NiceAnkles

Yup, I have it too when I’m full. Sometimes hiccups. I heed the warnings too because the foamies are AWFUL.

You look strong, healthy, and amazing!

Adorable sandwich! Lol

Most likely it’s from the gas used to inflate your torso during surgery. It sucks big time but will dissipate over time. GasX or other OTC stuff like that doesn’t really help as the gas isn’t in your stomach. The best thing is to walk, walk, walk as much as you can. I know it hurts like heck. I had that shoulder pain too. A heating pad helped it calm down a bit. Hang in there!

Yup, I have it too when I’m full. Sometimes hiccups. I heed the warnings too because the foamies are AWFUL.

Most likely it’s from the gas used to inflate your torso during surgery. It sucks big time but will dissipate over time. GasX or other OTC stuff like that doesn’t really help as the gas isn’t in your stomach. The best thing is to walk, walk, walk as much as you can. I know it hurts like heck. I had that shoulder pain too. A heating pad helped it calm down a bit. Hang in there!

Most likely it’s from the gas used to inflate your torso during surgery. It sucks big time but will dissipate over time. GasX or other OTC stuff like that doesn’t really help as the gas isn’t in your stomach. The best thing is to walk, walk, walk as much as you can. I know it hurts like heck. I had that shoulder pain too. A heating pad helped it calm down a bit. Hang in there!

Most likely it’s from the gas used to inflate your torso during surgery. It sucks big time but will dissipate over time. GasX or other OTC stuff like that doesn’t really help as the gas isn’t in your stomach. The best thing is to walk, walk, walk as much as you can. I know it hurts like heck. I had that shoulder pain too. A heating pad helped it calm down a bit. Hang in there!

Seriously try the Xylimelts! They were so helpful for me at night.

Having second and third and fourth thoughts are normal! It’s all part of making a huge life change. I know most people have Hair loss and there doesn’t seem to be much to do about it except wait it out. You may just have to weigh the health benefits of the hair loss vs all the other improvements WLS will bring. Good luck with your decision. I know it’s not easy!

Having second and third and fourth thoughts are normal! It’s all part of making a huge life change. I know most people have Hair loss and there doesn’t seem to be much to do about it except wait it out. You may just have to weigh the health benefits of the hair loss vs all the other improvements WLS will bring. Good luck with your decision. I know it’s not easy!

I wouldn’t ask for input from only people who had regrets and/or canceled, because… well that’s all you’re going to hear about and you’ll definitely not go through with it (which is fine, it’s your choice of course).
I’d ask “can everyone here who is at least a year post op give me a “would do it again” or “would not do it again” please”
This forum is a great place. It really is. There are tons of helpful people, funny people, honest people. The downside to a forum like this is it’s much more common for someone who is having a problem to post a question looking for help or advice or just to vent. It vastly skews the perception of the number and severity of problems. The reality is for most people surgery works and works well at achieving sustained weight loss. Very few people statistically have what I would call a major complication. When compared to the statistics of complications (or co-morbidities) of being obese, it’s not even a fair contest.
You are not alone in having worries and doubts though, not by a long shot. I had them too, many of us did. But I didn’t cancel and I most definitely do NOT regret having surgery. It was probably the best true free will choice I’ve ever made in my life… no, it definitely was. Being a guy who doesn’t care about his hair, I can’t share my advice about Hair loss. It’s a thing that can happen. It didn’t happen to me, but again I wouldn’t have cared if I lost all my hair, I’d have done this again without a second thought. In fact, I would go so far as to say that… based on how GREAT I feel today, even if I had a major complication that required hospitalization post op, I would still go through with it knowing what I know now. I wish I did this years ago, but I didn’t. I feel like I lost some of the best years with myself, my kids, just in general…

The following is a cheeze-ball comment but it’s true….
This new me… this is the me that was hiding inside a fat suit almost all of my life… sad, pretty lonely, afraid to come out and just enjoy life like I am now. I wish I met him when I was younger. I wish I was strong enough to do this on my own at a much younger age, but in the end I don’t care how this new me got here… I’m here and I’m not going back inside that fat suit ever again. I am 46 and feel like I’m about to turn 27.
I wish you the best, no matter what you decide. But don’t only look for the negatives, because that’s what you’ll find. There’s a lot of us “hell yah I’d do this again!!” people out there, we’re just quiet about it in general compared to the people who do really need help getting through a tough spot.

Two and a half years out, I have no regrets at all. The process has its ups and downs, but at no time have I ever wished I didn't do it. I'm normal-sized for the first time since I was about eight years old. Things that used to be a struggle, I can do without thought now. I got stuck in a middle seat on a five-hour flight and I was REALLY dreading it. But when the time came, it was really no big deal. Sure, I'd rather have a window or aisle, but it wasn't the catastrophe it would have been when I was at my top weight. Because I had been heavy since childhood, I still find surprises every day as I learn to navigate the world in my new body. I even enjoy being able to walk into a room and not stand out because of my size. Maintenance is a learning curve for sure - sometimes I get too relaxed and gain five pounds and then I'll overcorrect and lose eight, LOL. But it's all good and I'm figuring it out.

