes or nuts) in the refrigerator. Then start working your tool. go longer between small meals, see what happens when you delete starches, or what foods change how you feel. I had to stop vegetarian because Beans make me uncontrollably hungry(love those beans, yumm, yumm). Your body is unique, and just because you haven't found what works for you doesn't mean you're a failure. It just means you haven't found the balance of diet, sleep and exercise that works for you. The important thing is NEVER GIVE UP.
After 10 years with the band, I'm revising to a sleeve this spring. I love my band, but there is evidence it doesn't do well after 10 years or so. I feel I will do even better on the sleeve.

Hi All - I made it! I felt really prepared based on all of you having shared your experiences.

I was super emotional in the hour or two before my surgery yesterday, I was terrified, but climbed up on the table and got it done!!

I’ve been sleeping lots and pain is well controlled... very little incision pain, just gas pain mostly in my back.Still on Clear Liquids and I never knew diluted apple juice could taste so good. haha.

Tips that I picked up here that served me well included bringing the following things...
Heating pad ( has been so good on my sore back)
Chap stick
Extension cord
Phone and charger
Slippers

Off to sleep some more - it still feels kind of surreal that I actually had the guts to do this 🙃

I did have that thought - especially since I'm early and was scheduled to have it DURING surgery, which clearly would have been worse.

But Good NewsFlash, you will be over Aunt Flo in time for the Surgical Good Times to Roll! Better this than waking up in Alabama with the Crimson Tide a-rolling! 😝Happy Joy Joy😝