Orinskye

Hi, I am with Kaiser in SoCal and I am about a year out.
i had my surgery at the South Bay facility.

timelines can vary because of Covid:
but if you are interested in timelines:
I first got referred by my pcp in May 2020.
my options class didn’t start until October though. They were delayed because of Covid and trying to figure that mess out. Options was TEN classes.
i also had to meet with a psychologist and get a ekg. Oh and I also went to online support groups.
i finished classes end of December.
had my surgeon appointment in January 2021. Then finally had surgery March 2021. (Surgeries shut down for a bit because of Covid several times while I went through the program).

i am almost a year out and I am down from 330 pounds to 175 pounds.

I got the sleeve surgery.

I have had to deal with this in a professional level. Interviewing for teachers is brutal and while my resume outshines anyone else’s? I was never chosen when I was over 300 pounds.
sadly this type of discrimination is completely legal and can’t be proved.
I am now going to be interviewing in the next year for positions again (and at a normal weight). I am curious how things will turn out now that I’m thin.
(I’ve even had principals straight up tell me they would never hire me because I was disgusting to parents… and I was always professionally dressed. Just obese)

I kind of give guys the side eye now if they ask for my number. I’ve had it happen a few times now and I always cringe on the inside because I knows it is because of how I look now 🤷🏼‍♀️

Never thought I would see this number. 195 is the top number for “healthy bmi” so I am almost there. That was my goal…. But I think I can go lower than 195 because I still have pockets of body fat to loose. I hit this number 9 months post surgery.

Highest weight: 330 pounds
surgery weight: 297 pounds
Goal weight: adjusted… was 195 but maybe 180? i don’t know. We will see.
height reference: I’m six feet two inches tall. So super tall for a woman. 😅
I have not been this weight since junior high school. (7th/8th grade)

I can now fit into my size 12 shoes with room to spare. So my feet have shrunk. I’m not going to buy any shoes until I reach goal weight though.
my wedding rings which used to NOT fit (too small during pregnancy) finally fit again pre surgery ..... but now 5 weeks post op they are too big and slip off.
I just went into my drawers and cleaned out the clothes that were too big ( it was a lot of clothes) .

I also fit into my “when hell freezes over and I can actually fit into these” pants. They are a size XL and a 3XL used to be my go to

I can now fit into my size 12 shoes with room to spare. So my feet have shrunk. I’m not going to buy any shoes until I reach goal weight though.
my wedding rings which used to NOT fit (too small during pregnancy) finally fit again pre surgery ..... but now 5 weeks post op they are too big and slip off.
I just went into my drawers and cleaned out the clothes that were too big ( it was a lot of clothes) .

I also fit into my “when hell freezes over and I can actually fit into these” pants. They are a size XL and a 3XL used to be my go to

Hi there, I am in so cal and went through Kaiser. I went to the South Bay facility.
they definitely make you jump through hoops with all their pre qualifications (like classes, psych eval, etc). But it was so worth it. It was done as an outpatient procedure because it was in the midst of Covid, I had the gastric sleeve done because I was worried about Vitamin deficiency issues.

i am now about a year and a half out from surgery. My friend/mom was really my support because my family/husband thought it was unnecessary (drs told me it would save my life). My friends husband went through it so he was a good sounding board, but This forum is awesome for any questions you might have and I honestly went here first.

i am pretty tall at over 6 feet but my highest weight was 330 lbs and now I am at 155-160 pounds. I am currently looking into trying to get skin removal surgery.
In case you are interested in that down the road: apparently they make you take classes for that as well.

complications I had: I had a slight issue with my blood pressure being too low post surgery and was taken off my meds which fixed the problem. Kaiser was very responsive to the concern and the surgical team was great about conferring with my other specialists (I have many) because they are all part of the same Kaiser system.

if you have any questions feel free to reach out!

good luck!

I walked around the fair today…. All day…. And I wasn’t miserable 😂 (it was like 94 degrees out too!)

I walked around the fair today…. All day…. And I wasn’t miserable 😂 (it was like 94 degrees out too!)

I walked around the fair today…. All day…. And I wasn’t miserable 😂 (it was like 94 degrees out too!)

I walked around the fair today…. All day…. And I wasn’t miserable 😂 (it was like 94 degrees out too!)

I walked around the fair today…. All day…. And I wasn’t miserable 😂 (it was like 94 degrees out too!)

I walked around the fair today…. All day…. And I wasn’t miserable 😂 (it was like 94 degrees out too!)

I walked around the fair today…. All day…. And I wasn’t miserable 😂 (it was like 94 degrees out too!)

I walked around the fair today…. All day…. And I wasn’t miserable 😂 (it was like 94 degrees out too!)

I walked around the fair today…. All day…. And I wasn’t miserable 😂 (it was like 94 degrees out too!)

I order a skinny vanilla latte (that has non fat milk and sugar free vanilla syrup)
I like their egg white bites and I will get those if I need a Protein boost.