I am a slow loser and I still have no regrets at 6 months out (overall about 60 lbs down). I see others lose faster and I sometimes get bummed because that’s not me and I feel like maybe I could’ve done this on my own. But then I wake up and remember all the time I’ve wasted fighting myself. My biggest advice would be not to compare your journey and trust the process. It is not easy but it is so worth it! Good luck!

I don’t regret my surgery, but that doesn’t mean i haven’t had tough moments where I think “what the hell did I do to myself?!” It’s normal and healing (all kinds) takes time. And there is definitely a learning curve. It’ll be better when you can eat more. Hang in there. You got this! You can do it!

I find it super annoying that people need to stress how supportive their spouses are obviously knowing yours is not. Literally no advice, just a boast on “my husbands better than yours” pretty much .. anyways .. understanding that your husband is unsupportive, I really stress to please try and find a support system! Even if paid, you will need support. Not to mention your hormones will be everywhere and that alone is a big one post surgery!

Mine was just under 3 months. I was already on Biotin before but I’ve heard from RDs that it doesn’t really help. So I just made sure to get enough Protein, take my Vitamins and wait it out. The loss part has pretty much gone back to my normal loss level but haven’t started seeing the little fuzzy new growth yet.

I am a slow loser and I still have no regrets at 6 months out (overall about 60 lbs down). I see others lose faster and I sometimes get bummed because that’s not me and I feel like maybe I could’ve done this on my own. But then I wake up and remember all the time I’ve wasted fighting myself. My biggest advice would be not to compare your journey and trust the process. It is not easy but it is so worth it! Good luck!

7 months and 6 days post-op, and I’ve hit my goal! I lost around 70 lbs pre-op (and over 50 of that before surgery consult in late October of last year - COVID scared me into finally getting motivated to really do something about the weight). Pictures are from fall of 2019, second is about 2 weeks post op, and then the last is from early this week. Thinking of adjusting my goal down another 10 lbs or so as I still want to lose some more, but this is the lowest adult weight I have been. Need to start saving for plastics. I will say, the changes are more noticeable now - even 5 lbs can make a difference. I also started doing strength training about 10 weeks post-op (once I was fully vaccinated) and that has made a MASSIVE difference. I did a body scan and from late March when I started to mid-July (my most recent scan), I lost 35 lbs, which I knew from my scale, but I actually gained 6.5 lbs of muscle and lost 17% body fat. Want to continue to build that muscle and tone and now thinking lose another 10 or so. We shall see. But for today, I Celebrate hitting my goal, especially since everyone at the surgeon’s office said not to set it at that, as most folks only lose 60-70% of their excess weight. Of course, they also only want me to eat plant-based, and that’s not happening either. It’s definitely Fri-YAY!

I was prescribed omeprazole (like your pantoprazole) and the capsule was a smallish one. It was not difficult to swallow post op. I just made sure I had only a small amount of liquid in my mouth to help get it down without pain.

I was prescribed omeprazole (like your pantoprazole) and the capsule was a smallish one. It was not difficult to swallow post op. I just made sure I had only a small amount of liquid in my mouth to help get it down without pain.

You’re a whole new man, Matt! Congrats on becoming YOU.

When I was on omeprazole I had terrible dry mouth. I used these tablets called Xylimelts that you stick on your gum at night. They contain xylitol and melt very slowly overnight. Walgreens has a knock off version but they didn’t work as well for me.

Ok ready to post my final before and after photos. Before is around 350lbs, 3 or 4xl shirt. My highest ever confirmed weight was 356 and this was very close to that date in 2014. The other is today, wearing a size medium shirt. Surgery was June 12, 2020, weight 334lbs, 6’4” BMI 40. I hit this weight (193) about 10 months post op and have been maintaining fairly evenly since (up a couple down a couple etc). For anyone on the fence about surgery, do your research but don’t let the scary stories you read here overwhelm you or give you a false sense of their frequency. Yes, bad things can and do happen in any endeavor. No one has a crystal ball, but the statistics of health issues from being obese and the statistics of coming through gastric surgery safely and enjoying positive results speak for themselves. I never dreamed I would feel this good again. I didn’t even think I was that fat…. Just a “big guy.” Looking back at old photos I’m mortified. Looking forward I’m so optimistic and full of life and joy. I feel like this is the “me” that has always been in there, hiding, hoping, waiting to come out. What “you” do you have inside longing to come out and face the world?

When I was on omeprazole I had terrible dry mouth. I used these tablets called Xylimelts that you stick on your gum at night. They contain xylitol and melt very slowly overnight. Walgreens has a knock off version but they didn’t work as well for me.