If I have my kids with me I might get the sausage cheddar sandwhich…. Take one bite… then give the rest to the kids 😂
my kids are my helpers. If I’m alone I never want to get food because it’s a waste… but if I have my kids with me it’s a game changer.
(this applies to going out to dinner as well: I won’t go out if it’s just me, but usually I will order what my five year old wants and just split it with him. And before you all cringe and say “enjoy your chicken strips”- my five year old has good taste…. He asks for steal and lobster 🤣)

Yep, I'm there now. Or at least, heading that way. We've been together for 17 years, and the first 3 weeks after surgery, he was great. Now he's always yelling, literally screeches at me, picks fights, is miserable for who knows what reason. He was going to so the surgery and changed his mind. He went back to a vegan diet that he did years ago when he lost 120 pounds in 1 year. He's already cheated on it multiple times and lost motivation. I think he's on the verge of quitting. He was working out with me, then decided he's too tired or has other things to do or doesn't feel good or doesn't feel like it. So he quit. He's done this throughout his life. He starts something, it gets hard, he quits. Did it with work, did it with college, does it with everything. It's always bothered me, but I overlooked it because he was funny and sweet and fun and loving. Now it's getting harder and harder to overlook it. I try every day to remember what I love about him and why I'm still here. But that, too, is getting harder.

I peeked at your surgery date on your profile and it said you had your surgery in May of 2022.

Every plan is different and if you are comfortable with your nutritionist ? Follow their advice.

I am the opposite of you (my hunger hormone never came back- I am a year and a half from surgery). I do the same thing with “I don’t want to gain weight back” so I monitor my weight by stepping on the scale once a week. I found that if I did it multiple times a week I would start to obsess so I only do it once a week.

calorie tracking is another good tool. My nutritionist is constantly on my back to track my calories (I am kind of terrible at it….. 😅 it’s okay when I have my set schedule during the school year but during summer my schedule is less defined and my meals end up sparse or nonexistent just because I’m not hungry)

I’m looking into skin removal now… I’m 15 months out from surgery and went from 330 pounds to 158 pounds. My loose skin isn’t as bad as some I’ve seen, but it’s still uncomfortable.
i thought I could live with it but then summer hit with temps above 80 degrees and me constantly wet from the pool or the beach lol. 🤷🏼‍♀️
My insurance has very strict criteria for covering skin removal and I don’t know if I will qualify. I sent the doc some pics and now I am just waiting for a referral or a “no you won’t be covered”. If it is covered I was thinking about getting it done over Christmas break, but if it’s not I will have to save up and possibly do it next Christmas break (I’m a teacher and don’t want to take time off or do it during the summer).

I love it when you show this photo. In this case a picture really is worth a thousand words. ❤️

I’m looking into skin removal now… I’m 15 months out from surgery and went from 330 pounds to 158 pounds. My loose skin isn’t as bad as some I’ve seen, but it’s still uncomfortable.
i thought I could live with it but then summer hit with temps above 80 degrees and me constantly wet from the pool or the beach lol. 🤷🏼‍♀️
My insurance has very strict criteria for covering skin removal and I don’t know if I will qualify. I sent the doc some pics and now I am just waiting for a referral or a “no you won’t be covered”. If it is covered I was thinking about getting it done over Christmas break, but if it’s not I will have to save up and possibly do it next Christmas break (I’m a teacher and don’t want to take time off or do it during the summer).

I love it when you show this photo. In this case a picture really is worth a thousand words. ❤️

I love it when you show this photo. In this case a picture really is worth a thousand words. ❤️

So today is my weekly weigh in day, and I weigh 349!!! It's the first time in 2 years I have been below 350 (1st time was when I did Keto, but as soon as I hit 320 it literally came back up and I never lost a single pound after I went back to my original weight). I'm figuring out the food portions, timing, measurements and I think I have it down!!! You guys have all been so amazing with all the meltdowns, crazy questions, doubting myself, etc I've done on here (I know, I was a bit loco lol ). But I seem to be losing at a nice steady pace (5-7 pounds per week) and I have to say, I'm really liking it. I feel like this is much more sustainable and maintainable than when I was doing keto (and surprisingly, a lot less restrictive! ) I'm 7 weeks post op today and honestly, other than my scars on my tummy, I would never know I had surgery. No pain, no more limitations, no problems at all. I still have to be mindful of how much I eat and how often, because as I have said before, I never lost any of my hunger hormone. But I make homemade smoothies with fruit or I drink a Protein Shake if I need a little extra Protein, or I just keep busy until I can teach my stomach and body that I'm NOT hungry and I HAVE eaten enough and I will NOT be eating anymore because I had my allotted amount and that's it. It's harder when you're still hungry, but it CAN be done. Especially when I see the progress on the scale. So so glad I had this surgery. I don't regret it at all. Not even a tiny bit. I just wish I had done it sooner. But I guess we all do, don't we? lol

I’m not that old (I’m 39) but when I went to Starbucks the other day the guy at the counter greeted me by name. I was taken aback a bit but just took my coffee and smiled… but I’m so blah at 6 am that I’m just not focused enough to notice details like that.

i got to work and one of my students noticed there was a heart and a phone number on my Starbucks cup. 😱
i teach fifth grade so you can imagine how crazy the girls went over the information that the Starbucks guy has a crush on their teacher 🤦🏼‍♀️.

it is odd when you’ve gone your whole life with men never looking at you like that 🤷🏼‍♀️